Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Chaos/Maggotkin of Nurgle

Grand Alliance Chaos Maggotkin of Nurgle

Buboes, phlegm, blood and guts! Boils, bogeys, rot, and pus! Blisters, fevers, weeping sores! From your wounds the fester pours.

Lore Tactics General Tactics

Why Play Maggotkin?

Pros

• Tough and survivable: if it doesn't have Disgustingly Resilient, it's usually gonna have a high wound count.
• Incredible variety in models and playstyles: the Maggotkin are essentially six armies in one (Nurgle Daemons, Rotbringers, Slaves to Darkness, Skaven Pestilens, Tamurkhan's Horde{however these have now been moved to legends}, Beasts of Chaos (with the required battalion)).
• You have the most named characters out of any army.
• Surprisingly fast with the right synergies and unit imports.
• They are 乇乂ㄒ尺卂 ㄒ卄丨匚匚

Cons

• Most units are slow and rely on support buffs to get across the board.
• Low rend and damage on most units: you can take a hit, but you can't exactly dish it out.
• With so many -1 to hit debuffs around, and no way to give +1 to your forces, your damage output can get severely hampered, but now fixed by binding some abilities to unmodified rolls
• Weird stuff happens in mirror matches, due to several effects (most notably the Cycle of Corruption) being based on NURGLE keywords as opposed to being allied or enemy units.

Rulebooks

Faction rules and abilities: Battletome Maggotkin of Nurgle

Latest Matched play points: Maggotkin of Nurgle Errata

Core rules: here

Matched play rules, battleplans and expansions: General's Handbook 2022-23 Season 2, plus the battleplans from the Core Book.

Supplement all the above with any Errata and Designers' Commentary from the FAQs.

The Maggotkin of Nurgle Battletome was released in January of 2018, and as such was the oldest active Battletome to the point that the third edition of AOS came out before they got a new battletome. It was really jarring, but the wait is nearly over, as the new Maggotkin of Nurgle battletome has been announced. Interstingly, the front cover shows the Lumineth getting worfed.

Allegiance Abilities

If your army consists fully of units with the NURGLE keyword, it can choose to take the Maggotkin of Nurgle allegiance, opening all the below battle traits, command traits, spells, artifacts, and spells.

Battle Traits

All Maggotkin of Nurgle allegiance armies benefit from the following rules:

Legions of Chaos: The new tome saw GW cribbing notes from the Cities of Sigmar, now you (and the other god-aligned armies) can take two Slaves of Darkness units out of every four so long as you give them the mark of NURGLE and one of every four units can be from Beasts of Chaos and Clan Pestilens each, granting the beastmen the keyword as well. However, coalition units do not count towards the number of battleline in your army, but do count towards everything else (behemoth, leader, artillery, etc), their heroes cannot be your general and they won't bother your allegiance traits. Predictably, Wizards and units bearing the marks of other gods are as coalition forces, though any non-Tzeentch Chaos forces can join as just regular allies.

• Congratulations, your army selection has effectively doubled between all the StD stuff now available and the beastmen and plague monks ripe for exploitation. Unfortunately, Tamurkhan's Horde is not included in this conglomeration, with the plague toads ending up in some weird middle-ground due to their keywords and placement.

Diseased: At the end of each movement and combat phase, you can slap a disease point to each enemy unit within 3" of your units, up to a max of 7. At the start of the battleshock phase, each unit must roll a d6 for each disease point they have with a 4+ dealing a MW. These points only go away at the end of each battleshock phase, and you take away only one of them, making it a priority to stack them up as high as possible.

• Diseased Weapons: What, you thought just the mere stench of your boys could get the enemy sick? Any natural 6 to hit with your weapons will also dump disease points as well.
  • Unfortunately this forces you to get up close and personal more than ever, though you do have some tricks available to stack up points. However, this pulls double duty of fucking with healers, as they have to choose between either restoring wounds for the unit so they can survive another round or clearing out disease points and removing your ongoing pestilence.

Disgustingly Resilient: Your entire army has a 5++ Ward. Each model can also recover a wound each turn. While the presence of a ward is quite welcome, the regen kinda leaves you open against anything with D2 or higher, as your foot soldiers can still be deleted.

• Locus of Fecundity: Only available on Great Unclean Ones, the Glottkin, Horticulous Slimux, and Festus. Units within 14" of a hero with this locus restore 1d3 wounds from Disgustingly Resilient, making your big guys more durable.

Cycle of Corruption: Nurgle is life, Nurgle is love, and Nurgle loves to share all his gifts. At the start of the battle - after deployment but before the first turn - the Nurgle player rolls a die to decide where the Cycle of Corruption begins. There are seven Stages of Corruption; the 7th stage being locked from the initial throw.

Each stage will provide you with a buff for your Maggotkin of Nurgle/Nurgle units or debuff to your opponent's non- Nurgle units. At the start of each subsequent battle round the Cycle will progress by one step. For example: if your initial roll is a 3, then you will benefit from The Burgeoning during the first battle round, Plague of Misery during the second battle round, and so on. You can either let the Cycle progress or try to change it with spells or abilities. Either way, try to plan ahead because you know which benefits you will get in the following battle rounds.

1. Unnatural Vitality: All Maggotkin of Nurgle Heroes have a 4++ ward. Basically makes your Great Unclean Ones/Glottkin indestructible for a turn.
2. Fecund Vigour: All units are treated as being within 14" of Locus of Fecundity. Best to consider this your time to get your boys recovered before throwing them back in.
3. The Burgeoning: At the start of your hero phase roll a number of dice equal to the current battle round. For each 4+ you gain an additional Contagion Point. Basically to help ramp up late-game summoning.
4. Plague of Misery: Heroes that lack the Nurgle keyword cannot perform Heroic actions or issue the Rally or Inspiring Presence command.
5. Nauseous Revulsion: Subtract 1 from charge rolls for enemy units that lack the Nurgle keyword. Also non-Nurgle enemy units cannot finish a pile-in move closer to a friendly Nurgle unit than they were at the beginning of the phase.
6. Rampant Disease: Add 1 to any disease rolls that you make.
7. Corrupted Regrowth: At the start of your hero phase, you receive 1 extra Contagion Point for each Feculant Gnarlmaw in your army that is on the battlefield. Another one you want when trying to ramp up the summoning by a bit.

The Garden of Nurgle: Mimicking the Sylvaneth, the forces of Nurgle can now plant their own terrain pieces. After setting up terrain but before choosing a territory, each Nurgle army can place one Feculant Gnarlmaw anywhere more than 1" from any other terrain feature.

Summon Daemons of Nurgle: Gone are the days of any CHAOS WIZARD summoning hordes of NURGLE DAEMONS to join their ranks and instead there is a new system: collecting and spending contagion points as a Nurgle army.

In each of your hero phases a NURGLE army collects contagion points in the following ways:

• Any friendly NURGLE models in your own territory nets you 3 points a turn.
• Any friendly NURGLE models in your opponent's territory nets you an additional 3 points a turn.
• Being free of enemy models in a territory nets you an addition 1 point for that territory.
• Each Feculent Gnarlmaw nets you an additional 1 point if there are no enemy models within 3" of it.

Right off the bat, you will most likely be earning 3 or 4 + 1 contagion points for having no enemies in your territory - you are buying that Gnarlmaw, aren't you? (Although if the enemy takes the first turn there's a fair chance they will be in your territory, depending on mission map). Coming as no surprise, different abilities will allow you to earn more contagion points during a turn. Some heroes (such as the Lord of Plagues or Epidemius) have been reworked to play into this.

To summon the daemons, all you have to do is look it up in the list and deduct its cost from your total points; unlike Khorne's Blood Tithe, you will be able to keep what you don't spend. There's no cast roll required, just place the summoned unit within 12" of a Gnarlmaw or NURGLE HERO and more than 9" from any enemies. While you still get to select a decent lot of daemons for way cheaper, you no longer have the ability to adjust the unit sizes. Also troubling is the fact that you'll really need to work to get the GUO out on the field.

Contagion points can be used to summon Daemons of Nurgle from the List Below:

1. 1 Great Unclean One : 30 Contagion points
2. 3 Plague Drones : 18 Contagion points
3. 10 Plaguebearers : 14 Contagion points
4. 1 Poxbringer, Herald of Nurgle : 12 Contagion points
5. 1 Beast of Nurgle: 10 Contagion points
6. 1 Feculent Gnarlmaw : 9 Contagion points
7. 3 Nurgling bases : 8 Contagion points
8. 1 Sloppity Bilepiper, Herald of Nurgle : 7 Contagion points
9. 1 Spoilpox Scrivener, Herald of Nurgle : 7 Contagion points

Plague Legions

Following the lead of all the other more recent battletomes Maggotkin get an expanded group of subfactions to choose from but with no requirements to choose beforehand and much less benefits for far greater simplification. But the benefits you get are pretty good. You get three daemon focused groups, and three mortal-centric ones.

Munificient Wanderers: One of the largest legions and the resident poster boys for the faction. Makes heavy use of Plaugebearers.

Trait - Infested with Wonders

If enemy unit is within 3" of a Munificient Wanderers Plaguebearer host that has 10 or more models at the end of the movement/combat phase than they recieve 2 disease points instead of 1 for being in range.

Befouling Host: The most stubborn and relentless of Nurgles legion. Being hard to put down even by Nurgle standards.

Trait - Festerbark Pox

A Befouling Host that has a Daemon general can set up 2 Feculent Gnarlmaws at the begining of the game instead of just one. Good if your looking to go quicker summoning with your army. Beasts of Nurgle are unlocked as Battleline.

Droning Guard: Specializes in airborne assualt and vanguard strikes.

Trait - Cloying Stench

Subtract 1 from hit rolls that target a Plague Drones unit in the first battleround and in the round that they are set up from reserves. Plague Drones are unlocked as Battleline.

Blessed Sons: Seen as the greatest of Nurgles Mortal Plauge Legions. They have conquered farther and spread Nurgles gifts farther than any other rotbringer legion.

Trait - Nurgle’s Embrace

If a friendly Blessed Sons Mortal units is slain within 1" of an enemy model before removing it pick 1 enemy unit and roll dice equal to that model’s wound characteristic. That unit receives 1 disease point for each 6 that is rolled. Basically encouraging you to bring max squads of Blightkings to rack up the DP. Unlocks Rotmire Creed as Battleline.

Drowned Men: A sea and sky pirate fleet that raids the lands and are masters of ambushes.

Trait - Lords of Sea and Sky

After deployment you get a free move with all Drowned Men Lord of Afflictions and Pusgoyle Blightlords units up to 8". Pusgoyle Blightlords are unlocked as Battleline without needing a Lord of Afflictions.

Filthbringers: The magic specialists and seekers of dark lore.

