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The Tally Man Can...

Oh, sweet memories, I remember when Epidemius was all the rage; every Daemon list back in 2008 used him as the latest gimmick rage.

Five years later, Epidemius is just another Herald with an outrageous pimp throne for parading around. At least Epidemius's throne isn't the Jolly Roger of retardation poor Khorne Heralds got.

The big question for Epidemius, is what would Games Workshop do with the Tally? The censuses was nerfing, because no one fights the last, last, last, and the one before that, flavor of the month list like the Games Workshop Design Team.

Before we get to that battle lets start with a comparison between the 2008 and 2013 rules. See if you can surmise what if anything was hit with the nerf bat.

(Click to Enlarge)

Epidemius Rules 2013


Epidemius Rules 2008


 

Compare &  Contrast

  • Tally of Pestilence Changes
  • Profile changes
  • No Point Cost change
  • Lesser Locus of Virulence

 --Was there any doubt?--

No shock to anyone, the Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally. has changed. The biggest change is being within 6" of  Epidemius for it to work. In addition, you have to kill a lot more models to receive effects... the best effects. Either way you shake the radius requirement makes the Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally. worse. The effects are better if only you can get the needed kill count. The only bonus is now Epidemius can hide in reserve as you rack up the Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally..

--As a Consolation--

While the tally was being nerfed, Epidemius had a his stats increased across the board. Now with boosted everything, Epidemius isn't a slouch in Assault. As I can tell, Epidemius also benefits from his own Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally., making him really impressive once you get past 14+ kills. If you pick the right fights Epidemius shouldn't have any problem taking apart most characters.

--The compromise--

Strangely, the points cost of Epidemius hasn't changed. The design team actually took the time to notice nerfing the tally meant you had to balance Epidemius elsewhere. Compared to your average Herald of Nurgle the cost is damn fair with the potential of Nurgle killing sprees!

--Riddle me This--

Epidemius as a Herald gets a Locus, the Lesser Locus of VirulenceTo hit rolls of a 6 made in close combat by this model, and all models in its unit have Poisoned 2+ special rules.. Mostly a throw in, but if you are running Epidemius, you are going full balls to the wall Nurgle, so having this minor damage boost combo-ed with the Tally of Pestilence doesn't hurt.

No one fights the last, last, last, and the one before that, flavor of the month list like the Games Workshop Design Team.

Putting it all Together...

For the people who cried about Epidemius losing his OP status, need to awake from the nostalgia fantasy, the Epidemius list had a brief life and ended on time. Since, GW design team fights old wars it isn't surprising to see them change things up. The new Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally. isn't bad, but requires a lot more strategy.

First, positioning means a lot more. Most folks want to protect Epidemius, thus they put him in some Plaguebearer blob and hope for the best. If Epidemius is surrounded the Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally. won't have much effect. This means you are going to have string him out or the units around him, opening up Epidemius to danger.

Second, you need to set a reasonable goal with the Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally.. Get to +1 Toughness is critical, and it only requires a modest kill count to achieve. The real kicker is not getting caught up in tally addiction; remember the objectives of the missions, and don't throw units away just because you are one more kill away from another bonus.

Third, the Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally. is a game with in a game, making it exceedingly fun in large games, especially Apocalypse. If your goal is causal fun there is nothing more fluffy and entertaining, than opponents trying to stop the tally from reaching critical.

Looking beyond the Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally., Epidemius isn't a slouch at four wounds making him more survivable than before, especially with another attached Herald for the Greater Locus of FecundityThis model and all models in its unit have the Feel No Pain special rule . The biggest problem with Epidemius is building around him. It is hard because GW does a good job of making Nurgle not very killy. If you have designs on building an Epidemius list you have to take as many shooting units you can get. It means going for Soul Grinders, Plague Drones with Death's Heads12 inches S User AP - Assault 2 Poisoned 4+, and Nurgle witchfire powers.

Shooting is a means to end, rack up the tally before you move in for the Assault kill. The assault kill brings up an important new tactic to keep in mind with Epidemius: Deep Striking. In the early game the Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally. is just getting started, so keeping Epidemius out of harms way is critical. Deep Striking also gives Epidemius the potential to come down where his buffs are most needed. Looping this back around, I cannot reiterate more, just how much better Epidemius performs in 2k plus games. It means more Nurgle and more opponent models to kill.

Epidemius can also be a distraction. Just the thought of him and Tally of Pestilence drives players to a frenzy. Building a list around Nurgle, but not the Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally. is an option. Epidemius is only a 110 point investment, and if he draws that much more in points worth of distraction go for it. This may read like I am painting a rosy Nurgle turd of a picture, but sadly the truth is achieving max potential will be hard to accomplish.

Not only is the Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally. a bitch to get up, but it also requires something Epidemius cannot do: being in all places at once. Epidemius requires hard choices and for a conservative players this is problematic. Knowing when to give up the ghost is important, like not castling up your army just for the Tally of Pestilence for instance.

No matter how hard you try, the Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally. cannot be the center of the universe, because it will fail you. The Tally of PestilenceWhile Epidemius is alive keep a count of all the unsaved Wounds caused by Daemons of Nurgle. At the start of each of your turns, consult the tally table. All Daemons of Nurgle in units within 6 inches of Epidemius receive the bonuses from the tally. is built on wounds, many armies just don't have enough wounds to give or hide them in transports. Using Epidemius as just another cog in your list provides a success and lower stress rate. Luckily, Great Unclean Ones, Nurgle Deamon Princes, and Soul Grinders are pretty darn good, so not going totally going for it won't end you.

Don't be afraid to take other god units if it makes your list more well rounded. It means one less spot Epidemius has to be near to buff.

-- Epidemius Sample Lists--

Epidemius Sample List 1

Epidemius Sample List 2

A Word about Allies

Epidemius should be left to Deamon only lists, the tally only works with Daemons of Nurgle not Marks of Nurgle making shenanigans hard to come by. Epidemius also takes up the valuable ally HQ slot better used for bigger and badder units.

Remember unlike other Battle Brothers Daemons ICs cannot join with Chaos Space Marine units under any circumstance.

Final Thoughts...

Overall, Epidemius is better on paper than in action. The tactics required to pull off his abilities are daunting and only expert players should attempt, but if your plans are large games and lots of models Epidemius is a must buy for anyone looking for alternative way to play.

Warning

It's Like Tactics is rated theory hammer because these are general observations and assumptions based on only few tested games.

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