Editing Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Dwarfs (section)

===Multiplayer Strategies===
Dwarfs are one of the most unique factions in the game battle wise, with an utter lack of mobility and magick, and focusing everything on tanky infantry that can deal decent damage, and powerful guns and artillery. Unfortunately for them, this uniqueness means that unless you're fighting other Dwarfs, you don't have any balanced match ups against other races. Against some you have a clear, obvious advantage and tend to stomp, and against others, they give you swirlies in the bathroom for your lunch money. This is why most competitive players think they're one of the best counterpick factions as you can avoid your bad match ups and play in a favorable situation. Anyway, here's how you can satisfy the grudge against the other races:

*'''Beastmen''': A rush faction, Beastmen will have a hell of a time against you, if you play your cards right. Their complete lack of armor leaves them quite vulnerable to Thunderer fire on the approach and Bolt Throwers can slice through Minotaurs and Cygors with relative ease. Keep a solid screen of staunch Dwarf Warriors between your ranged units and the enemy and bring (Giant) Slayers to turn the Bestigor and Centigor Herds into ground beef.

*'''Bretonnia''': The peasantry of the Bretonnians can safely be ignored (except Foot Squires, after their buffs they can actually fuck you up pretty good), as they'll struggle to do anything to your heavy armor. Instead, you'll want to focus on bringing down their armored cavalry, particularly the Grail Knights and Grail Guardians leading the charges into you. Trollhammer Irondrakes serve fantastically as a powerful Horse-B-Gone tool and your Giant Slayers can chunk through most of their cavalry so long as they're not the ones receiving the initial charge. Bolt Throwers are, again, a powerful tool to use while the Bretonnian cav is on the approach. Just make sure that you keep your flanks thoroughly secure.

*'''[[Total_War_Warhammer/Tactics/Chaos_Dwarfs| Chaos Dwarfs]]''': Here's the thing about the Dawi-Zharr: their Dwarf units are generally better than yours one-on-one but are far more expensive. You can fill the field with heavily armored and relatively cheap infantry while they have to fill it with greenskin slaves. As a result your army as a whole has better staying power than theirs. Your Thunderers in particular are much cheaper than Fireglaives and have better range than Blunderbusses. Chaos Dwarf artillery can pose a big problem as you are pretty stationary and that's what they love but your cannons get a lot more shots per unit than theirs do and if you play your cards right you can win artillery duels. Watch out for Magma Cannons however, as the burning vortex their shots leave behind can really mess up an artillery crew - focus them down first if possible. Chaos Dwarfs also have lots of big monsters and chariots which will be a problem for you just as they always are. Your best bet is to shoot them down ASAP and if all else fails have a few Slayers in reserve. Gryrobombers can do pretty good against clumped Chaos Dwarf elite infantry and have a place in this matchup.

*'''Daemons of Chaos''': Expect Khorne Furies and a mostly Slaanesh-roster. see Slaanesh's guide below on how to deal with this. The good news is that since daemons of Chaos don't have access to greater daemon lords, you 'might' be able to deal with their hero-class lords. But this is mostly a full pain matchup for you, due to the access to the Slaanesh-roster daemons have.

*'''Warriors of Chaos''': For Grungni's sake, keep your distance! Chaos Warriors are as tough as you are and hit harder in melee. Stock up on Thunderers and cannons, and bring some great weapon fighters to finish them off. Slayers can help as long as you're careful to make sure the enemy can't hit back. Keep your eyes out for flanking cavalry and chariots, and pray to the gods you can shoot those heathens before they reach your lines!

*'''Dark Elves''': This is a really tricky matchup for you; Dark Elves are fast and bring absurd AP damage in melee and at a range. Your biggest advantage is your superior range and you'll need to lean on it heavily to stand a chance. Grab Cannons, Grudge Throwers, Rangers, and Quarrelers and hope to Grungi you can shoot them down before they get close enough to return the favor.

*'''Dwarfs''': Hopefully you have a general idea on the strengths of this faction, you're playing as them! Anti-Armor, full stop. Organ Guns, take the Skolder Guard and bring some Hammerers to crack open your opponent's can.

*'''Empire''': The Empire can be a tricky one because they're almost as good at artillery as you are while also having good cavalry and skirmishers. You'll need to stock up on Gyrobombers to disrupt their flanking cavalry and Slayers to take out their knights. Irondrakes can also work well at deleting any aggressive demigryphs or knights. Beyond that, you should double down on your strengths and keep your artillery safe; the human lines will break before yours do.

