Overview

Welcome, Defender of the Imperium, to Start Competing: Adeptus Custodes Tactics! If you’ve ever looked at a Space Marine and thought “what if this, but more?” then Adeptus Custodes are the army for you. Even more elite than the Deathwatch, even more elite than the Grey Knights, the Adeptus Custodes are the Emperor’s personal bodyguard, and so of course they’re the most special of them all. To give you an idea of just how special, check out the Custodian Guard datasheet – this is the basic model in your army, and he rocks WS and BS2+, S5, T5, W3, A3, and a 2+ save. Plus an AP-1 D2 boltgun which is also a potent melee weapon. Oh, and he costs 52pts. If you long to buy an army on Friday and be playing it fully-painted by Sunday morning, these are the guys for you.

Typically in the rest of these articles, we focus primarily on the Codex, and ignore other options like Forge World unless they’re particularly relevant. In the case of the Adeptus Custodes, this would be doing them a huge disservice, since they’re a small codex as it is and the Forge World options are a) pretty much all good and b) double their unit count. As such, and particularly considering that one of the primary ways you see them used is with a pile of their Forge World vehicles in tow, those options are included here.

Army Strengths

Every single model in your army has character-level stats

Tons of anti-infantry shooting power

Strong, focused Forge World support offers a bunch of options

Powerful characters

Tiny numbers – having fewer drops than any army but Knights makes you more likely to get first turn

Army Weaknesses

Tiny numbers – you’ll have the fewest models on the table against anything but a Knight army, so every death matters

Codex options leave you very short on anti-tank firepower

Your basic Custodians are not quick and the only transport option in the Codex is the Venerable Land Raider

A pure Custodes army is going to have like 9 CP, max. All those great stratagems down there? Don’t get too attached to them.

Competitive Rating

Medium

Custodes are in a weird spot. If you chip on over to 40kStats.com you’ll find a slew of top 4s listed as “Adeptus Custodes.” The thing is, almost all of these are not pure Custodes, or even mostly Custodes, and all but one of them is maxed out on pre-nerf Caladius Grav-Tanks with a few Orion Dropships in there (from back when they could unaccountably hold objectives). Even where the list includes more than just a Spearhead of Trajann + Vexilus Praetor + 3x Caladius, it’s quite often full of other FW units and pretty light on things that are actually in the Codex. Since the finalising of the beta datasheets, there’s only one event where “Custodes” have performed well – Kippers’ Melee in late October 2019 – and that list basically trades a Caladius from the aforementioned Spearhead and turns it into an Outrider with 3 Pallas, and then the rest is made up of triple Skorpius Disintegrators and a Knight.

That’s all kind of a long-winded way of saying that if you’ve just bought the Codex and a pile of plastic units and you want to know what your prospects are for winning your next GT – well, they’re not great. The book has some weaknesses which in late-stage 8th ed are probably a hard limit on how good it can be, and even some of the stuff that was working before like massed Vertus Praetors (like in Mike Brandt’s LGT-winning list from 2018) has fallen off. If you’re just looking to spice up your Imperium list and you think Custodes units are the way to do that, well, that’s a better prospect – and though we won’t talk about it in detail, Beth Taylor’s list from the Element Games Grand Slam is worth a good look.

Really the weakness here is just the lack of depth in the book, which is unsurprising for something with a limited number of units. Like some of the other short-format books (Harlequins spring to mind) where GW has released a small new range with a short unit list, there just isn’t enough here to continually adept to the metagame in the way that more diverse factions can.

Special Rules

Adeptus Custodes have three default special rules. Aegis of the Emperor applies to all Custodes units, while The Emperor’s Chosen and Sworn Guardians affect INFANTRY and BIKER units in Adeptus Custodes detachments.

Aegis of the Emperor

Models with this rule have a 5+ invulnerable save, and a 6+ Feel No Pain against mortal wounds in the Psychic phase. A simple but effective rule.

The Emperor’s Chosen

Units with this rule have +1 invulnerable save, to a maximum of 3+. This is a special rule intended to give you an advantage for taking an Adeptus Custodes detachment instead of a mixed Imperium detachment, which isn’t even a thing you can do in Matched Play any more. It has powerful “early 8th” energy. And it’s a very good benefit to have.

Sworn Guardians

At first glance this is just the standard “objective secured” rule every army has, but it’s worth a careful re-read of the conditions – these rules affect INFANTRY and BIKER units, which means that your characters, your jetbikes, and your Terminators are also obsec. This is a powerful way for Custodes to counter their hyper-elite nature, and stop you from losing every objectives-based game because someone put down more guys on one objective than your entire army contains.

Units

HQ

Captain-General Trajann Valoris

The Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes is a bit of a beast. He has the standard S5 T5, and then also W7 and 5 attacks. With a 2+ save and 3+ invulnerable, he’s not likely to go down easily even in sniper meta. He has two cool rules on top of this, too – Legendary Commander grants him re-roll hit and wound rolls of 1 for friendly ADEPTUS CUSTODES units within 6″, and the Moment Shackle is a funky bit of kit which has a once-per-battle effect – either regain d3 wounds Trajann has lost that phase, pile in and fight an additional time at the end of a Fight phase, or regain up to d3 command points when you use a Stratagem (but no more than was spent on that Stratagem). The last effect is the one you’ll see quite often, helping to make those limited Command Points go that bit further, but the others have applications too. For a mere 185pts (after a significant cut in Chapter Approved 2018), this guy shows up anywhere there’s Custodians on the board.

Shield-Captain

The basic Shield-Captain would be a terrific character in any other Codex, but within this book they’re kind of outclassed. They can take any of the default Custodian weapons – guardian spear, castellan axe, sentinel blade + storm shield – and pack a misericordia too, and they give out re-roll hit rolls of 1. This is all kind of fine but Trajann is right there if you want a foot guy to buff a line of tanks, and if you want to be moving forward there’s this thing called a “Dawneagle Jetbike” and it moves 14″ and flies.

Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour

Same story here. The Terminator has a slight advantage over the regular guy in that he is W7 like Trajann and can deep strike natively instead of having to pay CP for it. If you’re all-in on Terminators (which has worked for at least one person) then having this guy to drop in with them makes a certain amount of sense, but again, Trajann! Dawneagle!

Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike

Arguably one of the best single characters in the game, these guys had a long life in the meta as the Imperial faction’s heavy-hitters, whether that was one guy leading an Outrider of Vertus Praetors, or a Supreme Command with 3 Shield-Captains all rocking around on Dawneagles. They offer a bunch of BS2+ bolter shots with built in re-rolls, they hit really hard in melee, they’re super fast, super tough, and 2 out of 3 can have a 3++ – and with Victor of the Blood Games, all of them can get a free re-roll every every turn to last even longer. These have fallen off from the very top of the meta-game recently, but they’re never going to be a bad choice, and a pure or Custodes-heavy army should very likely feature at least one.

