#5: They're Still Dwarves...Kind Of
Yeah, this one should be pretty obvious. Expect everything you would ordinarily expect from Dwarves in terms of stat lines, prevalence of shooting, etc.
#4: War Machines
In this case, I'm referring to two of the CD's cannons in particular. The first being the Magma Cannon and the second being the Dreadquake Mortar. Everything else they have is pretty much stuff we've already seen in different books run by different armies. However, these two are unlike anything you've probably ever seen before.
#3: They're Not Just Dwarves...Kind Of.
Again, seems a little difficult to comprehend given the fact that my #5 reason is completely reversed by this, but again bear with me until I have a chance to fully explain.
#2: Magic
Yes, among the many unique changes that Chaos Dwarves have compared to their brethren who fight for the forces of order, Chaos Dwarves bring magic into the game. Something you should definitely look out for in combination with reason #4, but I'll get into that in a little more detail just a bit later.
#1: Obscurity
Yes, it's back to being the number 1 on the chart again, but don't expect it to me there too much longer. For these guys though, it can kind of work against the Legions of Azgorh.
HTB: They're Still Dwarves...Kind Of
Yeah, again this is basically exactly what it sounds like it. When you play Chaos Dwarves just expect the usual nasty things that Dwarves are known for. Stuff like 4+ Armor Saves, rock-solid stat lines, low Movement and Initiative, lots of activity in the Shooting Phase, etc. You can counter this a number of ways that you would normally deal with Dwarves. Stuff like Purple Sun and Pit of Shades that really picks on the universally low Initiative that they suffer from is always a viable tactic. It should also be noted that Chaos Dwarves cannot just bitch slap away magic like normal Dwarves can, even in their current weakened era of anti-magic. So they're even less resistant to harmful magics than most armies. They also suffer from being an elite army that prioritizes quality over the quantity of their troops. So unless the CD's are running heavy on their Hobgoblins, they're going to be outnumbered more likely then not. As usual, they will suffer from getting into combat with Elves and if you're running an army filled with Chaos Dwarves then you're going to be a little limited in your tactics. As Dwarves, you make line and hold it. Running away and advanced tactical maneuvers are a little difficult when you're Movement 3 and pursue/flee 2D6-1". Just a few fun facts to keep in mind if you're freaking out because you've never played against the Black Smith's of Chaos.
HTB: War Machines
Now, pretty much everything the Chaos Dwarves have in terms of war machines is stuff that we've already seen for the most part. Even things that look way unique are actually more familiar than it may seem. The Iron Daemon is basically just a Steam Tank, and the Deathshreiker Rocket is just the bastard child of an Empire Great Cannon and Hellblaster Volley Gun. The Magma Cannon and the Dreadquake Mortar however are the two big guns you really want to be afraid of. Let's start with the former of the two, it's identical to how it fires and targets to it's good clone, the Dwarf Flame Cannon. Here's where the difference ends however. While the Dwarf Flame Cannon is actually only mediocre in terms of performance, the Magma Cannon can destroy entire battle formations. Everything under the flame template it fires suffers a Strength 5 hit with D3 Multiple Wounds. In addition, these hits are obviously Flaming. Rank-and-file infantry and tough Monster Cavalry alike will suffer under this kind of punishment. Not to mention if the targeted unit has Ash Storm on it, it's basically just dead outright. It comes out of the Special section of the book, and clocks in at an insanely cheap price of 145 points. I have yet to see any Chaos Dwarf list, competitive or friendly, not include at least one of them in their list. The second is the Dreadquake Mortar, and if you think it works along the lines of the Empire Mortar, then you'd be dead wrong. It has a range of 12"-72", making it the longest reaching artillery piece in the game. It fires the Large Round Template with a S5(10 under the hole) hit that has the Armor Piercing Special Rule. Seems to be just like a supped version of the Empire's Mortar, right? Wrong! Here's where this thing gets absolutely bat-shit insane. If the enemy unit targeted by this shot gets hit and after the wounds have been resolved it's subject to Dangerous Terrain tests if it wants to make any movement of any kind or Move and Shoot at all. Now, this weapon has three obvious faults that anyone who has played more than five games of Warhammer should note right off the bat. First, this thing is majorly expensive. Second, and in combination with the first, this cannon comes out of the Rare section and more often then not competes with the ever popular K'adaai Destroyer. Third, it's subject to Slow to Fire. There's no way to really mitigate the first two, but for a few points more they can upgrade to give the Mortat Crew a Slave Ogre, which eliminates Slow to Fire and gives the artillery piece a much more beefy stat line. So, after having scared the shit out of you with this information, how to do you neutralize these terrifying creations? Well, first off you have to have some kind of war machine hunting unit. The meta of the game is so heavy in war machines that you can't afford not to in any list. I would also warn that CD players can Hellbound their war machines, which gives them +1 to the guns' Wounds and Toughness, but makes misfires VERY bad. This will make hunting them harder then usual, but not impossible mind you. Basically, you're going to need some really nasty chaff. I'm talking Outriders or Dark Riders or Pegasus Knights nasty. Stuff that's so good as chaff that it almost ascends that level and becomes something new. Anything with Spears or Lances that can really pack a punch on the charge will ultimately do. The other thing you can do is, provided the CD player doesn't have a K'adaai on the board, use your own artillery to take out their artillery. Since the Chaos Dwarf's casters are also Engineers, this can be a really sweet way to kill two birds with one stone (or cannonball if you have them), but may prove to bit a difficult if those fuckers are Hellbound. Other then that, I've got nothing. I've always found a way to deal with them in virtually every game I've had with the Children of Hashut. My advice? Make sure whatever is your designated war machine hunters are loaded for bear. Cause you're going to need it brothers and sisters.
