New Death Guard in 8th edition

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Anipha Laxus, bringer of the fatal allergy aura in a 7" radius. 

[Closet Skeleton]

 

Assuming the plague-burst crawler's artillery piece is worth taking and a plague weapon Arch-Contaminator is potentially way superior to Revoltingly Resilient since its basically a limited version of Guiliman's aura on a potentially far cheaper chassis. Exalted Champions are amazing and since outside of power fists basically all Plague marine melee weapons are plague weapons this trait basically makes the warlord into a better version of the Exalted Champion. If you want to not take wounds on your warlord you can do so quite easily until you're starting to lose anyway. Revoltingly Resilient is basically just a simpler version of one of the generic traits and arguably worse than Unholy Fortitude from the regular chaos marine codex.

Revolting Resilence is actually pretty strong way more than unholy fortitude, it adds 1 to any Disgusting Resilence roll most DG stuff already has DR which is a 5+ so with the trait it's now essentially a 4+ save that's pretty awesome on something like a daemon prince (especially combined with the armour relic) or even Mortarion if he has it

 

 

Revolting Resilience is a better save than Unholy Fortitude, but if you could give Unholy Fortitude to a DG model then it would actually be better. Revoltingly Resilient is worse than Unholy Fortitude because both are basically variations of Tenacious Survivor and UF is just TS but better while RR is not.

 

Statistically having a 5+++ and a 6++++ is basically the same as having a 4+++.

 

Since DG have access to the generic Tenacious Survivor trait anyway RR is basically a waste of a slot that just speeds up rolling.

 

 

 

Nurgle's Rot: Not too sold on this one, simply due to the CP cost. Death Guard seems to have a real theme with stacking Mortal Wounds which is no bad thing, but I feel as if this is just a little too expensive and a little too unreliable. Still, not bad if you can get someone like Morty or Thypus right into the thick of it pop this thing like an over-ripe boil, especially if the enemy is running MSU.

 

Its a lot better than Orbital Bombardment, which is basically the exact loyalist Space Marine equivalent.

 

 

 

 

DG can't take Havocs in the index. Fingers crossed they can in the codex.

 

 

I assume they will have some sort of heavy weapon unit, even if not specifically havocs. The nature of this unit will matter a lot of course.

 

Traditionally in the 3rd ed rules DG did not get heavy weapons. DG Havocs could only take specials. That's a long time ago but its also the last but one time DG have had rules.

[Commissar K.]

Yeah I think Havocs arn't in the DG Codex, however I do think that DG will have a Heavy Infantry unit with the option to for example thake 4 Blightlaunchers. 

Though at this moment it's all guesswork anyway A lot can happen and GW doesn't completely copy paste from former editions, some things it does use and others it doesn't.

I think it's very save to assume that the Index Death Guard unit list is a good frame of what will remain available (minus the Lord on Palaquin because he has no official model). So if I'd had to make a guess of what's in the new Codex it would look something like this:

- Mortarion
- Thypus
- Daemon Prince
- Lord of Contagion 
- Lord of Contagion in Cataphractii Armour
- Malignant Plaguecaster
- Malignant Plaguecaster in Cataphractii Armour
- Tallyman 
- Apothecary
- Noxious Blightbringer
- Terminators Melee
- Terminators Mixed
- Possessed
- Hellbrutes
- Plague Marines
- Poxwalkers
- Cultists
- Foetid Bloat Drone 
- Nurgle Spawn
- Defiler
- Death Guard Tank
- Death Guard Havocs
- Predator
- Land Raider

[Plaguecaster]

There will be only be one lord of contagion and that will be what is in the index which has Cataphractii already like wise with the plague caster I highly doubt GW will give us one in terminator armour. Sorcerers are guaranteed as staying so lords will no doubt be staying as well

 

Also could you learn to spell Typhus properly ;)

[Checkmate77]

Nice List Commissar K,  I don't necessarily agree with everything but I think you're close.

 

I also don't believe the DG will be getting Havocs so I'd remove them.

 

You did not include Obliterators in your list, I would think they would be part of a DG Army list as they were in the Index.  Can you imagine Obliterators with DR?  That would be awesome, talk about a great Deep Strike unit.

 

While I love the idea of the new tank (and yes I will also get at least one), I am reluctant to build a DG army revolving heavily on tanks.  If I remember my DG lore correctly, this chapter relied heavily on infantry tactics.  I have to stick with the fluff

 

Finally, do you guys think Demons will make it into the DG codex?  In the CSM codex you had some Demon troop choices which I thought added some great options so I'm wondering (and hoping) we might see the option of taking some Plague bearers and Nurgling units as troops

[TheMelancholic]

Okay, so I managed to acquire 100 poxwalkers on the cheap just now...

 

What are our thoughts on a "Night of the Living Dead" kinda list?

 

• Typhus
• Necrosis the Undying
• Chaos Lord
• Blightcaster
• Blight-Bringer
• 100x Poxwalkers (5x 20 man units)
• A squad of Plague Marines to round out the 2x Battalion Detatchment

Not competitive in the slightest I know, but I think it'd be fun to play with.

