Warhammer 40,000/10th Edition Tactics/Talons of the Emperor

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This is the current 10th Edition's Adeptus Custodes tactics. 9th Edition Tactics are here.

Why Play Adeptus Custodes

Pros

  • Custodians get to eat really really good with T6 and a 2+/4++ on your basic custodians. Easily high in the running for toughest overall army.
  • Remain high in contention for best CC in the game and in fact may have gotten better through mass synergies and buffs. Even the Sisters of Silence combat troops are super-scary in combat.

Cons

  • Sisters of Silence are no longer immune to all psychic shenanigans. While they do get a 3+++ FNP against psychic weapons, they can be just as subject to any debuff auras as anyone else.
    • Even worse, they're barred from any enhancements and can only use two of your six stratagems. If you're taking them, it's only because you need something to kill a specific characters.
  • Talons are mostly a Forge World army. So they will be getting their rules later than other armies and are also the most expensive.
  • Your Vertus Praetors are obviously paying for the sins o 9th as they took some serious nerfs to their stats and weaponry. While still usable its very hard to justify making them the crux of the army like before. Plus being butthurt expensive.

Faction Rules

  • Martial Ka'tah: Returning in this condition and no longer restricted to only using one before switching to another and forgetting about the last one. Instead, you just pick the most suitable one for each fight phase.
    • Dacatarai Stance: Melee weapons gain Sustained Hits 1. Pick this when you're about to murder something you wound on 3+ or 2+, typically after charging and hence in your own Fight phase.
    • Rendax Stance: Melee weapons gain Lethal Hits. Pick this when you're about to murder something you wound on 5+ or 6+, typically after charging and hence in your own Fight phase.
    • Kaptaris Stance: Enemies take -1 to hit custodes in melee. Pick this when you're about to be murdered, typically after being charged and hence in the enemy Fight phase.

Detachments

Shield Host

Special Rules

  • Aegis of the Emperor: Your bananas and Sisters gain a 4+++ against mortal wounds. Be lucky, that's all you'll get.
    • Mortal Wounds are a lot rarer in this edition, especially now that most Psychic attacks are regular attacks. Some, but not all, psykers do still have Psychic abilities that deal MW.

Stratagems

  • Vigil Unending (1 CP): During your command phase, you can resurrect one model in a non-character non-Anathema Psykana Infantry unit at max wounds. This will mean a lot since your bananas are your most valuable assets for their power, but it's only usable once per game per unit. Whichever unit you use this on, you'd best hope that they won't go down the next turn.

Enhancements

Still barred from any Sisters of Silence.

  • Ceaseless Hunter: Bearer's unit can shoot and charge after falling back. They also have a single-use ability to move 6" after an enemy ends up within 9" of them.
  • Inspirational Exemplar: Bearer gains 5+ Leadership. They also have a chaplain-like single-use ability to cure one unit within 18" of the battle-shocked state.
  • Unstoppable Destroyer: Whenever the bearer charges, roll a d6; on a 2+ the enemy suffers d3 MWs, on a 6, that damage is maxed out to 3 MWs. Gives a single-use ability to make anyone within 6" of the bearer after a charge take a battle-shock test.
  • Veiled Blade: Bearer's melee weapons gain +2 attacks. Gain a single-use ability to make his Objective Control stat as triple for absolute camping power.

Wargear

  • Vexilla: Grants the bearer's unit +1 to their Objective Control.

Ranged

  • Balistus Grenade Launcher: [Blast] 18" Ad6 BS2+ S4 AP-1 D1.
  • Guardian Spear/Castellan Axe: [Assault] 24" A2 BS2+ S4 AP-1 D2.
  • Sentinel Blade: [Assault, Pistol] 12" A2 BS2+ S4 AP-1 D2.

Melee

  • For all weapons below, A values in parentheses are for Shield-Captains.
    • Castellan Axe: A4(5) WS3+ S9 AP-1 D3.
      • A*WS*D: 8/10.
    • Guardian Spear: A5(6) WS2+ S7 AP-2 D2.
      • A*WS*D: 8.33/10.
    • Interceptor Lance: A5(6) WS2+ S7(Lance) AP-2 D2
      • A*WS*D: 8.33/10.
    • Sentinel Blade: A5(7) WS2+ S6 AP-2 D1
      • A*WS*D: 4.17/5.83.
  • For all weapons below, A values in parentheses are for Knights-Centura.
    • Executioner Greatblade: A2(3) WS2+ S5(Anti-Psyker 4+) AP-2(Devastating Wounds) D2
      • A*WS*D: 3.33/5.

