Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right is a complex game featuring numerous asymmetric factions with distinct playstyles and characteristics. The Vagabond might be one of the most diverse factions, with 9 playable Vagabond characters (excluding the 3 new Vagabonds included in the recently released Homeland Expansion), each with their own starting ability and items. As a result, it would be worthwhile to evaluate how the various Vagabonds compare to one another, what playstyles they prefer, and which Vagabond is the mightiest of them all!
In summary, the Vagabond collects and uses its items to perform actions that earn it points and impact other players. These include aiding other players by giving them cards, attacking hostile faction pieces, crafting items and completing quests.
It should be noted that attacking hostile pieces is widely considered the strongest and fastest way for a Vagabond to score, and questing is the weakest and slowest. So a Vagabond that is better at questing is often less powerful than one that is better at attacking. Without further ado, let's get into the ranking!
9. Vagrant
The Vagrant is an eccentric possum that charms and provokes the various factions with its wily ways.
The Vagrant is right at the bottom of the list because it has a lot going against it. It begins the game with only three items, causing it to have one of the slowest starting action economies among the Vagabonds. Additionally, the Vagrant doesn't start with a sword, leaving it defenceless to attacks dealing an extra hit, until they find one. Finally, the ‘Instigate’ ability is extremely situational as it can upset the balance of the table, frequently to Vagrant's detriment, by potentially turning multiple factions hostile towards it, making mobility difficult and restricting point scoring from aiding. Rather, the Vagrant is most effective at aiding and most viable when forming a coalition with another faction, using the extra card draw from their starting coins to give cards to their coalition partner and using the ‘Instigate’ ability to assist with attacking the other two opponents or forcing them to fight each other. However, it demonstrates further that the Vagrant struggles to stand on its own.
Vagabond Scoring Rating:
Attacking 🟣
Aiding 🟣 🟣 🟣
Crafting 🟣 🟣
Questing 🟣
8. Scoundrel
The Scoundrel is a chaotic black cat that endangers the Woodland’s precarious balance with the threat of assured destruction.
Second to last, the Scoundrel is a below-average Vagabond that doesn’t stand out in any particular playstyle. The Scoundrel’s distinguishing feature is its game-changing ‘Scorched Earth’ ability, which allows it to destroy a single clearing, removing all enemy pieces and barring further use of the clearing. It can be used to disrupt a vital clearing, sabotage the winning player(s), and cause chaos, but it has certain caveats that make it not entirely beneficial to the Scoundrel. Firstly, it is a single-use ability; therefore, the threat of it being used is often more valuable than the effect itself. Secondly, it consumes the Scoundrel’s torch when used, preventing further exploration of ruins or the completion of quests requiring a torch. Finally, because the torch must be undamaged to activate the ability and no one wants their clearing to blow up; the Scoundrel, who starts the game defenceless, is a perfect target for attack.
Vagabond Scoring Rating:
Attacking 🟠 🟠
Aiding 🟠 🟠
Crafting 🟠
Questing 🟠 🟠
7. Ronin
The Ronin is a tanuki warrior without a master to serve that roams the Woodland in search of a purpose.
The Ronin, like the Scoundrel, starts with two boots, allowing them both to be quite mobile and reach clearings they need early in the game. What elevates the Ronin is starting with a sword, so it isn’t defenceless at the beginning of the game and can utilise hostile scoring more effectively. However, unlike other offensive Vagabonds, the Ronin lacks a strong ability to distinguish itself. Its ‘Swift Strike’ is a fairly lacklustre ability that rarely gets used, as it is preferable to instead attack with a sword again and potentially score more hits. The only situations in which it is useful are when the opponent has multiple suitable ambush cards, a crafted partisan card, or is the Woodland Alliance with their ‘Guerrilla War’ ability. The Ronin is a serviceable Vagabond that can perform well, but its lack of distinctiveness makes it forgettable.
Vagabond Scoring Rating:
Attacking ⚫ ⚫ ⚫
Aiding ⚫ ⚫
Crafting ⚫
Questing ⚫ ⚫
6. Adventurer
The Adventurer is a helpful owl that assists the Woodland’s denizens with their various quests, often at its own expense.
With the ‘Improvise’ ability, the Adventurer is the only Vagabond that can use quests as its primary method of scoring points because it can complete them more consistently. However, it is hampered by starting the game defenceless, and it is the other Vagabond with only three items in its starting kit, reducing its action economy. Despite its utility for questing, the ‘Improvise’ ability further hinders the Adventurer’s momentum by damaging its items. Nevertheless, starting with a hammer can help to improve its action pool by crafting more items. The Adventurer frequently plays a solitary game, avoiding making any unnecessary enemies and preferring to be left alone to solely focus on completing quests and crafting items. This can lead to it performing well as an underdog, as other players will focus on opponents that pose a greater threat to them.
Vagabond Scoring Rating:
Attacking 🟤
Aiding 🟤
Crafting 🟤 🟤 🟤 🟤
Questing 🟤 🟤 🟤 🟤 🟤
5. Ranger
The Ranger is a lone wolf capable of picking fights and surviving attacks since it can easily recover from injury.
