Who are the Helsmiths of Hashut?
Picture the grim, grasping cousins the rest of the Chaos Dwarfs pretend they never had, and you are most of the way there. The Helsmiths of Hashut are the industrialist Chaos Duardin of the Mortal Realms: cruel, bearded tyrants who worship Hashut, the Father of Darkness, a bull-god of fire, iron and dominion. They are slavers and daemon-smiths who forge infernal war engines, bind daemons into molten metal, and march to war on a tide of enslaved labour and blackpowder. As one of the newest additions to Grand Alliance Chaos, they are also one of the most characterful ranges Games Workshop has put out in years.
The Core Fantasy
This is the army for anyone who has ever wanted to run a dark, satanic-mill version of a dwarf force — all anvils, chained daemons and belching furnaces. The Helsmiths do not swarm and they do not skirmish. They plant their feet, level their guns, and let the enemy come onto a wall of armour and fire. If you like the idea of a slow, grinding, firepower-heavy line backed by monstrous fire-constructs, this is your fantasy made real.
Expect:
- Grim industrial theme: ziggurats, brass, blackened iron and the worship of a cruel bull-god who values only strength and toil.
- Firepower and war engines: the range centres on blackpowder artillery and daemonic machines rather than nimble troops.
- Resilient, armoured infantry: expect a battleline that is tough to shift and happy to hold ground.
- Daemon-forged monsters: bull-fire constructs and infernal engines to act as your hammers.
- A slaver's cruelty: a faction built around domination, sacrifice and the endless hunger of the forge.
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How They Play on the Tabletop
Fair warning up front: exact warscrolls, points and abilities for a range this new will shift with each battletome update and balance pass, so treat everything here as archetype rather than gospel. Check the current rules before you build a list for a tournament. What the Helsmiths are, though, is unlikely to change much — this is a gunline-plus-monsters army with a strong defensive backbone.
In practice you should expect to anchor a durable infantry line, screen your artillery, and win the shooting exchange before your fire-constructs and war engines crash in to finish the job. It rewards patience and good positioning far more than it rewards a wild first-turn charge. If you rush it, you throw away the very thing that makes it strong.
What you'll love:
- Weight of fire: few Chaos armies enjoy shooting the way this one does.
- Staying power: armoured troops that make your opponent work for every inch.
- Big scary centrepieces: daemon-engines and bull-fire monsters that hit like a runaway forge.
- Theme that plays how it looks: a slow, methodical, grinding force.
What can bite you:
- Speed: you are rarely the faster army, so objectives you cannot reach are objectives you cannot score.
- Board control: a small, elite force can struggle to be everywhere at once.
- Being out-manoeuvred: fast, deep-striking or teleporting foes can get behind your guns.
- Cost of entry: monsters and war engines are points-hungry, so every unit has to earn its keep.
Iron, Fire and the Worship of Hashut
What sets the Helsmiths apart from every other force in the Realms is the sheer malice of their craft. Their sorcerer-priests — the Daemonsmiths — do not merely build machines, they trap living daemons inside iron and molten brass and put them to work. A Helsmith war engine is not a lump of metal; it is a screaming, bound thing forced to serve. Their signature K'daai constructs are daemonic bull-fire given a body of blazing metal, and they burn everything they touch. This is Chaos as industry: cruelty organised, weaponised and mass-produced.
If that cruel, methodical flavour of Chaos appeals, you are in good company across the Grand Alliance. The Slaves to Darkness bring the mortal-champion side of Chaos worship, while the ever-scheming, ever-swarming Skaven offer the industrial-underhand approach the ratmen do so well. The Helsmiths sit neatly between the two: disciplined tyranny with a foundry at its heart.
Key Unit Roles (What You'll Commonly Need)
Rather than chase warscroll names that may change, think in jobs. Nearly every Helsmiths list is going to want to fill these roles in some form.
1) The Anvil (armoured infantry battleline): your ranked, heavily armoured Chaos Duardin who hold the centre and refuse to break. This is the wall everything else works around.
