Vanguard — guide

In short

Vanguard is a Rare Banner Lords defender with the Dark affinity. His kit is tank-control: A1 spreads Decrease DEF, A2 places Provoke, and his passive shortens the duration of buffs on any enemy that hits him. He is only worth building for a narrow job — Faction Wars or an early Clan Boss team — and even then DEF, SPD and ACC come first; otherwise he is vault and fusion material.

Strengths

• +30 Resistance aura in all battles — sometimes that is exactly the number you are missing in Faction Wars.
• A1 places a 30% Decrease DEF when the target's DEF is lower than Vanguard's own DEF, so it lands reliably on squishy enemies.
• A2 places Provoke for 1 turn on targets that already carry Decrease DEF — A1 and A2 work as a two-skill chain.
• The passive cuts the duration of every buff on an attacking enemy when he takes a hit, which is handy against wave buffets.
• Cheap and common: easy to pull, cheap to book, so a beginner account can field him immediately.

Weaknesses

• Pure anti-synergy: both active skills scale off ATK while his role is defense, so his damage stays near zero on any sane build.
• Provoke lasts only 1 turn and needs Decrease DEF already applied — unreliable control that demands a second debuffer.
• 96 base Speed is very low for a control tank, so he rarely gets a turn.
• Ratings of 1.0–2.0 across the board: he never beats a dedicated hero at anything.

Where to use

His best scores are Clan Boss (2.0), Arena (2.0) and Faction Wars (2.0). Against Clan Boss only A1 matters — the boss is immune to Provoke, so A2 is dead weight there. In Arena and Faction Wars the 1-turn Provoke can eat one wave volley, and the Resistance aura helps the team survive debuff waves. Chimera (1.5), Hydra, dungeons, Doom Tower and hard mode (1.0 each) are better cleared without him; there he just occupies a slot.

Stats and gear

Priority: DEF → SPD → ACC → HP. Rough targets for an early/mid account: DEF 2,500+, SPD 170+, ACC 150+ so Decrease DEF and Provoke actually land on waves, HP 30,000+. Do not build ATK at all — the damage will not appear and survivability matters more. From the build list, Defense, Speed and Lifesteal sets fit; early on Defense plus Speed is enough. Relic: Gilded Dragonstone.

Masteries and blessings

The author's build lists Invigorated and Strengthening Will — start there and round it out like any tank: Defense and Support trees so he survives waves and actually reaches a turn. Blessings are a low priority on a Rare tank; do not invest before he is genuinely needed.

Tombs

If you must book him, finish A2 (Inevitable Fury) first — at level 6 it gains -1 cooldown, and that is the only control in his kit. Honestly though, tomes on a Rare who is headed for the vault are wasted; save them for proper Epics.

Verdict

Vault (fusion). Vanguard is food: keep spare copies for fusion and spend gear and tomes on heroes who actually clear content.