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p2 — Nurgle

Nurgle is the Chaos God of plague and pestilence, entropy and decay. His aspect is that of a putrid, fleshy mountain, bloated with corruption and riddled with blights. His realm is the rancid Garden of Nurgle, wherein dwell a cornucopia of horrors. When hideous diseases sweep across the Mortal Realms, Nurgle's power swells. Where rot and corrosion reduce order to ruin, the Plague God's will is done. From Nurgle's Rot and squirming pox or the grey weeping, the illnesses that Nurgle bestows bring misery and death equal to anything that the largest army could mete out.

Yet Nurgle is no grim death-dealer. Rather, he is a jovial and generous father figure who delights in brewing a never-ending stream of lovingly crafted plagues, and then bestowing them as dubious gifts upon the denizens of the realms. Nurgle takes a paternal delight in the achievements of each new disease that he unleashes, just as he looks down dotingly upon the conquests wrought by his daemon legions. He revels in the cycle of death and rebirth that sickness brings, merrily rooting for every new blight and parasite that infests the rotting corpses of the fallen.

All this jollity makes it no easier for Nurgle's victims to face the nightmarish horrors of his powers, of course, and nowhere are these manifestations more effective than on the battlefield. To wage war with the armies of Nurgle is to face droning clouds of insects that darken the skies, to endure flesh-withering sicknesses that spread as deadly and fast as wildfire, and to stand against trudging masses of slime-spattered, corpulent, festering daemons whose only desire is to spread the endless plagues of their bloated god.

The Befouling Host battles the Shadowhammers

Neave Blacktalon leads the Shadowhammers into battle against Horticulous Slimux's daemon horde.

p6-7 — Cycles of War

'Let root rot and bower be blighted, water clot and sap be sour! Let Grandfather's glopsome glories anoint this realm with bilgeful beauty, and his generosity unlock the plentiful pestilence now trapped b'neath its skin!'
—Bul'gla'throx, Great Unclean One

The Age of Chaos, and the Realmgate Wars, saw savage fighting throughout every realm. Yet Ghyran, the Realm of Life, saw some of the most gruelling and hideous battles. Nurgle's power waxed and waned throughout that war, and its epoch-ending conclusion led him to a new and hideous plan.

During the Age of Chaos, each of the Dark Gods sent invading forces into every realm save only Azyr, whose gates were barred against them. None would willingly concede any of the myriad prizes on offer to their twisted siblings, and so none could afford to ignore any realm entirely. Yet each favoured certain Mortal Realms, drawn to their own spheres of influence.

Khorne the Blood God desired mastery of wrathful Aqshy; devious Tzeentch coveted the changeable energies of Chamon; the slinking servants of the Horned Rat committed substantial forces to Ulgu and its concealing veils of shadow. Nurgle, for his part, set his greedy gaze upon the boundless bounty of Ghyran, the Realm of Life.

The invasion that followed has become known as the War of Life, and it was as bitter a conflict as any that has raged since the Age of Chaos began. Ghyran is the realm of Alarielle, the Queen of the Radiant Wood and goddess of natural life. She ruled over not only her own vast glades of sylvaneth, but also countless mortal tribes and other merciless beings who slew those trespassers that threatened the sanctity of their lands, and were resolved to protect Ghyran with their lives.

The horrors that Nurgle and his followers unleashed upon Ghyran tested that resolve to breaking point and beyond. Rivers clotted into oozing matter. Lifewells became stinking geysers of pus. Forests crumbled and moaned, and the cycles and tides of the Realm of Life were perverted by disease and corruption into hideous parodies. The drone of countless insects echoed across the lands like thunder, rolling through dense clouds of foul miasma. Every battleground became a hellscape of rot, sludge and filth, riddled with parasites and indescribable foulness.

Across the Jade Kingdoms, vast Tallybands of Nurgle daemons trudged relentlessly forward on every front, driving their foes before them. Rotbringers, the mortal chosen of Nurgle, led hordes of howling warriors into battle to destroy and despoil. Twisted herds of Pestigors and bubo-pocked monsters rampaged through the wilds, while the slinking Plague Monks of the Clan Pestilens added their rot-smog fumes to the slaughter. Alarielle was forced into hiding, and the last enclaves of her children fell back to strongholds concealed by sorcerous veils and glamours.

Though the sylvaneth fought tirelessly, the mortal tribes fell one by one, while the aelven Wanderers fled to Azyrheim, earning the eternal enmity of Alarielle's children. Even the Everqueen waned and slid into despondency as the Jade Kingdoms sickened, until it seemed as though Nurgle must surely claim Ghyran for his own.

