Hey all

for some time now i have wanted to use an official codex list to represent Plague Zombies in 40K, and i think i have finally found something suitable: Nurgle Daemons.

by having the Zombies "count as" Plague Bearers, i get the following fitting attributes:
- Slow & Purposeful, low Init...
- Feel No Pain & high Toughness (all classic zombie traits)
- Poisoned attacks (zombie plague is contagious!)
- Deepstrike (zombies rising from corpse pits & sewers and clawing their way out of ruins etc)
- Fearless (braindead)

to cover the Invulnerable Save i am going to say that the plague zombies are being controlled by a potent Psyker and held together by his power. this puppet master is pulling the strings from behind the scenes and causing plague zombies to attack allover the hive city. this means i wont need to worry about representing him ingame (infact, i will be representing him myself, as the controlling player ).

to cover Daemonic Assault i am going to say that the Plague Zombies are attacking in waves, with reinforcements being drawn in to bolster the main attack.

as the force is being controlled and held together by a Pysker, having anti-Daemon weapons work against it in the rules makes sense fluffwise too.

job's a good'un, IMO.

now, to add a bit of variety to the force, i intend to include a "Sludge Beast" - a hideous mass of rotting body parts and congealed filth that is controlled by the puppet master and sent forth to spread the plague. for the rules i want it to "count as" a Beast of Nurgle, and for the model i want one of the WHFB Fen Beasts (released during the Albion campaign). now ive just realised that the model is no longer on the GW website, but i should be able to track one down (eventually). ive included a pic for those that dont know what it looks like (PM me if you have one for sale ).

his rules are fitting, as he is slow, tough and mindless, and is summoned from the sewers, and also has a randon number of contagious attacks (representing the rotting mess flailing mindlessly). for added punch im giving it Noxious Touch, so it wounds on a 2+ (which makes sense, as it is quite big and very filthy).

as usual, the list is designed to be used in fun (non-competitive) games against other fluffy/balanced lists, on a 4' x 4' table with plenty of varied Terrain using the standard Combat Patrol restrictions and missions.

without further ado, here is the list:

Code: Select all

Plague Zombie [Nurgle Daemons] Combat Patrol (390 pts)

Sludge Beast [1 Beast of Nurgle]: Noxious Touch = 45pts

Plague Zombie pack #1 [5 Plague Bearers] = 75pts

Plague Zombie pack #2 [6 Plague Bearers] = 90pts

Plague Zombie pack #3 [6 Plague Bearers] = 90pts

Plague Zombie pack #4 [6 Plague Bearers] = 90pts

for the purposes of Daemonic Assault the force will be split in half: (6 Zombies + 6 Zombies) and (5 Zombies + 6 Zombies + Sludge Beast), with the Sludge Beast trying to come into play in the first turn. the rest of the army will arrive in later turns (from Reserves).

24 models isnt the "horde" i was originally aiming for, but it still outnumbers MEQs 3:2 and equals the numbers in Tau/Eldar forces etc, so thats not too bad. with random elements (S&P, Deepstrike, Daemonic Assault, variable Beast attacks) it should be quite interesting.

one bonus is that (barring the sludge beast) i have all the models i need to play - i have about 50 or so WHFB Zombies built and (hastily) painted - all i have to do is glue some 2p coins under their (20mm, square) bases some of them to get them to roughly the right size. if getting hold of a Fen Beast proves problematic, i can always substitute it in the list for 3 more Zombies in the meanwhile.

so, thoughts?

cheers!

~ Tim

If you can't get hold of a Fen Beast, you could always model something similar. Some zombie and skelton parts, green stuff, and even some dribbles of super glue (the thicker kind), and bob's your uncle.

As for the Zombie theme, I really like what you have done. I hope it proved equally amusing on the table.

Culven wrote:If you can't get hold of a Fen Beast, you could always model something similar. Some zombie and skelton parts, green stuff, and even some dribbles of super glue (the thicker kind), and bob's your uncle.

dont you mean "...and blob's your uncle"?

hehe.

i suppose i could make one, its just ive wanted one for ages (i had used the Creature Feature to try and make some rules for it, before i had the idea of using the Daemon codex). its weird how ive had an idea on the drawing board for ages just waiting for a new codex to come out that i originally had no idea would ever be written.

im going to ring MO tomorrow and see what they say. it might just be well hidden on the website...

