Baneling Busters

Elite Grand Army unit formed with the express purpose of hunting down the dreaded Banelings, the horrifying Esper/mutant hybrids created by the Dark Gods with foul magics. The Baneling Busters were originally formed by order of Torstensson Lenart in the siege of Trianable, though they became a sort of umbrella command and served in other areas and theaters, particularly the Transbaron campaign. The Busters were unique in Grand Army units in that it was formed almost entirely of magic users, the GA taking a "fight fire with fire" attitude. This breaks with typical Grand Army combined-arms practice; indeed, Rimmel Coward (among others) criticized the Baneling Busters for siphoning capable warkasters away from the rest of the GA. Some have even gone so far as to say this was the reason the Grand Army was at a magical disadvantage in the Omnisent Conflict.

Nevertheless, the unit was perhaps the GA's only effective countermeasure, although each engagement invariable resulted in heavy casualties.

This was a highly decorated unit, including multiple recipients of the Golden Sun and a few Hero of the Grand Army awards -- many, however, were awarded posthumously.

After the war the Busters were responsible for hunting down and destroying all remaining Banelings. This task done, the unit was disbanded. The handful of survivors all left GA service immediately, despite offers to stay on.

At peak strength, the unit numbered around a thousand. Less than ten survived the war and subsequent clean-up.

Noted Baneling Busters (survivors):

• Rycar Mountbatten. Though not magic-user, Mountbatten earned his way on the team by killing a Baneling by trapping the foul beast in a submarine compartment and flooding it
• Eleod Vrinnicus, dwarf shadow priest
• Horker Frostreaver, todo iceshaper
• Galgann Fireblaster, dwarf from the Underground Kingdom. As his name implies, he has power over fire. Awarded Hero of the Grand Army.
• Thetrel Skysinger, a sheikah
• Conn Guiterrez was a Dark Wrath turncoat who joined the unit late in the war by providing valuable intelligence on Banelings.

Noted Baneling Busters (KIA/MIA):

• Tamaki Narita, a powerful Caller from Eblan, affectionately known as 'older sister' by her comrades
• Taesha Sunsong, a Sprite Mana Priest devoted to Sola
• Gaevi Grayeye, a Pandoran monk, afflicted with lycanthropy
• Navarha, a Gerudo dervish, skilled with both water and fire magic
• Talgo, a Blue Mage from Thamasa who hoped to copy Baneling abilities
• Vonruil Blackridge, a Drow practitioner of Faer Sui'Aerl (Arcane Magic)
• Kutaka, a moogle dancer
• Decius Serin, a sage from Mysidia
• Eddard Kuhlner, an old Vectoral Empire soldier infused with magicite
• Umber Tzepesci, the "Violet Prince", a Light Dragon Clanner