Arise and Reclaim Your Empires: A LO Tomb King Tactica

[Spector]

Alright, heres the tactica, click on a link to go ahead to the article you want.

For the items on the list in green, click on them to link you directly to the article that corresponds with it.

I. Characters

A. Lords

a. Tomb King (Deceiver)

b. Liche High Priest (Spector)

B. Heroes

a. Tomb Prince

b. Icon Bearer

c. Liche Priest (willadams33)

i. Casket of Souls (willadams33)

C. Special Characters

a. Settra the Imperishable

b. High Queen Khalida Neferher

II. Units

A. Core

a. Skeleton Warriors

i. Skeleton Bowmen

ii. Skeleton Warriors (CC Troops)

b. Skeleton Light Horsemen (willadams33)

c. Tomb Swarm

d. Skeleton Heavy Horsemen

e. Chariots (willadams33)

B. Special

a. Tomb Guard (willadams33)

b. Ushabti

c. Carrion (willadams33)

d. Tomb Scorpion (Carnifexus)

C. Rare

a. Screaming Skull Catapult (Carnifexus)

b. Bone Giant

c. Dogs of War

III. The Land of the Dead

A. Nehekharan Incantations

a. Sekhubi's Incantation of Vengance

b. Horekhah's Incantation of Righteous Smiting

c. Djedra's Incantation of Summoning

d. Mankara's Incantation of Urgency

B. Treasures of the Necropolis

a. Magic Weapons (Nephthysis)

b. Magic Armour (Nephthysis)

c. Talismans (Nephthysis)

d. Enchanted Items (Nephthysis)

e. Arcane Items (Nephthysis)

f. Magic Banners (Nephthysis)

IV. The Art of War

A. Tactics

a. Deployment

i. Refused Flank

b. It Came From Below... (willadams33)

B. Taking the Offensive

a. When do I want to play offense?

b. ICFB or not to ICFB?

c. What units would be benefical for this role?

d. Using Fear to our advantage.

C. Taking the Defensive

a. When do I want to play defense?

b ICFB or not to ICFB?

c. What units would be beneficial for this role?

d. Using Fear to our advantage.

V. Race-specific Tacticas

A. Beasts of Chaos

a. Khorne

b. Nurgle

c. Slaanesh

d. Tzeentch

e. Undivided

B. Bretonnia (Spector)

C. Dark Elves

D. Dwarves (Carnifexus, Undead Bonzi)

E. Empire

F. High Elves

G. Hordes of Chaos

a. Khorne

b. Nurgle

c. Slaanesh

d. Tzeentch

e. Undivided

H. Lizardmen

I. Ogre Kingdoms

J. Orcs & Golblins

K. Skaven

L. Tomb Kings

M. Vampire Counts (Carnifexus)

N. Wood Elves

[Spector]

Written by: Nephthysis

Treasures of the Necropolis
Magic Weapons - Fists of the Gods

Overview:
The Tomb Kings have an impressive collection of magical weapons at their disposal (as they should, they've only been collecting them for a few millenia). Most of them are oriented toward character killing though, with very little emphasis on rank and file killing (eg the Hordes of Chaos Berserker Sword), and most will leave you with very few defensive options, especially when taken on Princes. Also of note is the lack of a magical bow when one of Nehekara's primary deities was the Asp Goddess who favors archers.

Destroyer of Eternities:
The Big Daddy. The King of Kings. Definitely in the running for most powerful magical weapon among all armies. It's primary drawback is its price. Taking the Destroyer precludes you from taking any magical armor or using a shield. You'll be relegated to a 6+ armor save at best and have only the Collar of Shapesh as any worthwhile protection. This may leave your King more vulnerable than some people like, but the offensive capabilities of the weapon are almost without equal.

The first point of note is that the single attack a King gets from the Incantation of Righteous Smiting during the magic phase can be traded in for the special attack (make sure you carry a copy of the Tomb Kings FAQ with you, as I don't think I've had an opponent yet that believed this at first). This doesn't count toward combat resolution but it sure does shock an opponent to lose 3 models to the King alone, or lose a champion/character before combat even starts. You then of course get to trigger the special attack again during the actual close combat phase. Assuming you got the charge, that's four auto hit, Strength 7 attacks on any character in base to base contact with the King before they get to fight back, and that's IF they've survived the Killing Blow ability. Certainly enough to strike fear into even the toughest Lords. After they face the Destroyer a couple of times opponents will actually be afraid to flank your King carrying unit, because they know if they do not completely slaughter it on the charge (hard to do to our unbreakable units) you can simply move the King to a corner and have base to base contact with up to 5 models.

Crook & Flail of Radiance:
A decent character killer, given that low Initiative is one major weakness of the Tomb King and Prince so the "always strike first" ability is generally welcome. It is drastically overpriced however for what boils down to an extra hand weapon with first strike (first strike ability is usually budgeted at 25 points, and you get no shield or parry bonus with the Crook & Flail). It will also allow a Tomb King (and to a lesser extent a Prince) to remove a good portion of the front rank in the event he gets charged. We don't get the option for a mundane extra hand weapon so you're stuck with this or a common Sword of Battle if you're looking for rank and file killing ability.

Blade of Setep:
It costs a little bit more than some of the other "no armour saves allowed" weapons, but matches some others, as there seems to be no "standard" value of this ability, which is 95% of the time all the effect you will get out of this weapon. However if you know your opponent has a fetish for magical armor, especially armor that is dangerous to your army, such as Magic Resist armor when you have a Casket of Souls, the Blade can be a nasty surprise. Really though it doesn't add enough character killing ability to be worth its points in a "take all comers" when high strength attacks can accomplish the same task nearly as well. We have better character killers.

The Blade of Mourning:
Another overpriced weapon with a very narrow scope of use. You have to win combat for its special abilities to have any effect at all, and very often when we win combat our opponent needs Insane Courage to stay in the fight anyway. It does not double the number of wounds an undead opponent takes from combat resolution and will not affect Stubborn troops. That leaves only a small number of combats where the Blade would actually even come into effect, then your opponent still has to break and get caught for the weapon to earn its points back.

Flail of Skulls:
The Flail costs slightly more than other "double unsaved wounds" weapons, but it does have the benefit that it keeps its +2 strength in the first round of combat. It's a more than decent character killer and a popular choice for Kings or Princes either one, especially those in chariots who are expected to face more than usual "first rounds" as they charge and overrun from one combat into another. Keep in mind though that it has no effect (other than that of a mundane flail) against normal rank and file troops so against most armies you have to get into contact with characters to have it earns its points back which is just another good reason to put the character carrying it into a chariot. Against multiple wound elite units (especially those with larger bases where a Destroyer loses much of its ability) it can really swing the tide of a battle in your favor.

Spear of Antarhak:
The Spear is more of a utility tool than an outright killer as compared to our other weapons. It is also unique in that it is the only magical weapon from our army-specific list that a Tomb Prince can take and still have a respectable armor save. The Spear is of course put to best use on a character who joins an expensive unit, such as Chariots (where he will still get a mundane spear's +1 strength on the charge), Ushabti, or even Tomb Guard where every wound you heal is earning you many points back. There is a combo for a solo King using the Spear, but that is covered in the entry for Scorpion Armor. The Spear's healing effect can even be considered more useful than the Incantation of Summoning for the unit it is in, since the Incantation's entire effect has to be applied to either a character, a character's chariot, or a unit (excluding any characters in that unit), whereas the wounds healed by the Spear can be split up however you like. Overall a useful weapon and popular choice, though you may find yourself wishing you had a weapon with a little more offensive punch than this, especially in a chariot unit whose bane is not breaking the enemy on a charge and getting into a protracted combat.

