Editing Warhammer Army Project/Dwarf (section)

==Unit Analysis==
'''Note:''' A lot of the units in this army perform a function that a cannon can do much better, and as dwarfs cannons are so cheap some units you should just drop in favor of another cannon, or in some cases another three (see slayers). 

===Lords & Heroes===
====Named Characters====
'''Note:''' Named characters are almost always overpriced. That's not to say they're worthless; named characters do have some unique abilities and combos, but make sure you're getting your points worth. In most cases, it's easy to emulate their abilities from scratch and save quite a few points.

*'''[[Thorgrim Grudgebearer]]:''' At 500 points, he's more usable than he was before and can be fielded now in 2000 point armies. Thorgrim is more of a buffer than a close combat machine, the biggest of which is giving his unit Hatred while letting them have the effects of Hatred (O&G/Skaven) last every turn. His axe wounds on a 2+ ALWAYS except against magic armour (3+), has Always Strike First and against giants has multiple wounds (D6). 18" inspiring presence and his unit gain Immunity (Psychology). An interesting little rule states that he MUST be your general and that if he dies, your entire army gains frenzy. On the downside, he cannot "Look out Sir" when he joins a unit (but with 7 wounds it's not a deathknell).

*'''[[Thorek Ironbrow]]:''' 330 points!. You can play him in 2000pt games now, though he's overpriced for what he does. Re-rolling one dice for the Anvil of Doom per turn (though another 1 kills his understudy), +1 to cast, has a new spell (grants Fear to Dwarfs within 24") and the costs 145 points more than a normal Runelord on Anvil. Lastly, as the anvil is a Warmachine, Pit of Shades, Dwellers Below, and Purple Sun all instant kill him with no saves allowed even if he has a 1+ save.

*'''[[Belegar Ironhammer]]:''' 290 pts. The true Close Combat Lord, he's geared for character killing, able to unleash a total of 8 close combat attacks (only once per game though) as well as take anything most other characters can dish back. The downside is that you can make a Lord character just as good, if not better, from scratch. 

*'''[[Kazador Thunderhorn]]:''' King of Karak Azul. When you put his gear together, he's a pretty hardy mofo, with 5+ armour compensated by T6, 4 S5 HKB attacks at WS8, and I4. He also has a single-use horn that forces enemies within 24" to test Ld to charge.

*'''[[Ungrim Ironfist]]''' 325 points. He's a pretty nice hero or monster killer due to Slayer, Strength 6, Killing Blow, and D3 wounds on monsters; he's also pretty tough when facing Dragons due to his 2++ Ward vs. Fire. That, along with a slew of other foes because Flaming is omnipresent in tournaments to get rid of regenning units. Other than that, he'll fuck up a few Lords, and he'll weather a few hits, overall cool for Slayer-themed lists, but otherwise, he'll be slightly fucked because he can only join Slayer and Doomseeker units (which are now Core, thanks to him). Something that is often overlooked is his ability to buff your slayers; taking Ungrim means 1 slayer unit in the army can buy +1S and Wards of Grimnir. Slightly overpriced at 325 points, but WS9 and T6 is pretty nice, meaning that even Tyrion hits you on a 4+.

*'''[[Alrik Ranulfsson]]:''' King of Karak Hirn. He is another mandatory general who places severe restrictions on the war machines, guns, tanks, and other fun things the Dwarfs get. His axe is an excellent weapon with the Grudge and Breaking runes, his heavy armour gives a 2++ Ward Save against all shooting and a 5++ otherwise. On top of this, he carries his book of (avenged) grudges to confer him Hold Your Ground and can ferret out hidden assassins. Take him only for a mob-heavy army.

*'''[[Byrrnoth Gundadrak]]:''' Voyager-King of Barak Varr. He's a pretty strong thane with a good axe, though only a 5+/5++ save.

*'''[[Kragg the Grim]]:''' Master Runelord of Karaz-a-Karak. Here's a proper foot-slogger of a Runelord, except he's bafflingly even slightly more expensive than Thorek. He throws 3 S10 flaming attacks each turn and has a 1+/5++ save, making him a secret nightmare. He also has Dispel Runes and a Rune of Balance to ensure that he can actually do more in the magic phase.

