Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Chaos Daemons (section)

====<span style="color:#387439;">HQ</span>====
=====<span style="color:#387439;">General</span>=====
*'''[[Great Unclean One]]:''' This fat bastard's an incredibly resilient model, with 22 wounds and T9 with a 5+/4+ save .  He can cast 2 powers and deny 1 power and knows Smite plus two Warprot powers. Before accounting for any loadout choices, he also gets 7 Malefic Nurgling bites at S2 AP- and a 12" Assault d6 vomit stream at S5 AP-2 so it can potentially gnaw away at even marines and kin. Disgustingly strong in melee for his points, especially with the Crushing Bulk strat. Getting him there can be a problem, so consider starting him in reserves to minimize the risks of footslogging. Not bad but best to deepstrike because his mobility is painful at a reduced profile.
**For melee builds He gets a Plague Flail (which he can shoot into close combat with) which is S:User AP-3 and does 2 damage and a Bilesword which can switch between a direct S+1 AP-3 Dd6 that deals auto wounds on a natural 6 to hit and a crowd clearing S:User AP-3 sweep that doubles attacks.
**Alternatively, you also have the Bilevlade and Doomsday Bell. The Bileblade replaces the Plague Flail with a second melee weapon with AP-3 D2 that also lets you inflict MWs on the fatass for a +1 to casting. The Doomsday Bell sacrifices your Bilesword for a far less impressive S+1 AP-1 D2 whack that lets you raise a {{W40kKeyword|Plaguebearers Core}} model (d3 models for {{W40kKeyword|Infantry}}) to a unit within 12" each command phase. Taking these two together makes a far more support-focused greater daemon, but even taking the Bilesword and Bileblade can make for a serviceable battle psyker.
*'''[[Poxbringer]]''': The classic Herald of Nurgle, now with a new name to distinguish it from the other two Heralds. They took away his steed, but his balesword is AP-3 and can re-roll all failed wound rolls.  He is a psyker and can cast Smite or Stream of Corruption once he reaches melee. His bonus gives +1S, which is actually a big deal. Your plaguebearers wound Space Marines on 4+ with reroll and with the buff on 3+, even bikers on 4+. S5 is the sweet spot to wound T8 vehicles on 5+ instead of 6+ too so your plaguebearers become much more versatile.
*'''[[Sloppity Bilepiper]]''' New kind of Herald, gives +1 attack to GUOs and Nurglings within 6" and also allows them to run and charge in the same turn. Also, every {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle Daemon}} within 6" have to do Morale tests on 2D6 discarding the higher value, and the enemy within 6" failing a Morale test loses one model more than it should. Even if you don't plan on taking lots of Nurglings, the morale benefits alone are worth bringing this freakish jester along. Keep him protected, though. He doesn't have much in the way of direct combat ability.
*'''[[Spoilpox Scrivener]]''': Other new Herald that allows Plaguebearers within 6" of him to add +2" to their movement and +1 to their hit rolls. If the boost brings their roll result up to 7 (read: the buffed unit rolls a 6), they can attack again with the same weapon they used before. More attacks hitting and the chance for extra attacks mean more possibilities of an unsaved wound making it through, and the movement bonus doesn't hurt either while increasing your Plaguebearers hits by over 33%. In addition to the basic Herald plaguesword, he can also attack with his grotesque mouth (AP-1, but can only reroll wound rolls of 1) and disgusting sneezes (6", Pistol D3, S3 AP0 1 D, rerolls wound rolls of 1). Yes, he can kill things by sneezing on them.

=====<span style="color:#387439;">Named</span>=====
*'''[[Epidemius]]:''' Costs a bit more than a normal Herald and isn't a psyker (Smite!) but has quite a bit more punch and can take some more. But you want him for his army-wide buff (as always). Note that this time you have to destroy units, not models (because fielding 4x30 Boyz shouldn't have a downside)! Starting at 2 destroyed units by {{W40kKeyword|NURGLE DAEMONs}}, and it pumps up your offensive capabilities - defensive buffs start at 5 destroyed units. Sadly he misses the other +1S bonus of the normal Herald hence you should get both of them in a Nurgle themed army. If you don't like the old metal mini you can grab a disc of Tzeentch, spit on it, scratch it like a DJ, paint it green and glue a few nurglings and bells (from the plaguebearer kit) on it and then put a Herald of Nurgle on top.