Special Unit - Rot Covens

You can include a Rot Coven in your army. Essentially you can take a unit of three Rotbringer Sorcerers as a single set (they must be purchased together for 360 pts). But afterward they all count as separate units. Essentially if a Wizard in the unit casts a spell they get +1 to the roll. They get +2 if within 3" of one other Wizard from the Rot Coven and +3 if with 3" of two other Wizards from the coven. Basically giving you supercharged magic casting if you group them up.

Command Traits

Maggotkin Generals can choose their Command Trait from three different tables depending on their Keywords (ROTBRINGER, DAEMON or MORTAL). The first three traits in every table are the same.

<tabs> <tab name="Lords of the Rotbringers"> Mortal Maggotkin of Nurgle heroes can select the following:

1. Grandfather’s Blessing: Once per battle, at the start of your Hero phase, you can move the Cycle of Corruption one stage forward if your general has not been slain.
2. Infernal Conduit: At the start of your Hero phase where your general isn't slain, roll a die. On a 2-5, you get 1 contagion point, but on a 6 you get d3 points. This is the trait of choice if you want to enjoy the power of the doomsday bell but can't afford a GUO's pricetag or need him to do something else.
3. Living Plague: For each hero phase, roll a d6 for each enemy model within 7" of your general. On a 2+, that unit gets a disease point and you get a contagion point. If you're looking to get stuck in, then this is an easy way to stack up tons of points to summon all kinds of daemons or make summoning a GUO much easier.
4. Avalanche of Rotten Flesh: After your general charges, pick an enemy within 1" of them and roll a number of d6 equal to your charge distance. Each 6 deals a mortal wound and disease point.
5. Bloated with Corruption: Whenever you roll a 6 on your general's ward save, you can gift one enemy unit within 3" with a disease point.
6. Overpowering Stench: Enemies within 7" of your general cannot issue commands and units wholly within cannot receive commands.

</tab> <tab name="Avatars of Corruption"> Daemon Maggotkin of Nurgle heroes can select the following:

1. Gift of Febrile Frenzy: Once per game during the combat phase, you can trigger a fever that gives +1 attacks in melee for ALL Nurgle units within 7" of the general. This can be helpful in making a push since your entire game involves drowning the enemy in dice and this will work with both mortal and daemon units.
2. Nurgling Infestation: -1 to any attacks targeting the general. In addition, all nurgling units within 7" of the general gain +1 to hit.
3. Pestilent Breath: At the start of your shooting phase, pick an enemy unit within 7" of your general. Roll a d6 for each model within 7" of your general. The unit suffers a mortal wound for each roll of 5+. You know who can get this? A Harbinger of Decay, with his massive footprint and fast (for Nurgle) movement speed. You know who else can get this? A Verminlord Corruptor, who has an even larger footprint and moves even faster! Unfortunately while a Verminlord can be a coalition unit, it doesn't gain the MAGGOTKIN OF NURGLE keyword.

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Artefacts

<tabs> <tab name="Artefacts of Contagion"> Any MORTAL MAGGOTKIN OF NURGLE HERO can be given one of these artifacts.

1. The Eye of Nurgle: Once per battle you can roll 2d6 at the start of the hero phase if there are any models within 12 inches of the bearer with Disease Points. If the result is a 7, the nearest enemy model is slain. 1-in-6 chance of killing anything. Interesting as a hail mary, but even better as a psychological tool. "Are you sure you want to keep your centerpiece this close to me?"
2. The Foetid Shroud: Pick one non-monster enemy hero engaged within 3" of the bearer during the fight phase. The enemy suffers -1 to hit, but the bearer gets +1 to hit in return. A pretty simple but effective way to nail smaller heroes.
3. The Shield of Growths: You can re-roll save rolls if the roll is equal to or less than the number of wounds currently allocated to the model. Risky but potentially pretty useful, especially since all of your Heroes have some form of regeneration.
4. Flesh Pealer: Roll a dice each hero phase for each unit within 6 inches of the bearer. On a 5+ the unit gains a Disease Point. Okay if you're planning on cashing on those points, but you'll need your troops to actually do the heavy work on infecting your foes.
5. The Splithorn Helm: Improves the bearer's Disgustingly Resilient save to 4++, which makes it worthwhile for any hero expecting to take heavy fire.
6. The Fecund Flask: You can use this once per battle at the start of your hero phase. If done, roll a dice, on a 2+ all suffered wounds are healed. On a 1 the bearer is slain. When slain, you replace the model with a Beast of Nurgle within 1 inch of the models current position. Using this when your Hero only has one Wound left can only lead to positive outcomes. Then again, how many times will a Hero survive to the start of a friendly Hero Phase with exactly one wound?
7. Muttergrub: The bearer knows Gift of Disease as a spell, though any wizards can still learn another spell and gains +1 to casting any spells. Great if you need more casts asap but can't afford another Sorcerer.
8. Rustfang: At the start of each combat phase, pick one unit within 3 inches of the bearer. Subtract 1 from the armor save for the rest of the battle. You can only do this once on a unit. Phenomenal, as it negates one of your Blightkings' biggest weaknesses.

</tab> <tab name="Daemonic Boons"> Any DAEMON MAGGOTKIN OF NURGLE HERO (including the Lord of Afflictions and Harbinger of Decay) can be given one of the following.

1. The Bountiful Swarm: You can activate this once per game during the hero phase. Pick one enemy model within 3" of the hero and roll a d6. If the roll is higher than the model's wounds stat, the model dies - and if the enemy had 4 or more wounds, you get to replace them with a Beast of Nurgle. This allows you to snipe models out of units, like, say, that icon bearer from a Pink Horror unit. Go for reliable kills instead of betting on the Beast of Nurgle.
2. The Endless Gift: The bearer counts as always being affected by the Locus of Fecundity, making it only useful for Daemon Princes and Heralds, your only heroes who can't get the Locus.
3. Noxious Nexus: The bearer counts as two models for the sake of the Diseased rule, letting them infect enemies twice as fast. Great Unclean Ones can especially make use of this considering their massive footprint.
4. Nurgle's Nail: Pick one of the bearers melee weapons to be the nail. That weapon triggers Diseased Weapons on a 5+ to hit now.
5. Tome of the Thousand Poxes: The bearer knows the Gift of Disease Spell, just like the Muttergrub. Add 1 to casting rolls for Lore of Virulence spells if the target is a wizard, or the bearer can cast this spell each hero phase (but no unbinding) if they are not.
6. The Witherstave: Enemy units within 7" of the bearer add +1 to their disease rolls, giving you a better odd of making those disease points pay off. You'll still need someone to cast spells to infest them or get your smelly boys up close first though.

</tab> </tabs>

The Lores of Nurgle

<tabs> <tab name="Lore of Malignance"> Mortal Wizards get to pick from these:

1. Magnificent Buboes: Casts on a 7+, pick an enemy Hero within 21". He takes D3 Mortal Wounds and gets -1 to Hit, Cast, Chant, Dispel and Unbind rolls. Neuters fighters and heaps damage onto supporters and all of that from phenomenal range.
2. Plague Squall: Casts on a 6+. If successful, roll 7D6. For each 6, pick a visible enemy unit and give them a disease point. You can only pick each enemy unit once. You know what this one doesn't have? A range limit. Though before this was contentious rules-wise due to it dealing outright damage, disease points can be a bit more sinister when used as an opening volley. Since disease points stack up in close proximity to your guys, this can help you start stacking early or build up on your corruption as you try to stack those mortal wounds as quickly as possible.
3. Cloying Quagmire: Casts on a 5+, pick an enemy unit within 14" and roll a D6. If this rolls equal to or over their Save characteristic, they suffer halved movement and must subtract 2 from their charge and run rolls. While no longer able to harm enemies, you can easily lock things down so you can charge them while they're trapped in a mountain of literal shit.
4. Blades of Putrefaction: Casts on a 7+, affects a friendly unit within 14". This makes their Disease Weapons rule trigger on a 5+ now instead of a nat 6, giving you a slightly easier venue for disease points.
5. Gift of Disease: Casts on a 6+, enemy unit within 21" and anyone within 7" of that target takes a disease point. As with Plague Squall, this can be used as an opening salvo before closing in on the enemy. However, this is better suited for infecting crowds of enemies like gloomspite gitz or skaven.
6. Rancid Visitations: Casts on a 6+, affects 1 enemy unit within 7" of the caster. For each model of that unit within 7" of the caster, the unit suffers a Mortal Wound on a 2+. Yikes. Do keep in mind though, that this requires your caster to stay alive until he can cast it and that Great Unclean Ones can't pick this. This will limit who can take it, but one standout choice is the Wurmspat. Her bodyguards make her much tankier, and she is easier to fit into massive melees because of her infantry sized base. The new generic sorcerer available to Maggotkin is likely your ideal option if you don't have that one Underworlds band available.

</tab> <tab name="Lore of Virulence"> Daemon Wizards get to pick from these:

1. Favoured Poxes: Oh lord. Casts on a 7+, pick an enemy unit within 14". It takes -1 to their Hit, Wound and Save rolls until the caster moves, casts another spell, or dies. So, that Herald you cast this with will be useless afterward, but such an utterly crippling debuff means your Herald doesn't HAVE to do anything. Just point literally any unit at the target, and the target is as good as gone. Biggest weakness is its range, but whatever.
2. Fleshy Abundance: Casts on 7+, temporarily restoring a wound on a friendly daemon unit within 21". This is most useful to Great Unclean Ones, as they're the only units that are affected the most by a lost wound and might need that extra wound to count as a bracket higher. Beasts of Nurgle can also benefit from this, as they're made to be walking roadblocks and might allow them to last a bit longer, but the moment the next hero phase begins, they'll immediately keel over if their injuries are just 1 over.
3. Stream of Corruption: Casts on 6+. This spell's special in that it has two ranges, and in both cases you need to roll a number of d6 equal to the number of models in the unit. If you cast this over 7", the models suffer a MW on a 5+, but casting this over 14" means that the models will only suffer on a nat 6.

</tab>

<tab name="Endless Spells"> Slaves to Darkness only

• Eightfold Doom-Sigil: (40pts) CV 5. This spell will only have use when things die around it, so you'd best make sure you make at least one model go down so you can power them up. Now a bonus attack won't sound too scary for your Chaos Lord, but throw it on a band of marauders and they won't be laughing anymore.

• Darkfire Daemonrift: (50pts) CV 6. This is a purely predatory spell, dealing d3 MWs to anything it goes through. It's damage potential also powered up by other Wizards and Endless spells, which is pretty trollish for, say, Tzeentch or the Sacrosanct Chamber and all their wizards.

• Realmscourge Rapture: (60pts) CV 7. This Predatory spell is like the Pendulum in that it can only move in straight lines (but in this case can also only go forward, making it even more reliable). Anything that this goes through (or near) suffers not only d3 MWs, but their movement will also be halved, which can positively cripple a unit just in time for your Vikings to flatten them.

