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Ratcliff

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  1. It would be my first time running Horticulous too, literally only want him for the tree. I used to run 160+ monks regularly, which was good, but had issues with mobility. I'm hoping the threat of running and charging Monks will make my opponent play a little differently too. Have definitely been considering a Screaming Bell, just have to build one first. Will be nice to be able to create two battleshock immunity bubbles, maybe split one of the 40s into smaller units and take an endless spell
  2. I am competing in a one-day event in Wicklow this Sunday which, after a brief sojourn with the Maggotkin of Nurgle, I will use to dip my toe back into the Pestilent pool. The event will be 3 rounds, 24 players and 2000pts. The Irish AoS meta is interesting, in that there isn't one. The lads and ladies here tend to play offbeat armies, and even those damn Northies who come down to take our women and our podiums mostly bring their whackier, less optimal lists to the party. There's a significant chance there will only be a single Slaanesh player there, a man who unsurprisingly struggles for friends in our scene. So this is the list I am bringing, aptly titled SPEAK PRRRRRRIEST Allegiance: Skaventide Plague Priest on Plague Furnace (200)- General- Trait: Verminous Valour- Artefact: Liber Bubonicus Horticulous Slimux (220)Plague Priest (80)Plague Priest (80)Plague Priest (80)Plague Priest (80)40 x Plague Monks (280)- Foetid Blades- 1x Icon of Pestilence- 1x Contagion Banner- 1x Doom Gongs- 1x Bale Chimes40 x Plague Monks (280)- Foetid Blades- 1x Icon of Pestilence- 1x Contagion Banner- 1x Doom Gongs- 1x Bale Chimes40 x Plague Monks (280)- Foetid Blades- 1x Icon of Pestilence- 1x Contagion Banner- 1x Doom Gongs- 1x Bale Chimes40 x Plague Monks (280)- Foetid Blades- 1x Icon of Pestilence- 1x Contagion Banner- 1x Doom Gongs- 1x Bale Chimes10 x Plague Monks (80)- Foetid BladesExtra Command Point (50)Total: 1990 / 2000Extra Command Points: 1Allies: 220 / 400Wounds: 211 The list is very simple, with as few interacting mechanics as possible. I often design lists in this way, as my basic cognition and memory are as deficient as my spine after years of rolling Plague Monk combat phases. They never tell you that you should be legally required to attend manual handling training before starting a Pestilens army. It's an immense physical undertaking, like doing the Tour de France without drugs. There is no magic, making me very vulnerable to magic. But then again, I am utterly immune to the all-consuming fury of never getting a spell off. My general is the Furnace, and he is pretty important. He's tough, getting Look out, Sir against shooting and combat, and able to pass off wounds with Verminous Valour. With the Liber Bubonicus, he can perform both offensive prayers from the footslogging Priest's warscroll, as well as his own buff prayers. This gives my army 7 prayers in total, making Great Plagues extremely likely, and allowing me to deliver mortal wound payloads to multiple units at a 16" distance. Not too shabby. If needed, I can castle up around the Furnace to take advantage of his battleshock immunity bubble, preserving my CPs for other important things like rerolling charges. I got addicted to Feculent Gnarlmaws from my foray into Nurgle, and Horticulous has been chosen for his ability to plant one of these bad boys at the start of a hero phase. Giving Nurgle units the ability to run and charge if they begin their charge phase within 7" of it, my 40-Monk units are suddenly very mobile and able to attack objectives deep in enemy territory. Two of the battleplans in play have deployment zones that are only 18" apart, so this could be quite significant. The star of my army, of course, are my 170 monks. I presume I don't have to explain how I plan to use this finesse unit, but I should probably give that friendless Slaanesh player a call and see if he wants to hang out. I will be back with my report as early as I can next week, if you have any comments or questions on my list, please leave them below.
