Special Units
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Infernal Ironsworn: Think of these guys as Chaos Warriors that suck. You can’t give them any different gear, they come by default with Ensorcelled Hand Weapons (S5, magical attacks), they all have WS5 and 3+ armour, and they’re rather expensive. Sharing the special allowance with many of your best units and war machines doesn’t help either. Outperformed in nearly every way by Infernal Guard with either fireglaives (who cost the same) or great weapons (who cost less), so give them a hard pass and try not to think about how the Forge World FAQ actually nerfed them by increasing the cost of their command group, as if they didn’t suck enough already.
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Bull Centaur Renders: M7 Monstrous Beast that combine Heavy Armour with Scaly Skin and get 3+ base armour. They have a low number of Attacks (2), but they make that up with T5. Remember they are not mounted, despite their cavalryish demeanour, so they benefit from a parry save when carrying shields. It also means that Spears only give them supporting attacks from an additional rank (rather than an actually useful +1S on the charge), so never give them spears. Equip with Great Weapons, additional Hand Weapons (what a lucky coincidence, monstrous beasts they can make up to three supporting attacks) or Shields. They make for great flank protection or, in bigger units, flank crushing. They can have a magic banner, which is great for an extra inch of movement or classic flaming attack to hunt down hydras and trolls. Do remember that one of the main reasons you’ll be running these guys is to get your Taur’ruk, who is almost always going to be with this unit. He helps giving the extra punch the unit sorely lacks base, and more than makes them into the monster hunters they’re almost meant to be. Bull Centaurs really benefit from some magic augment: Breath of Hatred (Lore of Hashut for, well, hatred), Flaming Sword of Rhuin (Lore of Fire for +1 on to wound rolls, magic and flaming attacks) and Enchanted Blades of Aiban (Lore of Metal for +1 on to hit rolls, magic attacks and armour piercing) are all great choices.
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K’daai Fireborn: Monstrous Infantry unit. They share Unbreakable and Unstable with Vampires and Tomb Kings. Their rules make it so that they end up killing themselves a lot of times, and the longer the game, the weaker they will get. Since you roll for every unit separately to check whether they burn out, it is advisable to get one large one rather than two small ones. Other than that they’re S5 and can dish out a fair number of attacks and wounds. Keep in mind they are Flaming, so any of the 2+ Ward against Flaming attacks will keep them locked forever, or until they kill themselves.
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Iron Daemon War Engine: This expensive unit has 2 setups and uses, depending on what upgrades you get. It has a whopping S8, T7, and 7 Wounds (always Hellbind for S8, T8, W8), and a base movement of 6. It can move normally (6") or roll 2D6 and add them to the movement. Obstacles lower than the ID don’t slow it. If a double 1 is rolled it doesn’t move that turn.
- 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 you roll 2 artillery dice, and choose the best result (if double problems are rolled, then roll in the table). Roll To Hit (no penalty for moving) and To Wound with S6, armour piercing shots and Multiple Wounds (D3). This version deals D6+2 Impact Hits and can thunderstomp in following turns with S8
- The second version is the Skullcracker upgrade and it substitutes the Steam Cannonade. It deals 2D6+2 Impact Hits, then 2D6 Thunderstomp, and gains +1 To Wound against fortifications and buildings.
Both versions can also haul other war machines that have purchased the Steam Carriage upgrade with it. One won’t slow it, if it tows 2, its movement is reduced to 3". Towed war machines must be targeted separately for shooting and charging, but are only locked in combat if the Iron Daemon is also engaged. Towed war machines may only fire their weapons if the carriage remained stationary that turn. A War Machine being towed may be untowed during the Movement Phase, but cannot be towed again for the remainder of the game. This is of fairly variable usage depending on your opponent and the terrain. It’s probably not something you’ll want to do every game but but it’s a nice fringe benefit all the same. Being able to move a war machine to cover a choke point or to screen it from return fire while you pummel important units can be a big deal but on some tables there just won’t be a reason to do it. Still, don’t forget about it.
The Iron Daemon is an unique unit, so it doesn’t benefit from our Daemonsmith re-rolling abilities. Note that as per the FAQ, 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”. When it shoots, it only shoots directly ahead, no forward arc. Can make usage tricky. (see Discussion page for more on this issue) -
Deathshrieker Rocket Launcher: This machine comes cheap at 100 points. It works roughly as a Stone Thrower with a Large Blast at Strength 3, but without double Strength or Multiple Wounds in the center and it cannot fire indirectly. If the center of the Large Blast misses the unit (note, the center), roll an artillery dice, change the template for the small one and move it towards the center of the closest unit (friend or foe) by that amount of inches. If a Misfire is rolled, then the shot explodes in the air without douing any damage. It also has an alternative firing mode at S8, Multiple Wounds (D6) without Blast, doubling very well as a Monster hunter, especially when we take re-rolls via an Infernal Engineer into account.
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Magma Cannon: This cannon makes the Dwarf Flamethrower laugh, as it works similarly to one, but it’s a little worse in nearly every aspect. You can’t pull off any bizarre aiming shenanigans to maximize the amount of models hit by the template, and you do not cause panic tests by causing only a single wound (apparently getting lava dunked on you is less scary than fire). On the plus side you make up for it with range, getting a full 24" plus whatever the artillery says afterwards. A good rule of thumb is always to go 9" from the middle of your target, the flame template is long enough that even on a 2 or a 10 you’ll hit somebody, whereas the other results will cause you to hit a lot, and do remember to take them if you’re ever up against Ogres or Trolls.