Unit Analysis

Characters

By led unit:

  • Allarus Custodians: Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour
  • Custodian Guard/Custodian Wardens: Blade Champion, Shield-Captain, Trajann Valoris, Valerian
  • Prosecutors/Vigilators/Witchseekers: Knight-Centura, Aleya
  • Vertus Praetors: Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike


  • Blade Champion: Alone or with his unit he can be targeted by Heroic Intervention for 0 CP even if you've already used the strat this phase and 1/battle he can charge after advancing; if he leads a unit, the whole unit can re-roll advance and charge rolls. His melee weapon has three profiles:
    • A5 WS2+ S6 AP-3(Devastating Wounds) D3, the big seller, especially since he can lead Custodian Guard for full wound re-rolls near an objective marker.
      • A*WS*D: 12.5
    • A6 WS2+ S7(Precision) AP-2 D2.
      • A*WS*D: 10
    • A9 WS2+(Sustained Hits 1) S5 AP-1 D1
      • A*WS*D: 9
  • Knight-Centura: Pretty much the only way to make your sisters worth more than just some speedbumps. This big sister gives any unit she joins +2" to Movement and +2 to advance and charge rolls. She also forces non-Monsters/Vehicles to roll for Desperate Escape checks to disengage from them. As such, this makes the Vigilators the most likely to make a benefit from her presence since they couldn't shoot - just sucks that they lack Scouts.
    • She can choose any of three weapon choices, but if you don't take the melee option, she has no melee weapon at all, and neither of her guns has Assault, so you're always going to take the melee option: A3 WS2+ S5(Anti-Psyker 4+) AP-2(Devastating Wounds) D2.
  • Shield-Captain: Your big banana, 1 of them per turn can grant their squad a free stratagem, even if it has already been used, and has +1A on most melee weapons (+2 on Sentinel Blades) and +3W relative to whatever he's leading.

<tabs> <tab name="Shield-Captain"> The man to go with your basic custodians and Wardens, capable of picking up any of the three weapons. His big draw is being able to give his squad two stances each Fight phase as well as a single-use ability to give them all the stances for the few cases where you need all three active. </tab> <tab name="in Allarus Terminator Armour"> The big beefer, capable of fighting after dying on a 2+. </tab> <tab name="on Dawneagle Jetbike"> His squad can Consolidate 6" rather than 3" (don't forget, this is capable of nerfing you, if it ends up forcing you to Consolidate into an enemy when you wanted to Consolidate into an objective marker), and 1/battle at the end of any Fight phase, the unit can Fall Back (if it's engaged) or Normal Move (if it isn't). </tab> </tabs>

Epic Heroes

  • Aleya: A beefed-up Knight-Centura with a mightier sword. Better for protecting your forces by granting the squad a 5+++ rather than a speed boost and Fights First over trapping foes in a fight - after all, you need the fight to end faster.
  • Trajann Valoris: Remains rather tanky with T6 and a 2+/4++ save with a 5+++. While the misericordia no longer seems to exist for him, his axe remains devastating at A6 WS2+ S10 AP-2 D3 that shoots at S5 AP-2 D3 using Assault so he can usually shoot. Fortunately, he's also an excellent pick for leader, as he makes his unit immune to any modifiers they suffer.
    • The Moment Shackle returns as a once per battle option, giving you a choice of one of three potential benefits: Doubling the number of attacks the axe can make in melee, giving a 2++ Invuln or giving Fights First; these benefits only last for the duration of the fight phase that it was activated.
  • 'Valerian: His guardian spear shoots a third time with Assault and in melee has +1A, +1S, and -1AP, and he has a native 6+++. He can also re-roll one Hit or Wound roll or one saving throw per battle round, and once per battle, after rolling one of those three rolls, he can change the result to an unmodified 6. If he leads a unit, all of them worsen incoming melee AP by 1.

Battleline

  • Custodian Guard: The ever-reliable and ever-mighty bananas of the palace are in a very comfy place in 10th with T6 W4 and a 2+/4++ save stock. Even without a character leading them, they can re-roll 1s to wound, and camping on an objective makes that turn into re-rolling all wounds alongside a single-use ability to shoot twice in a phase.
    • Guardian Spears remain the absolute best weapons available with strapped-on guns with S4 AP-1 D2 with Assault to let them shoot at any time. The Sentinel Swords see the guns halve their range and gain [Pistol] for something to fire in melee, but the sword part falls off in exchange for the Praesidium Shield giving an exchange for a bonus wound. Sadly, the Misericordia are relegated to just being niche weapons only given to the one guy wielding a Vexilla. While they're not too different from the swords, they definitely won't keep up with the spears.

