Along came Nurgle Chaos, and what a weapon it is.

My first game with my Nurgle Chaos didn’t go too swell. I squared off at 1,000 points with a High Elf army, and I came out with a minor loss. Some poor tactical decisions along with some cruddy luck with my magic left most of my army impotent until the last turn of the game.

Last Saturday, I met up with that same High Elf army for a rematch. The results were much different.

Deploying Differently

I was using the same list as the first time. A level 2 Sorcerer, a block of Warriors, a unit of Knights, two units of Marauder Horsemen, and a unit of Dogs. A little beef, a dose of speed, and some magic for fun.

I split the army up into two parts. The Sorcerer, the Warriors, and a unit of Marauder Horsemen occupied the left portion of the battlefield, while the rest of the army came up the right flank. My opponent deployed most of his army opposite my Warriors with his Bolt Thrower on a hill, but there was a lone unit of Seaguard waiting for my Knights.

I went first – allowing everyone to march forward and close ground quickly. He flew his Eagle over to march block the Knights for a turn, and his first volley of shooting decimated my Dogs. The next turn, the Warriors were able to keep marching, while the Knights slowly walked across the field.

With this second march, my Sorcerer was in the perfect position. For his two spells, he had the #1 spell (Magnificent Buboes, 5+, 1 wound on a single model) and the #6 spell (Rot, Glorious Rot, 12+). As it turns out, that #6 spell was going to be the deciding factor in the game. It’s effect reads:

Each enemy unit within 18″ of the caster takes D6 SD6 hits with no armour saves allowed (roll separately for each unit). This spell can even effect enemy units in close combat.

I threw three dice and the spell went off easily (Irresistible Force ftw!). When I measured out the range, almost the entire army was hit. I caught the Eagle, the Knights, the Swordmasters, the Spearmen, the Seaguard, and the hero on foot (standing by himself).

I initially read the spell wrong and resolved each hit at S6. I couldn’t believe the utter destruction that befell the High Elf army, so I read the spell over a few times – and I eventually noticed that it was a SD6, or a strength of D6. We went back and resolved the wounds a second time – rolling for the strength of each volley – and it was still pretty devastating. The Knights and Swordmasters were almost wiped out, and the character was killed.

From there, it quickly went downhill for the High Elves. A unit of Marauder Horsemen was wiped out by shooting, but the Knights managed to crash into the line. They wiped out the Archers with ease, and they pursued into the Bolt Thrower.

After a turn of moving up, the Warriors engaged the Spearmen and the lone remaining Knight. The High Elves didn’t pack enough oomph in that first round to break the Warriors, and they slowly whittled down the Spearmen. Warriors with hand weapon and shield and a Mark of Nurgle are very sturdy against strength 3 attacks. It’s laughable the amount of spear-pokes that simply bounced off the unit with minimal wounds.

By the end of turn 6, the battle had turned into a massacre. It took a few rounds of combat, but the Warriors broke the Spearmen and pursued them. The Knights had easily taken care of their side of the field – the Archers, the Bolt Thrower, and the Sea Guard – and the magic had done the rest.

What Worked

A lot.

The clear winner of the game was magic. Rot, Glorious Rot is a ridiculous spell. If your opponent is bunched up in one area, do whatever you can to get your wizard in range of a handful of units. It wouldn’t be as effective against swarms like Skaven or Empire, but against highly armored, expensive units… it’s a dream come true. No Armour Saves. Woot!

The Knights survived a couple rounds of shooting (with only two or three guys alive) and smashed into some small units. They did their job well – however I think I might beef them up with an extra Knight or two. Starting with only five Knights quickly takes them down in fighting strength, making them less effective against sizeable troop blocks.

The Warriors did great in combat. Their armor stood up to the puny spear attacks, and they slowly fought back. At first, it was a close combat – due to the Dragon Prince charging, the Spearmen ranks, and the High Elves outnumbering. It quickly turned the other way, though, when almost none of the Chaos Warriors died. Hooray survivability!

