With the Beastbane Vanguard, the first dedicated ranged unit joins the Chosen of the Spirit Tree. This powerful solo excels at skirmishing, harassing foes, and locking them down with ice-forged arrows.
The Beastbane Vanguard on the tabletop
While the Beastbane Vanguard doesn't pack the sheer punch of the Guardian Lawbringer of the Silver Line, it is a truly dangerous unit, combining high enough damage output to threaten many medium-armored targets with a surprising amount of mobility for a ranged unit in Shroudfall.
Acrobatic Leap not only acts as a minor threat extender but also enables a Beastbane Vanguard to easily disengage from melee, making it incredibly difficult to pin this ranged skirmisher down for good.
When activated with its Attuned bonus - the Chosen of the Spirit Tree faction mechanic - it can become a significant threat to enemy support models further in the backline and even pose a danger to Essence Weavers with lower defensive stats.
Still, its key ability is the active essence ability Chillwind Arrow, which allows the Chosen of the Spirit Tree to significantly slow down fast enemy armies and severely hamper those that rely on powerful movement abilities.
All in all, the Beastbane Vanguard offers a powerful mix of offensive output, mobility, and control elements that will add a lot to many Chosen of the Spirit Tree armies. However, this ability set doesn’t come cheap, reflected in a hefty cost of 17 points.
Synergies
While the Beastbane Vanguard can fit into a variety of Chosen of the Spirit Tree lists, it synergizes especially well with Nekari, Supreme Elementalist, whose leadership allows for easier spreading of Conditions. It will be very difficult for opponents to protect their key assets from accumulating Frostbite condition markers.
When positioned well in a forest, its best ally becomes the Brewmaster, whose active essence ability, Another Round, grants friendly models within 4" the Elusive passive ability - a powerful defensive buff. The added defense against melee attacks in a forest, combined with Elusive, makes the Beastbane Vanguard deceptively difficult to remove from the battlefield.
The Beastbane Vanguard is now available in the Shroudfall Shop! Looking forward to seeing the army lists you create with these deadly skirmishers.
And as always… break the game!