First up, Ancestral Grudge. With Ancestral Grudge, all Dwarfs (every unit in the Dwarf Army book has this rule) have Hatred (Orcs and Goblins) and Hatred (Skaven), meaning that Dwarfs will always get to re-roll their "to hit" rolls in the first round of combat against any model from either the Orcs and Goblins or Skaven army books. This is a nice little benefit, as a good portion of any tournament field (roughly 10 - 15%) is comprised of Skaven and Orc and Goblin armies, so you will be able to use this rule frequently.
However, it is the second part of this rule that makes it really special. Against any other army, after deployment (but before vanguard moves) roll a d6 and consult the chart on page 32. One a roll of "1" or "2", the Dwarf general gains Hatred against the opposing army's general. (So no matter what, you general will always hate the opposing general. This will work well in building challenge based characters).
On a roll of "3" or "4" all friendly characters gain Hatred against all character models in the opposing army. (How does that sound, your 3 attack hero having hatred against your opponent's 3 wound level 4 mage? This is a great ability that could really impact your games as most players run several characters in their army like mages and battle standard bearers. Plus, you will be getting this in a third of your games! Nothing to complaint about here).
Finally, on the roll of a "5" or a "6" (so a third of the all your games, folks), every model in your army gains Hatred against all models in the enemy army (yes, you read that right, all models). (So, one-third of the time, your army will hate your opponent's army, regardless of the type of army, including against other dwarfs! This rule is fantastic, as it allows the Dwarfs to play more aggressively and combat oriented in a game if you know you will be able to re-roll your missed "to hit" rolls).
Next on the Army Special Rules is Dwarf-Crafted. This rule applies to specially made weapons and provides that shooting attacks made with this weapon do not suffer the normal -1 to hit penalty when performing a stand-and-shoot charge reaction. Awesome! If you were already planning on staying back and shooting your opponent, now you can do it without taking an additional -1 penalty. The list of units that have this rule include any unit armed with the following: Dwarf Crossbow, Dwarf Handgun, Dwarf Pistol, and/or Brace of Dwarf Pistols.
Third up, is Resolute. Models with this special rule receive a +1 to strength on the turn they charge. Though, with a 3" base movement value, this rule should really read that dwarfs get a +1 strength on the turn they counter charge. This rule will work very well in a hammer and anvil style build, but will be difficult to pull off with more traditional castling builds as the enemy units will almost always be able to charge first (except in a few rare circumstances or bad charge distance rolls). However, having this rule just adds to the flavor of dwarfs and will make it worthwhile to try an engage rather than simply accept the charge. Every foot unit in the army (so no warmachines or flyers) has this rule, so expect dwarf combat builds to be out on the tournament circuit.
Fourth on the special rules page is Relentless. Units made entirely of models with this rule (everything in the army book but warmachines), may march without taking a leadership test regardless of enemy units. With this, dwarfs will march the standard 6" a turn (and fly 20") every turn and still function without a care for your scouts or march blockers. The question is if the army builds will be able to use this constant movement to be able to charge an enemy unit.
The fifth special rule in the Dwarf book is Shieldwall. With Shieldwall, all models with this rule, on a turn they are charged, receive a +1 to any parry save they are eligible to take. This rule applies even if the unit is already engaged in combat when it is charged (meaning that the unit will get the bonus parry saves against all opponents, not just the one who charged). This rule is awesome for the dwarf anvil units. Increasing a parry save from 16% to 33% of the time means less Dwarfs will die. Less dead dwarfs means more attacks back, long unbreakable or stubborn units, and a longer time for your opponent to either get ground out or counter charged. Although this rule is limited to only those units that can take shields (with the exception of rangers) and is included for Hammerers (which is weird as they have great weapons - but there may be 9th edition plotting hidden in this book), this rule will become a focus of consternation for your opponent as he tries in vain to chew through your already armored troops. As most units get benefits on the charge that usually negate your basic 4+ save, the increased parry will keep a decent number of troops left on the field.
Last, but certainly not least, is Natural Resistance which grants a standard +2 bonus to all dispel attempts by a Dwarf army. This can be combined with other runic items in the book to provide a chance to survive an opponents deadly magic phases. The best part of this rule is that it applies across the army regardless of what models are on the field and is not tied to any specific character or unit.
Next time, I will examine the Core unit choices and play around with some builds to see what kind of damage the core units can put out, compared with what they can expect to take against similar costed tournament units. Check back next week to see part two of this series.
Third up, is Resolute. Models with this special rule receive a +1 to strength on the turn they charge. Though, with a 3" base movement value, this rule should really read that dwarfs get a +1 strength on the turn they counter charge. This rule will work very well in a hammer and anvil style build, but will be difficult to pull off with more traditional castling builds as the enemy units will almost always be able to charge first (except in a few rare circumstances or bad charge distance rolls). However, having this rule just adds to the flavor of dwarfs and will make it worthwhile to try an engage rather than simply accept the charge. Every foot unit in the army (so no warmachines or flyers) has this rule, so expect dwarf combat builds to be out on the tournament circuit.
Fourth on the special rules page is Relentless. Units made entirely of models with this rule (everything in the army book but warmachines), may march without taking a leadership test regardless of enemy units. With this, dwarfs will march the standard 6" a turn (and fly 20") every turn and still function without a care for your scouts or march blockers. The question is if the army builds will be able to use this constant movement to be able to charge an enemy unit.
The fifth special rule in the Dwarf book is Shieldwall. With Shieldwall, all models with this rule, on a turn they are charged, receive a +1 to any parry save they are eligible to take. This rule applies even if the unit is already engaged in combat when it is charged (meaning that the unit will get the bonus parry saves against all opponents, not just the one who charged). This rule is awesome for the dwarf anvil units. Increasing a parry save from 16% to 33% of the time means less Dwarfs will die. Less dead dwarfs means more attacks back, long unbreakable or stubborn units, and a longer time for your opponent to either get ground out or counter charged. Although this rule is limited to only those units that can take shields (with the exception of rangers) and is included for Hammerers (which is weird as they have great weapons - but there may be 9th edition plotting hidden in this book), this rule will become a focus of consternation for your opponent as he tries in vain to chew through your already armored troops. As most units get benefits on the charge that usually negate your basic 4+ save, the increased parry will keep a decent number of troops left on the field.
Last, but certainly not least, is Natural Resistance which grants a standard +2 bonus to all dispel attempts by a Dwarf army. This can be combined with other runic items in the book to provide a chance to survive an opponents deadly magic phases. The best part of this rule is that it applies across the army regardless of what models are on the field and is not tied to any specific character or unit.
Next time, I will examine the Core unit choices and play around with some builds to see what kind of damage the core units can put out, compared with what they can expect to take against similar costed tournament units. Check back next week to see part two of this series.
Seems like the biggest change to me for the dwarfs (special rules wise) is the lack of the -1 to pursue and flee. That will help them quite a bit be more aggressive, as they're going to be way more likely to catch what they're pursuing.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty glad they've added some new and interesting rules that don't conflict with the dwarf playstyle and background.
The removal of the -1 means they can actually catch things and perhaps get away from a lost combat (though the proper build would just to be re-rollable stubborn on a 10 or unbreakable) so running isn't really a problem. I also find my cool combos or neat unit ideas each time I peruse the book. Although the book is not as flashy, it definitely can compete with the big boys if built the right way.
Delete