masters? I’d say yes, as you will kill quite a number of them. Plus, it isn’t a lot of points either, even if you bump them up to 50 strong.
ward. However I see flaming attacks becoming more common, so Armour of the Furnace might still be quite worthwhile.
Some other things we need to consider is character slots being gone. Considering our heroes are ld 10, this can make for some interesting options. A Chaos Dwarf hero with mundante items is not costly, nor is he excellent, but he is still effective. He adds some quality leadership if the unit will be away from the general. Alternately, Hobgoblin heroes might be worth taking with little to no magic items to add that little extra bit to your greenskin units. They’re cheap enough to spam certainly. Plus Bull Centaur characters might be rather important for making your Bull Centaur units that much more effective. Depending on kits, you can probably squeeze one in without too much difficulty as well.
Though the percentages are an area which I see a lot of possibility. For one, we don’t have to worry about special slots so much as points. This really makes the trade off bolt throwers vs Rockets a little less of an issue (indeed one is better for monsters or cav, the other for infantry blocks). Plus you can really make use of your greenskins (Orcs and Black Orcs) to have some killing power. Choppas, Dual Choppas, or Great Weapons can all be deadly on the Black Orcs, Big Uns, and even Orcs. Which is also nice for those who either don’t want to convert a lot and/or use elements of their Orc and Goblin army.
The new list of generic items are also a big benefit to us. We now have quite the selection, and honestly there are a lot of good ones in there. I’ve already mentioned the armor piercing banner, but we have access to a lot of ward saves now, some useful arcane items, and many others. This can really make our characters much more effective to be quite honest. The combinations they offer are still being thought up as I write this, so give them some serious looks. There are just some amazing options, like the potions in the enchanted item section. We also have to consider rank bonuses, as it is a little harder to negate them. Wolf Riders in ranks, bigger units of Bull Centaurs, our Greenskin slaves, or even small units of Chaos Dwarf Warriors can fulfill this role quite nicely. A sturdy Chaos Dwarf unit to absorb the charge, with a medium sized unit (in 7th edition terms) of 15 or so warriors to flank charge. Why 15? 15 gives them enough to take some shorts to still matter in such a roll, plus they’re not going to roll over and die should they be charged by more unit either. However, at 15, they’re still small enough to be somewhat expendable should they be countered. You almost need to think of them as a less sophisticated detachment, really. Running your Lord on Taurus might not be as brutal before, by not negating ranks and he can be march blocked, though he is still deadly. He can breathe into combat, so he might work very well in a supporting roll. Plus, by being on his Taurus he extends his command radius by 6” which is a significant increase in area! So you can’t use him on his own as much as you did in 7th, but when supporting your warrior block he could add a lot of killing power. In addition, being mounted on a monstrous mount does add a pip to your armor save. So now will full armor, that lord will have a 3+ armor save, or 2+ with the Armour of the Furnace! You could also give him the armor of destiny, as opposed to Armour of the Furnace for a better
Also, the venerable Earth Shaker is still useful. While its direct damage elements has already been discussed, slowing the enemy down on the march or even reducing that charge by that critical inch or two, can really matter. With shooting in two ranks, and archers en masse, we will see more shooting. So shutting that down is perhaps more critical than before. With the ability to fire indirectly, even with quite the drift, we can center it in the enemy army or shooters and quite possibly really hamper their efforts. With that, I’m looking forward to running Chaos Dwarfs where I can, as I feel they’re much more viable. Infantry matters a lot more, more items, less stressing massive points spent on magic defense, and some versatility to let us use our ‘elites’ really help. It should be interesting!
(Continued from Page 82) Dawi Zharr asked the fallen Dwarf. Filli gripped his axe tightly as the wolves came into melee range. The foul minions of the Chaos Dwarfs move impossibly fast in a blur of fur and fangs, one of the wolves leapt a Filli, with its jaws aimed at his throat... (To be continued? Willmark)
Issue 9- The Word of Hashut– 90