Journal Entries
Warhammer - Dwarfs
Posted Aug 21, 2003
For those of you who have no idea about dwarfs, warhammer, or wargamming then this guide isn't for you. You'll feel like an eskemo reading a computer manual (unless its an educated eskemo who specialises in I.T, but you get my point)
I've been wargamming with dwarfs for quite some time now and have met with only 1 defeat, which was fairly recently. Sufice to say my army is fairly solid and and has gone many battles with little if any changes.
My force always consists of the certain following things:
longbeards:
Always at least 15 strong (usually 18) and always accompanied by the general. This unit smashes through anything and everything. Temple guard, Saurus, skeltons, tomb guard, even bone giants have been humbled by my short and stumpy. They have been whiped out twice, and reduced to just the standard bearer on numerous occasions, but they still keep coming. Combined with a lord and there nigh on unstoppable.Not to mention the fact that they can have a runic banner worth fifty points.
Lord Fundin:
My lord fundin has also been killed only twice, this time in challenges against nasty saurus lords. He always carries armour with the master rune of gromril. that one plus save just cant be refused. A master rune of skalf blackhammer is the next obvious choice. Anybody weilding a weapon that automatically wounds is deadly and this guys no exception. usually hitting on threes, he mows through infantry, charecters and monsters with ease. The problem comes when you have to decide what to spend the last 25pts on. Do you give him the rune of resistance and let him re-roll his one plus save (which really annoys my opponent), or how about a master rune of spite giving your dwarf lord a 4+ ward save (good if your opponent has a weapon which negates armour saves), or you be a proper dwarf and have the rune of fury for your axe, giving him an extra attack (my prefered choice) for a total of 5 attacks that always wound!
Thane Balin:
Thane Balin is my battle banner bearer. Most people may see a re-roll for an army that has leadership 9 a waste of points but i disagree for several reasons. firstly, after combat resolution, your leadership is going to be roughly 7, so the re-rolls handy. Secondly, when put the near the general, it makes your army more dwarfish (no retreat, no surrender, no quarter!) put him and your lord in the middle of your lines as he tries again and again to break your dwarfs only to have they stay and take the beating and still dish out punishment. Thirdly, and i feel most importantly, is the banner itself. The battle banner is the only standard in your force that has access to runes that are over 50pts. Not only that, but you can combine your runes on the banner. For example, a combination that i use most frequently is the master rune of stromni redbeard (+1 combat resolution to all units in 12"), rune of kadrin (re-roll any 1's to hit in close-combat or shooting) and rune of battle (+1 combat resolution). This gives an impressive +3 combat resolution to any unit he joins, also allowing them to re-roll any 1's. The rune of kadrin is the only rune that i change with any frequency, and it is usually changed for the rune of santuary (+1 dispel dice against magic at unit)
Stone thrower:
In a previous life i beleive i was some form of artillary master, or possibly a builder. I have an inate ability to acturately judge any range in inches. That means that my stone thrower is superb and at time horrendously deadly. Usually fitted with two runes of penetrating so that its strength 6 (-3 to any armour saves!) and a rune of accuracy just incase. A few good shots and it leaves any unit humbled.
Bolt thrower:
Before my dwarf army i used to have a high elf army, and then a dak elf army. Both have the multiple shot bolt throwers and that extra point of ballistic skill. So the dwarf bolt thrower was a shock to say the least. however, for only 45pts who can argue, there half the cost of the elven ones and you get an extra crew man! and i havent even started on the fact that you can rune them up. Does your opponent love to take huge blocks of infantry? well have a strength 9 bolt thrower a decimate him (or her). Does opponent take mummies or treemen? have flaming attacks for just 5pts. Do you have a really sneaky opponent or one who like to use flyers to kill your war machines? give the humble bolt thrower a valiant rune (unbreakable crew) and a master rune of immolation (anytime you wish, KABOOM!!!)
Dwarf warriors:
If you want a good troops choice don't look anywhere else. full armour and a great weapon and they stand against anything and laugh in its face. Dont bother with crossbow men there a waste of time. Just buy a dwarf, give him a big axe, and point. Not as good as long beards by a long shot, but useful for backing up the longbeards, and they have provide on more then one occasion a safe haven for my dwarf lord. Watch your opponents face in triuph as he wipes out the longbeards, only to have your dwarf lord join the nearest regiment of warriors that he hasnt thought about yet!
The above are always in my force and form a solid core which i can base the rest of my force around. Here are the following units that i have experimented with and my personal opinions.
Crossbow men:
Dont take them. Unless you a fool do not take them. with BS 4 they may be alright but they have BS 3 instead. for 2pts extra you can have armour penetrating shots, move and fire, and +1 at short range. Trust me buy handgunners and dont waste your money on the bow men. Dwarfs were never meant to hold a crossbow.
