HELP! Overwhelmed and unsure what to do.

[Typhus]

Hey guys, In lockdown I have been working on my Death Guard army, now I havent played since 3rd edition but I want to get back into the hobby. With that in mind I started buying stuff, with the cool units first and then the meet and veg units. Am at the point were I have amassed quite a few minnis with 90% painted, but I have no direction and am a little overwhelmed with my small band of units... My aim before lockdown was to get a 1000-2000 point list that I could play to relearn the game at my local GW and have fun and make some mates, but now I have so much am not sure what am doing!

 

Can anyone point me to a list or help me make one that would be fun but easy going on a beginner? my mate in the US was trying to help me but he keeps tell me to buy is Death Guard Contemptor Dreadnoughts!?!!?!? tbh am not even sure what to do with what I have never mind more stuff 0_0

[Karhedron]

What have you got so far? Then we can advise on what to add.

[Tallarn Commander]

Typhus, I also ran Death Guard back in 3rd and have slowly been upgrading my 3rd Ed DG to 8th/9th edition.

 

Many of the 3rd Edition Death Guard units like Plague Marines, Daemon Princes, and Terminators (now called Blightlord Terminators) are still quite good. We no longer really have access to Plaguebearers or Plagueriders though.

 

You will probably have to convert some of your Termies and Plague Marines to take advantage of the new upgrades such as Flails of Contagion. And then you should consider buying some of the goodness that can be found in the new DG units like Plague Drones or Plagueburst Crawlers. Chaos Contemptor Dreadnoughts are good, and have been good for many editions, but so are many other units. So only get 'em if you like them.

 

What units do you have?

[Wolf Lord Loki]

My suggestion would be pick your favourite models from your collection and start there.

 

Plague marines and blightlord terminators are nice and simple to use as a core.

 

Add something new that you havent used before each game.

 

Have fun!

 

Edit:

Oh and (shameless plug) try reading some of the units of the week - we consider taking requests

Edited November 14, 2021 by Wolf Lord Loki

[Marshal Loss]

I'd probably wait until the next CA points update late this year/early next year before making any major purchases just in case something gets hit unexpectedly hard. I wouldn't buy (Volkite) Contemptors because they're practically guaranteed to take a blow. Realistically though pretty much everything in our book is viable so just buy what you like the look of.

[Typhus]

Ok here is what I have so far.

 

HQ

 

x1 Mortarion

x1 Typhus

x2 Lord of contagion

x1 lord of virulence

x1 Demon prince ( no wings )

x1 Chaos Lord

X 4 Malignat Plaguecasters ( different Minnis)

 

Troops

 

x27 Plague Marines with bolters

x2 Plague Marines with Blight Launchers

x2 Plague Marines with Plague Belcher

x2 Plague Marines with Plague Spewer

x2 Plague Marines with Plasma guns

x2 Plague Marines with flails

x2 Plague Marines with Melters

x1 Plague Marine with Great Plague cleaver

x1 Plague Marine with Mace & Axe

X 1 Champion With a Power fist & Sword

X 3 Champion Sword & Plasma Pistal

X 2 Champion With a Power fist and plasma Pistal

X40 Pox Walkers

 

Elites

 

X1 Noxious Blightbringer

X2 Foul Blightspawn

X1 Biologus Putrifier

X1 Tallyman

X1 Plague Surgeon

X6 Deathshroud Terminators

 

X1 Blightlord Champion with Combi-Plasma and Balesword

X1 Blightlord Champion with Combi-Bolter and Balesword

X9 Blightlord Terminators With Combi-bolters

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Blight Launchers

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Plague Spewers

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Autocannons

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Flails

 

Fast Attack

 

X3 Myphitic Blight-Haulers

X4 Foetid Bloat-Drone x3 with Plaguespitters and x1 with FleshMower

 

Heavy Attack

 

X3 Plagueburst crawlers with heavy sluggers and Entropy Cannons

 

 

Sigh......and that covers the list of my units....... I get a headache just typeing it out xD

 

I know it isnt a lot to some of the more experanced guys, but I have tried ordering it the best I could by getting the different loadouts and such and and keeping my squads in 5 or 10 man units ( 7 iidealy ;) )... But I have reached that point where I want to at least start putting something like a list togeather that I can start to play with, aiming to win at this point seems pointless if I dont understand the basics. But everytime I go to put a list togeather my brain bleeds thought my eyes and nose and I stand there dribbling for 30 mins....... 

