Servants of the Dark Gods · Let the Galaxy Burn
Death Guard
Nurgle's unkillable sons — rot, resilience and the slow, certain advance.
About Death Guard — Lore & How They Play
The Lore
The Death Guard were the Emperor's most resilient Legion until betrayal in the Warp broke them: becalmed and plague-ridden, Mortarion bought his sons' survival with their souls. They emerged as Grandfather Nurgle's favourites — bloated, rotting and all but impossible to kill.
They advance without haste and without mercy, gifting every world they touch with the Plague God's blessings. Despair is a sin, they'll tell you cheerfully. Everything dies. Everything rots. Grandfather loves you.
On the Tabletop
The grindiest army in the game: Toughness values other factions dream of, disgusting resilience everywhere, and an aura of contagion that debuffs everything near your line. The Death Guard don't rush — they arrive, and then removal becomes the opponent's problem.
Your weaknesses are speed and mortal wounds, so play the mission, not the massacre: claim the mid-board early, poison it, and let attrition do the arithmetic. Few armies are more forgiving to learn or more maddening to fight.
Death Guard are Nurgle's chosen: bloated, rotting, and almost impossible to shift. They are the toughest infantry in Warhammer 40,000 and they play exactly how they look — slow, relentless, and thoroughly miserable to face across a table. If your idea of winning is simply refusing to die, you have found your army.
What's in the range
- Core infantry — Plague Marines, Poxwalkers and Blightlord Terminators do the heavy lifting
- Characters — Typhus, Lord of Virulence, Foul Blightspawn, Biologus Putrifier, Nauseous Rotbone and the rest of the plague company's specialists
- Daemon engines and armour — Plagueburst Crawler, Foetid Bloat-Drone and Myphitic Blight-Hauler
- Mortarion — the Daemon Primarch himself, if you want a centrepiece that bends the whole board around it
- Rules — Codex: Death Guard (10th edition) and the Datasheet Cards pack
Starting a Death Guard army
Combat Patrol: Death Guard is the sensible first box. It is a legal small-game force straight out of the packaging and the cheapest way to get Plague Marines, Poxwalkers and a character on the table at once — and we stock it bundled with the codex if you would rather sort the rules in one go. After that, the Vile Vectorium battleforce is the natural step up to a full army.
Painting Death Guard
This is one of the kinder schemes for a first army, because the entire point is that they look filthy — wobbly edges read as corrosion rather than mistakes. The Death Guard Essential Paints 10-colour set covers the scheme without you having to guess at bottle names, and a wash of technical grime over the top does most of the heavy lifting. Push it further with our weathering range, or browse the full Warhammer Colour paints.
Everything here is genuine Games Workshop stock from an official stockist, supplied unassembled and unpainted, with next-day UK delivery from our shop in Barry, South Wales. Fancy a different flavour of ruin? The whole Warhammer 40,000 Chaos range is one click away.
The Long War Calls
New to Chaos?
Start with a boxed set — miniatures, rules and dice in one go. Free UK delivery over £65, same-day dispatch by 3pm on weekdays.
Shop 40K Starter SetsFrequently Asked Questions
The Death Guard are a Traitor Legion dedicated to Nurgle, the Chaos God of plague and decay. Their bodies are bloated with disease but rendered nearly immortal, making them one of the most durable factions in the game.
Yes — Death Guard are forgiving to play due to their resilience and tough units. They have a strong Combat Patrol and clear, characterful painting schemes that are well documented in the hobby community.
Yes — Mortarion, Daemon Primarch of the Death Guard, is available in our range and is one of the most impressive and detailed centrepiece models in all of Warhammer 40,000.
Death Guard are a durable, attrition-based faction that excels at grinding down opponents. Their Contagion abilities weaken enemies over time, making them excellent at holding objectives.
Classic Death Guard use pale green armour with rust and brown decay effects. Key paints include Deathguard Green contrast paint, Agrax Earthshade, and Ryza Rust. We stock the full Citadel range.
Yes — we stock the full Death Guard range in our Barry, South Wales shop and online at loadeddice.uk with fast UK dispatch.