a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

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dusk1983
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a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by dusk1983 »

DISCLAIMER: I've not written a tactica before, and even if I had, I'm not exactly a world champion wood elf player. What I do have is a few insights and access to the throne of Tamurkhan book, something which not everyone on this website will have. So the purpose of this tactica is not so much to tell you all how to beat chaos dwarves, but more to give you an idea of what your opponent can bring to the table. Also there are wise and experienced wood elf generals who frequent this forum who might be able to read the information I'm putting out here, and devise new and sneaky ways of bringing the chaos dwarves to their stubby little knees. So that said, I commence what will be my blow by blow description of what is in the book. Due to the websites terms and guidelines though incant put in base points costs.

Army special rules:
* resolute and Relentless: both the same special rules as in the dwarf book (all chaos dwarf models)
* Contempt: Chaos dwarves and bull centaur units do not take panic checks if nearby hobgoblins flee. (all chaos dwarf and bull centaur models)
* Hellbound: All warmachines (except hellcannon) can upgrade to hellbound for 25 points. All attacks and damage become magical. The model causes Fear. Toughness and wounds are increased by 1. And on any misfire, regardless of chart results warmachine suffers an additional D3 unsaveable wounds.

Army equipment rules
* BLACKSHARD ARMOUR: armour on almost every chaos dwarf model in the army with the exception of warmachine crew. grants a 4+ armour save and a 5+ Ward Vs fire
* Ensorcelled hand weapons: Magic weapon that grants +1 strength
* Fireglaive: 18" range Strength 4 armour piercing rifle that doubles as a halberd in close combat. (+1S requires 2 hands)
* Hailshot Blunderbuss: 12" range Strength 3, multiple shot (D3) rifle, that ignores penalties for multiple shots. As long as 10 or more models are firing they suffer no range or stand and shoot penalties. With 20 models firing they reroll to wound
* Darkforged Weapon: Magic weapon with random properties determined on a D6 roll at the start of the game. 1, +1 channeling, 2, grants a S3 breath weapon once per game, 3, Model gains eternal hatred, 4, Multipple wound (D3), 5, +1 to dispel, 6, becomes a 2+ to wound weapon although on the roll of a one, the wielder takes a single hit which cannot be saved by any means.
* Blood of Hashut: single use. sacrifice all close combat attacks to target a model in base to base. Works on a 2+ causes D6 automatic hits that wound on a number equal to targets armor. No Armour saves allowed. Magic and flaming.

THE ARMY LIST:
LORDS -Not going into the special character will take too long
Soreceror-Prophet Lvl3 wizard
M3 WS5 BS4 S4 T5 W3 I2 A3 Ld10
special rules
* Daemonsmith: Immune to psychology and has engineer abilities (reroll 1 artillery dice of a warmachine within 3")
* Sorceror's Curse: after resolving the effects of any miscast, take a toughness test. If it fails lose 1 additional wound as sorceror begins turning to stone. First wound suffered like this increases the models toughness by 1.
Lores Available:
* Lore of Hashut
* Fire
* Metal
* Death
Equipment
Blackshard armour
Darkforged weapon
Available mounts:
Great Taurus, Lammasu, and Bale Taurus

Strengths:
A lot. I doubt anyone will ever see a sorceror-prophet fielded without Lore of Hashut at their fingertips, and its a powerful Lore (which I'll explore later).
High toughness,
High leadership.
Engineer abilities bundled in with magic to save points,
Comes with a free magic weapon that could theoretically increase spellcasting ability.

Weaknesses:
probably one of the most points heavy lord mages in the game. (I can't put up points costs, but its safe to say that you'll never see more than one in a game smaller than 2500 points, and even up to 3000 points, putting 2 in a list would mean leaving them relatively undefended).
Low Weapon skill, initiative and attack (for a lord general anyway). I know he's a mage, but in the absence of a choppy Lord, this guy will always be the general, making him a target. and potentially vulnerable in close combat
Low movement, a weakness that can be offset by mounting him, but all the mounts are extremely expensive plus, he's easier to pick out when he's on a monster.
Sorcerors Curse can make or break the game on a bad roll, bring on those miscasts!
If choosing a more reliable magic weapon from the Magic Items section, then loses the Darkforged Weapon
For extra protection does not have standard shield option, must use up magic armour slot

Dusk's handling suggestions:
Keep away. Try take him out from a distance. Most Lore of Hashut spells are on the short ranged side. Power scroll to cause a miscast as soon as your opponent throws enough dice to make it likely he'll catch a double. Focus heavily on magic defence wherever possible.


HEROES
Daemonsmith Sorceror Lvl1 wizard
M3 WS4 BS4 S4 T4 W2 I2 A2 Ld9
special rules
* Daemonsmith and Sorceror's Curse (both as above)
Lores Available:
* Fire
* Metal
* Death
Equipment
Blackshard armour
Ensorcelled hand weapon

Strengths:

Relatively High toughness High leadership
Engineer abilities bundled in with magic to save points,
Ensorcelled hand weapon thrown in

Weaknesses:
more expensive than most hero mages. (not by a lot but more).
Low Weapon skill, initiative and attack making him vulnerable in close combat (He has a worse statline than a dryad, and we all know how cheap they are)
Low movement, no mounting options
Sorcerors Curse again!
For extra protection does not have standard shield option, must use up magic armour slot

Dusk's handling suggestions:
Power scroll to cause a miscast as soon as your opponent throws enough dice to make it likely he'll catch a double (if you wanted a better chance of taking out a caster than the sorceror-prophet). Focus heavily on magic defence wherever possible. He will go down to a waywatcher killing blow if he's in the open, or a wardancer killing blow in close combat. Even without the killing blow, without magic armour, he's only toughness 4 with a 4+ armour save. He has to fail those saves eventually.