Edited November 14, 2021 by Typhus

[Tokugawa]

You already have more than sufficient models to equip a 2000pts "tournament ready" list. If you really don't know where to start, you can copy the concept of tournament top4 lists.

 

Contemptor rules are super good, but I suggest not to buy them if you don't own one yet. If you buy it today, before you assembled and painted it, the FAQ nerf will land.

Edited November 14, 2021 by Tokugawa

[Typhus]

You already have more than sufficient models to equip a 2000pts "tournament ready" list. If you really don't know where to start, you can copy the concept of tournament top4 lists.

 

Contemptor rules are super good, but I suggest not to buy them if you don't own one yet. If you buy it today, before you assembled and painted it, the FAQ nerf will land.

Thats my issue, I really don't want to just cut & paste a list I find on the net. The thing is give a chimp a ak47 and bad things are going to happen to the chimp.....I would rather start at the basic beginner super noob friendly kind of list and learn my army and build from there than play with a lot of stuff and just mess everything up

[Tokugawa]

Copy or not copy, DG have ~4 main list building style now.

 

1. Take all comers list(terminators, PBC, poxwalkers), without Mortarion.

2. Take all comers list, with Mortarion.

3. Terminus est, many poxwalkers, no vehicles.

4. Vehicle heavy(PBC, FBD, dreads, MBH).

 

You can start with picking your favorite style.

[Closet Skeleton]

You really don't need a contemptor with that collection, that's a lot of models like 5000 points.

 

You want to play 1000 points at a shop?

 

Battalion

HQ

Lord of Virulence or Contagion

 

Plaguecaster

 

Troops

7 plague marines with whatever upgrades you want

 

7 more

 

10 Poxwalkers

 

Elites

5 blightlords

 

Fast Attack

1 Bloat Drone

 

Should add up to around 1k

 

Want a 2k competative list without buying anything?

 

Just start with a base of 3 plague burst crawlers with entropy cannons, a daemon prince, foul blightspawn, plaguecaster, 3 units of 10 poxwalkers and then add in as many terminators as you can fit in. Should have no trouble winning 3/5 if you feel like attending a tournament once you learn how to score in those missions.

Edited November 15, 2021 by Closet Skeleton

[Typhus]

tyvm Closet Skeleton that helps loads, I want something I can build from and that looks perfect.

[techsoldaten]

Ok here is what I have so far.

 

HQ

 

x1 Mortarion

x1 Typhus

x2 Lord of contagion

x1 lord of virulence

x1 Demon prince ( no wings )

x1 Chaos Lord

X 4 Malignat Plaguecasters ( different Minnis)

 

Troops

 

x27 Plague Marines with bolters

x2 Plague Marines with Blight Launchers

x2 Plague Marines with Plague Belcher

x2 Plague Marines with Plague Spewer

x2 Plague Marines with Plasma guns

x2 Plague Marines with flails

x2 Plague Marines with Melters

x1 Plague Marine with Great Plague cleaver

x1 Plague Marine with Mace & Axe

X 1 Champion With a Power fist & Sword

X 3 Champion Sword & Plasma Pistal

X 2 Champion With a Power fist and plasma Pistal

X40 Pox Walkers

 

Elites

 

X1 Noxious Blightbringer

X2 Foul Blightspawn

X1 Biologus Putrifier

X1 Tallyman

X1 Plague Surgeon

X6 Deathshroud Terminators

 

X1 Blightlord Champion with Combi-Plasma and Balesword

X1 Blightlord Champion with Combi-Bolter and Balesword

X9 Blightlord Terminators With Combi-bolters

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Blight Launchers

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Plague Spewers

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Autocannons

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Flails

 

Fast Attack

 

X3 Myphitic Blight-Haulers

X4 Foetid Bloat-Drone x3 with Plaguespitters and x1 with FleshMower

 

Heavy Attack

 

X3 Plagueburst crawlers with heavy sluggers and Entropy Cannons

 

 

Sigh......and that covers the list of my units....... I get a headache just typeing it out xD

 

I know it isnt a lot to some of the more experanced guys, but I have tried ordering it the best I could by getting the different loadouts and such and and keeping my squads in 5 or 10 man units ( 7 iidealy )... But I have reached that point where I want to at least start putting something like a list togeather that I can start to play with, aiming to win at this point seems pointless if I dont understand the basics. But everytime I go to put a list togeather my brain bleeds thought my eyes and nose and I stand there dribbling for 30 mins....... 

