Death Guard - Specialised Ranks and Formations: Deathshroud - The Deathshroud was an elite cadre of specially selected battle-brothers from the XIVth Legion who served as Primarch Mortarion's mute bodyguards during the Great Crusade. Great secrecy surrounded this elite cadre, whose numbers were chosen from amongst the standard ranks of the Death Guard Legion from Astartes who had been singled out and personally selected by their primarch for their bravery and valour. Once chosen, the selected battle-brother would give up his former life as a common rank-and-file Astartes and swear binding oaths of secrecy. A member of the Deathshroud would be listed as killed in action to allay any suspicions as to their true identity, and he would forever conceal his face by always wearing an enclosed helmet, mask or hood. The identity of each member of the Deathshroud was known only to Mortarion himself, even in the event of their death. The Deathshroud wore Artificer-crafted Terminator Armour of the highest quality, presenting a foreboding appearance with their barrel-chested appearance and like their primarch, wielding large scythes called Manreapers. It was the Deathshroud's sacred duty to never stray more than forty-nine paces from Mortarion, with two Deathshroud warriors customarily escorting the primarch at any given time, though there may have been more hidden in the shadows. These stoic warriors' presence was quite intimidating, as they stood uniformly at attention at all times, as still as statues. But in battle the Deathshroud would prove equally frightening, for whatever the odds, they always moved inexorably towards their target, almost as if they were automated killing machines.Grave Warden Terminator Squad - Originally used as an informal name for the variously armed battalions of Death Guard Terminators of Calas Typhon's company carried into battle aboard the unique battleship Terminus Est, the term "Grave Wardens" also eventually became synonymous both within the Death Guard Legion and beyond it, specifically for the alchemical weapon-equipped Terminators unique to the Death Guard. Alone among the Legiones Astartes, the Death Guard made free and frequent use of alchemical weapons such as the crawling horror of phosphex, inimically lethal Cullgene gas and flesh-eating Vasgotox fluid as a matter of course, and outfitted specialised units in modified patterns of Tactical Dreadnought Armour to disperse it accordingly. Where the Grave Warden Terminator Squads walked, they brought lingering, ugly death to whatever and whoever crossed their paths.Destroyer Squads - Considered dishonourable by some of the Space Marine Legions who made little use of them or eschewed them altogether, Destroyers were equipped with and expert in the use of otherwise proscribed and forbidden weaponry. Alongside certain factions of the ancient Mechanicum, only Destroyer cadres had the license to use these weapons in the forces of the Imperium by the Emperor's command. Rad-weapons, bio-alchem munitions and the burning horror of phosphex were a necessary evil, although the effectiveness of their relic-weapons in cracking especially difficult enemy defences could not be denied.Mortus Poisoner Squads - Part of the dread arsenal of the XIVth Legion's poison ships, there existed a specially trained and equipped cadre, known as the "Mortus Poisoners," within the Legion's Destroyer companies. Wielding a high proportion of chemical munitions even by the standards of the Death Guard, Mortus Poisoners were more frequently deployed in support of more conventional troops. Aboard voidships or within the close confines of hive city complexes, their formidable weapons were a valuable asset in clearing defensive positions, but the horrifying alchemical flame they spread would be the scourge of many battlefields throughout the galaxy. Such weapons were doubtless effective against the Legion's enemies, but close exposure to the concentrated cocktails of chemical and biological agents that made them so deadly inevitably took its toll on even their bearers. To be assigned to a Mortus Poisoner squad was essentially a sentence to suffer a withering, unavoidable demise. As such, it was unofficially an act of censure of punishemnt, doled out to those Legionaries who failed to achieve what was asked of them by their command. There were, however, those within the Mortus Poisoners who embraced the role enthusiastically, seeking to close with the enemy and dispense toxic death with disturbingly little heed for their own longevity.