We’ve had enough time to get to grips with the armies of 10th Edition, so over the next few weeks we’re going to be publishing a competitive faction focus for each of them, showcasing what’s been working for them in early tournament play. Today, Peter “The Falcon” Colosimo takes a look at the Adeptus Custodes, who made a big splash last month by taking the trophy at the US Open Tacoma.
Hi kids, do you like violence? Do you wanna deep strike 9-foot-tall golden warriors into your opponent’s deployment? Copy me and do exactly like I did? Drop Nids and apply gold paint to plastic?
Good. We’re best friends now, we’re obviously passionate about the Emperor of Mankind and we can rejoice because we are in a beautiful place. The first month of #New40k has given everyone a chance to see which factions have established themselves as the early winners and losers this edition, and the shining bodyguards of the Emperor are definitive winners. While we may or may not be as game-definingly powerful as armies like Eldar and Genestealer Cults, we hold our own very well, and do not rely on some of the more problematic features of the game, theoretically future-proofing us until our codex drops.
5 Things You Need to Know About the Adeptus Custodes
- They are the only functional close combat army currently in the ‘Index Era’.
- Their Infantry options carry the index, invest in Custodian Guard today!
- CP management is extremely important, their stratagems are incredible but also expensive.
- They are deceptively fast.
- Everything knows karate now.
Why Play the Adeptus Custodes (the Coolest Faction)?
Do you like to punch things and have them actually removed from the table? Do you like manipulating close combat situations and forcing your opponent to make difficult choices? Do you want to FEEL like your models are doing heroic things in a game with lore that tries to highlight heroic acts in the face of inevitable encroaching darkness? Do you want to show a skill other than target priority and a basic understanding of probability? Then you need to be playing this army.
First, as mentioned above, in my opinion Adeptus Custodes are the only close combat army in 10th edition. While some factions have 1 or 2 units that can dish out damage in close quarters, the changes to charges, and the reduction of AP/damage across the board on melee attacks has made the fight phase anemic. Custodes either bypass many of these problems or fully take advantage of them. We have Katahs that have meaningful impact in each fight phase, access to on-demand Fight First, amazing HQs, and an entire army that can deep strike/rapid ingress. All of it feels great on the table.
Second, let’s focus on that concept of feeling. This army feels like they should when you play them. The Adeptus Custodes are marketed as the elite of the elite. They are the Emperor’s Companions. Each member of the Ten Thousand is often described as an army in and of themselves. The problem with that is they have been trying to establish an identity that overlaps with so many other armies of the imperium. Grey Knights are the elite of the elite, so are Space Marines. Each Imperial Knight is an army in and of itself. How do you fit them in without making them more of the same? Games Workshop has said time and again that something they strive to do with their codexes is give each army an identity that draws their players to them. When there is that much overlap in faction identity, how do you make Custodes feel like they should be their own army? How do you make each model feel like a hero without breaking the game?
I truly think they currently have found that sweet spot. Every model in your Custodes list has the potential to be heroic without feeling oppressive. Reduction in AP across the board, and access to FnP to mitigate the staggering amount of mortal wounds being put out in the current meta means every model on the table can shrug off intense amounts of damage and shift a game as if they are that stalwart bastion of the emperor’s might they are meant to be. Small 2 and 3 model squads are major threats to flip an objective. 6 and 9 model squads are steamrollers. I love it.
In a game that is at its best when it elicits a kind of cinematic feeling as it progresses while being competitive, I can say that outside of one match into pre-nerf Eldar shenaniganry, Custodes have consistently made me feel like I wasn’t just playing a game, I was also immersed in an experience. I am genuinely having a good time when I put my golden boys on the table and so are my opponents.
What Are the Must-Have Units for the Golden Host?
A common complaint since the Adeptus Custodes became their own faction in 8th edition has been that they have effectively required Forgeworld units to be competitive for the majority of their existence. Luckily for all of us, that is not necessarily the case any longer (though having access to 1 particular model is a nice-to-have). In fact, outside of a couple of units, just about every datasheet, Forgeworld or otherwise, has play potential.
As to what I’d consider Must-haves?
