Warhammer 40k Death Guard 10th Edition codex review – delightfully disgusting

Alas, it is not the seventh day of the seventh month, as would be more ritually appropriate, but it’s still a momentous occasion for Warhammer 40k fans – for today the brand new 10th Edition Death Guard codex finally bursts forth in one joyful, explosive outpouring of putrescent perfection! I’ve been picking through the book’s rotting flesh for a while now – so read on for a breakdown of how the army’s changed; how the disgusting new detachments work, and which of your favorite units will benefit the most from this new era of foul fecundity!

While you’re at it, remember that the sons of Mortarion aren’t the only ones getting a new Warhammer 40k codex right now – fans of blood and skulls should also read Tim Linward’s World Eaters codex review. And of course, many thanks to Games Workshop for providing us with an early digital copy of the codex for this review. For the full story, read on – or you can click on the links below to jump right into whichever pus-drenched orifice interests you most!

The summary

Death Guard players haven’t exactly been doing badly of late. The 2023 Index rules may have finally ended our days of being the most totally, unkillably, disgustingly resilient Warhammer 40k faction imaginable – but what emerged instead was a much more aggressive, vehicle supported army that gets its resilience not from inflated saves, but from getting close enough to the enemy to weaken them with pox-ridden auras. It’s strong, it’s (mostly) balanced, and it’s satisfying to play.

What the Death Guard have been lacking is variety. Sure, high-end competitive players like Tabletop Tactics’ infamous Lawrence ‘The Spider’ Baker might feel confident playing weirdo lists with three Defilers. But at most tables, you’re facing Mortarion and/or Typhus, plus a full complement of Deathshroud Terminators, several Rhinos full of Plague Marines (led by only the two or three good characters) and some zippy daemon engines to fill it out and nab objectives.

Hence, even as a not remotely competitive Death Guard player, I see loads of reasons to get excited about this new codex – because if there’s one thing this book is packing, it’s variety. Instead of changing an army rule that already works beautifully, GW has built on top of it, giving enemy units that get up in your plague aura a new keyword that ties into loads of stratagems. This gives you tempting reasons to experiment with different detachments and gameplans, while still keeping the army’s overall gamefeel consistent, and broadly accessible for new players.

Contrary to my initial, sceptical impressions, I don’t think the six new detachments have a single proper dud among them. Certainly, each puts a different one of the Death Guard’s key themes and unit groups to the fore, and in much more dramatic, thematic ways than I was expecting.

For the first time in ages, we have a viable option to run allied Nurgle Daemons (even if it is locked to a specific detachment); the vehicle focused option lets you project plague debuffs at range for the first time; and there’s even an entire detachment for those wanting to field a bat shit ridiculous horde of zombies and basically nothing else.

I’m going to have a lot of fun playing Death Guard in the next few months – and hopefully so are you! I can’t plumb every depth of this book without this article turning into a PhD thesis – but in the following sections, I’ll break down the changes to the army rule, followed by the six detachments, their rules, and boxes of tricks for your delectation. Then we’ll touch on a handful of the biggest changes to our units. Suffice to say, there’s a lot more to discover!

Army Rule – Nurgle’s Gift

The core of our army rule remains the same as in the Index: all your Death Guard units are surrounded by an aura of stinky plague magic that weakens enemy units within it, and this Contagion Range grows in size as the game goes on – in Battle Round one, it’s a 3” radius from each model; then 6” in BR2, and 9” from BR3 onwards. The basic weakening effect is still a minus one to Toughness.

But the new codex upgrades this in a couple of subtle, but really important ways.

• You now choose one of three extra plague debuffs to add to that -1 Toughness, in addition to your detachment rules. This was previously part of the Plague Company’s Spread the Sickness detachment rule.
• Enemy units within your Contagion Range now get the Afflicted keyword, which interacts with loads of new Stratagems and Enhancements for extra oomph.

You get the same three choices of Plague, but they’ve been slightly tweaked, as follows:

Skullsquirm Blight (SB) – “Each time a model in this unit makes an attack, subtract 1 from the Hit roll”.

Still very strong, but nerfed from the previous iteration, which applied the -1 directly to Ballistic Skill and Weapon Skill, allowing some ability combos to stack, giving your enemy a horrendous -2 to hit in melee.

Rattlejoint Ague (RA) – “Worsen the Save characteristic of models in this unit by 1”.

Unchanged from the Index – but still a very good choice against more survivable armies like Space Marines, with a lot of 3+ and 2+ armor saves.

Scabrous Soulrot (SS) – “Worsen the Move, Leadership, and Objective Control characteristics of models in this unit by 1 (this rule can only worsen a model’s OC characteristic to a minimum of 1”.

