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Captain Titus

2019-01-26T04:37:36Z

2601:147:4300:1949:D8B2:2C22:D087:4829: /* Reasons why Titus is such a Badass */

{{awesome}}
[[Image:Titus titlescreen.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Making the Ultramarines [[awesome]] again.]]
{{topquote|The Codex Astartes is a set of rules. They guide us, shape us as Ultramarines, teach us to place duty and honour above all. But how we live with those rules is the true test of a Space Marine. And you, have failed.|Captain Titus to Leandros, showing Ward and his failures just how wrong they are}}

'''Captain Titus''', first name generally assumed to be "Motherfucking", is the Captain of the [[Ultramarines]] Second Company and the protagonist of the vidya [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine]]. He is voiced by '''MARK MOTHERFUCKING STRONG!!!!'''

== Graia ==
When Forgeworld Graia was invaded by Warboss [[Grimskull]] and his [[Ork]] WAAAAGHH!!!, the Imperium, rather annoyed by this, in particular because of fear of losing some Warlord-class [[Titans 40k|Titans]], responded by sending the Ultramarines Second Company, led by Captain Titus. Titus, along with fellow Ultramarines Brother Leandros and Veteran Sergeant Sidonus, proceeded to aid the remaining Imperial Guardsmen led by Second Lieutenant Miranda 'Mira' Nero.

After destroying a captured planetary defense cannon that was shooting down Imperial reinforcements ("Clever of the damned Orks", as Sidonus put it), and furthering the guardsmen's advance, Titus and his companions made their way to Manufactorum Ajakis, where they found an inquisitorial servo skull, which carried a holographic video recording. The recording shows Inquisitor Drogan asking for aid, along with safeguarding an experimental device if he were to die. The Ultramarines then made their way inside the Titan works where they found the Titan ''Invictus'', intact but abandoned, and Drogan. Drogan explained that he needed to retrieve the power source of the experimental device from its chamber deep beneath the Manufactorum. They then proceeded to retrieve the power source, whilst also killing invading Orks and evading Grimskull himself.

As Titus obtained the power source, its instability made the entire room collapse. Titus, however, ''somehow'' survived and placed the power source into its canister. After escaping the sewers and reuniting with his comrades, they rendez-voused with Drogan in a ruined plaza. Drogan expressed surprise that Titus survived, since the power source was composed of [[Warp]] energy. Drogan then explains that during his time on Graia, he created a weapon known as the 'Psychic Scourge' in hopes of helping the Imperium's war against xenos, whilst also experimenting on Warp energy. The weapon's effect are described in audio logs as blowing up heads of selected Xenos (confirmed by testing on [[Orks]], [[Eldar]], [[Tyranids]] and even [[Tau]]).

Titus and friends fought their way to the Inquisitor's lab (both on their feet and in Valkyries), then through it, to the Psychic Scourge's firing station (blowing up all the Inquisition servoturrets in the process), where they jammed the Power Source in and turned it on. Unfortunately, the Psychic Scourge opened a bunch of Chaos portals instead of killing the Orks like advertised. Well, the Warboss got jumped by Bloodletters, but still... Sorcerer Lord [[Nemeroth]] showed up and blasted the Ultramarines with psyker power, all while declaring Drogan a long-dead puppet possessed by a handy daemon; but Titus resisted like a boss long enough for Grimskull to reappear and pull Nemeroth off the scene along with himself. Titus then fought his way past Bloodletters, Chaos Havoc Marines, and even more Orks to meet up with Mira's guardsmen.

After dueling with Warboss Grimskull (yes, a Sorcerer in Terminator Armour had not taken out the guy, because he was not finished with the Space Marine) and blowing up the big Ork's head with a [[plasma pistol]] ([[Awesome|because the Marine was finished with him]]), Titus returned to the manufactorum to power up the Titan. After he put the Power Source inside the giant death machine, the Titan's cannon blew the fuck out of the Orbital Spire with the big Chaos portal on top, before Nemeroth could bring in his ships. Titus gave the Power Source to Sidonus, but then Nemeroth teleport-snuck up behind them and [[Rape|rapes]] Sidonus with lightning claws. This makes Titus rage harder than fa/tg/uys in a Matt Ward thread, but Nemeroth just grabs the Power Source and teleports away like the Chaos pussy he is.

Still brimming with rage, Titus jumped off the manufactorum, met up with some [[Blood Ravens|Blud Rehvens]] who were practicing their [[Indrick Boreale|Steel Rehn]], and blasted his way across a bridge with a ton of Chaos Marines on it. Then he grabbed the same Thunderhawk he had jumped off and chased Nemeroth to the Orbital Spire (which was still floating somehow). Nemeroth tried to use the Power Source to turn into a daemon prince, [[Awesome|but Titus just bum-rushed the Chaos pansy off the Orbital Spire and beat him to death in freefall. Using the manly power of his hands, Titus crushed both the Sorcerer Lord's face and the Power Source, which exploded, and then he landed inside a flying Thunderhawk.]]

The next morning Titus is getting some much needed shut-eye as the Ultramarines, Blood Ravens, and Mira's guardsmen clean up the last tiny remnants of Nemeroth's invaders. Unfortunately, Titus wakes up to find Leandros has called the Inquisition on Titus. Wait... Didn't Leandros quote the Codex as Chaos allegiance causing Warp resistance, not the other way around? [[Fail|Logical fallacy! *faceplam*]] The Inquisitor clearly doesn't believe Leandros but has to arrest Titus anyway, so Titus tells Leandros that Guilliman's Codex is just guidelines and tactics, and that '''Leandros fails as a Space Marine because he's a blind [[Matt Ward|spiritual-liege-worshiping]] faggot who can't think for himself.''' Then Titus climbs aboard the Inquisition ship and flies off to <s>get painfully investigated for Heresy</s> save another day for the Emprah.

Ironically, in one of the Horus Heresy novels, Roboute Guilliman admits that while the Codex is an excellent work of strategic and tactical brilliance, it does not qualify as a replacement for the soldier's ability to independently act in the field (read: brains). So Titus was in fact holding to the Codex as Guilliman intended and is far more true to it than Leandros, making Leandros a freakin' [[Heresy|heretic]]. In other words, it's a scathing condemnation of [[Matt Ward|He who must never be named]] as a whole.

Double Irony, the Codex states if a marine suspects that one of his brothers has fallen to Chaos he should go to the Companies' Chaplain and Librarian, as it is their jobs. In other words, Leandros violated the Codex while claiming he's following it. [[Derp]]!

