New Death Guard in 8th edition

[Extropian]

I think I'm on the Blight launcher train too over plasma (melee squads will get Plague spewers peobably). A bit more weight of fire at range, and a really solid stat line. I like them a lot.

 

Tbh I think Plague Marines are probably the most solid all-rounders of the God aligned troops. Maybe of any Chaos elite choice when you factor in cost vs performance.

[Panzer]

Tbh I think Plague Marines are probably the most solid all-rounders of the God aligned troops. Maybe of any Chaos elite choice when you factor in cost vs performance.

Heh, just you wait till Noise Marines get proper melee weapons as well.

 

GW make it happen, please!

[Dallas Drake]

I have a bunch of friends who let me test the new Plague Marine weapon options from the new CSM codex with my DG index army. We played a buch of games last night. I ran 5 PMs in a combi-melta Rhino with powerfist/plasma champ, 2 belchers, & 2 flails.

 

Flails are really good. The ability to have damage carry over really helps them. In a game against marines a squad of vanguard vets failed their charge, the PMs then shot them wth 2 belchers then charged and wiped the unit, this was in large part due to the 2 flails.

 

I then tried 10 man units with a few axes added in, put them on foot moving up behind the poxwalkers and they got shot off the table. Silly but I wanted to try it, just confirms 100% that they need a Rhino. PMs are not that tough, this is still very much a shooting game and if someone wants them gone in this edition it's not hard to achieve.

 

Incidently I also ran a Leviathan with dual butcher cannon arrays to support both armies. Oh my the hurt this guy puts out is beautiful...

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I've decided to keep my DG from the DI box and after reading through this, is there a feasible army build that's mostly DG without needing 80+ pox walkers?

[the jeske]

Well you could take a detachment of csm with cultists or nurgle demons, but I doubt that this is what you're aiming for. Mono DG with just DG dudes does not really work that well.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I'm not opposed to using non-DG units but I don't want to buy, build, and paint 100 :cussing pox walkers.

[Arkhanist]

Going by the CSM codex, plague marines could get 2 points cheaper and have a lot more weapon options in the new DG codex - so potentially more useful than currently. We should also get new DG terminators, mortarion and new characters.

 

What will be interesting is what happens to the troop slot. Currently we have cultists, poxwalkers and plague marines. The CSM codex doesn't have cult marines as troops for their respective legion (whether the index rules still allow it for CSM is up for debate) - just cultists and ordinary CSM, on the theory that not all world eaters are berzerkers etc.

 

In the index, we no longer have ordinary CSM at all. We might get those back if plague marines go to elites for DG, or we could have just cultists and poxwalkers - or plague marines could officially stay as troops in our codex, unlike the other legions.

 

Poxwalkers will no doubt remain a very useful option for fearless roadbumps and screens, and even somewhat dangerous with typhus so you're likely to want some at least, such as the ones from the DI kit you already have. But for the rest, I suspect the codex is definitely going to have some surprises, along with the expected new kits. Given the DG codex is so close (projected to be mid-end september), I wouldn't make any drastic investments just yet as it could all change. Stuff like helbrutes or predators should be safe enough to get though if you need something to paint, they're already pretty good and that's not likely to change.

[Plaguecaster]

The way Death Guard or even Thousand Sons are I highly doubt plague marines will go elites, anything not in the death guard restrictions from the index won't be added to the codex hell the way it is I even feel cultist will no longer be a option for Death Guard or even chaos lords and Sorcerers since we are getting far more equilvant choices, I would say Plague marines will stay troops but I also hope we get a havoc or Chosen style unit which can all take blight launchers or something as I miss not having havocs or chosen in the same dettachment :(

 

@ Brother Captain Kage Iv been having extremely good luck with a dreadnought / Helbrute heavy list which is mostly plague marines and Helbrutes or Contemptors with a Deredero. I still include poxwalkers though only a squad or two of 14 just to act as bubble wrap for the Deredero

[Marshal Loss]

0% chance Plague Marines are elite in a DG army.

[Commissar K.]

Would be hilarious if this model got a 40K datasheet aswell.

It's from the new smaller AoS Starter but it's amazing:

http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/tgacommunity/monthly_2017_08/AoS-Blightwar-Image3ntoixs-e1503084982282.jpg.1b918222f8427f78c658b13b5cb56879.jpg

[1000 Sons]

Looks like, e something from a Discworld novel, has that strange comical look to it.

