Warhammer Army Project/Chaos Dwarfs

This article needs rules updates. Upgrade plz.

(had copied pasted the 8th ed page to save time on the framework)

Created by Mathias Eliasson, this project was a homebrew attempt at giving many of the units, nations, and factions that never got Armybooks of their own (and those left behind and never got one in 8th Edition) such a thing.

It should also be noted that Eliasson is constantly updating his work, so don't expect this page to stay current forever. If anyone wishes to actually update this page and the items that need it, later on, go ahead.

Why Chaos Dwarfs?

Also: Why play a Forgeworld army and get all the neckbeards to claim cheese while they are deploying layer after layer of cheddar?

If you are a new player, Chaos Dwarfs were supported until 5th edition and then got into Squat territory. In July 2011 Forgeworld released Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos, which contained a WHFB army list for a faction of Chaos Dwarfs. Which is awesome, but loses part of the Babylonian look the older army had.

What do the Chaos Dwarfs offer and what are their main weaknesses?

Pros

• They are Dwarves with possessed war machines, a Babylonian look (not anymore in the troops, but you still have great centrepieces as the Taurus or the Lammasu)
• The warmachines are often called overpowered, and it's true, but this is compensated by the rest of the army.
• You can field a small, elite army composed of Chaos Dwarfs and their war machines or go into battle with a huge Hobgoblin horde.
• K'daai Destroyer. This beast deserves a point of its own. It can wreck completely an army if given half a chance. Accompany with a cup to drink your opponent's tears with.
• Their own magic lore, Hashut is a solid choice and goes very well with the rest of the army.
• Their Sorcerers can double as Engineers and can use magic while doing so.

Cons

• Elite army, all the CD units are very expensive 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 favoring 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 Ashstorm based.
• The equipment is expensive, Blunderbuss 'specially.
• The magic equipment armoury is, surprisingly, not very good and Chaos Dwarfs were completely skipped in the Magic Items expansion, so expect to be mostly equipping your characters with gear out of the main rulebook.
• 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, à 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 warmachines piecemeal.

Notable Changes from 8e

Pros

• The Chaos Dwarfs finally have a proper army list, for basically the first time ever! None of this "Legion of Azghorh" bullshit that cuts out half the classic Chaos Dwarf units and is only questionably a standalone army (and which never was properly updated after its release). You can now dust off your big hat stunties from the 90s and march them to battle under cover fire from the Forge World warmachines.
• The Lore of Hashut is considerably less focused on Ash Storm to be useful
• Resolute now is a positive rule.
• Sorcerer-Prophet getting the whole engineer gear selection.
• The changes to how protections against flaming attacks work (with most high ward saves against flaming attacks being converted into Immunity (Flaming), which cancels out only the Flaming attribute of physical attacks rather than the whole attack) means that a single character with a 5 point Dragonbane Gem can no longer hard-counter your gigantic, scary fire daemon.

Cons

• Relentless been nerfed because marching 9" is too fast, all Dwarfs must be slow walls.

Army Rules

• Relentless: Chaos Dwarfs don't test to march if they're 8" near enemies. Step down from Triple March distance But still very welcome, given their low movement value.

• Contempt: All Chaos Dwarf and Bull Centaur treat their slaves as expendable. So use them as the shields they are and don't mind them dying in droves.

• Resolute: When taking Break tests, models with this special rule count as having lost the combat with 1 point less than they actually have.

• Daemonic: you're a daemon, Harry. The gain Magic attack, unstable, and Ward (5+).

• Animosity: You remember it well from the Greenskin list. If the unit is not stuck in, fleeing, under Unit Strength 5, or within 6" of a Chaos Dwarf of Bull Centaur, they need to roll d6 to either roll for panic, act normally, or deal d3 wounds for +1 to hit that turn. Still more forgiving than what the Greenskin's currently have.

• Backstabbers: If a Hobgoblin unit of Strength 10 or higher breaks a unit and does not pursue, d6 S3 hits to the enemy per 10 models.

Magic

Lore of Hashut

Attribute: Killing Fire: when this lore spell is cast on an enemy unit, they become Flamammble for the remainder of the magic phase. You have access to a good number of spells to abuse with this.

• Signature: Breath of Hatred: (6/12) Range 24", gives hatred to a unit within a range. becomes a 12" bubble on overcast.

1. Burning Wrath: (6/12) Range 12", Magic Missle that causes D6 S6 flaming hits (2D6 hit if overcast). The short-range is a serious bitch for this to be useful. Being dwarfs, the enemy must come to you or the mounted Prophet.
2. Dark Subjugation: (8) Range 24" hex. The subject must do LD test at -3. If they fail, they eat -1 Ld (to a min of -2). Unfortunately, this won't affect anything immune to Psychology. Being a shooting faction with access to Doom and Darkness, enemies not failing the panic test will be hard
3. Curse of Hashut: (10) Range 18", Direct Damage, targeting a single model. 2D6 minus target Toughness number of hits that wound on 4+ with no armour saves allowed. A superior sniping spell.
4. Ash Storm: (12) Range 24", hex, affects target unit till your next magic phase. Unlucky bastards have -1 to hit in CC, -2 to hit in shooting, and can't march or fly. The unit treats all terrain as dangerous. Shame that it no longer makes a unit Flammable beyond the magic phase or shuts down wizards. Still great by shutting down a dangerous unit for a round.
5. Hell Hammer: (13/16) Direct Damage 3D6" straight line that hits like a Flaming cannonball (Overcast doubles the range). Each model gets S6 hit with D3 multiple wounds. If the unit receives a wound, it has to do the panic test.
6. Flames of Azgorh: (18/25) Unlimited range within caster's line of sight. Direct Damage small round template, scatter D6. Models touched get S6 Flaming hit with multiple wounds (D6). The model directly under the hole takes Toughness test at -2 and, if failed, is slain with no saves allowed. Any saves. You can use a large template when overcast. Two key words - unlimited range. Just put the template at the target and cast it. Brutal. Although you risk miscast. Hell - with 6 dice rolls, you'll probably get one. With LVL 4 Prophet, you'd need 23 on 6 dices which means 5 x 3 and 1 x 6 i.e., Possible. Just use it after sniping enemy wizards with your Dreadquakes and Hellcannons. You don't want such an effort to be dispelled by the scroll, do you?

Equipment

• Blackshard Armour: The armour of your big boys. +4/3+ armour with immunity to flaming attacks (that means immune to fire Breath attacks, Flamethrowers, and fire Spells).