Troops

Custodian Guard

The basic Toops choice for a Custodes army, Custodian Guard have two different loadout options; either a taking a guardian spear or a sentinel blade and Storm Shield. As with all Custodes units they’re very expensive, but equally they’re the strongest troops in the game on a per-model basis. At their cost, most armies want to take squads of just three of them, and take a mix of the two loadouts. The spear is more powerful offensively with extra range, AP, and damage at range, and extra strength in melee. The sword + shield loadout is stronger defensively with a 3+ invulnerable save. In a three man squad, taking one Custodian with the storm shield and two with spears is a great balance of defense and firepower. Use the model with the shield to tank any high-AP fire, and the spears for lighter firepower. With even the spears topping out at 24″ range, and Custodes transport options being rather expensive, these suffer from a mobility problem trying to take advantage of their offensive stats.

Custodian Guard with Adrasite and Pyrithite Spears (FW)

A version of normal Custodian Guard with some fancy spears, these have all the same downsides of normal Custodian Guard without the ability to take any storm shields. Their two different spears are either a meltagun or a single s5, AP-3, D:3 shot at 18″. While the strength 5 shooting profile is very nice, the short range and lack of mobility, coupled with not being able to take any storm shields, leaves these not particularly worth taking.

Sagittarum Custodians (FW)

A relatively recent addition to the Custodes’ Troops choices list, Sagittarum Custodians are an excellent choice for filling out a Battalion. Prior to their adjustment in August, Custodes previously struggled with having units to hold backfield objectives, needing to give up a valuable heavy support slot for one of these units, and still needing to take normal Custodian Guard squads. You can drop a 3-man squad of these with assault heavy bolters on an objective for only 150pts, which gives Custodes some additional flexibility to work with. Also, consider paying for the misericordia on these – for most Custodes it adds an extra, worse, attack, but there’s nothing saying you can’t use it for all your attacks if you have one, so here buying them substantially improves your ability to body chaff units in melee, or hold off units attempting to move you off an objective with melee.

Elites

Custodian Wardens

Custodian Wardens are almost exactly the same as the Custodian Guard, with an additional melee attack and a 6+ feel no pain save. There’s also the option to swap their guardian spear out for a castellan axe, which has the same shooting profile but trades one point of AP for 2 more points of strength in melee, making each one hit at s8. In exchange for gaining the option to take the axe, they lose the sword and shield loadout. They’re certainly better offensively than the Guard, but they’re not particularly useful as an Elite slot, since they’re not filling out mandatory slots for command points. All the same concerns about mobility and taking advantage of their offensive stats that Guard have carry over, only now not being in combat is wasting even more points.

Vexilus Praetor/Vexilus Praetor in Allarus Terminator Armour

A Vexilus Praetor can be taken either in Allarus Terminator Armor or in normal Custodes armor, which slightly changes their statline and what weapons they can take, but doesn’t influence their primary role – carrying a big stick that provides an aura effect. From our viewpoint the terminator version is strictly worse, as it’s more expensive and only carries a misericordia as a melee weapon. The Custodes armor version has the choice of either a guardian Spear or castellan Axe, both which are about equally useful, or it can choose to take a storm shield for more defensive abilities.

There are three choices of vexilla that can be taken. All of them allow friendly IMPERIUM INFANTRY and BIKER units (not limited to just Custodes) to re-roll failed Morale tests within 6″, and have a unique additional effect.

Vexilla Imperius: ADEPTUS CUSTODES models (other than VEHICLES) add 1 to their Attacks Characteristic while their unit is within 6″

ADEPTUS CUSTODES models (other than VEHICLES) add 1 to their Attacks Characteristic while their unit is within 6″ Vexilla Defensor: IMPERIUM INFANTRY units have a 5+ invulnerable save against ranged weapons whilst they are wholly within 9″

IMPERIUM INFANTRY units have a 5+ invulnerable save against ranged weapons whilst they are wholly within 9″ Vexilla Magnifica: Your opponent must subtract 1 from hit rolls in the Shooting phase for attacks that target ADEPTUS CUSTODES units within 6″

All three can be useful, but the Magnifica is pretty clearly the best. Though Custodes are tough, they have few enough models they need to stack every defensive buff they can get to make sure they stay alive to deal damage, and being able to put -1 to hit on vehicles is huge. This guy is a staple of almost every competitive list.

There’s an interesting (if expensive) combo with the Allarus Vexilla where you can give him the Praetorian Plate and nominate a friendly IMPERIUM character that’s likely to be charged early in the game during deployment (so this works best when you’re playing in Soup armies and as a secondary relic purchase pre-game). Choose to set up a unit in Reserves using the From Golden Light They Came Stratagem. When the nominated model is charged, you can use the Plate to move the Allarus Vexilla to that model’s location using the Plate, protecting it with the Praetor and then on your turn 2 use the Vexilla Teleport Homer Stratagem to pull your Reserves unit to his location for a powerful counter-punch. It’s situational and relies on you having the first turn to even be viable, but it’s something to have in your back pocket and hopefully illustrates some of the ways you can mitigate otherwise poor movement options with your footslogging Custodes.

Allarus Custodians

Custodes Terminators: When your big beefy boys aren’t big enough. They have an additional wound and attack each over Custodian Guard, and have deep strike without requiring a CP investment. Allarus can take either a guardian spear or castellan axe, and carry a balistus grenade grenade launcher – a 12″ range Assault d3, s4, AP-3, d:1 weapon. Much of their fun comes from their special rules and stratagem interactions – they have the Slayers of Tyrants rule that allows them to pile in and consolidate 3″ towards the nearest enemy CHARACTER, even if it’s not the nearest unit (as long as they finish within 1″ of an enemy unit), can use Inescapable Vengeance to character snipe, or use Unleash the Lions to split into single model units. Unleash the Lions is particularly cool with a big unit, as trying to avoid wasting firepower with either overkill or underkill against single T5, 4W models with a 2+ save and 4+ invulnerable save is not easy.

Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought

Contemptor Dreadnoughts are generally a decent pick, and this Custodes version is no exception. Unlike its relic friends from Codex: Space Marines it only has the Kheres assault cannon or multi-melta as a weapon option, but it’s still relatively mobile and decently strong in melee. It is however overshadowed by the unique Custodes variants, the Galatus and Achillus.

