Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Chaos Daemons (section)

===<span style="color:#387439;">Daemons of Nurgle</span>===
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The Daemons of Nurgle are surrounded by an aura of pestilence and disease that infects all nearby, and their talons and blades drip with thrice-ripened plagues. The merest touch of such a weapon in the presence of such a creature can cause a mortal to wither and die in seconds.

The big synergy winners this edition. They lack widespread weapons with good AP but high toughness and Disgustingly Resilient will make these units your tanks and tarpits. They are not particularly accurate but can dish out multi-damage attacks with fitting buffs and some hot rolling. However, they will have trouble with armored targets and when facing off against multi-damage attacks (Remember that Disgustingly Resilient triggers per wound lost, not per save failed). Finally, they will struggle to catch fast-moving enemies unless you build to counter that.<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

'''Daemonic Loci: Locus of Virulence:''' {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle}} All friendly Nurgle units within 6" deal 1 additional damage on a wound roll of 6+.
*Won't help against GEQ, but against Primaris, TEQ, monsters, and vehicles, the extra damage is helpful. 

====<span style="color:#387439;">Warlord Traits</span>====
#'''Blessed with Corpulence:''' +1 Wound. Simple adding additional rolls before your enemy can snipe your leader.
#'''Acidic Ichor:''' If your warlord takes a wound in melee, the unit that inflicted the wound takes a mortal wound on a 4+ at the end of the Fight phase. Horticulous Slimux gets this.
#'''Plaguefly Hive:''' -1 to hit your warlord if the attacking unit is within 7".
#'''Virulent Touch:''' +1 to all to wound rolls in the fight phase unless targeting a vehicle. Epidemius gets this.
#'''Impenetrable Hide:''' 4+ armor save. This means that your warlord can now really reap the benefit from cover. Remember that Great Unclean Ones can't get cover from Feculent Gnarlmaws.
#'''Pestilent Miasma:''' Roll a dice for each enemy unit within 1" at the start of your turn. on a 4+, they suffer a mortal wound. Rotigus gets this.

====<span style="color:#387439;">Stratagems</span>====
*'''Plague Banner (1CP):''' Upgrade to a single Daemonic Icon carried by a {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle}} model. Once per battle, all the Plagueswords in the unit with the Plague Banner become D2 instead of D1.
**NOTE: the upgrade happens before the game starts so remember to keep your banner bearer safe since your opponent will know its coming.
**combo with Locus of Virulence and Virulent Blessing for a Plaguebearer to deal 6 damage on unmodified 6s to wound. Still need ways to circumvent Armour saves but can quickly kill monsters. 
*'''Revolting Regeneration (2CP):''' use at the end of your movement phase. A {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle}} {{W40kKeyword|Daemon}} unit  regains d3 wounds or regains 1 slain model if none are wounded. regained models are at 1 wound but can be healed by powers and other effects.
*'''Locus of Fecundity (2CP):''' Pick a {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle}} character at the beginning of any phase; reroll all Disgustingly Resilient rolls of 1 for daemons within 6". This increases your 33.33% chance of shrugging off a wound to 38%. For 2 CP, it's not much effect for a big cost.
*'''Exalted Great Unclean One <sup>Engine War</sup>(1CP):''' Makes Greater daemons worth playing and Adaptable. Before battle A {{W40kKeyword|Greater Unclean One}} becomes {{W40kKeyword|Exalted}} and can pick one of 6 additional abilities or randomly gain 2. Unfortunately multiple Exalted daemons can only gain the same ability if rolled for. 
*#'''Bloated with Corruption:''' become T8. The common Bolters now only wound on 6+. 
*#'''Revoltingly Resilient:''' +1 to Disgustingly Resilient rolls. Going to FNP 4++. Extra resilient.
*#'''Avalanche of Rotten Flesh:''' +1 to charge rolls and Crushing Bulk inflicts D3 MW on a 2+. Get blob to move faster, combos with a feculent gnarlmaw.
*#'''Living Plague:''' when attacking with a melee weapon while your Strength is least double targets toughness, you score double the hits. Going melee? You're going to kill most infantry.
*#'''Gift of Bountiful Vomit:''' has a 12" shooting phase ability to inflict an MW for each roll of 3+ for each model (max of 7) in one unit.
*#'''Hideous Visage:''' -1 LD for enemies within 12", and -2 if within 6". If you can speed in, chase away those terminators.
*'''Rust And Decay <sup>Engine War</sup>(1 CP):''' Use in the fight phase. Select a {{W40kKeyword|Plaguebearer Infantry}} unit. They auto hit and wound on an unmodified hit of 6. 
*'''Putrid Demise <sup>Engine War</sup>(1 CP):''' When a {{W40kKeyword|Plaguebearer Cavalry}} model dies, roll for each unit (except Nurgle) within 6". On 2+, they suffer 1 MW.
*'''Acidic Slobber <sup>Engine War</sup>(1 CP):''' Until the end of the fight phase, a {{W40kKeyword|Beast of Nurgle}} unit inflicts an additional MW on a wound roll of 6.
*'''Nurgling Infestation <sup>Engine War</sup>(1 CP):''' Use this Stratagem at the end of any phase except the Morale phase. Select one {{W40kKeyword|NURGLING}} unit from your army. Roll one D6 for each model in that unit that was destroyed that phase. For each roll of 5+, return one destroyed model to that unit with all of its wounds remaining, placing them in unit coherency. If they cannot be placed, they are not returned.

