06 Dec CROM Unit Preview #3 – Ancestor Guard

“The supposedly dead man was rushing upon him, eyes blazing with indisputable life, his short sword gleaming in his hand.” -The Slithering Shadow (aka Xuthal of the Dusk)

The Legion of Set is feared for its ranged attacks, but it also contains a few noteworthy close-combat units. Among these is the stalwart Ancestor Guard.

Notable Abilities
Three defense dice is extremely high for a warrior unit, as high as some heroes! On the other hand a 4″ move makes the Guard extremely slow and shambling. Implacable grants them four dice for morale checks, so they practically never fail.

On the Battlefield
Once they get into place, they’ll stand and fight until destroyed, but getting them into position can be challenging. They can only charge 6″, and cards that slow a charge or add rough terrain are devastating to them. Luckily, most of those cards are exclusive to the Legion of Set, so only Caltrops pose much of a threat to them.

The Ancestor Guard are hardy, but with no special abilities to boost those defense dice they actually aren’t that hard to destroy…it just takes time. And that’s the main use for them – to slow down the Circle of Iron since they can’t be simply swept aside. They’re also particularly dangerous in support of another unit, since each friendly figure also in contact with the enemy adds a die they can bolster a unit with more dangerous offensive abilities, and

Enemy ranged units tend to pick the Ancestral Guard apart, and with their slow speed they’ll wind up depleted or destroyed before they can catch archers. Don’t try, instead deploy them in cover or in a contested space on the map. Force the enemy to try to get them out of the way (their strength) rather than sending them chasing after mobile units (their weakness). It’s almost never a good idea to use Destiny Dice on them. They’re solid enough to not need them, and they don’t have abilities to take special advantage of them when they do.