...And The Lists Just Keep On Comin'

I was messing around with my army construction software again, and came up with this pretty strong Dwarf army list. The last thing I need is to start another Warhammer army, so I'll post it here in order to get it out of my system.

2,250 point Dwarfs

Lords
Dwarf Lord with Shield, Shieldbearers, Runic Axe (Master Rune of Smiting, Rune of Cleaving, Rune of Fire), Runic Armor (Rune of Preservation)
Runelord with Shield, Runic Armor (Rune of Shielding, Rune of Stone), Runic Talisman (Master Rune of Balance, 2x Rune of Spellbreaking)

Heroes
Thane with Battle Standard, Runic Armor (Master Rune of Gromril, Rune of Preservation), Runic Talisman (2x Rune of Luck)

Core
20x Longbeards with Full Command, Runic Standard with Rune of Battle, Great Weapon
20x Longbeards with Full Command, Great Weapon
29x Dwarf Warriors with Full Command, Shields
10x Thunderers with Shields
10x Quarellers with Shields

Special
Grudge Thrower with 2x Rune of Penetrating
Cannon with Rune of Burning, Rune of Forging

Rare
Organ Gun

This army is based around the contents of two Dwarf Battalions and adds only a minimum of needed artillery, warriors, and characters.

The Dwarf Lord is tooled up to take on and win challenges against some of the biggest baddies around. With a 1+ armor save and immunity to Poison & Killing Blow, he should survive long enough to lay down the punishment with his +1 Strength, D6 Damage, Flaming axe.

The Runelord is kitted out to stay well away from the action. He sports a 2+ armor save and a 2+ ward save against ranged attacks and Magic Missiles. His runes help him shut down the Magic Phase, stealing a Power Die and adding it to his Dispel Pool. Finally, he can simply stop two spells dead in their tracks with no roll required.

The Thane is geared for survival, pure and simple. He has a 1+ armor save and can re-roll two to-hit, to-wound, or armor save rolls. The idea is to save the runes for botched armor saves.

The Longbeards should be pretty easy to understand. Their Weapon Skill 5, Strength 6 close combat attacks allow them to chew through the toughest infantry with ease. The unit with the Runic Standard should be deployed to take on the biggest, nastiest thing it can find.

The Dwarf Warriors are the anvil to the Longbeards' hammer. With Toughness 4, heavy armor, hand weapon, and shield, they are there to grind. They are accompanied into battle by the Lord and Battle Standard Bearer. This will provide the close combat bite the unit lacks.

The Thunderers and Quarellers are your clean-up crew. Anything the artillery doesn't adequately mangle or destroy gets finished off by these guys. The shields are there for survivability, giving them a 5+ save against shooting, and the all-important Parry save. The Quarellers are there for range, and the Thunderers provide accuracy and armor penetration.

The Grudge Thrower is there to obliterate infantry. Don't let its Strength 10 center fool you, if it is shooting at anything else either you have won the game or are just doing it wrong. The reason this weapon exists is for the Strength 5 "splash" damage caused. This weapon is devastating against all kinds of infantry, so have fun squashing things.

Your Cannon is a monster hunter. Giants, Hell Pit Abominations, Hydras, Arachnarok Spiders... All of these can be dealt with by a Strength 10, D6 damage inflicting cannon ball. Should you roll on of those accursed "Misfire" results, the cannon can re-roll. Oh, and just for those pesky gribblies with Regeneration, this cannon sports Flaming shots.

Finally, the Organ Gun. This is a multi-purpose weapon. Since it simply inflicts an Artillery Die's worth of hits, it can pick off skirmishers and anything else conventional weapons have a hard time hitting. Fast Cavalry, Skaven Gutter Runners and Ogre Gorgers are the bane of your artillery, so this gun will help keep the enemy away from your line. Of course, you can always employ it against anything small and foolish enough to wander into range, or any wounded monsters who just plain refuse to die.

Astute readers will note that this army list has no Gyrocopters. The reason for this is because "march blocking" is pretty much a thing of the past, and the Steam Gun is only really effective against amassed, low Toughness infantry. Any concerted effort on your opponent's part will see this "wonder weapon" off in almost no time.

This is a very traditional Dwarf army, shying away fron the Anvil of Doom (which is just too unreliable for my taste). You'll sit there and soften up the enemy as they close, before charging in for the kill with your valiant (if filthy) Dwarfs. This is certainly not an optimized list, but it is plenty competitive.