Plaguebearer
Because nurglings weren't tall enough to hurt big things or smart enough to count diseases, Papa Nurgle decided to give his most well-behaved kids arms, legs, rusted swords and big brains for numbering sores, pustules and festering wounds. They sit at tables counting and naming all sorts of disgusting things and unlike most of Nurgle's daemons, they are somber and focused on their work, and even in battle they incessantly count the number of people they've killed. They represent the futility of mankind's obsession with bringing order from chaos. They document the gifts of Nurgle, and the constant droning chant of their findings inflicts the diseases described within the chant on all who hear it. Your average plaguebearer (judging from the models and artwork featuring them) is almost nine feet tall and looks like the corpse of a drowned human with almost skeletal limbs, two-toed feet (or three-toed feet), a horn (or three), and a single eye (or three, but only if arranged like Nurgle's symbol).
Uniquely among daemons, plaguebearers are formed from the souls of mortals, specifically, from the victims of Nurgle's Rot. As the victim grows physically sicker, his soul begins to decay as well, forming a monstrous pod-like structure in Nurgle's garden which breaks open to form a new plaguebearer as soon as the victim either accepts Nurgle's "gifts" or succumbs to the disease… whichever comes first.
The souls of mortals which survive the longest before finally giving into Nurgle's Rot go on to form the Heralds of Nurgle.
In 40k these guys were the second hardest thing to kill right behind Plague Marines, but in 7th edition changed them up a bit. They're not nearly as durable, but they're a lot cheaper, and gain shrouded, giving them staying power when in cover comparable to the old version. They still excel at holding objectives, especially those in cover (2+ cover save in ruins, without having to go to ground), but are otherwise a mixed bag. They are 9 point infantry that can literally kill ANYTHING in the game, but that doesn't change the fact that small groups of them struggle in combat against guardsmen.
In 8th Edition these blokes are even more shit. They've lost Shrouded, which has been replaced with Cloud of Flies, definitely not nearly as useful as it only provides a -1 to-hit modifier for enemy attacks and only if there are 20 or more Plaguebearers in the unit. Similar to AoS except it's -1 for both melee and shooting attacks. While they have the usual 5+ Invulnerability and Disgustingly Resilient (5+ FNP) they are only T4 with 1 wound. The good news is Plagueswords allow you to reroll any failed wound rolls (tho again this is a nerf from previous incarnations), and Daemonic Icons can be interesting as rolling a 1 on any Morale test lets you add D6 additional Plaguebearers to the unit. Instruments of Chaos just add 1" to any Advance/Charge rolls.
In Age of Sigmar, Plaguebearers serve as the ultimate tarpit. Their abilities not only effectively give them TWO SAVES (one save against mortal wounds as well), being near a HERO of NURGLE lets them reroll 1s from their first save. Combined with units of 20+ giving -1 to hit them in melee and -2 for ranged means they can easily hold their ground for the entire battle, even against mortal wound-centered armies.
Notable Plaguebearers
- Epidemius is the Tallyman of Nurgle, his most favored plaguebearer. A regular Herald of Nurgle on the tabletop aside from his Tally. Every turn that passes, it will make you more and more annoying and your opponent will rage, devoting a lot of aggression to getting rid of this palanquin-riding fatboy. Unless he's playing Grey Knights, in which case you shouldn't even be playing with him. Once legendary-- Epidemus's tally once actually allowed Plague Marines to fire bolters with AP "ignores armor saves" and granted them a 3+ feel no pain. These days are over, as the power of Nurgle wanes... But Nurgle's power always returns...
