Armillaria Ostoyae, ‘The Mother of Maggots’ - Knight Abominant is the center piece of my Death Guard Company. This model uses the Knight Abominant stock model and is heavily converted using scoby leather as the mushroom cap material. Additionally a big shoutout to MrClayRotten(etsy.com/shop/MrClayRotten) and his awesome maggot sculpts.  

Lord Salutem Sicarius, the Lord of Virulence, was once a Vindicare Assassin, a lethal marksman sent to assassinate Plague Lord Phalloides Amanita. This proved to be the former servant of the Corpse God's final mistake. Like Nurgle's gifts, following his failed mission, this crippled and wounded assassin was bestowed with the eternal blessing of the grandfather of plagues. The Plague Company of Lord Amanita took him in and reengineered him. Now, instead of seeking the perfect firing position to pinpoint their quarry, he now serves as the spearhead of Pulse of the Maggots' assaults, a vector of virulence and execution.

This conversion was unplanned; Games Workshop sent me this for my first year with Warhammer+ as my free miniature. I love the idea of a corrupted symbol of the Adepta Sororitas being filled with a plagued fallen servant of the Emperor. This piece was so inspiring in terms of narrative that I felt compelled to convert a squad of Sisters of Battle into my Plague Marines, as I didn't have them yet. So far, I had only planned to use Terminators and heavy assault units for my army. This was a beautiful opportunity to begin an opposing force at home, one that my friends and family might hope to stand against my Fly Lord's chosen. 

This unit converted a 5 man unit of 40k and 30k Death Guard terminators. I wanted them to all be very unique and ancient as they've been fighting since the Horus Heresy. This was too much fun. I couldn't be happier with how epic and unique each one feels. 

Ocreata and the Destroying Angels are Deathshroud Terminators infected with Nurgle's Fruit, a parasitic mushroom. These Space Marines are ancient, as their service began prior to the Horus Heresy, hence why they don Tartaros Terminator armor. These silent warriors follow their alpha-vector, Ocreata, as noted with Nurgle's fruit sprouting from his face and the rest of the unit growing mushrooms from their shoulders and necks. This infection connects them psychically for an immense tactical advantage, adding to their already elite cadre of warriors' deadly skills. Ocreata is thrice blessed with Nurgle's love, immense size and power, vicious mutations, and his warp-kissed scythe, The Scythe of Tsetse, Warp-Tainted Blade of Decay: In the hands of Ocreata, devotee to the Plague God, this unholy weapon becomes an extension of his own twisted will, reaping souls and sowing despair wherever he treads. With every swing, they offer praise to their foul deity, spreading the blessings of decay to all who oppose them on the battlefield. Truly, the Scythe of Tsetse is a weapon of unparalleled horror, a testament to the power of Chaos and the inevitable triumph of entropy over all.

The 40k are beautiful, but I wanted to attempt a conversion. I really love 30K Deathshrouds and I wanted to push my mushroom concept further. I grabbed a used unit of 30k and the Deathshroud champion model as I wanted a full 6-man squad or two 3-man for flexibility. I have two regrets. I wish I would have found the premade mushroom from Mr. Clay Rotten earlier and had made the 30k model taller to match the champion. Still very happy with them and they were a lot of fun to create.

The Surgical Team operates under the guidance of Dr. Ilentia Chyrurpus, known as the Plague Surgeon of the Pulse of the Maggots. Formerly custodians of clandestine knowledge, some suggest they delved too deeply into the realm of biological understanding, inadvertently intersecting with servants of Nurgle. They now serve as invaluable aides to Dr. Chyrurpus in his missions, particularly in the delicate task of extracting the geneseeds of Astartes.

I envisioned my Surgeon having a dedicated support staff, individuals who not only understood but also reverenced the importance of Dr. Chyrurpus's work. The current generic cultists failed to capture the desired aesthetics. Upon reviewing available options provided by Games Workshop, I settled on the Delaque gang from Necromunda.