• Blood of Hashut: Single-use items for Sorcerer-Prophets 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, hoping for a 2+ that means success. It gives you D6 automatic Armor-Bypassing Magical Flaming hits with a to-wound roll equal to the opponent's armour save. So a Chaos Lord with Chaos Armour and Enchanted Shield (2+ in total) is being wounded at 2+. Nice if you expect your Prophet to be engaged in close combat. Actually brutal.

• Naptha Bombs: Exclusive to Sorcerer-Prophets and Daemonsmiths. A small throwing weapon causes D3 S3 hits, armour piercing, and flaming attacks. A 1 on the to-hit roll causes an automatic flaming wound on the bearer. Not that great; units won't care about D3 hits, and monsters usually have high toughness. It can be nice on something flammable (hello Ash Storm) but only has S3. Only if you have the 15pts to spare.

• Darkforged Weapon: 20pts. Twizted blades kept on Daemonsmiths and prophets for personal use. These are magic weapons that you randomly roll at the beginning of the game for a special ability. If you have multiple Daemonsmiths with a Darkforged Weapon, duplicates must be re-rolled. You can hardly get your Daemonsmith to be a real fighter Lord, even with 50pts magic items. Two special abilities add to your magic capabilities (+1 to channeling or +1 to dispel, yay!), one is an S3 flaming breath weapon (hooray), and three have effects in close combat. You get either Hatred, Multiple Wounds (D3), or always wound on 2+, with the huge caveat that 1s 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 Daemonsmith is still not a fearsome adversary. On the other hand, you have to decide whether you want to spend many points on a magic weapon to make him a halfway decent one.

Hell-Forged Artefacts

• Dark Mace of Death: Magic Weapon 60pts. A weapon that gives KB while also giving a single-use instant wound to all models in b2b, wielder's own mount included.
• Obsidian Blade: Magic Weapon Grants hatred and piercing 2, letting you mock heavy armour for only 25 points.

• Mask of the Furnace: Magic Armour 55pts. 6+/4++ with Fear and Immunity to flaming attacks.
• Armour of Bazherak the Cruel: Magic Armour +2 Heavy armour that grants magic resistance(2) sounds nice, but at 50 points, it's a bit lacking. Especially since it lacks a general Ward, that means that dueling weapons can run it down.

• Stone Mantle: Talisman 30pts. Sorcerer-Prophet, Overlord, Daemonsmith, or Despot only. Adds +1T but as a price robs -1I. Granted, most of your army's already trapped at I2, so this won't mean much unless you fight other dwarfs.

• Chalice of Blood and Darkness: Arcane Item 50pts. Strip d3 dice each from each side's magic pools during the magic phase. If both sides lose 1, your bearer eats an armour-negating wound; on a double 6, the bearer recovers a wound.
• Daemon Flask of Ashak: Enchanted Item 100pts. Single-use 18" bubble of panic that instead deals 1d6 immediate wounds to Buildings, Chariots, and War Machines.
• Black Gem of Gnar: Enchanted Item 25pts. Single-use ability to stop the bearer and another guy in b2b from fighting in close combat for a turn. Your buff wizard Stops that armor-negating lord or monster with bodying your full-plate elites.
• Gauntlets of Gazrakh: Enchanted Item 20pts. Adds +1S, but if the bearer rolls a 1 to hit, they attack a friendly model in b2b.

• Banner of Slavery: Magic Standard 30pts. All Hobgoblins, Orcs, and Goblins within 12" of this banner are immune to panic. If you plan on spamming greenskins, then you'll want this to keep them together.

Unit Analysis and Summary

Lords & Heroes

Named Characters

• Drazhoath the Ashen, Prophet of Hashut: 570pts. Commander of the Legion of Azgorh and thus the only one with a legit model. Take him, and you can fill your core with Infernal Guard. He comes with +1WS and +1W, both very welcome. He comes with three magic items: The Hellshard Amulet confers a 5++ Ward Save (topping Drazhoath at a comparably mediocre 3+/5++), which inflicts an S2 hit on the attacker upon successfully saving a wound. Nothing to write home about. His Graven Sceptre always wounds at a roll no lower than 4+, regardless of Toughness. It is an OK item, but since you still only wound with S4, your opponent will have a good Armour Save. Cinderbreath, Drazhoath's pet Bale Taurus, not Drazhoath himself, will be bringing the pain in close combat. You definitely cannot just send him into combat with anything and expect success; he is not Karl Franz. His third magic item is pretty sweet, though; the Daemonspite Crucible gives +1 to all casting attempts, a strong casting item, and Should Drazhoath or Cinderbreath (!) kill a wizard in close combat, this increases to +2 (once). This is huge! Wizards are usually not the best fighters (except Chaos and Vampires), so should you see anyone carelessly strolling around the battlefield - go get him! Afterward, you cast with +4! Additionally, Drazhoath and every Chaos Dwarf unit in 12" get +1 to combat resolution, which is very good.
  • So, to recap, Drazhoath has the same problems a regular Sorcerer Prophet has: He is not as tough as the Lords from other armies, neither offensively nor defensively. On top, you can kit out a regular Sorcerer Prophet to be a better tank (2+/4++) or have T6 (and therefore be more resistant to the Sorcerer's Curse). On the other hand, Drazhoath has an increased profile, confers a unique combat resolution buff, is a superior caster with the potential to be downright terrifying (Crucible), and Cinderbreath dishes out an S4 breath weapon. Drazhoath costs 570pts which, for a kitted-out Sorcerer-Prophet on Bale Taurus, is actually quite cheap; a naked Level 4 Sorcerer Prophet on (inferior) Bale Taurus starts at 525pts, and you cannot mold him into Drazhoath (more detailed comparisons with generic Sorcerer-Prophets on the discussion page). As far as Sorcerer-Prophets on flying monsters go, he is not a bad choice. Still, you should be aware that he will be a valuable target for your opponent (war machines, first and foremost, but also other flying character hunters). He needs a solid battle plan and careful placement. His model is gorgeous and should at least stand in for your Sorcerer Prophet on Taurus, should you decide to field one.

• Zhatan the Black: 260/425/455pts. A scary Overlord motherfucker who terrifies all greenskins. Hobgoblins in his army won't dare bicker in his presence, and enemy greenskins, hobgoblins, gnoblars are all terrified of him while he hates everything. His weapon is S+2, which instakills the flammable (Making him a dream against Tomb Kings and Treemen), and his amulet makes him immune to all spells and prevents others in Btb contact from contacting him casting any. Great Lord if Leading a Greenskin slave army.

