Dwarves

[ladystorm]

I have one of the original metal bases on my griffin, and since the basing doesn't go to the edges, I'm thinking of using my hacksaw and trimming the base down, I should be able to pull that off before I would be successful at pulling the model off.

 

but then again, a second model wouldn't be so bad either...

[jdripley]

They're not unique, so you could always run two if your opponent didn't mind the larger base

[jdripley]

Here's a review of Dwarven solo models:

 

DWARVES These are utility models that are fine tuned to their roles. They come at a steep cost but have the power to turn a battle. The key is that these two models deal with Model States - one of the key strategical elements in Warlord.

---

Snorri Oathbreaker -

He's all about throwing out Poison. If an enemy is unfortunate enough to get into melee range of Snorri, he can poison up to three of them in a turn - and with the MAV to make it happen, you've got to watch out for that. On his own turn, Assassin can help him to avoid retaliation. He's got the #MA to kill most models in the game. Raider helps him disengage from enemies after he slaughters one of them. It's far safer, of course, to use Snorri at range, where he can poison two enemies a turn. Not to mention do a point of damage to them as well! It's enough to keep the enemy healers busy, and the key to defeating an enemy healer's potential is to spray negative conditions all across their army. With just one model, you get the ability to do so much. Your only problem will be figuring out just what opponents to pick on!

---

Annasha Tomebreaker -

Annasha is quite the vicious young lady. Quality defensive stats allow you to fully utilize her brutal offensive profile. She is keyed towards defeating enemy spellcasters, but she's hardly a one trick pony. With MAV 6 and #MA 4 AND Frenzy AND Vengeful, she can wreck anything she touches. She is at the bottom edge of the very best fighters in the game (Judas Bloodspire at 100 more points has MAV 8, and Rauthuros at 50 more points than that comes with Mighty on top of it all). Annasha is to be

feared.

When facing a caster, she can rely on her high MAV and Smite to frenzy with the assurance that the caster will die. Annasha's secondary role revolves around anti-magic. She can counterspell since she has spell points, and she has the innate spell Purify, which will remove negative model states. Since you take Annasha for her brutal fighting ability, her antimagic role is a bonus - and what a bonus! In the games I've played, the ability to brush away negative model states has always been important. This gives Annasha something important to do while you march her up (you're not overextending her and leaving her vulnerable, right?).

 

ANIMALS These feral allies are used by the Dwarves to sow chaos in the enemy ranks and to make the most of brutal charges. The key SA is Shock.

---

Dire Bear -

Lions and Tigers and Bears... and Dire Bears! This is a toolbox of a model. You've got Shock and Move 9, which means you'll more often than not get the charge off and force the enemy to make a Dis check or lose their defensive strikes. That's extremely powerful. Additionally, you've got a high MAV and Savage, which means you're very likely to do three damage to a big meaty target. Finally, Roar gives you the ability to inflict shaken in a 6" radius around the model. Wow. As I noted above with Snorri and Annasha, model states are an important element in the game, and chances are the player who uses them more will end up doing better. It's worth bringing a bear along just for Roar alone, even if it didn't have such great attacks.

---

Griffon -

The Griffon commands a battlefield from the skies. Much like a burrowed model, it has a psychological effect on an opponent that is very valuable. A player sees a griffon in the air and has to wonder where it will land. They then have to devote resources to protecting key models that they don't want the griffon to land on and peck to death. This draws resources away from the main battle and can give you an edge. Of course, while it's flying enemy archers and casters have open line of sight to it - but chances are they'd have line of sight to it anyways because of its large base. Ranger gives it an edge in getting into a threatening position quickly which helps it in its primary role, harassment. Like the Dire Bears the Griffons have Shock which gives them an edge when they swoop down on a dangerous target.

 

ELEMENTALS Solid as rock, these elementals typify the stalwart nature of the Dwarves. The key SA is Damage Reduction.

