If you mean a sword floating above the unit, that's Arctic Orangery activating and the icon shows that you got a critical hit.I'm in VF and notice that when I kill a foe in GBG, a small object floats up from the dead soldier. It doesn't happen every time. What is it?
Rogues wouldn't get the AO boost because they are All Age.If your Rogue managed a first hit against an enemy before converting from Rogue I believe it will not have an AO boost in play. But that is conjecture on my part.