In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. And at the heart of this eternal conflict stand the Death Guard, a fallen legion known for their devotion to the God of Plagues, Nurgle, and their relentless dissemination of his deadly contagion across the galaxy. Bedecked in hues of green plague and patinated copper, these warriors are as much a symbol of their deity’s lethal power as they are a testament to the persistent, pernicious threat they pose to the Imperium.
Waging war in somber attire, they bear the trilobed Rune of Nurgle and the plague fly sigil on their armor – a chilling reminder of their pledge to the Plague God. But don’t let the uniformity fool you. Various vectoriums within the legion have adopted other colors, adding a dash of deadly diversity to their ranks.
The post-Heresy era, since the end of the Horus Heresy, has seen the Death Guard turn specific theaters of war into breeding grounds of discord and disease. Some campaigns culminated in widespread epidemics and surges of violence that extracted heavy costs from the Imperium.
This period, spanning from the 32nd to the 41st millennium, is known as the Time of Remission. It’s a deceptive term, given the scale of devastation the Death Guard wrought during this era. Sightings of the Plague Marines in real space were rare, but that didn’t mean they were idle. They engaged in fierce battles, including a notable conflict against the C’Chan Chaos Cultists of the Lost Spiral on Jardis.
In this battle, Death Guard Lord Glotto unleashed his dreaded Drone Hive. A swarm of 7000 fated bloat drones surged into battle, effortlessly shrugging off strikes from disc riders and burning chariots. Navigating through intense enemy fire, they provided cover for the cumbersome Dark Mechanic and Plague Bombers at their core, which deployed Rot Diffusion Warheads, reducing the Zenian Twist Shrine to crystalline ruins.
The Death Guard’s return to realspace was marked by their alliance with Abdon the Despoiler during his first Black Crusade. They led contaminated Ork warbands towards the Ecclesiarchy Shrine World of Santia, where the Orks, driven by demonic hunger, consumed the planet’s defenders and transformed into sluggish, obese monstrosities. The Adepta Sororitas took advantage of this, incinerating the greenskins with flamethrowers.
But Mortarion and the Seventh Plague Company had a macabre surprise. The Orc corpses exploded, releasing foul fluids and dozens of Nurglings that scampered towards their master. Santia fell to the Green Death within 20 solar hours, and the plague swept across the Ecclesiarchy-controlled star system.
Further conflicts saw the Death Guard clash with the Iron Hands and units of the Imperial Guard on Savia 2, ignite the vast chemworks of Zavia 2, and attack the Forge World of Tandra. Although resistance was fierce, a single Death Guard sorcerer managed to summon a vile new army through ritual sacrifice and desecration, leading to Tandra’s eventual demise.
The 41st Millennium also saw joint operations between the Death Guard and the Word Bearers, resulting in the Scouring of McKenna 7. Here, ancient alliances were rekindled, and worlds were conquered.
In the same millennium, Blight Master Usx invaded Jericho Reach during the ongoing Imperial Aculus Crusade. Usx was a grim reaper of sorts, gathering a grim and unspeakable harvest from the dead and dying to concoct his latest plague, which he then unleashed on the next battlefield.
These relentless machinations of death and destruction continued into the remaining years of the 41st Millennium, a time dubbed the Time of Infection. The war world of RXS became a prime target for the Imperial War Machine, but the Death Guard, specifically the Apostles of Contagion and the Lords, were ready. But that’s a tale for another time…
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