*'''Greenskins''': As satisfying as it is to bury an axe in a Greenskins skull, you are better off dealing with these guys from a distance. Quarrelers and Rangers are your friends here; quantity is as important as quality when fending off a green tide. Organ Guns and Cannons will be better at dealing with monsters than your Slayers, you don't want to send unarmoured units against Arachnarok Spiders or Rogue Idols. Don't forget your Irondrakes and/or your flame cannons, they can melt down anything from goblins to stone trolls. And keep your flanks protected from chariots and pump-wagons, they can wreak havoc on your lines and just ruin your day.

*'''Grand Cathay''': This is another instance of a faction that does what you do, only a hell of a lot worse. Yeah, you won't have to worry too much about these guys when they show up. Your missile boxes beat their missile boxes, their Cav is subpar and will get eaten by Slayers, and the only AP infantry that they have is Anti Large, which you don't have. Box up, get some cannons and Quarrelers, sit back and enjoy some Bugmans as the Cathayans desperately try to figure out how the fuck they're getting into your backline. Yes they do have their own little airforce, but do you really think Umgi inventions can compete with Dawi Gyrocopters? No. If they bring Sky Junks, send some Gyrocopters after them to pick them down. This faction might get more scary as DLC comes out, but for now this should be an easy win as long as you know what you're doing.

*'''High Elves''': Don't let the War of the Beard fool you, this will be one of your hardest match ups. High Elves have a lot of things that threaten you, but the things to fear the most would be their Chariots, Mages, White Lions and <s>Sisters of Averlorn</s> (they do magic damage so their AP isn't as useful as you think). Seriously, any High Elf player who knows what they're doing is going to spam White Lions and it is going to SUCK. Your best bet is to spam either Gyrocopters or Cannons and spread the field. Force the High Elves to have to either attack your artillery emplacements one at a time, allowing your others to fire freely, or use your air power and artillery to spread them apart and pick off pockets. Hammerers also have a niche in this match up, because they beat White Lions pretty hard one-on-one and with support from guns or chaff, they can go toe to toe with Swordmasters (though don't count on that). Of course, these plans aren't perfect. There's a 99% chance they will bring Alarielle for Tempest and heals to deal with Gyros and they have plenty of mobility to get at your Cannons to give the White Lions time to get in. Sadly, this is one of those match ups where even if you bring the most optimized Anti Elgi list possible, there's still a pretty decent chance you'll lose. Avoid this match up if you can.

*'''Khorne''': It's Khorne, c'mon. Warriors of Chaos with somehow even less ranged and even killier once they reach your front lines. Bring plenty of armor-piercing infantry and ranged. If you want to live, protect your artillery from Khorne's furies and calvary.

*'''Kislev''': Kislev's big weakness is that their ranged firepower is also their melee power due to hybrid units, and while this seems great at first glance, they sacrifice both elements to have the other. Your artillery and ranged firepower will dump all over Kislev, your biggest concern are War Bears and Sleds, to which you should apply Slayers. Focus down the wizards and you'll out-brutalize Kislev in good time.

*'''Lizardmen''': Lizardmen are a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, you can scoff at all the Skinks as they ping impotently off of your armor (unless they're the Red-Crested variety). On the other, Saurus are just as stubborn as you are and will take days to chew through without good AP. Bring some Hammerers to eek out an advantage in the inevitable grindfest you'll end up in. Take advantage of the Lizardmen's dearth of ranged firepower and massacre their forces with Irondrakes and Thunderers, while your Dwarf Warriors hold their front line at bay. You have excellent anti-monster units in the form of your Giant Slayers who absolutely will butcher any big dinosaur thrown into your ranks so long as you have some chaff to help trap and soak the damage the beasties can toss about. Though Skinks will largely prove a minor nuisance at best to a majority of your forces, you will ''definitely'' want to screen your (Giant) Slayers from the Skirmishing variety. Key players to watch out for are going to be the Slann Mage-Priests, Skink Priests and Kroxigors. Slann, especially Fire/High Slann and Heavens Skink Priests can wreak utter havoc upon your forces with the myriad of vortex spells they can toss out, like candy from a parade float and they should absolutely be prioritized if you find them on the field. (Sacred) Kroxigors, if fielded, are surprisingly vicious anti-infantry monsters and will bowl over a majority of the infantry they're pointed at. Giant Slayers and Trollhammer Irondrakes serve as a solid counter, but you'll still want to swamp the Kroxigors in chaff to mitigate the damage they deal in turn.