Yet even in the face of such horror, heroism and courage prevailed. Alarielle escaped Nurgle's grip and - through the brave sacrifice of her closest protectors - survived to be reborn in her full and wrathful aspect of war. Allied with Sigmar's Stormcast Eternals and the disparate armies of Order, she led a furious counter-attack that drove Nurgle's armies back.

From the Blackstone Plains to Hyboralia, the Flittersea to the Vermillion Meadows, Nurgle's armies were outmatched. Though they fought with their usual mix of rambunctious glee and stolid determination, the Tallybands and Contagiums were overrun. Nurgle looked on in wounded disbelief as his generosity was spurned and his gifts squandered across a hundred fronts.

The sternest blow fell against the Genesis Gate. This was the vast Realmgate through which many of Nurgle's reinforcements flowed into the Realm of Life. Ghyran was riddled with portals that the Plague God could use, but if the forces of Order closed the Genesis Gate then they would cut off the most important arterial route though which his daemon legions struck. It would not end the War of Life, but it would surely be enough to change its course.

So it was that Alarielle led the onslaught against the Genesis Gate and the sprawling sevenfold fortress that surrounded it. Alongside her marched chamber after chamber of Stormcast Eternals, led by the Hallowed Knights and Sigmar's mightiest warrior, the Celestant-Prime himself. They were opposed by armies comprised of Nurgle's daemons, his mortal worshippers and their Pestilens allies, all led by Nurgle's greatest mortal champions, the infamous Glottkin.

The battle was nothing short of apocalyptic. Eschewing any form of conventional siege, the forces of Order launched thunderous assaults that bypassed the outer defences of the Genesis Gate and brought vast swathes of the fortress' mouldering walls tumbling down. Battle was joined on a dozen fronts, and though the armies of Nurgle unleashed every plague and hex they knew, they were hard pressed to hold out.

The foul ratmen of the Clan Pestilens turned upon their erstwhile allies, seeking to steal sorcerous secrets for their own gain and leaving Nurgle's armies in disarray as Alarielle launched a headlong strike for the Genesis Gate. Though they took a savage toll upon their attackers, the Plague Gods's armies were defeated and the Genesis Gate sealed. Alarielle's purifying magics ensured that Nurgle's servants could not easily reclaim the vital Realmgate. Thus she consolidated her victory upon this crucial site.

For the forces of Order, this was a moment of grand celebration. Yet for Nurgle it was a crushing blow. Victory in the War of Life - and by extension, dominion over all of Ghyran - had been his to claim. Yet somehow it had eluded him, slipping through his eager grasp like water. With the rich bounty of the Realm of Life at his disposal, Nurgle's might would have swelled until it eclipsed that of all his brothers. Yet his gambit had failed, and so he was left diminished.

Nurgle became morose and withdrawn, disappointed in his followers' failures and despondent at his own. His wars went into remission, and for a time, his power faded...

Plague Resurgent

Nurgle is a being of cyclical whims who never remains glum for long. Though he had suffered a great reversal in Ghyran, the Plague God resolved to learn from his mistakes. He had been selfish. The revelation struck Nurgle with the suddenness of fever sweats. He had fixated upon Ghyran, so much so that he had neglected those crying out for his blessings in the other Mortal Realms.

Nurgle resolved to change his ways. The war in the Realm of Life was not over, far from it. But no longer would it claim his attention entire. Instead, Nurgle resolved to launch fresh offensives across all of the Mortal Realms. To lead them, he summoned Horticulous Slimux, his Grand Cultivator. The daemon would go out into the realms, tainting sites of magical power in order to conjure forth the diseased fronds of Nurgle's own Garden. He would sow one plague-ridden hellscape after another until the realms groaned beneath the weight of diseased foliage and blighted flora. So would Nurgle spread his blessed plagues to all, and in doing so rise to ultimate power.

p8-9 — The Season of Sowing

Nurgle's new plan to dominate the realms played to his servants' greatest strengths. Instead of pouring all his power into a single conflict, he would open up a dozen new fronts, a hundred, a thousand; each would be small to begin with, but would spread like viral outbreaks until they overran all of reality.

Seeds of Corruption

Departing Nurgle's realm at the head of a full Tallyband, Horticulous Slimux began his mission. He travelled through the Grimbledrip Realmgate to the Hissing Rift. There, amidst the sulphur lakes and the ruins of ancient Gnassa, Horticulous sowed his first seeds and crushed the vengeful warriors of the Mjodor Lodge.

