Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Legion of Azgorh

If you are a new player, Chaos Dwarfs were supported until 6th edition and then slowly sank into Squat territory (although it would still be legal to play them). In July 2011 Forgeworld released Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos, which contained a WHFB army list for a faction of Chaos Dwarfs called the Legion of Azgorh, which is awesome, but sadly they lose part of the Babylonian look the older army had.

The Legion of Azgorh are not the Dawi Zhar in total, only a penal company from the Black Fortress. They are separate in the same way that Karak Kadrin Slayers do not represent the Dwarfen Race (or how Har Ganeth Executioners and Witch Elves do not represent all Dark Elves).

Instead of calling that a full army, it's better think of it as a "Dirty Dozen" stacked with "Navarone Guns".

As of 04/02/2021 the legion of azgorh is no longer available for purchase from the forgeworld. This means the only way to collect this army now is shitty deals on ebay.

Why Play Legion of Azgorh?

So what does the Legion of Azgorh offer? They are Dwarfs with possessed war machines (they're often called overpowered, and it's true, but this is compensated by the rest of the army) typically fielded behind a small, elite army composed of Chaos Dwarfs. They're supported by Fire Daemons that they've created, capable of wrecking entire armies, and their Sorcerers double as Engineers and can use magic while doing so.

On the downside, all the CD units are very expensive, including your equipment like Blunderbusses, save for the Hobgoblins (though it gets evened out with the war machines), few of the units have any real synergy with each other, with half the army list favouring a stationary, defensive battle plan and the other half needing to quickly get into combat to be most effective. Most of your synergy will be Ash Storm based, and if you go Hobgoblin-heavy you only have 3 options and they are cannon fodder at best.

The army has two viable yet very different play-styles. By virtue of access to many top tier war machines, engineers and wizards, Chaos Dwarfs can be played similarly to their western cousins, the Dwarfs, just with the added benefit of hurling magical death as well as rockets and molten lava. That's just good customer service! Alternatively you can skimp on the artillery and go full frontal assault, a la Chaos Warriors lite, complete with lots of fast monsters and rock solid elite infantry. Mixing the two styles sees the army lose a lot of its effectiveness, particularly against canny opponents who will pull apart stranded combat units or unguarded war machines piecemeal.

All in all, the Legion of Azgorh ends as a middle-tier army that will catch an opponent caught off-guard, but only the first few times. What do you mean 24" reach flamethrowers?

Army Rules

• Resolute: Chaos Dwarfs get -1" to the rolls for pursuing and fleeing. Regular Dwarfs had this rule updated in 8th Edition, Chaos Dwarfs just have to live with it.

• Relentless: Chaos Dwarfs don't test to march if they have an enemy within 8", which is very welcome, given their low movement value.

• Contempt: All Chaos Dwarf and Bull Centaur units ignore panic tests caused by their Hobgoblin slaves, and Chaos Dwarf characters can't join units without this rule (but that doesn't go the other way around). So use them as the shields they are, and don't mind them dying in droves.

• Daemonsmith: Daemonsmith Sorcerers and Sorcerer-Prophets are Immune to Psychology (remember, it only carries over to a unit if more than 50% of models have the rule) and are also subject to:
  • Infernal Engineer: If the model is unmounted and within 3" of a war machine, he can roll for Look Out Sir! like if he were within a unit of five or more models (so successful on a 2+, and not 4+ like Dwarfs or Empire. To be fair, this is most likely a mistake and meant as "[...] within 3" of [...]", but it has not been FAQ'ed). Additionally, he can forego using missile weapons so one war machine can re-roll one scatter or artillery dice.
  • Sorcerer's Curse: After resolving a miscast like normal, make a toughness test. Failing it causes an additional wound. After the first lost toughness test, permanently increase toughness by 1.

• Hellbound: Iron Daemon War Engines, Deathshrieker Rocket Launchers, Magma Cannons and Dreadquake Mortars can be Hellbound. Hellbound gives them +1T, +1W and magical attacks, but on a Misfire the war machine suffers D3 Wounds with no save. A Hellbound war machine also causes fear, which is hilarious when your opponent charges with his low-LD war machine hunters only to have their WS reduced to 1.

• Steam Carriage: Deathshrieker Rocket Launchers, Magma Cannons and Dreadquake Mortars can be mounted on a steam carriage. Steam Carriage makes the war machine count as behind Hard Cover against shooting and behind an obstacle when charged, plus allowing it to be towed by the Iron Daemon.

Unit Analysis and Summary

Lords and Heroes

Named Characters

Note: Under the current edition, named characters tend to be overpriced; you can pretty easily emulate most named characters from scratch and save yourself some points. That said, a few named characters do have abilities and wargear or wargear combos unique to them, so if you need to have them, go ahead. Just make sure you're really getting your points worth.

• Drazhoath the Ashen, Prophet of Hashut: Drazhoath has the same problems a regular Sorcerer Prophet has: He is just not as tough as the Lords from other armies, neither offensively nor defensively. On top of that, you can kit out a regular Sorcerer Prophet to be a better tank (2+/4++) or have T6. On the other hand, Drazhoath has an increased profile, confers a unique combat resolution buff, is a superior caster (even the Darkforged Weapon abilities cannot compare) with the potential to be downright terrifying (Crucible) and Cinderbreath dishes out a S5 breath weapon once in the game. You're still going to take an ordinary Sorcerer Prophet 99% of the time though because Drazhoath costs 570 points. Sure for a kitted-out Sorcerer-Prophet on Bale Taurus it's relatively cheap, and as far as Sorcerer-Prophets on flying monsters go, he isn't the worst option, but putting a Sorcerer-Prophet on a flying monster isn't a good idea to begin with. He will be a valuable target for your opponent (cannons and other war machines, first and foremost, but also other flying character hunters will be gunning for him) and he needs a solid battle plan and careful placement and his points cost makes it extremely hard for him to have a good return on investment, as is usual for Sorcerer-Prophets on flying monsters. At least his model is gorgeous.

If you're still bringing him then remember this: he's not Karl Franz, and you definitely cannot just send him into combat with anything and expect success. His boosted WS and Wound should be seen as something to help him survive, not win in fights. Most importantly is not to place too much emphasis on the Daemonspite Crucible. Getting +1 to all casting attempts is great, putting Drazoath offensively on Level 5 and on par with Teclis or Nagash, and getting +2 by killing a wizard in close combat would be even better, but despite the huge bonus this also isn't something you should go out of your way to accomplish. As a quick example, if you see an Empire list field a Wizard on his own in the open, leave him alone unless you want Drazhoath and Cinderbreath to be blown to bits by cannons as soon as that wizard's dead (and it's a guarantee that Drazhaoth costs a hell of a lot more than that wizard does). Even against other armies you need to watch out for anything that can charge/hit you hard as soon as the combat's over as the list of things that can crush Drazhoath is very long.

Generic Characters

Note: While named characters are judged against their generic counterparts, generic characters are examined based on their role in your army.