*'''Norsca''': This is an easy fight for you. All of that monster hunting anti-large equipment the Norscans bring is going to fly right over your head as you bury your axes in their unarmoured pecs. Bring plenty of Cannons and Bolt Throwers to shoot down enemy Mammoths and bring some Irondrakes to shoot down anything else. Norscans are usually unarmoured, so you can trade your Thunderers for Quarrelers for the better range. Stick to the basics and you'll do fine.

*'''Nurgle''': Holy shit, a faction that might actually be slower than you! And it seems like you will have a hefty advantage as they don't really have a lot of ways to stop your artillery. The biggest thing you will probably have to worry about is their air force, and Furies and Rotflies will be gunning for that back line. Keep some Slayers near your guns, and get ready to surround them if they try to land. After that you just got to deal with Nurgle's rush of Plaguebearers and Nurglings, and I hope you're ready for nothing to ever die ever because that's likely what is gonna happen when Dawi and Nurgle clash. On the ground, Plague Toads and Pox Riders will likely be your biggest threat with their anti-infantry, but they're also big models, so guns and Slayers should do the trick. Expect a Herald as the commander, and if he's dumb enough to bring a Great Unclean One, laugh and shoot it to pieces. With the new debuffs fire damage does to healing, it might also be wise to break out the Irondrakes and Flame Cannons -- you'll have plenty of time to lob napalm at those shambling hordes of Plaguebearers.
** CoC DLC has brought some changes with access to marked WoC units for Nurgle; the units you will definitely see in this match-up now include Nurgle-marked Chaos Knights, Nurgle-marked Chaos Chariots, Nurgle-marked Chaos Warriors/Chosen with Great Weapons and Nurgle Marauder Horsemen with throwing axes. Knights & Chariots are especially a threat, as they will survive long enough from their speed+armour+Nurgle Mark to get behind your lines and wipe artillery or rear-charge your line infantry. Great weapon Warriors/Chosen, while still vulnerable to your guns when getting to your lines, are both units that have respectable chances of beating your units in the grind with their standard WoC stats, but now plus the Nurgle Mark. The Nurgle Warshrine is a strong support piece for the army, but like a GUO its something Dwarfs can delete so easily that you really should not see it. Generally expect Nurgle armies facing you to have a decent share of Nurgle-marked Mortal units from WoC now, unless your opponent hates themselves.

*'''Ogre Kingdoms''': This match is either gonna be your easiest or your hardest, as this comes down to the skill of you, the Ogre player, and what units you brought to the table. The Ogres have massive charge bonuses, but a lot of your units have charge defense, however unlike other factions, the Ogres will only lose half due to their Ogre Charge trait. The biggest threat the Ogres bring to you is their artillery, and if you leave them be they'll reap a devasting toll on your infantry. The good news is, that with the exception of Leadbelchers, all their artillery are a single model. Have your Cannons and Gyrocopters focus them down and you are good to go, or so you would think. Besides the Gnoblars, Ogres are all monster units, which means two things. One is that your artillery and Slayers will have a field day, but two is that their shockingly fast speed means they're gonna out run you and try to outmaneuver you at every opportunity. Your army should be a good balance of Longbeards, or if you are pinching pennies, Dwarf Warriors, they all have charge defense and can help hold the charging balls of lubber back. This is one of the match up where having a ton of Slayers is a good thing, and stack up on them to defend your back lines and cut the Ogres down to size. Your artillery should consist of two, maybe three Cannons to take out artillery and thin their numbers. Irondrakes with Trollhammer Torpedoes won't be a bad call, but they're on the pricey end. Besides some of their units, bring at least two, or simply one unit of Thunderers at most, because a lot of their stuff is unarmored, your main missile troop should be Quarrelers, they're cheap and will have a good time turning Ogres into pin-cushions and are strong enough to fend off Sabertusks. Your artillery targeting priority should look something like this: artillery units (Ironblasters first, then Leadbelchers), Stonehorns, and finally, everything else. This should be the only match up where you shouldn't bother bringing Miners with Blasting Charges. The only thing they'll have an effect on is Gnoblars and strictly that, which is a waste of cash and will earn you a grudge for being wasteful. Now get out there and strike out some grudges against the fat bastards!

*'''Skaven''': This is probably the closest we'll get to a 40k-esque matchup (you know, <strike>aside the irony of neither the [[Squats|Dwarfs]] or Skaven being in that setting</strike> [[Leagues of Votann|The Kin has declared a Grudge against the manling who wrote that]]). Between your guns and artillery and their guns and artillery, most of the damage either of you will be dealing to each other will be done from afar. A majority of the Skaven infantry is quite helpless against your frontline infantry, but you'll have a hell of a time pinning anything down with the Skavens quicker movement speeds. Grudge Throwers are going to be king against most Skaven infantry builds, while Bolt Throwers or Cannons should be fielded to snipe any Warp-Lighting Cannons, Plagueclaw Catapults or Hellpit Abominations they have downfield. Warplock Jezzails will be a priority target to focus fire down, as are Warpfire Throwers and Poison Wind Globadiers, should they start getting too close. Aside utilizing their missile units against them, Skaven have absolutely no aerial presence, meaning your Gyrocopters will have virtually free reign to gun down rats at will.

