Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Talons of the Emperor (30k)

So we've had rules for the Legions, the Primarchs, and the Mechanicum. It was only a matter of time until the Emprah's BFFs and the premium in anti-psyker units got rules, and here they are. FAQ updated them to be alliable, they count as Agents of The Emperor. Do note that these rules for the Talons of the Emperor are only for the Horus Heresy (30k) game, if you're interested in the 40k tactics, you can find the Sisters of Silence tactics here, and the Adeptus Custodes tactics here.

The latest general FAQ can be found here (February 2019).

The Custodes-specific FAQ you need is here.

Why play Talons of the Emperor

There are a number of reasons for playing this army.

• Because you like gold
• Because you like eagles
• Because you like eagles made out of gold
• Because the Emperor was right all along
• Because Erebus can fuck a cactus
• Because you want to take Phoenix Terminators with a half-Primarch statline as troops
• Because you hate Psykers harder than any furry can ever hope to imagine
• Because one day you will be able to take the EMPRAH as a LoW
• Because being Agents of the Emperor (per new rulebook) you can ally with any and all Loyalists as Sworn Bros

Special Rules

Custodes

• Preternatural Skill: If the majority of enemy models have less Weapon Skill compared to yours when fighting in assault, you get +1I. Not as useful after the nerf since plenty of legion-specific MEQ's have WS5. However unless you're up against Emperor's Children, you'll still be striking before generic units anyway.
• The Sodality: A Custodian's unit coherency range is 3" and they always use their usual LD for regrouping. Representing how the Banana Custards fight as individuals rather than a squad in the lore. Use the 3" to better control the battlefield and reduce the effectiveness of Blast weapons (since a 3" blast will only touch more than one Custodes when perfectly centered between two of them, at maximum coherency).
• Inviolable Psyche: Forgeworld dancing around ATSKNF again, you are immune to Fear and Pinning and ignore all penalties when taking Morale Checks, meaning it's Stubborn 2.0, and re-roll Deny the Witch rolls. However, it does mean you CAN break as a result of bad combat, and you CAN be utterly wiped out. Not that that would happen often, but still.
• Bulky: Not a rule specific to the Custodes, but they all have it.
• Character: Always remember that ALL Custodes are Characters. That means they can issue and accept challenges, but also benefit from Look Out, Sir. With some lucky rolls and a good positioning, this can really help your guys survive hails of plasma fire and assaults, especially if you have a lot of Solarite gauntlets.
• Crusader: Like Bulky, almost all Custodes have it. Quite powerful since your Custodians usually have better Initiative than most 30k units.

Sisters of Silence

• Psychic Anathema: The core defining feature of the Sisters of Silence, this is how they fuck up psykers all twenty ways from Sunday. They're immune to any psychic powers targeting them and ignores any Telepathy Blessings that would negatively affect them, because fuck invisibility cheese (you can still be raped by Biomancy user for example, so pick your targets). Anyone within 12" takes -1 Ld (-2 if they're psykers, though anyone with Fearless is immune) while allies can re-roll Deny tests, but any Daemons in range take -1 to Toughness while Daemon vehicles take +1 to Pen. Anyone within that range that tries to use a power now needs to roll 1 higher to successfully manifest, raised to 2 higher if they're in B2B (So if they're against Magnus, he has to roll 4+ to use a power when in range while needing 5+ when in combat).
• Ex Oblivio: Another deadly null power for the Sisters, but only for the most brutal of them. Anyone within 6" can't generate WC dice, and if they want to use a power, they have to test Ld or suffer Perils at a -1 penalty, minimum 1. This means they can't roll a 6 for warp surge and are twice as likely to roll a one.
• Fanatical Discipline: Sisters are Fearless and Hate Psykers, except for their leaders (Oblivion Knight-Centura's), who do not have this rule. A shame, since it could've allowed you to give Fearless to Custodes, or loyalist MEQ/GEQ squads they're attached to. Given that every other Sister has this, including the squad that the Oblivion Knight-Centura's are chosen from, its omission is likely due to the same reason for why the Custodes have Misericordias as wargear, FW fucked up. fact that a proto-Culexus assassin is not an Imperial Guard Commissar but should on the contrary makes his own allies likelier to run away, unless they are Pariahs themselves or Custodes.
• Company-Cadres: The organization of the Sisters. For every three non-HQs they bring, they need an HQ choice. If they have an HQ choice, every Sister model in the detachment gains Infiltrate, Crusader, Stealth, or +1 to Combat Resolution.

