Welcome to another 3rd edition army overview. Today I will be discussing the Abyssal Dwarfs, an army that has been generating a lot of buzz on the Internet. The Abyssal Dwarfs were my main army for the last year and a half or so, with my list relying heavily on 4 units of Abyssal Halfbreeds, a Grotesque horde, and characters to deliver an aggressive and hard-hitting punch.
While the core of the army remains the same, there are a lot of small tweaks and new abilities throughout the list that lend a lot of new potential, but also some stumbling blocks. I will confess that I have not read the Abyssal Dwarf lore in the new book yet, so I am just going to skip over that and dive right into the units themselves!
Gameplay
In second edition, Abyssal Dwarf lists largely (with some exceptions) followed two main building themes:
The Slow Grind
This style relied on hordes of Lesser Obsidian Golems, support pieces, and often Angkor Heavy Mortars to slowly grind their way through opposing armies. Having Crushing Strength 2 and Vicious meant Obsidian Golems were a fearsome main battle line, who with time could smash through most enemies. The addition of support pieces like the Halfbreed Champion, Ba’su’su the Vile, and of course the mighty Angkor Heavy Mortars meant they could deal with a wide array of threats. Frequently, the biggest gripe for this list was the expensive and mediocre source of surge, the Iron-Casters.
Alpha Strike
This style relied more on the Abyssal Dwarfs’ elite fast elements, like Grotesques and Halfbreeds alongside the incredible and cheap Gargoyle troops, to control the battlefield, while cheap units of Slave Orcs snatched up objectives.
Abyssal Dwarves in 3rd Edition
With the changes from 3rd, both of these playstyles are viable; however, due to a number of small changes and tweaks, I think 3rd boosted the defensive playstyle while nerfing (slightly) the alpha strike. Keep in mind I have only had one practice game, so take everything I have to say as based on theory.
Small but impactful changes, like more reliable and cheaper war machines, characters with auras exclusively for infantry, and an improved Iron-Caster, all boosted the defensive build, while a lack of synergy options for the Halfbreed and reducing the effectiveness of Grotesque hordes (a fair change) also pushes the army to the defensive. Time may prove me wrong, but for those of you in Abyssal Dwarf heavy metas, I would prepare for a lot of war machines and slow grind lines, while alpha strike units largely take a backseat.
Infantry
The Abyssal Dwarfs have several really interesting infantry choices; however, first I would like to pour one out for my homies, the Abyssal Berzerkers, which I think are still not worth it. Wild Charge is cute, but it means you may get an 11-13 inch charge, out-ranging infantry but not cavalry. Their lower defense means they won’t survive most counter punches, and light arms shooting will tear them apart. Unless there is a much heavier shift to infantry then I am expecting, these guys still stay home. Maybe one day bros…
Right, so I will hit what I think the three standout choices for AD are.
First, a unit that received a major boost, and I think will be seen quite frequently now: Immortal Guard. This unit was a solid choice in 2nd Edition, and I actually used it several times (though I didn’t see many other people trying them). Now in 3rd they have gone up 15 points but have been given Regeneration 5+, and the regiment is upgraded to US 3. When paired with some of the auras and boosts from characters, I think Immortal Guard are going to form the backbone of many AD armies.
Second, the Slave Orcs. These were already a go-to choice in 2nd Edition, but in 3rd they lose Yellow-Bellied and Vicious, while going up 10 points, but they are still extremely cheap. The loss of Yellow-Bellied makes them more reliable, so no more holding my line back with that infamous roll of a 1. It should be noted the horde only has US 3, but they are still cheaper than the Immortal Guard and have a really solid nerve at 19/21. A great choice for a general looking to pad out the nerve of their battle line. The lack of Yellow-Bellied also means that troops as chaff is a viable option, especially at the super cheap price of 60 points!
The final infantry choice I am highlighting are the Decimators. I was a big fan of 2 regiments of these in 2nd to help fortify your battle line and support your hordes’ flanks. They have a few small changes, Melee 4+ base, a terrible one-use 24″ shot for 20 points (seriously don’t take this), and Vicious now only affecting their shooting. However, the biggest change to this unit is the removal of Breath Weapon as a rule. Their guns now shoot as a 12″ shooting attack with Steady Aim. This makes them slightly less viable, no more ignoring the Individual shooting penalty, but I think they are still quite good. Their Piercing 1 and Vicious shooting can hurt most units, and it is still excellent defense versus aggressive flankers. With US 3 they are also solid choices for objective-based play.
Cavalry
The army has three choices: Slave Orc Gore Riders, which with the removal of Yellow-Bellied got slightly better; Abyssal Grotesques, which hit a little less hard in the grind but are still quite good; and the unit that I want to focus on, the Abyssal Halfbreeds.
Abyssal Halfbreeds’ role and stats have not changed. They are still Me 3+, De 4+, and lower nerve than other cav with Regen, Thunderous 1, Crushing 1, and Vicious. They still hit quite hard; however, they have gone up 5 points. Overall this is a pretty minor tweak, but what impacts them the most is the other synergies in the list. None of the character choices give a buff to this unit. When nearly every other character in the army can take an aura, buff, or boost for infantry or Hellforged (Golems, Immortal Guard, and war machines), the Halfbreeds really seem to lack a clear place.