*'''Slaanesh''': A bad day for you all around. It's become apparent, that if you're unlucky enough to run into Slaanesh, you're going to want to forego ranged firepower almost entirely, Miners with Blasting Charges and Ironbreakers will trade efficiently, maybe a safety pick of Thunderers to deal with a Keeper of Secrets, but AP on everything, Furies, Spawn and Chariots will just pulverize your formations in one of the most one-sided setups in the game right now.

*'''Tomb Kings''': The good news is that Tomb Kings don't like fire, and you have fire aplenty. Brimstone Gun-equipped Gyrocoptors are your fastest fire-delivery system, but Irondrakes and Flame Cannons are useful as well. The bad news is, that you don't like chariots, and they have chariots aplenty. Use every trick you can to soften up the chariots before they hit your lines; but it's unlikely you'll be able to stop them all. Grab some Giant Slayers to finish off the ones that survive your barrage and hope it's enough to keep them down. Tomb Kings infantry is no match for you, so you should build your army against their monsters and chariots.

*'''Tzeentch''': Ooh, here is somebody that's going to hate you. Tzeentch units are squishy and their ranged units only have middling range and are better for kiting. He also has no artillery other than Soul Grinders, few big monsters outside of Lords of Change, and relies heavily on spamming spells to activate their army abilities. Bring a Runelord or Thorek on an Anvil of Doom and laugh as their casters explode. Otherwise, pound them into dust with artillery, as they have few answers to an army with better range than them. Just guard the back line against Furies and Doom Knights and don't bother with air units, they'll get shot down in short order.

*'''Vampire Coast''': The most common Vampire Coast strategy is to bunker up with a large number of cheap ranged units and heavy artillery. If that sounds familiar, it's only because it's the same thing you like to do, you're just better at it. Bring plenty of Cannons and some Slayers to deal with the enemy monsters (hint: kill the Necrofex Colossi first). Once the big monsters have been dealt with, the pirates are basically just an inferior version of you, clumps of Quarrelers and Thunderers are plenty to take down the Zombies. And remember not to bunker up too tightly; you may have magic resistance but Winds of Death will still <i>hurt</i>.

*'''Vampire Counts''': Virtually nothing that makes up the rank and file of the Vampire Counts will pose a significant threat to you. Skeletons and Zombies will only serve to slow down your already plodding advance and only deal any meaningful "damage" to you simply by sponging your limited ranged firepower meant for something else. The only standard units that you'll find yourself at a significant disadvantage against will be the Cairn and Hex Wraiths, given your general lack of magical damage. You'll want to engage them with missile attacks for maximum effect and make sure that you are braced for their charges. The main thing you should be focused on taking down will be the Lords and Heroes leading the army; without them, the undead hordes will quickly fall apart (literally). They also pose the single biggest threat to everything you have, as their Lore of Death casters can delete swathes of your army with a single well placed cast if you are positioned carelessly.

*'''Wood Elves''': Wood Elves are an extremely annoying foe who are fundamentally the exact opposite of you. Their infantry can run circles around yours and they can deal frightening amounts of damage against their intended targets, but you'll snap their twiggy spines if you whip 'em with your beards. In general, you're going to be engaged in a very tedious game of "keep away", where the Wood Elves are going to be dancing just outside of your reach while their Glade Guard and Waywatchers pepper you with AP arrows and occasionally test your flanks for weaknesses via Wild Rider/Great Stag Knight cycle charges. Fortunately, you do have a couple tools the elves don't: Artillery. Grudge Throwers excel against WE infantry and can discourage them from trying to camp too far away, while Bolt Throwers and Flame Cannons will make mince-meat of the cavalry/Forest Spirits that may try to break through your lines. Speaking of Forest Spirits, Irondrakes will ''incinerate'' them. Slayers also help against the bigger tree spirits in theory, but the ranged power the Wood Elves bring make them a dicey proposition. As far as their melee infantry options are concerned, the only ones that majorly threaten you are the Bladesingers; their anti-armor magical attacks will scythe through your armor will jaw-dropping speed. Use Thunderers to soften them up on the charge then use Slayers to cut them down swiftly.