Editing Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Dwarfs (section)

==Unit Analysis==

===Lords & Heroes===
====Named Characters====
'''Note:''' Named characters are almost always overpriced. In most cases, it's easy to emulate their abilities from scratch and save quite a few points. That's not to say they're worthless; named characters do have some unique abilities and combos, but make sure you're getting your points worth.

'''- Lords -'''

*'''Thorgrim Grudgebearer:''' Thorgrim is more of a buffer than a close combat machine, the biggest of which is adding +3 to Ancestral Grudge (83% chance to have your entire army get hatred) and actually conferring [[Warhammer/Tactics/8th_Edition/Dark_Elves#Army_Rules|eternal hatred]] for himself and any unit he joins if you roll a 7+. He can hold his own in combat as well, even against other character killers, having 7 wounds and a 2+ armour and 4++ ward save, which increases to 2++ against (heroic) killing blow and attacks with multiple wounds. His axe always wounds on a 2+ / 3+ against magic armour (like the Master Rune of Skalf Blackhammer), always strikes first and against (chaos) giants has multiple wounds (D6). Thorgrim has an 18" inspiring presence, his unit gains immune to psychology and stubborn and his throne bearers have 4 attacks with WS5 and S4 (so double regular shieldbearers). An interesting little rule states that he ''must'' be your general and that if he dies, your entire army gains frenzy. On the downside, he cannot "Look Out, Sir!" when he joins a unit (you could stick him next to a unit instead of in it and grab a 4+ "Look Out, Sir!", but it's a bad idea). Thorgrim is basically 650pts that your opponent will have a hard time claiming. He sure will try though.

*'''Thorek Ironbrow:''' 435 points! You can play him in 2000pt games now, though he's horribly overpriced for what he does, re-rolling one dice for the Anvil of Doom per turn (S10 hit if the re-roll is a 1 and the rule is lost) and getting +1 bonus to cast, and he costs 145 points more than a normal Runelord on Anvil. Thorek's weapon doesn't allow armour saves and will destroy magic armour upon an unsaved wound, but well, he still isn't a good fighter. At least he is reasonably protected with an 1+ armour save plus all the buffs from the Anvil of Doom of course, but also still suffers all the disadvantages. Not recommended.

*'''Belegar Ironhammer:''' The new close combat Lord, comes mounted on an Oath Stone with WS8, he's geared for character killing, having always strikes first and receiving +1 to wound rolls, once per game being able to unleash a total of 8 close combat attacks. He has a 3+/4++ save and is immune (!) against (heroic) killing blow. The downside is that you can make a Lord character just as good if not better from scratch. 

*'''Ungrim Ironfist:''' He's a pretty nice hero or monster killer due to Slayer, Strength 6, Killing Blow, D3 wounds on monsters and enemies having to re-roll successful ward saves, he's also pretty tough when facing anything with flaming attacks due to his 2++ Ward vs. Fire. Other than that he'll fuck up a few Lords and he'll weather a few hits, overall cool for Slayer-themed lists, but he can only join Slayer units. Slightly overpriced at 350 points, but WS9 and T6 is pretty nice, meaning that even Tyrion hits you on a 4+. Something that is often overlooked is his ability to buff your slayers, taking Ungrim means 1 slayer unit in the army can take up to 100pts of banner runes meaning all of a sudden you can take a second master rune in the army so if you want both Groth and Valaya you now can or if you want your slayers to have MR3 now they can.
** '''Ungrim, Incarnate of Fire:''' During the End Times, Ungrim does a Karl Franz and becomes the Incarnate of Fire. He gains +1S, +1W and +1A on his profile, flaming attacks, a S4 flaming breath attack and  an innate bound spell (power level 5, magic missile, 24", 2D6 S4 flaming hits). However he has lost his Slayer King rule, but basically the only thing he loses is enabling a slayer unit to get a 100pts standard. He can still join slayer units and be the general but now can also join non-slayer units. Flaming attacks make him a bit of a *meh* choice however, he is good, but anything with a 2+ flaming ward save (cheap for every army) will laugh off his attacks

*'''''Grombrindal:''' The White Dwarf! He's an optional character but what an awesome guy, at 500 points: LD 10 with MR 3, armour 1+, ward save 4+, a magic axe with +2 strength, starts hidden and can rally people next to him. They should make this guy part of the Dwarfs army list.'''''

'''- Heroes -'''

*'''Josef Bugman:''' The epitome of a dwarf grudge holder, and at 165 points he sits between a cheap Lord or a wallet killing Thane with stats more towards the former.  As long as he's alive his unit rolls on a 2D6 table of which two of the results are great and one result almost never hurts you. He can also be put next to a Lord on Shieldbearers as he now heals D3 wounds per turn. His unit of Rangers is situation dependent but is no longer mandatory. Josef is actually pretty good!