Aquilon Custodians (FW)

Aquilon Custodians are a variant Terminator, though they don’t share any of the cool stratagems that the Allarus get since those helpfully all specify the unit name “Allarus Custodians”. Instead of carrying spears or axes, Aquilon Custodians have three different ranged weapon options, and two different melee weapons. This mix-and-match gives them the ability to tailor to a specific role, and they’ve got a lot of firepower to do that with. On the ranged front, they can take an infernus firepike, lastrum storm bolter, or twin adrathic destructor. The firepike is a d6 shot, S6, AP-1, D:1 flamer, and uniquely has 12″ range. Aquilons don’t need a stratagem to deep strike, so that’s as many as 6d6 autohits clearing out even heavy infantry screens. Lastrum storm bolters are 24″ range Rapid Fire 2 heavy bolters, and twin adrathic destructors are 18″ range Assault 2, S5, AP-3, D:3 weapons. Any of these are solid options, with the storm bolters coming in cheapest, and the adrathic destructors the deadliest.

Aquilon melee weapons are either a solerite power gauntlet or power talon, going for either punching great big holes in vehicles or carving through swathes of infantry. The power gauntlet is Sx2 (10), AP-4, D3 damage, making it a better power first (and the highest strength melee weapon available to Custodes infantry), and the talon is S+1 (6), AP-2, D:1, making 1 additional attack and re-rolling wounds. With the talon bumping each Aquilon up to 5 attacks, or even 6 with one slightly weaker from a misericordia, they’ll effortlessly carve through infantry screens, as long as they get there – and their toughness is enough that even failing a charge out of deep strike isn’t the end.

Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought (FW)

The Galatus is a durable and melee focused Contemptor dreadnought, designed to take out larger groups of targets. Carrying a sword and shield, its only shooting is 8″ range, with 2d6 s6, AP-1, D:1 autohits. It has 4+D3 additional attacks at S7, AP-3, D:3, giving it a perfect weapon to chew up heavy infantry, and defensively has a 4+ invulnerable and is at -1 to hit in melee combat. Killing heavy infantry isn’t something Custodes have a particularly large problem doing, so while the Galatus is great at this it doesn’t particularly have a spot in the Custodes lineup.

Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought (FW)

The single coolest dreadnought in 40k, the Contemptor-Achillus combines a spear and a small lascanon, and it can use it well. The spear itself shoots as a 24″ range, Heavy 2, S8, AP-2, D:d3 weapon, and the Achillus carries two support weapons as well; a choice of infernus incinerators, lastrum storm bolters, and twin adrathic destructors. Incinerators are each a d6 shot, S6, AP-1, D:1 flamer, lastrum storm bolters are 24″ range Rapid Fire 2 heavy bolters, and each twin adrathic destructor is an 18″ range Assault 2, S5, AP-3, D:3 weapon. In most cases the storm bolters are a perfectly fine pick, they’re the cheapest weapon by a fair margin and still highly effective. If you aren’t taking the storm bolters the adrathic destructors are a great upgrade, as they’ll hit nice and hard. The incinerators aren’t as great a choice, having less range than the deep strike exclusion zone.

Melee is where the Achillus shines, as it deals d3 mortal wounds to a chosen unit within 1″ on a 4+ after charging, and then hits with 4 attacks at S14, AP-3, D:d6 (minimum of 3). Those high damage melee attacks make the Achillus fantastic at chewing up vehicles, and like most other Custodes units it can deep strike with From Golden Light They Come. You want to avoid foot slogging this across the board whenever possible.

Fast Attack

Vertus Praetors

More commonly-known as Dawneagle Jetbikes, Vertus Praetors are tremendously powerful and versatile unit in the Custodes’ arsenal. They combine 14” Movement speed and FLY with T6, 4W bikes that pack decent shooting thanks to their Hurricane Bolters and the ability to wreck house in melee with their Interceptor Lances. Although they’ve fallen out of style in the current meta, they offer a lot of flexibility and are essentially a must-include in pure Custodes armies. They can punch enemy flyers out of the sky with S6, AP-3, D3 Damage lances that re-roll wounds on the charge, and blow infantry off objectives with weight of fire from the hurricane bolters (generally, the salvo launchers aren’t worth it). Because Vertus Praetors gain the Sworn Guardians rule, they’re also excellent for snatching up objectives that you need to capture, either on the final turn or when you need to grab something quick for Hold More.

The nastiest trick in the Praetors’ arsenal though, is the Stooping Dive Stratagem, which allows a unit of Vertus Praetors to charge an enemy unit within 12” at the end of your opponent’s Charge phase and, if you succeed, you fight before all other units in the subsequent charge phase. At 3 CP, this is very expensive but when it goes off, it’s usually going to be game-breaking when you get it off and it matters. If your opponent isn’t careful, you can use it to wipe out an incoming enemy before they have a chance to attack one of your more vulnerable units.

Agamatus Custodians (FW)

The Forge World brothers of the Vertus Praetors, Agamatus Custodians have the same statline and lances as Praetors, but pack heavier gun options on their bikes, coming with Lastrum bolt cannons (36” Heavy 3 S6 AP-3 1 Damage) instead of hurricane bolters and the option to upgrade to either an Adrathic devastator or a Twin Las-pulser. The Adrathic devastator trades 1 shot and half the gun’s range for an extra AP and 3 damage and could be worth a look just based on the amount of damage it can do to Gravis units. The Twin las-pulser on the other hand is more like a true heavy weapon, packing only 24” range but Heavy 4 shots at S8, AP-2 with D3 damage each. It’s a more interesting weapon option for an army that tends to thrive on high volumes of small arms fire, but at 35 points per model, it’s a sharp increase over the other options.

Agamatus Custodians haven’t seen much high-level tournament play, but there’s potentially more room for them in the Marine-dominated meta over Vertus Praetors, where 3 Lastrum bolt cannons or Adrathic Devastators will get you significantly better results against T4 power-armored targets (particularly those with 2W) – even with the penalty for moving and firing – at only a 2-7ppm increase in cost. Otherwise, there’s not much to recommend them over Vertus Praetors.

Venatari Custodians (FW)

Jump Custodes, Venatari are kind of like the low-calorie version of Vertus Praetors. They’ve got lower Toughness, shorter Movement, fewer Wounds and Attacks, and a 3+ save, but they have the ability to Air Drop into the battlefield anywhere more than 9” away from an enemy unit. In their base configuration, Venatari are less of an assault unit and more of a mobile harassment option, coming with a Tarsus buckler and a Kinetic destroyer, which has a tasty S6, AP-2 2 damage profile that scores additional hits on a 6 to hit. The buckler helps them shrug off AP-1 shooting, but this has become much less useful since Codex: Space Marines introduced entire armies’ worths of AP-2 or better shooting to the game.

The melee option sees them armed with Venatari lances, which keeps their shooting (albeit at Assault 2 12” range) and gives them some nasty S6 AP-3 D3 damage melee attacks. They can be a real melee threat with Lances, but the 3+ save makes them more fragile than any other Custodes units you’ll run. Ultimately having the light version of jetbikes isn’t particularly useful for Custodes even at a lower cost, but where you can find some value for these guys is in Cities of Death games or when you know you’ll have lots of terrain, as Custodians are infantry and can make better use of terrain on their approach.