====<span style="color:#387439;">Relics</span>====
*'''Horn of Nurgle's Rot:''' {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle}} models only. Every time the bearer kills an enemy model in melee, roll a D6: on a 4+ you can add a model to a friendly {{W40kKeyword|Plaguebearer}} unit within 7". Pairs well with an offensive unit like a daemon prince (hiding in a plaguebearers unit).
*'''Entropic Knell:''' {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle}} models only. enemies within 7" get -1 to their leadership.
*'''Corruption:''' {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle}} models only. replaces a Plaguesword, Bilesword, Balesword, or Hellforged Sword. melee, str +2, AP -3, d3 damage, reroll all failed to wound rolls.

'''Arfifact of Decay'''
if Warlord is Nurgle Daemon, can give the following to a {{W40kKeyword|Exalted Great Unclean one}}.
*'''Effluvior:''' Upgrade Plague Flail to Assault 6 and S+1. Now able to rout infantry with his assault pistol whip.
*'''The endless Gift:''' heal a lost wound at end of each phase he lost one.
*'''Tome of a Thousand Poxes:''' Know another power from Nurgle Discipline.

====<span style="color:#387439;">HQ</span>====
=====<span style="color:#387439;">General</span>=====
*'''Great Unclean One:''' This fat bastard's an incredibly resilient model, with 18 wounds and the Disgustingly Resilient special rule but somehow still only T7 (On average can take 25 las cannon shots at BS3 without using stratagems or psychic buff). For melee builds He gets a plagueflail (which he can shoot into close combat with) which is S:User AP-3 and does 2 damage that carries over should an enemy model be slain, and a Bilesword which is an S+1 Power Sword that does D6 damage. the Bileblade and the Doomsday Bell. You have to choose one between the Bilesword and the Doomsday bell and one between the Plagueflail and the Bileblade; pick whichever will best fit that GUO's role (e.g. the Bilesword and Plagueflail for a melee monster, or the Bileblade and Doomsday Bell for summoning and psychic support). He can cast 2 powers and deny 1 power and knows Smite plus two Nurgle discipline powers. However, he only gives Nurgle Daemons the ability to use his (fairly high) leadership for Morale tests. Disgustingly strong in melee for his points, especially since he inflicts a mortal wound on a 4+ when charging. Getting him there can be a problem, so consider splurging on the Deep Strike stratagem to minimize the risks of footslogging. Not bad but best to deepstrike because his mobility is painful at a reduced profile.
**Hilariously the Doomsday Bell's ability to revive friendly Nurgle Daemons work with the Myphitic Blight-Haulers from the Deathguard Codex as they are both Nurgle Daemons (as per page 175 of the Main Rule Book) and come in units of up to 3. This means you can revive what is essentially a dreadnought with a multi-melta and a missile launcher on a 4+
*'''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>=====
*'''Rotigus the Rainfather:''' To make up for the [[fail|absence]] of 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, sadly he can't shoot into melee like a Plagueflail. 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. 