Infernal Castellan:
M3 WS6 BS4 S4 T5 W2 I3 A3 Ld9
special rules:
Stubborn
Can be upgraded to BSB
Equipment
Blackshard armour
hand weapon

Strengths:
Nice Statline on par with some of the other choppy heroes out there and unusually high toughness
Can take 75 points of magical items instead of the usual 50 for heroes
Due to stubborn rule can join any other unit and confer stubborn to them

Weaknesses
As everything in LoA, is not cheap. Is in fact 10 points more expensive than the Daemonsmith sorceror hero, (which in my opinion is a better deal)
Also as other dwarves Low movement

Dusk's handling suggestions:
Castellan is a thug. He's not going to change the game too much outside of his tiny little bubble of influence. Chances are because of the stubborn rules he'll be fielded in a big block of something that moves 3" and is unstoppable in close combat. So don't get into close combat with him. Use glade guard to whittle his unit down. Use skirmishing mobility of waywatchers to pick away at his flanks even while he's trying to turn and face them.


Hobgoblin KHAAAAAAAAAAAN!
M4 WS4 BS3 S4 T4 W2 I4 A3 Ld7
Special Rules
None
Equipment
Hand weapon and throwing knives
Available mounts:
Giant Wolf

Strengths
CHEEP! like the budgie (5 more than a goblin big boss with sole statline difference being +1 init)
Giant wolf can add mobility
very cheap method of increasing the staying power of cuthroats or wolfriders with +1 Ld

Weaknesses
Cannot be general (duh)
no armour in basic equip, best can hope for is 4+ after paying for light armour, shield and mount, so easy to dispatch
Can only take a total of 25 points worth of magic items
Many of the throne of Tamurkhan magic items are Chaos dwarf only, and therefore not available to the Khan or the Taur'ruk

Dusk's handling suggestions:
The Khan's effectiveness lies not in his own abilities but as a means of improving whatever hobgoblin unit he is leading. Consider him a very expensive unit champion and deal with the unit appropriately ignoring the Khan. That said, if you find a hero in close combat with his unit, then a challenge should make short work of him, with just about any highborn/noble build


Bull Centaur Taur'ruk
M7 WS5 BS2 S5 T5 W4 I4 A4 Ld9
Special Rules
Fear
Scaly Skin (5+)
Equipment
Heavy armour and hand weapon

Strengths
Holy statline!
Can pay points upgrade heavy armour to blackshard armour confering a +4 save to stack with the scaly skin to a 2+
High Ld
Monstrous beasts, so stomp, monstrous supporting attacks and immune to killing blow
All bull centaurs add much needed mobility to the Chaos dwarf line

Weaknesses
Points, as always. This guy is a little over double the cost of one of our nobles. Once he's geared up and bought magic equipment, he takes up a LARGE portion of any hero allotment. Doubtful to see more than one in a single army 2k points or lower
High mobility in a low mobility army can theoretically leave the bull centaurs with little support in a bind.
Many of the throne of Tamurkhan magic items are Chaos dwarf only, and therefore not available to the Khan or the Taur'ruk

Dusk's handling suggestions:
Like the Khan, focus more on the Taur'ruk's unit. If they flee, he flees and his statline is a scary one to become embroiled with in a challenge. Massed glade guard fire would be the best means of taking these guys down unless you can take advantage of the Bull centaurs speed and lure them away from the rest of their battle line, then multicharge whilst they're unsupported. Remember, if you break a bull centaur unit, then chaos dwarves have to take their panic checks.


CORE
Chaos dwarf infernal guard
M3 WS4 BS3 S4 T4 W1 I2 A1 Ld9
Equipment:
Blackshard armour
Hand weapon and shield

Strengths
- One unit may have a magic standard
- There are four distinct flavours of infernal guard depending on equipment bought for them, all of which can upgrade to full command. Champion gets an extra attack, not an extra point of BS. Remember even though some may have bought extra equipment that requires two hands, theyre still 3+armour at range for their shields
Vanilla Infernal guard: no extra equipment,
* get a 3+ save all the time.
* chaos warrior strength and toughness
* cheapest option, effective in hordes.
Great weapon infernal guard:
* going last isn't a big deal for a model who is initiative 2 anyway while having S6 is great for taking out monsters.
Fireglaive infernal guard
* Scary Assed Gun for taking out armoured foes at range. +1 strength in close combat
Hailshot blunderbuss
* Extremely effective against hordes
* Offsets short range and low movement by negating range and movement penalties when firing an appropriate amount of shots.