Special Equipment

Ranged Weapons

• Adrathic Weapons: Yet another super special Terran-only weapon, these are proper disintegrators. As a rule, they will make Mechanicum players cry, also they are all AP2 with Instant Death, Armorbane, and Gets Hot.
  • Adrathic Destructor: 12" S5 AP2 Assault 1: By far the most 'common', available in some form or another on most infantry models.
  • Adrathic Devastator: 18" S6 AP2 Heavy 2: Dickbike and Pallas upgrade.
  • Adrathic Exterminator: 36" S6 AP2 Heavy 1, 3" Blast: Not yet used on any model, but it's only a matter of time. If they remember this exists. It isn't on the Telemon or the Orion. So it's now a shot in the dark if the Exterminator will be used at all.
• Adrastus Bolt Caliver: 30" Assault 3 Heavy Bolter with a Disintegration Beam welded onto it. Distinctly stated as being two functional weapons with unlimited uses, but only one can be used a turn.
• Lastrum Bolt Weapons: The Caladus' fixed mounts have turned into the Custodes' most prevalent vehicle mount. All weapons have Heliothermic Detonation, so anybody that takes one or more unsaved wounds and is not slain has to make a Toughness roll or get Instant Death (or +1 to penetration damage table if a vehicle).
  • Lastrum Storm Bolter: 24" S5 AP4; only used by Aquilon Terminators and the Contemptor-Achillus.
  • Lastrum Bolt Cannon: 36" S6 AP3 Heavy 3; used on the Caladus, Coronus, and the Dickbikes.
  • Iliastus Accelerator Cannon: 60" S7 AP2 Heavy 3, Rending, Rapid Tracking (ignores Jink saves).
    • Heliothermic Detonation is mostly relevant against models with a lot of Wounds. Because all models in a unit that are firing the same weapon shoot at the same time, it doesn't matter if said unit is firing one or a thousand Lastrum shells : the rule will only be triggered once against the last wounded model after all the others have been killed normaly. This greatly mitigates the efficiency of Lastrum weaponry against squads of multi-wounded models, but killing an extra bastard is always a good thing nevertheless.
• Infernus Weapons: The Custodes super flamers. Only two versions, and they're both Heavy 1, but who gives a shit when they're S6!
  • Infernus Firepike: S6 AP6 Heavy 1, Torrent; only used by Aquilon Terminators.
  • Infernus Incinerator: S6 AP4 Heavy 1; used on the Contemptors, either as a replacement for the Storm Bolters or in the Galatus Warblade.
• Proteus Las-Lance: 24" S7 AP2 Heavy 2, Lance; like the Adrathic Exterminator, it is not yet used on any model, come again later.
• Corve Las-Pulsar: 36" S9 AP2 Heavy D3: Upgrade for the Agamatus jetbikes and found as part of the Contemptor-Achillus's Dreadspear, and most of the reason for it's 40 point upgrade cost. The Pulsar is one of the few weapons that Custodes have as a counterpart to Lascannons. So you will need it.
• Arachnus Blaze Weapons: Bastard offspring of Multi-lasers and Lascannons, they have two firing modes. One is Burst for infantry shredding, the other is Concentrated for Vehicle killing with AP1 and Exoshock, which gives you an automatic second Penetrating hit which ignores cover saves on a 4+ after you score one (so you roll to hit, roll to penetrate, enemy rolls invulnerable/cover, and only then...)
  • Arachnus Blaze Cannon: S6 AP5 Heavy Bolter, or 48" S8AP1 Heavy 1, Exoshock: In all honesty, the Burst mode is rather shitty, but Concentrated is essentially a Lascannon with nasty special rules.
  • Arachnus Storm Cannon: 48" S7 AP3 Heavy 7, or 72" S9 AP1 Heavy 2, Exoshock: the Telemon's big Gatling gun and perhaps the most versatile of the Arachnus weapons. This is a must take if you are facing armies with a large amount of vehicles.
  • Arachnus Heavy Blaze Cannon: 48" S8 AP3 Heavy 4, or 72" S10 AP1 Heavy 1, Exoshock: Optional turret replacement for the Caladus, enjoy IDing MEQs.
• Psyk-Out Weaponry: Available as grenades with 8" range, in grenade launchers with 24", or in missiles with 48", each of them has Strength 2, Blast 3 and Psi-Shock, which forces Psykers to suffer perils.
• Stake Crossbow: A 24" S5 AP- crossbow with Rapid Fire and Psi-shock
• Needle Weapons: S2 AP5 weapons with Rending and Poisoned 4+.
  • Needle Pistol: 12" Pistol.
  • Assault Needler: 18" Assault 2.
• Snare Gun: A 12" Assault 1 Pinning weapon. If it hits, it inflicts d3 hits, each of them requiring a Strength test to resist taking an unsavable wound (though Invulns work). Just don't expect Superheavies to listen to this. Hurray, the Rogue Trader Webber has finally made a return!
• Hellion Pattern Heavy Cannon Array: So far exclusive to the Sisters of Silence Kharon Pattern Acquistor. It's basically two Autocannons with halved range, Twin-Linked and Pinning.
• Proteus Plasma Projector: One of the few actual Plasma weapons that TOTE get besides Plasma pistols. It is currently exclusive to the Telemon Dreadnought. This is an Assault 1, Template weapon with Strength 5, and Ap2. Making it a decent weapon for roasting TEQs and anything else with inadequate saves. Forgeworld should have given Sagittarum Guard squads the Projector as an upgrade option to make them useful.
• Spiculus Bolt Launchers: Vehicle only Bolt weapons introduced in datasheets for Telemon Dreadnought and the Orion Dropship. As if Forge World is already working on the next red book.
  • Spiculus launcher: The basic version. It's profile is Heavy 5, Range 48", Str5, AP5, with Rending and the Volley Fire rules. Volley Fire allows the weapon to fire twice if the bearer doesn't move. Making it a counter for Flyers, blobs and a decent follow up against anything that somehow survives the deadly firepower that said vehicle will already have.
  • Spiculus Heavy Bolt Launcher: It is Str7, Heavy 3 and loses Volley Fire. Lowering the amount of Dakka it will spew out despite the improved strength. Not much of a downside if taken in pairs in the case of the Orion. Otherwise not worth it.

Melee Weapons

• Custodes Spears: Made of two parts, the power blade is AP2 +1S on the charge, and reverts to a specialist power sword afterwards. Every time you roll a 6 to hit with it, you get another attack, but those extra attacks can't generate any more. The second part depends on the spear.
  • Adrasite Spear: It has an Adrathic Destructor, which was 12" S5 AP2 Assault 1, Instant Death, Armorbane, and Gets Hot. Short range and nasty.
  • Guardian Spear: Attached with a 18" S4 AP4 Assault 2 bolt weapon. Pretty good on anything short of an MEQ, but not great.
  • Pyrithite Spear: Attached with a 6" S8 AP1 Melta, essentially an inferno pistol. Okay for busting light vehicles or TEQs, but 3" melta range can hurt, but it's not like you weren't planning on charging at that range anyways.
  • Paragon Spear: AP2 +2S on the charge (reverts to AP2 +1S when not charging, like a Paragon Blade), rather than +1, and 6s to wound always inflict Instant Death, but 6s to hit get another attack, as it is a spear. The attachment is an 18" S5 AP3 Assault 2 bolter.
• Misericordia: For longer than a year this was listed without rules, and then an FAQ was released and... it wasn't supposed to be in the book at all. According to the FAQ it's a 'symbol of office' for the Custodes, apparently to show that they're not Custodian Guard or Sentinel Guard (as they're the only two units without them).
• Paragon Blade: Specialist +1S AP2 that inflicts Instant Death on a wound roll of 6, but you want a Paragon Spear more.
• Plasma Grenades: Rare enough to mention here, they are assault grenades that can be thrown as S4 AP4 instead of S3 AP-.
• Sentinel Warblade: A Specialist Power Sword with Rending. In addition, it's got an inbuilt 12" Storm Bolter that snap fires at BS2. As it exists now, it's almost entirely inferior to the Guardian Spear except when snap shooting (including overwatch), unless you're planning on using Rending to even out long assaults with high toughness models, or you need to crack open AV11+ and you can't get enough Custodes stuck in to use their Krak Grenades (a lucky rend with this sword can glance a Land Raider, though MathHammer doesn't favor your odds). But, the Sentinel Warblade does work better with the Praesidium Shield, so taking models with this is a legitimate trade of punching power for defense.
• Solarite power gauntlet: AP1 mastercrafted power fist, same as Imperial Fists. However, you are Custodes, so your punches are now railguns.
• Solarite power talon: +2S, master crafted lightning claw.