Beasts Of Chaos only

• Doomblast Dirgehorn: Subtract 1 from hit rolls for attacks made by units within 3" of this model. BEASTS OF CHAOS models are not affected. Grows by 3" at the start of each battle round. This one is pretty damn cool but comes with the problem of having a casting value of 6 and thus being fairly easy to dispell.
  • On the other hand, it presents the opponent with the interesting dilemma of either wasting his casting attempts to dispel it or letting it get bigger and bigger.

• Balefire Taurus: A big horde cleaning Endless Spell. It moves 12" a turn and has the Fly keyword. Anything it moves over or ends within 1" of it takes D3 Mortal Wounds, and if the unit has more than ten models, it takes D6 Mortal Wounds instead. Furthermore, Units it damages must fight last at the end of any Combat Phase. While brutal in most situations, it really shines when cleaning up blobs of infantry.

• Ravening Direflock:Spawns three tokens of evil Chaos murderbirds. Anything that is not a BEASTS OF CHAOS unit within 6" of one of these tokens has their Bravery reduced by -2. However, if any unit finishes a move within 1" of the tokens, they have to set the Tokens up again somewhere within 3D6" of the place they were previously.
  • These are phenomenal, especially since it only requires a BEASTS OF CHAOS Wizard to cast it, but not Beasts of Chaos Allegiance. Find some nice Bravery gimmick and add these birds to increase its effectiveness exponentially.
  • Nurgle comes to mind. Have a Nurgle General with Hideous Visage and Carrion Dirge, then a friendly bray wizard to zap in the crows. Under all 3 effects, enemy units will have -6 bravery! But keep in mind your General will certainly also be in range of the crows. However, if you ally in some Slaves to Darkness, it really becomes insane. The Mindstealer Sphiranx has another -2 Bravery Aura, Chaos Knights net you another -1, which results in -9 Bravery! So even Demons can disintegrate after 1 casualty.

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Warscrolls

Leaders

Named Characters

Daemon

Epidemius, the Tallyman of Nurgle: (145pts) A Herald of Nurgle +1, with two more wounds and a Nurgling base's worth of extra attacks. Compared to last edition, he got hit pretty hard as his Tallyman of Nurgle ability no longer accounts for non-Maggotkin units. Instead, each turn you roll a number of dice (3 for each GUO, 2 for each Plaguebearer mob with 10+ models and each Gnarlmaw, and 1 for any other unit) and each 5+ you roll gives you a free re-roll of a Ward save, cast, or dispel roll - up to a maximum of 7 at any given time. While these can be spread out to any other units you have as you wish, they do nothing for your offense.

Rotigus Rainfather: (Behemoth, 495pts) Rotigus is an elite GUO, able of counting as General even if he isn't nominated. At a hefty 20 wounds and a 4+ save he's just as resilient as the normal GUO. While he retains the GUO's monstrous rampage and ability to deal diseases, he sacrifices his offensive output to be a better wizard. Rotigus has a unique spell called "Deluge of Nurgle" (Casting value 7) which is essentially direct-damaging Plague Wind, allowing you to hit as many as 7 enemy units as long as they are visible to the caster.

Horticulous Slimux: (225pts) The head gardener of the grandfather's very own garden. Riding into battle on a giant plowing-snail called Mulch, he lops off the heads of trespassers with his giant shears while Mulch eats the rest with his slime-encrusted jaws. While he's got some decent offensive output, he's as slow as the plaguebearers and has better support powers. Beast Handler lets you reroll failed charge rolls and hit rolls of 1 for friendly Beasts of Nurgle units within 14". Acidic Slime Trail makes enemies within 3" take D3 mortal wounds on a 4+ when Slimux makes a retreat. He also lets you set up 1 free gnarlmaw once per game in your hero phase, which can be very helpful in gaining a few more contagion points.

Mortal

The Glottkin: (700pts)This count also as Behemoth. The big bad bad guys of Nurgle are back. 20 freaking Wounds with now finally having an automatic 5+ ward makes him basically a terror to deal with. This isn't even taking into account that he gets the automatic d3 wound heal for Locus of Fecundity plus a d3 heroic recovery in the hero phase for potentially a 6 wounds heal altother! Yeah they are definately durable. But thats not all, they are also rocking an ok shooting attack with -2 rend. Plus a ton of combat attacks with high rend and damage which doesn't get too badly bracketed. So as for abilities he now has a unique command ability to allow Maggotkin of Nugle units to charge at the end of your opponents movement phase!. I can'tell you how good this is tactically. As it can allow you to completely mess up your oppoents movement and charge positioning. And can literally stop that big centerpiece damage dealer from getting anywhere near your main lines. You basically create an additional 12" safety range for the Glottkin as long as they keep another unit within range. In addition his new ability Horrific Opponent causes all enemy units within 3" of you to take a 2d6 test againt their bravery. If the result is equal or greater than their leadership that unit must either retreat in the movement phase or take d6 wounds. Further deterring any would-be attackers from getting stuck in. Along with this they have a unique Monstrous Rampage. On a 2+ an enemy unit within 3" suffers a number of mortal wounds equal to the current amount listed in their damage table. Basically a better stomp. However what makes it even better is it can effect monsters as well! So you can smack a big 5 mortal wounds in anyones face at top damage bracket. But arguably his biggest boon is their spell, Abundance of Flesh. Essenially it is the same as Fleshy Abundance but it specifically effects Maggotkin of Nurgle Mortal units (since Fleshy Abundance only effects Demons now). Meaning he is your key to 5 wound Blightkings or 9 wound Pusgoyle Blightlords. And all this for 700pts. While definately expensive with everything this trio is packing you can see they can definately justify their inclusion, and can be essential linchpin in an all Mortal force.

• warning: Abundance of Flesh only effects Maggotkin of Nurgle Mortal units. So unfortnately gone are the days of 2 wound Mauraders. In fact none of his innate abilites effect Slaves to Darkness units. Keep that in mind when designing your force since if you don't have too many Maggotkin of Nurgle Mortals or Demons his utility goes down quite a bit.

Bloab Rotspawned: (300pts)This count also as Behemoth. Of the Maggoth Riders, Bloab is the only Wizard, but in exchange, he has a worse save than the others, makes fewer attacks with his (still decent) weapon and projects several annoying auras. He has a fly swarm that can cause penalties To Hit for enemies in a large area in the combat phase and enemy shooting phase and cause a mortal wound along with his bells that lower enemy casting rolls by 1 while increasing his casting rolls by 1. His Maggoth also has by far the best shooting attack of the three. Finally, his unique spell is potentially devastating: It affects one enemy unit. At the end of every phase in which the unit lost Wounds, roll a D6. On 2+, the unit takes another D3 Mortal Wounds. Keep in mind, this happens on a per-phase basis. Basically, if you cast this spell, you need to invest in it. Every phase you have to strip off at least one Wound off that unit. Otherwise, just use Arcane Bolt and be done. Other than that, Bloab is simply very versatile. He is strong in melee but not stellar (in fact he is very clearly the weakest fighter of the three), good at shooting but not the shootiest Hero in the game, can cast but not terribly well and can fuck with the opponent with all his auras and unbinding.

Morbidex Twiceborn: (320pts) This count also as Behemoth. The guy who loves Nurglings, because they love him. Of the Maggoth riders, he has the worst shooting attacks but has one of the best regeration abilities in the game. At the end of the battleshock phase heal half of the wounds allocated to him (rounding up). Combined with Locus of Fecundity and DR he will take real effort to put down. He also adds 1 slain model back to a nearby unit of Nurglings in each of your hero phases. Nothing crazy, but a free extra bodyguard each round isn't too bad. He's pretty good in close combat, not as good as his boss Orghotts but better than bloab. Use him to lead your charges, because he's tough, powerful and really fast for Nurgle's standards.

Orghotts Daemonspew: (300pts) This count also as Behemoth. Supposedly the strongest of the Maggoth riders and well earned as he is easily the best fighter of the three. He damages enemies who punch him when he rolls an unmodified wound roll of 6 causing a mortal wound, his Maggoth has an okay shooting attack (though with not the best range), and his special ability allows him to issue a command to a friendly Mortal Maggotkin of Nurgle unit with spending a command point. Lastly if he is included in your army he always treated as a general (even if you didn't pick him to be the general) just like the Glottkin. So he will always have maximum range when issuing commands. So of the three he he doesn't have the best regeneration or have the best range attacks, but is clearly the best close combat fighter along with being the most durable of the three (in terms of wounds and saves). He doesn't have as many auras as Bload but still an excellent support beatstick.

Gutrot Spume: (170pts) Do you remember Wulfrik? No, not his awful joke rule, don't worry. But do you remember his awesome rule to outflank himself and a unit of Marauders? Well, Gutrot gets to do that now, except he can take a unit of Putrid Blightkings with him instead. That's right, outflanking Blightkings. He can also use his tentacles to wrench enemy weapons off them, making his 7 Wounds with a 3+ Save even tankier. Finally, his already decent attacks gain rerolls of 1s To Hit against Heroes but in exchange, he can only target Heroes if there are Heroes within 3" of him (so watch out as his highest ranged attack in melee is 2"). He lost his Command, but all his changes make him into a superb supporter and beatstick, who can not only survive but overcome a lot of powerful Heroes. Nothing quite like holding a Gryphon's beak shut while you hack away at the rider. A recommended tactic is to bring a single unit of 10 blight kings with him on turn 2 (after your opponent has likely forgotten you can deep strike him, just keep your mouth shut), and then proceed to tear the everliving fuck out of your enemy's backfield warmachines and characters. When you're done with that, use your remaining Blight King flankers (re: probably all of them) and flank his battle line from the rear. Or just sit on his objective and annoy the fuck out of him, because they will never get you off, no matter how hard they try.

Festus the Leechlord: (150pts) Festus is a support Hero, pure and simple. He heals a Wound a turn and can either heal a friendly model for D3 Wounds or give out D3 Mortal Wounds to an enemy model, though for both he needs to be within 1" of whoever he wants to affect. His unique spell lowers enemy saves by 1 PERMANENTLY (Save rolls though, not saves. So Nighthaunt or anything else that ignores modifiers will ignore this). Unfortunately, with the Maggotkin Battletome, this explicitly doesn't stack anymore. However, for all this awesome, his close combat potential can be very generously described as lacking, at least compared to melee characters. Compared to most other Wizards, he's about twice as strong.

Legends

Due to the weird grey area that Tamurkhan's Legion sits in regards to keywords, it'd be best to talk to your opponent or TO to see if these guys count as Allies due to lacking the necessary keywords to be Coalition units but still being Nurgle units.

Tamurkhan The Maggot Lord: (Behemoth, 420pts) The eponymous character for the army. Big, mean and perfect to destroy the heroes of the other side; send him after enemy characters where the Black Cleaver and its re-rolls can go to work. Even if he dies, he'll be dealing mortal wounds to them with a chance to Resurrect himself as a final insult. With 18(!) wounds, D3 of which are regenerated per turn, a host of attacks from Bubebolos and a command ability that re-rolls charge rolls for his Horde he's also well-suited for grinding through infantry, so plonk him into the center of your line and go to town. If you have him there's no reason not to use him; just watch out for armies with a high proportion of powerful shooting units like Aelves or Duhardin, since he's only packing a 4+ save.

