Best Two-Character Parties in Jaws of the Lion

Red Guard and Hatchet are my first recommendation for two new players: their division of work is easy to understand, with Red Guard managing close-range pressure while Hatchet concentrates ranged damage. If one player enjoys planning granted attacks, Red Guard and Voidwarden are another appealing starting point.

There is no required tank-and-healer composition. All six pairings below are legal. The recommendations are tactical judgments based on the starting classes, not official rankings or measured win rates. Choose a pair whose decisions you will enjoy learning.

Spoiler scope: Jaws of the Lion’s four starting classes and selected level 1 mechanics. No later-level unlocks, item unlocks, story details, or named scenario solutions. Follow the tutorial’s prescribed cards during scenarios 1–5.

Compare all six pairings

“Best fit” describes a playstyle. It does not mean the other pairs cannot work, or that the recommended pair can ignore monster abilities and scenario goals.

Red Guard + Hatchet: the clearest starting plan

This pair gives both players an obvious question. Red Guard asks which position reduces incoming attacks while contributing damage. Hatchet asks which target to finish and how to recover the Favorite token without losing progress.

A useful round might have Red Guard handle an approaching enemy while Hatchet removes a dangerous target from a safe firing position. Sometimes both should attack the same monster to secure a kill before it acts. Sometimes Red Guard should move away rather than accept several attacks merely because the class has more health.

The main trap is treating Red Guard as an automatic shield for Hatchet. In Jaws, monsters minimize movement needed to attack, then break focus ties by initiative order. Standing a little closer does not insert a proximity tie-breaker. A ranged monster may focus Hatchet even with Red Guard in front.

For Hatchet, plan where the Favorite will end up when its target dies. A token behind several active enemies can be expensive to recover. Red Guard can help with pressure and positioning, but cannot make an unsafe retrieval free.

Start with the Red Guard guide and Hatchet guide.

Red Guard + Voidwarden: coordinate attacks as well as protection

This pair suits a player who enjoys occupying useful combat hexes and another who enjoys arranging opportunities for allies. Voidwarden can grant attacks, apply conditions, and heal; Red Guard can make those opportunities useful by reaching the correct position.

Before choosing cards, describe intended roles without sharing exact card values. A useful plan is “I will try to reach that enemy early” followed by “I can try to give you another attack later.” Once cards are revealed, verify that the recipient will actually have a legal target when the grant resolves.

A granted attack uses range and sight from the attacking figure. Voidwarden also needs the required range and sight to grant it. Keeping both characters close enough to cooperate matters more than forming a visually neat front and back line.

The trap is a cycle of Shield, healing, and support that leaves required enemies alive. Red Guard still needs productive attacks, and Voidwarden should consider an attack grant or control effect when another heal adds little. Their actions must move the written objective forward.

Read the Voidwarden guide for modifier-deck use and Master Influence’s specific exception.

Red Guard + Demolitionist: share the spaces near enemies

Both characters can want a destination beside the same enemy. A character may normally pass through an ally, but cannot end movement on that ally’s hex. Before committing, identify two useful attacking positions rather than assuming the second player can simply stand where the first player stopped.

Demolitionist’s wall and obstacle interactions reward checking the map carefully. A wall is not an obstacle, and destroying an obstacle can open a route for enemies as well as allies. Red Guard can help handle pressure while Demolitionist chooses productive attacks, but the pair should still limit the number of monsters able to attack.

The trap is advancing together into an open room because both characters are comfortable at close range. Check the revealed monster card first. A defensive action can help one character withstand attacks; avoiding an entire attack can preserve more resources.

Use the Demolitionist guide to distinguish its attacks from direct suffered damage. That distinction can matter when choosing how to deal with Shield.

Hatchet + Voidwarden: check the granted shot before planning around it

A ranged attacker gives Voidwarden potential attack recipients without requiring every attack to happen adjacent to an enemy. That does not make every grant automatically useful: the granted ability’s text determines its range and effects. Do not add Hatchet’s usual printed card attack to a grant that specifies something else.