Sisters of Silence Melee Weapons

• Proteus Neuro-Lash: Flails and sectioned staves known for causing agonizing pain. Each is a two-handed melee weapon with S+1 but AP-. What they also get is the ability to hit anyone within 3" as opposed to just hitting one unit. In addition, for every hit they make, they roll a d6, with a 3+ meaning they can deliver an additional attack with Poisoned 4+ at AP-. These aren't gonna kill a marine any time soon, but Daemons will rue fucking with these ladies.
• Execution Blade: Essentially Charnabal Sabres with more fancy. They're Two-Handed S+1 AP3 weapons with Duelist's Edge (+1 Initiative in a challenge) and Flawless Cut (a 5+ to hit counts as AP2)

Equipment

• Arae-shrikes: Enemy units deep striking within 12" of a model with this wargear suffer perils on a 4+, including models that ignore the effects of mishap. In addition, barrage weapons targeting models with this wargear add 1D6 to their scatter and pick the 2 highest results, although a hit still remains a hit.
• Aquilon pattern Terminator Armour is super Cataphractii armour with Hammer of Wrath and pseudo-relentless. They can't Run, but they can make Sweeping Advances and fire Overwatch.
• Custodian Armour: Artificer Armour and Move Through Cover rolled into one pimping banana suit. Makes footslogging and charging across difficult terrain a bit more reliable and basically means your Agamatus jetbikers can move everywhere confidently.
• Praesidium Shield: Adds +1 to the invulnerable save up to the maximum of 3++ and your opponents suffer -1 to Hit on every attack targeting the wielder in close combat up to the maximum of 6+. A Praesidium Shield precludes two-handed weapons, the +1A for 2 CCW, and the bonus for charging with a spear (this includes the Paragon Spear).
• Magisterium Vexilla: A unit with this wargear can reroll failed leadership checks and gains the Fear special rule. In addition, all units within 12" add 1 to combat resolution at the end of the phase. TAKE IT. The vexilla compensates for the lack of Fearless and may give you the edge when charging with Guardian spears. Fear may be especially useful if you're fielding Sisters of Silence alongside your Custodes.
• Teleportation Transponder: Already known to Imperial Fists and Night Lords, this model's entire unit can deep strike.

Sisters of Silence Equipment

• Vratine Armour: The armor of the Sisters of Silence and symbol of their oath to kill witches...otherwise known as Power Armor.

Unit Analysis

HQ

• Legio Custodes Shield Captain: A holy honest rape machine, fit to take on a Chaos Lord, a Chapter Master and a Warboss simultaneously and come out on top. His statline comes with all the best bits of a Praetor and a Custodes and gear better than both, he can take the all powerful Paragon Spear, and combine it with a Praesidium shield, Digital lasers and a Iron Halo for 6 S6 AP2 attacks which generate additional attacks on 6s to hit and Instant Death on 6s to wound at I6 and a 3++ in close combat with -1 to Hit malus for your adversary if they specifically target your golden dude. Or you can drop the Paragon Spear and go for a Solarite gauntlet for 6 S10 AP1 master-crafted I1 attacks (don't forget the Praesidium shield means you don't get a bonus attack for 2 CCWs, even though the Solarite gauntlet isn't a specialist weapon and the shield captain comes with a basic ccw). And everything in between, the rape train has no brakes.
  • Tribune: Ooooh FW, what have you done... Here is Mr. Cheestodes, the deadliest generic character in the ENTIRE GAME. No really, this guy is the very definition of mindless rape, Slaanesh him/herself is fucking ashamed. Same as above except you get Eternal Warrior and Fearless, y'know, in case you wanted to add an Archon and an Overlord to the stuff you can take on at once. At a price of 50 more points. However, you can only take him in a detachment of 2000 points or more, so you're not likely going to see him in an allied force. unless you are playing HUGE games. Also, if he's in the Primary detachment he has to be the warlord (unless Valdor, Krole, or Emps are present), but he is able to choose his warlord trait. Needless to say, some warlord traits can be really, really good for your guys. Strategic Genius can be useful since almost all your Custodes have access to deep strike, and Master of Ambush is priceless when your cheapest transport is 135 points for a capability of only 6.
  • Do note that thanks to the wording, they can take Terminal Lucidity Injectors to get an additional shooting attack or melee attack when they're removed as a casualty, or they can take the Icon of the Blazing Sun to give the old style Psychic Hood denial tests against enemy Psychic Powers. The Icon is recommended if you plan to skip out on Sisters and/or if you know you're up against a lot of Psykers, which are thankfully rare in 30k, unless you're up against Word Bearers, Thousand Sons, or Daemons of the Ruinstorm.
• Sisters of Silence Oblivion Knight-Centura: Surprisingly has mostly ordinary human stats with WS5 BS4 I5 and Ld9, she's essentially the budget HQ at 75. She's not barebones however, as she grabs Artificer Armor with a 4+ Invuln that ups to 3+ against Blasts and Templates. She has a bolt pistol, Execution Blade, and Frag, Krak, and Psyk-out grenades, while she has the Cadre rules, Ex Oblivio, and Precision Strikes. Her melee weapon can be exchanged for a power axe (don't), a Neuro-Lash (not for Marines), or a Paragon Blade (if you just want to maul 2+ saves with a chance at ID), while her pistol can be exchanged for a hand-flamer, a plasma pistol, a needle pistol, or an archaeotech pistol - and for 10 points, any of these weapons can be Master Crafted.
  • A Knight-Centura with Overawe joining a unit of Custodes with Magisterium Vexilia is a great combination. For just 10 or 20 points more than most Custodes infantry model, a naked Centura provides a decent damage output against both MEQs and TEQs, a free +1 bonus to combat resolution and inflicts a malus of -1 against Fear and moral tests. Given the impressive toughness of your Custodes, you usually won't need to kill more than 1 or 2 models in order to win a fight, just tank enough wounds and watch your opponent fail its moral test before being slaughtered by sweeping advance. Works especially well with units wielding Praesidium shields such as Sentinels or Hetaeron guards.
  • Just like the Shield Captain they have access to Terminal Lucidity Injectors and the Icon of the Blazing Sun, and unlike the Shield Captains the Knight-Centura's have access to a Divining Blade. Choosing to give one a Divining Blade will make her the Tribune to Jenetia Krole's Valdor. Anything she wounds, she destroys. Make sure to hide her in a unit (preferably of Custodes) until she has the chance to use it.
• Sisters of Silence Excruciatus Cadre: Something akin to a command squad, this is a squad of WS4 BS4 I4 Ld9 ladies with tools, with the Silent Judge having 2 wounds. They all hate Daemons and Psykers, get Fanatic Discipline, Night Vision, the Cadre rules (forcing them to be the mandatory HQ if the detachment is less than 500 pts, meaning they eat up at least 1/5 of the budget by themselves), and the ability to make their melee attacks ID. The Questorae only get CCWs, Bolt Pistols, Assault Needlers, and grenades alongside their armor and Spectra-vestments which force anyone to take -1 BS to hit them, while the Silent Judge adds a refractor, a Needle Pistol, a Nuncio-Vox, and a power weapon. A Questora can buy the Ardrathic Destructor, while any of them can exchange their guns for Needle Pistols or Stake Crossbows for free or buy a Snare Gun or a Flamer with a one-use boost to make them S6, and each can replace their CCW for a Charnabal Sabre or a power weapon. The Judge can swap her melee weapon for a Neuro-Lash, the Execution Blade, or a fist, while her gun can be exchanged for a Stake-Crossbow, hand flamer, plasma pistol, or a second needle pistol.

