Fresh-Faced New User
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Mortarion is a big wrecking ball of pus-filled goodness but unfortunately he is not invincible. He needs to be supported and at a putrid 470 points, your list absolutely has to be built around him. He's going to be targeted and if you have no plan for him, he's going to die and with him goes a quarter of your points (you probably shouldn't include him in games under 1500 points if a. you want to have any points for anything else and b. you want to keep your friends). It will be hard to beat a 2000 point list with only 1500 points of army remaining. Since he's not a plug and play primarch (looking at you Guilliman), you have to have some strategy. I want to give my ideas so far on using the big snot balloon to help y'all get the most out of him. I also hope to hear your thoughts because I love the model (and also spent four months of hobby-savings to get him) and want to include him as the center piece for most of my 1850-2000 point lists. I will go over his profile, his strengths and weaknesses, strategies for building around him, and compare him to the other primarchs.
Nurgle's Favorite Son: Profile Overview
470 (24 PL) points gets you a 12" (degrading) moving, WS/BS 2+, S8, T7, W18, A6 (degrading) Sv 3+/4++ flying angel of death armed with Silence, the Lantern, and Phosphex bombs (don't forget to throw em!). He also has cute little nurglings that scratch and claw and just try so gawddang hard. He's a psyker that can manifest two powers and deny three. He knows Smite and three from the Contagion discipline. He has Death to False Emperor and Disgustingly Resilient special rules. He also has a few unique special rules:
Primarch of the Death Guard- re-roll failed hit rolls of 1 for friendly DEATH GUARD units within 7"
Toxic Presence- enemy units within 7" of Mortarion must subtract 1 from their Toughness characterstic
Host of Plagues- does additional mortal wounds to units within 7" based on a degrading roll
Putrid Demise- when he loses his last wound, he blows up and causes mortal wounds to units within 7" on a 4+. Ew gross.
Arch-Contaminator (If taken as your warlord)- let's you reroll all wound rolls for Plague Weapons within 8", just kidding it's 7.
Bis are Looking Good, but Gotta Hit the Lats Bro: Strengths and Weaknesses
Strength 1: Silence. The swiss-army scythe is a real monster of a weapon. It's dual profile gives Morty both anti-horde and anti-monster/vehicle capabilities. The Reaping Scythe profile can, at full strength, swing for 18 S8 AP-2 D1 attacks that, coupled with his Toxic Presence, means he can wound even T5 infantry on 2s. With Primarch of the Death Guard and Arch-Contaminator, statistically he should get 17 wounds. Against GEQ that's 17 dead, MEQ is 11 dead, and TEQ 4 dead. His Eviscerating Blow profile can do a max of 36 wounds! Though statistically against a T8, 10W, 3+ model he's expected to do about 20 damage, more than enough to take out most monsters/vehicles in the game.
Blades of Putrefaction can add a few more mortal wounds but it's just gravy. It won't help you wound better since you will be wounding on 2s against most targets and 1's fail no matter what. Statistically this would throw on about 3 extra mortal wounds with Reaping Scythe.
Strength 2: Auras. Primarch of the Death Guard, Toxic Presence and most likely Arch-Contaminator are his auras. I wish my body odor was that motivating. These are the key to getting the most out of Mortarion. When a single model costs as much as he does, you have to milk those fetid udders for all their worth. I will go into more detail about these in list building strategies section.
Strength 3: Psyker. Doesn't need a lot of explanation. It's generally better to be a psyker than to not be. Also casting Miasma of Pestilence on himself further increases his survivability.
Strength 4: Disgustingly Resilient. Being able to ignore a third of incoming wounds really does increase his survival rate by about, oh I don't know, 33% or so?
Weakness 1: Toughness 7. C'mon GW! He's as big a a Land Raider; he should be as tough as one! Well, actually I know why he isn't. He'd be super OP at T8. Most small arms weapons in the game are S4. Going from wounding on 5+ to 6+ is a huge difference. Though lascannon-equivalents wouldn't be affected by T8 and he is likely to take most of your armies lascannon-equivalents to the face. Still, would've have been cool!
