As release day gets closer, The makers of Total War have released some pre Alpha game play of the Dwarfs gaining a narrow victory over the Orcs and Goblins.
I can see myself losing several months of hobby time exploring this game.
It still does my head in that this game is being released after Games Workshop canned WHFB. There was a large influx of 40k players from the Dawn of War series, and one would expect that Total Wars offering would have had a similar effect...
Oh! My bad. I forgot that Games Workshop don't make games, its a model company...
WOW! 2+ save infantry and shooting cannons twice! Double steam gun templates and Magic in a Dwarf army. This would almost make me want to brush off the old stunties and make some people cry.
Its almost as if GW had a 2400 point competitive tournament in mind!
Then there's the Elves. Themey (is that a word), however not filthy. No magic makes the Elven host cry...
The lists are all in and by now every team should have had a good go at reviewing potential matchups. The lists this year are definitely a step up from last, with 90% of the field bringing what can only be called a "competitive" list.
Of course there are the usual cry babies who a lambasting over such abstract terms as "copy & paste" and "netlist". Some have even called the tournament boring. Well here is a clue to all those haters out there. HTFU.
There is no peer/panel/subjective comp to be seen here (except the team called panel comp.. stupid Aussies can't let it go!) fixed it for yah =)
The breakdown this year is very interesting in that just about every team has arrived with a different team composition. Not only that, when you start reviewing the lists individually you start to see stark variation in the list designs. There is not 9 Throgg lists like some claim... However there is always one exception to the rule, this time being Empire. The other lists have a huge degree of variation to them and waves a good flag for the low/0 comp community (read real Warhammer).
Apparently, not to be undone by the Juggernaught factories of Khorne, The Empire has founded a new breeding ranch for Demigryphs, and the Nulu artillery school has been hard at work increasing the number of steam tanks and cannon in the realm. And as there is always an exception to the rule, there is also always an exception to the exception... the special snowflake this time is Alan from team Basiliers who seams to have submitted the same list as last year...
So on to the important stuff...
I'm taking a Krak at picking the top teams this year. In no particular order...
The Vonn Trapp Family
Current reining Warhammer champion of the >country< and current holders of the NZTC cup, only a fool would discount Pete and his offspring. They bring Warriors, Dark Elves, Daemons and Skaven to the party, which, IMO is close (ruined only by the rats!) to a perfect combo for team design. Can they hold on to the old mug or will the even make the podium? No doubt the team will have to carry Pete's Skaven as everyone knows they are so hard done by these days...
Wolfpack
The team with the dream. Can they dethrone the coven of evil? Arguably one of the strongest team designs including Warriors, Daemons, Empire but once again being let down by rats. If they had some good stout Dwarfs (snigger) or more seriously Dark Elves they would be a shoe in. Wolfpack has the potential to be the kingmaker, but it all depends on their day one performance.
Stonesfall Massive
Packing Warriors, Ogres, Daemons and Empire, this is another team that has a good mix of armies. The only thing holding them back will be if Joel chokes every round or not.
Panel Comp
Trying to embrace the spirit of Warhammer, I have included some of our unfortunate cousins from across the ditch, despite the name. Warriors, Skaven, Empire and Dark Elves make the combo. Having no Daemons will be a sore point however can the Aussies compete to the same level without all the handicaps they place on the game? They will either finish top 5 or bottom 5!
Team with the Guy.....
Dark Elves, High Elves, Daemons and Empire. Oh so close, except for that Guy. The guy is obviously the High Elves player, and the full name is obviously the "Team with the Guy that let down the rest of the team by taking High Elves to a serious Warhammer competition..." If they switched out High Elves for Woc, they would be the Dream Team!
DILF
The gay bandwagon team arrives in all is glory, no smack post would be complete without talking about DILF's. If they can stop day dreaming about having their very own sugar daddy, or checking out the opposition they may just have a chance. Although not the strongest combination of armies, they afford an interesting mix which is sure to give some teams a headache. just be careful of them offering you a drink as they may have slipped something into it... You have been warned
So that leaves my Team. Where will we come? Rocking Dark Elves, Lizardmen, Vampire Counts and Dwarfs its an obvious run for the wooden spoon here. Packing a Lizardman Bus, a new player that's never played in a tournament before, the slowest Warhammer player in the universe and an infantry DE list that I have never tested before, with a bit of luck and some ace matchups we will middle pack in about 7th (+ or - 6 places)
So who will be the Winner? Who wins out of Blackbreard vs Al Capone?
Parting shot: Best team composition IMO would have been Dark Elves, Daemons, Empire, and Warriors. Interesting nobody took it...
