Dwarves

[Qwyksilver]

The enemies of the People have gathered below the mighty fortress of Aizen Krahl. They seek to plunder what your ancestors have carved from the very Earth. It's time to sound the pipes and start the slow, inevitable march towards war. Sharpen your axes and summon the clans!

 

For historical reference, feel free to visit past Faction discussion threads:

Dwarves 2008

Dwarves 2007

Axe and Hammer Tavern 1.2

Axe and Hammer Tavern

[rgtriplec]

It sure is lonely in here.

[Rastl]

That's only because I haven't had time to review my army and start plotting how to stomp everyone into the ground.

[jdripley]

BREAKING NEWS!

 

In Warlord 2, King Thorgram Grimsteel costs 634 points. This has been confirmed by secret sources within Reaper HQ. While retaining his standard base size, Thorgram's stats look more like a giant sized models stats. He is also capable of flying and casting spells. He has regained his ranged attack, making him the ONLY model in Warlord capable of both flying and shooting arrows (or in his case, sending an angry falcon to eat your eye).

 

Says Gus Landt, "The defining feature of Thorgram, which overshadows even his ridiculous stat line and his broken flying arrows, is the new SA we've developed for him."

 

Gus wouldn't open up about the new SA, but secret sources indicated that this SA was named "Win Button." Rumors have run wild but most experts agree that when a player invokes the Win Button SA, the gaming table secretes super glue under the bases of enemy models, making it impossible for the other player to advance their army, or even take them home at the end of the day, ever.

 

In other news, Reven players call foul and demand a re-count of Thorgram's point cost.

 

^^That is ALL LIES! Not a word of it is reality. Please either laugh at the joke, giggle once or twice, or ignore it

[wildbill]

LOL!!

[Qwyksilver]

The "Win" button has actually been renamed the "easy button" by opposing armies for the ease for which is needed to dispatch Lord Snow White lover.

[jdripley]

Oh my goodness. That is IT Qwyk! I hereby, therefore, here-to-unto, throw the gauntlet on the ground, spit, stomp, or whatever else needs to be done to challenge you to a brawl.

 

[dig] Hey Qwyk, remember the last time we played and I used Thorgram? Ah, I still remember the sweet, sweet view of Kiakara waddling her little goblin self away from a Bear Rider... [/dig]

[rgtriplec]

So, since we can't talk about 2.0... lets speculate about the 2.0 dwarfs and new dwarfs. I am looking forward to having less damage tracks. I prefer cheaper models and faster games.

 

Since the "rumor" is that Skadi, Gwyddis, the daughters and Valkyries have defected... my hope is that the new Dwarfs will be very Norse flavored possibly with more Skadi sized giants. If thats the case I would buy them, but I'd buy dark dwarfs too.

[jdripley]

I like these Dwarves. They've gone back to their roots, I think. Well, the whole game has gone back to its roots, more or less. But these Dwarves aren't the six damage track monsters costing 100 points a pop that they were recently. Granted I ate that up. But we've got the fast dwarves back. The lighter armor, the ability to maneuver, and we retain the ability to stand toe to toe with an enemy. I know I can't wait for my first games with the new system!

 

I can't help myself with army lists... here's my official first second edition army list. I'm going for a small "recon in force" fighting company that ranges far and wide and keeps tabs on interests abroad. Here we go:

 

--Ursula, Bear Rider with Ivar Silverfist, Shieldmaiden, Warrior, Halberdier, and a Piercer.

--Tohil Steadyhand with a Warrior, Swiftaxe, and a Halberdier.

--Griffon

=495 points, 3 troops, 3 cards, and 11 models.

 

Ursula is the anvil with the warriors, halberdiers, and Maiden in support. Tohil, Piercer, and Swiftaxe hold flanks and exploit opportunities. Griffon is the hammer. Beautiful!

[jdripley]

Here is my offering for a light review of our soldier options.

