Adeptus Custodes Shield-Captain + Battleforce + Codex

[jaxom]

4 hours ago, The Scorpion said:

The custodes:cuss: is honestly out of control. Imho the Allarus terminators and Vertus Praetors should've never existed. Terminators and Jetbikes should've been ported from Forge World. Now we have Emperor knows how many HQ options while the sisters are left with none!

One HQ option per equipment loadout plus Blade Champion. Not bad compared to other ranges. I kind of agree about Forge World, but I don't know enough about GW's internal politics to how that all shook out. I do know I'm biased; I think the Allarus Terminators look terrible. I decided to take a look at kits and units and here's what I found.

• Custodes have four unique kits and four unique units: Allarus Terminators, Custodian Guards, Custodian Wardens, and Vertus Praetors.
• Three of the four Custodes characters are made from those same four kits, not including Epic Heroes.
• Custodes have two units repurposed from Space Marine kits: Venerable Dreadnought and Venerable Land Raider. The VD is no longer in production and is not shown in the online store. The Horus Heresy Contemptor is not a search result for Custodes. The Venerable Land Raider still shows up in the online store, but is online-only. However, that is the same for the Space Marine Land Raider. I think they just ship the same sprues in generic boxes. Can anyone confirm that?
• The Sisters of Silence have one unique kit and it makes all three of their unique units.
• The SoS have one Character, who is made from the same, single unique kit, not including Epic Heroes.
• The Rhino comes up in Custodes searches, but it shows the Space Marine Rhino picture.

[Nephaston]

10 minutes ago, jaxom said:

The Rhino comes up in Custodes searches, but it shows the Space Marine Rhino picture.

The Rhino is for Sisters of Silence, and like the Land Raider for Custodes exactly the same as the Space Marine one.

[irlLordy]

The standard Contemptor dreadnought staying is very interesting, given that that model is no longer available. I wonder if it will still have a restricted loadout, or if it will be able to take some more of the options available in the HH plastic model. A lascannon loadout  could introduce some options for fire support. 

 

Out of interest, are there specific Horus Heresy skus for plastic Custodes? Or are they only in 40k boxes?

[CL_Mission]

Spoiler

Just saw these leaks over on reddit and thought they might be appropriate here if people hadn't already seen them.

[jaxom]

2 hours ago, Nephaston said:

The Rhino is for Sisters of Silence, and like the Land Raider for Custodes exactly the same as the Space Marine one.

That was my point. They’re not kits dedicated to that faction, they were repurposed and so have nothing to do with who attention from the mini designers.

[Tokugawa]

Considering the time of production and distribution, the rules should have been completed in 2023. So the nerfs have no relation to custodes good tournament performances in 2024. 

[The Scorpion]

2 hours ago, irlLordy said:

Out of interest, are there specific Horus Heresy skus for plastic Custodes? Or are they only in 40k boxes?

I don't think so. There are heresy-specific upgrades, like the spears, but they are resin.

[ThePenitentOne]

The Anathema detachment certainly will make SoS more effective, but probably still not competitive unless they bring boys.

 

I want 40k rules for the Acquisitor more than ever now. Even Legends would work for me.

[Remain_Indoors]

9 hours ago, ThePenitentOne said:

The Anathema detachment certainly will make SoS more effective, but probably still not competitive unless they bring boys.

 

I want 40k rules for the Acquisitor more than ever now. Even Legends would work for me.

Competitive, Schmepetitive, I’m just glad I can still field my army without having to ignore army construction rules. 
Agreed on the Acquisitor, especially since the Custards have all their Heresy stuff available.

[The Scorpion]

On 4/10/2024 at 4:15 PM, jaxom said:

That was my point. They’re not kits dedicated to that faction, they were repurposed and so have nothing to do with who attention from the mini designers.

I could not agree more. Forge World sometimes produces ugly stuff, but comparing the Talons of the Emperor vehicles in resin to the ones they have in plastic... it is a night and day difference

[Tokugawa]

Photos of the whole codex is on internet. Most unit ability unchanged.

 

 

Edited April 12 by Tokugawa

[irlLordy]

Venerable dreads remain locked to assault cannon and melta loadouts. *sigh*. 

[Orange Knight]

I don't understand why GW don't just create a new box for the HH Contemptor that has a 40k Custodes paint scheme on the cover, and sell that variant as the 40k option for this faction.

 

I also agree that the Dreadnought and Rhino vehicles don't really match this faction. Some effort should be made to phase those out and replace them with plastic versions of the much more thematic HH vehicles.

 

This faction doesn't need much to shine. I hope GW take that extra step of effort at some point.

[Tokugawa]

21 minutes ago, Orange Knight said:

I don't understand why GW don't just create a new box for the HH Contemptor that has a 40k Custodes paint scheme on the cover, and sell that variant as the 40k option for this faction.

 

I also agree that the Dreadnought and Rhino vehicles don't really match this faction. Some effort should be made to phase those out and replace them with plastic versions of the much more thematic HH vehicles.

 

This faction doesn't need much to shine. I hope GW take that extra step of effort at some point.