Special Characters

• Constantin Valdor: The Captain-General of the Legio Custodes and second best bro of the Emperor takes to the field... to get laughed at. Seriously, this guy's one of the worst HQ choices in the game. Why? It's because while his gear and statline are both great, his points cost is terrible and his Warlord trait is dogshit, pick any table you want and it's a near guarantee the trait you generate's going to be better. In addition, thanks to stuff like Psyarkana there isn't a single thing Valdor can do that somebody else can't do better and/or cheaper. You want a Warlord with Fearless and Eternal Warrior? You've got a Tribune. Not only will he be cheaper, but he'll have more attacks, a sweet shield and you can give him a fist to make all his attacks S10 AP1, making sure he can slaughter the enemies Valdor struggles with. Are you playing games under 2000 points but still want Eternal Warrior and Fearless? Give Valdor a hard pass and get Jenetia Krole instead. She's a budget Valdor, with all that entails. He's a shitload more expensive than she is and while his statline is much better, <2000 points don't have nearly as many threats, she's still a huge threat in her own right (she can take on Praetors that are way above her in points and either hold them until her squad can help out or come out on top herself if you've got a bit of luck) and you have other squads meant to deal with whatever -2000 points can throw at you, like Adrathic weapons to killing Mechanicum. What if you want instant death in melee? Get a Hetaeron squad with a Divining Blade and a shield. Not only do they have more attacks and wounds collectively (as well as the ability to bounce them around thanks to Look out Sir's) but they get full instant death and full S7, rather than just on a 4+ and being S6 every round but the one you charged on, and even though they are overpriced for what they offer, this is still a cheaper option than Valdor!

• Jenetia Krole: Knight-Commander of the Sisters of Silence. She's got 3's across the board with WS6, BS4, I5 A4 and Ld10. On top of Psychic Anathema, she also has Ex Oblivio, Fanatic Discipline, Rage, Preferred Enemy against Psykers and Characters, Cadre rules, Eternal Warrior, and the option to upgrade an Oblivion Knight Cadre to her elite Raptor Guard, which costs 20 points to make them WS5. For gear, she has Artificer Armor with the invuln seen on the Knight-Centura, an Archaeotech Pistol, grenades, and the Sword of Oblivion: a super-Execution Blade with S+2 AP2 with 5+ Murderous Strike instead of Flawless Cut. This all makes her close to a match a challenge beast against any Marine HQs without Eternal Warrior, and more than a match against Daemons. Her Warlord Trait lets her re-roll Seize the Initiative and grants d3 units Scout.
  • Do note that thanks to the new rulebook and the clarifications from the latest FAQ, Krole and every model in her unit get the rerolls from Preferred Enemy as long as even a single character/psyker is part of the enemy unit. Perfect for Custodes units with Solarite gauntlets, just in case wounding on 2+ and getting a reroll from Master-crafted wasn't already enough, so if you're going for ridiculous things like Hetaeron deathstars, leave Valdor and the Tribune at home and take aunt Jenny instead.
  • Since the aforementioned trick basically makes any Custodes unit hit 33% harder, your opponent may seriously consider the possibility of sacrificing the sergeant of the squad in order to negate Preferred Enemy. But in most cases that means lowering the unit's Ld by one, which may prove a really bad deal since Psychic Anathema already inflicts a -1 malus, making the odds of fleeing the fight and being sweep advanced dangerously real. Apply the Knight Centura's Overawe + Magisterium Vexilia combo to make it worse and enjoy.

Elites

• Legio Custodes Hetaeron Guard Squad: The Emperor's Companions, the best of the best of the best. At 70 points per model they look REALLY expensive, but they were one of the best infantry units in the game, which is sad since their price shot up a ton, in their base unit purchase, in their DT, and their options. What makes them special? 3 Wounds, 3 Attacks and counter attack, on top of bonus gear. On that note, any member of the squad can replace their spears with any melee weapon other than a Paragon Spear, but you can have Paragon blades for some nice AP2 at Initiative (apparently not a typo from FW, they just decided to give them a weapon that isn't in their armoury). Suffice to say, thanks to the surprising buffs handed to the Aquilon Terminators, the Hetaeron are in an odd spot. They're much more expensive than Guard Squads, but they're not as durable as the Aquilon and if you want to arm them similarly they become way pricier, to the point where it's not worth it. If you absolutely need AP at Initiative 5 (6 against WS4 or less) then you could buy two of them Paragon Blades and Shields, give the third a Vexilla, teleport them to the middle of the enemy's forces when your own forces are drawing near and just eat the charge they throw at you (seriously, they'll wreck face and don't forget to reallocate some wounds on a 4+ thanks to Look Out, Sir!). If you want their statline for literally any other reason, get Aquilons.
  • Do note that thanks to the wording, you can buy a Divining Blade for one model in the squad.
• Legio Custodes Aquilon Terminator Squad: Custodes with Terminator Armor. How terrifying. Now having the same statline as the Hetaeron, in one of the few cases where FW didn't nerf the Custodes (probably because everyone was using Sentinels and Hetaerons instead). While costly (especially with special weapons), they can do the job if you use them correctly. They are the Custodes' answer against vehicles and Astartes multi-wound special units, since they can one-shot Justaerin, Firedrakes and Gal Vorbak while giving no fucks about Power Fist/Thunderhammer instakill (beware of shenanigans, like Rad Grenades, Rad Furnaces, Rad-Phage etc). Firepikes are also you best friends against hordes, something useful since tarpits are the bane of your Cutodes. Seriously it's arguably the best choice against most infantry units as long as you get at least 4 hits with the template. The Adrathic destructor may sound nice for TEQ-hunting, but ONE S5 AP2 shot is not that great since most TEQ in 30k are Terminators with an invulnerable save. Take it for one-shooting multi-wound models but otherwise go for the Infernus. The Lastrum is only top-tier against models with T3 and a 4+, so you should keep it when facing Solar Auxilia, and do remember that Void Hardened armours make the Infernus firepikes almost useless.
  • Keep in mind that Aquilons do not have Implacable Advance like the basic Legion Astartes Terminators get. So they won't be able to contest the objective even if they crack open a Spartan Deathstar. One of the four Talons of the Emperor troops choices are what you use to babysit objectives.
• Legio Custodes Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought: The fanciest, goldiest, and potentially deadliest non-boxiest dreadnought to ever be seen. It's got WS6 and BS5, an AV of 13/13/11, and hits at I5, meaning he'll more than match any marines on the field. He also has a Refractor Field instead of the basic Atomantic Reactor Contemptors use and comes stock with Extra Armor. For weapons, he starts with two Dread CCWs with Lastrum Storm Bolters, but he can buy the Dreadspear, a S10 AP2 MC weapon that turns any attack into S:Destroyer on a 6 to hit during the turn he charged AND has a Corvae Las-Pulser bolted on top. In addition, he can replace his Lastrum Storm Bolters with either TL Adrathic Destructors or Infernus Incinerators for a small fee.
• Sisters of Silence Oblivion Knight Cadre: The Elite among the Sisters of Silence, each comes with Ex Oblivio, Fanatic Discipline, and Precision Strikes. Each comes with Vratine Armor, cloaks that grant a 6++ Invuln or a 4++ against Templates and Blasts, Execution Blades, grenades, and Bolt Pistols. Everyone can replace their blades for Power Axes while the sergeant can buy a Neuro-Lash and replace her pistol with a Needle-Pistol, a Plasma Pistol, or a Hand Flamer.