Hatchet’s Favorite can improve an eligible ranged attack while its token is available. Because the bonus is tied to a single token, it is not a passive bonus to every granted attack. Track whether the token is on the card, on an enemy, or waiting to be recovered.

Voidwarden’s low starting health makes route and focus checks valuable. She is not protected merely because Hatchet stands closer to an enemy. Use walls, movement, and applicable conditions to reduce attacks, and check whether the party can still move toward the objective while cooperating.

This pair rewards a player who enjoys adapting grants to the board. It is less appealing if that player wants every turn to work independently of the ally’s location.

Hatchet + Demolitionist: offense with a pressure-management plan

The two classes offer distinct jobs: Hatchet contributes ranged attacks and manages the Favorite, while Demolitionist looks for close-range opportunities and terrain interactions. It is a straightforward pairing to understand, but “both deal damage” does not remove defensive decisions.

If Demolitionist approaches first and receives every attack, its nine-card hand can shrink quickly through damage prevention. Hatchet should help remove enemies that threaten that position, rather than always attacking whichever target looks best in isolation.

Do not make Favorite retrieval and Demolitionist’s attack destination compete unnecessarily. Finishing a monster can create a useful recovery hex, but moving onto that hex may occupy a space the other character needs.

The trap is assuming healing will repair an aggressive opening afterward. Compare the attacks you can prevent now with the actions and cards needed to recover later. Focus fire and positioning matter more than maintaining a perfect role split.

Demolitionist + Voidwarden: arrange the recipient’s turn

This pair can make productive use of additional melee attacks when Demolitionist is already in position. Its planning burden is making that position useful without leaving either character in trouble.

Choose a reachable target and a legal destination for Demolitionist. Then check Voidwarden’s grant requirements and the expected initiative order. If the target dies before the grant, identify a fallback instead of spending the round expecting an attack that no longer exists.

Direct-damage abilities and attacks are different. A grant of Attack does not reproduce Demolitionist’s whole card half, destroy an obstacle, or include an unrelated suffered-damage ability. Follow the grant’s text and any applicable ongoing effects.

Healing can preserve a valuable attacking position, but it cannot return a card already lost to damage prevention. With the smaller Demolitionist hand and Voidwarden’s low starting health, review pressure and rest timing together. I would choose this pair for players who enjoy coordinating, rather than as the simplest introduction.

Two players and solo play use the same character count

Two people each controlling one character use the two-character setup. One person controlling two characters also uses the two-character setup. The number of humans does not decide whether you place the two-, three-, or four-character enemies.

For Jaws, use its tutorial and difficulty rules. Do not automatically import the original Gloomhaven solo adjustment. Our scenario-level calculator separates the games.

If you play solo, also consider decision load. Red Guard and Hatchet give you two relatively distinct jobs to track. A Voidwarden pairing adds more decisions about who can receive and perform a useful action. Choose the amount of coordination you want to manage, rather than trying to solve the campaign through party selection alone.

Before changing characters, check the attempt

A loss does not establish that the pairing is bad. First verify the scenario level, character-count setup, monster abilities, and actual goal. Then ask whether the pair failed because of missing damage, inaccessible targets, repeated card losses, or actions spent without progress.

Try one concrete adjustment before rebuilding the party: concentrate attacks on a threat, change the door plan, or preserve a movement option. The first-character article can help if the issue is that a player’s class decisions are simply not enjoyable.

Sources and recommendation basis

The rules baseline is the publisher’s Jaws Learn to Play Guide and Glossary, especially Grant Action, Monster Focus, and Appendix B. These are hosted copies of the publisher’s documents.

Each linked character guide cites the specific starting-card faces and character mat used for its mechanics. The pair comparisons are HavenHints’ tactical recommendations, not rules text or claims of tested win rates.