Serpent Staff:
Complete trash. I include its entry only for the sake of completeness. There is no conceivable reason to ever consider this weapon.

[Spector]

Written by: Carnifexus

Tomb Scorpion
Take out double its points or your money back!



Few single units can strike terror into the hearts of opponents quite like the Tomb Scorpion. Whether it’s killing of the enemies scroll caddies, destroying his new fandangled (400 year old) organ gun. Or assassinating his unbeatable Blood Dragon General and then watching his army crumble, the simple Tomb Scorpion is one of the most potent morale destroyers in the entire Warhammer Game.

Strengths
• ICFB
• Killing Blow
• Poison
• Fast Movement
• Stat Line
• Magic resistance
• Construct (Anti Crumble)
Weaknesses
• No Static CR
• Weak Armour Save
• Unit Strength 4 (Can’t get better than that)

Basic Tactics

Warmachine Annihilator

I say Warmachine Annihilator because unlike other units which are called to this task there is a 99% chance that the scorpion will succeed against any and all Warmachines including the Dwarven anvil with the accompanying Rune Lord.

Simply use ICFB and place your coin as close to the war machine as possible (including directly on top of it) while aiming for 8” away from any board edge to limit the chances of a failed appearance. Then on turn two or three you should be charging said Warmachine what will follow will be a brutal combat where even if you fail to kill anything you will still outnumber (90% of the time) and cause fear and therefore auto break Warmachine crews.

For Maximum effectiveness try and line up your scorpion with another Warmachine behind it so that you can overrun from this Warmachine to the next Warmachine. This tactic is great against Dwarves and Empire who have lots of heavy hitting Warmachines.

Mage Hunter

Tomb Kings love to dominate the magic phase when we do it makes it very hard for any army to win against us as we charge who we want, our Warmachines shoot twice with unerring accuracy and all the dead skele’s come back to fight again. In order to really dominate a magic phase you need to eliminate the enemies Mages.

The Scorpion is the perfect Mage Hunter. Its Fast movement allows it to charge into blocks of infantry with the Mage in the front. Its high strength, poison and killing blow mean that he has an excellent chance of causing the 2 wounds required to kill most scroll caddy mages and his low points cost mean that its not the end of the world when the scorpion dies after the mage has been killed.

Generally when using the scorpion as a mage killer you won’t need to use ICFB. However some shooty armies like Wood Elves, Dwarves, and Empire will try and hide the Mage at the back with the bowmen. This probably is the best situation for a scorpion as often he will not only kill the mage but will take out the archer unit, all be it slowly. In this situation use ICFB and place the coin in a position so that you will be able to charge the front of the unit so that you can get into base to base with the Mage. Generally 6” in front of the Mage will give you the best odds of being able to charge said Mage.

Remember to always direct all attacks at killing the mage that is your primary focus and you don’t really care if the scorpion lives or dies if he kills the enemy mage!

The Anti-Flee, Counter Charge Blocker

One of my favourite uses. The grass is always greener on the otherside! I really miss not being able to flee and leave a unit stranded in the middle of no where about to take my counter charge. What annoys me most is when I have my Chariots lined up for the charge on a unit knowing that I’m about to crush them and then having them flee just far enough so I fail my charge. By having a scorpion also charge from the back or from a close proximity side it negates the flee reaction as you will wipe out the unit because it can’t flee far enough. This allows you to trap that nasty unit in a sandwich of doom. Even better the scorpion will most likely add +2 to the CR (in kills) and 4 unit strength, increasing the chances of the unit breaking!

The other use the counter charge block is particularly effective against small Elite units which are strong and tough but have low static CR. Think Dryads or a spear of Cold One Knights. Often your enemies will try and use there weak units as bait and then charge your flank with these small but effective units. A scorpion is more than effective against these types of units. With its high strength and toughness most elite troops struggle against it and cavalry get annihilated quickly if they don’t get the charge. It may not win the combat however it will severely hold those troops up allowing your other unit to escape the trap!

Character Assassination

The most risky of all the tactics this always ends in a spectacular fashion. Either you get a killing blow on the character or roll really well and remove 3 of his wounds thus killing him or you fail to hurt him and you crumble through CR and of course the retaliatory attacks!!

This tactic is very good up against armies which use the eggs in one basket tactic and have the 500 point 1 man killing machine. Be aware that some of these characters will be immune to killing blow and thus use two scorpions against them in fact two scorpions is generally the way to go. This tactic should be primarily used against Vampire Counts. But is also good against Characters in mounted Monsters (you can get 3 scorpions in!). Generally no need to use ICFB when using this tactic.

Using ICFB

This comes down to the role the scorpion is involved in. You have to remember that everytime you use ICFB theres a chance that your scorpion may not come up. There is a much greater chance that your scorpion won't come up in exactly the place you want.

When not to use ICFB
When aiming to assassinate a character in the front rank of a unit the Scorpion should not use ICFB but rather a shrewd tactical placement of directly opposite said character.

Scorpions are blessed with a high movement stat and therefore are able to declare charges in the front and flank of a unit relatively easily. We must remember that they still can't march so they are not as mobile as most other units and redeploying from one side of the battlefield requires a lot of effort by the way of magic casting.

When to use ICFB
When trying to get behind the enemies main battle line to prevent troops fleeing and destroy their precious war machines.

Scorpions are reasonably reliable with ICFB. Popping up and being able to charge in the same turn is a blessing. Hopefully this means that on a successful roll all the nasty war machines of the enemy will be silenced on your turn two which is far faster than what a scorpion could achieve if it was deployed normally. The only way to be more effective is a magic charge from carrion in the first turn.

When trying to prevent the flight of an enemy unit turn 3 is generally sufficient and therefore the scorpion will have arrived in time to be of service 69% of the time

Greatest Mistakes

There are really only 2 that come to mind

Taking on the world
Scorpions are a great unit and as the tactics above say they can easily take out double there points every battle you play with them. Of course they are not invincible not even close and if you charge them head/flank or from the rear into a block of infantry (even Gobbos) you will come off looking rather stupid. A Scorpion’s greatest weakness is the lack of static CR and it never manages to generate a lot of CR on the attack either. So against blocks of infantry you will crumble big time!!!

Supporting a Lost Cause
Another bad idea is to bring them into a doomed combat to try and get some CR to help out a block of skeletons etc. Scorpions do not create a significant CR by themselves you can pretty much bank on them adding +2. If you have a unit of skeleton bowmen up against a lizard temple guard unit and you rush your scorpion in there expect the temple guard to keep grinding the bowmen down maybe killing 6 and the scorpion crumbling as a result because the weak skeletons allowed the temple guard to create a huge CR.

