Even the heroes of Telon know how to bust out the spiked egg nog and celebrate the holidays because we recently got our mitts on a new trailer showing off one of the land mounts you’ll be able to ride in mega-MMORPG Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.

Players gain access to land mounts once they reach level 10, but the imposing Shadow Hound will be reserved for those with higher levels. Not much is known about the beast, other than its ability to sprint across terrain and rugged mountains. It also looks pretty demonic and has fire in his mouth, so expect a reign of terror from this tyrant. Hit the Movies tab and click on “Vanguard: Saga of Heroes – Shadow hound 12-01-06” for the boundin.’

Vanguard tells the story of an ancient war-torn world where players can choose from 19 different races and 15 different classes in order to channel their inner-Goblin. You can join guilds and take out beasts in the wild or use diplomacy to convince kings where to move their armies. Basically, there’s tons to do.

Sony Online Entertainment and Sigil Games Online have also announced pre-order boxes would be available today, December 5th at select retailers. Slapping some cash down on this pre-order won’t get you some funky minature elf sword or t-shirt two sizes too big. Instead, you’ll get a king’s ransom of goodies including early access to the game (slay dragons a whole three days before the launch), an exclusive endurance buff allowing you to sprint for longer periods of time and an invitation to the beta. Plus, you’ll get all the gimmies like wallpapers and videos.

December 5, 2006