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 only way to remove Slow on an attached unit.
• Battle Lore: The attached unit gets +1 AP to their shooting.
• 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 model with this rule takes -1 to hit. A lot of units can buy shields for this rule, but it sorta sucks unless you can keep your shields at the front to put it to use.
• Slayer: The rule for berserkers. Whenever they fight a unit with Tough 3+, then they add +2 AP to their melee weapons.
• Swift: Allows a unit 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

• Smiting Rune (4+): Enemy unit within 12" takes four hits.
• Spite Rune (4+): Enemy unit within 12" takes -1 to hit when they next fight. This can be useful since most of your force is more melee-focused.
• Battle Rune (5+): Friendly unit within 12" adds +6" to their next move. This is seriously important because of the aforementioned slowness of your army.
• Breaking Rune (5+): Enemy model within 12" takes 2 AP 2 hits.
• Cleaving Rune (6+): Two enemy units within 12" take 6 hits each, making this an ideal anti-mob power.
• Drill Rune (6+): See that setpiece within 6"? Well, you can now shove it around 6" or blow it up, whatever satisfies you. This can be incredibly powerful since no other army has something like this.

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 shield.
  • Guns: The Pistol comes with plenty of options to replace it. The Plasma Pistol punches through armor, the shotgun gives another shot at AP(1), the Burst Pistol provides rapid-fire, the Heavy Rifle lets you reclaim a rifle with AP(1) and the Storm Rifle adds more shots on top of long-range AP(1).
  • Melee: The base CCW can be replaced with either a Shock Hammer (for Blast(3) and crowd control), a Heat Hammer (Has AP(1) and Rending to handle single enemies), Drill Hammer (with AP(2) Deadly(3) made to kill monsters) or Plasma Hammer (with AP(4) to take down high-armor foes).
  • Personal Upgrades: The Jump Pack provides a decent maeuverability boost by not only offering Flying but also Ambush and Swift to offset being Slow. The Power Armor also provides Ambush but focuses more on being a tank with extra wounds. The Combat Bike is the best of both worlds, offering not only Fast but also extra wounds and a Twin Rifle for additional firepower.
  • Buffs: While there aren't many buffs for the champion, all of the ones they have are all vital in determining their placement. 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, enforcing gun lines as the strongest option.

• Berserk Veteran: The insane hero. He's got no guns, but that's how he likes it. With his Dual Berserker Axes (or Berserker Great Axe if you plan to take down monsters), 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. 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.

Infantry

• Dwarf Warriors: Your core infantry unit. You can equip everyone with Shotguns, but this will make getting close a priority, and stubby legs can only carry you so far. While most of their gun options aren't too weird, they do get to carry a Heavy Machinegun or Missile Launcher, weapons that most armies can't carry around all willy-nilly.
  • Ranged: Alongside the options one model has like the Dwarf Champion, you can also provide a special weapon, all of which have their place depending on what you intend to use them for. The Plasma Gun offers you a cheap means to pop armor while the Fusion Rifle offers inexpensive tank-busting power at short range. The Flamethrower provides you with a good number of hits at short range while the Shred Rifle offers rapid-fire with the chance of Rending for high AP. The Heavy Machinegun provides long-range fire that can pop through armor. The Missile Launcher gives you something to hit any aircraft and cover-campers.

• 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. Never throw them at an enemy without a means to draw fire away from them, and a transport goes without saying.

• Miners: Less protected, but you have Tunneler so you can pop in at any range to strike down the enemy. Fortunately, you have access to a few short-ranged weapons to make use of your close-quarters arrival. You can also buy a Drill Platform, a big gun that's essentially a longer ranged fusion rifle with 36" A1 AP(4) Deadly(6). This will absolutely spell the end of anything you get the drop on.

• Veterans: Your dwarves are a good bit better with a 3+ on quality and defense. They're essentially heavy weapons dwarves, with even their stock Heavy Rifles carrying AP(1) so they don't need to rely on the short-ranged Shotguns. That said, your heavy weapons are quite costly and will see that defense tested.
  • Ranged: For heavy weapons, you can pick up a Heavy Flamethrower (rapid-fire AP(1) in short range), Heavy Machinegun (long-range firepower), a Missile Launcher (Tank-busting but with Lock-On to take out aircraft), a Plasma Cannon (crowd control with armor crushing), a Heavy Fusion Rifle (Slightly longer range but you now can guarantee that tank will blow), or a Laser Cannon (still good AP and Deadly, but at long range).

• Elites: Melee Veterans. They sacrificed their guns for A3 AP(1) Heavy Hammers and Fearless. They now have free reign of the melee armory in exchange, which might be useful for flattening whatever they go against. They can act as a more defensive retinue for a Berserker Veteran, since he has weak defense, while a Dwarf Champion with Battle Lore and a shield can help ward off a few blows and improve their effectiveness.

• Jetpack Warriors: These guys are free from the curse of Slow but are stuck to pistols. Even then, their option is trimmed down to only the Plasma Pistol, Shotgun and Flamethrower and two melee weapons. Battle Lore can still work here as they won't take quite as long to get between fights.

