Editing Warhammer/Tactics/8th Edition/Dwarfs (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 quarrelers 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 that you can afford it if you made 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 really good is easy, any detail you don't like just cover it with 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 is 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 really 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 make 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. 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 rather 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 the detail:

'''Dwarf Warriors vs. Longbeards:''' With the exception of 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 are still capable of holding their ground against most enemies. Be it Warriors or Longbeards, always have a full command.

'''Quarrelers vs. Thunderers:''' Well, both weapons have merits. The crossbow has the longer range, 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, Quarrelers can be equipped with great weapons as well as shields, Thunderers only have access to shields. The command units basically only give bonusses 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": Quarrelers (duh)
*24"-16": Thunderers
*15"-13": Quarrelers
*12"- 1": Thunderers

'''Hammerers vs. Ironbreakers:''' Your two main elite fighting units. With the changes in the last edition, Hammerers became just really, really good. They tick all the right boxes. Their only weakness, if any, is a relative low armour save, especially in close combat (buying them a shield only helps against shooting). But they dish out pain like little else and are stubborn, so they work just as well in two small units. Ironbreakers on the other hand are very resilient and with S5 on the charge and maybe a Runesmith in the unit are not to be dismissed offensively either. I'd say it depends a little on what you have in your core and what you battleplan is. If you're going for a classic hammer & anvil tactic, you need a big tarpit unit to hold your opponent and a hard hitting unit to flank them. You have a large block of Warriors with shields? Take a unit of Hammerers either side. You have Longbeards with great weapons? Have them around a unit of Ironbreakers.

'''Miners vs. Rangers:''' Your two choices for units with deployment special 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 just 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 bord 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 bord edge. And your opponent has a turn to react to your arrival. Minimum unit size for Miners is 10, at 10pts a model that's the cost of a Gyrocopter with vanguard. It would be different if Miners were core troops (which imho would also fit well with the fluff) 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 vanguard 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 would benefit from being Skirmishers, which would allow them more flexibility and would go nicely with their throwing axes (which are just great, never forget you have them!). Similar to Miners, Rangers are clearly the weakest choice in the rare slot, it would help if they were special troops. 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 can also be done by Gyrocopters. 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>). All in all Rangers can be a little more valuable, since you can get five at 14pts a piece and they can be deployed at a strategic position to deny it your enemy Scouts and Vanguard in 12", which can be crucial. 

'''Cannon vs. Grudge Thrower vs. Bolt Thrower vs. Organ Gun vs. Flame Cannon:''' Phew, that's not easy, they're all great! Usually you shouldn't leave your hold without an Organ Gun, it's just too good. The good old Cannon strikes fear in your opponent's heart like little else, and there is always a target worth a shot. When in doubt or you don't know which army you will be facing, you don't make a mistake with fielding these two.

'''Gyrocopters vs. Gyrobombers:''' For only 80pts, there is almost always room in your army for at least one Gyrocopter. They make 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.

===Runic and Magic Items===
Dwarfs have actual magic items, called Ancestral Heirlooms, now, but they are only available to Lords, Thanes, Runelords and Runesmiths. They still can't pick rule book magic items. But instead they have runes, which are 10 times better, because you can combine various runes to form your own unique Runic items.

'''Ancestral Heirlooms:'''

The '''Hammer of Karak Drazh''' is the worst item ever. For 65 points you get a magic weapon that grants +3I and an unsaved wound causes anyone you hit to drop down to I1. It's supposed to be good against high Initiative ASF units for taking away their re-rolls and against some characters/monsters for allowing your troops to attack before the enemy they're fighting. The +3 initiative can be nice, but a Rune of Speed (Level 3) gives the same for only 15 points. The additional 50 points are spent on a completely useless feature. Either your opponent still has a higher initiave than you (like Elves) and has already attacked or it is lower and so he attacks after you anyway. The only reason for that feature might be your need to enable ''other'' models in CC to attack before an opponent, but who and which opponent? If attacking a monster, you usually need high strength, so everybody with great weapon will attack last anyway. That leaves the very narrow scenario of a second Thain or Lord with a runic weapon, possibly a level 2 Rune of Might. But he could just as easily have the Master Rune of Swiftness, which would be even better, and way cheaper than the 65 point Hammer on an at least 65 point naked Thain. Oh, and don't forget, your Thane with the Hammer of Karak Drazh only has three S4 attacks and needs to ''successfully wound'' that monster. These tactics might also work on enemy characters, but then pray that you're not in a challenge!

