Dipodidae Duelist
“AH HA! I’ve been searching for you! This is where you scurried with your tail between your legs.” - Mayumi, the Vanguard’s rival.
Despite having only one eye, the Vanguard has seen it all. Whether you choose a more mercenary-focused background, have them be a champion gladiator, or someone who cares for the downtrodden, they’ll use brute strength and a giant sword to clear away foes. Their rival Mayumi may give them a tongue-wagging every now and then, but even they know how dependable the Vanguard is in combat.
Banded Swordsman
The Vanguard joins the Berserker (and sometimes Rogue!) in the frontlines to offer up some delicious damage-soaking abilities.
The Vanguard introduces a new mechanic: Knockback! When you use it against an enemy, they’ll be moved back to the indicated hex, but any obstacle in their way will get pushed back too. This means anything in the way, including allies! Allies will react as if they were Swapped, and the initial enemy will move towards the final hex, no matter what. Enemies may be damaged by the Knockback.
Their passive, Grit, allows them to take less damage and deal it right back if attacked by an enemy. Your hits will also deal more damage if you have Grit active, but each hit will remove 1 Grit. There is a max amount of Grit you can have at a time, so make sure you can handle attacks once those melt away. 
Trust me, this is fine. Probably.
You gain Grit by dealing damage with certain Skill Cards, so letting your foes come to you can leave you at a big disadvantage. Fortunately, there is a lot of built-in movement on your Skill Cards, including:
Into the Fray: Move, and if you end next to a Monster, gain Grit. The attack will knock back the enemy 2 hexes.
Beat It!: Move, with a +1 to that Move if you Push an enemy. Then knockback an ally or enemy 3 hexes away. If it’s a Hero or Ally, you and them will gain 3 Shield. Then Leap to another spot.
Bladefall: Leap 3 hexes, then deal an area-of-effect attack around the Vanguard and Knockback all enemies 2 hexes. You can then Move to another spot.
The Vanguard is well-equipped to keep their foes away from their allies, while still dishing out damage and tanking some extra hits. Just make sure you don’t get overwhelmed in the early levels! Making sure you’re balancing damage with Shields and healing can be the difference between a mission reset or the victory screen.
This is still totally fine.
Once you gain more experience in your quest to save Arden, you’ll get powerful Skill Cards added to your repertoire, including:
It’s Hero Time: Target an area near an Ally, then Leap towards them heroically and unleash a devastating attack. You’ll deal extra damage per adjacent Hero or Ally, then inflict Weak if they survive.
Preparation: It’s always good to be prepared! Heal while removing a debuff, then Move towards your destination. You’ll gain Grit at the end, but gain even more if you’re surrounded by 2 or more monsters. Get in there!
Buster: Move, then attack 2 hexes forward. You’ll deal more damage per each stack of Grit, but they’ll disappear after. Then Leap towards your next destination and gain 2 Shield.
You may have to choose between saving an ally or dealing tons of damage to enemies, but that should be an easy choice. Right?
Right???
Eclipsed Fate
As the Vanguard grows stronger, so do your Fate Cards! With the right card selection, you can use Fate Cards to turn your Vanguard into an unstoppable force on the field.
Some Fate Card builds for the Vanguard include:
Ultimate Leap Frog: Add in Leap Fate Cards so you can hop around the battlefield and become everyone’s problem.
No, I Hit YOU: Did you know Retaliation pairs well with Grit? You do now!
Can’t Touch This: Heal or Shield builds are classic tank builds, and can help the Vanguard survive when they’ve gone a little overboard.
Ultimate Leap
Once you reach Level 6, the Vanguard gets their ultimate Ability: To The Rescue!
This ability allows them to Leap into a hex, occupied or not. Anyone in the hex that the Vanguard lands in will be knocked away. Then, unleash a frontal area-of-effect attack and weaken any survivors. For each enemy targeted, your adjacent allies will gain Strength and Shields. 
That sword looks capable of slaying dragons.
The Vanguard smashes his way into Arden on March 10! For everything that will be included in Patch 2.0, read HERE!
If you missed one of our earlier Hero spotlights or need a refresher, check out:
See you in Arden!
– The Sunderfolk Team