RulingHall of Heroes (rules 1.7)2026-03-19

I have some questions about Falcon’s hero-specific ally, Redwing. 1) If the top card of the encounter deck…

Question

I have some questions about Falcon’s hero-specific ally, Redwing. 1) If the top card of the encounter deck is visible to me and it has 0 icons in its boost area, can Redwing’s ability be triggered? (I understand we can pay the cost, but it’s unclear to me if the ability requires a valid target and if that prevents this.)
2) a) If the top card of the encounter deck is not currently faceup (for example if Falcon’s text box is blanked or if Redwing came into play via Cameo) and it is unknown, can Redwing’s ability be triggered? b) Does it still require a valid target? c) If yes, what happens if there are no icons in the boost area?
3) a) If the top card of the encounter deck is not currently faceup but it is known (for example, Falcon has flipped to alter-ego or it was seen using Global Logistics or Melinda May), can Redwing’s ability be triggered? b) Does it still require a valid target? c) If yes, what happens if there are no icons in the boost area (and this was known)?

Answer

If the top card of the encounter deck is visible and has 0 boost icons, Redwing’s ability can’t be triggered, as you cannot trigger an ability that has no effect (assuming you know it will have no effect). If the top card of the encounter deck is not visible, then Redwing’s ability can be triggered similarly to other cards that pay costs on incomplete information (e.g. Return the Favor).

You confirm you have at least 1 valid target to deal damage to or remove threat from, then discard the card and resolve Redwing’s ability as completely as possible. It does not matter if you know what the facedown card is when you trigger the ability. (Redwing was designed with the assumption that you’d be seeing the faceup side of the encounter card when triggering his ability, so if that changes it makes more sense to us to rule this situation based on the precedent set by other cards. Also note you must be in hero form to trigger Redwing’s ability.)

— Alex