• Sorcerer-Prophet: The only regular Lord choice for the army. He is a Level 3 Sorcerer with L4 upgrade. Has all the regular Chaos Dwarf stuff, and also a special weapon that has his own table of minor special abilities (as Daemons do now). They have access to the Lore of Hashut (Heroes don't), Metal, Fire or Death. So, what Lore do you choose?
  1. Hashut: If you have just one Prophet, think about who you play against and what would support you the most, but if you have 2 or more Lords in the army (aka playing big game), Lore of Hashut is a MUST TAKE. If you're playing seriously, consider using the End Times: Khaine for its magical rules since it'll guarantee you get Ash Storm, and that's easily the most powerful spell you have access to.
  2. Metal: Always if you play against enemies who rely on armour saves (Dwarfs, Empire, Chaos, Bretonnia) and you can always use it as a flaming attack combined with Ash Storm, or just use glittering scales. There is always at least one gap to fill with Metal; 3 spells in this lore are solid gold (pun intended); Chaos Dwarfs are expensive and need every bit of armour they can get their hands on. +2 to their save with Glittering Robe means that can go into that Witch Elf block and laugh at the other side covered in bits of elf skank (maybe a slight exaggeration, but they become very, very gnarly). Enchanted Blades gives them magical attacks and +1 to hit, fantastic for an Iron Daemon or that horde of bow armed Hobgoblins. Lastly, Final Transmutation. A phenomenal spell that can be used to thin the ranks of those units that would cause you trouble (those witch elves for example). If you're bringing in multiple casters (ie one Sorcerer-Prophet and several Daemonsmiths) then consider using the Lore of Hashut instead for the Sorcerer-Prophet and giving Metal to the other(s).
  3. Death: Good, might be great in sniping characters (not many casters can pull off Spirit Leech at LD9 or even LD10!) - and purple sun makes a mockery out of low Initiative armies such as Dwarfs and Lizardmen. Of course the downside is you're also stuck with Dwarf Initiative, so if you miss the spell and it goes over your own army, then that could cost you the game. Aside from that it combos with other aspects relatively well, Hell Cannon causing panic tests at -4 LD FTW -- however the lore of Hashut can be better in static gunline lists with ample artillery.
  4. Fire: Fireball is good at clearing enemy redirectors that your monsters might otherwise struggle to get around (dark riders, giant eagles, etc). For an army that enjoys the grind, cascading fire cloak is strong and the plus one to wound from Flaming Sword can be massive on the magma cannon, then there's how it stacks with Ash Storm... some players mount a Prophet on Bale Taurus, giving him Lore of fire, and keep casting it on themselves, each time Taurus would be wounded (Fire Lore cures its wounds), but really? Would you waste one of the better lores for the Lore of Fire?
• Aside from magic it is recommended to buy them 2+/4++ saves, and leave them on foot. Despite having three mounts to choose from, putting them on a flying monster not only vastly increases their already high cost, but it makes them a massive target for war machines, other flying monsters, character hunters (especially those on flying monsters) and so on. If he's on a flying monster and gets charged by another flying monster with a decent beatstick riding it, he is doomed.

• Daemonsmith Sorcerer: Wizard-Engineer too. Has access to Fire, Metal and Death. May upgrade to Level 2 Wizard and comes with a S5 magic weapon by default. Everything that goes for the Sorcerer-Prophet's magic choices goes here, with the exception that Daemonsmiths can't get the Lore of Hashut. In short, give them fire to get rid of redirectors, metal if you want a useful scroll caddy, or death if you want LD debuffs, LD 9 Spirit Leech, or chancing Purple Sun.

• Infernal Castellan: The only BSB choice, so you will need one. He has access to 75 points of magic items and can get a shield even when BSB, so you can protect him easily. This hero is tough, with a 2+/4++ save, T5 and 3 attacks, so make the most of it. Do note that if you're looking for a little extra melee output, you should look at the Hobgoblin Khan first (yes, seriously).

• Hobgoblin Khan: This is the cheapest Hero choice in the army, so make sure to take full advantage of that if you want just a little extra melee output. As an example, a Hobgoblin with the Sword of Might costs relatively little, yet puts out the same amount of hurt with it as a Castellan could, while also striking sooner thanks to his higher Initiative. Pay 5 points more for a Potion of Foolhardiness and you now have 4 S5 attacks coming from him, which could make the difference in combat. Don't think about putting him in a Hobgoblin unit though, they don't need his Leadership since they should be benefiting from Inspiring Presence, and while Contempt might prevent Chaos Dwarfs from joining Hobgoblin units it doesn't go the other way, so you can put him in with Blunderbuss blocks or even just regular infantry blocks. Oddly enough those CD's can and will sacrifice themselves to save him via LoS even though they hate his guts. You can also mount him on a Wolf, give him a few upgrades (light armor, shield, and spear) and send him to hunt war machines for little more than 50 points. He can also be used to redirect charges, just like HE eagles.

• Bull Centaur Taur'ruk: A Centaur hero, he is considered a Monstrous Beast, and his profile is appealing for a Hero choice, with 4 Wounds, Weapon Skill, Strength and Toughness 5 among other things. For 20 points (Blackshard Armour plus Shield) you can get him to 1+ without magic items. The only catch is that to get this guy in your army you have to get a unit of Bull Centaurs too. You might as well learn to like them if you want him, so put him up with them and let fly against anything that isn't a horde benefitting from Steadfast. Consider Fencer's Blades and Dragonhelm for 5 WS10 S5 attacks and he is almost never hit on worse than 4+, 5+ against regular units. A Taur'ruk with full armour is also a great recipient of a Dawnstone and Sword of Might for a solid flanking threat. Also works well with a simple Great Weapon.

Special Equipment

Sorcerer Prophets and Daemonsmiths come with or have access to several special items besides magic items.

• Blood of Hashut (Sorcerer Prophet): One time use for 20pts. So, while in CC, INSTEAD of throwing standard attacks, you may use Blood of Hashut. You pick a single model in direct contact with yours, declare usage and roll a dice. Result different than 1 means success. It gives you D6 auto hits at a strength equal to the opponents armour save. So a Chaos Lord with Chaos Armour and Enchanted Shield (AS 2+ in total) is being wounded at 2+. No Armour Saves allowed against, damage inflicted as per usage of magic weapon and also count as Flaming Attack. Nice, if you expect your Prophet to be engaged in close combat. Actually brutal.

• Naphtha Bombs (Sorcerer Prophet and Daemonsmith): Small throwing weapon, hit causes D3 S3 hits, armour piercing and flaming attacks. 1 on to-hit roll causes automatic flaming wound on the bearer. Not really that great, units won't really care about D3 hits and monsters usually have high toughness. Can be nice on something flammable (hello Ash Storm) but still has only S3. Only if you have the 15pts to spare. Can also be taken by the Infernal Guard Overseer for 5pts!

• There is one very good reason to take Naphtha Bombs: Combining them with Fireglaives for a better Stand & Shoot reaction. If a stand & shoot charge reaction is made against a unit that starts its charge outside the maximum range, "the shooting is resolved normally assuming the enemy is just within maximum range of the shooting unit's shortest-ranged weapon" - that means the 6" from the Naphtha Bombs, and well within the 9" short-range of the Fireglaives! And even any pistols which might be in the unit. Technically it also applies to the Blunderbuss, but you ignore modifiers anyway so long range as long as 10 of those models are firing. A very neat trick, also worth giving the Overseer the Naphtha Bombs, even if it means that you lose one shot from a Fireglaive. You can decide: If the enemy is outside 9", use the bomb, if he is within, use the Fireglaive. (Shoutout to Nalgrund over at CDO for this spot)

• Darkforged Weapon (default weapon for Sorcerer Prophet): Magic attacks, roll at the beginning of the game for a special ability. If you have multiple Sorcerer Prophets, duplicates must be re-rolled. You will hardly be able to get your Sorcerer Prophet to be a real fighter Lord, even with 100pts magic items. And if you buy a magic weapon, your Darkforged Weapon is lost, so you might as well keep it. Two special abilities add to your magic capabilities (+1 to channeling or +1 to dispel, yay!), one is a S3 flaming breath weapon (hooray) and three have effects in close combat. You get either Eternal Hatred (see Dark Elves), Multiple Wounds (D3) or always wound on 2+, with the huge caveat that 1's on to-wound rolls inflict a wound on the Prophet instead (no saves!). Ouch. All in all, even with one of the three abilities for close combat, your Sorcerer Prophet is still not a fearsome adversary.