Evil Takes Root

Leaving the Garden of Nurgle to poison the Hissing Rift, Horticulous moved on. Over the months that followed, his Tallyband struck in Aqshy, Ghur and Ghyran. The Khornate shrine atop Mount Balefire, the Slowgnaw Realmgate in the hinterwylds of Sheng, and even the desperately defended soulpod groves of Clan Thelythlin, all became magical fertiliser for Horticulous' foul seeds. With each successful sowing, the Garden of Nurgle spilled a little more into the Mortal Realms.

Whispers of the Seventh Sowing

Seeking an auspicious target for their seventh unholy sowing, Horticulous' army squirmed like maggots into the heart of the Beaconfort, newly raised to the north of Hammerhal Ghyra. Horticulous succeeded in tainting the Alarielle-gifted magics of the beacon, and the fortress garrison of Hallowed Knights fought to the last as the Garden of Nurgle overran them. Yet upon their deaths the Stormcasts flashed back to Azyr for Reforging, and bore their warning with them.

The Taint Revealed

Alerted by his returned warriors, Sigmar looked down and saw the sites of foulness that Horticulous was spreading across the realms. They were few as yet, but their corruption was growing, and presented a terrible threat to the fledgling enclaves of Order. Marshalling his Stormhosts, Sigmar ordered that Horticulous be hunted down.

A New Weapon

Horticulous was wily, his army swollen with power from Nurgle's favour. He defeated every force that Sigmar sent against him. Recognising that the threat of the Grand Cultivator called for a very particular weapon, Sigmar sent out a secret summons borne by swift Aetherwings. His call was answered by a single warrior who prowled from the shadows to kneel before Sigmar's throne. Neave Blacktalon, first of the Knights-Zephyros, had come...

Blacktalon's Hunt

Led by Lord Danastus, the Shadowhammers - one of the finest Vanguard Auxiliary Chambers within the Hammers of Sigmar - began its hunt for Horticulous Slimux. These were the favoured comrades of Naeve Blacktalon, and together they were charged with the singular task of hacking the Grand Cultivator apart.

The Battle of Thorca

Amidst the High Snows of Thorca, Lord Danastus' chamber ran Horticulous' army to ground. Following the blackened trail of filth that the daemons left behind them, the Stormcasts successfully brought their foes to battle before they could reach the abandoned fane of Grungni that they sought to defile. The fighting that followed was brutal, Neave Blacktalon coming within a hair's breadth of striking Horticulous' head from his shoulders. Yet the Grand Cultivator escaped, albeit at great cost to his followers, and vowed vengeance.

The Hunt Continues

The Shadowhammers continued their relentless pursuit, Naeve and her comrades following Horticulous' trail through the myriad paths of the Mortal Realms. At Bulakh and amidst the forests of Low Yorathi, the Rangers almost cornered their prey. Upon the Veilpaths of Forl'ek, Horticulous came close to slaying his pursuers. Yet always the chase continued, and still the sowings went on.

Rancid Rewards

Seeing the disruption that the Shadowhammers were causing, Nurgle decided to help his beset Cultivator. The Plague God declared that any who slew Neave Blacktalon would know the full bounty of his gratitude. Once Chaos champion after another led their warriors against the Shadowhammers, thinning their ranks with every battle.

Horticulous' Plan

Seizing the opportunity his master had given him, Horticulous forged ahead with his sowings. He befouled the Forgetemple of the Narlsson Lodge, tainted the power of the Krakskull Warclan's Idol of Gorkamorka, and used the Plague Furnaces of Clan Skrittik to fuel his greatest sowing to fate. Yet the Shadowhammers remained on Horticulous' tail, reinforced with fresh warriors from Sigmaron. At last they caught up to their quarry again amidst the Bone Heights of Ghur, near to the city of Excelsis.

p12 — Horticulous Slimux

Since a time before memory, Horticulous Slimux has been the Grand Cultivator of the Garden of Nurgle. Sitting astride the shell of his gruesome steed, Mulch, Horticulous rides into battle with daemons shambling around him and his pruning shears held ready for gory lopping.

Horticulous Slimux is a relentless and methodical being, a pragmatic tactician and resilient warrior whose steady glare can make even the silliest Nurgling behave. Since time before time, he has been the Grand Cultivator of the Garden of Nurgle, and there are many who say that Horticulous was the first daemon the Plague God ever created. Certainly he is amongst the Grandfather's favourites, a position that - uniquely amongst Nurgle's servants - he has never fallen out of.

