| “ | These soldiers, mercenaries to the core, are hired by Necromancers to add flexibility and intelligence to their front line troops. Hardened and merciless, they have no qualms or misgivings about the experiments, rituals, and sacrifices that occur arround them. Their indifference to death and suffering make them little more than warm-blooded versions of the soulless creatures whose money they are willing to take. | „ |
| ~ The black guards background from Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. |
The Black Guard is a company and the members, the Black Guards are neutral enemies in Might and Magic: Heroes VII – Trial by Fire, minor enemies in Might & Magic X: Legacy and one of the main antagonist groups in Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, who served the necromancers of Heresh and their leader, Lord Arantir. They were a mercenary group who would follow anyone in exchange for a suitable sum.
History[]
It is certain that the founding members of the Black Guard were members of another company, the Storm Guard, but they were quite greedy and arrogant, so they were excluded. The excluded members then founded their own company, which had only one rule, namely that anyone can be the principal, as long as they pay enough. Since both the expulsion and the founding of the new company took place when Ivan Griffin was still the ruler of the Griffin Empire, it is quite likely that the company was founded in the 800s YSD. The Black Guards were not given particularly large roles over the years, until the late 980s YSD.
Almost all of them were paid by Heresh's necromancers and their leader, Lord Arantir, in exchange for joining the armies of Heresh. From then on, the black guards became the infamous minions of the necromancers. During the events of Dark Messiah, they were present at almost every major event. It is questionable how many members of the Guard remained after Arantir's death.
Equipment and weapons[]
The black guards wore heavy, dark armors that protected their bodies, and their heads were protected by helmets that covered their mouths and noses. Their weapons were short swords and bows, but in the past they also fought with large axes. All of them even used a dark shield, which provided extra good protection.
Weaknesses[]
Black guards attack Sareth.
Perhaps the first and most important weakness of the black guards was that they were quite disorganized. Although they often fought against the enemy in large numbers, they were overconfident and undisciplined fighters, despite their experience they did not take advantage of every situation against the enemy. In addition, they had many other weak points. The armor only provided good protection for their bodies, their legs and hands were very vulnerable, as they were only protected by clothes. They had no resistance to magic, fire or lightning, so they were at a disadvantage even against an opponent who used magic. If they had too many injuries or were badly wounded, they would often try to run away or call for reinforcements, demonstrating that they were not very reliable warriors. Although their armor was heavy and provided good protection, it did not provide adequate protection against very sharp or special weapons, and because of this they were not very difficult opponents, especially for well-trained and experienced heroes.
Gallery[]
