Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Adeptus Custodes (section)

===Troops===
*'''Custodian Guard Squad:''' 3-10 custodians. Deep striking is back, so the Venerable Land Raider isn't quite the necessity it used to be. As far as load-outs are concerned, with the new wounding system + how powerful invulnerable saves are now you might want to go for either a mix of both weapons or a full unit of sword & shields. They're very expensive and also need transport if you would prefer to save the CP needed to deep strike but, in return, they will annihilate virtually anything in a golden storm of death if you get them into a fight. With the codex pumping them to a 2+/4++, the shield is no longer that necessary, but still nice if you want to make your opponent cry when they've only killed 1 or 2 models the first half of the game. Against most armies, you'll likely want spears. Against hordes, the sword and board may be a better choice. A good comprise for min squads is 2 spears, 1 shield - max melee potential while still having a 3+ invuln. to fall back to. The biggest weakness these guys have is hordes as they simply get overwhelmed by the number of dice rolls thrown at them and can't kill quickly enough. Once they get there the 2 pistol shots from the sentinel blades are also a lot more useful against gaunts, guardsmen and boys with their weak armor save essentially giving each Custodian 5 attacks in close combat (6 with the vexilla) which makes them better at dealing with hordes than their spear-wielding brethren.
**While your Vexilla bearer has been turned into an independent Character, the Vexilla Custodes banner is still usable via the Index entry. It grants a 6" radius bubble of Morale re-rolls for allied {{W40Kkeyword|IMPERIUM}} units and the unit it's in gains +1 Attack. At 25 points, it's not something you can just toss in without thinking about it, especially since the bearer is reduced to taking a Power Knife (not Misericordia, a ''Power Knife'', so no extra attack) and optionally a Storm Shield, and you can only take one in a given detachment. However, RAW, its Attack buff stacks with the Vexilla Imperius, so if you're building a melee squad and are trying to squeeze every last drop out of it, maybe give this a look.

*'''Custodian Guard with Adrasite and Pyrithite Spears<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Previously an Elite slot, now Troops. Functionally regular old Custodians with Spears but replaced the bolter with one of two things. The Adrasite is an 18" Assault 1 S5 AP-3 D3 weapon. It's 3 points more than a Guardian Spear, but its more efficient at taking down primaries Grav like units, especially with Aggressors defines the space marine meta. The other, pricier (7 more than a spear) option is the Pyrithite Spear, which is a Guardian Spear with a god damn Melta attached. Great for after piling out of a Coronus to turn that troublesome Knight your opponent plopped down to slag. Just keep them out of sight; they may have Custodian durability, [[Distraction Carnifex|but the threat of BS 2+ Meltas are all but guaranteed to draw most of your enemy's fire for as long as they exist.]] Your are putting more points into a single model, but you get the ability to turn vehicles to slag - something Custodes have very few options for. They are still strong on the move as both guns are assault weapons and you are still Custodians with Spears when it comes to melee. If you don't have a Telemon or Land Raider they're arguably a must take.

*'''Sagittarum Custodians<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Custodes with guns. Take the basic 40pts Custodian Guard and give him an Adrastus Bolt Caliver instead of a spear. The most recent buffs have finally given a reason to take them over the spears, since they are now combi-weapons the Disintegration beam deals a flat 3 damage. Besides, now that they're troops the Custodes have a dedicated objective holder for a Battalion. Unlike the 30k version, they also don't sap precious Heavy Support slots from Caladiuses or Telemons, meaning they can be used as a backup unit for a gun-line. They are 50 points per model opposed to 49 points base for spear Custodian Guard and not as effective in CC. You want them in the backfield to hold objectives but they can take Misericordias if you expect flank attacks. Better than the Custodian Guard? Not necessarily, but they perform different enough roles and they both succeed. A solid troops choice.