Hot takes on Legacies of Middle Earth

Yet another new release! Crazy! 

In the past few weeks we’ve had the release of both the Armies of Middle Earth book and the new Matched Play Guide (my reviews of which can be found here and here). But the releases keep coming, with both Legacies of Middle Earth pdfs released for free as well!

And so, because my commitment to content knows no bounds, it’s time for another review article. This release schedule may be working my fingers to the bone, but get ready for all the freshest takes on the pile of new profiles and army lists we’ve been graced with.

This article won’t be a full line-by-line review, for combined reasons of time, readability and interest. If you really want to hear someone’s take on the King’s Huntsman or Moria Blackshields, this is not the format for you.

Uh, yup, still overcosted. Good chat

Instead, I’ll be primarily focussing on the things that I think will break through into competitive viability. Profiles and lists that are mediocre tend to sink beneath the waves of relevance or only be used by their dedicated fans, but rules that are legitimately powerful end up impacting everyone in the meta (and thus deserve a bit more analysis).

I’ll be structuring this by looking at some key profiles that will actually impact existing lists, assessing the potential of the new army lists, and then finally discussing (briefly) whether I think these profiles are suitable for competitive play.

Before all of that though, let’s start with some overall takes!

First impressions

Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised by the Legacy PDFs.

To start with, I had expected the level of update to be ‘these models now have Intelligence stats and tell you what list they can be in, enjoy.’ Instead, we’ve had genuine, substantive changes to quite a lot of these profiles, alongside brand new army lists for them to inhabit. If anyone had told me last week that Golfimbul would be getting his own list I would have laughed, but honestly I’m here for it.

An unexpected army list

Naturally, the PDFs are riddled with small errors and changes we would have liked to see. The ‘combat’ Ringwraiths having A1 is hilarious, and reinforces my strong view that they were always trash. Spiders being unable to pick up objectives means that one of the new lists can’t engage with ¼ of scenarios, and quite a lot of profiles are overcosted. These were free PDFs put out for models that GW no longer supports, so it’s unsurprising that their proofreading was less tight than that of the official releases (which, incidentally, I generally find pretty tight: anyone who thinks otherwise probably doesn’t write many hundred-page documents, or doesn’t realise how many mistakes they’re inevitably missing in them).

But overall the balance feels about where it should be: a bit weaker than the main competitive scene. Legacy models being unsupported into the future created a real risk that something in here would be so powerful as to necessitate banning the whole category of models, and I’m really pleased that this didn’t seem to eventuate. Instead, we have a whole heap of profiles for people who are desperate to use their Huscarls/Chariots/Murin and Drar models, without being too oppressive or competitively impactful. These models aren’t going to be rebalanced or toned down in the future, so ‘a little mid’ is actually their perfect power level.

It's far from a perfect release, but as a whole I’m much happier than I expected to be with it. A solid 7/10 from me.

Boosts to existing armies

There’s nothing but buffs in this section, because an army can never be made weaker by receiving uncompetitive new profiles, because players just won’t field anything that’s worse than their existing options. So let’s have a look at some winners from the existing lists!

The army most affected by the new profiles is Grand Army of the South, which goes from being a surprisingly-scary mishmash of three different factions to being an even scarier mishmash of 6. Adding in Camels (although never Khamul) or Half Trolls is already a powerful boost, and Chariots are potentially some powerful tech to have access too. Even better, the Betrayer remaining nearly unchanged is extremely strong for the massed archery and blowpipes this list can field, and gives them a viable alternative to bringing in Corsair crossbows. Finally, both the Haradrim King and (to a much greater extent) the Golden King look extremely powerful now. Being able to stack both leader and banner VPs on a single model with 4 Wound and 2 Fate, who can bribe his way out of 6(!) combats per game (albeit not against monsters, who can just Rend him) is excellent, even before one considers his warrior-churning capabilities. I think the lack of powerful army bonuses will keep this list from getting out of hand, but flexibility in list construction and some strong new profiles allows for a lot of efficiency and a very well-rounded list.

These are some genuinely powerful special rules to have access to, especially with 6 Will to burn

Another big beneficiary is Army of the White Hand, which picked up a whole suite of new Dunland profiles. I can’t really see a use for any of the warrior options (except maybe a couple of Dunland Cavalry for their superior Intelligence and ability to interact with objectives), but the heroes are legitimately interesting. Thrydan and Frida are probably a little too expensive to justify in most lists, but Gorulf adds a chunk of killing power and yet another anti-hero tool to the list at a bargain price. Expect to see him in every White Hand list moving forward, and for this list to do even better than it has been (although note the impact of the new scenarios, as discussed here). Vrasku also could be cute, although I expect he may be out-competed in this role.

On the Isengard theme, the return of Mauhur is a real boost to Ugluk’s Scouts (and Lurtz’ Scouts to a lesser extent). He’s not amazing, but he’s solidly better than the mediocre Scout Captain, and he’s easily the best Champion that Ugluk’s boys can access for Contest. Welcome back Mauhur, you’ve been missed.

In the right circumstances, that could be 6 S5 hits with +2 to wound and full wound rerolls. Wow!

