Age of Sigmar: How to Play Maggotkin of Nurgle
Today we look at how to play the Maggotkin of Nurgle. Get down with the sickness AND the thiccness.
Not all the Chaos Gods are uncaring when it comes to their followers. While it can’t be said that the gods outwardly dislike their followers (though Khorne’s nonchalance towards their death may be worse) no dark power cares more about their followers than Grandfather Nurgle. Offering them his noxious “gifts” and sending them to battle alongside surprisingly jolly daemons, he delights in seeing them thrive and share their pestilence with the world. Here’s a quick rundown on how to get the most out of your plague-ridden warriors, and a few essential units that would make the CDC blush.
Who Are The Maggotkin?
The Maggotkin of Nurgle are a combination of the mortal and daemonic followers of the titular plague god. Shambling to battle with open wounds, extra appendages and mouths, and clouds of flies, the Maggotkin are surprisingly nimble. They are much deadlier than their bloated, diseased frames would suggest, and those that survive their initial onslaught usually succumb to one of the many gifts Nurgle has bestowed on them. Rallying behind moldering ship captains, titanic warlords, or the corpulent Great Unclean Ones, they march to battle with only one goal: to spread Nurgle’s love to every corner of the Realms.
Why Play Maggotkin?
Maggotkin are a devastatingly powerful, resilient, and rewarding force no matter how you like to play. While they won’t be winning many foot races, they can dish out a metric ton of punishment and take even more in return. Plus, with the recent updates to their tome, they have brought even more punch to the tabletop, and whether you prefer daemons or mortals, you won’t be disappointed by the results.
Strengths
- One of the most durable armies in the game with an army-wide ward save and healing every turn.
- You can layer on mortal wounds with a mechanic that has no counter.
- Every turn, your army gets a snazzy buff thanks to the Cycle of Corruption.
- Two of your big guys are among the scariest models in the game.
Weaknesses
- You are extremely slow.
- Your army is likely to be very small because of how expensive your stuff is.
Signature Rules
- Diseased – At the end of the movement phase and combat phase, all units within 3+ of a friendly Maggotkin model get a disease point, maxing at 7 per unit. The same happens whenever one of your models rolls an unmodified 6 to hit. At the start of the battleshock phase, you roll a number of d6 equal to the number of disease points on each unit, and they suffer a mortal wound for every 4+, then you reduce their disease points by 1. The best part is, these points stick around forever unless your opponent can heal wounds, in which case they can remove a disease point instead.
- Disgustingly Resilient – All Maggotkin models have a 5+ ward save, and every model heals 1 wound at the start of your hero phase. If that unit is within 14″ of a Great Unclean One, Horticulous Slimux, the Glottkin, or Festus the Leechlord, they heal d3 instead. Since this applies to the models themselves, this makes the GUO and Glotty very hard to shift.
- Contagion Points – Your summoning mechanic for Nurgle daemons. You get 3 CPs for having a unit wholly within your own territory, 3 for having a unit wholly within your opponent’s territory, and 1 extra if there are no enemies there. In addition, each Feculent Gnarlmaw in your army generates 1 if there are no enemies within 3″.
- Cycle of Corruption – A shifting wheel of effects that changes every turn, ranging from dealing out Diseased mortal wounds on a 3+ to shutting down enemy Heroic Actions. A super nasty mechanic.
Terrain Piece
The Feculent Gnarlmaw is a nasty diseased tree that chucks out disease and Contagion Points. Your enemy can shut down the CP generation if they stay close to the tree, but if they do they’re going to catch something. You can also summon Daemons from them, or summon even more to the battlefield, so stock up on a few.
Subfactions
The Maggotkin have 6 subfactions, 3 for daemons and 3 for mortals. Each one will shift your army towards certain builds, so look them over if you have a specific playstyle you prefer. The Drowned Men are a personal favorite of mine, allowing your fly-mounted knights a pregame move. Never a bad thing.
Key Units
Depending on if you prefer daemons or mortals you’ll be investing in different things, but these are 5 units that will find their way into nearly every list.
Lord of Afflictions – Mounted on a bloated Rot Fly, this nasty hero model has a huge weight of attacks and other snazzy rules. Even better, he can take a unit of Blightlords and drop them deep in your opponent’s territory, either to generate CP or set up a devastating charge.
Great Unclean One – One of the deadliest and most resilient Greater Daemons out there. While not as punchy as the Bloodthirster or Keeper, the GUO can still pull his (considerable) weight in combat, throw out some nasty spells, and even help with summoning if kitted correctly.
Putrid Blightkings – A solid battleline that dishes out monumental amounts of damage, the Blightkings are ridiculously hard to put down and will easily kill swathes of single wound models every turn. Their only downside is their speed, but if they happen to catch their enemy, that enemy will almost surely die.
The Glottkin – Probably the best model in the book, and one of the best monsters in the game, the Glottkin will more than earn their points back every turn. They are good at support, magic, and combat, and they excel in whatever role you play them in. Plus they have the Warmaster rule, meaning they count as a general and can throw out command abilities 18″.
Beasts of Nurgle – Basically a combination between a golden retriever and a rabid gorilla, the Beasts of Nurgle are playful rascals that tend to leave their playmates in several pieces. They do damage on the charge, can charge after retreating, can retreat over enemies, and throw out disease when they retreat. Always bring at least a few of these.
Sample Army (1000 pts)
Army: Maggotkin of Nurgle
Leader: Great Unclean One
Battleline: 5 x Putrid Blightkings
Battleline: 5 x Putrid Blightkings
Maggotkin Tips
Make your opponent come to you, then ruin their day by keeping them stuck in unfavorable combats. Never let up once you’ve got them, and try to stay in both your opponent’s zone and your own.
~Papa Nurgle loves you.
