Death Guard Combat Patrol Review

Who Are The Death Guard?

The Death Guard are a great bunch of lads. They used to be a Space Marine chapter known as the Dusk Raiders, who earned the name due to their habit of night-time attacks. That is until Horus got all hoity-toity and turned on the Emperor and the Dusk Raiders decided to fight alongside him. During the Horus Heresy the Dusk Raiders, now a Traitor chapter, started to worship the Chaos gods, in particular Nurgle, the chaos god of death, disease and despair, who bestowed on them the “gift” of every disease and decay in existence. The upshot of this is they are impervious to pain and minor injury (every cloud and all that).

In the 10,000 years since the Horus Heresy the Death Guard have plagued (pun intended) the Imperium of man along with other factions of Chaos Space Marines spreading pestilence and disease in the name of Nurgle wherever they go. They’ve also taken a turn for the worse, with both them and their power armour becoming the very embodiment of their chosen God.

What’s In The Box?

An intimidating Typhus is the leader of this combat patrol. With him are seven Plague Marines (much like Space Marines but much more plaguier) and a Biologus Putrifier for good measure. The bulk of the box is made up of 30 Pox Walkers. You’ll notice there are no vehicles here and for good reason. The Death Guard are slow moving, but deadly in close combat so use overwhelming numbers to ensure that many will make it into range regardless of what they face. The army does have a few vehicles available and they’re just as grotesque as the soldiers.

Are They Difficult To Paint?

Ooooh yes! All of the Chaos chapters are difficult thanks to the level of detail as well as the sheer number of units. Despite being Space Marines in a previous life, the ones that fell to Chaos lack the uniformity of their loyal brethren. Plague Marines have several bits and pieces hanging from, and attached to, their armour. And each model looks very different to others in their squad so you’ll be kept on your toes choosing which putrid colours to use without too much repetition.

And then there are the Pox Walkers. Each with wide, tooth-filled smiles that will keep you highlighting for days. Each of the 30 strong force are covered in disease and infection that require extreme patience and attention to detail. Even though there are two of each sculpt you won’t want to repeat colour schemes for the duplicate. It just wouldn’t please Nurgle to have two of his disciples looking similar.