Tiberius: Today's Christmas list comes to us from our very own Red Jacket, who has his army from the 2023 TMAT Grand Tournament. I had the "pleasure" of playing against this list and boy is it good at what it does. Take it away, mate!
Red Jacket: This year, for our TMAT grand tournament in the spring, I ran an Assault on Helms Deep Legendary Legion list. I find this legion to be both interesting, and enjoyable to play. The legion itself has a few quirks, strongly incentivizing the use of siege weapons, allowing for quasi-spam tactics with Fight 4, Defense 6 troops which is basically unheard of, and permitting an Uruk-based army to really rely on shooting.
My list was 623 points (600+the year of the tournament, 2023) and is outlined below:
- Uruk-Hai Commander with shield
- 4 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields
- 7 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes
- 1 Uruk-Hai Warrior with pike and banner
- 4 Uruk-Hai Berserkers
- Uruk-Hai Captain with two-handed sword
- 2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with shields
- 2 Uruk-Hai Warriors with pikes
- 8 Uruk-Hai Warriors with crossbows
- 2 Uruk-Hai Berserkers
- Uruk-Hai Siege Veteran with Isengard Assault Ballista
- 1 crew
- 1 crew with pike
- Uruk-Hai Siege Veteran with Isengard Assault Ballista
- 1 crew
- 1 crew with pike
623 points, 38 models, 8 crossbows hitting on a 4+ AND 2 ballistas hitting on a 4+ (and rerolling 1s), 8 D6+ models, no fast models but 4 Might for Heroic March, 4 Might
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Notable strengths of this list: Strong shooting, tough front line, and punching power in key
fights. This list is at its finest parked between two anchoring pieces of terrain letting the enemy come to it.
Notable weaknesses of this list: Low might, no strike. This list doesn’t really have traditional answers to power heroes. It also doesn’t have lots of might for heroic moves or combats. Most of the time, I spend most of my might on Heroic Marches, to make sure that my troops can get where they need to be first.
What makes this list different: Your ballistae are your biggest threat in this list. Use them every round. Many people think that ballistae stop being effective once you close combat with your opponent. Not in this army. In the immortal words of Maxim 20: “If you’re not willing to shell your own position, you’re not willing to win.” (Any Schlock Mercenary fans out there?) Keep your line thin in the middle, and anchor your flanks with berserkers and pikes. Use your ballistae to pummel the center. Nominate targets in your opponents back rank, because in-the-ways are your friend. With piercing shot, you want to be hitting things in the front so that you can move things as much as possible. Odds are your opponent will be making the scatter decision. If you shoot for the back rank already, they are likely to have fewer models to choose from, and therefore geometry says you gain more control over the general direction your shot is going to go. Again, I’m perfectly happy to shoot through my own models to get there. I’m not trying to avoid my units when I’m selecting my target. Just my heroes, or a stack of my models (usually). I will risk a strength 9 hit on one of my models if it means making two or more strength 6 hits to my opponents models almost any day of the week.
As you can see, this is an unusual list. While it is not the most balanced list (far from it) it offers some unique opportunities, and utilizes play styles more focused on warriors than on heroes. Plus, with special rules, it makes the cost of siege weapons much more likely to be worth it.
Tiberius: Thanks Red Jacket for the list - and as a guy who got torn to SHREDS by it, I can say that the shooting in it is real . . . and then you run up against a wall of Uruk-Hai! We'll be back with another list in a few days, but until then, happy hobbying!
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