The '''Red Axe of Karak Eight Peaks''': All those Goblin and Skaven grudges have to count to something. Good if you are going up against those two armies... Otherwise you paid 50pts for making your attacks magic. And it is not even spectacular against Orcs & Goblins and/or Skaven, because you hate them you're going to re-roll failed to-hit rolls in the first round of combat anyway. And while re-rolling to-wound is inarguably great, you still only wound with S4, S5 on the charge and armour piercing via Forgefire at best. This might give you one good round of close combat but then it quickly fades away. Terror sure is nice against those two as they are not known for the highest leadership in the game.

The '''Magnificent Armour of Borek Beetlebrow''': For 60 points it gives you a 2+ armour save and a 3++ ward against str 6+ or higher. It's great if you plan on taking on lots of monsters, Elf characters with Great Weapons and some WoC, Orc, Vampire characters or holding up The End Times Lords. Your worst case scenario are S5 attacks with armour piercing (leaving you with only a 4+AS) or which don't allow Armour Saves alltogether (e.g. killing blow or those accursed Empire Runefangs) as well as spells from the Lore of Metal. Even without the 3++ Ward you can still have a 5+ Ward in close combat if you were charged thanks to your Shieldwall rule. Shieldbearers or a simple shield will also take that 2+ save to a 1+ save.

The '''Silver Horn of Vengeance''': Even more grudge holding. For 45 points it gives for 1 turn, all dwarfs within 6" devastating charge (good for when the enemy reaches a gunline), and once used, causes fear in all elves.  This can really bring the hurt with your Longbeards and Elite units, everyone Striking with two attacks and at S5 or S7 with great weapons will crush everyone in its path, and it also has good synergy with Slayers armed with two hand weapons since if Slayers die they still get to make one attack (and in this case they normally make 3 attacks for Troll Slayers, 4 for Giant Slayers) allowing you to throw a bucket of dice in combat. It all depends on multiple units charging the same turn, which canny opponents will usually not allow. You can get it going if you combine it cleverly with several Runes of Slowness, but it still requires some luck and perfect deployment. <strike>If only the Horn would grant swiftstride as well!</strike>

The '''Fiery Ring of Thori''': For 35 Points you get a str 4 flaming, breath weapon. This is a great item, and there's very little reason why you cannot put this on a character (even if it's a minor one), Breath Weapons are fantastic in 8th edition and perfect for dealing with the hordes you'll be up against. It would basically be an auto-include in most other armies, but has some limitations in Dwarf armie:. Many units, especially elite ones, tend to be wider than they are deep. So the ideal position to use a breath weapon is from the side. Dwarfs however usually have problems to position themselves 1) close enough 2) on the flanks of 3) unengaged units to properly use a breath weapon. Dwarfs characters don't have access to flying mounts and they also cannot join ambushing Miners or scouting Rangers. You will face most enemies head on. A breath weapon can still be great there, especially when you encounter tarpit units with many ranks. You still need to get close though and are probably in charging distance as well in these situations. Don't forget that you can also use a breath weapon after marching/reforming or as an additional close combat attack (but still only once per game: Either as a shooting attack or in close combat, not both). All in all it sure is the most useful Ancestral Heirloom available.

The '''Banner of Lost Holds''': For 100pts it's unit rerolls to wound in close combat. That's pretty good, but it can only be put on your BSB and is usually not the best choice for doing so. (''Going with "rules as intended" here. If you field Ungrim Ironfist, one Slayer unit can take "a runic (!) standard up to 100pts", which would be enough for the Banner of Lost Holds and actually work really well for them, but Ancestral Heirlooms are usually restricted to Thanes/Lords and Runesmiths/-lords. It should be noted though that it says for the BSB upgrade "can have a runic standard (no points limit)", so if you go by "rules as written", nobody would be allowed to carry the Banner of Lost Holds as it is technically not a runic standard. Since Dragon and Daemon Slayers also have no access to Ancestral Heirlooms, it is only straightforward that the Banner of Lost Holds was intended to be available to the BSB and not Slayers.'')

