Malorndk:
Hey guys
After having watched a lot of battle reports on youtube and searched around for the most competitive lists for Chaos Dwarfs, I have observed that some troops and compositions are generally considered better than others, as they play around the strongest aspects of the Tamurkhan list: �?oLegion of Azgorh�?�. Please keep in mind that the tendencies I highlight in this thread isn’t always what I think is best, but a reflection about how the competitive players view the game.
In this thread I have tried to compile these thoughts in a manner that is easy to understand. I have made a list of our best units with a �?oX-X�?� in front, which means the number of units that is needed or can be taken. Fx: 2-3 Magmacanons means that you decide if you want 2 or 3, but you should run with 2 as a minimum. If I haven�?Tt mentioned a specific unit from the book (Like Wolf Raiders) it doesn�?Tt mean that unit is bad, just that the more competitive players don�?Tt consider picking them for various reasons.
This thread is not about making friends at the local shop event, or how someone from CDO have once had a ton of fun and destroyed the opponents elves with a horde of blunderbuss�?T. This is meant to be some competitive guidelines for games between 2000 and 2500 points, where you have no idea who you�?Tll be up against, and therefore must have a list that can deal with anything from a Monstrous, MSE, MSU, horde, gunlines and cavalry lists. A list like that will probably never be the best counter to what the enemy brings, but in allcomers the dream is to make a list that can do decent against most list.
So what is our armys biggest strenghts?
- We have an innate high leadership.
- We have cheap infantry core that can be deployed in a bus and hold the enemies locked in combat for a round or three due to our high leadership and the steadfast rule.
- We have Magmacanons, Hellcanons, Iron Daemons, Deathshriekers and Infernal Engineers, which gives us a wide selection of mean warmachines, that will make our gunline stronger than most other gunlines in the game.
- We have Hw/S dwarfs in Blackshard armour with Str 4 for 12 points as core. This is pretty decent, but not necessarily better than the hobgoblin alternative.
- We have K�?Tdaii Destroyers!
So what are our armys weaknesses?
- Our fast cavalry comes from the rarepoints.
- Our core dwarfs weapon upgrades are unreasonable expensive, making our infantry more anvil than hammer, and restricts our softer shooting phase to hobgoblins with bows.
- Our Monstrous infantry and beasts are kinda bad. The small K�?Tdaii is too expensive for their statline. Bull Centaurs are really tanky, which is good, but even with greatweapons, their kill potential Is low due to their 2 attacks.
So in conclusion:
Our best choice in most cases will be to make a warmachin gunline in the corner, with some unbreakable and unkillable anchor points (Iron Daemon/Hellcanon). Our core infantry will protect the weaker machines, while our Destroyer and perhaps expendable hobgoblins will hold the fastest enemies at bay. Our hobgoblin Khans will chase warmachines, but most likely be used to redirect deathstars away from our gunline.
The list:
Characters:
We have 5 character options, and every one of them brings utility to our army. Most of the proplayers praise the wolf mounted Khans for redirections and a Sorc-prophet is pretty mandatory. If you want to dominate the magic phase, you should find room for Chalice somehow! Aside from this, consider trying to reduce the points spent here. Try playing without Daemonsmiths, Tauruks and BSB from time to time, as points saved allow you to invest more into your gunline.
- 2-3 Khans on wolfs. Basic equipment. Used as redirecters. Consider 5-10 points magic weapons, and a potion of foolhardiness to deal with ethereal units.
- 1 Sorc-prophet on foot who will join our Dwarf unit. Get him at least the 4+ ward save and charmed/encanted shield
- 0-X Daemonsmits. You�?Tll need an Infernal Engineer around your Hellcanon, and probably one around your Magmacanons as well to reduce the possibility of Misfire. Your Sorc-Prophet has Infernal Engineer as well, so deploy your gunline wisely.
Special and Rare
A good rule is, that you shouldn�?Tt bring more than 5 Magmacanons/Hellcanons/Rocketlaunchers. Often 4 will be better, and sometimes, 3 will do the job. Never buy Hellbound on anything but your Iron Daemons. It�?Ts not worth the cost.
- 1 K�?Tdaii Destroyer! The good opponent will be able to outplay him with a Dragonhelm, og some redirecters, so we must learn to utilize the Destroyer through gameplay knowledge and experience.
- 1 Hellcanon! Only reason to consider the Dreadquake Mortar is for the range of 72�?� which should prevent your opponent from camping the corner furthest from your gunline and wait 6 turns for a draw.
- 1-2 Iron Daemons with Hellbound. Used as anchorpoints for the gunline, with a mean Organ gun to boot.
- 2-3 Magmacanons. Often considered the best warmachine in the game. Use the advantage the guys from Forgeworld gave us.
- 0-1 Deathshrieker Rocket Launchers. Primarily brought to the table to snipe monsters with its solo rocket.
Core:
Our core units are all infantry, and their strengths and weaknesses is often discussed online. The choices are pretty balanced, so no one can really claim that something is inherently better than the other in an allcomers. I have listed some common ways our cores have been utilized, but it�?Ts an individual preference.
- 0-3 units of 20 sacrificial hobgoblin with bows
- 0-3 units of hobgoblins in bus formation (40+) to keeps stuff locked up and away from the gunline.
- 0-1 units of Infernal guards with great weapons in a horde. This unit might have a chance vs monstrous beast, cavalry and infantry, but most proplayers will rarely do this, as 15 point/model is quite intense.
Why is this a good idea?
With your warmachines and rerolls, you�?Tll have a chance to get between 1-3 turns of shooting in, before the opponent reaches you. Try to focus fire something expensive, so you actually get some victory points home. Use your Khans and hobgoblins to stall him on the way, but be smart about the positioning. Bad decisions will let him pursue/overrun/reform and this can cost you a shooting phase.
When the game ends you will most likely still have your K�?Tdaii, Hellcanon and Iron Daemon, as these are very hard to kill. That�?Ts 800 poins your opponent won�?Tt get. If you have 2 Iron Daemons, then its 1100 points, he won�?Tt get. If your Sorc-Phophet is alive it�?Ts another 350-400 points, and your big bus of core dwarfs are easily 500 points. This is just to illustrate the concept between point denial. This isn�?Tt bullet proof at all, but it gives you some guidelines to think about, if you are trying to build a competitive Chaos Dwarf army. With a gunline like this, we are pretty dependent on our first couple of shooting phases.
How would this look at 1500?