Scorpion Law

1. Take at least one!
2. Don’t Charge into Block Infantry
3. Create and Execute the Plan, Don’t Gamble!

Conclusion

Scorpions are very good at taking out an armies strength, whether it’s Dwarven Artillery, Dark Elf Magic, Wood Elf Shooting or the VC’s General. Their amazing versatility makes them a very popular choice in tournaments as there are not many armies which they are not of great value against. Their low points cost combined with a great stat line and awesome special abilities make them the single greatest (in my honest opinion) Special unit available to any army. When used correctly they will hollow out an enemy allowing you to crush them mercilessly!

[Spector]

Written by: Nephthysis

Treasures of the Necropolis
Magic Armour - Aegis of the Gods

Overview:
With only four choices (five counting the common Enchanted Shield) the Tomb Kings don't have nearly an impressive collection of magical armour as they do weapons. Armour in general is a weak point of the Tomb Kings though, so this is not entirely unexpected. Each of the four entries is unique and three at least are useful in their intended purposes though.

Armour of Eternity:
If you want a King that can endure a small nuclear explosion and still come out swinging, this is the way to go. It may only count as light armour, but re-rolling wound rolls on a Tough 5 character more than makes up for one or even the two armour points that full plate/chaos armour get over it. You always get these re-rolls, even against weapons that disallow armour saves, even against magic missiles that allow no armour saves, and even against killing blow! It provides our only non-ward protection from the dreaded lucky 6. It's restrictive points cost does of course prevent you from taking any of our army specific magic weapons, though you can still combine it with the Collar of Shapesh to yield the most survivable character we can field. You still have the choice of taking a mundane great weapon, which is nothing to sneeze at on a Tomb King, and/or a shield for the option of even more survivability.

Scorpion Armour:
A unique piece of armour that cuts down on the number of wounds we take from combat resolution, and one of only two ways that Tomb Kings characters can obtain heavy armour (yes they can wear it even though they have no option for mundane heavy armour). Only half the wounds sustained from combat resolution can be assigned to the character wearing the Scorpion Armour though, so you're looking at saving 3 skeletons or 2 tomb guard guard usually in a best case scenario. In a unit of chariots it can save you some very expensive wounds if they fluff a charge (which is very possible for them to do). It is generally considered to be best complimented by the Spear of Antarhak since the armour's special function involves you purposefully wounding your character.

There is also another intriguing combo using the Spear of Antarhak and the Scorpion Armour. It involves using a King as a self healing sponge unit to tie down an entire enemy unit on his own. He will of course lose through combat resolution, but only take one wound due to the Scorpion Armor. Hopefully he'll be able to heal himself long enough to keep the unit occupied at least until a flanking unit arrives. There are variations using either the Cloak of the Dunes to give him more mobility (he can then Urgency charge in) or the Talisman of Protection for a little extra survivability. Keep in mind that even if you get a flank charge, you are assuming that the enemy will win combat, and then he gets a free reform to face you. The next turn you will have taken a wound from the previous combat resolution, and Tomb Kings don't strike first all that often, even if there's no enemy hero present. Issue a challenge if you can, otherwise the tactic is very risky. It must be considered that the enemy only has to inflict 3 wounds vs at best a 4+ armour save and 6+ ward save to spoil it. If the unit is worth keeping occupied, it can very likely do this; if the unit can't cause three wounds, then your tooled-out King probably costs more points than the unit he is tying down.

Armour of the Ages:
Cheap, effective, and probably the most commonly taken piece of magical armour from the Tomb Kings list. It is better from a pure survivability standpoint than the Scorpion Armour which is more suited for synergistic and tactical use, but does not have the point restrictions of the Armour of Eternity (though you'll note its point cost was set specifically to keep it from being taken with the Destroyer of Eternities). It may not be flashy but it accomplishes its job well.

Shield of Ptra:
Our only army-specific magical shield is cheap, but rarely taken for a number of reasons. It precludes you from taking any other magical armor and the special ability is underwhelming usually. You have to make a successful armour save (4+ at best and using a mundane hand weapon on a character is a shame) before it even kicks in, and weapon skill is generally considered the least influential of the "combat stats" after that. If you attack first, then the enemies in base to base contact all attack at once, the shield does nothing (except maybe make a couple of skeletons or tomb guard hit on 3's instead of 4's). If the enemy attacks first (not out of the realm of possibilities for I3 characters), then your Tomb King or Prince can hit on 3's, but they likely were going to anyway. It might find use in a chariot unit where more units are in base to base contact with the character, but they will have all struck before it's special ability comes into play on a charge, and you don't want your chariots in combat for any longer than that. If it persisted into another combat round or just plain affected models in base to base combat it might merit consideration, but as it stands there are much more effective ways to use those points.

[Spector]

Written by: willadams33

The Casket of Souls – Pandora’s Box


Overview –

The Casket of Souls is perhaps the most interesting and potentially devastating option certainty for a Khemrian character to take and in a broader sense for a Tomb Kings army in general. You may take one per army, no matter what the size, and it is a hefty investment and will take up one of your rare slots (more on this latter) and follows all the rules for war machines. The Casket is better suited to a more defensive style of play and army construction, where it can have the maximum amount of turn before your units enter combat and block your opponents line of sight to the casket.

Strengths –

- Always casts on a value of 2D6. The Casket of Souls, like all Khemrian magic always casts and therefore will never miscast. This means that your opponent is either going to have to let it go, or save dispel dice and scrolls in order to counter it. This is perhaps the single most useful thing about the casket. I have played games where it has been as useful as I could have ever wished it to be when it has not even successfully gone off at all. The Casket is an absolute sucker for dispel dice. If dice and scrolls are being saved and used by your opponent to counter the casket, it means that you more game-making incantations such as summoning and especially urgency, giving you that all important charge, have less chance of being dispelled.

-Effects everything that can see it. Now let us assume that the casket does successfully go off. It is an item with the potential to effect every unit in the opponents army (providing they are all looking at the casket) This is a power like no other in Warhammer, and is why the casket is so rightly feared. The casket will affect any enemy that can see it, even if they are immune to psychology or unbreakable. Even high Ld armies will take some casualties against the casket. With 2d6+2 –Ld wounds per unit with no saves allowed, even knights with a 1+ save should be quaking in their saddles.

Causes your opponent to cast at -1 modifier. As well as sucking up dispel dice and scrolls, the Casket causes the opponent to subtract one from all of his casting roles. This is great for forcing that extra power dice to be used for mid- level spells. However, the power really comes into its own against Ogres, making an Ogre player have to use two dice to be confident of getting a gut magic spell through, helping to control what otherwise can be a very nasty magic phase.

Causes Terror. This is a great self protection mechanism. Against the Fast Cavalry and skirmishers who will normally come after the Casket, it will make perhaps half of them run in terror instead of charge. It is also great if you are deploying your Casket next to a Catapult on an elevated position, giving the stone thrower some extra protection afforded by the six inch range of terror.
? Vs. Normal Shooting. As a model, the Casket is extremely resilient against non-template weapons of all types. The Casket itself cannot be harmed, so when randomising, two-thirds of the shots are discounted. Any shots hitting crew members are then randomised again, hitting the guard on a 1-4 and the Priest on a 5-6. This means that on average only 1 in 9 shots that hit will hit the Liche Priest, keeping him pretty safe.