• Astragoth Ironhand: 300pts. High Priest of Hashut, who's so old that he's cyborgized himself to prevent the curse from killing him. He's a scary ML4 Sorcerer who's so robotic that he's unable to charge or march past his blistering base speed of 6 and can gain 3 additional attacks if his base 3 hit. He's got a nice variety of lores (Hashut, Fire, Death, Metal) to add to his utility and is at least tough enough to withstand a round of combat. At least fills a niche as a decently quick lord (for Dwarfs) while benefiting the most from cover.

• Ghorth the Cruel: 405/440pts. A conniving Sorcerer-Prophet. He has a weapon that insta-wounds with no saves on a 6 to-hit and has an amulet that gives him a 5++ ward and gives his unit frenzy. He also has the single-use Chalice of Fire, which lets him remove d3 die from the enemy's power/dispel pool. The Frenzy makes him more than welcome in a frontliner mob, though don't expect him to hold up any longer in a fight than the base dorf.

• Rykarth the Unbreakable: 165pts. Captain of the Immortals, meaning he can only join them and makes them Unbreakable. His special weapon is a great weapon with Piercing(1) and d3 wounds, pretty nightmarish against other heavy-armor units.

• Shar'tor the Executioner: 255pts. The huge-ass Bull Centaur Taur'ruk hauled over from AoS. As expected, he operates best with a list full of them, as he lets any within 12" re-roll to charge. He's got two tricks in the magic phase: A Bound spell that gives a unit a needed 6++ ward, or he can channel his mask for the chance to deal instantaneous armour-ignoring wounds. Then there's his axe, a beastly thing that lets him double all damage dealt on a 6 to-wound.

• Hothgar the Renegade: 225pts. Expensive specialist Daemonsmith. His Blackshard armour offers him a 5++ save against magic and flaming attacks while his Hellfire Pistol deals d3 burning S4 shots. His greatest reason to include is his Engineer's re-roll one Artillery dice or Scatter dice to all War machines you have, so good if running a lot of cannons or want them spread around the board.

• Gorduz Backstabber: 105pts. The most elite and most treacherous of Hobgoblins. He's unique in that he gets a 4++ ward if he's at his last wound while his weapon is poisoned with KB and piercing 1. A simple force multiplier for a Hobgoblin unit.

Generic

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

All Sorcerers have to test Toughness when they Miscast or lose a wound. They can also wear armour.

• Sorcerer-Prophet: He Your Wizard Lord. Has all the regular Chaos Dwarf stuff, even decibel in the heaviest of armours like a Chaos Sorcerer. They have access to the Lore of Hashut, Metal, Fire, Shadow, or Death. Works best with Death magic -- LD10 spirit leech, Hell Cannon causing panic tests at -4 LD FTW -- however, the lore of Hashut can be quite effective in static gunline lists with ample artillery. While possessing decent stats, the Sorcerer Prophet is far from a beatstick, though a tooled-up one with Blood of Hashut can melt down heavily armored characters into pools of piss and blood with a little luck. They also get access to 3 different mounts. It is recommended to buy them 2+/4++ saves. With Daemonsmith becoming better, make the most of that Lv 5 and 6 when you add him to your list.

• Overlord: The basic non-casting Lord of the Dwarfs. He's a pretty tough dude with his own loadout of weapons and access to the Great Taurus and Lammasu. If you need a budget Lord so you can load up on other slots, then he's the best bet. He will save you 80 pts and get a decent WS boost, Initiative 4, and +1 attack.

• Despot: The only BSB choice, so you will need one. He has access to 50 points of magic items and can get a shield even when BSB, so you can protect him easily. With Blackshard armour, T5, and 3 attacks, this hero is tough, so make the most of it.

• Daemonsmith: 9th has not only empowered Hero-level wizard, but yours is also in charge of the warmachines. Give him the Lore of Fire, keep him at the back next to your war machines to give them rerolls, and use him to throw Fireballs at the enemy. Also Great at buffing gun lines with Flaming Sword of Rhuin, Enchanted Blades of Aiban, Plague of Rust, The Withering, Soulblight, and Doom and Darkness.

• Bull Centaur Taur'ruk: A Centaur hero, he is considered a Monstrous Beast, and his profile is appalling appealing for a Hero choice, with 4 Wounds, Strength and Toughness 5 among other things. For 8 points, you can get him to 2+ without magic items. Run with the Bull Centaurs or run solo.

• Hobgoblin Chieftain: This is the cheapest Hero choice in the army. You can mount him in a Wolf, give him a few upgrades (light armor, bow, shield, and spear) and send him to hunt war machines for little more than 50 points. It can also redirect charges, as HE eagles, or put inside a Hobgoblin unit to benefit from his Ld7.

Mounts

• Great Taurus: Your principal mount for hitting the enemy hard is a powerful flying monster with flaming attacks and it cannot be wounded by Fire, healing D3 wounds if hit by Fire magic. They also hit everyone in close combat with them automatically with S3 (save the rider). They can upgraded to gain Frenzy & hatred and/or an S4 flaming breath weapon to thin herds.

• Lammasu: This guy is taken from the Storm of Magic book. Serious magic immunity with Magic Resistance(3) 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 Kindergarteners. It is a Level 1 caster with access to Lore of Fire, Death, or Shadow, so you can get a sorcerer mount for your sorcerer (yo dog).

• Altar of Hashut: Exclusive to Daemonsmiths. This is your answer to things like the Anvil of Doom, complete with its own bound spells. Your Daemonsmith can roll a die add it to your prayer casting roll at the risk of taking a wound if you roll a 1. Fortunately, these spells all have some great range, so you can happily camp it with some devastators and start going to town.
  • Flaming Hide: Grants a friendly unit within 36" a 6+ Ward and forces those in b2b to take an S3 flaming hit. Grants a modicum of protection to your soldiers.
  • Fists of Fire: Grants a friendly unit within 36" Magical and Flaming attacks as well as re-rolls to wound. If there's one spell you want to sacrifice for, this might be it.
  • Shadows of Hashut: Draws a 36" line from the altar, with all models in the line's path taking an S4 hit. Dangerous, but it's also prone to kill your men as well.

• Giant Wolf: The only mount option for a Hobgoblin Khan, letting them join wolf Raiders.

• Palanquin: Exclusive to Sorcerer Prophets, including Ghrorth. This adds 4 WS5 S4 attacks at I2 to your wizard lord. It's the cheapest mount for them.

Core Units

To fulfill the mandatory bodies quota, you can fill it with a combination of Slow but firm Dwarf or numerous but less reliable greenskin slaves. Chaos Dwarfs core selection is already good, but the real tax needs Chaos Dwarf Warriors and Hobgoblin Warriors for the better units. But you are just fine only filling your minimum core requirement with Devastators and Wolf Raiders. You now have an even larger variety of missile weapons, from blotting out the sun with goblin archers, Steddy Crossbows, or advancing blunderbusses. You even get Weapon teams to spam war machines accompanied by a Dwarf Warrior wall.

