Herohammer - The War Room
Herohammer is such a fun list archetype! I love getting to put iconic characters down on the board and letting them do their thing. If I had to define herohammer, it would be "a list with two or more 'hero' characters that are the crux of your list". Commonly this means running three or four heroes, but sometimes it can just be loading up on two of them. Some factions are better tuned to do this (looking at you Rebels) but all of them have a list or two that fits the archetype. Let's dig in!
Strategy
So commonly herohammer involves a saber user. It doesn't have to, but most of the time you've got a saber user in there is the "hammer" of herohammer. I don't know the etymology of the word, it may very well come from another game, but often I see herohammer working because of the "hammer and anvil" type of strategy. This means that one or two of your heroes take one side (or objective, or set of units, etc) and then the other one or two of your heroes take the other, thus forcing your opponent to pick their poison. Once they've chosen you can bring the other hero down on top of them, thus the "hammer and anvil" metaphor.
Hammer and anvil isn't the only strategy though, sometimes your list calls for more coordination. This means that you might run your heroes in a glob, just creating a huge "no fly zone" around them. Ranged heroes sometimes do this well because they can still shoot despite their friends and them being clumped together.
The final strategy I would employ is the "pincer maneuver". When playing on a center objective (hostage, KP, etc) you can use two wide flanks to land on the target at the same time, coordinating firepower while hopefully staying out of it yourself.
Lists
The original herohammer, Han/Luke/Chewie is affectionately dubbed "flyboys". This list is a slight alteration on Bushfacts' list, and it is tried and true. New upgrades, new updates to Han, and a decent gunline on the back end allows you to play just about any objective decently well. If you want a herohammer that can do well and is tons of fun, this is it.
Lando and the ladies! Lando is great here as a psuedo-Han that lets you get a wide array of command cards. Han works perfectly well here too, but the list name is too good to pass up. Sabine is your melee threat here, and the Pykes are a new addition to the roster that let you get more out of your dodges without having to issue orders.
Now this is a gunline. Double Bounty is tons of fun and Kallus lets you run double bounty and have some backup command cards too. Tons of heavy weapons on your units means nothing can be ignored for long, but if they divert firepower from the bounty hunters it can be a quick 2-0 lead. Fun, but nuanced, double bounty is a blast!
If you had told me that you could get 11 activations with a kitted out Palpatine and Vader I would have laughed in your face. Now, this list seems formidable to be across from. You can always opt for one fewer activation and get some heavy weapons, but being at 11 means you can last-first really well. Alternatively, you can go down to 9 acts and put in some Imperial Royal Guards!
Why'd you put the same list on here twice? The good guy's Palp/Vader, this list uses Yoda's Guidance ability to get more milage out of the chosen one. An RPS-6 is great to fire support into a Saber Throw, and Yoda's ranged attack can be decent for that as well. Your orders may be limited to other units sometimes, but don't be afraid to pull some fun shenanigans with Anakin and Yoda's command cards.
Rex is doing his best Commander Cody impression with this fun list built around dodge sharing. It will be tough to push through Padme, Obi-Wan, and Situational Awareness clones, but when you do you'll have to deal with Rex. Alternatively you can do just a generic commander instead of Rex, but Rex is too fun to ignore.
If Flyboys and Rule of Two had a child, this would be it. Dooku/Maul is a great combo but you throw Kraken in there and now you have some support for the rest of the list. The toughest part here is command cards, but its tough to choose poorly. This list will be in your face and will beat you up for your lunch money.
This is something I didn't know could exist, but maybe that's a good thing. With tons of strong units packed into a list like this you have a lot of options, but you may struggle with order control. Drop a few upgrades or make a MagnaGuard into a sniper and you may have a more well rounded list.
Conclusion
Herohammer is a staple for Legion and is so much fun to play. I will always try and fit a hero into any list I run, but when I can fit three or four? Now that's a blast. The new Battle Forces seem to be emphasizing heroes as well, so that could be a good way to run tons of heroes all at once. Try these lists out and let me know what you think in the comments below! I'll be back next week for more Legion content, and don't forget to check out our X-Wing and Armada blogs as well!