*'''[[Kadrin Redmane]]:''' Runelord of Karak Varn. He's not much as a combatant, with his weapon demanding the enemy test Ld for the thing to even negate armour. Meanwhile, his shield offers a 2++ against mundane and magic missiles. The best thing he has is his 175 point price tag.

*'''[[Grombrindal]]''' The legendary White Dwarf. He's a costly character but what an awesome guy at 450 points: LD 10 with M3, 1+\4++ save, a magic axe with +2 strength and re-rolls hits and wounds, and Hidden. Despite being Unbreakable, he can join all units, though this will bite him in the arse when his team flees and he's left to fight independently.

*'''[[Garagrim Ironfist]]:''' War-mourner champion of Karak Kadrin. He's a Dragon Slayer that deals d6 wounds to enemies T5 or higher with Deathblow and, while never the general, lets a Giant slayer unit take a weapon rune. His axes are even better since they have Thorgrimm's rule of wounding at 2+ on top of nominating a sworn enemy (for +! to hit and wound them) and Impact Hits on the charge.

*'''[[Burlok Damminson]]:''' Guildmaster of the Engineers. He's got two special perks: ASF and a special attack that's S6 ad his base Initiative of 2.

*'''[[Grimm Burloksonn]]:''' The Master Engineer to trump all others, especially now that he has such a fabulous cost of 95 points. Able to unleash a good amount of firepower on his own and decent in close combat, though he's better staying back and buffing your units with one of the following (unlike regular Master Engineer only on a roll of 2+ though!):
** '''Artillery Adjustment''': Allows a friendly War Machines to his BS of 5 and the ability to re-roll an Artillery Dice, which can be the bounce on a Cannon or a Flame Cannons scatter. Useful for all war machines, especially due to the Organ Gun changes, use it if you want to snipe that enemy wizard or kill squishy things with stones.
** '''Increased Range''': Does what it says on the tin. Increases the units Crossbow and Handgun ranges by 2D6, so your horde of 40+ Quarellers can now hit more things! Use it if that one enemy unit is just out of reach.
** '''Superior Volley''': Models in the unit may re-roll any to-hit rolls. <strike>Again, useful for Bolt Throwers and Organ Guns (Organ Guns roll to hit now).</strike> IRONDRAKES. For Organ Gun, you would use ''Artillery Adjustment'' because it also grants that re-roll for the artillery die.

*'''[[Josef Bugman]]:''' The epitome of a dwarf grudge holder, and at 185 points, he sits between a cheap Lord or a wallet-killing Thane with stats more toward the former. As long as he's alive, his unit rolls on a 2D6 table, of which two of the results are great, and one result can hurt you, while his unit can heal a wound each turn.

*'''[[Brok Stonefist]]:''' 290pts. A [[Dwarf Miner]] Lord from back during the time of the [[War of the Beard]]. Make 2 Miner units core and let them reroll their Underground Advance. has a Great weapon with rune of Breaking and Alaric the Mad, Gromril armour with Rune of Gromril and Steel, and a Regen(4+).

*'''[[Crazed Khargrim]]:''' 100pts. A Dragon Slayer from the [[War of the Beard]]. A Loner Hero and always counts a haven charge every combat.

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

*'''Dwarf Lord:''' Generic combat lord. A good combination of rune items can make him incredibly nasty in close combat. Oathstone is a decent choice to put him on since you're unlikely to be moving around much but better yet are Shieldbearers, 5 points for +2 additional WS5 S4 I3 attacks plus he counts as infantry still so he gets his lookout sirs.
**Be advised, Runes can only be put on Hand Weapons so if you want to get one, getting him a Great Weapon will be pointless without the Master Rune of Kragg the Grim, and that's already 15 points of runes spent...

*'''Runelords/Runesmiths:''' Runesmiths are your closest equivalents to Warrior Priests filling the role of Wizards. ''Always'' take 1 with a dispel rune for 85pts or buy a scroll. Though they have lost their free dispel dice, they now channel dispel like wizards, grant Armour Piercing to whatever infantry unit they're a part of, and have Magic Resistance. Sadly Runelords have taken a serious hit with the new Army Book as anything that they can do can usually be done by a much cheaper Runesmith besides the Anvil of Doom. Unless you want the anvil, do not bother taking the lords.