---

Stone Spirit -

The Stone Spirit is fear incarnate. It is the most expensive Dwarf model, and it comes with the goods to back up that price tag. Being a Burrowing model means it can begin underground, more or less immune to everything in the enemy army. You can have it surge forward to threaten the enemy. I've found this always makes them freak out and over-react, which will aid your surface forces greatly. Being Summoned means you can leave it off to the side and later, say when the enemy is pressing in on Herryk or whomever, BLAM there's a massive Elemental in the way and it's stomping your face. Bludgeon on a giant based model is huge, as nearly everything will get the full -2 MAV penalty when struck by the Stone Spirit. Finally, Damage Reduction/2 is HUGE! A concerted attack will take it down, for sure, but incidental attacks will do NOTHING to the Stone Spirit. Fantastic!

---

Earth Elemental -

This is essentially the Stone Spirit's little brother. Most of what holds true for the Stone Spirit holds true for the Earth Elemental. People will feel overly threatened by a burrowed model, and bludgeon is still quite good on a Large based model. What really draws me to this model is that it's far cheaper than the Stone Spirit but still retains the Damage Reduction/2. It's difficult to take down and will require a big investment of resources on the part of your opponent. And anything that's chipping away at your angry pile of granite is not killing Dwarves. That's the name of the game with the elementals.

 

Link to a review of Dwarven Soldier Models

Link to a review of Dwarven Elite Models

Link to a review of Dwarven Leader models

[wildbill]

I think Jim summed up the Dwarves quite nicely. Good job!

 

Wild Bill

[jdripley]

A review of the Dwarven Elites:

 

 

Dwarves have seven elites - the smallest number of any faction. Half the factions have ten or more, but three of the remainder only have eight elites - so Dwarves aren't too far behind those factions. Generally speaking the Dwarf army relies upon the strength of each model, standing side by side, to carry the day. Thusly it makes sense that there are fewer special characters. Compare that with, say, Necropolis where the rank and file are skeletons with no real strength, and you need the big strong elites. It goes to highlight what the Dwarves are about. On to the models!

 

 

MELEE POWER Getting it done in the thick of the action. Quality stats and powerhouse SA's give these guys punch.

Durgam Deepmug -

Durgam happens to be my favorite sculpt in the whole game, and I'm pumped that in second edition he's got stats to back up his amazing mini. This iteration has a strong primary role of defense, and a secondary role of attack. His DV is quite good - certainly matched by a handful of Dwarf models, but only exceeded by the Griffon and the King himself. Durgam also comes with the Provoke SA meaning he's an excellent bodyguard model. Add in his immunity to support and he's that much stronger. And let's not forget Tough! 1/5

^th

of the time he takes fatal damage he'll keep on plugging. For his offensive secondary role, Durgam packs Fearless and Frenzy. Fearless means he can get in there and mix it up with anybody, no matter how scary they look. He'll never have his defenses lowered by Shaken so he can afford to put himself in danger. Frenzy, of course, gives him the opportunity to put out eight attacks. That's crazy! I think I'd be most inclined to use all eight when fighting something with a super high DV - say, 13 or so. You need 9s or 10s to hit anyways, so frenzying your MAV down to 0 only hurts your chances by 10 percent - but you get four more tries. Not a bad option.

Durthen, Boarmaster -

This guy's got it all; speed, offensive punch, adequate defense, and the ability to cause Shaken. He's essentially a shock trooper, with his Mounted and Shock SA's. Bloodlust makes him a good second wave attacker, and Frenzy of course is useful. Demoralize is a nifty ability, and it's passive so it triggers when Durthen does his job of killing anyways. Bonus! Don't get carried away with him though, because his defense isn't super high. 10 is bread and butter for Dwarves, and you can count on an enemy being able to do serious damage to him. Luckily Shock gives him a chance to avoid that first defensive strike.

 

 

SPELLCASTERS The few and the proud - Dwarven casters are rare, but they're no slouches. Each one adds a layer of strategic depth to the typically straight forward Dwarven army.

Ivar Silverfist -

If you want to heal your Dwarves and you're not taking Herryk, then Ivar is your go-to guy. He's got a dependable CP and enough spell points to do quite a bit of healing. The Restore Tome covers healing and the removal of negative model states, meaning Ivar's role revolves around keeping your Dwarves up and running. Statistically, Ivar has quality defenses and can lend a hand in a fight if it comes to it. There's really not a whole lot to say against Ivar. He doesn't strike me as an amazing model, but one that will reliably do what he's there to do. If healing is part of you strategy, he's worth taking.

