Don’t miss the new 9th edition 40k rules that were spotted for the Death Guard ahead of schedule coming in their December codex.
Recently we saw new rules from GW on Warhammer Community for the Miasmic Malignifier and also some changes to current units. There’s also been a few datasheets spotted around the web! Let’s take a closer look at what we know is coming in the Death Guard Codex so far!
GW Confirms New Death Guard Terrain & 40k Rules!
Here is the video it was spotted in! You can see it is pretty massive compared to those weeny Death Guard! Honestly, it looks about the height of the new Necron Terrain. So they may be trying to bring some continuity to the army line-ups. If you want to see more about what’s going down with the upcoming army releases, check out what we know about what is on the way in 2021.
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Here it is in it’s full Nurgle glory. A pretty fun sculpt that captures the essence of a decaying plague furnace! Let’s hear a little what GW has to say about it:
Super-gross, right? And no, we don’t want to think about what sort of vile fluids are being pumped around in there, let alone the toxic fumes being spewed forth from its chimney. But irrespective of your own opinions on the matter, the Death Guard love everything it has to offer! This is no surprise, really, as its presence makes these notoriously tough champions of the Plague God even harder to kill thanks to its Putrescent Fog ability.
Putrescent Fog
Nothing too crazy, but giving your backline units some extra survivability is never a bad thing! You have to be pretty close to get the aura, but it could make for a perfect anchor point for your firing base. Although it looks to be 9-12″ wide so maybe it can project its aura out to 21″ to 24″ in diameter?
This is the only rule revealed, but they did give us a small teaser of what else it can do:
What’s more, the Miasmic Malignifier is so contagious (and stinky) that nearby enemies suffer terribly in its proximity. Even if it’s destroyed, the foetid furnace will likely burst in a Putrid Explosion – how wonderfully Nurgley!
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New Typhus Death Guard 40k Rules SPOTTED!
Spotted all over the web, Typhus quick reference IKEA style 40k rules are here, and there are some interesting changes!
Old Datasheet
New Rules
So from the looks of his new Datasheet, we can see a few things:
New bonuses:
- +1 movement (up to 5″)
- +2 Attacks (up to 6)
What we don’t know:
- Invulnerable save stat and special rules like Destroyer Hive etc.
- no separate stat line for Blight Grenade
It’s probably worth mentioning that the 4+ invulnerable save for Typhus currently is conferred from Catapharctii Terminator armor, which in the new Space Marine codex is now Relic Terminator Armor with a 5+ invulnerable save.
New Blight-hauler & Bloat Drone Death Guard 40k Rules
Spotted over on Bolter and Chainsword, both the Blight-hauler & Bloat Drone quick reference IKEA style 40k rules are here, and there are some new changes!
New bonuses:
- +1 to hit and to wound (now 3+, was 4+)
- +1 Attacks (now 4, was 3)
- +1 wounds (was 8, now 9)
What we don’t know:
- Special rules
- +1 to hit bonus while fielding three?
- -1 to hit in melee?
- Grant cover to units within 7″?
- Daemon save?
Overall these are great changes, but when only buffs come to an already good unit… We should expect to see a pretty big point increase as well. Hopefully a balanced one and not one that will nuke them out of playability.
Bloat Drone 40k Rules
New changes to statline:
- +1 to hit and to wound (now 3+, was 4+)
- +1 Attacks (now 4, was 3)
- -1 wound (was 10, now 9)
New changes to weapons:
- Fleshmower: -1 strength
- Heavy Blight Launcher: +1 AP & flat 2 damage instead of D3
- Plaguespitter: +3″ range (now 12″, was 9″) & 6 strength (Was user strength)
- Probe: now 1D, was D3
What we don’t know:
- Special rules
- Extra attacks with mower?
- Daemon save?
- Plague weapons?
It’s important to note that while loses a wound seems bad, getting a non-degrading profile is amazing, so overall this might actually be a buff. Most of the weapons received a slight nerf, so overall the Bloat Drone seems to hover around the same efficiency. GW could do anything with its point values.
Chaos Death Guard 40k Rules
Warhammer Community dropped a few huge changes coming to Death Guard with their new codex. Changes are coming to Plague Marines, Possessed, and Defilers.
First off we have Plague Marine rules updates, and two major changes highlighted here are the +1 wound and +1 attack.