[Dallas Drake]

I've decided to keep my DG from the DI box and after reading through this, is there a feasible army build that's mostly DG without needing 80+ pox walkers?

 

Feasible or competitive? Feasible, yes. But if you're playing against a range of opponents you probably need something to defend against deep strikes. You don't have to go with poxwalkers, Daemons (plaguebearers and nurglings) in a batallion are good. Nurglings let you grab objectives turn 1 and can be used to create a 'safe deepstike' area as you can put them down as your first drop and then nobody can put their infiltrators down within 9" they also let you stop deep strikes into your back line, just spread them out & keep the units 9.5" apart. They are squishy buy have a range of uses.

 

A battalion with 2 Heralds, 2x6 Nurglings and 30 Plaguebearers (20+ get -1 to hit) is about 600 points and gives you a good amount of bodies. Plus you get another 3 command points.

 

Plague Marines need Rhinos, so take 2x5 man units and deploy both in a Rhino. Counts as one drop and lets you make up troops for another battalion and gives you flexibility. Equip them how you want, there's no bad options in the upcoming codex, just lots of different uses.

 

If you're not going with poxwalkers then don't bother with blightbringers, proxy as a sorcerer or something.

 

You should just wait for the new codex to drop. Keep hold of the models you have and paint them up, then when the new codex gets released you can decide what kind of a force you want to go with.

 

I'm not opposed to using non-DG units but I don't want to buy, build, and paint 100 :cussing pox walkers.

 

EDIT: Poxwalkers are £7 on ebay for 10. I bought, cleaned up, glued, and painted 80 in 3 days. They are easy enough to paint to a good standard using washes and play really well on the table top. That said, they slow down games a little and if that's not your thing then fair enough. You don't have to go with blobs. Rhinos for your plague marines and then some daemon engines or daemons can work okay. Take a look at the forgeworld options, also a knight works well in a CSM army too.

[Nurgleprobe]

Love that snail <3
I would say it's an okay chance that it will get rules in the Daemon codex, and maybe it's own box at that point.
Just making us buy in/split this starter box for a while if we indeed do want it as a proxy for some kind of daemon until then. ;) 

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

The reason I don't want to go with that many pox walkers is partly because of how slow I build and paint, but I don't want a horde army for chaos. Another reason is that it feels like the latest mathhammer BS build exploiting the rules. GW seems to be actively shutting down things like that in this edition with FAQs.

[DeadFingers]

Would be hilarious if this model got a 40K datasheet aswell.

 

It's from the new smaller AoS Starter but it's amazing:

 

http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/tgacommunity/monthly_2017_08/AoS-Blightwar-Image3ntoixs-e1503084982282.jpg.1b918222f8427f78c658b13b5cb56879.jpg

 

Laid back pose, shears, plough, a "mule", a "carrot" on a stick, chewing on a piece of bone like it's wheat... yup, this guy's a farmer.

 

I'm gonna have to learn how to sculpt a straw hat.

[Commissar K.]

Yep he's the farmer in the garden of Nurgle (thats not even a joke!)

:P I think some really funny stuff could be done with a big old Nurgle Lord on the snail aswell. I just generally love the comedy vibe this guy and Nurgle usually has, it's great because it shows the fun we also should have with our armies and models. 

Lastly parts of this model also showed up 4+ times in the Rumour Engine so it's nice to know that X or Y was this and not something potentially else. 

[Xthanitos]

The new Herald of Nurgle on Palanquin. Only instead of a carpet of Nurglings its a giant snail. I'm ok with this.

 

Wish they would hurry up with the Death Guard preorders though....

[DeadFingers]

Yep he's the farmer in the garden of Nurgle (thats not even a joke!)

 

I think some really funny stuff could be done with a big old Nurgle Lord on the snail aswell. I just generally love the comedy vibe this guy and Nurgle usually has, it's great because it shows the fun we also should have with our armies and models. 

 

Lastly parts of this model also showed up 4+ times in the Rumour Engine so it's nice to know that X or Y was this and not something potentially else. 

 

I realized what they were going for the moment I heard his name in the video for Blightwar. Horticulous. As in "horticulture". If they want to keep exploring the "gardening" aspect of Nurgle beyond scythes, I'm all up for it. Just imagine the Nurglings with lil' pitchforks. Adorable.

