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I was wondering if I could get some help from some of the more experianced Mordhiem players on my dwarf list.

Dwarf Noble w/ 2 axes = 95

Dwarf Slayer w/ 2 axes = 60

Dwarf Slayer w/ 2 axe = 60

3 Beardlings w/ 2 daggers each = 81

3 Thunderers w/ daggers, crossbows = 195

I tried to go cheap on equipment so I could get more fighters on the table so theyare pretty much bare bones when it come to equipment. For the heros I went with axes over hammers, do you guys think this is a wise choice? from experiance do you guys think hammers over axes or axes over hammers? hammers are cheaper and you always use there special ability for knocking out enamy models, although with an axe if your opponent isn't wearing any armour you paid 2 extra gc for nothing.

I think hammers over axes is generally good policy for reasons you mention.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Dwarf player, but I've seen them used against me many, many times, so my perspective is from the other side of the table.

From what I've seen, Dwarfs work best as a castled, shooty warband, as that plays to their strengths. Especially with an Engineer, Dwarfs can outrange just about any other warband, and that means that as long as you make them respect your ranged shooting, they're going to have to come to you. That's good, 'cause Dwarfs are slower than dirt.

They could try to outshoot you, but it's hard to win a shooting war with Dwarfs due to their "hard to kill" rule. Put helmets and lucky charms on them and it gets even harder. Knocking them down is almost worthless since they can get right back up and fire crossbows in their turn (getting up doesn't count as movement). So most will come after you, and you just have to pepper them with as many xbow shots as possible until they get to you, and then you try to countercharge wherever possible.

The problem with a shooty Dwarf warband is that by castling, you're going to struggle in some scenarios in which you need to move around. You'll be tough in straight-up Skirmish scenarios, however. And remember that voluntary routs are your friends. Because you get the extra wyrdstone, you can often get more gold in a loss than the winning warband. I'd use my gold to fill out my numbers first, then start giving out some nifty stuff. Since you're going to get charged a lot, Dwarfen Axes aren't a bad pickup if you have some gold to blow (and you probably will).

If I went the shooty route with your list, I'd consider dropping a Slayer and picking up an Engineer with xbow and either dropping a Beardling or swapping a Thunderer for a Beardling to free up the gold to give your Noble a xbow too. That gives you four or five xbowers and a range of 36" with the Engineer. Quick Shot would be the obvious first skill with the shooty heroes. Your numbers will be low, but that's less of a concern with Dwarfs. Just remember to vol. rout whenever things are starting to get ugly. Your high Ld and special abilities will allow you to hang in there vs. almost anyone, but don't risk your heroes going OOA in the early parts of a campaign without a good reason.

What you have now is more of a h2h warband. I'm not an expert with Dwarfs, so I'm not gonna say it won't work. But your lack of footspeed and low initiative mean that you'll be attacking last virtually all the time, so keep that in mind. Other warbands are just going to run rings around you...Skaven in particular would give you fits. If I was going to try this approach, I'd consider investing in some pistols rather than xbows, and an Engineer. Then if your opponent tries to play keepaway, you can squeeze off some shots with the pistols and hopefully stun or knock down some models that you can then charge in the next turn.

I love Dwarves in Mordheim. I have always been very successful with them.

There are several ways to build them, though, in my opinion, a primarily shooting force works best. I always start with an Engineer and at least two crossbow-dwarves. The extra 6" of range makes a bigger difference than you might imagine. It is an entire extra turn of opponent's movement that you can shoot. Also, usually the first skill I take for the Engineer is the "move and shoot" skill. Also, I usually give my Noble a ranged weapon as well early on. The extra experience points you get for characters killing opponents during shooting are invaluable.

I knew one person several years ago who had a very interesting build for Dwarves that he managed to make very successful. He kept a very small model count. When he started out, he would only have 3-4 models, but each one would be maxed out as far as equipment was concerned; gromril armor and ithilmar weapons, good luck charms, dwarven war axes, helmets, etc. He didn't have a lot of models, but the ones he had were a complete pain in the buttocks to kill. Personally, I prefer to have as many heroes as possible from the get-go to have more rolls on the exploration table.

Anyway, I wish you luck with the Dwarves. T4 and "hard to kill" make for a very resilient army, but don't forget they're S3. That's another reason why shooting works in their advantage with the access to S4 shooting weapons.

Later!

Sal.

The extra 6" of range makes a bigger difference than you might imagine. It is an entire extra turn of opponent's movement that you can shoot.

This reminded me of another important point. One of the primary benefits of longer range is a longer SHORT RANGE, which means you can fire farther without the -1 modifier. Give out Eagle Eye and the half range on a xbow gets ridiculous.

thanks for all the help guys. I think i might take out a slayer for an engineer with a corssbow if I have the points. and after the campaign starts I think I'll try to pick up some more crossbow men soon.

Also there is a skill for shooting, I think it's called keen eye, it increses the range of your shooting weapon by 6", what are your thought on takeing that with an engineer with a brace of pistols, so my engineer can move and fire 17" giveing him an effective range of 20".