Margara Firetongue -

The typical mage - lots of boom, low defense (but of course high magic defense). She's not among the most powerful mages in the game, but she's only a step below. Arcane tome gives her access to some neat tricks like teleport and Arcane Shield which I can see being very useful to a Dwarf player. Barrage, less so, but on a model with more than 1 #RA it can be clutch. Kara Foehunter has 2, Snorri Oathbreaker has two and also has poison, which could be extra awesome (also has the best RAV of the multi shot Dwarves) and Klaus Copperthumb has a big three #RA. Very short ranged though. Where Margara really shines of course is her access to the Fire tome. She can put out the Burning model state which mostly will rob enemies of an action, and the mighty Firestorm spell. Keep her protected from ranged and melee attacks and she'll blast big holes in your opponent.

Gilam, Rune Spelunker -

Gilam is a moderately powerful mage who has the stats to mix it up in melee if he has to. The ability to burrow is really what makes him stand out. In most games he'll be able to dictate exactly when he becomes vulnerable to counter attack, and you can bet your ale that it's when he's ready to unload some serious offensive magic. Like Margara the Fire tome gives him access to some nice attacks and the Burning state. He's also got the Earth tome which is a mixture of offense and movement control. Holding, creating walls, stunning, all very useful. His CP of 6 means he won't be terribly effective against anything with average or higher magic defense, so send him up against the enemy's fodder and let him clear them out for you. Warcaster is a nice ability. Whack the guy in front of you, then sling a spell - twice the offense in the same activation.

 

ROGUES Sneaky son (and daughter) of a gun models that pack a punch but can't take one. Expose them to neutralize a key threat, or keep them in your backfield taking attacks of opportunity.

Kara Foehunter -

Firstly, Kara gives you the Spy SA. She is one of four Dwarves (the others are leaders) who have the SA. I cannot stress enough how important this SA is. The initiative deck is a great way to simulate the back and forth nature of the fortunes of war, and being able to twist fortune in your favor is very useful. If Kara had just Spy, she'd be useful. If you get to the end of a game and haven't used Spy, you've done something wrong. There are always moments in Warlord when you wish the initiative draw had gone your way - Spy gives you that chance. On to the rest of Kara - quality ranged attacks. Plural. Very nice. It's like having two Piercers in one. She's got Unhindered, so if an enemy bases her don't feel obligated to attack it. Just shoot whatever you wanted to shoot in the first place and have a Warrior peel off the offending model. When you do want to get Kara away from an annoying enemy, Raider helps. Finally, Ranger can help you get the jump on a good firing position. Make sure you don't over-expose her as she's relatively weak defensively.

Klaus Copperthumb -

Not your typical Dwarf! Stealth helps defend him at range, and Dodge really helps defend him in melee. He's got #RA 3 which really is quite rare (note the synergy with Margara, above) and can be relied upon to finish off weakened foes who dribble through your line. Assassin helps him to remain safe when he goes in for the kill up close. Oh, and a super awesome sculpt helps too!

 

Link to a review of Dwarven Soldier models

Link to a review of Dwarven Solo models

Link to a review of Dwarven Leader models

[Gus Landt]

For friendly games, I imagine you could easily play your griffons on their 2" base. Worst case scenario, just agree with your opponent that he isn't allowed to put more than 3 minis per side.

 

I intentionally avoided base size changes in Warlord 2 because of the problems I knew existing players would have, even though a number of models would have been better on a smaller base size. The Griffon, with its expensive metal base, was the sole change. The price increase on the mini would have needed to be drastic (remember that a $1 increase in materials on our end results in at least a $5 increase in the MSRP). With my hopes of putting the griffon in P-65, I needed to go to the plastic base.

 

As for size, note that the gallery has always shown it on a large (plastic) base:

http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/griff...#detail/14077_G

[wildbill]

For friendly games, I imagine you could easily play your griffons on their 2" base. Worst case scenario, just agree with your opponent that he isn't allowed to put more than 3 minis per side.

 

I have no problem with him putting more minis on a side if I insist on keeping my Griffon on a giant base. In my opinion, that is what I get for refusing to downsize! My opponent receives a better opportunity to get more models into b2b contact and thus eliminate the Griffon more quickly.

 

But, to each his own.

