# Starting Dwarfs



## gen.ahab (Dec 22, 2009)

Four questions:
#1) Are they a viable race?

#2) How do they rank up against other factions?

#3) How do they play? 

#4) How do I build a good dwarf force?

Thank you in advance.


----------



## Putch. (Jul 13, 2010)

Definitly Viable.

That depends a lot on the build of your army to be honest, but I dont think that you will ever pay a game with dwarfs and say, man stunties really blow against (insert army here) Unless your opponent somehow tailored a list, which is difficult against Dwarfs.

They can play differantly, I play as solid hard as nails blocks of troops, backed by war machines and some suppressing fire. You can play all or mostly melee, or all ranged, however you want, they are all viable. 

To start get the battalion, one of the best battalions as it actually contains units all dwarf players use. Then decide the direction you want for your army, do you want lots of guns and war machines with a little melee protection? Or maybe a solid line of combat troops with support? Dependind on your choice, the direction to take could vary, no matter what I would say, Battalion, Box of thunderers/quarellers (either can be built) , another box of warriors, and a character or two should give you very good, well rounded place to start, from there you can see what appeals to you more and take it in that direction.


----------



## olderplayer (Dec 11, 2009)

Dwarfs are significantly improved by 8th edition. You no longer have to guess range. The key is war machines with engineers that allow you to re-roll artillery dice. Cannons and grudge launchers are particularly valuable in 8th edition. This substantially increases the probability of hitting and doing serious damage and reduces substantially the risk of misfires. In order to protect the war machines, you should look at running large blocks of dwarf warriors that have a lot of ranks (makes them steadfast), good magic defenses (dwarf armies can still have multiple equivalents of dispell scrolls) and a some gun lines (thunderers/quarrellers). 

The only complaint I have is that the army is very boring and frustrating to play against. Either I get in fast enough and get lucky enough to avoid my key models/units from getting shot up so that I get into and destroy the cannons and grudge and anvil or I get shot up before i get a chance and can't break the steadfast troops with decent probability. There are lots of effective combinations, including running a lord with the anvil and just going with BSBs a lord and some heroes to ensure that the steadfast blocks don't break.


----------



## blackspine (Jun 9, 2010)

Dwarves are very viable now.
I'm not too sure on their versatility, seeing that most armies are some variation on 'the gunline/ mountain' technique. 
Their cannons, with runes, are devastating and the grudge throwers are just absurd.
To play against, they can be frustrating. To play they could be boring. Depends on the opponent. Something about 2-3 rounds of just sitting and shooting that would bore me.

There needs to be some balance. If you have too much ranged firepower, your enemy will plow into them and break them easily. You still need solid lines of warriors, longbeards, iron breakers etc etc.

Bonus is; when IoB comes out, you can most likely get the skull pass for super cheap.


----------



## OpTi (Aug 29, 2009)

i've seen a dwarf CC tear througha WoC army, i think it was a hammerer unit with some beefy character in it. It went through 2 warrior blocks and a marauder block and had lost almost nothing... right up until it got gated.


----------



## gen.ahab (Dec 22, 2009)

Thanks guys, I will be picking up my rulebook and starter set on the first of the month.


----------



## Gromrir Silverblade (Sep 21, 2010)

Hey dude, just wondering how you got on with your dwarf army. I got mine at the start of the year and have loved playing them. The fact that they will stick in there with their leadership and blast through most units has always appealed.The only army that has really challenged me time and time again has been lizardmen as they are just as tough with lots of attacks and skinks with poison attacks.

How is it going?


----------

