Kings of War 3rd Edition: Abyssal Dwarf Army Review

Greetings Dash28! Brinton here updating Jake’s excellent Abyssal Dwarf review for Clash of Kings 2024.

If you are looking for our other army reviews you can find them here.

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. For the most part, units will be treated as one entry; however, if an option or size drastically improves a unit it will be separately mentioned.

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: These units have a mix of strengths and weaknesses that make them 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”.

The Abyssal Dwarves, the mustache-twirling pantomime evil of the Mantic universe. They march to war with unwavering hordes of animated rocks, the vicious results of vile experiments birthed deep within their underground homes, and slave legions ready to be sacrificed in the bloody crucible of unending war.

Abyssal Dwarves are a fascinating army to play on the tabletop as they have some very obvious strengths but still pose a significant challenge to put together an army with a clear route to consistent victory.

Oppressive short-range shooting, very good access to Defense 6 units, and an excellent collection of individuals create difficult problems for an opponent to solve.

At the same time, generally low speed, lack of any real hammer units, and difficulties synergizing across the entire army create their own set of problems for a general trying to craft an army to bring them to glory and renown. They’re like a Ferrari that is low on gas, extremely dangerous over short distances. 

Read on brave general and see just one opinion on where the various units rank.

Abyssal Dwarves

S Tier

Abyssal Halfbreed Champion – This is a tough one as usually S Tier is looked at as broken or needing a nerf, but I have a slightly different opinion. I’m looking at the description from S Tier where it specifically says “ having a combination of rules that perform well above units in similar roles” and that is where I think this little sucker barely edges its way into the rarified air of those hallowed halls. 

Halfbreed Champions come equipped with enough speed to be dangerous, the Individual rule for all the maneuverability needed, and offensive combat stats that pretty much guarantee wounds on what you need to put them on. Something that really makes this pint-sized danger missile (no snickering at the back of class please) extra effective is excellent defensive stats coupling Defense 5 with Regeneration. This specific combo, especially with the Individual shooting rule, make it very hard for chip shooting (or even concentrated shooting) to reliably take the Champ off the board, and allows you as a general to be more aggressive with positioning than other units with similar nerve. 

The Halfbreed Champion is a best-in-class Swiss army knife of a character who excels at flyer defense, character hunting, cavalry support, gap filling etc. and comes in at a reasonable bargain price of 145 points. All the rules you need, nothing you don’t, absolute value town.   

A Tier

Decimators -A shooting unit that shockingly is not Irregular, Decimators unlock?!

They are Melee, Defense, and Range 4+, they have a 14″ shooting attack, with Piercing (1), Steady Aim, and Vicious (Ranged). They can be taken in Troops with 10 attacks and 10/12 Nerve, Regiments with 12 attacks and 14/16 Nerve, and Hordes with 25 attacks and 21/23 Nerve.

They have an upgrade to give them an alternative shooting attack, which is 20 points and honestly just not worth it.

I think Decimators can be taken in all three sizes and have value; however, they particularly shine as Hordes. They unlock, which again is just astounding considering how many other shooting units are Irregular. This lets you take some Decimator hordes, and then unlock a Warengine and a Hexcaster….

Since they tend to only get 1-2 turns to shoot before being disrupted, taking them as a horde maximizes the effects of those turn(s) of shooting. And it gives the unit enough Nerve to soak up a hit and punch back.

I look at hordes of this unit as basically a hammer from other more traditional armies. It can do 7-8 damage on average to Defense 5 and threat projects that up to 18” away (move combined with range) which is essentially the output of a Speed 9” Cavalry hammer but the Decimators don’t actually have to expose themselves and engage. 

Finally, Hordes are just fantastic at scenarios, grabbing objectives, sitting, and shooting things that get close.

Also, I suggest looking at the Horde grabbing the Blessing of the Gods item as 25 shots with Elite and Vicious is soul-crushing for an opponent. They represent one of the truly signature units in the army and are great fun to pilot on the table. 

Hexcasters– The Hexcaster is a spellcaster individual with one of the more annoying and powerful special rules in the game, that it’s normally “non-damaging spells” of Hex and Weakness actually do damage, and at Piercing 1.

Why does this really matter? Well, besides just the sort of value you gain from both doing bonus chip damage and the really useful actual results of the spell you cast, there is another side to it. Since they’re spells that don’t normally do damage, they have no modifiers for things like cover, Individual etc… and with that piercing 1, they can easily stick a nasty little wound on most things, even damaged wizards hiding in a forest thinking they’re safe, but they’re not.  