• Chaos Dwarf Warriors: This unit is the core of your army, given medium armour and the option for great weapons and heavy armour. Also, they can take a tag along with a big gun to double down on that "stand your ground and shoot" mentality most Dwarfs have. It fills the role as cheap anvils while filling out the core requirements. They are also required to take weapon teams. Spamming min warmachines from the core allowance with the same autonomy and protection as a lone Lone Characters makes Warriors worth spamming now.

Weapon Teams: comes with a Chaos Dwarf Warriors unit like the skaven weapon teams. The blessing they are all now separate from their parents after deployment as they are all Move or Fire.

• Inferno Gun: Available to Warriors and Devastators. A handheld grapeshot cannon to shred infantry and calvery.
• Bazukas: A man-portable Rocket launcher. It doles out d6 S6 wounds for more heavy-duty targets from long range. It is guaranteed to explode a monster.
• Earthshaker Mortar: mini stonethrower at S3. They clear out enemy gobos and fast calv.

• Devastators: Stunties with blunderbusses or crossbows. crossbows are for long-range, while the Blunderbusses are short-range and mobile weapons that burst a staggering amount of shot to the fool that get too close or charge them to the front.

• Hobgoblin Warriors: These guys are small, sneaky. They can be spammed for a relatively low cost, existing so you can spam tons of chap bodies, unlike their traditional Dawi cousins. If not the spamming Hobgoblins, taking one unit is required to grab one goblin and orc slave unit. You can replace them bows for 2 points. They benefit from your General's Inspiring Presence so they can be used as a tarpit. They can see tarpit flanks, but you will get them as volley archers, so the Slaves tarpit instead.

• Hobgoblin Wolf Raiders: Fast Cavalry for Hobgoblins. They are that High-speed Skirmish unit umgak Dwarf players wished they had. They exchange Backstabbers for speed and the ability to add +1 to hit on a turn they charge an enemy's flank or rear but suffer -1 to combat resolution if charged. It can be more fearsome on the charge than Sneaky Gitz, which needs a bigger unit and ongoing combat to be most effective.

• Goblin Slaves: You now have Goblins, in all their elf-fearing glory, as minions with a hobgoblin Overseer in the back. These are handicapped by how many units of hobgoblins your field. They are more disposable than Hobgoblins, even have better gear for the price, half the cost while starting with a shield. Even if you have a dwarf to prevent Animosity tests, the unit may also decimate itself at the start of your turns. Still good chaff, better mass archers than hobs, but bad rolls can still take chunks out of the unit even when the enemy doesn't touch them.

• Orc Slaves: You can now have Orcs in your army, overseen by a hobgoblin in the back. These are handicapped by how many units of hobgoblin warriors you can field. Like in their native army, they ignore Goblin Slaves if they flee. They are the in-between fighters between the cheap and more numerous Hobgoblin and the elites but slower Chaos Dwarf Warrior anvils. They are your shock infantry to win in chaff vs. chaff matchups first round.

Special Units

• Infernal Guard: Careful with what you complain about; dislike how the evil Longbeards equivalents are restricted by Warrior units, now they got moved to special to no longer compete. These guys have a good profile with S4, Blackshard Armour, and shield. They can replace the shield for Fireglaives (Halberds and 18" Handguns in one weapon). It makes them one of your most brutal walls protecting your artillery while hitting hard at melee or at range.
  • 0-1 Infernal Ironsworn: another upgrade to a single Infernal Guard unit, getting WS 5 and using Ensorcelled Hand Weapons. They are your evil Ironbreakers to your Immortals. For 3 more points, a model Gets magical attacks, a 1+ save against missile to the front and a constant S5 in melee. Your local handgun and high/wood elf meta will determine how useful this is.

• Immortals: The Evil Hammerers. These are your heavy infantry, each with 2 Great weapon attacks, Blackshard armour, and Stubborn sticking them as walls. They get swings with great weapons to give as hard as they get. Not something you want to engage with. Fighting them is like fighting a mountain while the rocks are falling.

• Acolytes of Hashut: The warrior Fanatics. Do you know how Bretonnians have Grail Reliquae, which have them place the remains of a knight in their unit, or how the Slann sit amid their minders? Now you have that, but now with a buyable petrified Sorcerer in the middle of the ranks. While the unit gets magical attacks and a per-turn bonus of either hatred, KB, or a 6++ ward, buying the sorcerer gives them Fear, +1 to combat resolution, and Magic Resistance 2. Pared this with WS5 and S5 with polearms makes them the DPS battering ram of your Dawi Zharr troops. The only downside is that mini-shrine costs you 50 pts in addition to other add-ons, so they win their fights despite only wearing Medium armour (I know it feels so nacked ;}.

• Zealot Berzerkers: The Chaos version of Slayers. These guys get Frenzy, a 5++ ward, immunity to fire, and the option to become skirmishers at no cost. They are the reliable version of Sneaky Gits, being the flanking or vanguard dwarf wall, and can include a magic standard like DREAD, WAR, or ETERNAL FLAME.

• Bull Centaurs: your Dwarfs cavalry, speed of M7" bull + toughness of Dwarfs. They are well-protected, have at least a 3+ sv regardless of loadout, and hit hard. A step up from wolf. Also, because of how Strength bonus and a single profile cavalry unit work, the deal S5 impact hits while welding Great weapons.

• Bull Centaur Renders: Turns the Dwarftaur into a truer mobile brick wall. Monstrous Cavalry Bull Centaurs can combine Medium Armour with their natural armour to get 2+ base armour. Have 3 attacks, T5, the bonus their troop type gives on top of that save. You can provide them with Great Weapons or additional HtH weapons. They make for excellent flank protection, tarpitting overeager calvery, or, in bigger units, a flank crusher. They can have a magic banner so great for an extra inch of move or classic flaming attacks to hunt down hydras and trolls.

• Black Orcs: Remember that fluff bit about these guys being Chaos Dwarf experiments? Yeah, now you own them. not green mob cheap, same price range as your other cheap dwarfs, so treat them as such. They have Choppas, their flexible loadout, and immunity to psychology. These bastards are also not subject to animosity and now boost 2 attacks. Utility-wise, black orcs are between the high strength and armor of an immortal and the number of attacks and minor boost to mobile of a Zealot Berzerker. Don't have the same combat resolution power an upgraded ACOLYTES OF HASHUT has. Still, Black Orcs don't need a lot extra (they can't take magic standards) to produce more melee kills than most of your other dwarf infantry and are adaptable to most melee matchups, becoming both hammer and lesser anvil. Also, having Immunity to Psychology makes them immune to a good number of nasty bullshit the enemy could throw.