== Relationships with characters ==
[[File:Mira.jpg|200px|right|thumb|"Hey there, Captain"]]
* '''Sidonus''' - Titus regarded Sidonus as his 'most trusted battle-brother' and closest friend. Sidonus in return shared this friendship with him. Unlike Leandros, who was quickly suspecting Titus of chaos corruption, Sidonus never suspected or even accused Titus of taint. When Sidonus got impaled with extreme prejudice by Nemeroth, Titus actually did a Big No! ([http://youtu.be/kvk9uZeorCE Which is parodied here]), and swore vengeance. Titus finally got revenge when he killed Nemeroth.
* '''Leandros''' - Titus is disappointed by Leandros' strict adherence to the Codex Astartes, but nonetheless tolerates his behavior due to Titus seeing it as immaturity. Leandros originally saw Titus as an inspiration, but his violations to the Codex Astartes and his supposed Chaos taint caused Leandros to suspect his captain. When Leandros gives Titus to the Inquisition, Titus tells him that his devotion to the Codex means he has failed to truly become a Space Marine because he cannot see past the Codex' text to the battlefield it is applied to. We last see Leandros unable to look Titus in the eye like the pussy Codex-worshiper he is as the latter leaves with the Inquisitor.
* '''Second Lieutenant Miranda Nero''' - While there isn't any real action between her and Captain Titus and they spend the game focusing on their duties, there are very small hints that they do have some feelings for each other. Titus affectionately calls her Mira, instead of her formal name - that said, she always, ''always'' goes by Mira in the game. However, Mira urged Titus to try and resist the authority of the Inquisition when they accused him of Chaos taint, but Titus decided to surrender himself to them so that they wouldn't hurt Mira and his battle-brothers. Of course these hints are all vague and shouldn't be taken seriously (which cannot be said the same for [[Rule 34]] fanboys). It's much more likely that it's mutual respect due to the fact that Titus is a Space Marine and Mira earned his respect by taking charge and holding out against the Orks for so long. Besides, it's not like Space Marines have much in the way of sex drive (Have you forgotten [[Lukas the Trickster]]?). (BUT what woman could resist falling for a [[Space Marines|hunk genetically engineered by the science of the EMPRAHH]]?)
* '''Inquisitor Drogan''' - Titus is the only Marine in the game who trusts Drogan, and actually shows concern about the Inquisitor's near-fatal wounds, thinking it would be a shame to lose such a powerful ally. Of course, Drogan is a corpse being puppeted by a daemon.
* '''[[Warboss Grimskull]]''' - Contrary to most Marines, Titus sees the Warboss as an enemy that must be put down, but not to the extent that he's all zealous about it - In fact, he never underestimates the danger that the rather cunning Warboss presents, but doesn't put the Warboss down before much, much later, because the Ork isn't a top priority. Sure, he messes up the Captains plans from time to time, but then again, the Marines' only job is to help liberate the planet (with a side quest for a certain Inquisitor coming popping up later), but going after the Warboss would consume so many ressources that it wouldn't be worth it. In fact, after the Chaos invasion was started, Grimskull takes a backseat, trying to hold together his WAAAGH!, but failing to do so, and making a last stand against the Captain, trying to take him down to get revenge... Unfortunately, he had run out of patience for the Warboss. [[Blam|The results are obvious.]]
* '''[[Nemeroth]]''' - A fucking huge Chaos Sorcerer of Chaos Undivided. Through a bit of [[Just as Planned]] and similar douchbaggery, the Sorcerer arrive on Graia to use an artefact on the planet to simultaneously get his army into Realspace and to become even more fuckhueg. While Titus regards Nemeroth with the same kind of professionalism as he did with Grimskull, Nemeroth has much interest in the Captain, bordering to some sort of obsession. He frequently addresses him as "brother", which can mean one of many things (Brother, as in "fellow Marine", or making the point that the Captain might be susceptible to the forces of Chaos). Nemeroth also takes note of Titus' ability to "[[Promotions|resist his touch]]", claiming that the Captain is something special, as he is almost immune to Chaos in general. Even after Titus tells him to fuck off back to the Warp and stop his "brother"-bullshit, Nemeroth still addresses him as brother, and seems to know something about the Captain, which will bite him in the ass later... [[Just as Planned|Just according to keikaku]]. He also seems to have more [[Bloodletters]] at his disposal than Chaos Marines, [[Fail|despite being a Sorcerer.]]