*'''Daemon Slayer:''' Same as before but forces successful ward saves to be re-rolled and does D3 wounds to Monsters. It's nice now that when kitted out properly, he can be guaranteed to kill a Daemon prince; with some weapon runes, he comes out at a good price and is a worthy consideration. Each Daemon Slayer you include (but probably not more than one unless in 3k gams) can add one Troll Slayers unit as core (where you want your suicide units to pay by). Be careful, as he can get focused and destroyed quite easily, and at much greater impact being a lord choice, unlike dragon slayers, with the only consolation being that they aren't ever your general.

*'''Thanes:''' Very solid Hero. He comes in two builds, the 'Thane o' pain' and the 'Tank thane.' Basically, the names say it all. Tank thane concentrates on staying alive, and therefore uses armour runes. The Thane o' pain operates on the philosophy that if the enemy is dead, then it won't attack you back. Use a rune of Snorri Spangelheim, a rune of cleaving, and either a grudge rune if you have it in for one particular character, a rune of FUREH, or, when fighting tough enemies (orcs and ogres, etc.), a rune of might for strength 8.

*'''Master Engineers:''' Buffs your artillery, and can make one entrenched (counts as being behind heavy cover and enemies take -1 to hit it). Great if you are playing a shooty list. Also gives your cannons and grudge throwers free artillery die-rolls, which can save your ass many times over. If you take one, they work best with an organ gun, which takes the most advantage of their BS 4 and an artillery re-roll.

*'''Dragon Slayer:''' Deals D3 wounds on each attack against monsters. When cheaply kitted out these guys can do some nice damage. Worth taking one and run him alongside the rest of your army as a threat to monsters if you don't have cannons or Warmachine hunter defense.

*'''Brewmaster:''' The generic version of Bugman. He's far more of a support hero than a combatant and gives a unit's front a bit more protection. He also has a bunch of casks to share with his team, though you need to roll a d6 and avoid a 1 that gets them hammered and less fit for battle: Bugman's XXXXXX (+1 Strength), Dwarf Special Reserve (Immunity to Psychology, which is more a fringe benefit), and Troll Brew (Regen (6+)).

====Mounts====
*'''Shieldbearers:''' Lords only. Have 2 Dwarfs hold up your Lord to make him more intimidating. For 5pts, you add 2 mount attacks and 2 to the unit strength. Because they are infantry, your lord still benefits from Look Out Sir.

*'''Oath Stones:''' Lords and Thanes only. They're fairly inexpensive and gives a hefty defense, so you can never go wrong with taking one thane with this. Your unit can never flee a charge, but they are never disrupted, can parry any attacks to their flanks or rear, and gains another MR(1).

*'''Anvil of Doom:''' Runelords only. 2 wounds, a 5++ ward save, and some guards to fight alongside your Runelord though they get no upgrades. It adds a bonus die to all power and dispel pools. It also gives some bound spells to use to buff a dwarf unit anywhere on the battlefield. The big weakness? You're now a War Machine. An Initiative 3 War Machine makes you an ideal target for spells that target your Initiative.
**'''Hearth & Home:''' Makes a Dwarf Stubborn or unbreakable if already stubborn. The entire army already has little to worry about with morale, so why use this?...
**'''Stone & Steel:''' Gives a unit +1 to their armour save. You will want this a lot, especially when combo'd.
**'''Wrath & Ruin:''' Blasts a unit within 24" with 2d6 S4 hits.
**'''Oath and Honour:'''an Infantry unit makes an out-of-phase move. Your Slow (you now marching on 6") so extra speed to flank.

===Core Units===
*'''Dwarf Warriors:''' These are your <strike>bread and butter</strike> beard and ale. They have Toughness 4, Leadership 9, and medium armour as standard, and you can begin to approach your 'ard past or spend two for Heavy armour. Give them shields if you don't want them to die, or give them great weapons if you want them to kill shit. Always take them in big units of 30+ with full command.
 
*'''Longbeards:''' 4 points more than a dwarf warrior in heavy armour. They are better at killing shit, not running away, and being immune to panic. They also allow nearby units to reroll failed panic tests when not fleeing, which is nice if your BSB is out of range. Generally better with a hand weapon and shield at S4 and suitable for ensuring your flank units don't run away, but in close combat, hammerers and ironbreakers are better for points in all regards.

