Fog of War, Part 10: Kingdom of Khazad-Dum / Moria

FOG OF WAR

Part 10: Kingdom of Khazad-Dum / Moria

Welcome back to Fog of War! This time I am joined by ETC Team England & 2017 Team World Champion (The Wanderers in the Wild), as well as the winner of a recent London Dark Sphere tournament, Callum Edens. Together we take a look at the finest sprinters in the land – The Dwarves!

Callum: When I was asked to do a faction review I expressed my intentions to do a write up for Durin’s Folk. I have easily found them the most challenging and tactical faction to play within SBG. You may understand their basics but to master their underlying potential can take years of practice. When I first started playing Dwarves they were always considered an underdog faction which would never be seen on top tables. I set out to dispel this myth and give the Sons of Durin the justice and respect they deserved. There is much to say about the stubbornness of the Dwarves…..

"Since they were to come in the days of the power of Melkor, Aulë made the dwarves strong to endure. Therefore they are stone-hard, stubborn, fast in friendship and in enmity, and they suffer toil and hunger and hurt of body more hardily than all other speaking peoples; and they live long, far beyond the span of Men, yet not forever." (Tolkien.,Silmarillion)

The Kingdom of Khazad-Dum as they are now called encompasses both the forces of Khazud-Dum and Moria. With the new edition, the list has been split and there are even more challenges to make a Dwarven list now than ever before. However, it is much more themed and in my opinion both much more enjoyable to play and more rewarding to win with! The strength of the Dwarves comes mainly from their high Defence, usually as high as 7. The jewel in the crown for any dwarven forces however is having some of the best elite troops in the game - Khazad Guard and Iron Guard! Having Strength 4 in any troop choice in the Forces of Good is rare and incredibly powerful. Bodyguard makes your Khazads auto-pass Courage Tests, which is invaluable when fighting Terror causing foes or standing by your Lord to the last man to try and swing a game in the dying turns. The Dwarf Heroes also give you a great combination of high Defense, Courage and Fight Value. Some of the weaknesses however include lack of cavalry, bow superiority and their universal 5-inch movement. Don’t let this fool you however, as the “Dwarves are very dangerous over short distance”.

Mik: In my 14-year playing career, Dwarves are the only army I never used at a major tournament, and thus never achieved any tournament success with. They are also the army that my old friend Louis would use all the time against me in the first 3 or 4 years of my SBG adventure and consistently destroy me every time we played. I used to loathe playing against the Dwarves because of their high Defence, as I could never find a way to kill them. I have often fielded a contingent of Khazad Guard led by Floi and back in the days of Legions of Middle-earth (2007-2011) I always feared Khazad Guards supported by Wood Elf Spearmen. Through writing this series I’ve had to ponder about armies I might not always be familiar with and it’s been a fun and rewarding experience :)

My favourite Dwarf units are Vault Wardens and King’s Champion. The latter is a very interesting character in that the 2 Heralds effectively cost around 45 points each (25 for banner and 20 for their hero-with-2-Fate profile), making the Champion himself *only* 50 points – a total bargain for Fight 5, Strength 5, Defence 7, 3 Attacks, with Heroic Strike and a Defence bonus when in contact with the Heralds. Naturally you won’t ever need more than 2 banners in a game, so getting a 2nd Champion will never provide as good a return on your investment as the first one.

Vault Warden Teams are peculiar in that a line of them is almost unbreakable, but if flanked or surrounded, they fall apart as if they were badly overpriced Orcs, so it’s worth having 1 or 2 in the middle of a line and protect flanks with other units. 

Between 2001 and 2011, Khazad Guard was the most powerful infantry unit in the game, especially in the era when all Grand Tournaments were played in Good vs Evil, making their Fight 4 / Strength 4 / Defence 7 absolutely unstoppable for the forces of Evil. Although they haven’t changed at all, everything else has changed, so they lost a lot of their strength in the recent 2 rule sets. I’m still keen to see if they can be feared the way they once were, especially now with their ability to be upgraded to have the Burly special rule. 

