How would you make the blight haulers good?

[jgascoine011]

Would love to run these guys but right now, their rules just stink.

They really compete with the hellbrutes.

 

So for 15 pts more you get -1 BS, WS and A, but +2 M and a 5++/5+++

You also get a -1 to hit in combat and giving cover to DG infantry within 7"

Now I think this is a pretty fair trade, however they really suffer from 2 major things

 

1) You need to sink a lot of points into them to make them work.

Really you need to run 3 which is a lot of points for something that is medicore at best.

 

2) Their weapons stink

A missile launcher and multi melta were good in 7th, in 8th they are pretty meah.

Giving them decent weapons options is probably the biggest change they need.

 

I would like to see

1) the bile spurt being changed to pistol D3 instead of assault

2) the option to change the gnashing maw to a flesh mower

3) The option to change the missile launcher or multi melta (or both) for the heavy blight launcher

4) Possibly having the option to take the blight reaper cannon, again instead of the missile launcher, multi melta (or both)

 

 

This would give you a fast unit able to take out light tanks while being able to chew its way out of combat.

They would still be expensive but now would be worth the points

 

[McElMcNinja]

While not competitive, I think they are a couple of ways to make them work.

Gnarlmaw: if they start within 7" they can advance, shoot, and charge. All their weapons can be in range of just about anything turn 1 and they move without penalties to hit.

Fleshy Abundance/Revolting Regeneration: return a model to the unit or heals.

DP with Miasma flying along side them, makes them -1 to (-2 in combat) and reroll 1's to hit.

 

Yes, your weapon choices would be ideal and make them more Death Guard/Nurgle feeling. They seem out of place now.

[Raktra]

Revolting Regeneration can’t affect Blight Haulers: https://www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/warhammer_40000_chaos_daemons_en.pdf

 

However the GUO bell can revive them.

[McElMcNinja]

I'm confused, the haulers are listed as Daemons, I'm missing something.

 

Edit: found it, their Faction trait isn't Daemon, it's under Keywords.

 

So how does the Bell work on them? And the Gnarlmaw, I assume that doesn't help them either?

[Raktra]

It’s only stratagems that are restricted to the Faction line, abilities are cross-codex.

[Special Officer Doofy]

The bell allows a greater unclean one to return a <nurgle> <daemon> model to a unit on a roll of 4+ on each turn within so many inches of them. So you can get back a 7pts plague bearer or a 117pts hauler just the same.

[Dallas Drake]

They could benefit from one of two things imo.

 

1) a further points reduction. Not ideal but they’re still not ‘cheap’.

 

2) access to plague weapons. If they carried around spitters or heavy blight launchers then they would synergies with what they’re trying to support (footslogging PMs). If you’re footslogging PMs then you’re going msu or unit’s of 7 if fluffy for the blight launchers and arch contaminator.

 

Fwiw I took a CSM sorcerer and hit them with prescience every turn, being a unit all 3 multimeltas and missile launchers suddenly hit on 2s, took down a few Leman Russ tanks before they got focussed.

[Darnok]

I think they are workable as they are, so not really good, but not garbage-level bad either.

 

To raise them to "good", they need a points reduction. If left at their current points level they really need weapon options - the current mix is... just odd.

[Wolf Lord Loki]

I think it would be great if they had a choice of different weapons

 

Possibly the specific death guard weapons entropy cannons, plague flamers, blight launchers etc

 

(I think they would look amazing with flamers linked up to pots of bubbling gunge)

[HeresyBeliever]

I have used 3 with a GUO a few times and a unit of take a lot of damage to put down. Then seeing peoples faces when you get one back is funny as hell. 

 

But people know the trick now and pop the GUO first. 

 

The GUO needs a point reduction or a 2+ armor save then that trick would work fine at the current point level. a 6+/5++ on the GUO at 300 points is to weak to keep it alive

[Wolf Lord Loki]

For the record when I used my three they absolutely tore through the tau fire warriors and pathfinders (good rolls on the rockets) and helped ease some of the return fire with cover saves

[Zombs]

Give them WS and BS 3+. Make them able to take 2 heavy blightlaunchers or 1 heavy and 1 normal. Give them a plaguespitter instead of that thing they have in the mouth and boom, now they are good.

