Looking for good Nurgle resources/advice

[Smeborg]

Well it's nice to see that after 8 pages you are all starting to agree on the fact that Nurgle teams suck !

Jimmy Fantastic - I think you need to make a clear distinction between ease of play and potential performance.

Nurgle are a (very) difficult team to learn to play, so I think most people will find they suck big time when they start playing them. This is probably why Nurgle have not become a popular team.

However, for any coach willing to perservere and learn, the team will eventually get results and be as good, perhaps, as any team.

The key is understanding that Nurgle will always perform much better during their opponent's turn than during their own. Playing style and development strategy need to re-inforce this. If you try and play (or develop) the team in a "normal" way (meaning the way you would play or develop other BB teams), you are going against the grain of the team. It takes time and humility to realise the full extent of this diference.

[Smeborg]

Carnis - my suggestions would be:

Warrior - Stand Firm (or Guard)
Pestigor - Wrestle
Rotter - Block (or Wrestle)

You and I do not necessarily agree on how Nurgle should be developed. However, your si8de does not look like a slayer team to me. What are your overall development intentions for the side?

All the best.

[Smeborg]

Like Chaos and Pact they are a very weak starting team, that does not mean they suck.

Marlow - I don't even agree that Nurgle are a weak starting team. As I get better with Nurgle, I find they are a good starting team. In my current league they are 4 wins out of 4 (my other teams are faring worse). CanCon (major tournament in Australia) uses a 7 game progression format (just like a league) starting at the normal TV100, combined with the Swiss system. This year with Nurgle I came 9th out of 72 (4 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss), last year it was 4th out of 70 (5 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss).

[Craigtw]

Well it's nice to see that after 8 pages you are all starting to agree on the fact that Nurgle teams suck !

I do not see any agreement on that. Like Chaos and Pact they are a very weak starting team, that does not mean they suck.

Have to agree with Marlow.

Keeping trolling JF, maybe someday you will find someone to agree with you!

[Craigtw]

This will tie it down and leave it from getting where it can be of the most use.

I'm curious on how you get this creature to move about so much with 4 MA?
If you toss it into the middle away from the line sure it can go to one side or the other (if it behaves and goes for it). But vs. an agility based team, the kind I assume you'd want to be tentacling up, can run circles around the beast. I imagine you'd really have to muddy the waters to be able to get him in there before they leave him behind.
I have images of him running around gurgling "coach, pls let me hit something, I'm chasing this Gutter Runner, but I cannot catch him aargargargle...".

Against an agility team the players that are the real threat are not going to be on the front line. The dangerous players will be moved into your half of the pitch waiting for the TD pass. You then have to make the choice which one you are going for (as there will often be more than one. I have done up a Nurgle playbook - will have to look for the link later - but against agility teams you want your Warriors and Beast held back to counteract the passing play (by using their TZs and DP).

Remember also, if there is one catcher who you really want to get your hands on, then the beast can move to one square away, and then you can blitz the catcher into the Beast's TZs.

[Carnis]

Carnis - my suggestions would be:

Warrior - Stand Firm (or Guard)
Pestigor - Wrestle
Rotter - Block (or Wrestle)

You and I do not necessarily agree on how Nurgle should be developed. However, your si8de does not look like a slayer team to me. What are your overall development intentions for the side?

All the best.

Curious to hear why stand firm?
MB would speek progression + help vs flair.
Guard would help vs bash + possibly against flair teams cagebreaking.. Leaning towards this the more I think of it tbh.

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My nurgle is not very slayery, but has managed 89 casualties in its 21 game reign (counting fouls, crowdpushes, failed opposing dodges). So overall I think the dirtyplayer+bribe spam does seem to provide satisfactory slayerish results. I also think the amount of CAS caused is more reliant on the coaching strategy in general than the specific skills picked (maximizing blocks, choosing targets which get 3die, crowding, massfouling, choosing nigglers, choosing -AV targets, choosing blodge-free targets, never passing a 1die block with block, manmarking enmasse, taking both downs if it's the end of the turn anyway).