 

Lo and behold.

 

I started a DG army during lockdowns and have a similar collection of models. Looking forward to getting started with it in earnest, currently having fun with the Deathwatch army I also built during lockdowns. 

 

Wanted to suggest not starting with a list from the Web. The best units in your army are the Crawlers, the Blightlords and the Poxwalkers. Get pen and paper, scrap together something around these units. Play a few practice games with them to get the feel of the army.

 

Death Guard play differently from other armies. I played 3 practice games with them and felt off, I just wasn't executing with them the right way. Part of this was the change to 9th edition, part of this was not knowing what commands / Stratagems to issue, part of this was truly understanding special rules for units and their limitations, and part of this was just rust as a player. 

 

Taking more than a year off left me wilted as a player, things that would have been obvious before now seem a little unfamiliar. The last thing I wanted to do was optimize around a specific playstyle and learn that instead of the army as a whole.

 

The one thing I would say about your collection: look into adding more Poxwalkers. Feels like you can't get enough of them.

[Typhus]

 

Ok here is what I have so far.

 

HQ

 

x1 Mortarion

x1 Typhus

x2 Lord of contagion

x1 lord of virulence

x1 Demon prince ( no wings )

x1 Chaos Lord

X 4 Malignat Plaguecasters ( different Minnis)

 

Troops

 

x27 Plague Marines with bolters

x2 Plague Marines with Blight Launchers

x2 Plague Marines with Plague Belcher

x2 Plague Marines with Plague Spewer

x2 Plague Marines with Plasma guns

x2 Plague Marines with flails

x2 Plague Marines with Melters

x1 Plague Marine with Great Plague cleaver

x1 Plague Marine with Mace & Axe

X 1 Champion With a Power fist & Sword

X 3 Champion Sword & Plasma Pistal

X 2 Champion With a Power fist and plasma Pistal

X40 Pox Walkers

 

Elites

 

X1 Noxious Blightbringer

X2 Foul Blightspawn

X1 Biologus Putrifier

X1 Tallyman

X1 Plague Surgeon

X6 Deathshroud Terminators

 

X1 Blightlord Champion with Combi-Plasma and Balesword

X1 Blightlord Champion with Combi-Bolter and Balesword

X9 Blightlord Terminators With Combi-bolters

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Blight Launchers

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Plague Spewers

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Autocannons

X2 Blightlord Terminators with Flails

 

Fast Attack

 

X3 Myphitic Blight-Haulers

X4 Foetid Bloat-Drone x3 with Plaguespitters and x1 with FleshMower

 

Heavy Attack

 

X3 Plagueburst crawlers with heavy sluggers and Entropy Cannons

 

 

Sigh......and that covers the list of my units....... I get a headache just typeing it out xD

 

I know it isnt a lot to some of the more experanced guys, but I have tried ordering it the best I could by getting the different loadouts and such and and keeping my squads in 5 or 10 man units ( 7 iidealy )... But I have reached that point where I want to at least start putting something like a list togeather that I can start to play with, aiming to win at this point seems pointless if I dont understand the basics. But everytime I go to put a list togeather my brain bleeds thought my eyes and nose and I stand there dribbling for 30 mins....... 

 

Lo and behold.

 

I started a DG army during lockdowns and have a similar collection of models. Looking forward to getting started with it in earnest, currently having fun with the Deathwatch army I also built during lockdowns. 

 

Wanted to suggest not starting with a list from the Web. The best units in your army are the Crawlers, the Blightlords and the Poxwalkers. Get pen and paper, scrap together something around these units. Play a few practice games with them to get the feel of the army.