• Dwarf Support: Your warriors are now Relentless, making shooting more of an incentive. They also can pick whatever guns they want from their heavy weapons, sacrificing the power of the Veterans for more guns.

• Sniper Team: Essentially what happens if you give a miner a sniper rifle. This means that they aren't completely useless the moment they're in combat, but it's still a bad idea to let them in there.

• Weapons Teams: Three dwarves with heavy guns, offsetting the lack of the Veterans' 3+ to quality and defense 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 AP(3) Laser Cannon that can directly threaten tanks or the anti-infantry AP(2) Autocannon.

• Power Suits: If you've seen the destroyers used by the battle brothers, these might feel familiar. You've essentially got Elites with Plasma Pistols and give them Tough(3) and Ambush so they don't have to struggle so hard to get within whacking distance. Curiously, you can also buy Jetpacks for them, letting them overcome their plodding speed for a sizeable price.
  • Ranged: While they're free to pick out melee weapons, their options for guns aren't so. Whether you keep the stock Plasma Pistols, grab the short-ranged Burst Pistols, buy the Storm Rifles (which you can then replace for either a Heavy Machinegun or Heavy Fusion Rifle to either better range or something to demolish tanks) or the shields, you have to commit for the entire team. From there, you can also grab Heavy Missiles to take care of anything behind cover or airborne.

• Dwarf Bikers: Fast is a very strong drug for a sluggish army. The rush is cut down once you realize how limited your loadout is. Aside from replacing a Twin Rifle for a Grenade Launcher, your only option is changing your riders from carrying Pistols to Rifles. The Rifles can work quite well for long-range bombardment if you intend to keep them away from any potential conflicts.

• Dwarf Trike: The heavy weapons bike. You've got Tough(6) 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 an Explosive Keg, sacrificing its heavy firepower for an insane amount of Impact. While impractical, it can make for a devastating distraction that can demolish on the charge.

Vehicles

• APC: This APC is pretty humble. You have Transport(11) and a Heavy Machinegun you can replace with a Heavy Fusion Rifle, making it a pretty basic light tank and little else. With the option for a Storm Rifle or Hunter Missiles you can make for a little more firepower, but you're still going to rely on it more as a transport.

• Half-Track: A lightweight weapons platform. It only has two Heavy Machineguns (both of which can be replaced with 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.

• Battle Train: Know that Battle Tank? This is its much weirder brother. Comes stock with a Battle Cannon and you can then slap on more guns, including a hyper-expensive Artillery Cannon. Even better, you've got plenty of mounts so you're not held down with only one gun!
  • Ranged: On top of the Twin Heavy Machinegun and Twin Plasma Cannon available to the Battle Tank, you can also pick up some extra guns without buying more carriages. The Plasma Cannon lets you demolish high-armor crowds, the Autocannon lets you snipe down enemies with armor, the Laser Cannon lets you handle tanks and the Battle Cannon gives you another means to demolish crowds.
  • Carriages: This is how its cost skyrockets. You have two slots for extra carriages, each also adding 6 to the Tough Rating for this train. Yes, you can make this thing cost as much as a titan. The Transport Carriage is your cheapest add-on, adding Transport(11) so buying two can let you carry close to your entire army. The Weapon Carriages strap on a heavy gun on top of the extra wounds: The Twin Flamethrower Cannon lets you drown hordes in shots, the Twin Shard Mortars act as your artillery but held back by Indirect, the Eagle Rockets demolish armored crowds, the Twin AA-Cannons are rapid-fire to hit flyers, the Artillery Cannon gives you another means to smash crowds, with the Ballistic Missile taking this a step further for an extreme pricetag.

• 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, but this allows you to carry more long-ranged weaponry. The Twin Shard Mortars that this comes with let you cover plenty of a crowd and Slow means that you don't have much reason to move around and deal with the penalties of Indirect. The Twin Heavy Fusion Rifle give you another means to demolish tanks, but you could do better with the Trike. The Eagle Rockets allow you to demolish armored crowds. The Twin AA-Cannons are rapid-fire to hit flyers. the Guad Machinegun gives you the means to drown the enemy in bullets. The Artillery Cannon gives you another means to smash large crowds. The Triple Thunder Cannon takes this a step further, while the Ballistic Missile goes even further beyond with an extreme pricetag.

• Dwarf Walker: A big beefy walker with two Shock Hammers but is afflicted by Slow. 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).

Aircraft

• Dwarf Gunship: A rather light aircraft, the Dwarf Gunship comes with a Battle Cannon to take on crowds and a Twin Heavy Machinegun to clean up any survivors. Depending on what you face, you can also replace the Twin Heavy Machinegun with a Twin Minigun for more shots, a Twin Laser Cannon to demolish tanks, or a Twin Autocannon for more armored foes.

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

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Tactics

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See Also

• Dwarf Guilds
• Dwarf Guilds Quickplay Armies
• Grimdark Future Tactics
• Grimdark Future List Building
• Grimdark Future Strategy
• Grimdark Future

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

Grimdark Future tactics
List Building - Strategy - Special Rules
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