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

===Fast Attack===

*'''Vertus Praetors (aka [[awesome|Dawneagle Jetbikes]]):''' A must take. These are easily your most versatile unit. Hurricane bolters will munch tarpits that could’ve threatened your Allaruses or Wardens through sheer volume of attacks, or for long(ish) range vehicle hunting, they can take Salvo launchers. With the {{W40Kkeyword|FLY}} keyword, they can provide excellent anti-air fire, or '''engage flyers in CC''', meaning these guys are better flyer hunters than Heldrakes or other dedicated flyer hunters. With their stupidly fast movement and 'charge on your opponents turn' stratagem these guys will be your bread and butter in a pure Custodes list. With the Custodes’ ObSec rule, these guys can also nab an objective or two from your opponent one the final turn. Oh, and remember that they also get a 4++ if they come in a pure custodes detachment. Make of that what you will.
**Speaking of anti-aircraft, remember how most Flyers can't be hit in close combat by things without the {{W40Kkeyword|FLY}} Keyword? And that said fliers typically have only a generic CCW and a mediocre number of attacks if they do get engaged? Well, abuse this fact to kill fliers in melee. Even with the ability to fall back and still shoot, the average flyer will either have to waste time playing keep-away at the expense of losing opportunities to attack easier targets or let you wail on them in melee with no way to deal meaningful damage themselves.
**With the number of models that can fly and the crap-ton of Anti Air in 8th Edition, you may have trouble deciding between the horde-busting dakka of the Hurricane Bolters and the FU vehicle power of the Salvo Launcher. The solution is to take both. The Bolters act as a screen while the Launchers wreck vehicles. The Melta Missile is like a shorter ranged Plasma Cannon without the 'suicide mode' or an improved Multi Melta (it re-rolls ALL failed wound rolls against vehicles. Put on Shield-Cap for 2+ to hit, rerolling 1s, 3s to wound against almost anything, rerolling 1s and 2s, and followed up by -4 AP and d3 damage. Time to wreck some shit). The flakkburst missile was the only designated anti-flyer weapon you had before these rules. So keep them behind the Hurricane Bolters if possible (although this isn't much of a problem at all with Custodes, even with the -1 to hit, you've still got marine-level shooting and rerolling 1s to hit. Most flyers also have the {{W40kKeyword|Vehicle}} keyword, so don't rule out softening up that Stormtalon with a few Melta Missiles before charging it).
**The interceptor lances on the charge make these units the most reliable wounders in the entire game. The only things they won’t wound on at least a 5+ is a Warlord Titan (heaven forbid you have to fight it in melee) and the newest Titan, the Nemesis Warbringer. Together with your rerolls to wound you will wound 55% of the time, and with strength 6 you will be wounding most things on a 3+ anyway (88%). Combined with an average damage of 2 per hit and ap-3 means that all units in the game fear the arrival of these lightning-fast monsters (even against a Baneblade a single biker will deal 3.6 damage on the charge with rerolls to hit).

*'''Agamatus Custodians<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' The Glorious Dickbikes. A 3-6 men-strong squadron of Vertus Praetors with different guns. Same baseline stats, cost, and interceptor lance, but different tools for the jetbikes themselves. They come with a Lastrum bolt cannon as standard, a Heavy 3 36" S6 AP-2 gun that makes MEQs sweat each time it fires. You can replace it with either an Adrathic devastator (Heavy 2 18" S6 AP-3 dealing 3 damage for 15pts or a twin-linked las-pulser (Heavy 4 24" S8 AP-2 D3 damage) for 40pts.
**The las-pulser is by far the best choice in the list, even if expensive. But overall that's the only reason to take Agamati over Vertus Praetors. Assuming you moved, Hurricane bolters are better than the Lastrum cannon against infantry (and even light vehicles) most of the time and the salvo launcher is better than the Adrathic devastator against monsters and vehicles. However, the las-pulser provides solutions against everything and is very good at taking down MEQs.
*'''Pallas Grav-Attack<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' The Custodian's "Light" Tank, the Pallas is Fast as hell at 16", but that's the only "Light" thing about it. Ok, it's only got 6 Toughness, but it still has a 3+/5++ save, plus no degrading stat line and the Gravitic Backwash rule, which inflicts a -2 penalty on Charge rolls against it. For firepower, it's a Coronus-lite, with the same Twin Arachnus Blaze Cannon, but no Bolt Cannon. Oh, and it has Power of the Machine Spirit. For a meager 100 points. Yeah, you heard that right. 100 Emperor damned points. Unlike the 30K version, it cannot be taken in squads of three though.
*'''Venatari Custodians<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Jetpack Custodians that can deepstrike. Unlike every other custodian, they have a 3+ armor save, but their default setup equips them with a shield that '''negates AP-1''' and doubles as a power axe. Unfortunately, this falls flat against plasma and melta, but it doesn't matter since AP-2 or better against a 2+ save would trigger your 4++, and an AP-1 would take you down to a 3+ anyway. However, this still leaves them more vulnerable to massed AP0 fire compared to the Custodian Guard. These shields are accompanied by Kinetic Destroyers (Pistol 2 18" S6 AP-2 D2 which deals an additional hit for every 6 to-hit, or you can forgo the gun-and-shield for the multipurpose Venetari lance (S+1 AP-3 Dd3 in melee, Kinetic Destroyer but 12" and Assault 2 at range). And as per usual, they can take Misericordias. Their big benefit is that they're considerably cheaper than the bikes and can kick ass in melee, but this cost is offset by their relative fragility (if you can call something with T5 and 3+/4++ 'fragile'). Generally, you will either run these guys alongside either class of jetbike due to their high movement or have them going down one flank as the jetties go down the other in a good old-fashioned stretch play. Also, don't forget that they can deep strike and so provide support for deep striking termies.
**Don't forget these guys are Infantry, so they can get cover and maneuver around terrain much easier than jetbikes. And because jetbikes will normally draw a lot of fire, Venatari are probably used best to steal objectives and harass your opponent's troops camping objectives.
**While the buckler's AP and Damage values seem underwhelming when compared with the spear's, remember that you can shoot with your 2 shots S6 AP-2 pistols in melee, giving you some extra punch should you choose to stay in combat for some reason. All in all, the spear only makes a big difference if you're planning to hunt down characters and multi-wound infantry. Otherwise, the buckler + kinetic destroyer loadout provides better protection, extra range and slightly more firepower that will never be lost no matter what happens to your flying dudes. And even though the Buckler isn't as good in melee as the Lances it's more than enough to handle GEQ/MEQs.