'''Rune System:''' 

Runes come in many different flavours: Weapon runes, Armour Runes, Talismans Runes, Banner Runes and Warmachine Runes. An important thing to note is that apart from Warmachine runes, all characters can use any ''kind'' of rune. However some specific runes only allow certain characters to use them (e.g Runefolk) Also remember that Slayers (Dragon / Daemon) can only equip weapon runes. Like before Runes come with rules. They boil down to, only 3 runes a weapon, no rune combination stacking, and runes can only be put on Hand Weapons so don't buy other weapons for your Dwarf.  Runes stack now, for example It costs 25 points to get a basic dispel rune but then costs 45 to get 2. And then when you take 2 stacked dispel runes on one character they do not have the same effect as 2 separate dispel runes on 2 different characters.  They got rid of a few Runes too, no more Master Rune of Kragg the Grim, but they've changed a few as well, and maybe not for the better.
'''See the [[Talk:Warhammer/Tactics/8th_Edition/Dwarfs#Rune_Combinations_.26_Character_builds|discussion page]] for interesting Loadouts'''. ''Note that this is going to be a very long section as Dwarfs have a ton of magic runes so this section is collapsable''.

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'''Weapon Runes'''
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Master Rune of Skalf Blackhammer: You wound everything on 2+ and everything in magic armour on 3+. It works fine against high Toughness targets but then you're usually stuck fighting them in combat for a few turns anyway.

Master Rune of Smiting: D6 wounds per successful wound. Works well on character killer builds and even if you cause only one unsaved wound you'll still kill nearly every Lord character 50% of the time.

Master Rune of Alaric the Mad: The generic ignores armour thing. With how common ward saves are now (and with how high Dwarf Lords can increase their Strength) armour isn't really that much of an issue for you anyway. If you are up against things like Heavy Cavalry then this can help if you put it on a lesser character.

Master Rune of Breaking: 50pts for breaking magic weapons only on a 2+, when you hit. This one is pretty great, especially with how many magic items are going to be showing up in an opponents army. If you have the points to spare, it's well worth taking.

Master Rune of Dragon Slaying: This one really isn't worth it, any dragon out there can easily avoid your Dwarf Lord with this rune making it pointless, and it's effects can be duplicated almost just as well with Runes of Might.

Master Rune of Flight: Gives you a single 12" attack with your Lord that always hits on a 2+. Not a good idea to take this on its own as one more wound usually won't help you all that much, stack it with the Rune of Might for monster/character sniping.

Master Rune of Snorri Spangelhelm: 25pts for ALWAYS hitting on 2+s. Awesome, there's almost never a reason for not being able to fit this in your armour somewhere.

Master Rune of Swiftness: 25pts for ASF on dwarfs. This is amazing. Also gives you rerolls to hit against any army with Initiative 3 and lower (aka most armies) and can be stacked with the Rune of Speed for re-rolls against almost everyone.

Rune of Demon Slaying: Only works on Daemons but if you're tailoring a list and don't mind your Lord choice being pretty squishy, go ahead and get it 3 times. The first two ranks are good facing Daemons, but the third is not so great as it leaves you without any additional magic defences.

Rune of Fire: One rune isn't anything to write home about, but with how great Breath Weapons are in 8th edition, two runes are awesome. The third is not worth it as it leaves you without any additional armour. This also isn't a Master Rune, so if you're up against somebody who loves spamming hordes you can attach it to several Thanes for horde killing BBQ lists.

Rune of Fury: All around really good, Frenzy is much more easily reigned in than it was before(and Dwarfs have great leadership across the board anyway), and the third rune is fantastic if you plan on getting stuck in combat against horde armies.

Rune of Dismay: Fear is useful (especially if you have the hatred result on everything), but the next two runes aren't. Terror is nowhere near as good as it once was and you're almost never going to make use of the full effects of the second two runes.

Rune of Cleaving: All three of these runes are pretty decent choices, and they have great synergy with nearly every other weapon rune, if you have any points to spare you can't go wrong with one or two of these runes. 

Rune of Might: Good for a monster hunter character or a character killer. Two of these plus the Master Rune of Swiftness pretty much guarantee you'll drop any monsters/Toughness 5 characters stupid enough to attack your Dwarf.

Rune of Striking: This can be useful, if you're after Hordes and don't want to rely on chance to get hatred then go up to the second level, the first and last levels aren't really worth it as Dwarfs already have a high enough Weapon Skill.

Grudge Rune: Perfect for character killers, this and 2 Runes of Cleaving is pretty formidable in challenges.

