This have been a bit disgusting recently

Hello, one and all!

Sorry that it's been a while (almost five months to the day!) but rest assured that I have been busy. "...Doing what?..." I hear you say; let's just say that it's been a rather revolting and plague-ridden time.

So where was I? Oh yes, I had just finished 'Part 1' of my Adeptus Titanicus project (and it is only 'Part 1'; more on that at the end of this post). I, therefore, turned my attention back to my first love; my Death Guard.

September last year, I finally got a Death Guard army together. I was very happy about it, however ... it didn't feel like an army; it felt more like 'bits and bobs' which just worked well together. I was also getting more and more annoyed with the continual removal of Death Guard Marines from my list (which are supposed to be a core part of the army!) just to give myself hope in winning a game or two. In the end, my list consisted of just 5 Space Marines, mainly due to their lack of speed and, ironically for Death Guard, their lack of survivability. It became apparent that, if I wanted a Chaos Space Marine army, the list needed a drastic change...


... and this is what I came up with.

Now, you may be thinking that an 'update' to an army should have taken less than five months. Well, when you think that, out of the 35 models in the list, 18 are new (just over half); it's like a new army!

Below are some photos of the individual models I've painted and a little bit about them!

This is the new Warlord for the army. I would like to say that he's the Warlord because he is great and powerful ... the actual answer is that he's cheap. Armed with a boltgun, powerfist and power armour, he's basically in his pants. The whole reason he is here is because he grants 're-roll 1's' and 're-roll all failed wound rolls with plague Weapons' within 9". That's his job; if he even catches sight of the enemy ... he is to run a mile.

One of my most favourite models to paint (and one which took forever to paint), the Malignant Plaguecaster. Being able to cause a mortal wound on an enemy unit if you roll over seven for a spell sounds great ... but the range is only 7". It would actually make more sense for me to save points and go for a normal Chaos Sorcerer, however, I just can't keep this model out of my army ... and I fancy getting another two.

The Death Guard have two fantastic stratagems. Veterans of the Long War (+1 to wound) and a strategm which allows a whole formation to fire Blight Grenades. This model buffs those Grenades by +1 Str and, on a 6+ to wound (or 5+ with Veterans of the Long War) the attack causes a mortal wound in addition to its normal wound. It's horriffic.

For example; my Plague Marine formations are six models strong, loaded up in a Rhino. If they all fire grenades at a, say, knight; you are looking at...

21attacks
7 misses (down to 5 misses if you have your warlord re-rolling 1's to hit nearby)
8 normal wounds, with an additional 5 mortal wounds. If the knight has a 3+ save then, with the -1 AP from the grenades, that's a total of 9 wounds ... a knight half dead! From a unit of 6 marines!

Lovely!

I always think that you should have at least one teleporting formation. The tactical flexibility it gives you - plus the headaches for your opponent if they wish to counter - is huge. Game-wise, I would have preferred Blightlord Terminators however, I can't afford the points. I have therefore opted for a formation of Deathshroud terminators which, though game-wise aren't as good, look amazing. Their reapers are utterly devastating as well. If they charge a knight they would do...

7 hits (if you have your warlord re-rolling 1's to hit nearby)
6 wounds (if you have Veterans of the Long war in place and re-roll plague weapon wounds)
9 damage would be caused ... half a knight.

They also have a 2+ save, 4+ ward and a 5+ disgustingly resilient save... they are not going anywhere!

When I first built by marines, I thought that arming the units with plasma guns was the right way to go ... this has been a mistake. To rectify this, I have converted four more marines with blight launchers. This gives me six in total.

£177 and two months later, I have the key to my new army list. Providing resilience for the marines and speed, my Rhinos are pivital in getting my units into the right places. Their use won't stop after the marines have been dropped off; charging 'shooting units', holding objectives and helping me with board control are just a few of their tasks ... and at 72pts each! They're a steal.

These Blight-haulers have been a total suprise. Looking at them on paper, their cost (351pts) just didn't seem to justify their rules. Only since I've had them on the table, have I appreacated just how good they are. Having three means that they are hitting on 3+ with some seriously heavy weaponry. They can also be shoved into combat to cause quite a bit of damage. What also makes them great is their survivability ... it's a 24 wound formation!

It just had to happen; my third plagueburst Crawler. An increadable unit which provides anti-infantry and anti-tank firepower. The flamers are superb, but the mortar - being able to shoot no matter line-of-sight - is so useful.

So now that I've gone through all of the new units I have painted, below is my current mechanised Death Guard army.

Battalion Detachment

Chaos Lord in Power Armour - Combi-bolter, chainsword, Arch-contaminator, Fugaris Helm, Warlord 76pts

Malignant Plaguecaster 110pts

6 Plague Marines - 2 Blight Launchers, champion with boltgun and plague knife 116pts
6 Plague Marines - 2 Blight Launchers, champion with plasma gun and plague knife 127pts
6 Plague Marines - 2 Blight Launchers, champion with plasma gun and plague knife 127pts

Biologus Putrifier 60pts
Biologus Putrifier 60pts

3 Deathshroud Terminators - 156pts

3 Myphitic Blight-haulers 351pts

Chaos Rhino - Combi-bolter 72pts
Chaos Rhino - Combi-bolter 72pts
Chaos Rhino - Combi-bolter 72pts

Spearhead Detachment

Demon Prince of Nurgle - wings, a pair of Malefic Talons, Suppurating Plate 180pts

1 Plagueburst Crawler - 2x Plaguespitter, Heavy slugger, Mortar 140pts
1 Plagueburst Crawler - 2x Plaguespitter, Heavy slugger, Mortar 140pts
1 Plagueburst Crawler - 2x Plaguespitter, Heavy slugger, Mortar 140pts

1999pts in total

So ... what do you think? Personally, I think it's well-balanced - though lacking in combat - and has a nasty bite without it being over-powered. I think that it has elements that will do well in a firefight, board control, beat hordes or beat high armour armies.

So now that this list is complete, I've closed the lid on my 'Death Guard Green' paint for, at least, a couple of months. I have a pile of Adeptus Titanicus knights/weapons to paint. Once I am back on my Death Guard, I think that I will concentrate on my demon engines. I only need to paint three - plus another Demon Prince - to complete my next list!

Toodle Pip!