Kings of War 3rd Edition: Imperial Dwarf Army Review

This review has been updated for Clash of Kings 2022, all changes are put in red text.

Army Special Rule

Let’s start with the new army special rule. Headstrong is no longer considered an army rule yet you will still find it on all our units that aren’t Fearless(edit: except rangers!). I think this is an odd choice as the rule is clearly a hangover from previous editions. I would have rather seen them come up with army-wide rules that applied to every unit, but the end result is not much has changed here.

Throwing Mastiffs instead got completely reworked from a high-risk version of Yahtzee to a reliable one-time use range attack. Although 15 points can seem like a high price to pay, I actually think it is a quite effective attack, especially if taken in mass. Having 3-4 of these lined up next to each other is both a great counter to Individuals who get too close or a good poke at fragile units/chaff. They are particularly effective at protecting our war engines and will likely make your opponent think twice about trying to just bum rush them with cheap units.

Tier Rankings

Before we go further, here is a quick recap of the Dash28 tier ranking system.

Tier Rankings:

Trying to rank units in Kings of War is not a perfect science. By pure design, many units are meant to work in combination with other choices in the army and can be hard to judge on their own. For this exercise, it’s assumed the unit is being used to its utmost potential within the army. This is not just a math problem to determine the most cost-effective unit but to also see how they compare in scope, role, and impact across not just a single army but all Kings of War armies.

S Tier: Reserved for units that are widely acknowledged as either being significantly undercosted or having a combination of rules that perform well above units in similar roles. These units are often called “auto includes” as any list stands to be made better with their inclusion. Expect these units to be addressed in future CoK book updates.

A Tier: These units are some of the best the army has to offer. They excel in their specific roles and commonly help form the core of most competitive lists. While not auto include, they are great in almost any army they are taken in and will be seen frequently.

B Tier: The unit choice has a mix of strengths and weaknesses that makes it very playable, but balanced. These units work great with specific roles in mind; however, their weaknesses mean they do not help every list. In a perfect world, all units would fit into this category.

C Tier: C Tier units may still shine in niche lists and roles; however, they will feel

underpowered when compared to similar units in other armies. Decidedly suboptimal, you could make them work but frequently will see other things that are just better. You will rarely see many lists take these units.

D Tier: Units that need some considerable love and attention. You will struggle to find any role for this unit that another unit couldn’t do better. Very often you will see these units labeled as “unplayable”.

Imperial Dwarfs

Formation: The Royal Guard – If this was the only change dwarfs got for CoK 22, it would be enough to entice building a whole new army.  This might be the best formation in the entire clash of kings book.  As if the elite aura wasn’t enough, getting Me3+ on multiple units makes what is normally harmless dwarf blocks into powerhouse units.  Throw in some magic artefacts and bane chants and you have elite elf hitting power combined with dwarven toughness.  The extra nerve value is just gravy.  Movement is still an issue but otherwise, this is the closest to an S Tier choice that you have in the entire army.  

Ironically enough, the army standard works better near Berserkers where you get to live the elite/vicious dream, but the advantage of Aura’s is that you are able to move it to where you need it in any given turn, so ideally keep him central enough to always be able to react .   If you are looking to build an army around dwarf infantry, look no further, this is the formation for you.

S Tier

No units in the Imperial Dwarf army could be considered S Tier.

A Tier

Steel Behemoth / Golloch’s Fury – With a very relevant speed increase and reduction in points, the Steel Behemoth is back into a solid A Tier.   If you are looking to supplement your battle line with defense6 fire breathing, look no further.  For 50 points, the inspiring and iron resolve aura is also a great deal. The upgraded gun is still very effective and the extra charge range means you can project more threat while doing some turret shooting. Combined with Radiance of Life, the iron resolve aura can effectively give you a bubble of healing 2 by just standing there, very effective in trading counter shooting or in taking that initial punch from an opponent who is desperate to get into combat with you and avoid getting shot to bits.

Berserkers – With some much needed love and attention, Berserkers are finally ready for their time in the sun.  The addition of Slayer D6 finally gives them a defined role that they can actually do better than  their mounted brethren. I love these guys in troops, where you get a very resilient def4 -/15 for a measly 105points.  There is nothing at that point value that can take them head on.   Use them as THICC™ Chaff, flanking counter attackers or just objective scorers.  The possibilities with them have never been higher.  I implore every dwarf player to put 2-4 troops of these on the table and just see what happens. 