The Index version of this only debuffed Leadership and OC. Adding a (non-capped) minus one to Move into the mix makes it much more interesting, especially since – as I’ll explain – we now have ways to project Afflicted onto targets well outside Contagion Range!

In general, Nurgle’s Gift has been one-upped and balanced out a bit – absorbing the now taken-for-granted benefits of the main Index detachment, but tweaking them to improve utility. The real diseased delights come when we start to wreak merry hell with that Afflicted keyword, though – so let’s dig into the detachments and see what’s what.

Detachments and Stratagems

As standard for (most) 10th edition codexes, we get six new Warhammer 40k detachments, each with four Enhancements and six Stratagems (commiserations to anyone hoping we’d get seven to match Nurgle’s holy number – sorry to burst your bubo there).

The first option is a reworking of the Plague Company Index detachment (with new toys) – while the other five each have a very clear theme and strategy. The good news? They’re all pretty decent! The bad news? Just like the Emperor’s Children and World Eaters codexes, Daemon allies are locked to a single detachment.

Here’s the short version, before we dive fully into each:

1. Virulent Vectorium – Generalist detachment with sticky objectives.
2. Mortarion’s Hammer – Tanks, and the ability to make faraway enemies Afflicted.
3. Champions of Contagion – Juiced up Plague Marine blobs led by Characters.
4. Tallyband Summoners – You can bring Nurgle Daemons!
5. Shamblerot Vectorium – Poxwalkers – lots and lots of Poxwalkers.
6. Death Lord’s Chosen – Makes your Terminators even more terrifying.

1. Virulent Vectorium

If you’re used to playing the Plague Company Index detachment, the Virulent Vectorium is going to feel very familiar – it’s all about offensive board control, and isn’t centered on any particular unit type or complex synergies, making it an excellent beginner choice.

Sticky objectives give you more freedom to spread your troops out, while a toolbox full of reliable tricks for survivability and melee damage bursts will help you keep those mid-board objectives safe once you’ve stepped onto them (and slimed them up real good).

Detachment rule – Worldblight

“If you control an objective marker at the end of your Command Phase and a Death Guard unit from your army (excluding Battle-shocked units) is within range of that objective marker, that objective marker remains under your control until your opponent’s Level of Control over that objective marker is greater than yours at the end of a phase.

“In addition, until you lose control of that objective marker, it has the Nurgle’s Gift ability… as if it were a Death Guard model from your army.”

Stratagems

As befits the balanced, generalist detachment, your stratagems are a mixed bag, and offer options for vehicles, infantry, and characters alike, with most offensive, some a little defensive, and none very complicated to use.

• Putrid Detonation (1CP) – In any phase, pick one of your Vehicles or Monsters with Deadly Demise, which was just destroyed. It automatically explodes, and any enemy unit that takes mortal wounds from the explosion is Afflicted till the start of your next turn.
• Disgustingly Resilient (2CP) – In your opponent’s shooting phase, just after they’ve selected targets for a unit to shoot. Pick one of those target units, and subtract 1 from the Damage of attacks against it this phase.
• Plaguesurge (2CP) – Used in your Command Phase, targeting your (living) Warlord only. All your units get +3″ to Contagion Range until your next Command Phase.
• Leechspore Eruption (1CP) – Used in your Command Phase, on one of your models which has lost wounds. Pick an enemy unit with 3″ of that model and roll 1d6 for each wound your model has lost. For each 5+, the enemy unit suffers 1 mortal wound and your model regains 1 wound (to a max. of 6).
• Overwhelming Generosity (1CP) – Used at the start of your Shooting Phase, on one Death Guard Character in your army. Pick an enemy unit visible to your chosen Character. This phase, you can re-roll the dice to determine number of attacks for all ranged attacks on that target enemy unit.
• Creeping Blight (1CP) – Used in your Shooting Phase, on one Death Guard unit that hasn’t shot this phase. This phase, that unit can re-roll all hits and wounds against any enemy unit that’s Afflicted.

Both your 2CP options are powerful, and worth considering in any game. Disgustingly Resilient could save a crucial character or vehicle from a gruesome death by heavy weapons fire, while a Plaguesurge, at the right time, could extend your whole army’s contagion range just far enough to allow a devastating turn of shooting – especially with a cheeky Creeping Blight on top, to achieve maximum blam on a priority target.

Leechspore Eruption is a classic ‘just for fun’ stratagem that I’m just itching to use on a wounded, beleaguered Daemon Prince, sucking the life right back out of the enemies what just bonked me on the head. Similarly, Putrid Detonation is easy as pie – ram a tank right into the enemy lines, shoot stuff until it dies, then spend a CP to blow it up in a shower of poison slime.