Having a Shield Captain of some kind is important, and 2 don’t hurt if you have the room and want the redundancy. The Emperor has gifted us with some very powerful stratagems and having the ability to throw down Arcane Genetic Alchemy or Unwavering Sentinels without having the CP on-hand is game-saving, just like how your boy Falcon saved his fellow Joes in the underrated classic GI Joe: The Movie (1987) when he defeated Serpentor and destroyed Cobra-la. On top of that, the standard Shield Captain’s ability to activate multiple Katahs in a turn with Master of the Stances further ups the damage potential of their attached units and turns Custodian Guard into full on rock stars.
Speaking of, Custodian Guard are absolutely fantastic. Our basic Joes are still all-emperor’s heroes in their own right. Access to rerolls to wound on a Battle Line unit that can be bumped up to 10 models unlike our other squads is just swell. 9-10 Guard with 6-7 spears and 2-3 shields take up a massive foot print and are incredibly versatile. I would not be shocked if lists running 20-30 Guard become (Wings: I think that should say remain) top tier contenders as the edition progresses, but I’d suggest any list shouldn’t leave home without at least 1 big squad.
Thirdly, you should be windmill slamming a Blade Champion into your lists right this minute. Snake Eyes was tragically withheld from the direct-to-video GI Joe animated film (1987) and probably the reason it did not get nominated for best animated film at the Oscars (even moreso than because it was not yet a category or because it was actually awful), and just like Snake Eyes, I see too many people withholding this master of arms from the table. The Blade Champion has been a low-key all-star in all of my games. Our fast-moving threats just do not currently hold up to the rest of the index and the Blade Champion shores up some of those speed issues giving us a model that provides advance and charge rerolls, a once-per-game advance and charge and a truly scary beatstick that becomes game-changing with either of our better enhancements. Ceaseless Hunter on a Blade Champion attached to a squad of Wardens or Guard is a brutal piece for opponents to deal with.
Finally, I will give you two also-rans to consider based on your area and access to models. If you are keen on Forgeworld, or just want to lay waste to your opponents from afar, you should invest in a Caladius Grav Tank or 3. The core index for Custodes is lacking in reliable anti-tank/monster shooting and the Caladius with Twin Arachnus Blaze Cannon is priced to move. While you can absolutely karate chop these threats to death, or just stand in the open and roll 4s, some matchups become a little easier with a liberal application of ranged murder. Hasbro would have never had to add a dub to the end of the award-winning film ‘The GI Joe Movie’ (1987) saying Duke had actually woken up from his coma if he’d just shot Serpentor with 4 blaze cannons when the movie started, instead of catching strays like a punk because his half-brother left his post to flirt with a new recruit.
My last entry here is fully dependent on your TO or an official GW FAQ. Some prominent events have ruled that ignoring unit modifiers includes all of the modifiers to their weapons while others have not. If your event falls into the former, then if you are sleeping on Trajann Valoris you need to check your privilege, and if they fall into the latter, then pretend the rest of this paragraph does not exist and move on. The Captain-General is our most useful tool for dealing with the things that hurt us the most. He is our Sgt Slaughter in the venerable masterpiece that was the GI Joe movie (1987). When your opponent has a Nemesis Enforcer just messing with your day, Trajann is there to walk up and german suplex it into the nearest canyon made of teeth. Paragon Knight Wardens, Deathwing Terminators, Magnus, all of them are infinitely easier to deal with when Trajann is effectively doubling your unit’s damage output against them and providing Fights First on top of it.
What Units or Options Should You Avoid?
Unfortunately for those of us who have played Custodes since their inception and are sitting on 9-18 of them, Jet Bikes aren’t particularly good right now, in fact they aren’t even mediocre. The changes to the Fly special rule, nerfs to their ranged options and no Toughness bump like the rest of the army received puts the Jet Bike and it’s Forgeworld variant in a pretty bad spot. I would love to see at least an extra pip of toughness on these guys before I’d try using them again in the future and probably a slight points dip as well.