So Peter has released the lists to the dubdubdub. You can visit here for the full list details. So its time for the big run down. Plastic Krak is proud to present its Krak Team! Tim "the Executioner" Joss (Kaptain)
Choppy LordNaked chickPsyco chicks on fireDouble flee horse dudersExecutionersMore executionersdid I mention executionersSome Black Ark hardwareoh, and some Brolocks
Hagen "6 Dice" Kerr
Tetto Eko Scar Vets & Skinks Seriously thats all
Neil "Old man" Williamson
Runelord on AnvilThaneBSBLongbeard RangersGreat WeaponsMiners miners miners!Some cannonsA musical instrumentand a choppa
Ben "Blender" Crum
Blender Vampy Lord Baby Vamp Necro Ghoul Hoard Wolves Meatsheild Ghosts Black Knight Bus Big flappy bat vamps Huge flappy bat vamp
We are now closing in on the final stretch. In a little under two weeks, the windy capitol will be hosting a bunch of bridesmaids and the winning team! We have past one of the last milestones on Friday midnight Kiwi time. All lists have been submitted and finalised by now. After the stark appraisal from resident self proclaimed Warhammer guru Pete Dunn, our team had to go back to the drawing board.
Now the original draft was to shock and awe by using Old World fluff to confuse our opponents to our underlying strategy. After running a few scenarios (I started watching Season 2 of House of Cards, that s*@#s amazing!). We had come up with the combination of Dwarfs, High Elves, Wood Elves and Brettonians (High Elves was later swapped to Tomb Kings). Upon closer scrutiny, we realised that the matchup process may be more difficult than anticipated...
All cause for worry, but the most disturbing was the revaluation of a rat being caught in a trap in the garage. It was assumed that Pete had sent spies to all the other teams Captains but now I had proof. No sooner had I found the rat (nothing better than a dead rat I tell you) than I double guard duty on KastleKrak and enlisted the services of my pet guard dog Sam.
Here is Sam Standing at attention. Nothing gets past him! Note supper long tongue, perfect for licking spies to death!
Sam also does a great Sphinx impersonation. He plans on guarding for a long time...
Here he is savagely mauling the next door neighbours kids ball that attempted to infiltrate the back yard...
Seriously that dog is a psychopath. This morning he found a hedgehog in the garden and started throwing it up in the air like a ball before digging a hole and attempting to bury it alive... you have been warned!
So all this has lead to an 11th hour decision to change the team makeup. We will now go for a much softer approach to at least give others a chance (in the fluffy stakes).
Our new team will consist of the following:
Scar Vets
Executioners
Terrorgiests
Miners
Now that we have left the filth at home we can feel all warm and fuzzy about ourselves next weekend. For the safety of all others I will however be leaving Sam at home. No doubt some sneaky rat will try infiltrate KastleKrak whilst I am gone. Best be safer rather than sorry.
The following is a summary of the new Rune system for Dwarfs upcoming Army Book. They are fairly solid and confirmed by multiple sources now. Although several points values are know for them I have left them out. There are definitely some very interesting combinations to be had and at first glance it appears that the main strength in the new Dwarf Army Book will be Banner Runes combined with heavy infantry... Runes & Magic items:
Banner Runes (11 runes) M. Rune of Stromni Redbeard: +1 Combat Res for all friendly units with 12" M. Rune of Grungi: Ward save against missile attacks M. Rune of Valaya: +2 to dispel attempts Strollaz Rune: Vanguard. Rune of Stoicism: Stubborn. Ruen of Courage: Immune to Psychology Ancestor Rune: Once per game, take test on single d6 Rune of Slowness: One rune, charging enemy unit subtracts 1d6 from their charge distance rolled. Two runes of slowness, you roll 2d6 and take the highest for the charge distance reduction. Three runes of slowness still use the 2d6 roll (pick the highest) for the charge distance reduction, and if the charging unit still makes it into contact, it has ASL until the end of the turn. Rune of Battle: One rune of battle grants an extra 1 point of combat resolution. Two runes of battle grant an extra 2 to combat resolution. Three runes of battle grant an extra 2 to combat resolution and grant the unit the Fight in Extra Ranks special rule. Rune of Sanctuary: One rune, MR(1) Two runes, MR(2)
Engineering Runes (8 runes) Rune of Forging: Reroll misfore on artillery dice. Rune of Disguise: Warmachine counts as being in hard cover. Rune of Immolation: Detonate your warmachine to hurt enemies; automatically blows up if killed in close combat. Rune of Penetrating: Increases strength, can be taken twice. If on grudge thrower, affects both S values, as in x(y). Rune of Stalwart: Grants bonus to machines combat resolution score Rune of Accuracy: +1 to hit for warmachines. Rune of Seeking: +1 to hit against flyers for WM. Rune of Burning: Flaming attacks.