Weaknesses
Vanilla infernal
* short stubby little legs means chaos dwarves need to weather several rounds of fire before making it to their enemy, even more so than their WoC cousins
Great weapon infernal
* same as vanilla as well as +3 points per model, plus they lose the 3+ armour save in close combat for a 4+ making them that much easier to kill
Fireglaive infernal guard
* short range weapon and only little legs to get them close enough to shoot. +5 ppm starts getting expensive in larger units, 4+ save in close combat
Hailshot
* RIDICULOUSLY short range. It is safe to say that if this unit is close enough to shoot, then they are getting charged next turn, meaning really only 2 shots (one for initial shot one for stand and shoot) before guns are put away. + 6ppm is putting them at the same costs as scouts

Dusk's handling suggestions:
Vanilla's and Great weapons -For all intents and purposes treat these guys as standard warriors of chaos. Difference is you can outmaneouvre and out initiative them every time. Waywatcher killing blows as much as possible. Wardancer and dryad combi flank/rear charge. Wyssans wildform like crazy. Unfortunately skirmishers can't break steadfast units very well, but wardancers can bring more killing blow to the table
Fireglaive and Hailshot- We can out-fire these guys. even at long range S3 we're going to kill a few. Send in the wild riders with razor banner against the fireglaives and watch the hailshot squad fail 6+ save after 6+ save, likewise the Fireglaive guys wont get a save at all. Bear in mind also, that our friendly neighbourhood chaos dwarves are all BS3 which means theyre hitting on a 4+ in ideal conditions. With the Hailshot squad if you can flank charge them so they dont get a stand and shoot all the better.


Hobgoblin Cuthroats
M4 WS3 BS3 S3 T3 W1 I2 A1 Ld6
Special Rules
Hobgoblin animosity - no leadership test like O&G. If unit is not in combat and out of 6" from a chaos dwarf or bull centaur unit they roll a D6. 1, panic test. 2-5 act normally. 6, suffers D3 wounds from squabbling but gain +1 to hit rest of turn
Backstabbers- if they break a foe in combat and do not pursue they cause D6 S3 hits on their enemy as they're fleeing the hobs.
Equipment
light armour and hand weapon
throwing knives
CAN have shields, bows and or additional hand weapons at extra costs.

Strengths
They're goblins. We all know what goblins are about. theyre 1 point more than a standard gobbo but have 1 extra WS
Backstabbers can make them potentially nasty IF they break an enemy and pass the Ld test not to pursue.
They come free with a 6" quick to fire Strength as user weapon

Weaknesses
Also, goblins. Theyre weak and they die.
Theyre animosity rules could potentially have them running away early in the game.

Dusk's handling suggestions:
force panic checks. Glade guard shooting and dryad attacks. Dryads should hopefully make short work of them, if they dont run away. Even if the dryads dont kill them all, I doubt the static res brought to the table by goblins could outnumber the dead goblins after a dryad attack, even if they pass their fear test, and even steadfast its leadership 6. Good chance to fail.


SPECIAL:
Infernal Ironsworn
M3 WS5 BS3 S4 T4 W1 I2 A1 Ld9
Equipment:
Blackshard armour
Ensorcelled Hand weapon and shield

Strengths:
Comes with an extra point of WS over basic infernal guard and Ensorcelled hand weapon for +1 Str in close combat and magic attacks
Every unit of Ironsworn can have a magic banner up to 50 points
All other strengths of the vanilla Infernal guard

Weaknesses
Lack of options, no ranged options at all
All standard chaos dwarf weaknesses (low movement, high points cost - 5 ppm more than infernal guard)

Dusk's handling suggestions:
same tactics as the infernal guard. Flank charges. Wild riders with razor banner (at least wild riders still get the 6+ ward from talismanic tattoos), wardancer killing blow, waywatcher attacks.


Bull Centaur Renders
M7 WS4 BS2 S4 T5 W3 I3 A2 Ld8
Equipment:
heavy armour and Hand weapon
Special Rules
Scaly Skin (5+)
fear
Can have additional hand weapons, great weapons, spears (count as non-mounted spears) or shields for more points

Strengths
* High movement, High toughness, 3+ armour save (2+ if they pay for shields)
* One unit may have a magic standard
* monstrous beasts so no killing blow

Weaknesses
* None other than cost.

Dusk's handling suggestions:
Take advantage of their speed. Lure them away from their supporting troops. Then Multicharge. Again, the best option we have for this in my opinion is a wild rider unit with razor banner. Dryads might tarpit them if you're lucky but a 5+ ward save is just not going to cut it IMO, unless you Wyssans them up. Eternal guard kitted up to win through static combat res could theoretically do the job as well although it might get bloody. Bear in mind without a Tuar'Ruk, theyre only Ld 8 so winnning combat res by one or two is all you need to force a panic check with a good chance of them fleeing, but watch out for those Stomp attacks!


K'Daii Fireborn Here it is ladies and gentlemen! The red headed stepchild of that BASTARD Kdaii destroyer!

