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

===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''': No more totally broken but still the deadliest generic character in the ENTIRE GAME. Same as above except you get ''Eternal Warrior'' and ''Fearless''. At a price of 50 more points. However, you can only take him in a <u>detachment</u> 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.
**Do note that thanks to the wording, they can take Terminal Lucidity Injectors to get an additional shooting attack or melee attack when they're removed as a casualty, or they can take the Icon of the Blazing Sun to give the old style Psychic Hood denial tests against enemy Psychic Powers. The Icon is recommended if you plan to skip out on Sisters and/or if you know you're up against a lot of Psykers, which are thankfully rare in 30k, unless you're up against Word Bearers, Thousand Sons, or Daemons of the Ruinstorm.
*'''Sisters of Silence Oblivion Knight-Centura''': Surprisingly has mostly ordinary human stats with WS5 BS4 I5 and Ld9, she's essentially the budget HQ at 75. She's not barebones however, as she grabs Artificer Armor with a 4+ Invuln that ups to 3+ against Blasts and Templates. She has a bolt pistol, Execution Blade, and Frag, Krak, and Psyk-out grenades, while she has the Cadre rules, Ex Oblivio, and Precision Strikes. Her melee weapon can be exchanged for a power axe (don't), a Neuro-Lash (not for Marines), or a Paragon Blade (if you just want to maul 2+ saves with a chance at ID), while her pistol can be exchanged for a hand-flamer, a plasma pistol, a needle pistol, or an archaeotech pistol - and for 10 points, any of these weapons can be Master Crafted.
**A Knight-Centura with Overawe joining a unit of Custodes with Magisterium Vexilia is a great combination. For just 10 or 20 points more than most Custodes infantry model, a naked Centura provides a decent damage output against both MEQs and TEQs, a free +1 bonus to combat resolution and inflicts a malus of -1 against Fear and moral tests. Given the impressive toughness of your Custodes, you usually won't need to kill more than 1 or 2 models in order to win a fight, just tank enough wounds and watch your opponent fail its moral test before being slaughtered by sweeping advance. Works especially well with units wielding Praesidium shields such as Sentinels or Hetaeron guards.
**Just like the Shield Captain they have access to Terminal Lucidity Injectors and the Icon of the Blazing Sun, and unlike the Shield Captains the Knight-Centura's have access to a Divining Blade. Choosing to give one a Divining Blade will make her the Tribune to Jenetia Krole's Valdor. Anything she wounds, she destroys. Make sure to hide her in a unit (preferably of Custodes) until she has the chance to use it.
*'''Sisters of Silence Excruciatus Cadre''': Something akin to a command squad, this is a squad of WS4 BS4 I4 Ld9 ladies with tools, with the Silent Judge having 2 wounds. They all hate Daemons and Psykers, get Fanatic Discipline, Night Vision, the Cadre rules (forcing them to be the mandatory HQ if the detachment is less than 500 pts, meaning they eat up at least 1/5 of the budget by themselves), and the ability to make their melee attacks ID. The Questorae only get CCWs, Bolt Pistols, Assault Needlers, and grenades alongside their armor and ''Spectra-vestments'' which force anyone to take -1 BS to hit them, while the Silent Judge adds a refractor, a Needle Pistol, a Nuncio-Vox, and a power weapon. A Questora can buy the Ardrathic Destructor, while any of them can exchange their guns for Needle Pistols or Stake Crossbows for free or buy a Snare Gun or a Flamer with a one-use boost to make them S6, and each can replace their CCW for a Charnabal Sabre or a power weapon. The Judge can swap her melee weapon for a Neuro-Lash, the Execution Blade, or a fist, while her gun can be exchanged for a Stake-Crossbow, hand flamer, plasma pistol, or a second needle pistol.

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

*'''Jenetia Krole''': Knight-Commander of the Sisters of Silence. She's got 3's across the board with WS6, BS4, I5 A4 and Ld10. On top of Psychic Anathema, she also has Ex Oblivio, Fanatic Discipline, Rage, Preferred Enemy against Psykers and Characters, Cadre rules, Eternal Warrior, and the option to upgrade an Oblivion Knight Cadre to her elite Raptor Guard, which costs 20 points to make them WS5. For gear, she has Artificer Armor with the invuln seen on the Knight-Centura, an Archaeotech Pistol, grenades, and the '''Sword of Oblivion''': a super-Execution Blade with S+2 AP2 with 5+ Murderous Strike instead of Flawless Cut. This all makes her close to a match 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.