The Aspiring Champion of the Chaos god known as Nurgle, Ghaz Tak, advances toward the Imperial Guard. Victory is essential if he is to maintain the favor of his powerful patron.

“Praise be the pestilence of Grandfather Nurgle. Bless the sores and weeping pustules that remind you of Nurgle’s favor. Disease and taint protect you, extend your existence, ensure your final resting place in the Garden of Nurgle.”—Sorcerer Necrosius encouraging the Death Guard forward at Mygor

* * *

Continued from Part 1 . . . 

HIs mind addled by disease, the Death Guard veteran Bhal Gaz stomped through a warren of shanty huts that  once housed menials working at the neighborhood manufactorum.

The menials had long since evacuated the area, but that thought never crossed Bhal Gaz’s mind. In his twisted corners of his fevered brain, he was back at the Siege of Terra, battling loyalist Astartes in a rebellion against the Emperor.

“Where are you?” the Death Guard veteran screamed at non-existent Space Marines. “Cowards! You let your human scum do your dirty work. Come and fight me. Allow me to put you all out of your misery.”

A guardsman was waiting behind some rubble as the traitor Astartes turned the corner of a shanty. A hot stream of plasma engulfed Bhal Gaz’s chest armor as the guardsmen fired his plasma gun.

The maddened Astartes roared in defiance. Such a puny thing trying to kill him. He raised his Storm Bolter and fired. The guardsmen didn’t have a chance. Bolt rounds tore the man’s body to shreds.

“Where are you?” Bhal Gaz screamed. ‘Give me a worthy opponent .”

* * *

The fighting had begun only 10 minutes ago, yet half his platoon was dead. But, Lt. Arden thought, at least a few traitors had fallen—a number far better than he had any right to expect. For a moment, he held out hope for a miracle.

But his optimism was misplaced. The witchcraft of the Death Guard continued to spread a cloud of toxic fumes across half the battlefield, and there was no option but to give ground.

A traitor in Terminator Armor appeared from a warren of shanties and charged at 1st Squad. Screaming like a maniac, the giant Astartes raised a power sword and began slicing through guardsman after guardsman. There was no stopping him.

The young lieutenant ordered the retreat.

Behind him, he heard his voxcaster sending out the order. “Fall back to trench One Delta Two. Fall back by fire teams. Maintain fire. Reserve troops are in position to support as we reach them.”

* * *

A Death Guard veteran metes death to the puny human that seeks to stand against him.

Ghaz Tak kneeled against the rusty wall of a shanty hut. A heavy bolter round had penetrated the joint between his chest plate and helm, and his throat was torn apart. He spit out blood in order to breath.

He forced himself to his feet. He could not be seen as weak. Necrosius was watching. Word would get to Typhus. Ghaz Tak knew he had to stand tall and keep advancing. The consequences of failure were too horrible to accept.

He took an unsteady step, then another. He forced himself to stride with the appearance of strength. The loyalist lackeys were falling back. He had found a weakness in the Imperial defenses.

He had to exploit this weakness. He needed to get word to Typhus. He needed to win favor.

Forward, Gaz Tak told himself. Forward. Forward. Forward.

+ + +

TheGM: This battle was fought at the Shorehammer 2025 conference in Ocean, Md., during the first weekend of December. A great bunch of guys fought it out, with the Death Guard seemingly unstoppable.

What made the game memorable was that the Imperial Guard fought well—and, if they’d rolled a few better die rolls, they might actually have pulled out a win.

Alas, I was so busy as gamemaster that I forgot to take notes or photos. That’s why this battle report is more of a story, based on my impressions of the fight than a blow-by-blow battle report.

So what does the Death Guard victory mean to the overall campaign for control of Mygor? Well, Typhus will try to exploit this weakness in the Imperial defenses and will get a 100-point bonus in troops in the next big battle. 

If Typhus breaks into the city proper, we’re looking at some nasty urban fighting. That’s going to be to the advantage of the Death Guard—and the fall of the city could shift the course of the war for Dozaria. Stay tuned!

Click here to return to the beginning of this fight.

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The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.