Weaknesses –

-Cannon balls and other template weapons. Here is the caskets greatest problem. Due to Games Workshop thinking that it is okay to make cannons snipers when firing at war machines, the liche priest can be picked out if the cannon guess is accurate. There are very few ways round this, other than hiding the Casket from the cannons (thus vastly reducing its effectivness, or investing in a Ward Save which may be better served on another character (more on this later). If a cannon or template hits the priest he cannot get away from it. A measly T3 with two wounds, he will not be around for long. On the bright side, cannons are only available to two armies, Dwarfs and empire, with stone throwers available to Dwarfs, Empire, Bretonnian, Orcs and Goblins, Ogres and Tomb Kings. Though I feel that their accuracy is much less reliable and they are not best suited to targeting war machines.

-Points cost. A casket and a tooled up Liche Priest come in on the wrong side of 300 points, so sizeable investment. After hearing a few horror stories about the caskets capabilities, your opponent is bound to try to get rid of it, and those victory points.

-Stationary. The casket cannot move. This means that deployment (more on this later) is vitally important. It is also a weakness because unless you are playing with a very defensive army, soon your Casket Priest’s incantations will be out of range. Stationary also means it has no way to get out of the way if, for instance, it is ambushed by a herd of Chaos Beastmen.

The Two Catapults Problem. Competition is a good headache to have I suppose. The Casket is up against one of the best and most points efficient war machines in the games, the Screaming Skulls Catapult. For some 55pts cheaper than the Casket alone, let alone the priest on top, you can have a fully fledged panic-causing machine. The Catapult is the only thing available to Tomb Kings to get rid of things like Treemen and Steam Tanks at range, in fact it is about the only thing that can get rid of a Steam Tank full stop! So to this end, is it worth it? It gives your huge magical power and the ability to affect the whole enemy army, always works, and is devastating against magic-light and low Ld armies. At the end it is a personal choice, I just like the threat and variety that the Casket brings to battle.


Deployment & Tactics-

As has been noted, the Casket cannot move, this means its initial deployment is paramount to the caskets success and role in the battle. Normally, I deploy the Casket in one of two ways: Defensive and Offensive. The safer defensive option is to deploy it on an elevated position along with the mandatory Screaming Skulls Catapult. This serves several purposes. It offers the Casket a decent view of the whole battlefield; it gives the catapult some extra protection afforded by the six inch range of terror; it means that your Casket Priest’s incantation is never wasted as he can simply be on smiting duty with the catapult. The drawback to this deployment is that it leaves over 400 points of your army in a very small, unmovable area. More annoyingly, most hills tend to be in corners, meaning that it is fairly easy for your opponent to deploy and move his army to insure as few of his units as possible can draw line of sight to the Casket. The Second more aggressive way to deploy the casket is right slap bang in the middle of your battle line. Yes this means that it is right on show and not tucked away safe in a corner, but it means that to get to your army, the enemy will have to look pretty much straight at it! This is great, because your enemy will have to deal with it, either in using a lot of shooting to kill the Liche Priest, or by using up dispel dice and scrolls. This more aggressive style of deployment is better suited against combat armies like Chaos, Bretonnia and O&G, as to win the game, these armies will have to meet your battle line which can stay relatively still for the first few turns, meaning that you aren’t blocking line of sight to the Casket.

[Spector]

Written by: Deceiver

Tomb King

A Tomb King is the first choice of many to lead their army to battle. Boasting a great profile, a King provides a great basis for any army. Made for combat, he can take on other Lord characters with a decent chance of success, and as well as being able to give a boost to the all important Tomb King magic phase, his wargear and magic item selections can act as a center point for the army’s tactics.

Strengths
Good Statline
‘My Will be Done!’
The Curse
S7 able
Good Wargear selection
Core Chariots
Banner for Skeleton Warriors

Weaknesses
Lack of decent Armour / save
Flammable
Slow
Short Spell Range


The King in General
Equipping him with a Great Weapon is the only way for a Tomb King army to have a S7 model in combat. This seems to be the key Strength value in Fantasy, able to wound most enemies on 2+, modifying armour saves by -4, and able to splinter chariots.

Possibly one of the most popular reasons for taking a King is the fact that he makes Chariots a Core choice for the army instead of Special. This is great whether you are playing an offensive of defensive lists, as it allows you take these great units and still keep your options open for taking the other fantastic Special choices available.

Also having a King gives one of your Skeleton units the option of taking a magic banner. There are still only 2 banner choices available for them, but if the King is in a Skeleton warrior unit the common choice for them is the Banner of the Undying Legion.

My Will Be Done!
Very few other armies have a Lord level character that can fight and also provide such a key support to the army in the magic phase. He comes with the best two spells available to the Tomb Kings, and despite their short range they can come in very useful when the King is positioned correctly.

With 2 spells at power level D6 each, if you can make them key spells then even if you roll a 1, the enemy has to throw a dispel dice to stop you. If you roll a 4 or higher, the opponent will be looking at rolling two dice to stop the spell going through. That’s 2-4 of the opponents Dispel dice every turn, usually quite a good portion of their dispel pool. And if his spells are successful, even better!

The Curse
If your King is unfortunate enough to be slain in combat, this gives you one last chance to hurt the enemy character or unit that killed him.



Tomb King on Foot
This seems to be the preferred option for most Kings when used in a defensive army. The King generally sits in a large unit of Tomb Guard or Skeleton Warriors.

From there he is able to use MWBD on his own and other nearby units. In early turns it is great to have an extra spell or two to boost your ranged damage potential, as most opponents tend to ignore extra movement spells early on.

Once you get into the later turns of the game, the King really comes into his own. His movement spell plays a key roll here. If you are unable to charge successfully in the movement phase as normal, then the King can really help you out. With his two spells, he can get himself and his own unit into combat, as well as being able to provide support by getting a second nearby unit to also charge.

Of course it is unlikely he will pull this off alone, but with good magic support from priests, it is unlikely the opponent will be able to stop all your spells. Especially as their scrolls have probably been used to stop the Casket of Souls or Screaming Skull Catapult in earlier turns.

Tomb King on Chariot
A chariot is the best option for a King leading an offensive army, but is also a viable option for use in a more defensive list.

Usually he is accompanied by a unit of 3 chariots, to make a fast, hard hitting unit. Something Tomb Kings often lack.

From his chariot the Kings MWBD becomes incredibly useful. The unit even has the potential for a first turn charge, and if your opponent has other magic to worry about later on, he will be less decisive about dispelling these early spells. Of course if they are already in combat, he can use Smiting to start the killing before the combat phase even begins.

As it is likely your priests will be elsewhere, unable to keep their magic in range of the faster moving chariots whilst remaining safe themselves, having the magical support from the King himself makes the unit far more potent and much more of a worry for the enemy to deal with. Especially as there is often a good chance to get a first turn charge.


Common Tomb King Magic Item Choices (see Treasures of the Necropolis section for more information)

Weapons:
Destroyer of Eternities (foot), Considered by many to be the ultimate item for Tomb King character killer.

Flail of Skulls, a good choice for a King running into tough enemy characters.

Spear of Antarhak, Keeping him and his unit healed in combat, especially against weaker enemies.

Armour:
Armour of the Ages, For added Survivability.

Talismans:
Golden Ankhra, Standard ward save.

