epersichetti:
Hi all! This is my first post in this forum 
I have always been a chaos dwarfs big fan, and I have finally talked myself into starting a small army, especially after seeing the beautiful forgeworld models!
I am starting with a small 1200 points army (this is the format we play the most in our local meta) and I am looking for some advice. I have played warriors of chaos and Bretonnia for a long time, so I am relatively new to chaos dwarfs gameplay…
In my first few outings I had a couple of interesting games with the following list (restricted to 1100 points for league limitations):
HEROES
Daemonsmith 2nd (Lore of Death), Dispel Scroll, Enchanted Shield
160
Hobgoblin Khan, Giant Wolf, Spear, Light Armour, Dragonhelm, Potion of Foolhardiness
73
Total Heroes 233
CORE
22 Infernal Guard, Musician, Standard, Banner of Discipline
299
20 Hobgoblin Cutthroats, Shields, Bows
110
Total Core 409
SPECIAL
1 Deathshrieker Rocket Launcher
1 Magma Cannon
Total Special 245
RARE
1 Hellcannon
TOTAL ARMY 1097
I got mostly draws and, despite a good amount of bad luck and poor decisions in the shooting phase, I feel the list is lacking a bit. The big block of IG is tough as nails and a very good anvil, but doesn’t do much more. Also, it is a bit hard to protect the war machines (rampaging hellcannon was meant to protect the flank…)
Now I am looking to improve the list, and since the -100pts limitation has been lifted, I have 100 extra points and was thinking first of all to upgrade the daemonsmith to a sorcerer-prophet and include perhaps a BSB. I have tried fireglaives and bull centaurs with scarce success. I am finding that at such a small point format (1200) it is quite hard to write down a competitive list, so I am here asking for help!! x.x
My first idea, apart from character, is to use hobgoblins as an anvil and switch the IG from HW&S to fireglaives or GWs as a supporting, countercharging unit…but I am not sure.
Any advice welcome!
Thanks :hat off
Bloodbeard:
Hi. List seems rather good at the moment. I will offer some ideas for tweaks. Please share what models you have to alter the list with. No need to suggest something you can’t field.
I love these small games. Been playing a lot of 1000-1500 point games.
epersichetti:
Hi. List seems rather good at the moment. I will offer some ideas for tweaks. Please share what models you have to alter the list with. No need to suggest something you can't field.
I love these small games. Been playing a lot of 1000-1500 point games.
Bloodbeard
Hi Bloodbeard, thanks for your quick reply!
Yes, I think a few tweaks will be good for now...so far I have the warmachines (1DS, 1MC and 1HC) and the hobgoblins, but will be getting the IG soon...very likely the HW&S version (it looks like the safest choice). Also have wolf riders (the Gamezone models are awesome for Khans!).
For the future, I am planning to get at least the 3 Bull Centaurs and a second Deathshrieker, and perhaps an Iron Daemon. But the Iron Daemon and Destroyer are only useful in bigger games, I reckon, so no hurry for now.
By the way, I also love the smaller points games, I think they are nice and quick, agile and don't allow for most of the overpowered combos out there...even if some "expensive" armies such as Daemons, Chaos Warriors and us struggle a bit. Probably 1500 is better than 1200.
Bloodbeard:
Your models doesn’t leave a lot of options for tweaking the list.
In small games I find lore of fire great. The long range and many dice is really great. And most armies will only bring one large group of core infantry in these games, so a couple of fireballs can really do some damage. A war machine list needs all the distance it can get, so the 36’’ fireballs gives another round of killing, that 24’’ death can’t.
I think your army will get into trouble bringing so much shooty stuff. Three warmachines firing and only one daemonsmith re-roll. I don’t think they’ll earn their points.
At this point lvl I would bring a castellan with bsb. Your army will only survive if your IG stays in combat, so the re-roll can be crucial. I would rather give that unit lichebone pennant for a magic ward save or the razor banner. The hellcannon is too slow for support. And if the IG gets hit by knights or something in high armor strength 4 is not enough.