Our other sore point is the guardian axe option for our HQs, Allarus, and Wardens. While damage 3 is amazing, the loss of WS, attacks AND AP to get it makes the choice a no brainer. As it stands there really is no reason to run them and it is a shame. I would love to see axes get at least 1 of those stats increased before I’d consider using them over guardian spears.
How Do the Adeptus Custodes Secure Objectives?
With an army made up of OC 2 or 3 (with Vexilla) models that are generally difficult to kill, take up a large footprint, and actively want to be close to the enemy, that’s how. They are an army of Roadblocks! As arguably the only faction with a strong melee focus, even small squads often require a significant use of resources to move. The question isn’t how do we secure objectives, it is how do we keep our opponents from taking them back?
How Does The Coolest Faction Handle Enemy Hordes?
As the great Day9tv once said, ‘Just Fucking Kill Them’. The Emperor’s Finest have a few avenues for dealing with hordes, Allarus Terminators come with handy Ballistus Grenade Launchers with the Blast keyword, Witchseekers are actually a decently cheap unit with Scout outfitted with flamers, but perhaps most importantly, our basic Custodian Guard have a large number of high quality attacks AND they can double-shoot with their spears once per game, making most hordes a walk in the park if they don’t just come back from the dead over and over again.
How Does The Faction Handle Enemy Tanks and Monsters?
Custodes have a few answers to high toughness targets. Slayers of Nightmares is a powerful stratagem, allowing our big bricks of Custodian Guard, Allarus, or Wardens to punch up at a solid rate against scarier targets they can’t pull down on their own. Allarus Terminators are my option of choice right now as they get full wound rerolls into Characters, Vehicles, and Monsters with Slayers of Tyrants, while still putting out enough shots that they can pick up a respectable amount of lower toughness targets if need be. A full 5-man squad with Captain can reliably take down or cripple a Knight in 1 round of combat without extra resources and that is a pretty solid bar to hold to. Add in the Rendax Stance for Lethal Hits and we generally do not struggle against most big units so long as we can get in close and dictate when we hit them. Otherwise, if you find yourself struggling in a really Vehicle heavy meta, the Caladius Grav Tank absolutely smooths over any deficiencies we have in that regard. Being able to destroy a couple of Armigers or a Storm Speeder early with the Blaze Cannons relieves a lot of early game pressure.
List Ideas
Meat Mountain (2000 Points)
Adeptus Custodes
Shield Host
Strike Force (2000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Blade Champion (130 Points)
• 1x Vaultswords
• Enhancements: Ceaseless Hunter
Shield-Captain (120 Points)
• 1x Guardian spear
Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour (120 Points)
• 1x Balistus grenade launcher
1x Guardian spear
Blade Champion (125 Points)
• 1x Vaultswords
• Enhancements: Veiled Blade
BATTLELINE
Custodian Guard (405 Points)
• 7x Guardian spear
2x Praesidium Shield
2x Sentinel blade
Custodian Guard (405 Points)
• 7x Guardian spear
2x Praesidium Shield
2x Sentinel blade
OTHER DATASHEETS
Allarus Custodians (325 Points)
• 5x Balistus grenade launcher
5x Guardian spear
Custodian Wardens (300 Points)
• 6x Guardian spear
1x Vexilla
Exaction Squad (35 Points)
• 1x Proctor-Exactant
• 1x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites shotpistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Nuncio Aquila (Aura)
• 4x Exaction Vigilant
• 1x Arbites Medi-kit
2x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites grenade launcher
4x Arbites shotpistol
4x Close combat weapon
1x Heavy stubber
1x Soulguilt Scanner
Exaction Squad (35 Points)
• 1x Proctor-Exactant
• 1x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites shotpistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Nuncio Aquila (Aura)
• 4x Exaction Vigilant
• 1x Arbites Medi-kit
2x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites grenade launcher
4x Arbites shotpistol
4x Close combat weapon
1x Heavy stubber
1x Soulguilt Scanner
My preferred list right now, Meat Mountain Custodes is fast and has answers to just about any threat you may deal with. Like the Deathwing lists of 9th edition, go-wide Custodes lists are at their core a stat check. Your opponent often only has a single turn of shooting before a tidal wave of gold hits their lines and that just isn’t enough for most armies to make a dent. What makes the Custodes feel different from those DA lists is that the list has a deep enough toolbox to play the long game if necessary. The Allarus squad with attached Captain can sit in deep strike, or rely on From Golden Light to position themselves to deal with large threats like Knights or clear away a horde and then hold the mid-field. The Ceaseless Hunter Blade Champion hides amongst the Wardens and makes itself an early target, relying on Resolute Will and Living Fortress to soak fire if need be before bouncing in and out of combat in an opponents back lines ad nauseum. The Veiled Blade Champion can travel deep down enemy flanks and pick off even the most powerful of enemy characters. The exaction squads are here to hold your own backfield and perform actions if need be, though if you don’t have them, you can easily substitute in 2 Prosecutor squads and switch out the Veiled Blade from your second Blade Champion for Inspirational Exemplar.