 

Death Guard play differently from other armies. I played 3 practice games with them and felt off, I just wasn't executing with them the right way. Part of this was the change to 9th edition, part of this was not knowing what commands / Stratagems to issue, part of this was truly understanding special rules for units and their limitations, and part of this was just rust as a player. 

 

Taking more than a year off left me wilted as a player, things that would have been obvious before now seem a little unfamiliar. The last thing I wanted to do was optimize around a specific playstyle and learn that instead of the army as a whole.

 

The one thing I would say about your collection: look into adding more Poxwalkers. Feels like you can't get enough of them.

 

Thats 100% how i feel atm. Sadly due to Real life issues am still unable to really get a game at the moment, but thats oki as i still have to finish some minnis x2 pbc and x2 drones so really am looking after xmass before I can really sit down and plan anything....But i wanted a starting list first something I can plan ahead for when I do get some free time.

[techsoldaten]

 

Thats 100% how i feel atm. Sadly due to Real life issues am still unable to really get a game at the moment, but thats oki as i still have to finish some minnis x2 pbc and x2 drones so really am looking after xmass before I can really sit down and plan anything....But i wanted a starting list first something I can plan ahead for when I do get some free time.

 

Yeah, real life issues have to be dealt with and anxiety is a pain.

 

You have all the units you need for a good list, best not to fret.

 

If you absolutely need some ideas for a winning list, go to Goonhammer or 40kStats and look at what has won. Then put those away, they are guides not recipes for success. By the time you are ready to start playing, the meta will change.

 

Also - what other armies do you have? 

[Closet Skeleton]

 

Wanted to suggest not starting with a list from the Web. The best units in your army are the Crawlers, the Blightlords and the Poxwalkers. Get pen and paper, scrap together something around these units. Play a few practice games with them to get the feel of the army.

 

Deathshroud are better than Blightlords. A lot of terminator heavy players are abandoning Blightlords. A mix should be fine but don't ignore the Deathshroud.

[Plague _Lord]

 

 

Wanted to suggest not starting with a list from the Web. The best units in your army are the Crawlers, the Blightlords and the Poxwalkers. Get pen and paper, scrap together something around these units. Play a few practice games with them to get the feel of the army.

 

Deathshroud are better than Blightlords. A lot of terminator heavy players are abandoning Blightlords. A mix should be fine but don't ignore the Deathshroud.

 

 

I disagree - they do different things and one shouldn't exclude the other but each to their own I guess.

 

Typhus - you have a nice collection! I suggest you should get battlescribe (or pen and paper, OG style) and build 3-4 lists with what you have and play around with different themes and you will see what theme lies best with you and if you can fit everything you want in a standard 2k list. The next step is playing games - this will complete the cycle and you will now know which theme + playstyle fits you the most.

 

I for one was allways a plague marine guy, but with this codex I am playing with a lot of terminators and that only just came out after playing a lot of games. Of course I would love to go plague marine heavy if they had a bit better rules, but I play in a quite competitve environment. I still play one squad in every game, because for me DG just isn't DG without plaguemarines!! You can check out my thread for inspiration - I try to write up a few games every while.

 

I also try not to lock myself into one playstyle - DG has a lot of colour and options and it;s just fun! Next on the testing field - Mass zombie Terminus Est list with Typhus and  then a Mortarion's chosen sons list with dual blightspawn and a nasty deathshroud + LOV drop.

 

Be creative, have fun.

[lansalt]

Since you have so many models but haven't played in a long time, I'd suggest trying the new edition of Kill Team (the skirmish version of 40k). The list building is very simple in comparison (less decision paralisys), you'll need only 5-6 plague marines, most of the decisions are tactical and taken in game, and is fast to play (~1 hour per game).

Make a simple team, and try to ask for a demo/friendly game at your GW/LGS as a start.

[Special Officer Doofy]

Since you have so many models but haven't played in a long time, I'd suggest trying the new edition of Kill Team (the skirmish version of 40k). The list building is very simple in comparison (less decision paralisys), you'll need only 5-6 plague marines, most of the decisions are tactical and taken in game, and is fast to play (~1 hour per game).

Make a simple team, and try to ask for a demo/friendly game at your GW/LGS as a start.