So long has Horticulous existed that there is little he has not seen or done. His mastery of infernal horticulture is second to none; he knows precisely when to thin out the bone spikes on a spatterbush, when to drain the fluids from a seeping willow, and when to pair cuttings from a rot-blossom in order to attract the most parasites to its pus-sap. Horticulous applies this same methodical approach and steady hand to the battlefield, pruning limbs from his enemies with snicker-snacks of his shears, and droning orders at the daemons under his command.

Horticulous' unpleasant disposition and almost complete lack of humour are well known - amongst the Nurglings he is often referred to as 'old sour-seed'. Only the most reckless mites call him this to his face, however, and soon find themselves dangled as bait for Horticulous' slimy mount. This snail-like monstrosity that Horticulous calls Mulch, is one of the few creatures in the realms whose presence the Grand Cultivator can always tolerate. This may be because Mulch is every bit as curmudgeonly as his master. The snail-beast is always ready with a sardonic snort or guttural sigh, and devours any Nurgling incautious enough to stray within reach.

Horticulous carries everything he needs upon Mulch's pox-riddled shell, from clippings and sacks of rot-spores to riticulturalist paraphernalia and fat maggots to snack on. Though it is not a swift beast, Mulch is absolutely tireless and incredibly resilient. Moreover, tugged along in its wake is the foully enchanted artefact known as Gruntleplough. A groaning, rattling contraption fashioned by Nurgle's own hand, this strange device tills the soil with seeping corruption, mashing together corpse meat, spilled fluids and the diseased slime of the snail beast into a sticky and infectious loam, ripe for sowing with the seeds of Nurgle's Garden. So does Horticulous taint the ground over which he advances, scattering plague spores into the furrows he leaves and channelling the magic of the realms as fertiliser to trigger their growth.

Foul groves spring up in his wake, bloodweed and creeping lianas uncoiling amongst bubo-thickets and gallows trees. Droning insects rise from the burgeoning plague flora, while the lands sicken and break down into rancid slime and seething filth. Meanwhile, Horticulous presses onwards, sowing relentlessly even as he ploughs through the enemy battle-lines.

The Grand Cultivator has fought alongside many of Nurgle's Plague Legions, for he will make use of whatever tools he must to get his sowing done. However, he is most often accompanied by a Tallyband from the Befouling Host. Tasked with garrisoning the fortifications of the Garden of Nurgle, the Befouling Host have a particular affinity for unleashing plague spores on their enemies and transforming their victims into living nurseries for all manner of malignant fungi. This appeals to Horticulous' sensibilities, and together he and the Befouling Host have wrought many atrocities in Nurgle's name.

p14-15 — Hunter and Prey

Horticulous travelled by strange paths. He and his followers slipped through forgotten Realmgates and squirmed like slugs beneath the shifting skin of reality. However, with the keen senses of their Knight-Zephyros to guide them, the Shadowhammers could not be evaded forever.

It was amidst the endless tracts of the Howling Forest that the Shadowhammers picked up Horticulous' trail. They had been stalking through the tangled woodland for days, searching for any sign of Horticulous' Tallyband. The trail of rot and trampled slime they found was impossible to miss. Trees had sagged and twisted at the daemons' passing, their sap turning putrid and their bark bursting out in obscene fungal growths. Foul insects buzzed and scurried through the infectious filth, and pools of clotted slime bubbled and popped.

Emerging from a deep cleft in a carved rock face, the trail led away north, cutting a befouled line through the trees. It was clear to the Rangers' practised eyes that Horticulous was many days ahead of them. Worse, he could have only one target in this region of Ghur; he was making directly for the city of Excelsis.

Excelsis was famed for its prophetic riches, which allowed the city's leaders to foresee dangers long before they materialised. Yet this was by no means foolproof, and Lord Danastus feared that the threat posed by Horticulous' sowing was so esoteric that it would defy easy detection. If the Grand Cultivator successfully corrupted one of the trio of Realmgates that existed near to Excelsis, the resultant spread of corruption could overrun the entire city. This must not come to pass, and so Danastus urged his warriors into swift pursuit.

Utilising their wind-shifting speed, the Rangers raced through the Howling Forest and out onto the rain-soaked savannahs beyond. For days they followed the daemons' trail, drawing ever closer to their quarry. There could be no doubt now that the trail of foulness led straight towards the Coast of Tusks. However, as the Shadowhammers closed in they found Horticulous' trail splitting into several slime-slick strands.

