Ok, so this is a tactic that has worked for me twice (and my mate once) in times of desperation. It is fairly simple and can be varied depending on warriors available, positioning of troops and the scenario being played.

It is essentially a modified (or downgrade) to 'The Rock' formation found on GW website. I includes rallying all (or most) of your troops to one point and creating a ring of protection around certain models or objectives.

To start:

Get priority! Easier said than done, I know. Call a Heroic Move with a hero to try and gain the initiative. Generally, your opponent will not try to counter your Heroic Action if he/she has a firm hold on the game. Once you get the go ahead, move all your troops (which I generally find are in a loose shieldwall formation at this point) to a certain point and form an extended semi-circle (almost full circle) around it. The more warriors remaining, the begger the radius of the circle. This tactic is best performed when you have atleast one hero surviving. A banner is helpful but both times I've managed to survive without one. When first performing this move I find that I have about 12-18 models left so the circle generally isn't huge. Make sure that any gaps a filled so that a model couldn't break through to any spear support in the 'inner rank' of the rock.

With your move out the way, finish and make way for the enemy. Your opponent should charge most of your models as they are still looking in a favourable position. In this first turn of fighting shield if you have warriors fighting by themselves or act normally if they are spear-supported. If you lose few numbers this turn then you should be looking good for the next turn. Remember to protect your hero from being charged in a subsequent turn so that yoiur stand-fast can help save your few remaning warriors.

If in this turn you get priority then all is well, if not then it is not a major loss for you. Call a Heroic Move if you must but don't be too worried if you don't get you chance. If you move first then first look at your remaining hero(es). Is he a fighter or a leader. Shagrat for example is definitely a fighter, while a Nazgul is generally considered to be a leader. If you have a fighting hero then look for weak areas in your opponents line. This could be where the thinnest concentration of numbers are of where the poorest fighters of the enemy are. Charge your hero into these models. If it appears that your leader is capable of beating an enemy hero, charge him! Especially if they are a threat to breaking through your line.

Move your remaining models into the enemy. During the fight phase focus on killing the warriors in the area where your hero is and surviving in others. Slowly grind down your enemy (I have done this with Shagrat and 7 Orcs w/ Spears and Shields against Suladan and 23 Haradrim!!!) Using your hero as a spearhead to your attack, guarding him with warriors as you bring down one warrior at a time with your hero. If you break the enemy then the time has come! use any last might to get into charge range of the hero and stop him before he can bring his warriors together. This is presuming you have won priority and have enough might to do so. If not revert to previous steps. Once you've pinned his heroes you have most of it won. His warriors will flee one by one (unless they are elves of course ). My mate lost 3/4 of his remaining haradrim in an unlucky bout of courage tests.

The mop-up duty is quite simple if you've been successful in all of this and whilst this tactic may seem far-fetched it has work 3/3 times for me and my mate. It is ALOT simpler in actual practice and I hope you wonderful people will carry it on in your gaming. If the enemy is silly enough you can crush his weaker points simply and quickly, giving you the step up and the eventual win.

Comments are welcome!!!

done somethign similer before....alas it rarley works as i see too many Mumaks these days and they will die too easily.
I will say that the Turn "reserves" are often overlocked in many games. I was playing a Mega battle(back when Arnor first came out) and i just had a few orcs or so (about 10 i think) whilst the rest of my team wailed on the enemy. all they had to do was get the king of our board edge so i send somethign like 4 orcs with spears for support and kept the rest behind. As i thoguht he king used up all his might to get clear of the major combat and ran straight into the orcs who slowed him down and eventually killed him and the seer too who broke free....we did have bacd luck as the Vampire thing(don't ask me to type him name with my bad spelling) was down on 1 wound and coun't kill 1 warrior dispite throwing all his might at it with Heroic combats.

I have to admit that most of my armys now a days are eaither stand and shoot an d have a shield wall to stem the tide or charge the enemy quickly with mass cavalary (got an Harad/Mordor and Gondor cavalry force that work great and with Plastic Knights both Morgul and Dol-amroth they will get better)

I don't think even the stupidest general would form a tiny circle with his few remaining warriors with a Mumak charging straight at them but point taken. It really isn't that good against an enemy with a great fighting hero (such as Glorfindel or Gil-Galad).

This one time I had just Shagrat and 6 orcs left. They all protected Shagrat (in base contact with him surrounding his base) as he struck down Suladan in one turn then attacked haradhrim one by one, until he lost! Yay Shagrat!

i have to admit 6 orcs and Shagrat takign down the whole army is bad ass. How many orcs did you lose after your started useing the tactic?

Sorry, internet down for a couple of days...

Um, come to think of it I don't remember loosing any! But I must have lost atleast 2 or 3 by the end. That's still flippin good for orcs though!

very good for orcs...tho the non existance armour form haradrim would helped.

Re-congregating when your opponent appears to be getting the upper hand is an option commonly overlooked by most players, who would often rather continue loosing the attritional battle than take the risk. Certain specific requirements are necessary to pull it off successfully and if used at the wrong time or in the wrong way it is a tactic that can simply put the nail in your coffin. However, given the correct circumstances it can at least put you back on level pegging with your opponent.

Combined with a concentrated, well thought-out counter attack you may be able to steal the initiative and even turn the game in your favour. While you opponent may hold the advantage overall, by grouping your troops successfully it is possible to gain local superiority. Coupled with a relatively fresh, upper-tier Hero, implementing this tactic well can allow you to snatch victory from your opponent's grasp.

Certain lists/troops will be more successful than others; high defence, reliable Fv and a good number of shields are particularly useful. This tactic is inadvisable if your opponent is fielding high-quality troops (which will probably be kept concentrated anyway), especially if they have a movement advantage over you (the possible exception being Dwarves).

Generally, I find that a strong combat Hero (like Shagrat) is of more use than a more leadership-focused one but really, your Hero's worth will be decided more by their freshness and the Hero opposition you still face.

well shagrat and Gothmog etc are great figthers and tho not fantasitc courage they are good enought. Courage 5 is often enought to get Gothmog to keep his orcs together.
I love my little tactic of a Shaman and someone with a 12" standfast as keep him close enoguht and he auto passes his leadership and then makes everyone within 12" of him auto pass.

The tactic is particularly useful for armies already formed in a shield wall as they'll generally be in formation already. It's when you're split up in multiple skirmishes that you've got a problem. If the enemy can get between elements of your army and stop them linking back up, you're going to be destroyed peace-meal and slaughtered. Also be wary of volley fire or siege weapons which will devestate tight formations.

The key to this strategy is probably choosing a defensible position. Anchor yourself on terrain if possible, so you can devote more warriors to the fight. And be careful of your hero. You suggest using him to take on the enemy by himself as your warriors hold the line. Chances are, you're already getting close to breaking point and possibly this is your last hero. If he dies or is caught in combat and unable to make Stand Fast checks, your army will fall apart around you. even elves will be losing a couple of warriors from critical positions, weakening your line. By all means, attack with your hero, but try and give him a bit of support, elites or 2H weapons preferably.

Your major problems will be enemy heroes/elites charging your line. Shielding will fail some time, especially against heroes and you've got no chance of doing any damage in return to stop them. Once you lose the fight, chances are, if you're bunched, you'll be trapped and slaughtered in droves.

Just a few things to watch out for. But I agree, sticking to supportive formations is incredibly helpful.