M6 WS4 BS2 S5 T4 W2 I4 A2 Ld7
Equipment
Hand weapon
Special rules
Unstable - BRB 78 Kdaii lose an unsaveable wound for every point they lose the combat by
Unbreakable
Fear
Flaming attacks
Blazing Body- any model (friend or foe) except another model with this rule in base combat at the start of the close combat phase suffers and automatic S4 flaming attack. In addition, any *non magical* attack that succesfully wounds the model must reroll the wound.
Bound Fire Daemon- 4+ Ward, 2+ vs flaming are daemons for spell description purposes
Burning Bright- from second game turn onwards (not player turn) each Kdaii unit must take a toughness test. If this is failed they suffer D3 unsaveable wounds

Strengths
High strength, all the special rules. Sheer volume of damage output when you consider 2 Att /model + the blazing body hits + stomp +monstrous infantry supporting attacks

Weaknesses
Burning bright could potentially wipe the unit out before anyone else gets much of a chance.
Relatively low toughness for massive points cost. (10 points less than treekin) and low toughness means burning bright is more likely to go off.
Once a Kdaii starts losing on combat res, they start crumbling.

Dusk's handling suggestions:
LEAVE THE TREES AT HOME! no treekin, no treemen! (theres more than just this unit to worry about) Similar to bull centaurs, try lure them out. Chances are your chaos dwarf opponent will want to get them into combat ASAP anyway, seeing as they might crumble away before doing anything. There are two different items in the BRB to allow a 2+ ward vs flaming attacks. Choose one and put it on a eagle noble/highborn, hell put one of each out there if you know youre facing CD! No great eagles due to some of the nasty multiwound killing spells, but you can warmachine hunt just as well with eagle nobles, and with two with a 2+ ward you can double team all the flaming cheese the LoA can throw at you. Failing the eagle nobles, then build in a static res EG unit with war banner, BSB and at least 5 ranks. If you can fit a rhymers harp in there, even better, you want to start winning on combat res just so the buggers will start crumbling like the pansies they are. Finally, these guys are an ideal candidate for spirit sword. Multi wound, regular toughness and low Ld


Magma Cannon:
Cannon T7, W3
Crew M3 WS4 BS3 S3 T4 W1 I2 A1 Ld9
Equipment (crew)
Heavy armour and hand weapon (only a 5+ save)

HOW IT WORKS!- Magma cannon is fired exactly like a cannon except instead of rolling to bounce, it gets the flamer template from the bounce point instead. 24" range Strength 5 flaming multiple wound (d3) still need to roll artillery dice to check for misfires (black powder)

Strengths:
* Template cannon means it can theoretically take an entire unit of the table
* High Strength flaming multiple wound attacks mean forest spirits, trolls, hellpit abominations and Hydras are a thing of the past

Weaknesses:
* 24" range and no extra distance on bounce means any other cannon in the game easily outshoot it.
* compared to other cannons it has a lower strength and less multiple wounds (but template balances this out)
* 25 points more than Empire greatcannon
* weak Crew with little armour (for chaos dwarves) means if you can get in combat its short work to dispatch them
* no grapeshot option

Dusk's handling suggestions:
AGAIN, LEAVE THE TREES AT HOME! no treekin, no treemen! Warmachine hunters, although I recomend eagle noble/highborn in place of great eagles. Can give 2+ flaming ward save to eagle nobles, great eagles can go down to one shot of this, even before you worry about other things in the list. Even a unit of glade riders should be able to kill 3 dwarves on the charge. and if you can't find a way to kill, keep out of range. 24" aint all that. Theres a bit of grumbling about T7 on LoA warmachines instead of 6. Bear in mind, a 6 always wounds and the only time you're rolling against toughness 7 is at range, so be it T6 or T7 those GG longbows are still only wounding on a 6+


Deathshrieker Rocket Launcher
Rocket Battery T7, W3
Crew Exactly the same as Magma cannon

HOW IT WORKS- The deathshrieker has two modes of fire to be determined before rolling any dice. The deathshrieker and the demolition rocket. Deathshrieker works like a stone thrower with the 5" template at S3 flaming attacks, but if it misses all models, it moves an artillery dice worth towards the nearest unit (which could be either friend or foe) using the 3" template. The deathshrieker causes a panic check if it wounds any model in a unit. Demolition rocket mode has no templates. you select any model and roll. If it scatters (which is likely) it is a completely wasted shot unless it lands directly above another model (which is unlikely) it is S8 with multiple (d6) wounds. Misfire is black powder chart. Both modes have 12-48" range

Strengths:
* Demolition has the ability to pick out individual models and if it suceeds has a chance of taking out a prime target.
* Deathshrieker template is 1 S higher than standard stone thrower + flaming and causes panic checks willy nilly.
* Deathshrieker gets a second chance to do damage if the scatter dice are particularly cruel, albeit with a smaller template.
* Deathshrieker is the LARGE 5" template rather than the standard stone thrower 3"

Weaknesses:
* Even if the Demolition rocket hits, it says nothing about negating 'look out sir' rolls, which means heroes and lords are generally safe.
* Standard stone throwers gain a higher strength hit on the model directly beneath the template centre, Deathshriekers do not.
* Standard stone throwers have armour piercing, Deathshriekers do not.
* Deathshrieker mode does not cause multiple wounds, like an ordinary stone thrower
* There is a chance of hitting your own men with the initial scatter, and if not, if your own men are closer to the original point of impact than the enemy, then the 3" template moves towards your own men
* In the even of Misfire, uses black powder instead of stone thrower chart. Take from that what consolation you will.