*'''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''': The Forgeworld Character series Daemon Prince.  He's significantly tougher than a Daemon Prince of Nurgle at 12 wounds, T8, and a disgustingly resilient roll of 4+ against dmg 1 weapons.  Unfortunately, he loses his 3+ armor and because he's over 10 wounds he also loses his character protection.  He causes a -1 to enemy psykers when they take their test, but isn't a psyker himself.  His base speed of 7" makes him slower, but he ignores any penalties to charge ranges because of terrain.  He's a mixed bag in CC.  He does cause a mortal wound on a 2+ if he charges.  Having 5 base attacks is good and the gaping maw weapon is -3AP with 3dmg and, most importantly, a to-hit roll of 6 causes 3 hits.  If you take the Virulent touch warlord trait for +1 to wound and cast Virulent blessing for another +1 to wound and furthermore any roll of 5+ will cause 6 dmg, 7dmg if you have the Nurgle Loci.  Unfortunately, with the only S6, 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, WS, and attacks so he quickly becomes useless.  He also gives out no aura buffs whatsoever (unless you're going for summoning, for which he grants rerolls to all friendly summoning units within 9").  Clocking in at 230pts he's not going to be able to get enough done on his own to justify the investment.

*'''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.

====<span style="color:#387439;">Troops</span>====
*'''Plaguebearers of Nurgle''' Slow but tough and ok in melee with their re-rolls to wound. If you want to hold the line, they are the right choice. In packs of 20 (so get 30 to keep the bonus for a while) enemies have to subtract 1 from their attack rolls. Unfortunately, they lost the rusty sword abilities to auto-glance vehicles or poison monsters and for that old shrouded rule they need to be 20 or more but still cost defacto the same - somewhat a downgrade but we got the FNP for that. Two or three blobs of 30 can flood the field and can be surprisingly (disgustingly) resilient and soak up a lot of fire and damage. When combined with a Poxbringer and a Spoilpox Scrivener they can get a fair punch against tougher Infantry units in melee, hold objectives pretty well with numbers, or bind some annoying ranged units.
**Here's where some of that sweet, sweet synergy comes in.  Combine the Locus of Virulence (+1 damage if your wound roll is 6+), the Plague Banner (one-time pop to make plagueswords do 2 damage for one turn), the Virulent Blessing power (+1 to wound rolls, and if you roll 7+ to wound, you do double damage), and the Scrivener (Plaguebearers get +1 to hit, and a hit roll of 7+ lets them make an extra attack).  What do you get?  A combat phase in which plagueswords are 2 damage base, on a wound roll of 5 each plaguesword does 3 damage, on a wound roll of 6 each plaguesword does '''5 damage''', and if the hit roll is 6, each Plaguebearer makes another attack!  And remember, plagueswords let you re-roll failed wound rolls automatically.  This isn't even considering Epidemius' Tally shenanigans or the hit buff from a nearby Daemon Prince.  Fucking drown your opponent in wounds! Add a Poxbringer and they will wound MEQ's on 2+.
***Realistically you want to target big multi-wound stuff like vehicles, Knights, etc. with this, since the bonus damage is wasted on single-wound opponents (and larger-based targets let you get more Plaguebearers in close to swing). If you're targeting a vehicle with this one-turn damage extravaganza, coordinate the fight phase with a Plague Hulk. The Rusting Curse will effectively give your Plaguebearers AP-1.
**Take 20+ Plaguebearers, buff them with Miasma of Pestilence and park them completely within 7" of a Feculent Gnarlmaw or two.  They'll have a 4+ cover save, and your opponent is at -2 to hit them.  These guys become some of the best objective-campers in the game, because they'll never, ever die.  Maybe keep a GUO with the doomsday bell nearby, so on the off-chance some do kick, you can bring one back each turn.    