 

This guy personally gives me an "Alice in Wonderland meets Discworld while having a mushroom-fueled nightmare" kinda vibe. I dig it. What I don't dig is him being exclusive for a box with a bunch of models I have no interest in getting. Ebay it is, I guess.

 

And Blightwar being on preorder next Saturday means Morty and the boys aren't coming until at least September the 2nd. At this point I just wish they'd properly show us the kits and models in a community article (or two) already.

[Chainsword Cookie]

My personal experience with the Death Guard, as my first 40k army and as a new army for the new edition, is overall very positive. 

 

I have fought 7 different scenarios of which 4 are of the Konor campaign, totaling 4 Major Victories, 2 Major Defeats and 1 Minor Defeat. I have fought against Deathwatch, Primaris Black Templars, Orks and Craftworld Aeldari. 

 

I cannot claim that I am an experienced player but I have enjoyed every single battle so far and I have never felt that my army was not fighting an even battle with the other armies. 

 

So here is the rundown of my observations: 

 

Lord of Contagion:

 

He hits like a smith and is capable of shrugging off a ton of damage. I am fond of his teleport move and his kit is a good all-rounder. He has killed his fair share in the battles I have used him and is always a dread thing for my adversaries. They know that he is coming down and they do their best to prevent him getting into the melee. 

 

Noxious Blightbringer:

 

The "bell guy" is a nice model but I have found him lacking. While his kit is not bad I have quickly exchanged him for a Chaos Rhino for my Plague Marines. I see him working well with a horde of Poxwalkers but I would not use him unless I have two beefy squads of Poxwalkers. 

 

Malignant Plaguecaster:

 

He is my game-maker, my MVP in almost all games I have played. He casts well, he fights well and he is not to be underestimated. I like using Miasma of Pestilence to boost the defense of my Poxwalkers or other units and Smite to inflict mortal wounds in every turn. He worked best in tandem with a second Psyker, like Typhus, so the adversary was forced to Deny the Witch on "baiting powers" like Plague Wind. He also accounted himself very well in melee, killing a Warlock and a Farseer on his own. 

 

Typhus: 

 

Efficient, tough, psyker and devastating in melee. Unfortunately I cannot use it in the Konor campaign in my club, but he is my go to HQ every time I can. He boosts the Poxwalkers from "tiresome" to "nasty" and I love to use him as the center of my army. 

 

Poxwalkers: 

 

They are essential. They soak up shots, contest objectives, act as ablative wounds for my characters and from time to time they have managed to drag someone down with their numbers. Still they can be a hit or a miss. In the Konor missions when I had to defend they were a burden on my army. They did soak up shots, but being a melee unit is a disadvantage when combined with their slow movement and static objectives. They need a way to shuffle forward faster and while the Blightbringer can be useful in this regard, advancing them still prevents a charge to happen. In short, in the right scenario they are nasty but when defending they are a burden. 

 

Plague Marines: 

 

I like them very much. They never kill much, they never fight much, but they are hard to shift, you can have them even outside cover and their effectiveness multiplies a lot with a Chaos Rhino. My favorite special weapons combo is Blight Launcher and Plasma Gun. It offers a good way to inflict wounds on the likes of the Primaris and forces the adversary to hug cover in order to mitigate the AP. In melee the Plague Marines are not much of fighters, but they can outlast the best of them. Mine have survived combat with Harlequins, melee geared Deathwatch Kill-Teams, Ork Nobs and an Autarch with his coterie of Warlocks/Seers. I rarely begun the fight with them but almost always ended it. 

 

Foetid-Bloat Drone: 
 

The dread of my army. It flies, it burns stuff and even in death serves its purpose. Mine is always focused as soon as it is in the range of the enemy guns. My adversaries hate it. My usual tactic is to bait with the drone. I use the Plaguespitters on one unit and than charge a different one. My aim is to end every turn either in place to bait the enemy heavy guns or in combat with a unit. It cannot fight well in melee, but it is a long combat indeed (usually long enough for my Lord of Contagion to charge into it safely). 

 

I have also used a Daemon Prince and a Helbrute in my lists. Both fill two much needed roles in the DG army. That of a fast and mobile attacker and that of bait/threat. I really hope that the codex DG rules will mirror the CSM one and the Helbrute would get Disgustingly Resilient. I think that this ability alone would make a great unit into an awesome one, double that on a Daemon Prince of the Death Guard. 

