Post by Fadril Adren on Sept 14, 2017 15:10:16 GMT -5
Ever since we revealed Horticulous Slimux, we’ve had loads of questions about this latest Nurgle character – who is he? How does he fit into the plans of the Lord of Plagues? Is that *really* a nurgling on a stick?
Horticulous Slimux is the Grand Cultivator of Nurgle, and possibly Nurgle’s first Daemon. While Horticulous is much beloved by his master, he is notorious among the usually jovial Daemons of Nurgle for his lack of humour, known as “old sour-seed” – although any Nurglings caught sharing this opinion tend to find themselves being used as bait for Mulch, his monstrous mount.
Where Horticulous goes, a grotesque flourishing follows, as the soil swells with burgeoning flora that spread disease and decay like scents on a breeze. As he makes his progress across the battlefield, the terrain behind him is tilled to a rich loam from which Nurgle’s bounty may flourish.
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On the tabletop, Horticulous falls between a support character and a bulky heavy-hitter, and he works well when positioned at the centre of a Nurgle army.
Horticulous’ most important ability is In Death There Is Life:
As your army begins to gather momentum, you’ll be able to make sure your powerful multi-wound models like Beasts of Nurgle, Plague Drones and even Great Unclean Ones stay fighting fit for as long as possible. While a slow-moving army like Daemons of Nurgle usually suffers from being intercepted or distracted by “chaff” or “speed bump” units – that is, small units of cheap infantry that can be used to block charges or hold up powerful characters for a turn – with this ability, you’ll be able to turn it to your advantage.
We’d recommend combining this with Beasts of Nurgle; you’ll be able to take these in several small units of 1 and therefore get the most out of In Death There Is Life. It’s worth mentioning that this ability works on any Nurgle models, and would also be pretty powerful when used in conjunction of some Putrid Blightkings or even some Nurgle Chaos Chariots.
Beast Handler is more specific, but no less deadly, and helps you get the most out of your Beasts of Nurgle.
Re-rolls to charge add some flexibility to a fairly slow unit and combines well with Attention Seekers – by moving, running, and then taking a re-rollable charge, your Beasts of Nurgle could potentially cross a huge distance very quickly, allowing you to catch your opponent off guard. Similarly, re-rolling hit rolls of 1 means you’ll be able to deal more damage in close combat.
Horticulous fits into a range of Nurgle armies, but we think he’s best used as part of an anvil of Beasts of Nurgle. You’ll be able to control a large amount of space on the tabletop, with nearby enemies either having to risk coming close to Horticulous and his Beasts (and therefore having to deal with the double damage from the Locus of Virulence and Beast Handler) or being charged even if they’re further away.