Armor Runes (8 runes) M. Rune of Adamant: Grants T10. ??????: 5+ regeneration save. ??????: 2+ ward save against KB/HKB.
Weapon Runes (18 runes) M. Rune of Skalf Blackhammer: Wounds on a 2+ unless target in magic armor, wounds on 3+ M. Rune of Alaric the Mad: No armor saves Rune of Breaking: Destroys magic items on target character on roll of 2+. Dragon Slaying: One rune, wounds dragons on 2+ with Multiple Wounds(2) Two runes, +1 to hit and wound anything from Daemons of Chaos book + Multiple Wounds (d3) Rune of Fury: One rune, +1 attack Two rune, +1 attack + frenzy Three rune, +1 attack + frenzy + every hit generates extra attacks Rune of Cleaving: One rune, +1 S Two runes, Armor Piercing Three Wounds, Killing Blow Rune of Smiting: Multiple Wounds (d6) Rune of Might: One rune, double S v +T5 foes. Two runes grants Multiple Wounds(D3). Rune of Striking: One rune, +1 WS Two runes, WS 10 Three runes, Reroll failed to-hits in combat Rune of Fire: One rune, flaming attacks Two runes, S3 breath weapon(50) Three runes, Multiple Wounds(d3)
Talisman Runes (7 runes) M. Rune of Balance: Steal PD on 4+. Rune of Spellbreaking: One rune, dispel scroll. Two runes, same as before Rune of Dismay: One runes, causes fear Two runes, causes terror Three runes, causes terror and enemy units take -1 ld penalty Rune of the Forge: One rune, 2+ ward vs flaming Rune of Warding: One rune, 6+ ward Two runes, 5+ ward Three runes, 4+ ward Rune of Luck: One rune, one re-roll per game Master Rune of Passage: Auto pass difficult terrain test
Heirloom (6) Heirloom: Hammer that grants +3 initiative, and if you wound an opponent, they have I1 until the end of the combat phase. Heirloom: Axe that grants re-rolls to hit and to wound against Orcs & Goblins and Skaven. Cause Terror against those opponents. Heirloom: Armor of 2+ save and 3++ vs attacks of S6 or higher. Heirloom: A horn that is one use only and grants all units with 6" the Devastating Charge rule til the end of turn. After using, that character causes Fear to High Elves, Dark Elves, and Wood Elves for the rest of the game. Heirloom: Ring that grants a S4 breath weapon with Flaming Attacks. Heirloom: Banner to Re-roll failed to wound rolls. Source: Dwarf Army Book, Bugmans Brewery, White Dwarf
Some pictures of the new upcoming Dwarf book are starting to appear. Below is some that have surfaced including a picture of some Runic Talismans...
It has been reported that there will be the following amount of runes (excluding the options to stack them)
18 Weapon runes
8 Armour runes
11 Banner runes
7 Talisman runes
8 Engineering runes
6 Ancestral Heirlooms
3 Bound spells (Anvil of Doom)
Anvil. 5++ save. Gives 2 extra wounds to the Runesmith. One extra casting and dispel dice each respective turn. One bound spell grants Immune to Psych for all friendlies within 24", the second gives one target unit +1 AS, and the last is 2d6 S4 magic missile. The casting values are 3+, 4+ and 5+ respectively. 170 points.
Base costs for characters:
Lord: 145
Runelord: 120
Daemon Slayer: 140
Thane: 65
Runesmith: 60
Master Engineer: 70
Dragon Slayer: 70 If a runesmith joins a unit he grants then AP
On the downside, it appears that Longbeards and Hammerers only have heavy armour. This is a huge let down. There is such a huge disparity between the 1+ As armies and the supposed best weapons and armour manufacturers in the old world... Cannons have been mentioned to be d3 wounds and 120 points. Apparently the Empire can make better armour and war machines than the masters... Longbeards at 12 points and Hammerers at 14.
1. Hammer that grants +3 initiative, and if you wound an opponent, they have I1 until the end of the combat phase.
2. Axe that grants re-rolls to hit and to wound against Orcs & Goblins and Skaven. Cause Terror against those opponents.
3. Armor of 2+ save and 3++ vs attacks of S6 or higher.
4. A horn that is one use only and grants all units with 6" the Devastating Charge rule til the end of turn. After using, that character causes Fear to High Elves, Dark Evles, and Wood Elves for the rest of the game.