 

 

Flaws in a Death Guard army:

 

Speed. I have noticed that the DG is a slow army. It fits the lore and sometimes can be worked into an advantage, but with more and more battleplans requiring to move from objective to objective, the DG can spread thin and thus suffer. I have learned not to chase stuff. If something is faster than me I just do my best to wipe it from the board. If something gets behind me, I must be able to stop it, which is why I always have a unit of Plague Marines in my half of the board. 

 

Melee. Close combat is not an arena where the DG excels at. True, the Lord of Contagion and even the Plaguecaster are nasty and vicious fighters, but more often than not I won the combat not because I killed much, but because I was tough to kill. The reroll from the plague weapons and Death to the False Emperor helped me a lot in some cases, but overall I usually react to melee and rarely charge first. Still it is usually unexpected to see the Death Guard to charge in combat which is why I like to use my Helbrute and Bloat Drone for this task. I have learned that sometimes being in combat, especially with the tough DG units, is a great way to survive against shooting armies like Eldar and Space Marines. 

 

High-Strength long distance shooting: This is what I usually come to miss in my army. Sometimes the missions force me to advance across the table and the adversary is entrenched, and sometimes even has multiple-wounds units like Primaris Marines in cover. The Death Guard, currently, struggles in this scenario. Granted, the Havoc ML on the Rhino is a good thing and weapons like the Blight-Launcher help here, but still I usually find myself starved for weapons with 36''-48'' range with a solid number of attacks. 

 

My wishes for the Death Guard codex/units:

 

Well I cannot wait to get my hands on some Death Guard Terminators. If the Lord of Contagion is anything to go by, 2 wound, 4++, 2+ units with a host of special weapons could be a dream come true. I already see them working wonders as deep strike units, general annoyance units and poised threat units. They would be a unit which is hard to shift and I think that some great strategies could be played with them. 

 

Disgustingly Resilient for Helbrutes, Daemon Princes and ways to boost it. This ability is already vicious and works like a charm. I would like to see a Stratagem which allows us to reroll the tests, or hell even make it a 4+ save for 2CP. 

 

Plagueburst. In all honesty I think that this is the model I am more excited for. If by any case, gets a 36''+ range weapon with a solid number of shots, it would be a blessing for the DG. I don't even need it to have a high strength, just number of shots and a solid AP -2 plague weapon. 

 

I think that the "Apothecary" character hinted in the video could be a great addition to the army. The DG army is one that relies on toughness and survivability to win the games. The idea is to outlast our opponents in every phase and slowly drag them down. If by any chance this model has an ability like the d3 healed wounds from the Plague power in Codex CSM, this would already fit in with so many things in a DG army. 

 

On the other hand I am not so convinced of the plague melee weapons for the Plague Marines. Sure a melee unit could work, but I still think that the best way to use the Plague Marines is to place them in cover, near an objective, and see the adversary spend turn after turn to deal with them, a pesky squad of 7 marines... (eating half an army of shooting, hehe).

 

I would welcome some new psychic powers, a way to boost the movement of the Poxwalkers without resorting to a character and a way to reliably place some mortal wounds at a long distance from time to time. 

 

All in all, I am loving the Death Guard and I see myself playing it a lot. 

 

[Commissar K.]

 

This guy personally gives me an "Alice in Wonderland meets Discworld while having a mushroom-fueled nightmare" kinda vibe. I dig it. What I don't dig is him being exclusive for a box with a bunch of models I have no interest in getting. Ebay it is, I guess.

 

And Blightwar being on preorder next Saturday means Morty and the boys aren't coming until at least September the 2nd. At this point I just wish they'd properly show us the kits and models in a community article (or two) already.

 

I really like that vibe aswell and I think its quite likely theyll continue with it. Especially since they pushed the Gladiator vibe on Khorne, which is really neat also. Likewise I expect the "Entertainer" vibe will apply to Slaanesh once thats all set and done. As for it being an exclusive, I think they will allow it to be sold seperate also. One reason being that this box contains a female Stormcast and this model as the only exclusives to what otherwise would be the contains for a Army box. They did it for the Khorne and Stormcast model a few months ago and I think they will do it for this too.

 

Personally I expect Morty to show up this week also, as before this is all allready finished and so is Morty and I dont think GW has any problems promoting it all at once. Example being that they spoiled this today and the massive update for their latest Codexi.