== Reasons why Titus is such a Badass ==
[[File:Inquisitor Titus.jpg|330px|right|thumb|Leandros was wrong]]
* He's a fucking Space Marine. What did you expect?
** He's a fucking Space Marine Captain. Of the greatest cha{{BLAM}}
* He hails from Terra, a well-policed area known as Miami
* Women want him and men want to be him. Yeah baby!
* He was one of the VERY few Ultramarines characters prior to the 8th Edition rework that was multidimensional, not an arrogant ass, and a generally cool guy who cared about protecting others.
* He is one of very few, repeat, '''VERY''' few Ultramarines that <s>actually offs</s> gives the Codex Astartes proportionate importance. He states that the Codex is <s>just a set of rules and guidelines</s> a useful source of tactical and moral guidance, but should not be followed blindly, and how they choose to live by it is what makes them Space Marines.(The Codex is more what you call guidelines than actual rules.)
** The irony is that [[Roboute Guilliman]] would love Titus and be pissed with the rest of the chapter. Now that Robby's back, he'd probably want to talk to Titus. Papa Smurf being the kind of guy would also read debriefings to form his own opinion. Would also be able to tell Titus is lacking in the areas of teamwork, leadership and tactics. So as a compromise for the Inquisition. He would reassign Titus to redeem himself in service to the [[Deathwatch]].
** His interpretation of the Codex Astartes falls closer to that of the [[Raptors (Chapter)]], although the way that it is implemented relies on his own badassery.
* Unlike the majority of his chapter, Titus actually improvises when dealing with the enemy, be it Ork or Chaos, and is willing to employ somewhat unorthodox tactics to get the job done.
** Examples: His solution to his Thunderhawk being unable to land safely due to ork gun batteries is to simply use jump packs and descend down to the ork Kill Krooza (armed with nothing but his combat knife, his bolt pistol and his GIANT CERAMITE BALLS no less), and then blowing said krooza's bridge with its own dorsal gun battery (this tactic is similar to that favored by the [[Angry Marines]], but with less collateral damage); When the Orks were trying to use a Titan-sized laser weapon hanging from a crane to get into a Forge, Titus' way to deal with this was, of course, to drop the thing on the Orks; When an Imperial Warlord Titan gets ready to go shoot the Chaos-controlled orbital spire, two [[Blight Drone|Blight Drones]] and Chaos psyker sorcerers try to shut it down before it's ready. [[Awesome|Titus' solution is to surf the fucking Titan and kill them, without cover no less.]]
*** In short, Titus [[gets shit done]].
** Unlike [[Uriel Ventris]], Titus does this only when it is necessary. As opposed to trying to make some sort of point about the Codex Astartes.
* As said above, he killed thousands of enemies by himself and also with only Sidonus and Leandros to aid him.
* His reaction to a one-on-one challenge by a Daemon Prince? Body-tackle it off the edge of a kilometers-tall orbital spire and fight it while in free-fall, proceed to single-handedly beat the snot out of the partially daemonized Nemeroth.. and finally killing it by crushing the Daemon Prince's head ''with his bare hands while still in free-fall'' (unlike some cock-sure moron who got his body possessed by another Daemon Prince who's name is [[Ultramarines:The Movie|Severus]], not the [[Warhammer 40,000: Fire_Warrior|OTHER Severus]].)
* He's voiced by '''MARK STRONG !!!!'''.
* He's nice to the Imperial Guard he meets, even the lowest ranking Guardsmen, which can't be said about most high-ranking Imperials. He's, in fact, nicer to Guardsmen than some of their own commanders.
* He is surprisingly humble, attributing his successes to the Emperor's will, seeing himself as simply being an instrument of that will. This is a refreshing contrast to the stereotype of Ultramarines taking their label as the "Imperium's favored sons" for granted.
* He had the balls to stand up to the goddamn Inquisition, backed by four Black Templars. He willingly gives himself up to the Inquisition in order to save his friends and his chapter. Unlike Leandros, who betrayed his brother through his [[Matt Ward|ignorant adherence to the Codex]].
* He kinda looks like your dad.
* He and his few men were responsible in 5 minutes for more bad guy deaths than the entire Ultramarine chapter history.
* He gives zero to little fucks about standard protocol when there is a job to be done.
* He surfs a Warlord Titan
** No, really, he ''surfs'' on a motherfucking '''Warlord Titan'''. ''While blasting [[Blight Drone|plague drones]]''.
* Show me anything that solos groups of 10+ plus Bloodletters
** [[Eliphas|Eliphas the Inheritor]].
** [[Kaldor_Draigo|Kaldor Draigo]].
* His entire speech at the end of the game to Leandros is basically telling Matt Ward that he has failed as a writer.
**Several fans consider Titus to be the best balance between [[Matt Ward|Matt Ward's]] [[Lawful Stupid]] [[Spiritual Liege]] fan-wankery over the [[Codex Astartes]] and [[Graham McNeill|Graham McNeill's]] "the Codex Astartes is useless and cool Space Marines don't follow it" [[Chaotic Stupid]] [[Mary Sue]] special snowflake [[Uriel Ventris]].
* As of the recent space marine update, he has his own miniature model head alongside Sidonus (via sternguard squad).
[[File:Sternguard.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The minis in question. Our heroes are on the far right]]
* The future games starring him would have had him escape, become a renegade Astartes, go on a Jack Bauer killing spree across the galaxy in the name of the Emprah, and finally returning to head his ''own chapter'', presumably to beat some sense into Leandros and shame the Inquisition. Awesome.
** If he does become a Chapter Master, he will probably smack sense back into the rest of the Adeptus Astartes and, from there, the rest of the Imperium. Then mankind will steamroll the rest of the galaxy.
* Because the developers knew their audience, he's not a meaty slab of walking tank able to take any assault and come out unscathed, and on any difficulty above normal the game is genuinely challenging and requires [[Reasonable Marines|more strategy]] than simply wading in and killing everything. This is awesome for two reasons. The first is that it does the enemies of the Imperium full justice instead of just making them easily destroyable blood-juice-boxes, e.g. a large enough group of [[Bloodletter|Bloodletters]] is easily capable of overpowering you if you don't fight them in the right way. The second is that enemies that require you to ''think'' to take down are about ten times more satisfying to fight. Not to mention you're reminded that these enemies you have to actually work to defeat are fought by the Imperial Guard, too. Balls of adamantium the size of universes.

== ANGRY MARINE? ==
Damn straight. Titus thinks the Codex is for pussies, uses authentic [[Angry Marines|Angry Marine]] tactics such as fucking Orks to death with his chainsword, and even gets an Angry Purity Seal which gives him an Angryness Meter. The latter is canon. He is also fueled by violence and thus regenerates health by murdering Orks to death in particularly messy ways. His basic equivalent of a medkit? Punching Gretchin into bloody mist. His way of finishing off a Nob? Either jamming a chainsword through his mouth, or pinning its foot with an axe and tearing said mouth open with his bare hands. Not to mention he also has the lesser known Angry marine trait, namely a resistance to the warp.

Obviously at some point, maybe during a rare joint operation, some geneseed got mixed up and the Ultramarines got some Angry Marine geneseed, and the Angry marines got some Ultramarine. Equally obvious, when the angry geneseed was used by the Ultramarines most of there recruits blew up unable to contain THE SHEER FURY that is the angry marines, and when the angry marines used the Ultramarine geneseed they were like "WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THIS WEAK ASS SHIT?" and their recruits equally failed as marines, but may have become serfs or something. Titus just lucked out in being able to take the angry geneseed, though you have to wonder what the Angry Marine version of Titus, an Angry Marine with Ultra traits, would be like.

I guess we know where the Inquisition is sending him.

== SERVANT OF KHORNE?! ==
Actually he's probably just being corrupted by Khorne and doesn't know it. His resistance to the warp is similar to the psychic immunity Khorne gives to his followers (see [[Kharn]], who really is a swell chap) and he rejuvenates himself by killing things in RIP AND TEAR fashion and by bathing himself in blood ([[Khornate_Knights|although all this is also a hallmark of the most pure and incorruptible of the Imperiums defenders]]). Also, he runs on anger, like all Khornate Chaos Marines. And can tap into it to go into what is pretty much a [[Berserker|Berserker's rage]]. Oh yeah, and he's fighting a douchebag Sorcerer of Tzeentch's. <s>Nemeroth isn't Tzeentch, he's one of those wishy-washy "unaligned" pussies.</s> Most Undivided Chaos sorcerers have heavy leanings towards Tzeentch anyway.
Or, he was just a hollow-guy.

Note: if he's corrupted this way, than what does that make the Black Templars?
PS: Remember, there's some that get immunity to the effects of the warp. Grey Knights are an example. He might just be a [[Blank]] who managed to avoid getting skullfucked by the Black Ships. You never see any Librarians willingly hanging around the guy, after all. Then again serving long enough to become a captain means he would have been around psykers long enough for them to have notice he was a blank. So we could just kept it to sheer willpower combine the fact he's emotionally stable means warp stuff wouldn't harm him as much.