Troops

• Custodian Guard Squad: Think Terminators, but with all the 4s in their statline replaced with 5s (so yes, you can strike at Initiative 6 thanks to Preternatural Skill), with situational AP2 at initiative weapons, something that most Space marines (outside of Praetors or Emperor's Children) would never get. They can take the usual Arae-shrikes, Teleportation Transponders and Melta Bombs as upgrades for the whole squad, any Custodian can replace its Guardian spear by an Adrasite or Pyrithite spear and one can take a Magisterium vexilla with a master-craft power weapon or a Sentinel blade instead. They do pay for the high degrees of kickassitude they bring to the table, most notably with actual points and they are liable to get shot down before doing anything if you don't take a Coronus, though with 2 wounds each and a 2+ 5++ they might pull though. With 3 S6 AP2 attacks per Custodian on the charge and the buff from Crusader and a vexilla Magisterium, they have decent chances to win the first round of close combat with a good margin before AP3 becomes a problem, so make sure the situational nature of their AP2 isn't going to get them killed.
  • Since Custodes pay no extra points for the base squad, if you want to go pure-Custodes or even just have a lot of Custodes then it's best to keep your units small and go with multiple squads. Why you'd want to do that is because Custodes have a rather low damage output once they get stuck in, and unfortunately you're going to get stuck in somewhere. A lot of the time it'll be after crippling the enemy unit and having them pass their morale check, however sometimes it'll be because you were charged after deep-striking, after disembarking, or your opponent rolled lucky. Having backup units support one another means that after you withstand the enemy charge you'll be able to break them in your turn, or you can charge a new unit in to finish mopping up what didn't break last time.
    • Also note that if you're playing with both Custodes and Sisters (a really good idea) and your opponent is running a very assault-heavy army, then you can try placing the Sisters up front. While they're relatively easily wounded, there's few units that can wipe them all out on the charge (and less if they were the ones being charged) and their Fearless will ensure they're still there when your glory hogs golden boys come in to save the day. Even if they do all die, you sacrifice a much cheaper unit to guarantee making the charge, which itself can be worth it.
  • Before bitching about your ultimate elite warriors being butchered by "mere" Terminators because of your shitty AP3, remember these guys are only basic Custodes and remain rather good in close combat against anything else. Mathammer-wise, even a three-man squad of Custodians can withstand the charge of 20 World Eaters tactical Legionnaires with 2 CCW and win, just avoid 2+ saves you can't kill on the charge.
  • A note on their equipment, if you are not deep-striking them and expect them to come under a lot of fire then try to keep at least one of them as-is. This is the unfortunate bastard who's going to die first, as you'll be wanting to put him up front or LoS'ing wounds to him when everyone else already has a wound. You shouldn't pay for a gun you'll never fire or a blade you'll never swing and if they come under heavy volume of fire, there's a good chance somebody's going to go down.
    • Another note on equipment: take Adrasite Spears if you plan on deep-striking or want a fire-magnet. Instant Death is scary as hell to Mechanicum and a lot of Legions, what with their multi-wound units that sometimes have Medicae attached to them to make them even tougher, and a few blasts can make a lot of points back very quick (or instantly cover the entire unit, in the case of some Mechanicum). They can also be used on the side/rear of a lot of vehicles to melt through them, even with only S5 on an average roll they'll glance AV 12 on average, bypassing the issue with Armoured Ceramite entirely. Interestingly the Pyrithite Spear's better suited for lower-point games (unfortunately lower than what 30k's recommended to be played at). In higher-points games the vehicles coming to you are going to have Armoured Ceramite and you're going to be able to more easily afford better options for dealing with them, while the vehicles who don't have Armoured Ceramite are going to be too far away to deep-strike to safely in order to take advantage of the melta rule. While still true in lower-points games for everything except Rhino's and their like, the vehicles in the backline (artillery and tanks) are going to have far less bubble-wrap so even a badly scattered deep-strike won't be nearly as harshly punished, and in your next turn they can still accomplish their objective rather safely. They also still have the benefit of being able to ID MEQ's, but with that short range it'll be hard to get them to use it.

• Sentinel Guard Squad: As Custodians armed with sword and board, they are somewhat less killy than their spear-wielding counterparts, but are more defensive thanks to their Praesidium shields. These are best used to guard your squishier Custodians, so they don't get wiped when they get charged by a squad with 2+ saves as your improved Invuls allow Sentinels to stick around long enough for rending to enter the equation. It's also worth noting that these guys can theoretically deal with vehicles thanks to their rending swords, but don't expect too much from them. Anyway, you can replace your Sentinel blades with Solerite gauntlets and talons for more flexibility.
  • While expensive, the Sentinels are the very definition of holding the line, as anything without S10 or Instant Death will take a lot of turns to kill them in CC. For sure, they lack AP2 against TEQs, but they can tank your opponent's most dangerous units, so they are good for preventing a deathstar from rampaging through your army.
  • Worth noting that, unlike Custodian Guard, you do actually get a small discount if you run these guys in small numbers (180 for the basic unit of 3, with 65 per model, means you save points if you run small)

• Sisters of Silence Prosecutor Cadre: Baseline WS4 BS4 I4 Sisters of Silence with bolters (or double bolt pistols) and grenades. They get Fanatic Discipline and can buy a Nuncio-Vox or Breaching Charge. Infiltrate or give them Stealth, keep them small and use them as objective holders. Alternatively buy the max amount, give them two pistols, use them as bubble-wrap and make them look like a juicy target. No really, they can be surprisingly hard to wipe out, about the only things that can manage it are fully-kitted out Legion-specific squads, or a fully kitted out Assault Squad (both of which are far more expensive than the Prosecutors, and the Assault Squad can only do it on the charge) and Fearless ensures they don't run. Once they've got stuck in (or wiped out) counter-charge with whatever they're in front of and wipe out whatever it was they're up against.

• Sisters of Silence Vigilator Cadre: Slightly improved Sisters, they all get an Execution Blade and Pistol. If you take them, then before the game starts you must mark a single Infantry unit or Character. They and all other Vigilators get Preferred Enemy on that one target. They can be used for the exact same way as Prosecutors, they're better at being bubble-wrap (due to being able to kill a few of whoever charges them) while being worse at going after objective holders (due to having worse guns and relatively low melee output). The neuro-lash is situational, if you know you're up against huge assault squads or the like then it can do you well. If you're blocking TEQ's then you need to get practically the entire squad in range to do the same damage your execution blade would normally do. If you're up against anything worse than MEQ's however, then it becomes a lot better, but if you expect the squad to die then it's still a good idea not to put that many points into them.