 

The pro to their rushwork is that we get models faster aswell, so while the books arnt always 100% correct the more models the better ;) 

[Dallas Drake]

The reason I don't want to go with that many pox walkers is partly because of how slow I build and paint, but I don't want a horde army for chaos. Another reason is that it feels like the latest mathhammer BS build exploiting the rules. GW seems to be actively shutting down things like that in this edition with FAQs.

 

Poxwalker spam is no different to cultist spam, gaunt spam, or conscript spam. These are all legit builds and are not exploiting the rules.

 

GW are actively shutting down broken builds like what was going on with Stormravens. All of above builds don't compare to the cheese of brimstones (well, maybe conscripts do as they are sooooo good!) and they survived the FAQ with minor changes.

 

At the end of the day if you don't want to play a horde that's cool, but it is a very vaild build right now for a lot of armies and certainly one of Death Guard's strongest build now and after the codex drops.

[Chainsword Cookie]

The Poxies are not bad, it is just that they cannot get into the melee fast. When combined with Typhus and Miasma of Pestilence, they can soak a lot of damage. You can walk them across the board reliably and still have the numbers to fight, but they are gratingly slow. 

 

Then you have Plaguebearers which for 1pt more have T4, a ++ save and Disgustingly Resilient, and can be summoned quite forward, sparing us some turns of movement. 

[Arkhanist]

0% chance Plague Marines are elite in a DG army.

 

The CSM FAQ is out, and cult units are troops again for World Eaters and Emperor's Children. Looks like you're right :)

[Ashe Darke]

I did 60 poxwalkers in just less than a week. Base coat white and then the majority of the work was done with multiple washes. It was so much faster than using non washes.

[Petitioner's City]

My personal experience with the Death Guard, as my first 40k army and as a new army for the new edition, is overall very positive. 

 

I have fought 7 different scenarios of which 4 are of the Konor campaign, totaling 4 Major Victories, 2 Major Defeats and 1 Minor Defeat. I have fought against Deathwatch, Primaris Black Templars, Orks and Craftworld Aeldari. 

 

I cannot claim that I am an experienced player but I have enjoyed every single battle so far and I have never felt that my army was not fighting an even battle with the other armies. 

 

So here is the rundown of my observations: 

 

Lord of Contagion:

 

He hits like a smith and is capable of shrugging off a ton of damage. I am fond of his teleport move and his kit is a good all-rounder. He has killed his fair share in the battles I have used him and is always a dread thing for my adversaries. They know that he is coming down and they do their best to prevent him getting into the melee. 

 

Noxious Blightbringer:

 

The "bell guy" is a nice model but I have found him lacking. While his kit is not bad I have quickly exchanged him for a Chaos Rhino for my Plague Marines. I see him working well with a horde of Poxwalkers but I would not use him unless I have two beefy squads of Poxwalkers. 

 

Malignant Plaguecaster:

 

He is my game-maker, my MVP in almost all games I have played. He casts well, he fights well and he is not to be underestimated. I like using Miasma of Pestilence to boost the defense of my Poxwalkers or other units and Smite to inflict mortal wounds in every turn. He worked best in tandem with a second Psyker, like Typhus, so the adversary was forced to Deny the Witch on "baiting powers" like Plague Wind. He also accounted himself very well in melee, killing a Warlock and a Farseer on his own. 

 

Typhus: 

 

Efficient, tough, psyker and devastating in melee. Unfortunately I cannot use it in the Konor campaign in my club, but he is my go to HQ every time I can. He boosts the Poxwalkers from "tiresome" to "nasty" and I love to use him as the center of my army. 

 

Poxwalkers: 

 

They are essential. They soak up shots, contest objectives, act as ablative wounds for my characters and from time to time they have managed to drag someone down with their numbers. Still they can be a hit or a miss. In the Konor missions when I had to defend they were a burden on my army. They did soak up shots, but being a melee unit is a disadvantage when combined with their slow movement and static objectives. They need a way to shuffle forward faster and while the Blightbringer can be useful in this regard, advancing them still prevents a charge to happen. In short, in the right scenario they are nasty but when defending they are a burden. 

 

Plague Marines: 

 

I like them very much. They never kill much, they never fight much, but they are hard to shift, you can have them even outside cover and their effectiveness multiplies a lot with a Chaos Rhino. My favorite special weapons combo is Blight Launcher and Plasma Gun. It offers a good way to inflict wounds on the likes of the Primaris and forces the adversary to hug cover in order to mitigate the AP. In melee the Plague Marines are not much of fighters, but they can outlast the best of them. Mine have survived combat with Harlequins, melee geared Deathwatch Kill-Teams, Ork Nobs and an Autarch with his coterie of Warlocks/Seers. I rarely begun the fight with them but almost always ended it. 