Dusk's handling suggestions:
Again with the eagle nobles, get them within 12" and you rocket launcher becomes useless. Problem is of course, that for most of the rest of the chaos dwarf army you want to be staying at range. MSU units will minimise damage from large template across your army. If you are investing in a large block of EG for fighting Kdaii on combat res alone, make sure you've got the ironcurse icon somewhere in there to give the unit a 6+ save. Its not much but its better than a deathshrieker rocket to the face. If this is fielded, it should be one of your target priorities amongst the warmachines. As a predominantly T3 army with little to no armour, this particular treasure will bring the hurt unless it is dealt with quickly


Iron Daemon - this is essentially a chariot with a big gun on the front for all intents and purposes- although its listed as a "unique unit' in its troop type (just so you all know, it is the same points cost as a treeman)
M6 S8 T7 W7
Crew WS4 BS3 S3 I2 A3 Ld9 (note no T or W because they cant be picked off seperately, they are just there for closes combat attacks)
Special rules:
* Unbreakable
* Terror
* Large Target
* Impact Hits (D6+2)
* Ironhide: Has a 3+ armour save
* Lumbering and ustoppable: Can move and shoot at no penalty. Alternatively can go 'flat out' 2D6 plus movement in a straight line. If a double 1 is rolled it doesnt move at all. If the 'flat out' move puts it in contact with an enemy roll for impact hits, but get no charge bonuses to combat res (seeing as it was an unintentional contact instead of a declared charge) and additionally the opponent gains always strike first. If it hits a friendly, resolve impact hits then move it back 1". ALSO each round of close combat after the first, Iron Daemon gains thunderstomp. Cannot overrun, cannot pursue.
Demolition: Ignores all terrain up to the height of its wheels. All forms of marsh and water terrain are treated as impassable
Carriage Hauler: All other warmachines in the LoA army have the optional upgrade to be put on a 'steam carriage' for extra points. The iron Daemon is essentially a steam engine that can connect to up to two of these warmachines in a row and ferry them about the battlefield (only once per warmachine) if they find themselves out of range or in a tactical bind. They can't shoot while unless iron daemon is stationary. Unless the iron Daemon itself is charged and locked into combat, war machines attached to the iron daemon cannot be locked into combat and will move away as soon as the iron daemon does. Hauled warmachines all count as seperate targets.

HOW IT WORKS- There are two modes for the iron daemon, the basic mode that comes with the Steam Cannonade gun, or extra points to replace it with the Skullcracker.
- Steam cannonade: Select target. Roll TWO artillery dice and choose the best result. Neither roll can be influenced by an engineers reroll ability because its not technically a warmachine (according to FAQ), so to get a misfire, 2 misfires need to be rolled. On a 'destroyed' result the cannon is removed and the model loses D6 unsaveable wounds. If a misfire is not rolled, then roll to hit as normal at the BS of the crew that many shots at 18" S6, armour piercing multiple wound (D3)
- Skullcracker: Replace steam cannonade. Impact hits and thunderstomp are 2D6 now.

Strengths:
steam cannonade-
* Awesome Gun, potentially get off 10 monster killing shots, with very little chance of a misfire.
Skullcracker-
* No reason not to take Hellbound seeing as artillery dice are never rolled (I sincerely hope this is Faq'd later on to change the 2D6 impact/thunderstomp hits to an artillery dice worth)
Both-
* Ridiculously High toughness, Ridiculously High Wounds (both more if hellbound), unbreakable and High Ld

Weaknesses:
* No obvious weaknesses. Same price as a treeman for a lot tougher and a lot more likely to do damage.
* possibly vulnerable to poison attacks, maybe?
* Water Terrain on the table can seriously reduce the Iron Daemon's ability to affect the game (especially if equipped with skullcracker)
* FAQ'd 27/2/13 to not have firing arc, instead only being able to fire STRAIGHT AHEAD, so its got a 50mm wide range of sight directly ahead

Dusk's handling suggestions:
I DON'T KNOW. Maybe Spirit sword, although thats one hell of a punt seeing as this critter is operating on Ld9 and you still have to wound it first. Hunting spear over time. Muster of Malevolents in an act of pure desperation? Bad matchup. I you charge it with glade riders/wild riders it doesnt get its impact hits off and because they're cavalry theres no thunderstomp. That just means your guys need to survive attacks by the crew at WS3 and S3. It won't be easy to Kill the thing but it will stop it firing/moving around the battlefield charging your guys. Its worth noting that because the FAQ states specifically that the reason the Iron Daemon doesnt get the advantage of the engineer rerolls is because its unit type is not 'war machine' then that means technically the ironcurse icon is no defence against this either. thanks to the new FAQ the gun only has a very narrow field of vision. its avoidance time!