Enhancements

• Daemon Weapon of Nurgle (10pts) – The bearer scores critical hits on a 5+ in melee.
• Furnace of Plagues (25pts) – The bearer’s melee weapons get +1 Strength, +1 Attacks, and Devastating Wounds.
• Arch Contaminator (25pts) – While the bearer’s unit is in range of an objective you control, you can reroll all wound rolls for that unit.
• Revolting Regeneration (20pts) – The bearer gains Feel no Pain 5+.

2. Mortarion’s Hammer

Probably the most innovative new detachment, Mortarion’s Hammer gives you a fully vehicle-forward army (exciting in itself if you love fielding lots of daemon engines) – and the detachment rule introduces the ability to point at two enemy units anywhere on the table and make them Afflicted for the round – Oath of Moment style.

With lots of strats to help your vehicles get into the fray, soften up their targets, and blast them into foul smelling sludge, this is all about overwhelming, offensive firepower and delivering your plague debuffs at range – what a delightful change!

Detachment rule – Miasmic Bombardment

“At the start of the battle round, select a number of enemy units more than 12” away from every model from your army that is on the battlefield. Until the end of the battle round, those enemy units are Afflicted.

“The maximum number of units you can select in this way depends on the battle size.”

Stratagems

Your stratagem set here is all about getting your tanks up the field and shooting as quickly as possible; penning your opponent into their end of the table; and using Afflicted to maximize your ranged damage while minimizing wounds to your vehicles.

• Blighted Land (2CP) – Used at the end of your Movement phase on one of your vehicles. Pick a terrain feature within 24″ of that vehicle, that it can see. Until the start of your next turn, enemy units within 3″ of that terrain feature are Afflicted.
• Relentless Grind (1CP) – Used on one of your vehicles in your Movement or Charge phase. That vehicle can move horizontally through terrain features this phase.
• Drawn to Despair (1CP) –  Used in your shooting phase, on one unit that hasn’t shot yet this phase. This phase, this unit can re-roll all hit rolls against enemy units within their deployment zone (except Aircraft).
• Font of Filth (1CP) – Used in your shooting phase, on one of your vehicle units that hasn’t shot yet this phase. All ranged weapons in that unit get Assault until end of phase.
• Eyestinger Storm (1CP) – Used in your opponent’s Command phase, on one of your vehicle units. Pick an objective marker that vehicle can see. All Afflicted enemy units within range of that objective marker must take a Battle-shock test.
• Stinking Mire (1CP) – Used at the start of the enemy Charge phase. Pick one of your vehicle units. This phase, enemy units attempting to charge that vehicle unit must subtract 2 from their charge roll (does not stack with any other charge roll debuffs).

Relentless Grind + Font of Filth is the first staple combo to note, allowing you to advance your killiest vehicles (Predators, Plagueburst Crawlers, even Defilers) straight through terrain, then shoot right afterwards.

Blighted Land is a situational play that’s perhaps a little expensive at 2CP, but if your opponent has a bunch of units huddled around a terrain piece, and you have lots of guns to point at them, Afflicting them all at once could set you up for a blinding fusillade of tank fire.

Stinking Mire is likely to get used in every game against melee armies – putting a -2 on the charge roll of a beefy melee unit about to punch your tank to bits is a vital survival tool, especially for one measly CP.

Enhancements

• Eye of Affliction (20pts) – Ranged weapons in the bearer’s unit get Ignores Cover when targeting Afflicted units.
• Bilemaw Blight (10pts) – Malignant Plaguecaster only. Add 12″ to the range of its Plague Wind weapon during your shooting phase only.
• Shriekworm Familiar (15pts) – Once per battle round, you can use the Fire Overwatch stratagem on the bearer’s unit for 0CP.
• Tendrilous Emissions (20pts) – Lord of Virulence only. While the bearer is within 3″ of any friendly Death Guard vehicle units, it has Lone Operative, and those vehicles can re-roll 1s to Wound against enemy units visible to the bearer.

3. Champions of Contagion

At first glance, Champions of Contagion looks like a real stinker (and not in the cool, Nurgley way). The detachment rule, which lets you swap your chosen Nurgle’s Gift Plague for a different one ’til the end of the round, adds some nice flexibility – but it’s not as sexy as the other picks.

But that’s not really what this detachment is about – the real meat is in the Enhancements and Stratagems, which build on our new ability to give Plague Marine squads two Leaders, creating extra resilient, extra reliable PM blobs, backed up with characters who’ve had some pizzazz and utility added to them.

Combine that with tricks to infect priority targets with multiple Plagues at once, and you’ve got the potential to completely shut down enemy assaults, uncap their objectives, slow them down, and weaken them to your marines’ low-strength fire, all at once.

