Warband Review: Ylthari's Guardians

Ylthari and her guardians grew from a soulpod grove in the Jade Embassy, which long ago stood on the verdant outskirt of Shadespire. The Sylvaneth of this enclave were envoys who spoke to the Katophranes on behalf of Alarielle, Queen of the Radiant Wood. They formed strong bonds with those that dwelt in and travelled through Shadespire, but all was sundered when Nagash cursed the city. In that instant, the Sylvaneth were cut down like wheat before the reaper's scythe, and the soulpods that housed their spirits were imprisoned within the Mirrored City. With the advent of the Necroquake, the life magic of Alarielle has been able to seep through cracks in reality back into Shadespire. Some of the Sylvaneth trapped there have stirred once more, with Ylthari [1] and her guardians: Gallanghann [2], Skhathael [3] and Ahnslaine [4] being the first to awaken. Imbuded with bountiful vigour and wrath, they seek the lost soulpods of their fallen kin. 

 

Fighter Characteristics

All fighters in this warband have Move 4, which is typical for Aelves. The group includes three fighters with 4 Health and one with 3 Health.

The leader, Ylthari, has 3 Health, starts on 2 Dodge, and gives up 2 Bounty. She has two weapon profiles: a melee attack at Range 1, hitting on 2 Hammers for 2 Damage, and a ranged attack at Range 3, also hitting on 2 Hammers but dealing 1 Damage. When inspired, both attacks gain an additional dice, improving to 3 Hammers. It is a solid but unspectacular stat line, but she is quite fragile for a 2 Bounty fighter. 

Gallanghann has 4 Health, starts on 1 Shield, and also gives up 2 Bounty. He comes with two melee attacks: one at Range 1, 2 Hammers for 2 Damage, and the other at Range 2, 2 Hammers for 1 Damage. Upon inspiration, he upgrades to 2 Shields for defense and gains the Brutal ability on his Range 1 attack. He is great for attacking enemies in cover.

Skhathael also has 4 Health, with 1 Shield and 2 Bounty. His single melee attack is simple but effective, Range 1, hitting on 2 Hammers for 2 Damage. When inspired, this improves to 3 Hammers and gains the Ensnare ability, giving him better odds against Dodge-based fighters.

Finally, Ahnslaine has 4 Health, 1 Dodge, and only gives up 1 Bounty. She has two weapon profiles: a melee attack at Range 1, 2 Swords for 1 Damage, and a ranged attack at Range 3, hitting on 2 Hammers for 1 Damage. Upon inspiration, her ranged attack increases to Range 4. This makes her a classic Aelven archer, ideal for holding ground or driving enemies off Feature tokens from a safe distance.

All ratings out of 5 (What do the stats mean?)

Comparing Guardian Fighter Characteristics to Other Aelven Warbands

When we compare the fighter characteristics of the Guardians to other playable Aelven warbands, a few key trends emerge.

Overall, the Guardians are broadly in line with their Aelven peers—featuring solid speed, respectable threat range, and decent damage output. While they may not hit quite hard enough to qualify as a true Strike warband, they’re certainly not lacking in offensive potential.

Where they stand out most, however, is in terms of durability.

With access to Shield saves and two Dodge dice across multiple fighters, the Guardians are notably more resilient than most Aelves. This edge shouldn’t be overstated—they're still a four-fighter warband, most with 4 Health and only a single defence die. But relative to their kin, this warband can survive a little longer and absorb pressure slightly better.

That said, they still can't afford to get dragged into drawn-out brawls. Their improved staying power helps, but they remain a finesse warband that performs best when dictating engagements—not when stuck in a war of attrition.

How does the warband inspire?

This warband uses a unique inspiration mechanic tied to the growth of Power cards.

After a friendly fighter uses a Core ability, you may place one Power card from your hand, or the top card of your Power deck, face down next to the warscroll. You can have a maximum of three such cards in play. These cards are temporarily removed from your hand or deck until they are revealed.

At the end of your turn, or after an enemy fighter is taken out of action, you place one growth token on each card you have planted. Once a card accumulates five growth tokens, you may choose a friendly fighter to inspire. Then, remove the tokens and return the card to your hand.

There is a lot going on here, so let’s break it down.

First, this inspiration is guaranteed to happen—it’s just a question of when. Typically, you can expect your first inspired fighter early in Round 2 unless you manage some early kills. Secondly, you are only aiming to inspire three fighters, since you can only plant a maximum of three Power cards at a time.

So, who should you inspire?

For most of the Guardians, inspiration does not make a huge difference. However, there are two clear priorities: Gallanghann and Skhathael. Gallanghann should be your first choice against warbands that rely on Shield-based saves, as his Brutal upgrade helps cut through them. If your opponent is leaning on Dodge-based defense, then Skhathael becomes the better pick thanks to his Ensnare ability.

