If you get a hero that gets the heroic standard ability (what ever it was called again), then you can get some interesting results. The heroic ability grows steadily, and if you slap on items that gives standard ability too, you can have half the battlefield covered with that massive standard effect.
I once had in a MP game (played on this forum) a special hero with standard ability get a heroic standard ability, gave him a horn of valour and herald lance -> he had IIRC standard ability 80+ before he finally croaked. The troops fighting under his command seemed pretty much unbreakable