Sisters of Silence

These units have the anathema psykana keyword.

  • Prosecutors: Oh, this is unfortunate. No longer does the power of the nulls make them flat-out immune to psychic powers, now they just get a 3+++ against psychic attacks (here's hoping they got some kind of Strategem shenanigans in that department). They do however have [Precision] and [Devastating Wounds] against psykers, which will help them pick out attached psykers and then overcome problematic armor or invuln saves.

Infantry

  • Allarus Custodians: Toughness 7, holy shit. Combined with their 2+/4++ saves and W4, they'll be going nowhere. Even better, you'll be wanting them to camp on objectives with their OC 2 with an additional point of OC per model if they take a Vexilla. Their Castellan Axes remain high-powered weapons that can cut through MEQs with ease and threaten TEQs (A4 WS3+ S9 AP-1 D3 is 8 Damage that hits at S9 AP-1) while their Guardian Spears give more attacks at a better WS and AP (A5 WS2+ S7 AP-2 D2 is 8.33 Damage that hits at S7 AP-2); their guns are identical either way, with S4 AP-1 D2 with Assault on both guns, and all of their attacks re-roll wounds against Characters, monsters, and vehicles. Sadly, the Misericordia are relegated to just being niche weapons for your one guy with the Vexilla.
    • Their biggest loss is their loss in speed, being made M5". Once per game though, you can make them jump back into reserve before redeploying them on the next Reserves phase.
  • Custodian Wardens: The elite custodians, given the option of axe and spear from their Allarus brethren. They act as a good retinue as enemies take -1 to wound if they target this squad with a weapon Strength that exceeds their Toughness. On top of that, you also have a single-use buff of a 4+ FNP when you really need to survive a devastating blast.

Sisters of Silence

These units have the anathema psykana keyword.

  • Vigilators: S5 AP-2 D2 swords with [Devastating Wounds] and [Anti-Psyker 4+] means you can bypass both good Toughness and good saves on your psyker targets dealing mortal wounds on 4+, but even then it's a big ask taking these over Custodians in many situations, especially without a Rhino. The only real defense they have aside from their 3+ save is a permanent -1 to be hit in melee.
  • Witchseekers: Sisters of Silence with flamers. These flamers at least force enemies hit by them to take a battle-shock test so you can potentially pin down enemies for custodians to go steal the glory.

Mounted

  • Vertus Praetors: Can auto-advance 6" and 1/battle after Advancing can pick 1 enemy non-monster/vehicle the unit moved over: for each model in your unit, roll 1d6, and on a 2+, the target suffers 2 MW (1.67 MW per model on average). Unfortunately, the unit can't shoot or charge after advancing. Ignoring the derpy bolter you'll never take, here are its weapons:
    • 24" A1 BS2+ S9 AP-2 D3, this is one of the only hard-hitting guns in your army.
    • Melee A5 WS2+ S7(Lance) AP-2 D2, this is a Guardian Spear with Lance.

Vehicles

  • Venerable Land Raider: One of many examples of GW taking crazy pills in 10th, this transport can carry 6 adeptus custodes infantry with no caveats, which means [[derp|Sisters/non-Terminators and Terminators both take up the same amount of space}}. Unlike in some other factions, retains your Faction rule, which means when you charge it into melee as a speed bump and take the right stance, enemies will take -1 to hit it.
    • Has an Assault Ramp, so the vehicle can Normal Move, then the occupants can get out and charge. Not for nothing, your most points-efficient melee choice, Vigilators, also lack Deep Strike, and their dedicated transport can't hold a candle to this thing. You might want to consider paying a pittance to toss 4 or 5 Vigilators in here.
    • Genuinely your most points-efficient gun platform (Praetors pay for their mobility and melee competence) thanks to its 4 lascannons.

Walkers

  • Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought: At current points costs, never take this. 1 of them costs slightly more than 2 Praetors while doing less work for you.

Dedicated Transports

  • Anathema Psykana Rhino: Pretty much like any other rhino with the exception of the missing Firing Ports 2. Sure, you've got one unit that can't make use of it at all and your other two lack special guns, but that's no excuse for this travesty and no, 3+++ against psychic powers doesn't mean shit. Can only transport 12 anathema psykana infantry.


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