  3. I think the maggotkin book is really short on affordable hammers, that's why monks are so essential. This was the list I used in my last tournament (came 11th out of 44), it has plague monks, but plenty of Nurgle to be had Allegiance: NurgleMortal Realm: HyshGreat Unclean One (340)- General- Bile Blade & Doomsday Bell- Trait: Grandfather's Blessing- Artefact: The Witherstave- Lore of Virulence: Favoured PoxesLord of Blights (140)- Artefact: Aetherquartz BroochSpoilpox Scrivener Herald of Nurgle (90)30 x Plaguebearers (320)30 x Plaguebearers (320)10 x Plaguebearers (120)10 x Plaguebearers (120)40 x Plague Monks (280)- Foetid Blades- 1x Icon of Pestilence- 1x Contagion Banner- 1x Doom Gongs- 1x Bale ChimesTallyband of Nurgle (220)Total: 2000 / 2000Extra Command Points: 2Allies: 0 / 400Wounds: 148
  4. My Warhammer spending has been significantly curtailed in recent years. It's nothing to do with the price tbh, I just have too much stuff, and still loads unpainted. I have two full 40k armies, and everything I need for my Clans Pestilens army three times over. Just books, paints and the odd bit of scenery now. You don't need all the best units to play the game
  5. I think a lot less people are using Nurgle now, certainly a lot less competitive players. Personally, I think there is real potential in that Nurgle tome in the current meta for people with a bit of patience and a willingness to play a bit differently. They can be a real pain for factions who need sixes to hit, and a nightmare for the sorts of shooting armies people are bringing to counter the meta. Slaanesh are still almost unplayable (when are they not?), but I beat 2 FEC armies in the last GT I played, and suffered only a minor loss to a Skaven list in an unfavourable mission. I went 3-2 at it in the end, but really felt I could have easily gone 4-1 with a little luck and a little bit more guile on my part. Went 3-2 in Essex and 3-3 in the GT final in Nottingham which, though not amazing doesn't really tell the whole story. Unfortunately, my brother has reclaimed his Nurgle army back off me so it's back to Skaven for me, but there's definitely juice in that battletome, and I'd love to get a bit more practice with it.
  6. A unit review seems like a good place to start. This has already been covered here by Arch Squeaker @AIdenNicol444, a superior player with a superior blog. But many months have passed since and, in that time, we have seen points increases, meta changes, Skull Cannons selling out, people trying to sell their 9 Skull Cannons, not to mention the release of Age of Sigmar 3.0: Daddy's got a Brand New Activation. So I think it is worth briefly revisiting Clan Pestilens units in this brave new world. Because Clan Pestilens has been folded into the Skaventide faction since the release of this year's battletome, it might be worth laying some ground rules as to what actually constitutes a Pestilens army nowadays. After absolutely no deliberation, I am going to say a Clan Pestilens army is one in which Plague Monks and Plague Censer Bearers are battleline. Clanrats can go to hell, but no way am I closing the door on using a Warpseer in the near future. These are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others. So without further ado, let's have a look at what's in the box, the box for Clan Pestilens players: Verminlord Corruptor: Like all the other Verminlords, this dude hit the gym and beefed up something ferocious. Our only caster has a welcome 5++ save now, and a spell that just won't quit. Watch him tear hordes to shreds with a flick of a crusty finger. 280pts is pretty reasonable too, and his love affair with the Sword of Judgement just got more intense. 10 attacks, with a command point reroll on misses and hits doing D6+1 mortal wounds on a 6+ means that he will rip all but the most durable or Keeper-of-Secretsy heroes in half. His command ability is only really of any use to himself, unless you're one of those "stave" people who I rank up there with members of the Hitler Youth in a list of history's most misguided. An auto-include for many in a Clan Pestilens list, but not quite for me. Plague Priest on Furnace: Our most-improved player packs a serious wallop with his Great Plague Censer and rusty wheels, as well as taking advantage of the Lead from the Back Skaventide rule, giving him the Look Out, Sir! rule in combat. Add in a 13" battleshock immunity