Grandfather Nurgle is the benevolent Chaos God of plagues and diseases spreading his “gifts” to everyone, willing or not. Nurgle’s Daemons are as cheerful as their master and live to fester all Mortal Realms.
Are you ready to spread Nurgle’s blessing in the Eightpoints? This is the guide for the Nurgle Daemons warband in Warcry.
What changed in the new edition for the Nurgle Befouled Bands?
As all warbands, even Nurgle Daemons had some point changes, but they also saw few profiles updated, like the Plague Drone hitting much harder or Plaguebearers becoming tougher.
Few abilities changed as well. Please note, that at the publication of the Compendium (Aug 2022) there is a most likely typo that makes the Grandfather’s Blessing ability available only to Spoilpox Scrivener and his Menacing Overseer ability available to all Leaders. We are treating that as a typo so all references in our guide is inverted compared to the Compendium.
Background and Lore of the Nurgle Daemons Warband
Nurgle is called Grandfather by his followers because he distributes his gifts equally. He rejoices in death and decay because from rot and corpses new life can bloom in form of maggots, parasites, flies, etc. He is akin to the Goddess of Life Alarielle (but quite a bit more nasty), and as such he long coveted her realm Ghyran, until Sigmar rescued her and together closed the main entrance of Nurgle’s armies in the Realm of Life.
Nurgle’s daemons are a mirror of their creator, happy to fester any corner of the realms and distribute the dubious boons under form of diseases and pestilence. At the head of a daemon’s army there are Great Unclean Ones, similar in shape and form to Nurgle himself, a huge mass of rotten flesh, ichor and pus. The most numerous warriors of these armies are the Plaguebearers: one-eyed beings covered in every sort of disease. Some of them ride Rot Flies in battle and are known as Plague Drones.
While the Plague Drones roam in the sky, on the ground horrible slug-like Beasts of Nurgle charge to battle in search of unlucky playmates. Wherever Nurgle’s armies go, a carpet of small Nurglings follow them, literally drowning their opponents in swarms.
Nurgle has a particular interest in the Eightpoints, as an important gateway to spread his gifts to all other realms and as an important laboratory for development of new diseases.
But Nurgle Deamons Befouled Bands are wise enough to not attack directly the centre of power but rather slowly corrupt everything they touch biding their time.
How do Grandfather’s minion play on the tabletop in Warcry? If you have the stomach to continue, let’s have a look at the most disgusting details.
Overview and Points for the Fighters in the Nurgle Daemons Warband
Daemons of Nurgle Befouled Bands are made from 7 kits with 9 options of which 5 are leaders.
Poxbringer: 130 points
The Poxbringer is now much cheaper, despite being the only ranged option in the warband.
His 2 Attacks can reach 7″ for 3/6 damage.
However in melee he is much more performant with a profile on par with a Plaguebringer: 4 Attacks at Strength 4 for 2/5 damage.
He is the only leader without special abilities, but he has access to Grandfather’s Blessing that for a Triple allows to increase the Strength of all friendly fighters within 7″. Strength is indeed the weakest point of this warband.
Movement is also another weak spot of the Befouled, and the Poxbringer with 3″ Movement is no exception.
Resilience however, is not too much an issue with 20 Wounds, Toughness 4 and the ability to heal some damage allocated on a Double (Disgustingly Resilient).
Spoilpox Scrivener: 135 points
The Spoilpox Scrivener has the highest strength in the Befouled (5) but only 2 Attacks (for 3/5 damage).
He has however access to many abilities, including Menacing Overseer that increases the number of Attacks for friendly fighters within 9″. If you have two leaders (or two activations), you can combine it with Grandfather’s Blessing to add +1 Strength as well. Please note the 2022 Compendium swaps the two abilities, granting Menacing Overseer to every leader. We believe it is an error to be corrected in the next FAQ.
Now every cheap Plaguebearer in range becomes 4 Attacks at Strength 4 each activation.
The second special ability reserved to the Scrivener is Disgusting Sneeze that allows to do up to 6 damage to an enemy within 7″ quite reliably (on a 2+). It can be useful if you spread wide and need to kill an enemy otherwise unreachable. Consider it has now a reduced range and less damage. If your Triple is not high enough it may not be worth as a Grandfather’s Blessing is probably the best use of your Triple most of the time.
Sloppity Bilepiper: 130 points
As all previous leaders, the Bilepiper has 20 Wounds and Toughness 4, however he is also the fastest (only behind the Plague Drones and Nurglings) with 4″ Movement.
In melee his 3 Attacks at Strength 4 for 2/4 damage are probably the better balanced attacks available outside of the Poxbringer.
His special ability however solves the other problem of the warband outside of Strength: Movement! For a Double he can increase of 1″ the Movement of all friendly fighters starting within 7″.
