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Hi all,

First off let me say I am new to 40k and general internet contribution so apologies in advance if I have made (or will make) a fool of myself. I've followed the hobby for years but due to time/ money constraints never actually started collecting until now.

In a nutshell I want to start building a Nurgle-themed CSM army as I like (most of) the models & the background lore. The plan is to buy the 'get started' pack and use the marines to play a few games of Kill Team at a local club, purely to get a feel for the tabletop mechanics & give me time to paint everything up before launching in to full scale 40k games.

A friend is giving me an unopened CSM squad and a Rhino as they were unwanted gifts, so I'll have another 10 marines + a transport on top of the starter pack right away.

What do you think should be next on my 'to do/ to buy' list bearing in mind I'm a total novice? My focus will be on slowly building the army and enjoying the hobby in increments, as I want a well painted force that I feel proud of and comfortable playing with rather than trying to collect as much as possible right away.

Thanks for your help!

Depends, what do you want to get?

-Plague Marines are extremely durable, and can be taken as troops if you take a Chaos Lord with the Mark of Nurgle

-Plague Zombies (aka Cultists) are slow but also durable. Typhus, while slow, is a pretty mean close combat guy with his Daemon weapon, unlocks the Plague Zombies, and is a pretty decent Psyker to boot

-Heldrakes are okay anti-air, but will murder anything with armor 3 or worse. Everyone usually takes their flamer weapon and ignores the other option.

-Defilers aren't that great, but can be fun for low-medium power games

-Bikes are almost a mandatory. They're extremely tough, especially when given the Mark of Nurgle. Any competitive CSM army will run lots of bikes usually

-Obliterators are iffy, but can be great fun. They get basically 1 of every heavy weapon, but can only use it every other turn. So this turn you can pick a missile launcher, but you have to wait until the turn after your next to pick it again.

-Spawn are wild and unpredictable due to their rules, but can be pretty good meat shields for a Chaos Lord on a bike.

Nurgle spawns are one of the best units in the codex.

Thanks Jreilly89, good info. I was going to suggest bikes, and maybe terminators?

Overall I'd like a kind of old school vibe; I first became aware of GW in the mid/ late 90s- with the last release of Blood Bowl & Necromunda etc (yes, I know I've left it a while before starting an army), so if possible I'd like to field an army list that doesn't lean *too* heavily towards only the latest models and shows at least a nod towards the Chaos forces of old. You know, when every model had green bases & GW encouraged you to make terrain out of styrofoam & old washing up bottles.

I hope I'm not being too much of a dreamer but I'd really like to find a balance between an individual, well-presented warband & an army that's balanced & fun to play.

SaltySeaDog wrote:
Thanks Jreilly89, good info. I was going to suggest bikes, and maybe terminators?

Overall I'd like a kind of old school vibe; I first became aware of GW in the mid/ late 90s- with the last release of Blood Bowl & Necromunda etc (yes, I know I've left it a while before starting an army), so if possible I'd like to field an army list that doesn't lean *too* heavily towards only the latest models and shows at least a nod towards the Chaos forces of old. You know, when every model had green bases & GW encouraged you to make terrain out of styrofoam & old washing up bottles.

I hope I'm not being too much of a dreamer but I'd really like to find a balance between an individual, well-presented warband & an army that's balanced & fun to play.

Terminators are considered to be pretty bad in all forms, but if you really want to run them, the general suggestion is minimum sized squads of 3 with combi meltas and power axes. You hopefully get them in turn 2 and they pop a tank and maybe draw some fire from something you actually care about. Unfortunately, this goes for the Lords and sorcerors too, since moving 6" a turn and/or sitting in reserves until turn 4 and then dying to a mishap isn't generally a good idea.

Luckily for you, Nurgle is the default, almost mandatory, mark for almost everything and has the best troops available as well, so it's pretty hard to go wrong with them (as far as playing chaos goes anyway), just avoid marking your sorcerors unless you absolutely have to and you should be fine.

Your next to buy list? A heldrake is the default response for any army that doesn't have one, but really, Bikes, Spawn, A second Rhino, Obliterators, Cultists, a Sorceror or some Havoks would all be good additions to your warband. Have a look at the traitors hate book when you get a chance and keep that in mind for something to build towards.