The biggest downside of pure Dwarf armies is the cost of individual units. They may be incredibly durable, but paying 11, 13 or 15 points per model is a lot when their Heroes are also on the expensive side and the army is unable to provide anything that moves more than 5” without adding allies.

Callum's Lists:

List 1: 600 Points of Khazad-Dum

Warband 1

Durin, King of Khazad-Dum

15 Khazad Guards with Hearthguard Upgrade. 

3 Iron Guards

Warband 2

Mardin

10 Dwarf Warriors with Shields

1 Dwarf Warrior with a Banner. 

Total: 31 Models. 6 might 

This list represents the might of a Dwarven Vanguard. You can now utilize the new Heroic Tier before taking too many costly Heroes to maximise your numbers and increase Break Point. Within the list you have mostly Defence 7, meaning that most of the enemy Heroes and Warriors will require 6s to wound you. Your Khazad Guards all now have Burly for an addition 2 points, which I feel is well worth it. Strength 4 and always going two handed with no penalty will now chew through most armour with ease. Not forgetting you will re-roll 1s to wound with your new Army Bonus!

The tricks of playing this list is to get stuck in as quick as possible, but always remember your objectives and plan 2 moves ahead. Utilize the 2-Attack troops, Throwing weapons and Might points to kill and call Heroic Combats to give you extra movement and take out strategic pieces in your opponent’s battle line or storm objectives. 

List 2  - 750 Points of Moria

Warband 1

Balin  King of Moria 

16 Khazad Guard 

1 Iron guard 

Warband 2 

Gimli 

8 Dwarf Warriors with Shields

4 Dwarf Warriors with Bows 

Warband 3 

Floi 

4 Dwarf Warriors with Bows

4 Dwarf Warriors with Shields

1 Dwarf Warrior with a Shield and a Banner

Warband 4 

Dwarf Ballista 

Total: 750 Points 43 models, 8 Bows & a Ballista

This list at a higher points level can give you a little more of everything. You have a reasonable amount of Strength 3 bows and a Ballista to try and force your opponent to engage you. Your vanguard remains strong with lots of Defense 7 and Strength 4 troops. You also have 3 very different types of Heroes. Balin and Gimli have always been my favourite Heroes for the Dwarves and although Balin has taken a bit of a pounding in the new rules, he is still one of the cheapest Heroes of Legend in the game. He also lets you play a tactical game with his special rule of re-rolling Priority which can easily win you a game in certain situations. Gimli remains a wrecking machine as he used to be before and a good all-round combat Hero. Floi is a dark horse and can shut down any nasty Hero with his Special Rule (My favorite is turning off the Undying and then inflicting a single wound to see him flee back into the darkness). The common trait with me is to try and take a Banner in any list with the Dwarves. Having a high Defense Banner is great. Additionally, it counts for VPs in many scenarios and can maximize the potential of you battle line winning combats and doing what they do best.

Mik's Lists:

List 3: 600 Points of Khazad-Dum

Warband 1:

King’s Champion with 2 Heralds

5 Iron Guard

5 Dwarf Warriors with Shields

Warband 2:

Dwarf Captain with a Shield 

5 Iron Guard

5 Dwarf Warriors with Shields

Warband 3:

Dwarf Captain with a Shield

10 Dwarf Rangers with Dwarven Longbows

Total: 35 Models, 6 Might, 10 Bows, 2 Banners

This list capitalises on the 2 Heralds with Banners, a very powerful Leader and 10 Banner-backed Iron Guards. The guards themselves are capable of cutting through pretty much every enemy in the game, but as there’s only 10 of them, the job of the Dwarves with Shields will be even more important. Shielding is the best ‘Special Strike’ in the game, in a sense that it allows us to tie up 2 or more enemies, beat them in combat, preventing them from killing our models, whilst allowing our more powerful units to cause damage unopposed. A common strategy with a Dwarf army such as this would be to charge the Iron Guards into 1v1 combats (or 1v2 due to Spear Support), back them up with a Banner, so that they roll 3 dice to win combat and ensure they kill their enemies. At the same time, the Shield wielding Dwarves will charge into 1v1s or 1v2s and use Shielding (hopefully still within Banner range to also roll 3 dice) to either win combats and survive or lose combats and still very likely survive due to their high Defence.