Culven wrote:As for the Zombie theme, I really like what you have done. I hope it proved equally amusing on the table.

cheers mate!

~ Tim

LordMalekTheRedKnight wrote:- Slow & Purposeful, low Init...

doh, Ok so I only used the codex 2 or 3 times (it annoys the crap out of my opponents) but I never spotted they were S+P..(I guess I'll have to slow my plague monks down a bit, maybe add a bloke at the back with a flail to indicate an unwillinness to move)
I don't know really, 4th ed, you have 12 models on the table that can be screened by cover or land in cover, that will get a shot a lot on approach...5th ed FNP is significantly less grovey, landing in terrain hurts a lot (I seem to remember it gets passed FNP? ) and your attacking everything last when you get there (not a big deal since your INt2 anyway but same time as fist may make a difference)
I don't think I'd use it in 5th (too weak), but yeah give it a go in 4th..(just guage opponents frustration level as it is a bit like my plague marine gouder in terms of frustrating peoples attempts to wound you in such a small points bracket- and evaluate it on that scale before buying the whole thing)

killmaimburn wrote:I don't know really, 4th ed, you have 12 models on the table that can be screened by cover or land in cover, that will get a shot a lot on approach...

well, hopefully not too much. maybe just a turn or 2 of shooting before they make it into CC. hopefully the Sludge Beast will act as a bit of a fire magnet too...

killmaimburn wrote:5th ed FNP is significantly less grovey, landing in terrain hurts a lot (I seem to remember it gets passed FNP? ) and your attacking everything last when you get there (not a big deal since your INt2 anyway but same time as fist may make a difference)

well i should still only lose 1 model per squad on average (and thats when the whole squad tests), and i get Run to compensate (allowing me to close the gap after DS'ing, or spread out to avoid Blasts, or jump behind cover). yes FNP is lessened, but Cover Saves are improved. and unless im fighting Tau Fire Warriors in the open, going last in CC isnt a big deal (especially considering that all models that were Engaged at the start of the round will get to fight).

killmaimburn wrote:and evaluate it on that scale before buying the whole thing

all i intend to buy for this force at first is the Fen Beast (which i have wanted for ages anyway to use as a random encounter). eventually i may convert Cadians/militita etc into Plague Zombies, but again, even if not used in this army they will be used for special scenarios.

as to "buying the whole thing" - this is the whole thing!
i mean, more zombies would be cool to have in my collection (and if i convert cadians etc that will increase my zombie count anyway), but im not planning on playing this force above 400 pts (at least not for a very long time).

cheers though

now, before i get too attached to the idea, can anyone think of a better way of representing Plague Zombies with a current codex?

~ Tim
EDIT: just called MO and they have stopped selling the Fen Beast. they did say that he might come back, but didnt know for sure. off to the Trading Post then...

LordMalekTheRedKnight wrote:going last in CC isnt a big deal

fists +p41 spltting attacks and you going the same time as that is a big deal when your starting to talk about 3 man squads..

Your using slow and purposefull things as charging beserkers..say I'm wrong come up with another tactic than "charge very slowly!!" but they aren't harlequins or beserkers or bloodletters or nids, once they get there(if they can get their e.g. mech armies and the rhino cowardice etc) can they win combat? (In 5th with all the rerolls to wound probably , its almost like epidimus did shine.)
I don't think you'll use cover, you'll be wanting to charge, you'll be wanting to be close, you'll be reliant on the 4+('2nd save')..cover may be an added bonus but you wouldn't take a 6" detour travelling at that speed.(if you want to use cover add a turn to your projections)

LordMalekTheRedKnight wrote:24 models isnt the "horde" i was originally aiming for, but it still outnumbers MEQs 3:2 and equals the numbers in Tau/Eldar forces etc,

As I said 400 points skews the game ridiculously against meq.If I'm not outnumbered 3\4:1 and my opponent hasn't loads more special weapons\rules and twice as many units ..then someone has been daft (cheesemonger )

