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Engineering Runes | |
Ah, customised magical artillery - the bane of most armies, especially daemons (no Daemonic Ward save, thankyouverymuch). The traditional Dwarf artillery pieces (Cannons, Stone Throwers and Bolt Throwers) may all take up to three runes from this list, subject to the usual rules. THe new-fangled technological devices such as the Gyrocopter and Organ Gun are unable to take any, which at least removes the Stealth Gyrocopter ploy - and this, in my opinion, is a Good Thing.Master Rune of Defence - 40ptsDwarf artillery crew are hard; this is a well known fact- they're viewed as tougher than most of the combat unit, and are regularly known to kill of Screamers and other things sent to kill them. However, they're not that hard when it comes to resisting missile fire, which is where this rune comes in. The chance of incoming missile fire hitting your crew is reduced to a mere 1 in 6, with the remaining hits clanging off (or sticking in) the war machine they're crewing. It isn't a rune I tend to take, but I can see where it's benefits would be useful. It's downside is that the extra hits on the war machine could end up destroying the war machine before kkilling the crew, leaving you with spare crew for another war machine.Master Rune of Disguise - 30ptsThis rune is another which amuses me, but it's one I wouldn't tend to bother with. While an inisible war machine may sound useful, I'd tend to be revealing it on turn 1 anyway, which means that the only thing my opponent loses out on is knowing whereit's deployed at the start of the game. That doesn't seem to be anything major to me, to be honest with you.Master Rune of Immolation - 30ptsHow to make sure enemy units regret targetting your war machines - just after they eventually wipe the crew out, the machine explodes, using the large blast template. Bye-bye mister skirmishing unit, bye-bye mister light cavalry, etc. The amusing thing being that even if your crew get killed by shooting, you can leave the war machine there as a booby trp, so when/if someone tries to get into your artillery park, and ends up sat by the crewless machine, you can blow it up. And who said Dwarfs held grudges - oh yea, the Dwarfs.....Master Rune of Skewering - 25ptsYou can guarantee that when you use this rune, giving you an unmodified 2+ to hit shot once per game, that you'll roll a one to hit. Unfortunately, that's Murphy's Law for you. On the other hand, there'll be the time you get a flank shot on a unit of light cavalry, during the Albion campaign, and manage to reduce them from 6 strong to 1 guy left - despite the rain. That shot was even more amusing whne you consider it was during the final game of the Dark Shadows roadshow at GW HQ, and I'd ended up in charge of the forces of light, which was a bit weird.Rune of Forging - 35ptsThis rune is a must-have item if you want to use cannon in your army. The ability to reroll the artillery dice is well worth the 35 points, as it can prevent your cannon misfiring, or the cannonball failing to bounce, as you can reroll either roll of the artillery dice, though you can only use it for one reroll a turn. Possibly the best artillery rune available for cannon - actually, remove the possibly from that, it is the best rune for a cannon.Rune of Reloading - 30ptsQuite handy, more for its secondary effect than it's primary. The main reason to take this is so that, should 2 of your crew die, you can still fire the cannon every turn. The reason I like this rune is that it basically allows you to ignore the 2-3 result on the misfire table; while you won't get the shot off this turn, you'll still be able to fire next turn, where you normally wouldn't. Unfortunately, it is only usable by cannon, but it greatly increases their reliability.Rune of Accuracy - 25ptsThis rune is a must-have on Stone Throwers - the ability to reroll where you're scattering greatly increases the chance of getting either a direct hit where you guessed, or a scatter in a more friendly direction, such as onto the unit of Minotaurs stood nearby. It also reduces the chance of a bad scatter landing the big rock on your own units, which is always a bonus. This rune is vital for Ston Throwers, and should always be used.Rune of Fortune - 25ptsHow to prevent your war machine going boom - reroll on the misfire table if required. This and the Rune of Forging make a good combination on cannons, while this on it's own can be quite handy on Stone Throwers. Id generally say to only use it on a roll of a 1 on the misfire table, which should stop the cannon or stone thrower getting destroyed with a misfire. Whle you may lose a crew member or a turn of firing, it's better than losing the entire war machine.Valiant Rune - 25ptsUnbreakable war machine crew, as long as their machine is safe? Cool idea, but is it really needed?Rune of Penetrating - 25ptsWho doesn't want to increase the strength of their stone thrower or bolt thrower? It isn't any use on a cannon, as they're already at max strength, but boosting a bolt thrower to strength 7 makes it perfect for chariot hunting, while increasing the strength on a stone throwe gives you a S9 direct hit with a S5 blast - and that's going to chafe a little. Of course, multiple runes of this are quite vicious, as a S9 bolt is going to make a kebab of most units, while a S10 direct hit with a S7 blast is just insane. But it's nice, unless you're on the receiving end, so we'll let it slide.....Flakkson's Rune of Seeking - 25ptsAlways handy for going pheasant shootin (or Dragon, Winged Nightmare, Manticore, etc), giving you +1 to hit anything that flies if you're using a bolt thrower. Handy to take if you know you're going to face fliers, but a nit pointless otherwise.Stalwart Rune - 20ptsHow to make sure your war machine crew will really kick the heads in of anyone attacking them - give them what is effectively a standard. Handy, but not on I'd tend to take.Rune of Burning - 5ptsThe cheapest method of ignoring Daemonic Wards in the game - stick a 5 point rune on a Dwarf artillery piece and blast them back to the warp from whence they came. Always good for a laugh.Next: Talismanic Runes | |
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