Kayzk the Befouled: (120pts) Tamurkhan's second in command. 7" move, 7 HP, 7 bravery...I think I see a pattern... Best ran alongside a few units of Pox Riders or (even better) Nurgle Chaos Knights for cover - although he does have a 5+ ignore Mortal wounds. consider using him as an archer or wizard hunter. His Command Ability is a slightly buffed version of Inspiring Presence that only works on Nurgle unit, so consider making either the chap above or below your general instead.

Generic Characters

Daemon

• Great Unclean One: (Behemoth 495pts) Your Greater Daemon and one of the best choices to evoke other units. Your standard general on bigger games. The GUO is one of the toughest fuckers around. He has the same 5+ Ward given to the whole army but for him, if he rolls a 6 and is in melee, he actually inflicts Disease points. He also has a regeneration of D3 Wounds per turn that he shares with friends, has a strong though short-ranged shooting attack and a melee profile worthy of a monster. What makes him shine is his unique spell, a 14" line that puts Disease points on anything in contact on a 4+. He also comes with his own Monstrous Rampage that deals more mortal wounds though it scales with how many wounds he has.
  • With the recent model update, you've got a very diverse selection of weapons you can use for your big fattie, some focusing more on damage than others. The bilesword and plague flail give you your basic high-damage loadout made for maximum combat potential. Swapping out the bilesword for the doomsday bell cuts down your melee potential but gives you the chance for more contagions points so you can summon more daemons. The bileblade can pretty much replace the bilesword with almost no impact to your damage output aside from one less attack, but it compensates by letting him sacrifice a wound so he can cast one extra time, which can be very handy if you're using him as your chief mage.

• Exalted Greater Daemon of Nurgle: (Behemoth 390pts) Better sword but no secondary weapon, slightly longer-ranged version of the GUO's command ability, but crucially, a different name so they can both be used on the same unit. Fancy some Plague Drones with 11 attacks each?

• Heralds of Nurgle: In any smaller games, these will likely be your generals, but in anything bigger they're your budget heroes meant to lead your foot forces while your fatasses go about their business.

<tabs> <tab name="Poxbringer"> Poxbringer, Herald of Nurgle: (145pts) Your gamechanger. Compared to a Herald of Khorne, he has fewer attacks that are harder to hit and can't deal Mortal Wounds but do D3 wounds if they go through. On average they should do about the same amount of damage, but the HoN will last much longer because he's Disgustingly Resilient and can heal himself. If you play any Nurgle Daemons, at least have one of these guys in reserve so that you can summon him if need be. Plaguebearers especially love him as this herald's ability allows them to effectively fight at the same initiative in the order of your choosing, though this requires throwing him at the battle as well. Now has a unique spell that does d3 mortal wounds on a unit that's in 3" of a Plaguebearer unit, but it's on a higher casting roll than Arcane Bolt and same damage so it's not much of a use if you're in range for bolt, but since there's no specified range on how far the Plaguebearers can be away it can work if you need a spell shot on a unit your herald is not close enough to for bolt. </tab> <tab name="Spoilpox Scrivener"> Spoilpox Scrivener, Herald of Nurgle: (120pts) The Scrivener's focus on plaguebearers is a lot more focused, as he lacks any casting power and instead gets a short-ranged shooting attack. Each combat phase, you can mark one plaguebearer pack within 14" to get either +1 to attacks, +1 to saves, or -1 to rend. The range for this perk means that you can comfortably keep the scrivener in the middle of your lines. </tab> <tab name="Sloppity Bilepiper"> Sloppity Bilepiper, Herald of Nurgle: (130pts) Another support hero along the lines of the Spoilpox Scrivener, though this one can support more than just plaguebearers. Although his Marotter attacks may not seem useful at first, 4 Plaguesword attacks with a -1 rend and 2 damage is nothing to scoff at for a measly 100 points. Additionally, against similarly priced heroes, Bilepipers perform shockingly well. A 4+ save with a 5++ ward and regeneration ensures that your favorite Scottish Daemon will be whacking his foes to death turn after turn.

• All of this guy's perks affect a unit of daemons within 14". A +1 to wound has obvious perks for all of your units since they tend to have a 3+ to wound. The mortal wound on a nat 6 to wound is more helpful for nurglings, plaguebearers, and other attacks where you have a lot of dice to throw around. The ability to prevent enemies from piling up within 3" of a unit is a handy way of forcing the enemy into fighting on your terms.

</tab> </tabs>

• Daemon Prince: (210pts.) He’s gone through a reworking since his last outing. He no longer has the ability to taken Unmarked and the buff for killing heroes, but now he gains a unique command ability for Nurgle, make a friendly unit within 12 inches cause d3 mortal wounds each time an enemy unit rolls at least one 6 to hit them (so if they get to attack twice they may cause a further D3 MW - errata from the absurd 'D3 mortal wounds for each 6 rolled'). His damage output is pretty solid, so use him to rack up the Epidemius points, and he's fast enough to keep up with (or outpace) Beasts and Plague Drones and activate their abilities.

• Verminlord Corruptor: (Behemoth, Pestilens, 280pts)A Skaven Daemon from the Clans Pestilens. He's got 12 wounds. With his insane 10 attacks on his melee weapon, he can equip the Sword of Judgement from the shadow realm artifact list and have 10 chances to absolutely murder heroes and monsters. Has a Skaven version of Disgustingly Resilient. Cast two spells and abilities to deal mortal wounds. His COMMAND ABILITY gives Pestalence wholly within 13" re-roll to hit.

Mortals

• Lord of Plagues: ( MORTAL, ROTBRINGER, 145pts) Oh, dear lord, talk about overcompensating. Before, the Lord of Plagues was extremely underpowered. But now, with a price-bump and some new rules, he's pretty brilliant. First off, he gets the same "6+ To Hit hits D6 times" rule as the Blightkings, but he gets this on top of -1 Rend and D3 damage, so he is potentially murderous. Then, he lets Blightkings around him reroll 1s To Hit, making him into a proper support Hero. Then he can help you rack up contagion points, which is nice. Finally, his Command is still bad, being a very unreliable way of delivering Mortal Wounds over 21". A whole 1.16 of them on average. All in all, a very nice beatstick who can support Blightkings (and only Blightkings) very well. Still slow and with a terrible Command, though.

• Lord of Blights (MORTAL, ROTBRINGER, 150pts) The Lord of Blights is an ever dependalbe hero for Nurgle. He gets Death's Heads he can throw, only range 7", but the number of attacks equals the number in the target unit (caps at 7 though). While the shooting profile is ok he has an ability to allow another unit of Blightkings to have one model in that unit also have the Thrice-ripened Deaths Head attack, so as long as he stays near the unit he can double the shooting potential. Beyond that he also allows a unit of Blightkings to attack immediately after he makes his attacks in the combat phase (a running trend in a lot of newer armies. And given his respectable 4 3+ 3+ -1 2 damage attacs he is no pushover, espeically with a followup of Blightkings to back him up. Overall pretty good and if you haven't caught on yet virtually all his utility comes from buffing nearby Blightking squads, so be sure to keep him close to atleast one unit to get the most of his utitlity. And with his low range shooting you'll want him close to the enemy anyway so could be a good recipient for the Splithorn Helm or Flesh Peeler.

• Lord of Afflictions: (MORTAL, DAEMON, ROTBRINGER, 210pts) And all the Daemons say he's pretty fly for a blight guy. So starting off he is pretty killy with his 4 d3 attacks plus the now standard fly attacks. For survivability he's also golden, like the other Lords, but with an additional Wound, Disgustingly Resilient. He also has a couple of abilities for dealing Mortal Wounds, one of which, the Incubatch, which causes 1 mortal wounds on all units with 3" on a 2+ and is so deadly it can even damage Nurgle models (even himself), albeit only on 6+. Pluse impact mortal wounds on the charge which cause d3 on a 4+ (2+ if he has a Dolorous Tocsin). So big thing to know he lost his old CA to make Pusgoyles go faster (speed boosts have basically become extinct in the new book). Instead he can deep strike himself and two units of Plague Drones or Pusgoyle Blightlords in any combination. Overall he is fine, lost some utility from before but has his uses.

• Harbinger of Decay: (MORTAL, ROTBRINGER, 140pts) Decently killy and with a one-use ability that can cause extra Mortal Wounds. However, despite the mount, his Movement is stuck at 7". He makes up for that with his Command Ability, though, since he basically projects Disgustingly Resilient to all Mortal Nurgle units within 7".

• Rotbringer Sorcerer: (MORTAL, ROTBRINGER, 145 pts) Brand new model, still same squishy magic caster. One new feature he’s got though is giving any Endless Spell he casts the “Diseased” trait, which is admittedly only a minor buff but every little bit counts yeah?

Coalition

• Lord of Chaos: (STD 110pts) Cheaper and more killy, with a decent command ability to boot. This has come at the cost of the amazing 2d6 damage ability and is no longer able to ascend to Daemonhood automatically on killing the enemy general (let's face it though, how often did that happen?). Don't send him alone against characters more expensive than he is, or he will die. The increased rend and attacks values will mean he's good at killing line infantry and when to send alongside another unit he won't auto-bounce against characters like he used to. Side modeling note, the option to take a flail can be achieved by taking the Chaos Chosen off of a Chaos Chariot and basing him and using his as a Chaos Lord, the jury is still out on whether this is official or not.

• Chaos Lord on Demonic Mount: (STD Daemon 170pts) Your budget (for a Slaves to Darkness character) mounted Lord, and also can double dip into Daemon and Mortal equipment. With the new update, cursed Warhammer now has the potential of mortal wounds on 6s to hit, with the added bonus of healing d3 wounds for killing whelps with your big mallet. Also great for other Slaves to Darkness units as his command ability only affects the mounting options but provides a re-roll to their charge and +1 to hit.

• Chaos Lord on Karkadrak: (STD 250pts) The new mounted lord has arrived, and he rode in style as a fully plastic kit. How does this character scream build around? Movement 9", 9 wounds and the always welcomed 3+ save, this lord on battle lizard loves keeping up with his fellow cavalry and bring nothing short of utter destruction. Without any adages, this character boasts no less than 13(!) attacks across 4 profiles, has mortal wound potential both on the charge and with his sword, and can heal with his attacks with his big axe. Sporting classic mortal wound protection that Slaves to Darkness units are spoiled with, and the same command ability as his horse-riding brethren, he is an excellent pick for a Slaves focused army. Pair him with some Chaos Knights or Chariots and reap all the skulls you can.

