So you have decided to join the ranks of fellow Dwarvish Generals,

Excellent. Now you need to build that army that will protect your family,

your clan and your race. Dwarves have a good collection of solid troops and

an excellent choice of elite troops.

You should start with a solid block or two of clansmen. These basic troops

come with sword, shield and light armour. For 11 pts they are excellent core

troops. Add spears and you have a very good unit that can also strike from

the second rank.

Your choices for the basic dwarves are plastic or metal. Personally I do not

like the look of the plastic dwarves (although I do own about 40, and the

new ones look interesting) . But the price is good; you get 8 in a box.

Whichever you decide you should purchase at least a block of 20 with

command. Five ranks of four means you will still get your rank bonus even

though you might have lost a whole rank. Buy spearmen if you can afford it.

The spears will allow you to get another rank into HTH, and it only costs

one more point. (12 pts all together)

Dwarves need missile troops, and woe to the general who forgets to bring

them to an engagement. Dwarf players get two choices and they are pretty

good as missile troops go. A Dwarvish general can field either crossbows or

handguns. Both use different strategies but both are good weapons for a

Dwarven general to take.

Crossbows are a good choice for the defensive strategies. Although yes, they

can be used with offensive strategies, they are stand and fire weapons. But

they have a strength of 4 which means a -1 armour save, and can wound basic

strength 3 tough races pretty easily. Not including being able to wound

higher toughness opponents. I also tend to take 20 of these troops. I tend

to either use them as one large unit, or two 10 man units.

Thunderes are the handgunners for the Dwarvish clans. Handguns are good for

you can move in fire. Well you can move and fire in ranks. (Much like

Michael Cine did in Zulu) Your front rank fires then your back rank moves

forward. But if you decide to stand and fire then you only fire them every

other round. Now handgunners are strength 5, which is excellent but remember

they fire every other round. Of course I also own a block of these troops as

well. I own 10, and put them in two ranks of 5.

Miners use two handed weapon, and do well against tough opponents. I have

never personally used Miners but seem good if you want cheaper two-handed

weapon troops. (Unlike Hammers)

Dwarvish generals get to choose from a nice selection of elite troops. One

type, the Slayers, is a must for any general and the rest are a matter of

taste, funds and strategy.

Veterans of many wars, they are excellent troops for any general to field.

The figures are very nice, some of the best in the Dwarvish line. Now

Longbeards points wise are not as cheap as other troops but if you are going

to play a large game take a good size unit. (Yes 20 of them with command is

a good number, but 12 is good also)

Fine troops to field. Hammers are the bodyguards of the Dwarvish Kings. They

are known for their 2-handed hammers, that clears the field of enemy troops.

Now with all off that they do hit second but when they do it is at strength

6. The high strength attack and good weapon skill makes them a good choice

to field. I have a large unit of hammers that I field when I fight certain

races. I field 20 of them, of course. But 20 Hammers are expensive, so with

any elite troops make a decision which ones you will field.

Trained to protect the passages of the Dwarven households, the Iron Breakers

are formidable troops. They wear magical armour and wield basic hand

weapons. The Iron Breakers make very good troops and will hold the line. Use

Iron Breakers to stiffen your battle line, or use them to break your

opponent's charges. Iron Breakers are not cheap and although it would be

great to field a lot of them, your will only be able to field a small unit.

I own a unit of 10, although plan to buy ten more,

No Dwarven general should field an army without Slayers. Slayers are dwarves

who have lost honor, and strive to gain it back through death on the

battlefield. The tougher the opponent the stronger the attacks if the

Slayers. Slayer units never break and are immune to psychology. Slayers can

be used to hold up your opponents' regiments, or run them forward to cause

havoc amongst the enemy. (Maybe not fast but that's OK) I take a large unit

of Slayers, along with their leaders the Demon Slayers. Now they wear no

armour, but they can have two weapons, two-handed weapons or just one

weapon. The best part is that you can mix and match the weapon choices in

the unit. Every Dwarf general should field a large unit of them. (Did I

mention that already)?