Speaking of Champions, Khazad-dûm has certainly been missing the King’s Champion. His utility is honestly down a long way from last edition, thanks to the army bonus giving a pseudo-banner-reroll everywhere anyway. But he does remain the list’s only model that can legitimately threaten monsters that isn’t a 170-point Durin, so I could totally see a niche for him in some builds at medium points.

Moria and Depths of Moria have both received legitimately useful profiles, alongside some absolute chaff. Groblog is an excellent 15-point upgrade on a Captain, and will probably replace your second Captain in any generic Moria list. The 5-point increase on the normal Captain (and the boost to two-handers) has made Blackshield Captains way more interesting than last edition, and I could definitely see them being taken in Depths. Crazy how some minor changes in context can make even the most useless models shine! Ashrak is pretty unimpressive – for all that Compel is a great spell– and the Blackshield Shaman has also fallen a long way with the exchange of Shatter for Collapse Rocks. Dwellers in the Dark seem to have remained a mediocre sidegrade to a Cave Troll, and look even worse when compared to the terrifying new Cave Drake. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the Blackshield Drum, which probably won’t be taken in Moria (it can only be passed off to Blackshield Warriors, and those are still at least a point overcosted this edition) but could be genuinely scary in Depths. The Drum’s Courage buffs and debuffs stack with the army bonus now, allowing for Courage 4 Goblins and -2 Courage for all enemies boardwide, as well as providing banner VPs. I could absolutely see Depths players shedding most of a warband for those buffs, especially at the ~600-point mark where they can already get well over 60 models even with a Drum. I don’t think these new profiles are going to radically shift Moria listbuilding, but they will add some interesting options for players looking to branch out.

The various Mordor lists have received an absolute pile of profiles, showing off quite how bloated Mordor was as a faction last edition. Most of them are pretty unimpressive, but rebalanced Trackers are probably still worth including in many lists, Kardush still looks solid (especially in Minas Morgul, where he’s probably excellent now), and at least one or two of the Wraiths look interesting. Perhaps the biggest glowup is the might War Cow, which has gained an unkillable Commander, a more durable and flexible pile of Orc archers on top (albeit ones that don’t count to break points as much anymore) and an extra S6 impact hit. The latter more than doubles the amount of D5-6 troops you can expect to mow down on a trample, which turns the trample threat from a ‘try to avoid’ to a ‘must avoid’. Pretty great for a 25-point increase!

Quite the boost!

Finally, an under-the-radar buff: Fords of Isen being able to drop in Grimbold again (with Mighty Blow!) gives them a third semi-combat character and access to S4 spear supports. Both of those are noticeable boosts, and when combined with Elfhelm and Théodred's glowups could make the list a bit of a sleeper hit.

As a final note, I appreciate that GW have maintained the tradition of the Rivendell Stormcaller being wildly worse than the Lothlorien one (which is itself not great). Who thought that Foil Magic was equivalent to Writhing Vines? Funny every time, good stuff.

New lists

Starting with the Good Army lists, Battle of Greenfields can put a scary amount of shooting on the field at very low points values. Its army rules are nothing special (free Heroic Combats tend to be more exciting on heroes that aren’t S3), and the utter lack of mobility or durability puts an upper limit on its likely success, but this list is probably the best way to run Hobbits at (very) low points values now. Crazy!

Fields of Celebrant is basically Eorl’s stag party plus a King of Gondor. The Gondor side of things is pretty unexciting, but Eorl is genuinely quite solid, and his Sons look monstrous. F5/A3/S4 on the charge (with reroll wounds on a key turn!) is a bit terrifying, and retaining their key stats when charged means that this list will hold together way better than most cavalry forces. Things like Eagles will obviously put a hard cap on how high this list can fly, but it does seem like there’s real competitive power here to be explored.

That is one hell of a profile for a cavalry model

Reclamation of Moria is also more solid than I was expecting, with a trio of legitimately good special rules on offer, and most of the profiles you really care about from Khazad-dûm present as well. Floi has had a fun (and sensible) shift of roles, but he and Balin both seem solid enough (even if no one’s keywords work right for Ori or Oin). The challenge here is that the base Khazad-dûm army rules are really strong as well, so giving them up is going to be a real sacrifice. But overall, this feels like a viable alternative approach to the faction that will play differently but remain competitive.

Finally, Expedition to the East is extremely cute. Searching for spoils is hilarious, and there is some power in being able to supplement a Dwarf frontline with Gondorian spears and cavalry. The problem is that you’re not getting the Khazad Guard frontline you’d really like, so you’re basically giving up all the synergies of normal Gondorian listbuilding for somewhat-more-consistent D7 on your front rank. That’s definitely not worth it, but hey, Murin and Drar are fun. Drar still hitting on a 4+ despite having multiple special rules about his skill with a bow is hilarious though. Mauhur hits on a 3+ and he doesn’t even have a bow!

Moving onto the Evil side of things, Fell Beings of Mirkwood is probably in a similar position to last edition. The Spider Queen has had some much-needed smoothing out of her Broodlings rules, but remains excellent for her cost, and Razgush has had a minor glowup himself. Otherwise, this list is exactly as ‘okay’ as it was last edition, which is about right for a legacy list in my view.

