Is there any anti-cavalry unit for dwarfs?

[Bernardius]

sounds good looking forward to your sub reiksfart!

[SinerAthin]

It'd been easy to balance.

Introduce a proper spear/pike unit

[IrishBlood]

It'd been easy to balance.

Introduce a proper spear/pike unit

If its not in the table top then i cant see it happening

[SinerAthin]

If its not in the table top then i cant see it happening

Dwarf 1: "Oh well, here comes the enemy cavalry again. Time to bend over and take it, boys."
Dwarf 2: "Hey, look what I found!" *Picks up long, pointy stick*
Dwarf 1: "Put that thing back where ye found it, son."
Dwarf 2: "But we could wipe out their cav,-"
Dwarf 1: *Smacks Dwarf 2 in the head with his hammer* "There are rules in war, boys... "

[Marcus Tullius Cicero]

Only professional Polo players should be effective as cavalry against Dwarfs. Crochet mallets are more likely to hit down there

[Iguanaonastick]

Of course, in tabletop spears offer no particular anti-cavalry advantage and Dwarven infantry is very capable of standing up to charges. Certainly goblin wolf-riders will bounce off like so many gummy bears pelted at a rock.

[Reiksfart]

Yes, any dwarf with a shield is a wall which can stand up to any charge without being overrun. Giving dwarves spears so they can fight like elves? What next? Shave their beards off, wear a silly pointy hat and talk like metrosexuals? That really would be the end of them.

[Ulysses S. Grant]

Dwarfs don't use spears or pikes out of tradition. None of the ancestor gods wielded them so why should they. Axes, hammers, crossbows and guns are all you need to win the day.

Still cavalry always causes the dwarfs problems in the fluff. Its one of the reasons why they kinda regretted starting the war of the beard. They found it hard to defeat the massed Knight formations of the high elves, but still as dwarfs they resisted using all the stubbornness they could muster and beat them.

In the mod, just deal with cavalry as you would anything. Shoot them. Shoot them lots. Its one of the things the Dwarfs excel at.

[Ichon]

In tabletop I always thought dwarves withstood charges so well because they were short and rollypolly. They just ducked low and the lances were nearly digging into the ground and throwing the enemy cavalry off their own horses. If a horse kicked a dwarf the dwarf would just bounce a few meters away then get up and stomp back over. That doesn't work for goblins very well though so perhaps its that dwarves though small are very powerful?

[Iguanaonastick]

A goblin goes "squish" if a horse steps on it.

If the horse tries that with a Dwarf it's likely to be impaled on some horned helmet or just breaks a foot hitting solid steel.

Plus the goblins are cowardly and undisciplined and won't hold in a tight formation against a charge. The Dwarfs would close ranks and brace. The Goblins would try to shuffle out of the way, leaving more room for the horses to charge.

[Reiksfart]

Goblins are actually underpowered in vanilla and arn't quite as bad as they are shown to be, but Iguana is right, they can't hold for long against a well executed heavy cavalry charge. In tabletop terms, all dwarves bar a few missile units wear heavy armour and use hand weapon and shield. With higher than average toughness, a great armour save from hand wep/shield bonus plus heavy armour and a morale which is higher than most high elves, breaking them with a single cavalry charge is nigh impossible. Expecting little or no casualties would be wrong though. Even goblin wolf riders are going to hurt as long as they don't run.

[Ichon]

I wasn't saying I thought goblins needed to stand up to charges better- just theorizing on why dwarves can since being so short I thought they would lack mass but perhaps muscle and heavy armor are enough.

[Pinch1loaf]

Other than the mortar and anvil and slayers I find the dwarves to be somewhat not right. Annoying how my crossbows can fire at one unit of squigs for 10 minutes and only kill one... Meanwhile goblin shortbows are ripping me a new one. It doesn't make sense...

[SinerAthin]

Use scatter formation, face your back towards the enemy and start running sideways away from the enemy cavalry as it charges, and as the enemy cavalry stops, charge back and encircle them.

I know that in real life, that would be TOTAL SUICIDE in realistic enviroments and laws of physics, but I've found it to actually be the best way to stop an enemy charge.
(so much for the game being a war simulator, hah ^^ )

[smoesville]

I wasn't saying I thought goblins needed to stand up to charges better- just theorizing on why dwarves can since being so short I thought they would lack mass but perhaps muscle and heavy armor are enough.

If you actually have the tabletop models, the humans might be taller but with the armour and all the dwarves can be 4 times the size with massive feet and shoulders as wide as a destrier, they could stand a charge but as has been said, they will take casualties.

[JPrice94]

Dwarves are turtly, i'm annoyed by the lack of spearmen but apparently dwarves (and warhammer nerds) are stubborn and only like axes, despite axes being terrible weapons for short people with less reach. What you need to do is create a defensive formation that consists of a strong very thick battle line with a regressive flank, that guards artillery and ranged units, leave some units in reserve too. Your artillery should force the enemy to abandon their position and throw themselves at your shield wall. Cavalry themselves can be tanked by very thick ranks of infantry, so deploy in a big block on the flanks, break the charge, and then charge in some great weapons, or slayers if you've got them. Anti-large Artillery should be facing outwards a little bit, because their primary concern is guarding your flanks, you should inflict heavy losses on cavalry before they reach you. Organ guns work the best.