Dwarves are known for their excellent foot troops but they are feared

because of their war machines. Dwarves have the ability to field several

good weapons. The Dwarvish war machines included Cannons, Organ Guns, Stone

throwers, Bolt Throwers, Gyrocopters and finally the Flame Cannon.

All Dwarven generals should field at least one or more Cannons. Many are

mixed feeling that Organ Guns are the way to go but I always field one.

Everyone knows that cannons can clear ranks of troops. Its 48' inch range,

is also an excellent feature. Most characters fear them, and regiments will

fall before a well placed cannon shot. Even a steam tank with a toughness of

10 can not ignore the wounds caused by a Dwarvish cannon.

Now with that out of the way, everyone loves Organ Guns. Now they are not as

good as the Empires' Hellblaster volley guns (IMHO) but they can and do a

lot of damage if used right. A Dwarf general should if it is in his power,

and finances to equip his army with at least one Organ Gun. (I usually field

two of them and one cannon) Regiments will go out of their way not to be in

the field of fire, and you can use that to your advantage.

Some of you fledging Dwarvish generals might be interested in taking a bolt

thrower or stone thrower in your army. I never have. (I do own a Dwarven

bolt thrower thou) If you do please email me [email protected] and

tell me how it went. I would recommend that you try the stone thrower. A

large one has that 60-inch range. I do own an Orc Goblobber and I plan to

convert it into a Dwarvish stone thrower soon. I'll tell you how it goes. I

would forget the bolt thrower thou.

Now lets talk about Gyrocopters. A Dwarvish army is not known for its speed.

And the Gyrocopter is an excellent choice to fly over and smash those pesky

enemy war machines. A Dwarvish general does not need to field one, but it is

a good choice. (I do own one)

Flame Cannons; well let me tell you fellow Dwarf generals buy one right now.

If you do not have one run down to the local gaming store and purchase one

of these beauties. One has never lived until your army has turned a flame

cannon on a huge regiment of Skaven, Orcs, etc. Sorry got a little excited.

Flame Cannons are a must for any Dwarvish Army, small armies might not take

them but if you can afford it, do.

You are allowed to put runes on your war machines. There are several that

allow you to re-roll malfunction. Do not take to many of them, they are a

tad expensive to put on all of your machines. I usually put one on my Flame

Cannon.

Dwarves have some fine heroes and champions, and a good mix will help any

Dwarven general on the field of battle. Your core units will definitely need

heroes or champions in them. Add some of the excellent runes or give them a

good magic item and they are ready to defend home and hearth. You do no need

to take a rune smith unless you are going to take the anvil. With that, just

buy what models you think are cool, and paint them well. I do not normally

use special characters but the figures are very nice and I try to get all of

them. You can use the model of a special character instead of a normal

command figure. Especially if you are not going to take the Throne of Power,

you will need a good-looking figure or your King.

The King is necessary and you wouldn't have a Dwarvish army with out one.

Make sure he is stocked up with a good collection of runes and magic items.

The King should be placed inside a large block of troops. Once that block of

troops come into base to base contact with their enemies the large block of

troops will help with combat resolution.

The Battle Standard is a good way to get a +1 to combat resolution, and you

get to re-roll any break tests. Unfortunately he can be picked out of the

regiment with spells and attacks. If he dies you will loose that nice

banner, worse if it was magical. At least with a regimental banner another

will step up and take the banner. (Too bad it doesn't happen with the army

standard)

Runesmiths are good to take if you are going to take a throne of power. If

not then Runesmiths also make good heroes for your regiments. Give him one

of the runes to negate spells and you are good to go.

Slayer champions, such as Giant Slayers and Dragon Slayers are very helpful

in a slayer unit. Unlike other regiments, slayers can put a lot of champions

in the unit. If you are just going to use them as a unbreakable screen leave

out the champions, but if you plan to throw them into the heat of battle

then put a few into the slayer regiments.

Shadowmage