It's possible he's a pariah, instead of a blank, since he's shown to be partially affected by the powers of the warp (like when the power source literally backfired in his face and just knocked him out cold when it should very easily have atomized him). Of course, it is important to remember that the Warp is entirely a matter of willpower. The device itself (especially its backlash) had no will. Compare that to the willpower of a Space Marine captain's determination to win. Yeah. So, in that way, he saved himself through sheer badassery. Literally. Which if you think about it fits the game (and canon in general) pretty well.

"A true man may flinch away its embrace, if he is stalwart, and he girds his soul with the armour of contempt.” - [[Ravenor|Gideon Ravenor]]

== What would have happened in Space Marine 2 & 3 ==
“I had some big plans for Titus,” van Lierop said. “The second part of his story was to focus on a ‘Titus Unleashed’ plot—basically there were forces arrayed against him that would see his loyalty to the Adeptus Astartes pushed to its limit, and his reaction would be to kind of ‘[[Heresy|go rogue]],’ and we'd see a different Titus, not quite as in control as we saw him in Space Marine. He would be kicked out as a consequence—exiled, which would basically be a death sentence for him.” ([[Awesome|or a ticket to the Deathwatch as a Blackshield]])

The first game showed us what it looked like when a Space Marine was fighting in a disciplined manner, and the second game would have opened the door for a slightly wilder version of the character. That’s not the end, though.

“He would survive, and come back even stronger in the third game, where other Space Marines still loyal to him would rally around him and he'd return to ‘clean house,’ but as the head of a [[Astral Claws|brand new Chapter]] that we would build around him,” van Lierop continued.

So what kept this from happening?

“Sadly, THQ was already starting to fall apart by then and it became clear that Space Marine 2 wasn't going to happen. I was pretty heartbroken about that,” he said. “But that's the way the business works. In the end I'm glad things turned out the way they did, because I think if the end hadn't been so hard, I might not have sought out a better way. And Hinterland might not have ever happened.”

== Subject of Canon ==
Captain Titus is considered canon by Black Library writer Nick Kyme. In the audiobook ''Viel of Darkness'' [[Cato Sicarius]] is walking in the [[Macragge]] Hall of Heroes, and one of the memorial statues is labeled "Captain Titus". Conveniently the video game itself doesn't timestamp itself at any point, only taking place sometime after "the Aurelian Crusade". Since there were actually three Aurelian Crusades, one for each ''Dawn of War II'' game, <s>we could theorize that Captain Titus fights on Graia sometime between ''DoW II'' and ''Chaos Rising''.</s>
Only we really can't because the Blood Raven said "None shall find us wanting, Ultramarine", which is their battle cry post-Retribution.

==Videos Starring Captain Titus ==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh-NkuAtHW8 This Is Officially Canon.]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvk9uZeorCE just...no.]
{{Template:Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Awesome]]

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

2019-01-25T21:30:08Z

2601:147:4300:1949:D8B2:2C22:D087:4829: /* Fast Attack */

So we've had rules for [[First Founding|the Legions]], the [[Primarch]]s, and the [[Mechanicus|Mechanicum]]. It was only a matter of time until the [[Custodian Guard|Emprah's BFFs]] and the [[Sisters of Silence|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 [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Sisters of Silence|Sisters of Silence tactics here,]] [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Adeptus Custodes (8E)|and the Adeptus Custodes tactics 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 [[Emperor's Children|Phoenix Terminators]] with a half-Primarch statline as troops
*Because you hate Psykers harder than [[Space Wolves|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), [[derp|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.''
*'''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 with 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 <s>holy</s> [[Imperial Truth|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 [[Cheese|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 [[Rape|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_(Warhammer_40,000)|Archon]] and an [[Necron Overlord|Overlord]] to the stuff you can take on at once. At a price of [[Rage|25 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 [[What|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.
*'''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.
*'''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 [[Malcador|second]] best bro of the [[Emperor]] takes to the field. With his near-primarch statline he is a CC beast, with 5s across the board plus WS7, I6, Ld10, and 2+ save. He also has the ever rare Eternal Warrior, as well as Crusader, Fearless, and Counter-Attack. In terms of wargear he has the '''Apollonian Spear''', a +1s (+2 on the charge) AP2 guardian spear, with the <s>GODLY</s> MANLY ''Molecular Severance'' rule: any to-wound rolls of 4+ cause instant death or an automatic penetrating hit regardless of AV or T. In addition, [[Sigismund|successful invulnerable saves against wounds caused by this weapon]] must be rerolled! Oh, and it causes extra attacks on a 6 to hit and also it comes with an attached 18" S5 AP2 Assault 2 ''Concussive'' bolter on top! He also has lots of other gear: An Iron Halo, plasma & krak grenades, Arae-shrike, <s>Misericordia</s> symbol of office, digital lasers, and custodian armour. His warlord trait allows him to re-roll Seize the Initiative, and one Legio custodes unit (including himself) can take teleportation transponders at no extra cost. All that for just 275 points.
**[[That guy|Some people]] may ask why you would ever take good ol' Valdor rather than the already infamous Tribune (you know, the guy who can stomp Spartans, some of the Primarchs and Scoria for the same price). Firstly, you don't want to be beaten to death by your opponent IRL. Secondly, Valdor is more versatile than the Tribune, butchering hordes, TEQs and tanks alike without sacrificing his I6. He's better at dishing out the hurt, just not as good at taking it. Don't take him for his Warlord trait though, since the nerf (the same one that took away one of his attacks for whatever reason) it's fucking garbage. There's no reason to take this trait (or to make Valdor the Warlord), it saves you too few points and locks you out of far better alternatives. Even random character rolling on a random table is more likely to help, let alone the Tribune's ability to flat-out pick his choice.
**Do note that if you're playing games under 2000 points and are unable to get the Tribune as a result, yet you still want Fearless and Eternal Warrior for your Warlord (and an okay trait) then give Valdor a hard pass and get Jenetia Krole instead. She's a budget Valdor, with all that entails. He's 50% more expensive than she is and while his statline is much better, you have other squads meant to deal with whatever -2000 points can throw at you (it won't be nearly as much, seeing as how LoW are locked out and Adrathic weapons are already killing Mechanicum just fine).