Boasting both Defense 5 and a decent -/11 Nerve, plus Spellward special rule, they’re decently survivable and pretty cheap for the package you’re getting. Weakness in an army with access to Defense 6 is just filthy fun, give it a try. Almost any Abyssal Dwarf army would benefit from a Hexcaster being added if you can find room.

Gargoyles – The best chaff in the game, Gargoyles are amazing. They fly, at speed 10 and Nimble. They hit ok, with 10 attacks, hitting on 4s, letting them threaten flanks or other chaff. They die to a stiff breeze with Defense 3, and 8/10 nerve, but who cares! They have Regeneration 4+, meaning if they survive attacks, they will get some back too!

They are a bargain at 85 points and supply essential tools to victory. Quick objective grabbing, speed, and agility to easily block threats, a larger base size (they are heavy infantry) helps this blocking, and finally, they are cheap enough who cares if they die!

Gargoyles are phenomenal, and every, I repeat, EVERY Abyssal Dwarf list is made better with their inclusion.

Immortal Guard – The veteran Abyssal Dwarf infantry, Immortal Guard are fantastic. They have Speed 4 (like almost all dwarves), Melee 3+, Defense 5+, 10 attacks as a troop, and 12 as a regiment. Importantly, they are Fearless with -/13 and -/17 Nerves, and they have Regeneration 5+; this creates a great defensive block, they grind incredibly well.

They now have the ability to take Crushing Strength, which combined with their native vicious, outputs more damage than people thing, especially on a flank charge.

I would only take them as Regiments, for 160 points, to help capitalize on their defensive stats. Try to camp them in, or by terrain, and grab objectives, bait charges, and hold the enemy at bay, while other options move in for the kill. This is a great choice for Throwing Mastiffs, as it gives them something to do when inevitably the enemy stays just out of charge range.

They’re a great choice to take advantage of the multiple Aura’s offered by other units in the army so you can easily end up with Elite, Strider and Wildcharge on these defensive stalwarts, giving them that little bit of punch to swing a combat.

Lesser Obsidian Golems– A longtime staple of Abyssal Dwarf lists, Lesser Obsidian Golems are Speed 5, Melee 4+, Defense 6+, have 18 attack in a horde, and -/17 Nerve as a horde. They come with Crushing Strength 2, Vicious, and Shambling, for the affordable price of 215 points, as a horde, the main way to take them.

With Defense 6, Crushing Strength 2 and Vicious, Obsidian Golems excel in the grind. They only hit on 4s, so don’t expect them to pop things in one go, but over the course of several turns of combat, they can do work. Give them support, and an Iron-Caster to Heal and Surge them and they will do work.

Worth noting, they are Height 4, rather than 3, and Monstrous Infantry for base size, rather than Large Infantry, which can allow them to be targeted at unexpected times. For example, an Iron-Caster can see them behind another Large Infantry unit, but they similarly can be shot by the enemy.

They, like the Decimators have an upgrade for a shooting attack, this one is 12″, 8 attacks, Range 4+, Piercing (1), and Steady Aim, but for the steep price of 30 points. Moderately more useful here, as golems don’t already have a shooting attack, this still is an expensive upgrade that I would only advise in niche lists that try and take advantage of extra shooting

Comparing them to Earth Elementals, they are 5 points cheaper, for some reason, even though I would argue they are slightly better. Lesser Obsidian Golems are a great mainline unit to receive charges and then punch back. Just keep in mind in Hordes they only have -/17 Nerve, so their main defense is their high defense, leaving them vulnerable to can opener units. They also will struggle to remove high Nerve units.

Iron-caster – The Iron-Caster is the second wizard for the Abyssal Dwarves. It comes in at 50 points without built in spells but gets Inspiring and Defense 5 with an 11/13 Nerve. They also get the special rule, Ariagful’s Flame, allowing it to reroll all Fireball dice that roll a 1 for damage. The addition of Shattering to Fireball should give the Iron-Caster a bit more use from the spell.

Spell options are Fireball, Bane Chant, Lightning Bolt, Mind Fog, Surge, and Heal (3)! Bane Chant and Surge are solid choices, Heal creates some interesting possibilities with an already tanky list, but I would avoid Lightning Bolt and Mind Fog.

Iron-Casters are great support pieces. They can Inspire. They are also Spellcasters level 2, creating some potential for use of the new spells.