• Chaos Lord on Manticore Chaos Lord on Manticore: (Behemoth STD, 280pts) Chaos Lord on Manticore: The Lord on Manticore can have a choice between Flail and Sword, with the Sword being better in most circumstances and a choice between Runeshield, Daggerfist, and Lance. The Lance might be awesome, but since everyone and their grandma will be gunning for your Manticore, the 5+ save against Mortal Wounds might be the best choice. Ironically enough, the Manticore itself is actually less damaging than the Lord on it, but it does provide some nice special rules, such as rerolls of 1 To Hit against Monsters for its Claws and Jaws attacks and always rerolling when attacking units in your side of the field. His Command Ability allows a unit of Chaos Warriors within 15" to reroll charge, wound, and Battleshock rolls.

• Chaos Sorcerer Lord: (STD 110pts) Yes. You owe it to yourself to at least check this guy out. While he is utter crap in combat, he can be amazing at support. First, without even casting anything, he can let one Slave to Darkness unit per turn re-roll saves. Then, when he casts, he has a unique spell that provides rerolls To Hit, To Wound and to their saves for a friendly Slaves to Darkness unit in addition to STD endless spells. Just keep him away from the fighting and let Him strengthen your front line. With the new points cost reduction, he could still be a valuable tool for casting some of the Mortal Nurgle Spells.

• Chaos Sorcerer Lord on Manticore: (Behemoth STD, 260pts) Blessed with the same awesome "reroll saves" ability as the normal Lord, this here rides a Manticore, who is just as killy as the one the normal Lord gets. Additionally, the Sorcerer Lord gets the Wind of Chaos spell, which is potentially devastating.

• Exalted Hero of Chaos: (STD 90pts) A guy with a random flurry of axes with the ability to attack twice in the turn he charged, and when he kills a Hero or a Monster he heals. Skip, you have consistent fighters.

• Plague Priest: (Pestilens 80pts) Your standard skaven hero. Gets an extra attack on the charge because of PESTILENS. no longer a buffing priest, he now only has two damage Prayers and deals more mortal wounds after combat.

• Plague Priest on Plague Furnace: (Behemoth Pestilens 200pts) It's 3 Plague Monks with a Plague Priest on a huge censer-thing. It can't move its 6" unless within 6" of 10 or more friendly Skaventide models and it makes 2D6 attacks with Rusty Wheels and Spikes instead of D6 when it charges. It stops battleshock for Skaventide and it damages all the non-Clans Pestilens units that approach it. The Plague Priest on it gets different prayers, boosting Pestilens units either by giving them +1 weapon attacks or by allowing them to reroll wounds. It's clearly a centerpiece. It will pack a punch thanks to the Censer, but it needs Plague Monks to push it around and pushing stuff around and not charging is something Plague Monks with their awful survivability really don't like to do. On the other hand, the Monks do very much like those tasty tasty buffs.

Beasts Of Chaos

• Beastlord: Meh, good at taking Hero challenges but to be honest your better off with a Shaman or Doombull. His old command ability is now just an ability that if he kills something in melee, All Brayherd units wholly within 18" and attack after him can re-roll all wound rolls. This upgrades to include all hit rolls if he kills a hero.

• Great Bray Shaman: Magic Goat. He increases the Move of all Brayherd around him by 3", which is incredible combined with their run+charge musicians. Sure, those first turn charges are still not likely (kinda, since chronomantic cogs exists), but they're possible thanks to him. His spell, Devolve, which casts on a 7 and just takes an unengaged enemy unit within 18" and pulls it towards your closest unit by 2D6". Best used to pull the enemy away from objectives, cover, or buffers while improving your Chances for a successful charge.

• Doombull: The murder cow has a two-handed axe (3x 3+/3+/-2/3). Overall, the Bull an absolute melee monster. His attacks are great and he shares the Bloodgreed ability with his lesser kin - on an unmodified 6 to wound, inflicts an additional mortal wound. Although it may look a bit gimmicky and definitely weaker than some of the absurd stuff that the Stormcasts have access to, it is very much relevant. his Command ability grants a +1 To Wound roll to a Warherd unit wholly within in a huge bubble. Play him, CHOP EVERYTHING IN HALF. Also, like his lesser kin, he's very fast with a Move of 7".

• Dragon Ogor Shaggoth: One of the better picks by a long shot. Gee, that can't have anything to do with the Shaggoth being one of the most expensive kits in the WoC range, can it? 10 Wounds aren't all that high, but thanks to his Summon Lightning spell the problem is remedied. The Shaggoth also has an awesome special rule where, if the roll to see who goes first in a turn is a tie, every Dragon Ogre unit, including the Shaggoth, immediately heals D3 Wounds on a D6 roll of 4+. And those ties happen way more often than you expect them to. Also, the Shaggoth has some absolutely devastating attacks in close combat.

Battleline

• Putrid Blightkings: (Mortal, Rotbringer, Min:5 250pts)The super-hardy infantry Glottkin gave us. With 4 wounds, 4+ save, 8 bravery and now finally have a proper ward save these guys are beyond a doubt one of the hardest line troops around. So some changes to these big boys. They have lost their d6 attacks on 6's to hit with now just having a flat 5 attacks base. So can be a nerf or a buff depending on how you roll. Can include a banner to buff bravery, and a musician to make your opponent reroll 1's for their battleshock. Beyond that they have gained a new ability. Now at the end of the combat phase they can pick an enemy unit within 3" with a wounds characteristic of 3 or less and roll a number of dice equal the number of Blightkings in the squad. Each roll that exceeds that units wounds characteristic causes a mortal wound. So basically a damage bonus to help clear hordes. A great recipient for Fleshy Abundance as getting them up to 5 wounds will mean they will count as 2 models for objective holding, just to bully your opponent even more. Very expensive mind you, though with their ward and high number of ways to heal it is justified, though if you are going nurgle rotbringers you probably don't have a ton of models, so don't just throw them away recklessly.

• Plaguebearers of Nurgle: (Deamon Min10 150pts.) Basic Nurgle troop. So big changes for these boys. Off the bat they have dropped from a 5+ save to a 6+. And most unfortunate of all they can only return 1 model if they roll a one on Battleshock. And what did they get? Well they have now gone up to 2 wounds each! making them twice as durable as before and between their Ward and the armies univesal healing they are still hard to shift. Also, they have also become very good targets for Fleshy Abundance pushing them to 3 wounds each. Which is a good idea giving how slow they actually are with really no way to speed them up. But once in combat they should more than survive long enough to rack up the Disease Points. In addition overall their attacks outputs are quite poor. Until you realise that they are meant to be accompiend by a herald. A Poxbringer will help with their iniative abd a Spoilpox Scivener and a Sloppity Bilepiper will greatly boost their damage potential and saves. Honestly they buff them so much if you are going heavy deamon be sure to bring atleast of them.

• Plague Drones of Nurgle: (Conditional Battline: Droning Gaurd Plague Legion,Daemon Min:3 200pts) Your flyers. Their 8" movement sounds promising, but since they are almost the only Nurgle unit with a missile weapon, they will rarely run, so the movement evens out. The missile weapon is rather meh, with only 3+ 3+ no rend and one damage, it adds up as they add one to the characteristic depending on the size of the squad they are shooting at (to a max of seven). So against large squads they can put out a healthy amount of shooting. They can still bring a model back with their banner and have an overall decent attack profile. They are still pretty tough to kill, though nowhere near the same as a Pusgoyle Blightlord (understandably they are much cheaper as well). Now some downsides, the +1 attack from a Scrivener only specifically effects Plaugbearer hosts now, same with the the Poxbringers attack second ability. Meaning the only herald that really helps these guys is the Sloppity Bilepiper. Also the loss of the run and charge from the Gnarlmaws really hurts these guys speed overall. While still very good they are not quite the all-rounder, take-all-comers they were before. Still they are relatively fast for Nurgle, and make an excellent missle calvary. Best taken in Droning Guard army to get a -1 to hit against them for one turn. Can really help buff their surviability if you are going for a Plauge Drones focused force.

• Beasts of Nurgle: (Conditional Battline: Befouling Host Plague Legion, Daemon Min:1 110pts) Fair warning, your opponent is going to hate you for playing these. 8 Wounds and Disgustingly Resilient make for some tough buggers. Additionally, they can run and charge or retreat and charge in the same turn, along with the ability to pass over models as if it can fly when retreating, so they are much faster than you would expect. Their Slime Trail lets them do Mortal Wounds when retreating on a 4+. In addition these units also do impact damage mortal wounds after they make a charge move. Yeah, you can see where this is going. They'll deal tons of damage without ever giving your opponent the chance to get away. Also, since each unit of the Beasts deals Mortal Wounds individually, a couple of lone Beasts will drive your opponent mad. Best pair with a hero to help buff their attacks as they do a respectavble amount of damage (their claws do flat 2 damaage with a d6 slabbering maw attack). Horticulous Slimux is an excellent choice as he has an annate ability to let them reroll charge rolls and add 1 to hit rolls. So if going for a Beasts of Nurgle army, he is almost an auto-include in that regards.

• Pusgoyle Blightlords: (Conditional Battline: Lord of Afflictions as your general or Drowned Men Plague Legion, Daemon, Mortal, Rotbringer, Min:2 220pts) What do you get with these guys? Tons of wounds and obscenely tough while still having a 8" move (which is lightspeed in a Nurgle army). Much Higher damage potential than a Plague Drone along with being far more durable. Lack that units shooting attack, but more than make up for it in both close-combat potential (same as Blightkings but addition of mount) along with having impact mortal wounds on the charge. In addition in combat they also have the Blightkings Relentless Attackers rule so they are excellent at clearing hordes and spreading as much disease points as possible. Very expensive, but once you start piling on the buffs on a squad of them, I can near guarantee they will stick around for awhile. And when taken in a Drowning Men Plauge legion they will get a pregame move as well. Something to consider.

• Rotmire Creed: (Conditional Battline: Blessed Sons Plague Legion, Daemon, Mortal, Cultists, Min:10 125pts) At long last the Mortal followers of Nurgle have a cheap(ish) battleline option thanks to warcry. Now Maggotkin armies don't have to rely on the deamon arm of the book to get cheaper bodies on the table to fill out battleline and can go full mortal if you want (must be Blessed Sons but whatever). Not true Rotbringer however so keep in mind. So what do they bring? They have a reasonably ranged 2 attack missle weapon along with an ok melee profile. Don't forget they get all the durability buffs that come with MON so they are tougher than they appear at first glance. Rules wise their unit leader comes with an extra wound and they have a special ability in that every time a disease point is given from an attack or ability from this unit, all enemy units within 3" of the effected unit also receive a disease point. Making them an effective way to max up disease points on a tightly packed opponent. Don't hold a candle to Blightkings in melee but provide a cheaper alternative to them while also providing a surprising amount of shooting.