*'''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, [[Rape|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 [[Companion|Companions]], [[Mary Sue|the best]] of [[Adeptus Custodes|the best]] of [[Imperium|the best]]. At 70 points per model they look REALLY expensive, but they're probably the best infantry unit in the game, bar none. So they have the same stat line as normal Custodes but with 3W and 3A. their special rules are the same as normal Custodes as well but they get ''counter attack''. They can all take a Praesidium shield, melta bombs, Arae-shrikes, and Teleporters, and 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 (probably [[Fail|another typo from FW]], just wait for a FAQ). One of the squad without a shielded may replace their guardian spear with the vexilla and either a MC power weapon or a sentinel warblade.
**So, super Custodes with '''S6 AP2 attacks at I5 (I6 if your opponent is WS:5 or below!), 4++ and hit on a 5+ by most units in the game''' ? Yep. Unless your opponent has something capable of insta-killing them, the Hetaeron are a real step above your other Custodes, so do not dismiss them because of their high price. Depending on the loadout, a Hetaeron can be as deadly as an Aquilon and more than twice as durable in CC for just +20 points, while remaining more flexible. Mixing Paragon blades and Solarite gauntlets in a squad allows you to mince EVERYTHING you could fight against without being stuck at Initiative 1 and still getting some Instant Death attacks thanks to Murderous Strike. Find some psyker ally with Endurance or Invisibility and you are basically unkillable in assault.
**Again, remember you can reallocate some wounds on a 4+ thanks to Look Out, Sir!, so having 3W is a real advantage over your other Custodes. When one model is worth almost 100 points, that's definitely something you MUST NOT forget.
*'''Legio Custodes Aquilon Terminator Squad''': Custodes with Terminator Armor. How terrifying. Each of them is 75 points a model, and with 5's on every stat save W2 A3 and Ld9, they're absolutely not slouches. Aquilon Terminator Armour affords 4++, Hammer of Wrath and Pseudo-relentless. In addition, they are able to fire Overwatch and Sweeping Advance, but cannot run. Say hello to Super Cataphractii armour. Each Aquilon Terminator has Crusader, a Lastrum Storm Bolter, a Solarite Gauntlet, and a <s>Misericordia</s> symbol of office, and each can exchange the gauntlet for a Solarite Power Talon or exchange their guns for a TL Ardrathic Destructor or Infernus Firepike. Each can also buy a Teleport Transponder and Arae-Shrikes.
**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 for 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.
**The Firepike is 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 - remember that Void Hardened armours make the Infernus firepikes almost useless.
**'''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.
** These guys are worse than both Sentinels (as those cost less while having the same survivability. Rerollable 5++ is the same as 4++, and can be tailored toward punching big targets with Solarites with almost no loss of efficiency) & Hetaerons (+1 wound, better equipment & almost the same guns.) On the other hand they are, curiously, the most effective anti-horde option Custodes have - Infernus Firepikes AP may be shit, but they have great range due to Torrent and wound Space Marines on 2+ while bringing ID on Cultist blobs, so pile up those Armor Saves!
*'''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.
**Do note the Dreadspear is not two-handed, and nothing is specified about the bonus attacks for every CCW after the first walkers get being included in the profile, so you may get [[Cheese|7 Destroyer attacks on the charge]] (4 base + 2 for three CCW + 1 for the charge). See page 91 of the BRB.
*'''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 <s>glory hogs</s> 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''': A 13/12/11 4HP fast skimmer with BS5 acts as the Dedicated Transport for Custodes forces. It's equipped with a TL Arachnus Blaze-cannon AND TL Lastrum bolt cannon, a Machine Spirit, and a Flare Shield, while also having Grav-Backwash (-2 to hit in close combat unless immobilized), DS, and Outflank. It can also buy Extra Armor, Armoured Ceramite, and a Searchlight. It's not an assault transport - it's an infantry supporting unit depositing gunboat in ways that a Razorback can only dream of. That thing is also bigger than ''a Spartan'', so Deep Strike with caution.
*'''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, [[Awesome|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 [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum: Taghmata (30k)|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 Venetari Squad (Beta)''': [[Meme|"IT"S HIGH NOON"]] The Custodes version of Assault Marines with Moritat shooting skills. 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 Power Axe with the power to reduce the AP of all attacks it suffers by 1 (Making it fuck over power swords and AP3 guns, but faltering against plasma and fists). 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 per model). 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. 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''': One of the few bad Custodes units, primarily thanks to them being overcosted. For 65 points per model, you got Custodes with Adrastus Bolt Calivers and refractors. Thanks to their Caliver, they're theoretically able to cover either front. There's not much more to describe on the equipment front, being able to grab Arae-Shrikes, meltabombs, and transponders as well as one guy grabbing the Vexilla. For sure they are as tough as any Custodes and can withstand more damage than almost any shooty unit in the entire HH setting, but 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.
**Why do they suck? Here is the answer: You're either going to be a shorter-ranged heavy bolter, or you're putting yourself in assault range while [[FAIL|not being armed with a power weapon.]] As a comparison, a 8-man strong Astartes Support Squad costing the same price can deal almost thrice the amount of dakka (admittedly while losing the mobility the Sagittarum have). Even the Adrathic destructor, while being scary as hell with AP2, Amourbane and Instant Death has only '''one''' shot per shooting phase, so anything with a good invulnerable save and/or some meatshields will probably survive your volley of murder beams. And since the unit you are shooting at is within charge range and will wreck/tarpit your Boltodes in assault because [[Derp|you have only 2 attacks and not even a power weapon]], you need to be lucky. Concretely, that means you must target something you're almost sure to kill in one turn, so avoid characters with Eternal Warriors and Cataphractii squads. Deep-striking behind vehicles is the best way to use your golden boys, so plan to take melta bombs if you fail at blasting this angry Contemptor before it charges you.
**The most damning thing is that a squad of Custodians with Adrasite spears can do the same job (if all you want is the Instant Death/Armourbane) for the exact same cast and they come with actual power weapons that turn into AP2 at initiative on the charge.
*'''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 [[Awesome|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 ([[Tyranids|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, [[Be'lakor|unless]] [[Nathaniel Garro|they]] [[Salamanders|are]] [[Sigismund|Eternal]] [[Primarchs|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 <strike>on each unsaved wound</strike> 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 [[Awesome|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 [[Dakka|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''': '''<s>HO-LYYY</s> SWEEET FUCK. PSYCHIC WARLORD TITAN.''' [[Grimdark|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 [[Cheese|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 enemy 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 '''[[Rape|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.

*<s>God-</s>[[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.