Weakness 2: 3+/4++ Save. This coupled with Toughness 7 makes him easier to bring down than you'd expect. Granted he's still tough as nails but it's the reason he can't solo an entire army single handedly. You have to consider what's going to be firing at him. Heavy weapons are going to eat through his armor save and a 4++ is not what you want to be relying on to stop a bunch of incoming missiles or whatever the opponent's version of missiles is. Granted, a bit of mathhammering shows that it would take 28 lascannon shots to bring him down. Seems like a lot, but at 2k points, I don't usually run with less than 8 heavy weapons or equivalents. That's only a little over 3 turns of dedicated shooting to bring him down which is easier now that you can just walk out of combat whenever you fee like it. If the enemy only had 8 lascannons for guns, then I'd say he's good, but they're going to have quite a bit more. And the guy might as well be wearing a target because you know your opponent is going to put everything they've got into taking him down. A 3+ armor save is not great against small arms fire. If he had a 2+, he'd be nuts, but as it stands S4 weapons wound him on 5s. Enough of those are going to take a dent out of a 3+ saving model, even with DR. All that being said, he still is tough, don't get me wrong. You just can't run him up the board by himself or he WILL die and he'll die way faster than his $140 price tag would like you to believe.
Weakness 3: Degrading stats. Not a huge weakness. To be honest. I just wanted a third weakness so that I'd have a total of 7 Strengths and Weaknesses but it is important to keep in mind. Since he will be targeted rather aggressively, he will lose wounds quick. And he only has to lose 10 (55%) to start losing stats. He goes down to M10" 5A. At 4 wounds and less he has M8 and 4A. Fighting makes him drowsy. His Host of Plagues rolls also degrade.
The Death Angel Cometh: How to Get Mortarion to Cometh (Giggity)
Because he has the Toxic Presence rule, which reduces enemy toughness, and you want to be using all his aura's to make the investment worthwhile, he has to be used aggressively. I know that's not a real ground breaking revelation because you can look at his profile and see that he wants to be aggressive but it's important to realize you are wasting potential if you try to sit him back like a Magnus or Guilliman and buff your gunline. I've come up with two strategies for using Mortarion more effectively. Really, it's more like two variants of the same strategy: Turn 1 or Turn 2 charge. I really wish I had better names for those, but basically the Turn 1 charge plays as aggressively as possible and seeks to overwhelm the enemy with too many targets to deal with effectively while maximizing the synergy between Morty's aura's and your other assault units. The Turn 2 charge plays a little less aggressively, in that you use his aura's to enhance your ranged plague weapons for a turn or 2 while simultaneously harassing the enemies heavy ranged weapons.
Turn 1 Charge
The Core
Mortarion as Warlord, Miasma of Pestilence, Blades of Putrefaction, and the third power depends on what you're facing (Plague Wind against hordes, Gift of Contagion or Curse of the Leper against more elite armies)
2-3 Squads of Blightlord Terminators w/ combi-weapon of choice (I like plasma)
2-3 Bloat-drones w/ either plaguespitters or fleshmower (I like fleshmower)
1 CSM Sorceror w/ jump pack (for Dark Hereticus (Warp Time))
The Strategy
Move Mortarion and your Bloat-drones towards the opponent's army. Move the Sorcerer up to within 3" of Mortarion. It doesn't matter if the sorcerer is exposed since he can't be targeted as a character unless he's the closest unit. If your enemy managed to kill Mortarion, all your terminators and your Bloat-drones, just give up. Drop the termis 9" away from the enemy but in such a location as to be in range of Morty's auras after you cast Warp Time on him and shoot him into the enemies face. Cast Warp Time on Morty move him another 12". Have Mortarion case Miasma on himself and Blades on the unit of Termis that need it more (or possibly Plague Wind against hordes). You should now be in a position for a turn 1 charge with 3-4 very resilient units with 2-3 more right behind them. Use those command points to get those 9" charges off. You're really going all out on this charge because most of your points are invested in just slaughtering the enemy before they can react.