Rune of Parrying: Another great rune if you're making a Lord who murders in challenges or want to protect a character against low WS opponents (making them hit the dwarf on 6's). 

Rune of Speed: Same as before, +1 intiative. Great way to get magic attacks for only 5 points.

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'''Armour Runes'''
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Master Rune of Adamant: Gives the wearer T10 for 100pts. If combined with the Rune of Parrying the character becomes nearly invincible against anything that doesn't auto-wound him, making a fantastic tarpit that deals good damage if you give your Dwarf a great weapon.  

Master Rune of Gromil: Unmodifiable 1+ armour save for 30pts. In every army other than dwarfs, it would be epic. Sadly this is easily achieved by Shieldbearers and a rune of stone which you were going to take anyway, if you want to take it though put it on a thane and send him off to bother lower tier heroes. 

Rune of Fortitude: The first rank is fantastic, who doesn't want a T6 character? The next two ranks are not as worth it, you can get a better Ward Save elsewhere and ignoring Multiple Wounds is a little too situational to be that useful. (''Debatable. See [[Talk:Warhammer/Tactics/8th_Edition/Dwarfs#Generic|discussion page]]'')

Rune of Iron: The first two runes are fantastic, combine those with the Rune of Fortitude and shieldbearers and you have a T7 6W character that still has a decent amount of points to spend on magic items.  The third rank isn't that worth it as Regen Saves can no longer be taken after Ward Saves and you can get a better Ward Save elsewhere.

Rune of Shielding: For 25pts you get a 2++ against shooting. Put it on an Runelord on an Anvil, but otherwise you can do just fine with the "Look Out Sir!" rule.

Rune of Preservation: 25pts for a 2++ against Killing Blow. This one is a bit situational, and is only really great if you're list tailoring.

Rune of Impact: If you have 10 points to spare then one impact hit isn't that bad, consider it another attack that auto hits for 10 points.

Rune of Stone: Same as before, 5 points for +1 armour. Epic rune that ignores the rule of pride (e.g can take it on each of my thanes), the only reason you won't take this on everyone is if you used up your full points allowance elsewhere.

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'''Banner Runes'''
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Master Rune of Groth One-Eye: Dwarfs have great leadership across the board, and giving everyone within 12" stubborn means you'll almost never fail a break test, especially if the general is nearby, a great choice to put on a unit of Hammerers.

Master Rune of Stromni Redbeard: An extra +1 combat res to all dwarf units within 12", can be great in larger games but is usually outshone by Runes of battle. If you want to take it anyway it stacks fairly well if you have another unit with the Runes of Battle.

Master Rune of Valaya: 65 point drop for a total of +4 to dispel (+2 for being Dwarfs, +2 for the banner) and at the start of each magic phase, each Remains in Play is dispelled on a 3+. A fantastic rune and for general lists and the one rune you never want to go without. With how powerful current magic is this is the best protection you have against Init test or die spells (like the purple sun) as well as making the opponents army much weaker because you can almost reliably dispel spells like Throne of Vines every turn without wasting power dice.

Master Rune of Grungni: BSB only. Another fantastic rune and perfect for gunline lists since it even gives your cannons within 6" the 5+ Ward Save.

Rune of Battle: The first two runes are good, but the third can only be put on the BSB and costs a little too much to be worth it since you'll already be getting +3 combat res from just the banner alone, attacking in one more rank is usually overkill at that point.

Rune of Slowness: The first two runes are good for ensuring your enemies fail their charge, and then get countercharged by you (or shot at again, which can do more damage), and it has good synergy with the Silver Horn to get you those extra attacks when you charge. The last rune isn't as good because it can only go on the BSB, though giving opponents ASL is still really helpful with your Initiative 2.

Rune of Sanctuary: Magic Resistance isn't as great as it used to be, and it won't stop that purple sun from wiping out a unit, but you can still make use out of the first level, as adding/not adding it allows multiple units to take the Rune of Battle on their banners too.

Rune of Stoicism: Another easy way Dwarfs can get stubborn. A good banner if you didn't want to put the Master Rune of Groth One-Eye on that unit of Hammerers. Put it on and have fun never running away.

Strollaz' Rune: Vanguard for 35pts. Really nice on dwarfs, you can build an army around this rune (since you can put it on more than half an army), consider it an extra turn without getting shot at. But don't bother taking this on Rangers since they still have to remain 12" away from the foe and still can't charge first turn, if you go first. Works really well with Irondrakes.

