Here you go King Ulrik, part 1 of my advice for the beardlings, as you requested....

The Dwarf army

1. Hero choices

1.1 Thanes
Usually the first character you will buy, these should be first choice in smaller battles. They are tough and dependable, so much so that some Dwarf collectors even favour them over Lord choices in larger games.

1.2 Battle Standard Bearer
In my opinion an essential choice for any infantry-based army, but especially so for Dwarfs. Dwarfs tend to fight by taking up defensive positions in their own deployment zone and letting the enemy come to them. Also, they only flee/pursue 2D6-1”. This means that if you start to run, you are liable to either disappear of the board or get run down. Sure Dwarfs have high leadership, but Ld9/10 cannot always be relied upon especially when receiving a charge from heavy cavalry! The BSB break test re-roll can therefore save whole regiments. Do not spend too many points on a runic banner though, that will make your BSB worth too many VPs for your opponent. Instead consider taking a runic weapon/armour to give your enemy a bit of a surprise!

1.3 Runesmiths
These guys are real useful because they grant the Dwarf army access to anti-magic runes and also generate additional dispel dice. They are pretty weak in combat though, especially if you have spent their entire rune allowance on protection from enemy magic, so make sure you protect them!

1.4 Engineer
Not really too sure about these. They can be useful though I guess. If they help direct war machine fire into a valuable enemy unit, then they ill tend to make their point value back. I would normally only take one in larger battles though cos at 2000 points or less, I would rather take a character that can pack a bit of a punch in hth.

1.5 Dragon Slayer
I really like these. I regularly use mine to block the enemy from charging my war machines. Give him a Master Rune of Swiftness so he strikes before the chargers and he should be able to hold them up for a while, or even wipe them out! I sometimes also take one with no equipment and use him as a sacrifice to lure out fanatics etc. At 65 points he is cheaper for this role than a unit of Rangers or Gyrocopter, but if you do this you are effectively wasting a hero slot.

2. Lord choices

2.1 Lord
This guy is the best character the Dwarfs have in my opinion, and probably the only lord choice worth taking in a Dwarf army. At T5, Ld10 the Dwarf Lord is one of the best, most durable leaders in the game (compare with an elf prince with a feeble T3! :lol: ) He can invest 125 points in magic items, which is more than the Lord-level characters of other armies. This gives him access to some of the deadly Master Runes which your Thanes cannot touch, and also allows you to have lots of fun designing the ‘ultimate’ runic combination.

2.2 Runelord
These guys are pretty crap when it comes down to it. They have the same points as a pair of Runesmiths, yet still only generate a single extra dispel dice. I find that it’s only worth fielding one of these in big games (I take one in my 4000 point army), or if you REALLY want to take an Anvil of Doom.

2.3 Daemon Slayer
A characterful pscho-nutter with no armour! These guys have almost the same point value as a Dwarf Lord, yet can’t take armour or protective runes, and cannot lead the army. In my opinion they just aren’t worth it because they’re expensive and too easy to kill.

3 Core units

Unlike most other races, Dwarfs have access to three core units which can be armed with great weapons: Miners, Rangers and Warriors. Use this to your advantage! Dwarfs are never likely to be striking first anyway, so this negates the principle drawback of taking great weapons. If you really worry about always going last, you shouldn’t be collecting Dwarfs!! S5 core infantry is pretty deadly…

3.1 Warriors
These are your essential, basic troop type. Cheap to buy (plastic) and pretty durable providing you take the heavy armour and shield upgrades. Always take great weapons as well if you have the points (see above!)

3.2 Crossbowmen
Basic missile unit which is cheap to buy (plastic). Crossbows have 30” range, S4 and are move-or-fire weapons. This makes em good against advancing infantry, but bad against anything remotely fast coming round your flanks because they cannot move to shoot it. Also Dwarf BS can be a little suspect, especially at long range. Basically, unless you are collecting a traditional army or a bit of a cheapskate (c’mon, we all are deep down! :rolleyes: ), crossbowmen pale in comparison to the next guys on my list….

3.3 Thunderers
Thunderers have S4, armour-piercing guns that can move and shoot. Not only that but you get a ‘to hit’ bonus at close range, negating the suspect Dwarven BS and making them deadly even against advancing cavalry. Probably the best core unit available to Dwarfs, but expensive to buy cos they’re made of metal.

3.4 Miners
I really like these, so much so that a large portion of my army is themed on the tunnels of the Undgrin Ankor. Miners can be great for blocking marches and are probably your best chance of getting a successful charge against enemy war machines. In one game, I’ve had a unit of 12 miners wipe out an Empire cannon, mortar, crossbow unit and hellblaster (not bad for a 168 point investment… ;) )! They do have three principle drawbacks though:
1) They are a 0-1 choice
2) You can never rely upon them turning up when really needed
3) They cannot charge on the turn they arrive :angry:
In the battle report in WD290 miners used the ‘it came from below…’ rule from the Tomb Kings book. Use this rule (with your opponents permission!) for a bit of fun, and to eliminate problem 3). :D (yay!)

3.5 Rangers
Not so sure about these troops. They seem to have similar roles to miners, but aren’t as good at things like taking out war machines unless you are lucky enough to be able to deploy them close to the enemy deployment zone. They can take up a lot of points as well. Don’t bother arming Rangers with crossbows, cos to fulfil their main battlefield roles the unit will need to remain mobile.