Pallas Grav-Attack (FW)

A light tank option for Custodes with a 16” Movement characteristic and a Twin Arachnus blaze cannon that can fire in two modes. And while it’s easier to destroy than most Custodes units with T6 and 8 wounds, it’s also got a 5+ invulnerable save and units that charge it subtract 2 from their charge rolls, giving it a little bit of extra survivability.

Which is great, because the Pallas Grav-Attack packs a serious punch and is worth putting in your army as a 3-of, regardless of whether you’re playing pure Custodes or considering them as an allied detachment. The Twin Arachnus blaze cannon gives it a lot of shooting versatility: Beam mode gives you a 36” Heavy 2, S7 AP-4 3 damage shot that re-rolls wounds against vehicles, making it a capable little tank hunter, while Burst mode is 24” Heavy 6, S5 AP-2 1 damage gun that can tear through infantry. With Power of the Machine Spirit and FLY, the Pallas Grav-Attack is a highly mobile gun platform that can put in a lot of work, zipping around and taking out larger targets or clearing infantry off objectives. Although understandably more popular before the Caladius nerf, the Pallas still has a lot going for it. And at 100 points per model, it’s priced to move.

Heavy Support

Venerable Land Raider

It’s a Land Raider, but more. Land Raiders occasionally show up in winning lists, but rarely, and the Custodes version doesn’t really offer much to incentivize that to change. You can safely ignore it.

Caladius Grav-Tank (FW)

These used to be insane, bringing some of the most efficient shooting in the game with an enormous range and great defences – not only do they have a bunch of wounds, a 3+ save, and a 5+ invulnerable, they can also benefit from the Vexilus Praetor’s flag of -1 to hit. A recent update to their points cost changed them from being an auto-pick monstrosity into merely being very good. The Caladius offers a lot of medium-strength shots at good AP and damage 2, and for lightly-armoured vehicles or Primaris Marines they’re absolute hell on … well, grav-plates I guess, but you get the drift. Post-nerf Caladius remain a strong choice, and they bring a real anti-tank threat which Custodes otherwise lacks. They’re still a common sight in Imperial armies looking to bolster their ranks with Custodes, though lists running three aren’t quite as common as they used to be.

Telemon Heavy Dreadnought (FW)

The Telemon Heavy Dreadnought is the Custodes equivalent to a Leviathan, with the bonus of being able to ignore wounds on a 6+, and as you might expect it offers some fearsome shooting. By default it packs pair of Arachnus storm cannons and a spiculus bolt launcher, the former of which can be either 36″ Heavy 2, S8 AP-4 D3 and re-roll wounds against VEHICLEs, or 24″ Heavy 6, S7 AP-2 D1. This is a drop from where they were before and probably one that takes them out of contention, and the other gun options don’t much make up for it.

Dedicated Transport

Coronus Grav-Carrier (FW)

The Custodes version of a Razorback, is a sleek little number that can gives Custodes an alternative to having to cart units around in a Land Raider. It can hold 6 Custodes Infantry models, and packs a twin Arachnus blaze cannon and a Twin Lastrum bolt cannon, and keeps the usual tricks – Power of the Machine Spirit, Flare Shielding, and Gravitic Backwash. The downside is that at 245 points, you’re paying way too much for the premium of being able to haul models around. For the same cost, you could be fielding two Pallas Grav-Attacks with points left over, or a Caladius and you’d be getting more value.

Flyer

Orion Dropship (FW)

The Orion is a flyer with BS2+, T8, W22 and a 3+/5++. It also rocks the Power of the Machine Spirit so it can move and fire Heavy without penalty, it can hover, and has Airborne and Supersonic like other flyers. It mounts two Arachnus heavy blaze cannons, two twin Lastrum bolt cannons, and two Spiculus heavy bolt launchers, which is a lot of guns. It can also transport 12 Custodes INFANTRY, or 7 and a Dreadnought. It’s a lot, is what I’m saying. Pre-final rules these were kind of a monster since they had everything a Flyer has but they were Lords of War by slot, and therefore could hold objectives. They still throw out a horrible amount of shooting and can protect units inside them, but they can’t hold objectives any more and they’re more expensive than before. Overall they’ve probably slipped out of lists taking two, but there’s still a lot here which can overwhelm an unwary opponent – particularly since they can benefit from the flag for an overall -2 to hit.

Ares Gunship (FW)

The Ares is the latest Forge World toy for Custodes, and oh boy, it’s another giant Y-wing looking thing. It’s a lot cheaper than the Orion and has better guns. As a unit, the Ares is almost entirely a tank hunter. Like other blaze weapons the main gun has two different fire profiles, a beam or a burst. The beam is a d3 shot, strength 14, AP -4, damage D3+6 tank killer, and the burst is a 3-shot strength 9, AP -3, damage D3 worse tank killer. Unlike with other blaze weapons, I can’t see any reason to ever use the burst profile, as you’re likely only getting a single extra shot over the beam, and that shot is significantly worse.

The only two other guns on the Ares are a pair of heavy blaze cannons, which picked up a bit of a buff over their old profile. They gained an extra 12″ of range on both profiles, and the beam profile is now damage D3+3 rather than being flat damage 3. In exchange the burst profile dropped from 6 shots to 4, so not as good at clearing lighter targets. Interestingly while the heavy blaze cannon beam profile rerolls wounds against VEHICLE units the magna-blaze cannon doesn’t. A strange oversight from my perspective.

The Ares also has the ability to bomb units. Up to twice per battle, and only once per turn, the Ares can bomb a unit. Rolling a d6 per model in the unit, it deals a mortal wound on a 4+ – and tops out rolling 20 dice. Vehicles and monsters get hit 3 times. This is a decent ability, if you’re fighting someone with large units or who hides them out of line of sight, but isn’t a make-or break thing. It’s probably most useful against vehicles/monsters like Talos that come in units, as on a 3-model unit will have you roll 9 dice and drop 4-5 mortal wounds on a fairly tough unit.

