Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Death Guard (section)

==Notable Strategies==
===Poxwalkers and Terminators===
Here's an example 2000 point list that leans into some of your best special rules:
*Battalion
**Plague Company: The Wretched
**CP: 7 (12 base - 2 (Gifts of Decay) - 2 (Martial Legacy x2) - 1 (Sevenfold Blessings))
**HQ
**#Typhus (you can still pick any Plague Company)
**#*Miasma of Pestilence, Putrescent Vitality
**#Malignant Plaguecaster (Sevenfold Blessings strat, Daemon's Favour relic)
**#*Gift of Contagion, Gift of Plagues, Curse of the Leper
**Troops
**#Poxwalkers x20
**#Poxwalkers x20
**#Poxwalkers x20
**Elites
**#Chaos Contemptor Dreadnought (Missile Launcher, 2x Twin Culverins)
**#Chaos Contemptor Dreadnought (Missile Launcher, 2x Twin Culverins)
**#Deathshroud Terminators (+1 Plaguespurt Gauntlet on Champion)
**#Deathshroud Terminators (+1 Plaguespurt Gauntlet on Champion)
**#Deathshroud Terminators (+1 Plaguespurt Gauntlet on Champion)
**#Foul Blightspawn
**#*Revolting Stench-Vats, Warlord: Arch-Contaminator
**#Tallyman (doesn't take up an Elites slot due to Blightspawn)
**#*Revolting Stench-Vats
**Fast Attack
**#Foetid Bload-drone (Fleshmower)
**#Foetid Bload-drone (Fleshmower)
**#Foetid Bload-drone (Fleshmower)
**Heavy Support
**#Chaos Rapier Carrier (Quad Heavy Bolter)

===Play it 30k===
Gimmicks are fine for starting play, but higher levels of play will require looking at what makes an army good. Death Guard have access to the absolute hardest to kill Terminators in the game, and they come in two flavors. They have one of the toughest tanks in the Plagueburst Crawler. Their Hellforged Dreadnoughts (Leviathan, Contemptor, Deredeo) all benefit from the Legion trait. Mortarion absolutely needs his bodyguard to survive Repulsor Executioners and Knights, and is worth the attention he lifts from the rest of your army, but he's not gonna hang around to dish out his buffs. Use an Index Daemon Prince to Warptime him up the table if something juicy is there T1, otherwise Warptime his bodyguard to hang out for just one or two more turns (depending on how much shooting they toss out). Roll those tanks onto objectives, and start hammering your enemies with your dreadnoughts. Drop in with Blightlords, and vanish the screen before throwing Mortarion up their guts. Morty dead? Drop the Blightlords in cover, walk, and be dumb hard to kill while they have to decide to put tank-busting weapons into your Leviathans or Terminators.

===Grenade Storm===
Get a Biologis Putrifier, a handful of Plague Marines, and use the Blightening stratagem for 18 shots that autohit if engaged. Not the deleting strat that it used to be but can still be a powerful deterrent for hoards. Since you can take Plague Marines in 7 man squads, one possible delivery method is a Rhino containing seven Plague Marines, a Biologis Putrifier, and two more characters, like a Foul Blightspawn for 2d6 extra grenades.
*The major weakness of this strategy is that the grenades are 6 inch range and everyone and their mother will see it coming. However, with the addition of '''Overwhelming Generosity''' stratagem, you can DOUBLE the range of grenades (to 12"), since they are Plague Weapons. Trying to line up the shot is very difficult without the aid of something like Warptime or a Dreadclaw. It feels like this would be a great backup strategy rather than a main battle plan.

===Nurgle Daemonkin===
As of Chaos Daemon’s 9E codex, the buffs of Poxbringers and Epidemius (amongst others) apply only to {{W40Kkeyword|Legiones Demonica}} units, [[RAGE|squatting your cross-faction]] {{W40Kkeyword|Daemon}} and {{W40Kkeyword|Nurgle}} keyword synergy. All hope is not lost however, as allying in a single detachment (of up to 25% the total PL of your army) now ''doesn’t interfere with special army-keyword rules''. This means one thing: '''CONTAGIONS ARE BACK ON, BABY!'''
* Take a Psyker - your familiar friend the Poxbringer is nice and cheap, or cough up 300 points for your GUO. Either way, give them '''Shrivelling Pox''' from the Warprot Discipline. That -1 Toughness stacks with your Death Guard '''Contagion''' for -2 total on one enemy unit. Have your DG psyker buff a friendly attacking unit '''Putrescent Vitality''' for +1 Strength and maximum cheese.
* Never overlook the Feculent Gnarlmaw. Whilst they only buff {{W40Kkeyword|Legiones Demonica}} units and are now targetable, their harmful aura only targets ''enemies''. This means you needn’t worry about invalid allies, being beholden to the {{W40Kkeyword|Nurgle}} immunity. Sadly, these nasty trees now compete with the Miasmic Malignifier for that Fortification Network. The Malignifier actually buffs your dudes and gets Contagions, but the Gnarlmaw may last longer depending on who you’re up against thanks to Daemon Saves.
* Summoning is gone, but now your allied Daemons have special Deep Strikes. Sadly, none of our Characters have the {{W40Kkeyword|Warp Locus}} keyword, because [[Derp|GW forgot about Death Guard when writing the CSM codex]] (Master of Possession has the keyword, for instance). Still, you can drop Plaguebearer bombs with a sprinkle of Nurglings, spawn swarms of Plague Drones and Beasts, or bring Slimux for terrain soiling (can’t plant Gnarlmaws though), all for the cost of a patrol detachment. 
* As above, '''CONTAGIONS ARE BACK ON, BABY!''' Just make sure your allied detachment doesn’t exceed 25% PL of your army’s total Power Level (or you lose Contagions). Read those rules carefully.

===Hammer and Anvil===
When building an army list, it's often better to think of it in terms of move speed and attack range. What you want is to hit your opponent in waves, forcing them to react to your moves rather than letting them do what they do best. First waves are usually fast moving units like Mortarion, Bloat Drones, Plague Drones and Daemon Princes, since they have ridonkulous movement range. Second waves are usually deep strikes and marines popping out of rhinos to deliver faceful of grenades, deep frying with plague flamers, or melee Helbrutes leaping into the fray. Final waves are usually Typhus and his zombie mosh pits. The downside to this strategy is that you'll be absolutely shit when it comes to holding territory. Then again you're a filthy heretic, who cares about defending?

===Wow, that's a lot of terminators!===
A pair of 5-packs of Blightlords is goddamn terrifying. 2 flails, 2 blight launchers, and melta/plasma added to flavor will take you far. Not only is this unit nigh impossible to put down when backed with miasma of pestilence from a friendly Typhus or other psyker, it makes for a great while we stand we fight secondary pick, not a lot in this game can put them in the ground. A fun strat is to have a 10 man block of Blightlords and a 10 man PM unit backing them up. Keep a Biologus Putrifier nearby. Throw foul infusion on your Blightlord blob, and suddenly they mortal wound on 6's with their axes, flails, and swords. And, you can still throw some blight rack grenades to your plague marine buddies in the back for The Blightening. What's not to love? 
*Blightlords don't do nearly enough for their cost, at range, in melee, defensively, or in any combination.  If your plan is melee, as the above clearly is, Deathshrouds are ''way'' better.  

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category: Warhammer 40,000 9E]]
[[Category: Warhammer 40000 Tactics (9E)]]
[[Category:Chaos]]
[[Category: Chaos Space Marines]]
[[Category: Death Guard]]
{{Warhammer_40k_Tactics}}