Banner Guards are a 4.5★ heroic-era special melee infantry unit introduced in Season XI “Paragons.” They field 25 soldiers at max level, wield buckler shields and mixed weaponry, and excel at rallying and supporting allies through their banner abilities. Their core strength lies in resetting ally charge cooldowns, boosting charge damage, and providing substantial defensive buffs via planted banners. Proper use of formations and skill rotations (Plant the Banner → Indomitable → Charge) allows them to control engagements, anchor fronts, and enable powerful follow-on charges for your warband.

Unit Acquire Method

Banner Guards are unlocked by completing the Season XI “Paragons” seasonal challenges. Progress requires finishing stage 2 of the Alchemists challenges first, but no honour tree or signaculum is involved.

Traits

  • Cooperation – A hero picking up the banner gains a unique skill set and +5,000 maximum health, though they lose mount and jump capabilities while carrying it.
  • Mixed Weaponry – Consists of diverse soldiers, including the flag-bearer who has +6,000 HP and +100 to all defenses; if the flag-bearer dies, “Plant the Banner” becomes unusable.
  • Rally – Resets the charge skill cooldown and increases charge damage for all allied units within range.
  • Paragons Bonus – During Season XI, their leadership cost is reduced by 10 points.

Skills & Formations

Formations

  • Dispersed – Loose formation reducing vulnerability to ranged attacks.
  • Schiltron – Circular all-around shield formation protecting the center.
  • Column – Narrow, two-row formation ideal for charging through enemy fire.

Orders

  • Plant the Banner (Cooldown 70 s) – The flag-bearer plants a banner for 15 s, granting +50% to all defense values of nearby allies; heroes who pick it up swap to banner-specific skills.
  • Indomitable (Cooldown 30 s) – Applies one of three buffs based on current formation:
    • Dispersed: +100 Def/DMG for 10 s
    • Schiltron (Guard): +200 all Def for 10 s
    • Column: +200 all DMG for 10 s
  • Charge (Cooldown 45 s) – Advances the unit to a target location, stunning and damaging enemies on impact.

Tips & Tricks

  • Banner Cycling: Use Plant the Banner to buff frontliners, then immediately issue Charge to exploit the defense boost with a powerful knock-down.
  • Formation Synergy: Pre-buff with Indomitable in the desired formation (Dispersed vs. Column) to tailor defensive or offensive gains before engaging.
  • Hero Integration: Have your hero pick up the banner to activate unique banner skills and tank hit-and-run attacks with the health boost.

Pros / Cons

Pros
• Exceptional support via cooldown reset and charge buff
• Versatile defensive/offensive options through formation-linked Indomitable
• Strong synergy with hero banner-carry for added health and unique skills

Cons
• Relies heavily on skill cooldown timing—misfires leave them vulnerable
• Flag-bearer death disables core “Plant the Banner” ability
• Seasonal-locked unit with availability limited to Paragons challenges

Terrain Effects

  • Good: Urban, Plains, Hills
  • Fair: Steppe
  • Poor: Desert

Recommended Doctrines

  • Breakthrough Doctrine (boosts charge penetration)
  • Siege Fighter Doctrine (improves performance vs. artillery)
  • Epic Sword Doctrine IV (maximizes melee damage)
  • Defence Doctrine (strengthens overall survivability)
  • Banner Guards’ Battle Doctrine (specialized buff synergy)

Mastery

❌ No – Banner Guards do not have a Mastery progression tree.

Banner Guards excel as a hybrid support-assault unit: they bolster and enable allied charges, then follow up with their own powerful engagements. Proper rotation of their banner skills and formations makes them a linchpin in heroic-era battle lines.