4. Special Units

4.1 Hammerers
If your general is with this unit and the BSB is nearby, there is only a 144/1 chance of these guys ever running away! This makes them one of the best troop types available. They are a 0-1 choice (obviously! – what’s the point in taking 2?? :rolleyes: ) and if you plan on using your general elsewhere, get Longbeards.

4.2 Longbeards
These guys have the same impressive statline as Hammerers, great weapons and are immune to panic. Panic isn’t really too much of a problem for Ld9/10 troops so Longbeards tend to get neglected (and moaned about!) in favour of Hammerers. Still a good unit though, Longbeards are not a limited 0-1 choice and do not rely upon the presence of the general for their special ability to work.

4.3 Ironbreakers
These Dwarf tanks are very good at receiving charges thanks to their 2+ armour save in hth. This makes them a very popular choice. Unfortunately they have no access to great weapons so may need help if they get bogged down in a fight with heavy cavalry.

4.4 Slayers
In my opinion, the most characterful unit in Warhammer and an invaluable addition to the Dwarf army also. It’s a pity these guys are a 0-1 choice really cos they are the best unit you have for receiving charges or protecting your flanks since they are NEVER gonna run away :P ! Keep them out of the way of missile fire though, or you will find that a lack of armour makes these nutters expire in large numbers.

At S3 Slayers are probably not going to be winning many combats against heavy infantry/cavalry, but who cares as long as they don't run away? If you want to use Slayers to actually take out enemy units, target ones with poor armour saves or high-T (the slayer skill allows you to increase your strength against high-T opponents). Personally though, I'd rather use them to protect my flank than to fight on the front line, where they'll probably end up getting shot to pieces anyway.

Another real bonus with Slayers is that you can include as many champions (Giant Slayers) in the regiment as you want. This is an expensive option, but can be very valuable since it means you can challenge combat monster enemy characters in several successive turns, restricting them to causing only 1 wound per combat round. I used this trick when fighting against an Empire force with Valten2 - my opponent went out of his way to keep Valten's knights away from my Organ Guns, so ended up charging my Slayers. Valten was held up and restricted (by my Giant Slayers's challenges) to causing only 1 wound in each of the first 4 rounds of combat. After that my Ironbreakers and general piled in, eventually running Valten down!! :lol:

4.5 Bolt Throwers
Great at smashing through ranked infantry and heavy cavalry. Place one of these on your extreme flank and watch your opponent squirm as you line up a flank shot on his heavy cavalry ;) ! These are a bargain at 45 points, and you can take 2 per special choice. They will suffer from the effects of Dwarf BS syndrome though, so give em Engineering Runes that will improve their accuracy.

4.6 Cannons
Everything that was said about the use of Bolt Throwers applies here but in addition, cannons are excellent at smashing chariots to bits. These war machines are therefore enough to make a Tomb Kings general suffer from fear :lol: ! Two artillery dice rolls per turn make them a bit unreliable though, so I would advise taking a Rune of Forging to counter this.

4.7 Stone Thrower
This war machine has a high damage potential, due to its template and in my opinion is the best machine to use when learning to guess ranges. Once your guessing is up to scratch, take a Rune of Accuracy to really scare your opponent.
:ph43r:

5.1 Organ Gun
These are not very popular amongst other Dwarf generals, but I happen to really like them! There are 3 reasons for this:
1) Your opponent will always try to keep his cavalry well clear of them multiple, S5 armour piercing shots. This means they can be worth their points value without even shooting, if it causes your opponent to keep his cavalry away!
2) They cause automatic hits, so are the best weapon Dwarfs have against skirmishers (I play against Wood Elves a lot!)
3) Last time I used one of these, it killed over 300 points worth of High Elf cavalry! Niiiiiiice….. :D
Organ guns are limited by a short range though, as well as reliability issues.

5.2 Flame Cannon
Many generals moan about the short range of this war machine, but when you think about it, 12” (maximum guess) + 10” (artillery dice roll) + 8” (length of flame template) = 30” = not that short a range. This machine has a high damage potential because of its template and can also cause panic, which is fun! In my opinion though the artillery dice can have too great an affect upon the range of this machine, probably limiting it to 1-2 accurate shots per game. For a 140 point investment, that isn’t much unless you happen to cause enough panic. Flame cannons also suffer from reduced reliability, but their biggest drawback is that the model is a bugger to paint and assemble! :angry:

5.3 Gyrocopter
These are very useful for preventing march moves and generally harassing the enemy. For a flyer these aren’t that great at taking out enemy war machines though cos they only get 1 attack in hth and their S3 cannon is unlikely to kill every crew member. Generally avoid getting these stuck in hth combat, unless you are using them to charge an enemy unit that has already been engaged. In this situation, their 3D6” pursuit is your best chance of running down the enemy unit when they flee! The gyrocopter steam gun is best used against expensive T3 infantry: High Elf Swordmasters or Dark Elf Black Guard are ideal targets. At T5 the gyrocopter is more vulnerable to enemy shooting than other war machines, but remember if it does crash you just might take a few of the enemy down with you…. ;)

Hey, looks good. Lets keep it coming, and we'll see what to do with it once you've finished ok?