Detachment rule – Manifold Maladies

“At the start of the battle round, you can select one of the Plagues listed in Nurgle’s Gift.”

“Until the end of the battle, that is your chosen Plague instead of any previously chosen Plague.”

Stratagems

This detachment is all about powering up Plague Marine units, using those second-tier support characters to inject extra oomph into your battleline squads, and maximizing their damage output as you spread them out across the board. As such, your stratagems mostly power up bigger dice rolls, or specifically boost Leader characters and their units.

• Blessings of Filth (1CP) – Used in your Shooting or Fight phase, on one of your units that hasn’t shot/fought yet. This phase, that unit scores Critical Hits on a 5+.
• Malignance Magnified (2CP) – Used in your Shooting or Fight phase, on one of your units that hasn’t shot/fought yet. This phase, that unit can re-roll all hits and wounds against any unit that’s below its Starting Strength.
• Grotesque Fortitude (1CP) – Used in your opponent’s Shooting or Fight phase, just after an enemy unit has selected its targets. Pick one Death Guard Attached unit that was just targeted. It gains 2 extra Toughness until end of phase.
• Rabid Infusion (1CP) – Used at the start of the Fight phase, on one Death Guard unit in your army with two Character models in it. That unit gets Fights First until end of phase.
• Mobile Vector (1CP) – Used in your Movement phase, before the reinforcements step, on one of your Character units that isn’t leading a unit. Pick one of your units within 2″ horizontally and 5″ vertically of that character, that this character is able to lead (excluding any that are Battle-shocked or already have two Leaders). This character attaches to that unit as its Leader.
• Death’s Heads (1CP) – Used in your shooting phase, one one Biologus Putrifier in your army that hasn’t yet shot this phase and isn’t in combat. Pick a visible, non-vehicle enemy unit within 8″ of your Putrifier. Until the start of your next turn, that enemy unit is affected by all three Plagues at once.

Every single one of these strats is potentially fire. The first two are straight up damage boosters. Blessings of Filth is perfect for large Plague Marine squads, doubling the chances of scoring Lethal Hits from your plague weapons (more dice, more death). Pricey at 2CP, Malignance Magnified is nonetheless mega powerful if you absolutely need a specific unit wiped, granting you full re-rolls against any target that’s lost any wounds.

Mobile Vector looks fiddly to pull off, but, done right, could patch a big hole in the ‘big Plague Marine squads with double Leaders’ strategy, by allowing you to plug a character whose squad’s been wiped out right into another nearby squad. No more billy-no-mates support characters getting isolated and shot to pieces.

Rabid Infusion and Grotesque Fortitude are going to save your bacon and infuriate opponents on the reg, as the former lets you jump the fight queue right when you need it, and the latter gives a unit a frankly trollish +2 Toughness. Pop it on Plague Marines under bolter fire and make them… gulp… Toughness 8, needing a 6 to wound.

And Death’s Heads is pure laughter, for 1CP. Biologus Putrifiers are already a staple, force multiplying Plague Marine leader – with this, if you get your unit in spitting distance of an enemy unit on an objective, you’ll bury them in all the debuffs, all at the same time. Yummy.

Enhancements

• Final Ingredient (20pts) – Biologus Putrifier only. Once per battle, after the bearer has fought and killed an enemy Character, select one Plague. Until end of battle, all Afflicted enemy units have this Plague in addition to any other.
• Visions of Virulence (15pts) – Malignant Plaguecaster only. While an enemy unit is enfeebled by the bearer’s Pestilential Fallout ability, it is also Afflicted.
• Needle of Nurgle (25pts) – Plague Surgeon only. Your Tainted Narthecium ability returns up to D3 destroyed models to the bearer’s unit instead of just one.
• Cornucophagus (35pts) – Lord of Poxes only. Before the battle, pick one Plague. Until end of battle, enemy units within Contagion Range of the bearer have that Plague as well as any other.

4. Tallyband Summoners

This is the daemons one. At 2000 points, half your army list can be Nurgle Daemons – and if you keep them close to your Death Guard units, they get Nurgle’s Gift too, helping extend your Contagion Range.

The most obvious game plan with the Tallyband Summoners is to swarm the enemy with daemons relatively early, with your Death Guard units stumping along behind providing fire support, filling gaps in the line, and taking and holding objectives while the neverborn have their fun. As ever with daemons, it’s going to be a tricky balance to play – but you do have some strong tools to help.

Detachment rule – Reverberant Rancidity

“While a Plague Legions unit from your army is within 7″ of one or more Death Guard units from your army, that Plague Legions unit has the Nurgle’s Gift ability.”