HTB: They're Not Just Dwarves...Kind Of
Here's where all the people who just happen to be fact checkers for a living are waiting to string me by the neck with a chain made from the paper of the Chaos Dwarves' book (a very expensive rope mind you). You should be warned going into a game against the CD's, they can do a lot of things that you would never expect Dwarves to actually be able to do. For example, CD's can use magical items out of the Warhammer BRB, where as regular Dwarves cannot. CD's also have access to unit types that Dwarves as whole simply do not have in their book. Chaos Dwarves have access to two different types of cavalry, Fast Cavalry (Hobgoblin Wolf Riders) and Monster Cavalry (Bull Centaur Renders). They have access to a chariot in the form of the Iron Daemon. I'm going to go on a bit of a tangent here, but come on! How do Dwarves not have a tank of some kind?! If Empire, whose greatest engineering feats are considered to be sub-par by even the lowliest of Dwarf Engineers, has access to a tank, then why in the name of all that is bearded and drunk do the greatest engineers in Old World not have one?! Ahem, back to the point then. CD's can also bring Monsters to the battlefield in the forms of both the K'adaai Destroyer and the Siege Giant. Even more interesting is the fact that they have access to Halberds (in the form of the Fireglaive), which is a very unique and powerful choice for Dwarves as whole and is not available for anything in the good Dwarf book. Bottom line, do not completely expect the CD's to be just like Dwarves as a whole, because they're not. They have many similarities, but they are not just evil twins of the army with a few spiky things attached to all their shit.
HTB: Magic
I know this one seems like it should be in the category above, but I thought it such a big topic that it deserved it's own spot all to itself. Chaos Dwarves have access to magic. Not that stupid fucking Bound Spell shit that Dwarves have on their Anvil. I'm talking real life, honest to God magic. Chaos Dwarves have access to the Lores of Fire, Metal, Death, and their own signature lore, the Lore of Hashut. Not much to say about their lore, other then there are two spells you need to be wary of. They are Ash Storm and Flames of Azgorh. The reason why is that both these spells seem like they're on crack. Given how bizarre their book is, it wouldn't surprise if narcotics had a part in the creation of this army. Other than that, all I can say is that the most viable tactic is a Level 4 caster on Death and a few other support casters all jerking off all over their war machines, because guess what? Chaos Dwarf Casters also just happen to be Engineers too! One thing I see a lot of people do is take a Level 4 Sorcerer-Prophet on Fire and put him on Bale Taurus so that he can heal the bull and have a mounted character that won't die in two rounds. However, taking a Level 4 on Fire is really just shooting yourself in the foot so you're better off with Death anyway. Metal is also very viable as well, so make sure to look out for that one on a Daemon Smith or two. My advice? Take a Dispel Scroll and let the Chaos Dwarf player use magic at his/her own risk. Chaos Dwarves have access to some pretty nice magic, but their Sorcerer's Curse special rule really makes miscasts really unforgiving meaning you won't be seeing too much 6-Dicing the Purple Sun out of these guys. As you would with most armies. Also, if the caster is hanging around the war machines, it means he doesn't have the advantage of bodies to hide behind. These guys are still pretty tough, and they can have war machines take "Look Out Sir's!" for them, but if you have some pretty tough Fast Cav or other elite chaff, you still have a good chance of beating his sorry little ass. I've had a unit of 3 Pegasus Knights take out a fully kitted out Sorcerer-Lord like they were ordering a fucking pizza. It's tougher than most other casters, but they're still squishy and vulnerable at the end of the day.
HTB: Obscurity
Now, unlike Beastmen and Bretonnia who are obscure because they are ancient by most other army book standards, Chaos Dwarves are obscure for two particular reasons. The first is that they are no longer an army supported by GW, and thus are unavailable in the same ways that the other 14 armies are. The second, these guys are a Forgeworld army meaning they are by far the most expensive army per model in the entire game. Their fucking book is ridiculous right off the bat! Not to mention most of the models are almost impossible to get or are out of print and therefore really, really rare. However, players can mitigate this by buying Dwarf units second hand (which saves them a lot of money really), spend hours converting and repainting them to Chaos Dwarf units, and then buying the book with the money they saved from the models. This is how 90% of the CD players I know got started with their armies. However, that's not the real problem. The real problem is that there's virtually no way to scout these guys! Their book isn't like Beastmen or Bretonnia where you can pick it up for $5 used on Amazon. With shipping and everything else you will easily be in the triple digit dollar range, so unless you just won the lottery I wouldn't suggest buying this book on a whim. What makes this really dangerous for Chaos Dwarf players is that also unlike the other two armies I've done so far in this series, Chaos Dwarves are a very competitive army. That's what makes them probably the most powerful one in the game. It's not that their rules or units are broken, or that their book is busted. It's a pretty balanced thing all said and done, but it's at such a power curve and such a mysterious army that no one can prepare for them. It's like playing an army at the same power curve as Empire and Dwarves, but are even less common then the Beastmen. And honestly, this is hardest strength to mitigate. Now, praise God above that several people I am friends with own this army and I have a lot of experience playing them. But that's not the case for most people, and if you happen to fall into that category, then my advice is to find someone in your area who plays CD's (there's always that one fucking guy!) and play them. A lot.