Rune of Courage: All of the Dwarf units that can carry this will not get much use out of it anyway, it doesn't work well with other banner runes, and Dwarfs already have great leadership. If you're up against a lot of Undead or Daemons it might be somewhat handy, but there's generally better banner runes.

Ancestor Rune: This is another rune you can build an army around, With the Master Rune of Groth One-Eyer giving you Stubborn, you can essentially make a unit Unbreakable in combat for one round (or even without Stubborn if you didn't lose by much). If this rune had a downside it's that it doesn't stack well with the other runes for normal units.

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'''Talisman Runes'''
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Master Rune of Balance: 50 points for a 4+ chance of stealing a power dice. Not as good as it once was, but if you have the points to spare there's no harm in adding it to a Runesmith.

Master Rune of Spite: Generally your points are better spent on armour so that it's effects don't have to come into play, though if you're making a Slayer themed list this one can prove useful.

Master Rune of Passage: 10 pts to auto-pass Dangerous Terrain tests. Good on a Runesmith or thane for helping a Horde pass through terrain pieces.

Rune of Warding: The easy Ward Save runes. These are not nearly as great as they used to be since with Hand Weapon and Shield your character has a 5+ Ward Save by default when charged in close combat against S8 and lower (aka everything he has a chance at killing) so only the third rune will help you all that much, and "Look Out Sir!"/Master Rune of Grungni should protect your character well enough outside of combat. That said going up to the third level still does help a lot if you want a Rune weapon to go along with your Lord. (''Highly debatable! See [[Talk:Warhammer/Tactics/8th_Edition/Dwarfs#Generic|discussion page]] for continuation'')

Rune of Spellbreaking: Dispel Scroll that can be taken on more than one Runefolk. Same price as a dispel scroll. For 20 more points you get the stack which is the same except you have a 50% chance to remove the spell from the wizard. 1 is a must take (and you can take them across multiple Runesmiths), though 2 stacked are only really worth it if you know your opponent is going to be using spells like the Purple Sun or buffs like in the Lore of Life.

Rune of Luck: This rune can be worth it if you have a point sink Lord that you don't want to lose to a characteristic test, otherwise it's more of a way to bypass the Rule of Pride concerning Talismans.

Rune of Furnace: 2++ ward against flaming attacks for 5pts. A great way to bypass the Rule of Pride, and with how common flaming attacks are becoming it can be handy to have on a character. Also very important when facing Lore of Metal.

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'''Engineering Runes'''
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Master Rune of Immolation: The ultimate Greater Good Rune. For 30 points you can detonate your warmachine at will, after combat, to cause 2D6 S4 flaming hits to enemies. Not bad and it can really help you screw over war machine hunters and prevent them from running through the rest of your gunline.

Master Rune of Disguise: Not a bad rune/way to get hard cover if you don't want to pay for more Master Engineers.

Rune of Penetrating: The first rune is excellent on every warmachine besides cannons, the second one isn't nearly as good, you can almost always spend those 10 points elsewhere.

Stalwart Rune: Does a good job at speed bumping Warmachine Hunters, but it also costs the same as the Master Rune of Immolation which can kill those hunters outright. Take it if you already have the Master Rune of Immolation on something else, but otherwise it's not that good.

Rune of Accuracy: For 25 points you get +1 BS or reroll the scatter dice if you use one. Almost mandatory on Organ Guns and Grudge Throwers.

Rune of Forging: For 25 points you can reroll an artillery dice whenever a missfire occurs... Almost mandatory on Cannons and arguably Organ guns.

Flakksson's Rune of Seeking: For 15 points your bolt throwers get +1 to hit against flying foes. This won't help too much against flying units, but it can cause lone fliers a lot of grief.

Rune of Burning: For 5 points you get flaming attacks. This is arguably the best rune in the book because it allows you to set up different warmachines with very similar runes and bypass the rule of pride and it makes anything with regeneration, flammable or ethereal (war machines with runes have magical attacks) wet themselves. But of course it also means that everything with a 2+ ward save against flaming attacks will laugh you in the face. Never slam it on all your war machines!

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===Magic===
Rule one of Playing Dwarfs, Dwarfs have no Wizards. Dwarfs have runes which can be cast from the Anvil of Doom in the form of innate bound spells.