 

First a little ramble about Maidens vs Warriors:

This is my take - I think the Warriors are the new gold standard for Dwarves. I think that previously it was the Shield Maidens that were the "no duh" take, and everything else was "well, if you don't have points for Maidens, take it" choices. but now Warriors have an equal DV and their raw attack stats are only slightly worse. The Maidens have more staying power and their SA's are decidedly offensive in nature, which bumps them slightly towards the direction of shock trooper. More on that later - to sum up my point here, the Warrior is more defensive in nature and is lower cost, and thusly I believe that in second edition the Warrior, not the Shieldmaiden, will form the backbone of the Dwarven line of battle.

 

I will now categorize the soldiers, with descriptions of my categorizations and each soldier.

 

LINE OF BATTLE - These guys have quality defensive stats and are capable of going toe to toe with an enemy and holding their position.

---

Warriors

- Solid DV, reasonable cost. Provoke allows them to defend your more fragile models. Put them in your troops with Berserkers, fragile mages, anything you don't want to die to defensive strikes. Even without Provoke they can handle weak and regular threats and will last for a short while against strong opponents.

---

Shieldmaidens

- An amped up Warrior with an offensive edge. They'll handle a bigger beating than warriors at a higher cost. It'll be worth while to have some Shieldmaidens in your army to oppose the enemy where it really counts. The extra little edge they have over the Warriors can help you push through where it's needed.

---

Miners

- These guys are kindof specialists too. I put them in line of battle because if you removed their burrow stat and look at them, they're solid fighters and are fairly basic. So I'm going to look at Miners as the Airborne of the Dwarves (which is funny because they burrow, not fly). They're good soldiers and their special thing is being able to get anywhere on the battlefield before they start fighting. Note that Ranger combined with Burrow is a very potent combination and allows you to threaten a forward position without exposing the Miners to undue risk themselves.

---

Kneebreaker

- I've decided that these models belong in the Line of Battle category because of the Bludgeon SA. Bludgeon will lower an opponent's MAT when it makes defensive strikes, which is definitely a defensive ability. On top of that, DV 10 isn't anything super but it isn't a weak DV either. These guys could hold a line against standard and weak enemy soldiers by themselves if they need to. Remember that if they manage to hi their opponent (and MAV 5 will help!) their 10 DV effectively goes up one. Not bad!

SHOCK TROOPERS - These guys sacrifice defense for offense and excel at putting a big hole in the enemy - even if they die doing it

---

Bear Riders

- These guys really do have excellent defensive stats, but their high speed, damage output, and Fearsome SA land them in the shock trooper category. These guys hit like a ton of bricks!

---

Berserker

- Classic shock trooper - get them stuck in early and they're going to rough stuff up, but they can't stand for long. Rage helps you frenzy! Sweet SA combination. Their best friend is the Warrior who can save them from defensive strikes. Think about putting several of these in a troop lead by Logan Battlefury.

---

Swiftaxe

- Rush Attack is where these guys shine. They're cheap enough to fling way out there at choice targets that an opponent doesn't screen well enough. I can see an enemy slowing their advance to deal with them, giving you time to set up your own charges. More than any other model, Swiftaxes allow you to create a very fast army that will nearly always get the first attack in. That's not a crucial part of the game, but having the option is nice and Swiftaxes are the models that do it for the Dwarves.

---

Forgemaiden

- Martyr is a completely foreign way of thinking to me and I honestly am not sure quite what to do with these models. However, Martyr really is the definition of the shock trooper - sacrificing defense in favor of offense. They are weak weak weak, but have a single turn of fairly good offense. They come at a discount price too, so you won't be hurting TOO much when they sacrifice themselves. Here's my thoughts - crazy dangerous models like, say Judas Bloodspire, are always ripping your army up on defensive strikes. So that's the sort of model the Forgemaidens are made to go after. Get three Forgemaidens on a nasty enemy, use Martyr, and you've got six attacks at MAV 6. No worries about losing your models to defensive strikes since they die anyways.

