Highly underestimated powers in the new patch, no doubt due to their previous uselessness, Undermine and Cloud Break are now both useful on their own, though not extraordinary. Undermine can be summoned under an army just like the Watcher (though for significantly less damage) before being used to evacuate units, while Cloud Break can stun enemy units long enough to win any battle more frequently than before with its shorter recharge. Given the hugely altered power tree, it's also easier to take them both than before. However, they're individually not as great as Dwarves's other, better, powers, like Men of Dale, Hobbits, Barrage, and Dwarven Riches. When used together, however, they can win games in an instant, something none of the other powers can do.
The power point path to use is as follows:
My opponent has quite a few units in his base, and is starting to take control of the map. I want to attack his Fortress, but my units aren't strong enough to defeat his own. Even with an inferior force, I can win easily with the Undermine - Cloud Break combo. This short video shows in just one minute how to use Undermine and Cloud Break to destroy a Fortress:
Even though my opponent's army destroyed my own quickly after Cloud Break wore off, I was able to take down his Fortress during the fifteen seconds his units were affected by Cloud Break. The only things that can stop this tactic are enemy heroes, level five troops (which are immune to Cloud Break's fear effect), or defenses on the Fortress itself, since all other units will be stunned.
Moats
The geometry of the Crystal Moat and Lava Moat upgrades will prevent units from getting close enough to a Fortress to attack it, except at the gate. Therefore, these upgrades are the perfect counter to this tactic. Don't attempt to use this combo if your opponent's Fortress has a Moat!
In order to use Undermine, you have to first establish your line of sight. One way to do that is to send a sacrificial battalion of units to the enemy base, and summon Undermine as close to the Fortress as possible before the units die. In a 2v2, though, you might be able to make use of an ally's scouting powers, or even Men of the West's Ivory Tower, to save you the trouble. That's what the Phalanxes were for in the video.
Normally, it's best to summon Undermine before Cloud Break, then use Cloud Break only once enemy units are beginning to engage your own. However, if you see a lot of clumped enemies very close to the Fortress, you might be able to stun them with Cloud Break first, summon Undermine underneath them to deal good damage, and still make it to the Fortress in time to take it down; however, this is tough to pull off.
Discuss this tip in our forumsUpdated June 22, 2010
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