To Guard the Lord Commander

[Brother Captain Ed]

As stated in another thread: I've just now come out of the warp and it appears a year or so has passed.  I've been wanting to do a Talons of the Emperor project devoted to the Custodes and Sisters of the Lord Commander Guilliman's guard.  Though I don't think it's really been stated, it's easy to see how the Imperial Regent rates a dedicated group of Custodians (to keep an eye on him, if nothing else).  And it's equally easy to see how Guilliman's experiences in the 41st Millennium would lead him to conclude that keeping a band of Sisters of Silence around him would be wise, given the warp-infused might of his fallen brothers. 

 

Anyway, I am surfing and lo and behold!  I found a good buy on a lot of Custodes and I saw news that the actual Talons of the Emperor will get some love in the upcoming Psychic Awakening installment all on the same day.  Awesome!  The time is now!

 

So I pulled the trigger. 

 

I am now the proud owner of three five-woman squads of Sisters of Silence, three boxes of Custodian guards, two boxes of Praetors (all on the sprue), upgrade bits for five Saggitarum guard, and a Telemon dreadnought (with all the weapon options).  I also have Greyfax and a couple other generic inquisitors who may or may not make an appearance, depending on what I learn in the WD mini-dex.

 

Now, I know that Custodes aren't exactly competitive.  And I know that no one has a crystal ball so we can't see what, if anything, will come of the Talons info in PA.  But, all I know is that I ought to have at least one bike set aside to be a shield captain, and one guardsman set aside for the same purpose.  Oh and maybe one more for a vexilla.  Otherwise, I'm totally in the dark about modern Custodes.  Is there anything I should know or any bread and butter items that I'm missing, but should acquire right away?  Or perhaps units that I could grow into?  I'm not allergic to FW units, but I don't want to drop a thousand bucks in a weekend or anything.

 

Again, I'm not looking to go out and grab meta lists by the horns, but I don't want to be caught with my pants down either. 

 

Thank you all for your time and thoughts. 

[Brother Captain Ed]

Nothing?

 

Thoughts on ratios of shields to spears?

Shield-captain type and loadout?

Dreadnought type and loadout?

Up or down on post-nerf Caladius?

Forge World must haves or have nots?

Yay or nay on Calorie?

 

Help a brother-captain out here!

[KJB]

I'm in the same boat and have just gone back to building my Custodes after ignoring them for over a year

 

I think the general consensus is...

 

1. For Guardian squads you want 3 man squads, 2 with spears and 1 with sword and shield

2. Shield Captain on Dawneagle is a must

3. Give anything that can take an axe an axe

 

I'm just building the basic squads at the moment, I'm holding off HQ's etc until after the Psychic Awakening book drops, you never know, we might get something...

 

I'm also tempted to get the FW Galatus contemptor for looks alone

Edited March 3, 2020 by KJB

[.Torch.]

I think KJB has the jist of it.

 

If you are going mono Custodes, a popular starting point is:

 

Trajann

Pretty good. The D3 damage in his main weapon is pretty annoying and inconsistent for a character who is meant to be a demi-primarch, but he's still more killy than a normal Captain. Good for re-rolls and his special ability 'Moment Shackle', normally seen guarding Custodian tanks in competitive play.

 

Shield Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike

Just really good. Often referred to as our 'demon prince', and people aren't really wrong about that. Prone to being picked off of you get too aggressive with him though. Make sure you take all the usual buff staples like the Auric Aquilis relic and the Superior Creation warlord trait.

 

3x Custodian Guard squads.

Normally 3 man squads, 2 spears and 1 sword and board are the popular choice, however 3 spears is also pretty common. I prefer the 3 spears as I like the extra shot power and strength in the fight phase. If they were not super expensive forgeworld upgrades then I would probably run all my troops with specialist spears. Normally I just run a single squad of specialists, which replace one of the other mandatory troops choices.

 

Vexilla

Magnifica icon is the most popular for the -1 to hit. Good for loitering around our tanks and other heavy hitters.

+1 Attack is another option, but I have only seen it used rarely.

Give the guy an Axe because it looks cool as hell. The model also has a profile to rival a Shield Captain, so it's worth giving him something to do some damage with.

 

That's what I would consider an 'average' starting point. It's a battalion so 8CP. Its a pretty good starting point seeing as a mono faction we are pretty CP hungry.

 

After that, most people add a few Grav Tanks or other Forgeworld goodies.

 

Hope this helps you a bit!

[Brother Captain Ed]

Thanks guys, that helps a lot!

[AfroCampbell]

Agreed with above - 

 

some additional comments - 

 

 

There seems to be debate about Terminators a bit, some prefer the FW Aquilon for the slight increase damage output, others prefer Allarus for the strategem options. Even within this there is debate on loadouts (ie Infernus Firepikes or bolters on Aquilons). I think the ultimate outcome of much of the discussion is it depends exactly what you want them for. They can punch vehicles to death or roast squads of elites you just have to pick the role a bit. 

 

Every competitive list I have seen in the last 2 years has a Caladius in it.