Considering he has access also to Grandfather’s Blessing, he can sort out the needs of the warband by himself adding Movement in the initial turns when is needed to reach the enemies, and Strength later on when the engagements start.
Plague Drones
- Plaguebringer: 255 points
- Plague Drone: 205 points
The Plague Drones are the fastest (and most expensive) unit of this warband with 6” flying Movement that allows them to reach corners otherwise difficult. High wounds (30 or 35 for the Plaguebringer) and Toughness (4) will allow them to resist most attacks and, on the other hand, dish out some of their own.
The Plaguebringer presents 5 attacks at Strength 4 for 2/4 damage, while the Plague Drone has 1 attack less (4). The Rot Fly Venomous Sting ability allows for a Double to immobilize a victim: on a 2+ the enemy cannot perform disengage or move actions for the rest of the battle round (pretty good for a Double).
Plaguebearers of Nurgle
- Plagueridden: 90 points
- Plaguebearer: 50 points
The Plaguebearers are cheap units, including the cheapest leader of this warband, to be used as sacrificial pawns.
Despite this they still have a decent profile: 10 wounds, Movement 3”, Toughness 4, 3 attacks at Strength 3 for damage 1/4
The Plagueridden has more wounds, 1 more attack and more damage (2/4).
What distinguishes the Plaguebearers is their trademark ability: Cloud of Flies. This ability costs a Triple but reduces by 1 the number of attacks that targets them. While normally a strong unit would get rid of them easily, horde units may start to struggle to remove a strategically placed Plaguebearer.
If that was not enough, on a Double they can also heal back with Disgustingly Resilient.
A Plaguebearer shoved of gifts by Nurgle can become quite dangerous: for a Triple and a Quad you can use both Grandfather’s Blessing and Menacing Overseer to increase Attacks and Strength by 1.
Beast of Nurgle: 150 points
The Beast of Nurgle is the elite unit of this warband. It is now a Beast (meaning they cannot open doors), with a “bestial” profile: 30 wounds, Movement 4”, Toughness 4, 4 attacks at Strength 4 for 2/4 damage.
Its ability, Acidic Slime Trail, allows it to perform a bonus disengage and damage the unit at the same time, possibly to finish off a horde unit preventing otherwise the Beast from engaging more succulent objectives.
Nurglings: 105 points
The Nurglings are an interesting fighter, or to better put it, a swarm of mini fighters. With 20 Wounds but Toughness 3, they can take some punches before being knocked out, but then, for a Quad, you can heal them as much as 12 wounds in a single round. The advantage of this ability is that it doesn’t matter if they are already engaged, as opposite to other similar abilities like the universal Respite. Why would you use a Quad to prolong the life of a Nurgling? That will most likely be situational, but surely an instrument more in your arsenal.
In melee Nurglings have 6 attacks at Strength 3 for 1/3 damage, but don’t forget the Grandfather’s Blessing that can bring their Strength to 4 in the right circumstances or Menacing Overseer that can bring their Attacks to 7. Now 14 attacks at Strength 4 represent a visible threat.
Abilities for Nurgle Daemons
- Disgustingly Resilient (Double, Everyone): Roll up to 6 dice and for every 3+ remove an allocated wound to this fighter.
- Acidic Slime Trail (Double, Beast of Nurgle): Disengage from an enemy and allocate up to 6 damage to him.
- Venomous Sting (Double, all Plague Drones): Pick a visible enemy fighter within 1” and roll a die: on a 2+ that unit cannot make move or disengage actions until the end of the battle round.
- Jolly Gutpipes (Double, Sloppity Bilepiper): Add 1″ to the Move of friendly fighters starting within range.
- Cloud of Flies (Triple, all Plaguebearers): Subtract 1 from the Attacks characteristic (to a minimum of 1) for attacks that target this fighter.
- Grandfather’s Blessing (Triple, all Leaders): Add 1 to the Strength characteristic of melee weapons for all friendly fighters within range.
- Disgusting Sneeze (Triple, Spoilpox Scrivener): Up to 6 damage to a single enemy fighter within 7″.
- Endless Swarm (Quad, Nurglings): Remove up to 12 wounds from this fighter.
- Menacing Overseer (Quad, Spoilpox Scrivener): Add 1 to the Attack characteristic of melee weapons for all friendly fighters within range.
Reaction for the Nurgle Daemons Warband
Introduced in the new season of Warcry, Reactions are things that can be done in certain circumstances, but always during the enemy turn. They cost one action, so they can be used only by fighters that have not activated yet or are waiting. There are 3 universal reactions and one specific to each warband:
Impossible to Wound (Everyone)
- When: During an enemy melee attack action but before hit rolls.
- What: 1 damage less (to a minimum of 1) from each successful hit.
Strategy and Tactics for Nurgle Daemons
Daemons of Nurgle Befouled Band is an interesting warband making good use of the various disgustingly Nurgle demon units. Each unit feels like it has its scope and place:
- Plaguebearers represent horde units to take objectives by sheer number or slow down the toughest opponents.