[[Category: Adeptus Custodes]]
[[Category:Warhammer Tactics/30k]]

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

2019-01-25T19:38:08Z

2601:147:4300:1949:D8B2:2C22:D087:4829: /* Fast Attack */

So we've had rules for [[First Founding|the Legions]], the [[Primarch]]s, and the [[Mechanicus|Mechanicum]]. It was only a matter of time until the [[Custodian Guard|Emprah's BFFs]] and the [[Sisters of Silence|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 [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Sisters of Silence|Sisters of Silence tactics here,]] [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Adeptus Custodes (8E)|and the Adeptus Custodes tactics 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 [[Emperor's Children|Phoenix Terminators]] with a half-Primarch statline as troops
*Because you hate Psykers harder than [[Space Wolves|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), [[derp|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.''
*'''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 with 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 <s>holy</s> [[Imperial Truth|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 [[Cheese|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 [[Rape|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_(Warhammer_40,000)|Archon]] and an [[Necron Overlord|Overlord]] to the stuff you can take on at once. At a price of [[Rage|25 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 [[What|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.
*'''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.
*'''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 [[Malcador|second]] best bro of the [[Emperor]] takes to the field. With his near-primarch statline he is a CC beast, with 5s across the board plus WS7, I6, Ld10, and 2+ save. He also has the ever rare Eternal Warrior, as well as Crusader, Fearless, and Counter-Attack. In terms of wargear he has the '''Apollonian Spear''', a +1s (+2 on the charge) AP2 guardian spear, with the <s>GODLY</s> MANLY ''Molecular Severance'' rule: any to-wound rolls of 4+ cause instant death or an automatic penetrating hit regardless of AV or T. In addition, [[Sigismund|successful invulnerable saves against wounds caused by this weapon]] must be rerolled! Oh, and it causes extra attacks on a 6 to hit and also it comes with an attached 18" S5 AP2 Assault 2 ''Concussive'' bolter on top! He also has lots of other gear: An Iron Halo, plasma & krak grenades, Arae-shrike, <s>Misericordia</s> symbol of office, digital lasers, and custodian armour. His warlord trait allows him to re-roll Seize the Initiative, and one Legio custodes unit (including himself) can take teleportation transponders at no extra cost. All that for just 275 points.
**[[That guy|Some people]] may ask why you would ever take good ol' Valdor rather than the already infamous Tribune (you know, the guy who can stomp Spartans, some of the Primarchs and Scoria for the same price). Firstly, you don't want to be beaten to death by your opponent IRL. Secondly, Valdor is more versatile than the Tribune, butchering hordes, TEQs and tanks alike without sacrificing his I6. He's better at dishing out the hurt, just not as good at taking it. Don't take him for his Warlord trait though, since the nerf (the same one that took away one of his attacks for whatever reason) it's fucking garbage. There's no reason to take this trait (or to make Valdor the Warlord), it saves you too few points and locks you out of far better alternatives. Even random character rolling on a random table is more likely to help, let alone the Tribune's ability to flat-out pick his choice.
**Do note that if you're playing games under 2000 points and are unable to get the Tribune as a result, yet you still want Fearless and Eternal Warrior for your Warlord (and an okay trait) then give Valdor a hard pass and get Jenetia Krole instead. She's a budget Valdor, with all that entails. He's 50% more expensive than she is and while his statline is much better, you have other squads meant to deal with whatever -2000 points can throw at you (it won't be nearly as much, seeing as how LoW are locked out and Adrathic weapons are already killing Mechanicum just fine).

*'''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, [[Rape|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 [[Companion|Companions]], [[Mary Sue|the best]] of [[Adeptus Custodes|the best]] of [[Imperium|the best]]. At 70 points per model they look REALLY expensive, but they're probably the best infantry unit in the game, bar none. So they have the same stat line as normal Custodes but with 3W and 3A. their special rules are the same as normal Custodes as well but they get ''counter attack''. They can all take a Praesidium shield, melta bombs, Arae-shrikes, and Teleporters, and 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 (probably [[Fail|another typo from FW]], just wait for a FAQ). One of the squad without a shielded may replace their guardian spear with the vexilla and either a MC power weapon or a sentinel warblade.
**So, super Custodes with '''S6 AP2 attacks at I5 (I6 if your opponent is WS:5 or below!), 4++ and hit on a 5+ by most units in the game''' ? Yep. Unless your opponent has something capable of insta-killing them, the Hetaeron are a real step above your other Custodes, so do not dismiss them because of their high price. Depending on the loadout, a Hetaeron can be as deadly as an Aquilon and more than twice as durable in CC for just +20 points, while remaining more flexible. Mixing Paragon blades and Solarite gauntlets in a squad allows you to mince EVERYTHING you could fight against without being stuck at Initiative 1 and still getting some Instant Death attacks thanks to Murderous Strike. Find some psyker ally with Endurance or Invisibility and you are basically unkillable in assault.
**Again, remember you can reallocate some wounds on a 4+ thanks to Look Out, Sir!, so having 3W is a real advantage over your other Custodes. When one model is worth almost 100 points, that's definitely something you MUST NOT forget.
*'''Legio Custodes Aquilon Terminator Squad''': Custodes with Terminator Armor. How terrifying. Each of them is 75 points a model, and with 5's on every stat save W2 A3 and Ld9, they're absolutely not slouches. Aquilon Terminator Armour affords 4++, Hammer of Wrath and Pseudo-relentless. In addition, they are able to fire Overwatch and Sweeping Advance, but cannot run. Say hello to Super Cataphractii armour. Each Aquilon Terminator has Crusader, a Lastrum Storm Bolter, a Solarite Gauntlet, and a <s>Misericordia</s> symbol of office, and each can exchange the gauntlet for a Solarite Power Talon or exchange their guns for a TL Ardrathic Destructor or Infernus Firepike. Each can also buy a Teleport Transponder and Arae-Shrikes.
**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 for 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.
**The Firepike is 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 - remember that Void Hardened armours make the Infernus firepikes almost useless.
**'''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.
** These guys are worse than both Sentinels (as those cost less while having the same survivability. Rerollable 5++ is the same as 4++, and can be tailored toward punching big targets with Solarites with almost no loss of efficiency) & Hetaerons (+1 wound, better equipment & almost the same guns.) On the other hand they are, curiously, the most effective anti-horde option Custodes have - Infernus Firepikes AP may be shit, but they have great range due to Torrent and wound Space Marines on 2+ while bringing ID on Cultist blobs, so pile up those Armor Saves!
*'''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.
**Do note the Dreadspear is not two-handed, and nothing is specified about the bonus attacks for every CCW after the first walkers get being included in the profile, so you may get [[Cheese|7 Destroyer attacks on the charge]] (4 base + 2 for three CCW + 1 for the charge). See page 91 of the BRB.
*'''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 <s>glory hogs</s> 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''': A 13/12/11 4HP fast skimmer with BS5 acts as the Dedicated Transport for Custodes forces. It's equipped with a TL Arachnus Blaze-cannon AND TL Lastrum bolt cannon, a Machine Spirit, and a Flare Shield, while also having Grav-Backwash (-2 to hit in close combat unless immobilized), DS, and Outflank. It can also buy Extra Armor, Armoured Ceramite, and a Searchlight. It's not an assault transport - it's an infantry supporting unit depositing gunboat in ways that a Razorback can only dream of. That thing is also bigger than ''a Spartan'', so Deep Strike with caution.
*'''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, [[Awesome|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 [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum: Taghmata (30k)|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 Venetari Squad (Beta)''': [[Meme|"IT"S HIGH NOON"]] 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 power axe with the power to reduce the AP of all attacks it suffers by 1 (Making it fuck over power swords and AP3 guns, but faltering against plasma and fists). 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). 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. 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''': One of the few bad Custodes units, primarily thanks to them being overcosted. For 65 points per model, you got Custodes with Adrastus Bolt Calivers and refractors. Thanks to their Caliver, they're theoretically able to cover either front. There's not much more to describe on the equipment front, being able to grab Arae-Shrikes, meltabombs, and transponders as well as one guy grabbing the Vexilla. For sure they are as tough as any Custodes and can withstand more damage than almost any shooty unit in the entire HH setting, but 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.
**Why do they suck? Here is the answer: You're either going to be a shorter-ranged heavy bolter, or you're putting yourself in assault range while [[FAIL|not being armed with a power weapon.]] As a comparison, a 8-man strong Astartes Support Squad costing the same price can deal almost thrice the amount of dakka (admittedly while losing the mobility the Sagittarum have). Even the Adrathic destructor, while being scary as hell with AP2, Amourbane and Instant Death has only '''one''' shot per shooting phase, so anything with a good invulnerable save and/or some meatshields will probably survive your volley of murder beams. And since the unit you are shooting at is within charge range and will wreck/tarpit your Boltodes in assault because [[Derp|you have only 2 attacks and not even a power weapon]], you need to be lucky. Concretely, that means you must target something you're almost sure to kill in one turn, so avoid characters with Eternal Warriors and Cataphractii squads. Deep-striking behind vehicles is the best way to use your golden boys, so plan to take melta bombs if you fail at blasting this angry Contemptor before it charges you.
**The most damning thing is that a squad of Custodians with Adrasite spears can do the same job (if all you want is the Instant Death/Armourbane) for the exact same cast and they come with actual power weapons that turn into AP2 at initiative on the charge.
*'''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 [[Awesome|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 ([[Tyranids|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, [[Be'lakor|unless]] [[Nathaniel Garro|they]] [[Salamanders|are]] [[Sigismund|Eternal]] [[Primarchs|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 <strike>on each unsaved wound</strike> 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 [[Awesome|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 [[Dakka|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''': '''<s>HO-LYYY</s> SWEEET FUCK. PSYCHIC WARLORD TITAN.''' [[Grimdark|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 [[Cheese|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 enemy 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 '''[[Rape|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.