(Late edit, just occured to me your list is really a functional variation of my nurgle jump pack list which you disliked with FNP and rerolls instead of a fist, 4 units instead of 1 )
I'd add some nurglings (bits of shattered zombie crawling along) and possibly 5 horrors (filth sprayers\undead archers) just to give it that flavour and versatility you seem to set your standards by.(it also makes it a tactically more adaptable list when facing swarms\mech and better CC stuff.
(I still haven't got round to playing new orks, but what would 2x 180point orc mobs on charge do to you when you got close enough? Genuine question rather than a rhetorical one)

killmaimburn wrote:I don't think you'll use cover, you'll be wanting to charge, you'll be wanting to be close,

im not saying "stay back and hide behind cover", just that i would try to attack from a direction that involves moving through cover. afterall, it cant slow me down either when moving or when it comes to attacking after charging through it (as im already S&P), so as long as im still moving in a straight line, ive got nothing to lose.

killmaimburn wrote:...meq.If I'm not outnumbered 3\4:1 and my opponent hasn't loads more special weapons\rules and twice as many units ..then someone has been daft (cheesemonger )

well ive got 5 units and a bucketful of special rules, so thats OK yeah?

killmaimburn wrote:I'd add some nurglings (bits of shattered zombie crawling along)

was thinking of that, then i remembered the 2W limit on CP.

killmaimburn wrote:and possibly 5 horrors (filth sprayers\undead archers) just to give it that flavour and versatility you seem to set your standards by.(it also makes it a tactically more adaptable list when facing swarms\mech and better CC stuff.

hmm thats not really something i envisioned. i was considering rats (of various sizes), but will probably keep them Creature Feature creations. something like a walking spore mine could be cool (like in Halo). and maybe some zombie mutant dogs (dire wolf models... which im still not sold on aethetically) - but what to use them as? (not Fleshhounds as i am going to have them in my Khorne list)

killmaimburn wrote:(I still haven't got round to playing new orks, but what would 2x 180point orc mobs on charge do to you when you got close enough? Genuine question rather than a rhetorical one)

i think they would do the same thing that they do to everyone else.
(ive faced the new Orks once so far, with my Tau, and got wiped out rather fast)

and i was being serious when i asked: can anyone think of a better way of representing Plague Zombies?

cheers

~ Tim

LordMalekTheRedKnight wrote:and i was being serious when i asked: can anyone think of a better way of representing Plague Zombies?

LATD , and creature feature random encounters have precise rules for them... then counts-as anything with the mindless rule can represent a class of charector that is now pungent (e.g. a dead super dog is now a resident evil style chaos spawn) thousand sons have mindless automatata with a necromancer (basically...although that is a bit elite forces -where as you seem to be aiming for farmers digging themselves out of a grave due to lure Y) anything nurgle- just because people instantly assoiciate him with zombies (although LATD says that zombies don't have the MON)
Most weaker things that infiltrate or summoned or deepstrike can have arule set that basically says they come out of the ground having heard the call of battle- you'd then just need to outfit unit X to fit that criteria, e.g. chaos chosen all with flamers or sarcophagus breath
But no, using only the current codexs and not chapter approved etc I can't think of a better unit to represent unskilled lower rank zombies (and for the rest of the undead 40k race (for when you play at least one 1500 pt game this summer)I hope I provided some ideas)

LordMalekTheRedKnight wrote:was thinking of that, then i remembered the 2W limit on CP.

And thats why CP is boring list wise and not just skewed...something that says that spawn and nurglings are too uber (it should be a toughness cap related to it)

killmaimburn wrote:LATD

i had looked into LATD before. would i need anything else as my min. Troops requirement? and arent there issues now the CSM book has been updated?

killmaimburn wrote:and creature feature random encounters have precise rules for them...

i meant more as a playable force. for random encounters ive got my homebrew rules (which are tons of fun) and ive saved the GW version somewhere too.

killmaimburn wrote:thousand sons have mindless automatata with a necromancer (basically...although that is a bit elite forces -where as you seem to be aiming for farmers digging themselves out of a grave due to lure Y)

yeah, Power Armour and uber Bolters doesnt quit fit the bill.

infected civilians and PDF etc are what i am going for.

killmaimburn wrote:But no, using only the current codexs and not chapter approved etc I can't think of a better unit to represent unskilled lower rank zombies

thought so. i mean, i could go for hordes of cheap "counts as" Orks or something, but then i wouldnt get all the flavoursome special rules (they would just look like Zombies - they wouldnt act much like them ingame). i think i will stick with the Plague Bearers.

im going to fill the spare foam layer in our figure case with zombies for the meet-up (and maybe borrow the codex...) incase anyone wants to have a go against them (i wont have the sludge beast by then, but thats OK).

killmaimburn wrote:I hope I provided some ideas)

cheers mate.