Shieldbreakers – The more I look at the Imperial Dwarf army list, the better these guys look. For a very budget price, you get punching power and reliability that comes with Headstrong and a good nerve. I prefer them in regiments, but hordes can work very well as the core of the army. These should be one of the premier choices for a way to bring up the unit strength of your army while also being a unit your opponent can’t ignore. Something that can’t be said for most units in the list.

Ironguard – The cheapest Defense 6 infantry regiment in the game has access to a useful short range attack? Yes, please. For those looking to play an army without Earth Elementals, look no further. A few units of these will form an amazing core to your army with a side effect of throwing mastiffs that can be a huge annoyance for your opponent.

Berserker Brock Riders – Everyone’s favorite unit from 2nd Edition is still near the top. At the end of the day, their speed and hitting power is something not matched anywhere else in the list. I would recommend at least a single unit with either Pathfinder or J-Boots, or even two units with both items. Don’t expect them to stick around forever, but you can rely on them to punish an enemy who either ignores them (a Dwarf can dream, right?) or somebody who has no choice but to take a charge. If you can, try to deploy them on or near a hill where they can sneakily pick up an extra TC for their charge, which they badly need. The troops are also fantastically priced at a mere 125 points. Use them to screen, flank, or just sit in the corner and capture an objective.

Earth Elementals – Speaking of Defense 6, Earth Elementals are still the full package of defense with a respectable counter punch. As evidenced in most Dwarf lists you tend to see at the tournament level, they make a fantastic core to the army and will have your opponents rethinking everything they know about hammers.

Dwarf Lord on Large Beast – This is my favorite unit in the whole list. His combination of speed, defense, and nerve can cause absolute nightmare match-ups against the right army. In perfect unison with his defense, the Nimble and Height 4 means he can still threaten other units while tanking hits. Be careful running him too far ahead of the rest of the army, but I think he forms a perfect tip of the spear for an aggressive Imperial Dwarf army.

Stone Priest – As long as Earth Elementals are A Tier, their partner in crime is going to be there with them. The Stone Priest now comes in a very price-efficient points package, and on top of that you can cast two spells in a turn. Pair that rule with the Conjuring Staff and you have an absolute workhorse support caster.

With the CoK 21, there is now a very valid reason to take stone priests in a list with no Earth Elementals. Just swap Surge for Radiance of Life and take your pick of any of the new spells for an efficient inspiring support character. My personal favorite is scorched earth, a must have for any dwarf player.

Flame Priest – Its hard to put any caster below A tier with the new CoK spells. Being a level 1 caster does limit his options a bit but there are a ton of different ways you can kit him out to make a huge impact.  Take your pick between a more offensive build with fireball/alchemist curse/hex  or go supportive build with wither and perish/bane chant/veil of shadows.  Both conjurer’s staff or amulet of fireheart make great item choices.  His speed will still be one of the biggest limitations which means the more defensive setup is likely to be the more effective option.

B Tier

Ironclad – The most basic of Dwarf units gets the most average of placings. I can’t say anything bad about them, but in the same way, I can’t say anything good. With more specialized units in the A Tier, I don’t see the point in taking Ironclad when you could just get a better unit for not many points more.

Sharpshooters – There is a lot to be said about reliable ranged damage on a scoring unit. With the range to threaten and the defense to shrug off some of the odd damage sure to come their way, they are a fantastic unit for forcing your opponent to come at you. I have found 2-3 units work best in tandem, and if you can find terrain to start them off in, even better! Don’t be afraid to play scenarios with these either. I have had many games where they ended up shooting for 2-3 turns and then spent the rest of the game running toward objectives, which ended up being game deciding.

Mastiff Hunting Pack – A cool chaff unit with an unusually high nerve for the points. No list should ever need them to be successful, but they can come in handy if you somehow built your list too elite and you wanted more drops.

Ironbelcher Organ Gun – These still do one thing better than anything else in the Dwarf army: punish any units foolish to go out in front of them without cover. The use of organ guns is more about their threat projection and controlling space on the board than actually lining up those perfect shots. Don’t be concerned if they do next to little damage if your opponent had to plan his entire game around avoiding or neutralizing them.

