Many are the repulsive gifts of Nurgle, Chaos God of disease and despair, but few are as foul as the malaise known as Walking Pox. Typhus – known often as Nurgle’s Herald, or simply the Traveller – is a vector for this appalling sickness. His warband of foetid Death Guard battle-brothers are accompanied at all times by a shambling swarm of Poxwalkers – victims of the Walking Pox whose bodies and minds have been twisted into repugnant parodies by the dubious blessings of Nurgle.
Book | Kind | Edition | Version | Last update |
The Shambling Horde | ||||
The Shambling Horde | Index | 10 | June 2023 |
The Death Guard are carriers of countless infections and contagions, each a gift from Nurgle. Whenever they march to war, they contaminate all around them, overwhelming their victims’ immune systems and undoing metallic bonds, alien psychic materials and all manner of other components, rendering even armoured vehicles vulnerable.
While an enemy unit is within Contagion Range of this unit, subtract 1 from the Toughness characteristic of models in that enemy unit. Contagion Range changes over the course of the battle, as shown below.As the daemonic diseases of the Plague God infest the carasses of the war-slain dead, a foul green glow blossoms in glassy eyes and mutant horrors rise again to fight on with rictus, leering grins.
In your Command phase, select one friendly POXWALKER unit within Contagion Range of the bearer. Return up to D6 destroyed POXWALKER models to that unit.A buzzing storm of plague flies coalesces amidst a whirling mass of miasmal fumes. As the gruesome maelstrom bursts apart once more, the foot soldiers of the Death Guard are revealed, manifested amidst the foulness.
Models in the bearer’s unit have the Deep Strike ability.The revolting rituals of the Death Guard spread myriad contagions outwards from the tainted heart of the battlefield.
From the second battle round onwards, at the end of your turn, you score 3VP if one or more DEATH GUARD units from your army (excluding Battle-shocked units) are within 3" of the centre of the battlefield.More than merely defeating their foes, the Death Guard seek to maximise the spread of infection and despair through their ranks. This is a goal best achieved up close, where tainted fluids and noxious fumes can do their gruesome work.
You score 2VP each time a DEATH GUARD model from your army destroys an enemy unit that started the phase within Contagion Range of one or more units from your army.MELEE WEAPONS | RANGE | A | WS | S | AP | D | |
Master-crafted manreaper – strike [lethal hits] | |||||||
Master-crafted manreaper – strike [lethal hits] | Melee | 5 | 2+ | 9 | -2 | 3 | |
Master-crafted manreaper – sweep [lethal hits] | |||||||
Master-crafted manreaper – sweep [lethal hits] | Melee | 10 | 2+ | 6 | -1 | 1 |
RANGED WEAPONS | RANGE | A | BS | S | AP | D | |
Hyper blight grenades [assault, blast, lethal hits] | |||||||
Hyper blight grenades [assault, blast, lethal hits] | 12" | D6 | 3+ | 5 | -1 | 2 | |
Injector pistol [pistol] | |||||||
Injector pistol [pistol] | 3" | 1 | 3+ | 4 | -1 | 3 | |
MELEE WEAPONS | RANGE | A | WS | S | AP | D | |
Plague knives [lethal hits] | |||||||
Plague knives [lethal hits] | Melee | 4 | 3+ | 4 | 0 | 1 |
RANGED WEAPONS | RANGE | A | BS | S | AP | D | |
Blight launcher [lethal hits] | |||||||
Blight launcher [lethal hits] | 24" | 2 | 3+ | 6 | -1 | 2 | |
Plague boltgun [lethal hits] | |||||||
Plague boltgun [lethal hits] | 24" | 2 | 3+ | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
Plague spewer [anti-infantry 2+, ignores cover, torrent] | |||||||
Plague spewer [anti-infantry 2+, ignores cover, torrent] | 12" | D6 | N/A | 5 | -1 | 1 | |
MELEE WEAPONS | RANGE | A | WS | S | AP | D | |
Heavy plague weapon [lethal hits] | |||||||
Heavy plague weapon [lethal hits] | Melee | 3 | 4+ | 8 | -2 | 2 | |
Plague knives [lethal hits] | |||||||
Plague knives [lethal hits] | Melee | 3 | 3+ | 4 | 0 | 1 |
MELEE WEAPONS | RANGE | A | WS | S | AP | D | |
Improvised weapon [lethal hits] | |||||||
Improvised weapon [lethal hits] | Melee | 2 | 5+ | 3 | 0 | 1 |
The Death Guard are carriers of countless infections and contagions, each a gift from Nurgle. Whenever they march to war, they contaminate all around them, overwhelming their victims’ immune systems and undoing metallic bonds, alien psychic materials and all manner of other components, rendering even armoured vehicles vulnerable.