“While a Death Guard unit from your army is within 7″ of one or more Plague Legions units from your army, add 3″ to that Death Guard unit’s Contagion Range.”

Stratagems

This detachment really wants you to push your daemons forward as one humungous tarpit to bog down as much of the enemy army as possible, with your Death Guard legionaries merrily shooting through the gaps. Its stratagems work accordingly, giving you tools to get daemons in position, hold the foe in place, and deal maximum damage once they’re enmeshed in your daemons’ horrid, diseased appendages.

• Persistent Pests (1CP) – Used in any phase, just after a target Nurglings unit was destroyed. Immediately add an identical Nurglings unit to your army, at Starting Strength and full wounds, in Strategic Reserves.
• Clutching Corruption (1CP) – Used in the Fight phase, on one of your Death Guard units that hasn’t fought this phase. This phase, that unit can re-roll hit rolls against any enemy unit that’s in Engagement Range of any Plague Legions units from your army.
• All is Rot (1CP) – Used in your shooting phase, on one of your Plague Legions units that’s in combat with any enemy units. This phase, you can freely shoot at enemy units in combat with the target daemons unit. BUT each time an enemy model loses a wound from those attacks, roll a D6 – for every 5+, your target daemons unit takes one mortal wound (after you’ve finished shooting).
• Fleshy Avalanche (1CP) – Used in you movement phase or charge phase, on one Plague Legions Monster unit (Great Unclean One or Rotigus) that hasn’t moved or charged this phase. This phase, that unit can move, advance, or charge horizontally through terrain features.
• Avatars of Decay (1CP) – Used in your shooting phase on one Plague Legions unit in your army. This phase, all enemy units within 6″ of your selected unit are Afflicted.
• Mireslick (1CP) – Used in your opponent’s movement phase, when a non-Monster, non-vehicle enemy unit is selected to Fall Back. Pick one of your Plague Legions units that is in combat with that enemy unit. This phase, enemy units trying to Fall Back from combat with your selected unit must pass a Leadership test, or remain stationary.

Fleshy Avalanche is both a delightfully fluffy stratagem, and a signal example of how limiting this codex is for daemons, as one sixth of your strategic toolkit requires that you take a single 260-point, $168 model in order to use it. Still, smashing your gigantic fat Great Unclean One through terrain to sit its enormous ass on a midboard objective is going to be fun.

Once you’ve pinned down some enemy assets, Mireslick will help keep them there, while Persistent Pests ensures that any of your handy action-monkey Nurglings that get fragged can pop right in back next turn.

The others are all about laying the smack down – drop Avatars of Decay on your most surrounded tarpit unit of daemons to make sure everything near them is Afflicted (remember that your daemons don’t have Nurgle’s Gift unless you’ve got Death Guard models within 7″). Then use All is Rot on it, and let all your traitor astartes guns open up right into the fight, daemons be damned.

Enhancements

• Beckoning Blight (20pts) – Death Guard model only. Whenever you Deep Strike a Plague Legions unit wholly within 12″ of the bearer, that unit can be set up anywhere 6″ or more from any enemy models, instead of 9″.
• Fell Harvester (10pts) – Death Guard model only. The bearer’s melee weapons get 2 Attacks.
• Entropic Knell (15pts) – Great Unclean One only. In the Battle-shock step of your opponent’s Command phase, all enemy units within 6″ of the bearer that are below Starting Strength must take a Battle-shock test, subtracting 1 from the result.
• Tome of Bounteous Blessings (20pts) – Malignant Plaguecaster only. Each time a Plague Legions unit within 12″ of the bearer, add one to the test result and, if passed, one model in that unit regains D3 lost wounds (if battleline, return D3 destroyed models instead).

5. Shamblerot Vectorium

Ever wanted to play Left 4 Dead as the zombies? The Shamblerot Vectorium is a gloriously fluffy detachment which makes Poxwalkers Battleline (allowing you to take six units of 10-20, for a maximum of 120 zombos if you like) and brings back a new, free unit of 10 on each of your turns from rounds 2-4.

Plus, your toolkit of strats gives you loads of amusing, zombie-tastic tricks to play, like having units of poxy boys pop up out of nowhere; permanently make an enemy unit Afflicted upon death; act as meat shields for your other units; and more.

Detachment rule – Numberless Horde

“In your Command Phase in each of the following battle rounds, depending on your chosen battle size, add a new Poxwalkers unit with a Starting Strength of 10 to your army, in Strategic Reserves.”

Stratagems

Honestly, this whole detachment is comedy gold. I don’t even know if it’s going to be… ugh… viable or not, but the core rule is fluffy enough already, and every stratagem makes me giggle (which is very Nurgle). Essentially, all the things a zombie horde should be able to do, you get a 1CP strat for it.