Miners:
Hehehehehe. I love miners. if i were a dwarf, id be a miner till i got a longer beard! Twenty strong, any table edge. No messing about turing up randomly, just pop up an start bashing stuff. This unit has killed heirophants and basically saved me on several occasions. I know i could use them to bolster my main battle line, but sending them in a flank is just too tempting!
Cannons:
My cannon used to be the pride and joy of my army and spent several games picking off charecters running around on there own. That was until me and my opponent were using them entirely wrong. To be honest, any weapon that adds between 4 and 24 inches is risky, better off with another stone thrower.
Slayers:
The fact that i have only five slayers in total has meant that when i do feild them (my opponent and i play a fun, not rule, based game) they usually get decimated. However, slayer charecters are another thing entirely. I had a deamon slayer with the master rune of snorri spangelhelm and a rune of fury (always hits first, +1 attack) take on and kill khalidra. He minced her. Saying that last game he was demoted to a dragon slayer and was prommetly shot to death by chameleon skinks. I painted him last night and he looks superb so i may buy a unit.
Organ gun:
The organ gun is lovely when it gets working, especially if you havent got the money to buy a unit of thunderers. Being mobile artillary is also a great advantage and many enemy units have been decimated by my organ gun.
Gyrocopter:
I have used this machine only once. It was in a three way game where i was allowed 2 use a dwarf on a small base to represent it as i was considering getting one. Although it got shot down by a dark elf bolt thrower, it still prevented several march moves and severly slowed my opponent down. Apart from that i see no use for it. Its a serious pain for your opponent, but not because its deadly, just because it slows him down.
Flame cannon:
I recently bought a flame cannon on ebay. god am i proud of it. Its first outting against a high elf force saw it blow up without firing a shot. Its second outting killed two skinks and four saurus warriors. its a fantastic model and i love it to death and having only used it twice i cant write it off as a failure. Its abilty to roast even high toughness opponents and then cause a panic test is fantastic. The problem lies in firing the tear drop template as it is extremely difficult to angle and inflict maximum damage.
Runelords and runesmiths:
I'm sort of undecided as to whats the best mix. a rune lord doesnt get picked off so easily, but two runesmiths can be spread out and can have more equipment of the same type (5 runes of spell breaking for instance) and also gets an extra dipel dice. Persoanlly, i always take a rune smith with the three runes of spell breaking you can nullify most of your opponents magic. But the ability to carry a magic weapon and armour, the extra point of toughness, and the extra point of leadership is often too hard to resist. I havent tried out the anvil yet, but thats on my to buy list (see later)
Units i havent tried:
Engineers - Never actually wanted one. can see the benefits but look to weak when it comes down to combat so i've never took one.
Rangers - If there was ever a unit that was less like the army that it was in its rangers. I can see the point and you cant really disagree with bugamans lot, but in a typical dwarf army, they just dont look right. And at a maximum of 18pts each id rather have another block of dwarfs and a rank on my longbeards.
Thunderers - I dont own any handgunners so i've never had the opportunity to feild them. However they are on my to buy list.
Ironbreakers - again for the same reasons as the thunderers. Also, my opponent regularly uses the lore of heavens spell list which renders them useless.
The to buy list:
Due to the EMA system i get a £30 week monetary incentive to go to college. i wont this as soon as i go back so i'll get a huge back log around half term (last time i got £270 in one payment. So on the hit list are;
20 thunders plus command - so i have an alternate missile unit to just war machinse en masse
an anvil of doom - my dwarfs want magic!
Some slayers - i want to build these up slowly in to a huge unit, without my opponent knowing about it so it becomes a lovely suprise!
A second flame cannon - im sorry i just cant resist!
Thats what i defiantely want. I also plan to buy a bolt thrower or two because i really like the ability to make them super strong and still remain cheep. The iron breakers will be a viable option if i find an effective way of countering the lore of heavens.
Well thats it for now. i'm going to update this pretty much every other week, remove bits as units arrive (e.g thunderers) and explaining how i fair in battle.
I know that this articles a mess gramatically, and the spelling will leave little to be desired, but i will edit it soon.
Thought of the day:
Revere your ancestors, obey your king, bear your arms with ride, fear no foe, hate the greenskin, mistrust the elf, and you can do no wrong.
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Aug 21, 2003
(35 miutes later)
Posted Aug 21, 2003
well i sorted my results entery its under the guide bit. I planning to add a lot of entries to the guide because... i can and i've got nothing better to do to day. Suggestions are welcome by the way.
Discuss this Journal entry [8]
Latest reply: Aug 21, 2003
August 21st, 2003
Posted Aug 21, 2003
First ever journal entry! Woo Hoo! i think i've got my introduction sorted so i guess its time for me to write an article, and as i said in my introduction i'm doing my AS results.
Problem is, i still dont know how to do it.
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Aug 21, 2003
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