Stratagems, Traits and Relics

Stratagems

From Golden Light They Come – 1/3CP: Use during deployment. Set up one INFANTRY, BIKER, or DREADNOUGHT in deep strike for 1CP, or 2 for 3CP. This can be a good way to protect a melee Dreadnought from getting shot off the board, but Custodes lack charge boosters to overcome the 9″ charge out of deep strike, so it’s kind of a gamble. Vertus Praetors don’t really need the help. It’s a good Stratagem but you need a definite plan for how to use it. B

Use during deployment. Set up one INFANTRY, BIKER, or DREADNOUGHT in deep strike for 1CP, or 2 for 3CP. This can be a good way to protect a melee Dreadnought from getting shot off the board, but Custodes lack charge boosters to overcome the 9″ charge out of deep strike, so it’s kind of a gamble. Vertus Praetors don’t really need the help. It’s a good Stratagem but you need a definite plan for how to use it. Unflinching – 1CP: Use in your opponent’s Charge phase. Hit on a 5+ rather than a 6 in Overwatch. This is fine, especially with the massed bolter fire you can get on a lot of units; the only real issue with it is that your opponent often won’t be the one doing the charging. B

Use in your opponent’s Charge phase. Hit on a 5+ rather than a 6 in Overwatch. This is fine, especially with the massed bolter fire you can get on a lot of units; the only real issue with it is that your opponent often won’t be the one doing the charging. Unleash the Lions – 2CP: Use at the start of your Movement phase on a unit of Allarus Custodians. That unit immediately splits into separate units, each containing a single model. Allarus Custodians aren’t so good that you want to go in on them heavily, but dropping a block of Terminators in your opponent’s face and then splitting them up into annoying separate units is a good gimmick to have. B

Use at the start of your Movement phase on a unit of Allarus Custodians. That unit immediately splits into separate units, each containing a single model. Allarus Custodians aren’t so good that you want to go in on them heavily, but dropping a block of Terminators in your opponent’s face and then splitting them up into annoying separate units is a good gimmick to have. Tanglefoot Grenade – 1CP: Use at the beginning of your opponent’s Movement or Charge phase. Choose an enemy unit within 12″ an ADEPTUS CUSTODES INFANTRY unit. Roll a D6 and reduce the Movement or charge distance of that enemy unit until the end of the phase. Units with FLY are unaffected. For defending against things like deep striking Genestealer Cultists or mobs of Da Jumping Orks who are coming in with a challenging charge, this is great. The main strike against it is that your lists often won’t feature that many Custodes infantry – though look out for chances to make a charge unwinnable for your opponent, e.g. if they’re charging a nearby Caladius which has a -2″ built in. B

Use at the beginning of your opponent’s Movement or Charge phase. Choose an enemy unit within 12″ an ADEPTUS CUSTODES INFANTRY unit. Roll a D6 and reduce the Movement or charge distance of that enemy unit until the end of the phase. Units with FLY are unaffected. For defending against things like deep striking Genestealer Cultists or mobs of Da Jumping Orks who are coming in with a challenging charge, this is great. The main strike against it is that your lists often won’t feature that many Custodes infantry – though look out for chances to make a charge unwinnable for your opponent, e.g. if they’re charging a nearby Caladius which has a -2″ built in. Ever Vigilant – 2CP: Use immediately after your opponent sets up a unit on the battlefield within 12″ of an ADEPTUS CUSTODES INFANTRY unit. You can immediately shoot at -1 to hit. This is fine, but 2CP is a lot to invest when you will often only have smallish units of Custodes infantry on the board. B-

Use immediately after your opponent sets up a unit on the battlefield within 12″ of an ADEPTUS CUSTODES INFANTRY unit. You can immediately shoot at -1 to hit. This is fine, but 2CP is a lot to invest when you will often only have smallish units of Custodes infantry on the board. Vexilla Teleport Homer – 3CP: Use at the end of your Movement phase. When you set up a teleporting unit you can set it up wholly within 6″ of a VEXILUS PRAETOR and more than 3″ from enemy models. As mentioned above, this has some strong combo potential – some players have been seeing success with bringing in big units of Wardens or Aquilon Custodians with it, since if you can get the Praetor in place then you’re ready to make a 3″ charge on something. Do watch out for Space Marine Infiltrators, though – their ability hard-counters this. B+

Use at the end of your Movement phase. When you set up a teleporting unit you can set it up wholly within 6″ of a VEXILUS PRAETOR and more than 3″ from enemy models. As mentioned above, this has some strong combo potential – some players have been seeing success with bringing in big units of Wardens or Aquilon Custodians with it, since if you can get the Praetor in place then you’re ready to make a 3″ charge on something. Do watch out for Space Marine Infiltrators, though – their ability hard-counters this. Open the Vaults – 1/3CP: The standard relic stratagem, 1 extra relic for 1CP or 2 for 3CP. Yeah it’s the relic stratagem. There’s some great Custodes relics, so this can be very worthwhile – particularly for doubling up on 3++ Shield-Captains on bikes.

The standard relic stratagem, 1 extra relic for 1CP or 2 for 3CP. Yeah it’s the relic stratagem. There’s some great Custodes relics, so this can be very worthwhile – particularly for doubling up on 3++ Shield-Captains on bikes. Avatars of the Emperor – 1CP: Use at the beginning of the Morale phase. Choose an ADEPTUS CUSTODES (non-VEHICLE) unit; you can use that unit’s Leadership for taking Morale tests for friendly IMPERIUM units within 6″ of that unit. Yeah, whatever, it’s morale. C

Use at the beginning of the Morale phase. Choose an ADEPTUS CUSTODES (non-VEHICLE) unit; you can use that unit’s Leadership for taking Morale tests for friendly IMPERIUM units within 6″ of that unit. Yeah, whatever, it’s morale. Shoulder the Mantle – 1CP: When your Warlord is slain, choose a SHIELD-CAPTAIN from your army. They become your Warlord and generate a Warlord trait. Your Warlord is not considered to have been slain. Excellent in Eternal War or Maelstrom missions, less relevant in ITC, though a great way to snatch Old School from someone. A in book missions, C outside of that context,

When your Warlord is slain, choose a SHIELD-CAPTAIN from your army. They become your Warlord and generate a Warlord trait. Your Warlord is not considered to have been slain. Excellent in Eternal War or Maelstrom missions, less relevant in ITC, though a great way to snatch Old School from someone. in book missions, outside of that context, Networked Machine Spirits – 1CP: Use in your Shooting phase. Choose a Venerable Land Raider and at least one other Venerable Land Raider within 6″. None of those models suffer any penalties to hit rolls until the end of the phase. You are not going to have multiple Venerable Land Raiders on the board. C-

Use in your Shooting phase. Choose a Venerable Land Raider and at least one other Venerable Land Raider within 6″. None of those models suffer any penalties to hit rolls until the end of the phase. You are not going to have multiple Venerable Land Raiders on the board. Indomitable Guardians – 1CP: Use in your opponent’s Fight phase after an enemy unit that charged has fought. Choose an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit within 3″ of an objective and fight with it next. Basically a discount version of Counter-offensive for a Custodes unit that’s holding an objective. Situational, but powerful when it works. B

Use in your opponent’s Fight phase after an enemy unit that charged has fought. Choose an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit within 3″ of an objective and fight with it next. Basically a discount version of Counter-offensive for a Custodes unit that’s holding an objective. Situational, but powerful when it works. Inspire Fear – 1CP: Use at the beginning of the Morale phase. Choose a non-VEHICLE ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit. Your opponent adds 1 to Morale tests taken for enemy units within 3″ of that unit until the end of the phase. Whatever. D

