Editing Warhammer Army Project/Chaos Dwarfs (section)

==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. 

'''Option 2:''' You are a sensible chap who is a dab hand at converting. Use GW's regular plastic dwarfs and use your modeling skills to turn them into Chaos Dwarfs. Just put spikes everywhere, a fun conversion idea used by a clever guy is to use a thumbtack 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 are a sensible chap who doesn't play Warhammer at GW stores. Get an army of Abyssal Dwarfs from [[Mantic Games]]. They're all plastic and it costs £50 for about 60 models. Their infantry models are nicely detailed and look suitably Chaotic, though their options are still stuck in the "metal add on" phase. The war machines leave much to be desired, however. 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, f*ck Matic Games, and do a bit of google. Eventually, you'll find a Spanish company called Norba Miniatures [https://www.norbaminiatures.com/en/]. 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 [http://russian-alternative.com/]. Although I've heard that quality of the cast is not the finest.

Now the funny thing - if you have a hand for sculpting, 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. Then paint, then make sure to use some tough hairspray on the model, to keep it solid.

Bale/Great Taurus - Take Scibor Miniatures [http://sciborminiatures.com/] 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. 

Lammasu - the closest equivalent is Manticore. Check out Raging Heroes [https://www.ragingheroes.com/] 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 and Norba Miniatures. I think first have 3 or 4 different models, but Norba has cheap 3-packs and again with different weapons.

K'daai Destroyer - Monstrous Arcanum and Tamurkhan (both FW) state that these may be bulls, warriors, deamons 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 <strike>145 </strike> 152 GBP. For only £20 you could pick up the "Magmic Incantations" box from the Fyreslayers line, the "Molten Infernoth" makes for a pretty stellar destroyer albiet one on the smaller side of things (it's still 2/15ths the price of Skaarac and 1/3 the cost of a Maw-krusha) 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 [https://scontent.fsyd3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/49074635_1133221533521563_8813699781076451328_n.jpg?_nc_cat=102&_nc_ht=scontent.fsyd3-1.fna&oh=8fc0733b9e46e3c3a46939c44de2304e&oe=5C93C078], and it comes at 1/5 the cost of that aweful Skaarac abomination.

Hobgoblins - GW now sells them as Hobgrot Slittaz despite not supporting the dwarf line or use [[lord of the rings]] orcs kits. If you want to go the cheaper kitbash approach, get yourself a pack of 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 place fillers. I have a massive warboss chained to the rocks, with a banner pole attached to his back and he's my equivalent of 4 hobos including standard bearer. If you like modeling and customization - this is for you.

Hobgoblin Wolf Riders - have not many alternatives again. Original wolf-mounted Goblins or [[lord of the rings]] wargs from GW or Russian Alternatives.

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

Currently not many alternatives in regards to warmachines. Could scavenge some bits and bobs from the Khorne Skull Cannon, Soul Grinder, and 40k chaos space marines models to make a Warmachine more chaosy.

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 modeling 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, 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 a 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 the mendments, have to had lots of spares and to be honest lot of free time to do mendments.

Siege Giant - another modeling 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 other alternatives. Rotten Factory has Giant - just google.

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

=== Army composition ===

'''Infernal Guard'''

These are the main backbone unit of your army if not taking Warrior, becoming Core if Drazhoath the Ashen is the general . Better than their Dawi hold dwelling cousins, they have a 3+ save (with immunity against fire-based attacks) plus a shield and a base Strength of 4. However, such a sweet statline doesn't come cheap including they don't normally come out of the core allowance, and units between 20 and 25 are usually the way to go. They can also take a magic standard, which is nice! Good, standard option to fill the core. Don't expect much from them, but they should be able to go toe to toe with any other core unit and give a decent account of themselves.

The Infernals have additional 2 weapon options, and these really dictate what you do with the unit. They can have Ensorcelled weapons or fireglaves each for 3 points.

*The Ensorcelled Hand Weapons are great for a hammer/anvil unit. It makes them strike at S5 (with easy access to hatred). Still, count as a hand weapon, so they can use shields for 2+Sv, which makes them pretty durable. As Chaos Dwarfs are only M3, they make a great anvil unit, but your opponent can easily avoid them unless you force them to come at you... For me, this is the optimum choice for warriors; they are tough and hit like a ton of bricks. For the Dawi Zhar lord that wants a combat army... yes please to 24 with Ensorcelled weapons. Unfotatly you only get one.

*Next up is the fireglave. This is a great 'mid' option. A combination of Polarm and handgun. This is a great choice, the only downside being its points. You'll want to make sure everyone can fire (so 2 ranks), but the unit is also a combat one (so 4 ranks). I usually allow my opponent to charge my 2 deep lines and rely on my Ld10 hero to make sure I stand and can reform for the next turn of combat. Not my preferred choice, but ok. Maybe a unit of 18 or 24.

===Magic===
*'''Fire:''' While the basic damage potential is fine enough, you'll be wanting a Hashut wizard for that sweet, sweet Ash Storm. That way, you can bring the KABOOM.
*'''Metal:''' Guess what the majority of your infantry have? That's right, armor! Lots of it! Even if you just go for the buffs, you'll never regret it.
*'''Death:''' Plenty of ways to debuff and kill, though you have your own lore for reliable killing.
*'''Shadow:''' Plenty of ways to cripple an enemy. Mindrazor remains a strong choice, though only if you focus more on Dwarfing than Slaving.
*'''Hashut:''' mix of Fire with Debuffs. Making everything flammable is really good when your Dawi name literally translates to "Fire Dwarfs", used in conjunction with the lore of Fire or metal. Also as have other utility spells ''Breath of Hatred'', ''Dark Subjugation'', and ''Ash Storm''.