The Grand Cultivator had divided his forces and sent them towards all three of the Realmgates that stood within a hundred-mile radius of Excelsis. Horticulous would have to be present in person for a sowing to occur, but in this way he cleverly confounded the Rangers' pursuit.

Thinking quickly, Danastus split his own forces into three, each including retinues of Hunters, Palladors and Raptors. Once force he led in person towards Fortress Abraxicon and the Heavenstride Realmgate over which it stood watch. Another was given to Knight-Azyros Kilteron, who swept away towards the Echosteel Realmgate. Finally, the swiftest and most deadly of the Shadowhammers were given over to the command of Neave Blacktalon. She led this force away at a blistering pace towards the Bone Heights, and the Emberwash Realmgate that was nested amidst their peaks.

As her force swept across the grasslands through curtains of falling rain, Neave's wolf-sharp senses detected the taint of Chaos corruption on the breeze. The stench of Nurgle daemons became stronger by the hour, but to the Knight-Zephyros one stench stood out from amongst the rest. It was a putrid reek that she knew all too well from her months of hunting and battle - the spoor of Horticulous Slimux himself.

Blacktalon knew then that she was on the right track. The Bone Heights loomed ahead, a dark line on the horizon that grew into towering hills. Sheer cliffs of dark stone rose high into the stormy skies, gallowshrikes wheeling and shrieking above them.

Huge osseous protusions jutted from the crests of the tallest hills, vast ribs and fangs and talons stretching towards the clouds. Up there, Neave knew, lay the Emberwash Realmgate that must surely be Horticulous' target. Yet closer, amongst the foothills, her keen eyes picked out foul figures marching en masse. Horticulous' daemonic rearguard was directly ahead, and Neave did not mean to let them slow her down.

p16 — Strike Like the Wind

The foothills of the Bone Heights swarmed with daemons. Horticulous and his army had reached the site barely a day ahead of his pursuers, and wasted no time in climbing up to the Emberwash Realmgate and beginning his sowing ritual.

The ritual would take time. Ever the glum pragmatist - Horticulous found it best to assume that his enemies were always breathing down his neck. He had despatched much of his Tallyband back down into the foothills to lurk amnogst the craggy plateaus and watch over the old road that led up to the heights.

Fat little flies brought warning of the Rangers' approach, wobbling through the downpour to land on dameons' shoulders and jabber in their ears. Yet so swift were Neave and her warriors that word of their coming arrived scant moments before them.

The Knight-Zephyros was a direct and aggressive huntress, and she put great stock in rapid kill. Still, she was no rash fool. She would not rush in blindly. Crouched amidst the storm-lashed grass, Neave held a swift council of war with her warriors while they waited for their Aetherwings to scout the daemons' positions.

Upon their return, the vibrantly-hued birds spoke of slouching daemon packs spread all along the line of the hills. They infested every route like maggots, but in their wide deployment Neave saw a weakness. The daemons of Nurgle were resilient and dangerous foes, but they were lacking in speed. If the Rangers could punch a hole through the rearguard that defended the old road, they would be past the enemy lines before the farther-flung daemons could react to stop them. From there, it would be a straight shot to the summit and Horticulous. With their plan decided, the Shadowhammers moved out. They slipped through the grasslands like flitting shadows, gathering pace as they arrowed towards the old road upon aetheric winds. Neave led the warriors' charge, becoming a blur as she accelerated to her full blistering pace and bringing the full wrath of the storm with her.

Plaguebearers battle Stormcast Eternals

p18 — Baiting the Trap

From the Bone Heights, Horticulous looked down upon the battle. His sour expression showed little surprise at the carnage taking place. Mulch gave a contemptuous snort as, far below, the Stormcast Rangers tore through the daemonic rearguard and moved swiftly up the old road.

The Emberwash Realmgate stood upon a flat, stony hilltop dotted with old ruins and towers of bone. Horticulous' sowing was already well advanced.

He had ploughed the soil and spat his foulness into every furrow; he had spoken the tiller's lament and enunciated seven times the bubonic beseeching to Nurgle. He had daubed the Realmgate's lintel with filth, inscribing the runes of plentiful growth. Feeding upon the Realmgate's magical power, the first fronds of the Garden of Nurgle were already pushing through, and the gate's energies were turning a sickly green.

Yet his crop needed to ripen, and now these pests had come to spoil it. Horticulous meant to stop them, and, as with any other pest, the best way was to set a trap...