*'''Grimm Burloksson:''' The Master Engineer to trump all others, able to unleash a good amount of firepower on his own and decent in close combat, though he's better staying back and buffing your units with one of the following (unlike regular Master Engineer only on a roll of 2+ though!):
:* '''Artillery Adjustment:''' Allows a friendly War Machines to his BS of 5 and the ability to re-roll an Artillery Dice which can be the bounce on a Cannon or a Flame Cannons scatter. Useful for all war machines, esp due to the changes to the Organ Gun, use it if you want to snipe that enemy wizard or kill squishy things with stones.
:* '''Increased Range:''' Does what it says on the tin. Increases the units Crossbow and Handgun ranges by 2D6, so your horde of 40+ Quarrels can now hit more things! Use it if that one enemy unit is just out of reach.
:* '''Superior Volley:''' Models in the unit may re-roll any to hit rolls. <strike>Again, useful for Bolt Throwers and Organ Guns (Organ Guns roll to hit now).</strike> IRONDRAKES. For Organ Gun you would use ''Artillery Adjustment'' because it also grants that re-roll for the artillery die (or use a Master Engineer's reroll + Superior Volley and laugh as an enemy unit melts).

====Generic Characters====
'''Note:''' While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

'''- Lords -'''

*'''Dwarf Lord:''' Your principal commander and clearly the best Lords choice. Sports a very good statline and can be made incredibly nasty in close combat with the [[Talk:Warhammer/Tactics/8th_Edition/Dwarfs#Lord|right combination of rune items]]. Always put him on Shieldbearers. With a 125pts allowance for runic/magic items, you can either boost both his offense and defense for a balanced build or go all out killer or tank.

*'''Runelord:''' Sadly Runelords have taken a serious hit with the new Army Book as anything that can be done by them can usually be done by a much cheaper Runesmith besides the Anvil of Doom. Granted, they confer a better magic resistance and can have a whopping 150pts of runic items or ancestral heirlooms, but unless you want the Anvil of Doom, do not bother taking the Runelord. [[Talk:Warhammer/Tactics/8th_Edition/Dwarfs#Runelord|Viable loadouts]] and successfully fielding him are tricky.

*'''Daemon Slayer:''' Same as before but forces successful ward saves to be re-rolled and does D3 wounds to Monsters. It's nice now that when kitted out properly, he can be guaranteed to kill a Daemon prince, with some weapon runes he comes out at a good price and is a worthy consideration. Be careful as he can get focused and destroyed quite easily, and at much greater impact being a lord choice unlike dragon slayers. 

'''- Heroes -'''

*'''Thane:''' Very solid Hero. Comes in two builds, the 'Thane o' pain' and the 'Tank thane'. Basically, the names say it all. Tank thane concentrates on staying alive, and therefore uses armour runes. The Thane o' pain operates on the philosophy that if the enemy is dead, then it won't attack you back. See [[Talk:Warhammer/Tactics/8th_Edition/Dwarfs#Thane|example loadouts]] for Tank Thanes and Thanes o' Pain.

*'''Runesmith:''' Runesmiths are the true heroes of the new dwarf codex. ''Always'' take 1 with a dispel rune for 85pts. Though they have lost their free dispel dice, they now channel power/dispel like wizards, grant armour piercing and grant magic resistance (1) to whatever infantry unit they're a part of.

*'''Master Engineer:''' Buffs your artillery, and can make one entrenched (counts as being behind heavy cover). Great if you are playing a shooty list. Also gives your cannons and grudge throwers free artillery die re-rolls which can save your ass many times over.  If you take one, they work best with an organ gun, which takes most advantage of their BS 4 and an artillery reroll.

*'''Dragon Slayer:''' Better than before as he now has D3 wounds on each attack against monsters.  When cheaply kitted out these guys can do some nice damage. Worth taking one and run him alongside the rest of your army as a threat to monsters if you don't have cannons or warmachine hunter defence.

