Howdy fellas,


I've been out of the sbg loop for a bit here, busy with work, playing some other games. But I bought some of the Iron Hills stuff and really like the models.
I am wondering what playtesting has been like for the additions, what are good base line armies to build off of for the Iron Hills, specifically, whether or not it's worth taking the crossbow men. But extending out to the other new models too, rams, sword and shield, mattocks, captains, ect.

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Cheers,

P

Ok, maybe this will spark more interest.

Which list do you guys like more?

Army list one 500 points

Warband 1 12/12
Dain Ironfoot, Lord of the Iron Hills
4 Iron Hills Dwarf with Shield;
4 Iron Hills Dwarf with Crossbow;
4 Iron Hills Dwarf with Spear; Shield;

Warband 2 12/12
Iron Hills Captain with War spear; Shield;
4 Iron Hills Dwarf with Shield;
4 Iron Hills Dwarf with Crossbow;
4 Iron Hills Dwarf with Spear; Shield;


Or

Army #2 500 points

Warband 1 12/12
Dain Ironfoot, Lord of the Iron Hills
4 Iron Hills Dwarf with Shield;
8 Iron Hills Dwarf with Spear; Shield;

Warband 2 12/12
Iron Hills Captain with War spear; Shield;
4 Iron Hills Dwarf with Shield;
8 Iron Hills Dwarf with Spear; Shield;



Thoughts? What about at higher points?

_________________
Cheers,

P

Personally, I like list 1 better, as I tend to think that even some shooting is better than no shooting. And crossbows are pretty good. Dwarves are tough as nails, but can be pretty susceptible to monsters and spells like Sorcerous Blast. The crossbows can focus on enemies that have those threats, as well as perhaps encouraging skirmishing armies to close the gap and engage with the Dwarves.

I'd be inclined to put Dain on his pig, and the captain on a goat. The goat riders are pretty tough, but they're costly, and I don't have a sense for whether adding a few goat riders brings one's overall numbers down too much. I also like banners for Dwarves, as a protection against losing fights (and hence the shield wall breaking down), but again - it adds a cost.

But none of this is based on my own playtesting. I haven't jumped in with the new Dwarves yet - too many other projects ahead in the queue.

You definitely should take the crossbows. Reason is simple: Dwarves are very slow. So, if you want to catch an enemy with bows, you basically need bows to yourself. If enemy has not bows, these soldiers will still be very usable in melee, so it will just be a bonus.

Yeah Dain, probably should be on his pig, I just typed this up real quick and maxed out the troops with the different war gear just to compare.

Thanks for the responses fellas! Any other thoughts on the iron hills? Has nobody been playing these hairy little guys?

_________________
Cheers,

P

I'd recommend having a look at switching it up a little - you're going to drop some troops anyway to take the pig, but look into front rank with shields and second rank with crossbows and spears. Goat riders might be nice for trying to claim objectives too. (Other thoughts re: war machines - the ballista can help shut down shooting back at you and the chariot allows you to take the fight to the enemy in a powerful way, with some shooting as well.)

Not entirely sure but isn't it so that it's either a spear+shield, mattock or xbow? I mean, Iron Hills warriors with sword + shield aren't really an option right? The spear is mandatory unles you swap it for a mattock or xbow.

Sephaio: They start with shield, you buy the spear. You can swap the shield for a mattock or swap and pay for a crossbow. You can have crossbow and spear. I suppose you could probably have mattock and spear as well, but not sure why you would or if there's a rule elsewhere preventing it.

Anyone have any idea on how to represent dwarves with shield and sword? There isn't any models with that equipment set up and I don't ever see myself being able to afford being able to buy multiple sets of the little guys to cut up.

_________________
Cheers,

P