5.0 Chaos Dwarf Tactics

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"PRAISE HASHUT!"

"HASHUT! VORGUND! ZHARR-NAGGRUND!"

The war cry of the Chaos Dwarfs.

5.1 Chaos Dwarf Beastiary

5.1.1 Chaos Dwarfs

Chaos Dwarfs, or "Big Hats" as they are also known, are almost identical to the normal Dwarfs with certain important differences. First and most importantly of all, Chaos Dwarfs don't hate greens skins. Second, they do not benefit from being Dwarfs when dispelling enemy magic. They still get the special rule for moving in armor, though. Toughness 4, weapon skill 4, and high leadership 9 are balanced out by their low movement and Initiative. Their average ballistic skill is of no consequence because their main weapon blunderbuss is not affected by range or most other usual ballistic skill penalties. Point cost is a standard 8. All in all they are just a little bit worse deal than normal Dwarfs, but this is compensated elsewhere.

5.1.2 Bull Centaurs

These are one of the best basic races of Warhammer Fantasy Battle. High strength, toughness, attacks, wounds and leadership make Bull Centaurs truly formidable. Their characters are always recommendable, especially their battle standard bearer since this creature has far more resilience than a normal dwarf champion. Bull Centaur lord is your most powerful single model in hand to hand, so if you have points to spare, choose him. The only downsides of the Bull Centaurs I can think of is their high point cost and the limitations of their choice for equipment.

5.1.3 Greenskins

Other races with powerful line of characteristics are limited in numbers, but Chaos Dwarfs get the Hobgoblins, Goblins, Orcs and Black Orcs as an welcome bonus. As the Black Orcs are quite cheap and very powerful I usually try to field few of them. If you include Orcs and Goblins in your army, be sure to take some hobgoblins, too. Getting rid of animosity is quite something!

5.2 Characters

5.2.1 Lord

I usually go for the Chaos Dwarf Lord since I can get the sorcerer lords anyway. I consider sorcerer lord only in smaller battles since it saves points and can shock your opponent (No one expects Level 4 mage in a 1000 point battle!)

5.2.2 Battle Standard

Go for the Bull Centaur. Anything that increases your battle standards survivability is a good thing.

5.2.3 Sorcerers

Chaos dwarf sorcerers are very good mages because of their toughness of 5. Look for the following spells: Doomroar against low leadership opponents, Eruption against Dwarfs and others with low I, Ash Cloud against Chaos and Lava Storm against everybody.

5.3 Units

5.3.1 Chaos Dwarf Warriors

GENERAL NOTES:
Your compulsory unit. They are Dwarfs armed with hand weapons, 2 handed axes, heavy armor and shields.
WEAKNESSES:
As all troops armed with 2 handed weapons, Chaos Dwarf warriors strike last. These troops also suffer from a horribly high point cost.
USES:
Because they can field a magical standard, Chaos Dwarf warriors are not useless by no means. Their high toughness and armor save should see them through most missile attacks your enemy can throw at you. If you know that your opponent is planning something especially against your warriors, just field a 5 strong regiment. That is all what is needed. Any basic human, Skaven, goblin or elven infantry is quite helpless against these axe men because of their weapon skill 4, toughness 4, effective strength 5 and 5+ save.

5.3.2 Chaos Dwarf Blunderbusses

GENERAL NOTES:
Chaos Dwarfs equipped with the unique missile weapons. In great numbers they are truly devastating devices.
WEAKNESSES:
Heavy armors boost up their point value by far too many points. The short range of their weapons combined with slow movement and inability to move and fire means they can be out manoeuvered.
USES:
I always try to have so wide line of Blunderbusses that there is simply no room to out manoeuvre them. One rank is usually enough against Skaven, Elves and human infantry, but against heavily armored targets like knights 3 ranks is just what you need. Keep few extra Dwarfs as a reserve. It's extremely annoying to have your strength reduced because your 3rd rank lacks one model!

5.3.3 Bull Centaurs

GENERAL NOTES:
The best regiment of the whole army. Strength 4, toughness 4, 2 wounds, 2 attacks, movement 8 and leadership of 9! In addition to this, they qualify as fast cavalry and can carry a magic standard!
WEAKNESSES:
Two handed weapons that make you strike last. This is a less of a disaster for Bull Centaurs, since their high toughness and multiple wounds balance this out. All spells that require an initiative check or an armor save are very dangerous against the Bull Centaurs. Also, these guys are not cheap (though usually they are worth it.)
USES:
The Bull Centaurs form my major strong arm along with Black Orcs. With right standard and couple of the dreaded Bull Centaur Characters leading them, they beat up almost anybody, especially in a longer hand to hand combats.