• Ensorcelled Weapon (default weapon for Daemonsmith): +1S in close combat, magic attacks, can be used with shield for parry save. So a Daemonsmith comes with S5 out of the box but can't really be made into a strong fighter anyway, so no need to spend points on a magic weapon, very welcome!

Mounts

• Great/Bale Taurus: Your principal mount for hitting the enemy hard is a powerful flying monster with flaming attacks. It cannot be wounded by spells from the Lore of Fire and it heals D3 wounds if hit by one; they also hit everyone in close combat with them automatically with S4 (save the rider), and successful non-magical wounds done to it must be re-rolled (thanks FAQ). A Bale Taurus has +1T and +1W and also features a flaming S4 Breath Weapon for 80pts extra, but unfortunately it shares the same issue as the regular Taurus: the only character who can take them shouldn't be taking them. If you're using them anyway, just shell out the extra points for the Bale Taurus and melt something, you might as well have fun with it while it lasts.

• Lammasu: This little guy is taken from the Storm of Magic book, and has a nasty CC aura (all magic weapons aside from the rider's in base contact do not function). Watch as big boss-man Karl Franz goes from being the Teddy Roosevelt of Warhammer to George Bush reading fairy tales to Kindergartners. It is a Level 1 caster and has access to Lore of Shadow, so you can get a sorcerer mount for your sorcerer (yo dog). However, as he will only get level 2 don't count on Mindrazor, but you can get access to some Hexes. Unfortunately has the exact same issue as the Taurus': the only character who can take them shouldn't be taking them, they're way too vulnerable on a flying monster. That being said, they are the army's only access to lore of shadow, and as of the FAQ he can get the Mace Tail (extra attack at +1 Strength), Sorcerous Exhalation (S4 breath attack) and Level 2 upgrades, and you might as well take them if you're still getting a Lammasu.

• Giant Wolf: The only mount option for a Hobgoblin Khan, confers Fast Cavalry rule on the Khan, which is lost when he takes a shield (like the regular wolf riders). Get it if you want a warmachine hunter/redirector, skip it otherwise.

Core Units

• Infernal Guard: This unit is the core of your army. Better than their Dawi hold dwelling cousins, they have a good profile and come with 3+ armour save and a 5+ ward save against flaming attacks, and a regular 6++ parry save due to their shields (not to mention a base Strength of 4). However, such a sweet statline doesn't come cheap, and units between 20 and 25 is usually the way to go. The warriors have additional 3 weapon options, and these really dictate what you do with the unit.
  • Great Weapons are a great choice for a hammer/anvil unit. It makes them strike at S6 (with easy access to hatred) and as they are I2 anyway, you're not giving up much to attack last. The only really cost if the loss of the shield, but being T4 with a 4+ makes them pretty durable. As Chaos Dwarfs are only M3, they make a great anvil unit, but your opponent will easily be able to avoid them, unless you force them to come at you (so grab some rockets, mortars or cannons). For the Dawi Zhar lord that wants a combat army... yes please to 24 with great weapons.
  • Fireglaives are your 'mid' option. It allows you to fire at a relatively close range, but at S4 with armour piercing, which is nice, and also acts as a halberd in close combat. This is a great choice, the only downside being it's points. You'll want to make sure everyone can fire (so 2 ranks) but the unit is also a combat one (so 4 ranks). This puts it in an awkward spot of doing two things decently but doing neither of them well; if you want you could get your opponent to charge a 2 rank unit, rely on your Ld10 stubborn hero to make sure you stay, and then reform for the next turn of combat but that is a costly maneuver and vulnerable to hero-hunting. On the plus side, they are very effective against flanking units and they'll take charges from traditional warmachine hunters like champs, so if you want them then get a big, steadfast block of Hobgoblins for the center and some warmachines in your backline.
  • Blunderbusses are your final option, and they make the unit horrendously expensive, especially as the guns are only really worth their points if you're firing 20 or more. This means you need to be taking units of at least 24 and at 18 points per model that unit get expensive FAST! So why are they good? Easy, 20 models firing D3 shots give you an average of 40 shots that basically ignore all to hit penalties and re-roll to wound. In addition, if you get into combat you keep you shield for that fantastic 3+ 6++. Get these guys in a building, and just delete anyone that comes within 12". All that said, their short range, huge drop off when the unit gets to 19 minis and the humongous points cost means these should be reserved for fun games (and more often than not, left on the shelf).

• Hobgoblin Cutthroats: These guys are small, sneaky, and can be spammed for a relative low cost. They come with Throwing Knives and Light Armour by default. You can give them shields at 0.5 points a piece, so it's recommended as it makes them much harder to kill in combat. You can buy them bows for 1 point, or an additional hand weapon for 0.5, so you have many options available with them. They benefit from your General's Inspiring Presence so they can be used as a tarpit.

Do note that taking them as-is would not be a stupid idea, since you can use them to screen your Guard to two purposes: A) making them harder to shoot, and B) force-failing enemy charges. If something charges your Hobgoblins and you choose to flee, your Chaos Dwarfs won't give a shit. If that something isn't comfortably within range of your CD's but they are of another Hobgoblin unit, that one can flee too once it's charged, and now your opponent has automatically failed their charge and is stumbling forward, setting themselves up for an easy counter-charge or round of shooting from your dudes. Sneaky, as it should be.

Special Units

• Infernal Ironsworn: Think of these guys as Chaos Warriors that suck. They come by default with Ensorcelled Hand Weapons (S5, magical attacks), have WS5 and 3+ armour, but you can't give them any different gear and they're rather expensive. Sharing the special allowance with many of your best units and war machines doesn't help either. Outperformed in nearly every way by Infernal Guard with either fireglaives (which cost the same) or great weapons (which even cost less), give them a hard pass and try not to think about how the Forge World FAQ actually nerfed them by increasing the cost of their command group, as if they didn't suck enough already.

• Bull Centaur Renders: M7 Monstrous Beasts that combine Heavy Armour with Scaly Skin and get 3+ base armour. They have a low number of Attacks (2), but they compensate with T5 and very good armour. They are not mounted, despite their cavalryish demeanour, so they benefit from a parry save when carrying shields. It also means that Spears only give them supporting attacks from an additional rank (rather than an actually useful +1S on the charge), so never give them spears. Great Weapons, additional HtH weapons and Shields are all much better choices (especially since monstrous beasts can make up to three supporting attacks). They make for great flank protection or, in bigger units, flank crushing. They can have a magic banner, so they're great for an extra inch of move or classic flaming attack to hunt down hydras and trolls. Do remember that one of the main reasons you'll be running these guys is to unlock your Taur'ruk, who is almost always going to be with this unit. He helps giving the extra attacks the unit sorely lacks base, and more than makes them into the monster hunters they're almost meant to be. Bull Centaurs really benefit from some magic augmentation: Breath of Hatred (Lore of Hashut for, well, hatred), Flaming Sword of Rhuin (Lore of Fire for +1 on to wound rolls, magic and flaming attacks) and Enchanted Blades of Aiban (Lore of Metal for +1 on to hit rolls, magic attacks and armour piercing) are all great choices.