~ Tim

You've gone for the slow "shambling hoard" type gorefest.

What about the other direction, the mad and lightning quick "rage virus" type, or a mixture of the two?

How about...

PDF = dark eldar warriors,
PDF commander = haemonculous,
Ogrys = grotesques,
Resident evil doggies = warp beasts.

Mandrakes could be interesting too (a sort of pseudo infiltrate in combat patrol).

The whole zombie thing could be down to the haemonculous (scientist) buggering about and his protection force as they were somewhere isolated or somesuch.

ruffian4 wrote:You've gone for the slow "shambling hoard" type gorefest.

mmhmm.

ruffian4 wrote:What about the other direction, the mad and lightning quick "rage virus" type, or a mixture of the two?

well dont forget that i have Cannibals floating around on my drawing board (hopefully a 5th ed codex will give me inspiration ruleswise).

ruffian4 wrote:PDF = dark eldar warriors,
PDF commander = haemonculous,
Ogrys = grotesques,
Resident evil doggies = warp beasts.

this suffers the same problem as when the Cannibals tried to use the DE codex, though (Warp Beasts need a beast master, too many guns etc). theres also the issue of the codex being due for an update. plus i was hoping to keep it relatively simple (not too many different unit types). it really was the "shambling hoard" feel i was aiming for.

thanks for the suggestions though.

~ Tim

Fair enough.

LordMalekTheRedKnight wrote:i had looked into LATD before. would i need anything else as my min. Troops requirement? and arent there issues now the CSM book has been updated?

LATD was my main cheese (and also my only exploration into your realm of geq)
So questions
1) are they troop choices-yes, (only traitors have to be maximum strength if taken as core troops, not plague things mutants or gibbering hordes).
2)Are there some issues , only if you make them.. Most of the stuff is fairly simple to merge or cross over...
I played a mutant heavy list with token corrupt guard 2 basilisks, The only thing that has to change is I bought some more expensive fists.. and you might decide with your group to let the agitators and bosses spend more points, to buy those same upgrade (e.g. a fist) under the new rules...whats changed? well they cost about 30-40 points more if I field exactly the same force as listed in the vaults of the army lists thing here (The DP varint one bit the dust though naturally )
This got linked on warseer recently and is fairly interesting ( a bit arbitrary, but interesting)
http://www.mts.net/~xian/astronomi-con/ ... Damned.pdf
(Note if your fielding plague zombies you don't have to even care about the confusion over armourys)

Re: LATD Plague Zombies - compared to Plague Bearers, they lose:

- Inv Sv, Feel No Pain, Deepstrike, 1 point of S & T, Poison

but gain:

- 4+ Armour Sv, Frag Grenades (will these matter in 5th?), +1A

i could get 44 LATD Zombies instead of 26 Plague Bearers, but they would be concentrated into 2 big units (rather than split between up to 5 small ones). it is tempting as it would have more of a genuine Horde feel - but im not sure (a) how well it would do (S&P with no Deepstrike, no Inv Save, no FNP and only a 4+ Sv) and im not sure it would be much fun (no Deepstrike/Reserves random element, only 2 units, just moving everything forward for 5 turns before charging). it would also be less transportable (would take 2 layers of the figure case, so no good until my Tau are in their Gamer's Ed ammo tin).

might be something we try at home though. cheers!

~ Tim

LordMalekTheRedKnight wrote: im not sure it would be much fun only 2 units, just moving everything forward for 5 turns before charging

Compared to just moving everything forwards for 2-3 turns, charging and aiming to ignore 2/3rds of the table:P (actually you could be on to a winner it would only require 2 by 4, thats like 3 chess boards.. 40k for the tableless)

LordMalekTheRedKnight wrote:less transportable

Piffle,Dump the tau and just have at it and only bring 400 points of movie marines.. Then you only have to bring 2 smurfs and a sergant (heck I don't think most people will mind if you paint em).And you can show what CP is really all about (and mandatory )

But if the latd aren't uber enough for you ...