*<s>God-</s>[[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.

[[Category: Adeptus Custodes]]
[[Category:Warhammer Tactics/30k]]

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

2019-01-25T19:36:58Z

2601:147:4300:1949:D8B2:2C22:D087:4829: /* Fast Attack */

So we've had rules for [[First Founding|the Legions]], the [[Primarch]]s, and the [[Mechanicus|Mechanicum]]. It was only a matter of time until the [[Custodian Guard|Emprah's BFFs]] and the [[Sisters of Silence|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 [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Sisters of Silence|Sisters of Silence tactics here,]] [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Adeptus Custodes (8E)|and the Adeptus Custodes tactics 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 [[Emperor's Children|Phoenix Terminators]] with a half-Primarch statline as troops
*Because you hate Psykers harder than [[Space Wolves|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), [[derp|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.''
*'''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 with 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 <s>holy</s> [[Imperial Truth|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 [[Cheese|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 [[Rape|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_(Warhammer_40,000)|Archon]] and an [[Necron Overlord|Overlord]] to the stuff you can take on at once. At a price of [[Rage|25 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 [[What|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.
*'''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.
*'''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 [[Malcador|second]] best bro of the [[Emperor]] takes to the field. With his near-primarch statline he is a CC beast, with 5s across the board plus WS7, I6, Ld10, and 2+ save. He also has the ever rare Eternal Warrior, as well as Crusader, Fearless, and Counter-Attack. In terms of wargear he has the '''Apollonian Spear''', a +1s (+2 on the charge) AP2 guardian spear, with the <s>GODLY</s> MANLY ''Molecular Severance'' rule: any to-wound rolls of 4+ cause instant death or an automatic penetrating hit regardless of AV or T. In addition, [[Sigismund|successful invulnerable saves against wounds caused by this weapon]] must be rerolled! Oh, and it causes extra attacks on a 6 to hit and also it comes with an attached 18" S5 AP2 Assault 2 ''Concussive'' bolter on top! He also has lots of other gear: An Iron Halo, plasma & krak grenades, Arae-shrike, <s>Misericordia</s> symbol of office, digital lasers, and custodian armour. His warlord trait allows him to re-roll Seize the Initiative, and one Legio custodes unit (including himself) can take teleportation transponders at no extra cost. All that for just 275 points.
**[[That guy|Some people]] may ask why you would ever take good ol' Valdor rather than the already infamous Tribune (you know, the guy who can stomp Spartans, some of the Primarchs and Scoria for the same price). Firstly, you don't want to be beaten to death by your opponent IRL. Secondly, Valdor is more versatile than the Tribune, butchering hordes, TEQs and tanks alike without sacrificing his I6. He's better at dishing out the hurt, just not as good at taking it. Don't take him for his Warlord trait though, since the nerf (the same one that took away one of his attacks for whatever reason) it's fucking garbage. There's no reason to take this trait (or to make Valdor the Warlord), it saves you too few points and locks you out of far better alternatives. Even random character rolling on a random table is more likely to help, let alone the Tribune's ability to flat-out pick his choice.
**Do note that if you're playing games under 2000 points and are unable to get the Tribune as a result, yet you still want Fearless and Eternal Warrior for your Warlord (and an okay trait) then give Valdor a hard pass and get Jenetia Krole instead. She's a budget Valdor, with all that entails. He's 50% more expensive than she is and while his statline is much better, you have other squads meant to deal with whatever -2000 points can throw at you (it won't be nearly as much, seeing as how LoW are locked out and Adrathic weapons are already killing Mechanicum just fine).