• K'daai Fireborn: Monstrous Infantry unit. They share Unbreakable and Unstable with Vampires and Tomb Kings. Their rules make it so that they end up killing themselves a lot of times, and the longer the game, the weaker they will get. Since you roll for every unit separately to check whether they burn out, it is advisable to get one large one rather than two small ones. Other than that they're S5 and can dish out a fair number of attacks and wounds. Keep in mind they are Flaming, so any of the 2+ Ward against Flaming attacks will keep them locked forever, or until they kill themselves.

• Iron Daemon War Engine: This expensive unit has 2 setups and uses, depending on what upgrades you get. It has a whopping S8, T7, and 7 Wounds (always Hellbind for S8, T8, W8), and a base movement of 6. It can move normally (6") or roll 2D6 and add them to the movement. Obstacles lower than the ID don't slow it. If a double 1 is rolled it doesn't move that turn.

• The first version is the default one. It comes with a Steam Cannonade. This weapon is the bane of Monsters, War Machines and lone characters up till 18" range, because you roll 2 artillery dice, and choose the best result (if double problems are rolled, then roll in the table). Roll To Hit (no penalty for moving) and To Wound with S6, armour piercing shots and Multiple Wounds (D3). This version deals D6+2 Impact Hits and can thunderstomp in following turns with S8
• The second version is the Skullcracker upgrade and it substitutes the Steam Cannonade. It deals 2D6+2 Impact Hits, then 2D6 Thunderstomp, and gains +1 To Wound against fortifications and buildings. It's not nearly as useful as the gun in most matchups and costs more to boot, so consider skipping it.

Both versions can also haul other war machines that have purchased the Steam Carriage upgrade with it. One won't slow it, if it tows 2, its movement is reduced to 3". Towed war machines must be targeted separately for shooting and charging, but are only locked in combat if the Iron Daemon is also engaged. Towed war machines may only fire their weapons if the carriage remained stationary that turn. A War Machine being towed may be untowed during the Movement Phase, but cannot be towed again for the remainder of the game. This is of fairly variable usage depending on your opponent and the terrain. It's probably not something you'll want to do every game but but it's a nice fringe benefit all the same. Being able to move a war machine to cover a choke point or to screen it from return fire while you pummel important units can be a big deal but on some tables there just won't be a reason to do it. Still, don't forget about it.

The Iron Daemon is a unique unit, so it doesn't benefit from our Daemonsmith re-rolling abilities. Note that as per the FAQ, Iron Daemons cannot wheel on the charge. When the Iron Daemon charges, it moves directly forward, no wheels to maximize, but it still "closes the door". When it shoots, it only shoots directly ahead, no forward arc. This can make usage tricky. (see the FAQ for more on this).

• Deathshrieker Rocket Launcher: This machine comes cheap at 100 points. It works roughly as a Stone Thrower with a Large Blast at Strength 3, but without double Strength or Multiple Wounds in the center and it cannot fire indirectly. If the center of the Large Blast misses the unit (note: the center), roll an artillery dice, change the template for the small one and move it towards the center of the closest unit (friend or foe) by that amount of inches. If a Misfire is rolled, then the shot explodes in the air without doing any damage. It also has an alternative firing mode at S8, Multiple Wounds (D6) without Blast, doubling as a Monster hunter, especially when we take re-rolls via an Infernal Engineer into account. That being said it's still incredibly unreliable, so it's not uncommon to be shooting at a monster the entire game and be unable to kill it (or even hit it).
  • Do note that the Deathshrieker can technically be fired into combat by deliberately "missing" your original target and redirecting into the combat with their heat-seeking ability. That being said you don't want to do this unless you're holding the enemy there with steadfast Hobgoblins as your Infernal Guard just cost way too much to justify the risk.

• Magma Cannon: This cannon makes the Dwarf Flamethrower laugh, as it works similarly to one, but it's a little worse in nearly every aspect. You can't pull off any bizarre aiming shenanigans to maximize the amount of models hit by the template, and you do not cause panic tests by causing only a single wound (apparently getting lava dunked on you is less scary than fire). On the plus side you make up for it with range, getting a full 24" plus whatever the artillery dice says afterwards. A good rule of thumb is always to go 9" from the middle of your target, the flame template is long enough that even on a 2 or a 10 you'll hit somebody, whereas the other results will cause you to hit a lot, and do remember to take them if you're ever up against Ogres or Trolls. The multiple wounds and flaming attacks will really pay off, especially if you hit an Ogre Gutbus.

Rare Units

• Hobgoblin Wolf Raiders: Mediocre. They'd be a great unit if they weren't rare but they're competing with extremely powerful units. They've got Animosity and low leadership, and their speed means that they won't be within range of the General or BSB. Pass unless you're doing the Hobgoblin redirect strategy mentioned in the Hobgoblin Cutthroats entry, at least that way you can increase your chances of getting your flank charges and their extra bonus.

• Dreadquake Mortar: A souped-up Stone Thrower. This piece of artillery has both the longest reach in the game and access to a special upgrade, the Slave Ogre. Without it, it is subject to Slow Reload (firing every 2 turns unless a 3+ roll is made). If both the Ogre and the Hellbound upgrade are purchased, the Mortar has T8 and 7 Wounds, making it into a very tough and hard to remove unit (as per FAQ). It fires like a Stone Thrower, with S5 (10 under the hole), armour piercing with range 12"-72". Any unit who takes a casualty from it has to test for Dangerous Terrain if they wish to move (charging, reforming, everything counts) or try to shoot Move or Fire weapons. War Machines count as Chariots for this, so a failed roll will make them lose D6 Wounds. On the other hand, it's very expensive, so think carefully before taking one (particularly since your Rare slot also includes the K'daai Destroyer).

• Hellcannon: It fires as a Stone Thrower with S5, and forces Panic tests (with -1Ld penalty) on units suffering casualties from it. Even better than the Warriors of Chaos version due to Daemonsmith re-rolls and is a solid choice. It's also the only officially sold model you can get for Chaos Dwarfs without having to pay Forge World prices.

• K'daai Destroyer: Remember how we said that this thing deserved a point to its own? We meant it. First, a list of things to avoid: poison, characters with the dragon helm or dragonbane gem, dragon princes, stubborn/unbreakable blocks, and don't let it overrun off the board. Otherwise, this thing will quite happily kill half an army for you. It's only downside is a lack of model and that its picture in the book is very vague. As shown as WIP in the a Games Day, it looked just like Skaarac the Bloodborn but with more shit stuck to him (in other words, it was ugly).

• Chaos Siege Giant: Your other option for a monster besides the K'daai Destroyer. It costs only 50pts less but is basically worse in every way. Giants do not attack in the normal fashion but have an attack system with a random effect depending on the size of the enemy unit, which makes it a little unreliable. But then again none of the results are really bad, and a Giant has a 1/3 chance of dishing out 2D6 automatic wounds with no armour saves against a monster, for example. Added to the slight unreliability in close combat is the threat of the Giant falling over. Siege Giants come with two upgrades: Runes of Hate which lets you re-roll the result when the Giant is called on to "roll for a random number of attacks" (important) and gives berserk rage (has to restrain himself with a LD-test if he can declare a charge like frenzy special rule, but negligible at LD10) but increases the costs to a solid 300pts - only 25pts away from the Destroyer! Scaling spikes are pretty much useless unless you're in an actual siege (Siege Giant, duh!). Siege Giants compete for your precious rare allowance, take only if you love giants and/or have your list somehow tailored to it.
  • Note that it's not too clear what the "random number of attacks" is referring to. The giant never makes a "random number of attacks", it only rolls for which attack it uses, and/or inflicts a random number of automatic hits. This is probably supposed to allow you to re-roll the attack the giant rolls for rather than allowing you to re-roll how many hits you inflict, but as always with Forge World mistakes, talk it over with your gaming group first.

