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I've been testing out some of the elites, let me go through some of my experiences so far.


I have yet to test the Noxious Blightbringer, but he will be in my next list.

The Foul blightspawn is really good. I played two of him in a game against harlequins. I had one on each flank, they didn't charge him directly, but were all within 7" of his "Revolting stench". It just destroyed their momentum completely. He's a "must take" in my book.

I haven't tested the Biologus putfifier yet either, but he will be in my next list. Since I'm running a lot of elites all with blight grenades and not many other ranged options other than a pistol(tallyman, surgeon, himself and my warlord) he'll probably be a nice addition to my list. Blight grenades are also a plague weapon, and my warlord has arch contaminator, so that'll work out great as well.

I'm still pretty ambivalent on the Plague surgeon. He looks great on paper, but re-rolling 1's isnt that great. I've played him a couple games with fungaris' helm and i cant decide if I'd rather have another blightspawn. I'll probably still bring him since my army relies so much on auras.

Tallyman is awesome, its just a great feeling getting back 3 command points. Re-rolling failed to hit in the fight phase is also awesome. He's a "must bring".

I did try the deathshroud for one game. They didnt get to do much because the enemy were all dead by the time they got to fight, so i haven't tested them properly. But i did test their flamer, it's just S:3 but its great if you can reroll to wound with arch contaminator. I brought them for the bodyguard rule. Manreaper is really good, problem is getting them into combat.

haven't tried the Blightlords. I would kit them with meltas and DS on high value targets.

Let me know what you guys think about the DG elite choices.

I'll break it up into what I have experience with, what I am planning in my next few games, and what is speculation based on Math-hammer.

EXPERIENCE
Noxious Blightbringer: He is useful in 3 types of lists. First as a sort of Catapult for a fast moving group. I.E. DP with 3 Bloat Drones. Second is a foot list where you either have a couple big blobs, or MSU using either Blight Launchers or Melta. Thirdly, for the -1 Ld. I Use him this way in conjunction with marching my big blobs, and with the banner of my Plague Marines the -2 Ld is pretty nasty against big units that aren't immune to Morale. It has been a great way for me to force my opponents into using CP to keep a unit from running away. Could also work this way with a group of Plague Marines in a Rhino though.

Biologus Putrifier: I run him and love him, though I haven't gotten off the Super Mega Death Blight Grenade Volley Attack! yet. I always keep my characters close to him if I can to increase the number of better grenades without using the stratagem. The opportunity for the aforementioned attack is enough for me to bring him in any list where I am running at least an 8 man unit of Plague Marines.

Brutes: I have ran a MM Fist brute, as well as a TLC/ML brute out of the codex, and they did alright, but where they really shine now is in the Forgeworld ones. Hellforged Contemptor to be specific. I ran 3 of them with Chain Claw and Death Claw having a soulburner under each and it was absolutely terrifying for my opponent. Move and Advance then getting 2 18" chances to do d3 mortal wounds on a 3+ is not something they wanted to ignore.

Tallyman: Since I am fond of large hordes I always bring him. I would argue that unless you have a big melee unit of Plague Marines (at least 8) then he is less viable, and more of a 'well I need another Elite choice for my Vanguard anyways...' sort of choice.

PLAN TO USE
Blightlords: I am bringing a 5 man unit in my next list with 4 Combi-plasma/Bubotic Axe and 1 flail. I am dropping them in with Typhus to give him a screen against shooting in case he fails. I have a sorcerer in the list to Warp Time my DP up the field to get into reroll 1's aura, and am marching up my Poxwalkers and Plague Marine mob behind them. No idea if it will work under all circumstances but it seems fun and should make them think. Also I will have 2 Bloat Drones flying forward in support as well. Idea is to make them deal with all the tough stuff in their face, and then when they finally do the zambies and Plague Marines are there to deal with.

Foul Blightspawn: Unfortunately most of my lists are tight so I haven't ran him yet, and in my typical horde style list he doesn't have a place. That said I am going to try out a 2 Battalion force that I want to bring him in to see how he does.

SPECULATION
Plague Surgeon: For his points and minimal effect on the game I probably will almost never take him. 5.5% more successes on DR is not a lot, and he doesn't offer a whole lot else besides it.

