A Vanguard Infiltrator of the Ultramarines, Brother Erastes, 2nd Company, 3rd Squad (battleline)
A Vanguard Space Marine is a Primaris Space Marine who serves as a covert operator. These Primaris Astartes are ruthless killers, trained to operate behind enemy lines as saboteurs, assassins and infiltrators.
Vanguard Space Marines are not a single unit, but several different types of squads who perform different tactical roles for an overall Vanguard force.
The entire Vanguard Marine force of a Codex Astartes-compliant Space Marine Chapter is normally contained within the 10th Company and is commanded by the Captain who bears the title of Master of Reconnaissance.
The primary squads found among the Vanguard Space Marines include Vanguard Infiltrators, Vanguard Suppressors and Vanguard Eliminators.
Mark X Phobos Armour
The Mark X Power Armour worn by Primaris Marines is a marvel in design -- a modular, adaptable system of ceramite plating that can be adjusted for multiple tactical roles, from the Phobos Pattern designed for scouting and reconnaissance and used by Vanguard Marines all the way up to the heavy Gravis variant worn by Aggressor Squads.
Regardless of its pattern, Mark X Power Armour is designed to attach to a special undersuit worn by each Primaris Marine, enabling it to be fitted in different configurations according to need.
Amongst the Vanguard formations, there is no standard Power Armour style, though Mark X Phobos Power Armour patterns are most common due to the nature of their combat doctrine.
The armour adopted by Vanguard Infiltrators and Reivers, in particular, is this lighter variation of the standard Mark X pattern that offers increased manoeuvrability and quieter, almost silent movement because of lighter armour plating and servo-motors that run almost completely silent.
Vanguard Space Marine Units
- Vanguard Infiltrators - Vanguard Infiltrators are battleline squad units responsible for disrupting enemy communications and sabotaging targets of opportunity. Their back-mounted Omni-Scramblers intercept signals across a broad spectrum, scrambling frequencies and shutting down enemy communications. When the time comes for the Infiltrators to fight directly, they emerge from their hiding places under cover of Smoke Grenades and cut down their foes with disciplined volleys from their marksman Bolt Carbines.
- Vanguard Suppressors - Vanguard Suppressors are fire support units that specialise in rapid responses to heavily armoured enemy threats, entering battle either by dropping directly into the action via Grav-Chutes or in long, bounding leaps with their Jump Packs. As soon as a target is sighted, the Suppressors engage their shock-absorbing servo plates and let fly with their Accelerator Autocannons. The brutal ferocity of the foot-long, armour-piercing shells they unleash will blast apart anyone caught in their path and force even the most stoic enemies to seek shelter from the murderous firestorm.
- Vanguard Eliminators - Dedicated marksmen, these fire support warriors haunt the shadows of the battlefield, seeking out high-value targets and bringing them down with pinpoint volleys. The optical sights of their Bolt Sniper Rifles can be tailored for any situation, from thermoscopic vision to precision auspex scans that can penetrate several metres through solid matter. Each member of a Vanguard Eliminator Squad carries spare magazines filled with special issue ammunition for every tactical eventuality and variety of target.
- Vanguard Helix Adept - A Helix Adept is a medicae specialist who accompanies squads of Vanguard Marines. Due to the sheer length of time Vanguard Space Marines typically spend behind enemy lines, it was found effective for them to utilize a specialised corps of medical adepts permanently assigned to their formations. Known as Helix Adepts, these warriors are trained by the Chapter's Apothecarion but are not fully-fledged Primaris Apothecaries.
- Vanguard Lieutenant - Primaris Lieutenants of the Vanguard formations provide support and tactical flexibility for their Captain. Often, when a strike team is engaged in a complex, multi-faceted operation, a Lieutenant will be assigned to oversee one or more critical aspects. In addition to their leadership qualities, Lieutenants are skilled bladesmen and dead-eye shots with their Occulus Bolt Carbines.
- Vanguard Captain - Some Primaris Space Marine Captains, including the 10th Company officer who serves as both the Master of Recruits and the Master of Reconnaissance in Codex Astartes-compliant Chapters, wear Mark X Phobos Armour and use Vanguard weapons such as the Instigator Bolt Carbine.
- Vanguard Librarian - Librarians chosen for Vanguard service have mastered unique battle-disciplines that focus on obscuring the passage of their comrades and wrong-footing the opponent with illusions and hallucinations. Shaping psychic energy about themselves like a cloak of shadow, these psykers guide their Battle-Brothers through enemy territory to their destination without raising so much as a flicker of suspicion from watchful foes. They are cowled in hooded Cameleoline Cloaks to keep their identity -- and the formidable psychic potential at their disposal -- concealed from prying eyes.
- Impulsor - The Impulsor is an anti-gravitic armoured personnel carrier often used by Vanguard Space Marine units.
- Invictor Tactical Warsuit - The Invictor is a lightly armoured combat walker often found fighting alongside Vanguard Space Marines on reconnaissance missions. It is designed with sound-dampening materials, enabling the warsuit to move at great speed with minimal noise output in support of the pilot's Vanguard brethren.
Sources
- Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pp. 16-17, 81, 87-88
- Codex: Vanguard Space Marines (8th Edition) pp. 2-5, 8
- Warhammer Community - Shadowspear Vanguard Units