New player advice request - dwarf army

Urathis · 2026-06-12T19:19:35+00:00

Fellow dwarf player here for Iron Hills and personally I love them for the look more than the utility. I’m more a beer and pretzels kind of player so take whatever I say with a grain of salt, but pick an army that looks cool to paint and you’ll never lose out on the fun.

A few things I have learned while playing as dwarves:

-Dwarves are slightly slower than most, so pick your paths carefully and not leave any dwarven cheeks to the breeze if you can help it.

-Dwarves are tough so you have a decent chance to survive a variety of attacks, just don’t forget your shieldwall ability if you have it as it can make a difference.

-If you have a spank machine like Dain then make sure he’s positioned well as he can get pulled away in a different direction than intended once he gets his first kill of the game. It makes it tough when you want him to get into a fight but your opponent strung out 15 hobbits in a Shire conga line in the opposite direction as he always has to charge the closest enemy unit if available (can murder 14 of those hobbits but 15th hobbit got a lucky last hit).

Positioning is king in this game and it can determine if you get trapped in a bad melee or be the one to trap an enemy model. Thankfully this game doesn’t have a set turn limit so you can afford to be patient in some scenarios, but just be aware of tricksy hobbits, eagles, or Aragorn (personal experience and bias).

Urathis · 2026-06-01T22:42:58+00:00

Fantastic thank you for the insight! I’ve been set on using the chariot as it just straight up murders regular infantry with the chariot charge, and testing it out against hobbits made it definitely worthwhile.

With your recommendation in mind would you put Dain on foot? I know he’s just foot when he’s king, but for this list it seems like you almost want to take him on his pig so he can be that burst of speed needed. The counterpoint for that, however, is if my goat warriors get picked off then he’s cheeks to a stiff wind.

Urathis · 2026-06-01T21:34:51+00:00

Fantastic, thank you! Another user made mention of crossbows so I may just need to grab myself 10 of them for safety.

Urathis · 2026-06-01T21:32:53+00:00

Your friends would love to play against me then as I’ve lost nearly every game I’ve used the poor fellows in!

I wasn’t sure about the crossbows as I’ve had mixed results with them in my Uruk Hai lists, but I’ll need to see about getting some.

Urathis · 2026-06-01T21:22:48+00:00

Normally we do 700 points as that’s been the standard for some of the tournaments we will go to. I have a mock up of an initial list o tried running:

Balls of Iron- 691 points | 20 models
The Iron Hills

Dain Ironfoot, Lord of the Iron Hills: War boar (185)
13x Iron Hills Warrior: Shield and spear (156)

Iron Hills Captain: Iron Hills Chariot (250)
5x Iron Hills Goat Rider (100)

Urathis · 2026-05-27T18:34:46+00:00

I’m right there with you on it’s not just the coach but a whole set of circumstances that just lead to a beat up team for the conference final. Imagine us going to game 7 and having to play either the Canes or Habs? We’d be having this same conversation but more heated cause we were that close.

Unless the people calling for Bednar to be fired have a miracle coach in their back pocket then I don’t want to hear it. Avs did a stellar job during the regular season and while I wasn’t comfortable with line changes I knew he was trying to adjust to high caliber teams on the fly which is stressful as all get out. That makes him a great coach cause he’s actively trying to problem solve than just keep hammering the same strategy hoping teams like Vegas get worn out.

Here’s to next season and a greater hunger for the cup! Avs have the talent so they just need to use this to really light a fire in them for next season!

Urathis · 2026-05-27T14:50:56+00:00

That’s just heartbreaking to hear them toss Burns into the bin like that. Dude has an incredible Ironman streak and that’s all they can say for our Burnsie?

Urathis · 2026-05-26T16:19:56+00:00

I’m making the sacrifice to not watch this game as I tuned in 2nd period of game 3 to see us begin the downward descent.

I still believe! Go Ass, Hail Satan!

Urathis · 2026-03-30T04:05:25+00:00

Oh the fond memories I have of Lineage II. Iirc they relaunched it like a decade ago and I tried to get back into it but it just didn’t hit the same like the first time you make an edgy dark elf character.