====Anvil of Doom====
The equivalent of Shieldbearers for your Runelord. For 170pts, an Anvil of Doom adds 2 wounds to the Runelord, a 5++ Ward Save, two Anvil Guards (which are exactly like the Shieldbearers), unbreakable and 1 power/dispel dice. Crucially, the Anvil of Doom changes the Runelord's unit type to war-machine, which has some positive effects but also means it can be instantly killed by Pit of Shades/Dwellers Below/Purple Sun (along with the Runelord).

The Anvil of Doom is the only way for Dwarfs to actively do something in the magic phase. As long as he is remaining stationary, the Runelord can cast up to three innate bound spells per magic phase: The Rune of Hearth and Home (power level 3) grants all friendly Dwarf units in 24" immune to psychology, which is fine but not that great because everyone is LD 9, the Rune of Oath and Steel (power level 4) gives one friendly Dwarf unit anywhere on the battlefield +1 to your armour save, by far the most useful ability especially when combined with Shieldwall, lastly the Rune of Wrath and Ruin (power level 5) is a 24" direct damage spell casing 2D6 S4 hits.

Overall the Anvil is not usually worth it and has this one major weakness; against more than half the armies you'll put it down, and then take it away a first or second turn (along with the Runelord) because a characteristic test spell was cast upon it. See [[Talk:Warhammer/Tactics/8th_Edition/Dwarfs#Anvil_of_Doom|discussion page]] for more on this.

====Dispelling Magic====
Arguably, Dwarfs are one of the best armies at countermagic, even without a single wizard on the table. Because of their ''natural resistance'', Dwarfs always receive a +2 to dispel attempts, as long as there are no wizards in an allied army. Together with the Master Rune of Valaya, Dwarfs dispel at +4 like a level 4 wizard. Better, even, because they also receive the +4 after a failed dispel attempt. Runesmiths/Runelords generate power/dispel dice like wizards, and no Dwarf in their right mind would ever leave their hold without at least one anyway. Because of the rune system, Dwarfs are also the only army which can have more than one dispel scroll (i.e. Rune of Spellbreaking) and even ones which can destroy a spell after dispelling it. Because Dwarfs don't have magic outside the Anvil of Doom, you can freely use the power dice in your own phase to dispel anything which may have remained in play, meaning you rarely suffer spells for longer than one turn. The Master Rune of Balance can further tip the scale in your favor, on a 4+ robbing your opponent of a power dice while giving it to you for dispelling. Should you go for an Anvil of Doom, you will receive an additional guaranteed power/dispel dice per turn, so a dedicated anti-magic Dwarf list with a Runelord + Anvil, 1/2 Runesmiths, MR of Balance, 2/3 Runes of Spellbreaking (potentially at level 2) and MR of Valaya (remember it can be taken by Hammerers!) can seriously shut down a magic phase. Watch your Vampire Counts opponent cry his eyes out.

====Battle Scrolls====
A practice rarely seen, due to most Battle-Scrolls being crappy, those that can give Dwarfs wizards appearing pretty late and many players and TOs having never heard of them (although technically they are perfectly legal). <i>Quick reminder - a Battle Scroll is like a formation from 40k, but in Fantasy. Battle Scrolls can be taken by any army, but rules for Allied Armies apply, so Dwarfs would have little use for, say, Vampire Counts Battle Scroll.</i> However, Empire is a long-standing ally of the Dwarfs, and Imperial wizards kinda fit in. There are two fitting Empire Battlescrolls Dwarfs can use. ''Defenders of Middenheim'' is a worse one, as it is large, expensive, makes your army feel less Dwarfy, can be seen as powergaming dickery, because in addition to Wizard you get Ghal'Maraz and cavalry, and the Wizard in question has Lore of Beasts, which isn't the best thing for Dwarfs. On the plus side (which can and will be attributed to powergaming dickery as well), taking this Battlescrolls lifts the requirement for spending 25% on Core. ''White Wizards of Templehof'' is much better. It is a small nice Battlescroll, containing a level 4 Light Wizard on foot, a Luminark (as if you didn't have enough warmachines) and 20-man unit of Free Company, which is crap, but hey, you can just send them to die somewhere. Lore of Light is pretty nice for Dwarfs, fixing their Initiative and Movement issues and being a quite nice lore all round. Getting ASF when fighting Elves as a Dwarf is also priceless.