5. Ring that grants a S4 breath weapon with Flaming Attacks.
6. Models in unit can re-roll failed to-wound rolls. (I like this one, but it's priced to be BSB only.)
Some rules leaks are starting to filter through now. Some have been posted over at Bugmans Brewery from someone claiming to have seen the book. They sound fairly legitimate. Unfortunately, he claims no large centerpiece model, and nothing new after the Ironbreaker/Irondrake box set is released.
The bomb that the Irondrakes Champion can get is an 8" range weapon that functions kind of like a Stone Thrower.
Ironbreakers and Hammerers are both 14 points, base. 'Breakers can get a shield for 1 point.
Sheildwall is a rule that on the turn the unit is charged, they get +1 to their Parry save. There's another rule that's like "Gromril Shield Wall" This gives the +1 to Parry save at all times.
Most things have Heavy Armor now, even the artillery crew. The new units are the Bomber and the Iron Drakes. No others were spotted.
Slayers didn't really change much.They still have the Slayer Axe rule. They can never wound anything on worse than a 4+. There's a special character Slayer (Ungrim Ironfist) that has a 3+/4++, and if you take him, he can be the Army General.
The Organ Gun is now BS based, but rolls two artillery dice, rather than one. It can be given up to 50 points of Runes, and there's a +1 to hit Rune. Also, the range is now 30"; I seem to remember that it was 24" before. Is my memory correct in that.
The 'Copter has a once per game Diver Bomber attack that is kind of similar to the Drop Rocks attack of that flying unit in the Lizardmen book have. The basic weapon for the 'Copter is a S3 Flame Template, but can be traded for free to a 18" S5 Multiple Shot (4) gun. I'm pretty sure it's 4 shots. Up to half of the 'Copters in the army (rounded up) can be given a 20 point upgrade that allows them a Vanguard move. I'm really liking the idea of Vanguarding up a couple of them to move into position to five the template down the length of units from outside their charge arc.
The Master Rune of Balance only steals a die on a roll of 4+. All the rune-guys can channel.
I wasn't really impressed with the Anvil. The first power makes all friendly units within 12" (or it might be 24", can't remember) Immune to Psychology for a turn. The next one buffs a target unit's Armor Save by one (I think, really not sure on this one, can't remember for sure). And the last one is a S4 magic missile that inflicts 2d6 hits, I believe. They all work like bound spells.
Daemon Slayers make their opponent re-roll successful ward saves.
Dragon Slayers have the Multiple Wound (d3) rule.
The Gyrocopter is a Special choice, and you can take up to 6. They are not squadrons; there's just a little note that says you can take six of them.
The Gyrobomber is a Rare choice.
Rangers are a Rare choice, as well.
Gromril armor is just a 4+ save
Forge proven Gromril armour has an additional 6+ ward save, and 2+ ward save vs flaming attacks
Dwarf Crafted is a rule for missile weapons. It allows the weapon to be fired as a Stand and Shoot reaction without the -1 penalty.
The book has a large number of ways that you can get the Multiple Wounds (d3).
There is a Rune that's a better version of Red Fury. If you take three Runes of Fury, the model gets +1 Attack, Frenzy, and for every successful To-Hit roll, the model makes another attack roll; these bonus attacks do not generate additional attacks. If you put that on a Lord, it would have 6 attacks that could theoretically generate another 6. In case you didn't notice, the extra attacks are generated by successful To-Hit rolls, not wounds.
The Flame Cannon now has two firing modes. The first is just like a regular Flame Cannon from the main rule book. Alternatively, it can be overcharged so that you can nominate a point up to 12" from the Flame Cannon to be the point from which the artillery die roll originates for determining where the template ends up. But, if you fire in this mode and roll a misfire, you subtract 1 from the roll on the black powder weapon misfire table.
Dwarf dispelling has been toned down. Runesmiths can channel for Dispel Dice now, but don't automatically provide them. The army gets a base +2 to attempt to dispel, regardless of what's in the army. The Master Rune of Valaya adds another +2 to dispel, and will dispel any RiP spell on a roll (can't remember the target number, I think it's a 3+) at the beginning of the Magic Phase. There's no range, so any RiP spell on the table has to be rolled for.
Can still take multiple Runes of Spellbreaking. The Spelleating rune still exists, too.
The Oathstone doesn't now prevent the unit from moving. The unit can use Parry saves in any direction and cannot have their ranks Disrupted.
The second wave of pre orders are up for Games Workshop's Dwarf release. We now have some much better quality pictures to look at.
Wooden bombs krak me up =)
I'm really starting to like this controversial model... It is indeed a special option for the Dwarf army now!
Interesting note, the package says it makes 2 bombers and 4 choppers. Does this mean Dwarfs can take 4 gyrocopters in special like Dark Elves can take Reaper Bolt Throwers?
For all the new pre orders and previews, you can view the complete collection here at GW's website
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