I'll admit, since the release of General's Handbook 2017, it's been hard to motivate myself to work on 40k content; not because 8th Edition is bad, but that Age of Sigmar is just so good!
But if one army was going to do it, it was gonna be Death Guard.
I'd always intended to build a Death Guard army, and was meticulously working my way through all the models from Dark Imperium, but in the time between Dark Imperium's release and the eventual Death Guard range hitting the shelves, my attention span (which, for those of you who have been following my hobby journey for any length of time will know, is not a force to be reckoned with by any stretch) led me in other directions.
But then I received a casual invite by a group of local gamers to join a slow-grow army building challenge. And if there is one aspect of the hobby I can't resist, its army builders! The challenge of hitting those incremental goals that culminates in finishing the process with a fully painted army is incredibly satisfying. It was also not going to be at a breakneck speed, which is great for me, as it allows me to chip away at the army at a pace that still allows me to enjoy the process, because for me, painting models is very enjoyable. In the frantic madness and mayhem of work, life and parenthood, those times where I can sit at my desk, put on a podcast or tv show and just slow down, really help me to wind down at the end of a hectic day.
The choice for me was simple. It was always going to be Death Guard! With new models hitting the shelves week after week, it was a no-brainer for me.
One thing that caught me a little off-guard, and was at first a little awkward, was the use of Power Levels instead of traditional points. The organisers of the army builder had chosen this for a variety of reasons. The Builder was not going to be a power-gaming, points-scraping win at all costs process, and so the simplified army building process naturally leant itself better toward what they wanted to achieve. It also meant that each incremental jump was easier to plan. Stages would be in 25 Power Level chunks, which isn't actually very much, especially in the context of Death Guard, a traditionally low-model-count elite army. The first 25 points would be pretty flexible, but at 50 Power Levels, the army must be Battle Forged. There would be a gaming element introduced once we hit Battle Forged at 50PL. There were no rules around using models in my army that had already been painted, so that would further assist me, having already painted a handful of models. With the structure of the challenge laid out before me, and a shiny new codex in hand, I wasted no time in planning out my first two stages.
First thing's first, I needed to settle on the Warlord. I decided to go with a Nurgle Daemon Prince, as not only is he tough as nails (made tougher by the Plate), he also gives me some psychic support, a really useful aura, and combat abilities that give me a healthy amount of punch should he make it to the front line. To make sure that he didn't end up with a smoking crater where his body used to be, I also included three Deathshrouds! I've just finished assembling these bodyguards and they… are… HUGE! They stand head and shoulders over most other models in the range! This gave me two seriously intimidating combat threats, but I'd need more than four models to win games. So, having spent almost 20 Power Points already, I focused on creating a tough, defensive element in my army.
The first stop was two units of seven Plague Marines, one kitted out with Blight Launchers, the other with Plasma Guns. This gave me some reach and mid-range fire power to be able to damage elements that are either terrifying in combat or will end up pinning down my combat elements in less than ideal situations.
Being well aware that Death Guard draws their strength from combinations and layering buffs over buffs, I chose to add a Blight Hauler and a Foul Blightspawn. The Hauler not only gives me some long-ranged anti tank shooting, but essentially acts as mobile cover for my Plague Marines, bumping their already respectable save up to a 2+. It also happens to be one of my favourite models in the new range! The Blightspawn was a unit I really hadn't given much attention to until an impulse purchase resulted in him joining my collection. His ranged weapon (albeit short ranged) is incredibly powerful, but his real strength comes from his stench, which cripples the offensive capabilities of oncoming assaults. These two would form the core of my Nurgle Apple, allowing all fourteen Plague Marines to benefit from both auras, and creating a tough-as-nails moving fire base.
I think that this formation will be the foundation of the entire army in later stages. I fully intend to add another two Haulers to increase the area covered by their cover aura, but also to add to the potential and reliability of the unit! And I'm sure there will be a few more Plague Marines added to the fold!
Has 8th Edition inspired you to start a new army? or build upon an existing one?
Thanks for reading,
Gabe
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