 

Wild Bill

[jdripley]

A review of the Dwarven Leaders:

 

 

WARLORDS One-of-a-kind paragons of Dwarven goodness! Your Warlord is the centerpiece of your army, often the most powerful model you take. They can define your entire army by the presence they have on the battlefield.

King Thorgram Grimsteel -

Much maligned in the past (unfairly, say I... not so, says most) for being too expensive and not very good at anything. But the past is behind Thorgram, and this is the future. He's been hitting the gym, the Royal Armorer has searched the whole of Adon for the best metals, and his hawk is now in the zoo. Thorgram is now a rock solid model. High defense, high offense, the Smite SA - it all means that you'll be advancing Thorgram into the thick of things and letting him lay waste. Not much will stand before his unrelenting attack, and they'll have trouble pulling him down on top of it. His Warlord benefit neuters the enemy's Tough SA, so you'll want to line up Thorgram's troop opposite the toughest enemies to make use of that SA. It's wasted when you don't attack Tough models. Besides his ability in combat, Thorgram is a superlative leader. Spy and Tactician both give you an invaluable edge.

Herryk Aesir, High Cleric -

Herryk is a top tier caster with strong melee stats on top. the only thing keeping him from being one of the best casters is his limited Tome selection. That said, his CP is just as high as the best casters, and two tomes is only a shade behind three tomes, right? So it's safe to say that Herryk is a brilliant caster. Earth Tome allows some offense and the ability to control enemy movement. Restore Tome on such a potent caster allows you to keep your important models alive for an extended period. In melee, he has a great DV and he can hold his own in a fight. He's not the powerhouse that Thorgram or Logan is, so don't expect him to cut through the enemy. Instead, you can expect him to hold his own and take down standard and weak enemies. His Warlord benefit is very interesting. As I understand it, your entire army with the exception of solos and troops which have lost their leader get the Troop Standard upgrade for free. Dwarves have average Discipline, so this is a huge benefit. It gives you the freedom to fire into melee, and when you fight one of the scary factions like Darkspawn you'll have an easier time engaging. Also remember that you roll Discipline to disengage from melee, so if you need to reposition your forces for any reason this benefit comes in handy.

Logan Battlefury -

The most offensive of the three Warlords. He's a Berserker, but better. His defense isn't high, nor is it low. Don't get overconfident with him, but don't feel like you need to plan on him dying once he engages either. There are two notable pairings with Logan. First, any model with Frenzy belongs in Logan's troop. His Warlord Benefit allows them to trade DV for #MA instead of the usual MAV for #MA. This means your Frenzy models can put out a very high volume of attacks and still have quality MAV values. The other notable pairing is directly tied to this - Warriors and Gargram Deepmug. These models have Provoke, which is all that will save your Berserkers and Logan from dying immediately when using the special Frenzy. Attack the models your Berserkers/Logan are attacking with Warriors and pray that you land at least one attack. That way the enemy will have to direct its defensive strikes at your Warriors. No doubt they died from the crazed assault, so your Berserkers are safe.

 

CAPTAINS Powerful leaders capable of turning the tide in battle. Use your captains to lead the most important troops in your army because they have the strength to carry the day.

Ursula, Bear Rider -

She’s a monster of a dwarf, and she rides a bear. What more could you want? She’s obviously designed with leading Bear Riders into battle, with similar stats and abilities. On top of her excellent defense and very good offense, she has the Roar SA which allows her to put Shaken on nearby enemies. As with the Dire Bear, it can be a tough decision – do you use her excellent attacks, or do you Roar? Often the answer will be in the makeup of the enemies around her. If she’s attacking a big, nasty target, then go for the attacks and try for the extra Savage damage. If there’s lots of smaller, weaker targets, Roar away and give the rest of your Dwarves the extra boost they need to seal their fate.

Logrim Battlefury -

Logrim continues the trend of high quality Dwarven leadership. He’s got solid defensive and offensive stats, and the Cleave SA to deliver the hurt when you roll high. He’s particularly well suited to fighting evil due to his Smite SA. What makes him stand out is his access to the Earth Tome. Logrim’s low Spell Points makes his magical ablities a secondary focus for the model. You’ll probably cast a few spells on the way in with Logrim, then focus on battling. He does have Warmaster, though, so I can see him casting Mire once he’s mixing it up in melee. Mire stuns an opponent, denying them their defensive strikes. So long as you successfully cast Mire, Logrim is your go-to-man when you’re facing some particularly nasty opponent who will rip you up on defensive strikes. Mire them down, and deliver the hurt. Did I mention that Logrim has Spy? He does. It’s a great SA. Use it.