 

Foetid-Bloat Drone: 

 

The dread of my army. It flies, it burns stuff and even in death serves its purpose. Mine is always focused as soon as it is in the range of the enemy guns. My adversaries hate it. My usual tactic is to bait with the drone. I use the Plaguespitters on one unit and than charge a different one. My aim is to end every turn either in place to bait the enemy heavy guns or in combat with a unit. It cannot fight well in melee, but it is a long combat indeed (usually long enough for my Lord of Contagion to charge into it safely). 

 

I have also used a Daemon Prince and a Helbrute in my lists. Both fill two much needed roles in the DG army. That of a fast and mobile attacker and that of bait/threat. I really hope that the codex DG rules will mirror the CSM one and the Helbrute would get Disgustingly Resilient. I think that this ability alone would make a great unit into an awesome one, double that on a Daemon Prince of the Death Guard. 

 

 

Flaws in a Death Guard army:

 

Speed. I have noticed that the DG is a slow army. It fits the lore and sometimes can be worked into an advantage, but with more and more battleplans requiring to move from objective to objective, the DG can spread thin and thus suffer. I have learned not to chase stuff. If something is faster than me I just do my best to wipe it from the board. If something gets behind me, I must be able to stop it, which is why I always have a unit of Plague Marines in my half of the board. 

 

Melee. Close combat is not an arena where the DG excels at. True, the Lord of Contagion and even the Plaguecaster are nasty and vicious fighters, but more often than not I won the combat not because I killed much, but because I was tough to kill. The reroll from the plague weapons and Death to the False Emperor helped me a lot in some cases, but overall I usually react to melee and rarely charge first. Still it is usually unexpected to see the Death Guard to charge in combat which is why I like to use my Helbrute and Bloat Drone for this task. I have learned that sometimes being in combat, especially with the tough DG units, is a great way to survive against shooting armies like Eldar and Space Marines. 

 

High-Strength long distance shooting: This is what I usually come to miss in my army. Sometimes the missions force me to advance across the table and the adversary is entrenched, and sometimes even has multiple-wounds units like Primaris Marines in cover. The Death Guard, currently, struggles in this scenario. Granted, the Havoc ML on the Rhino is a good thing and weapons like the Blight-Launcher help here, but still I usually find myself starved for weapons with 36''-48'' range with a solid number of attacks. 

 

My wishes for the Death Guard codex/units:

 

Well I cannot wait to get my hands on some Death Guard Terminators. If the Lord of Contagion is anything to go by, 2 wound, 4++, 2+ units with a host of special weapons could be a dream come true. I already see them working wonders as deep strike units, general annoyance units and poised threat units. They would be a unit which is hard to shift and I think that some great strategies could be played with them. 

 

Disgustingly Resilient for Helbrutes, Daemon Princes and ways to boost it. This ability is already vicious and works like a charm. I would like to see a Stratagem which allows us to reroll the tests, or hell even make it a 4+ save for 2CP. 

 

Plagueburst. In all honesty I think that this is the model I am more excited for. If by any case, gets a 36''+ range weapon with a solid number of shots, it would be a blessing for the DG. I don't even need it to have a high strength, just number of shots and a solid AP -2 plague weapon. 

 

I think that the "Apothecary" character hinted in the video could be a great addition to the army. The DG army is one that relies on toughness and survivability to win the games. The idea is to outlast our opponents in every phase and slowly drag them down. If by any chance this model has an ability like the d3 healed wounds from the Plague power in Codex CSM, this would already fit in with so many things in a DG army. 

 

On the other hand I am not so convinced of the plague melee weapons for the Plague Marines. Sure a melee unit could work, but I still think that the best way to use the Plague Marines is to place them in cover, near an objective, and see the adversary spend turn after turn to deal with them, a pesky squad of 7 marines... (eating half an army of shooting, hehe).

 

I would welcome some new psychic powers, a way to boost the movement of the Poxwalkers without resorting to a character and a way to reliably place some mortal wounds at a long distance from time to time. 

 

All in all, I am loving the Death Guard and I see myself playing it a lot. 

 

Have you used any options from the FW index? How do you feel they fit into your Death Guard play style?