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

===Heavy Support===

*'''Venerable Land Raider:''' Still your <del>uber</del>slighty-less-survivable transport with 16 wounds sitting comfortable on a 2+ save and FNP 6+++. Thanks to the buff to formerly twin-linked lascannons and lascannons in general, this is your heavy anti-tank option for when the Vertus Praetors' salvo launchers won't cut it and the Venerable Contemptor's multi-melta isn't long-ranged enough. Given that you will most likely also transport a Custodian Guard squad you may imagine the amount of fire this 500+ points package will attract and maybe even survive. While expensive, bringing them in pairs lets you use their Stratagem to shut down attempts at stacking penalties to hit against them.

*'''Caladius Grav-Tank<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' Remember the Sicaran's infantry-mulching accelerator cannon? Your '''twin Iliastus accelerator''' doesn't have the anti-flyer bonuses and is Heavy instead of Assault, but with ''8 60" shots that possess S7 AP-3 D2'' and the Standard Custodes BS2+, the Caladius has the best range of any Custodes unit thus far and fills the valuable anti-armor niche with good ease. Oh, and you get Power of the Machine Spirit just like the Sicaran does, so being a Heavy weapon doesn't impair you at all. Combine with its W14 3+/5++, the -2 penalty to charge move it imposes to the enemy, and the '''twin Lastrum Bolt Cannons''' (''heavy bolters with S6 AP-2'') that provide extra anti-infantry firepower, and you have a very nasty tank indeed. It also has the FLY keyword with all its benefits and drawbacks, so watch for anti-air weapons. It's also stinking fast at 14" when undamaged, and even when critically damaged its movement never drops below 8", so don't be afraid to zip around the board and fire with impunity.
**You can replace the Iliastus accelerator cannon by a '''twin Arachnus cannon''', a Heavy weapon that can shoot in '''burst''' mode (''8 shots at 36" S7 AP-2 D1'') or as a '''beam''' (''2 shots at 48" S9 AP-4 D3+1D3 rerolling failed to-wound rolls against {{W40kKeyword|VEHICLES}}''), for stronger anti-superheavy fire, and some flexibility when facing down mech/horde armies like Orks with Gorkanauts and lots of Boyz. 
**All in all, the Iliastus generally remains a better all-rounded choice. It is cheaper, has more range, is clearly superior to the burst mode against hordes, has enough Damage to murder heavy infantry and can still do a solid amount of damage against vehicles. The Arachnus cannon only really shines against T7+ vehicles (remember that you don't get the re-roll to wound against monsters or big characters), which is a valuable niche indeed that shouldn't be overlooked. 

*'''Telemon Heavy Dreadnought<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' It's a Dreadnought with almost as many wounds as a Land Raider, and at T8 with 2+/4++/6+++ it’s far tougher than any landraider, or any other vehicle for that matter, especially as it lacks the {{W40kKeyword|TITANIC}} keyword (so it doesn’t give a pair of dingo kidneys about Macro weapons dealing bonus damage to it). Comes default with a Spiculus Bolt Launcher and 2 Arachnus Storm Cannons for  282 points and provides the Custodes with one of the few options they have for anti-armor fire. 
**It can shoot its '''Spiculus Bolt Launcher''' (''24” Heavy 5, S5, AP-1, D1'') twice when it doesn't move; by itself, this makes it a perfect backfield camper for chewing GEQs. 
**The 2 '''Arachnus storm cannons''' (''36” Heavy 2, S8, AP-4, D3'' or in Burst mode ''24” Heavy 6, S7, AP-2, D1'') making them great against vehicles and light infantry. The range was seriously nerfed but the latest rules, making the Arachnus storm cannon less efficient as a long-ranged anti-horde weapon unless you can deep-strike your Telemon in a safe spot where no melee unit will tarpit it. These still provide something you desperately need because as already stated, the Custodes don’t have a lot of ranged anti-armor.
**The other ranged option you can choose over the cannons is 1 or 2 '''Iliastus Accelerator Culverins''' (''48” Heavy 4, S7, AP-3, D2'') perfect for chewing up MEQs (especially Primaris) and light vehicles. Custodes can already reliably beat almost any kind of heavy infantry in combat, making the Iliastus questionable, but it will certainly do that job well if you choose it. With the nerf of the Arachnus storm cannon, this is also your better take if you want your Telemon to stay far from enemy units. The jack-of-all-trade range weapon for your giant Dreadnought, and also the cheapest one.
**The close combat option is to arm it with one or two '''Telemon Caestii''' (''S16, AP-3, D4'') which come with a '''twin plasma projector''' (''8” Heavy 2D3, S6, AP-2, D1 auto hitting flamer/plasma gun hybrids'') which hit like baby [[Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Adeptus Titanicus(8E)|Inferno Guns]] and if you use two you get an extra attack. The melee weapons got a massive price cut in the rules update (35 pts for a single caestus+projector bundle, 60 for two), so if you want to punch a Knight to death, then the fists are what you choose. The Telemon can serve your army far better as a mobile gun rig rather than a full-on melee beatstick, so if you want a beatstick Dread, take an Achillus, a Galatus or an Exemplar or Venerable Contemptor with dual fists instead.
:*Being a dreadnought, it can be FGLTC'd right where you need it when you need it. Terrifying indeed, and best used by a fisting dread to get stuck into melee as soon as possible. Or you can use FGLTC to protect your big golden boy from turn 1 shooting and then drop him down within 24 inches of an enemy to get him in range of all his guns.
:*Overall, it's an incredibly useful model for a custodes army, and considering it's only 282pts at its max loadout in an army where even a 3-man squad costs 153 points default, there is little reason to not take it considering the firepower it can lay down on anything from GEQs to Knights depending on what you want from it. Whatever you load it out to do, it will do well, but unless your list has a good amount of anti-armor firepower (from Pyrithite spears generally), the best option is to go for the storm cannons.
:**Another take on the melee variant: It's cheaper than any other weapon combo you can give it. On top of that, while it's an expensive combo in terms of CP, you can FGLTC it, then use the Teleport Homer stratagem to get it within 3" nearly guaranteeing a charge against a target, while being able to fire its guns before the charge. Trajann's Moment Shackle can also offset the cost to make it more appealing (assuming it isn't used on Victor of the Blood Games or a full cost FGLTC).