- Plague Drones provide that desperately required mobility to a warband otherwise quite slow.
- Beasts of Nurgle are the elite tank units able to withstand some damage and punch back.
- The Nurglings are the usual nuisance and distraction, able to regenerate, decent wounds and lots of attacks to not underestimate.
What this warband is missing is some ranged attack, but that is the case for a lot of warbands.
Then there is the leader option, and each one has its own niche, allowing you to bring even more than one if required:
- The Poxbringer is there for sheer damage and the occasional ranged attack in case he has to stay in a certain place to maximise Grandfather’s Blessing.
- The Scrivener is there to increase Attacks at the best occasion. He can also perform some ranged damage for a Triple, but considering he has access to two buffing abilities, you may not have a chance to use that attack.
- The Bilepiper increases the Movement instead.
- The Plaguebringer is the toughest leader in the warband going toe to toe with the Poxbringer.
- The Plagueridden is the cheapest and…. mmm well is the cheapest if you really are struggling for points.
Regarding the base units (and their corresponding leaders), Plaguebearers can reduce the number of attacks towards them with a Triple (Cloud of Flies), while Plague Drones can prevent move or disengage actions of a target enemy unit (Venomous Sting). Both abilities are better left to the units than used on the leaders, unless necessary and no better Triple to be used to buff units with Grandfather’s Blessing.
The Beast of Nurgle is not the strongest or most resistant unit in the game but has a well-balanced profile for its point cost. In addition, if bogged down by horde units, for a mere Double (Acidic Slime Trail) can perform a bonus disengage and damage the fighter in the process, potentially finishing it off (up to 6 damage depending on the value of the Double). It can be useful to abandon a cheap unit almost dead and concentrate the remaining attacks on something meatier.
The Nurglings have 6 attacks for relatively low damage, but their strength is in the numbers. With well 3 abilities to heal them (Disgustingly Resilient for a Double, the universal Respite for a Triple and Endless Swarm for a Quad) if you want to keep them alive you definitely can! Why you would do that, would probably depend on the scenario but if you are playing tag, with 5” Movement, they are definitely your best bet for the long run.
All units in the warband have a chance to regenerate some wounds for a Double, compensating with the otherwise quite low Toughness (3). And we already talked at length of the ways to boost Movement (Bilepiper), Attacks (Scrivener) and Strength (all leaders).
The warband reaction, Impossible to Wound, should also reduce the damage taken, but it works only on fighters with a minimum damage of 2 or more and only on normal hits, meaning that most of the time you have better use for your actions.
In summary, Befouled Bands are well balanced with quite few synergies, forgiving in the paint job (can be as disgusting as you want) and probably a good starting warband for a beginner.
Pros and cons of Nurgle Daemons
+ Well balanced warband
– No ranged options
Some thematic warbands for the Befouled Bands
Just for fun here we present few thematic warbands, meant more for fun or narrative context than for competitive play. Note that in narrative play you need to complete a quest that allows you to recruit a Hero before being able to add him to your roster.
The Merry Band: Spoilpox Scrivener, Sloppity Bilepiper, 1 Plague Drone, 1 Beast of Nurgle, 2 Nurglings, 3 Plaguebearers to submerge your opponent in music of joy.
How to buy the Warband
Independently if you are starting a Nurgle Age of Sigmar army or just want a Warcry warband, the Start Collecting! Daemons of Nurgle is an excellent starting point. Almost all miniatures available are in this box: this includes 3 Plague Drones, 10 Plaguebearers, a Poxbringer and 3 Nurglings, the first 2 with their own leader option. The only missing models would be the Beast of Nurgle, available in a single model box.
Please note that this box has been replaced by the Vanguard: Maggotkin of Nurgle, that is now a better starting point for Nurgle armies, but not such a good deal for Warcry Nurgle Daemons as it contains only a Spoilpox and 10 Plaguebearers (the other units are Rotbringers).
And Spoilpox Scrivener and Sloppity Bilepiper available in individual blisters for £20 each.
If you want to buy individual boxes Plague Drones are available for £35, Plaguebearers for £22.5 and Nurglings for £20 (as of March 2021). But yeah, that start collecting is really the way to go.
Tips on painting Nurgle Daemons
Nurgle’s Daemons are available in different game formats from Warhammer 40k to Age of Sigmar, so there is plenty of tutorials out there. The best thing is that you can be messy when painting Nurgle armies.
From Warhammer Community you have the new battle ready tutorials with the classic and contrast method for Plaguebearers.
For the Rot Fly on the Plague Drones you can find details like the wings or if you have an airbrush this tutorial.
Not really a painting tutorial but if you are good at sculpting this video shows a nice way to make two Beasts from one single box with some clay.
Finally, Nurglings can be painted in different ways, here is an example.
