Goatboy’s Warhammer 40K: Wait WHAT!? Vanguard Veterans Are HOT!
Goatboy here with the scoop on the newest Warhammer 40K unit tearing up the tabletop – Vanguard Veterans!
Today we take a little deep dive into a unit that seems to be receiving some renewed interest. That unit would be the Vanguard Vets (Wolf Guard etc) from the Space Marine book. They seem to be one of the few Firstborn units that don’t have a direct comparison to a Primaris option due to their nature of gaining Jump Packs. In fact – that has me wonder where the Assault Super Primaris Marines are as Shrike seems rather lonely after crossing the threshold of Primaris. Anyway – these guys seem pretty good am I right?
Vanguard Vets were the assault version of the Sternguard from back in the day. A bunch of Veteran Marines who could have all kinds of weapon load-outs, they were initially a weird choice when they first came out. The older edition was a lot less Assault heavy so having more shooting options just ended up being better for the game at the time. This isn’t to say they weren’t good as some of the more Assault based armies liked them – they just didn’t always fit in. Of course, the old Space Wolves liked them – but they need up being just like Wolf Guard which had some other cool rules to make them a little more interesting. Still, they had a ton of options, could be kitted out in all kinds of ways, and threw out a bunch of veteran-style attacks.
So why am I talking about them now? Well, it seems they might actually be good due to some cool Strats, updated weapon load outs, and of course all the dang options you can do. Let’s break them down a bit.
Kitting Them Out
First each one can have a Jump Pack so they can move 12″, deep strike, and utilize some Jump Pack Strats. They also start at 2 attacks base which when you add either a cheap Astartes Chains sword to get a 3rd attack or an even sexier Lightning Claw you also get 3 attacks that ignore more armor and let you reroll to wound without having to find a Chaplain or Lt. hanging around. From there you can throw on another Lightning claw or just go with a Storm shield to give you a little jumping/cheap terminator to cause some havoc. All of these things make this unit a very interesting choice because it ends up being cheaper.
For 21 Points base you get the Vanguard Vet with a Jump Pack and a Chainsword. You throw in a Storm Shield and a Lightning Claw your model goes to 28 pts apiece for 4 Attacks on the charge. That isn’t bad at all and pretty dang cheap when you start to look at some of the other options out there that with this. Terminators cost a lot more and Blade Guard Vets seem pretty powerful but at only a max of 6, slower attack, less wounds than a Squad of 10 Vanguard Vets you start to see where these guys are starting to hit that sweet spot. Also why you can’t find the kit in a store anymore.
Chapters
From there you have to start looking at the different Chapters that might like this unit. Instantly I think the White Scars seem pretty well poised to enjoy these guys. Being able to move 12″, Advance, and charge is extremely powerful. On top of that they have a Stratagem that lets them roll 3d6 and pick 2 dice to see if they get there. Thankfully for players, the old White Scars Litany is gone (was too good) but with a few tricks, a turbo-boosting Chaplain on a bike, and some good ole extreme damage you got a unit that is gonna come in hot and take all your candy.
After that you have to seriously look at the Blood Angels as another option too. They can get more Attacks in the Assault Doctrine plus the ability to get a +1 to wound means they are going to hit and chew up so many things. They also have a few spectacular Stratagems too to get redeployed, get fighting more, and just be a pain in the butt.
Heck, even Space Wolves seem good too (Even though they are called Wolf Guard). These guys get so many attacks, can move so fast, and just hit on 2+’s everywhere. They have so many stacking Auras too you can get your unit to just be a murder machine. Plus it lets you play with your old Firstborn models and feel like you are not missing anything on the tabletop.
Building a unit would look the same for most armies as I think going Lightning Claw/Storm Shield makes the most sense to give you a unit that doesn’t need the support as much as others. I might throw the Relic blade on the Sarge just as a cool looking option that can get pretty nutty damage output depending on what Chapter you take. Do you think this unit should be looked at more? Is it worth it to try and source a ton of Lightning Claws, Storm Shields, and jump packs? A buddy is doing a conversion using Reivers as the base with the added Jump Pack and weapon options to create a “Primaris” looking jump assault option.
~Give me your thoughts on the old-school unit as we wait the next few weeks for some kind of good 40k news to come out.