Crown of Kings, Fantastic for making his magic even more of a threat.

Collar of Shapesh, As useful as the Golden Ankhra, with an acceptable downside considering its cost.

Golden Eye of Rah-Nutt (chariot), Protecting his precious chariot from high strength hits.

Enchanted:
Chariot of Fire (chariot), Increasing the damage he can do on the charge.

Vambraces of the Sun, Another option for a Character going into Challenges.


Useful item Combinations
‘The Challenger’: Destroyer of Eternities + Collar of Shapesh.
The best chance you have of going up against a powerful enemy character and coming out on top.

‘The Survivor’: Spear of Antarhak + Armour of Ages + Collar of Shapesh + Shield.
A great setup for a King who will be seeing a lot of combat, chances are he will still be alive at the end of it

‘The Road Block’: Spear of Antarhak + Scorpion Armour + Cloak of the Dunes + Shield
Not seen very often as it is not the best use for a King, but famous for being able to take a fully ranked up unit head on and holding them in place. Quite a risky option though.

[Spector]

Written by: Carnifexus

Tomb Kings vs Vampire Counts
Sticks and Stones will break there Bones
Perhaps our most hated enemy, the vampire counts suffer alot of the same disadvantages and advantages that we do, however their tactics and army differ greatly.

Unit Comparison and Strengths


Tomb Kings

Core:

Skeleton Warriors:
The backbone of our force these are almost the same core unit for each side, However we have the ability to be archers as well as hand weapon shield and our light armor upgrade costs less. This is counted by there ability to raise more skeletons than us and more than the force started with.

Archers are great at taking out ghouls and bats and dogs. Once these prime targets are removed, limiting the VC's tactical abilities, these can be used to whittle down the rank and file though to a much lesser extent. (good against zombies)

Light Horsemen
Because you are fighting undead the limited abilities of these models become even worse. I cannot think of a reason to take these guys

Heavy Horsemen
Because you are fighting undead the limited abilities of these models become even worse. While they can still be used on the flank chariots fulfill this role much better.

Tomb Swarm
The normal targets for tomb swarms just don't exist in the VC's army and the need to hold units in place is almost non existent again not a great choice against this army.

Chariots
Owing to the need to keep the general in 12" range to allow the army to move with any sort of purpose VC's often have a flank and this can be used to great effect.
Run in groups of 3 but be wary of spirit hosts as they could tie your chariots up indefinitely. The chariots are also very susceptible to side charges so don't let fast moving units flank you.

Special Units

Tomb Guard
Better than the average skeleton and with magical attacks and killing blow these guys are particularly good against VC's in particular the generals unit (nothing like killing blow to start the crumble). Be careful up against your polar opposites Grave guard as while they cannot be raised for the same points they get a 3+ save instead of a 4+. Remember to raise your guys or give yourself a banner of something cool to give you an advantage.

Ushabti
Great against blocks of Skellies, Zombies or black knights as long as you get the charge (on the knights). These guys negate most of the armour saves and in a group of four will generally do enough damage to knock out the standing combat resolution of 5, (they absolutely trash the knights)

Carrion
Not the greatest due to the lack of war machines, with the inability to make anything run away, the best use is as a necro hunter send out as a pack of 3 (only 2 will fight the necro due to base size) and hope you kill him in the first turn of combat.

Tomb Scorpion
While there are no war machines to punish or really a need to hold a block of skellies up the tomb scorpions once again prove there versatility in being a character killer. Particularly excellent against the general, generally i would suggest starting these guys in your lines and just charging straight at the generals unit prey for the killing blow and watch the crumble begin.

Rare

Screaming Skull Catapult
while there is no need for the skulls of the foe upgrade. The slow speed of the opposition army and lack of any war machines themselves will allow you to whittle down the numbers while they get close.

Bone Giant
Not the Best choice against other Undead while he is still good at negating ranks and charging from the side he generally won't cause enough damage to make it worth his while. He is better at taking out the more expensive units, however he could die to couple of spirit hosts. Generally there are better options out there.

Casket of Souls
While VC's can be known for there mass units of skellies and zombies they have a few tactical units with not many guys in them and low leadership. Not to mention all the groups they can raise 18" away from the wizard. The casket is valuable as it will eat up scrolls and dice early on in the game and the -1 to casting will help you defend against what is really a very strong magic army. Remember ghouls fear the casket and have low leadership.

Vampire Counts

Core:

Skeletons
While almost exactly the same as your skeles they are easier to raise. Try and use flank charges so you can wipe them out as quick as possible, slow moving tactically they are just rank and file to us.

Zombies
Lose all there advantages over skellies except as a speed bump. There ability to be raised faster may be used to keep a good unit in combat indefinitely, so set up your flank charges not a single unit should fear these guys in combat.

Ghouls
In an undead vs undead world ghouls are alive and therefore don't have to hold against a charge. They are also relatively tough however they have no armor but do wield poison. Use archers against them don't use big tough monsters like your Giant, Ushabti or Scorpions.

Bat Swarm
with a limited move these guys often occupy a flank but are great archer fodder and really should pose no threat to most of your units. Don't let them get a flank charge on a chariot unit though as they could hold these guys up.

Dire Wolves
Great at knocking out archers or your war machines they get a bonus strength on the charge and have a huge charge range at 18", they don't wear armor and have toughness 3, just turn them into pin cushions on turn 1.

Special Units:

Grave Guard
Like our tomb guard but with a better save its best to use the SSC to soften these guys up before removing them with a frontal charge support by chariots in the side.

Black Knights
While not as effective against us as against some armies they do have relatively good move and can be used to try and flank charge they are also not bad solo against smaller units of skeles and bowmen. To combat get the charge on them with ushabti or chariots though preferably Ushabti.

Fell bat
Fast and relative good, You won't want to leave your heirophant about with these guys.(that goes for the dogs too). A targeted attack could easily see you start to crumble. Use arrows to keep their numbers low. Fly carrion into them to keep them occupied. or just run away using your cloak of the dunes. Also good at taking out the war machines.

Spirit Host
Being ethereal allows them to target your more dangerous units the Ushabti/ Giant and hold them in place for great lengths of time. Make sure you take a chariot of fire, or use tomb guard or your SSC to remove them. Failing that if you can run a block of skeles in there and hope they crumble on your static combat resolution.

Rare

Banshee
WE ARE IMMUNE, if you see one just laugh and ignore it

Black Coach
He spent an awful lot of points on this use a SSC to remove it from the game, failing that a tomb king with a great weapon or destroyer of eternity. Its not really that scary unless you don't kill it early and allow it to get your flank in all sorts of bother.



Magic

Generally both races are good at casting and poor defensively

Tomb King
make sure you use as many of his scrolls up as soon as possible so that you can make all your important charges. Don't leave chariots to just use there princes spell, take a priest with a jar and cloak to guarantee charges.

Getting double shots with SSC will help whittle him down and generally he will dispel this with quiet abandon.

Make sure you concentrate on getting the charge with your units, because our units are so similar its important to take every advantage possible.

Vampire Counts

Invocation of Nehek (1, 3+/7+/11+)
Raises basic skellies or zombies unlike us this is all that can be raised however they are more effective than us at raising. Don't let him create new units near your lines as he may prevent you getting that flank charge you need to win the combat.