Other Units

• Chaos Warriors: (STD Min5 100pts) Big changes have come with the latest iteration of Nugle armies. Biggest change being quite a few (like more than 90%) of your army abilities, spells and enhancments now work off the Maggotkin of Nurgle keyword in stead of just Nurgle. Meaning gone are the days of Fleshy Abundance or Blades of putrifaction. Now if you are brining Chaos Warriors it is because they actually do something innately that you want. Basically all they really provide is a cheaper anvil to bash your opponents on. But keep in mind they lack the keywords to key the army wide ward save and their save rerolls is now just a +1 to saves. So even as an anvil they took some licks. In this army best use for them is cheapish backfield objective holders. Because they do nothing that Blightkings can't already do better.

• Chaos Marauders: (STD Min20 160pts.) Same as Chaos Warriors, they can be included but beyond whatever the Nurgle keyword gets you they really get almost no buffs from this army really. No more Fleshy Abundance or BOP to buff up there atttacks. And they have even more crucially lost the run+charge, meaning again the only use you have for these guys is whatever they are already bringing to the table. Namely they are cheap and can get a good charge off, so if you need some squads of cannon-fodder that are somewhat fast, here they are. As their speed can have use in an army that is now almost universally slow.

• Bile Troggoths: (Min:3 Max:12 180/540pts) While their vomit attack is short ranged (a fitting 7") it's perfect for melting through the armor of heavy infantry and cavalry as well as monsters, and can even help thin out infantry hordes in a pinch. All in all, these can deal a lot of damage very quickly, especially when getting buffed by a Chaos Sorcerer Lord, but their overall reliance on having a babysitter along really hurts them. Also, it doesn't help that they cost a lot more points than Blightkings for a lot less oomph. But hey, at least they have Rend.

• Daemon Plague Toads of Nurgle: (Battleline in Tamurkhan’s Horde army Daemon Min:3 Max:12 120/400pts)) An odd little unit that's packing a weak and short-ranged shooting attack, a chance to generate more close combat attacks on the roll of a 6, 4 wounds each, and a special 4+ save against Mortal wounds. Crucially, they're also one of the faster units in the army, having a move of 7" as opposed to 5". They have some use as a tarpit, but if you've been reading this guide so far you know that packing a lot of wounds isn't a problem for you. They're also largely overshadowed by...

• Daemon Pox Riders of Nurgle: (Daemon Min:3 Max:12 200pts)Adding a Plaguebearer to a Plague Toad leaves them with FIVE wounds each, which already makes them superior to the above. When coupled with the same saves as above, the ability to re-roll saves of a 1 if wholly within 14" of a Nurgle Hero (Epedimius is good for this) and an additional-1 to hit modifier against shooting attacks directed at them, you pretty much have no reason to ever take Plague Toads unless you're using the Leaping Pox formation. Something worth considering is summoning 3 for 21 Contagion Points. The same applies for Plague Toads, but you'll never bother with that either unless you have no more Pox Rider models available. though strangely they do not have disgustingly resilience like all other nurgle daemons, instead they have a 4+ against mortal wounds same as the above unmounted toads.

• Chaos Chariots: (STD Min1, Max:3 120pts.) Pretty fast and uncharacteristic of Nurgle, since they always move 12" and once per game Run & Charge. Other than that, it's a chariot. They have a better chance to inflict more moral wounds the better the charge roll. No, you take these because for 120points, they give you 7 Wounds at a 4+ Save that are fast enough to tie enemy shooters up and tough enough to keep them tied up all game long. Also remember that, since they are used in units of one or more if you play them all as separate units, every Chariot gets an Exalted Charioteer.

• GoreBeast Chariots: (STD 150pts) a lot slower then a normal Chariot but inflicts Motal wounds to clumped up enemies and they replace the horse with a big monster that will deal more damage especially if you get an unmodified charge roll of 8+.

• Chaos Chosen: (STD Min5, Max:20, 140pts.) Warriors with +1 Ld and armed with Great Weapons, which is basically a Protector's Halberd without the cool special rules. What's so special about Chosen, then? If they kill at least one model in combat, all other Slaves to Darkness reroll To Wound until the end of the phase. This is pretty devastating and nowhere does it say that multiple Chosen squads can't affect each other with this. So a good way to look at Chosen is as a potential buffing unit with high damage potential. Do remember than they only buff Slaves To Darkness though, so unless you're going heavy on those and light on all other Nurgle goodies, maybe better skip them.

• Chaos Marauder Horsemen: (StD Min5, Max:30 90pts.) This unit is the speed and range that your Nurlge army severely lacks. They are a cheap, fast screening unit that will either very quickly cap objectives, or will keep your enemies on their toes with a 12" Javelin attack and can be used as a 2" melee weapon to jab between friendly models when they're in combat. This makes them extremely lethal if used properly, as they have a 24" threat range, and using Feigned Flight, they can Shoot AND Charge in the same turn in which they retreat. They also have access to Barbarian axes for more attacks or Barbarian Flails for better attacks, but in all honesty the utility of the ranged javelin is just far more practical for these guys. They also add 1 to hit when 10+ strong and with the Damned Icon's -1 bravery, making them a brutally effective screener (when used competently). Overall a good cheap cav that provides good speed and range, if pretty fragile by Nurgle army standards.

• Chaos Knights: (StD Min5, Max:20, 180pts.)These boys should be kept as an intercept unit for enemy cav, or for unprotected characters. As with all STD units they took a real nerf in this army since they barely interact with any of the special rules. What they bring to the equation is a reasonably fast heavy calvary, weapons wise they have ensorcelled weapons with three attacks base (which now finally have rend!) and a lance that does extra damage and rend on the charge. The leader can also take a cursed flail for additional hits but is pretty random. Overall ok, but it can be argued they don't really do anything Pusgoyle Blightlords couldn't do already. Still pretty good on the charge and the mortal wound protection isn't nothing, ultimately could have use as a slightly cheaper calvary option for quickly contesting objectives.
  • Side note: These guys can be good for a themed Nurgle army going for a Order of the Fly list with mass calavary.

• Varanguard: (Min:3, Max:12, 300pts) Supper Warriors lent out by Archaon. They are giant chaos knights with 5 wounds 3+ armour and ignore magic on a 5+, able to Fight twice once per game and get +1 to hit if you have Archaon. Each model can be armour with an Ensorcelled Weapon for consistency, Fellspear to overcome bigger Armour saves, or Daemonforged Blade can more inflict Damage and MW with good RNG. Again not much benefit from the allegiance abilities of the army proper, but if brought in with Archaon they can atleast get some nice bonuses. Though for the cost of the two who really don't benefit much from MON overall you might just be better of bringing the two in a Slaves to Darkness army.

• Plague Monks: (Pestilens, Min:10 85pts) The antithesis of the normal Nurgle style with a horde of suicidal Plague rats. But serve the army well as a cheap way of getting mass bodies on the table. Take pared blades for smaller units of 25 while Woe-staves let most of them hit in units of 40 and on the charge the unit does a surprising amount of damage. Plague Monks make up a cheap hammer after you get your holding Battline, especially if paired with a Plague Furnace. Now that you can only take them in 1 in 4 in the army best take maxed out squads to get the desired model count. Can't make them deal mortal wounds when dieing now but still one of Nurgles best answer to horde units.

• Plague Censer Bearers: (Pestilens Min:5 Max:20 60pts) Get an extra attack when charging, deal a mortal wound to every non-Clan Pestilence unit within 3" on a 4+ at the end of the combat phase (D3 on a 6), and can reroll hits and Battleshocks if they're within 18" from a Plague Monk unit. Basically, Censer Bearers on their own are nigh useless, but with proper support, they are even deadlier wound-per-wound than Plague Monks. The best use for these is swinging over the top of a line of Plague Monks. Yes, you won't be getting that charge bonus but these are too expensive point for point to be throwing away like, well, Plague Monks.

• Plague Ogors: (Battleline in Tamurkhan’s Horde army Daemon Min:3 Max:12 160/560pts) These guys want to be charging to get the most out of their abilities. They hit like a ton of bricks with their re-rolls on the charge, ability to deal out d3 Mortal Wounds enemies within 3", and surprisingly high bravery of 7. They can also ignore wounds that would kill them on a 5+, decent against hit taking a few lucky hits but unlikely to protect you for long against the average the hail of metal and Magic the average player would use. Only use these for flavor. Now that Blightkings have been buffed to 4 Wounds each, they're tougher, killier and have a smaller footprint than Plague Ogors for fewer points per model.

• Nurglings: (Daemon Min:3 Max:12 105pts) These things are interesting. Only a 6+ Save but made up with Disgustingly Resilient, they also heal every wounded model at the end of the turn making them surprisingly durable. Yes, the opponent either does 4 Wounds on them, or it was for naught. They also have 5 attacks with bad Hit and Wound rolls, but the real point of all those attacks is to get as many Disease points on the enemy as possible, so your really fishing for 6's. So, you have a unit that deals very little actual damage but is amazing at making the opponent dedicate unreasonable amounts of resources to removing them because shockingly, their 5" move makes them rather fast for Nurgle. They can also outflank, which means they can be a thorn in the opponent's side (and deployment zone) from turn 1. What's that? You get 3 contagion points if you have models in your opponent's territory? Oh dear, EVEN more incentive for your opponent to get rid of the little bastards, lest they drown you in contagion points and thus him in Gnarlmaws.

Beasts Of Chaos

• Gors: (Min:10 max:30 70/200pts)The first thing you notice is that Gors are pretty fast, pretty tough and not too killy to start out. gains +1 attack if the unit is +20 models. All in all, they're good. Either +4 melee save with shields or decently killy and still pretty survivable with two weapons. Though be advised that they painfully miss a spear-option, so while sizes of 20 to 30 are encouraged, never go beyond that, as you can never attack in two rows. Keep in mind Coaliation now, so will never technically count as battleine.

• Ungors: (Min:10 max:40 60/200pts) Weaker Save than Gors and weaker size bonuses. The other redeeming factor to these guys is the fact that they can take spears, which let them fight in more rows.
  • Nurgle already has good screening and objective sitters in the form of Plaguebearers, and Plague Monks fill the 2" range hammer horde role far better. I'd suggest skipping these. If you really want a goat horde for objective sitting, go with Gors instead. Count as coalition now, so will never be battleline, and lacking the proper keywords get virtually none of the defensive buffs. Is easily the most fragile of the infantry choices.

• Bestigors: (Min:10 max:30 120/300pts) Elite Gors in heavy armour. This unit got quite the fuckin buff in the new book and can easily put out a pretty scary amount of rend -1 wounds on the charge, especially if they are infantry (that will almost always have at least 10 models, if not they are going to die anyway to them) or ORDER units. Spells and command abilities can buff them even more, to the point of being overkill.
  • Unlike most Nurgle units, Bestigors have rend, making them a good choice against armies with good saves. While not being proper hammer units, Bestigors are great at clearing out the enemy screens and weaker infantry, so your Blightkings can focus on other enemy units. If you can handle the points, these are the guys you want to take to fill any remaining slots in the battalion. Gors and Ungors are outclassed by Plaguebearers. Best taken in units of 10 due to their base sizes.