Deathshrouds: Too expensive for how durable they are I think. No doubt they are mean, but I have a feeling the Blightlords will outperform them. I am tempted to try them out once for their flamer pistols... but I think it is so niche that I probably won't be happy with the results. Maybe one day...

Hopefully that wasn't too long, just wanted to give my .02 on everything.

Thanks alot mate. I toally forgot about the brutes, I did try them before the DG codex came, just out of the general chaos codex and I had the same experience as you, they were just ok. I tried 3 of them with LC and ML, and also in a different game i ran 3 of them with fist and scorurge. Problem is that they die too quickly from lasacnnon fire. But they have the inexorable advance buff, so thats nice, and the stratagem thing.

Noxious Blightbringer: I have only found worth his points with 60+ Poxwalkers which is not a frequent list I bring. I brought 160 Poxwalkers in one game (all that I own) and he was useful! I do not find he makes his points back frequently outside of the massive footslog list though.

Foul Blightspawn: Generally awesome and I would say the most frequently well performing individual Elite character I have in my DG force. I use him to melt tanks and infantry alike. He just has to be delivered in a vehicle which is not my normal style, however, I usually now bring a Rhino and escort squad just to deliver 1-3 of them.

Biologus Putrifier: Honestly uninspiring. I have used him a few games, and I have gotten the mega blight grenade strat off. It was underwhelming regarding how it did versus what would have happened with regular shooting. I know the potential is there, but as with all things variability just did not work out for me. If you are going to take him, make sure you give him the relic Power Sword for free so that he is actually useful outside of that one CP dump of a strat.

Plague Surgeon: The worst of our Elite slot characters. Rerolling 1s of DR is really only a 6-7% increase in passing a DR test which is just not good enough. He's not bad at killing people with his sword assuming they are Astartes, but, I would usually lean towards the Biologus Putrifier to hack people with his relic sword and provide additional buffs. I'll keep trying him out, but have found no place for him that I feel he works well outside of massive melee blob and trying to just use him as a melee beatstick with some additional benefits.

Tallyman: Generally going to do the same thing as the Dark Apostle which is good in certain circumstances. Rolling a 7 on a 2d7 is the same odds as 1/6, so you have a decent but not great chance to keep some CP around. He's cheaper but crappier in melee. Sad he does not have a plague knife as I would also like to give him the Relic Sword (assuming the Biologus was not coming) but he doesn't have that option.

 Captain Garius wrote:

Tallyman: Since I am fond of large hordes I always bring him. I would argue that unless you have a big melee unit of Plague Marines (at least 8) then he is less viable, and more of a 'well I need another Elite choice for my Vanguard anyways...' sort of choice.

You are missing the best and most obvious choice of synergy, 9 Possessed in a Rhino. Save a reroll CP for their random attack bonus, throw in a Tallyman and watch the tears. They are cheaper, around equally more durable, with higher potential damage output than the Plague Marines can do. Tallyman is wasted on anything else honestly!

Deathshroud Terminators: I've had a hard time getting these guys to make their points back. Unless they get Warp-Timed into melee or make the random 9" charge against a really valuable unit, they are too much of a target for being shot off the field. I've tried them a few ways and not great, not garbage, just meh. I also am not a huge fan of Terminators in general.

Blightlord Terminators: Good for dropping a butt-load of Combi-Plasma where is best. They are expensive, but I feel can typically equal things out if you are fighting an army that is vulnerable to mass Plasma. If not, they are not worth it.

Helbrute: I've had good luck with these since 8th dropped, and that has not changed since the drop of our Codex. I typically bring 2-3 if I bring any of them with Reaper Autocannons if I'm advancing or Twin Lascannons if I am standing still. They are good counter assault unit to protect out backfield Plague Crawlers or objectives. The FW alternatives are superior though, with our Helbrute strat effecting Contemptor and Dorito Dreadnoughts (Nacho Cheese Variant). These are still a solid choice though without the FW options.

Possessed: Really good, bring with a Tallyman in a Rhino and they are going to stred and Infantry unit they hit. I know it's not a standard unit that we see DG field often but I have used them to great success lately. Only real disadvantage is they are not a vehicle threat truly, so be prepared to supplement their lack of AT with Helbrutes or other options.