Dedicated Transports

• Legio Custodes Coronus Grav-Carrier: It's not an assault transport - it's an infantry supporting unit depositing gunboat in ways that a Razorback can only dream of, and way too expensive to justify using, on top of being way too big to reliably deep-strike (and if you're doing that, just deep-strike the unit it's carrying). Any list you've made should be based around avoiding this piece of shit, these are your main options: footslogging, deep-striking, or picking Master of Ambush as your Warlord Trait.
• Sisters of Silence Kharon Pattern Acquistor: The DT of the Sisters, it's not Custodes-tier hax but it's got lots of weapons and is an ASSAULT VEHICLE. It's only 12/11/10 with BS4. It has a ton of guns however, with missile launchers and the Helion-Pattern Heavy Cannon Array, a super TL-autocannon with S7 AP4 Heavy 4 with Pinning. It also has an Auspex to give Night-Fighting and reduces enemy cover while also having Stealth and the ability to make anyone shooting beyond 12" shoot at -1 BS. The last trick it has is the Capture-Grid, a tank-shock attack that grants d6 S5 HoW attacks before any Death of Glory is counted. Stick any type of sisters with execution blades in it, with a character, infiltrate the Kharon Acquisitor, charge in, and rip and tear.
  • After the July 2018 Errata, Acquisitors cannot transport models with the Bulky, Very Bulky, etc. special rules, so you can longer use them as a taxi for your golden boys.

Fast Attack

• Legio Custodes Pallas Grav-Attack: A light tank with 12/11/11, but it has a TL Arachnus Blaze Cannon to attack and a Flare Shield and the Grav-Backwash of the Coronus to defend it. It also gets a Machine Spirit, Outflank, and DS, making it best suited to attack from an unexpected angle rather than be an assault weapon.

• Sisters of Silence Pursuer Cadre: They're Sisters...with pets. For each sister you buy, you also have to buy a Cyber-Jackal, a powerful beast that's actually slightly stronger and tougher than the sisters and equipped with Rage, FNP, a 5+ save and the option to shoot flamers or meltas at BS2 (pick the flamer), or Razortalon Wings, birds that get more attacks at higher Initiative, but can only fight in melee. The birds are a bit cheaper, but the dogs have more utility and punch. The sisters meanwhile benefit from Fleet and Move Through Cover as well as Fanatic Discipline, though the sergeant has a small list of pistols or Charnabal/Power Weapons to use if she's unhappy with the CCW/Bolt Pistol combo.

• Legio Custodes Agamatus Jetbike Squadron: RIDE THE LIGHTNING ! Custodians on super golden banana jetbikes wielding FUCKHUEG knight-style power lances. It sounds so goddamn metal, it looks goddamn metal, it fights goddamn metal. The Gyrfalcon-pattern jetbike is a jetbike that boosts the rider's Toughness by 1, making you as tough as a Primarch so you can laugh at S10-induced instant death and allows you to re-roll failed charge distances. Your glorious steed of gold and fury comes with cool-looking leather boots and gauntlets (we're not making this up), a Lastrum Bolt Cannon and benefit from the slew of Custodes rules in addition to Split Fire. If you're not happy with the bolt cannon, the whole squadron can be 'upgraded' with Adrathic Devastators (+15 points) or twin-linked Corvae Las-pulsers (+35 points) as well as getting melta-bombs.
  • Move on Boltodes, those guys can do your job better. For just 10 points above the Sagittarum guard, you have a unit that can actually move 12", shoot three 36" S6 AP3 and deliver three S6 AP3 attacks on the charge, so anything without a 2+ or decent invulnerable save is fucked. If you must deal with something harder, Corvae las-pulsers can ruin the day of any vehicle, TEQ or MC but the price of your squadron is increasing quickly, so just take the Adrathic Devastators if you're not afraid of short range fights. Two S6 Armourbane shots are mathematically better than 1D3 S9 ones and you get Instant Death as a bonus for far cheaper, meaning T5 or more characters, multi-wound units and Monstruous Creatures will shit in their pants too.
  • Do note that the Agamatus are the only Custodes unit without Crusader (the July 2018 FAQ didn't change that), and are just jetbikes, not eldar jetbikes, so no free 2D6-not-thrust-moves, and it really sucks since you NEED to win the first round of close-combat after you charge if you don't want to be locked forever with your downgraded derp-lances. Don't be greedy and keep your precious heavy weapons away from tarpits.

• Legio Custodes Custodian Venatari Squad (Beta): The Custodes version of Assault Marines. At long last, there are bananas on jump packs. These guys only get a 3+ armor save, though they also have a refractor, a 4++ in close combat, and a buckler that's a bonus strength power sword that weakens the AP of all attacks it suffers by 1 (Making it fuck over power swords and AP3 guns, but faltering against plasma and fists and doing nothing to weaker weapons). That shield is backed up by the Archaeotech Kinetic Destroyer (12" MC pistol with S7 AP3 and gains another attack with each 6 to-hit, with a cap of six extra shots), making them pretty good at tabling MEQs. If shield-and-gun isn't your style, then you can replace them with the Venetari Lance, which is part Custodes power-blade and part Archaeotech Kinetic Repeater (Kinetic Destroyer except Assault 2 and no extra hits). This finally gives you a mobile assault squad that can handle itself in melee and isn't as expensive as the bikes, but they're not the invincible fully-plated banana-men. These guys can also buy melta bombs to blow up tanks.

