Where the Sternguard master the art of killing at range, the Vanguard Veterans perfect its opposite: the brutal intimacy of the close assault. These too are seasoned warriors of the First Company, but their calling is to close with the enemy and butcher him hand to hand, ending battles in a whirlwind of blades before the foe can bring his strength to bear.
Borne aloft by roaring jump packs, the Vanguard hurl themselves from low-flying gunships or leap across the battlefield in soaring arcs, descending upon gun-lines, command posts and enemy champions like avenging angels. In the moments after they land, before the shock of their arrival has passed, they wreak carnage with a lavish array of close-combat weaponry: power swords and axes, crackling lightning claws, thunder hammers and storm shields drawn from the Chapter's armoury.
Each Vanguard Veteran is a duellist honed by long experience, able to pick out the most dangerous target and cut it down amid the swirling melee. Deployed to decapitate an enemy force or seize a vital objective in a single savage strike, they are among the deadliest close-quarters killers the Adeptus Astartes can field.
Order of battle
