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 £*&£^"*$^£&!!!
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 do you choose?
-
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 TAKE. If you’re playing seriously, consider using the End Times: Khaine for its magical rules since it’ll guarantee you get Ash Storm, and that’s easily the most powerful spell you have access to.
-
Metal - always if you play against enemies who rely on armour saves (Dwarfs, Empire, Chaos, Bretonnia). 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 spells in this lore are solid gold (pun intended). Chaos Dwarfs are expensive and need every bit of armour they can get their hands on. +2 to their save with Glittering Robe means that can go into that Witch Elf block and laugh at the other side covered in bits of elf skank (maybe a slight exaggeration, but they become very, very gnarly). Enchanted Blades gives them magical attacks and +1 to hit, fantastic for an Iron Daemon or that horde of bow armed Hobgoblins. Lastly, Final Transmutation. A phenomenal spell that can be used to thin the ranks of those units that would cause you trouble (those witch elves for example). So that’s a example of how even girls in bikinis need to fear CD wielding Metal. It’s a level 2 scroll caddy lore of choice.
-
Death - Good, might be great in sniping characters (not many casters can pull off Spirit Leech at LD9 or even LD10!) - and purple sun makes a mockery out of low Initiative armies such as Dwarfs and Lizardmen. Of course the downside is you’re also stuck with Dwarf Initiative, so if you fuck up the spell and it goes over your own army, then that could cost you the game.
-
Fire - Fireball is good at clearing enemy redirectors that your monsters might otherwise struggle to get around (dark riders, giant eagles, etc). For an army that enjoys the grind, cascading fire cloak is strong and the plus one to wound from Flaming Sword can be massive on the magma cannon, then there’s how it stacks with 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 one of the better lores for the Lore of Fire?
So - your casting and your miscast penalties - how do they actually work? 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, simple as that. If you pass - it’s all good in the Dawi Zharr hood. If you 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.
Battlefield roles for Sorcerer-Prophets
There are different points of view.
Magic and magic only
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 Infernal Guard 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 an extra Castellan built to hold enemies and deal some damage. After dealing with pesky ambushing scum, you may have a chance to use them as a second wave.
Conclusion - I consider Prophets and Daemonsmiths as purely supportive, and their prime role is to provide re-rolls to your artillery and cast some nasty spells. Do not engage in CC unless have no choice.
Don’t be afraid of close combat
As a CC Lord, a Sorcerer Prophet will lose fight against solid Generals, but he has the tools to avoid them (Ash Storm). SP are very durable, the T5 (or even T6) means they are great against medium opponents, there are few core choices I wouldn’t put him in against. The sheer number of attacks he and his mount can put out is horrifying, assuming he is alive to make them. Let’s say he’s against a horde of empire halberdiers who don’t kill him. At the start of the round of combat he has 4 auto S4 hits from blazing body (say he kills 2). then 4 attacks, 3’s, then 2’s 3 more dead. The Bull has the same, 3 more dead. He then has a 2D6 S4 breath weapon, 4 more dead then a D6 thunderstomp, say 2 more. I’ve round down on all those attacks, and he’s still killed 14 enemy, with no magical assistance. Pair him with a K’daai destroyer they becaome the best tag team since the Undertaker and Kain. In one tournament I killed a 24 lizard unit of temple guard, to the man, in 1 turn (the SP had a 2D6 S3 breath weapon in his sword that game).
‘Ah but…!’ I hear you cry, he has to survive those attacks to bring the pain, and quite true. So how likely is he to? Lets say they attack the cow (I would) and are in a horde, 15 attacks. That’s 4s to hit, say they have hatred, so 10 hits. 6’s to wound, rerolling successful ones, maybe you take one wound? Let’s say they attack ya boi. Again, 10 hits, this time wounding on 5’s, say 3 wounds. the way I run mine (Mask of the furnace, shield, BS Armour, mounted), he has a 3 up, takes 1 wound, which I assume doesn’t distract him from opening his can of whupp ass!
Now, it’s important to know, I’m not saying run him into the front of a white Lion block, but he’s certainly not helpless in CC either.
What else?
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. 3-4 direct hits from cannons and both your monsters are gone. Sad. [alt take] Who has 3 or 4 cannons?! by turn 2 your k’daai should be smashing face in CC and you will be i9mmune to cannons. Ultimately, how many cannons are there in the game? Not that many, especially in the top tiers, HE’s? DE’s? No cannons. Daemons? (and Dwarves?) Flaming cannons, 2++ baby. That leaves Empire and Ogres, and the Black Hammer on a SP on Bull and a cheeky Ash Storm is the end of that Steam Tank or Ironblaster…
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 and this is his downfall. Round one, chop up Lammasu (even with mundane weapons) round 2 slaughter the now dismounted Dwarf
Prophet and Daemonsmith on foot DO benefit from similar Look Out Sir! rules as Dwarfs and Empire for their engineers if they are close to war machines. It is called ‘Infernal Engineer’ and aforementioned characters, if they are hit by shooting attack and are within 3" of a war machine, can attempt a ‘Look Out Sir!’ save and the hit is resolved against the war machine (at T7, as always for shooting attacks against war machines). Note that technically in RAW it says the Engineer is treated as being “within a unit of five or more models”, which would mean the LOS is successful on a 2+.