• K'daai Fireborn: The opposite rule to Bull Centaur Render, while Bull Centaurs are meant to be a hammer made from an anvil with a stick, K'daai are expensive suicide Monstrous Infantry, running into fights with humanoids to burn them and themselves to death. They look tough with S5, 3W, a faster I4, Fear, inflict automatic S3 Flaming hits to every model in BtB, with non-magical attack loses a point of strength and Deamon Ward save makes them look Deadly with respectable durability. But The Catch is they live on borrowed time from Burning Bright. It only starts after the first turn; on your subsequent turns, you must pass toughness tests (a 33% chance of failing) or lose D3 Wounds. Got it less bad than in 8th, so enemies focus firing them off the board before they incinerate their clanrats is now the leading cause of death for a K'daai.

• Bull Centaur Chariots: 100pts. Each of these has a Bull Centaur push forward, some crazy contraption that automatically hits anything in the front arc but leaves them to fight the sides and rear.
  • Whirlwind: A Bull Centaur chariot that deals d6 S5 hits at the start of each round. chops up infantry in front of it.
  • Tenderizer: A Bull Centaur chariot that deals d3 S6 hits that deal d3 multi-wounds each round. A Buzzsaw designed to carve up monsters.

• Sneaky Gitz: A special sneaky kind of Hobbo with poison. They can add another rank to fight for each round of combat they're in, making a prolonged fight almost even out. They arrive by ambush, vanguard, or even scout to wound unguarded warmachines and archers with their poison Throwing weapons, then charge to tie them up. Sneaky Gitz lake any protection except that -1 from ranged, so have them only charge guys with bows or double team into someone's flank.

• Hobgoblin Spear Chukka: 30pts. A crude little bolt thrower that can misfire on a 1 to hit. You can grab 2 as a single special choice, let's legally spam 4 to 6 of them in a game. It makes for the cheapest Warmachine you can field, and you probably want to take advantage of that if you are fielding lots of greenskins.

• Iron Daemon War Engine: 225/255pts. This expensive unit has 2 setups and uses, depending on what upgrades you get it. It's a chariot with Monster stats. Obstacles don't slow it (only water). Iron Daemons cannot wheel on the charge. When the Iron Daemon charges, it moves directly forward, no wheels to maximize, but it "closes the door".

• 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 roll the Artilary Dice for shots, Roll To Hit (no penalty for moving), and To Wound with S5, armour piercing shots. This version deals D6+1 S6 Impact Hits each turn. It's Deadly at all ranges.
• The second version is the Skullcracker upgrade, and it substitutes the Steam Cannonade. It deals 2D6 Impact Hits and stomps and gains +1 To Wound against fortifications and buildings.

• Magma Cannon: This cannon makes the Dwarf Flamethrower pale, as it works exactly like one, but better in every aspect. At 140 points, we are looking at the ability to drop Flaming S5 Templates with D3 Multiple wounds at 24" range. Nasty. Take at least one in every game for deathstar-rapey goodness.

• Deathshrieker Rocket Launcher: This machine comes cheap at 95 points. Gets two Fire Modes. The Deathshrieker Rockets works as a Stone Thrower with a Large Firey Blast, without double strength or multiple wounds, at a base Strength 3. It also alternately launches Demolition Rockets, a normal Flamming Stonethrower with less range. Deathshrieker is better at dealing with infantry blocks, while the Demolition hunt people with more armor, especially the monstrous variety, especially when considering the Daemonsmith's rerolls.

Rare Units

• Dreadquake Mortar: 110pts. 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). with Ogre upgrade is purchased, the Mortar has T7 and 7 Wounds, making it into a very tough and hard-to-remove unit. It fires like a Stone Thrower, with S5 (10 under the hole), armour piercing with range 12"-72". Any unit that takes a casualty from it has to test for Dangerous Terrain if they wish to move (charging, reforming, everything counts) and hinders the ability to shoot weapons. 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). it is still a Stone thrower using a small template, so Extral important compared to your cheaper cannon to have a Smith to calibrate its accuracy, making for an Elite Killer that hinders their usability.

• Hellcannon: 190pts. same tire of Dreadquake Mortar firepower. It fires as a Daemonic Stone Thrower and forces Panic tests (with -1Ld penalty) on units suffering casualties from it. But don't be fooled, it's also a Monster with a Breaths weapon, where the crew's job is trying to prevent it from chasing brave enemy Light Cavalry, being unable to fire the Stone Thrower that turn. It's even better than the Warriors of Chaos version due to having Daemonsmith's re-rolls. A solid choice.

• Juggernaut Siege Tower: 230pts. A massive motherfucker of a chariot with a 3+ save and Terror and Unbreakable, but don't ever send this thing to punch things. The siege cannon has a monster defense with 10 wounds, but is hits in melee automatically and can't pursue or charge well, but it does have five blunderbusses garrisoned and two S7 d3 wound-inflicting cannons, as well as the angry Bull Centaur, pushing it to fight on the other arcs. Not that it's helping much. It exists as a mobile monster slaying laser pointer like the ones that dominated 8 ed, with the defenses to take hits (with the Spear Chukka in competition with how dirt cheap spamable it is). Declaring a charge with a Tower at max charge range is optimal if you must to proc a flee if they fail the Run for Your Lives! or panic test from the blunderbusses, at a sacrifice of firing the laser pointer.

• Kollossus: 225pts. A GIANT FUCKING CHAOS DWARF ROBOT. HOLY SHIT. It's got heavy armour and is as strong as a daemon, and if it dies, everyone in b2b eats an S5 explosion. It also has a suite of upgrades to customize it, though each can only be bought once per army unless mentioned otherwise, and each Kollosus can only buy up to two.
  • Lava Thrower: Want a Breath Weapon that burns and ignores armor? This is yours for 50 points.
  • Greathammer: This adds +1 Strength. Buy a second for a bonus attack.
  • Daemon Crystal: Magic Resistance 3. Just in case you fight a caster-heavy army.
  • High-Powered Engine: Adds +1 M/S/A.
  • Furnace of Hashut: A Kollossus can trigger this to add +2 M and +d6 attacks, but it eats d6 S6 hits that pass through the armor
  • Crush: You own an S10 d6 wound stomp attack.
  • Armoured Plating: Want a 3+ save? This is how for only 5 points, the cheapest of the upgrades.