[Dont-Be-Haten]

In my opinion they are a great asset to a DG list. They do two things, they give open cover to your foot sloggers, and they have that anti-T8+ DG struggle with unless they get debuffs off.

 

Being fast and a large footprint doesn't hurt either. I just wish they were -1 to hit at range. -1 to hit in melee isn't where you want them with their weapon load out. Maybe if they could disengage and still shoot that would be fine.

[Charlo]

A good way to think of them is Heavy Weapon teams for your Plague Marines that also provide cover in the open. If you're going for that style of list they work really well.

 

There is probably something to be said about advancing them up the field (via Gnarlmaw) and dropping combi-weapon terminators near them for a 1+ save.

[Evil Eye]

I'm planning on including some Blight Haulers in my list, as A: they're completely adorable (kinda like if a Fiat 500 was dedicated to Nurgle), B: they're monetarily cheap and C: the cover bubble combined with their firepower makes them IMO pretty nice, at least for the friendly games I prefer. If I were to improve anything about them it'd be giving them actual weapon/wargear options, even if just for variety's sake. One of those carcinogenic kei cars with double plasma cannons would be kinda cool for example, or if you could remove their ranged weapons in exchange for an even better cover ability.

[DominikB]

I'm planning on including some Blight Haulers in my list, as A: they're completely adorable (kinda like if a Fiat 500 was dedicated to Nurgle), B: they're monetarily cheap and C: the cover bubble combined with their firepower makes them IMO pretty nice, at least for the friendly games I prefer. If I were to improve anything about them it'd be giving them actual weapon/wargear options, even if just for variety's sake. One of those carcinogenic kei cars with double plasma cannons would be kinda cool for example, or if you could remove their ranged weapons in exchange for an even better cover ability.

Double heavy blight launcher would be super strong tbh.

[DuskRaider]

The only viable fox is going to be point reduction. They won't give them weapons options if they're not provided with them.

[Cleon]

The only viable fox is going to be point reduction. They won't give them weapons options if they're not provided with them.

 

They could give them optional/alternate missile types, it'd still fit the existing models and I can't see the Death Guard being short on biological warheads. 

[DuskRaider]

They'd have to resculpt and release the models.

[BlueBiscuit Raider]

Which is unfortunately extremely unlikely. We'll sooner see them give the heavy blight launcher to the hellbrute than to hauler.

 

Point reduction is the way to go, maybe change the tri-lobe rule so that the +1 to hit doesn't vanish as soon as the first hauler dies, although I don't expect either to happen within this year honestly.

[DemetriiTZ]

Eh, we all get rule updates very soon. We'll see what happens.

[Special Officer Doofy]

With space marines getting their chapter tactics applying to all units (not to mention they all got buffed) what do you guys think the chances are death guard will too?

 

Move and fire heavy with no penalty is already built into the blight hauler rules so it would be redundant, but maybe then they would tweak the rules and gives them the plus one to hit for three even if one dies. Probably easier for them to rule tweak then make new sculpts with different weapons. I'm okay with that or a small points drop. I would love to see a small change for the better to make them more competitive. Maybe that's too much wishful thinking. I don't mind their forced loadout and monopose for them only being $25 from GW.

[Charlo]

While I don't think they'll extend the chapter tactics, I think they'll add in a new rule or two for taking a pure DG force.

 

However I don't think it will be Daemon Engine centric.

[Aothaine]

I think Helbrutes will be given the DG rules for sure. I also feel that DG units that are under performing will be buffed. GW has made DG the poster boys of Chaos for this edition. Everyone is saying how powerful Loyalists are now. I imagine there will be a lot of point reductions and some rules changes when the DG supplement drops. Less points = more models = more money for GW.

 

I can honestly say I'm seriously falling for DG. I was always afraid of painting flesh, but the new contrast paints work so damned well that I might be brave enough to get 30-60 pox walkers to start up a zombie army. We'll see though. I've always loved Papa Nurgle and it might be time for me to come back into the fold.

[Bulwyf]

I like them. The only realistic option is not more weapon options that would require a new sculpt. It is a point reduction and stat line changes. Perhaps get rid of the rule of three and just lower the stats natively on them.