bubble, some solid prayers and the fact that he's mandatory in any of our half-decent battalions mean that this guy most assuredly is an auto-include. Give him Liber Bubonicus for two more offence prayers or a Gryph Feather Charm for stacking hit-modifier shenanigans and we're squeaking, He needs 9 other Skaventide models nearby to actually make him move, which is a bit of an issue, but let's operate under the assumption that we'll have a few rats to spare in any given list. Plague Priest: What GW giveth, they taketh away. A 5-wound, 80 point model with no buffs or force multiplying abilities leaves us with a pathetic shadow of once-great unit. If I was to claw for something good to say about him, his Pestilence-Pestilence! prayer can be potentially good in high doses, and great plagues can be gamechanger when they go off. The kind of unit you take 5 of for a laugh, or not at all. Plague Monks: Our mouldy bread and curdled butter, Plague Monks somehow came out of the tome better than they ever were before. This would, of course, have consequences, as they were rightly slapped with a points increase when people started showing up with jumbo-sized buckets of them at competitive tournaments. For a time there, in gaming halls around the world, you truly were never more than 6 inches away from a rat. They still hit like a truck and die like people getting hit by trucks, Rolling out their combat phase is still condemning your future self to chronic back pain. They are still the unit I kiss goodnight and gently tuck into bed on the eve of a CRUSHING. Plague Censer Bearers: The ginger stepchild of Pestilens, these guys have, and always will, live in a long, Plague Monk-shaped shadow. Will I ever mention them again in this blog? No. Plagueclaw Catapults: Ultimately overpriced utility pieces, they might be put to good use taking out troublesome back-table heroes, but it's hard to justify their points cost. At their best when dovetailing with the Foulrain Congregation and Architect of Death command trait, they are still swingy as hell even when used optimally. I want them to work, I really do, but they cost the same as 20 Plague Monks. A unit for games of the casual and novelty variety. Battallions: Battalion-wise, the Congregation of Filth remains the staple of a healthy Clan Pestilens list. Consisting of both your must-have units, the 6++ save Plague Monks get is a pleasant enough bonus on top of your real reason for taking it: The CP, the artefact, and the potential to run a rare low-drop Skaventide list. If you simply must take Plagueclaws, make sure to take the Foulrain Congregation, which is mercifully cheap and somewhat softens the blow of having three peashooters in an age of megacannons. If you've made it this far, thank you, I know it can't have been easy. Next week, I'm going to have a look at allies and Masterclan generals and see if we can add some more flavour to our CRUSH soup. RRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE
  7. I love it, personally. Makes games far less predictable, means that you have to be more careful if you're going first and allows for the chance of a hail mary late game if you've got nothing left to lose
  8. Sure thing man. So this is what I ran at the Essex GT. Allegiance: NurgleLeadersGreat Unclean One (340)- General- Bile Blade & Doomsday Bell- Trait: Grandfather's Blessing - Artefact: The Witherstave - Lore of Virulence: Glorious AfflictionsPoxbringer Herald of Nurgle (120)- Artefact: Tome of a Thousand Poxes - Lore of Virulence: Favoured PoxesLord of Blights (140)Battleline30 x Plaguebearers (320)10 x Plaguebearers (120)10 x Plaguebearers (120)Units3 x Plague Drones (200)40 x Plague Monks (240)- Foetid Blades- 1x Icon of Pestilence- 1x Contagion Banner- 1x Doom Gongs- 1x Bale ChimesBattalionsTallyband of Nurgle (220)Endless Spells / TerrainUmbral Spellportal (70)Geminids of Uhl-Gysh (60)Total: 2000 / 2000Extra Command Points: 2Allies: 0 / 400Wounds: 133 Bear in mind, this was before Plague Monk points went up. The basic idea was that I would nuke the enemy first turn with 40 Plague Monks or the Drones while positioning my Plaguebearers on objectives and such. My opponent would waste a turn or two chewing through these things and then hit a wall of -2 to hit plaguebearers with the witherstave making them reroll sixes. I'd use the spell portal to hit a dangerous enemy unit with either favoured poxes or