Greater Earth Elemental – I am just not a fan of the new titan profile for these guys. Even with the errata taking their attacks up to 12, they just don’t do enough damage for the 50(!) point increase from 2nd Edition. Nine times out of ten, you are just better off with another EE horde. That said, they are still going to be very tough for some opponents to deal with, so they don’t fall into the C Tier.

Berserker Lord – On a brock, they are still a force to be reckoned with but not so much something you need. They are great to throw against a low attack unit that might be unable to break their high nerve right away, but don’t look for them to be useful against a wider spectrum.

Faber Ironheart – He is clearly just a more efficient, better version of a steel juggernaut. 2 attacks, 2 nerve and wild charge for 25 points?  Yes, please. However, the downside is that you no longer have the ability to take magic artefacts, and without that you are sort of left with a unit that is both subpar at shooting and subpar melee and no tricks.  With a limited role I don’t see him making way to most lists but he could serve a niche role if you want just a few more mobile shots.

Battle Driller –Brutal(2) adds a great unique flavor to the battle driller which at least solidifies his niche role.  He can be useful for either clearing chaff or adding that little bit of counter punch.  I wouldn’t go around spamming 3 of these in every army list but taking 1 to linger around your battle line makes a lot of sense.

C Tier

Rangers – This ranking saddens me more than any other one on the list. I don’t know why they lost Headstrong while also becoming more expensive, but that minor tweak took them from a fragile but useful Swiss army knife to a unit that just can’t hold up to anything your opponent throws at them. Especially with the amount of Lightning Bolt you see out there in the current meta, these poor guys likely won’t live long enough to make much of an impact.

Bulwarkers – If Ironclad are just barely a B Tier unit, Bulwarkers are more expensive but without any kind of meaningful payoff. The reason Phalanx has historically been one of the most under-performing rules is that it requires a unit that is typically very slow to find a way to engage the unit they counter, which is typically very fast. Bulwarkers take that problem and amplify it to “11”.

Ironbelcher Cannon / Jarrun Bombard – Although there was some initial hype for these units, when the smoke clears their effectiveness just doesn’t hold up. Compared to almost every other war engine in the game, they have a lower damage per point ratio, something both sad and ironic for those looking to play Dwarfs in the old style. Furthermore, the current landscape of war engines has made most people very aware of both their counters and weaknesses, meaning you are likely to run into somebody prepared to deal with them.

Flame Belcher – With other units in the army doing similar roles yet also having Unit Strength, I don’t see these being useful for anything other than a gimmick.

Steel Juggernaut – A cool new unit that is designed relatively well to protect the backfield and get into annoying positions. If the Hand Cannon were better, he could be rated higher, but instead the use of it is more bait than an effective attack. I would rather march him to make sure he is in the right place or try giving him something cool like a Trickster’s Wand.

Dwarf Lord – Although a King with Wings for flying could find some uses, not being able to take the Horn of Heroes shuts down that one glimmer of mediocrity. It’s no secret in Kings of War that infantry heroes offer little to no impact, and Dwarf Lords are no exception.

D Tier

Warsmith –Speaking of ineffective infantry heroes, the Warsmith just offers so little. He is about 20 points over-costed, and you are always going to be better served just grabbing another war engine rather than looking twice his way.

Ironwatch Crossbows / Rifles – Expensive, ineffective, and short-ranged. Look elsewhere for your ranged damage options.

While some buffs to both Melee and Unit strength is nice, it doesn’t make them any more enticing an option. Their primary purpose in the list is to do ranged damage and they still don’t do it well.

Conclusion

While most of the army is in the B or C Tiers, there are many effective units in the Imperial Dwarf list that work really well together. I think the aggressive counterpunch is currently our most effective style of play. For final review, I will post an army list I made using mostly A or B Tier units that I think synergize well together.

Sample Army List:

Using a combination of arms, the below list creates a shooting zone of death combined with defensive units to play scenarios and a few units left to counter punch. 

Thanks for reading through my army review. I would love to hear your thoughts on what you think I got right or wrong about the list and how my experiences compare to yours.

Don’t forget to look at all the other army review articles written by our amazing staff.