Dwarf faction/unit overview

[Dwarfurious]

Obviously my favorite race since Dwarves are the best race, and the first one i went about Card'ing up
The Dwarves are a 200/300 population race and produce 2 gold a citizen, so they'll bring in the most gold of all cities, but you'll need to cross mountains to reach them. They're universally slow like trolls but have good protection in all their cities and a high valor cost (6/9)

COMMONS:
Artillery! definitely a core unit in the army. A reliable long range cost-effective blast that can score you early Valor or snipe zombie lords, especially since it can be stacked for more powerful shots. Hindered only by its super-long cooldown *coughengineerhero* and it being 8 speed, you probably dont want to carry this with you in your army.

Hammers! one of the most cost efficient units in the game, 40x16 for 200 gold compared to humans 50x10 for 250? The only drawback being their slower speed and that Dwarf citizens are worth 2g a day. You may not actually want to spam these guys early game, but train them only in preperation for an impending attack to keep your coffers healthy. (i know the picture on the card is just a human swordsmen from a different angle. FIX IT)

Gold Miners! These guys usually pay for themselves instantly and are great for base defense since they stay close to the mountains, are cheap, and benifit from both the dwarf general and foreman. You'll probably want Crystal miners out before these guys though. Having a pile of both can keep you in a game even with few cities and wells.

Gryphon Standard! Pretty much same as the rest, maybe more important considering the slow movement speed of dwarves, so front-line deployment is a must.

Master Build! There are few times getting this guy is worth it. A stout general would offer stronger bonuses, and just a troop of hammerers would probably bring more total power to a defense, unless you're stacking a lot of mixed infantry in a non-dwarf city that needs extra protection. Hes just kind of a unit you build, use his ability, and forget about. If you've got incoming zombies and can only deploy one unit in your city, hes more of a last resort. Maybe someday he'll have expanded tools, like road building. Or increased range on his ability, so he can be deployed in a neighboring city and still help.

Stout General! Maybe the best in his class. No terrain restrictions, hes cheap, the bonus is huge and Dwarf armies tend to be larger rather than hero centric (which is the opposite of how you'd imagine them)

UNCOMMONS:
Blunderbusses! another very cost effective troop in combat with a ranged attack equal to elf archers, i do tend to use these guys a bit so i dont eat too much into population.

Gnomes! These are a unit i have a hard time using. 50% more expensive than Hammerers, but 50% stronger, but only in a forest. They have the same power as the blunderbuss but cost more gold and population. They have that extra move speed but we already have a scout, and they'll lose their speed if they try to benifit from the General. Since forests often have zombie elves anyways, i dont fight in the forests. If there is a forested mana spring nearby that could come under threat then i'd bring these guys just to guard it.

Gryphon Horn! Doesnt work on gryphons, weird huh? I think its a 25% movespeed boost. Definitely a good unit to have in your group since its basically a permenant speed buff, or leave one in your cities to speed up shuffling between them. WARNING: Works on zombie dwarves.

Master Foreman! I always bring at least 1 of these guys, put him with your miners and they're suddenly a military force. Put THEM with a General and they're an elite force! Can turn a defensive mining force into an assault team.

Merchant Banker! maybe not the most efficient gold earning card in the game.. By the time hes really good, you're already rich. A gold digger can earn you 200~ gold often which is more than this guy will get you most of the time. If you're really coordinated though you can have allies send you gold to churn out extra for everyone. I really think it would be better if this unit increased the income of the town he is in (a strong incentive to not de-populate a city)

Wing Warriors! The best unit ever. Or not that good. Most maps have at least some gryphons, making this guy well worth the cost. If a map has none then there is no reason to take this guy ever. But in a large 6 player map, this one unit is an army. A huge surge of power, even BEFORE you start training grypons. I'm just disapointed you cant combine a gryphon with this guy to make a flying gryphon version. Combining units? make it happen!

RARE!

Crystal Miners! Definitely, bring a lot! 4-5 units of them! Dwarves use a lot of mana, to fuel their miners and their cannons, and if you dont need it someone else might. I'm not sure how the skill works in stacks, they seem to fail deceptively often but overall end up generating much more than they cost. Not sure why he needs a torch AND a helmet light.

Forge Urchin! I'm trying to get more use out of this guy. I guess he's supposed to be a scout but hes only 4 speed, same as a Dwarf with the gryphon buff. He seems to just have a very limited time window of usefulness, and its right at the beginning when you're in land-grab mode. After that he cant do much, maybe stall zombies in a suicide charge for an hour? I dont know if Rare cards are supposed to be "better" but this one feels underwhelming and too risky. If i could start with one of these in my hand guranteed i'd bring two.
The other problem is, with 20 valor there is only so much land you can grab, dwarf cities aint cheap. Would make more sense in the Troll deck.

Dwarf King! Another underwhelming unit. His power is great for his cost but his ability just isnt that useful. Gryphon horn already makes us faster, and if there is a road in the mountain there is no penalty already. He helps an army cross maybe 2 hex's of terrain? But getting him to the army when they need him is tricky. If i could plant this guy remotely in any of my armies then he'd be fantastic. Or if he acted like a Banner himself, and i can train people at his location. RALLY TO YOUR KING

The Twins! I think i got a lot more use out of this guy in the single player campaign than multiplayer. So this guy has a slight synergy with build master. A dwarf fort has 4 defense and a dwarf fortress (uuh those names?!) has 6. So his surprise attack is 200/300 damage, and with master builder its 400/500. Thats an artillery shot. This unit is clearly designed for defense and the problem with that is as a defender im trying to get the most POWER out in a TIMEFRAME, i can only summon 1 unit per 6 hours and this guy, in almost all circumstances, doesnt bring enough. He'd benifit from Lurker. I object to their use of sword and bow.

Gryphon! Compared to other beasts, hes pretty expensive in the power/gold ratio, but hes fast and he flies, great for clearing out cities as soon as the horde leaves them. Better scout than urchin too. Makes Wing Warriors better.

Gryphon Riders! 2500 power for 2500 gold, is this the most expensive/powerful unit in the game? Hes actually kind of put to shame by the dragon rider, who is just as fast and with his dragon breath MUCH more powerful, great for sniping zombie lords and less likely to die. They're mostly good because its a lot of power really fast, and it makes your Wing Warriors much stronger just having them around. But if feels like they might be missing an active ability. Dwarves really kind of miss out on late-game field abilities Maybe if the riders were Blunderbuss and could shoot ?


What often ends up happening as a Dwarf player is, once you've secured your little part of the map from the threat, you're left with a powerful army with nothing to do, waiting for your allies to finish. Unless you have enough griffons to make a difference you wont have much to do but generate resources.