Ever since Codex: Space Marines bestowed non-Primaris Space Marines with a pesky extra Wound, Heretic Astartes have been on the back foot. Now Codex: Death Guard makes Plague Marines appropriately difficult to dispatch – and it’s just a taste of what’s to come for Chaos Space Marines in the future.
This change is huge, (but not unexpected) Plague Marines finally getting in line with basic firstborn loyalist marines was a much-needed update. Hopefully, the update means Death Guard (and CSM when they get their codex) will be able to better compete with Loyalist Marines! The +1 attack is a nice buff but honestly probably won’t come into effect that often seeing how slow Plague Marines are moving up the board.
Death Guard Possessed Changes
So first, for the Possessed, the weapon profile has Plague Weapon now, meaning they will re-roll all wound rolls of 1. They also may get access to some special auras or stratagems that only affect Plague Weapons, so keep that in mind too.
Another HUGE change to Possessed coming is to their attacks. With the old rules, they have d3 attacks, however now in the Death Gaurd Codex, they will have a flat 4 attacks! This is an insane change, and most likely means they will get a price increase. These changes only affect Death Guard lists right now, but as soon as the CSM book drops, we can expect to see similar rule changes for the base Possessed as well.
Death Guard Defiler Changes
The Defiler is also getting a decent buff with its WS/BS getting bumped up to 3+ in the top bracket and +1 attack. It’s still at 14 wounds so it will bracket down, however, a buff is a buff, and this is an awesome change. Hopefully, CSM gets their codex soon so that daemon engines can be better for all of Chaos instead of just Nurgle.
Mortarion Death Guard 40k Rules
There was an Ikea style sheet of his rules leaked earlier in the week, but now we get the full real datasheet. If you want to download his rules, you can here. Let’s compare it to his old sheet and see what’s changed.
Old rules
New Rules
They only show power level in the sheet but did say his points are staying the same at 490. So, you can start playing with the new rules right away before even grabbing the codex. Let’s look at the differences between the old and the new.
What’s Changing:
- +1 Toughness (up to 8)
- +1 Attacks (up to 7 at the top bracket). This also makes each descending bracket better
- Silence is now 3+d3 damage (up from d6)
- -6″ range on The Latern (now 12″ instead of 18″)
- No more exploding in the fight phase (that we know of yet..), as he could dish out a decent amount of mortal wounds quite easily before
- He can now pick his Warlord Trait at the beginning of the game
- All auras down 1″ to 6″
- Toxic presence says he counts as 4 for purposes of determining Contagion Range and abilities.
- We don’t know exactly what the warlord traits will be. So we’ll just have to wait and see how those can change his play style
Plaugeburst Crawler Death Guard 40k Rules
Spotted all over the web, Mortarion quick reference IKEA style 40k rules are here, and there are some interesting changes!
Old Rules
New Rules
So from the looks of his new 9th Edition Datasheet, we can see a few things:
New bonuses:
- +1 BS (Now 3+, was 4+)
- +1 Attack (Now 4, was 3)
- Plagueburst Mortar is D2 instead of D1d3
- Plagueburst Mortar no longer has a minimum distance (Used to have a minimum range of 12″)
- Entropy Cannon is D3+3 instead of D6
- Plaguespitters are S6 (No longer user strength)
- Rothail is rapid-fire 3 (used to be Heavy 3)
What we don’t know:
- Keywords?
- Daemon save?
A lot of larger model power comes from their abilities, so while Reaping Scythe is notably missing here, it still might be on the actual datasheet in some form. Also, plenty of power is in the abilities, so while we get a rough idea of his combat stats, the abilities can make a huge difference.
Look for the Death Guard codex to hit store shelves most likely the third week of December right after the Blood Angels, and Direchasm!
Do you like the addition of terrain pieces into 40k? Are you excited about the new Death Guard Book? How do the stat changes look to you so far?
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About the Author: Andrew Schrank
Andrew Schrank
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: Facebook
Bio: Aspiring diplomat, Lord of Fluff, and Master of Ice Hammer. Andrew joined the Spikey Bits team in 2018. He mainly covers releases from Games Workshop, along with some previews and hobby posts. He loves Star Wars, Chaos Undivided, and Gundam.
During his free time, he hunts Platinum trophies on PS5 and reads international news. On weekends, he can be found playing commander and cEDH games, often with unique strategies that push the limits. He believes that each day presents a new opportunity to grow and be challenged.