 

On a more serious note, how many is too many pox-walkers? I'm thinking 60 is a good number, three squads of twenty being enough to fill out a battalion's troop requirements at around 360 Points. They are cheap, tough and dangerous enough to make the opponent think twice about ignoring them. Add in Typhus and Necroisis and they actually become a significant threat or at the very least a very tough thorn in the opponent's side.

 

How will you be using poxwalkers?

[Checkmate77]

A Noxious Blight bringer would increase the speed of your Undead....sorry diseased horde.

 

As to how many is too many?  I guess it depends on what your overall strategy is.  The Part 1 DG update specifically mentions the Poxwalker Horde as a viable DG strategy. 

 

I am not sure yet as to whether I will be using Poxwalkers or not.......in the past I liked bringing in a maxed unit of 35 Plague Zombies (as they were called at the time) but I never took more than one unit.  It seemed to be enough to a.  Guard Typhus, b. Tarpit units, and c. hold key objectives.  I don't really like this 20 model limit on the current Poxwalkers....I'm hoping they up it to at least 30, which I think will make them more viable.

[Bulwyf]

I run at least 40 poxwalkers but usually 60. I don't know what other units/strategies we will be getting in the codex but so far having Typhus march up the middle of the field with 40-60 poxwalkers is working for me. I use two Helbrutes for shooty goodness, bloat drones and a heldrake to harass/tie up units and fling a nurgle demon prince in there just for kicks.

[Grendaxe]

Thought you guys might like to know that the community team made a comment on Facebook about talking to the miniature department and learning that Mortarion will actually have multiple poses. 

[TURBULENCE]

 

 

 

 

What about the most unholy of names "Canis Wolfborn" with no hidden knowledge that it means Wolf Wolfborn.

 

Good ol' Wolf Wolferson, wolf-brother of the Space Wolf marines; makes Typhon sound like nuanced poetry.

 

I can't wait to see if we get any new named characters. Hopefully they have names like Smol Poxx the Purulent or Leakyguts McGillicuddy. I am excited.

One of my death guard champions or characters is getting named Smol Poxx now, I hope you know that.

 

On topic I'm hoping there is a death havoc squad of some kind, a squad of all melta, or blight launchers would be a nice choice

[the jeske]

Okay, so I managed to acquire 100 poxwalkers on the cheap just now...

 

What are our thoughts on a "Night of the Living Dead" kinda list?

 

• Typhus
• Necrosis the Undying
• Chaos Lord
• Blightcaster
• Blight-Bringer
• 100x Poxwalkers (5x 20 man units)
• A squad of Plague Marines to round out the 2x Battalion Detatchment

Not competitive in the slightest I know, but I think it'd be fun to play with.

 

On a more serious note, how many is too many pox-walkers? I'm thinking 60 is a good number, three squads of twenty being enough to fill out a battalion's troop requirements at around 360 Points. They are cheap, tough and dangerous enough to make the opponent think twice about ignoring them. Add in Typhus and Necroisis and they actually become a significant threat or at the very least a very tough thorn in the opponent's side.

 

How will you be using poxwalkers?

Where is your huge Stiched up Corpses big Zombi Boss aka DP?

[bozo69pd]

So far with 8th I always run 60 poxwalkers. With the recent points reduction to plague bearers I also run 20 of those + herald. Last week I had a 2k point game against Eldar book. It was relic mission (yay) and ended turn 7 in a draw because my last walker died and dropped the relic, and Typhus while next to it was busy locked in combat against a bunch of harlequins. If the game ended on 6 I would have won or we had an 8th turn I would have won!

 

Honestly though I think DG are in a good place for their style of gameplay, however you need to love long long games with them. I do, but I have so many time constraints right now sometimes it makes me wish I played a fast army haha.

 

Sidenote, I think we were rolling disgusting resilience wrong. The rules say you have to roll for each wound, so when getting hit by 2 damage weapons does that count as taking 2 wounds ie you have to roll twice?

[Checkmate77]

That's it exactly.  You have to roll for every wound received, not per attack anymore.  Sucks for your 1 Wound models, but for your larger models it improves survivability IMO

[bozo69pd]

That's it exactly.  You have to roll for every wound received, not per attack anymore.  Sucks for your 1 Wound models, but for your larger models it improves survivability IMO

Cool thanks for clearing that up. 2 damage weapons were definitely killing my pox walkers much faster then, however they were so awesome against splinter rifle/cannon spam.

[TheMelancholic]

So far with 8th I always run 60 poxwalkers. With the recent points reduction to plague bearers I also run 20 of those + herald. Last week I had a 2k point game against Eldar book. It was relic mission (yay) and ended turn 7 in a draw because my last walker died and dropped the relic, and Typhus while next to it was busy locked in combat against a bunch of harlequins. If the game ended on 6 I would have won or we had an 8th turn I would have won!

 

Honestly though I think DG are in a good place for their style of gameplay, however you need to love long long games with them. I do, but I have so many time constraints right now sometimes it makes me wish I played a fast army haha.

