Editing Warhammer Army Project/Dwarf (section)

==Building Your Army==
===Buying Your Army===
Buy a battleline set or two to start; you can get a couple for the same price as a battalion from the official site if you know where to look. Do all of the warriors as the same type, 40 warriors in one unit is far more effective than two units of 20. The shooty dwarfs should be assembled depending on who you usually face. Thunderers and Quarrellers should generally have shields. The 4 cannons are really good both ways.

Next, buy a dwarf lord with shieldbearers. Gyrocopters will never go amiss, but make sure you can afford it if you make the cannon into an organ gun. Keep buying more dwarfs, a Runelord is no longer a good choice due to barely being better than the Runesmith for 60 pts more, but a BSB is still ever-useful.

If you feel you need to stretch your converter's wings and make something unique/different or aren't all that impressed by the dwarf miniature range, learn first and foremost how to green stuff beards. To make models look good is easy; any detail you don't like, just cover it with a green stuff beard, and any model will always look better with an extra big bushy beard on top except for those otherwise stated. Old Longbeard models are a good reference for these conversions. Also, braids on either side of the beard add a Celtic feel to the models, which are reminiscent of the previous incarnation of Dwarf fluff when they were a little less Viking-y. More beard seems to go a long way, especially because the plastic sculpts don't compare to any of the newer models coming out. Also, bigger round shields do absolute wonders for Dwarf models; using thumbtacks or converted marauder shields makes your models look amazing.

===Army Composition===
Repeat after me. War machines and lots of shit that refuses to die.

The nature of the Dwarf units is more restrictive than most other armies since you basically have only two types of units: infantry and war machines (+ the odd robot). You don't have cavalry, war beasts, monstrous units, monsters, swarms, you don't even have cheap chaff or skirmishers! This, together with M3 across the board (Gyrocopters not counting) means that Dwarf players historically tend to play relatively stationary. But make no mistake, it might seem easier to play like this, but it means that mistakes during the deployment phase are so much worse since you have little chance to remedy them. With so little variation in your units, the differences often lie in details:

'''Dwarf Warriors vs. Longbeards:'''Except for a pure gunline, you're going to field at least one of these two units. It depends a little on your battleplan, but Dwarf Warriors with shields are the better choice for a tarpit since they have the same defensive abilities as Longbeards (T4, AS4+, parry 6+/5+, LD9) at a lower price. Field something like 30 in at least 5 ranks, they can take a lot of punches. Dwarfs in general work very well with Great Weapons, as they anyway have a low initiative. 21 Longbeards with Great Weapons and the Rune of Stoicism work well, making them stubborn. They neither need a character to support nor the BSB-bubble but can still hold their ground against most enemies. Be it Warriors or Longbeards, always have full command.

'''Quarellers vs. Thunderers:''' Well, both weapons have merits. The crossbow has a longer range, and the handgun is armour piercing. There are more occasions where the handgun takes the cake, ''but'' the crossbow just has these extra 6", so if your opponent stays out of the standard 24" distance (or you have the first turn and your opponent was clever enough to deploy his troops half an inch behind the line), you would lose one round of shooting to move your Thunderers into threat range. Additionally, Quarellers can be equipped with great weapons as well as shields, and Thunderers only have access to shields. The command units basically only give bonuses in close combat and are therefore not really necessary as a) the champion doesn't have a better BS but an additional attack, b) both weapons are move-or-fire so the musician's main benefit for shooting units - the swift reform - has no use here and c) they cannot take magic standards and generally these units are not your dedicated close combat fighters anyway. Save the 30 points and get two more troops instead, maybe unless you're playing a gunline and your shooting units also have to fill the role as close combat units; in that case, definitely get a full command unit! Superiority breaks down like this, based on the distance to the enemy:
*30"-25": Quarellers (duh)
*24"-16": Thunderers
*15"-13": Quarellers
*12"- 1": Thunderers
*CC: Quarellers with GWs.

'''Hammerers vs. Ironbreakers:''' Your two main elite fighting units. In WAP Ironbreakers jumped from a 3+ save to a 1+ save. Sure they went up 2pts but what didn't in this book They're also the only unit in the book with a 5++ parry. Hammers are techincally cheaper, but really you're always going to upgrade to heavy armour so practically they're identical. When it comes down to it, Ironbreakers work better with buffs, have a golden scepter or runesmith? Bring Ironbreakers. Want a unit that can bring out the pain without support? Bring Hammers. Regardless, anytime you find yourself spending points in longbeards above your core requirment start looking to one of these to replace them. 

'''Miners vs. Rangers:''' Your two choices for units with special deployment rules, a better form of Ambushers for the Miners and Scouts for the Rangers. To be honest, neither is too great. Dwarfs are slow, very slow, so they don't make for good ambushers. Look at the rule: They can arrive starting from turn 2 (66% chance), cannot charge or march that turn, have to be placed in contact with a board edge and only move 3". That means you can charge on turn 3 at the earliest, and only something which is still pretty close to the board edge. And your opponent has a turn to react to your arrival. The minimum unit size for Miners is 10, at 9pts a model that's the cost of a Gyrocopter. It would be different if Miners were core troops, and/or you could/would field two larger units. But since they are a special unit and literally every other choice in that category is superior, there will probably only be one relatively small unit. Yes, it can work in the right situation, but for me, it is not a choice for a general army. A Gyrocopter is more versatile. Rangers have a similar problem. Scout is a nifty rule, and a decent unit with crossbows cleverly positioned can be a real threat for your opponent. Rangers have gotten better with the Skirmishers upgrade, which allows them more flexibility and goes nicely with their throwing axes (which are just great, never forget you have them!). Both Miners and Rangers have the problem that you will have a hard time reinforcing their position with your slow army, which often likes to stay back and give their war machines more time to shoot the enemy to pieces anyway. They can be effective in the right situation, but most of the time that Gyrocopters can also do. And both units suffered a major blow when this one rune was scrapped, which would have allowed a character to join either unit and gain their special deployment rule (<strike>ideally combined with that other scrapped rune that forced an enemy unit to charge...</strike>). Rangers can be a little more valuable since you can get five at 11-12pts apiece, and they can be deployed at a strategic position to deny it to your enemy Scouts and Vanguard, which can be crucial. 

'''Cannon vs. Grudge Thrower vs. Bolt Thrower vs. Organ Gun vs. Flame Cannon:''' Phew, this got alot easier, leave cannons at home, bring as many Grudge Throwers. as possible. Don't invest a ton in your Organ Gun. If you're against Ogres the flame cannon is disgusting, now always shooting at its old "supercharged" profile. Bolt Throwers are extreme value, being 10pts cheaper and no longer getting penalties at long range. 

'''Gyrocopters vs. Gyrobombers:''' For only 90pts, there is almost always room in your army for at least one Gyrocopter. The copter makes for good war machine hunters or harassing enemy units with their steam cannon, especially some pesky waywatchers or similar hiding behind cover. The Gyrobomber is nice enough, but it is inferior to Irondrakes, Organ Guns, or Flame Cannons in the rare slots.

===<i>Dispelling</i> Magic===

*In 2000 point games and above, try to have a Runesmith with the Master Rune of Balance and park him behind some dwarven lines. The Anvil looks nice, seeing as it provides you with one Dispel Dice and some spells, and with the Master Rune of Balance, the Runelord can steal a power dice on a 4+, all for 305 points, but as mentioned above, it's too easy to kill. With how much the Anvil costs, you will get more Mileage out of several Runes of Spellbreaking and the Master Rune of Valaya. With it only costing 65pts, you can give it to a unit of Hammerers to free up your bsb to carry other runes.