Hand of Dust (2, 7+)
A character killer, its unlikely he will keep this vs us as none of our characters are really that scary to warrant it.

Hellish Vigour (3, 7+)
Allows the unit to attack first (includes Zombies). Not particularly useful unless he losing a combat as both sides have the same initiative.

Gaze of Nagash (4, 8+)
Standard Magic missile dispel if at all possible if not raise the dead.

Vanhel's Danse Macabre (5, 9+)
Gives them an 8" charge, watch this as it is dangerous allowing them to get the charge. Whoever gets the charge in a skelly on skelly fight generally wins it.

Curse of years (6, 10+)
Useful for killing units, reasonably hard to dispel, worth the dispel scroll to remove it from effecting you, unless you have enkhils.



Heroes
Generally they are better in close combat than our heroes, while we provide a greater tactical nouse. Just be careful of the zombie dragon however if you see one try to killing blow the character or dropping a catapult shot onto him, arrows may also be an option though a poor one.

There greatest weakness and strength is there general. A central tactic is to charge scorpions or tomb guard into combat against his general so as to kill him with killing blow.

Also try to take out his mages as soon as possible which will allow you to maximise your magic phase. Be careful to screen your hierophant from dogs and bats so that they don’t use the tactic against you.



Tactics

Gain the Flank
He will want to keep within 12" of the general which generally means he'll be bunched in the middle with maybe a couple of weak flanks, make sure you take some magic users with you to keep the spirit hosts from holding his flank. Chariots work wonders against VC's

Shoot him to death
He has no shooting let him come to you slowly while whittling him down.

Character Assassination
Use Scorpions to Character Assassinate the General if you can pull this off you have won. Make sure to protect your own heirophant. Also you will find that his characters sit back to avoid the Killing Blow that a couple of our guys have let him sit back as he needs characters to turn the tide of his war.

[Spector]

Written by: willadams33

Tomb Guard – The Immovable Object

Strengths

-Strength and Toughness 4. Tomb Guard are the toughest infantry unit we have access to, toughness 4 can really make all the difference.

-Magic Weapons. This is great for taking out ethereal creatures like spirit hosts for Vampire Counts or the Green Knight for Bretonnia. It is also useful for negating the saves of Wood Elf Forest Spirit units or Chaos Daemons.

-Killing Blow. Cavalry should rightly fear Tomb Guard. Killing blow is excellent especially if you manage to smite the unit in the magic phase, that’s eleven killing blow attacks per turn assuming you have a Champion in the unit. It is also great for character annihilation. Over two turns, if three Guard are in combat with a character you should average a killing blow.

-4+ Save in Combat. Not much to say here, just makes the unit a little more resilient. The best combat save the majority of units in the Warhammer world can expect.

-Can raise themselves back better than any unit other than skeleton warriors. The D6 rather than D3 to raise these guys back is invaluable, especially if you are in the final turns and you need to get the unit back to over half strength.


Weaknesses

-Basic movement is slow (4). If you come up against a defensive magic setup, you Tomb Guard could be in for a long walk. Without urgency these guys are slow. If this is the case, try to kill enemy wizards with Carrion/Scorpions asap (you should be doing this anyway).

-Expensive. Tomb Guard are 3pts more per model than a normal HW/S skeleton. This doesn’t seem like much on the face of it, but by the time you have a unit of 20 with command and a banner, the unit becomes very expensive and a missile and magic magnet.

-Take up a special slot. This is annoying. The blessing and curse of Tomb Kings is that all our special choices are worth taking. As Carnifexus said, once you have the mandatory two Scorpions in place, that leaves only two slots left at 2k for Tomb Guard, Ushabti, Carrion and another Scorpion. “Choice…The problem is choice.”

-Weak non-Combat armour save. A 5+ save wont keep your guard animated for long against a prolonged ranged assault.


Basic Tactics

-Forward, March! This one is pretty self explanatory really. Use the Tomb Guard as your hammer unit down the centre, getting them into combat as quickly as possible. This tactic normally requires a Price if not a King to be in the unit to help urgency them forward.

-Catapult Partol. If you want to play defensively, there is no better unit that Tomb Guard to sit in front of the hill upon which sits your Catapults and Casket. This is a real, ‘let them come to us’ tactic so beware of being out-manoeuvred by fast armies. It also means that your Tomb Guard may never see combat which means the rest of your army will need to win you the game (more on this later).

-Tar Pit. This is for when you see that Vampire on a Zombie Dragon, that great big Unit of Chaos Knights with a Lord on a demonic steed etc-. Tomb Guard are about the only unit who will stand a hope against these guys in combat, so usually it is better to send them in to stop the unit reeking havoc against the rest of your army, and maybe even win the combat eventually because you can raise back and smite.


The Key to Tomb Guard

If using Tomb Guard, usually it is best to assume that they will get shot and magicked to pieces. It is an unhappy thought I know but it is true. Your opponent isn’t going to want your prize unit destroying half his army. To this end, the key to Tomb Guard is to have a battle plan that accounts for this. The rest of you army need to win you the game. I’m talking Chariots, Scorpions, Bowmen and Ushabti. These are the guys that need to be able to win you the game if either, the Guard are sent on Tar Pit duty, or if you opponent puts all of his long range capabilities into destroying them. Use chariots to get round the flanks and kill enemy wizards asap. Use swarms to take out enemy missile units or even carrion.


Equipment

-The whole 9 yards. This means a unit of at least 19 Tomb Guard with full command, joined by a King with the Destroyer of Eternities and the unit standard holding aloft the Icon of Rakaph. This is a big, very expensive unit and is most suited to the Forward, March! tactic. The Icon means that you effectively have 360 degree LOS for your charges and means that if by bad fortune you get flanked, it should be for no more than a turn. More than this, it means that you can plough straight though the enemies battle line and then, next turn, turn and charge straight away again (probably in the flank) rather than have to spend a movement phase turning around.

-Budgeted. If on catapult patrol, a unit with a standard will be fine, there is no need for even the champion or musician.

-I Raise. A good alternative to the Icon of Rakaph is the Banner of the Undying Legion, giving the unit more staying power and it is another bound spell for the enemy to deal with.


No-No’s

-Getting stuck against Unbreakable units or other ‘raising’ units. The last thing you want is for your big, undead killing machine to get stuck for the entire game by a unit of Flagellants or a block of Undead skeletons, leaving them stuck, flank showing, for the rest of the game.

-Out all alone. Tomb Guard are great, but if you just send them out of your line on their own eventually they will be overwhelmed. Use them with supporting units such as chariots or Ushabti and they will nearly always ‘live’ to tell the tale.


Conclusion

Tomb Guard are our best infantry unit and used correctly, can swing a game with ease. However, if you are simply looking for sponge units to flank the turn after, skeletons are the way forward as they are cheaper and will get the same saving throw. Here in lies the problem for Tomb Guard. Unless you plan to use them aggressively, Skeletons can perform their roles nearly as well, for 75% of their cost.

[Spector]

Written by: willadams33

Carrion - Birds of a Feather

Overview -

Carrion are the fastest unit avalible to a Khemrian general. With the ability to fly 20 inches per turn and the potential to fly 20 inches in the magic phase they can move further per turn than pritty much anything else in Warhammer. Carrion take up a special slot in you army roster but make up for it with 2 wounds and 2 attacks each.