Lessons for Next Time

At full points, I’m definitely taking a Sorcerer lord, and I think I’ll take the magic item (gift?) that allows him to get a fifth spell. Along with Rot, Glorious Rot, there are several wicked spells in the Nurgle arsenal – and getting five out of six for the Lord should be very helpful.

At full points, I’ll also beef up the Knights a bit. I had thought about taking a second unit, but there probably won’t be enough points. Adding 2 Knights to the initial unit will probably be more cost effective – allowing them to reach the enemy with almost full fighting strength (4-5 Knights alive, 2-3 casualties).

Keep the Knights and Warriors split up. By putting them on opposite sides of the board, the Eagle was only allowed to march block one unit. It’s kind of daunting to look at a block of Warriors and a unit of Knights, but it’s not so scary if they’re stuck in place. Split them up, allow one of them to go full speed ahead, and force your opponent to make some tough choices.

That puts my record with the Nurgle Chaos at 1,000 points at 1-1. I suppose that’s acceptable. We’ll have to have a third match soon as a tie-breaker.

In the meantime, I need to paint some stuff. I did finish a Warrior (which I’ll photograph and post about over the weekend), and I think my next painting project will be to start the Dogs.

On one front I won: painting. I had one fully painted model to his none. Woot!

In the areas that matter, though, the game tipped in his favor. It ended up a minor victory in favor of the High Elves, although an extra turn or two would have swung the pendulum back in my favor.

Game Summary

I was playing the Nurgle Chaos list that I posted earlier in the week. Level 2 sorcerer, Warriors, Knights, 2 units of Marauder Horsemen, and some dogs.

My opponent was fielding a hero, a unit of Dragon Princes, a small unit of swordmasters, a unit of archers, a block of spearmen, a unit of sea guard, an eagle, and a bolt thrower.

In hindsight, my biggest mistake was in deploying. I placed my Knights and Warriors together on one side of the board, partially shielded by trees and screened by the dogs. My opponent was able to drop an Eagle behind them and march block for two turns until the Marauder Horsemen killed the Eagle.

That slowed me down a lot and kept the Knights and Warriors out of combat for most of the game.

The dogs were instantly mowed down in shooting, and one unit of Marauder Horsemen was quickly killed as well. The bolt thrower had some success whittling down my Knights – 2 of the 5 were dead when the got across the board – but they and the Warriors fared the arrow storm pretty well.

I was looking forward to some magic supremacy, since I had a level two and my opponent had no wizard. I managed to pick Plague Squall for one of my spells, and although I successfully cast it five turns in a row, I only hit an enemy unit once. The scatter die was not my friend! I guessed perfectly at a large block of troops each time, and the shot scattered 8+ inches in the wrong direction. /sigh.

My Knights eventually made it into combat on the fourth turn. They decimated the unit of archers and over-ran off the board. They re-entered the next turn, turned towards the Bolt Thrower, and proceeded to make mince meat of the crew. Unfortunately, the game was over before they could engage any of the other units.

The Warriors were bogged down for most of the game, and they only made it into combat on turn six. They charged the unit of Spearmen, and all those pointy attacks bounced off my armor. Unfortunately, my Sorceror got killed in a challenge (High Elves always attacking first is so not cool) and I had lost a rank due to shooting. I lost combat by a couple points but held my ground. The next turn, they took a hit to the flank by the Dragon Princes, sustained almost no casualties, and managed to wipe out my opponent’s hero before the game ended.

What Went Well?

Combat. With the exception of my Chaos Sorceror, my units did splendid in combat. The Knights and the Warriors both held up their ends of the bargain. I think I’ll spread them out a bit more next time, and just march them up the middle. I tried to gather some cover from trees, but this – along with the damn eagle – kept me out of combat.