The Ranger is a solid Vagabond that can hold its own in an extended game, but it struggles to score points and expand its action economy quickly. Starting with a sword and crossbow, the Ranger is an offensive Vagabond that can pick off lightly defended tokens/buildings for points. Additionally, its ‘Hideout’ ability reduces the risk of attacking or being attacked, making it the only Vagabond capable of repairing its items without spending a turn in the forest. The Ranger’s toolkit primarily directs it to score by attacking hostile factions, but being aggressive from the start can hurt it in the long run, requiring it to bide its time and prepare before going on the offensive, resulting in the Ranger being a slower-paced Vagabond that doesn’t get explosive turns and can't completely run away with the game, but can still hold its own very well.
Vagabond Scoring Rating:
Attacking ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫
Aiding ⚫ ⚫
Crafting ⚫ ⚫
Questing ⚫ ⚫
4. Thief
The Thief is a cunning raccoon that routinely steals from allies and enemies alike.
The Thief is a balanced Vagabond character, equally capable of focusing on any playstyle and regularly switching between them. It is the only Vagabond that starts with a tea, allowing it to establish a solid action economy from the start by refreshing and thus using more items with every turn. Its ‘Steal’ ability can be useful for taking valuable cards from other players, but it also improves the Thief’s aiding options, often returning the stolen card to a player or stealing back a card they gave to a player. The Thief is versatile and not limited to a single path to victory. The sword improves its attack and defence; the tea refreshes more items, making questing occasionally viable; and the ‘Steal’ ability provides them extra cards to potentially craft or aid with, truly making the Thief a jack of all trades but a master of none.
Vagabond Scoring Rating:
Attacking ⚫ ⚫ ⚫
Aiding ⚫ ⚫ ⚫
Crafting ⚫ ⚫ ⚫
Questing ⚫ ⚫ ⚫
3. Arbiter
The Arbiter is a wandering badger mercenary that battles the strong and protects the weak.
Starting the game with two swords makes the Arbiter the most aggressive Vagabond. This means the Arbiter is ready to attack other factions right away, and other factions dislike attacking the Arbiter as it can prove quite costly. As a result, the Arbiter’s goal is to amass as many swords as possible while scoring from hostile factions by attacking anyone and everyone. Its ‘Protector’ ability is very limited and is rarely employed by other players, as the defender always gets the lower die result in battle and the Arbiter’s swords only get added to the maximum rolled hits of the defender rather than being extra hits of their own. Also, other players typically don't want to give the Arbiter an extra point for his protection. The Arbiter’s underwhelming ability doesn't prevent it from being a one-badger army, but it does make it somewhat one-dimensional, giving it no unique advantage over the other more flexible Vagabonds.
Vagabond Scoring Rating:
Attacking 🔵 🔵 🔵 🔵 🔵
Aiding 🔵 🔵
Crafting 🔵
Questing 🔵 🔵
2. Tinkerer
The Tinkerer is a clever beaver that concentrates on crafting rather than attacking. Or so it would seem…
The Tinkerer, like the Adventurer, excels at crafting with its starting hammer. However, what elevates the Tinkerer to the ultimate crafter is its ‘Day Labour’ ability, which allows it to take any card from the discard pile and choose which cards to craft, making it difficult for opposing players to prevent it from getting items and other valuable cards. The Tinkerer’s rapid crafting of items creates a robust action economy quickly. Furthermore, it is the only Vagabond that starts with a bag, letting it have more space in the satchel for items right from the get-go. The sole reason the Tinkerer is ranked second is that being defenceless at the start of the game, in combination with its explosive potential, often results in opponents attacking this Vagabond and repeatedly sending it into the forest. However, when playing with the basic deck, the Tinkerer contests first place, as being able to craft the Favour cards repeatedly makes it an unparalleled threat on the table.
Vagabond Scoring Rating:
Attacking 🟡
Aiding 🟡 🟡 🟡 🟡
Crafting 🟡 🟡 🟡 🟡 🟡
Questing 🟡 🟡 🟡 🟡
1. Harrier
The Harrier is a daring squirrel capable of gliding around the forest, picking fights, quests and aid opportunities at will.
The Harrier is widely considered the best Vagabond, and the reason can be summed up in one word: mobility. Its ‘Glide’ ability allows it to move to any clearing, including hostile ones. This means it can attack, aid, quest and craft wherever it chooses with little to no resistance. Its mobility also enables the Harrier to escape from any hostile clearing and move out of reach of a faction that might attack it. Also, like the Ranger, it starts with a sword and a crossbow, allowing it to be aggressive right away and easily take down lightly defended tokens/buildings. On top of that, starting with a coin stack means the Harrier draws more cards for aiding or crafting. Its only weakness is that it is the only Vagabond that starts the game without a boot, so its mobility is limited while it uses its torch to explore all the ruins. After that, the Harrier’s rampage becomes very difficult to contain, let alone beat.
Vagabond Scoring Rating:
Attacking 🔵 🔵 🔵 🔵 🔵
Aiding 🔵 🔵 🔵 🔵 🔵
Crafting 🔵 🔵
Questing 🔵 🔵