Shroud of the Saint is an ideal item to keep the already tough battle line of Abyssal Dwarves moving. Take this alongside a Horde of Blacksouls with the Fiery Bulwark upgrade and you have a unit that is going to be exceedingly hard to remove in the grind.

Infernox – Absolute kitchen sink of a unit with Def 6, -/13 Nerve, a shooting attack, an also probably somewhere near half the damn special rules in the game. I love them so much. They’ll stick a wound on just about anything, are a Nimble square base with Wild Charge to pull off awkward charges, have a decent little shooting attack, and an optional Elite aura to add to your infantry effectiveness. 

They operate in a number of roles but are excellent disrupting units stepping out from your line to eliminate chaff, break up multi-charges and have just enough Nerve and excellent defense that it takes real units and a decent Nerve roll to get them off the table.  

Overmaster on Ancient Winged Halfbeed -This is what I want in a dragon-style monster stripped down to its core. Solid offensive output with Melee 3+ and 9 Vicious attacks. Fury and Regeneration to keep the party going, and no ranged attack to distract you from your actual job of owning flanks and crushing face. Unit Strength 2 helps out a little for late game objective claiming, which your crucial Regeneration helped you survive to get. If you’re really that broken up about lack of a breath weapon, buy the Diadem and you can BBQ all the chaff you want for only a little bit more added to the sticker price. 

It’s a regenerating dragon people! What more do you want?  

B Tier

Greater Obsidian Golem – 235 points, the Greater Obsidian Golem has speed 6, Melee 4+, Defense 6, 12 attacks, -/19 Nerve, Crushing Strength 3, Strider, Vicious, and Shambling. It’s a solid choice to move up and do Surge shenanigans thanks to its square Titan-sized base. Use it to hold the flanks of your battle line, and then look for cheeky flank charges.

In the front, the Greater Golem can grind well, and with -/19 Nerve it lives for a LONG time. Paired with Iron-Casters it can be a real threat. Similar to the Lesser Golems, don’t expect it to pop enemies in one go.

Ba’su’su the Vile – Ba’Su’Su used to be the terror of the tournament scene, and while toned down some, she is still very, very good.

Speed 10 with Fly, Melee 3+, 7 Attacks, and Crushing Strength 2, Ba’Su’Su hits hard, and where ever you want. Defense 5, Nerve 14/16, and Regeneration 5+ means that they are also tough to kill, and Mighty lets Ba’Su’Su still fill the role of blocker.

Coming in at 210 points, Ba’Su’Su is expensive.

Ba’su’su has the ability to upgrade one unit of Gargoyles, making them more expensive, but gaining Crushing Strength 1 and higher Nerve. Since Gargoyles are primarily a throwaway unit though, I don’t think this option will be used much.

The ability to reach out and hit units damaged by Abyssal Dwarf shooting makes Ba’Su’Su a very real threat, and valuable addition to most AD armies, if they can afford it.

Blacksouls – The basic Abyssal Dwarf infantry, they come in Troops, Regiments, and Hordes, have basic dwarf stats, Melee 4+, Defense 5, Speed 4, 10/12/25 attacks, and respectable Nerve. The Horde is the best way to take them, with a 21/23 Nerve, and only 190 points.

You can exchange their shields for two-handed weapons for free, gaining Crushing Strength 1, taking better advantage of their Vicious (Melee), but dropping to Defense 4. Both options are worth considering, and Brew of Strength is a perfect upgrade for this unit if you’re Jake and crazy enough to put the Brew on a Melee 4+ infantry like an absolute nutter.

One unit can now also take the Fiery Bulwark rule for 10 points, this gives the unit Iron Resolve; however, the Iron Resolve heals D3 points of damage previously suffered, instead of just 1. This is a phenomenal upgrade for 10 points and I think a LOT of Abyssal Dwarf armies will have one horde of these with the upgrade. Without the upgrade, I don’t think the unit is as enticing as other anvil style choices in the army, but Nerve 21/23 with Iron Resolve D3 is incredible!

Dragon Fire-Team – Wonderful little option at a bargain 85 points for 12 Vicious 14” ranged shots on a Nimble Speed 5 platform. They’re able to blast away enemy chaff, add a couple extra wounds to a Decimator’s target, or play cleanup late game removing those pesky units still limping around due to your absolute garbage nerve rolls throughout the game.

Good to remember as Warmachines you can push them out in front of your line and while an enemy tripling their attacks has a good chance of breaking them, they don’t overrun into your units like an individual would.

