Mobile Marking Beast of Nurgle:
- Normal: Break Tackle, Stand Firm, Grab / Guard
- Doubles: Block / Pro
- Stat Increase: +ST +MV
In all honesty this is a slight variation in pretty much the same role as before. This time though you start off with Break Tackle rather than waiting for it. I would favour this route if you find the opposing coaches will often try and just feed your Beast of Nurgle a Lineman and keep them marked away from the action. You can avoid that though with careful positioning of all your players and Break Tackle also requires the Beast of Nurgle to attempt another dice roll that could possible fail. Blocking them free to move is my preferred way of doing things which is why I personally go for the previous build. There are plenty of successful coaches who take Break Tackle first though and it isn’t a mistake, just a preference. The advantage it does have is that they won’t need babysitting as much to have team mates to block them free and they can reposition much easier if the play moves. (They still need a team mate to help negate Really Stupid though.)
Stand Firm comes next for all of the same reasons that were outlined before, it is no good being able to get next to your target if they can then just push you away. Grab and Guard also follow the same reasons and uses as well. For doubles Pro on this build perhaps edges out Block in a reversal of the previous suggestion. The reason for this is to not only help out with Really Stupid rolls but you are going to be a bit more active with them and it can help for Break Tackle dodges as well. Again the extra chance of success for interceptions may also be a game winner, but I wouldn’t expect much in the way of passing against a Nurgle team. Again I would take a strength increase and an extra benefit that it makes Break Tackle more effective in some situations too. The other increases have the same logic applied to them as the previous build as well.
Killer Beast of Nurgle:
- Normal: Piling On, Juggernaut, Stand Firm / Grab / Guard
- Doubles: Block
- Stat Increase: +ST +MV
With strength access and high strength a killer build is an option though I really don’t think it makes best use of their abilities and can make their unreliability more of an issue. That said if you still want to go down this route then Piling On increases their damage potential, though they are slow which makes getting up a problem and you also have to pass the Really Stupid roll as well. Juggernaut can help make up for their lack of Block if you blitz with them and let you move them to perhaps get Tentacles in play in a better area. Stand Firm offers the same benefits as usual to compliment their starting skills. Grab will keep more opponents next to you to hit in following turns, or Guard will help out your team mates more and negate the advantage for opposing Guard players.
Block would be the best choice if you are hitting a lot for a double increase, if you do get it early then Juggernaut may take a back seat to other normal skills, especially as you are probably blitzing with other players more often. Strength is great for hitting players and can help get three dice blocks more often. Again agility is a waste and movement can help with recovering position after using Piling On.
Beast of Nurgle Summary:
The Beast of Nurgle is one of my favourite players in Blood Bowl and it is a shame you can only get one per team! They are very useful players and cause a lot of headaches for the opposing team. I personally prefer the passive approach to using them, though there is nothing wrong with going a more mobile route earlier. After four skills most Beasts of Nurgle will start to look very similar in development to each other anyway.
Don’t forget about all their abilities either, they have a few skills that aren’t often seen in most Blood Bowl matches. Both Foul Appearance and Disturbing Presence are very helpful against both blocking and passing respectively. These two skills can perhaps disrupt an opponents turn more than any others in the game. They may not seem to do much but they can make the difference at a crucial point in a match and you can really see the frustration kicking in for the opponents. Forgetting these not often used skills can make a massive difference to the outcome of your matches.
The Beast of Nurgle is probably the ultimate passive player who should just be set in the right position and left alone. Losing their tackle zone needlessly probably harms them and your team more than any other Blood Bowl player. Positioning and discipline is vital in order to get the best out of this unique player.
Nice article Coach.
These guys are slow to skill up some times as once you get them in a good spot you might want to fore go blocking with them to maintain your hold on key players. I love snatching up a heap of Skinks! Still haven’t got to a first skill on mine yet, but planning to go Stand Firm, Guard and then Grab.
I see the point of taking Break Tackle early but as you always need guys around the Beast to deal with Really Stupid, it should never be hard to block him free.
Pro on doubles. I took a Pro Beast to a tournament earlier in the year and he was immense.
Very often the beast will have 3 dice, and then I feel I must block, to try and get him those SPP. Will ofcouse never do it if a failure opens up the pitch for a stroll in to my endzone. But I always try to use him activly instead of passively.
With Really Stupid instead of Wild Animal and Loner + no block, I’d have to think about blocking vs losing tentacle + tackle zones. Still really looking forward to playing this big guy as one of the first teams I try!
Does anyone else think its totally out of character that the Beast of Nurgle doesn’t have mutation access on a normal skill roll? Not that I would give him any mutation skills anyway, but I just can’t understand why they only gave him mutation skill access on a double.
