Revised Vanguard Rulebook available NOW!

Did you know it’s been almost two and a half years since we launched Kings of War: Vanguard? Inspired by the many factions of Pannithor, Vanguard tells the story of the skirmishes before the big battles. It’s the opportunity for you to live out the brave adventures of small warbands often sent behind enemy lines to disrupt the plans of foes and rivals.

Since launching we’ve created full warbands for 12 factions, released the Ice and Iron supplement and held sold out tournaments here at Mantic HQ (and elsewhere). In fact, Vanguard has proved to be so popular that we quickly sold out of the Ice & Iron supplement and earlier this year sold out of the latest re-print of hardback rulebook.

After releasing the rulebook in October 2018, there have been a number of changes to the game (via errata) and, of course, we’ve released a lot of new models each time we create a full warband. So, when it came to reprinting the rulebook we decided this was actually a great opportunity to incorporate those changes and make sure that any new players are playing the most up to date rules, without the need to download additional stuff.

With that in mind, we’re pleased to announce that the reprinted Vanguard rulebook has been updated to Vanguard 1.1 – and you can see all the changes below. The new softback rulebook is now the standard Vanguard rulebook and will also come in the revised two-player starter set… all of which can be ordered now. Of course, if you’ve got the old rulebook, it’s still perfectly playable and you can find out how to update that later in this blog.

MAJOR CHANGES IN THE REVISED VANGUARD RULEBOOK

Here you can see the major changes in the revised book. The main thing to remember is that the core rules remain the same, however we have tweaked certain elements to make them clearer. This isn’t Vanguard Second Edition… it’s more like Vanguard + errata + some cleaning up = super fun times for everyone. YAY!

• Integrated previous errata and FAQ and cleared up some language
• Added the Ice & Iron campaign and story into the core rulebook + all the new scenarios – as mentioned we have sold out of the Ice & Iron supplement, so thought this was a great opportunity to include the extra missions in the core book
• Removed all warbands from the rulebook – this may seem like an odd decision, but these are all free online (you can download them here) or in EasyArmy for list building. This means the rulebook doesn’t go out of date as soon as we release a new warband and it allows us to errata units more easily, without immediately making the rulebook obsolete
• Called all counters and markers “tokens” for consistency
• Forced Fatigue now called Heroic Effort – there was some confusion among players about the difference between Fatigue and Forced Fatigue, so we’ve cleared this up
• Standing models that are engaged by an enemy model can now Brace as well as Break Away and Melee
• Break Away action updated to free Melee attack with no retaliations. Models Breaking away can no longer engage another enemy model when doing so
• Amended the Jumping rule to be more consistent (so rolling high is better)
• Clarified what objectives are the scenarios and their sizes
• Changed what happens if one side is wiped out - the game is played to completion
• Reduced speed to 5 while carrying the plans in Recover the Plans
• Noted in several scenarios that models need to be standing to contest or claim objectives
• Burn the Stores - short actions now to start/put out fires and position of the barn adjusted
• Updated the Portal scenario to teleport models back to their own deployment area instead of into the void
• Clarified the Malevolence spell
• In campaigns, reduced the amount you have to spend on the Company at the start to 250.
• Restructured the order of the phases to make them more logical.
• Also updated the underdog bonus dice rules and allowed them to be used each Round
• Changed Mauler to Grizzled Veteran with new rules

“HANG ON! I’VE ALREADY GOT A VANGUARD RULEBOOK… WHAT DO I DO?”

Ah, it’s our old friend, imaginary blog reader… and they’ve got a very pertinent question. We realise that some of you may have just bought a rulebook or have a rulebook sitting on the shelf, so you may be a little concerned your book is now out of date. Fret not dear blog reader because we have a number of solutions to cater to this issue…

• DIGITAL RULEBOOKS – all digital rulebooks previously ordered from the Mantic website will be updated to include the new rulebook totally free of charge. Simply head to the ‘downloads’ section of your account and download the rulebook again. We’re expecting this to be ready later this week 😊
• ERRATA – the errata is now labelled as being for the previous print of the rulebook, but we’ve included the list of changes so you can see what is different. You can download that here
• FREE RULES – these have also been updated with the new rules. You can download those here
• IF YOU BOUGHT A RULEBOOK SINCE JANUARY 2021 – if you bought a physical rulebook since January 2021, then please send proof of purchase to [email protected]. We’ll then send you a code to download a digital version of the new rulebook for free, so you’re all up to date!
• HALF PRICE LAUNCH OFFER! – finally, if you want to update your physical rulebook, we’ll be offering it for half price for the first month. Of course, if you haven’t played Vanguard, this is a great opportunity to give the game a go and prepare your warband for when clubs can re-open again. If you have got a rulebook, it’s a good way to update your book for a fraction of the cost
• RETAILERS WITH STOCK – check the trade newsletter this week!

MORE GREAT VANGUARD CONTENT COMING YOUR WAY!

This is only the tip of the Vanguard iceberg this week. Check out what’s coming up below:

• Tuesday – a Q&A with Matt Gilbert to find out what the future is for Vanguard!
• Wednesday – free solo play rules!
• Thursday – faction reviews!