• Grip of the Walking Pox (1CP) – Used in the fight phase, just after an enemy unit has selected targets. Pick one Poxwalkers unit in your army that was just targeted with attacks. After the attacking unit has fought, roll 1d6 for each model destroyed by those attacks. For each 6, the attacking unit suffers one mortal wound. If your unit wasn’t destroyed by those attacks, any enemy models destroyed by this stratagem count as killed by this unit, for the purposes of Curse of the Walking Pox.
• Smeared with Filth (1CP) – Used in the fight phase on one Poxwalkers unit that was just destroyed. Pick one enemy unit that made any attacks on that Poxwalkers unit this phase. Until the end of the battle, that enemy unit is Afflicted.
• Gnawing Hunger (1CP) – Used in your command phase on one Poxwalkers unit from your army. Until end of turn, that unit gets 1″ Move and +1 Attacks and Strength for its melee weapons.
• Hidden amongst the Dead (1CP) – Used in the Reinforcements step of your movement phase, on one Poxwalkers unit currently in your Strategic Reserves. You can Deep Strike that unit this phase.
• Shock and Horror (1CP) – Used in your Charge phase, on one Death Guard unit that has just ended its charge move. Every enemy unit within Engagement Range of that unit must take an immediate Battle-shock test, with a -1 to the result.
• Shambling Wall (1CP) – Used in your opponent’s shooting phase, just after an enemy unit has selected targets. Pick one Death Guard unit from your army that was just targeted, and one friendly Poxwalkers unit within 3″ of that unit, that’s visible to both that unit and the attacking enemy unit. This phase, as long as the Poxwalkers unit is visible and an eligible target for the enemy unit’s ranged attacks, when you would allocate an attack to a models, don’t roll a save as normal. Instead, just destroy Poxwalkers models equal to the amount of damage.

Hidden amongst the Dead lets you Deep Strike a unit of poxies from reserve, to simulate them clawing their way out of battlefield corpses. Not too powerful, but could create mischief in a pinch. When you really need a poxie blob to do some damage, popping Gnawing Hunger on it will upgrade its melee output from ‘bad’ to a respectable three S4 attacks per model. If you’re attacking an objective held by more skilled troops (read: all troops), Shock and Horror can even the odds by knocking their OC down a peg.

When the inevitably not-yet-dead target unit prepares to punch you back, dropping Grip of the Walking Pox should nab you a few mortal wounds back on them and – if you’re lucky enough not to lose the unit – a few zombie reinforcements for your trouble! Or, if you’re pretty sure those Poxwalkers are goners, save the CP for the surprisingly powerful Smeared with Filth – sure, you lost your unit, but a) their killers are permanently Afflicted now, and b) 10 of those zombies are coming straight back next turn anyway.

As for Shambling Wall, well, what kind of zombie horde wouldn’t let your undead peons take shots on behalf of their superiors? It’s just simple math.

Enhancements

• Witherbone Pipes (25pts) – Noxious Blightbringer only. While the bearer is leading a Poxwalkers unit, that unit gets +1 OC and +1 to Leadership and Battle-shock tests.
• Lord of the Walking Pox (15pts) – Death Guard model only. If that model is leading a Poxwalkers unit in Strategic Reserves, you can deploy it in any battle round as if it were currently the third battle round.
• Sorrowsyphon (10pts) – Malignant Plaguecaster only. While the bearer is leading a Poxwalkers unit, its Plague Wind weapon gets +1 Damage – but each time it attacks with it, after the attacks are done, D3 Poxwalkers from the bodyguard unit are destroyed.
• Talisman of Burgeoning (25pts) – Death Guard model only. While the bearer is leading a unit, Poxwalkers models in that unit get +1 Toughness.

6. Death Lord’s Chosen

Finally, a Terminator-focused detachment that not only matches the crunch and fluff of the units it favors – but also has a built-in mitigation against the key weakness of an elite, low model count army – attrition! With the Death Lord’s Chosen, your Nurgle’s Gift plague actually saps the life from Afflicted enemy units at the beginning of each of their turns.

It’s not just that, either – this detachment gives you tools to work around your termies’ severely limited mobility and squeeze more damage output out of each model before your hulking heroes inevitably become outnumbered, surrounded, and hacked down.

Detachment rule – Deadly Vectors

“In your opponent’s Command Phase, roll 2D6 for each Afflicted enemy unit, subtracting 1 from the result if that unit is below Half Strength. If the result is 6 or less, that enemy unit suffers D3 mortal wounds.”