5.3.4 Hobgoblin Warriors

GENERAL NOTES:
"Middle class" Greenskins. Better than goblins, weaker than Orcs.
WEAKNESSES:
Basic leadership of 6 and initiative of 2 means that great many armies outclass them. Also, if they break they somehow manage to cause panic test on their Chaos Dwarf masters!
USES:
Because they cost 4.5 points, you get their equipment very cheap. They can be also used to absorb missile casualties, beat up halflings and especially to stop animosity.

5.3.5 Hobgoblin Wolf Riders

GENERAL NOTES:
Bit better than the normal goblin wolf riders.
WEAKNESSES:
Can't beat any other cavalry.
USES:
Giant Wolves are pretty good fighters against any armies with basic weapon skill of 3. I recommend using them as skirmishers with short bows to slow down enemy's efforts to march. You can then pick on war machine crews and lightly armored opponents with the bows.

5.3.6 Hobgoblin Archers

GENERAL NOTES:
Very cheap archers.
WEAKNESSES:
No long bows and the usual hobgoblin weaknesses. Never expect them to win any hand to hand combats.
USES:
When defending, they give you a ballistic skill 3, strength 3, 24" attack each. Leave them out in offensive armies unless they are the ones you want to stop the animosity.

5.3.7 Sneaky Gits

GENERAL NOTES:
Hobgoblins with 2 poisoned daggers, a very handy enveloping special rule and not a shrimp of armor!
WEAKNESSES:
Low hobgoblin initiative and no armor save mean they tend to die a lot.
USES:
They are often my main candidates for Crown of Command and Battle Standard. This tactic works well against Skaven, human infantry, and cavalry with less than 2+ save. Take a LARGE (30 minimum) regiment of Sneaky Gits, give them Battle Standard (Dread banner if you are feeling especially nasty), Crown of Command and couple of good characters to lead them. You can put this unit against almost anybody, even elven cavalry. They won't break, (Unmodified leadership 10 with rerolls), envelope the opponent (increasing their combat resolution), have 2 attacks, huge rank bonus and great resilience. You lose rounds of combat at first, but slowly and surely you`ll envelope your enemy and those 2 attacks and -1 saves soon start to tell.

5.3.8 Black Orcs

GENERAL NOTES:
The famed regiment of the Orc and Goblin army, Black Orcs are a very good value for their points.
WEAKNESSES:
Black Orcs lack the ability to carry a magic standard when fielded under the Chaos Dwarfs. Watch out for their low initiative when attacked with spells like Pit of Tarnus.
USES:
With Bull Centaurs, these guys are your Close-combat specialists. If defending, give them spears, otherwise two hand weapons, Halberds and 2 handed weapons. Two hand weapons work bet against Elves with low toughness and armor save.

5.3.9 Orcs

GENERAL NOTES:
Boyz are back! I think everybody knows what Orcs are and how to use them. Remember that they are immune to panic test caused by other goblinoids, except other Orcs.
WEAKNESSES:
Low initiative, mediocre leadership and inability to use crossbows. Armor saves also leaves a lot to be hoped for. Large base isn`t a good thing, and neither is the fact that the Dwarfs hate them.
USES:
With bows they can bolster your defensive line, or with halberds or extra hand weapons as close combatants. They are very effective in Chaos Dwarfs armies, since even one unit of Hobgoblins stops animosity.

5.3.10 Goblins

GENERAL NOTES:
Cheap, weak, demoralized. Equipment is very cheap for them.
WEAKNESSES:
Too numerous to mention. Watch out against the Elves which these guys fear.
USES:
Cannon fodder and knight trap (with Crown of Command). You can also annoy your enemy with short bows, or give their leading big boss the Heart of Woe to cause a shock for those opposing heroes.

5.4 War Machines

5.4.1 Earthshaker Cannon

This machine is one of the many strong points of the Chaos Dwarfs. In particular, you should use it against the Elves and anybody else who relies on their speed. This comes in addition to damage equal to a stone thrower. I think you should field at least three of these things to ensure that misfires don't spoil your strategy. These things are costly in terms of money and points, though.

5.4.2 Deathrocket

Good for mowing down infantry if you field enough of them. Their misfires can backfire very badly indeed, though. I prefer the Earthshaker cannon.