Slick, lean, and exuding an air of secrecy, I am particularly drawn to their style. Through several subtle and not-so-subtle conversions, I have imbued this unit with a narrative that I adore. Of special note is their Rhino reverse ambulance. I have maintained a consistent adversary theme throughout all my Death Guard units, centering on the Dark Angels, exemplified by the beheaded and quartered terminator.

The heart of the Pulse of the Maggots is Nurgle's Nurses. Once Adepta Sororitas of the Order of the Hospitaller, these sisters betrayed their oath to the Emperor to follow the loving embrace of the Chaos God Nurgle. Led by the Plague Surgeon Dr. Ilentia Chyrurpus and Malignant Plaguecaster Maggox, and supported by bearers of Nurgle Icons of Corruption Vel 'The Bearer of the Gargled Tryptic' and Dr. Festle 'The Trice Impeller,' they continue the eternal pestilent crusade of The Pulse of the Maggots.

I have nothing against the Plague Marine models. They're excellent sculpts, but I really wanted something unique. Something that fit my theme of corruption. As I wrote my prior narrative about how The Pulse of the Maggot became this, it was all on my initial army build within 9th edition. I wanted shock troops, big baddies, and heavy-hitters, so terminators, deep strike, and monsters were how I decided on my direction of choosing my units. Also, elite units tend to be cheaper as swarm armies need so many models.

I had already built out 2000 pts for 9th and wanted a home enemy to play against. I've always loved the Sisters of Battle. I love their lore, their ability to bend reality with faith, and with grimdark style, they really sing in the Warhammer universe. Games Workshop dropped some fantastic combat patrols in 2022. Since I already had a solid force for my Death Guard, I couldn't pass up this sweet Sisters box set, The Sanctorum Guard.

I wanted to max out my Paragon suits, which in 9th was three elites. With three units of Paragons and Morvenn Vahl, I was right at 1000 pts (maybe 1990?). This was going to be an awesome opposition to fight against. I really had no interest in Battleline Sisters. Again, beautiful sculpts, but not something I was interested in at the time. I then saw some amazing artists' works around the corruption of sisters. I had the crazy idea of converting them all to Plague Marines. To do this, I really needed to see what I would be missing in terms of weapons with this massive conversion. I was surprised how easy it was in terms of equipment that came in the Sisters box and what aligned with Plague Marines. A match made in Nurgle's Garden!

Dr. Ilentia Chyrurpus is the Lt. Commander of the Pulse of the Maggots Plague Company and senior Plague Surgeon. Having served Plague Lord Phalloides Amanita even before their work helping with the fall of Caliban, he has led hundreds of missions to secure and retrieve biological resources for the Pulse of the Maggots' various insidious plans.

I saw this model and HAD to have it. It screamed Grimdark to me, and I needed to fulfill this vision. I also love the challenge of using 'trash' to make new things. With young kids and animals that destroy damn near everything, there are lots of bits of things on the floor. I keep whatever looks like an interesting shape and is within the 28mm scale. For this model, I had a razor blade cap and some poor soul fit perfectly inside it. It was a match made in heaven. Okay, a match made in the Warp, but still epic and absolutely worth it. It took it to a whole new level. I lined the insides with a rough mix of washes made of browns, purples, and yellows, adding some technical paint for texture as well and called it a day. I couldn't be more pleased. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog entry. My name is Gavin, and I've been a Warhammer 40k fan for over 30 years. This blog is an attempt to document my journey into the world of miniature painting. While I'm starting this blog about two years into my journey, I hope to retrospectively fill in the content and thoughts over these past two years, sharing some of my struggles and successes, and ultimately, getting more connected with the community. 

How and why now? 
Well, my mom passed away in 2022, and as you would expect, I felt pretty awful. I was struggling to find joy, and for the vast majority of my life, I've always wanted to build a Warhammer 40k army. I started getting into the Warhammer universe when I was around 12 years old, but due to life circumstances, I lost the opportunity and resources to maintain my passion for it. However, I've never stopped thinking about it.

Fast forward 30 years, and now I'm in a position to afford this costly hobby. I've always had an itch, if you will, for Nurgle. The dynamic lore of the Plague God has always captivated me, and I absolutely love terminator armor. In fact, my first unit was the old school metal terminator box set. Sadly, we lost it in a move, and I've missed it ever since.