• Chaos Siege Giant: 190 pts. Your other option for a monster besides the K'daai Destroyer. It costs only 60pts less but is basically worse in every way. Giants have a random attack system, so you're never quite sure what they will do, which is bad in the first place. It can be quite effective if you roll the right attack against the right opponent, but it can also be a wasted turn. It comes with two upgrades: Runes of Hate lets you re-roll your random attack roll (important) and gives berserk rage (not good, but negligible at LD10) but increases the costs to a solid 225pts - only 50pts 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 and are the worst of the choices. Take only if you love giants and/or have your list somehow tailored to it.

• K'daai Destroyer: 300pts. Remember how we said that this thing deserved a point to its own? We meant it. Extremely fast at 9", Elven Steed territory, slightly slower than Flying unit. Don't get it into combat with: stubborn/unbreakable blocks, and don't let it overrun off the board. Otherwise, this thing will quite happily kill half an army for you, especially with its special upgrades.
  • Razor Horns: You're already a monster, but who'd turn down d6 Impact Hits?
  • Gore Blades: Punish your enemy for their foolishness. If they roll a 1 to hit this guy, they eat an instant S3 hit.
  • Brazen Wings: Fly(7)? S4 Flaming Breath Weapon? Well shit, you just got a dragon!
  • Dark Colossus: 2 extra wounds, just in case you feel like you need them.

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 [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]. 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 [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.

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 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 145 152 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 [5], 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 [6]- 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.

Flame, Smoke and Ash Tactics

Update from "different Legion of Azgorh Fanatic"

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.

Chaos Dwarf Elite Infantry

Infernal Guard or Immortal.

For more number damage or ranged damage output, go for Infernal Guard. Sword and board Guard are a cheaper anvil as a single model is - 13 vs 16 pts.

The first difference is in WS 4 vs. 5, but your basic WS 4 will be enough in most cases. If in doubt, check your To Hit table.

The next difference is in S - 4 vs. 5-6. You can upgrade your Infernals' strength by adding Ensorcelled Hand Weapons or fireglaives, but make them more expensive. In the first case, Immortals will have S6 During the first Combat round vs S5 Infernal Guard. The initiative won't matter much unless you're playing against Dwarfs or another low I army. And you will have 2 or less anyway.

In the second case (fireglaive), it will be S5 vs S5, and a point value 16 per each model, but Infernals will give you nice output in the shooting phase, while Immortals will get 2 attacks in melee. Situational, as it depends on who you would field it against and in what role.

Immortals should be more comparable to Dwarfen Hammers. Almost the same stats same Armour Save. So I'd say they have potential if you're looking for a damage-delivering tarpit. With AS 3+, T4, S5-6, A2, they will be able to hold and crumble most of the core or special infantry units in the game. Due to their tarpit nature, I strongly suggest adding a Despot to ensure their stubbornness.

Hobgoblins, Khans, and slaves

Using them as small flanking units doesn't make sense. Not much damage output. Equipment depends on who you'll play against, but in my opinion, their role should be Cheap flank guards and archer while unlocking the true chaff.

Hobgoblins, If given bows they deal on the same damage as human Archers. Mediocre the most. but Goblin Slaves with shortbows are very cheap to make Volly fire blocks. Hobgoblins with Shields and armour for holding that flank. Sneaky Git for that surprise Hob that may kill things then they get the flank. your Chaff is Goblin Slave: they will initially break if the Hob in the back gets sniped, but with a General's aura they will hold as long as armored Hobgoblins for cheaper. Orks are way more fighty than any non-dwarf, being tougher and fighty than Hobs.

"Khans on wolfs are famous among many discussions as re-directors and lone characters/war-machine hunters. I've read opinions of people who had real boners for khan on wolf - but that will not work against experienced generals or when you play on 60 inches or more wide battlefield."

"I played lot as Dwarfs and get my opponents eventually used to a surprising appearance of miners on their backs. So much, they eventually started doing the same. I played against Skaven and had Stormfiends on my ass once, and it wasn't pleasant (I played Dark Elves that time and eventually nerfed them with shooting and magic). Similar as with Snitch, who single-handedly raped my 3 war-machines once. One of my opponents recently purchased Wulfrik, and I can bet money I'll have an ambushing Marauders on my ass next time (didn't). So no. Don't bother about Khan on Wolf. Your so-called "lone war-machine hunter/ shooting re-director" must have some proper armour."

"Now - about my idea - few khans in a hobgoblin heavy brick. Once we had 4 armies battle. One of the opponents struggled to meet the point criteria with his O&G army. I suggested him, to turn some of his Nightgoblins in the unit to a heroes. Guy set up a 50 model strong unit of Nightgoblins with 10 heroes, and they all had Great Weapons. It was all legit and, fuck me... we all regretted it. This unit shattered 6 Skullcrushers of Khorne and at some point guy had no opponents around this unit. We were too scared."

You can't give your khans GW, but with S4, just keep giving them extra hand weapons, magic weapons, and other items to fill up your 25 pts allowance. Seeing your LoA heavy army, and shitloads of artillery, K'daai & Bullcentaurs, there is a strong chance your opponent will ignore this core requirements filler of hobos. At least till their 1st round of close combat.

Also - don't bother about animosity. O&G Animosity may cause troubles. Yours has 16.6% chance to impact you in good way, and 16.6% of giving bad results. Still - would be nice to have Castellan with Banner of Slavery right behind them. Just in case.

So in summary - block or few of 50 or 50+ hobos with few khans inside units and Banner of Slavery behind them. one of the Khans may have Shield of ptolos, to give the whole unit 1+ Armour Save against shooting.

Everyone keeps diminishing Greenskins role in CD army, so prove them wrong :)

Artillery & Rape Train

Hashut sent his blessing on you in this category.

Dreadquake Mortar - take advantage of its range 12-72. Always take Ogre to avoid slow loading and to add an extra 4 wounds. Shoots S5 (S10 in the center) with your small template and should be directed to enemy's wizards, artillery, buff wagons, cavalry.

When taking Hellcannons upgrade - be aware, as it bounds a daemon in your war machine and that means lore of light or Luminark may do a bu-bu to it. It is a bit fucked up, and to be honest, you have to discuss it with your mates, but me and mine established eventually that Hellcannons - as crunch keeps saying about bounding daemons in these - are daemonic. And that leads us to the next paragraph - how to use your Mortar and artillery.

First of all - fuck the infantry with a rusty blade. Your infantry would and should deal with them. Dreadquake has task of destroying dangerous stuff or stopping them from moving due to a Quake. So, unleash the wrath of Dawi Zharr against Sorcerers, Warmachines, Monsters, and This Empire General on a Gryphon. SNIPE. Turn your Daemonsmith to a sniper using a train-wagon-mortar.

