List discussion - Thagrosh1 and Fyanna2

Hello all! So kicking things off for the blog here is my current pairing that I'm focusing on for the next few months: Thagrosh1 and Fyanna2. Thags and Fyanna are two of our most popular warlocks right now, and for good reason. They have strong attrition play thanks to their feats, they have multiple interesting builds and they are some of the best combined arms casters in the faction right now. This versatility gives them playable games into almost any matchup in the field, so whilst you may not be bringing hard answers to enemy lists you almost certainly have options in the game. Here is a quick breakdown of each caster and some of the archetypes being played right now.

Read Mutagenesis, this guy is a badass!

Thagrosh, Prophet of Everblight

Thagrosh is an old favourite of Legion players and has been relatively unchanged throughout his lifespan. Boasting defensive and offensive buffs along with a simple but powerful attrition feat Thagrosh supports just about every Legion model in the faction in some way or other! He is a great learning caster (though definitely overpowered in small games!) and highly recommended to players who want a fun and forgiving warlock.




His key features include his damage buff Draconic Blessing to improve melee damage and thrown weapons, Fog of War to protect his forces from shooting and Death Shroud to reduce the Strength of enemy models within his sizeable command radius. His feat compounds this durability by returning one of his beasts (usually an expensive one like Typhon or Azrael) to play meaning that he is one of Legion's strongest attrition casters. Thagrosh is a 'brawler' caster, he likes a face to face battle with heavies smashing into other heavies where he can outlast most other forces by hitting harder and reducing damage taken. He can be built for scenario plays but doesn't lend himself to assassinations. Aside from Mutagenesis assassinations which are hilarious!

I want to take advantage of Thagrosh's personal resilience and attrition game to influence the list choice of my opponent. As such I am playing him in Oracles of Annihilation with the following list:

Thagrosh, Prophet of Everblight
 - Typhon
 - Carnivean
 - Naga Nightlurker
 - Nephilim Bloodseer
Throne of Everblight
Throne of Everblight
Hex Hunters (min)
 - Bayal (free)
Sorceress on Hellion (free)
Sorceress on Hellion (free)
Shepherd
Shepherd
Spell Martyr

Double thrones is a common archetype in Legion pairings now, usually piloted by the Twins or Vayl2, and for good reason. Once the laughing stock of the faction they are the most durable pieces in Legion that are competitively costed and will easily delete a whole unit from the table if given the opportunity. They also hit deceptively hard thanks to chain weapon and Draconic Blessing making them versatile and problematic for the opponent to deal with being high armoured and immune to most movement effects. They are backed up by Typhon and the Carnivean who contribute from range with their sprays before counter punching whatever goes in on the Thrones, and likely winning the piece trade with their defensive animi and Thagrosh's feat.

The Sorceresses are excellent utility pieces both as infantry clearers that can unjam the main body or that can shut down gunlines using their Wind Storm ability. They are reasonably durable solos that under Fog of War are difficult to remove once they take position on flags. The Hex Hunters reach maximum effectiveness under Thagrosh1 in Oracles due to apparition, stealth from Fog of War, a damage buff and access to Bayal for free. They can clear screening units and Shadowbind heavies to increase the accuracy of the battlegroup sprays or to reduce the amount of attacks heavies can bring to bear on the core forces. Finally the Naga and Bloodseer give some utilities with their animi for facing defensive buffs or aggressive spellcasters, but also benefit from Fog of War for Stealth or stacking Spiny Growth and Death Shroud to become an very durable light. Telemetry with the number of spellcasters in the list also comes up often enabling accurate sprays and Hex Bolts.

I like this list because every model supports another one in some form or other by stacking buffs or applying defensive benefits to the rest of the force. It rewards aggressive play that forces the opponent to entangle with your durable force, which you will often be able to grind through. Most gunlines will struggle to punch through all the armour bearing down whilst it clears infantry and heavies without issues. Thagrosh himself can camp high and play forward but you need to be watching for the point where you opponent starts playing for assassination. I would play this list into armies that are after quick wins by scenario or assassination, but beware of armies like Trolls and Grymkin which have multiple hard hitting pieces that remove from play your heavies. If the Thrones and heavies don't get work done you're in for a rough ride. You also need to consider the scenarios being played as with only one unit you cannot easily score circular zones.