Angkor Heavy Mortar – Ah the once dreaded Heavy Mortar…

2 shots, hitting on 5s, Ignoring Cover, with Blast D3+2, Piercing 2, Shattering, AND Vicious!!!! This thing is terrifying. At 115 points, take three, and watch your opponent have fits on how to handle them. With 2 shots apiece, you can reliably get hits every turn, and those hits will hurt.

However, if you do this you have also spent over 300 points on zero Unit Strength, and on units that can easily be negated with things like Stealthy, Terrain, or moving out of sight. This combined with the (reasonable) change to allow units in cover to gain the benefit, even versus Ignoring Cover units, means that the Heavy Mortar is far, far less reliable than it once was.

It is still a solid choice; however, the game has shifted to a place where there are just so many counters that taking any warmachines becomes very match-up reliant.

Dravak Dalkan and Infernok – While these two units are technically separate Living Legends, I am going to cover them together, because they are a pair, whose special rules need both on the board for full effect.

Dravak is an Iron Caster, with slightly better casting numbers, Fireball (12), Heal (3), and Surge (12). He also comes with built-in Inspiring, a small boost to Nerve, and the unique ability called Possession, this basically allows Dravak to use Infernok’s Line of Sight when casting spells, and when doing so measuring from Infernok, this can’t be done if Infernok is Engaged or Disordered. For these small boosts and this pretty cool rule, you pay 155 points! Granted, if you took all three of these spells on an Iron-Caster it would also cost 145, but it is a pretty hefty cost.

Infernok is basically a boosted Greater Obsidian Golem with Crushing Strength 4 instead of 3, Brutal, and the ability to Inspire self while Dravak is on the board.

Neither of these choices is bad; however, for the pair, you pay a pretty staggering 405 points. Granted this isn’t much higher than if you took a Iron-Caster and a Greater Golem, but it locks you into paying for things you may not want to use.

As a pair, they can be really solid, or over-costed tools that weigh your list down.

Abyssal Berserkers – Berzerkers are in an odd place. They actually are pretty solid, they have Speed 5 and Wild Charge D3, letting them be some of the fastest foot dwarves in the game. With Melee 3+, Crushing Strength 1, Vicious (Melee), and 12 attacks as a troop and 15 as a regiment they can pack a punch. Fearless also lets them hit as long as they are on the board.

However, Defense 3, and a lack of synergy with other choices in the list, other than the Hellfane, holds them back. They are affordable, with troops costing 105 points and regiments 165.

Upgrading them to the regiment makes them more durable, but doesn’t help their damage output much, so if I was to take them, I would take 2-3 in troops, to help support my mainline on the flanks. 1 troop in the flank could do a lot of damage.

Or, you could go Berzerker theme, take regiments, mastiff packs as chaff, and a Hellfane to boost their speed.

Abyssal Halfbreeds –I really want to like this unit but find they almost always under perform for me. On first glance, they’re fast and hitty in an army that is mostly slow and grindy. They have Speed 8, Melee 3+, with 16 attacks in a Regiment (the only way I would take them), and Crushing Strength (1), Thunderous Charge (1), and Vicious, which feels like a great set of Cavalry stats, but looking closer they’re in a rough spot. 

That amount of attacks, even at Melee 3+ means they struggle to reliably break anything but chaff without significant help. They also live sadly in the Speed 8 ghetto, where they’re faster than the things they can’t break, and slower than the things they probably want to fight. Sure they can be babysat into combat with Gargoyles, but even when delivered in, they’re not hitting hard enough to rely on even when delivered to the right targets. It’s not really their fault, they’re a reasonably adequate knight unit in this army, it’s just knight units are in a tough place in the meta right now, especially in a list without much other speed to help them out. 

Defensively they have Regeneration but this is mostly useful as wound recovery from chip shooting as once the unit is charged, their Defense of 4 means it is difficult for them to survive charges with any regularity. You can’t Regen when you’re in the dead pile sadly. And that previously mentioned Defense 4 makes them easily removed with concentrated shooting, which sometimes requires conservative positioning and movement, something you might not want to do with one of the only fast elements of the army. 

They’re not bad overall, I just find in the list they tend to add up to a little less than the sum of their impressive-looking parts, and sit at the lower end of their tier.  

Overmaster – The Overmaster is SLOW with Speed 4, but has Defense 6, Mighty, and a 13/15 Nerve, letting it be appropriately tanky. 5 attacks hitting on 3s, with Crushing Strength 1, and Vicious also lets it put out a few points of damage. Appropriately for a dwarf hero, they Inspire as well. They are also pretty cheap at 105 points.