*'''Nurglings:''' Now, who forgot these buggers? These little shits get to deploy 9" away from the enemy DEPLOYMENT ZONE, and then act normally. Yes, that's right. They can move and then charge after doing this. Combined with the Disgustingly resilient rule (which they only get against weapons with damage 1 and they are multi-wound models...), they can easily tie down a shooty unit, or force them to fall back and waste a turn, granting your footsloggers valuable time. Sloppity Bilepipers will give them more attacks for better tarpit functionality. In addition, these very cheap tarpits make a decent objective holder, a screen to protect your units from deep-strikers, and a sneaky way to prevent knights from falling back (they are neither infantry nor bike).

====<span style="color:#387439;">Elites</span>====
*'''Beasts of Nurgle''' - Those gross attention whores may look underwhelming at first but their abilities may make them worthwhile. They are pretty cheap at 34 points and can be taken in units of 9. They make D6 S4 AP0 D2 attacks each and reroll all wound rolls. They can also make Heroic Interventions like characters and if the enemy retreats from them they take a mortal wound on a 4+. With 5 wounds each and a 5++ combined with Disgustingly Resilient they will stick around quite a while. However the poor guy got its movement cut in half. Best used alongside Horticulous Slimux as a bodyguard, since they can intercept foes who might tie the Grand Cultivator up while gaining greater accuracy and rerollable charges in the process.

====<span style="color:#387439;">Fast Attack</span>====
*'''Plague Drones:''' Excellent. 4 Wounds at T5 with all the defensive trappings Nurgle Daemons enjoy anyway makes these insanely tough. Add to that the decent movement speed and the 4 damage 2 attacks each Fly dishes out and they become a force to be reckoned with. Can take a beating and nothing wants to be in melee with them. Their shooting sucks, but bad shooting is still better than no shooting whatsoever, right?

*'''Plague Toads of Nurgle (FORGEWORLD):''' Apparently these things can fly, which is curious. Their melee attacks are brutal, dealing S5 Ap-1 D3 and hits of 6 generate more hits; nice considering they only get 3 attacks that hit on a 4+. Also T5, W4 and get the 5+++ and a 7" bolt pistol that also hits on a 4+.

*'''Pox Riders of Nurgle (FORGEWORLD):'''  Hold up now.  With the new codex, these may be the most broken thing in the codex.  Five wounds, Toughness Five, Multi-damage profiles, fast movement, banners, instrument, and the ability to get to a -2 to hit above six models?  A full unit will tank 22 lascannon shots per MODEL with that.  That's 135 bolter shots.  That's 67 assault cannon shots.  (WITH SPACE MARINES!)  Against 4+ it's silly.  Against 5+ you are not getting hit! Now combine that with 3 S5 AP-1 D3 that generate extra attacks on sixes OR 5 S4 AP0 D1 that reroll wounds.  Now think about the locus bonuses, character re-rolls, stratagems, and psychic powers you can add on top of this. They also come with 60mm bases, which makes them a huge board control unit.  You can make a huge bubble to hide daemon princes.  The drawback?  $$$$$$ These cost a firstborn to purchase from forgeworld (£65 for 3).