The launch of the 9th edition was what really rekindled my interest and reminded me of how much I loved and missed painting. As a visual designer by trade, I miss the tactile aspect of creating an object, something you get to keep. Additionally, I have two kids, and I really want to introduce them to deep, immersive board games. I hope it will show them that there is more out there than just video games. Don't get me wrong; I love video games, but there is obviously something to holding an artifact and growing a hobby that the digital world just can't replicate.

So, before I bought anything, I grabbed the new 9th edition Codex and delved deep into the current lore. I really don't like using premade heroes or characters in my narratives. For instance, I have always preferred creating an entire D&D group rather than using premade characters. I'll spend 10 hours hacking a game to override the creation stage of any RPG if that's what it means. I really enjoy knowing it's MY team existing in the established universe, even if that means I undermine some of the rich character-driven narratives the developers planned. Sorry, not sorry. So, that meant no Mortarion or Typhus, but I wanted to start with a character. I saw this amazing conversion by Cliffhaenger, who was inspired by Red Beard Baron. I was awestruck by how intense and dark these models were. It grabbed me, and I wanted to try something really outside my comfort zone, something big, and also something I really trusted I could finish. I even wrote up a story to support my new Plague Company, The Pulse of the Maggots.

Who was inspired by Red Beard Baron: video

I was awestruck by how intense and dark these models were. It grabbed me and I wanted to try something really outside my comfort zone. Something big and also something I really trusted I could actually finish. I even wrote up a story to support my new Plague Company, The Pulse of the Maggots. 

Some concept inspiration

"Dusk Raiders XIVth Legion "You are my unbroken blades. You are the Death Guard. By your hand shall justice be delivered, and doom shall stalk a thousand worlds." —The Primarch Mortarion, upon his unification with the XIVth Legion

Horus Heresy (ca. 005-014.M31)

Upon Typhon's execution of the XIVth fleet's navigators, many ships carrying units of the XIVth legion became lost in the warp. One such ship, known as The Heart, spiraled loose from the Death Guard fleet in torrents of the immaterial space. Severely disoriented and damaged, The Heart crash-landed on a remote planet in the fringe solar system of the Veiled Region. Unbeknownst to the survivors of The Heart was their exposure to a terrible Nurgle infectionl.

The newly isolated company, with damaged long-range communication and a crashed ship, began scouring planetside in search of resources for repairs. This mission led them to the current ruler of the planet and the solar system he controlled.

Starlord Slulor Brighthand was the descendant of the royal family of rulers inhabiting this star system for centuries. Brutal and absolute, the Brighthands had established immense wealth and power over dozens of planets. However, Slulor's empire had recently been struggling with subversive rebels within his star system. Upon the arrival of The Heart, Slulor, infatuated with the lore and legend of space marines, quickly pronounced his empire's patronage to the Death Guard's plight in exchange for their services.

Slulor, obsessed with Death Guard, began spending vast chunks of his empire's resources to play as a space marine and shadow The Heart's marines as they ransacked rebel strongholds.

As Slulor frantically yearned for space marine approval, his obsession not only earned him status in their ranks but Nurgle's eye as well. They squashed rebel forces and became deeper entrenched into the eternal squalor of Nurgle's corruption.

During the final siege of the last rebel outpost, Slulor became critically ill on the battlefield. As he collapsed, his personal bodyguard withdrew from the frontlines to protect their liege and began to succumb to a rebel counteroffensive. It looked as if Slulor might be overrun and die in battle like the space marines he so admired, but a dark distortion descended upon his weakened form.

Slulor's bodyguard looked in horror as this distortion of reality twisted and pulsed with an unholy mire upon their Lord. Slulor's body swelled and deformed to gigantic proportions, ripping and tearing into a metamorphic form. As the bodyguard fell defending their master, the last of Slulor's most trusted warriors was rendered a mortal wound. At that moment, a torrent of miasma and offal erupted from the deformed mass that was now Slulor.