5-6 plague marines and it takes an hour to play? I'm glad I avoid kill team haha.

[lansalt]

 

Since you have so many models but haven't played in a long time, I'd suggest trying the new edition of Kill Team (the skirmish version of 40k). The list building is very simple in comparison (less decision paralisys), you'll need only 5-6 plague marines, most of the decisions are tactical and taken in game, and is fast to play (~1 hour per game).

Make a simple team, and try to ask for a demo/friendly game at your GW/LGS as a start.

5-6 plague marines and it takes an hour to play? I'm glad I avoid kill team haha.

 

My friends and I take things slowly   But seriously, the new edition is a fun and fast AA game between squads with a surprising tactical depth. Highly recommended.

[Special Officer Doofy]

 

 

 

Since you have so many models but haven't played in a long time, I'd suggest trying the new edition of Kill Team (the skirmish version of 40k). The list building is very simple in comparison (less decision paralisys), you'll need only 5-6 plague marines, most of the decisions are tactical and taken in game, and is fast to play (~1 hour per game).

Make a simple team, and try to ask for a demo/friendly game at your GW/LGS as a start.

5-6 plague marines and it takes an hour to play? I'm glad I avoid kill team haha.

My friends and I take things slowly But seriously, the new edition is a fun and fast AA game between squads with a surprising tactical depth. Highly recommended.

Not for me. If I'm going to transport my stuff and play I rather play 2000pts matched play 40k or not play at all.

 

Typhus, can't go wrong with terminators and PBCs. I have over a 50% win rate without ever using dreads (if I keep playing my brother's admech though it will drop below 50% haha).

[MegaVolt87]

Magnetizing contemptors isn't particularly difficult. Potential nerf or not, everyone should have at least one of some kind of FW dread IMO, just for the hobby side alone. They look great when you put in the time. 

[Special Officer Doofy]

My group has a no Forgeworld policy (something we all agreed on). The resin is inferior, stuff is way more expensive, and for all of 8th the rules were so bad, either they were terrible or too good (like the 2+ ws/bs dreads). So I don't think having one is necessary, but to each their own.

[Iron Sage]

Not very relevant to anything, but I finally bought 2 PBCs a month ago . I had been playing Death Guard without the best unit, haha. Eventually, I guess I need 3, but 2 is also quite strong in many lists. Now, the only units that I am missing of any consequence are LoV and Posessed. I also only have 3 Deathsrouds, which is not enough obviously. I usually go for a large unit of 10 blight lords myself. I have yet to play a game without them. Not that they are especially killy, but they hold territory quite nicely when supported.

[Iron Sage]

My group has a no Forgeworld policy (something we all agreed on). The resin is inferior, stuff is way more expensive, and for all of 8th the rules were so bad, either they were terrible or too good (like the 2+ ws/bs dreads). So I don't think having one is necessary, but to each their own.

A friend of mine bought a 3D printer a few months ago. A couple of weeks ago, he gave me a Leviathan ! The printer does not print the tiny fine details with extremely high resolution, but it is more than good enough for a Leviathan, particularly due to it's shape. He painted his Dark Angels (mine is obviously going to be death Guard, although it is not painted yet) and I honestly can't see the difference !

And the cost of the model ? Cirka 4 US dollars

Don't misunderstand, we both my printer owning friend and me, buy GW models for tons and tons of cash, but since I am not planning on taking it to an official tourney, no one will criticise me for it and it looks damned smashing good !

For models that are very expensive and are shaped in a 3d-printer friendly way, I can honestly recommend, if you know someone who owns one

Because it's cool to own one even if you don't regularly play it

Edited November 16, 2021 by Iron Sage

[Special Officer Doofy]

O my brother has 2 3D printers, a filament and a resin. He has printed alot of terrain and some imperial knights. We just don't use FW stuff, keeps it simple. You get what you get in the codex. No legends either.

 

I find deathshroud terminators get more mileage than my blightlords but I see more people using blightlords. I can never make charge rolls most of the time and often drop the terminators for 3 Myphitic blight haulers. With the 4++ relic and miasma for -1 to be hit they are nasty and my brothers admech has a hard time shifting them.