Nurgle is one of the most unique teams in Blood Bowl 3. Their abundance of passive defensive abilities and their knack for raising dead opponents with the Rot makes them a very thematic and potent defensive force. They are also one of the better bashing and fouling teams in the game. Their main weakness is their mobility and ball handling, and they can be very tough to get started.
In this guide, we’re going to tell you all the best ways to build, develop, and skill Papa Nurgle’s children, and the best strategies to get the most from his diseased blessings.
Starting Team Build
Nurgle has a big problem in their starting builds because their players and Team Re-rolls are very expensive. You will have to make many compromises and set out with the expectation that your first few games are going to be tough.
- 3 x Bloaters
- 4 x Pestigors
- 4 x Rotters
- 3 x Team Re-rolls
This build is a little lower in strength than some other options, but it gives you the best early ball handling and mobility, and still gives you seven players with Regeneration, which will help you keep the team together and develop. Crucially this starts with 3 Team Re-rolls, which will be invaluable as you have no starting skills that mitigate bad rolls.
Team Development
Your goal for your Nurgle team should be to get all the following:
- The Rotspawn
- 4 x Bloaters
- 4 x Pestigors
- 3 x Team Re-rolls
The order you add any of these will depend on what you left out of your starting build, but the most reliable way to build the team is to leave the Rotspawn for last, as it is the hardest to manage and the piece that least benefits from skilling up. After this you can add additional Rotters as needed, aiming for 13-14 total players on the roster for most play levels, but potentially more at higher Team Values. Nurgle do not have access to the Apothecary, so this is one thing you don’t need to worry about adding
Best Skills
Below are the best starting skills for your players. More expensive Secondary skills are marked in italics.
|
Player |
Skills |
|---|---|
|
Rotspawn |
Block, Guard, Stand Firm, Grab |
|
Bloater |
Block, Guard, Mighty Blow, Claw, Stand Firm |
|
Pestigor |
|
|
Rotter |
Block or Wrestle, Guard, Dirty Player, Sneaky Git |
Pestigors are your most versatile pieces. You should aim to have at least one killer, who will be your primary blitzer, one ball carrier, and the others can be built either as killers or given good general purpose and utility skills. A mobile Guard will give you lots of value.
Though Claw and Mighty Blow no longer stack on the initial Armor roll, this combo is still the best way to carve through tough opponents in the game, and will put great fear in other bashers. You can have multiple Pestigors and Bloaters with this combo and Block. The Rotspawn should be seen as a roadblock and control piece. It benefits primarily from skills that keep it in base-to-base contact with opponents. Grab is an amazing tool for this purpose and a general tactical advantage.
Strategies
Nurgle is a bash and control team who primarily win through attrition and shutting down their opponent’s plans. They have more problems on offense, where their slow speed and limited ball-handling give them few options. Your main offense will be a grinding cage, with a Pestigor ball carrier protected by other Pestigors and Bloaters. You can drive the cage forward with your ST4 blitzes, and anchor it with Bloaters and the Rotspawn, which can potentially tie up many players. Your main challenge will be to keep your slow-moving Bloaters and Rotters up with the Pestigors. Far and away your best method to make your offense easier is to remove opposition players, so ensure you target the weakest with your Blitzes and Fouls whenever possible.
Fouling is one of your most effective ways to win the battle of attrition, and your very cheap Rotters are the perfect players to foul with. On defense, your abundance of tough, high-strength players, and the Foul Appearance skill present a very frustrating challenge for opponents. You can tie up weaker and less agile players and bash them every turn. You can also use Rotters to tie up stronger opponents, as they are cheap enough and mostly tough enough to keep them busy while giving you a positional and strategic advantage. Your Pestigors should be kept out of direct contact so that they can respond and Blitz where they are needed.
