# Beasts of Nurgle or Plague Drones?



## Dgoody (Jul 8, 2012)

I could use some help deciding on which one of these units to add to my small Demons force. I'm looking for a fast, tough, tie-up or counter punch unit. My first game with the new book is this weekend so all my research has been purely from reading and zero playing. I know actually playing a few games will give me a better idea on how each unit works but I just wanted to hear/see what other experienced players have to say. 

The plan is either take a unit of 3x Beast of Nurgle or 3x Plague Drones with Death Heads (1,500pt list). They are about the same amount of points and close to the same speed. The drones are a little more flexable game wise and with upgrades, can go after armor and also hit infantry pretty hard given the right wargear but the beasts look like they are a bit more durable. I also love both of the models (I plan on using plastic river trolls as alternate beasts). 

Any insight would be greetly appreciated.


----------



## revilo44 (Sep 17, 2010)

I never played demons but I would go with plague drones because they look cool and are as you say more flexible unit.


----------



## returnoftheclown (Mar 14, 2012)

This is an argument I've been having with myself. I find it boils down to preference. 

3 Beasts of Nurgle = 3 Plague Drones with Death heads and Rot Proboscis (points wise)

Beasts are incredible tough to take down, with 4 wounds a piece and It Will Not Die, these guys take great amounts of focus fire to take down, giving the rest of your army a fighting chance to get up the board. 2/3 of the time they have more attacks than plague drones, but this is random every game turn, so can be quite unreliable :russianroulette: . Being 'beasts' they also have move through cover and fleet (re-rolling charge distances FTW) which is incredible useful for an assault unit which should be using cover to get as close to the enemy as possible (shrouded is a godsend...literally). But this is their issue, its getting them into charge range as quickly as possible while taking as little damage as possible. Another major issue with beasts is if they get locked in combat with a walker, that's it. Sure they are tar-pitting it for probably the rest of the game, but that's a lot of points to put into a unit just to tarpit. However, Beasts take up an elite choice, slots which are not used very often, with crushers and fiends suffering from the loss of eternal warrior and flamers now giving the enemy a stacking feel no pain.

Drones are slightly more fragile (compared to Beasts), with 3 wounds and no IWND but as you said, they are more flexible. With rot proboscis they can wound non-vehicles on a 3+ and being armed with plagueswords they can glance a vehicle to death, a very nice feature. Armed with deathheads they can even soften up their foes before charging in, something the beasts cannot. But, their main advantage over beasts is that they are Jetpack cavalry. 12" movement followed by 2D6 thrust movement in the assault phase when not charging something is fantastic for getting up the board quickly. They can even do this after arriving via deepstrike, so you can drop down near the enemy, throw your death heads, and then move into cover so you benefit from your improved cover save, ready for the assault next turn. Hammer of Wrath is also a nice feature for a unit which is effectively going last (I 2 is a killer). Drones are also great at getting your Deepstriking units up the board with less scatter, just pop an icon on them and get your drones up the board ASAP. However, bear in mind that fast attack slots can become crowded very quickly, quite a few good options here.

At the end of the day its your choice. I feel Drones are better if you want an 'in your face' unit while Beasts are slightly more defensive, great at keeping the enemy busy and stopping the nasty units getting too close to your side of the board.


----------



## SilverTabby (Jul 31, 2009)

Don't forget, don't Beasts have that handy little rule that allows them to charge an enemy *in the enemy's turn* if the enemy has charged one of your own units?

Or have I misread that one?


----------



## returnoftheclown (Mar 14, 2012)

SilverTabby said:


> Don't forget, don't Beasts have that handy little rule that allows them to charge an enemy *in the enemy's turn* if the enemy has charged one of your own units?
> 
> Or have I misread that one?


Indeed you are right Sir! Forgot about that. 

Another reason I feel Beasts are more defensive. If they are within 12" are a unit which is being charged, they can attempt to join in to.


----------



## ExaltedUrizen (Jul 26, 2013)

I would recommend the plague drones over the beasts. The drones have a shooting weapon (deaths heads) and can move 2d6 in the assault phase even if they are not assaulting (jet pack cavalry). So the plague drones are more mobile and versatile. On the other hand, beasts of nurgle can be put near important units so that when the enemy charge them the beasts can counter-charge. This can also be used as a deterrent. Assault wise, the plague drones can have poison 3+ which is better than the beasts 4+. The beast has a chance of getting more attacks, but for me this happens less often than it seems. Beasts have 1 more wound than the drones (4) and it will not die USR. This makes beasts a great tar-pit unit. A unit of 9 beasts will keep most units tied up in assault for the whole game. Personally, I would take plague drones because of their maneuverability and their multiple uses. I would use beasts just for the use of scaring enemies into not charging a unit, or holding up units that you don't want to get shot by.


----------



## humakt (Jan 2, 2008)

I would personally take beasts. I use a unit of 5 as a tar pit unit. But you have to rememder they are pretty poor in actual combat against MEQ, They wont die quickly but they wont be winning many combats either.


----------



## Ravner298 (Jun 3, 2011)

Drones all day. Beasts are a defensive tar pit. Drones are jet pack Calvary. They are also ideal icon holders because of their speed, and jump in the assault phase. Another point in their favor is the champions access to cheap ap2, meaning they can win most combats whereas beasts will lose to most dedicated assault troops. I use mine to tote icons, I forgo the upgrades and shooting because I jump them in the assault phase, and the other 2 are ablative wounds for the 4 attack ap2 champion.


----------



## Mossy Toes (Jun 8, 2009)

returnoftheclown said:


> Another major issue with beasts is if they get locked in combat with a walker, that's it.


...or if a walker charges a unit within 12" of them. Heh.

I honestly haven't used either yet (shocking, I know), but on paper, I prefer the Drones purely for their icons--the sheer added utility of DSing blobs of 20 plaguebearers (w/ fertility herald) into cover wheresoever you want them without scatter strikes me as too valuable to pass up, countering much of the lack of mobility inherent to Nurgle.


----------

