Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So I am a long time 40k player. (18 years...) but am just moving into my first 30k army.

I had some credit with my FLGS and decided to pick up the betrayal at calth set.

I think I want to do death guard cause I love their color scheme and its different from my normal loyalist marines I love in 40k.

I was wondering how to build the set to be competitive and fun. I don't need to min max like this is eldar or something but I plan to attend events as well.

I have the calth box (unbuilt). I also have a land raider Achilles, a fire raptor, a sicaran, and a mortis contemptor (all 40k stuff I plan to paint for this project)

Can you help me with load outs? Should I buy anything else to supplement? Like another 10 guys to man 2 20 mans? is that good? thanks!

Well you could make the regular Marines into two 15 Man Tac Squads with Bolter, Bolt Pistol and CCWs. Thats always a good bet.

Or you could go with the Pride of the Legion spam, 3 squads of ten veteran squads made troops by the RoW, then you could give them a Plasma gun or Flamet with Chem Munitions because you are Death Guard.

The Terminators could then likewise be troops.

Personally though, I'd do them as 15 Man Tac Squads and then if you were eventually up for it, get a second BaC box and use those guys to make Vet Tacs and HW Squads for use with the Death Guard Unique RoW.

 VictorVonTzeentch wrote:
Well you could make the regular Marines into two 15 Man Tac Squads with Bolter, Bolt Pistol and CCWs. Thats always a good bet.

This.

Another take is that If your doing a legion that favours a mechanized force, you do two squads of 10 Tacs with bolter/pistol/ccw and get them some rhinos. The last 10 mariens you use to build special weapon or heavy weapon squads with FW upgrade packs.

30k is not competative. if you play it like it's competative, you may as well play 40k space marines, and go buy IA:1 (I think it's one) Beyond that:

Death guard's 'fluffy' choices are all good on the table top:

Mortarion had every troop trained for every role (barring the specialist options) so you should generally give every tac squad extra CCWs.
Since Mortarion was so fond of the 'well equipped infantryman' he loved dreadnoughts and saw them as the perfect infantry.
The Death Guard Legion fielded excessive numbers of cataphractii terminator armor, do with that as you will .
A Death Guard Tactical squad was fielded in multiples of 7, the most common being a 21-man squad (the 21st man being an apothecary, who acted as a second field srgt.)

That's just some of the base Ideas on DG, of course they used a lot of chem stuff and what not, but with what's in the Calth set, I would probably build something like this:

1 Praetor in Artificer (using the 'chaplain' run him as a praetor with plasma (or archeotech) and paragon blade (since they come in many sizes, the maul would be fine, or you could convert it up)
1 Centurion (Primus Medicae OR anything, really) in Terminator armor

1 Contemptor w/ Kheres & p. fist
5 Cataphractii terminators w/ fists & 1 H. Flamer

2 15-man Tactical squads

If you wanted to expand this I'd go with some MK III from FW to bulk out your tac squads, and then a few apothecaries, but if you are worried about cost I'd invest into 1-2 more calth sets. 3 being the 'perfect' number. Were you to get 3, a good final list would be something like:

1 Praetor in Artificer (or Terminator armor, if you convert one to have a Paragon blade), The Reaping RoW (no one can run, everyone has move through cover, and can buy rad grenades, heavy supports are now troops as well)
2 Centurions of any kind (I'd reccomend a siege breaker for this list and a medicae)

3 Contemptors, 1 w/ MM & fist, 2 w/ Kheres & fist (convert one to have 2 Kheres?)
10-man terminator w/ P. Fists, 2 H. Flamers
5-man terminator w/ Claws % H. Flamer
1-2 Apothecaries (using the chaplains in kit as stand ins)

20-man tac squad w/ extra CCW
20-man tac squad w/ Extra CCW
10-man flamer support squad
10-man Missile launcher heavy support squad
10-man Heavy bolter heavy support squad OR melta support squad
10-man vet. Tactical squad w/ MLs

10-man seeker squad, a few w/ combi weapons (you should be able to get 9/10 in here, more if you weapon swap one of the combi-melta's off of the Terminator HQ)

It fits the DG scheme fairly well, and should work okay on Tabletop.

Wow well that was a ton of information! Thanks!

I will mess with the numbers and post some stuff here soon!

 Icelord wrote:
Wow well that was a ton of information! Thanks!

I will mess with the numbers and post some stuff here soon!

I missed the part about you wanting to do death gaurd. Their legion rules realy dis-favour running mechanized infantry and encourge you to do a foot slogging army. So ignore my last post.

I sujest you might actully want to pick up atleast a 2nd box. (If not a 3rd box). That way you can run atleast 2 20-man squads with bolter/pistol/CCW.

Heavy Flamers are prety rock'in on your termies since they can get shread, but you would need to run orbital assault or alot of land raiders to get them close enough to actully use them. (Alot of people prefer the reaper-autocannon if they got to foot slog them.) The Death Gaurd Legion rules dose make drop podding tac squads and flamer support squads a interesting choice.

Use the B@C Chaplins as Apothicaries, just need some narthesium bitz and convert away.

 Lockark wrote:

 Icelord wrote:
Wow well that was a ton of information! Thanks!

I will mess with the numbers and post some stuff here soon!

I missed the part about you wanting to do death gaurd. Their legion rules realy dis-favour running mechanized infantry and encourge you to do a foot slogging army. So ignore my last post.

I sujest you might actully want to pick up atleast a 2nd box. (If not a 3rd box). That way you can run atleast 2 20-man squads with bolter/pistol/CCW.

Heavy Flamers are prety rock'in on your termies since they can get shread, but you would need to run orbital assault or alot of land raiders to get them close enough to actully use them. (Alot of people prefer the reaper-autocannon if they got to foot slog them.) The Death Gaurd Legion rules dose make drop podding tac squads and flamer support squads a interesting choice.

Just remember, if you run the Reaping (the fluffiest rite of war for the DG) you don't get to deep strike. It's all slow and purposeful purrging of the board stuff.

 FeindusMaximus wrote:
Use the B@C Chaplins as Apothicaries, just need some narthesium bitz and convert away.

Do you have any example pics of this being done? Is there an official model I could use as a guide?

I did this guy the other day with gk & da termi parts. It's a simple lower arm swap but it works quite fine imo. The hand is a bit big and I'm still thinking about switching it to a powerarmored one.

 Shadox wrote:
I did this guy the other day with gk & da termi parts. It's a simple lower arm swap but it works quite fine imo. The hand is a bit big and I'm still thinking about switching it to a powerarmored one.

Spoiler:

Close to what I did, but used the Chaplin from B@C. I'll try to take a pic and post it later this week.

My 3 Apothicaries.

Great! Thanks

2 10 man squads with bolters, use the rest for special units (with FW upgrades if you want). I made a 10 man Volkite squad out of mine, possibly the most awesome unit I own, and defiantly have killed the most. I'm looking to trade some more from a friend in exchange for me painting his army, I'll probably build seekers. Buy Mortarion. Primarchs rule.

Use the B@C Chaplins as Apothicaries, just need some narthesium bitz and convert away.

I made the Termi captain into a Primus Medicae for my Termies (2+/3+/Feel no Pain) by adding a pointy bit to his chainfist.

Pics?

And Mortarion will be even better with his new sycthe rules. No more unwieldy for Mr Death Guard.

I'll post some as soon as I can figure out how to do it on my iPad. He's in mid-painting, so he doesn't look so good, but sure...