Re-roll to hit with the tallyman is awesome, but don't underestimate the commandpoint roll! I run a brigade, and 12 CP really goes a long way if you get one or two back.

I just skipped the Possessed, I don't have any of the models and they've just always been bad. Its good to hear that they are viable now though!

Possessed not a threat to vehicles? You can quite easily get them +2 to wound, with Tallyman & anything but a 1 for their number of attacks that’s not bad. Certainly enough to put most light to medium vehicles down a damage band. Not hard to make them S6 as well. I mean they’re not tank hunters, but they’re not defenceless either.

What about Tallyman combined with Poxwalkers? Especially if you’ve exploited Walking Dead to make a big unit? Seems like an interesting ‘exponential growth’ gimmick.

BTW RAW it seems a Palanquin Sorcerer can bring Warptime into play

 lindsay40k wrote:
Possessed not a threat to vehicles? You can quite easily get them +2 to wound, with Tallyman & anything but a 1 for their number of attacks that’s not bad. Certainly enough to put most light to medium vehicles down a damage band. Not hard to make them S6 as well. I mean they’re not tank hunters, but they’re not defenceless either.

If we're talking about the posessed in the DG index, they are just plain S:5 A3 AP:-2 D:1. No mutations. Unless i'm missing something?

I don’t think people really understand how good the foul blightspawn is. That dude has a 20” range if you move/run him then spray his 9”. He is just stupid good for what he can do. He has knocked Stormravens out of the air for me. He can do up to18 damage in a turn in a large area. Things get really scared when he gets near. His AoE buff is just icing on the cake.

I just don’t know why anyone would ever take plasma on a blightlord. Take melta. It is just to risky to lose your model by overheating.

 killerpenguin wrote:

 lindsay40k wrote:
Possessed not a threat to vehicles? You can quite easily get them +2 to wound, with Tallyman & anything but a 1 for their number of attacks that’s not bad. Certainly enough to put most light to medium vehicles down a damage band. Not hard to make them S6 as well. I mean they’re not tank hunters, but they’re not defenceless either.

If we're talking about the posessed in the DG index, they are just plain S:5 A3 AP:-2 D:1. No mutations. Unless i'm missing something?

Sorry, I should have specified this was +1 to wound from VOTLW, +1 to wound from Blades of Putrefaction, and +1 Strength from Putrescent Vitality. The latter’s use is when you absolutely need to rip apart a light vehicle, say to stop Linebreaker.

And if things are that urgent, you could get a Dark Hereticus caster to give one of them Diabolic Strength


Automatically Appended Next Post:

broxus wrote:
I don’t think people really understand how good the foul blightspawn is. That dude has a 20” range if you move/run him then spray his 9”. He is just stupid good for what he can do. He has knocked Stormravens out of the air for me. He can do up to18 damage in a turn in a large area. Things get really scared when he gets near. His AoE buff is just icing on the cake.

I just don’t know why anyone would ever take plasma on a blightlord. Take melta. It is just to risky to lose your model by overheating.

Yeah, template weapons gaining infinite height has really made them incredible. I suspect my DG contingent will usually be a Vanguard!

With Blightlords, bear in mind you can’t teleport within close Melta range, and the 18” rapid fire overcharged double tap is more effective than long range Melta. It’s uniquely capable of reaching past screening units as well - their reach is fierce. Drop in a Terminator Lord to re-roll your 1’s and you’re safe enough.

 lindsay40k wrote:

 killerpenguin wrote:

 lindsay40k wrote:
Possessed not a threat to vehicles? You can quite easily get them +2 to wound, with Tallyman & anything but a 1 for their number of attacks that’s not bad. Certainly enough to put most light to medium vehicles down a damage band. Not hard to make them S6 as well. I mean they’re not tank hunters, but they’re not defenceless either.

If we're talking about the posessed in the DG index, they are just plain S:5 A3 AP:-2 D:1. No mutations. Unless i'm missing something?

Sorry, I should have specified this was +1 to wound from VOTLW, +1 to wound from Blades of Putrefaction, and +1 Strength from Putrescent Vitality. The latter’s use is when you absolutely need to rip apart a light vehicle, say to stop Linebreaker.

