Death Guard are about to have their time to shine in War of the Spider with all these new 40k rules that were previewed on two platforms recently!
Warhammer TV went live on Twitch and revealed some of the Death Guard new 40k rules that are on the way in War of the Spider. On top of all that, GW also dropped a post on Warhammer Community showcasing new Stratagems and relics.
From the sounds of it, the Death Guard will be structured about like the Thousand Sons updates in Ritual of the Damned, giving a Relic, Strat, Warlord Trait, etc. to different subfactions.
Here’s the latest that was just revealed!
The book has rules for the Death Guard, Adeptus Custodes, Sisters of Silence, Imperial Assassins, and Creations of Bile, a new way of playing Chaos Space Marines.
Chaos Death Guard 40k War of the Spider Rules REVEALED!
Well, it looks like the Death Guard getting a massive support wave in War of the Spider.
Starting off with a relic for the Noxious Blightbringer, he’ll be able to put off a 5++ invuln aura within 7″. This will essentially make him marginally better than a Big Mek with a KFF in-game. Plus, when you think about Death Guard’s most basic units being T5 with a 5+++ FNP, adding an invuln on top of that can make them exceptionally tanky. CHONK!
Looking into Stratagems, 1CP to get a bonus attack on every model in a unit of Plague Marines is decent. Especially if you’re going against a horde unit with a cruddy armor save.
This Strat is insanely powerful. The fact that this is just Death Guard UNIT means it’s not locked to the limited selection of Plague weapons that Infantry carry. Although, one of the best targets for this Strat has to be the Foul Blightspawn turning his thunder hammer flamer from 9″ to 15″ range.
Death Guard Getting plague Company (Subfactions)
One big change to the Death Guard is that they are getting these subfactions called Plague Companies.
The even better news is that each of the seven Plague Companies of the Death Guard has been blessed with rules that reflect the way that they wage war. Each Company gets a unique Warlord Trait, a Putrescent Relic and their own Stratagems. Follow Typhus in the 1st Plague Company, the Harbingers, and spread the blessings of the zombie plague.
Looking into Typhus’ Plague Company, The Harbingers, you’ll be able to deepstrike up to two squads of Poxwalkers in-game. If you plan on bringing a couple of cheap squads to grab objectives, this is a neat way to use the “out of sight, out of mind” strat against your opponent. On the other hand, having a massive blob of Poxwalkers jump in front of a unit you’re trying to protect might also slow down your opponent enough for you to pull out a win. It definitely adds mobility which Death Guard have somewhat lacked.
The Wretched Plague Company
The Wretched have had their Warlord Trait revealed, allowing you to heal one wound per model you kill (to a max of three). You can see that without that 3-wound cap, this Warlord Trait would be bonkers. However, it’s still solid. Especially on something like a tricked-out Daemon Prince.
The Poxmongers Plague Company
Did you Get your Blight-haulers charged? Just pop a CP to fall back and unleash some tank-hunting hate right back at the enemy.
While we’ve been given a taste of some Plague Companies, WHC also gave us a teaser about the 7th Plague Company:
And that’s saying nothing of the 7th Plague Company, Mortarian’s Chosen Sons. However you want to play your Death Guard, you’ll find something in War of the Spider.
Morty might be turning up in one of these Plague Companies, which means there’s potential for some nasty Stratagems/ other bonus rules that you could use on the bloated Primarch.
Notes From The Warhammer TV Stream Preview
By word-of-mouth from Stu and Eddie on Stream, they mentioned all of this support coming to the Death Guard in War of the Spider. Some of what they talked about didn’t make it to the official Warhammer Community preview. That is:
- 21 total Stratagems for Death Guard (multiples of 7)
- STRATAGEM: (Mutant Strength CP??)- Pox Walkers do mortal wounds on wound roll of 6+.
- Typhus’ Plague Company specializes in Pox Walkers (we’ve seen some of this already).
Death Guard getting 21 Stratagems already seems like a lot for a Psychic Awakening book to devote to one faction. But It’ll be exciting to see how all of their upcoming support transitions into 9th Edition.
As days close in on the release of the book, we’re sure we will see more details on all of this support. However, Death Guard fans should be feeling pretty happy about what was mentioned. We know you were a red heron a time or two in earlier Psychic Awakening stories and you’ve been teased long enough!
What do you the Death Guard need in this book to become more competitive? Will you be running Typhus and swarms of Poxwalkers? Is the Death Guard’s biggest weakness lack of mobility?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