Stratagems

Running an army based on Terminators has in-built limitations: speed, mobility, board coverage, and limited numbers – that last one is a real killer, as every model you lose costs you dear. This detachment’s stratagems therefore focus on boosting your elites’ power output and effective range, making sure you get your points’ worth from every model.

• Blooming Pestilence (1CP) – Used at the start of any phase, on one of your Terminator units. That unit gets +3″ Contagion Range this phase.
• Grim Reapers (1CP) – Used in the Fight phase, on one of your Terminator units that hasn’t fought this phase. This phase, that unit can re-roll all hits against non-Monster, non-Vehicle enemy units.
• Undying Spite (1CP) – Used in the Fight phase, just after an enemy unit has selected targets. Pick one of your Terminator units that was just targeted. This phase, each time a model in that unit is destroyed, if it hasn’t yet fought, roll a D6. On a 4+, don’t remove it – it gets to fight after the enemy unit is done attacking, and is then removed.
• Signal Pox (1CP) – Used in your command phase on one Lord of Virulence from your army. Pick a visible objective marker within 30″ of that model. Until the start of your next turn, all enemy units within range of that objective marker are Afflicted.
• Mortarion’s Teachings (1CP) – Used in your shooting phase, on one Terminator unit that hasn’t shot yet this phase. That unit’s ranged weapons gain Assault and Heavy until the end of the phase.
• Sickening Impact (1CP) – Used in your charge phase, on one Terminator unit that has just finished its charge move. Pick one enemy unit within Engagement Range of that unit, and roll a D6 for each model in your unit that’s in Engagement Range of said enemy unit. For each 2+, that enemy unit suffers a mortal wound, to a maximum of six.

Blooming Pestilence and Signal Pox will help you project your Contagions further onto the units you need weakened; if you’re running the Scabrous Soulrot plague, then Signal Pox can even magically uncap an enemy objective from 30 inches away, a big deal for your slow stompy army, which will tend to give away primary points easily against faster, more mobile forces.

Mortarion’s Teachings lets you advance Terminators that start on the board, and still shoot – a big help in early turns – while the other three are all focused on making your Termies incredibly dangerous in the fight phase. Sickening Impact dishes out mortal wounds on the charge; Grim Reapers ensures your subsequent attacks will hit infantry like a truck; and Undying Spite, a classic mechanic, gives each killed model a 1/3 chance of fighting before it dies.

Your big weakness is still going to be getting your fatty, fighty boys where they need to be before they’ve all been shot – but get them into the fight, and they’ll wreck face.

Enhancements

• Face of Death (10pts) – Terminator model only. At the start of the fight phase, each enemy unit within Engagement Range of the bearer’s unit must take a Battle-shock test.
• Vile Vigour (15pts) – Terminator model only. While the bearer is leading a unit, that unit gets +1″ move and can re-roll advance rolls.
• Warprot Talisman (30pts) – Terminator model only. Once per battle, at the end of your opponent’s turn, if the bearer’s unit is not in Engagement Range of any enemy units, you can remove it from the battlefield and put it into Strategic Reserves.
• Helm of the Fly King (20pts) – Terminator model only. While the bearer is leading a unit, models in that unit can’t be targeted by range attacks unless the attacking model is within 18″.

Units and datasheets – the biggest winners

This new codex includes a whopping number of datasheet changes, adding up to increased power across the board. I won’t be drilling down into any points changes here – they’ll all change again in a few months anyhow. But there are some major winners to call out, who we’ll be seeing a bit more of purely down to their new utility.

Plague Marines

Where to start with these guys? It’s just a litany of upgrades:

• They’ve gone up from Toughness 5 to Toughness 6.
• Can be led by two characters – double the buffs, double the fun!
• Their new basic ability, Infused with the Blessings of Nurgle, is both stronger than the old one, and more integrated with the rest of the rules: any enemy unit they hit with shooting gets Afflicted till your next turn.
• Champions’ Power Fists are separate from Heavy Plague Weapons now – and have the same statline, except they hit on 3 instead of 4.
• Blight Launchers go from 2 shots to D3, but gain Blast (kind of a side-grade that makes them swingier against light vehicles, but better against larger squads of two-wound models like Space Marines – which, to my mind, is more appropriate).

Let’s not go too overboard, though. Plague Marines’ weapons are still just fine; they still only move 5″, so will need Rhino transports to do good work; and – while the shift from T5 to T6 will boost their survivability against massed S3 horde attacks and S10 shots from big guns – it makes no difference against the S4 boltguns and S7 plasma guns that were already the weapons of choice for clearing ’em out.