I'm committed on making a balanced team that covers "all bases" (well ok, not passing), but masters none. That's why there's yet to be any claw in it, it's good vs AV9, ok vs AV8 and sucky vs AV7. The reason why there is no MB/PO is the sudden death of my previous killer, the replacements of which are still in training.

My NWs are progressing to fight the powerteams. Dreaming of having Block/Guard/MB on all 4, with 2 having SF, 2 having Claw as skill #4. They are approaching this at different angles though, with one going MB/Claw early, others going Block (guard/mb or SF) first. This is why I'm hesitant to skip any skillups for stats too. A MA5 NW is begging for a zombie or mummy to tag him out of the game.

Rotters are planning to go Wrestle on all, while attempting to maintain a minimum of 1 dirtyplayer in the roster at all times (max of 3). I find myself too hesitant to foul with a wrestling rotter though, especially when he's my only wrestle on the field.. Wrestle is a combo all in one, vs bash it counters block-wielding blockers. Vs flair it takes down the AV7 players for a good nurgle footmassage or takes down blodgers that are screening/carrying the ball.

The pestigors are planning to fight the flair teams. One carries the ball + hands it off to the other 3. One is a generalist with orc-blitzer type skills: Block/Guard/Tackle. The two killers (one frenzy/mb/po and one tackle/mb/po) hunt elves. I used to have a single killer for elves (MB/PO/Tackle/Block), but in his last game (no less than 6spp away from claw and "perfection") he was a) constantly out of position after piling on, because the elf coach avoided him like the plague b) my only reliable player to blitz the bad guys. I like the Wrestle/Frenzy idea, but find I may run out out of pestigors for killing duties doing that.

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What do you guys think of combining Wrestle instead of Block with killing skills? I personally have found it a bit wasteful, but it could actually save a skill (no need for block/juggernaut) whilst adding reliability to blitzing blodgers and block/stand firm players.

[mattgslater]

@ Carnis: BB is about managing risk, resources and real estate, and a Block/SF Nurgle Warrior is the best real estate manager to be found. Block + Stand Firm + Foul Appearance + ST4 = Not Worth Hitting. This Orc coach just salivates at the grotesquerie and wrongness of that piece. Man, I cannot tell you how awesome beyond awesomeness having a pair of Block/SF BOBs is, on both sides of the ball. On a guy with Foul Appearance and Disturbing Presence, BWAHAHAHAHA!

I'd still take Guard first, but then I wouldn't give an AG2 player Mighty Blow before Block, either, unless maybe he somehow got 10+ points by the game he got his first improvement in. But even then, defense is key, and everything else is dictated by position. Positioning skills are always very powerful, just by their nature.

[Smeborg]

Carnis - the idea of Block/Stand Firm on the Warriors is to create a defensive threat that is equally good against ST and AG teams. Against ST, they can mark multiple players (e.g. 2xST3 players) and tie them up with wasted blocks. Against AG, they can mark receivers and put them at -2 to receive, while being difficult to shift.

My take on this team, which I am only just beginning to realise in full in practical play, is as "reefs and sharks". The 5 lumps (Beast + Warriors) are passive but immovable islands (or reefs) that force your opponent into defined channels of play (not just positionally, but stylistically). The Pestigors are the sharks, making all the active play (hunting or moving the ball). The Rotters are quiet little fish that support the system as a whole, and can assume any role, depending on need.

The more I tend towards this style, the greater the success I have had. It re-inforces the starting strengths of each player type, as well as those of the team. It is also consistent with my own perception that the 5 lumps are my game-winning players, while my opponents tell me that they consider the Pestigors the greatest threat.

Accordingly, this season I am planning to develop the Warriors along the lines: Block, Stand Firm, (Tentacles, Grab), allowing them to be supremely useful players when isolated (as Warriors often are). This strategy assumes that I can get enough Guard on the Beast and the Rotters to avoid giving it to the Warriors. So far this is working (after 4 games I have Guard/Block on one Rotter). If it does not work, I will of course have a re-think mid-season.