*'''Quarrellers:''' Reduced to Light Armour for a money-saving option to mitigate for the hick of missile weapons. BS3, but the rerolling 1 boosts that. They can still take shields or Bucklers and great weapons. Shields are good if you want to get into a shooting match with Wood Elves. Take these guys as your general core, as crossbows will generally outrange most other armies at 30", and great weapons will still allow them to hit any kind of anti-archer unit and come out smiling. 16 man unit of these stubbies with great weapons is a scary prospect to charge against, especially with new and improved stand-and-shoot.

*'''Thunderers:''' Handgun Dwarfs. Similarly demoted to Light Armour and the same points, they still put the hurt on units plus with Shields or bucklers and a rune of Groth One Eye nearby, they make a surprisingly tough anvil to set up a beautiful countercharge with that unit of Great Weapon Quarrellers you have sitting beside them.

===Special Units===
*'''Hammerers:''' Same obligatory unit that you love, except they cost 2 more points. Still stubborn with a Chaos Warrior stat line but with less initiative. Toss your general in the unit for immunity to Fear/Terror. 

*'''Ironbreakers:''' Elite Tarpit. For 14 points each, you get WS5, T4, Ld10, a rerolled parry (used to be a 5++) 2+ armour save. These guys got the most love in the update, and NO one wants to get into a fight with a horde of these with a Runesmith. Keep them near your BSB. Being so unchangeable, it's even more of a threat that the champion can get close and chuck a big bomb at an enemy after marching 6". 

*'''Miners:''' Your ambushers got the actual ambusher rule with their cover upon entry, for a true miners' entry rule stolen from the Tomb Kings, being a telegraphed ambush before turn 1. They are perfect against static armies that take war machines and the like with their Great weapons. Take in small groups of 10 or so and go war machine hunting or rear charging with them. As far as upgrades go, the drill on the champion isn't bad, providing 2 S6 attacks that don't degrade after the first battle round while reducing the chance of not showing up. That Quick to Fire on Blasting Charges now Grants an additional burst of damage when the unit charges for 20+ more points. By the way, Your miners should do the charging. They shouldn't be charged.

*'''Troll Slayers/Giant Slayers:''' This unit has changed a good deal, and it's debatable if it's for better or worse. Slayers still wound on 4+ instead of raising their strength unless they needed a lower result. They are armed with a Greatweapon for monsters and can-opening plus AHWs for more attacks. If they die, that will make a single attack back. Slayers operate as mass suicidal melee damage dealers, at least compared to the more expensive guys in armour. To help in the job, Vanguard gets you closer to people's faces, and upgrading to Skirmishers or a bunch being around a Master Rune of Grimnir grants mobility/protection from missiles that would deny them the honorable death.
**'''Giant Slayer:''' 5-point upgrade for +1 WS, S, and Att. For Targets that need a more skilled suicide unit (like chaos warriors).

*'''Rangers:''' Sadly, the days of scouting hordes are over. Having been moved to the special section, rangers now have the same role as chameleon skinks, shades, and shadow warriors. If you have any Quarrelers with Great Weapons to spare that aren't fulfilling your core requirement, you should swap them for Rangers because they have throwing axes and scout for two points cheaper while allowing them to be aggressive. Facing is also important in 9th when shooting at infantry with shields, so you also find uses for giving them Crossbows.

*'''Deathroller:''' 80pts. It's weird to think about how Dwarfs made the Imperial Steam Tanks but never had one of their own until this. This here is still subject to randomized movement (and thus the mishaps of rolling snake eyes), but don't have all the micromanagement of points and deals d6 impact hits each turn (though a 6 here also gives mishaps). It makes for a Quickly-moving Chariot Entity that pivots on a dime into a flank attack. A Faster Melee Flanker a Something only Reblicatable by positioning Dwarf vangarding units at the start of the game, nothing else with this much Melee mobility. Do be warned this thing doesn't have close to the durability as a Steam Tank, THis is a GlassCannon Chariot (or at least this is made by Dwarfs, so it won't break immediately to a few presents).