Building Your Army

You have three options:

Option 1: You are a rich lunatic and you want to play WHFB's version of the Death Korps of Krieg. Buy all the stuff direct from Forge World. Weep (or laugh) as your basic core units cost £80 for twenty guys with full command. Yes, the models are super awesome (especially the war machines) but a 2000pts army of these guys will set you back by literally jillions of money.

This option isn't valid at moment due removing Chaos Dwarf from the online store.

Option 2: You are a sensible chap who is a dab hand at converting. Use GW's regular plastic dwarfs and use your modelling skills to turn them into Chaos Dwarfs. Just put spikes everywhere, a fun conversion idea used by a clever guy is to use a thumb tack for the signature hats. You might need to get more inventive to make their war machines from scratch however. The new plastic Irondrake models are perfect for converting into Chaos Dwarfs with blunderbusses.

Option 3: You play in clubs and not at GW stores. Get an Mega Army of Abyssal Dwarfs from Mantic Games. £99 for about 69 models is stunning. Their infantry models are nicely detailed and look suitably Chaotic - especially with their newest Abyssal Dwarf releases (which are the best Chaos Dwarf sprues since tabletop exists). For 25EUR you get 20 Blacksouls and 4 dogs. Don't buy the Immortal Guards/Halfbreeds kit - you might not be satisfied by the quality.

The warmachines leave much to be desired however but try the Dragon Fire Team as soon as it is produced in Resin. Mantics newest release the Hellfane and Grotesques are worth a look too.

For Hobgoblin take a look at Mantics new Goblin range. It got a complete overhaul and is now one of the best Goblin line (in terms of quality and design) out there at the moment.

Remember - Kings of War uses sometimes other base sizes so you need to get some bases for non-infantry units if you want to use their minis in your list.

As these are not GW's models, you'll probably be lynched by GW staff if you try to use them at one of their stores.

Update to pts 2&3 from "Different Legion of Azgorh fanatic".

Alternatively you'll find Spanish company called Norba Miniatures [1]. Their Infernal Dwarfs are an absolute ripoffs of what Forge World did. Quality's less detailed, models require bit of cleaning, but at the end you'll get something that looks as closest on the market as possible to these from FW. Plus they allow you to buy models with either hand weapon/shield, fireglaive or great weapon. Just be aware it may even take 3 months for them to do the casts and dispatch. Still - 12-15 EUR for group of 10? Here's my money!

If you feel like giving 23 GBP-donation-for-those-in-need, buy a command squad from FW, chop off some bits, and add others. Have some leftovers like axes from Khorne's End of Times bulky Skullreapers/Wrathmongers - use them. That way, you'll make a 3 properly grimdark and custom made Castellans.

If you aim to get less Ironclad-Mordor-More-Babylonian-Pointy-Hats-Look check out Russian Alternative [2]. I bought some as Ironsworn unit. Resin quality is rather ok - still needs cleaning. Although I've heard stories about orders coming incomplete or with broken weapons. They cost around 31 GBP per unit of 20. If you prefer 6th ed. tall hats, this is the alternative you have. I prefer industrialised forge world / norba design. It is just a matter of taste.

If you have a hand for sculpting and load of free time, get a green stuff or some thick modelling mass, get a scissors, knife or wire cutter and sculpture some flames. Just grab a piece of previously glued to a model green stuff and pull with a tool. Make sure it would dry, then paint and use some tough hairspray on the model, to keep it solid.

Bale/Great Taurus - Take Scibor Miniatures [3] under consideration. They have some wingy bulls generals is their Moscal army. Also - check their range as well. If you want to add a bit of Old-Matiushka-Russia charm to your army, then you had found the right place, comrade. Quality is very good, definitely better than Norba's or Russian Alternative

Lammasu - the closest equivalent is Manticore. Check out Raging Heroes [4] website - they have nice Manticore in the range + extra payable head of Lammasu. Or just buy this head, do a measurements on your Taurus, chop off its head in a right spot with a tiny modelling saw in and use some magnets or magnetic tapes so you'll have a model with fully changeable head - depending on situation.

Bull Centaurs - Scibor Miniatures, Norba Miniatures and Russian Alternative. I think first have 3 or 4 different models sold separately, but Norba has cheap 3-packs and again with choice of different weapons. Russian Alternative introduced some as well, yet It's better to check if actual size is similar to the FW product.

K'daai Destroyer - Monstrous Arcanum and Tamurkhan (both FW) state that these may be bulls, warriors, daemons or f*ck-knows-what, just with blazing flaming bodies and on properly sizeable base. As FW project was (let us admit) crap, you have to find a model just yourself. The FW WIP was abandoned with the End Times and turned into Skaarac the Bloodborn, Great Khorgorath of Khorne. You can of course get him and retcon a Destroyer out of it, but we aim for something much less than 145 GBP. If you like modelling, I seriously suggest taking Maw-Krusha from AoS Greenskins. Bulky bastard, I did however chop off wings in mine. Don't forget to get some green mass to sculpture some nice flames. Or just take WH40k Forgefiend. Or better yet: scratch all of that. The Russian Alternative have just released a model for the K'Daai Destroyer and it looks pretty awesome [5], and it comes at 1/5 the cost of that awful Skaarac abomination.

Hobgoblins - get yourself a pack of Stormvermins and/or Clanrats, chop off their heads and tails, add some bits and pieces from other armies - if you have them accessible - and some Gnobblar-Goblin-Nightgoblin heads. You may chop off Skaven shields and glue some from different armies but you'll need bit of skills and green mass to hold it tight. Just think - Hobgoblins with Dwarven shields? "My grudges are itching just on a thought..." Have some Black Orks or any Orks? Sweet - fit them in as a place fillers. I have a massive warboss chained to the rocks, with banner pole attached to his back and he's my equivalent of 4 hobos including standard bearer. If you like modelling and customisation - this is for you.

Hobgoblin Wolf Riders - have not many alternatives again. Original wolf mounted Goblins from GW or Russian Alternatives.

Hobgoblin Khans - Many options for mods. Check the advises for Hobgoblins above, remember to glue to him loads of random knives, swords, pennants or just leftovers from different armies, to make him outstanding of the crowd.

Currently not many alternatives in regards to warmachines.

You may use some Empire or Dwarf Hellblaster/Cannon/Flame Cannons to make Deathshriek or Magma Cannon. It will require some bits and pieces and modelling skills, but shouldn't be much complicated.

Iron Daemon - empire Steam Tank plus loads of mending. Maybe something from 40k, but it is either too futuristic or too wallet draining. I bought the original and in this case I recommend doing exactly the same.

There are no reasonable alternatives for Dreadquake if you want to stick to its size. Well you can use old Earthquake from 6th edition, or check Mantic, but it won't help you if you want to have it mounted on Steam Carriage. Unless, you have 2 Hellcannons and a friend who owns the modeling/gaming store with loads of bits and pieces. I also considered buying model of one of the IIWW Nazi German or Soviet Russians train mortars or train cannons, but you would have to compare the scale, do lots of changes, have to had lots of spares and to be honest lot of free time.

Siege Giant - another modelling opportunity. You need Giant from GW. Or have fun and buy Beastman Cygor. In both cases you'll have to use green stuff and bits and pieces to do some armour for him. I don't know about many other alternatives. Rotten Factory has Giant - just google.