All the best.

[number6]

Nurgle are an awful team. You should only use them if you really love the idea of them, and don't mind losing!

LOL, you are a posting Nurgle... you luv adding disease to the mix... LOL. Keep up the good work sir.
I wish you lived near me, so I could play you, ideally roll well and show how much fun it is to convert someone else's players into one of yer own.
Yes, a game played for fun....

[mattgslater]

Nurgle can create a "wall" defense, requiring your opponent to take a Blitz against a ST4, F-App player in order to break into your backfield. This can often fail, or at least consume a re-roll. And your opponent will have to commit several players to the job.

What's your defense setup? Does it require the full 4 warriors?

If you want to cover the entire field with a screen, it takes five players: 15 squares ÷ 3 squares per player. This is the heart-and-soul of the Arrowhead and Crossbow defenses. By using a stronger structure, like a trap wall or even a trap fence, you can throw more bodies at the situation to compensate for a lack at one of the positions, particularly against an opponent who can't dodge.

101 Arrowhead, centerfield trap wall. Open it for more detail.

[rvlvr]

If you want to cover the entire field with a screen, it takes five players: 15 squares ÷ 3 squares per player. This is the heart-and-soul of the Arrowhead and Crossbow defenses. By using a stronger structure, like a trap wall or even a trap fence, you can throw more bodies at the situation to compensate for a lack at one of the positions, particularly against an opponent who can't dodge.

101 Arrowhead, centerfield trap wall. Open it for more detail.

I guess the best place to position the warriors would be the midfielder and flanker?

At the moment my team only has two warriors and no beast. Not sure if the next purchase will be a third warrior or the beast (I have 100k banked).

[ShriekBob]

I've been using: -



This is a fairly general defence I've used before, but 4 Rotters on the LOS means I am forseeing lots of casualties. I'd rather drop to 3 and avoid that. So I'm gonna try the crossbow.

[mattgslater]

I guess the best place to position the warriors would be the midfielder and flanker?

Generally, it's the midfielders and wingers who soak up blitzes. There's no point in hitting the flanker if you're trying to break in.

[Smeborg]

...The reason why there is no MB/PO is the sudden death of my previous killer, the replacements of which are still in training...

Carnis - as you know, Nurgle skill up slowly and unevenly, and are vulnerable to the loss of a key player (the death of your killer Warrior is a typical experience for a Nurgle coach). But even when alive, such a key player can also spend most of the match in the dugout, which is much the same.

For these reasons, I favour "generic" builds for the Nurgle player types (the sole exceptions are the Beast, naturally, and one Runner Pestigor, which I think cannot be avoided). Thus I have:

Same build for 4 Warriors
Same build for 3 Pestigors
Same build for 5 Rotters

I find the team performs better and more consistently this way. I realise this is counter-intuitive, since you do not normally do this with other BB teams, but it suits Nurgle.

And on a totally unrelated issue, I agree with Spazz Fist's comments comparing the Beast to the queen in chess. Positioning and moving the beast is typically the most committal thing you do - the more wisely you do it, the better things will be. You should also be prepared to take risks with it at the appropriate times, such as GFIs. I think you also realise your Beast would be better with Stand Firm. Treating it as a "normal" player is not ideal.

[Big-Bad-Bear]

Honestly, I think that Nurgle is probably one of the best teams in the game. They are definitely not for beginners as the team requires patience and a lot of foresight. If you aren't willing to plan your turns two or three a head and set up the appropriate traps they'll probably be the most miserable team you'll ever play.

Don't expect yourself to have a lot of explosive firepower, and don't try to go too bashy. You're best bet is to use a denial strategy and a swarming defense.

I firmly believe they are a highly competitive team in light of my experiment (My end of season record was 10-0-0, 20 td's for/4 against). The majority of my touchdowns (3/4's) came on defense and I was middle of the pack with casualties at 11.