RARE
Hobgoblin Wolf Raiders
Raider M4 WS3 BS3 S3 T3 W1 I2 A1 Ld6
Wolf M9 WS3 BS0 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld3
Special rules:
Hobgoblin animosity: As per cuthroats (above)
Fast Cavalry
Cowardly Despoilers: +1 combat res on the first turn of combat after succesfully charging flank or rear, but -1 combat res on the first turn anyone charges them from any angle.
Equipment:
Light armour and hand weapon
CAN buy bows or shields, but if they take a shield they're no longer consider fast cav.

Strengths:
* Highest movement in entire army book, on par with Kdaii Destroyer
* Cheapish- same points cost as vanilla infernal guard

Weaknesses:
* Goblins, and animosity again
* Take up a valuable spot in 'rare' selection for a unit lacking any real punch
* in a fair fight they are 1 point of combat res more likely to flee during the first turn, especially considering their low Ld

Dusk's handling suggestions:
Goblin wolf raiders. We've all fought them before. in different incarnations. I'm sorry I don't have much to say on them. Unfortunately Hobgoblins don't suffer from fearing elves like their smaller and slightly more likeable cousins do.


Dreadquake Mortar
Mortar Toughness 7 Wounds 3 (upgradeable to 6 with a slave ogre)
Dwarf Crew M3 WS4 BS3 S3 T4 W1 I2 A1 Ld9 (heavy armour)
Slave Ogre M6 WS3 BS2 S4 T4 W3 I2 A3 Ld7

HOW IT WORKS- Stone thrower (3" template) with following profile: 12"-72" Strength 5(10) Multiple wounds (D6), Armour piercing, Quake, Slow Reload. Uses Black powder misfire chart. Quake means that any models in a unit that suffered casualties must pass as test as of they were moving through dangerous terrain if they wish to move in their next turn, because the mortar so damaged the earth around them. Slow reload means that unless the chaos dwarf general pays extra for a slave ogre to do the heavy lifting the mortar you have to roll 3+ each turn after it first fires to make sure its loaded quickly enough. (if ogre is not there a failure means it can fire normally the next turn, as the failed turn is spent reloading)

Strengths:
* all the strengths inherent in a stone thrower plus stronger damage than standard and the ability to force terrain tests

Weakness:

* Nearly 200 points.
* Black powder misfire
* as all the other warmachines, crew is weak (unless ogre is paid for)
* needs ogre to guarantee smooth operation which takes point cost over 200

Dusk's handling suggestions:
Standard War machine practices here, guys.


K'daai Destroyer - the single most abhored and feared creature yet to grace the warhammer fields It is 40 points more than the iron Daemon
M9 WS5 BS3 S7 T6 W6 I5 A6 Ld8
Special rules:
All the rules for Kdaai Fireborn (above)
Frenzy: As per BRB pg 70 except instead of just one extra attack per turn it gets D3

Strengths:
* All the strengths of the Fireborn plus frenzy, plus thunderstomp and a much higher statline

Weaknesses:
* Same as Fireborn except theres less chance of Burning Bright taking any wounds off the destroyer due to high toughness
* You can force a charge due to frenzy rules if it fails a Ld test.

Dusk's handling suggestions:
Exactly the same as the Fireborn. Hold him up with an eagle noble with dragonbane gem or dragonhelm. If you take an eagle highborn with gem or helm, give him spirit sword. You auto wound and allyou need to do is wound once past the 4++ and you can make the Kdaai lose the fight by enough to crumble. seeing as the highborn out Ldships the Kdaai by 2. pray for the dice gods.


Hellcannon- EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE WOC book so I won't go into it.

WELL. There ends our Bestiary! of army list entries. Some might notice I've not filled out for the Chaos Siege Giant because that isn't LoA specific (and I've been typing this for almost two solid work nights).

MAGIC
- The Lore Of Hashut
- otherwise known as the primary reason for leaving the trees at home, and also the great eagles

Killing Fire (Lore Attribute)- If a magic missile or direct damage spell from the Lore of Hashut is cast on one or more models with the "flammable" rule, the wizard adds +D3 to casting total

Breath of Hatred (signature)- 6+ remains in play augment 12". Target unit gains Hatred. boost to all friendly's within 12" on a 15+

1. Burning Wrath- 6+ magic missile 8". D6 S6 flaming attacks. boost to 2D6 on a 12+

2. Dark Subjugation- 8+ hex 24". Target unit must pass Ld test at -3 or have their leadership reduced for the rest of the game by 1 (to a minimum of 2) Unbreakable units immune.

3. Curse of Hashut- 10+ direct damage 18". Targets single model of casters choice, even a character in a unit. Target suffers 2D6 minus their toughness worth of hits. These hits wound on a 4+ with no armour saves allowed.

4. Ash Storm- 12+ hex 24". Very BAD spell of BADNESS, essentially a super awesome curse of aranhreir. unit suffers -1 to hit in close combat, -2 to hit with shooting attacks, cannot charge, march or fly. All terrain becomes dangerous. Wizards affected by this spell can only cast spells on themself. all units under the effects of this spell are treated as being flammable (making any further magic cast at them that much scarier), all until the casters next magic phase.