Hellcannon - Original, ugly bastard from Norba Miniatures, or Rotten Factory [https://rottenfactory.eu/store/index.php. They have 2 types of Hellcannons - proper one, and mutilated heavily mutated something with big tusks and 6... limbs. This one is perfect for Nurgle / Tzentch WoC, However we're talking about LoA - so the first one would do the job (or would get the job done :) ).

Magic Items

Note: Thanks to a pathetically small points allowance and magic restrictions, Hobgoblins and Bull Centaurs cannot use the vast majority of Items here. When they can use them it will be outright stated.

You have 9 mundane items plus access to all Magic Items from main 8th rulebook. Most of your genuine items are bad, unfortunately. Either you lack the statline to properly use them or they're just inappropriate for their own role. Still, there are some solid choices in here.

• Black Hammer of Hashut: Boosts your Castellan's Strength to 6 to give you all the benefits of taking a great weapon with none of the downsides (and it's cheaper than the Ogre Blade while being way better too). On top of this it allows for a rather nasty combo, since any unsaved wound on any flammable model counts as an instant kill on that model, first make sure to hit your target with Ash Storm and then close in for the kill. Make sure to carry around a Potion of Speed though, because that I3 is really going to hurt if your target can kill you before you one-shot them. Also since it doesn't grant you flaming attacks, you can give the finger to all the 2+ Wards against flaming weapons everyone else has to deal with.

• Dagger of Malice: Hooray... hatred. It might be nice if you could combo it with any damned magic weapon at all, but because it's a weapon itself it locks you out of taking far more useful items, and this includes great weapons and additional hand weapons! It should also be noted that it's one of the few that can also be given to Hobgoblins and Bull Centaurs, but even then other magic weapons are much better. Skip.

• Dark Mace: An infamous weapon made of opponents tears, now sadly neutered. Why? Well that's simple: anyone who can take it won't be in a good spot to use it. For example, Castellans with it are trash and are likely to die right after activating it, which will happen before they can earn their points back, especially since they'll need to be on their own (otherwise you'll cause more damage to yourself than the enemy). The most obvious use for it is putting it on a Sorcerer-prophet, giving them a flying mount to maximize their base size and flying into the enemy, but doing that takes up the majority of your points, causes a wound to your own mount, and is only going to inflict a few casualties onto an enemy who'll either stand steadfast, or finish off your wounded mount and run down your exposed General.

• Armour of Bazherak the Cruel: This devilish smith was mentioned in many previous editions and had some nice items at the time, sadly his most useful one isn't here. In this case you get the same effect as the Armour of Silvered Steel, a nice 2+ save, but for 5 points more you get some nice Magic Resistance. Alternatively you can just pay the same cost and get the Armour of Destiny which is likely to be more effective. If you're really worried about direct damage spells though, this is the better option of the three, as it'll allow the Castellan wearing it to help protect his unit. You could also give it to a Bull Centaur, but you won't because the Armour of Destiny is way better for him anyway.

• Mask of the Furnace: Mask of the welder. Don't think - take it, it's costly, but good and having the effects of a great Ward save rolled on top of a helmet's boost should not be underestimated. Make sure to pick up a great weapon to go with it, since your Castellan's not able to afford any good magic weapon after this buy.

• Stone Mantle: +1T with -1I. Legion of Azgorh Dwarf characters have I2 or I3 anyway, so it won't make any difference having 1 point less. Unfortunately it's limited to Chaos Dwarfs, and so there aren't many good targets for it. The Sorcerer-prophet gains no real benefit as it won't help him if he miscasts, and he shouldn't be in combat so that reserves it for the Castellan. At that point, you might as well combo it with the Fencer's Blades. By using Ash Storm you can effectively make everyone WS4 and lower only hit him on a 6, and then wounding only on a 5 or 6 depending on what you're up against. On the other hand you can also use it to try and guarantee he lives long enough to smite fools with the Ash Storm + Black Hammer combo, since he's now S6 T6.

• Banner of Slavery: A bad item. Why? Because it means the Hobgoblins you have can no longer choose to flee from charges. Why's that a bad thing? Easy, if the opponent declares a charge against your Hobgoblins you can normally elect to flee, and can flee through friendly troops without much penalty, Hobgoblins cost very little and don't cause your Chaos Dwarfs to panic. Your opponent can attempt to redirect the charge, but even if they pass so long as you have Hobgoblins closer than your Chaos Dwarfs they will likely need to declare a charge against those ones, who you will also make flee. Now since your opponent can only attempt to redirect a charge once, and since you're fleeing through a friendly unit, it's impossible for the opponent to catch them. They automatically fail their charge and stumble forwards, wasting their entire Movement phase and moving out of position, exposing them for all sorts of nasty shit you should have prepared (anything from Flank charges with Cutthroats to missile fire, or even just a counter-charge). Now getting back to the Banner of Slavery, removing the ability to flee hurts you as it undoes all of the Hobgoblin trickery that should be one of the main reasons you're taking them. Hobgoblins do not make good stand-up fighters, not even when they're horded up and that's even if they don't have to worry about Psych tests, so give this one a pass.

• Chalice of Blood and Darkness: Also known as the good shit. There's next to no reason not to take this, even in smaller points games (put it on a Daemonsmith then) since it'll almost always strengthen your magic and weaken your opponent.

• Daemon Flask of Ashak: This takes up your entire Prophet's allowance, and in return you get to cause an earthquake. On the one hand this is incredibly good against anyone relying on war machines, as it's more likely to kill them than not, but on the other hand there's a lot of ways for units to get high Leadership and so shrug off the Panic test you're going to cause. In addition to that, 18" range really hurts it. Either you'll be footslogging it and only using it after the enemy's war machines have taken a toll on your forces (and even then they won't all be in range) or you'll be trying to fly it up to them and will likely be shot out of the sky, making it a wasted investment. If you still want to take it, pray it's on a Prophet with Dark Subjugation or Doom and Darkness so that you can help guarantee those units who get panicked by it are going to run.

Lore of Hashut

First to remember is an interesting but ultimately negligible effect of miscasts on your sorcerers, - after applying miscast effects you do a Toughness test. If failed, he'll take an additional Wound that no save may stop. But for first wound you get this way your T is now permanently raised by 1. This way, your Chaos Dwarf slowly irresistibly turns into stone. It's almost a good thing, especially if you get that wound back by rolling well with the Chalice of Blood and Darkness.

Other than that, standard lore composition as per all the lores - Attribute, Signature, 6 spells. Always aim for number 4, and number 6. Cheat, bribe, blackmail, torture but get the bloody numbers 4&6. Okay, the lore - here we go:

• Attribute: If a magic missile or direct damage from this lore is targeted on model/models flammable, the wizard gets +D3 to their casting. One of the worst attributes in the game. How many flammable models are there by default? Almost none, so it's effectively usable only after a successful Ash Storm only, and only spells 3 and 1 are Magic Missiles or Direct Damage that TARGET units and therefore the attribute applies only to them.

• Signature - Breath of Hatred: Range 12", Augment, Remains in play, cast on 6 gives hatred to unit within a range. Roll 15 on casting to have a 12" big bubble. Just take it, cast it wherever there's fighting (FAQ confirms the re-rolls happen whenever the spell's cast, not just the first round) and be thankful for it.

• 1. Burning Wrath: Range 8", Magic Missile that causes D6 S6 flaming hits cast on 6, however you may cast boosted version on 12 giving 2D6. It's a shitty Fireball, higher Strength but the range is too short. Random number of hits also sucks. If you're casting this then you're likely about to get into combat, which is right where you shouldn't be.