And if things are that urgent, you could get a Dark Hereticus caster to give one of them Diabolic Strength

Or throw in a Herold

 lindsay40k wrote:

 killerpenguin wrote:

 lindsay40k wrote:
Possessed not a threat to vehicles? You can quite easily get them +2 to wound, with Tallyman & anything but a 1 for their number of attacks that’s not bad. Certainly enough to put most light to medium vehicles down a damage band. Not hard to make them S6 as well. I mean they’re not tank hunters, but they’re not defenceless either.

If we're talking about the posessed in the DG index, they are just plain S:5 A3 AP:-2 D:1. No mutations. Unless i'm missing something?

Sorry, I should have specified this was +1 to wound from VOTLW, +1 to wound from Blades of Putrefaction, and +1 Strength from Putrescent Vitality. The latter’s use is when you absolutely need to rip apart a light vehicle, say to stop Linebreaker.

And if things are that urgent, you could get a Dark Hereticus caster to give one of them Diabolic Strength


Automatically Appended Next Post:

broxus wrote:
I don’t think people really understand how good the foul blightspawn is. That dude has a 20” range if you move/run him then spray his 9”. He is just stupid good for what he can do. He has knocked Stormravens out of the air for me. He can do up to18 damage in a turn in a large area. Things get really scared when he gets near. His AoE buff is just icing on the cake.

I just don’t know why anyone would ever take plasma on a blightlord. Take melta. It is just to risky to lose your model by overheating.

Yeah, template weapons gaining infinite height has really made them incredible. I suspect my DG contingent will usually be a Vanguard!

With Blightlords, bear in mind you can’t teleport within close Melta range, and the 18” rapid fire overcharged double tap is more effective than long range Melta. It’s uniquely capable of reaching past screening units as well - their reach is fierce. Drop in a Terminator Lord to re-roll your 1’s and you’re safe enough.

Since you are deepstriking getting a lord within 6” is challenging. Even then a blightlord is almost the same cost as a character and it is not worth the risk to lose. Melta allows you to run and still fire with no penalty. Having them in your enemies backfield threatens all their vr holes and characters even without being in Melta range. Overall, melta is just a much better choice for blightlords. I love plasma on my plague marines though.

Noxious Blightbringer: I have only found worth his points with 60+ Poxwalkers which is not a frequent list I bring. I brought 160 Poxwalkers in one game (all that I own) and he was useful! I do not find he makes his points back frequently outside of the massive footslog list though.

I typically run 40 Poxwalkers and 20 Plague Marines on foot with mine, and use him to spring board my Daemon Prince and Bloat Drones a lot too. He does well for me, and I like using the leadership debuff with him since I run a banner in my Plague Marine unit, but some of the new lists I am trying out I have taken him out in favor of either a unit of Blight Lords or the Foul Blightspawn.

You are missing the best and most obvious choice of synergy, 9 Possessed in a Rhino. Save a reroll CP for their random attack bonus, throw in a Tallyman and watch the tears. They are cheaper, around equally more durable, with higher potential damage output than the Plague Marines can do. Tallyman is wasted on anything else honestly!

I don't own any possessed at the moment but that does sound mean. I may try proxying them in the future, but I love the durability of the Plague Marines, as well as them being a troops choice. I never leave home without a Battalion (and usually 1-2 other detachments).

broxus wrote:

 lindsay40k wrote:

 killerpenguin wrote:

 lindsay40k wrote:
Possessed not a threat to vehicles? You can quite easily get them +2 to wound, with Tallyman & anything but a 1 for their number of attacks that’s not bad. Certainly enough to put most light to medium vehicles down a damage band. Not hard to make them S6 as well. I mean they’re not tank hunters, but they’re not defenceless either.

If we're talking about the posessed in the DG index, they are just plain S:5 A3 AP:-2 D:1. No mutations. Unless i'm missing something?

Sorry, I should have specified this was +1 to wound from VOTLW, +1 to wound from Blades of Putrefaction, and +1 Strength from Putrescent Vitality. The latter’s use is when you absolutely need to rip apart a light vehicle, say to stop Linebreaker.

And if things are that urgent, you could get a Dark Hereticus caster to give one of them Diabolic Strength


Automatically Appended Next Post:

broxus wrote:
I don’t think people really understand how good the foul blightspawn is. That dude has a 20” range if you move/run him then spray his 9”. He is just stupid good for what he can do. He has knocked Stormravens out of the air for me. He can do up to18 damage in a turn in a large area. Things get really scared when he gets near. His AoE buff is just icing on the cake.

