MESBG Christmas Lists, List #5: The Fell Beings of Mirkwood

Good morning gamers,

Tiberius: As someone who has a tight bond (and runs a podcast) with his brothers, I absolutely love seeing other brothers share a strong bond (and if they also run a podcast, even better!). Naturally, I'm therefore a huge fan of the Durin Show - and the amazing chemistry that the Hammond brothers have on that channel. If you haven't checked out their stuff yet, you should - see the links on the sidebar for both their podbean and YouTube channels. Today's list comes from one of the hosts of the Durin Show, Mitchell Hammond, who has made quite a splash on the West Coast of the US with the Fell Beings of Mirkwood Legendary Legion. Mitchell, what do you have for us today?

Mitchell: I have been playing a lot of Fell Beings of Mirkwood Legendary Legion this year. I built the list after I was a guest on the Into the West podcast when they said this particular Legendary Legion was only meme tier. After building and painting it, I have taken the list to five events this year including Adepticon and Clash on the Coast. While I built it at first as a challenge to prove it was not meme tier, I have secretly found it to be one of the most fun armies I have ever played.

For example, the Legendary Legion bonuses are great! Gaining Hatred (Elf), specifically with bats, spiders and heroes, really pays off when you see an Elf army. However, I've found that the rule that comes into play most often is giving Woodland Creature to the entire army. In my experience, most boards at an event have some sort of woodland terrain, so having Orcs moving 6-12" through woods can completely catch your opponent off guard.

Another great aspect to this army is the hidden bonuses inside the individual profiles. One hidden rule, a special gem that people don't see when they first look at this army, is that the Spider Queen can now lead Orcs in her warband. This is a huge bonus as it allows you to easily fill out the numbers at any points level without taking captains. Another hidden gem is the fact that you can take a drum and a taskmaster. These two profiles are why I think I've done so well with this legendary legion. 

The drum allows all your Orcs and Warg Riders to race around the battlefield, while it also lets all the spiders and bats still be able to charge. That being said, the taskmaster is the most important gem in my opinion. Not only does he come with March himself, but he can now use his whip special rule on the Spider Queen since she is now in the same army list as him! If you position him correctly every turn, between 2-3 heroes, he can give 2-3 chances to get a free Might on a 4+. This is huge. I give myself about 6-10 attempts per game, which, in theory, equates to 3-5 Might free per game.

I haven't even talked about the spider's web paralyze, the bat swarm and Warg Rider combo, the Broodling surprise and Razgush, who is one of my favorite leaders. All in all, I love this army because it's fast, has great troop selection, amazing heroes, scores a lot of VPs and overall, it's just flat out fun! It is also fun for your opponent because it's competitive, and it has tricks but is most certainly not broken. At Adepticon, which had 58 players, I was lucky enough to go 4-1 and finish 7th overall with my Fell Beings list. At Clash of the Coast, which had 62 players, I was lucky enough to finish 4-1 again and place 4th overall.

Here is the list I played at the last event:

• Razgush, War Leader of the North [ARMY LEADER]
• 1 Bat Swarm
• 1 Giant Spider
• 1 Mirkwood Spider
• 4 Orc Warriors with shields
• 4 Orc Warriors with spears
• 1 Orc Warrior with shield, spear, and banner
• The Spider Queen
• 1 Bat Swarm
• 1 Giant Spider
• 1 Mirkwood Spider
• 4 Orc Warriors with shields
• 4 Orc Warriors with spears
• 1 Warg Rider with shield and throwing spears
• Orc Taskmaster
• INDEPENDENT: Orc Drummer
• 1 Giant Spider
• 1 Mirkwood Spider
• 4 Orc Warriors with shields
• 4 Orc Warriors with spears
• Orc Shaman
• 1 Giant Spider
• 1 Mirkwood Spider
• 1 Orc Warrior with shield
• 1 Orc Warrior with spear
• 1 Warg Rider with shield and throwing spears

799pts, 44 models, 4 webs hitting on a 5+, 1 D6+ model, 2 cavalry + 2 flyers + 9 fast infantry + a war drum, 8+ Might

Tiberius: If you want a great episode of the Durin Show to wet your appetite for their other content, you can check out an older episode where they roasted my post on the Top 5 Ways To Waste Might Points . . . it was good fun to listen to, especially since Mitchell disagreed with me 100% on everything. :) We'll be back in two days - until then, Merry Christmas and happy hobbying!