So I took my first 1k points of assembled Chaos Dwarfs to my local games workshop today, having never used them in a game until this point.
I found an opponent pretty quickly, an ogre kingdoms player.
In short, I got trounced, twice.
My army consisted of:
Chaos Dwarf Hero �?" General, Heavy Armour, Shield, Black Hammer of Hashut
Chaos Dwarf Hero �?" Battle Standard Bearer, Heavy Armour, Banner of Slavery
Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer, Chalice of Darkness
15 Chaos Dwarf Warriors, Full Command
15 Chaos Dwarf Warriors, Blunderbusses
10 Hobgoblins
10 Hobgoblins
10 Hobgoblins
10 Hobgoblins
10 Hobgoblins
Death Rocket
Earthshaker
He had 2 units of Bulls, a unit of ironguts, some gnoblars and a kitted out bruiser.
In the first battle, I deployed in a refused flank formation, with my artillery on a hill and my blunderbussers protecting the flank, and my hobgoblins forming up around my banner bearer and general in the unit of warriors. In the first turn, both my artillery scattered back onto my blunderbussers, (despite pretty excellent range guessing) killing 14 of them. The rest of the game he basically spent the whole time charging my hobgoblin units with his ogres, and killing all 10 before i could counterattack, coupled with more unfortunate scattering, killing about 15 Hobgoblins and a Chaos Dwarf Warrior over the course of the game. The highlight of my game was my general, who managed to kill a single gnoblar, and wound an ogre - which is all the damage i managed to cause on him.
So the first game took only 3 turns for me to shell my own troops into oblivion, and we had time for a rematch.
In the second game, I tried deploying in a line, to counter the lack of maneuverability I suffered in the first game, and it worked a little better. This game, I was more successful, managing to kill a few ogres, wound his bruiser 3 times, and kill most of the gnoblars. I was pretty successful at redirecting ogre charges with hobgoblins, but I had no real hitting power to charge them in the flank with. I should really finish my dwarfs with great weapons, or bring black orcs next game.
Learning points
- Scatter Dice are a pain in the ass
- Blunderbusses are near useless against Ogre Kingdoms armies.
- The Banner of Slavery is awesome for its points cost. With a large kitted out unit of Hobgoblins, you could have an incredibly cheap and effective tar pit.
- Maneuverability is an issue, but should ease up a little in my larger army, when I get my Taurus, Ironguts, and Orcs.
- Taking a Chalice of Darkness in a game of 1000 points is dumb, as there isn’t likely to be a lot of magic flying around anyway. It really bit me in the ass this game, as my opponent had no caster at all.
Any advice or comments about my army list or strategy?
Am I likely to always struggle against Ogre Kingdoms?
AllEvil
Actually, Ogres are on the softer side of the power spectrum, fighting them just comes with practice. I would replace your Death Rocket with a pair of Bolt Throwers, as they're much more reliable, cheaper, and more versatile. Secondly, I would drop the BSB and put the banner of slavery on the Warriors. At 1000 points he's not really necessary as you have the only army in the game with a Ld10 general at that level. Also, I'd drop a couple of units of Hobgoblin throwaway units, 5 seems like too many, especially against Ogre Kingdoms where they're just likely to lose combat and be autobroken by fear. With all these points saved, buy some Orc Boyz with shields or extra choppas as a second fighting block.
Are Black Orcs worth the points investment in a 1000 points battle?
Way too expensive. I typically don't even use them at 2000, 2250 minimum for me.
Is the Chalice of Darkness worth taking ever? If so, who should I take it against?
No. Take Dispel Scrolls instead (or a DS and a PS). I never ever use the Chalice.
Am I likely to always struggle against Ogre Kingdoms?
AllEvil
Actually, Ogres are on the softer side of the power spectrum, fighting them just comes with practice. I would replace your Death Rocket with a pair of Bolt Throwers, as they're much more reliable, cheaper, and more versatile. Secondly, I would drop the BSB and put the banner of slavery on the Warriors. At 1000 points he's not really necessary as you have the only army in the game with a Ld10 general at that level. Also, I'd drop a couple of units of Hobgoblin throwaway units, 5 seems like too many, especially against Ogre Kingdoms where they're just likely to lose combat and be autobroken by fear. With all these points saved, buy some Orc Boyz with shields or extra choppas as a second fighting block.
Are Black Orcs worth the points investment in a 1000 points battle?
Way too expensive. I typically don't even use them at 2000, 2250 minimum for me.
Is the Chalice of Darkness worth taking ever? If so, who should I take it against?
No. Take Dispel Scrolls instead (or a DS and a PS). I never ever use the Chalice.
Renufus
Excellent advice, thank you.
Ill make these changes, and let you know how I do next game.
If anyone else has some comments or suggestions, I'm happy to listen.
First, I agree with Renufus and Cornixt. Luck is big, and you probably had too many Hobbos…one more unit with ranks (ie his orc suggestion) was probably called for if you have the figs. Sounds like you were using them correctly in trying to draw some away, but you really need to be in position to capitalize on those flanks…
For a new player, while Ogres are not that powerful, they can represent a challenge, because they move pretty fast (especially compared to us CD’s). This can be more of a challenge to the newer player than it should be. Don;t worry, you’ll get used to crushing them soon. It seems to me you already worked out some of your problems…like the chalice…drop it, especially at 1000 pts.
Ok, this is my amended list, that I will be testing out next. I think it should do OK, but Im nervous as to the lack of dispelling power I have.
Chaos Dwarf Hero �?" General, Heavy Armour, Shield, Black Hammer of Hashut �?" 111
Chaos Dwarf Sorcerer - 65
19 Chaos Dwarf Warriors, Full Command, Banner of Slavery �?" 251
15 Chaos Dwarf Warriors, Blunderbusses �?" 180
11 Hobgoblins �?" 20
10 Hobgoblins �?" 20
10 Hobgoblins �?" 20
15 Orc Big�?~Uns, Full Command, Additional Choppa, Nogg�?Ts Banner of Butchery - 220
Earthshaker �?" 110 points
The addition of the Big’Uns will rectify my lack of hitting power. Equipping them with Noggs Banner of Butchery means that, when I manage to charge my enemy, I expect 16 attacks at WS4 and S5 - which should hopefully be enough to break any unit the enemy can field. Its just a case of positioning their target unit appropriately.
Ive also beefed up my main warrior unit, so I have less to fear from fear-causing opponents, as they were in danger of being auto broken against the Ogres.
Ill play a few games this week and let you all know how I did.
Unless I missed something, Big Uns in the chaos dwarf army are limited to either the War Banner or the Banner or Slavery… At least it was that way when we were allowed in the GTs.
I am pretty sure Willmark is right on the banners. I play against ogres from time to time and have the best luck when I play with bigger units and force the ogres to deal with my static combat resolution. Blunderbusses are not the best investment against ogres. The rocket I find too random and will always take two bolt throwers instead and still come out 20 points under the rocket. At 1K, I go character light. Just a hero with armor of Gaz and a great weapon 98 points, if I recall correctly. Sure I am magic vulnerable, but such is life. Besides I get a lot of troops on the board too. Consider either bull centaurs or wolf riders to add some speed and flexibility to the list. I would probably only take two to three 10 man hobo units and if you take more, make a big mass of them and add a musician. Lots of cheap troops with a lot of static combat resolution (I like a block of 30). If the big block dies, you are only out 70 points. They can hold-up several times their point value in troops.