A short while later, Neave and her warriors crested a steep rise in the road and found themselves in an area of scrubby trees and rocky outcroppings that shivered with magical residue. Looming above them was the last, steep climb that led up to the summit, from where could be seen the sickly glow of the corrupted Realmgate. Closer to hand, Neave saw Horticulous himself. The Grand Cultivator shot a panicked glance over his shoulder at her, urging his snail-like steed to flee for the hilltop high above. Seeing their chance, the Rangers lunged forward into the ragged copse - into the jaws of the trap. Horticulous' daemons poured onto the plateau from all sides. The thrum of membranous wings filled the air as Plague Drones buzzed down from above, and whistling death's heads burst foully amidst the trees to spray diseased slime. Nurglings spilled from the undergrowth, and Plaguebearers trudged in to cut off the Rangers' route to Horticulous. The trap was sprung, and now the Stormcasts would have to fight for their lives.

Plaguebearers

Nurglings

p20 — Before the Gate

The Whirlwind Axes swinging, Neave Blacktalon hacked down every daemon within reach. The Shadowhammers shot their way out of their encirclement, their Vanguard-Palladors wind-shifting straight through the daemon lines. Though many Stormcasts fell, Horticulous' trap had failed.

Filled with anger and determination, the Knight-Zephyros led her surviving warriors in the final advance on the Emberwash Realmgate. Spreading her Rangers out and watching for danger, Neave moved up the last, steep stretch of the old road and into the rocky ruins at its summit.

Ahead, she saw the Realmgate. Its structure shuddered and groaned, bilious light spilling from it. Miasmal spore clouds and thrumming storms of flies spilled from within. Meanwhile, foul-looking plant life squirmed up from the ground all around. Dripping lianas colied up around the Realmgate's arched lintel. Shuddering feverblooms burst from between its stones.

Neave had seen all of this before, too many times to count. She recognised that the sowing was in its final stages, and that the Realmgate was beyond saving. All that she and her comrades could do was halt the ritual before the gate burst like an overripe fruit and the Garden of Nurgle spilled forth to destroy the entire region.

Neave's first priority, however, was still Horticulous. The daemon had to be banished, lest this terrible spectacle happen again and again. The Grand Cultivator was there, half visible through the choking spore clouds, the whirling flies and the driving rain. His surviving daemons drew up in a slouching battle line, determined to hold off the Stormcasts long enough for their master to finish his work.

Ordering her warriors to see to the daemons' destruction, Neave accelerated into a lightning-fast charge. Axes in hand, she raced for Horticulous Slimux. Seeing her coming, the Daemon reared up to his full height, shears snicking open and shut, and prepared to deal with his relentless hunter once and for all...

Horticulous Slimux battles Neave Blacktalon

Horticulous Slimux

Horticulous Slimux, Grand Cultivator of Nurgle, leads his trudging Tallyband into battle.

Horticulous Slimux

Horticulous Slimux roams the realms, performing gruesome sowings and battling those who try to stop him.

Plaguebearers

Plague Drones

Horticulous Slimux

p29 — Nurgle Battle Traits

Armies with the Nurgle allegiance have the following ability:

Cycle of Corruption: When Nurgle's armies march across the realms, they bring with them a cycle of decay and fecundity. At the start of any battle that includes a Nurgle army, a dice must be rolled. Refer to the table opposite to see which stage of the Cycle of Corruption is currently taking place - this applies to all Nurgle armies. The Cycle of Corruption moves clockwise one step at the start of each new battle round. For example, if the roll on the Cycle of Corruption table was a 5, then Nauseous Revulsion would apply in the first battle round, Rampant Disease in the second, Corruption Regrowth in the third, and so on. The rule for the current stage applies for the duration of the battle round.

D6Stage of Corruption
1Unnatural Vitality
2Fecund Vigour
3The Burgeoning
4Plague of Misery
5Nauseous Revulsion
6Rampant Disease

1. Unnatural Vitality

Add 2" to the Move characteristic of Nurgle units.

2. Fecund Vigour

Add 1 to the wound rolls of all attacks made by Nurgle units in the combat phase.

3. The Burgeoning

Roll a dice for each unit within 1" of a terrain feature at the start of your hero phase. On a roll of 5 or more the unit suffers 1 mortal wound. Nurgle units heal 1 wound instead.

4. Plague of Misery

Re-roll battleshock test rolls of 1 for enemy units (excluding Nurgle units).

5. Nauseous Revulsion

Re-roll wound rolls of 6 or more for attacks made by enemy units (excluding Nurgle units) in the combat phase.

6. Rampant Disease

At the start of your hero phase, pick D3 different enemy units (excluding Nurgle units) within 12" of each other. Each unit suffers D3 mortal wounds.