====Mounts====

*'''Shieldbearers:''' (Dwarf Lords only) Arguably one of the best mounts in the whole game. Counts as a single model and grants the Lord +2 wounds and +2 on armour save. Shieldbearers have 2 attacks in close combat with WS5 S4 I3. The model is still counted as infantry, so still has look out sir! and potential parry saves from shields (yay) but on the flipside is still vulnerable to killing blow and can be stomped (boo). Still, for a measly 40pts it's dirt cheap. ''Always'' put your Lord on one of these!
*'''Oath Stone:''' (Dwarf Lords and Thanes) A very neat upgrade for a Thane (can be the BSB!) for 25pts, as it allows the unit to make parry saves to the flank and rear. Furthermore, the unit cannot be disrupted but also can never choose flee as a charge reaction. Naturally it only makes sense when put into a unit with shields, Ironbreakers shine most. Has the small caveat that the character on the Oath Stone always has to accept challenges, so make sure he is well protected (especially important for a BSB)
*'''Anvil of Doom:''' (Runelord only) Counts as a single war machine model and, similar to Shieldbearers, grants the Runelord +2 wounds and a 5++ ward save for 170pts. Anvil Guards also have 2 attacks in close combat with WS5 S4 I3. The only way for Dwarfs to have something to do in the magic phase besides dispelling. (''for more see [[Warhammer/Tactics/8th_Edition/Dwarfs#Anvil_of_Doom|Magic: Anvil of Doom]]'')

===Core Units===

*'''Dwarf Warriors:''' These are your <strike>bread and butter</strike> beard and ale. They have Toughness 4, Leadership 9 and Heavy Armour as standard. Give them shields if you don't want them to die or give them great weapons if you want them to kill shit. Always take them in big units of 30+ with full command, they may not be the most expensive units but those points add up fast so you need to make sure they are formed up as a horde to get the most attacks out of them.
 
*'''Longbeards:''' Longbeards, an actual unit now, are 4 points more than a dwarf warrior. They are better at killing shit and not running away, being immune to psychology with ld 9. They also allow nearby units to re-roll failed panic tests when not fleeing, which is nice if your BSB is out of range.  Generally better with a hand weapon and shield at s4 and good for making sure your flank units don't run away, but in terms of close combat, hammerers and ironbreakers are better for points in all regards.

*'''Quarrelers:''' Crossbow dwarfs. They are dwarfs with crossbows with Heavy Armour as standard. That's about it. Take them if you want to be shooty. Also they can take shields and great weapons. Shields are good if you want to get into a shooting match with Wood Elves. Take these guys as your general core as crossbows will generally outrange all other armies at range 30 and great weapons will still allow them to hit any kind of anti archer unit and come out smiling. 40 man horde of these stubbies with great weapons is a scary prospect to charge against especially with new improved stand and shoot.

*'''Thunderers:''' Handgun Dwarfs. Upgraded to Heavy Armour and dropped two points makes them useful again, they still put the hurt on units plus with Shields and a rune of Groth One Eye nearby they make a surprisingly tough anvil to setup a beautiful countercharge with that unit of Great Weapon Quarrelers you have sitting beside them.

===Special Units===

*'''Hammerers:''' 2 Attacks now. TWO! Stubborn elite Dwarfs with Great Weapons.  For 14 points , you get a warrior of chaos stat line (barring less initiative) and a 75-point runic banner allowance.  Careful who they fight though, they might attack like a Chaos Warrior but they die far easier than one especially to ranged attacks and they cannot afford to get into a grind, that's what Ironbreakers are for. I have tried combo with BSB that is working EXTREMELY WELL. Any Master rune or runes combo up to 75 - points that suit your roster and BSB with 3x Rune of slownes. With Great weapon you always strike first. (WELL YOUR ENEMY ALWAYS STRIKE LAST!!!!!)You can ad TANK thane with Great weapon too to protect your BSB.

*'''Ironbreakers:''' Elite Tarpit. For 14 points each you get WS5, T4, Ld10, a 5+ parry that continues throughout combat (even if Ironbreakers charge!) and a 3+ armour save. Keep them near your BSB and you have a solid unit. They will hold down S3/4 opponents three times their number and eventually come out on top. Give them the rune of Stoicism for Stubborn or Strollaz's Rune for Vanguard to shove a mean tarpit in your opponent's face right from go or put a cheap thane with an oathstone in the unit for a great flank guarding unit.

*'''Slayers:''' This unit has changed a bit, and it's debatable if it's for better or worse.  Slayers now wound on 4+ instead of raising their strength unless they needed a lower result.  They have also gained the Deathblow rule, which allows each Slayer to strike once before they die in a blue-horror-esque style, useful on Troll Slayers as you get your full amount of normal attacks, not so useful on the Giant Slayers (of which you can once again make an entire unit out of).  They still keep their ton of axes, but since they lost their bonus strength, great weapons will be come more common, after all, charging Slayers using great weapons will be Strength 6, regardless of whether they’re dying before they get to attack which means you're going to get a use out of all those Dwarfs once you get into combat (and they will kill everything when they get there), of course actually reaching the combat is the hard part, with no armour archers will butcher these units. (Tactic: Run a unit next to them (with the slayers as the arrow tip) and shove a BSB with the Master Rune of Grugni on the edge so that the AoE of the Rune covers the Slayers and hey presto you get slayers with a 5+ ward against shooting)

*'''Miners:''' Have a nifty special rule that lets them enter the game from any table edge after turn 2 on a roll of 3+ and they count as being in light cover in the turn they show up.  They are very good against static armies that take war machines and the like, take in small groups of 10 or so and go war machine hunting or rear charging with them.  As far as upgrades go, the drill isn't bad, but don't take the charges. Your miners should do the charging. They shouldn't be charged. 

