Normally the most practical place for the leaders is behind the front ranks giving orders and observing the battle. But sometimes all caution must be thrown to the winds and the Warlord must lead by example.

Objective:

There is a control circle in the center of the board. Success depends on your leaders occupying this space and standing their ground no matter what the cost.

Table Setup and Deployments:

Normal deployment rules.
At the center of the board a CD sized circle is placed. This is the Platform described below. Add 2 extra cards in the draw deck that does not match either player. These are for the Platform.

The Platform:

The first time each game turn that a Platform activation card is drawn, 1 player rolls a die and consults the results below. When the second Platform card is drawn, automatically use the opposite result below.
1-5: The Player with the highest valued model on the Platform gains 1 Scenario Point. The model must have its center point on the Platform in order to be counted.
6-10: The Player with the most size points worth of bases on the Platform gains 1 Scenario Point. Models must have their center point on the Platform to be counted. Ex. Size 1 base (1″) =1 point, Size 3 base (2″) = 3 points. The points gained by this method are ŇPossession” points. A maximum of 10 possession points can be gained during the game.

Carnage:

The focus of this battle is upon the control circle. Slaying enemy models that are within the control circle or slaying them while your own model is within the control circle gains your side more prestige than normal. The value of enemy models slain is based upon their base size. Size 1 base (1″) =1 point, Size 2 base (1 1/2″) =2 points, Size 3 base (2″) = 3 points. To be considered to be on the platform, the models center much be on the control circle. The points gained by this method are ŇCarnage” points. If a model is eliminated by a state that was caused by an enemy attack, such as burning or poison, that qualifies as a kill for Carnage points. A maximum of 10 carnage points can be gained during the game.

Example 1: While on the platform your archer takes a shoot action and eliminates an enemy solder that has a size 2 base. For that kill you gain two objective points. Example2: Your Captain slays two enemy soldiers. While the Captain is not on the platform, the enemy soldiers are. The enemy soldiers are on size 1 bases, so you gain 2 objective points, one for each soldier.
Example 3: The opposing Warlords are both within the control circle. One Warlord is slain and the other is reduced to his last track and has a poison token. At the end of the turn the second Warlord fails the poison check and is eliminated. Points would be gained for the elimination of both Warlords.

Scenario Points:

At the end of the game, add together the possession and carnage points (Maximum of 10 points each, or 20 points total)

Warlord: Savage North Army Analysis – Dwarves of Kragmarr

October-27-2010 – An in-depth review of the Dwarves of Kragmarr by Wedge Smith

This week we’re going to take a closer look at the Dwarves of Kragmarr. Kragmarr is a very powerful faction that can stand up to, and dish out, a lot of punishment!

Pros

This is one of the best factions for defensive players in the game. The leaders have high elite counts which allow for high powered troops, and the Runeweapons are so cool they make your opponent die from overexposure to awesomeness.

Cons

Dwarves are generally slow, and many of their best formations require them to stay close together, which makes them easy pickings for heavily-ranged or magic-based opponents. Outside of some notable elite units, the Kragmarr have weak ranged support, which emphasizes their first weakness, requiring you to close distance into melee combat to realize their true brutality.

Overview

The dwarves of Kragmarr are very much the yin to the yang of the core rulebook’s dwarves of Aizen Krahl. They offer two very separate mindsets when looking at the dwarf race as a whole. When you imagine a dwarf as a raging berserker cleaving through his enemies with reckless abandon, you are thinking of Special Abilities like Frenzy, Rage, and Savage. In this sense, you should really look into playing the Taltos dwarf faction found in the Warlord Second Edition rulebook. However, if you imagine a dwarf as a stalwart defender adorned with ancient weapons and armor, buckling down to hold a vital choke point against a tide of enemy attackers, then you are thinking about abilities like Lock Shields, Spiked, and Runeweapon, and you should look into playing the Kragmarr dwarves.

