New 10th Edition 40k Death Guard are here – from Stratagems, Datasheets, and army rules; here is our review guide on how to play them.
Exciting changes to the Death Guard army’s gameplay, rules, and style are here with the release of their new Warhammer 40k index cards. This review guide provides an overview of the new index cards, including Stratagems, Datasheets, and army rules, to help players understand how to play Death Guard in 10th Edition Warhammer 40k. Additionally, we’ll take a closer look at the new rules, giving you everything you need to dominate the battlefield. Get ready to unleash the power of the Nurgle and conquer your enemies with these disgusting Chaos followers!
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How to Play Death Guard in 10th Edition 40k: Rules Guide
The new 10th Edition 40k Death Guard rules come from Warhammer Community.
Nurgle’s Gift blesses every Death Guard unit with an aura that increases over the course of the battle. Enemy units in Contagion Range have their Toughness reduced by 1 as unnatural plagues overwhelm them – a blighted salve to the increased resilience found across the board in the new edition.
By the 3rd battle round, you will have a giant ring of contagion. At that point, almost every enemy unit will have -1 Toughness, which will be a massive boon for a lot of Death Guard shooting! When they close the gap in assault, Death Guard units will also have the upper hand against equally equipped units.
Council of the Death Lord
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Death Guard Plague Company Detachment Rules
These contagions are so powerful that they even bend the landscape to Nurgle’s will, and as the Death Guard Spread the Sickness they cause Nurgle’s garden to encroach on realspace. Any objectives controlled by the Death Guard at the end of their Command phase remain in their control even if they move away, and also gain Nurgle’s Gift, meaning enemies who want to take it back will have to contend with the reality-warping pox weakening them.
This is a really cool rule and far better than most armies’ for holding objectives after they walk off them. Plus, with it having Nurgle’s Gift, enemies trying to take it will be weaker to reprisals!
Updated Detachment Rule
On the buffing end of things, Death Guard get a whole new aura ability which you can choose and tailor to your opponent.
They not only grabbed a ton of point decreases but also some buffs to their auras in the first Dataslate. That meant, depending on who you were fighting, you could pick the best one. It really helped them, but it actually went a little too far, as the win rate skyrocketed. The second Dataslate (pictured above) actually hit them with some NERFS, mainly due to their grenade spam, which was quite strong.
New 10th Edition Warhammer 40k Death Guard Datasheets
Toughness 6! 2+ Save! 4+ invulnerable save! What a bloated banquet of resilience – we need a lie down. These hulking brutes trade a little movement for an extra pip of Toughness, making them some of the toughest Infantry out there. Their Lethal Hits will make short work of tougher targets, while Blistering Fusillade grants re-rolls for Wound rolls of 1 against the closest target – a noxious pairing with the Toughness reduction inflicted by Nurgle’s Gift.
It’s hard to say how good these are since we haven’t seen all their rules yet (most notably the disgustingly resilient). However, these terminators will still be insanely tough with Toughness 6, 3 wounds, and a 4+ invulnerable.
The Blight Launcher is quite strong, the Plague Spewer is keeping some AP, and the Reaper Autocannon gets a decent number of attacks but only -1 AP. You can also re-roll the 1s to wound if the enemy is the closest. They get four attacks for combat, each with -2 AP, while the Flail gets six attacks with D2.
Most weapons have Devastating Hits, which will autowound targets on a Critical Hit roll of an unmodified 6.
Another facet of Death Guard power manifests in their psychic prowess. Malignant Plaguecasters reach out and blast the enemies of Nurgle with a Plague Wind made up of corrosive vomit and feculent gas, the resulting Pestilent Fallout causing enemies to falter as they hack up bile and blood.
He’s still pretty tough, but his real strength comes from his powers. First, Plague Wind can dish out all kinds of attacks and, in the focused version, gets an average of 6-7 attacks at Strength 6,-2 AP, and D3 damage.
So, a single shot could more or less wipe out a unit. However, Hazardous means he could damage himself in the attack. Then, he de-buffs enemy units well, either with wound rolls or movement and charges.
He’s shaping up to be a severe pest and quite strong, to boot!
New Weapon Rules
The Death Guard trudge into battle with grim purpose, usually flanked by Daemon Engines overripe with disease and corruption. Of these, the Plagueburst Crawlers are the most notable. Devised by Mortarion himself, these tanks are armed with a Plagueburst mortar, a long-ranged weapon expressly designed to obliterate infantry.
This is super strong, with an average of 6-7 attacks, lethal hits, blast, and indirect fire. Not to mention Strength 8 and D2. If you need to take out two wound models, this is perfect!
Plus, forcing every unit to take a Battle-chock test for just one hit is awesome.
New Death Guard Warhammer 40k Stratagems
Of the many maladies Nurgle has concocted, the Sanguous Flux is one of the nastiest – units blessed by it gain Sustained Hits 1 on their melee attacks, and Sustained Hits 2 when within range of an Infected objective marker. Viciously efficient on the bubotic blades of Blightlord Terminators.
If you use this on a unit on your objective marker, every six will cause three hits, and for 1 CP, this is huge!
Latest 40k Rules Updates For the Death Guard:
The latest updates for the Death Guard 10th Edition rules will be released in what Games Workshop calls a Balance Dataslate, sometimes along with accompanying points changes as well.
You can see all the latest Balance Dataslate updates here in our post, which breaks down the most recent changes.
How To Play Warhammer 40k Death Guard: Points
You can find the latest points for playing this faction in 10th Edition Warhammer 40k here on our Munitorum Field Manual Points Updates Page.
Death Guard YouTube Review:
Watch the video below for some more insights into the faction.
Is It Still Worth Playing Death Guard?
They are still a fun army to play and have some of the coolest miniatures in the entire line! On the competitive side, they have struggled a little, but with the September Balance Dataslate, they really started going great in the meta! While they did get a small NERF, they are still quite strong.
Updates, in general, for any game are just good business. That being said, it also seems like in 2023-2024, GW will have its hands full trying actually to get out all these codexes.
However, Death Guard isn’t even on the list, meaning you will have to use the index for a while, which gives you plenty of time to learn the faction before the codex drops.
The new 10th Edition Death Guard Stratagems, Datasheets, and army rules have brought exciting changes to the gameplay and style of the army. With the index rules, players can unleash the power of Nurgle and spread their plague all over the place.
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
