Guidance Please - Help Me Expand from Dark Imperium Set

[Callan]

Similar to my Space Marines thread.  I'm brand new to the hobby, not experienced enough to know what I need.  I've got the Dark Imperium set, and am likely to be playing one army against a friend playing the other fairly often.  I want to expand them both.  For the Death Guard side, what should I focus on first?  What are some long-term goals I should be aiming for?

[MeatHammerActual]

What are you looking for? What point score are you going for?
Initially I'm going for a 1k point DG list. I just added Typhus. 
Once I expand beyond that I've got a PBC that I've yet to build. 
But do you want to be a tank heavy army? Pox walker blob? Adding some Nurgle demons? 
And as has been mentioned the DG codex is very important.

[happyslugger]

I would initially add:

 

1. More Poxwalkers - Ebay job here.
2. Another drone - Ebay or store (I would personally arm it with mower or spewers).  
3. Daemon Prince - to go with the drones.
4. Some more Plague Marines
5. Tank - PB Crawler or Predator 
6. BlightLords.

I will add that I do not play competitive at all...just for fun.  I have a 1,500 pt game on the weekend and I am taking:

 

• Plague Burst Crawler
• Daemon Prince
• Typhus
• Hellbrute with fist and melta
• 2 drones with spitters
• a Myphitic Blight Hauler - first game with it and I only have the one model
• 6 Pms with plasma
• 6 Pms with plasma and blight launchers
• 20 poxwalkers

No idea how it will do, but  as long as I have fun (and my opponent) I am not worried.

•  

Edited February 28, 2018 by happyslugger

[DuskRaider]

I think the thing about Death Guard is they have a few builds that focus on a particular unit or tactic and so building upon the army requires some pre-planning. Players usually focus on Poxwalkers, Plague Marines, Blightlords or Daemon Engines... it all really depends on what direction you want to head in with the force. I personally don't really like the Poxwalker centric list, it's not Death Guard IMO (more of a Nurgle / Zombie theme). I have 80 or so to field in large games, but often times they're just used as diversions, meatshields or to bully lesser units. People will swear by the one-trick pony "The Dead Shall Walk" or whatever to turn Cultists into additional Poxwalkers, but it's easily avoidable for your opponent and is a classic example of internet tactics not matching up with the real world. The other issue is that while Poxwalkers are cheap and (relatively) hardy, they require an investment to make them work... mainly, Typhus (and / or Necrosius). This means you're relying on a single character or two to beef up your otherwise average units, you are assuming you will always cast the Psyker power(s) you need to buff them, and your crucial character won't be sniped ASAP by a savvy opponent. Don't get me wrong, I love using Typhus to supercharge my zombies but I would NEVER build an entire list around it.

 

I personally love running Plague Marines. I don't really care how competitive they are or are not, they've been my workhorse for multiple editions and are THE Legion. Thankfully in the new codex you have plenty of options for them, including a plethora of new Special Weapons, Close Combat Weapons, and Stratagems at your disposal to make them much more offense-capable... not to mention the ability to run 3 Plasma Guns per squad now. All of the Independent Characters are really geared toward getting the most out of a list like this and can buff Plague Marines into frighteningly efficient killing machines. GW was also smart enough to create a new unit with this style of play in mind, the Myphitic Blight Hauler, which will not only provide mobile cover for your PMs but will also add it's own anti-tank weaponry to the fight. The advantage you have to the Poxwalker list (IMO) is that while Blight-Haulers are much more of an investment than Typhus / Necrosius, etc. the list benefits from them more and quite frankly you don't really need them to make it work. You'll obviously be much lower on model count, but you make up for it with versatility and the durability that would otherwise need to be buffed on the 'Walkers. You also have the advantage of transports, although they are MUCH more expensive than prior Editions. 

