Tweaking a Dwarf Warriors Block Before Game Day
Sometimes the most fun part of army-building is that last round of list discussion right before a game. We had exactly that kind of chat while looking over End3r’s list for the next day, and it turned into a nice little example of how much thought can hide inside one seemingly simple unit entry.
This time the focus was on a block of Dwarf Warriors:
15 Dwarf Warriors [175 pts]
- Hand weapons
- Heavy armour
- Great weapons
- Shields
- Veteran
- Standard bearer
- Musician
At first, Stas zoomed in on the wording around Veteran. The question was whether it was acting as a unit champion or as a separate upgrade. The naming apparently caused a bit of confusion, especially because Games Workshop used the same term in a way that did not feel immediately obvious. A few minutes later, after checking the points, the answer became clear: in this case, it was an upgrade.
That led naturally into the more interesting part of the discussion: what exactly are the shields doing in a unit that also has great weapons?
As Stas pointed out, great weapons require two hands, so the shields are not there to help once the unit is actually swinging those big axes in combat. In practice, that means the shields mostly matter in a few specific situations:
- when the unit is being shot at,
- or if we deliberately choose to fight with hand weapons and shields instead of great weapons.
Michał added that Andrzej had apparently already used that logic before in a game against him: the shields were taken mainly for protection against shooting.
And honestly, we like this kind of choice. It is not just about building the mathematically cleanest unit on paper. Sometimes it is about giving a unit flexibility and then seeing on the table whether that flexibility actually matters.
That was pretty much End3r’s reasoning here. He said he was building the list more as a general list, not specifically tailored against one opponent. The great weapons were originally in there by accident, but then they stayed on purpose because he got curious how the unit would perform with both options available.
The thinking was simple:
- if the enemy shoots, the shields might pay off,
- if the unit reaches melee, the great weapons come out.
That is a very relatable stage of list-building. We all do this at some point: instead of over-optimising from theory alone, we leave in a questionable choice because we want to see it in a real game.
End3r also explained the broader role of the unit. Since the Warriors themselves are not contributing ranged damage, he leaned into making them hit harder and hold better, hence the investment in great weapons and Veterans. The hope was that the extra tools would help with leadership-related reliability.
At the same time, there was already some healthy self-doubt creeping in before the dice had even rolled. End3r admitted that the next day’s game might prove he had overinvested in upgrades, and that maybe a bigger, simpler unit would have been the better call. If the opponent found a way to dismantle them without getting stuck in a straightforward melee, then all those extra points might feel a lot less clever.
And that, really, is the heart of army-building in practice: not every choice is about certainty. A lot of it is about making a call, putting models on the table, and learning from what actually happens.
We also got one quick rules reminder in the middle of the chat. Michał threw in: remember Stubborn! Unfortunately, as End3r replied, that benefit applied only to the boss, so it was not quite the safety net one might hope for across the whole unit.
There was also a side note from Stas about the unofficial 9th edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, where Hatred includes an extra rule forcing re-rolls of successful restraint rolls against hated enemies. It was not directly tied to this Dwarf Warriors unit, but it was one of those classic pre-game rule observations that tends to pop up when everyone is in list-review mode.
What we like about this unit choice
Even without seeing the game result yet, we think this is a neat little case study in army-building:
- the unit is trying to cover more than one battlefield role,
- the upgrades are there for a reason, not just because points were available,
- and the player is already thinking in terms of “this might be wrong, but we will learn something”.
That last part is probably the most important one.
Especially when we are still getting comfortable with a system, there is a lot of value in trying a build that looks slightly awkward on paper just to understand why it works or does not work. A mixed equipment unit like this can be a stepping stone toward cleaner future lists.
The likely lesson
If the shields help the Warriors survive enough incoming fire to actually reach combat, they may justify themselves. If the unit gets outmanoeuvred, blasted apart, or neutralised in some other way, then the post-game conclusion may well be that the same points should have gone into more bodies instead.
Either way, that is useful information.
And honestly, that is one of our favourite parts of Warhammer list-building: those moments where a unit is not just a finished answer, but a question we ask the tabletop.