5. Hell Hammer- 13+ direct damage. Range equals a straight line 3D6 long within casters front arc. Each model under this line must pass an initiative test or suffer a S6 multiple wound (D3) hit. Any unit suffering casualties need to take a panic test. Boost to double the distance rolled on 18+

6. Flames of Azgorh- 18+ direct damage (although requires line of sight) Any point on the table in line of sight. place 3" template scatters D6, causes S6 flaming multiple wound (D6) hits. Any model directly under the centre must pass a toughness test at -2 or be slain with no saves of any kind allowed. boost to 5" template for 25+

Dusk's thoughts on Lore of Hashut:
It is overpowered and obscene. BUT it is only available to the Lord Casters which somewhat mitiagates it in my mind. Ash storm is the reason I suggest leaving great eagles at home, and only fielding them with highborns and Nobles on top. All it takes is a single ash storm to make the great eagles 'flammable' and easy to wipe out with any of the flaming attacks available to LoA, whilst with a rider aboard weilding 2+ward vs fire, they're more likely to be able to do their job.

If you are going to try the crazy spirit sword maneouvre to take out Kdaai, then Keep your spirit sword THE HELL away from the prophet. Last thing a spirit sword wielder needs is decreased leadership.

Defeating this magic? Focus on magic defence. Hope for poor winds of magic rolls. Hope for Miscasts. Force Miscasts with the magic item that allows it. With any luck the prophet will vapourise himself and an expensive unit of Ironsworn. Keep away from the prophet wherever possible. Also at best a Prophet will have 4 of these, so its not neccesarily the end of the world, but I can't pick a single spell I'd hate to roll, whilst with every other magic Lore theres always a few duds in there.


MAGIC ITEMS:
WEAPONS
black hammer of Hashut. +2 strength. Any flammable model succesfully wounded (after armour/ward saves) is killed outright. -Chaos dwarf only
Dagger of Malice. Bearer suffers hatred.
Dark Mace. Killing blow. Once per game, bearer can inflict an automatic wound on all models (including their own mount) with no armour saves alowed

ARMOUR
Armour of Bazherak the Cruel. 2+ armour that cannot be improved. Magic resistance (2)
Mask of the Furnace. increases armour save by 1. 4+ ward /2+vs fire. Cause Fear. Chaos Dwarf only

TALISMANS
Stone Mantle. Increase toughnes by 1, reduce Initiative by 1. Chaos Dwarf only

STANDARDS
Banner of Slavery. All hobgoblin units within 12" are immune to psychology (bear in mind no hobgoblins can carry a magic banner, so has to be on another unit type)

ARCANE ITEMS
Chalice of Blood and Darkness. In any magic phase, at any time including immediately after throwing power dice but before opponent has rolled dispel dice the bearer may if they wish reduce both sides dice pools by D3 each. Roll dice seperately and declare before rolling which side each dice is for. If 2 1's are rolled the bearer loses a wound with no armour saves allowed. if 2 6's are rolled, bearer regains a wound. (This item receives a lot of hate, and the FAQ supports the cheat-y way of using it after rolling power dice and before dispel dice, only way of combating this is i guess to have your dispel dice ready to throw before your opponent can say 'chalice of blood and darknes!')

ENCHANTED ITEMS
Daemon Flask of Ashak. Enchanted item. One use. At start of movement phase before charges are declared. All enemies not unbreakable or ItP take a panic test. Buildings, warmachines and chariots all suffer D6 automatic wounds.

DUSK'S FINAL THOUGHTS:
As the title to this thread suggests, I don't think LoA is a good matchup for Wood Elves. I think Its safe to say we are at a ridiculous disadvantage against this army. The best strategy is to pray/hope/dream for an updated army book that brings us up to par with the other army books out there, giving us some much needed options in magic lores, and points reductions across the board. LoA is easily a top tier army (at least on paper) compared to what is currently available, and we are lagging behind due to GW's neglect. Within an edition though, because they aren't in the core GW range, these poor pretty stunties are going to fall by the wayside as others get updated and not them. The legion of Azgorh are the next generation of wargamer's Wood Elves. Think about that before you get too self righteous and bitter.

All my notes in the above tactica is assuming that your Chaos Dwarf opponent is interested in *playing warhammer* and not sitting in a corner guarding warmachines. If you encounter an opponent who uses this 'legitimate strategy', stand up and walk away because it is in my opinion a foregone conclusion. If a LoA opponent sits there and makes you come into his little bubble of pure high strength destruction, then you're wasting your time on a game you won't stand a chance of winning, and you won't enjoy.

Couple of suggestions, some of which I've outlined above for when youre heading to a table against these guys:
1. Leave your trees at home
2. Maybe even leave your eagles at home unless your feeling lucky.
3. Leave flaming banners and ruby rings of ruin in their ruby encrusted cases
4. Waywatchers. Wardancers. Killing blow. Think about it.
5. Highborn on eagle with Light armour, shield, Spirit sword, dragonhelm and potion of strength - try it against Kdaai destroyer (it just might work!), with an eagle noble with dragonbane gem for kdaai backup and warmachine hunting
6. Wild rider unit with Razor banner might make all the difference against these guys on a charge
7. I feel like Lore of Life on a weaver simply isnt going to bring as much to the table as Lore of Beasts against chaos dwarves. Hunting spear is a must, failing that, Savage beast on your eagle heroes for killing destroyers, or Wyssans on Wild riders for taking out Iron Daemons

Now remember everything stated here is just my opinion, but hopefully it gives those of you out there who know what you're doing a better idea than what you started with. I'm sure you'll all think of something grand and wonderful and soon we'll all be stomping stunties into the ground. :nod:

Right. I think thats me all done. Time for a scotch.
Last edited by dusk1983 on 27 Feb 2013, 00:22, edited 5 times in total.
...So if you're addressing me direct, just call me Lance or Dusk, no 1983 please.
Chaos dwarf tactica: http://www.asrai.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23535
Chaos dwarf plog: http://www.asrai.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23159
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Re: a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by Noght »

Well done! Bravo!