 

Sidenote, I think we were rolling disgusting resilience wrong. The rules say you have to roll for each wound, so when getting hit by 2 damage weapons does that count as taking 2 wounds ie you have to roll twice?

 

I feel like Plaguebearers are a good alternative to Poxwalkers

 

For one point more you get:

• A naturally better body with S/T 4 and a 5+ invul BEFORE Disgustingly Resilient.
• Naturally better WS of 4+
• Better CC attacks (re-rolling all wounds)
• -1 to hit at over 20 dudes
• Options for instrument and banner
• 1" extra movement
• Larger max squad size (30)

You lose:

• A second base attack
• No zombie raising
• The DEATH GUARD keyword (this is a big deal tbh)
• Immunity to battleshock

Poxwalkers also fill up your DEATH GUARD detatchment troop slots, which Plaguebearers do not seeing as they can only be taken in mixed CHAOS or NURGLE detatchments. We don't know what benefits pure DEATH GUARD detachments will have, but probably something.

 

Given the fact that DG have good troop choices that you actually want to take (looking at you regular CSM) I can see Battalion (or even Brigade in big boy games) being the go-to detachment for Nurgle's chosen.

 

I'm also wondering what people are going to be doing for anti-armour. Tri-las predators seem like they are DG's only real long range anti-heavy firepower at the moment.

[bozo69pd]

My DG anti armor is usually Typhus, multiple DP's, and operation "Suck it up princess."

[TheMelancholic]

 

That's it exactly.  You have to roll for every wound received, not per attack anymore.  Sucks for your 1 Wound models, but for your larger models it improves survivability IMO

Cool thanks for clearing that up. 2 damage weapons were definitely killing my pox walkers much faster then, however they were so awesome against splinter rifle/cannon spam.

 

 

If people are shooting your poxwalkers with multi-damage weapons I'd call that a win already. Poxwalkers are a kind of weird unit for the opponent to deal with (which is good for us). Too cheap and plentiful to shoot with heavy weapons, too tough to wipe out easily with bolters e.c.t., too annoying to ignore.

[Checkmate77]

I think we're going to have to see what role (if any) Demons will play in the DG Codex.  If plague bearers can be taken as troops, all the better.  If not then maybe a supporting Demon Detachment will have to be necessary.

 

One key advantage I think you missed over pox walkers is that Plague bearers can be summoned, making them more flexible.   The ability to bring in a unit of 30 Plague bearers  where I need them the most is a big advantage.  

 

Pox walkers are great at the shambling horde thing, but once they're on the board and moving (very slowly) towards your opponent, they can't flex very well to deal what's happening on the board.  At least that's what I've observed.   thoughts?

 

As to the Anti Armor discussion;

 

Yes, the Predator is of course a solid choice, but so are Hell brutes for vehicles.  One unit that I haven't seen a lot of discussion about are Obliterators.  While I do think they took a big hit in effectiveness compared to what they were in 7th (being able to spawn the weapon of choice vs now D3 for S, AP, and W)  I believe they can still be very effective, as both Anti-Armor and Anti Heavy Infantry.  Deepstrike 3 Obliterators in the middle of the board (best into some cover like the top of a building) and your opponent will have to take notice.  As their weapons are now Assault 2 they can immediately start engaging threats.

[Plaguecaster]

Reason you don't see much talk of Obliterators is for the simple reason Death Guard can't take them,

if an existing unit wasn't in the approved DG list from the index it sure as hell won't be in the codex. Only a handful of the daemons will be included excatly like the chaos codex for the simple reason of summoning there will be absolutely no way they will have any other role in the Death Guard codex

 

My anti armour is a couple of butcher Contemptors and a deredeo with butcher and havoc launcher, what I don't Kill with weight of fire the Contemptors destroy in close combat with their chain claws

[Checkmate77]

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

 

You're right Plaguecaster, I could have sworn they were listed on the Index but I just double checked. 

 

Well so much for that then......I can only hope they'll change this for the codex but I'm not holding my breath.

[General Strike]

Are Death Guard allowed to take FW stuff?

[Toomanyprojects]

Not in the codex, but the forgeworld books will allow you to

[General Strike]

I thought some silly phrasing made it so that DG and Tsons weren't allowed them.

[Zodd1888]

Tgere was some silly wording, but in a faq or facebook post they said TSons and DG could.

[Lord Asvaldir]

DG article of the day is up: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/09/07/codex-focus-death-guard-part-2-special-rules-and-psychic-powers-sep-7gw-homepage-post-2/

 

Man that legion tactic is awesome. Pretty much any infantry unit is going to benefit from that whether it's standard plague marines with rapid fire weapons or one with a bunch of assault weapons. On top of nearly army wide disgusting resilience DG are looking solid.

 

The article also mentioned there will be nine new units for DG. Most of those are covered by stuff like the two terminator units we've seen glimpses of, but the article also mentioned new daemon engines. Since DG lose access to forgefiends, maulerfiends and drakes my guess would be we might see another DG daemon engine in addition to the plague crawler, but that's just a guess.