This is absolutely how this rule should have worked last edition. And the Broodlings even get Swift Movement and Poison now!

Assault on Lothlorien has returned from many player’s nightmares in a sensibly-toned-down form. No more casting rerolls is a real nerf, and makes the list substantially less reliable than before (although the changes to Channelling do make up for it for the basic Shamans and Muzgur). The various direct and indirect nerfs to its Beast models also probably neuter its old tricks a little bit. But the core game plan of kiting with Goblin archers and Prowlers remains excellent, and I expect to see this list do well at least occasionally.

Army of Dunland is basically unchanged from last edition, except that they now have access to cheap Wildmen spears and bows. That’s honestly a massive boost, and I could see various iterations of this working well. It lacks the cheap F4 bubbles of Usurpers, but 6” banners, Gorulf and the big go-turn of Dunlending War Cry are all real draws.

Khand is a delighted recipient of extra Might and real banner VPs, even if they come at the cost of Kings that are maybe forced to be on foot for formatting reasons. Urgh. The Chariots as a whole have had somewhat of a sidegrade, being more durable but also more expensive. And the once-per-game access to F5 could make for a seriously scary charge, given how hero-focussed Khand tends to be. I doubt this list is going to truly break through, but Chariots are exceptionally good into things like Wildmen, so it could be a good answer to a resurgent Army of the White Hand.

Fun fact, the Chariot having 1 Attack here means that the King will have 5 Attacks on the charge

Far Harad has stayed basically unchanged, with their old army bonus joined by a Fury save and a very conditional access to +1 Fight value. The prospect of F6 Half Trolls is hilarious, even if it requires the stars to align to a comical degree. Overall, definitely still a faction held back by the inefficiency of its warriors options, but buoyed by some powerful tools.

Perhaps the least expected list was Ravagers of the Shire, which is honestly pretty sick. Golfimbul is surprisingly good in this list, and its easy access to +1 to wound and +1 Courage goes a long way to boosting up basic Orc profiles. This list will be rapidly outscaled by just about everything, but at low points I could really see the swarm putting in work. Crazy stuff!

Finally, the Spider Queen’s Brood is by far the funniest list here. On the one hand, its rules genuinely slap, giving you static movement debuffs for the enemy, knockdown for Spiders (hell yeah!), and rules to conserve both the Might and Wounds of your centrepiece monster. The one thing it’s missing is any non-beast profiles, or other ways to pick up objectives. So in 6/24 scenarios, this list will basically just lose on deployment. Hilarious. If this ever gets FAQ’ed (by the community rather than by GW, I expect), then this list could be genuinely powerful though, even with the tragedy of F3 Spiders.

Should these profiles and lists be allowed at tournaments?

Before these PDFs released, I was a bit leery of including Legacies in tournaments. I was sure that there’d be at least something busted in there, and ultimately that would force the whole baby to be thrown out with the bathwater. But from the first few reads through the new rules, it doesn’t seem like that’s the case. The new profiles generally feel very reasonable and conservative, and I’m broadly not too bothered by their inclusion. Both White Hand and Depths getting shots in the arm is a little worrisome, but hopefully all the new lists on offer will force some list diversity in the coming months anyway.

Did the game really need White Hand to get this profile?

I am a little more concerned by some of the new lists. They’re overall very fun and flavourful, and if they were in a book that I expected to receive FAQs and the occasional balance patch I’d feel great about them. But having things like ‘mildly nerfed AoL’ or ‘turbo-buffed Eorl and Sons’ in a format that ensures they’ll never really be toned down if they are excessive is a bit concerning.

Overall, I think I’ve landed on a fairly neutral position on this issue. Having at least some tournaments use these profiles will go a long way to make players that love these profiles happy. I’m sure I’d want to have options to bring out my camels or chariots if I’d made that investment. But I’m also not so convinced on them that I would want them at every event, particularly if anything in here does end up being too strong. They’ll be best off as a ‘sometimes treat’, in my view.

Conclusion: We all get to play with our toys again!

It’s been a long road here, but at least we have rules for every model in the game once more (some wargear and mount options notwithstanding). I’m honestly surprised by the quality of this release, given that it’s free rules for models that GW is never going to make money off again.

As a tangent, this must have taken a fairly significant amount of person-hours to prepare, which is unusual for what is ultimately a commercial enterprise. At the risk of sounding like a corporate shill (not my usual style, given that I work in regulating big businesses), we should bear in mind things like this when complaining about the admittedly-extortionate price of the rulebooks. Presumably the money to make the Legacies documents (as well as things like FAQs and narrative scenarios) came from the profits of the Armies books and rulebook, which does make the pricing there feel a little more reasonable.

Overall, colour me pleasantly surprised. I’d love to hear your takes though: are Legacies something that every tournament should have, or should we just leave them for casual games with friends? I think there’s merit in all of these views, and I’m curious to hear from you.

Until next time, may GW always remember to give you army some way of interacting with objectives!