And always bring the iron curse icon. Make sure to fit it in there.
The iron demon is expensive. Yet I bring one in my 1000 point armylist anyway. Great shooting ability, low misfire chance, great killer.
epersichetti:
Your models doesn't leave a lot of options for tweaking the list.
Bloodbeard
I am always happy to enlarge my collection! Is there any model you recommend I should get in particular?
In small games I find lore of fire great. The long range and many dice is really great. And most armies will only bring one large group of core infantry in these games, so a couple of fireballs can really do some damage. A war machine list needs all the distance it can get, so the 36'' fireballs gives another round of killing, that 24'' death can't.
Bloodbeard
I arrived to the same conclusion: lore of death left me a bit disappointed, while I got better results with fire :)
I think your army will get into trouble bringing so much shooty stuff. Three warmachines firing and only one daemonsmith re-roll. I don't think they'll earn their points.
At this point lvl I would bring a castellan with bsb. Your army will only survive if your IG stays in combat, so the re-roll can be crucial. I would rather give that unit lichebone pennant for a magic ward save or the razor banner. The hellcannon is too slow for support. And if the IG gets hit by knights or something in high armor strength 4 is not enough.
And always bring the iron curse icon. Make sure to fit it in there.
Bloodbeard
I also learned this after a few games...three warmachines at such small points lvl is probably too much. The Hellcannon has always earned his points back, and is usually pretty tough to kill, so I was thinking to drop the magma cannon which, on the other hand, didn't do much.
I am definitely going to include a BSB, and perhaps upgrade daemonsmith to sorcerer-prophet: lvl3/4 and lore of Hashut should give a big help!
As for the strength, I also realized that...in a game I tried fireglaives but wasn't very impressed. So I was thinking to switch to great weapons and use Hobgoblins as an anvil and IG for a counter-charge. What do you think?
The iron demon is expensive. Yet I bring one in my 1000 point armylist anyway. Great shooting ability, low misfire chance, great killer.
Bloodbeard
I also thought about including one, but this would significantly reduce the amount of other stuff I can field...what does your 1000 point armylist look like?
Thanks again
MadHatter:
I have mixed feelings about the Fireglaives. I prefer hw&s on the IG now… I’d rather drop the DS and keep the MC, like Bloodbeard suggest use the warmachines with Daemonsmiths, I’d say one per machine. I dont understand the magmacannon underperforming, what happened? Imho its amazing, recent battlereports documents its power :cheers
epersichetti:
I have mixed feelings about the Fireglaives. I prefer hw&s on the IG now... I'd rather drop the DS and keep the MC, like Bloodbeard suggest use the warmachines with Daemonsmiths, I'd say one per machine. I dont understand the magmacannon underperforming, what happened? Imho its amazing, recent battlereports documents its power :cheers
MadHatter
Hi MadHatter, thanks for your reply! I agree with you and I have had excellent feedback from HW&S so far: in a match they withstood a double charge from bloodcrushers+beast of nurgle, and managed to even win the combat in the subsequent round. Both units were wiped away losing from instability badly :hat off
However, in a list with such few units, strength 4 is kind of insufficient to cause serious damage against some units. That's why I was thinking fireglaives, or even great weapons: if I can force the enemy to charge into hobgoblins or hellcannon, I can then counter-charge in the next turn and cause some serious damage.
As for Magma Cannon, I guess it has been a mixture of bad luck and my inexperience in using it...against VC it hit 4 crypt horrors, wounded only one and caused a SINGLE wound...before being "shrieked" down by the terrorgheist. In other matches it always failed to inflict significant damage. At the moment, the DS seems a bit more versatile, cheaper, and I have had better results with it, but I shall try the MC again in bigger points games! Unfortunately at 1200 I can only afford a single daemonsmith/prophet if I want to include a BSB!