Warhammer 40K Death Guard Poxwrought Vector Review - So Sick!

Nurgle, the chaos god of rot and decay (and, some would say, rebirth) is back in a big way with the release of a brand new box set of miniatures for the Death Guard Chaos Space Marines army! This week, overall, is a great week for Chaos (check out our review of the other new Chaos Battleforce, the Gorestorm Slaughterpack), so follow along as we hold our noses and get into the funk with the Poxwrought Vector Battleforce box, up for preorder now!

Poxwrought Vector Battleforce Contents:

The Poxwrought Vector contains the following miniatures:

• 1x Lord of Poxes
• 1x Foetid Bloat-drone
• 1x Myphitic Blight-hauler
• 1x Plagueburst Crawler
• 5x Blightlord Terminators
• 7x Plague Marines

Reappearing Ability: Nurgle's Gift [Aura]

Many of the units in this box come with the Nurgle's Gift [Aura] special ability, so I think it's worth explaining that here before we dive into individual unit profiles! With a contagion range emanating out from each unit unit (range grows in the first three rounds), and while an enemy unit is within that range, that unit is Afflicted with one of three abilities you choose at the Declare Battle Formations step:

• Overall: Each enemy unit that is Afflicted has 1 toughness subtracted.
• Option 1 - Skullsquirm Blight: Each time a model in this (afflicted) unit makes an attack, subtract 1 from the Hit roll.
• Option 2 - Rattlejoint Ague: Worsen the Save characteristic of models in this unit by 1.
• Option 3 - Scabrous Soulrot: Worsen the Move, Leadership, and Objective Control characteristics of models in this unit by 1 (this rule can only worsen a model's OC characteristic to a minimum of 1).

Now that we understand how Nurgle's Gift works, let's dive into the individual units!

Poxwrought Vector - NEW UNIT: Lord of Poxes

This brand new unit emanates a cloud of spore-thick plague smog - sounds nasty, right? It is!

Lord of Poxes Stats: Move: 5” / Toughness: 6 / Save: 3+ (4+ invuln.) / Wounds: 5 / Leadership: 6+ / OC: 1

Lord of Poxes Ranged Weapons: 

• Plasma Pistol (standard): Range: 12" / Attacks: 1 / BS: 2+ / Strength: 7 / AP: -2 / Damage: 1
• Plasma Pistol (supercharged) (pistol/hazardous): Range: 12" / Attacks: 1 / BS: 2+ / Strength: 8 / AP: -3 / Damage: 2

Lord of Poxes Melee Weapons: 

• Great plague blade (devastating wounds, lethal hits): Attacks: 6 / WS: 2+ / Strength: 8 / AP: -2 / Damage: 2

Lord of Poxes Key Abilities At A Glance:

• Nurgle's Gift: (see above)
• Gift of Poxes: Add 3" to the range of this model's Contagion Range.
• Shroud of Disease: While this model is leading a unit, that unit cannot be targeted by ranged attacks unless the attacking model is within 18".

Play Tips For Running The Lord of Poxes:

This unit can lead as an attachment to a unit of Plague Marines, and that's the best way to get him in there. Though not incredible on his own, by attaching him you're shielding your Marines from long-range weaponry with his Shroud of Disease ability. And extending out the Contagion Range turns an ordinary unit of Plague Marines into a walking, festering cloud of de-buffs.

Poxwrought Vector Unit: Plague Marines

Your (rotten) meat and (spoiled) potatoes unit of this army, the Plague Marines have so many weapon options available to them it doesn't make sense to cover them all here - so excuse the shorthand that breaks with our normal format below:

Plague Marines Stats: Move: 5” / Toughness: 6 / Save: 3+ / Wounds: 2 / Leadership: 6+ / OC: 2

Plague Marines Ranged Weapon Options:

• Bolt Gun (standard), Blight Launcher, Bolt Pistol, Meltagun, Plague Belcher, Plague Spewer, Plasma Gun, Plasma Pistol

Plague Marines Melee Weapon Options:

• Plague Knives (standard), Bubotic Weapons, Heavy Plague Weapon, Power Fist

Plague Marines Key Abilities At A Glance:

• Nurgle's Gift (Aura): See Above
• Infused with the Blessings of Nurgle: In your Shooting phase, each time this unit is selected to shoot, after this unit has shot, select one enemy unit hit by one or more of those attacks. Until the start of your next turn, that enemy unit is Afflicted (see Nurgle's Gift above for more info on Afflicted)
• Icon of Despair (Aura): This Wargear Ability states that when an enemy unit is within 6" of the bearer, worsen the Leadership characteristic of models in that unit by 1.