Heavy Support

• Sisters of Silence Seeker Cadre: Sisters with Flamers. Competes with Excruciatus Cadre as your "must take" gold babes. (Calling them "Golden Girls" means you earned that live grenade under your bed.) Nothing more you need to know besides the ability to grab grenades and the basic Anathema, Fanatic Discipline, and Cadre rules. The squad can take Grenade Launchers with Frag, Krak, and Psyk-Out grenades. This is your answer to Magnus and his D. Use them as a Militia Grenadier Squad with anti Psyker options. They don't get Gas or Firebust like the other guys. However a ten member squad can put out a load of hurt with ten S6 AP4 attacks at 24" or as an effective blob killer.(i.e. Chaos Daemons, when they finally have 30K compatible rules) Not quite as good as the Caladius or the Telemon but they can threaten light vehicles such as Rhinos and out range squads with Volkite Chargers. Freeing up the heavy hitters to deal with MEQs and above. Silence Seeker Cadres are however a better choice over Sagittarum Guard Squads detailed below. Note that unlike Grenadiers they won't last as long in a shooting match. One would think the Golden Sisters would have better grenades than Cults and Militias. This oversight might be fixed when Talons get their own red book.
• Legio Custodes Sagittarum Guard Squad: Given a massive saving grace in that they can fucking finally take fists, so now they don't get the shit kicked out of them by non-assault units that happened to have a power axe. That being said they're still not good and are still a little overcosted (Adrasite Spear squads are only 5 points more per model while having good power weapons). They are very difficult to use if you want them to earn their points back. They can be useful in low point games but you are better off taking the Dreadnoughts or Grav-Tank instead. If you're playing against Auxilia then that's where they really shine, although now that Daemons of the Ruinstorm are out they can also do some solid work there too since at a distance they'll have good odds of wounding and also usually ignore their armour saves. Against anyone else Deep-striking behind vehicles is the best way to use your golden boys, so plan to take fists if you fail at blasting that angry Contemptor before it charges you. Don't give everyone a fist though, just one or two and leave the poor third to be used as an ablative wound for the squad.
• Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought: Another giant golden mecha for the Emperor's Firstborn. Compared to the Achilius, this one gets a fuckhuge warblade with AP2, Shred and Rampage, with a Twin-Linked Infernus Destructor built in to it. The Galatus also sports a Praesidium Shield, allowing it to re-roll invul saves taken from the front at range (and all in CC) and makes any hit rolls from any non-Gargantuans drop by 1. It also grabs Counter Attack, which lets it use that sword to its fullest. Put this in the front to take a few hits and let the other bananas smack whatever targets the big guy.
  • Whilst this sexy beast occupies the sacred support slot for your Golden Bananas, and doesn't have any long-distance ranged weapons, this guy is an absolute BEAST in close combat. Even if we gloss over the Twin-linked S6 AP4 Flamer in it's sword (!), it's going to be doing some damage. On the charge, after a S8 Hammer of Wrath; you can expect 4 base attacks, +1 for charging or counterattack, and +d3 on the charge for for Rampage. That's between 5 and 8 attacks resolved at I5, at S10 AP2, rerolling failed to-wound rolls. The really nice thing is that in the event YOU are charged, you're still probably going to benefit from Wall of Death, Rampage, and (thanks to Counter Attack) +1 to your base. And if you don't sweep assault? They'll likely be hitting you on 5's in CC thanks to that shield of yours, which is also affording your AV13 a rerollable 5++. Again, it's competing with the Caladius, and the Achilius is arguably better overall, but don't discount this fella. Used correctly, he will put in some work, and is one of the few things that can take a charge of Primarch-train and hope to survive. This also makes a great but quite expensive one unit body guard for characters. The Galatus pairs well with an Achillus or Telemon to act as the defensive linebacker to their quarterback.
• Caladius Grav-Tank: Take a Sicaran Battle Tank, and stick it on a Land Speeder. Then give it to the most elite dudes in the Imperium and you have the Caladius. It's a fast skimmer (so you can Jink) with BS5, 13|13|11 3 HP and a flare shield, so keep it front toward your enemy and enjoy your grav-Land Raider with a 4+ cover save. It comes with Outflank, a Machine spirit (so you can Jink AND fire one of your weapons at full BS, pretty cool since the guns of your gilded podracer are nasty) and Grav Backwash (your enemy doesn't want to charge as much and suffers a -2 to Hit penalty in close combat as long as the Caladius is not Immobilised). The Caladius comes with two weapons : the turret-mounted Iliastus accelerator cannon and the hull-mounted Lastrum bolt cannon. The former is a twin-linked 60" S7 AP2 Heavy 3 gun with Rending and Rapid Tracking (no Jink for your enemy), while the latter is twin-linked 36" S6 AP3 Heavy 3. Great, but here is the cherry on the top of the golden banana cake. Both weapons have a brand new fearsome rule : Heliothermic Detonation. If your target has suffered one or more unsaved wounds, they have must pass a Toughness test or suffer Instant Death, and Penetrating hits adds +1 to the Vehicle Damage table. You get this package for just 195 points, or the same as an off the shelf Land Raider Proteus, a bargain for your golden banana warriors.
  • Given some similarities with the Sicaran's accelerator autocannon, it is worth making some comparisons. Against metal bawkses, the Sicaran remains better for pure saturation and wiping out HP since it throws twice the amount of dakka the Caladius does, especially against Flyers, the Caladius' BS5 being useless in this case. HOWEVER, any Penetrating hit you may score with the Iliastus will have a 33% chance to blow your enemy up, something the autocannon can't even do. Anyway, the Sicaran looks like a jealous little bitch when coming to anti-infantry capabilities as the Caladius can tear apart MEQs and even TEQs or Monstruous Creatures better than most tanks. Well, for the same price the Sicaran can have 4 heavy bolters and will do a better job against 4+ saves and Cataphractii (by pure saturation power), but the golden floater remains more polyvalent overall. This Heliothermic Detonation shit means that Characters, multi-Wounds units and MC will sweat a little if they get wounded, unless they are Eternal Warriors.
  • In book 7, we now have the option to replace the turret-mounted twin-linked Iliastus accelerator with a Twin-Linked Arachnus Heavy Blaze Cannon, for 15pts. Whilst you do lose out on AP2 and Rapid Tracking, you are gaining a Heavy 4 weapon with +1S and AP3. The real icing on this weapons cake, however, is the alternate firing mode. S10 AP1, with the Exoshock special rule from the Deredeo. With BS5 and TL, one would hope that round punches through some armour! Mathammer-wise, the concentrated mode is more efficient against Armour Value from 12 to 15, while the burst mode will wip out more HP than both the Iliastus and the concentrated blast until facing AV14 but remember you have no chance to get the Explosion! result on the chart. The Arachnus is better at tank-hunting and MEQ-killing, but if you expect a lot of skimmers, flyers, jetbikes or TEQs to show up, the Iliastus remains a more versatile (and cheaper) choice.
  • All in all, the Caladius is maybe the most versatile tank in 30k for its price, both durable, fast, manoeuvrable and killy. With a main weapon firing from 48" up to 72", a 4+ cover save and a Frontal Armour of 14, it can stay away from your adversary's biggest guns while destroying light vehicles and infantry from afar and survive medium-range fire from the front when you cannot retreat. Just remember it has only a Rear Armour of 11 so any deep-striking/outflanking unit with a bit of anti-armour stuff will wreck it.
• Telemon heavy Dreadnought: The biggest, shiniest Dreadnought variant that ever existed and the Legio Custodes equivalent of the Leviathan. It comes with an Armour value of 13|13|12, 4HP, WS6, BS5, I5, 4 Attacks, exta armour, armoured ceramite and a 4+ invulnerable save increasing to 3+ against weapons with the Blast special rule or that use a template of any kind. Pretty good, but the giant golden Kinder has another surprise for you... The Unyielding Sentinel rule lets you roll 2 dice on the Vehicle Damage table after you suffered a Penetrating Hit, the highest being discarded. Now the time has come to punch things, the Telemon has some good tools for the job. Its basic weapons are a pair of Telemon Caestus, Dreadnought close-combat weapons with Shred and Murderous Strike, perfect for tearing Monstrous Creatures. Each Caestus comes with an in-built Proteus plasma projector, an Assault 1 S5 AP2 Template weapon. It Gets Hot like other plasma weapons, but who cares ? AP2 flamers will make Terminators cry, especially if you're playing Zone Mortalis. You also get 1d6 Hammer of Wrath attacks instead of one when charging. If you don't want to dirty your shiny armour in close-combat, no problem, the Emprah has given you some nasty guns to do the job from afar. The Spiculus bolt launcher is a 48" S5 AP4 Heavy 5 weapon with Rending which can fire twice if you stay immobile during the Movement phase. The Telemon can also equip an Iliastus Accelerator Culverin. It is a nasty 36" S7 AP2 Heavy 5 Rending uber-autocannon, with the accustomed Heliothermic Detonation, which gives your enemies the chance of Instant Death on each unsaved wound if they suffer one or more wounds from your big gun. It's lacking the versatility of its other weapon options, but all in all, it's a great gun to fry some TEQ with and punch the occasional light vehicle. But the real star in the long-range combat department is the Arachnus storm cannon, an oversized laser gatling gun which can shoot with two profiles : 48" S7 AP 3 Heavy 7 or 72" S9 AP1 Heavy 2 with the Exo-Shock special rule. Not quite as good as the Arachnus heavy blaze cannon or the Iliastus Accelerator Culverin if you want to insta-kill MEQs or squads of T5 models, but slightly better against light vehicles, hordes and MC. You can replace one or both Caestus and Proteus projectors with this beauty for +30 points each.
  • The Telemon is by far the most versatile ranged unit in the Talons of the Emperor army list. The Arachnus storm cannon makes him a threat against vehicles and infantry alike and the Spiculus launcher can add a lot of saturation fire, all this at 48" range, and the Iliastus Accelerator Culverin can ID the ubiquitous multi-wound TEQs you're likely to find in 30k. If you stay immobile, your Dreadnought can unleash 14 S7 AP3 and 10 S5 AP4 shots each turn, making it a good counter-measure against the usual Nemesis of a Custodes army : hordes and flyers. It does not match the Leviathan anti-armour capabilities in close-combat, but can engage a wider variety of targets while staying away from the melee.
  • Like the Achillus Dreadnought, nothing is specified about the bonus attacks for every CCW after the first walkers get being included in the profile, so you technically don't lose any attack when taking an Arachnus storm cannon.
  • Take note that the Telemon is a Character, so he can call and accept challenges, be your Warlord, etc.