Let's see what you've got going on here. We already know what Mortarion can do. The Blightlord Terminators are hitting on 3s, rerolling 1s. Against MEQs they are wounding on 3's, thanks to Mortarion's Toxic Presence, and rerolling all wounds because both the balesword and bubotic axe are Plague Weapons. Bubotic Axes with Blades of Putrefaction wound on 2's and increase their AP to -3 on a 5+ (due to their Aura of Ruse ability) and deal an extra MW on a 6+ for when you really want something dead. Giving Mortarion Blades of Putrefaction is a nice way to increase the damage output of a squad of terminators. Taking a Flail of Corruption for each Termi squad also increases their combat potential. A few lucky rolls can get you 6 extra wounds!
Now most opponents are probably going to step out of combat about this time (assuming the units that were assault are still alive) and dump everything they've got into your vanguard. Ideally, you should try to aim Morty and Co. into the units that will hurt them the most in the following shooting phase. If that's not possible, then you should look for units to charge that will let you consolidate into another unit if you can wipe the first squad. This has the added bonus of forcing more units to give up their shooting in order to step out of combat. Most likely though, you are going to take some heat for this maneuver. If Morty and Friends can survive the onslaught then the game is as good as your because now you've got your reinforcements in the fast moving, hard hitting Bloat-drones getting all the buffs of Mortarion about to wreck face.Objectives be damned, you're here to kick ass.
Turn 2 Charge
The Core
Mortarion as Warlord, Miasma of Pestilence, Blades of Putrefaction, and the third power depends on what you're facing (Plague Wind against hordes, Gift of Contagion or Curse of the Leper against more elite armies)
2-3 Harasser Units that can deepstrike or otherwise get to or take down the enemy's heavy weapons turn 1 (Some ideas are Warp Talons, Alpha Legion Berzerkers with Forward Operatives Stratagem, Obliterators, Typhus. etc)
Ranged Plague Weapons (Plague marines with blight launchers, Bloat-drones with plaguespitters or heavy blight launchers, and Plagueburst Crawler are your mainstays here (too bad Helbrute doesn't have a Plague weapon!)
Noxious Blightbringer (optional)
The Strategy
Move your Core forward into the midfield where the Death Guard likes to be. The Blightbringer can help get Plague Marines into solid positions since they don't suffer the penalty for moving and firing assault weapons (which blight launchers happen to be) as well as give Mortarion a few extra inches since he probably won't be charging turn 1 or firing the Lantern anyway. You need to keep Mortarion within 7" of your Core of Plague Weapons though so watch out for that. You'll probably also have to use CPs to ignore the penalties for moving and firing with your Crawlers because hitting on 5s even with rerolling 1s is pretty garbage. Which is usually a positive note for followers of Nurgle so in this case it's more like a kleenex, I suppose. Deepstrike, infiltrate or otherwise get your harasser units into position to cause the most problems for your enemy's strategy for taking down Mortarion.
Theoretically this will tie up most of what can deal with Mortarion at range to give him the best chance of surviving for his turn 2 assault. If possible you can continue to advance your units to stay within 7" of Mortarion. Death Guard like to be in the thick of it anyway.
I Wanna be the Very Best, Like No One Ever Was: Mortarion vs the Other Primarchs
Magnus
Magnus is honestly probably a better bargain than Mortarion. He's got equal if not greater damage potential and is quite possibly more resilient. He's got 7A base at Sx2 AP-4 D3 that can turn CHARACTERs into Chaos Spawn. He has a Super Smite that deals d6 MWs normally and 2D6 on a 10+. He also gets a +2 bonus to psychic tests (which is added to Deny the Witch tests as well). He currently has access to the awesome Dark Hereticus powers. He has a 4++, reroll 1s, that can be boosted to a 3++ with a psychic power. I'm not sure if a 3+/4++ with Disgustingly Resilient or a 3++ reroll 1s is more resilient, but my gut tells me Magnus is. He also buffs all Thousand Sons with rerolls to hit of 1 and invulnerable saving throws of 1. Since his auras are primarily buffs, he can stay back and increase the offensive capabilities of his army while providing a very strong counter assault unit. Alternatively, he can be used aggressively like Mortarion. The one sure area where Morty trumps Maggy is against hordes. Having the Reaping Scythe profile on Silence and access to Plague Winds really helps against hordes. Still at 55 points cheaper than Mortarion, I would probably say that Magnus is a little stronger. But at least Mortarion doesn't have nipple-horns!