Regarding Iron Demon and Destroyer, bring an Auto Wound weapon, that's what you need.....
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Re: a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by Mollesvinet »

That was an interesting read, since i never faced Chaos Dwarves before. Thank you for the effort. Only thing i noticed was the tip about battling the k'dai destroyer:
dusk1983 wrote:Dusk's handling suggestions:
Exactly the same as the Fireborn. Hold him up with an eagle noble with dragonbane gem or dragonhelm. If you take an eagle highborn with gem or helm, give him spirit sword. You only wound on a 6, but all you need to do is wound once past the 4++ and you can make the Kdaai lose the fight by enough to crumble.
Spirit sword wounds automatically, so at least you don't need 6's like you wrote. But you still have to hit, pass the ward-save AND make the leadership comparrison for it to work so its still not a give-away. Probably the best chance though, although it requires a tailored list.
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Re: a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by dusk1983 »

Thanks guys. Ill fix the spirit sword thing. Its not a weapon id used before but it occerred to while writing that it would be a viable option albeit risky.
...So if you're addressing me direct, just call me Lance or Dusk, no 1983 please.
Chaos dwarf tactica: http://www.asrai.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23535
Chaos dwarf plog: http://www.asrai.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23159
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Re: a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by dusk1983 »

Whole post is now Edited with font size changes, and bolds/italics etc to make it easier to find information someone is looking for, and also make it look less like a gargantuan wall of text.
...So if you're addressing me direct, just call me Lance or Dusk, no 1983 please.
Chaos dwarf tactica: http://www.asrai.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23535
Chaos dwarf plog: http://www.asrai.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23159
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Re: a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by godswearhats »

Your highborn build in your final notes has a potion of strength which is useless with a Spirit Sword. Maybe you meant Potion of Foolhardiness, so that you get an extra attack and are immune to its Terror/Fear as you charge it?
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Re: a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by Monkey »

For the Iron Daemon, apart from it's impact hits, once in combat all it can do are 3 strength 3 attacks from the crew and Thunderstomp. So charge it with a cavalry unit, a Great Eagle or anything cheap that can't be Thunderstomped and you can effectively pin it in combat. You might not hurt it, but it won't be able to do very much to you either.
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Re: a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by Sidewinder »

Thank you, Dusk1983 for the Chaos Dwarf tactica. I've never seen their army book, models, nor a CD player but I've heard a bit about the army.
With the information you provided it has helped me decide to never play against a CD player.

I realize that WHFB 8th edition and all the army books are simply made-up rules by a company that is trying to sell various models and ForgeWorld shouldn't be looked at any differently especially since it's owned by GW. But, just something about the idea of facing an opponent that is using made-up non-GW over-the-top rules just doesn't settle well with me.

Anyway, thanks again for the work you did, it has been very helpful.
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Re: a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by dusk1983 »

Sidewinder wrote:Thank you, Dusk1983 for the Chaos Dwarf tactica. I've never seen their army book, models, nor a CD player but I've heard a bit about the army.
With the information you provided it has helped me decide to never play against a CD player.

I realize that WHFB 8th edition and all the army books are simply made-up rules by a company that is trying to sell various models and ForgeWorld shouldn't be looked at any differently especially since it's owned by GW. But, just something about the idea of facing an opponent that is using made-up non-GW over-the-top rules just doesn't settle well with me.

Anyway, thanks again for the work you did, it has been very helpful.
No worries, but to be fair they're not that over the top. I've played two games with mine, one vs vampire counts and one vs the new lizardmen. In both games I was wiped out to a man by turn 5. Big weakness I've not mentioned above is BS3 across the board. Coupled with short ranges on most of the weapons it means that in order to get a shot they have to move, and even then chances are its long range so 5-6+ to hit at range almost the entire game.
...So if you're addressing me direct, just call me Lance or Dusk, no 1983 please.
Chaos dwarf tactica: http://www.asrai.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23535
Chaos dwarf plog: http://www.asrai.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23159
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Re: a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by godswearhats »

That just means you aren't taking enough artillery :-)
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Re: a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by godswearhats »

Rank and Flank: A Warhammer: The Old World Podcast and Discord
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Re: a bad matchup: Chaos Dwarf (LoA) tactica

Post by dusk1983 »

Oh thanks! I submitted it a while ago but told it wasn't exactly LEAF material. Thanks GWH!
...So if you're addressing me direct, just call me Lance or Dusk, no 1983 please.
Chaos dwarf tactica: http://www.asrai.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=23535
Chaos dwarf plog: http://www.asrai.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=23159
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