Play Tips For Running Plague Marines:

When paired with the Lord of Poxes, these Plague Marines should really be run as a tough, shoot-y unit that's out there sitting on an objective and spraying around the Afflicted condition on enemies that try to get close-in.

Poxwrought Vector Unit: Blightlord Terminators

The Blightlord Terminators are another unit that come packed with tons of different weapon options, and these hearty units are built Nurgle Tough.

Blightlord Terminators Stats: Move: 5” / Toughness: 7 / Save: 2+ / Invuln. Save: 4+ / Wounds: 3 / Leadership: 6+ / OC: 1

Blightlord Terminators Ranged Weapon Options:

• Combi-bolter (standard), Blight Launcher, Combi-weapon, Plague Spewer, Reaper Autocannon

Plague Marines Melee Weapon Options:

• Bubotic Blade (standard), Close Combat Weapon, Flail of Corruption

Blightlord Terminators Key Abilities At A Glance:

• Nurgle's Gift (Aura): See Above
• Blistering Fusillade: If this unit has a Starting Strength of 5 or more, or if a Character is leading this unit, then each time a model in this unit makes a ranged attack that targets an Afflicted unit, improve the Strength and Armor Penetration characteristics of that attack by 1.

Play Tips For Running Blightlord Terminators:

There's nothing quite like slowly stomping toward your opponents (or unloading from a transport vehicle!) with a unit of Terminators, hunkering down with your 2+ save, and blasting them to bits. Add in the benefit you get from targeting Afflicted units, and it's about to get stanky in here!

Poxwrought Vector - Myphitic Blight-Hauler

This Daemon Engine is a highly mobile spewer of toxic gasses, tracking down enemy tanks and scarfing up close units.

Myphitic Blight-Hauler Stats: Move: 10” / Toughness: 9 / Save: 3+ (5+ invuln.) / Wounds: 10 / Leadership: 6+ / OC: 3

Myphitic Blight-Hauler Ranged Weapons: 

• Bile Spurt (Lethal Hits): Range: 12" / Attacks: 3 / BS: 3+ / Strength: 5 / AP: 0 / Damage: 1
• Missile Launcher (Frag) (Blast): Range: 48" / Attacks: D6 / BS: 4+ / Strength: 4 / AP: 0 / Damage: 1
• Missile Launcher (Krak): Range: 48" / Attacks: 1 / BS: 3+ / Strength: 9 / AP: -2 / Damage: D6
• Multi-Melta (Melta 2, Lethal Hits): Range: 18" / Attacks: 2 / BS: 3+ / Strength: 9 / AP: -4 / Damage: D6

Myphitic Blight-Hauler Melee Weapons: 

• Gnashing Maw (Lethal Hits): Attacks: 4 / WS: 3+ / Strength: 6 / AP: -1 / Damage: 1

Myphitic Blight-Hauler Key Abilities At A Glance:

• Nurgle's Gift: (see above)
• Tank Hunters: In your Shooting phase, each time a model in this unit makes an attack that targets a Monster or Vehicle unit, add 1 to the Hit roll and 1 to the Wound roll.

Play Tips For Running Myphitic Blight-Hauler:

There's a nice mobility here you don't find in on-foot units from this slow-as-sludge army, but unless you're expecting a lot of tanks in the meta you're up against, this might spend most of its time lobbing missiles and bile from a distance, hoping to score a few odd hits.

Poxwrought Vector - Plagueburst Crawler

This heavily armored tank is here to rain down destruction in the form of a punishing volley of artillery, including the deadly Plagueburst mortar.