Once you factor in the looming threat of Phalanx, they become even less appealing.
I think 1-2 units for the counter strike and board control can still be quite good, but I do not think the army lends itself to the aggressive playstyle they really shine in.
Monsters/Large Infantry
The army’s old choices of large infantry, Lesser Obsidian Golems, are still quite good, and they gained a 30 point upgrade to get a 12″ shooting attack, which is cool. The Greater Golem also stays largely the same, but gained Strider. The dragon and caster dragon both received some pretty important tweaks, but the thing I most want to talk about is the new monster, the Hellfane.
Basically, this is a dwarf riding a Greater Golem. It has the same stats as the Greater Golem, but 1 less attack and nerve, Crushing 2, Thunderous 2, and several new rules.
First, it gets a Brutal aura for Dwarfs and an 18″ shooting attack of 5 Piercing 1 shots with Steady Aim — decent, but not game breaking. For this you pay a hefty 280 points! You can also pay an additional 25 points to give it Inspiring and a Wild Charge 1 Aura for Infantry only. I think most people taking this beast will give it this upgrade. However, I do not personally think it is worth 300 points.
It does a lot, but hitting on 4s with Speed 6 means it won’t be doing a lot of damage itself. Its Brutal aura is great, but I think adding 1 inch to all infantry charges in an army with Speed 4 infantry really isn’t that great, except when facing other Speed 4 infantry. It creates some potential synergy with Berzerkers, putting them with a potential 14″ charge, but it’s still not as effective as a horde of Golems and a banner bro backing them up.
A cool idea, but not one I personally see going out of my way to use.
War Machines
Abyssal Dwarfs benefited enormously from the boost to war machines. The feared Angkor Heavy Mortars used to blow up 1-2 enemy units a game and then miss most of the rest of the time, which was a decent impact, but at 120 points a pop it was too expensive for top performing lists to rely on.
Now, with a price reduction to both mortars the AD can take, and more reliability for their shots, I think the AD mortars are going to be in nearly every AD list in some form, with many taking between 3-6.
The Heavy Mortar dropped to 115 points, went to 2 shots, dropped to D3+2 Blast, but kept Piercing 3 and Vicious and then gained Shattering! The Light Mortars also got 2 shots and D3+1 Blast with Piercing 2 and Vicious for a bargain 95 points. This means if you really want to commit to fire superiority, you can take 3 Heavy Mortars and 3 Light Mortars for 630 points, which, while expensive, puts out a ton of reliable damage!
If you plan to face AD, bring a mounted character or 3 to quickly slay these war machines, or they will mess you up!
Characters
Characters are what received the biggest overhaul in the AD army. We got new choices and changed choices. A lot of AD characters have synergy with other units, for example the Slavedriver, who also functions as the army’s cheap banner carrier, gives Rally 1 to slaves, while the Overmaster on foot can take a Strider Aura for infantry. With 10 options and 2 living legends there are a lot of choices, most of which will depend on the flavor of list you are taking.
The change I want to talk about though is that to the Iron-Caster.
The Iron-Caster is now Inspiring to keyword Hellforged, which includes Immortal Guard and Golems. It can replace Fireball 10 with Surge for free now if you want to take a surge heavy list, and importantly it can take Bane Chant 2 (something it couldn’t have before), to help make those Immortal Guard hit harder. At 110 points they aren’t cheap, but they can be tooled to support the battle line you make, while trimming a lot of the fat off that you paid for in 2nd Edition. Innate Inspiring, as well as being able to replace Fireball with Surge, means I think you will see a lot of AD battle lines made up of Immortal Guard and Golems, protecting multiple war machines, and backed up with a few of these casters to Inspire and support.
It is subtle changes like the Iron-Caster that I think slowly, but surely, guide the army to a slow grind build. When you take into account other changes, like the great Strider aura of the Overmaster, but only for infantry, I think a lot of the interesting combos and flavors are geared toward Golems, Immortal Guard, and foot sloggers, which also work well with the war machines, creating a defensive grind behemoth!
At an upcoming 1 day event I will be putting this theory to the test, using this 2,300 point list:
Immortal Guard Regiment with Throwing Mastiff 175
Immortal Guard Regiment with Throwing Mastiff 175
Decimator Regiment 155
Decimator Regiment 155
Lesser Obsidian Golem Horde with Scrying Gem 240
Halfbreed Regiment 200
Halfbreed Regiment 200
1 Troop of Gargoyles 85
x3 Angkor Heavy Mortars 345
X3 Light Mortars 285
Overmaster with Infernal Advance 125
Abyssal Halfbreed Champion with Mournful Blade 160
Great review, Jake!
I wanted to chime in and throw support behind the new Titan, the Hellfane. Having played against this unit, let me say that I disagree with your assessment and that he is actually fantastic. Yes, he is expensive, and that is the biggest argument against taking him, but he also projects a lot of force on the battlefield. Brutal Immortal Guard are no joke, his shooting attack is super reliable for adding 1-2 points of Damage, and he hits on 3+’s in Melee with Crushing (2), Thunderous (2), and Strider. Oh yeah, and he’s De 6+!
I think he’s a super competitive choice.