Lords of War

• Warlord-Sinister Pattern Battle Psi-Titan: HO-LYYY SWEEET FUCK. PSYCHIC WARLORD TITAN. Fueled by the powers of captured psykers, who are bled dry to power the Titan, it's a good thing this monster is worth 3250 points. Starting off with the standard kit of a Warlord Battle Titan, the Warlord-Sinister adds the Psychic Pilot rule (Mastery Level 3), knowing three set powers: a 24" d6 bolter-shot nova with Soul Blaze and Ignores Cover, a blessing which restores any lost hull point on a 5+, and a witchfire which hits all units within 24" of a point with a Haywire hit (for vehicles-EVEN FLYERS) or d6 Heavy Bolter shots (PER 5 MODELS) if it's infantry. The Psi-Titan makes all units within 12" take leadership checks automatically, and any unit that wishes to charge the monstrosity (why you would do that is beyond us) must take a leadership check at -3 Ld. Its weapons are standard fare for the Warlord, except that you always carry the Sinistramanus Tenebrae , aka the gun that will ruin your day, on one arm. Fluff-wise it's an up-scaled Animus Speculum, crunch-wise it's an apocalyptic mega-blast that's Strength D/Fleshbane/Poison 4+, and AP 1/2/3 for its respective ranges. Oh, and that inner circle? Yeah, it's a Vortex, just in case anything in the blast radius thought it would survive that shot. And if you finally manage to put the Titan(ic amount of Grimdark) down, it will explode on you, which on a 4+ becomes a 36 INCH DESTROYER BLAST. Honestly, even if the Emperor's rules get released, this bastard will probably be the more OP Lord of War choice.

• Orion Assault Dropship: A 7 hull point, 13-12-11, 600ish point super-heavy flyer and a Lord of War for Talons of the Emperor. It's also a transport with a capacity of 24 models. (Yes, Custodians do count as two.) This golden nugget is capable of transporting a Dreadnought, (which counts as 10 models.) Along with being a super-heavy flyer, and transport, the Orion is armed with two Arachnus Heavy Blaze cannons, Two nose mounted tl Lastrum Bolt Cannons, two Spiculus Heavy Bolt Launchers (48", 7, 4, H3, Rending,) armored ceramite and cockpit as standard and the new Eclipse Shield and Macro Arae-Shrike. The Eclipse Shield provides the Orion with a -2 to blast and template weapon strength, and a -1 to all other weapon strength. If a shooting weapon inflicts a glancing or penetrating hit, the Orion immediately gains Shrouded against all subsequent hits against its front Arc during this phase. However, this has no effect on melee attacks or weapons of the Destroyer type (not a big deal as long as you're not Hovering since most of D weapons are usually blasts). Macro Arae-shrikes on the other hand, act as normal Arae-shrikes, with the addition of interception interference. When enemy units declare their interception, the intercepting player must roll a D6 for each unit attempting to intercept. If a unit rolls 3 or less, it's unable to intercept but may fire as normal in its next shooting phase. Furthermore, because He and the terrawatt clan love us so, the Orion has the Deep Strike and Assault Vehicle special rule.
  • As long as you keep the enemy in front of it, the Orion is arguably more resistant (and cheaper) than a similarly geared Thunderhawk. Its firepower may seem somewhat limited for what you're paying and it clearly won't earn its points back by killing TEQ or hordes. Two S10 AP1 exo-shock shots and 3 rending autocannons are still quite good for tank-hunting and make the Orion a monster against other flyers, but you could have more big guns for the same price. Unless you really need a very reliable transport or flyer-killer, there are other units that can do the job better.

Ares Gunship: What's that I hear you say? The Orion lacks firepower? Well someone heard your cries and decided this fucker would soothe the angst. They were wrong. What they've done is remove the Lastrum Bolt Cannons, remove the transport capacity, remove the Spiculus Launchers and replaced all those with the grandaddy of the Arachnus family: the Magna Blaze Cannon. It sounds metal and it is goddamn metal: With a burst fire akin to 2 AP2 battlecannon shots and a focused fire akin to Vulkan's Dawnbringer (Instant Death, Armourbane along with being a Primary Weapon to ensure you pen and Master Crafted to ensure you slap that ugly Spartan silly. Oh and you fire 2 of these shots, because there's no kill like overkill). It also has a firebomb cluster for its anti-infantry needs (Bomb 3, heavy bolter strength large blasts with ignores cover). The Ares has a lot of issues, for starters it costs enough that you're not going to be using it in games 2500 points and under (and 3000+ points are going to give your opponent more wiggle-room to deal with it). Next up is that the Orion had a pretty big issue, that it would come in, do quite a bit of damage, drop off its cargo and then get shot down, either in that turn or in the next one. The Ares has a similar issue but in a much bigger way: its weapons are simply not worth it and expose it to too much danger. If you want to keep it back to use its weapons for anti-armour then you're going to be flying off the table edge or trying to hover it, in which case it's going to get shot down or struggle to make its points back. If you want to use it to take out infantry in fly-by runs then you risk exposing its rear armour, in which case a single penetrating hit can kill it immediately (watch the fuck out for Outflankers), and you'll find it's not as good at the job as things like a couple Caladius, 2 Telemons, an Orion, or anything else that many points can buy (without risk of Price of Failure on top of that). Put simply, don't take it.

• God-Emperor of Mankind: COMING SOON! No actual rules yet, but a note in the Legio Custodes Tribune rules suggests he will be a future potential HQ/LoW choice for the army, similar to the Primarchs and their legions.
  • Note by coming soon we mean presumably sometime in your lifetime, and by the current HH release schedule, we won't be getting rules until sometime after 2020 2030.