Guilliman
Ugh. No contest. Guilliman is way stronger (in an Ultramarine list). First all, he's a CHARACTER with only 9 wounds so you can't pick him out. He lets all Ultramarines within 6" reroll ALL hit and ALL wound rolls. Are you kidding me?! For 360 points that's nuts! He can also kill Mortarion on the charge in one turn with some lucky rolling (especially if Morty was wounded crossing the battlefield). The Emperor's Sword is disgusting (clean?). It makes Guilliaman S8 (so he wounds Morty on 3s) has 6 attacks and since he's affected by his own auras he will be wounding 6 times. Any wound roll of 6 does an additional D3 mortal wounds as well. Additionally he has a 2+/3++ and the ability to come back to life the first time he's slain on a 4+ with d6 wounds. However, even though Guilliman is a very strong counter assault unit, he's not as much of a pure melee monster as Mortarion. What Guilliman is, is a force multiplier. Rerolls of 1 are the name of the game in 8th edition and he lets you reroll all failed dice. Since he is so much cheaper than his brothers, I'd reluctantly have to say that Guilliman is the best primarch of the 3.
In a vacuum, Mortarion might actually be the strongest, but the buffs provided by Magnus and Guilliman are what make them stronger overall. That's why you really have to build your list around Mortarion, in order to squeeze every bit of pus out of his boils to get your money's worth. When I pay good money for pus, I don't want to be cheated. Mortarion requires much more thought than his brothers when building a list with him to use him effectively. You have take into account his abilities and auras and plan where he will be and who will be around him at any given time in order to maximize their effects. He's designed to be aggressive. You shouldn't be using him as a buffing counter assault unit; he should be in your vanguard, but that's also where he's most vulnerable. And while he may be more expensive and slightly under-powered than the other primarchs, he's still tough as nails and hits like a brick. And always remember, though he may be a smelly, decaying, tainted rot-filled daemon-primarch, he's our smelly, decaying, tainted, rot-filled daemon-primarch and he just wants to make you proud (dead).
I'd love to hear your thoughts on how to use Mortarion most effectively and any results you've had, positive or negative! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the article!
"For our vision, they condemned us. For the sin of seeing clearly what our father- their precious Emperor- had become, they called us traitor and cast us out. But now, my sons, now there shall be a reckoning." -Mortarion
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Virus Filled Maggot
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Both the problem and the fun of running Morty is the fact your list basically has to be tailored to keeping him alive or he is quite simply a waste of points. Lets face it no matter what kind of target saturation you implement everyone is going to target Morty, if you dont plan for this to happen (like say you go 2nd) it may result in you losing your most powerful unit in the first turn. I always hear people say "well they're not shooting at your other units so Victory!" well this is only a half truth though because if this diversion only lasts one round well then it's pretty pointless also whatever is being ignored has to be pretty lethal for this to work right? So in essence your going to need to keep him alive atleast a couple rounds to get your alternative "rape train with no brakes" unit into position. Unfortunately Death Guard coupled with expensive points cost and low model count, have very poor target saturation; bloat drones and plague crawlers although fairly resilient will never pull an opponent's attention away from that massive penis with wings charging their army, it's just not going to happen. You can always run Magnus with your list but IMHO this is just plain hateable, you dont deserve friends and you should just drown yourself in a bowl of flaming hot cheetos. I often see Morty lists on the net where Morty basically stands unsupported as the fire magnet he is with the gambling hope he somehow survives gets into an assault and then all is well with the world again. Unfortunately in 8th edition assault is by no means a security blanket since particularly shooty armies will simply fall back so they can shoot you again in their shooting phase. Also I would not rely too much on cover if your opponent gets even a whiff of that 18" wingspan he can target you. With all of this said here are two strategies that have worked for me:
It goes without saying both of these strategies include a CSM detachment Sorc with Warptime and also use Miasma of Pestilence liberally on Morty.