A Real Terran Hero (2000 Points)
Adeptus Custodes
Shield Host
Strike Force (2000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Blade Champion (130 Points)
• 1x Vaultswords
• Enhancements: Ceaseless Hunter
Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour (145 Points)
• 1x Balistus grenade launcher
1x Guardian spear
• Enhancements: Veiled Blade
Trajann Valoris (145 Points)
• Warlord
• 1x Watcher’s Axe
BATTLELINE
Custodian Guard (405 Points)
• 7x Guardian spear
2x Praesidium Shield
2x Sentinel blade
OTHER DATASHEETS
Allarus Custodians (130 Points)
• 2x Balistus grenade launcher
2x Guardian spear
Allarus Custodians (130 Points)
• 2x Balistus grenade launcher
2x Guardian spear
Caladius Grav-tank (215 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
1x Twin arachnus heavy blaze cannon
1x Twin lastrum bolt cannon
Caladius Grav-tank (215 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
1x Twin arachnus heavy blaze cannon
1x Twin lastrum bolt cannon
Custodian Wardens (300 Points)
• 6x Guardian spear
1x Vexilla
ALLIED UNITS
Callidus Assassin (115 Points)
• 1x Neural shredder
1x Phase sword and poison blades
Exaction Squad (35 Points)
• 1x Proctor-Exactant
• 1x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites shotpistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Nuncio Aquila (Aura)
• 4x Exaction Vigilant
• 1x Arbites Medi-kit
2x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites grenade launcher
4x Arbites shotpistol
4x Close combat weapon
1x Heavy stubber
1x Soulguilt Scanner
Exaction Squad (35 Points)
• 1x Proctor-Exactant
• 1x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites shotpistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Nuncio Aquila (Aura)
• 4x Exaction Vigilant
• 1x Arbites Medi-kit
2x Arbites combat shotgun
1x Arbites grenade launcher
4x Arbites shotpistol
4x Close combat weapon
1x Heavy stubber
1x Soulguilt Scanner
This second list tries to leverage the explosive firepower of the Caladius Grav-Tanks in the early game to wipe out high value threats while Trajann holds the middle with his large coterie of Custodian Guard. This list assumes Trajann ignores Damage and AP modifiers on his unit’s weapons, otherwise he is easily replaceable with a standard Shield Captain. Mid-to-Late game the small Allarus units can use From Golden Light to grab backfield objectives or finish off weakened units. The addition of the Calidus to this list helps keep opponents honest by hitting their key strats with Reign of Confusion. Once again, the Exaction squads can be replaced with Prosecutors here without much issue, they just perform the job better and for less points if you have them.
In Closing
The failure of the GI Joe Animated Movie can be tied to a lot of things. Perhaps it was the poor writing, or the surprise retcon of COBRA from international terrorist organization to millenia-old mystical snake people. Maybe it was Globulus’ character design, or the fact they named him Globulus. The initial poor reaction to the Transformers Movie that preceded it definitely didn’t help. I just know that when I was 6 and that movie came out it scared the bejesus out of me and it haunts me to this day and I needed some closure. As to the current state of the Adeptus Custodes? We’re Golden baby!
Wrap Up
Thanks to Falcon for bringing us a very emphatic endorsement of the power of the Custodes. Join us next week for Daemons, Deathwatch and more!