*'''Grudge Thrower:''' Its a standard stone thrower for 80 points. Can be buffed up with runes and engineers, the right combination can make this a very effective war machine.  These can seriously troll T3 armies. Take a rune of accuracy and penetrating for 65 points to get str 4, re-rolling to hit, blasts, a bit more expensive now but still worth that Ironbreaker/Hammerer unit you traded for it.

*'''Bolt Thrower:''' Not terrible, but with a point increase to 55 pts a pop and loss of a 15 pt BS4 Engineer they became far more expensive to use effectively. Don't bother unless you are list tailoring and they serve a specific purpose.

*'''Cannon:''' At 120 points cannons are so, so.  They are necessary, but usually aren't worth taking more than twice unless you're running a very heavy gunline list. Of course the price goes up as you add runes and engineers, which you should do to make it very reliable, and if you still have the battle for skull pass model (which is a tiny as fuck cannon model), be sure to field those. Cannons are best vs models with high numbers of wounds, good saves, high point cost or any combination of those.

*'''Gyrocopter:''' Gyrocopters have completely changed with the introduction of the new Army Book. They are now the dwarf equivalent of great eagles. Changed only slightly from the previous edition, they now have a gun choice, either keeping the old one (a str 3 armour piercing template), or a gun that fires d3 str 5, flaming, armour piercing shots. They also get their bomb back which can be handy when harassing opponents trying to approach your gunline or positioning behind units about to flee so they take Dangerous Terrain tests. Vanguard can be useful, but make sure that they are never in a position to get charged.

===Rare Units===

*'''Rangers:''' Sadly the days of scouting hordes are over. Having been moved to the rare section, rangers have now the same role as chameleon skinks, shades and shadow warriors, except they do it worse. However if you have any Quarrelers with Great Weapons spare that aren't fufilling your core requirement, then you should swap them for Rangers, because they have throwing axes and scout for exactly the same price.

:*'''Bugman's Rangers''': If you field Josef Bugman, one of your Rangers units is eligible to become Bugman's Rangers and Josef has to join the unit and cannot leave. Bugman's Rangers cost an additional 3pts (which makes them the most expensive troops in the list!) but have WS5, BS4 and S4, which is huge. They fight better than regular Rangers, hit harder and will throw S5 thowing axes at BS4! Because of Josef Bugman, the unit is immune to fear and terror and with ''Liquid Fortificaction'' your unit has an 80% chance of being stubborn and a 16% chance of having T5. Something like 15 BF4 crossbows in the flank or behind the frontline can really ruin your opponent's day, and he will have to divert something meaningfull to deal with this threat, as this unit is not easily dismissed.

*'''Irondrakes:''' If you were ever worried about those Chaos Warriors posing a threat, just take these guys and you'll never have to worry about them ever again as they absolutely murder high Toughness high Armour squads and pump out far more shots than your warmachines, as well as making excellent Monstrous Infantry killers. For a missile unit, they're pretty resilient in h2h combat (WS 5, 4+ AS, 6++/2++ against flaming attacks, Ld 10), so they can hold on their own for a turn or two until reinforcements arrive, or even function as an anvil if taken in great numbers. They're commonly given two Slowness runes, 'cause a failed charge means another round of shooting, which will probably neuter the target as a threat to them. But the real reason for taking them is their models, they look badass as hell.

*'''Organ Gun:''' The rage machine from the previous edition is revamped and is now BS based, but rolls two artillery dice rather than one. It can also now be given up to 50 points of Runes, as well as putting an engineer on it allowing it to hit a lot more than it previously could.  Also, the range is now 30" allowing them to keep up with your Crossbows in range and even hit those elves trying to snipe you.

*'''Flame Cannon:''' Against Gobbos, Monstrous Infantry and Skaven, it can be used very effectively to cause panic tests on any large unit, being able to throw down a str 5 flamer template is amazing in fantasy especially when it causes d3 wounds.  Don't be worried about taking one as its range is a lot longer than it looks, be sure to give it runes though, nothing's worse than having your cannon blow up when you really need those Night Goblins to panic.

*'''Gyrobomber:''' An extra large Gyrocopter that can wipe out entire hordes on its own, this thing will be a firing magnet, and as such can be used to distract the enemy away from a gunline, or stop the enemy from shooting your own guys if running a close combat list.