In my last game I had 2 Mortars, Hellcannon and Deathshriek - not to mention blunderbusses, Fireglaives, throwing knives, and shooting Iron Daemon. Basically, the only non-shooty unit in my army was K'daai Destroyer. And boy - against Empire (tank, 3 cannons, 2 hellblasters, Luminark), Skaven (wheel, 2 zzzapguns, around 6 jezails, bell), and Chaos (2 Hellcannons, warshrine) I've been shooting all around like a fucking maniac.

You have an idea now, how me and my mates do play our games - "No hard feelings but fuck you, fuck you and especially FUCK YOU!!! No remorse, no respite, no regrets".

Remember that as standard - all Artillery in the game is Move or Fire, so cannons hit by Dreadquake's template have to pass the test if want to fire. As per the description of Quake.

Daemonsmith nearby obligatory. Steam Carriage only as hardcover if you think you'll be eventually within your foes shooting-non-artillery units. But Dreadquake on carriage looks soooooo damn good :) If towed by Iron Deamon, you may maneuver with your choo-choo-rape-train to give a mobile hardcover to some of your infantry units.

Deathshriek - I never fire a Demolition to hit characters with it. IT IS A WASTE OF A SHOT. Even with daemon-smith's re-rolls, it's still too random - cos u have to get a direct hit. In terms of a character on foot, it's almost fucking-impossible. If you aim at something big or on flyer, or Chariot, or buff wagon it looks slightly better. But still - sniping shot is an act of desperation.

It is good however on delivering fire damage to light Calvery, Beasts, flammable units, or low AS infantry blocks. You use a large template and roll. Deathshriek is cheap comparing to Hellcannon or Dreadquake and less reliable, so I took mine for LOLZ.

Played 12 rounds - 4 armies - 23k-ish points game. Kept missing tragically through 11 rounds (1 hit), and then in 12th with a sniping shot actually managed to deliver a tactically critical hit and destroy Empire's Great Cannon. Nice!

Hellcannon - Daemonsmith's re-rolls make it more reliable than when set up in WoC army. The main thing to remember is it is Monster. Monster in a mixed unit, that shoots, and it is how it should be treated. Also as Monster, it Stomps when charged. Solid choice. But I'd go for a Dreadquake due to a range and Quake. as of 9th the Hellcannon is very tanky right now of the two.

Magma Cannon - If you plan to sit around that hill and not to move for x rounds, DO take it. WIth slowing spell-like ASH STORM will leave ruin and smoking melting boneyard of your foes. 12" range? D3 wounds, proper S? Brutal. Just make sure you didn't take too many, cos your friends may stop playing with you. Pity, it no longer has an armour save.

Iron Daemon - shooting - May move and shoot, may act even when you'll roll 2 x misfire, as you'd blow the cannons only.

The way it moves is slightly different from than normal unit, yet similar to Empire's Steamtank though not nearly as tough anymore (btw: THAT THING[steam tank] IS BROKEN. I fragged it from 10W to 2W, and still couldn't kill the fucking thing. And it was still shooting. F*CK!!!)

It is a brutal and reliable machine, that grinds through infantry, and the only thing you have to be careful about are direct hits from cannons with S10. Short-range of steam boiler cannons - 18 " only, but very reliable. Mine shoot to death Deathmaster Snitch finished severely wounded Doomwheel and stopped Skaven Bell and 40 clanrats. I can only regret I have only 1.

And don't forget about Stomp & Impact Hits

Iron Deamon - cracking - I didn't use one - I wanted but FW removed it from its range. Simply speaking - Iron Daemon that does not shoot, but uses steam power to keep these drills running. Even more brutal when in combat with 2D6 impact hits and Stomps (compering to 1D6 of normal Iron Daemon), but has to get there.

Monsters and Monstrous Cavalry

K'daai Fireborn - The main issue with their Burning Bright is that since turn 2 you have to test their T.

Let me remind you how the Characteristic Test looks like - If you'd roll less or equal to your characteristic, you had passed. In this case roll of "1" is an auto pass. Fireborn have T4, which gives them 33% to fail the test. If failed, you have D3 wounds for each failure, and with your W = 3 that means your losing models.

Useless. Ignore. Don't bother.

Well, ok, you may take some for lolz, as an expendable unit, or if the battlefield is small and you expect CC since round 1 or 2.

K'daai Destroyer - Starting with the important stuff - Burning Bright with T6 - You pass the test if 1D6 = T or lower, so pass on 1-5 in this particular case (characteristic tests always fail on 6). Avoid all spells lowering T stats.

It does not have an official model, so it leaves you with bit of creativity or some of the alternatives (see above). It goes on the base 100 x 150 mm so such as - Arachnarok Spider, Hellcannon, or 3 chariots

Like the Fireborn they are unbreakable but also unstable, which means that losing combat will still hurt. Daemon in terms of spells from light lore, so watch yourself. And unit eater if you'd manage to get it in contact against block of foes.

I have one as it has the highest I in the whole army (I5), and I needed something big and bulky to counter Stormfiends as soon as they'd appear (know your enemy). It's awesome, but broken - things resistant to fire or magical attacks will stop it. Yet - had mine fighting against 40 Empire Halberds, Sigmarite Priest and 10 Great Swords. He killed most of them, then eventually destroyed them to a point they lost steadfast, made them run like a lil' bitches, chased them and killed the rest. Only to be smashed by Hellblaster. Fair Trade in terms of points, and epic LOLZ in terms of fun. Next time I will field LoA, I am sure my opponents will try to frag it to death, along with Iron Daemon :) So - 50 models. 3 rounds of CC. And I had 1 wound left at the very start. Had some amazing rolls, and my opponent rolled 1 "6" to wound in 3 rounds of CC.

It's same thing with Destroyer as with Empire Steam Tank - the first wound on it will hurt the most, and the rest of them is inevitable.

Bull Centaurs - solid choice. taken only as a blocker to other Monstrous Cavalry or Cavalry. I had them facing Demigryphs, Skullcrushers, and Dragon Ogres, so Great Weapon is the logical option. However with low initiative, in the battle on attrition against the aforementioned, they will eventually fail. Maybe they would have more sense in 7th, but not in 8th edition that elevates infantry, war-machines and supportive magic rules - better buy more Dawi Zharr :)

Siege Giant - I have no good opinion about giants at all. Once my Chaos Giant had been eaten alive by giant rats as they wounded him more than he did them - He failed on LD, run away few inches, and they just followed finishing him off. So this variant, even if armoured, still has random attacks. And that makes giants in my eyes un-re-li-ab-le. Period. If you really want to spend 200-ish points on something, you have better choices.