SECOND LINE - These guys have SA's that function in a supportive role. They do not excel at offense or defense, but allow other models to do what they do better.

---

Halberdier

- Reach is the name of the game. They can now attack from the reach position, which makes them very powerful. Pike gives them a secondary role of forming a line to take a charge. They continue to be one of my favorite models. With the way support works now, Halberdiers are critically important to getting the all-important +1 on key targets. It is my opinion that Halberdiers should be included whenever possible. But that's me.

---

Mancatcher

- Disable is a sweet trick, and it's one that Dwarves have very limited access to, which gives the Mancatchers an important role. Look to send your Mancatchers up against deadly targets that will rip you up with defensive strikes, and pair them up with Warriors to preserve their lives.

SPECIALISTS - These models have abilities or stats that allow them to fulfill some other role entirely.

---

Pathfinder

- Consummate flankers and harassers. Ranger/7 is huge. Look to get these guys into terrain features that enemy archers or flankers would want to advance into and give them some trouble for it. Look out for the enemy's quality soldiers as Pathfinders can't stand up to strong opposition. Hunt archers, mages, skeletons...

---

Piercer

- Our ranged option. Pierce is nice, allowing the possibility of delivering two damage instead of one. It is my opinion that the Dwarves excel in melee, but I always find that having at least a few Piercers really opens up the options. I've played where Piercers were a central part of the strategy and that's gone well too. They're accurate, mid-ranged, potentially very lethal. Not bad.

 

Link to a review of Dwarven Solo models

Link to a review of Dwarven Elite Models

Link to a review of Dwarven Leader models

[ladystorm]

I'm dithering.

 

do I attempt to remove without damage my painted griffin from the nicely sculpted base that is now the wrong size and rebase on the smaller base it now requires...

 

or do I get a new griffin and start over?

 

I totally missed the base size change until it was pointed out yesterday.

[dewen]

I'm dithering.

 

do I attempt to remove without damage my painted griffin from the nicely sculpted base that is now the wrong size and rebase on the smaller base it now requires...

 

or do I get a new griffin and start over?

 

I totally missed the base size change until it was pointed out yesterday.

I missed it too. That's a bummer having to go to a smaller base. If the base size was changed to a larger one, then you could just stick it on. I'd be tempted to start over and put the giant base one on display

 

I have always thought the Nhoolyan was waaaay too small for a giant base. I even suggested that change but base size. I wonder why only the Griffon was changed.

[Stubbdog]

--Mancatcher - Disable is a sweet trick, and it's one that Dwarves have very limited access to, which gives the Mancatchers an important role. Look to send your Mancatchers up against deadly targets that will rip you up with defensive strikes, and pair them up with Warriors to preserve their lives (if they die, Disable goes away!)

 

JDR,

 

Just wanted to make one quick correction. Disable now lasts until the end of the disabled model's next activation. So, it does not matter if the disabler gets killed in the process or not, if you achieve the disable by getting the hit, then they are disabled for the amount of time assigned.

[wildbill]

I'm dithering.

 

do I attempt to remove without damage my painted griffin from the nicely sculpted base that is now the wrong size and rebase on the smaller base it now requires...

 

or do I get a new griffin and start over?

 

I totally missed the base size change until it was pointed out yesterday.

 

WTF?!?! Surely that is wrong. Dammit. Will the Griffon even fit on a large base?

 

There has never been a rule that says you can not put a model on a larger base. You just can't put it on a smaller base (assuming the model would even fit!). I'm keeping mine on a giant base. All it does it handicap myself by allowing more models to get into b2b contact versus being on a large base.

 

Wild Bill

[jdripley]

It fits handily on a large base with a quarter inch left over. Balances nicely as well. Fortunately I didn't do anything fancy with the base on mine, it was just glued to the base and given a flat paint job for the base. Made it an easy swap. I just wiggled a bit until the glue cracked, then I snipped the tab that slots into the base until it was gone. Then I glued the now-flat bottom onto a large sized base, and there you go!