Now watch me whip... 

Fyanna, Torment of Everblight

Fyanna has been a staple of Legion tournament lists since her introduction to the faction. Boasting a fantastic defensive feat plus a great spell list straight from a Khador warcaster she has rightfully earned a reputation as a meta bogeyman. Much like Thagrosh she has a synergy with high quality battlegroup models but has tools for a combined arms force too.

Her primary spell is Fury, a premier damage buff that turns any melee troop into a blending machine, albeit at the cost of their own defence. Iron Flesh and Admonition are both strong defensive spells and Gallows is an unpredictable threat that your opponent has to respect. Finally her feat is one of the strongest in Legion, not only for the excellent defence boost but also for providing Dodge forcing your opponent to reconsider even trying to attack your models. Typically seen in the 'flying circus' Fyanna can leverage cheap heavies like Neraphs along with a potent defensive feat to play aggressive games both on scenario and attrition.

As Thagrosh is my primary list I want Fyanna to be fast moving and unpredictable to counterbalance Thagrosh's grinding style. I've opted to play her in Ravens of War with the following:

Fyanna, Torment of Everblight
 - Neraph
 - Neraph
 - Raek
 - Raek
Grotesque Assassin (free)
Grotesque Assassin (free)
Forsaken (free)
Spell Martyr
Spell Martyr
Spell Martyr
Raptors
Raptors
Grotesque Raiders
Hellmouth
Hellmouth

The aim of this list is to control your opponent through multiple non-linear threats that denies them board space and punishes them for their aggression. The Raptors are the primary working models in this list, having good long range bows and reposition to harry approaching troops before crashing in with Fury to destroy tougher models. The Hellmouths are key to enabiling this, both jamming with tentacles (Iron Flesh on a Hellmouth is not ok...) and pulling in targets of opportunity for the Neraphs to destroy. They also control scenario elements with ease and let you play a more defensive game without giving up scenario. Combined with sprinting Neraphs and Assassins and you play a very cat and mouse game that denies your opponent their ideal targets. On the turn that the line of Hellmouths collapse Fyanna can use her feat and the Raeks to frustrate your opponent's efforts even further. The Raeks are particularly good at this as they can hunt supporting models or move up under feat and threaten the caster if they don't deal with two dodging Def 18 beasts! The Grotesque Raiders often ambush to force the opponent to play centrally or take a full charge under Fury which will take out colossals. However they can also receive Iron Flesh and Stealth from the Assassins should they be required to drive up the centre and hit like a freight train.

I like this list because of the psychological impact it has on the opponent, denying massive areas of the board and frustrating efforts to meaningfully engage your army. Between Beat Back, Vortex, Hellmouths and three Spell Martyrs for Gallows there are a lot of ways to manipulate your opponent's models along with the potent threat ranges available. The list requires patience to use to the full, saving your feat for the key turn that your opponent breaks through and knowing when to commit the Raptors is key. Feedback from my opponents is that this a difficult list to play against because of its unpredictability, and I would encourage anyone curious to try it out. Its strengths are not apparent in list design, it needs to be played to understand the intricacies and options available. It is also a cannon made out of stained glass, the models are very fragile and will not stand up to fair fight. The key is not to let them have the fair fight they want!

The world forgot what playing against Hellmouths were like...

This is the starting point for my lists going forwards having already had several levels of tweaking beforehand. They compliment each other well and ask very different questions at list selection, whilst being versatile enough to handle a large area of the field. One advantage of this pair is that Thagrosh and Fyanna are on the ADR roster, and having 40 points of specialists allows you to focus your list to target the challenging match ups. The Mist Speaker and Farrow Valkyries are great additions to either list along with Seraphs, Deathstalkers or Angels. They will undoubtedly continue to change as the year goes on but I'm quite settled on these two casters for the next few months at least.

I will be playing these lists at a tournament this Sunday so do look forward to some battle reports of how they play out on the table. What do you think of this pairing and what changes would you make for your own lists?

Thanks for reading!
Jamie