I am also a new convert to CSM. So take anything I type with that in mind.

So what ive found is that Nurgle is probably the best all around mark. Its not the best every time mind you. But most of the time this will be true.
Terminators can still work in the termicide roll. How effective that is in your meta is another story. 3 man units with melta and power axes seems to be the best set up for that.
Heldrakes seem to be our best answer to eldar filth , nay, alot of flith in the current game. I wouldnt take more than 2 however as we have zero reserve manipulation outside of divination which is hard to get for us.
The raptor talon is our best formation. Another gem seems to be the Cyclopia cabal.
Alot of people think Oblits are good. I do not. I guess you need to do research on that one.
IA13 really, really, really helps the faction. But its forgeworld. So its not always available for play.
Nurgle DP's are really good.

And im sure there are tons more. But im new, and this is just what ive found out. Hopefully more people with a better grasp on the subject can leave some posts.

 Drasius wrote:

SaltySeaDog wrote:
Thanks Jreilly89, good info. I was going to suggest bikes, and maybe terminators?

Overall I'd like a kind of old school vibe; I first became aware of GW in the mid/ late 90s- with the last release of Blood Bowl & Necromunda etc (yes, I know I've left it a while before starting an army), so if possible I'd like to field an army list that doesn't lean *too* heavily towards only the latest models and shows at least a nod towards the Chaos forces of old. You know, when every model had green bases & GW encouraged you to make terrain out of styrofoam & old washing up bottles.

I hope I'm not being too much of a dreamer but I'd really like to find a balance between an individual, well-presented warband & an army that's balanced & fun to play.

Terminators are considered to be pretty bad in all forms, but if you really want to run them, the general suggestion is minimum sized squads of 3 with combi meltas and power axes. You hopefully get them in turn 2 and they pop a tank and maybe draw some fire from something you actually care about. Unfortunately, this goes for the Lords and sorcerors too, since moving 6" a turn and/or sitting in reserves until turn 4 and then dying to a mishap isn't generally a good idea.

Luckily for you, Nurgle is the default, almost mandatory, mark for almost everything and has the best troops available as well, so it's pretty hard to go wrong with them (as far as playing chaos goes anyway), just avoid marking your sorcerors unless you absolutely have to and you should be fine.

Your next to buy list? A heldrake is the default response for any army that doesn't have one, but really, Bikes, Spawn, A second Rhino, Obliterators, Cultists, a Sorceror or some Havoks would all be good additions to your warband. Have a look at the traitors hate book when you get a chance and keep that in mind for something to build towards.

Disagree on Terminators. Grab 4 and give them 4 Combi-Plasma, and you get a bunch of Plasma hits for a turn on a fairly small squad.

Lots of great advice here, and very patient replies considering I'm an annoying newcomer- thank you!

So from what I understand terminators are a mixed bag, or an acquired taste at least. The bikes seem like a good choice, and my take is that they would offer a speed factor in to an army normally perceived as being slow & lumbering, right? I actually think I'd quite like a force like that & it fits well in to my perception of Nurgle; crawling inexorably across the battlefield, lots of heavy armour & deadly up close.

One more question I do have, relating my my Helbrute- what's his best weapon choice? I only ask as I don't really like the tentacles on lots of CSM models, & the Helbrute is almost always pictured with the tentacle-like power flail (?). What are the best alternatives to kit him out with?

I would equip Helbrutes with a power fist and a heavy weapon of your choice. I would recommend the multimelta or the tl lascannon.
Or you could run the Helbrute with 2 power fists in a dreadclaw.
Unfortunately Helbrutes are not very good on the tabletop but thanks to the errata they have at least 4 Attacks now.

Additionally you could run your Helbrute as a Ferrus Infernum Dreadnought, which is in my opinion way better than the Helbrute but costs more points while having the same survivability.

You picked a rough time to go chaos mate.

I wouldn't buy any new kits until you of course have your current collection painted. That way you can avoid the hoarding problem associated with the hobby for some (like me).

I would look towards models/kits you are really attracted too. If you like Nurgle, you are going to love using Army Painter Quickshades & Color Primers. You can get your current collection painted in a nice look in 1-2 weeks.