While an enemy unit is within Contagion Range of this unit, subtract 1 from the Toughness characteristic of models in that enemy unit. Contagion Range changes over the course of the battle, as shown below.Some units make their way to battle via tunnelling, teleportation, high-altitude descent or other extraordinary means that allow them to appear suddenly in the thick of the fighting.
During the Declare Battle Formations step, if every model in a unit has this ability, you can set it up in Reserves instead of setting it up on the battlefield. If you do, in the Reinforcements step of one of your Movement phases you can set up this unit anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" horizontally away from all enemy models. If a unit with the Deep Strike ability arrives from Strategic Reserves, the controlling player can choose for that unit to be set up either using the rules for Strategic Reserves or using the Deep Strike ability.Mighty heroes fight at the forefront of battle.
Some CHARACTER units have ‘Leader’ listed on their datasheets. Such CHARACTER units are known as Leaders, and the units they can lead – known as their Bodyguard units – are listed on their datasheet.Some weapons can inflict fatal injuries on any foe, no matter their resilience.
Weapons with [LETHAL HITS] in their profile are known as Lethal Hits weapons. Each time an attack is made with such a weapon, a Critical Hit automatically wounds the target.The DEATH GUARD keyword is used in the following The Shambling Horde datasheets:
The INFANTRY keyword is used in the following The Shambling Horde datasheets:
The CHARACTER keyword is used in the following The Shambling Horde datasheets:
The CHAOS keyword is used in the following The Shambling Horde datasheets:
The NURGLE keyword is used in the following The Shambling Horde datasheets:
Weapons powered by unstable and dangerous energy sources pose a substantial risk to the wielder every time they are used.
Weapons with [HAZARDOUS] in their profile are known as Hazardous weapons. Each time a unit is selected to shoot or fight, after that unit has resolved all of its attacks, for each Hazardous weapon that targets were selected for when resolving those attacks, that unit must take one Hazardous test. To do so, roll one D6: on a 1, that test is failed. For each failed test you must resolve the following sequence (resolve each failed test one at a time):
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Whether shielded by force fields, enveloped in mystical energies or simply possessed of preternatural senses and lightning-fast reflexes, some warriors are protected by more than mere physical armour.
Some models have an invulnerable save listed on their datasheet. Each time an attack is allocated to a model with an invulnerable save, the controlling player must choose to use either that model’s Save characteristic or its invulnerable save, but not both. If a model has more than one invulnerable save, it can only use one of them – choose which it will use.Shattered ruins and twisted wreckage afford much-needed shelter from enemy salvoes. Even heavily armoured warriors unfazed by small arms fire are thankful for such cover when foes bring their biggest guns to bear.
Models can sometimes gain a measure of protection from terrain features. The rules below detail the conditions under which a terrain feature confers the Benefit of Cover on a model.Many warriors thunder headlong into combat, using the impetus of their charge to bring swift death to their foes.
Each time a unit makes a Charge move, until the end of the turn, that unit has the Fights First ability.Precision attacks can pick high-value targets out in a crowd, whether through the unerring aim of a sniper or the pinpoint accuracy of a blade-master’s strike.