Corrupted Regrowth

Nurgle units heal D3 wounds at the start of their hero phase.

p33 — Fecund Riticulturalists

A Tallyband of the Befouling Host, these shambling and revoltingly green-fingered daemons are the perfect companions for Horticulous Slimux. They feel the weight of their duty keenly, and do whatever they can to defend their master and facilitate his bounteous sowings.

Organisation

A Fecund Riticulturalists battalion consists of the following units:

Abilities

Riticulturalists: Witnessing the seeding of Nurgle's Garden invigorates his children. You can re-roll hit rolls of 1 for models from this battalion whilst they are within 7" of Horticulous Slimux.

Fertile Ground: If the unit of Plaguebearers from this battalion is within 3" of Horticulous at the start of your hero phase, you may immediately replace D3 of its models that were slain earlier in the battle

p38 — Horticulous Slimux

Horticulous Slimux rides into battle perched upon the shell of his gastrobominus, Mulch. As Nurgle's head gardener, he has the power to seed the Garden of Nurgle into the fabric of reality, churning the ground with his Gruntleplough to summon it forth. Surrounded by packs of Beasts of Nurgle and wielding his lethal lopping shears, Horticulous is a being to be greatly feared.

MoveWoundsSaveBravery
5"83+10

Melee WeaponsRangeAttacksTo HitTo WoundRendDamage
Lopping Shears1"33+3+-1D3
Mulch's Slime-encrusted Jaws1"D33+3+-22

Description

Horticulous Slimux is a single model. He is armed with a huge pair of Lopping Shears that he uses to snip his enemies in half, and rides upon the back of a massive gastrobominus called Mulch that snaps at the foe with its Slime-encrusted Jaws.

Abilities

Beast Handler: You can re-roll failed charge rolls for friendly units of Beasts of Nurgle that are within 7" of Horticulous Slimux. In addition, you can re-roll hit rolls of 1 for friendly units of Beasts of Nurgle that are within 14" of Horticulous Slimux.

Disgustingly Resilient: Roll a dice each time Horticulous Slimux suffers a wound or mortal wound; on a 5 or more, the wound sloughs away rancid flesh but causes no real harm and is ignored.

In Death There is Life: All friendly Nurgle units within 7" of this model heal 1 wound each time a unit is wiped out within 7" of this model.

Ploughed Slime Trail: Each enemy unit that is within 3" of Horticulous Slimux when he starts to make a retreat move suffers D3 mortal wounds as they slip in the deadly, acidic slime trail left in Horticulous' wake.

Keywords

Chaos, Daemon, Nurgle, Hero, Horticulous Slimux

p39 — Plaguebearers of Nurgle

Plaguebearers trudge to battle amidst the drone of flies' wings and endless counting. These corpse-like daemons tally the diseases unleashed by Nurgle upon the Mortal Realms, and as they do so they stab and hack at their enemies with filth-ridden plagueswords. Relentless and resilient in equal measures, Plaguebearers overwhelm their victims as surely as a terminal sickness.

MoveWoundsSaveBravery
4"15+10

Melee WeaponsRangeAttacksTo HitTo WoundRendDamage
Plaguesword1"14+3+-1

Description

A unit of Plaguebearers of Nurgle has 10 or more models. They are armed with vile Plagueswords.

Plagueridden

The leader of this unit is the Plagueridden. A Plagueridden makes 2 attacks rather than 1.

Icon Bearer

Models in this unit may be Icon Bearers. If you roll a 1 when making a battleshock test for a unit that includes any Icon Bearers, reality blinks and the daemonic horde is bolstered. Add D6 Plaguebearers to the unit.

Pipers

Models in this unit can be Pipers. Your opponent must re-roll battleshock tests of 1 for units that are within 6" of any Pipers.

Abilities

Cloud of Flies: Plaguebearers attract great clouds of flies that buzz about them, obscuring them from view. Your opponent must subtract 1 from any hit rolls made in the shooting phase that target a unit of Plaguebearers. If this unit contains 20 or more models, your opponent must instead subtract 2 from these hit rolls, as well as subtracting 1 from any hit rolls that target it in the combat phase.

Disgustingly Resilient: Roll a dice each time this unit suffers a wound or mortal wound; on a 5 or more, the wound sloughs away rancid flesh but does no real harm and is ignored.

Locus of Fecundity: You can re-roll save rolls of 1 for this unit if it is within 7" of any Daemon Heroes of Nurgle from your army.

Magic

Chaos Wizards know the Summon Plaguebearers spell, in addition to any others they know.

