Commander

The Vale Host is led by the Commander, a banner-bearer who stands one tile behind his army. He never takes a turn of his own and never strikes; once a round, during the turn of any of his stacks, he may cast one of three powers, paid for with Command.

Hit points: 70
Defence: 10
Command at start: 3
Each later round: +2
Command at most: 6

The enemy can strike or shoot the hero like a stack, and the hero never strikes back. When the hit points run out the hero is knocked out for the rest of that battle, never killed: the next battle the hero stands again at full health.

Powers

One cast a round, during the turn of any of your stacks. A power costs its Command.

The 3 powers and their Command cost
Power	Command	Target	What it does
Brass Lance	2	An enemy stack	30 damage to one enemy stack anywhere. No roll, no swing back.
Mend the Ranks	3	One of yours	Up to 24 HP back to one of your stacks; its fallen stand up, never above its start.
Standard Ward	2	One of yours	One of your stacks takes 50% of every blow's damage until the round ends.

Brass Lance is exact: the strike preview shows the result before you tap, so use it to finish a stack a charge has left wounded. Mend the Ranks is the only way to bring fallen creatures back during a battle. Standard Ward goes on the stack that is about to be hit hardest, usually the wall in front of your shooters.

Powers are cast only in battles you play by hand; Auto-resolve never casts.

Command by level

In Conquest, a hero of a higher level starts each lair battle with more Command: 1 more for every level above the first, never above 6.

Command at the start of a lair battle, and the experience each level needs
Level	Start Command	Total XP
1	3	0
2	4	500
3	5	1200
4	6	2200
5	6	3500
6	6	5000
7	6	7000
8	6	9500
9	6	12500
10	6	16000

Skill paths

At each new level the hero is offered 3 skills, one from each group (army, command and march), and keeps one. A skill can be taken up to 3 times; each rank adds up. Army skills change every fight, Auto-resolve’s too; command skills change what the hero brings to a battle; march skills change the map. The hero stops levelling at level 10.

Every skill of the Commander at each rank
Skill	Group	Rank 1	Rank 2	Rank 3
Sharpened Steel	army	+1 attack for every stack	+2 attack for every stack	+3 attack for every stack
Shield Drill	army	+1 defence for every stack	+2 defence for every stack	+3 defence for every stack
Volley Drill	army	+2 attack for every shooting stack	+4 attack for every shooting stack	+6 attack for every shooting stack
Hold the Line	army	+2 defence for every melee stack	+4 defence for every melee stack	+6 defence for every melee stack
Steady Nerves	command	Fear lowers your stacks' attack by 2, not 3	Fear lowers your stacks' attack by 1, not 3	Fear no longer lowers your stacks' attack
Grave Call	command	After a won lair, 20% of the guards' costliest fallen stack (at least 1) rise to fight your next lair battle	After a won lair, 40% of the guards' costliest fallen stack (at least 1) rise to fight your next lair battle	After a won lair, 60% of the guards' costliest fallen stack (at least 1) rise to fight your next lair battle
Honed Lance	command	Brass Lance hits for 40, not 30	Brass Lance hits for 50, not 30	Brass Lance hits for 60, not 30
Field Surgeon	command	Mend the Ranks heals up to 36, not 24	Mend the Ranks heals up to 48, not 24	Mend the Ranks heals up to 60, not 24
Long Stride	march	+2 map movement every day	+4 map movement every day	+6 map movement every day
Watchfire Eyes	march	Sight reaches 4 tiles round the hero, not 3	Sight reaches 5 tiles round the hero, not 3	Sight reaches 6 tiles round the hero, not 3
Beast Tongue	march	40% more beaten guards join after a won lair (at least 1 more)	80% more beaten guards join after a won lair (at least 1 more)	120% more beaten guards join after a won lair (at least 1 more)

More: The Vale Host · All keywords

Play Lead the Vale Host in a Conquest match.