Your third inspiration target will depend on the board state, either Ylthari or Ahnslaine. It will mostly come down to which of them is still alive and which is better positioned to influence the game at that point.

Ultimately, while inspiration offers nice upgrades, it is not the main reason to engage with this mechanic. The real strength lies in the extra Power card draw. Each card that goes through the full growth cycle returns to your hand, giving you a meaningful advantage over the course of the match. Without relying on enemy kills, this mechanic alone can give you five extra Power cards throughout the game.

Because of this, you should build a slightly larger Power deck when playing Guardians. I recommend at least 24 cards: 15 for your hand across three rounds, 5 for planting and growing, 3 for losing priority each round, and one spare in case of an early kill. This gives you room to make the most of the warband’s natural card advantage engine.

Warscroll Abilities

The Guardians have a fairly unique warscroll, offering four different abilities to choose from. Each round, you can select one of these abilities to use. These are not one-use effects—you can reuse the same ability once per round, up to three times per game. That flexibility gives this warband some great tactical depth.

• The Burgeoning: This ability allows you to push a fighter a number of hexes equal to the number of slain friendly fighters—or simply 1 hex, if none are down. It’s useful for late-round positioning, such as nudging onto a Feature token, but the effect is relatively modest and likely something your Power deck can already replicate.

• The Reaping: Grants bonus attack dice equal to the number of slain friendly fighters (or just 1 if none). Accuracy boosts are always welcome, particularly for key attacks, but again, this is a moderately useful utility rather than a standout.

• The Dwindling: This one is spicy—a teleport that removes a friendly fighter from the battlefield and places them in an empty hex adjacent to another friendly fighter. That opens up a lot of possibilities. Early in the game, you can charge in to displace an enemy or grab a token, and then teleport back to safety. Mid-to-late game, it offers repositioning tricks that most warbands can't access.

• Everdusk: Now we’re talking. This ability adds bonus damage equal to the number of slain friendly fighters. Crucially, it stacks on top of Grievous, letting you reach some serious output. With just three dead friendly fighters, you can add +3 Damage—combine that with base stats and Grievous, and a Guardian could potentially deal 6 damage in a single swing. That’s brutal, especially for a warband that otherwise leans fragile.

Each of these abilities has its moment, and it’s easy to see situations in which you’d want to use any of them. The flexibility is a real strength. The only limitation is that you can use only one per round, so planning ahead is key. Thankfully, the inspire mechanic makes up for this by rewarding you with extra Power cards, giving you more tools to work with across the game.

My Guardians

Final Thoughts and Deck Pairings

Main Playstyle: Strike (but more like Flex into Strike)

Games Workshop labels this as a Strike warband, but I don’t think they have the punch or resilience to go toe-to-toe with other Strike warbands. Instead, I believe this is fundamentally a Flex warband that can lean into Strike when the situation calls for it—reaping Bounty where opportunities arise. The Guardians’ warscroll abilities seem designed to do two things: boost combat effectiveness and improve board control. Both of these play directly into a flexible game plan.

So what makes a good deck pairing?

My immediate thought is Blazing Assault combined with Pillage and Plunder. In this build, you’d be looking to position Ahnslaine and Ylthari early on to hold Feature tokens and begin delving. Meanwhile, Gallanghann can look to advance into neutral territory to contest tokens, with Skhathael supporting through targeted attacks where needed.

This setup gives you access to high-glory end phase cards from Pillage and Plunder alongside easy-to-score surges from Blazing Assault. It also plays directly into the Guardians' warscroll, allowing you to flex into Strike when necessary while keeping your positioning solid.

With the Guardians’ inspire mechanic generating additional Power cards over the course of a game, it makes sense to run a Power deck of around 24 cards. That includes 15 for the three rounds, five extra gained through the growth mechanic, and three more assuming you lose priority each round.

From here, you can lean into damage upgrades and accuracy tools:

• Grievous and damage buffs: Twist the Knife, Great Strength, Gloryseeker.

• Accuracy: Keen Eye, Determined Effort, Accurate.

• Push tech: Commanding Stride, Sidestep.

• Sustain: Prideful Duelist, Healing Potion.

These support the warband's ability to both contest the board and strike with precision when opportunities arise.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Ylthari’s Guardians. They were the first warband I tried back in the early days of Warhammer Underworlds, and like many others, I struggled to make them work in first edition due to a lack of supporting cards. But here in the second edition, they finally have the tools to compete. Now I just need to get them out of the box—and back into the mines of Embergard.

What do you think to this warband? Do you use them? If so, what decks do you pair with them?

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