Use at the beginning of the Morale phase. Choose a non-VEHICLE ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit. Your opponent adds 1 to Morale tests taken for enemy units within 3″ of that unit until the end of the phase. Whatever. Sentinel Storm – 2CP: Use at the end of your opponent’s Shooting phase. Pick an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit within 1″ of an enemy unit. That unit can shoot with its sentinel blades as if it were the Shooting phase. 2CP for this is too much considering the set-up involved, especially when your opponent can just fall back if they need to. D

Use at the end of your opponent’s Shooting phase. Pick an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit within 1″ of an enemy unit. That unit can shoot with its sentinel blades as if it were the Shooting phase. 2CP for this is too much considering the set-up involved, especially when your opponent can just fall back if they need to. Burst Missile Net – 1CP: Use in your Shooting phase when a unit of Vertus Praetors makes ranged attacks. If they all fire flakkburst missiles at the same target with the FLY keyword, you can re-roll failed wound rolls. Many people are down on missile jetbikes because they take the penalty to hit, but this can be a powerful move to pull out on someone, especially if they’re auto-piloting expecting the jetbikes to be anti-infantry focused. B

Use in your Shooting phase when a unit of Vertus Praetors makes ranged attacks. If they all fire flakkburst missiles at the same target with the FLY keyword, you can re-roll failed wound rolls. Many people are down on missile jetbikes because they take the penalty to hit, but this can be a powerful move to pull out on someone, especially if they’re auto-piloting expecting the jetbikes to be anti-infantry focused. Spark of Divinity – 1CP: Use when an enemy psyker manifests a psychic power within 12″ of an ADEPTUS CUSTODES INFANTRY or BIKER unit. You can Deny the Witch. This is real solid and yet another tool in the “Custodes anti-psychic” toolbox, and the one that’s easiest to make use of. B

Use when an enemy psyker manifests a psychic power within 12″ of an ADEPTUS CUSTODES INFANTRY or BIKER unit. You can Deny the Witch. This is real solid and yet another tool in the “Custodes anti-psychic” toolbox, and the one that’s easiest to make use of. Plant the Vexilla – 1CP: Use at the end of your Movement phase. Choose a VEXILUS PRAETOR which didn’t move. You can increase the range of the Custodes Vexilla ability by 6″ until your next Movement phase, though the Praetor can’t charge. This is fantastic for getting the most out of a Praetor for a turn, particularly to let you extend the -1 to hit bubble out while your stuff pushes aggressively forward. B+

Use at the end of your Movement phase. Choose a VEXILUS PRAETOR which didn’t move. You can increase the range of the Custodes Vexilla ability by 6″ until your next Movement phase, though the Praetor can’t charge. This is fantastic for getting the most out of a Praetor for a turn, particularly to let you extend the -1 to hit bubble out while your stuff pushes aggressively forward. Piercing Strike – 1CP: Use when you select an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit in the Fight phase. Add 1 to wound rolls for guardian spears. Same story as the other stratagems like this – the number of times guys with guardian spears are getting to combat against something relevant is low. The stratagem itself is good, its targets are just kind of limited. B

Use when you select an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit in the Fight phase. Add 1 to wound rolls for guardian spears. Same story as the other stratagems like this – the number of times guys with guardian spears are getting to combat against something relevant is low. The stratagem itself is good, its targets are just kind of limited. Inescapable Vengeance – 2CP: Use when you select a unit of Allarus Custodians from your army in the Shooting phase. They can target CHARACTERS even if they are not the closest model. Seriously this list is so full of stuff which is fine, and Allarus Custodians pack enough firepower that throwing a pile of shots into something like a Warlock or one of the many weak-ish GSC buff characters is worthwhile. Again, the main issue is the Custodians themselves. C+

Use when you select a unit of Allarus Custodians from your army in the Shooting phase. They can target CHARACTERS even if they are not the closest model. Seriously this list is so full of stuff which is fine, and Allarus Custodians pack enough firepower that throwing a pile of shots into something like a Warlock or one of the many weak-ish GSC buff characters is worthwhile. Again, the main issue is the Custodians themselves. Wisdom of the Ancients – 1CP: Use at the start of any phase. Select an ADEPTUS CUSTODES DREADNOUGHT; until the end of the phase you can re-roll hit rolls of 1 for friendly ADEPTUS CUSTODES units within 6″. Independent re-rolls for your Dreadnoughts are a fine thing to exist, especially in an army full of BS2+ units. B

Use at the start of any phase. Select an ADEPTUS CUSTODES DREADNOUGHT; until the end of the phase you can re-roll hit rolls of 1 for friendly ADEPTUS CUSTODES units within 6″. Independent re-rolls for your Dreadnoughts are a fine thing to exist, especially in an army full of BS2+ units. Castellan Strike – 1CP: Use in the Fight phase. Select an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit. As long as all castellan axes in that unit target the same enemy unit, improve them to AP-3. This is fine for what it is, and sometimes AP-3 is going to be a difference-maker. B

Use in the Fight phase. Select an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit. As long as all castellan axes in that unit target the same enemy unit, improve them to AP-3. This is fine for what it is, and sometimes AP-3 is going to be a difference-maker. Concussion Grenades – 1CP: Use in your Shooting phase when a unit of Allarus Custodians fires. until the end of the phase, their balistus grenade launchers have AP0, and enemy INFANTRY units hit by these attacks are stunned until the end of the turn – they cannot fire Overwatch and your opponent must subtract 1 from hit rolls for the unit. Overwatch suppression is never a bad thing to have, but it’s maybe not vitally important to Custodes. B

Use in your Shooting phase when a unit of Allarus Custodians fires. until the end of the phase, their balistus grenade launchers have AP0, and enemy INFANTRY units hit by these attacks are stunned until the end of the turn – they cannot fire Overwatch and your opponent must subtract 1 from hit rolls for the unit. Overwatch suppression is never a bad thing to have, but it’s maybe not vitally important to Custodes. Eyes of the Emperor – 1CP: Use when you draw a Tactical Objective. You can discard that objective immediately and draw another. Helpful for getting things moving in Maelstrom missions, utterly irrelevant in any non-Maelstrom context. C

Use when you draw a Tactical Objective. You can discard that objective immediately and draw another. Helpful for getting things moving in Maelstrom missions, utterly irrelevant in any non-Maelstrom context. Victor of the Blood Games – 2CP: Use when you set up an ADEPTUS CUSTODES CHARACTER from your army during deployment. You can re-roll one hit roll, wound roll, or save roll for this model in each turn. A crazily powerful stratagem, particularly on the classic Shield-Captain on Dawneagle with one of the 3++ relics. Herohammer is already a thing Custodes do very well, and this helps cement it. I’m not saying you need to use it every game, but you should at least think about using it every game. A+