====<span style="color:#387439;">Heavy Support</span>====
*'''Plague Hulk of Nurgle''' - Want a worse but tougher Defiler who doesn't heal himself? You found him! T8, 14W, 5++ and 5+ Disgusting Resilience. With S8 and "Rusting Curse" which lowers Vehicles saves within 1" by -1, he's going to punch the crap out of enemy armor. It can also be summoned, but with 12 PR it's not going to happen reliably. Rot Cannon is largely unchanged but with new stats, 36" Heavy D6, S6 AP-3 D2 and all wound against Infantry are rerolled (cool). Its vomit has morphed into something else altogether, 7" range, Pistol D6, S5 AP-2 D1 where all shots auto-hit... very cool! The Iron Claw remains largely unchanged, Sx2 AP-3 D6 (not -1 to hit rolls) with the Warpsword being potentially good now with User S, AP-3 and a flat 3 damage which also allows you re-rolls to hit (much better than last edition for sure!)... Most people will probably continue taking the claw. All around, the Plague Hulk is a great 8E choice.

====<span style="color:#387439;">Lord of War</span>====
*'''Scabeiathrax the Bloated:''' My oh-my is this guy one tough son of a bitch. At T9 with 22 wounds (which can be healed with the Nurgle Discipline), a 4+ Invulnerable save for being a Daemon Lord, and the Disgustingly Resilient special rule, you will need a crap ton of heavy fire power to put him down. And if he dies, on a 4+ a unit within D6" suffers D6 mortal wounds. His close combat abilities are not to be [[Nurgle|sneezed]] at either. He has Horrific Vomit, which is a 2d6 flamer at S6 AP-2 with Damage D3 that can be fired into close combat. Then, he has the Blade of Decay, a S+2 AP-4 sword that does a flat 6 damage. To round it all out, he gets D6 additional nurgling attacks at S2 AP0. He can cast 3 powers and deny three powers, and knows Smite plus two Nurgle powers. Finally, he lets Nurgle Daemons use his leadership within 6" of him. Oh, did I forget to mention he forces a -1 to hit modifier on all friendly Nurgle Daemon units within 6"? Yeah, you want this guy. The only thing stopping you from taking him in every game is he's 777 points, and he's a LoW.
**Chapter Approved arbitrarily slapped Nurgle's lucky number on Scabby, because obviously he's worth much more than Mortarion rules-wise, right? Where he stands right now, he is horribly overpriced for a model that has a very small area of effect. Wait for the new Great unclean one rules and see if you can get a cheaper version that does many of the same things...
**If you're playing anything other than Matched, you still want him for one reason--between his normal -1 to hit aura, the Miasma of Pestilence power he can cast on himself, and the Plaguefly Hive Warlord Trait, enemies have a -3 to hit against him if they are within 7". The best close combat characters in the entire game will need 5s to hit him. And if they have a power fist or thunder hammer, anything with a WS worse than 2+ physically can't hit him without outside bonuses. This can also be a counter to the new ork codex hordes trying to drown your warlord in wounds. Even with a banner they're hitting on 5+.

====<span style="color:#387439;">Fortification</span>====
*'''Feculent Gnarlmaw:''' New Nurgle-themed scenery thing, which is treated as a terrain feature after it's set up. {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle Daemons}} within 7" can fall back or run and still be able to shoot and/or charge in the same turn, any {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle Daemon}} unit completely within 7" that is not a {{W40kKeyword|Vehicle}} or a {{W40kKeyword|Monster}} gets a +2 cover, {{W40kKeyword|Chaos Characters}} within 7" can reroll any dice when summoning {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle Daemons}} and at the beginning of each turn you have to roll a dice for each non-{{W40kKeyword|Nurgle}} unit within 3", dealing to each unit a mortal wound on a 4+ and D3 mortal wounds on a 6.
**Obliterators are {{W40kKeyword|Nurgle Daemons}}. Deploy them next to a Gnarlmaw to get a unit with a 2+ armor save that ignores the first two points of AP. They may not have Disgustingly Resilient, but they're still tough bastards that can spew out a lot of much-needed dakka.
**If you intend to summon Nurgle Daemons, take a Fortification Network with one of these. It'll help you summon said Daemons and will also give the summoned Daemons the standard Nurgle Detachment buffs once they're on the table.</div></div>