Dwarf Guilds Tactics
| Dwarf Guilds | ||
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| 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.
- 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 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 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.
- 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 Rifles, 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.
- Miners: Less protected, but you have Tunneler so you can pop in at any range to strike down the enemy. Fortunately, your stock weapon is the point-blank Iron Pistols. If you intend to keep them a bit further than that, then you might want to consider the Iron Rifles for the usable range or grab a Fusion Rifle or Flamethrower if you just need a special tool. You can also buy a Drill M-Platform, a big gun that's works like a Fusion Cannon with Magma to rip past any forms of Regeneration.
- 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, even if the pistols available are all extremely short-ranged, all aside from the one model with the Champion's weapon options.
- 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.
- 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 |
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