5.4.3 Hobgoblin Bolt Thrower

Cheap. Go for it against armies that like to employ many knights. Try to place them in to flanks so you could get a chance to shoot enemy cavalry units from the side, causing maximum possible havoc. A plus side is that these devices don`t misfire.

5.5 Special Characters

5.5.1 Zhatan the Black

GENERAL NOTES:
Even the greatest heroes cower with fear when faced off with Zhatan the Black.
WEAKNESSES:
None, unless you consider his inability to ride all monsters a disadvantage. I don`t.
USES:
I see no reason why you shouldn't include Zhatan in your every army Just remember that he is hand to hand fighter with his high weapon skill and the terrible special rule for hating all enemy. Equip him right and hail him off to battle!

5.5.2 Gorduz Backstabber

GENERAL NOTES:
The only Hobgoblin Lord available. Comes with a handy special rule that allows him to "hang in there."
WEAKNESSES:
He is only a Hobgoblin Lord. Cheap but not that powerful.
USES:
I very often place him in the charge of the Sneaky Gits. He boosts their hand to hand potential and is able to carry Crown of Command plus two other magic items and he also gets an additional unmodified save against the last wound inflicted.

5.5.3 Astragoth the Sorcerer Lord

GENERAL NOTES:
A combination tank and Sorcerer Lord.
WEAKNESSES:
He is very expensive.
USES:
The most enduring Sorcerer Lord you can field. This mage doesn't have to be ashamed in hand to hand. One good trick is to give this guy a Blade of Darting Steel. This gives him 6 automatic hits! Not bad for a sorcerer.

5.6 Monsters

One of my favorite monsters is the Lammasu, since it saves me the trouble of equipping the rider with a dispel magic item. I like the Manticore instead of the Bull Taurus.

5.7 Magic Items

Since the Chaos Dwarfs have the access to all magic items that Chaos can get, excluding items limited to the followers of specified Chaos Gods. It is worth dipping into the Chaos Boxed set and fishing out the Chaos Rune shield and the Sword of Change. In the Undead book there are also few interesting items that Chaos Dwarfs can use, including Black Axe of Krell and the Chaos Rune sword. There are many other items, too numerous to mention. Borrow/buy/steal the Chaos Boxed set and see for yourself!

5.8 Tactics

The thing when fighting with Chaos Dwarfs is to strike the right balance between the expensive Dwarfs and cheap Greenskins. The Chaos Dwarfs don't fall into any special category. Chaos and Skaven always attack, High Elves defend and so on, but the army list of the Chaos Dwarfs itself does not hint in which way to go.

There are few basic things, though.

Otherwise, I suggest that you tailor your army to fit your style, since Chaos Dwarf army list certainly allows this. Here are few suggestions:

5.8.1 The Hammer of Hashut

This is a simple and brutal tactic. Go for full offensive. Bull Centaurs, monsters, Black Orcs, maxed out Sneaky Git and allied Chaos forces should wreck just about anybody. Glorious and risky.

Dip into Chaos Box and arm your heroes with the nastiest items possible. You'll be surprised how many they are!

5.8.2 The Lava and the Steel

Chaos Dwarfs are very diverse army, so they are well suited for combination tactics. Divide your army in half: On one flank, deploy your bull centaurs and character beefed up wolf riders, and on the other, put your Blunderbusses, hobgoblin and orc archers and all those Earthshakers. While your cavalry (hopefully) mows the enemy down your other troops blast away. It is a rare force indeed that is brave enough to approach Blunderbusses in three ranks. Allies to take are Orcs armed with Crossbows.

5.8.3 The Flames of Hashut

As the defensive strategy is my firm favorite with almost any army except Chaos and Dark Elves, I have spent some time trying to compose a defensive Chaos Dwarf army. Here are the results: First I take enough Blunderbusses to lay a curtain of fire in a place where I expect my enemy's main attack will be concentrated. If possible I try to make the field of fire as wide as possible and put the war machines on hills. Sorcerers blast away with spells and the Flames of Hashut burn High.

Woe to anyone who advances on them! I keep fast troops away with at least three Earthshakers and I often take the Orb of Thunder to keep those nasty enemy flyers from messing up my careful position.

An important thing here is to guard your flanks. Especially the Blunderbuss regiments should concetrate on their main role, and should leave any fast harrassers to your Bull Centaur reserve.

This is all I can do for you now. So heed me well and bring back many slaves and sacrifices from your conquests.

Next part: Dark Elf Tactics.