TFT Set 12 Guide: How to Play Vanguard

How to Play Vanguard — TFT Set 12: Magic N’ Mayhem

Welcome to our trait guide, where we’ll be covering the new Set 12 TFT trait: Vanguard.

In this guide, we’ll explain how Vanguard works, cover the different champions, provide notable Augment choices, and cover some potential team comps.

Explore all of the new Set 12 traits here!

How TFT Vanguard Works

Vanguard Trait Bonus

Vanguards gain 10% Damage Reduction while Shielded. Combat start and at 50% Health: Gain a Shield for a percent of max Health for 10 seconds.

• (2) 18% max Health
• (4) 30% max Health
• (6) 50% max Health; 15% Damage Reduction while Shielded

Vanguard is another frontline trait, focusing on shields instead of the usual Armor/MR/Health. This makes them weak to items like Guardbreaker, but less susceptible to Giant Slayer. The only 2-star Vanguard that goes above the Giant Slayer threshold is Tahm Kench. (At the time of writing)

This opens up more interesting decisions in game. If you see opponents with Vanguard frontlines, you can consider Guardbreaker as a high priority item compared to Giant Slayer.

Vanguards generally have abilities that shield themselves, but you can further empower them by providing other sources of shields.

Vanguard Synergy

Here are all of the Vanguard Champions and their other traits:

• Blitzcrank (1G) – Honeymancy
• Warwick (1G) – Frost
• Galio (2G) – Mage + Portal
• Rumble (2G) – Blaster + Sugarcraft
• Mordekaiser (3G) – Eldritch
• Tahm Kench (4G) – Arcana

None of the Vanguard units have any overlap, and the trait as a whole is fairly low-cost. There’s one 4-cost, one 3-cost, and two 1/2-cost each. This could mean that the Vanguard frontline is generally used in reroll comps compared to default 4-cost carry comps.

Tahm Kench is a flexible frontline, so flexing 2 Vanguard might not be too bad. Even still, adding a 2 or 3-cost Vanguard for your frontline in the late game isn’t ideal.

TFT Vanguard Champions

Blitzcrank (1G) – Vanguard + Honeymancy

[See Blitzcrank’s Champion Page]

First up, we have Blitzcrank with a simple defensive ability. His ability grants a shield, which synergizes with the Vanguard trait. His ability will also deal a bit of damage, but nothing spectacular.

Honeymancy is another trait that has low-cost units, so we can definitely see Blitzcrank being used in a reroll comp.

Warwick (1G) – Vanguard + Frost

[See Warwick’s Champion Page]

Warwick is our next 1-cost Vanguard, and he has a permanent scaling ability. As he kills enemy, he permanently gains Attack Speed and Movement speed. This makes Warwick a strong potential carry.

His passive also heals himself, giving him built in sustain.

Galio (2G) – Vanguard + Mage + Portal

[See Galio’s Champion Page]

Galio is our next Vanguard, and he has three traits. The Mage and Portal trait have a good amount of overlap, so keeping Galio in the late game is a solid option to utilize all three traits.

For example, Norra is a 5-cost unit with both the Mage and Portal trait.

Rumble (2G) – Vanguard + Blaster + Sugarcraft

[See Rumble’s Champion Page]

Moving on, we have Rumble with the Blaster and Sugarcraft trait. These traits don’t have an obvious connection compared to Mage/Portal, but it’s still notable.

Rumble’s ability also Wounds enemies, which is a solid source of anti-heal if you don’t have Red Buff or Morellonomicon.

Mordekaiser (3G) – Vanguard + Eldritch

[See Mordekaiser’s Champion Page]

Up next, we have Mordekaiser, who is the only dedicated frontline unit for the Eldritch trait. Eldritch is a summon trait, meaning you likely will be playing the trait fairly vertical.

This makes it tough to fit in another Vanguard since you want to use more slots for damage. The Eldritch trait already grants frontline through the summon, so investing more there may not be ideal.

Tahm Kench (4G) – Vanguard + Arcana

[See Tahm Kench’s Champion Page]

Lastly, we have Tahm Kench. His ability is a strong AoE CC, making him a strong unit for just about any team comp. His Arcana trait is also very flexible, pairing with units like Xerath or Ahri for an easy bonus.

I fully expect Tahm Kench + Xerath to be played in Fast 9 team comps, but there’s definitely potential for other comps like Mage/Portal to utilize him as well.

Best TFT Vanguard Augments

Vanguard Crest/Crown

Gain a Vanguard Emblem and a Rumble.

When it comes to the Vanguard Emblem, it’s a bit of a niche pick compared to others. While many traits benefit greatly from going vertical, Vanguard needs more specific comps to make use of their trait.

Simply splashing in 4 Vanguard won’t be ideal since you have to run a lot of low-cost units. However, if  you’re playing Warwick reroll, having more Vanguards to buff him up can be beneficial.

The same can be said if you build your team around Rumble and have his Hero Augment. Even splashing in 2 Vanguard isn’t the biggest deal since you’re not buffing up your entire team, just two units.

Shields Up

Shields on Vanguards are 20% stronger. When shielded, Vanguards are immune to crowd control for 6 seconds. Gain a Rumble and a Blitzcrank.

The Vanguard specific Augment follows a similar logic to the Emblem. If you’re playing around Vanguards like Warwick or Rumble, going deeper into the trait can be beneficial. This Augment grants some extra Shield and CC immunity, both of which are very strong for melee carrys like Warwick/Rumble.

If you’re just playing Galio/Tahm Kench for your Mage team comp, this Augment won’t provide that much compared to others.

TFT Vanguard Team Comps

For this section, I’ll go over some team comps that utilize the Arcana trait. Keep in mind that metas shift quickly, and things will change as patches come and go.

To stay up to date on the best team comps, be sure to check our full TFT Tier List covering all the best comps.

Vanguard Blasters

[Link to Full Guide]

This first team comp combines the Blaster trait and Vanguard trait to make a simple yet effective team comp. Having a Blaster Emblem for Mordekaiser will cap out the board, leading to a very strong late game team comp.

You can still reach 6 Blaster by reaching level 9 (Tristana), but it can be hard to stabilize at level 8 against other strong team comps without an Emblem.

Warwick Reroll

[Link to Full Guide]

When it comes to other comps, many teams will splash in 2 Vanguards, but I want to show team comps with higher Vanguard count. For these comps, they generally are played when your main carry is a Vanguard unit.

For this team comp, we have reroll Warwick along with Twitch and Blitzcrank for a supporting cast.

Molten Caramel (Rumble Hero Augment)

[Link to Full Guide]

Rumble is our next Vanguard that can be a main carry with the “Molten Caramel” Hero Augment. We pair him along with Tristana for a 2-cost reroll duo.

We don’t go all the way to 6 Vanguard and instead flex into Faerie, Preserver, Sugarcraft, and Scholar.

Deja Vu (Galio Hero Augment)

[Link to Full Guide]

Lastly, we have another Hero Augment, this time for Galio. To empower Galio, we simply need to add in 2 Mage units and fill the rest of the board with Vanguards.

Galio will scale up with Rageblade while the other Vanguards stall the fight.

Thanks for Reading! If you want to try and come up with your own team comps for Set 12, check out our Team Builder. For a full overview on the new set, check out our TFT Set 12 Reveal Page.