Games Workshop has finally released the new Death Guard Codex and it is full of new units, rules, psychic powers, and much more!
Give thanks to Papa Nurgle, Death Guard fans! The Death Guard Codex is finally here and ready to be held in your sickly, infested hands. This codex contains 33 datasheets for every Death Guard unit, 6 Warlord traits, 14 Stratagems, 6 Relics, and the Contagion psychic discipline. There are also many teasers for new units that we will be seeing in the future. Here is a sample of our quick and dirty review to give you the lowdown on what you can expect to see in this codex. Our Tips and Tactics video will be coming soon as well!
For our complete review, be sure to scroll down and press play on the full video below.
The Death Guard Codex retails for $40 and has 104 pages full of datasheets, Stratagems, traits, and more. It may be smaller than the previously released codices but it is certainly not lacking in content. The fluff is great and breaks down famous Death Guard battles and explores the history and purpose of the units in the codex. The Plague Planet is explained as are the Plague Fleets. This may be a teaser for the return of Battlefleet Gothic, which has us crossing our fingers and hoping that it is. One thing you will notice about this codex is all the new graphics. If you are a Nurgle and Death Guard fan, this is the book you have been waiting for.
The Death Guard Chapter tactics really bring out the brutal, methodical, and ‘in-your-face’ style that the Death Guard bring to the table. Inexorable Advance will allow Infantry and Helbrutes to not suffer penalties for firing Heavy weapons after moving.nor firing Assault weapons after Advancing. Units with Rapid Fire can fire twice at a range of 18″ instead of needing to be at half the weapon’s max distance. Plague Host will allow Troop units to control objectives they are in range of, even if there are more enemy models within range.
For Warlord Traits, everyone will probably be taking Mortarion or Typhus as their warlord. So expect to see: Arch-Contaminator: re-roll all failed wound rolls when using plague weapons or a weapon that has the Plague Weapon ability when within 7″ of your Warlord; or Living Plague: roll a dice for each enemy unit within 3″ of your Warlord at the start of any Fight Phase. On a 4+, that unit suffers a mortal wound. One trait that should be seeing more use is Revoltingly Resilient, which adds 1 to any Disgusting Resilient roll your Warlord makes unless the wound being rolled for is a mortal wound.
The Relics and Contagion Discipline have been discussed nearly ad nauseam in the days leading up to the codex release. However, we have to make note that there are many combos you can make with these Relics, powers, strategies, and traits that you can make. One combo that players facing Death Guard players will notice is the dishing out of mortal wounds before combat and during. For example, using Blades of Putrefaction power to add 1 to wound rolls and have that unit do an extra mortal wound with a melee plague weapon/weapon with Plague Weapon ability on a wound roll of 6+. Combo that with with the Living Plague Warlord trait and you have the capability of decimating units and weakening characters.
Codex: Death Guard: $40
The Death Guard are the Traitor Legion most favoured by Nurgle. Utterly devoted to spreading the Plague God’s hideous diseases across realspace, they are living plague vectors whose bloated bodies and rusted war engines boast grotesque resilience and firepower. They are a walking pestilence, a living plague of destruction and horror. Their heavy tread heralds the end of hope, and the damnation of all who oppose them. Their touch withers all, and spreads seething corruption that swallows worlds. They are the sons of Mortarion, the chosen of Nurgle; fear them , and despair.
Codex: Death Guard contains a wealth of background and rules – the definitive book for Death Guard collectors. Within this 104-page hardback, you’ll find:
Background
– The Wages of Heresy: a detailed history of the Death Guard’s descent into absolute filth and corruption, driven into a grotesque damnation by the cold ambition of Mortarion, and a description of their homeworld and their enormous, rotting Plague Fleets;
– The organisation of the Death Guard: a surprisingly organised and coherent Legion, for all the rot and bloat, with 7 Plague Companies at the head of a vast and diverse force;
– The Chronicle of Virulence: a timeline of the Death Guard’s ten-thousand-year war of sickness waged against the servants of the false Emperor, with an annotated map showing key war zones;
– Heraldry and colour schemes for a variety of vectoriums and warbands;
– Background and details on each character and unit available to a Death Guard army;
– A showcase of beautifully painted Citadel miniatures, depicting the colour schemes of the Death Guard expertly painted by the ‘Eavy Metal team.Rules
Everything you need to get a Death Guard army primed for games of Warhammer 40,000 is in here:
– 33 datasheets containing rules for every Death Guard unit;
– Army abilities reflecting the Death Guard’s methods of war;
– Gifts of the Plague God: wargear both ranged and close-combat used by the Death Guard;
– Points values for all miniatures, weapons and wargear for use in Matched Play games;
– Scions of Mortarion: rules for Battle-forged armies:
– 6 unique Warlord Traits,
– 14 unique Stratagems (with a focus on the psychic might of this army),
– the Relics of Decay (6 rare artefacts unique to the Death Guard),
– the unique Contagion psychic discipline, available to all Death Guard psykers;
– 6 unique Tactical Objectives.
Datacards: Death Guard: $15
Designed to make it easier to keep track of Tactical Objectives, psychic powers and Stratagems in games of Warhammer 40,000, this set of 60 cards – each featuring artwork on the reverse – is an indispensable tool in the arsenal of any Death Guard gamer. Included:
– 7 psychic power cards – 6 from the Contagion psychic discipline, along with Smite;
– 14 Death Guard Stratagems available to any Battle-forged Death Guard army as found in Codex: Death Guard, along with 3 Stratagems – Command Re-roll, Counter-Offensive and Insane Bravery – from the Warhammer 40,000 rules, available to any army;
– 36 Tactical Objectives, including the 6 Death Guard specific Objectives from Codex: Death Guard.
Death Guard Dice: $20
20 high quality 16mm dice, in the colours of the Death Guard. These dice feature a hard plastic shell, with a soft inner core providing an unpleasant rotting effect – entirely appropriate for the vile machinations of the Death Guard.
The Death Guard Codex is available now online and in local Games Workshop stores. Be sure to press play on our quick and dirty unboxing and review video below for the full review.
For more on the Death Guard Codex and all things Warhammer 40k, visit Games Workshop!
About the Author: Juan Lopez