Born anew on nightmarish spindly arachnid-like legs and dripping with ichor from freshly uncoiled insectoid wings, was something the Brighthand empire had never witnessed before. This massive creature that stood before a stunned rebel force was Nurgle's chosen. No more was the Brighthand family line. Now, before the rebels and Death Guard, hulked the terrifying Rot Prince Slulor Glophand.

With reaffirmed power over his domain, the Rot Prince committed all souls of the system to the father of plague and brutal efficiency of the Death Guard. It took less than a solar cycle of Terra for the entire star system to succumb to Nurgle's desires.

With this festering new empire, an unholy company was born from the gene-seed of the Dusk Raiders, now turned Death Guard. Their colors and markings were inspired by the recovery and fateful deliverance of The Heart into the Rot Prince's domain. They honored the service pattern of the Dusk Raider's right arm indication and combined the undying color of the legendary Pallid hands. A chapter of renown amongst the plague company. The crimson of the Dusk Raiders represented the bloody service to the Emperor, but now it was corrupt like the souls of the damned and turned to black.

Like flies to feces, the damned and exiled flocked under the new Nurgle banner within the Veiled Region. This color scheme encased an encircled sinister heart with three bloat flies representing the eternal corruption of the heart of all things and the sacred number of three. For Nurgle was the third chaos god to be born and has grown and evolved like intelligent cancer. The fly and all its shapes and patterns have prominence amongst the company's members such as the Rot Prince's uncanny likeness to insectoids reflecting Nurgle's garden of life, an infinite source of destruction and growth.

Though the Prince's power and prestige were a boon for the survivors of the Heart, it was the leadership of their own warlord that truly defined the chapter. For the Plague Lord Phalloides Amanita was the first to praise Nurgle's blessing aboard the doomed Heart and the first to take steps to conceal its sinister destiny. The lord was no Dusk Raider either. Long before Typhus's sin, the Plague Lord Amanita and his most trusted lieutenant survived the rage of the Chaos Gods as they assisted in the destruction of Caliban, the home world of the most powerful and secretive loyalist space marine chapter, The Dark Angels.

Both Space Marines served as apothecaries within the Inner Circle of the First Company of the Dark Angels Chapter. Abiding Luther's command to subvert and sabotage Dark Angels' geneseed banks, they extracted vast amounts of genetic material and tech during the Horus Heresy. Luther entrusted them as they specialized in locating, recovering, and securing progenoid glands. As Luther didn't trust the actions of the Lion's direction. These Fallen apothecaries saw the ignorance of Dark Angels' self-imposed limits and service to Primarch Lion El'Jonson. They knew the genetic power of the 1st company shouldn't be restrained to the nearsighted practice of the Lion.

During the final battle between the Dark Angels Primarch Lion El'Jonson and the Arch-betrayer Luther that triggered the Dark God's wrath and engulfed Caliban in a Warp Storm of legendary proportions. Plague Lord Phalloides Amanita and his Lt. Surgeon were thought to have been ripped from the broken surface of their once homeworld and cast throughout space and time. However, their dark acts of corrupting the pure gene pool pleased the God of Plagues to such an extent that Nurgle masked their presence and granted them the tools to escape the warp storm with The Heart and members of disloyal Dusk Raiders.

This new chapter of Death Guard with the complete corruption of the Glophand's empire became a tool for the Death Guard leader Primarch Mortarion's campaigns. Upon meeting the Primarch, Plague Lord Phalloides Amanita knelt, and felt the wave of infective words wash over him and this company, "You are still my unbroken. Though you are now the Pulse of the Maggots. By your infected hearts shall liberation be spread and septicemia endure." —The Primarch Mortarion, upon his meeting with Plague Lord Palloides Amanita.

If you read this far, I thank you and really appreciate your attention. 

WIP: Rot Prince Slulor Glophand, Favored Executioner of the Pulse of the Maggots

I followed a very similar technique that Red Beard Baron developed and Cliffhaenger adapted. However, I want maggots and I wanted more action. I also loved the idea of a clear base to hopefully make the illusion of ooze and maggots on any terrain. I'm so proud of my execution and grateful for the online community for sharing such priceless knowledge. This was my first step into my new hobby and really feels like an excellent conceptual anchor for future miniatures.