Plagueburst Crawler Stats: Move: 10” / Toughness: 10 / Save: 2+ (5+ invuln.) / Wounds: 12 / Leadership: 6+ / OC: 3

Plagueburst Crawler Ranged Weapons: 

• Entropy Cannon (2, standard, lethal hits): Range: 36" / Attacks: 1 / BS: 3+ / Strength: 10 / AP: -3 / Damage: D6+1
• Heavy Slugger (standard, lethal hits): Range: 36" / Attacks: 4 / BS: 3+ / Strength: 5 / AP: -1 / Damage: 1
• Plagueburst Mortar (standard, blast, indirect fire, lethal hits): Range: 48" / Attacks: D6+3 / BS: 3+ / Strength: 8 / AP: -1 / Damage: 2
• Plaguespitter (anti-infantry 2+, ignored cover, torrent): Range: 12" / Attacks: D6 / BS: NA / Strength: 6 / AP: -1 / Damage: 1
• Rothail Volley Gun (lethal hits, Rapid Fire 3): Range: 36" / Attacks: 3 / BS: 3+ / Strength: 5 / AP: 0 / Damage: 1

Plagueburst Crawler Melee Weapons: 

• Armoured Tracks: Attacks: 3 / WS: 4+ / Strength: 6 / AP: 0 / Damage: 1

Plagueburst Crawler Key Abilities At A Glance:

• Nurgle's Gift: (see above)
• Spore-laced Shock Waves: In your shooting phase, each time you select a target for this model's Plagueburst mortar, roll one D6 for the target unit and every other enemy unit within 3" of the target unit, adding 1 to that roll if the unit being rolled for is Afflicted. On a 6+, the unit being rolled for is struck by spores; after resolving all of this model's attacks against the target unit, each unit struck by spores suffers D3 mortal wounds.

Play Tips For Running Plagueburst Crawler:

This is one of those units where the flavor of the weaponry at hand really shines through and helps guide you toward a play style. You want to send out shock-waves of spores into the thick of battle, so position your Plagueburst Crawler in just the right spot, launch that 48" ranged Mortar at your enemies, and laugh in that hacking cough way you do as the spores rain down destruction.

Poxwrought Vector - Foetid Bloat-Drone

Floating above the fray, moseying over to enemy units to chop them up into bits, this unit is great and causing mass chaos on the battlefield. Though the standard build is with the powerful Fleshmower, you can replace that with two plaguespitters if you want a more ranged approach.

Foetid Bloat-Drone Stats: Move: 10” / Toughness: 9 / Save: 3+ (5+ invuln.) / Wounds: 10 / Leadership: 6+ / OC: 3

Foetid Bloat-Drone Ranged Weapons: 

• Plaguespitter (anti-infantry 2+, ignores cover, torrent): Range: 12" / Attacks: D6 / BS: NA / Strength: 6 / AP: -1 / Damage: 1

Foetid Bloat-Drone Melee Weapons: 

• Fleshmower (lethal hits): Attacks: 10 / WS: 3+ / Strength: 7 / AP: -1 / Damage: 2
• Plague Probe (lethal hits): Attacks: 3 / WS: 3+ / Strength: 6 / AP: -1 / Damage: 1

Foetid Bloat-Drone Key Abilities At A Glance:

• Nurgle's Gift: (see above)
• Hovering Death: This unit is eligible to shoot and declare a charge in a turn in which it Fell Back.

Play Tips For Running The Foetid Bloat-Drone:

How you want to build this unit is up to you, as I think there's an argument to be made either to have two auto-hitting plaguespitters equipped, or the 10 (!!) hits on the Fleshmower. Either way, this unit is meant to get into the action, belt out wounds, and next turn fall back thanks to its Hovering Death ability.

Poxwrought Vector Battleforce - Final Thoughts

Now this is what a Battleforce should look like, in my opinion. With six different types of units included, this vehicle-heavy box set is a really fun way to get a new army onto the tabletop in a way that feels very different from other boxes. I think, generally speaking, the design of the Death Guard is some of the best in Warhammer 40K, and this box shows how that Nurgle rot manifests across so many different types of units.

The copy of Death Guard Poxwrought Vector used for the creation of this review was provided by Games Workshop.