Dwarf Guilds Tactics

Dwarf Guilds
Setting:	Grimdark Future
Games:	Grimdark Future, Grimdark Future: Firefight
Species:	Dwarf
Version:	v2.50

Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.

Why Play Dwarf Guilds

The dwarfs aren't fast by a long shot. But what they do tout is a lot of ways to carry heavy weaponry. Most of your units can carry heavy guns without paying as much for battle brothers and the same can be said for melee.

Pros:

• Plenty of access to heavy weaponry
• While not battle brother tanky, you are a pretty doughty force of troops.
• Some really dangerous tanks

Cons:

• The majority of your infantry units are Slow
• Most units are pretty expensive
• Low-average number of activations
• Most of your force is pretty meh at melee.
• Limited psychic casting

Army Special Rules

• Battle Haste: The hero and its unit may ignore the Slow rule. The only way to remove Slow on an attached unit.
• Battle Lore: The attached unit gets +1 AP to their shooting.
• Beam: Poison +1. Any rolls of 6 to hit deal four hits instead of three.
• Magma: All hits from this weapon ignore Regeneration.
• Medical Training: This model gives its unit Regeneration.
• Repair: When activated, this unit can heal d3 wounds on a nearby Tough model if they roll a 2+.
• Shield Wall: Anybody who shoots a unit where every model has this rule takes -1 to hit. A lot of units can buy shields for this rule, but it requires the entire unit to take it for it to work.
• Slayer: The rule for berserkers. Whenever they fight a unit with Tough 3+, then they add +2 AP to their melee weapons.
• Spectrum Scanner: A unit with a model using this rule ignores all cover when shooting.
• Swift: Allows a model to ignore Slow, but doesn't confer it to any other units, such as with Battle Haste.
• Tunneller: The unit gains a special form of Ambush that lets them arrive within 1" of any enemies, offsetting Slow by throwing them right into the thick of it.

Psychic Spells

• Spite Rune (4+): Two enemy units within 18" get -1 to hit when they next fight in melee. This can be useful since most of your force is more melee-focused.
• Smiting Rune (4+): Enemy unit within 12" takes 4 hits.
• Battle Rune (5+): Two Friendly units within 12" +2" next time they Advance, or +4" next time they Charge/Rush. This is seriously important because of the aforementioned slowness of your army.
• Breaking Rune (5+): Enemy model within 12" takes 2 AP 4 hits.
• Drill Rune (6+): Target 3 friendly units within 12” get Flying next time they activate.
• Cleaving Rune (6+): Two enemy units within 12" take 6 hits each, making this an ideal anti-mob power.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Dwarf Champion: While not the most powerful of heroes, he is without a doubt the most flexible. You should note that his shooting power isn't very good, as most of his options beyond the stock Rifle are pistol options. If you're not looking at any shooting, then you can replace his gun with a Combat Shield if you intend to keep him in a Shield Wall unit.
  • Shooting: The Pistol comes with plenty of options to replace it. The Iron Shotgun gives you an extremely short-range gun that can rip through crowds with Blast and AP. Above that is the Iron Pistol, which is still very short-ranged but still gives AP(1) while the H-Disintegrator gives short-ranged Rending. The Plasma Pistol remains the ever-reliable anti-armor while the Shotgun gives more shots at a lower AP. Rounding this out is the Storm Rifle, a long-ranged rapid-fire gun that can work as an incredible fire support.
  • Melee: The base CCW can be replaced with either a Shock Hammer for crowd control, a Plasma Sword to handle single enemies, the monster-killing Plasma Axe or the AP(4) Shock Gauntlet.
  • Upgrades: The Dwarf Champion has two sets of upgrades to pick between.
    • The Jump Pack provides a decent maneuverability boost by not only offering Flying but also Ambush and Swift to offset being Slow. The Power Suit also provides Ambush but focuses more on being a tank by boosting Tough. The Combat Bike offers the best of both worlds, offering not only Fast but also extra Tough and a Twin Rifle for additional firepower.
    • Rune Master provides Psychic and a pretty flexible set of spells to work in any range. Engineer provides Repair, which is going to see most use on Trikes and tanks. Guild Lord gives Battle Lore, giving support to fire lines.