Use when you set up an ADEPTUS CUSTODES CHARACTER from your army during deployment. You can re-roll one hit roll, wound roll, or save roll for this model in each turn. A crazily powerful stratagem, particularly on the classic Shield-Captain on Dawneagle with one of the 3++ relics. Herohammer is already a thing Custodes do very well, and this helps cement it. I’m not saying you need to use it every game, but you should at least think about using it every game. Even in Death… – 2CP: An ADEPTUS CUSTODES CHARACTER can shoot or fight on death. You obviously don’t want your characters to go down, but this can be vital for getting another round out of them – when you’ve paid 160pts for a guy on a jetbike, getting one more thrust of the lance before he eats shit is worth 2CP if you’re in a place to take advantage of it. B+

An ADEPTUS CUSTODES CHARACTER can shoot or fight on death. You obviously don’t want your characters to go down, but this can be vital for getting another round out of them – when you’ve paid 160pts for a guy on a jetbike, getting one more thrust of the lance before he eats shit is worth 2CP if you’re in a place to take advantage of it. Avenge the Fallen – 1CP: Use in the Fight phase. Select an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit; until the end of the phase, models in that unit they have +1 attack for each model from that unit which was slain this turn. You’re playing an army of tiny elite units, how often is this going to matter? On the off chance you lost half your Vertus Praetors on the way in this could be ok, but the times this pays off are far fewer than the times you forget it exists. C+

Use in the Fight phase. Select an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit; until the end of the phase, models in that unit they have +1 attack for each model from that unit which was slain this turn. You’re playing an army of tiny elite units, how often is this going to matter? On the off chance you lost half your Vertus Praetors on the way in this could be ok, but the times this pays off are far fewer than the times you forget it exists. Bringers of the Emperor’s Justice – 1CP: Use in the Fight phase. Select an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit; each time you make a hit roll of a 6+ during this phase that was targeting a HERETIC ASTARTES unit you can immediately make another attack. if it was a BLACK LEGION unit, you can make an extra attack on a 4+. It’s the “target a specific faction/sub-faction, get an ok effect” thing, yay. HERETIC ASTARTES is a broad enough keyword that you at least might get a few chances to use this, but also you could spend CP on literally anything else. D

Use in the Fight phase. Select an ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit; each time you make a hit roll of a 6+ during this phase that was targeting a HERETIC ASTARTES unit you can immediately make another attack. if it was a BLACK LEGION unit, you can make an extra attack on a 4+. It’s the “target a specific faction/sub-faction, get an ok effect” thing, yay. HERETIC ASTARTES is a broad enough keyword that you at least might get a few chances to use this, but also you could spend CP on literally anything else. Stooping Dive – 3CP: Use at the end of your opponent’s Charge phase. Choose a BIKER unit from your army that is within 12″ of an enemy unit. You can immediately Charge as if it were your Charge phase, and you fight first in the following Fight phase – even before other charging units. This is an absolutely sick stratagem for a big pile of Vertus Praetors to execute when your opponent inevitably forgets about it – but don’t sleep on this with Shield-Captain bikers, either. 3CP is a lot in your CP-starved army, but if you can recognize the times that a bonus charge – in your opponent’s turn! – is going to be game-winning, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of this. A

Warlord Traits

Custodes have some interesting traits, which are let down by the army having no way to let you get multiples. If you could spend a CP to get a second trait, you’d see a lot more of them get used.

Champion of the Imperium: Friendly ADEPTUS CUSTODES INFANTRY, BIKER, and DREADNOUGHT units within 12″ of your Warlord at the start of your opponent’s Charge phase can Heroically Intervene. This would be amazing if Custodes were ever likely to get charged, but generally things aren’t going to charge you, you’re going to be charging them. This is Trajann’s required trait. B-

Friendly ADEPTUS CUSTODES INFANTRY, BIKER, and DREADNOUGHT units within 12″ of your Warlord at the start of your opponent’s Charge phase can Heroically Intervene. This would be amazing if Custodes were ever likely to get charged, but generally things aren’t going to charge you, you’re going to be charging them. This is Trajann’s required trait. Peerless Warrior: Each hit roll of a 6+ in the Fight phase gets to make an extra attack against the same unit using the same weapon. Custodes don’t really have many ways to improve their hit rolls since they all hit on a 2+ anyway, and your Warlord is at maximum going to have 5 attacks, so whatever. C

Each hit roll of a 6+ in the Fight phase gets to make an extra attack against the same unit using the same weapon. Custodes don’t really have many ways to improve their hit rolls since they all hit on a 2+ anyway, and your Warlord is at maximum going to have 5 attacks, so whatever. Superior Creation: 5+ Feel No Pain. An excellent trait for making your already-tough Warlord even more annoying to get rid of. A

5+ Feel No Pain. An excellent trait for making your already-tough Warlord even more annoying to get rid of. Impregnable Mind: You get a free Deny with your Warlord at +1 to Deny. This is pretty baller especially in an army which doesn’t get Denies natively, but you can always just ally in some cheap psykers and use one of the more straightforward traits on your Shield-Captain. B-

You get a free Deny with your Warlord at +1 to Deny. This is pretty baller especially in an army which doesn’t get Denies natively, but you can always just ally in some cheap psykers and use one of the more straightforward traits on your Shield-Captain. Radiant Mantle: Your Warlord is -1 to hit. This or Superior Creation are what you’re going to use most often. A

Your Warlord is -1 to hit. This or Superior Creation are what you’re going to use most often. Emperor’s Companion: You can re-roll damage rolls. On a jetbike Shield-Captain this is great, because fluffing the D3 damage is about the only bit of variance you should really be suffering on them. I suspect if Custodes could take multiple traits you’d see this all the time, but the defensive stuff often wins out, especially since Custode characters are eligible targets for Kingslayer and keeping them alive matters for points denial. A-

Relics

Gatekeeper: A relic guardian spear. You overwatch on a 3+ with a Rapid Fire 3, S4 AP-1 D2 gun, and fight at S+1 AP-3 D3. The extra few shots and the improved overwatch is fine, but there’s better in here. C

A relic guardian spear. You overwatch on a 3+ with a Rapid Fire 3, S4 AP-1 D2 gun, and fight at S+1 AP-3 D3. The extra few shots and the improved overwatch is fine, but there’s better in here. Raiment of Sorrows: Basically the Company Ancient banner from Space Marines. If a castle of on-foot Custodians was a thing, this would be great for getting more use out of them, but uh… it isn’t. Even if it was, you probably don’t get enough return from this on the relatively few guys to make it worthwhile. C

Basically the Company Ancient banner from Space Marines. If a castle of on-foot Custodians was a thing, this would be great for getting more use out of them, but uh… it isn’t. Even if it was, you probably don’t get enough return from this on the relatively few guys to make it worthwhile. Eagle’s Eye: +1 invulnerable save. You put this on a Shield-Captain to give him a 3++. this is very good, and only second-choice because the Auric Aquilas exists and does the same thing but more. A

