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So I created a new list for dwarves and I have played 3 games with it so far with limited success. I would like any input on improving the list, modifying the list, or tactics you would use if you were fighting or using this list.

Warband 1
Balin with Durin's Axe
2 Vault Warden Teams
7 Khazad Guard

Warband 2
King's Champion
9 Dwarf Warriors (shields)

Warband 3
Dwarf Captain with shield and thrown weapons
4 Dwarf Warriors (shields)
5 Iron Guard

Warband 4
Floi
9 Dwarf Warriors (dwarf bows)

I'd lean towards Iron guard rather than Khazad guard- I much prefer to have a higher chance of winning fights than a higher chance to kill if I do win. Plus, throwing weapons into a charge can't be bad.

Also, Iron guard are only really worth it when in confined spaces or in a fixed battle line to prevent them from being flanked and seperated (same goes for the king's champion), though they are both incredibly badass looking units who can most definitely take a hit.

I can't remember Balin's exact rules, but I seem to remember deciding that Dain Ironfoot is a better bet. Three attacks and three wounds with defence nine for 125pts is a great deal, especially as you seem to be going for a highly armoured army.

tactics-wise, it really depends who you're up against.

Hordes, try to bottleneck them with terrain where they can only take on your elite but outnumbered dwarves one on one, where you have the upper hand.

Against easterling/uruk phalanxes or spear walls, try to wrap around the enemy, pulling spearmen off supporting the models in front, removing their advantage of having more attacks in combat (remember, it's better for two of your men to fight a shield-bearing warrior and a spearman individually than both attacking a spear-supported shield.)

Against mass cavalry, try spreading out your dwarves as much as you can without letting the 40mm bases through your line to stop them from flanking you, and once they've charged, wrap around them and keep them in a pitched fight, where their charge bonus will only count on the first turn. Weather that, and it's just a case of dragging them down.

Against other elite armies, just fight them one on one (or with as good odds as you can make) and hope for the best (and do the usual business of seperating and surrounding heroes and such).

Your main problem is that dwarves are expensive, and though they are generally worth such points, elite armies tend to face a more numerous foe, and so bottlenecking is the best option. This is fine on its own, but dwarves lack spears (other than your two vault wardens), so it's likely that your dwarves, even when only in base to base with one enemy, could easily be facing two or even three attacks due to the opponent being supported by spears.
With my dwarf army, I got around this by allying my dwarf infantry with a unit of guards of the fountain court (Gondor), which not only have spears, but are also D7 with shields.

I usually play 300 Points but I have played 750. I like to take either Gimli, King's Champion, Balin with Durin's Axe.

Then I like to just fill up with Shield Dwarves and Iron Guard.
Iron Guard are amazing.

Sometimes i'll ally with Grim Hammer dwarves because I charge things like Trolls with them and my heroes. Win the fight with the heroes and Piercing Strike. But be careful my friend plays Dwarf Tennis when I play his 3 Troll list. It consists of throwing the normal dwarfs at your heroes to knock them down.

Don't vault warden teams take up two models in a warband?If they do you have one model over in your first warband.

Da krimson barun wrote:
Don't vault warden teams take up two models in a warband?If they do you have one model over in your first warband.

7 khazad guard + 4 vault warden members = 11 models. Warbands have a max of 12 models + 1 hero per warband.

I made a mistake sorry.That is why I don't do mathammer.