Chaos review...Elite #3

When it comes to 40K grossness, there is nothing better than Marines filled with all manner of virus, bacteria and disease. These are the followers of Nurgle, the Plague Marines. He has gifted them with incredible resilience and resistance at the cost of their health and anyone else’s nearby. These bloated disease mongers are best known as the Death Guard traitor legion. However, there are many followers and spin-offs just like with Khorne Berzerkers.

The standard issue Plague Marine has the standard Marine stats, except they have the Mark of Nurgle, Toughness 5 and Initiative 3. They come armed with a bolter, bolt pistol, plague knife, krak and blight grenades. They have an attached champion with 2 attacks and leadership 9. They are Fearless and have Feel No Pain. They start in a unit of 5 for the height in inches of a regulation basketball hoop in points and can add up to 15 more guys at a cost of 24 points each.

They come armed with Nurgle touched gear they are known to have. They don’t have to purchase extra like the followers of Khorne. Why? No idea, but a dumb move on G.W.’s part for sure.

Plague Knives- are close combat weapons that are poisoned. They will wound on a +4 no matter what the enemy toughness is.

Blight Grenades – are both and offensive and defensive grenades.

The squad can grab the usual assault weapons: flamer +5, melta gun +10, plasma gun +15. Two members in the squad can carry these. There are no heavy weapon options as cult Marines scoff at those! The ability for a five man squad to carry to special weapons is nice and allows for all the small unit lovers out there to get just that with some fair killing power.

They can also grab Veterans of the Long War +1/point each, which is pretty useless here. They can also take an Icon of Despair +10 points, but they never should. This is, so far, the worst upgrade in the world of 40k 6^th edition!

The unit champion can get all the usual stuff from the armory, melta bombs +5 and the Gift o’ Roll for +10 points. As usual, there is nothing real special here.

HEY! LOOK! They can take a Rhino +35 points.

Previously, the Plague Marines were a Rhino riding, small unit with two special weapons that would camp an objective and barley move. That isn’t to say they still aren’t. The big change to Feel No Pain kicks these (and everyone else) in the junk a bit. A 5+ to get back up from a wound just isn’t as good. Sorry, it isn’t.

There needed to be change to Fell No Pain rule as it was ,and still is, in every codex. The pure toughness 5 is neat, but with one wound it doesn’t change much. It just makes more sense than the previous Toughness 5 (4). They need a strength 10 to negate Feel No Pain and that is the only reason toughness 5 is good. A lasgun hit and failed roll will kill a Plague Marine just as easily as a Demolisher Cannon. 

Does this change from 4+ to 5+ Feel No Pain ruin the Plague Marine? Not really. Their lower initiative does blow a bit, but it always has. Their resilience helps with that bit of close combat. The addition of the Plague Knife is super! Who doesn’t like to wound on a 4+ (with a re-roll to wound if the target is toughness 4 or less). This makes them a descent close combat threat. Now, they will probably get spanked by dedicated close combat units: but they should hold their own (or even excel) against everything else. The Blight Grenades help here too. Who doesn’t like negating a charge bonus from the enemy? Nobody!

They are still a good group to sit on an objective (if they are unlocked as troops duh!) and force people to clear them off it. A five man unit with dual special weapons in a Rhino was pretty much a 5^th edition mandatory unit for Chaos. The loss of vehicle love has hurt this choice a bit. I think it is still viable. A unit of 7 with dual plasma guns in a Rhino is descent. I usually abhor and kill myself with plasma, but here I like it. If I kill myself too much, I would swap the plasma for melta guns and a combi-melta. It is hard to poo-poo three AP 1 shots coming at your face. Maybe, a footslogging unit of 10 with two flamers and a combi-flamer. These guys march up field to take/clean off an objective or burn away those low armored losers that are always holding that defense line gun. Then move in and finish off the survivors with plague knives and bolt pistols.

I will admit I am a fan of the Plague Marines, but have never really collected them. I fear painting them and think I would not even come close to making them look right.