Hello fellow stunties.

It's been a long time since I've posted, as well as a long time since I've played fantasy.
With the release of 8th and some of the changes (missions, funky terrain, magic) I'm really looking forward to getting back into the Fantasy side.

I took the time to read through the 8th "Handbook" (thanks for the compendium by the way, great stuff) and compiled a list that I intend on painting up.
Let me start by saying, that while I want the army to be balanced I'd like it to be competitive as well. That being said, I'd appreciate your comments and game play insights into the list.

Summation:
I want to play an aggressive dwarf list. I want it to be competitive yet balanced with some support from WM in the back field.

LORD
Dwarf Lord - 301
RO Challenge (Force Charge, 1x use), RO Stone (+1 AS), RO Resistance (re-roll armor saves), MRO Kragg (GW = normal abilities), RO Fury(+1A), MRO Snorri (+1 to hit), Great Axe, Shieldbearers (joins hammerers)
So, I really want my hero to play a more offensive role in my army. I understand the logic about the Runelord, but I'm hoping to be able to control perhaps 2, maybe 3 phases, as opposed to "locking it down". Essentially I'm hoping to use the RO of Challenge in a "Dispell Scroll" capacity. The idea is to force my opponent to either charge or flee Turn 1 or 2 into a Hammerer block, thereby mitigating some of the casting that turn. The other motivating factor behind using a Lord is I have incredible model for it.

HERO
Thane - 145
BSB, Strollaz Rune (joins hammerers)
Allows me to march essentially my entire army if I choose. I believe this also would affect the scouting Ranger-Longbeards(If I'm 12" of course), and theoretically their Throwing Axes would be in range turn 1 for a volley of 20x axes potentially hitting at short range.

Runesmith - 149(joins longbeards w/ shields)
RO Spellbreaking (1x Dispell Scroll), RO Balance(+1 Dispell Dice) Shield
I'm toying with the idea of potentially just running 3x Dispell Scrolls on this guy. That or running Spelleater, which conceptually is a game changing 4+. Based on average dice rolling with this build, 66% of the time I will be down 1 dice (25%) or even (31%). This isn't taking into account the +2 handicap from a LVL4 opponent of course. My hope is to have my units in HTH before Turn 3 which is why I'm considering 3x Dispell Scrolls.

CORE
30x Ranger Longbeards - 475
Full Command, Throwing Axe, Great Axe, Ranger
(3x 10 horde formation)
20x S5 shots... -1 for long range, you're looking at 4.5 wounds v T4 from one volley if I'm going first... I think the utility of having the shield is more worthwhile. It's an expensive unit, but I would like to add RO Determination as well. The goal is for them to pick on the caster block.

25x Longbeards - 325
Full Command, Shield
(5x 25 formation)(Runesmith here)
Block of solid troops. WS5 S4 T4 4+/6++

SPECIAL
24x Hammerers - 368
Full Command, RO Grungini (5+ ward from shooting/magic missile to units within 6")
(3x 10 horde formation)(Lord + BSB here)
I'm going with these guys over the Ironbreakers as I felt the longbeards with shields were a better mid-level troop than the Ironbreakers. The longbeards armor save is -1 worse, but they have immune to panic and old grumblers, as well as costing the same given my equipment. I figure horde formation is the way to go as the hammerers are Stubborn so I won't require the steadfast rule and I'll be able to bring more attacks to bear.

30x Slayers- 336
Musician
(3x 10 horde formation)
Slayers. I hadn't seen much love on this site for this unit, and I'm not sure why. 1pt more than a warrior with great weapon, and arguably significantly better on paper if you don't need the core. A bit of my logic here:
"Unbreakable" means I'm not as concerned about getting Steadfast
Better than warriors vs T5+ and equal vs T4 and a little worse v T3.
If I'm lucky enough to bring two full ranks to bear they will average 7.5 wounds against any toughness
then again, on average I will most likely only be able to bring two ranks of 7. This is marginally worse than warriors (5.25 wounds vs 5.83). Heavy Armor seems solid, but against S4+... I don't see much of the point. Odds are they are dying regardless. Another perk... I will be able to paint cool tattoos on them as I'm going with a Duergar (dark skinned) theme

Cannon -130
RO Forging(Re-roll Misfire), RO Burning (Flaming)
I've found that my cannon fire is pretty solid, but it's always a killer when you roll that 1 to wound. This guy is a mainstay and offers me some hits against re-generation.

Grudge Thrower - 135
RO Penetrating (+1S), RO Accuracy (Re-roll scatter), RO Burning (Flaming)
I felt that 2x Cannons was overkill for what their role is on the battle field. There will definitely be some instances where I will want the template from the Grudge thrower, and in a pinch I still get the S10 D6 wounds for the model under the template.

RARE
Organ Gun - ***
I can't see myself not taking one of these guys, but more importantly it comprises of a large amount of my shooting.

2497 pts
114x Dwarfs

I do have a variant of this list.
"Sideboard":
Rune Lord -288 (instead of Lord)
RO Spellbreaking (1x Dispell Scroll), MRO Balance (1x Dice swing), RO Resistance (re-roll AS), RO Fury (+1A), RO Cleaving(+1S), Shield

Thane - 142(instead of Runesmith)
RO Brotherhood(Scout), RO Challenge (Force Charge, 1x use), RO Cleaving (+1S), RO Burning (Flaming), RO Stone (+1 AS), Shield
Then I add RO Determination to the Ranger Longbeards.