• Bullgors: (Min:3 max:12 140pts) Get the same Bloodgreed rule as the Doombull, а weapon choice of great axes (2x 4+/3+/-2/3) or axe(s)(3x 4+/3+/-1/2) with the option of an additional axe to reroll hit rolls of 1, or bull shields which add +1 to the save rolls against attacks from melee weapons. These options are in addition to horn attacks made by each bullgor (2x 4+/4+/-/1). But the really interesting trait is their Drummer and Banner Bearer abilities: namely, they give +1 respectively to charge rolls and Bravery for each enemy unit within 12" from them. If you want to go full Warherd, take one unit of each and see which ones perform best, but if you take only one unit of them and a Doombull, you're going to want great axes.
  • Arguably the dual axes may be the better option for a higher chance of mortal wounds with the additional attack and rerolling 1's to hit. The loss of rend isn't that big of a deal as we have many ways of reducing saves already.
  • Other than that, they're fast, have more raw, balls-out power than almost anything in the game and have lots of Wounds. The high Wound-count combined with the meh Save also means that targeting them with Mortal Wounds will almost feel like a waste to your opponent, which might keep them safe longer.

• Dragon Ogors: (Min:3 Max:12 140pts) Five Wounds with a 4+ save, okay Bravery and scary weapons. Each has what is basically a Chaos Knight's horse bolted to it and in addition fights with a big weapon. You get either Ancient Weapons which are three Double-Hammer Liberators in one, Glaives which exchange 2 attacks with 1 more inch of range and a Rend of -1, or Crushers which only have 3 attacks, but with 2 damage each. Re-roll hit rolls of 1 if wholly within 12" of a Shaggoth.
• Glaives have an interesting use in that you can hide your dragon ogors behind your 25mm/32mm based guys (just in case may want 2 ranks of 25mm bases to have maximum distance). Enemies with 1" weapons won't be able to touch your DO, while the glaives let your DO wack enemies (though you do lose your claw attacks).

• Ungor Raiders: (Min:10 Max:40 80pts) Same as Ungors, but with bows instead of shields and a basic scouting rule. Don't think their bows are good, by the way, but the mass of shots really helps. Don't underestimate 30-40 strong ungor raider units. They can output a surprising amount of dakka (for Beasts anyways, they're not crossbow freeguild!). in a melee-centric and focused faction that can quickly get into melee, missiles will be taken out of you horde budget, can damage distant enemies while holding objectives.

• Centigors: (Min:5 Max:20 80pts) Light Brayherd cavalry unit that can Run and Charge. Fairly useless as the other player can lay down even light fire and wipe them out. Their good to at moving across the board, harassing, tieing down or grabbing an objective but not much else. Each turn you can decide to have them get drunk on beast piss to add +1 to their hit rolls but at the cost of your opponent getting +1 on them.

• Tuskgor Chariots: (Min:1 Max:4 60/200pts) It's a chariot. Aside from the fact that the model is painfully showing its age, it's actually damn good. Lots of Wounds, good Save, tons of attacks that are great on the charge and okay normally. Play three of them and make sure they have a Bray Shaman close to them in your first movement phase. Like Bestigors, its Despoiler Axe can re-roll 1s against Order units and add 1 to hit rolls if the unit has 10 or more units.

Behemoths

• Soul Grinder: (StD, Daemon, 210pts) Ever wanted a beast that can throw ranged shots AND be great in melee? This daemon might be for you. Same price as a Daemon Prince but with less special abilities. It makes up for it by giving you a boatload of attacks for very good damage. Two ranged attack profiles, one at 20" and six at 16", the 20" does flat 3 damage the rest do 1 damage. CC has six attacks for 1 damage each, 1 attack -2 Rend for D6 damage, and either: two attacks -2 Rend flat 3 damage, OR 4 attacks -1 Rend D3 damage. Big, ugly, and killy, he fills the hammer role. The biggest downside for it is the most 4+ to hit. And since it is a Daemon, it can't benefit from CSL Demonic Power spell or the Warshrine. But at 16 wounds and a 4+ save, you can probably find a spot in the army. Plague Drones and Great Unclean Ones do good damage, but this guy will run roughshod through units and put out good ranged shooting simultaneously. Bonus points if you manage to hit him with Stream of Corruption from a Great Unclean One and heal him while the opponent cries.

• Chaos Warshrine: (StD, Priest, 170pts) Yes, the Warshrine does not count as a War Machine. If you play with caps on Heroes, Monsters and War Machines, this is a huge advantage. What it does is pretty cool, too. First, it has an Aura that grants Mortal units (almost everything Chaos that isn't a Skaven or a Daemon) an additional 6+ save after their normal save. It can also pray for buffs to Mortal units. God. The favor of Nurgle allows to reroll 1s To Wound, but if the unit it's used on is Nurgle, you can instead re-roll all failed To Wound rolls. Also of note is the fact that this thing can easily hold its own in combat with a monster-like profile and a bunch of strong attacks. Awful Rend, yes, but they plow through low armor tarpits like nobody's business.

• Gigantic Chaos Spawn: ()A strong but unreliable monster burdened with random movement, random attacks, and regeneration. He can put out a fair amount of damage with a mix of its tongues and maws, and has 12 wounds and has a good chance to regenerate and possibly gain more wounds each turn. It's worth remembering that he can be given any Chaos God as a keyword, which opens up amusing possibilities like running a Khornate Spawn alongside a Bloodsecrator.

• Chaos War Mammoth: (StD, 320pts)This monster has 22 wounds and a 4+ save! All of his attacks cause at least D3 wounds, making it an exceptional monster-killer when at full strength. Its real strength lies in supporting a Marauder charge, however - as well as imposing -2 to any Battleshock tests to any unfortunate unit that gets charged, the Mammoth can also help Marauder or Marauder Horsemen get in a little extra movement and increase their damage output in combat. Wounding and even killing this thing just makes it cause more damage. If you're playing with a big Chaos horde then there's no finer feeling than running this guy into the enemy's biggest and toughest-looking infantry blob, although expect a few dirty looks for doing so. Keep in mind that he doesn't like magic missiles or war machine fire, however.

Beasts Of Chaos

• Cygor: (140pts) Can unbind two spells in each Hero Phase: If he manages to do it, he deals a mortal wound to the caster healing a wound for himself. He can also reroll hit rolls when attacking wizards, which he really really needs, having Hit rolls of 4+ across the board. Two of them can add some okay shooting, but the fact that the damage table influences his range makes him unreliable at best.

• Ghorgon: (160pts) Same Blood Frenzy as Doombull and Bullgors, but deals d3 mortal wounds on an unmodified 6. Also, he can slay a specific model within 1" after he makes all his attack if he rolls a dice equal or greater than its wounds characteristic, do remember that it's a model so you can chomp on any leader or musician you can get your grubby hands on. This thing is your sledgehammer, with insanely strong attacks, but very slow for a monster. If you manage the charge and a Doombull is nearby, this thing can rip apart whole units, otherwise, it will stop cannonballs with its face for two turns and then die.

Warmachine

• Plagueclaw Catapult: (160pts)It's an indirect firing war machine. You know those. They have a nice range and can stand waaay back. Brutal against big hordes, lame against Monster/Heroes, and subtracts 1 from the target bravery. An average war machine when used to it's fullest potential, and a terrible one when not.

Scenery

• Feculent Gnarlmaw: The cornerstone of your army. No, not really, this isn't Sylvaneth. While these creepy trees are useful, they are by no means mandatory. You set one up in your territory at the begining of the game (2 if using Befouling Host) and they count as Impassable (can't move a model over them unless they can fly, etc). They no longer allow run and charge anymore and can never be set up within 3" of an objective or within 7" of another Gnarlmaw. Now this might sound weird until you here their other ability. All Feculent Gnarlmaw count as friendly Maggotkin of Nurgle units for the purposes of spreading Diseased points during the battle. So any units that get within 3" of them in movement or combat phase will recieve a Disease token. In addition you you get 1 contagion point for each Feculent Gnarlmaw on the table that has no enemy models within 3" of it. One last thing to keep in mind if one them is ever effected by an ability that makes it so they can't use their scenery rules anymore the terrain piece is removed from the table, not just treated as regular terrain (agian might sound strange, but nurgle has battle traits that revolve around these things being on the table, so it is good for bookkeeping).
  • Reminder: These things no longer give d3 contagion points ever now. So if your going for a summoning army, you will either have to summon a lot of them or get creative when generating contagion points to make up the difference.

Battalions

Due to how Battalions are now universal, expect see the whole lot of this on the trash bin outside of narrative games. Bonus rules, traits and doodads are going to be likely added to the faction rules as default.

Blight Cyst (Found in Chaos Battletome - "Maggotkin of Nurgle" - 140pts min. 700pt., max. 4120pt.)

A Lord of Blights takes 3 units of Blight Kings, up to 6 max. May take a Harbinger of Decay and 0 to 1 sorcerer.

Blight Kings gain Rend -1, all Blight Kings within 3" of your Lord of Blight can shoot his death heads (instead of the default single unit), and nobody benefits from being in cover from attacks made by this Battalion. This is the bread and butter of a Nurgle Mortal Army. Blight Kings are fun on their own, but with the addition of rend on all of their attacks, the Blight Kings become a pretty nasty opponent for anything that likes to wear armor. Especially potent if your Lord of Blights takes the artifact Rustfang which permanently reduces a target unit's Save by -1 for the rest of the game, and it can be used twice per turn (at the beginning of YOUR and YOUR OPPONENT'S combat phase). If you take a Sorcerer with Cloying Quagmire, this becomes a ferocious anti-armor battalion, and will munch the everloving shit out of Stormcast.

Plague Cyst (Found in Chaos Battletome: "Maggotkin of Nurgle", 140pts min. 840pt., max. 4120pt.)

A Lord of Plagues takes 3 Units of Blight Kings, up to 6 max. May take a Harbinger of Decay and 0 to 1 Sorcerer.

Units from the battalion (i.e Blightkings) reroll failed to hit rolls rather than the vanilla reroll 1s to hit from the Wanton Slaughter ability from the Lord of Plagues, they still have to be within range to use this though. In addition, they dish out D3 mortal wounds to every enemy unit within 3" of them on a 6+. If you plan on taking some big 'ol blobs of Blight Kings and making this battalion a 2000pt army on its own, it becomes the AoS Equivalent of spamming Terminators in 40k. The rerolling all failed hit rolls is kinda a big deal, as you're squeezing out every drop of effectiveness from your rendless Blight Kings who are relying purely on their bulk damage and exploding 6s. Rerolling failed hits also gives you more chances for exploding 6s. A unit of 5 Blight Kings is usually getting 20-25 attacks per turn factoring in exploding sixes. This "reroll all failed hits" ability has been able to squeeze this to 30+, which is double their base attacks value of 15. This is a very lethal tactic for facing down horde armies with very weak armor saves.