Strategy 1
This strategy embraces the fact Morty is going to be the star of your opponent's targeting so why not exploit that and make him really, really difficult to kill. Bonus: Low Model count +1 to go first.
Atleast 3-5+ squads of Deathshroud Terminators, they are expensive (225 base per squad) but they will keep Morty alive and they are themselves absolute monsters in Close Combat especially with Morty buffing them. Keep them at minimum squads of 3 for efficient wound allocation. At 3 squads of 3 (675 points) you're getting 18 additional wounds, 5 squads (1125 points) you're getting 30 wounds at 2+/4++ with an additional 5+ FNP, now depending on your opponent there is certainly a sweet spot to how many squads you'll need but dont think of them as just bodyguards these dudes wreck sh*t in close combat including vehicles, you'll be surprised just how survivable these dudes are and how much more survivable they make Morty. I have tabled a couple opponents with this strategy, I had Morty survive 98 melee attacks, 68 shooting attacks with barely any Deathshroud casualties to boot. The only problem with this strategy is: its slow, your Deathshroud are going to struggle to keep up with Morty, you want to deep strike them strategically so he always has coverage. The clear weakness to a list like this is an opponent that can effectively put out alot of firepower and is quick enough to kite your death parade, (Eldar, Tau) this is where quality deep striking (boxing your opponent in works wonders). Against armies with Guilliman you may struggle as well because: reroll everything.
Strategy 2
This strategy utilizes the good 'ol target saturation without having to resort to faggy power plays like Magnus etc. This time you want your opponent targeting Morty so you can unleash your unscathed dreads into his lines. You want him to have to make hard decisions and this is about as close as you can get. Bonus: Low Model count +1 to go first.
You are going to need at least 1 if not 2 Hellforged Leviathan Dreadnaughts from FW, they are fluffy, legal and will absolutley f*ck up your opponents sh*t if they are ignored. Depending upon how you equip its going to cost you around 300ish points a pop, any loadout will do but I usually go 50/50 with preferably the sexy ass Grav Flux Bombard gun and Siege Drill, with this loadout you can melt a Land Raider or character in a single turn either via shooting or assault, your threat range is effectively 18" but once you close in this guy is utterly devastating, this is the essence of ignore this target at your own peril. If you have sorc with warp time you want to cast it on these dudes, they get wounds back in the fight phase so getting them close is priority. I would still invest in at least 1 squad of Deathshroud Terms to buy Morty a little time. I ran this list with x2 Dreadnaughts and x1 squad of Deathshrouds and it worked beautifully vs a tank heavy AM list. Unfortunately Morty did not survive the entire game, he went down turn 4 but by that time it was too late; my opponent was so focused on killing him that the dreads he ignored just made party time all over his backlines. This is a clear example of "well they're not shooting at your other units so Victory!". These guys literally erase whatever they target, so in my case it was two tanks a turn. You can probably get away with running one of these dudes but I highly recommend 2, all great things come in pairs, giggity. 
You'll notice both of these strategies exploit the same thing: your opponents Mortarion horse blinders. Neither one of these strategies factors in the nuances of objectives etc. and in all honesty its almost impossible to fathom considerations like that. This is the overall universal problem with Morty and any primaris for that matter, by putting a primaris on the table objectives essentially go out the window, this isn't to say the objectives dont matter but they are now after-thoughts.
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~16000 Astra Militarum: 
~1200 | Imperial Knights: 
~2300 | Leagues of Votann: 
~1300 | Tyranids: 
~3400 | Stormcast Eternals: 
~5000 | Kruleboyz: 
~3500 | Lumineth Realm-Lords: 
~700