Case for Castellans

First of all - you don't have good fighting lords. You just have Drazoath - that is mediocre in terms of stats and skills, although the model itself looks nice. Fighting Prophet is... decent, but it cannot face Karl Franz, Lord on Dragon, Archaon, or any posterboy Lord. So you have to use what you got - these versatile heroes and make sure to have quite a few.

So with your Castellan - you basically get the stats of Dwarf Thane with LD9 instead of LD10 for 40 pts more. What saves you in here are good LoA magic items, access to magic items from main rule-book and 75 pts big slot to fill.

And that is the real charm of Warhammer - what gives you a real twist - finding a balance. A bloody zen in the Hashut garden. Gold proportion in between units in your army and army's composition. As LoA really rely on your infantry, guns and Prophets, use Castellans as supportive character. Their presence in a unit makes your infantry Stubborn (and your standard Armour Save is 4+ with 5++ Ward Save against flames). Give them some real damage dealing weapons, and see the world burns.

Of course - what you get to your Castellans depends on location, tactics and who you intend to play against. If opponents will be moaning "you fielded too much artillery", well, your excuse is - lack of Lords, apart of one sad type and one sad character only to be used in AoS (fuck AoS). And after all Legion of Azgorh is just a penal company/border garrison of the Empire of Fire and Ash.

I established 3 types of Castellan build.

1. "Incoming fire from the sky" Castellan - if you have a spare Castellan, 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.

2. "Must obliterate this scum" Castellan - Black Hammer of Hashut for 2+ to S, and to kill outright flammable model, Potion of Speed to make his Initiative upgraded from 3 to 6, and some defensive equipment to discard hits in fight. As you can see it works perfectly with Ashstorm.

3. "Hold the line you maggots" Castellan - Tankish armour or Ward Save, Great Weapon and Pistol, or Fireglaive. Just to have Hero in Unit with damage output. May want to add ironcurse Icon for 5 pts - that gives whole unit 6++ Ward Save against shooting from warmachines.

Casters and Casting

OMFG - Dwarfs that can excel into sorcery.

Ok - Dwarfs wielding magic. That is just against their nature. And sooo awesome. It may catch your enemy off guard. And what Legion of Azgorh represents is much better than 8th ed. Dwarven Anvil of Doom. I still remember 7th ed Anvil and boy, that was something, but in 8th it devolved into supportive role the most.

But speaking of magic. Daemonsmiths have access to Fire, Metal and Death. Prophets - all the above plus Hashut. If taking Lammasu you also have Shadow. But Dawi Zharr, in case of miscast, turn slowly and painfully into stone.

So what Lore to choose?

1. Hashut - always. Some boosting spells, 2 deathstars. 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 BE.

2. Metal - always if you play against enemies who actually use armour save. It seems to be optional against Skaven, Vampires and Goblins - basically all the hordes, but even they do have some units with armour save 5+/4+. 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. Death - It is my 3rd choice in this army. It is good, might be great in sniping characters (not many casters can pull off Spirit Leech at LD9 or even LD10!) - I just keep using the ones described above.

4. Fire - Nah, Meh, Ugh. I took it once as Dark Elves, and don't remember doing anything spectacular with fire. If I had to take something, I'd rather take Ruby Ring of Fire with Fireball (hello 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 chance to take good a lore for Lore of Fire?

So - your casting and your miscast penalties - how it actually works? You did roll 2 sixes, have a miscast, did the results and then do a Toughness test. Prophet passes on 5 or lower, Daemonsmith on 4 or lower, Prophet on Bale Taurus on 5 or lower as Bale Taurus is a Monster, and its stats do not count here. If you pass - it's all good in a Dawi Zharr hood. If failed - you receive 1 extra wound (non-save-able in any way), but your Toughness goes up by 1 for the first time it happens.

Considering your Prophet is your only Lord type, and you probably packed loads of points on it, loosing like 400-ish points may hurt. You have 2 good options to raise Toughness of your magicians. One is to give him Potion of Toughness for 20 pts and drink it in a round you plan to cast heavily. That gives you +3 to Toughness for a round. Case closed. The other option is Stone Mantle, which lowers your Initiative from 2 to 1 but raises Toughness from 5 to 6 instead, permanently. 40 pts, and TBH - like your Initiative ever mattered. Unfortunately it costs 40pts so you cannot combine it with the Mask of the Furnace, so you cannot have it together with a really good armour save and a good ward save.

Rest of the items is pretty standard. I bet you will give your Prophets the highest Ward Saves, Earthing Rod, Dispel Scroll and others. After all, as you have sorcerers in the army, you don't have the dwarven 2+ to dispel resilience to magic, right?

In my humble opinion, your Prophets & Daemonsmith should be focused not on Close Combat, but on supporting your units with magic and providing re rolls to your artillery. Leave a unit of Ironsworn near them. Or solid block of Hobbos, so you'll be able to protect your magicians and Dreadquakes efficiently against any ambushers, scouts etc. Add extra Castellan, built to hold enemies and deal some damage. After dealing with pesky ambushing scums, you may have a chance to use them as a second wave.

Me and my friend do understand profits coming from a solid cannon fire or just shooty units, so fitting your Prophet on Bale Taurus and therefore giving him offensive role seem to be pointless in my opinion.

1. As a CC or supportive Lord, Prophet will lose fight against solid Generals.

2. As a flying terrorist dropping bomb (as described may points above), he is too exposed and will be shot to death. Even if set up behind K'daai - what makes him in theory invisible for shooting due to the fact visual is being blocked by massive and bulky shape - you risk your enemy to focus fire on this part of your army. 3 direct hits from cannons and both your monsters are gone. Sad.

3. Setting your Prophet on Lammasu may be awesome if you would challenge hero or general to a duel. Lammasu has anti-magic aura, so Ghaz Maghal, Runefang, Hellfire Sword or any magic weapon is simply being switched off. But Lammasu itself is pretty weak monstrosity in terms of stats.

Prophet and Daemonsmith on foot DO benefit from 'Lookout Sire' version for Dawi Zharr. It is called 'Infernal Engineer' and aforementioned characters, if wound is inflicted by shooting attack may be successfully saved by war machine crew member. Exactly same way as it works in case of Grimm Burlocksonn from Dwarf 8th ed. rulebook.

Conclusion - I consider Prophets and Daemonsmiths as purely supportive, and their prime role is to provide re-rolls to your artillery. Advance with your infantry, keep diminishing strength of your enemy with your artillery, protect gun-line with some infantry, and use them as a second wave.

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