Age of Sigmar/Tactics/Legends/Tamurkhan's Horde

From out of the short-lived Warhammer Forge book range, here comes the horde of Tamurkhan to bring disease and despair in its wake! One of the two Forge World armies that have been given their own Warscroll collections, along with the Legion of Azgorh. While not recommended as a beginner army, a lot of these units can find their place in other Chaos forces, and they look damn nice...uhh...for Nurglites, anyway.

Tamurkhan's Horde Summary

Warscrolls can be found here: http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/resources/fw_site/fw_pdfs/aos_warscrolls/warhammer-aos-tamurkhans-horde.pdf

A big stompy army of Nurgle-tainted monsters using the expensive Forge World kits. While it lacks in unit variety and has virtually non-existent shooting, its units are either tough, deadly in close combat, resilient, or a mix of all three. Tamurkhan himself is reason enough to give it a shot - the list is probably best used alongside a mixture of Chaos Warriors and Daemons, which given its fluff is only fitting.

Tamurkhan's Horde Warscrolls

Forenote: The following section will be arranged with similar units and formations being grouped together for easier reading.

This is by no means a complete guide. Also due to the relatively recent release of Age of Sigmar, most of this is based on theory. Take everything with a grain of salt.

Named characters

Tamurkhan the Maggot Lord: 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 take control of their dead body 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 buffs the many monsters of his Horde he's also well-suited for grinding through infantry, so plonk him into the centre 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: Tamurkhan's second in command. 7" move, 7 HP, 7 bravery...I think I see a pattern...this chap needs to get into combat against the biggest monsters your enemy has to do his job, which is mainly dealing out mortal wound. Best ran alongside a few units of Pox Riders or (even better) Nurgle Chaos Knights for cover - although he does have a special 5+ save against shooting to get him where he needs to be, so also consider using him as an archer or wizard hunter. His Command Ability is a slightly buffed version of Inspiring Presence that only works on Tamurkhan's Horde unit, so consider making either the chap above or below your general instead.

Sayl the Faithless: A nice wizard. Only casting one spell a turn is disappointing, but his special Traitor's Mist spell makes up for it, giving one friendly unit within 10" a move of 18" and the ability to fly until your next hero phase for a casting value of just six. This is just as horrendous and hilarious as it sounds, especially if used on a big mob of Nurgle Chosen or Plague Ogres to help them cross the distance to the enemy quicker. Can also deal D3 mortal wounds once per game to a unit within 8", which can be handy for picking off wounded heroes or forcing battleshock, and can also choose to unbind or cast a spell using 3D6 rather than 2D6 once per game - save this for when Traitor's Mist can be put to best use. Finally, if Nightmaw is around (less than 3" away) Sayl can redirect his wounds on him/her/it on a 4+. Bear in mind however that he doesn't have a unique Command Ability, and is also one of the few non-Nurgle units in this list, so be careful of his positioning if you're using units that deal damage in an 'aura' (such as those in the Leaping Pox battalion).

Nightmaw: Sayl's pet is a cute little hellspawn devoted to his master. 6HP, a 4+ save (increased to 3+ against spell and shoot) and a special 5+ save against mortal wounds, as well as healing himself 1 wound per turn, makes him a competent enough distraction. He is capable of tying up and slowly making his way through a basic infantry unit, but he should only really be considered to tank wounds for Sayl. Like his master, he is also not a Nurgle unit.

Troops

Plague Ogres: Probably the closest thing you have to a 'troops' unit, which should give you a pretty clear indication of what this army is all about. 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 Mortal Wounds to non-Nurgle units within 3", and surprisingly high bravery of 7. The downside comes in the form of their weapons, which only have a 1' range. This can make them vulnerable to spear-armed units and charging cavalry with lances, so even though they can come back from the dead on a 6+ picking your fights is going to be important. A unit of six or seven of them paired with Sayl is perfect, since his Traitor's Mist ability helps nullify their weak movement of only 5" and gets theme exactly where they need to be. Make sure to keep him out of Mortal Wound-range, however.

'Bile Trolls: Remember how I said this army has nearly no shooting? These handsome devils are the exception. While their vomit attack is short ranged (a fitting 7") it's perfect for melting through the armour of heavy infantry and cavalry as well as monsters, and can even help thin out infantry hordes in a pinch. They also have force -1 Bravery to any non-Nurgle unit within 3", which is fantastic when combined with a good turn of vomiting. With their ability to re-knit D3 wounds a turn these guys would be generally superior to Ogres, except for one factor - if a Nurgle hero isn't within 14" of them at the start of your hero phase, there's a chance they'll lock up and be unable to move. For a unit that can only waddle 5" a turn anyway and only has a 5+ save god emend it against concentrated shooting, this is not a great situation to be in, so if/when you take them make sure they're babysat. Tamurkhan himself is good of this, although amusingly enemy Nurgle heroes will also let them act freely. They benefit from being paired with Sayl in the same manner as Ogres.

Note: you can save money by converting these two units from GW's plastic Ogre/River Troll kits, some green stuff, some Chaos bits, and a suitably sick imagination.

Plague Toads: 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 wounds after their usual 5+. 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: 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 a Nurgle Hero is within 7" (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 that Chaos Wizards of any allegiance can summon one on a 6 or more one appears, or 3 on an 11 or more. The same applies for Plague Toads, but you'll never bother with that either unless you have no more Pox Rider models available.

Monsters

Gigantic Chaos Spawn:Strong but unreliable( random movement, random attacks, random mutations each turn). Some of the random mutations are very strong(full healing and re-rolls for one turn, unbinding like a wizard) but the effects only last for one turn(except for lost/healed) wounds

Chaos War Mammoth:This monster has 22 wounds!It has a 5+ save with re-roll against weapons with the rending characteristic -. His attacks all cause 1d3 wounds, so NEVER attack it with another monster unless you're sure of winning.Don't forget it causes a -2 penalty to battleshock test in the turn it charges.

Formations

• Sons of the Maggot Lord: A great formation composed of Tamurkhan, Kayzk, two units of Plague Ogres, one unit of Plague Trolls and a Gigantic Chaos Spawn. Enemies have a -1 to hit units in the battalion with ranged attacks, which helps make them even more ridiculously survivable. They also add 1 to their charge rolls which is a nice bonus to have. If you're building an army made of majority Horde-units then this is the battalion to build towards, although FW prices leave it getting expensive quickly. Curiously, Sayl isn't included.

• The Leaping Pox: This formation consists of three units of Pox Riders and two units of Plague Toads. Their main draw is having a random chance to appear from any table edge from turn 2 onwards, as well as dealing out mortal wounds to non-Nurgle units close by. The ambushing capability forces your enemy to choose between dealing with them or the horde of rotting monsters heading their way, although even with their speed super-mobile or shooty armies like Wanderers of Duhardin can ruin their day. Also a good fit alongside a Nurgle Daemons cohort, who by and large tend to be rather sluggish.

External links

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