• Powersuit Champion: Your big, beefy, power suit ambushing hero. Comes stock with Tough 6 and shield wall for 2+ Def in the open. Comes with some cool, heavy hitting melee weapon options that pair well with the shield, or it can ditch the shield and take some long range weapons. It can also take the same upgrade as the other Champion for either Caster (2), Repair, or extra AP in shooting. The problem with this unit is that it is slow...you will not be able to ambush and charge at the same time, so you're almost encouraged to go more shooty with this unit or drop him on an objective with his shield as a tough to move speed bump.
• Berserk Veteran: The insane hero. He's got no guns, but that's how he likes it. With his Dual Berserker Axes, Furious and Slayer, he's got all he needs to show most tanks and heavy infantry why they should fear him. This however comes at the cost of a poorer defense score, though you can buy Cyber-Augments for Regeneration so AP isn't an issue. You'll definitely want a transport and berserker retinue so he can actually kill something of value, even if you buy Battle Haste to offset Slow.
  • Melee: The veteran has plenty of different options if the dual axes don't cut it for you. The Shock Hammer provides Blast to exclusively handle squads, the Dual Shock Gauntlets offer an insane AP(4), and the Plasma Axe lets you kill monsters with ease.

Infantry

• Dwarf Warriors: Your core infantry unit is quite effective with a 4+ to Quality and Defense. You can replace the base Rifles with either Shotguns or Iron Blasters, both carry AP(1), but the difference lies in the range you intend to keep the warriors. You can also purchase either Medical Training or a Spectrum Scanner for some extra support.
  • Ranged: Alongside the options one model has like the Dwarf Champion, you can also provide a special weapon, which range from standard favorites like the Plasma Rifle to heavy weapons like the Heavy Machinegun. Unique among the Dwarfs is the Auto H-Rifle for rapid-fire Rending at mid-range and the Rail M-Rifle, which gives you a means to break monsters with Magma ignoring Regeneration.

• Berserkers: A bunch of very angry dwarves with Dual Berserker Axes with AP(1), Fearless, Furious and Slayer. They are very bent on melee, but in doing so suffer defensively with a 5+ defense, though you can buy Regeneration for some backup. Never throw them at an enemy without a means to draw fire away from them, and a transport goes without saying.
  • Curiously, this unit can purchase a Heavy Grenade Launcher, giving you a surprising artillery weapon, but this comes at the cost of combat prowess - not much of an issue against monsters because of Slayer, but it will trouble you against anything else.
• Iron Veterans: Heavily armored dwarves with Iron Shotguns to wipe out the mobs. One of these can be replaced with more heavy weapons, with classics like the Heavy Flamethrower and the Heavy C-Beamer being a unique standout with Beam and AP(2). If you're more concerned about them being so close to the enemy, you can equip them with Iron Blasters for slightly longer range, which might make them more appealing to Battle Lore.
• Guardians: Guardians are a bit weird. They come with shield wall, but only have a 4+ save. They can take a spear for counter, but only have 1 attack. They don't really have guns either. The important part is that they are incredibly cheap. Plop them on an objective and just hunker down for the rest of the game. This is our cheapest, 5 models chaff unit. Nothing wrong with that.

• Jetpack Warriors: These guys are free from the curse of Slow but are stuck to pistols. Fortunately, they get two special melee weapons and two special pistols plus shotgun, even if the pistols available are all extremely short-ranged, all aside from the one model with the Champion's weapon options.

• Hammer Elites: Melee Veterans. They sacrificed their guns for A3 AP(1) Heat Hammers and Fearless. Sadly, this comes at the cost of any other loadout options, meaning that they're only relying on that 3+ defense to protect any attached heroes. They can act as a more defensive retinue for a Berserker Veteran, since he has weak defense, while a Dwarf Champion with Battle Lore might improve their combat effectiveness.