2) The Guns (blackpowder artillery and war machines): the reason the enemy fears crossing open ground. Expect these to do a big share of your damage before combat is even joined.
3) The Hammer (K'daai and daemon-engine monsters): your bull-fire constructs and infernal machines — slower to arrive, but devastating when they do.
4) The Priesthood (Daemonsmiths and sorcerer-priests): your heroes and casters, buffing the guns, binding the daemons and keeping the war-machine engine ticking over.
5) The Labour (expendable troops and screens): cheaper bodies to hold objectives and soak charges so your expensive centrepieces stay safe.
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Getting Started the Smart Way
The Helsmiths are a superb project army, but they reward a bit of planning. Here is how to start without burning out (pun absolutely intended).
Step 1 — Buy a core, not a shopping list.
- Start with a block of your armoured battleline and one hero.
- Get comfortable ranking them up and painting the scheme before you scale.
Step 2 — Add one centrepiece.
- A single monster or war engine teaches you how the army wants to fight.
- It is also the model that will sell the whole force on the table.
Step 3 — Nail the paint scheme early.
- Dark iron and black armour, deep reds, brass, and hot molten-orange fire glows (OSL) are the signature look.
- Our beginner painting guide walks you through the basics, and the Warhammer Colour paints range covers everything you need for that furnace glow.
Step 4 — Grow towards a balanced list.
- Layer in more guns, a second monster and cheap screening troops.
- Browse the full Helsmiths of Hashut range or the wider Age of Sigmar model range to plan your next kits.
Common Beginner Mistakes (Avoid These)
- Charging in: this is not a rush army. Advancing your guns out of position to get stuck in early throws away your biggest edge.
- Skimping on screens: leaving your artillery and monsters unguarded invites a fast enemy straight into your soft underbelly.
- All monsters, no bodies: a list of nothing but centrepieces looks glorious and loses on objectives. You still need troops to hold ground.
- Ignoring the priesthood: your heroes are the glue. Under-investing in them leaves the whole engine sputtering.
- Rushing the paint: the OSL fire glow is the star of the show. Give it the time it deserves and the army looks incredible.
Who the Helsmiths of Hashut Are For
Choose the Helsmiths if you love a slow, grinding gunline with monstrous hammers, a truly grim industrial theme, and one of the freshest, most head-turning ranges GW has released. Give them a miss if you crave speed, swarms of cheap bodies, or an army that wins with movement tricks rather than patience and firepower.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the Helsmiths of Hashut good for beginners?
They can be, with a caveat. The playstyle is forgiving in that it does not demand fast, complicated manoeuvres — you plant your line and shoot. The models are a slightly more involved paint job than average because of the fire glow, but that same OSL is also what makes them so rewarding to learn on.
Are the Helsmiths of Hashut the same as the old Chaos Dwarfs?
They are the Age of Sigmar incarnation of the Chaos Dwarf idea — industrial, Hashut-worshipping Chaos Duardin. The concept, imagery and daemon-smithing flavour carry straight over from the classic Chaos Dwarfs, brought into the Mortal Realms with a modern range.
How do the Helsmiths of Hashut play?
As a slow, resilient, firepower-heavy force: durable armoured infantry, strong artillery and war engines, and daemonic fire-constructs as your close-combat hammers. They reward patience and positioning over aggression. Always check the current battletome for exact rules, as this is a very new faction.
What paints do I need for the classic scheme?
The signature look is black iron armour, deep reds, brass and a hot molten-orange fire glow. The Warhammer Colour paints range covers all of it, and our beginner painting guide will help you get the OSL right.
Further reading: our Slaves to Darkness army analysis for more mortal-champion Chaos, and the full Grand Alliance Chaos collection to keep building your horde.
Final thought: the Helsmiths do not win by being quick or clever with their feet — they win by being an immovable, gun-toting, daemon-forging wall that grinds you into the ashes of its own furnace. Bring patience, bring firepower, and let the anvil do the talking.