There are two ways worth taking this character. One give it Wings of the Honeymaze, and use it as an aggressive blocker. Or keep them on foot and give Infernal Advance.

Infernal Advance[1]- giving it Aura (Strider- Infantry only), for 20 points. This is a great upgrade if you are taking multiple Immortal Guard Regiments, Blacksouls, and/or Berzerkers; however, keep in mind you are boosting the charging ability of Dwarves, so you will regularly struggle to make use of it since you will almost always be outdistanced. To make the best use take 3-4 units of dwarf infantry, so if 1-2 get charged you have others to follow up.

Slave Orc Gore Riders – These are basically the off-brand Halfbreeds. They have Crushing Strength 1 and Thunderous Charge 1, the same attacks, and Speed 8. But they only have Melee 4+ and Nerve 2 points lower. You do get the “off-brand” discount for them, 90 points for a troop and 140 for a regiment.

If Halfbreeds seem too fragile to you then Gore Riders are even worse.

However, once you start adding in various Auras, especially from Jag Bloodspike, these start getting a little tastier and are a great value option to flood a flank with cavalry.

C Tier

Slave Orcs – If you want a tarpit, look no further. Slave Orcs excel at being cheap and putting Nerve on the board. If you take them, take them in hordes for 155 points. They have 19/21 Nerve, and Defense 4 letting them stick around for 2 turns of combat versus most things.

While they do have Crushing Strength 1, their Melee of 5+ means they won’t actually do much damage. And with only a Unit Strength of 2 in Regiment size and 3 in Horde, they aren’t as good in scenario play as other comparable units. But they are cheap! If you back them up with a Slave Driver their nerve is almost as high as Blacksouls.

Brakki Barka – An “improved” Halfbreed Champion, but as you can see from the giant heart eyes I’m making at Halfbreed Champions above in the list, I’m not sure they can be improved.

While Dread, Very Inspiring and increased Nerve are very welcome additions to the kit, they increase the cost (as they should) and bring the unit out of the center of valuetown, and into the much less desirable neighborhoods where 200pt units with no Unit Strength and only 6 attacks live which isn’t actually valuetown at all, even though real estate agents will try and convince you it is only a short commute away.

If you find yourself with 60 points left in the list and absolutely nothing to spend it on, sure upgrade the Halfbreed Champ you had already sensibly put in the list to Brakki, but there are probably other things you could do. 

Abyssal Grotesque Champion – This unit has most of what I’d want to see in a 50x50mm square-based hero. Good Defense, solid Nerve, Regeneration for built-in wound recovery, Inspiring, solid offensive output, and Strider for terrain mitigation. All of those benefits however come with a hefty drawback, the price.

At 220 points, the Grotesque Champion is coming in at “elite regiment of cavalry” price and very close to “horde of Large Cavalry” and I just don’t want to pay that for a single Unit Strength 1 piece with 7 attacks. 80 more points gets you an Overmaster on Winged Halfbreed which is honestly way more fun. This unit has made some steps from absolutely a piss poor choice over to the “not really optimal” but still isn’t going to be a popular choice in my opinion. 

Abyssal Grotesques – The closest thing to a true hammer unit the Abyssal Dwarves have, and I find it to be supremely lacking in that role, while unable to effectively occupy other roles in the army. With 18 attacks, Crushing Strength 1 and Thunderous Charge 2 it feels like a hammer, but with only Melee 4+, it’s offensive output is actually severely limited in practice for the price being paid.

It now comes with built-in terrain mitigation with the Strider rule, but still just doesn’t have the volume or quality of attacks to break what it is fighting without a ton of support. Most Melee 4+ units in it’s class get a much higher amount of attacks to still allow a potentially unit-breaking amount of damage, but with only 18 attacks, even if you pay for the Brew of Sharpness, you’re only equaling the offensive output of other Large Cavalry units, at a much higher price. 

What you’re most likely paying for on this unit is the Regeneration. It is very rare for that special rule to be on a Defense 5 unit, and especially a Defense 5 unit that has some potential to hit this hard. If you pay for the Brew of Sharpness on this it becomes a legitimate threat, as it can put serious damage out on the charge and potentially out-grind opponents as well, but at that point, you’re paying basically 300 points, and that doesn’t compare favorably with other armies options at all.  