• Sniper Team: Not any better up-close than any other sniper, but you can purchase special rounds for the entire squad. Fire Rounds gives Magma to shut down any enemies with Regeneration while taking Plasma Rounds can give more damage with Beam.

• Thunder Support: Three dwarves with heavy guns, somewhat better protected with Tough(3). The mortar the Weapons Teams provide gives you long-ranged crowd control but is limited by Indirect's movement penalty. You can replace this with the Heavy Machinegun for long-ranged firepower with AP(1), the Missile Launcher that can pop tanks and ignore cover with Lock-On, the anti-infantry Autocannon, or the high-yield C-Beamer. If you take any of these weapons, it's recommended to take a Spectrum Scanner so you're not worrying about cover.

• Exo-Suit Guard: If you've seen the destroyers used by the battle brothers, these might feel familiar. You've essentially got Elites with Plasma Swords + Iron Pistols and give them Tough(3) and Ambush so they don't have to struggle so hard to get within whacking distance.
  • Ranged: While they're free to pick out melee weapons, their options for guns aren't so, and each model must take the same option. Whether you keep the stock Iron Pistols, buy the better-ranged Plasma Pistols, grab the rapid-fire H-Disintegrators, your options are very short-ranged. Your only long-range option is the Storm Rifles, one of which you can then replace for either a Heavy Machinegun or Heavy Fusion Rifle to either better range or something to demolish tanks. Last on the list is the shields, which makes them an excellent retinue. From there, you can also grab Exo-GLs to take care of infantry.

• Dwarf Bikers: Fast is a very strong drug for a sluggish army, especially if you sprang for the Scout move. The rush is cut down once you realize how limited your loadout is. Your Auto-Guns are constant, but you also get close-ranged Iron-Pistols. Your only options for the pistols are either point-blank Iron Shotguns for mob-busting or the Shotguns for something with better range.

• Dwarf Trike: The heavy weapons bike. You've got Tough(6), Auto-Gun, and a Heavy Flamethrower, so you're more keen to be closer to the field. This is your platform for fast heavy weapons, something you otherwise lack entirely. Alongside the other conventional heavy weapons given to other units, you can also equip the trike with a Spectrum Scanner if you intend to go heavy on the offense as well as Pioneer for a Scout Move for early offense.

Vehicles

• APC: This APC is pretty humble. You have Transport(11) and a Heavy Machinegun you can replace with a variety of heavy weapons. The heavy weapons you can wield make this more than a threat, but the cost of them may be a bit of a deterrent if you intend to take more dedicated tanks.

• Attack Vehicle: A lightweight weapons platform. It only has a Quad Machinegun (which can be replaced with a Dual Heavy Fusion Rifles), which it can carry about wherever you need it with Strider.

• Battle Tank: Tough(12) gives you a good starting point for a tank and the Flamethrower Cannon gives a lot of attacks. If you're looking for some more firepower, you can strap on a Twin Heavy Machinegun or Twin Plasma Cannon to take care of crowds. That Flamethrower Cannon can be replaced for a wide variety of guns for any situation; the Battle Cannon lets you blast crowds, the Anti-Tank Cannon provides something to demolish enemy vehicles, the Quad Machinegun lets you fire a barrage at long range, the Twin Heavy Fusion Rifle lets you demolish heavier tanks in one turn, and the Twin AA-Cannons can hit aircraft with a barrage.

• Assault Drill: Costly but you've got a Transport with Ambush, Tough(12) and a nightmarish drill to gouge out enemies with. It comes equipped with Twin heavy Flamethrowers, but like the Battle Tank you can also buy Twin Heavy Machineguns or Twin Plasma Cannons if you need to take care of more things.