Freya Fanbreaker -

Freya is the captain of the Shieldmaidens, and you can tell that they fight day in and day out against the Reven. In a word, she is “adequate.” Very much a no-frills model, her defense is good but not noteworthy, she has one flavor SA, and otherwise has dwarf-like stats. She has MAT 6, which is fairly high, so use Freya when you want an uncomplicated leader who can reliably hit an opponent.

Fulumbar Ironhammer -

Like the Warriors, Fulumbar is a defensive model. He’s the economy leader of captain rank, so if you’re looking for a high model count Dwarf army he’s the ranking officer you want. Three damage tracks and Tough help keep him in the game, while three attacks with a good MAV make it worth while to have him in the game.

 

SERGEANTS The dwarves and dwarfettes who get the job done shoulder to shoulder with the rank and file. The sergeants are all on a theme based on a type of soldier in the Dwarf army. Don't feel constrained to put, say, Tohil with your Piercers. There's an element of depth in the game when you mix model types in your troops, and the leaders are an important part of that "troop chemistry." Allow your choice of leader to give your troop some extra options and enhance the overall ability of the troop.

Gargram Heavyhand -

As the most expensive sergeant, Gargram has “quality” written all over him. He’s essentially a warrior with some extra kick. Provoke can be key to allowing important soldiers to live until the next activation.

Abjorn Hofkeg, Miner -

Burrow and Ranger give this leader the ability to get out there early and hold some ground. A typical opponent will have difficulty opposing Abjorn and a troop of Miners on their own terms. Use this to your advantage. Once on the surface, Abjorn has good enough stats to see himself through for a round or two, which is all you’ll need.

Tohil Steadyhand -

Tohil is a frail ranged leader. Don’t fall into the trap of putting all of your piercers into one troop and leading them with Tohil. Use him just like you would a regular piercer – include him in a mixed troop to spread your ranged threat out.

Durin, Pathfinder -

He’s a Spy! Excellent! Imagine an army lead by Thorgram, Logrim, and Durin. With Kara Foehunter. That’d be 4 Spy models. Besides the Spy SA Durin sports Ranger and enough combat ability to deal with light threats. He belongs in a troop with other Rangers (so, Miners and Pathfinders) where he can lead a mission to hold important ground until the heavy hitters can catch up.

Hagard the Maimed -

This old veteran is tough as nails, but has a big limp and isn’t that good at dodging attacks. He’ll be brilliant for a turn when he smites some big monster and denies it one of its defensive swings, but sadly won’t last very long. Alternatively, you can send him up against weak infantry where Swing Through may net him a pair of kills before he goes down. Fortunately his stats to not degrade very quickly, and he’s got a high Tough check, so even though he’ll take hits like nobody’s business, he may end up lasting.

Valana, Forgemaiden -

Finally, Valana is even more of a “one hit wonder” than Hagard is. How about this for a combination: Valana with two Halberdiers backing her up, going after a high DV target. That would be two attacks at 7 MAV and two more at 6 MAV – not bad – and since Valana dies anyways, all of the defensive strikes are lost. If you aren’t ready to use Martyr, Bludgeon helps her to stick around by limiting the number of defensive strikes she will find aimed at her.

 

Link to a review of Dwarven Soldier Models

Link to a review of Dwarven Solo models

Link to a review of Dwarven Elite Models

[jdripley]

How's this for an army?

 

Troop 1: Freya Fangbreaker, Durgam Deepmug, Ivar Silverfist, Shieldmaiden x 3, Halberdier x 4

Troop 2: Annasha Tomebreaker

Troop 3: Gargram Heavyhand, Kara Foehunter, Berserker x 2, Halberdier x 2, Warrior x 2

Troop 4: Gargram Heavyhand, Swiftaxe x 3, Warrior x 3

=998 points

 

Troop one is your front line. Freya and the Maidens can dish it out and take it just as well. Durgam tanks anything particularly nasty to keep the heat off of the girls. Ivar hangs back slightly so he can still counterspell anything coming their way. Halberdiers lend aid and grant support bonuses starting at the flanks and moving in (turning a flank is key in Warlord 2).