• 2. Dark Subjugation: Range 24" hex cast on 8. Subject must do LD test at -3. If fails permanently loses 1 of his LD. It's the shitty version of Doom and Darkness. Still potentially good to make a -4LD test caused by Hellcanon, but if that's what you're going for then you should've gone with the Lore of Death. For good results you have to cast it a couple of times, and waste half the game building up to what another spell could do in only one cast.

• 3. Curse of Hashut: Cast on 10, Range 18", Direct Damage, targets a single model even if in a unit. 2D6 minus the target's Toughness equals a number of hits that wound on 4+ with no armour save allowed. Here we go, now we're talking. Sniping characters out of a unit is always something to be appreciated, and not just because this is the one of the few spells that you have which can benefit from your Lore Attribute. Take it, snipe Elves off their Dragons or Generals from their units and laugh maniacally.

• 4. Ash Storm: Arguably the best spell in the game, it's the Throne of Vines to your spell lore. Range 24", hex, affects target unit till your next magic phase. Unlucky bastards have -1 to hit in CC, -2 to hit in shooting, can't march, fly, or charge - just move. Unit treats all terrain as dangerous. Wizards can only cast spells on themselves, and UNIT IS FLAMMABLE. Let's let that sink in for a second as we ponder exactly what that means: just imagine a Gutstar in the middle of a burning forest was all ready to charge, but then all the ash and thick smoke clouds came in, making them nearly blind. Then:

Cast Metal on them as all spells from Lore of Metal are counted as Flaming attacks.

Deathshrieker them, as these shots are flaming attacks.

Shoot them or attack them with unit having a burning banner as both types of attacks are flaming in this case.

Charge them with a Castellan wielding the Black Hammer.

Drop any possible damage (Hellcannon, Dreadquake, pistols, fireglaives, just use any means possible) on that unit, to cause a serious Panic.

After proper damage treatment unit will have to Panic and if forced to run, will have to do the dangerous terrain test. THIS SPELL IS BRUTAL. Don't leave home without it.

• 5. Hell Hammer: Casts at 13, direct damage, range 3D6 in a straight line like a cannonball. Each model takes an Initiative test and upon failing, gets a S6 hit with D3 multiple wounds. If unit gets a wound, it has to do the panic test. It's the shitty Burning Head. Why? Because the extra Strength doesn't make up for the random range, and the fact that the enemy can dodge it. Even with the option to double the range, don't count on using it offensively, use it when you're already in range of Burning Wrath (aka charge range) and preferably after Ash Storm.

• 6. Flames of Azgorh: Unlimited range. Direct Damage small round template, scatter D6. Models touched get S6 hit with multiple wounds (D6). Model directly under the hole takes Toughness test at -2 and if failed is slain with no saves allowed. No saves. Casts on 18, boosted at 25, but you can use large template there. The second best spell was definitely saved for last, as it is devastating, and can single-handedly delete entire units from the table. Just be warned that the chance you'll miscast with this is pretty high, so save it for when you really need it and when you get to that point, go for broke or go home. Do try to save it after you've dealt with opposing wizards though, nothing hurts more than watching this spell get scrolled away.

Flame, Smoke and Ash Tactics

You have some straightforward tactical options, and some unusual bits you may want to add. You have dwarfs, strong artillery, monstrous cavalry, monsters/daemons and cheap infantry. Potentially with no synergy, but to find one, you'll have to look deeper. So, below you'd find some tactical bits and pieces.

• Hobgoblins and Khans - worth using?: Using them as small flanking units makes sense in small games (up to 2.5k) with opponents not wise to the tactic. They don't have much damage output and their equipment depends on who you'll play against, they do still serve as a solid tarpit or charge bait. Basically how that works is you set up two or more units of Hobgoblins ahead of the rest of your army, your opponent will choose to charge, and you choose to flee with the units of Hobgoblins they first charge into, and then redirect into. After that they stumble forward with their failed charge and either get shot by your guns (ideally allowing you to fire the Blunderbusses or Fireglaives twice, once with no reprisal and the other in a Stand and Shoot reaction). You can also put them in front of monstrous units like the K'daai, however be warned this will slow the unit down.
  • Never get the Banner of Slavery for your BSB, (a) you don't need it with LD9/10 and re-rolls, (b) your Castellan cannot take any other magic items and (c) Hobgoblins cannot choose flee as charge reaction if they are immune to psychology, completely negating the reason you're taking them in the first place.
  • If you give them bows you'll get short range shooters dealing damage on same basis as night goblins. They're mediocre, though you can try to get good value from them. You can use magic to buff them like Flaming Sword, which does significantly increase their damage output and make them a half-decent threat but to really make it worth it, you need to include a shitload of Hobgoblins in the unit. We're talking 40-60 of them, and by that point you cannot use them as cheap charge bait anymore.
    • Never forget that if you combine a Deathshrieker a Hobgoblins, you can effectively fire into combat with only a minimal cost. Simply aim past the unit and let the special rule carry it into the back of the enemy unit (ideally). If it hurts your Hobgoblins then that's hardly any skin off your nose, they're cheap enough you won't normally care. Even if you don't try to cheese your opponent by shooting into combat, a Steadfast Horde will ideally keep your enemies away from your big guns while they work on the rest of the enemy army.
  • As for Khans, there's two uses for them: Khans on wolves are famous among many discussions as re-directors and lone characters/war-machine hunters, and a Khan with an extra hand weapon in a unit of Chaos Dwarfs is effectively +3 S4 attacks, which will boost your average damage output from 0.444 (the model he replaces) to 1.777 wounds before saves, and that's a decent investment however you look at it. Just don't expect them to be more than chaff munchers, keep them cheap, and you'll be fine.
  • Finally, don't worry about animosity, welcome it! Where O&G animosity may cause troubles, yours has 16.6% chance to impact you in good way and only 16.6% of giving you bad results which you can easily avoid. Keep them more than 6" away from any Chaos Dwarf and Bull Centaur units to trigger animosity but within 12" from your General and BSB. On a D6 roll of 1 you have to take a panic test on LD9 or LD10 with re-rolls, should be no problem. 2-5 has no effect but on a 6 you get +1 on to hits rolls (shooting and CC) for the turn and only take D3 wounds for it, a no-brainer.

