All-Purpose Dwarf Tactica!

[Grungni]

very good guide, but i do have to disagree with the rating of MR of Stromni Redbeard, i usually have a BSB with this, it usually give me +3-5 in combat res once combat starts, plus if they do have to test the modifer is lowered by 1 which can be very crucial sometimes. i just want to say that about redbeard, nice tactica overall though.

[lother22]

nice post explaining whats what i like it.

However i do very very very strongly dissagree with your point on quarllers and thunderers, the shields is worth its weight in points every day of the week, t4 and 5+ save against shooting ridiculasly reduces casualties against shooting armies, elves, yeah its 3+ to hit but 5+ too wound and i have a 1/3 save, ok my turn to shoot back, 5 too hit, 3 too kill, ok thats it by by scratch one elf,shield made its points back, harpies charging my crossbowmen on a hil in 2 ranks of 5? ok 4+ save in cc and a stand and shoot reaction...

see my point? from many years experience i felt i have to argue this point as it has saved me game upon game upon game as opponents have seen a weak cc unit only to be punished by dwarven fighting prowess and saves

[N1AK]

Thank you for putting together such a large guide. I am very impressed by the majority of it, and want you to know that although I have only highlighted where I disagree below (for the purpose of debating best practice) I agreed with far more.

BATTLE STANDARD BEARER

Many people think him essential, some think he is pointless, it is down to you to choose to include one or not. The only runes I would consider are the Master Runes of Valaya and Strollaz's Rune. Undead and other strong magic-users will hate you if you take Valaya - it is a rarely-seen alternative to Runesmiths. In an aggressive army, Strollaz's Rune is essential. I guess they are both specialised, I would not take the Rune of Valaya in a normal army, I would use it against Undead, or High Elves perhaps. The main problem is keeping the BSB safe, he makes a juicy target for your opponent, to soften his unit up in shooting then swarm in CC. You could hide him in the back of a unit, or try something else similar. You could do the usual heavy armour runes equipping, taking his AS very low, but I think this kind of defeats the idea of having the BSB at all, you're spending too many pts on him.

A BSB generates +1CR for the unit he is in and gives you re-rolls on break tests within 12". This is a fantastic deal for 25 points, especially as if you can still give the BSB a 1+ armour save with the MRoGromril.

If you are going to take a magic standard then it becomes harder to effectively protect your BSB, but sitting him next to a Lord on Shieldbearers tends to work pretty well.

RUNESMITHS/RUNELORDS

Runesmiths are very important in battles 1500pts upwards (4 dispel dice, I think, is enough for lower than that, unless you need a lot of DD against magic-heavy armies). They give you an extra dispel dice and Runes of Spellbreaking, which you should always take with them. That's all there is to say, they are very important.

Always do not take a runelord unless you are giving him an Anvil of Doom - a normal Dwarf Lord is simply much more worth the pts. The Anvil is much better than before, and in large point battles you should take one. The Rune of Oath and Honour can let you run into an opponent when they least expect it, and Wrath and Ruin is great for destroying units in a strange way, especially against flyers which will be grounded.

The need for magic defence varies with opponents. In my local area the first thing I add to my Dwarf list is a Runesmith. Practically any army out at the moment can put together a powerful magic phase even at 1000 points, if your opponents tend to do this then you need a Runesmith so you can take 1+ scrolls.

A Runelord is fine without the Anvil, in fact I'd argue that the only worthwhile Anvil is Thorek Ironbrow's. That said, a Runelord is rarely worth taking over a simple Runesmith.

SLAYERS (IN GENERAL)

These have many uses, including putting a welcome splash of colour into a dull Dwarf army! They are immune to psychology and unbreakable, meaning they can face undead and other fear/terror causer without a bother, and will not run away from combat (actually they're kinda like undead with these rules). They can either have +2 strength or +1 attack, making them nasty in CC, and their rule which means they wound anything on a 4+. What's not to like? Well, the major disadvantage of slayers is that they have no armour, they will die in troves when shot at or magic-missiled at, so get them stuck in early or risk losing all of them. I only take one Giant Slayer in a unit, since your enemy will shoot them down and then you will have wasted a lot of pts. But I always try and include a unit of slayers in my Dwarf army, they are the perfect flank anchors.

I really don't rate Slayers. But if you are going to take them then I think loading up on 3+ Giant Slayers is the way to go. Slayers are slow and have a low initiative which means they generally fight second. Because they have no armour this means they often don't get to hit back, but Giant Slayers need to be targetted seperately or they will. This often means your opponent will charge in and kill say 5 Slayers, and yet all your Giant Slayers can still fight back.

[Royal_Marine_Machine]

Very nice guide

You may have just shown all enemies of Dwarfs all of our lil secrets (the Runes bit) but oh well

[Gedderz]

This is a great guide looking to start dwarfs and this is really helpful! rep!