Weapons with [PRECISION] in their profile are known as Precision weapons. Each time an attack made with such a weapon successfully wounds an Attached unit (see Leader ability), if a CHARACTER model in that unit is visible to the attacking model, the attacking model’s player can choose to have that attack allocated to that CHARACTER model instead of following the normal attack sequence.Some attacks are so powerful that no armour or force field can withstand their fury.
Some rules inflict mortal wounds on units. Each time mortal wounds are inflicted on a unit, each of those mortal wounds inflicts one point of damage to that unit, and they are always applied one at a time. Each mortal wound is allocated to a model in the same manner as allocating an attack. Excess damage from mortal wounds is not lost if the damage can be allocated to another model. Instead, keep allocating damage to another model in the target unit until either all the damage has been allocated or the target unit is destroyed.From detonating ammo stores to corrosive innards or frenzied death throes, some targets are deadly even in defeat.
Some models have ‘Deadly Demise x’ listed in their abilities. When such a model is destroyed, roll one D6 before removing it from play (if such a model is a TRANSPORT, roll before any embarked models disembark). On a 6, each unit within 6" of that model suffers a number of mortal wounds denoted by ‘x’ (if this is a random number, roll separately for each unit within 6").Assault weapons fire so indiscriminately that they can be shot from the hip as warriors dash forward.
Weapons with [ASSAULT] in their profile are known as Assault weapons. If a unit that Advanced this turn contains any models equipped with Assault weapons, it is still eligible to shoot in this turn’s Shooting phase. When such a unit is selected to shoot, you can only resolve attacks using Assault weapons its models are equipped with.High-explosives can fell several warriors in a single blast, but firing them where your comrades will get caught in the ensuing detonation is simply unwise.
Weapons with [BLAST] in their profile are known as Blast weapons, and they make a random number of attacks. Each time you determine how many attacks are made with a Blast weapon, add 1 to the result for every five models that were in the target unit when you selected it as the target (rounding down). Blast weapons can never be used to make attacks against a unit that is within Engagement Range of one or more units from the attacking model’s army (including its own unit).Pistols can be wielded even at point-blank range.
Weapons with [PISTOL] in their profile are known as Pistols. If a unit contains any models equipped with Pistols, that unit is eligible to shoot in its controlling player’s Shooting phase even while it is within Engagement Range of one or more enemy units. When such a unit is selected to shoot, it can only resolve attacks using its Pistols and can only target one of the enemy units it is within Engagement Range of. In such circumstances, a Pistol can target an enemy unit even if other friendly units are within Engagement Range of the same enemy unit.Certain weapons are the bane of a particular foe.
Weapons with [ANTI-KEYWORD X+] in their profile are known as Anti weapons. Each time an attack is made with such a weapon against a target with the keyword after the word ‘Anti-’, an unmodified Wound roll of ‘x+’ scores a Critical Wound.Some weapons are designed to root enemy formations out of entrenched positions.
Weapons with [IGNORES COVER] in their profile are known as Ignores Cover weapons. Each time an attack is made with such a weapon, the target cannot have the Benefit of Cover against that attack.Torrent weapons shoot clouds of fire, gas or other lethal substances that few foes can hope to evade.
Weapons with [TORRENT] in their profile are known as Torrent weapons. Each time an attack is made with such a weapon, that attack automatically hits the target.Some warriors refuse to be laid low, even by what should be fatal wounds.
Some models have ‘Feel No Pain x+’ listed in their abilities. Each time a model with this ability suffers damage and so would lose a wound (including wounds lost due to mortal wounds), roll one D6: if the result is greater than or equal to the number denoted by ‘x’, that wound is ignored and is not lost. If a model has more than one Feel No Pain ability, you can only use one of those abilities each time that model suffers damage and so would lose a wound.