Lost Chapters
Neil Armstrong, Space Explorer: Cobalt Character
Neil Armstrong (1930 to 2012) was an American aviator, engineer and NASA astronaut who became the first person to walk on the Moon, on July 20, 1969, as commander of Apollo 11. Before that he flew combat missions in Korea, piloted the rocket-powered X-15 and commanded Gemini 8.
- Cost
- 8 crystals
- Type
- Character · Adventurer
- Power / Health
- 6 / 6
- Color
- Cobalt (Thinkers & Dreamers)
- Rarity
- Ultra-Rare (Legacy)
- Set
- Liberty & Lightning (Set 1)
- Keywords
- Explore
On play: draw a card.
Soft-spoken aviator whose small step onto lunar dust represented humanity's greatest leap of exploration.
The real history
Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He was a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952 and flew 78 combat missions in F9F-2 jet fighters during the Korean War. Afterward he finished a degree in aeronautical engineering at Purdue University in 1955.
That same year he went to work for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the agency that came before NASA, and soon moved to its high-speed flight station at Edwards, California. As a research pilot he flew the X-15 rocket plane seven times between 1960 and 1962, climbing as high as 207,500 feet and reaching nearly 4,000 miles per hour.
NASA chose him for its second group of astronauts in 1962. In March 1966 he commanded Gemini 8, which made the first successful docking of two vehicles in orbit.
Three years later he and Buzz Aldrin set the lunar module Eagle down in the Sea of Tranquility, while Michael Collins waited in orbit aboard Columbia. As he stepped onto the surface, Armstrong said the words NASA records as "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
He left the astronaut corps soon after, worked at NASA headquarters, and then taught engineering at the University of Cincinnati from 1971 to 1979. In 1986 he served as vice chairman of the group that investigated the Challenger accident. He died on August 25, 2012, at age 82.
Sources
- Neil A. Armstrong, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center
- July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind, NASA
- Armstrong, the Man, University of Cincinnati Libraries
In the game's story
In the game's invented story, Armstrong peels a strange violet stone off his boot inside Eagle and drifts down into the world of Marginalia, landing on the dome of the Archive's old observatory. While mapping the unfamiliar night sky, he spots a rift slowly opening far above the world and starts the careful project known as the Moonshot to study it. He works out that the shard storm it releases can be scrubbed like a launch, and he now leads the explorers of the Cobalt sky.
How the card plays
Neil Armstrong, Space Explorer costs 8 crystals (7 under the Neil Armstrong Leader, since he is one of that Leader's Signature cards) and is a 6/6 Cobalt Adventurer with Explore, so only characters with Explore can block him. When he arrives, you draw a card.
He is a late game finisher that replaces himself. Few rivals run many Explore characters, so a 6 power attacker they struggle to block puts steady pressure on their Life. He is also legal in Martin Luther King Jr. decks, at full cost.
Space Helmet adds +0/+3 for 2 crystals, which keeps him alive through trades. In an Armstrong deck, Apollo 11 gives +3/+3 and Double Chapter, so each hit on the Leader takes 2 Life. NASA draws a card at the end of every turn while you build toward him.
- Playable in decks led by Martin Luther King Jr., Neil Armstrong.
- A Signature card of Neil Armstrong: it costs 1 less while Armstrong leads your deck.
- In the Dr. King starter deck (1 copy). Deck code:
LC2-BAABAQICAQMBBAEFAQYBBwEIAQkCCgILAQwBDQIOAg8BEAIRARICEwIUAhUBFgEXARgBGQEaARsBHAEdAR4B3v4 - In the Armstrong starter deck (2 copies). Deck code:
LC2-AQABAQECAQMBBAEFAQYBBwEIAgkCCgILAQwBDQIOAQ8BEAERARICEwIUARUBFgEXARgBGQEaARsBHAIdAR4BfQK1eQ - A deck holds up to 3 copies of this card.
Questions about Armstrong
What did Neil Armstrong do after Apollo 11?
He left the astronaut corps, spent time at NASA headquarters, and then taught engineering at the University of Cincinnati from 1971 to 1979. Later he served on the group that investigated the 1986 Challenger accident.
Did Neil Armstrong fight in the Korean War?
Yes. As a young Navy pilot he flew 78 combat missions in F9F-2 jet fighters during the Korean War, before he became a test pilot and astronaut.
Card art
The standard version of Neil Armstrong, Space Explorer. The Full Art above is a rare version that can appear in packs.
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