*'''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, [[Rape|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 [[Companion|Companions]], [[Mary Sue|the best]] of [[Adeptus Custodes|the best]] of [[Imperium|the best]]. At 70 points per model they look REALLY expensive, but they're probably the best infantry unit in the game, bar none. So they have the same stat line as normal Custodes but with 3W and 3A. their special rules are the same as normal Custodes as well but they get ''counter attack''. They can all take a Praesidium shield, melta bombs, Arae-shrikes, and Teleporters, and 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 (probably [[Fail|another typo from FW]], just wait for a FAQ). One of the squad without a shielded may replace their guardian spear with the vexilla and either a MC power weapon or a sentinel warblade.
**So, super Custodes with '''S6 AP2 attacks at I5 (I6 if your opponent is WS:5 or below!), 4++ and hit on a 5+ by most units in the game''' ? Yep. Unless your opponent has something capable of insta-killing them, the Hetaeron are a real step above your other Custodes, so do not dismiss them because of their high price. Depending on the loadout, a Hetaeron can be as deadly as an Aquilon and more than twice as durable in CC for just +20 points, while remaining more flexible. Mixing Paragon blades and Solarite gauntlets in a squad allows you to mince EVERYTHING you could fight against without being stuck at Initiative 1 and still getting some Instant Death attacks thanks to Murderous Strike. Find some psyker ally with Endurance or Invisibility and you are basically unkillable in assault.
**Again, remember you can reallocate some wounds on a 4+ thanks to Look Out, Sir!, so having 3W is a real advantage over your other Custodes. When one model is worth almost 100 points, that's definitely something you MUST NOT forget.
*'''Legio Custodes Aquilon Terminator Squad''': Custodes with Terminator Armor. How terrifying. Each of them is 75 points a model, and with 5's on every stat save W2 A3 and Ld9, they're absolutely not slouches. Aquilon Terminator Armour affords 4++, Hammer of Wrath and Pseudo-relentless. In addition, they are able to fire Overwatch and Sweeping Advance, but cannot run. Say hello to Super Cataphractii armour. Each Aquilon Terminator has Crusader, a Lastrum Storm Bolter, a Solarite Gauntlet, and a <s>Misericordia</s> symbol of office, and each can exchange the gauntlet for a Solarite Power Talon or exchange their guns for a TL Ardrathic Destructor or Infernus Firepike. Each can also buy a Teleport Transponder and Arae-Shrikes.
**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 for 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.
**The Firepike is 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 - remember that Void Hardened armours make the Infernus firepikes almost useless.
**'''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.
** These guys are worse than both Sentinels (as those cost less while having the same survivability. Rerollable 5++ is the same as 4++, and can be tailored toward punching big targets with Solarites with almost no loss of efficiency) & Hetaerons (+1 wound, better equipment & almost the same guns.) On the other hand they are, curiously, the most effective anti-horde option Custodes have - Infernus Firepikes AP may be shit, but they have great range due to Torrent and wound Space Marines on 2+ while bringing ID on Cultist blobs, so pile up those Armor Saves!
*'''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.
**Do note the Dreadspear is not two-handed, and nothing is specified about the bonus attacks for every CCW after the first walkers get being included in the profile, so you may get [[Cheese|7 Destroyer attacks on the charge]] (4 base + 2 for three CCW + 1 for the charge). See page 91 of the BRB.
*'''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 <s>glory hogs</s> 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''': A 13/12/11 4HP fast skimmer with BS5 acts as the Dedicated Transport for Custodes forces. It's equipped with a TL Arachnus Blaze-cannon AND TL Lastrum bolt cannon, a Machine Spirit, and a Flare Shield, while also having Grav-Backwash (-2 to hit in close combat unless immobilized), DS, and Outflank. It can also buy Extra Armor, Armoured Ceramite, and a Searchlight. It's not an assault transport - it's an infantry supporting unit depositing gunboat in ways that a Razorback can only dream of. That thing is also bigger than ''a Spartan'', so Deep Strike with caution.
*'''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, [[Awesome|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 [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Mechanicum: Taghmata (30k)|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 Venetari Squad (Beta)''': [[MEME:"IT"S HIGH NOON"]] 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 power axe with the power to reduce the AP of all attacks it suffers by 1 (Making it fuck over power swords and AP3 guns, but faltering against plasma and fists). 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). 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. 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''': One of the few bad Custodes units, primarily thanks to them being overcosted. For 65 points per model, you got Custodes with Adrastus Bolt Calivers and refractors. Thanks to their Caliver, they're theoretically able to cover either front. There's not much more to describe on the equipment front, being able to grab Arae-Shrikes, meltabombs, and transponders as well as one guy grabbing the Vexilla. For sure they are as tough as any Custodes and can withstand more damage than almost any shooty unit in the entire HH setting, but 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.
**Why do they suck? Here is the answer: You're either going to be a shorter-ranged heavy bolter, or you're putting yourself in assault range while [[FAIL|not being armed with a power weapon.]] As a comparison, a 8-man strong Astartes Support Squad costing the same price can deal almost thrice the amount of dakka (admittedly while losing the mobility the Sagittarum have). Even the Adrathic destructor, while being scary as hell with AP2, Amourbane and Instant Death has only '''one''' shot per shooting phase, so anything with a good invulnerable save and/or some meatshields will probably survive your volley of murder beams. And since the unit you are shooting at is within charge range and will wreck/tarpit your Boltodes in assault because [[Derp|you have only 2 attacks and not even a power weapon]], you need to be lucky. Concretely, that means you must target something you're almost sure to kill in one turn, so avoid characters with Eternal Warriors and Cataphractii squads. Deep-striking behind vehicles is the best way to use your golden boys, so plan to take melta bombs if you fail at blasting this angry Contemptor before it charges you.
**The most damning thing is that a squad of Custodians with Adrasite spears can do the same job (if all you want is the Instant Death/Armourbane) for the exact same cast and they come with actual power weapons that turn into AP2 at initiative on the charge.
*'''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 [[Awesome|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 ([[Tyranids|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, [[Be'lakor|unless]] [[Nathaniel Garro|they]] [[Salamanders|are]] [[Sigismund|Eternal]] [[Primarchs|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 <strike>on each unsaved wound</strike> 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 [[Awesome|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 [[Dakka|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''': '''<s>HO-LYYY</s> SWEEET FUCK. PSYCHIC WARLORD TITAN.''' [[Grimdark|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 [[Cheese|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 enemy 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 '''[[Rape|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.

*<s>God-</s>[[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.

[[Category: Adeptus Custodes]]
[[Category:Warhammer Tactics/30k]]