Affliction Cyst (Found in Chaos Battletome: "Maggotkin of Nurgle", 140pts min. 1100pt., max. 8360pt.)

A Lord of Affliction takes 3 Units of Blight Lords, up to 6 max.

The command ability of the Lord applies to all units in this battalion, not just one, and you can deep strike as many units you want from this battalion and have to set them up at the end of your first movement phase more than 9 inches from an enemy unit. Unless your planning on building your army around Blight Lords this really ain't worth it, since one half of the benefits require the Lord of Affliction to be your general which is only useful if you build your army around the bug knights.

Blightguard (Found in Grand Alliance: Chaos - -pts min. 1020pt., max. 3080pt.)

A Lord of Plagues and a Rotbringers Sorcerer take 4 units of Putrid Blightkings.

Everyone can reroll every 1 to wound and gets a permanent -1 to hit (shooting and combat) debuff to attackers. Note that the Rotbringer Sorcerer warscroll has been renamed to Sorcerer, which arguably falls foul of the FAQ'd 'unit name' requirement for battalions. (Anyone know if this is still legal in Matched Play?)

Blighted Warband (Found in "Realmgate Wars" - min. 940pt., max. 3100pt. Realmgate Wars Battalions are illegal in Matched Play)

A Lord of Plagues takes 4 units of Putrid Blightkings and 2 Chaos Spawn.

All enemies have a penalty to hit against these units, and have a chance to ignore (mortal wounds).

Torglug's Foulblessed (Found in "Balance of Power" - min. 640pt., max. 2260pt. Realmgate Wars Battalions are illegal in Matched Play)

A Lord of Plagues 3 units of Putrid Blightkings.

The Lord re-rolls to wound, and gains additional damage to his weapon, and heals an additional wound. The Blightkings get a minor bonus to save rolls if they are near the Lord, and are immune to Battleshock if within LoS.

Bloab's Swarmbrothers (Found in "Godbeasts" - min. pt., max. pt. Realmgate Wars Battalions are illegal in Matched Play)

Bloab Rotspawned takes some friends, meaning 2 units of Putrid Blightkings and 2 units of Plague Drones.

Bloab can choose to deflect damage onto his minions (on a 4+), and enemy units recieve a -1 to wound when near the battalion

Nurgle's Deluge (Found in "The Quest for Ghal Maraz" - min. 680pt., max. 1940pt. Realmgate Wars Battalions are illegal in Matched Play)

Morbidex Twiceborn, a unit of Blightkings and 3 units of Nurglings.

The nurglings can 'rain' onto the battlefield, and do damage in the shooting phase for each unit 'rained' unto the battlefield.

Nurgle´s Menagerie (Found in Chaos Battletome - "Maggotkin of Nurgle" - 180pts min. 720pt., max. 4660pt.)

Horticulous Slimux, 3 units of Beasts of Nurgle. You may also take between 0-3 units of any combination of Plague Drones, Beasts of Nurgle or Nurglings.

Horticulous Slimux can use his Cultivating the Garden of Nurgle ability in EACH of your hero phases instead of only once per battle. In addition, when he does so, the Feculent Gnarlmaw can be set up within 3" of any unit from this battalion instead of being set up within 3" of Horticolous Slimux. The enemy subtracts 1 from the Bravery characteristic while within 14" of 7 or more models from this battalion. This is a serious money-grabber battalion due to the number of trees you need to buy. However, it does generate a lot of contagion points, over a couple of turns, thus forcing you to buy EVEN more Daemons and Gnarlmaws. That said, it IS effective since Beasts are plenty of scary already and the trees can practically blanket the board by the end.

Thricefold Befoulment (Found in Chaos Battletome - "Maggotkin of Nurgle" - 60pts min. 1140pt., max. 1320pt.)

Three Great Unclean Ones of any type, including Rotigus and Exalted Great Unclean Ones.

Reroll hit rolls of one when within 14" of another unit in this battalion, and wound rolls of one when within 14" of two units from this battalion. In addition, Plague Wind does 2d3 wounds if cast within 7" of another model from this battalion, and 3d3 if cast within 7" of two models from this battalion. Expensive but powerful. Give Bileblade and Tome of a Thousand Poxes to whoever's on Plague Wind duty, if not to guarantee it then to stop the inevitable unbinding attempts. Note that this does not increase the healing this spell does.

Pestilent Throng (Found in Beast of Chaos 200pts, Min 470.pt. Max -pt.)

1-4 combination of Beastlord, Dragon ogor Shaggoth, Doombull, Great Bray Shaman; 3-7 combination of Bestigors, and Gors, Ungors, Ungor raiders; 0-7 combination of Bullgors Centigors, Dragon Ogors, or Tuskgor Chariots; 0-2 combination of Cygors or Ghorgons.

Give all units in this Battalion the Nurgle Keyword and when one of the Battalion units are destroyed, enemy units within 7" take a mortal wound on a 2+. Faster than most Nurgle Choices, Letting them Rush into melee faster to make use of use of Nurglish melee buffs and mortal wound abilities. Bullgors are a faster alternative to Plague Orgors.

Tallyband of Nurgle (160 pts, Min 790.pt. Max 7420 pt.)

0-1 GUO,1-3 heralds of Nurgle, 4-7 units of plague bearers or Plague drones, 0-3 of beasts of Nurgle or nurglings.

At the start of your hero phase, you heal 1 wound to each unit on the battlefield or resurrect D3 modells to plague bearers. In Addition, if the number of plague bearers and plague drones at the start of the battle is 7 you get a contagion point in each of your hero phases.

The Blessed Sons (40 pts, Min. pt. Max pt.)

1 Plague Cyst that includes a Sorcerer, Harbinger of Decay, and at least 4 Putrid Blight Kings; 0-6 additional warscroll battalions chosen among; Plague Cyst, Blight Cyst, Affliction Cyst.

Units in this battalion do not have to take battleshock tests while they have 7 or more models.

Reroll Save rolls of 1 for the battalion.

Plaguetouched Warband (Found in Slaves to Darkness 180pts, Min 900pts, Max -pts)

1 Mortal STD Nurgle Hero, 7 Mortal STD units with Mark of Nurgle.

Unmodified wound rolls of 6 on attacks targeting units from this Battalion result in the attacker taking 1 mortal wound. Also, in your hero phase, pick an enemy target within 1" of any unit in the battalion. On a 3+, that enemy unit takes D3 MW. This ability is great on large blocks of Chaos Marauders. Coupled with a Glottkin's unique spell to add 1 wound for a unit, and they become a defensive unit that also a tarpit and kicks back mortal wounds as they take damage.

Super Battalions

The Blessed Sons (Found in Chaos Battletome - "Maggotkin of Nurgle" 40pts min. 1460pts.; Max. none.)

One Plague Cyst with that includes a Sorcerer, Harbinger of Decay and at least 4 units of Blight Kings. Can include up to 6 of any of the cyst battalions and any Rotbringer unit you want on top of that, no limit.

While a unit has 7 or more models, it does not have to take battleshock tests and re-roll save rolls of 1 for models in this battalion. If your taking a Blight Cyst with all the fixings anyway, this can help a rather decent amount as the re-rolls can save a decent helping of wounds keep models alive to be healed by a myriad of sources. The battleshock part doesn't help at all really since you already have high bravery and most likely won't lose enough models to be able of losing anyone to it unless the unit is focused on everything the enemy has.

The Munificent Wanderers Found in Chaos Battletome: - "Maggotkin of Nurgle" 180pts min. 2020.; max. none.

One Great Unclean One designated Thrombolhox the Giving and 2 Tallybands of Nurgle. Can include up to 5 additional Tallybands and any other Nurgle Daemon you want on top of that, no limit.

During the Rampant Disease stage of the Cycle of Corruption enemy units within 14 inches of a unit from this battalion suffer d6 mortal wounds. If Thrombolhox the Giving is on the field, d6 enemy units are afflicted by the Rampant Disease that d3. If your taking This much anyway, its not too much of a price to pay and you can tack on a lot of mortal wounds, especially if you can keep yourself on the Rampant Disease stage through Foul Regenesis, but you'll need to put the stage to the one before Rampant Disease as the wounds happen then and by the time spellcasting starts its already passed.

Army Building

Buying tips

Chaos Daemons should be among the easier and cheaper armies to collect, thanks to the Start Collecting! kits. Those boxes have everything you could possibly want except for their Greater Daemons (a fair and valid business method) and surely you will never want to buy the kits that those contain ever again when you can get two or more kits with nifty discounts.

You can also add the fact they are not extremely diverse like other factions, they have simpler color schemes (damn, just paint them green or bone and add some dark shades and you're ready to go), and are miniatures perfectly compatible with 40K.

For Nurglesque Daemons, you get a unit of 10 Plaguebearers, 3 Plague Drones, 3 Nurglings, and a Herald. All of this for £55 (or your local equivalent) per box, saving £28.50 in the process. Just buy as many SC! kits as you require and the big fat heroes you want. Done.

Maggotkin also got a pretty competent SC! kit with a Lord of Blights, two Pusgoyles and 5 Blightking. You should buy multiples of these whenever you want to expand: the three kits here are all pretty expensive on their own, so this kits is now pretty much mandatory.

Allied Armies

• Slaves to Darkness: As of the 3.0 Errata, this is the easiest army to ally in, with your ability to effectively make half your army a bunch of marked marauders and barbarians without sacrificing anything.
• Beasts of Chaos: The 3.0 Errata also allows you to ally with Beastmen to an extent, though not to the same intensity.
• Skaven - Clans Pestilens:
• One-Eyed Grunnok: A Warstomper Mega-Gargant available to all Chaos factions. Recruit a your own monstrous centerpiece at the cost of your entire allied points allowance. He’s a best used right in the heat of combat where he can throw enemies at each other and disrupt enemy formations. Re-rolls jump attacks of 1, plus enemies get -1 to hits on previous jump attacks of 6.

Age of Sigmar Tactics Articles
General Tactics	Tactics Realm Of Battle Malign Sorcery Path to Glory Skirmish
Order	Cities of Sigmar Daughters of Khaine Fyreslayers Idoneth Deepkin Kharadron Overlords Lumineth Realm-Lords Seraphon Stormcast Eternals Sylvaneth
Chaos	Beasts Of Chaos Blades of Khorne Disciples of Tzeentch Hedonites of Slaanesh Maggotkin of Nurgle Skaven Slaves to Darkness
Death	Flesh-Eater Courts Nighthaunt Ossiarch Bonereapers Soulblight Gravelords
Destruction	Gloomspite Gitz Ogor Mawtribes Orruk Warclans Sons of Behemat
Others	Monstrous Arcanum Legends Old Rules