• Artillery & Iron Daemon Trains: Hashut sent his blessing on you in this category. This is very straightforward, but unfortunately involves a little list-tailoring. Many of your warmachines have very distinct advantages against specific targets, so lets go over them:
  • Against Sorcerers, Warmachines, and Monsters you want to use Dreadquake Mortars. Yes you can fire them at infantry blocks, however the Dreadquakes are expensive and using them in this manner isn't points efficient, unless you're shooting at a super elite unit like Phoenix Guard. Among the machines, this is arguably the best one to put a Daemonsmith on to make sure its slow isn't wasted. Even stunning Warmachines is enough to make its points back since they're all Move or Fire.
  • Against Core Infantry with T3/4+ saves or worse, you'll want the Deathshrieker Rocket Launcher. Do not even try the demo rocket, even with a Daemonsmith re-roll it is more often than not a waste of a shot. As listed in the Hobgoblin tactics above, you can also try to shoot in combat with it. Intentionally miss near the unit you want to hit, then use the special move to hit the unit you intended. Only try this with Hobgoblins though, unless your Infernal Guard are 100% going to be wiped out in the following round of combat.
  • Against Elite Infantry (or Ogres and Warriors of Chaos) you want the Hellcannon. Daemonsmith's re-rolls make it more reliable than when it's set up in WoC army, and it wrecks elite units with high Strength shots, on top of being very hard to kill by traditional Warmachine hunters. If you're lucky its combat stats might even allow it to save a different Warmachine that's being hunted if it's right near them. That being said it costs a shitload so you probably won't have more than one near it. Also consider using Death Magic alongside it, forcing elite units to take a panic test at -4 Ld for even a single casualty will typically break most units that don't have some way of ignoring the test.
  • Against Steadfast Hordes and Deathstar Busses and/or if you plan to lower Leadership with debuffs like Doom and Darkness then you'll want to consider the Magma Cannon. Those Skavenslave trains will melt under the template, as will Ogre Gutbuses and Minotaur Buses. This is particularly useful if you don't plan on bringing enough troops to counteract their Steadfast, and let's face it, you'll probably never be able to. Against units with more than one wound (so the aforementioned buses) combine it with Ash Storm to make everything flammable, then let loose. Do note that after doing this once against an opponent they'll probably never try those Deathstars against you a second time, which in itself is a victory since you won't have to worry about defending against them. Also note that while the Hellcannon can also force Ld checks, the Magma Cannon is 60 points cheaper. For this reason you might want to keep the Magma cannon cheap, it'll allow you to invest in other Warmachines, and even just giving your enemy a second target can dramatically increase its lifespan, since your opponent isn't likely to shoot at it instead of an Iron Daemon of K'daai Destroyer for example.
  • Finally, the cream of the crop is the Iron Daemon. This is the only unit that has no defined role, and that's because it's good against pretty much everything except chaff. The Steam Cannonade is ridiculous in how much damage it dumps out onto elite units and monsters, and there's relatively low risk since even a disastrous misfire just gets rid of the cannons and the wounds it does to the model aren't likely to kill it. Even without its guns it'll be grinding over infantry and remain extremely hard to kill, and you're almost always going to want to bring it, if only because they can take down a Dragon in a single salvo.
    • The Skullcracker upgrade is a bit of a waste. Improving your Impact Hits and Thunderstomps to 2D6 is not as much a boost over the guns as you might hope, especially for what you pay, and it can be completely ruined by getting charged by the wrong target.
  • Now a final warning to all the Warmachine types: beware of the Hellbound upgrade - it binds a daemon in your war machine and that means lore of light or Luminark may do a bu-bu to it.

• Monsters and Monstrous Cavalry for fun: Most Chaos Dwarf Monstrous units have issues, pretty big ones in fact so we'll go over them here.
  • K'daai Fireborn start us off and their issue is quite simple: they are going to die. Their Toughness test can be brutal, so never take many smaller units of them and if your opponent has a way of lowering Toughness, such as with the Withering, heavily consider skipping them as you'll be burning through your models and points. Losing hundreds of points without them being taken out by enemy actions really hurts and you'll want to do everything you can to prevent it. To this end, consider them when you know your opponent will force a fight, such as when you'll be up against Greenskins or Undead, at least there you're virtually guaranteed to see combat.
    • If you do still want to use them, carefully consider how many points you're going to sink into them. A unit of 6 will likely survive to see some form of combat, however that costs 330 points, and the K'daai Destroyer does not have this issue, it's 5 points cheaper, and it will outperform the Fireborn every day of the week. Its only disadvantage is it's in Rare and not Special.
  • Bull Centaur Renders compete with Fireborn, they have the same slot, swapped S and T, and they can break. That being said they're also not bad, but if you want to take them you typically have to start building your army around them. Your Core infantry are expensive, your Warmachines are expensive, and you're not going to be winning the game with just the Renders so you will need the guns, which leaves these guys to do the rest of the heavy lifting. This runs into the awkward problem that they're a quick unit in a slow army, and since they can't do automatic hits like the K'daai can (and they can break), they trade poorly if they pull ahead of the main force. They're bulky and they cost too much to be Warmachine hunters, they do not have the stats to break the enemy's lines, so you're going to use them mostly as blocking tools for enemy Cav. If your opponent doesn't bring Cav for them to beat up, then taking them might end up being a complete waste of points because they do trade efficiently at all against Infantry (Elite or otherwise), not even with their stomps helping them out. A final note on them: With a Taur'uk they can be made into decent enough Monster Hunters, so long as the unit itself has great weapons and if you only take one unit of them you can keep them relatively cheap enough and field a distraction carnifex for your opponent to focus on instead until they can make the charge.
  • Chaos Siege Giants are the bullied kid in the Legion of Azgorh. They cost 50 points less than a K'daai Destroyer, but they take up the same slot and you lose out on so much. Only take them in themed games or if you're using special scenarios that include buildings, otherwise give them a hard pass.

• Case for Castellans: First of all, you don't have good fighting lords. Unfortunately you're going to be facing CC geared characters sooner or later, not to mention you need a Battle Standard, so you're going to have to look at the Castellan. They're relatively expensive and not likely to make their points back on their own, so treat them as support characters. Their presence in a unit makes your infantry Stubborn, and if your worried about them getting challenged, just put a Hobgoblin Khan in there. They're cheap and together with the unit Champion, will hold off the enemy character for at least 2 rounds before your Castellan has to worry (which should give you at least a full turn of magic, or shooting with the rest of your guns). All he needs to finish his loadout is a Shield, Fireglaive or Great Weapon. This isn't to say holding the line is all he can do, and there are two other uses for him:
  • Incoming fire from the sky: Give him Arabyan Carpet, Shield of Ptolos, and either Fireglaive or Great Weapon and use him as a shooting regiment, wizard or war-machine lone hunter.
  • Must obliterate this scum: Give him the Black Hammer of Hashut for 2+ to S, and to outright kill outright flammable models, Potion of Speed to boost his Initiative from 3 to 6, and some defensive equipment. As you can see it works perfectly with Ashstorm.

• Battlefield Bunkers for Sorcerer-Prophets: This is rather straightforward, your Sorcerers are expensive and need to be protected, however to make the most of them they also need to be supporting your units with magic, the Ld 10 boost from your General, and providing re-rolls to your artillery. To this end you should leave a unit of Infernal Guard or a solid block of Hobbos, so you'll be able to protect your magicians and Dreadquakes efficiently against any ambushers, scouts etc. Add an extra Castellan built to hold enemies and deal some damage. After dealing with pesky ambushing scum, you may have a chance to use them as a second wave. Close Combat is generally an inefficient way of using them, against other types of damage (especially shooting) they should be using their Look Out Sir they get by being near the Warmachines.
  • This being said, sometimes close combat is inevitable, so let's discuss that. As a CC Lord, a Sorcerer Prophet will lose a fight against solid Generals, but he has the tools to avoid them (Ash Storm). SP are very durable, the T5 (or even T6) means they are great against medium opponents (such as most heroes capable of reaching them), and he's virtually guaranteed to survive long enough to be rescued, or even break whatever flying unit/backline ambusher crept up on him. It would not be a bad idea to give him a cheap weapon if you're really worried about this sort of thing, such as the Sword of Swift Slaying to avoid a few wounds from smaller units, or even just the Arabyan Carpet so he can run away since, to make the most from all of his various buffs, he's likely not going to be in a unit anyway.
  • It's stated above but it should be restated here, avoid putting your Sorcerer-Prophet on a monster. Yes they can do a hell of a lot of damage in melee (especially against T3/T4 troops), however you're wasting their Daemonsmith buff, the monster costs as much if not more than your Warmachines, and they are cannon magnets. As soon as you field them you can expect every gun to point in their direction, and if you move up to try and use the mount in melee you're likely to strand your general in the open, far from help, and then not only have you lost your monster, you've also lost your General, your level 4 Wizard, and an Engineer for your artillery.

See Also

• Chaos Dwarfs