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Hello Dakka,

I'm new Fantasy and was able to pickup a mostly complete Dwarf army for a steal. The point value of the army is well over 2500 points and I have a most of the standard units. I've played the army twice now at about 1000 points.

What are some core strategies that are key with a Dwarf army?

Thanks!

there are 2 basic plans.

1) Gunline: most popular build. focuses on loads of Warmachines and Ranged units(Quarrelers, Handgunners) to destroy the enemy backed up by maybe a few CC units to protect your gunline.

2) fighty. basically it involves Warriors, Ironbreakers, and Slayers to charge forward and smash the enemy. normally, the enemy will be charging and you will be relying on your natural toughness and armor saves to allow you to survive.

In 7th, the 2nd option was pretty tough. You had to count on SCR to win.

In 8th, though, Dwarfs seem to have abandoned shields for whatever reason and picked up mauls and big axes. A solid block of Dwarf Warriors with Great Weapons can chop through a lot. Backed up by a good BSB, magical protection, and some war machines, they'll see you through.
Hammerers are essentially bigger versions of these guys, while Miners and Rangers are more mobile ones. Ironbreakers are probably best for character-bunkers, and are great on the flanks.

The Gun-line has changed a little, too. I don't think there are many players who field units of Core shooting anymore. Dwarfen war machines are enough to see you through. Plus, Thunderers and Quarrelers won't do as much as their equivalent in (more) GW-toting warriors, who can mop up whatever makes it past the cannons.

Oh, and Cannons, Grudge Throwers, and, to a lesser extent (in my opinion) Organ Guns are the way to go nowadays. Bolt Throwers don't do so much anymore. And Flame Cannons are even worse. Like that needed to happen. Gyrocopters are weird, but potentially awesome.

Welcome to Fantasy! As a (mostly former) dwarf player, I strongly recommend heading over to the battle reports section and enjoying some of Red_Zeke's excellent writeups. He lands firmly on the combat side of the two strategies you see represented here, and you could learn a lot from his detailed descriptions.