Dwarf Rangers have been chosen above Dwarf Warriors with Bows. It’s a borderline decision, as against some armies you will prefer 24” Strength 2 bows and against others you will prefer 18” Strength 3 bows. It’s a debate that’s existed since the dawn of time. I'm on the Rangers side also because of the Mountain Dweller Special Rule, but I wouldn't blame you for taking Warriors with Bows as Defence 6 is quite valuable.

List 4: 800

Warband 1:

Durin, King of Khazad-Dum

4 Vault Warden Teams

5 Iron Guard

2 Dwarf with a Shield

Warband 2:

King’s Champion with 2 Heralds

4 Vault Warden Teams

1 Iron Guard

1 Dwarf with a Shield

Warband 3:

Mardin

12 Dwarf Rangers with Dwarven Longbows

Total: 800 Points, 8 Might, 41 Models, 12 Bows, 2 Banners

If you’re not playing Durin at a high points level, then you’re probably not playing Dwarves of Khazad-Dum. 4 dice to win combat (5 with a Banner nearby), Fight 6 with Heroic Strike, wounding everything at ease thanks to his Axe and one of the highest Defence levels in the game (only Sauron and fortifications are harder to damage!) mean that even if everything goes against you, the chances of your Army Leader actually dying are very slim. He’s Fearless too, so he’s not running away.

King’s Champion joins Durin in high killing potential, Mardin is excellent against Monsters (He Wounds a Cave Troll on 3+!) and 8 Vault Warden teams ensure that the front line is very difficult to break. The key to winning with this army will be in ensuring that the Vault Wardens are not surrounded. As long as you can maintain a frontal fighting line and not get surrounded, you should be beating most enemies. The Iron Guards and Rangers must protect the flanks at all cost. 

Allies

Callum: With the Dwarves you are not spoilt for choice as by nature they are loners who endure winter and wars by themselves. With this in mind you have to make some difficult decisions. Personally the best allies for Dwarves would be a higher Fighting troop with spears to back up your vangaurd and make them unstoppable. The logical choice for me would mean allying Rivendell or Lothlorien. You would however lose Army Bonuses in both lists, but in all fairness this can be ok if you know your list can perform without these as Dwarves have no Historical Allies. Moria are impossible allies with everyone, so an even harder choice would have to be made. As is always the case go out and practice a few lists and forge your own decision on game winning combinations but always keep the theme and enjoyment at the heart of your force!  

Mik: Khazad-Dum’s Army Bonus is something worth keeping in my opinion. Most of the Dwarf armies will be full of Strength 4 troops, wounding majority of enemies on 5+, so re-rolling 1s to wound is going to be very powerful. Sadly there are 0 Historical Allies, so if we go into alliance, I think it doesn’t really matter if we pick Impossible or Convenient ones, as the allies will be there only to patch up some of the weaknesses of a Khazad-Dum army, rather than actually properly fight side-by-side with the Dwarves. The big weaknesses in my mind are:

- Movement – We should try to look into ways of getting cavalry – Rivendell, Minas Tirith, Rohan, Lothlorien?

-  Numbers & Spears – Arnor helps with this by providing numbers and extra bows with Hobbits, whilst also bringing Spear Support with the Warriors of Arnor.

Summary

In all, I think Khazad-Dum and Moria have potential in the new edition, but their success will depend largely on the correct configuration of elites and basic troops, as well as the right number of allies we look for – but that’s generally what the success of every army depends on. In the case of the Dwarves I would favour them in higher points games, as their individual troops and heroes are a large investment points-wise and their lack of spears requires the players to adapt some more unusual strategies – perhaps their biggest strength is the fact that your opponents won't be used to fighting such a durable force.

Good Luck!

BlackMist & Callum