• Artillery Gun: Another Slow vehicle, which is pretty unconventional compared to other artillery platforms. Sadly, your only options for this platform is either the stock Twin Heavy Fusion Rifle to blast tanks or the Quad Heavy Machinegun for the scrubbing of any infantry.
• Fortress Tank: The APC big brother. Armed with powerful cannons and defensive weapons, it excels at holding key positions and breaking enemy lines. Best deployed as a frontline juggernaut, soaking fire while delivering punishing ranged bombardment. This can be given some pretty big guns, but with Quality 4+, sometimes it's best to keep it cheap and just use its stock weapons. It is tempting to load it up with C-Beamers, but there's nothing wrong keeping it stock and using it as a fast brick to zoom up the board and take the middle. Transport 16 and Tough 18 makes it excellent at dumping out 3 small squads of guns or CC units while it just sits there and shoots for the rest of the game.

• Dwarf Walker: A big beefy walker with two Shock Hammers. You've got plenty of options to stay melee-focused and compliment Fear. Each Shock Hammer lets you handle crowds, but you can replace them with Heat Hammers (Letting them handle most infantry), Drill Hammers (to demolish tanks), Walker Fists (AP(4), but they let you strap on Fusion Rifles, Flamethrowers or Storm Rifles for some firepower), Twin Heavy Machineguns (to mow down infantry), Twin Heavy Fusion Rifles (to eradicate tanks), or Twin Autocannons (to rip apart armor). Notably it is Quality 3+, so slapping two guns on it and just camping is totally doable.
• Mining Titan: The Mining Titan is a heavily armored war machine repurposed from deep-earth excavation. Surprisingly cheap and incredibly durable, it wades into battle with crushing melee weapons and high-powered drills, excelling at breaking enemy lines. It has a ranged attack, but really its just the huge front claws reaching out and smacking things for some impressive Blast attacks. In close combat, it doesn't really do much Deadly damage, but it has enough attacks at high AP that it will still hurt most things it touches. Really, the main thing this does is serve as a big, tanky distraction as it trundles up a side of the board, clearing the way and wrecking anything in its path. Just don't expect your opponent to keep much in its path in general.
• Land Train: The Land Train is a massive, heavily armored fortress on tracks, designed to transport and protect dwarf guild forces across the battlefield. Its powerful weapons provide long-range fire support, while its modular cars can carry troops or additional firepower. Best used as a moving strongpoint, anchoring battle lines with relentless firepower. As soon as you start upgrading its boxcars, it gets expensive very fast, but for good reason. In a 2k game, you can really only afford one major upgrade, or it will go above 700 points. Either it transports a squad with some guns, or you go all in on guns. Not a bad idea to put some troops inside, then use its bulk to create a wall to protect the squad from firepower on one side.
• Combat Excavator: Do you want a big cinderblock sized unit covered in guns and drills? Here you go. Its massive drills and mechanical claws tear through enemy armor and infantry alike, making it ideal for breaching defenses. You won't see this in a 2k game as it is too expensive, but it's a Tough 24 battering ram bristling with guns and close combat drills. Unfortunately, it is not a transport and it is only Quality 4+, so it is only going to hit half the time, but it hits hard when it does. Honestly, if it were a transport it would be amazing, but as it stands, it's basically the Mining Titan with less quality and more guns. It's made for tanking wounds and being a distraction.
  
  
  

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

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Tactics

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See Also

• Grimdark Future Tactics
• Grimdark Future List Building
• Grimdark Future Strategy

Dwarf Guilds
Overview - Tactics - Firefight Tactics - Warfleets Tactics - Miniatures - Quickplay Armies - Firefight Quickplay Armies

Grimdark Future tactics
List Building - Strategy - Special Rules
Alien Hives - Battle Brothers - Blessed Sisters - Custodian Brothers - DAO Union - Dark Elf Raiders - Dwarf Guilds Elven Jesters - Eternal Dynasty - Havoc Brothers - High Elf Fleets - Human Defense Force Human Inquisition - Infected Colonies - Jackals - Machine Cult - Orc Marauders - Prime Brothers - Ratmen Clans Rebel Guerrillas - Robot Legions - Saurian Starhost - Soul-Snatcher Cults - Titan Lords - Wormhole Daemons