*'''[[Cor'bax Utterblight]]<sup>Forge World</sup>''': The Forgeworld Character series Daemon Prince.  He's significantly tougher than a Daemon Prince of Nurgle at 12 wounds at T8, and a 4+ FNP against dmg 1 weapons. His base speed of 7" makes him slower.  He's a mixed bag in CC. Having 5 base attacks is good, and the gaping maw weapon is AP-3 with D3, and can instant-kill a model by beating their wound count in a D6.  If you take the Virulent touch warlord trait for +1 to wound and cast Virulent blessing for another +1 to wound. Furthermore, any roll of 5+ will cause 6 dmg.  Unfortunately, with the only S7, he's only good at taking on infantry, which means his high damage will largely be wasted unless you dedicate other units to buff him.  His profile degrades movement, S, and attacks, so he quickly becomes useless.  He also gives out no aura buffs whatsoever.  Clocking in at 180pts, he's not going to be able to get enough done on his own to justify the investment when you could've bought Mammon or even a plain DP for the same cost.
*'''[[Horticulous Slimux]]''': Ported over from [[Age of Sigmar]], Nurgle's Grand Cultivator retains his ability to make Beasts of Nurgle actually pretty decent, by way of giving to Beasts within 12" +1 to hit rolls, as well as allowing Beasts within 6" to reroll failed charges. Units that fall back within 1" of him take d3 mortal wounds on a 4+, and he's no slouch in melee either&mdash; he has a 4+ save that lets him rely less on the invulnerable save and Disgustingly Resilient, his lopping shears are a souped-up Balesword, and Mulch can add an extra S7 AP-4 3 D sucker punch to surprise more heavily armored opponents. 
**He can also create new Feculent Gnarlmaws within 3" of him at the end of his movement phase (if he didn't use Daemonic Ritual in the same turn), and a single {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle Daemon}} within 7" can heal a wound at the beginning of each your turn if any model died the turn before. A blob of allied Cultists will ensure that healing effect will trigger, even if your opponent doesn't use horde armies. 
**If you have the models (and spare 85 points per model), there's really no reason why Horticulous shouldn't keep planting a Feculent Gnarlmaw each turn.  They're damned useful, and it means that he'll constantly enjoy a 2+ cover save.
*'''[[Mamon Transfigured]]<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Named Daemon Prince and the bastard responsible for the entire mess at Vraks. Can't cast spells but allows re-rolling misses of 1 in the Fight Phase for {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle Daemons}}. Has two melee weapons, a kick that ''really'' excels at murdering high-wound infantry, 5 S7 Ap3 D3 melee attack, and a 12" Assult 2D3 S5 AP-2 D2 Flamer.
**The updates of 9E have dealt a bit of a blow to Mammon. While his aura remains able to buff more than mere {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle Daemon Core}} units, his having 9 wounds means that he's now just over the edge of what can comfortably hide behind a mob of lesser daemons or allied heretics. Add his plodding movement to that and...well, you just bought a walking bullseye to your range.
*'''[[Rotigus|Rotigus the Rainfather]]:''' To make up for the [[fail|absence]] of [[Ku'gath|Ku'gath Plaguefather]], we now have a new named Great Unclean One. His main melee weapon, the Gnarlrod, is essentially a Bilesword with worse AP but more reliable damage (3 damage instead of d6), but he has d6 extra Fanged Maw attacks that mean he's still better in melee than the standard GUO. His real best weapon is the Streams of Brackish Filth, essentially a 2d6 S7 AP-3 flamer that rerolls wounds, which he can now shoot in melee thanks to 9th edition rules. Every time you roll a 7+ on a psychic test, the closest enemy unit suffers a mortal wound after using whatever power you were casting. Unlike the Death Guard's Malignant Plaguecaster, this doesn't have any range specified, so you could technically do it from the other side of the board. At only five points more than a Bilesword Great Unclean One, knowing one more power than a basic GUO, and being able to deny one more power as well, you might as well take him.