I just don’t know why anyone would ever take plasma on a blightlord. Take melta. It is just to risky to lose your model by overheating.

Yeah, template weapons gaining infinite height has really made them incredible. I suspect my DG contingent will usually be a Vanguard!

With Blightlords, bear in mind you can’t teleport within close Melta range, and the 18” rapid fire overcharged double tap is more effective than long range Melta. It’s uniquely capable of reaching past screening units as well - their reach is fierce. Drop in a Terminator Lord to re-roll your 1’s and you’re safe enough.

Since you are deepstriking getting a lord within 6” is challenging. Even then a blightlord is almost the same cost as a character and it is not worth the risk to lose. Melta allows you to run and still fire with no penalty. Having them in your enemies backfield threatens all their vr holes and characters even without being in Melta range. Overall, melta is just a much better choice for blightlords. I love plasma on my plague marines though.

You just deepstrike a Lord in Terminator armour right next to them, done. The big thing about plasma is that, while more risky, it's almost as effective as melta's when overcharged against vehicles and monsters but plasma is infinitely better against heavy infantry. And the 18" range for double tapping is huge as well. Running? Well, you're only ever going to get 3" more because of Cataphractii armour, so that's kinda meh as well. Today I one-shot a squad of 8 Hellblasters with 5 combi-plasma termies with a lord right next to them (7 died immediately, the last one fled due to morale). Unfortunately they got wiped out next turn (mainly thanks to a 6 mortal wound Smite from my opponents' Librarian that I failed all my DR rolls against) but I was very impressed with their firepower. Killing off the Hellblasters meant Morty could come in safely and slaughter everything (including Girlyman twice over ) and ultimately securing my victory. So definitely keeping them plasma for now.

 lindsay40k wrote:
Possessed not a threat to vehicles? You can quite easily get them +2 to wound, with Tallyman & anything but a 1 for their number of attacks that’s not bad. Certainly enough to put most light to medium vehicles down a damage band. Not hard to make them S6 as well. I mean they’re not tank hunters, but they’re not defenceless either.

Yeah I know you can buff them with CP and Psychic but that is a lot just to get them within striking range of most vehicles. I know they aren't HELPLESS but they are for sure not meant for that was my point.



Automatically Appended Next Post:

broxus wrote:
I just don’t know why anyone would ever take plasma on a blightlord. Take melta. It is just to risky to lose your model by overheating.

I would take a double tapping Combi-plasma over Combi-melta anytime of the day. Even without the overcharge, it's a better all around weapon that is in more optimal range when they deepstrike down.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Captain Garius wrote:
I typically run 40 Poxwalkers and 20 Plague Marines on foot with mine, and use him to spring board my Daemon Prince and Bloat Drones a lot too. He does well for me, and I like using the leadership debuff with him since I run a banner in my Plague Marine unit, but some of the new lists I am trying out I have taken him out in favor of either a unit of Blight Lords or the Foul Blightspawn.

Yeah, I guess my point was that you need a critical mass of units to make him useful. Since you have 60+ models being benefited by him, I think that is getting his points values worth. But so many people try to run him with 20 pox walkers or a single plague marine group...insane to expect him to be worth it for that.

 Captain Garius wrote:
I don't own any possessed at the moment but that does sound mean. I may try proxying them in the future, but I love the durability of the Plague Marines, as well as them being a troops choice. I never leave home without a Battalion (and usually 1-2 other detachments).

Don't get me wrong I love my Plague Marines too, but the Possessed are going to hit like power axes but better and cheaper (most) of the time. What the Plague Marines lack in raw melee power they have in flexibility. I would think of them as different roles and with potential to synergize well.



Automatically Appended Next Post:

 killerpenguin wrote:
[spoiler] Re-roll to hit with the tallyman is awesome, but don't underestimate the commandpoint roll! I run a brigade, and 12 CP really goes a long way if you get one or two back.

Yeah, I am typically running a Battalion at 2k so I am not blowing as many CP as you. I've gotten a few back which is still nice, just something I can't rely upon but it's a nice gift if it goes off.