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Runic Standards | |
With the Dwarf Runic standards, it's possible to set your units up so as to be even more resilient in combat than they already. Certain of the Dwarf units (such as Ironbreakers, Longbeards and Hammerers) are able to take a cheapish runic standard, worth up to 50pts. Any combination of runes costing more than will have to go on the armies Battle Standard Bearer, meaning he can't carry any magic items (such as armour or weapons).Master Rune of Valaya - 125ptsOne of the premier anti-magic items in the game, the Master Rune of Valaya gives an already magic-resistant Dwarf army an even bigger edge against it's magic-using enemies. A straight +2 toyour dispel attempts means that, with some casts, you'll be able to use less dice than you would normally have, and still stand a good chance of dispellng the spell. Even if you use the same number of dice you'd normally use to counter enemy magic, the +2 means you're almost certain to kill whatever spell you want to kill. The other bonus the Rune fetches is that it auto-dispels any Remains In Play spell at the start of the Magic phase, killing spells such as Curse of Years, Wall of Fire and Yellow Fire of Tzeeentch stone dead if they're within 12" of your Battle Standard Bearer. A nice rune, but very pricey.Master Rune of Stromni Redbeard - 100ptsQuite expensive, though admittedly cheaper than the Master Rune of Valaya, the Master Rune of Stromni Redbeard provides a handy boost to all Dwarf combats close to the Battle Standard Bearer. The extra +1 combat resolution it provides could be the difference between Dwarfs winning and losing a combat, and against Undead it could be the difference between holding and breaking (due to generally being outnumbered by a fear-causing opponent. Certainly a handy rune to have around, but I' not convinced it is worth 100pts.Master Rune of Taunting - 75ptsThis is another of those Runes that amuses me. It's also known as the rune of "Oi! You! Yer momma was an Orc!" when playing against High Elves (though against Orcs, that insult doesn't work too well - in that case, I believe it's "Oi! You! Yer momma was an Elf!"). Not sure how useful this rune is for 75pts, seeing as it's a oneus item, and it does mean you're getting charged - OK, it's on your terms, but even so, you'll be striking last. I'm not sure how the combination of this and the Rune of Slowness would work, but it could make it easier to ensure you get the charge.Master Rune of Fear - 75ptsYour unit causes fear. This can be handy, but will generally result in a very expensive unit/character combination. Why? Because to get the most out of a fear-causing unit, it needs to be large so it'll outnumber it's opponent and auto-break them if they win combat. However, a large unit of Dwarf infantry, especially with a Battle Stanard Bearer, isn;t exactly the cheapest option in the world. And with the low speed of Dwarfs, it is going to be tough to get the unit in combat where it will do the most good, comparative to most other armies. Handy, but you can't depend on it being in the right place at the right time.Master Rune of Groth One-Eye - 60ptsIf this rune were 10pts cheaper, it'd be a god-send. Unfortunately, at the current price, you can't stick it on one of your elite infantry standards (such as Ironbreakers or Longbeards) where it would do the most good. Instead, you have to stick it on a Battle Standard Bearer. Admittedly, this does mean you have a unit of Ld9 troops that are stubborn, making quite an effective anchor for your army - especially if combined with a unit of Hammerers with your General in them, or a big unit of Trollslayers. Again, I wish it were 10pts cheaper, but it isn't so it'll stay in the "handy, but not essential" batch of runes.Rune of Courage - 50ptsA unit of Ironbreakers, plus this rune, gives you the world's most heavily armoured unit of Trollslayers (minus the slayer skill). Flanked on all sides by undead? Don't care, their attacks will bounce off our armour, and we ain't running anywhere. Seriously, this is a great rune, and as it's not a master rune, any unit with a 50pt magic baner allowance can take one. Almost unmissable if you're playing undead often.Rune of Kadrin - 50ptsI've yet to make up my mind which sort of unit it's best to use this rune on, a unit of missile troops (Thunderers for personal preference), or a unit of elite combat troops (such as Longbeards). Of course, if you're hitting on 3's with a reroll of 1's, you can guarentee all your misses will be 2's. Or is this just my luck? The only problem I can see with including this rune in a missile unit is that you'd have to stick your Battle Standard Bearer with the unit, whereas in elite infantry you can just stick it on their banner.Rune of Slowness - 50ptsAnother one which amuses me, especially when used agianst infantry. It's not as useful against cavalry, due to their greater charge distancew, but infantry at the edge of their charge range are in trouble agianst this rune, as they lose d6" from their charge move - and if they don't make it into HTH, then it's a failed charge, handily within your charge range. Imagine that, Dwarfs actually managing to get a charge that isn;t a counter-charge! The horror, the horror. The other option with it, of course is that it gives you another turn to blast whatever is trying to charge you, reducing it's combat effectiveness. I quite like this rune, and due to its cost, it can be given to your elite infantry without requiring the presence of a Battle Standard BEarer.Rune of Battle - 25ptsA bonus +1 to your combat resolution is always handy, increasing your chances of winning any combats the unit may be involved in. This is not a guarentee you'll win combat, but anything that gives a bonus that can't be cancelled out (unless your opponent has a similar standard) is always a good thing. If you're Battle Standard Bearer has the Master Rune of Stromni Redbeard, and happens to be within 12" of the combat, that's +2 to your combat resolution straight away, regardless of ranks, etc - +3 if you include the basic bonus for having a banner. Not a bad starting block for a combat, really, as you'll tend to have 3 ranks as well, giving you +6 as a base, with the unlikely possibility of +7 should you outnumber your opponent. It's a bit tricky to get through that without being a complete combat munchkin, so something like a unit of Chosen Khorne Knights would have a chance, but it'd still be difficult even for them.Rune of Sanctury - 20ptsCheap and cheerful, and giving the unit effectively Magic Resistance 1. What's this, a Dwarf army with even more dispel dice? Admittedly, you only get the extra dispel dice against magic cast at the unit, so you won't get it against spells sucha s Comet of Casandora, for instace. However, if you happen to have a character with the talismanic Rune of Warding in the unit as well, you're getting 2 dispel dice against any spell cast at the unt before you even consider using any from your dispel pool. And that's not a bad starting point really, is it?Next: Engineering Runes | |
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