 

I can't speak much of a Blightlord / Blightwing list. I've heard a few concepts around it and (until the new DA codex came out at least) it was the most frightening Terminator-centirc list you could create. Death Guard have an dearth of TDA-equipped options: Blightlords, Deathshroud, and a bevvy of HQs. Although lacking any reliable anti-tank CC weapon (barring the Deathshroud of course), Blightlords still have a large amount of weaponry to choose from, both CC and ranged. With the changes to how Combi-Weapons work in 8th can essentially have roving bands of Plasma Gunners with 2W, 2+ 4++ 5+++ roaming the board and causing headaches. Unfortunately, they're also ridiculously slow and thus are easily kited. The best way to use these guys would be either massed Deep Strike and saturate the enemy ASAP or using transports such as Land Raiders or the venerable Spartan, but again... they're so damn expensive in 8th they're almost un-fieldable. I think this army would do best in a small or dense table only.

 

Daemon engine-centric armies are mostly just Daemons of Nurgle lists with Plagueburst Crawlers and Bloat Drones (the occasional Blight-Hauler) thrown in using Detachment shenanigans. They're really not a Death Guard list and are really just taking advantage of Keywords and usually Epidemius' Tally to supercharge a Daemon army quickly. While I don't look at it as a Death Guard list (some do *shrug*), it's still an interesting idea. 

 

So... yeah. Sorry for the long winded response and I apologize for not actually listing what should be your next purchase, but I'd suggest thinking about where you want to go with the army before you start investing. 

[Callan]

Thanks for the great advice. Happyslugger's list looks like a fun place to start. I'll be picking up the Codex this afternoon.

[happyslugger]

Thanks for the great advice. Happyslugger's list looks like a fun place to start. I'll be picking up the Codex this afternoon.

 

I swap and change my list just to play different things.

 

I have a fair few models of the death guard but only just got the blight hauler, so figured I would try it with some plague marines.  I even brought the old resin daemon prince last week just because I think it looks funky (was terrible to put together).

 

To be honest most of the time I fill troops with poxwalkers - especially against more elite armies like Grey Knights (that was a fun battle).

 

My honest opinion is just buy and build what you like the look of (unless you play tournaments or competitive).  We don't even mind if the model has something different weapon wise, like an AXE but we pay for a SWORD or something similar.  Rule of what looks cool for me lol.

[Callan]

 

Thanks for the great advice. Happyslugger's list looks like a fun place to start. I'll be picking up the Codex this afternoon.

 

I swap and change my list just to play different things.

 

I have a fair few models of the death guard but only just got the blight hauler, so figured I would try it with some plague marines.  I even brought the old resin daemon prince last week just because I think it looks funky (was terrible to put together).

 

To be honest most of the time I fill troops with poxwalkers - especially against more elite armies like Grey Knights (that was a fun battle).

 

My honest opinion is just buy and build what you like the look of (unless you play tournaments or competitive).  We don't even mind if the model has something different weapon wise, like an AXE but we pay for a SWORD or something similar.  Rule of what looks cool for me lol.

 

Oh, absolutely.  I was looking for ways to build what I already have from the DI set into something bigger and better, but that doesn't mean I'm done once I complete the list.  In fact, my Ultramarines thread has a 2k point list that I like, so obviously I can't stop here.  I definitely want to have enough minis that I can swap out for situations and for fun... but I'm just starting.  Goals!  Goals are good.

[happyslugger]

Lol you should see my BA pile of shame. My son has Ultra Marines and I got him some Grey Knights also.....sooo much to paint.

[CMDR_Welles]

Get a multipart Drone kit, then buy two more Dark Imperium Drones. With very little cutting, you can use the 2 extra faceplates that come in the multipart kit to make them more unique.

 

Here are mine. The original DI Drone is on the right. The other two are using the multipart faceplates.

 

 

I havent assembled the one from the multipart kit as I havent ordered the magnets yet.

[FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants]

Get a multipart Drone kit, then buy two more Dark Imperium Drones. With very little cutting, you can use the 2 extra faceplates that come in the multipart kit to make them more unique.Here are mine. The original DI Drone is on the right. The other two are using the multipart faceplates.I havent assembled the one from the multipart kit as I havent ordered the magnets yet.

Hey mate, this is genius, kudos. How similar are the weapon mounts between th Dark Imperium and multipart kits.

[CMDR_Welles]

Almost no difference actually. The Heavy Launcher in the middle there is just temporarily held on with a compression fit. The slots dont line up exactly perfect, but with the right type of glue (I use a plastic weld) it wont matter one bit.

 

Hope that helps