Summon Plaguebearers

Summon Plaguebearers has a casting value of 6. If successfully cast, you can set up a unit of up to 10 Plaguebearers within 14" of the caster and more than 9" from any enemy models. The unit is added to your army but cannot move in the following movement phase. If the result of the casting roll was 11 or more, set up a unit of up to 20 Plaguebearers instead.

Keywords

Chaos, Daemon, Nurgle, Plaguebearers

p40 — Plague Drones of Nurgle

Amongst the swiftest and most dangerous of Nurgle's followers, Plague Drones are high-ranking Plaguebearers who ride to war astride huge and malevolent Rot Flies. These daemonic airborne mounts attack the foe with stingers, proboscises and chitinous limbs, while their riders hurl slime-filled death's heads into the enemy lines that explode in showers of infectious filth.

MoveWoundsSaveBravery
8"55+10

Missile WeaponsRangeAttacksTo HitTo WoundRendDamage
Death's Head14"14+3+-1
Melee WeaponsRangeAttacksTo HitTo WoundRendDamage
Plaguesword1"14+3+-1
Prehensile Proboscis1"33+4+-1
Venomous Sting1"14+3+-1D3

Description

A unit of Plague Drones of Nurgle has 3 or more models. The Rot Flies attack with their Prehensile Proboscises and Venomous Stings, while their Plaguebearer riders swing Plagueswords and throw virulent Death's Heads.

Fly

Plague Drones can fly.

Plaguebringer

The leader of this unit is the Plaguebringer. A Plaguebringer makes 2 attacks rather than 1 with its Plaguesword.

Icon Bearer

Models in this unit may be Icon Bearers. If you roll a 1 when taking a battleshock test for a unit that includes any Icon Bearers, reality blinks and the daemonic horde is bolstered. Add D3 Plague Drones to the unit.

Bell Tollers

Models in this unit can be Bell Tollers. Your opponent must re-roll battleshock tests of 1 for units that are within 6" of any Bell Tollers.

Abilities

Disgustingly Resilient: Roll a dice each time this unit suffers a wound or mortal wound; on a 5 or more, the wound sloughs away rancid flesh but does no real harm and is ignored.

Locus of Contagion: If the result of a wound roll made for this unit is a 6 or more, and this unit is within 7" of a Daemon Hero of Nurgle from your army, that wound turns septic and flyblown in moments, inflicting a mortal wound on the target unit in addition to any other damage.

Magic

Chaos Wizards know the Summon Plague Drones spell, in addition to any others they know.

Summon Plague Drones

Summon Plague Drones has a casting value of 6. If successfully cast, you can set up a unit of up to 3 Plague Drones within 14" of the caster and more than 9" from any enemy models. The unit is added to your army but cannot move in the following movement phase. If the result of the casting roll was 11 or more, set up a unit of up to 6 Plague Drones instead.

Keywords

Chaos, Daemon, Plaguebearer, Nurgle, Plague Drones

p41 — Nurglings

Nurglings are diseased dameon mites, miniature facsimiles of their noisome god that pour across the battlefield in a stinking tide and bury the foe beneath wave after wave of bloated little bodies. Tumbling from the innards of larger daemons or spilling up from sewers and fissures, the diminutive daemons overcome their victims with sheer weight of numbers and infectious foulness.

MoveWoundsSaveBravery
5"4-10

Melee WeaponsRangeAttacksTo HitTo WoundRendDamage
Tiny, Razor-sharp Teeth1"55+5+-1

Description

A unit of Nurglings has 3 or more models. Nurglings attack with their Tiny, Razor-sharp Teeth.

Abilities

Disease-ridden Demise: At the end of the combat phase, roll a dice for each enemy unit that suffered any wounds inflicted by Nurglings in that phase. On a roll of 5 or more the unit begins to succumb to the virulent maladies carried by the Nurglings and suffers D3 mortal wounds.

Endless Swarm: During each player's battleshock phase, any Nurgling models that have suffered wounds that turn but have not been slain are immediately healed to their starting number of Wounds.

Magic

Chaos Wizards know the Summon Nurglings spell, in addition to any other spells they know.

Summon Nurglings

Summon Nurglings has a casting value of 6. If successfully cast, you can set up a unit of up to 3 models of Nurglings within 14" of the caster and more than 9" from any enemy models. The unit is added to your army but cannot move in the following movement phase. If the result of the casting roll was 11 or more, set up a unit of up to 6 models of Nurglings instead.

Keywords

Chaos, Daemon, Nurgle, Nurglings