+1 invulnerable save. You put this on a Shield-Captain to give him a 3++. this is very good, and only second-choice because the Auric Aquilas exists and does the same thing but more. Auric Aquilas: BIKER only. The model has a 3+ invulnerable and can re-roll failed charges. If you have a Shield-Captain on a jetbike, just write this on the army list next to him, you want it. A+

BIKER only. The model has a 3+ invulnerable and can re-roll failed charges. If you have a Shield-Captain on a jetbike, just write this on the army list next to him, you want it. The Praetorian Plate: TERMINATOR only. At deployment, pick a friendly IMPERIUM CHARACTER. At the end of your opponent’s Charge phase, if there is an enemy within 1″ of that character, you can move the relic bearer within 3″ of that character and within 1″ of that enemy model. This is an extremely fun gimmick which just doesn’t get used that often because a guy on a jetbike can just be in combat without having to play switcheroo. Some players have been comboing this with the Vexilla Teleport Homer stratagem to whip a Praetor up the table and then bring in a bomb of infantry who would otherwise struggle to make contact, but the trick strongly relies on a) going first and b) your opponent falling for your highly telegraphed bait. B

TERMINATOR only. At deployment, pick a friendly IMPERIUM CHARACTER. At the end of your opponent’s Charge phase, if there is an enemy within 1″ of that character, you can move the relic bearer within 3″ of that character and within 1″ of that enemy model. This is an extremely fun gimmick which just doesn’t get used that often because a guy on a jetbike can just be in combat without having to play switcheroo. Some players have been comboing this with the stratagem to whip a Praetor up the table and then bring in a bomb of infantry who would otherwise struggle to make contact, but the trick strongly relies on a) going first and b) your opponent falling for your highly telegraphed bait. The Veiled Blade: A relic sentinel blade. +2 attacks when within 3″ of an objective. Cute but whatever. C-

A relic sentinel blade. +2 attacks when within 3″ of an objective. Cute but whatever. Emperor’s Light: Relic misericordia. +1 to Morale tests within 12″ of the bearer. Who cares? D

Relic misericordia. +1 to Morale tests within 12″ of the bearer. Who cares? Wraith Angelis: Relic Vexilla Magnifica. Instead of the normal ability, friendly IMPERIUM INFANTRY or BIKER units within 6″ automatically pass Morale tests, and once per battle in the Movement phase, the bearer can stand still and each unit within 6″ (friendly or enemy) takes D3 mortal wounds on a 4+ (5+ for CHARACTERS, 6+ for ADEPTUS CUSTODES). A Morale effect plus a once per game ability that stops you moving and can hurt your own guys? Sign me up!!!! F

Relic Vexilla Magnifica. Instead of the normal ability, friendly IMPERIUM INFANTRY or BIKER units within 6″ automatically pass Morale tests, and once per battle in the Movement phase, the bearer can stand still and each unit within 6″ (friendly or enemy) takes D3 mortal wounds on a 4+ (5+ for CHARACTERS, 6+ for ADEPTUS CUSTODES). A Morale effect plus a once per game ability that stops you moving and can hurt your own guys? Sign me up!!!! Auric Shackles: Enemy characters are at -1 Attack within 6″ of the bearer. Score d3 victory points if the bearer slays the enemy Warlord in the Fight phase. Another relic on the “cute, but only that” list. I’d love to see someone take this to an ITC event and argue to get the points, though. C

Enemy characters are at -1 Attack within 6″ of the bearer. Score d3 victory points if the bearer slays the enemy Warlord in the Fight phase. Another relic on the “cute, but only that” list. I’d love to see someone take this to an ITC event and argue to get the points, though. Obliteratum: Relic balistus grenade launcher. 12″ Assault 1, S10 Ap-4 Dd3. As a pocket railgun this is pretty fun, but once again, cute but not that relevant. C+

Relic balistus grenade launcher. 12″ Assault 1, S10 Ap-4 Dd3. As a pocket railgun this is pretty fun, but once again, cute but not that relevant. Fulminaris Aggressor: Relic Vexilla Defensor. Instead of the normal ability, friendly IMPERIUM INFANTRY or BIKER units within 6″ automatically pass Morale tests, plus there’s a gun and a melee profile – the gun is 8″ auto-hits, Assault D6, S4 AP-1 D1, and the melee is S+2 AP-1 D1. I have no idea why you’d ever take this. D

Relic Vexilla Defensor. Instead of the normal ability, friendly IMPERIUM INFANTRY or BIKER units within 6″ automatically pass Morale tests, plus there’s a gun and a melee profile – the gun is 8″ auto-hits, Assault D6, S4 AP-1 D1, and the melee is S+2 AP-1 D1. I have no idea why you’d ever take this. The Castellan’s Mark: At the beginning of the game but before the first turn, you can pick the bearer and one ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit within 6″ and redeploy them (you must deploy them on the table). This could be hilarious to pull on someone if you use it to redeploy a big block of Vertus Praetors and a Captain so that their refused flank becomes unrefused. B

At the beginning of the game but before the first turn, you can pick the bearer and one ADEPTUS CUSTODES unit within 6″ and redeploy them (you must deploy them on the table). This could be hilarious to pull on someone if you use it to redeploy a big block of Vertus Praetors and a Captain so that their refused flank becomes unrefused. Faith Absolute: Relic Vexilla Magnifica. Instead of the normal ability, friendly IMPERIUM INFANTRY or BIKER units within 6″ automatically pass Morale tests, and the bearer gets a single Deny. Between this and the Impregnable Mind Warlord trait, GW really tried to give Custodes native psychic defence. It’s probably not worth giving up the -1 to hit flag for this, but at least it isn’t an outright bad choice like the other two relic banners. B-

Army Lists

There are a few different ways to run Custodes, but the basic question boils down to whether you’re running Custodes by themselves, in a monofaction or “pure” Custodes list, or if you’re going to add them to a larger Imperium army. The latter tends to be the more popular (and powerful) of the two options these days but in this section we’ll explore lists that do both.

Monofaction Custodes

Top-performing pure Custodes lists are difficult to come by, particularly following the Caladius nerf and the rise of Space Marine armies. Cameron Glodowski’s list, which he piloted to a 4-1, 3rd-place finish at the Battlezone Ursa event in early September, is a good example of how even a points increase isn’t enough to stop the Caladius from being a good, capable unit. Cameron’s list runs heavy on Custodes vehicles, including an Orion Assault Dropship, which should give it enough redundant firepower to take care of some threats. Though note that this list essentially predates the Iron Hands and Imperial Fists meta, and is likely to get mulched by Imperial Fists doing +1 damage in Devastator Doctrine.