So it’s been a hot minute since GW announced the new Chaos Dwarf team, something that I’ll admit kinda passed me by thanks to a certain other game taking up all my time! Regardless, the lads in hats and goblin brats have finally made it into the new age of Blood Bowl, sporting some new positionals and a new plastic team, with some resin Bull Centaurs to boot. Like a lot of the updated teams, there have been some changes and the Chaos Dwarves have seen some pretty significant ones too, alongside the usual extra players that the updates are prone to providing. They are very much still the Chaos Dwarves we’ve known and …. uh… tolerated over the years with their high AV Blockers, high movement Centaurs and highly cheap Hobgolbins, with the inclusion of the Stabby Hobgoblin and a firebreathing Dwarf, they’re seen a little shakeup and have been granted some added variety, as well as a bit more thought needed for their starting rosters. Usually, it was 6 Blockers, 2 Centaurs then as many Hobs as you wanted, then maybe some adjustments to fit in the Minotaur if you were feeling spicy.

But let’s get to the good stuff shall we and have a look at the changes to the team itself (from the Teams of Legend PDF):

• Hobgoblin Lineman: No change! As expected really, cheap and cheerful as always.
• Hobgoblin Sneaky Stabba: Identical stats to the normal Hob but with PA5+, but then gains Stab and Shadowing. For 70k you get an MV6, AG3+ Dark Elf Assassin which… doesn’t seem great at first glance, especially when said Assassin is only 15k more. MV6 is poor for Shadowing so you’re taking this for Stab, as vs a regular human you need a 6 for Shadowing to work. Struggling to see where he fits in.
• Chaos Dwarf Blocker: Oh boy, these lads lost Tackle and gained Iron Hard Skin (which has been changed to affect ALL armour modifiers now). Elves and Amazons rejoice! It is a nerf, no question, especially when they’re also now 0-4, so you’re getting 2 fewer of them. Makes them even harder to remove, but speedy teams are going to have a field day with them, especially Amazons who will quite happily just dodge around you now. I guess they’re better vs mutation teams now as they ignore both Claw and MB and while I personally think it’s healthier, I doubt Chorf players will agree.
• Chaos Dwarf Flamesmith: Blocker with MV5 (very nice), Brawler, Disturbing Presence and Breath Fire which is a slightly different Projectile Vomit. For 80k, they seem very good and provide a bit of anti-blodge the team has lost.
• Bull Centaur Blitzer: Unchanged bar getting Mutations access in Secondaries which is very good. A Two-Headed Bull Centaur is going to be a pain!
• Minotaur: No longer the “Enslaved” version with Animal Savagery, so a regular Minotaur now. Definitely a downgrade, with Animal Savagery you can always punch and the Iron Hard Blockers would have made perfect assist pieces

With that out of the way, onto the rosters!

Classic Chorfs, 2 ReRolls | TV1000 Chaos Dwarf Starting Rosters:

Dead on the money and with 12 players, a nice classic Chaos Dwarf list! This maximises the amount of Dwarves you can have on the field at once as well as giving you both Centaurs and a spare Hob for when one eventually gets fouled off the pitch. 2 ReRolls isn’t ideal but with the amount of Block and Brawler on the field you should be ok for the most part, save them for pickups or when your Centaurs get a little silly.

Going forward, it’s going to be about replacing losses and getting that 3rd ReRoll if you can, or an apothecary to protect your very expensive players. You could always ditch the 12th player too for an extra 40k and dump that into Dedicated Fans, giving you a nice boost of cash to afford the expensive stuff in no time at all.

Classic Chorfs, 3 ReRolls | TV1000 Chaos Dwarf Starting Rosters:

A very simple variation on the above list, swapping out a Flamesmith for the 3rd ReRoll. If you’re in a shorter league where you don’t think you’ll be able to save up the 140k needed for the ReRoll this could be ideal, or if you really want that security out of the gate.

Again, you’ll be looking to replace losses as you proceed, maybe look into the Minotaur as well if you think you need some added punch.

Single Centraur, 3 ReRolls, Apothecary | TV1000 Chaos Dwarf Starting Rosters:

Sadly with the Flamesmiths being 10k more than the regular blocker, it’s much harder to fit in the Apothecary to start with. In this instance I’ve dropped a Centaur to make up the cash, otherwise you could drop a Firesmith and ReRoll but you’ll save yourself 10k in the long run if you do it with the Centaur, plus at 990k you’ll have 10k left over for some fans, so it shouldn’t take too long to afford the 2nd Centaur.

Personally, I think I’d just tank the first game without the Apothecary and look to buy it after game 1/2 depending on how it goes, but if you are in a particularly killy looking league you’d be entitled to grab it earlier.

Chaos Dwarf Starting Rosters BB2020, Conclusion:

It’s a nice little shake-up, I’m struggling to find a way to fit in the Stabba at the moment as I feel the Flamesmith’s bring a bit more to the table from the off. They’re the same price as a Blocker who will provide far more defence structure to the team and is far less likely to be removed early on. They’re still a ever so slightly faster Dwarf team at the end of the day, so getting the tough little armoured lads in is essentially and the Centaurs too are linchpins to victory.

If you want to see more of our builds, make sure to check them out as well as our player builds, of which the Chaos Dwarves will be coming soon!