 

Troops three and four are your attack troops. The Warriors keep the heat off of your Swiftaxes and Berserkers. The Halberdiers help out the Berserkers so they can Frenzy and still maintain a high MAV value. Kara does what Kara does best: lurks around convenient terrain pieces and putting crossbow bolts into things she doesn't like, all the while giving you the all-important Spy ability when you really need it. Annasha will begin by covering the Berserker troop with Counterspell/purify if needed. Otherwise she is the follow up to the Swiftaxe troop. A second hit by something as powerful as Annasha is will certainly be meaningful.

[jdripley]

No Dwarf players this time around?? What's going on? The old Axe and Hammer Tavern used to be the only party worth going to!

 

Here's a question to debate over...

 

In an army with Margara Firetongue (who has access to the spell Teleport) what's your favorite model to fling at the enemy? Currently I'm liking the Bear Rider. DV 12 is solid (and it'll need DV to have a chance at surviving deep in enemy territory), MAV 5 / #MA 3 with Savage means it can dish out the pain, and the Fearsome SA will both give a better chance of wrecking your target and keeping enemies from too freely engaging it after its activation ends and it is sitting put behind enemy lines. And on top of that, a large base counts as Size 3 Size 2 (thanks for the tip Shak) which means they have to get two standard base sized models in b2b with it before it even has to use its wonderful Dis 7 to try to disengage if it doesn't want to sit around all day behind enemy lines after ripping the face off of some important model.

[Shakandara]

Large bases are Size 2, p. 18.

 

~v

[Sharky]

No Dwarf players this time around?? What's going on? The old Axe and Hammer Tavern used to be the only party worth going to!

 

We're here, some of us are mere beardlings taking notes off of you old longbeards.

[wildbill]

No Dwarf players this time around?? What's going on? The old Axe and Hammer Tavern used to be the only party worth going to!

 

Here's a question to debate over...

 

In an army with Margara Firetongue (who has access to the spell Teleport) what's your favorite model to fling at the enemy? Currently I'm liking the Bear Rider. DV 12 is solid (and it'll need DV to have a chance at surviving deep in enemy territory), MAV 5 / #MA 3 with Savage means it can dish out the pain, and the Fearsome SA will both give a better chance of wrecking your target and keeping enemies from too freely engaging it after its activation ends and it is sitting put behind enemy lines. And on top of that, a large base counts as Size 3 Size 2 (thanks for the tip Shak) which means they have to get two standard base sized models in b2b with it before it even has to use its wonderful Dis 7 to try to disengage if it doesn't want to sit around all day behind enemy lines after ripping the face off of some important model.

 

To be honest, I never paid attention to the fact that she had Teleport as a spell. I was focused on burning people to death.

 

But, now that I know...Durgam with Mithril Armor and a Magic Weapon would be awesome to fling towards the enemy. #MA 4 MAV 5 plus Frenzy and DV 11 with DR/1. Works for WB!!

 

Wild Bill

[jdripley]

Anybody having success with primarily ranged Dwarven armies? Each time I build a list it keeps becoming almost entirely melee oriented and I'm trying to get out of that box.. but then keep feeling like my army is naked without all of the shields!! If you've tried a ranged Dwarf list, how has it gone for you? what have you done to protect your Piercers?

[wildbill]

Anybody having success with primarily ranged Dwarven armies? Each time I build a list it keeps becoming almost entirely melee oriented and I'm trying to get out of that box.. but then keep feeling like my army is naked without all of the shields!! If you've tried a ranged Dwarf list, how has it gone for you? what have you done to protect your Piercers?

 

No, I have never tried an all-Piercer (or even mostly Piercer) Dwarf list. I don't think it has any real chance of winning. There are too many models that can fly, burrow or just plain move like the dickens across the board and then monkey-stomp the crap out of the Piercers on like Turn 2. No thanks.

 

I will say that I have started to **GASP!! ** take not only Piercers but also a spellcaster in my typical Dwarf army list!! I know I know...It's a shock hearing me say I'm taking a spellcaster. But, I am starting to have some success with it, and I have started coming up with some diabolical schemes.

 

Wild Bill