Still, in combination, these improvements make Plague Marines much more interesting. That’s especially true in the Champions of Contagion detachment, where your unit-leading characters are both more powerful and more flexible. Stick a Plague Surgeon with the Needle of Nurgle enhancement onto a 10-man squad, and watch D3 of them resurrect every turn; scrumptious.

Deathshroud Terminators

Somehow, the best unit in the army got better! Yes, their points have gone up, but in return you get:

• Move up from 4″ to 5″.
• Toughness up from 6 to 7.
• Wounds up from 3 to 4.
• New Death Approaches ability allows them to Deep Strike 6″ away from enemies rather than 9″.

Deathshrouds’ Silent Bodyguard ability has changed, too. Instead of worsening wound rolls on incoming high-strength weapons, it now gives the character leading the unit a mighty 4+ Feel No Pain – a hyper focused situational defense against Precision attacks (take that, Emperor’s Children players!)

Really, though, the wildest part about this is giving our army’s most feared melee blender unit a 6″ Deep Strike rule. That’s going to be a hell of a bomb to drop, and your opponent’s going to have terrible trouble screening you out.

Blightlord Terminators

If you thought GW had included Blightlords in its new Battleforce set just to clear boxes of these unloved, underpowered lumps off its shelves, think again – your mainline, shooty terminators just got markedly better.

• Move up from 4″ to 5″.
• Toughness goes up from 6 to 7.
• Blistering Fusillade rule now gives +1 Strength and +1 AP when you shoot an Afflicted target.
• Bubotic Blades go up from D1 to D2.

They still can’t hold a candle to Deathshrouds in melee, but this enhanced cocktail gives the Blightlords a much needed boost to both offense and defense, making them a much more useful tool for holding mid-board objectives.

Just make sure their intended targets are Afflicted every time – shooting at them with some Plague Marines seems like the easiest one-two punch for this!

Lord of Poxes

I’m counting the new Lord of Poxes as an honorary ‘winner’ on account of the fact that existing, and having rules – as the only brand new unit in the book – is something of a win (and I have to mention him somewhere). But I don’t love him.

He’s a pretty potent Plague Marine leader that enables some fairly fun ‘kiting’, as his Shroud of Disease means his unit can’t be shot at unless you’re within 18″ – allowing you to hang out between 18″ and 24″ from targets and shoot bolters and blight launchers at them with impunity.

This puts him at home in the Champions of Contagion, where he can most effectively double up with other Leaders, benefiting from more strats, and take the (good, but expensive) Cornucophagus enhancement to put double plagues on all enemies in his contagion range (which has an all-game +3″ bonus to it, too). A tasty 4+ invulnerable save helps mitigate his otherwise plague mariney T6 profile.

But for me, his role is just a bit confused. His most powerful ability relies on staying 18″ away from the enemy – but his other ability extends the contagion radius to a maximum of 12″, and his main weapon is a massive sword. I don’t understand what he’s for, I don’t think he looks that cool, and I don’t like him very much. Here endeth the grumble.

Verdict

It’s a good time to be a Death Guard player, I think. Not because this codex is going to magically make the army broken and see you winning every match – but because you’ve now got a stack of reasons to run new and different army lists.

You can still field an army with a balance of mechanized Plague Marine squads, supporting daemon engines, and deep-striking death stars of Deathshroud Terminators – the Virulent Vectorium detachment will handle that nicely, with the Champions of Contagion a spicy potential alternative that puts your infantry and characters front and center.

But we can now do so much more! With Mortarion’s Hammer, you can field a swarm of vehicles – up to six Foetid Bloat Drones, six Myphitic Blighthaulers, and three Plagueburst Crawlers, if you want – dropping Plagues on priority targets from the other end of the board and smashing through terrain to bring your big guns to bear.

The Tallyband Summoners bring a horde of daemons, crowding round a Great Unclean One, supported by Death Guard firepower and buffs from your Malignant Plaguecasters. If teleporting diseased Terminator elites onto objectives and laughing in the face of hails of gunfire is your thing, the Death Lord’s Chosen now gives you actual tools for that (and it helps that Blightlords don’t suck as much).

And honestly, the Shamblerot Vectorium speaks for itself. If you’re unhinged enough to paint 120 Poxwalkers, you’ve absolutely earnt the right to play zombie apocalypse and resurrect 10 of them for free every turn.

Grandfather’s blessings, my friends – I look forward to your assistance in bringing filth, rot, and ruin to the deluded followers of the corpse emperor!

Wanna chat about it, point out any one of the 3,478 important things I didn’t have time to mention in this review, or just sit and count numbers forever like the mindless Plaguebearers we are? Come discuss the new codex in Wargamer’s Discord community! My contagion range doesn’t extend over the internet… probably.

Source: Wargamer