Since GW can make plastic 30K contemptor switchable arms, there is no difficulty for making a plastic Galatus/Achilles/whatever custodes dreadnought.

 

The reason may be cruel: custodes vehicles could be high quality plastics, but ended at FW resins actually. GW don't want your custodes players pay less money and own an army.

[Styles]

It looks like the axes now hit on 2+, but I still think the spears are a better choice. 

[Doobles57]

1 hour ago, irlLordy said:

Venerable dreads remain locked to assault cannon and melta loadouts. *sigh*. 

This really doesn't make sense to me. I get that previously it was due to "only what you can build in the box" but that box no longer exists - and hasn't for some time.

 

The only way to get a Ven Dread Contemptor for Custodes (in plastic since it's a codex option) is with the HH kit. So why are we locked out of all the options in that box? There's zero logic to it.

[Cenobite Terminator]

3 hours ago, Styles said:

It looks like the axes now hit on 2+, but I still think the spears are a better choice. 

 

Definitely and axes are still a lackluster AP1.

[jaxom]

2 hours ago, Doobles57 said:

This really doesn't make sense to me. I get that previously it was due to "only what you can build in the box" but that box no longer exists - and hasn't for some time.

 

The only way to get a Ven Dread Contemptor for Custodes (in plastic since it's a codex option) is with the HH kit. So why are we locked out of all the options in that box? There's zero logic to it.

 

I'm guessing it is a place holder until they reach the point, in whatever internal timeline they have for the next 10 years, when Custodes get a proper wave 2. I don't think Custodes are going to get the Harlequin treatment because the Custodes don't have a faction to fold them into. There's also the issue of any internal politicking. @Tokugawa is correct about GW's ability to make plastic Galatus/Achillus Dreadnoughts. However, despite changes to who is writing Forge World 40k rules and folding all products into one encompassing store, there is still a distinct "us vs them" when it comes to borrowing ideas from FW for new models and units, transitioning 40k FW kits into plastic, and inclusion in codexes.

Edited April 12 by jaxom
Change some sentence structure for clarity.

[Noserenda]

Limiting the dreadnought options to an oop kit is just so stupid, I think it shows how little the rules bods cared about this release.

 

Disagree about the rhinos and land raiders not fitting though, given they continue to refuse to put in a couple of hours to write up the Acquisition, Anathema do need a transport and Custodes deserve one that doesn't come in overpriced resin I guess :D

[jaxom]

2 hours ago, Noserenda said:

Limiting the dreadnought options to an oop kit is just so stupid, I think it shows how little the rules bods cared about this release.

They probably had to based on orders from up the line.

 

2 hours ago, Noserenda said:

Disagree about the rhinos and land raiders not fitting though, given they continue to refuse to put in a couple of hours to write up the Acquisition, Anathema do need a transport and Custodes deserve one that doesn't come in overpriced resin I guess :D

From a game perspective, yes they vitally need those options. But in terms of faction identity and design silhouette, they're atrocious option to include. Everything about them reads as Astartes and nothing about them reads as Talons of the Emperor. Whatever has kept them from getting proper plastic transports and dreadnoughts is doing the whole faction a disservice.

[Noserenda]

I guess it depends if you identify those tanks as only for marines, it's not how I was introduced to them, and it's not how the rhino is still depicted, it's a workhorse across the imperium (if not all the game lists) and given the rhino in particular makes up half the Anathema motor pool is exactly as on brief as the Acquisitior in any technical sense anyway :D

 

Further, yeah, expanding the plastics would definitely be a better option, but I think the talons unique position between eras is probably responsible for them not getting done :( The business bods being willing to dcut beastmen and savage orcs entirely from AoS rather than share is a bad precedent 

[DemonGSides]

There's a lot of leaks about the Custodes codex out there now, and it's a butchering.

Meanwhile, Orks get a really fluffy and fun codex.  I'd just like some consistency.

[Doobles57]

18 minutes ago, DemonGSides said:

There's a lot of leaks about the Custodes codex out there now, and it's a butchering.

Meanwhile, Orks get a really fluffy and fun codex.  I'd just like some consistency.

I think I've read basically all the rules now through various leaks. I'm genuinely considering skipping it for now. I'm usually a day 1 codex fomo mug for any army I own. But I'm not very excited to try these rules out on the table right now. It's a real shame. That said I bought the Ad Mech codex which has some decent rules and garbage datasheets. So I'll probably be a sucker still. 

 

I also keep expecting to see a photo or angle of the new Shield Captain that doesn't make him look like a portly midget. Thought maybe the studio member army article today might have managed it but no. Still a hard pass on him. 

 

I don't like being this negative but I'm not sure what I'm meant to be getting excited about for this release?

[Cenobite Terminator]

It’s really bad. The batrep on WH+ was a blowout in favor of the Orks.

[DemonGSides]

I'm right there with you. I've been keeping my BA as my hobby faction alongside IG and was gonna try playing Custodes in my play group since they'd have some variety with some new rules.

 

Boy was I wrong!

 

Oh well. Eventually one of my factions will get a fun codex. Eventually.