glorious afflictions, buying me as much time as I could to win the game on objectives. It's not a killy list, I scored v few kill points, but it effectively neutralised powerful enemy units to the point of uselessness. However, I've been tampering with the list, and figure 40 Monks is probably too much for what is effectively a sacrificial unit. I'm running this now: Allegiance: NurgleMortal Realm: HyshLeadersGreat Unclean One (340)- General- Bile Blade & Doomsday Bell- Artefact: The Witherstave - Lore of Virulence: Glorious AfflictionsPoxbringer Herald of Nurgle (120)Lord of Blights (140)- Artefact: Aetherquartz Brooch Battleline30 x Plaguebearers (320)30 x Plaguebearers (320)10 x Plaguebearers (120)10 x Plaguebearers (120)Units20 x Plague Monks (160)- Foetid Blades- 1x Icon of Pestilence- 1x Doom GongsBattalionsTallyband of Nurgle (220)Endless Spells / TerrainUmbral Spellportal (70)Shards of Valagharr (40)Total: 1970 / 2000Extra Command Points: 1Allies: 0 / 400Wounds: 128 This list focuses on my strengths (infuriating durability) but still has enough of a punch with 20 Monks if I need to hit something first turn. It's a toss up between shards and Geminids, but I like the low casting value of shards, it's best not to leave that kind of stuff to chance where possible. They Tallyband is overpriced, but it is worth it to reduce drops alone, and to be honest, I have found the Plaguebearer regeneration to be incredibly handy on a number of occasions. It can tag in pesky units you don't want charging you, and keep the unit simmering above 20 models for those delicious hit modifiers
  9. You were completely right, it was literally specified by GW
  10. They both activate at the start of the hero phase. So yes, you could plant the tree first and then get the contagion points from it
  11. Yep, the spell would end. Unless stated otherwise, moves should be considered moves, charges, pile ins and everything in between
  12. Looks great, what's the thinking behind the epitome, balewind and the warshrine? Just looked at the brooch, how have I not seen that?! Amazing call, thank you. I like the Witherstave on my GUO because of its larger area of effect. Plus I love the way my army deploys, with the GUO at the centre of this shambling plaguebearer infestation
  13. I've been playing Clan Pestilens until recently, Nurgle are only the second army I've ever used. But the new Skaven tome sort of ruined the enjoyment I had playing Pestilens. Went from being a good army to being massively overpowered and very dull to use! I think you have to look at the tallyband a little differently. It is definitely overcosted, and I honestly haven't figured out what to do with that second artefact (witherstave being my first). But it adds a lot of unseen value to my list. Firstly, the extra command point is vital to get the juice out of my Lord of Blights. Secondly, it means I mostly go first, and I really need to go first. Because I have so little punch, it's important to get up the board quickly and position the army effectively, getting plague of flies off and either favoured poxes or glorious afflictions out through the spell portal to nerf a dangerous enemy unit early. From then on it's buying time, soaking up the punches, gathering contagion points and slowly working my way up the board. It also gives me the option of nuking my opponent first turn if he deploys badly. Plague Monks are even better for Nurgle since the tome dropped, and I often just charge them up first turn in a long line and lock my opponent in for a turn or two. You basically sacrifice them, but it's worth it for that precious, precious time.
  14. I've had a bit of success with the Tallyband. Went 3 and 5 at my most recent tournament and have picked up some good wins otherwise. I think I can go 4 and 1 before the end of the year, but it really is a case of adapting your playstyle, You can't play a Nurgle army the way you would with most other armies and you have to focus on their strengths. Unfortunately, killing units is not one of those strengths, but there's plenty of ways to skin a Terrorgeist and Nurgle have ways of nullifying the current meta if you look hard enough. Nurgle also can have the element of surprise. It's jarring for opponents who are used to rush and smash warhammer to come against a Nurgle list, and they often aren't prepared for it
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