Starting a Death Guard Legion

[Pandemicus]

So the temptation is too great... I have begun to plan a Death Guard legion for Horus Heresy. I will be using the Betrayal at Calth boxed set as the foundation of the army.

 

Having never played 30K, what other units should I go with? My brother bought me Mortarion as a gift, so I have him.

Basically, what are some good units for a Death Guard legion? What should I get from Forgeworld? Can I use 40K Rhinos, etc. as well?

[misterkho]

The deathguard specific units are all good choices, destroyer squads, assault squads and devastator squads (missile launchers) are also very good options. 

[infyrana]

Welcome to the Death Guard - a good choice

There's a Tactica for the heresy era Death Guard Legion in the Tactica section. I would highly recommend reading it from start to finish. Do note that half way through there were rule changes due to releasing newer books with updated legion rules - some old info is slightly out of date therefore. There are also tactica threads there for other legions as well as specific unit entries in case you want more specific information. I also recommend reading the quick overview from 1d4chan about the 30k heresy legions and units (google it), might give you some ideas or directions to look up.

I would also highly recommend reading up on all the army list threads for Death Guard - they give you an idea of what else is possible in case you find an army list design you like. Also gives you a rough idea of the mixture of units needed to perform well on the tabletop and cover all approaches.

I don't think anyone would have any problems with you fielding the current plastic 40k rhino kit (can't recall if it's a valid variant for that time).

For what to get, I recommend you having a good read of the above first - choose what army design you want (which Rite of War, what sort of unit bias you prefer - be it tanks, troops, artillery etc, types of transports - dreads, rhinos, spartans etc). Once you have a better inclination of what YOU would like, come back and ask more questions

Since you were lucky with acquiring Mortarion (oh were we all to have such family ), I would recommend that you look into how best to field him. Ie, you might want to consider saving up for a Spartan or other transport that will fit in with your list design.

edit: minor grammar and additional sentence.

[DuskRaider]

The Death Guard Legion rules lend themselves quite well to massed infantry in various forms. They actually just got their Legion rules updated so they're less situational.

As far as what units are best? I was never a fan of Deathshroud rules for the longest time until the most recent update. They've now become close combat blenders. I highly recommend them at the very least for a Command Squad, but can also be taken as Troops with Pride of the Legion.

Grave Wardens are... alright. They shine on small or heavy terrain boards, but require a transport if they need to travel. They take up a Heavy Slot as well, which will soon be bolstered by the addition of the Malcador Assault Tank, a much better option IMO.

They get a bonus to Flame weapons, which is further increased in Zone Mortalis (which is where I'd start when jumping into 30K). This bonus is also given to vehicles and walkers, so it's pretty beneficial.

I'd echo checking out the Tactics thread, there's so interesting ideas in there.

[Pandemicus]

Thanks Dusk Raider!