Katsuchan Rocket Launcher – You like your artillery cheap? You like to roll more dice hoping to get those sweet sweet artillery hits? You regularly fight opponents with medium to low defense? Then the Katsuchan Rocket Launcher might be for you? It’s all the fun of artillery without the pants-wettingly scary piercing of other options. Like most artillery, take 3, hope this is the game it works. At worst it makes opponents react to them and most units can’t just stand in the open absorbing shots for multiple turns. If you’re spending on a battery of these though, probably should spend a bit more and get the scarier ones. 

Mutated Mastiff Hunting Pack – A decent chaff unit, that will never see the tabletop in an army with Gargoyles. Mastiff Hunting Packs are Speed 6, for 65 points. That is about all you need to know.

They have Melee 4+, with 9 attacks, and Crushing Strength 1, but only versus Cav, and Vicious (Melee), meaning they will struggle to damage most things beyond a single point. Their Defense is 2 meaning almost every hit will cause damage, their Nerve is 10/12, not bad, but with Defense 2 it barely matters.

In an ideal world, they would either be faster (they are dogs!), or have Nimble. But even with that, still wouldn’t matter in an army with 85 point Gargoyles.

Hellfane – It’s a big dumb monster with a ton of rules and some synergies that I feel will shine in niche lists, but not going to be a mainstay of most armies. I really do love this unit, but that love does not mask its glaring weaknesses coupled with its high price.

It can combo well with different units to make synergistic battlegroups, but those synergies usually don’t cover the fact you’re paying a lot of points for limited combat output. It is damn hard to kill, especially when part of a battleline and difficult to multi-charge, but it that is the main thing it does. An expensive anvil in an army full of anvils. Really wish it had auras that (outside of the Wild Charge one that I love) didn’t just add to things those units already had good access too (Rally for Slaves and wound recovery for Abominations).

Just ignore what I wrote above, throw three of these bad boys in a list with a bunch of Immortal Guard or Berserkers and have fun.    

Taskmaster on Chariot – This unit’s place is a bit odd. It wants to be a combat support piece, with Speed 8, Melee 3+, 5 attacks, Thunderous 2, and Vicious. Nimble lets it get cheeky flanks too. 5 attacks hitting on 3s is just enough where I think it might be worth trying. At 110 points it is also not cheap, but some Nimble support to an Abyssal Dwarf battleline could be great. It also has Rally 1 for Slaves only, which is a nice little perk.

I do think it still struggles to stand out when compared to some other similar choices in the list still.

Supreme Iron-Caster on Great Winged Beast – Absolutely a hipster choice for an army and one that will take a lot of work to get value out of, but I think it can be a really cool option in some lists. It’s sort of a combat monster, with 8 attacks, Crushing Strength 3 and Melee 4+. It also can Fly, has speed 10, Nimble and Defense 5 with a respectable 16/18 Nerve.

It is also one hell of a spellcaster with access to offensive, defensive and utility spells and a wacky spell-boosting power that keys off Halfbreed and Grotesque units. 

It is obviously a bit of a mishmash of abilities for a very hefty price that doesn’t synergize with anything other than an army built to take advantage of its skill set. But I can also see a version of this whipping around flanks/behind enemy lines, armed with the Diadem of Dragonkind throwing out Fireball 18 (rerolling 1’s to wound) and then charging exposed rears or flanks when the opportunity presents itself and generally being a damn terror. 

I don’t think it’s for everyone or every list, but I don’t think it’s absolute garbage or unplayable.     

D Tier

Slavedriver – Basically your standard cheap Inspiring source, but for 5 points you get Rally (1- Slave only), very useful if you take Slave Orcs.

Grog Mortar -The baby mortar, 95 points, for 2 attacks hitting on 5s, with Ignore Cover, Piercing (2), Vicious (Ranged), and D3+1 hits. All of the negative impacts on the Heavy Mortar hit the Grog Mortar to the same extent. However, if you are going to invest in one, just pay the slightly higher points and get the Heavy Mortar, when you do actually hit with shots you want maximum impact for your points.

The Grog Mortar just doesn’t have a place in the current state of the game.

Example List

This is an example list that combines a tough line of Lesser Golems with shooting upgrades, several units of Decimators, and a Fire Team for a punishing amount of shooting, with still some solid grind potential in the Golems.

It is backed up with the Gore Rider formation for some cheap, but fragile hammers, and a Halfbreed champion for clean up.

Support casters to Heal and Surge the Golems as needed.

And that is the Abyssal Dwarves. Thanks for sticking around and reading through the review. As always, we want to hear your thoughts, so comment. What did I get right? What did I get wrong?