I imagine it was due to balance, Two Heads on one makes them very good at being able to dodge into cages with Break Tackle for instance.
Such a great big guy. Tenticles and disturbing presence can make a mess of any plan. I took Guard to start (my Nurgle team are primarily bashy) then Stand Firm and Grab. Was unsure what skill to take next but I think you’ve shown me that Break Tackle would be useful (hoping for a double though)
The stingiest defence in my division this season (2 TDs conceeded in 6 games, including a High Elf and an Elf team) – and the Beast was a huge part in that.
@Narly Bird : Fluff wise the beast is a demon of Nurgle and is considered perfect in it’s current form, so no mutations for him. The warriors and pestigors are still mortals and eligible to earn mutations from Nurgle
I think that Piling On is even a worse choice than what you propose: in addition to making the Beast less reliable and mobile, if you use it you lose Tentacles, but if you don’t you waste PO, thus every turn you will find yourself wasting one skill on a player that won’t skill up fast.
It’s different from having, for example, Pass and not actually making a pass, because that skill still represent a menace that your opponent should consider during his turn.
I’d only take PO if I found my Beast often dragged away by blodge lineman fodder, to get rid of the pest faster and get back into the fray, but even then I think it would be better to try and improve my gameplay with the Beast.
I’m interested in knowing what injuries would be a retiring injury. My level 3 Beast with Break Tackle and Stand Firm just ate a Move break. Would you keep him or fire him and get a new Beast?
Depends on how you utilise him, if he spends a lot of time just standing still tying players up then it isn’t a problem. If you move him around more you will really miss it as they are already slow. Another factor to consider would be how quick they are to get SPP, they can take a while, so you need to weigh up if you would prefer to keep your current one with the skills he has already, compared to a new one without the injury who may take quite a few games to get even one skill.
Another factor in all of that would be how the rest of your team is developed. If you create a thread on the forum and post your team roster along with the typical opponents you are facing and any league situational factors (like your schedule) then more specific advice to your situation can be given.
i find the giants useful as a wall or if i can turn them into killers, and the beast of nurgle is probly the best wall i find
I gave it Guard as well. I sit It middle of the LOS, best scenario he gets avoided and we hit the Blitz, screw it, take both GFIs, you already passed the Really Stupid test and screw up the game play.
Blitzing with your Big Guy always seems cool but let’s face it, it’s a team sport. S5 is pretty close to setting up 3dice Blocks though and that is oh so tempting.
Stand Firm helps with getting blocked away so that Guard still shines. Never really tried Grab, Piling On with a 160,000gp M4 piece seems silly, I think it sometimes works on kill pieces but not on this lynch pin.
on doubles Block? Meh.
If Mutations were a single roll, I’d get Claws to sync with MB. But it is a double.
Like Jump Up, just for the M not for the iffy 4+ chance to Block.
Or indeed Dodge. Only for getting blocked. I guess. Dunno if that’d be worth 30k gp.
I’ve played against Big guys before, IMO once they hit their second skill and take Break Tackle to get that single S5 instead of Ag1! dodge, there’ll be defensive build Blitzers and Catchers types around with Diving Tackle and maybe *gasp* Shadowing.
Not taking a turn doesn’t require any dice rolls. Maybe take this guy’s Block at the end of your turn if it going ga-ga doesn’t take away tackle zones, assists, etc. It’ll happen if you roll dice.
Really Stupid affecting Disturbing Presence or not is one of those few things I am not sure about.
Well, I am playing BB Chaos Edition on PC and I can’t do anything with this player except leave him on the touchline, hoping he distracts/annoys enemy players.
Try to block with him? Fail intelligence test.
Try to move with him? Fail intelligence test.
Try to stand up? Fail intelligence test.
Try to re-roll? Fail re-roll.
I have so far never been able to do a single thing with the Beast of Nurgle. RNG makes Blood Bowl 1 and 2 almost completely unplayable for me. A 16% chance of failing something becomes a 100% chance of failing. (I have the EXACT same issues with Rat Ogres – just cannot ever make them do anything.)
Well, if your beast is next to a Non-Really-Stupid player, its only a 2+ to do any of those things. The problem with Really Stupid is that to do any of the things you tried to do, its a 4+ if there is no one adjacent to him. He also has Loner, and that’s a 50/50 to fail as well. It’s why he is an excellent roadblock, but never try to do a 4+ thing with him, or you chance him losing all his tackle zones (which affects his tentacles as well). You ALWAYS need to leave a rotter adjacent to the beast if you want to do anything with him.