Fast Cavalry. I love them. They are awesome. I deployed a unit to watch my Warriors, and they quickly chopped up the Eagle. They quickly got into position to harass and march block the enemy – if only they had a unit to support, they would have been more effective.

What Didn’t?

Magic. I was attracted to the instant gratification of the Plague Squall, but I was disappointed with the bad scatters. I also rolled Curse of the Leper, but I never cast it. I’m thinking that was a mistake. Since my opponent had no dispel dice, there was a decent chance that it would remain in play for a couple turns and wipe out an entire unit. Oh well.

Surviving Shooting. My unarmored units went splat. Perhaps that’s to be expected, but I think they would be more effective if the big armored units were marching straight down the pike. By trying to finesse the Warriors and Knights around some woods, I gave my opponent no choice but to chop up everything and then turn to the Warriors last. Time is important, so next time it’s right up the middle.

The Sorceror. In combat, that is. He got his ass handed to him. I’m going to reconsider what I give him as far as magic items, and I might pull him out of the unit to ride around on a horse.

I was a bit rusty this game, to be sure, and hopefully I’ll do better next time. In the meantime, I’ve got some painting to do!

We’re starting an escalation league at the store in February, and I think the first stage is 1000 pts. I hope it is – because that’s what I wrote a list for.

Here’s the list I’m considering so far:

Characters

• Chaos Sorceror (210 pts)
  • Upgrade to Level 2 (35 pts)
  • Mark of Nurgle (20 pts)
  • Warrior Familiar (20 pts)
  • Rending Sword (30 pts)
  • Soporific Mask (20 pts)

Core

• Warriors of Chaos  x 14 (284 pts)
  • Shields (1 pt)
  • Full Command (30 pts)
  • Mark of Nurgle (30 pts)
• Marauder Horsemen x 5 (92 pts)
  • Throwing Axes (2 pts)
  • Shields (1 pt)
  • Champion (12 pts)
• Marauder Horsement x 5 (92 pts)
  • Throwing Axes (2pts)
  • Shields (1pt)
  • Champion (12pts)
• Chaos Warhounds x 5 (30 pts)

Special

• Chaos Knights x 5 (280 pts)
  • Full Command (50 pts)
  • Mark of Nurgle (30 pts)

General Thoughts and Strategy

At 2000 pts, I plan to beef up the core of the army to include two Warrior units. The rest of the army is highly mobile to engage shooters and flank the units that the Warriors bash into.

At 1000 pts, the Core seems a bit lonely with only one unit of warriors and four cavalry units – so we’ll see how that goes. The only feasible way to get 2 Warrior units would be to drop the Knights – but I really want some Knights in the army. I guess at 1000 pts, it’s ok if things look a bit askew.

The Sorceror is going to travel with the Warrior unit. I gave him the Familiar and the Rending Sword so that his combat potential will be respectable. The Soporific Mask seemed like a good combo with a unit of foot troops, too, to help them run down the enemy. He may also not be too effective magically, since I can only afford one character. I’m including him in anticipation of the 2000 pt list, where I plan on taking a level 4 Sorceror Lord.

The Marauder Horsement don’t have commands because they shouldn’t be engaging blocks of troops on their own. They’ll most likely hunt down small skirmisher units or harass rank and file troops until the Warriors can reach them. The throwing axes are Str 4, so it’s likely that they can take out a few models throughout the course of the game while they wait for an opportune time to flank.

One change I’m considering is dropping the standard on the Knights. I read the suggestion on a forum and it kind of makes sense. They’re unlikely to engage large blocks of troops alone, so static combat resolution points aren’t too important. Sheer brute force should carry them through most combat. If I drop the banner and the champions on the Marauder Horsemen, I can take a second unit of dogs.

Worth it? Not sure.

I need to assemble a few more things (second unit of Marauder Horsemen, character, a handful of Warriors), but the army is mostly together. Looks like I’m almost all set for Saturday.

Once I see how it goes, I’ll post some thoughts and tune up the army list… probably on Sunday.