*'''Cannons:''' Even with the 20pt cut to 100 points cannons are a bad choice now. Of course, the price goes up as you add runes and engineers, which you should do to make it very reliable. But with the buffs to Bolt Throwers, Grudge Throwers and Organ guns, should leave this on the shelf in 9th edition 

*'''Grudge Thrower:''' 80pts. It's a standard stone thrower for 80 points. It can be buffed up with runes and engineers. The right combination can make this a very effective war machine. These can seriously troll T3 armies. Take a rune of accuracy and penetrating to get <s>Str 4</s> S5 now (for some reason Mathias thought stone throwers needed a buff and are base S4), re-rolling to scatter. Definitely got the most love this edition, with stone throwers going up in Strength on the template and the direct hit. 

*'''Bolt Throwers:''' Not terrible, with a pointcut from 8th to 45pts, can get 2 for one choice, and now Lacks long-range penalties. this is more reliable and accurate than a cannon.

*'''Firethrower:''' 60pts. If you wanted a flamer but didn't like being exposed as a War Machine, this gives a weaker but tinier model. However, this size reduction also means that it has no place for runes.

===Rare Units===
*'''Irondrakes:''' If you were ever worried about those Chaos Warriors posing a threat, take these guys, and you'll never have to worry about them ever again as they absolutely murder high Toughness high Armour squads and pump out far more shots than your warmachines, as well as making excellent Monstrous Infantry killers. However, their guns are half the range of a handgun in exchange for S5 flaming hits that are quick to fire. Their models also look badass.

*'''Doomseeker:''' With Giant Slayers becoming Slayer champions, these become your bigger slayers. Each has the Wards of Griminr (6++ Ward and 6++ magic resistance against missiles), Skirmisher, Unbreakable, and now instantly deal d6 hits against enemies in b2b while having -1 to hit them. While random hits are inconvenient, <s>they do make for a better wall than the Troll Slayers</s>.

*'''Organ Guns:''' 120pts. Now rolls artillery dice +2d6. This is a blessing and a curse; first, it makes misfires much more likely (16.67% vs. 2.78%), but you're averaging more shots. It can also now be given up to 50 points of Runes and put an engineer on it, allowing it to hit a lot more than it previously could. With engineer nerfs, the removal of Rune of Accuracy, and an increase the chance of misfire, one may consider fielding them naked rather than putting a ton of points into each.

*'''Flame Cannon:''' 140pts. Against Gobbos, Monstrous Infantry, and Skaven, it can be used very effectively to cause panic tests on any large unit; being able to throw down a S5 flamer template is amazing in fantasy, especially when it can cause d3 wounds. Don't be worried about taking one, as its range is a lot longer than it looks, be sure to give it runes, though. Nothing's worse than having your cannon blow up when you need those Night Goblins to panic.

*'''Gyrocopter:''' 85pts. Gyrocopters are the dwarf equivalent of great eagles and moved to Rare. Changed only slightly from the previous edition, they now have a gun choice, either keeping the old one (an str 3 armour piercing flamer) or a gun that fires d3 str 5, flaming, armour piercing shots. They also get their bombs, which can be handy when harassing opponents trying to approach your gunline or positioning behind units about to flee, so they take Dangerous Terrain tests. Though they lack  vanguard, be careful of all the dragons.

*'''Gyrobomber:''' 140pts. An alternative to the Gyrocopter that can wipe out entire hordes on its own, this thing will be a firing magnet. As such, it can be used to distract the enemy away from a gunline or stop the enemy from shooting your own guys if running a close combat list. 

*'''Rune Guardians:''' Iron. Dwarf. Golems. Each is monstrous infantry that's a little better than the living ones, with 4+ armour, S5, T5, M6, and Unbreakable. However, their massive weight makes them unable to march and auto-fail initiative tests. '''BEWARE THE SPELLS TARGETING THIS!'''. They also can be engraved up to two of the following runes (Cleaving, Fury, Striking, Stone, Warding), upping thier defense or offense.

*'''Grudgebreaker:''' 200pts. A super-heavy tank with axes for hands. DORF MECHA! They're also subject to steam engines and all that entails, but they have the perk of actually fighting in combat with randomized attacks (rolled like movement) and S6 and are protected with a 1+ save.

*'''[[Thunderbarge]]:''' 275pts. The Dwarf Zeppelin. They're jumbo bombers that can now be hit by hovering units but don't block the way for other models. It's also equipped with a cannon that lacks grapeshot and whose misfires can break it for the game.