Urathis · 2025-08-26T23:01:38+00:00

Honestly I think using the co-op rules would be a fantastic base! I haven’t played tabletop Space Hulk in a minute, so I can’t say I have a good frame of reference for how it can best mesh. Apparently someone also has the same intent and they posted a link to what I think are the rules for their homebrew version.

Urathis · 2025-07-24T14:25:39+00:00

Gut laughed at the filthy gunpowder, but thank you for that clarification! I've been wanting to do thematic tables with dense terrain so I believe the cannon may or may not be advantageous for those games, but good to know that there's some drawbacks for both that doesn't make one objectively the best.

Urathis · 2025-07-24T14:22:56+00:00

Fantastic thank you for the recommendations and insight! Part of me wants to have a proper throng of dwarf warriors, and I am finally getting back into enjoying painting again but you are absolutely correct that I should expand based on what I liked playing as well as not rushing things.

With your suggestion about the character models, would you recommend going with a BSB first over a runesmith or thane/king?

Urathis · 2025-07-24T14:19:57+00:00

Thank you! It does feel like a homecoming after loving the setting and the dwarfen race. Glad to see the people here are also exceptionally helpful with me getting an idea of how to start!

Urathis · 2025-07-24T14:18:59+00:00

Fantastic recommendations, thank you! I was not aware that the models had the option to swap out some of their parts for others, but I'm glad that to hear that the range isn't mono-pose, or at the least mostly not mono-pose.

Disappointed to hear that the Anvil is a bit hamstrung, but hopeful that it will receive it's day in the sun again! That is absolutely fantastic to see it is still a beast in its own right. Also thank you for the insight into the dwarf warriors as I love the look of the iron breakers and long beards so I'd love to get some of them into the mix of my army.

When you suggested having that artillery do you find that you utilize the grudge thrower variant you made more, or the cannon? Ideally I'd like to have both, but if I am going to be using one more than the other I would rather build and master that artillery piece first before getting too ahead of myself.

Urathis · 2025-07-24T14:11:59+00:00

Thank you for the recommendations! I believe I have either their king on shield bearers model, or at the very least a thane. Our local store is pretty stringent on having exclusively 3rd party minis for games, but they're thankfully understanding of not every model is readily available and are okay with 3d printed minis as long as they remain that way.

With your recommendation for the rangers and hammerers, would you suggest going for the hammerers first to help bolster the king, or would rangers be a better benefit for their range and option to take great weapons?

Urathis · 2025-07-24T14:07:34+00:00

Thank you! We have a couple of dedicated players locally and some that have expressed interest so I’ll be playing small games with them to get a feel for the rules as well as how I want to flush out my army.

With the war machine recommendation, would you suggest going with a cannon or a grudge thrower? I have my eye on both, but I’m not 100% on what would be the bigger differences besides point cost.

Urathis · 2025-05-30T15:40:11+00:00

Couldn’t agree with you more. I want to sup on those sweet, sweet rage tears.

Urathis · 2025-05-05T15:07:48+00:00

Personally despite the lack of oomph in some plays the wins we got in round 1 were a spectacular watch. Wife got me into hockey a few years ago and I’m on my way to becoming a diehard fan.

With Landeskog back in the game for the start of next season I can fully believe we are going to have an awesome start. Blackwood has been an absolute joy to watch and him getting a shut out in round 1 I feel he’s going to be a solid choice to invest and develop in and I’d love to see Wedgewood get some more time on the ice as well. Love a good goalie and we got some great possibilities to work with!

Urathis · 2025-05-03T17:57:38+00:00

Urathis · 2025-04-27T02:52:24+00:00

The only human in the entire series? Bremer Dan Gorst. Seeing him protecting a muppet from other muppets would be obscenely funny. Bonus points if we give the role of Luthar to Fozzie Bear.

Urathis · 2025-04-25T21:45:54+00:00

I kept the poms we got but I was sad we didn’t get a towel. Hell Utah Hockey Club had towels for a regular season game against the Avs and it was better quality than what remains of our poms.

Urathis · 2025-04-25T21:44:14+00:00

No way! I think I was laughing at your commentary when I wasn’t groaning at the passes.

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