The Kragmarr are a faction that is uniquely not bound to a faction doctrine. This creates a situation where you have the freedom to build your army based on which models naturally work best together, rather than which models fit the theme outlined in a specific faction doctrine, as is so often the case. The majority of the Kragmarr faction’s power and effectiveness comes from the models and troop compositions themselves, and either faction doctrine will likely work well with any solid build. It is worth mentioning, however, that the Veteran Tactics Faction Doctrine can be especially effective in many tournament play scenarios. It forces your opponent to set his troops on the board and allows you to withhold your placement. This can give you some better tactical choices regarding which of your troops match up best against your opponent’s setup.

Some of the most notable things about the Kragmarr faction is the way their troops build out. Do you always have trouble deciding whether to put the supporting spellcaster, the deadly assassin, or the amped up melee juggernaut in that single elite slot your Sergeant has? If you play a Kragmarr army, you can include them all, and the Kragmarr faction has some of the best elites in the game! Each of their leaders can hold more elite models than most other equivalent leaders in any other faction, giving the Kragmarr faction the unique opportunity to play with a variety of elite models in each Troop.

Aside from great elites, the Kragmarr dwarves specialize in being the anvil that breaks the tide of enemy attackers. The Kragmarr faction’s defensive capabilities are the envy of armies across the frozen north. The Kragmarr Guard, with Lock Shields, Vengeful, Pike, Deflect, and high DV, puts even the legendary Overlord’s Onyx Phalanx to shame, and for 5 fewer points. The Pummeler, with his wicked combo of Vengeful and Spiked, makes even the most bloodthirsty of opponents think twice about attacking the Kragmarr faction’s defensive wall.

Last, but certainly not least, the Kragmarr dwarves have honed their arcane blacksmithing for centuries, jealously guarding their greatest secret: The Runeweapon. Only the most seasoned soldiers sport this new Special Ability, but it is well worth the investment. When making an attack, if the roll exceeds the target’s MD, 1 extra point of damage is dealt, giving a single swing the ability to deal up to 2 points of damage! At first glance, this may seem like only a modified version of Cleave, but when you see this SA unleashed on the battlefield, you will likely reconsider its devastating impact.

Suggested Army List

Kragmarr – 998 points

Troop 1
King Hargrim Axehelm
Armor of Courage
Dhulrekk Thulfinson, Rune Warrior
Nalila Goldhammer
G’rond, Assassin
Giant Slayer x 3
Pummeler x 2
Horn of Battle


Troop 2
Konrad Graniteheart
Armor of Courage
Barnabas Ironbrace
Brock Battlebow
Guard x 5
Horn of Battle


This is a pretty straightforward build, but who ever said dwarves were subtle? Overall this build takes advantage of both the amazing defensive capabilities of the Kragmarr faction and their explosive damage potential.

Tactics

I would recommend leading your charge with Konrad’s troop, with a solid line of Guards out front shrugging off long-ranged attacks. Follow closely with your expensive and slightly more delicate units in the King’s troop. Just before you reach your opponent’s line, allow the King’s troop to push through and engage the meat of the enemy force.

The Horns of Battle in both troops are essential to close distance, as the vast majority of your army must be in melee to be effective, and dwarves are notoriously slow. Once engaged, the combination of the disabling Giant Slayers, and the elites/King with Runeweapon will carve through their forces while taking minimal damage in return. You should set your Pummelers into position where the enemy will be all but forced to attack them when their initiative comes up, allowing them to take full advantage of their Spiked/Vengeful combo.

Meanwhile, Konrad’s troop can support the main attacking body from behind a solid wall of Kragmarr Guards, but thanks to Ranked, both Brock and Barnabas can pick off wounded targets and heal your expensive elites from safety.

Either Faction Doctrine can be used effectively with this build, depending on what you are facing or which one you feel more comfortable with.

Scenario pulled from a webarchive grab of this now dead site.