TFT Set 14 Guide: How to Play Vanguard

Welcome to our trait guide, where we’ll be covering the Vanguard trait in the new TFT Set 14: Cyber City. In this guide, we’ll explain how Vanguard works, cover the different champions, and give a quick rundown of the other potential traits you could branch into.

Explore all of the new Set 14 traits here!

Vanguard Trait Bonus

Champions: Sylas 1g / Vi 1g / Rhaast 2g / Skarner 2g / Braum 3g / Jarvan IV 3g / Leona 4g

Vanguards gain 10% Durability while Shielded. Combat start and 50% Health: Gain a max Health Shield for 10 seconds.

• (2) 16% max Health
• (4) 32% max Health
• (6) 40% max Health; 20% DR while Shielded

Vanguards are excellent frontline units that have innately strong defenses. Twice during combat (once at the start, the later at 50% Health) Vanguards gain a Shield based on a percentage of their max Health. Additionally, while Shielded they gain 10% Durability. Standalone this really helps bolster these champions, but of course their own abilities can take this even further.

If you happen to get a six piece bonus you’ll be rewarded with 40% max Health and 20% Durability while Shielded. That’s a pretty sizeable increase, although it’s hard to imagine it’ll be worth going vertical with a bunch of tanks.

Vanguard Synergy

Here’s a rundown of the traits you can branch into from Vanguard:

• Sylas – Anima Squad
• Vi – Cypher
• Rhaast – Divinicorp
• Skarner – BoomBots
• Braum – Syndicate
• Jarvan IV – Golden Ox / Slayer
• Leona – Anima Squad

Among the seven available Vanguards, two of them happen to overlap with each other nicely. Sylas and Leona both share the Anima Squad trait, which benefits from going vertical. This creates a solid build path from an early Sylas, allowing an easy transition if the rest of your comp supports it.

Sylas Anima Squad Vanguard 1g

Sylas is an early 1-cost tank that scales with Health and AP. His Chains of the Pack ability grants him a Shield, then deals magic damage to an enemy. If the ability happens to slay the unit, Sylas is also granted extra Health.

Overall this makes Sylas a pretty solid early game option, and as mentioned before, if you decide to build towards Anima Squad he’ll pair nicely with Leona.

Vi Cypher Vanguard 1g

Vi’s a very straightforward tank. Her Block Chain ability gains a temporary Shield while boosting the power of her next attack. Aside from working well with Vanguard, there isn’t a whole lot else that makes Vi appealing. But that’s okay, she definitely had her time in the spotlight with Set 13.

Rhaast Divinicorp Vanguard 2g

Rhaast’s Reaping Slash ability knocks his target in the air, healing himself and dealing physical damage to the target. This is a great form of CC for a 2-cost unit. What makes him even better is the additional Armor and Magic Resist granted by his Divinicorp trait, which applies to the entire team. You can’t go wrong picking up Rhaast.

Skarner BoomBots Vanguard 2g

Skarner is a tank that leans into more offense with his Missile Defense ability. This grants him a temporary Shield as he dredges up a missile, then when it ends, the missile is hurled towards the largest group of enemies within range, dealing magic damage. What works to Skarner’s benefit is that the ability scales based on Armor, allowing you to gain offense out of investing in defense.

Braum Syndicate Vanguard 3g

Braum’s Protection Racket ability creates a four second Shield. Once it breaks, it deals magic damage to the three closest enemies, Chilling them for three seconds. If wearing the Kingpin hat Braum also gains a big boost to his defenses, gaining a variable amount of Armor and Magic Resist. To no surprise, Braum is ready to stand in the way of any enemies that cross his path.

Jarvan IV Golden Ox Vanguard Slayer 3g

Jarvan IV is a strong supportive tank, particularly alongside a comp focusing on Attack Damage. This is because his Half-Moon Sweep ability reduces the Armor of enemies hit by the AoE, lasting the entire combat. Vanguard fulfills an excellent role since Jarvan IV creates a strong Shield based on the amount of enemies hit, but even without perfect synergies, you can’t complain about a three trait 3-cost.

Leona Anima Squad Vanguard 4g

Leona’s Solar Flare ability grants Leona Durability for four seconds (scaled based on her AP). She then deals magic damage to the largest cluster of enemies within range, Stunning the one in the center for two seconds. Additionally, all enemies hit take increased bonus magic damage (based on Leona’s MR) from allies’ attacks for a duration.

An ability like this makes Leona an incredibly good supportive tank, allowing your team to deal more damage among her presence. Plus don’t forget she couples well with Sylas, allowing you to get the most out of your Anima Squad trait webs.

Thanks for Reading! If you want to try and come up with your own team comps for Set 14, check out our Team Builder. For a complete overview of the new set, check out my blog on TFT Set 14.