Strengths.

-Speed. As has been meantioned, Carrion have the potential to move 40 inces per turn, which is quite frankly amazing. This means that they should never get charged if you don't want them to be, and more importantly, have the potential of a first turn charge! This is especially true in a list lead by a Liche High Priest, as the shere amount of magic you have to throw around means that your opponent will be hard pressed to dispel all of your first turn urgancy incantations on your Carrion unit. A list with a LHP, 2 LP's and a Hieretic Jar has the potential to cast this incantation five times with varying casting levels, which will take some stopping!

-Surivability. Two Toughness 4 wounds per model is good, and skirmishing is better. This means that carrion are far harder to remove than most flying units, and can be raised back again!


Weaknesses

Unit Strength 1. Carrion are only Unit strength one so if you want them to play an active role in the battle, you need a unit of 5 minimum to grant you the magic Unit Strength 5. However, even if you do this, only one carrion needs to die before this is removed unless you raise them back. The problem is, any more that 5 Carrion in a unit and the unit gets unwhieldy not to meantion expensive in terms of points and pocket.

Base Size On a 40mm base, they are bigger than most flyers, meaning that usually only four at maximum will see combat. Also it means that they are not as manouverable as other flying units.

Take up a Special choice This is annoying. The blessing and curse of Tomb Kings is that all our special choices are worth taking. As Carnifexus said, once you have the mandatory two Scorpions in place, that leaves only two slots left at 2k for Tomb Guard, Ushabti, Carrion and another Scorpion. “Choice…The problem is choice.”


Basic Tactics

Mage/War Machine Hunting This is a favourite of mine. Use their speed to get a charge in on no later than turn two. Against war machines crew you should get 3 carrion in combat, and against a wizard, two. Carrion should be a match for all but heavily armoured Dwarf Artillery Crew and there are very few wizards in the game that Carrion cannot eat up for dinner. The drawback is that your Carrion are effectively sacrificed because of crumbling after a turn or two, so think carefully before committing to this trade off. However, if you need to establish magical superiority as quickly as possible, or can’t let your chariots out while there is a cannon about, then this is a worthwhile trade.

Charging to ensure a hold reaction. This is another sneaky ploy. There is nothing worse than your big unit of death charging your opponents key unit, only to see it run away? Charge the Carrion into the same unit, and there is very little change of the unit fleeing, as even if they are a Cavalry unit, the Carrion will catch them and cut them down more often than not. The Key to this tactic is the order in which you announce your charges. Make sure that the Carrion’s charge is declared last, as otherwise the unit (assuming it holds as you know it will have to) will align to the Carrion first, leaving little or no room for your big combat unit.

Crossfiring.A new 7th Ed tactic works wonders! Sit the Carrion behind a large unit you intend your Tomb Guard/Chariots etc to charge. Assuming you win the combat your opponents should flee right through your Carrion, and as long as you have 5 Carrion in the unit, the fleeing unit will be automatically destroyed from crossfire, leaving your other units to pursue or restrain as you require.

Small missile Units.Be Careful here. Your Carrion will suffer less from stand and shoot than most units as they are fear causing skirmishers, but make sure you charge them into a unit they can beat, you don’t want your Carrion to be bogged down. Dwarf handgunner’s are a no-no, but apart from that you should be okay.

March Blocking.This is Carrion’s best ability. Against an army you need to slow down they are invaluable. Whether it is Manfred Von Castein or Grimgor Ironhide coming towards you, slowing them down is a must. Again, your Carrion will probably be slaughtered eventually, but normally this is worth it. Fly them in behind the opponent and let him crawl towards you, giving you maximum time to get your charges prepared, and giving your Casket, Archers and Catapults the maximum time in which to operate efficiently.


Conclusion Flyers are incredibly important in 7th Edition rules. Their ability to crossfire and their speed means that they are invaluable. Carrion are more expensive than most flyers but have 2 wounds each and a higher toughness and the ability to move magically. Their drawback is that for less points you can have a scorpion which is better at character hunting. However, I think that Carrion, with their potential US5 and extra movement are more flexible and reliable than a Scorpion (remember all those times you have rolled a misfire on ICFB?) Merely the potential of a turn one charge is reason enough to take the Khemrian version of the RAF!

[Spector]

Written by: Carnifexus, Undead Bonzi

Taking on Dwarves
How to make sure your at the top of the book of grudges

Unit Choice

Core:


Skeleton Warriors
Dwarves have a high toughness and a good save. Do not take bows against Dwarves. With 20 skeletons if you cause 1 wound with shooting then you should count yourself lucky. Personally I find Hand Weapon Shield and Light Armor to be the perfect combo you can get a squad of 20 with a Champ and Standard for 200pts Nice easy and round and we out distance Dwarves and so we can get the Charge.

Skeleton Cavalry
Most people will have already skipped this section if your still reading you obviously have not played with our “waste of ink in the codex” cavalry. All nastiness aside the cavalries main bonus is its movement speed with Dwarves being so slow you don't really need it stay away the are expensive arrow magnets which will find it very tough to wound a dwarf before they even try and get through that armor.

Tomb Swarms
Against Dwarves is where this Unit really shines. Great at taking out war machines with a high number of poisoned attacks 3-4 in a unit works well against Dwarves use against Warmachines and then shooters

Chariots
Whether Special or Rare chariots are very good against Dwarves they hit hard and are fast and manoeuvrable. Just make sure that you don't line them up for cannon damage and maybe keep them out of sight till the scorpion or carrion have removed said cannon.


Special

Tomb Guard
A Great unit will foot it with the toughest Dwarf, the killing blow rule is especially useful as it negates Dwarven armor. Their extra toughness makes it hard for Dwarves to kill them great to use against Dwarven Heroes no one likes to die vs killing blow. These guys are a great place to hide a Tomb King, they won't let you down

Ushabti
Another Good unit versus Basic Dwarves you'll be wounding on 2's and generally they will be saving on 6's (5's for iron breakers) I suggest taking them in units of 4 this will mean that all 4 get to attack thats 12 Str 6 attacks hitting on 4+. Hopefully with some decent rolling no one will be left to fight you back. Watch out for Dwarven shooting these are a prime target and if not looked after will fall quickly.

Tomb Scorpion
An absolute must taking on these nasty Dwarves. They are great at killing heros, mages or warmachines.

Carrion
Again great at removing War machines they can get a first turn charge on War machines note these only have US 1, so take 4 or 5 to outnumber the pesky Dwarven crew so that they run.

Rare

Screaming Skull Catapult
This is one of the few armies where you might want to think if its worth putting the Skulls of the Foe Upgrade on (I still think it is). The Catapult is the only viable rare choice versus Dwarves and allows you to pummel their main heavy hitters removing ranks. Str 4 allowing no armor saves was a recipe made to kill Dwarves.

Bone Giant
Its not that the Giant is Bad its just it sticks out like a sore thumb to Dwarven artillery of which there is generally alot. Hes not Bad just not as good as a SSC.

Casket
Not worth the points while not only tying down a priest in one place so that he can't help the rest of your army move fight and raise, owing to the Dwarven Trait of extremely high leadership it is unlikely that the casket would cause much fear among the ranks of the Dwarves.

Heroes
While Dwarves start off with 4 Dispel Dice They are unlikely to get much more as their Runesmiths, Runelords cannot cast in the magic phase. Therefore it can become quite easy for you to dominate the magic phase ressurecting the fallen getting that crucial charge or eliminating a rank of that Dwarven Warrior unit.

I would suggest going with a Magic heavy Hero set when taking on Dwarves Below is a hero combination i use quite often

I find a Tomb King (destroyer of eternities, Collar of Shapesh) on foot in my Tomb Guard unit (give the unit the Icon of Rapakh or Icon of the Sacred Eye). (Main goal with this guy is to get the incantation of smiting off once in close combat)

Tomb Prince in a chariot, (Chariot of Fire, Sacred eye) the chariot squad should just have a standard bearer and the standard IMO should be the banner of Undying Legion.

Lich Priest Put this Guy in the Tomb Guard where he will be nice and safe.

Lich Priest Heirophant (Cloak Jar)
This guy is to fly around and support your chariots incantation of smiting is lethal on chariots as you get so many extra attacks. Word of Caution, Dwarves can rune there bolt Throwers up to give a one time shot of hit anything on a 2+, just be certain when flying a priest or your Heirophant around that you don't leave him open to that option for the bolt thrower, it may be the point which turns your game.

General Tactics Against Dwarves.
Dwarves are a slow army this leaves you with all the tactical options for Close Combat and since they are not immune to fear Flank charges with large blocks of our skeletons become particularly Devastating.

Play the Dwarves at their own game

Perhaps my Favourite tactic. Dwarves Have a lot of Warmachines, with awesome firepower and a lot of lists are built around the use of that artillery to whittle down opponents while the dwarves wait for them as they march across the battlefield

Our Sneaky Scorpions and Tomb Swarms, Combined with a first turn charge Carrion, should mean that the War machines can be silenced quickly and efficiently. Once you have taken out his Warmachines then you can pound him to dust while he marches slowly towards you before you charge him and finish him off.

There will no doubt be a grudge they form after that one for the enemy stealing a tactic the dwarves took years to perfect (3000+)

Run rings around them

Movement is one of the most important stats in the game with it comes the ability to catch your opponent off guard, charge, flank and set up combat on your terms, charge, escape enemy traps, and of course CHARGE.

One of our most common tactics the refused flank works particularly effective against dwarves as even our basic infantry should get charge on the little buggers. By running Chariots and ushabti up the flank and blocks of infantry up the middle you will be able to easily flank the Dwarven units and smash through them.

For this tactic to work effectively you must fake out the Dwarves in the Deployment. You want Most of his forces to be in the centre of the board and even the opposite flank making it hard for him to defend the opposite flank with his low movement. To Achieve this place your blocks of skeletons first in the centre even a little towards the bad flank to try to get him to line up with you. If he doesn’t line up with you its probably because he is trying to maximise the distance you have to walk to his gunline, you may have to rethink your strategy or make sure you move rapidly with the incantation of urgency.

Note this strategy works best if you use carrion to knockout any cannons or organ guns which are waiting to rip apart your flanking force.


Fear has no Ally like a tooled up Hero!

Dwarves generally rely on there static combat res and high survivability to win the combat. Few armies boast the number of T4 2+ and 3+ armour saves like dwarves do. They are particularly adept at holding the charge and then flanking your units crushing it. To beat a Dwarven unit head on is not inconceivable but it does require using your units best suited for the job accompanied by a wielder of death.

2 units stand out best for this task the Tomb Guard and Chariots.

The Tomb Guard are lethal with killing blow and toting S4 and T4 will generally tie most Dwarven units on the charge. However chuck in a Tomb Prince with a flail of skulls or blade of setep and you will cause enough casualties to not only win but hopefully outnumber and autobreak, and with any decent pursuit most Dwarven units will be caught and cut down. Even if they manage to roll well your most likely out of the flank charge trap due to the 6” charge range.

Chariots I generally suggest 3 chariots with an accompanying Prince in a chariot give them a standard for CR. I generally run with flaming chariot and a flail on the prince so that he is Str6 on the charge and does D6 +1 impact hits giving you a mass of impact hits. Chariots will kill ¼ of there impact hits as deaths against most Dwarven units added to that the 11 str3 attacks 3 str 4 attacks and 3 str 6 attacks which should prevent the Dwarves from fighting back and hopefully take down a few more the US of this group is 13 and so with good rolling should cause autobreak and the dwarves will easily be cut down. Where this unit really shines however is in the flank of any Dwarven unit negating its rank bonus.

Dwarven heroes are extremely customisable and you should assume that they are generally more than capable of taking on your hero in 1 on 1. Charge these units in the flank or make sure that the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor (Flail of Skulls) etc.. of Particular note is the Tomb King with Destroyer of Eternities as long as you get a smiting spell off in the magic phase he should be able to deal with any Dwarven Hero Killer.


Sneaky Dwarven Tactics to Look out for.

The Dwarven Runes Provides endless tactics for eliminating certain foes. here are some good ones against us

-Flaming Weapons
for a small point cost all Dwarven heroes can cause our tomb prince and tomb kings double wounds (i can't say exact points cost sorry)

-Double Strength against toughness 5 (the rune of might) watch out for characters in War machine crews as an experienced Dwarf player knows full well that the scorpion is coming and this rune combined with the rune of immunity to poison and killing blow will mean that a scorpion will have a tough time. Its also great against our characters who are T5.

-War Machines of Bait and Blow up. Ever wondered why that warmachines has only 3 crew?? Dwarves get a *Champion* for there warmachines which gives each type or war machine a different bonus. Beware Warmachines that don't have this Champion, they might be runed to blow up destroying your scorpion or tomb swarm. Note that while Engineers can be present in the crew and the machine still has this rune, alot of players don't want to waste the points on self Sacrifice.

-Banner of Slowness.
Dwarves can have a banner that subtracts d6" off your charge when you declare a charge against the unit that has said banner. While there is not alot you can do in this circumstance as you want to be 7" away from a Dwarf unit so they can't charge you, one option is to try and position yourself so that your failed charge occurs in the movement phase so that in the magic phase you can enchant yourself into combat.

-Quarrelers
Dwarven shooters have amazing good range 30" Decent ballistic Skill and shoot at str4. They are ideal at taking out constructs, Make sure that you position your troops in such a way that he can't target Ushabti or Scorpions as he will do significant Damage

Beware of Oath Stone Thanes.
Dwarfs Thanes and Lords can take Oath Stones when they join certain units. As a charge reaction they can opt to "set the stone" making the unit they are in have NO FLANKS and retain FULL RANK's even if charged from every side. (My personal favorite combo for this is a full 20 Iron Breakers with the rune banner that makes the unit immune to fear, join them with an Oath Stone Thane and laugh at fear causing armies. You dont know the definition of a bog unit till you've seen this one in action.)

-Organ Gun of Doom
Artillery dice number of str 5 hits. Very evil Very good at taking out all our special choices in the army which are our real strengths. If you see one charge with a scorpion, tomb swarm, or try and magic your chariots or carrion into it no matter what you don't want it lasting till turn 3