Hello everyone Geoff “iNcontroL” Robinson here! Recently I had FLG take on my Adeptus Custodes to make them look incredible and so far, they have not disappointed! Before that though I knew I had fallen in love when the GW community folks on stream said that playing Custodes was like “playing an army of heroes.” SOLD. So lets dive into my (little) experience and thoughts I’ve had on the Custodes thus far!
The Custodes ARE FUN!
Custodes are amazingly fun. Maybe specifically for me in that they are challenging and seem to reward a smart general at the list building level but also execution. With so few models there is NO room for mistakes and even so you will find yourself in almost all games with some real challenges. This isn’t to say they are “bad” or “weak” but with so few models finding their spots to shine isn’t so overt. When I play with Custodes I feel like I am being clever or pulling off something really cool.
True to 8th edition the Custodes codex is full of things you want to play but could never fit into one list. I’ve experienced this with all my armies but perhaps more so with Custodes. Terminators OR bikes are the real diverting path but Wardens seem fun, Trajan is a beat-stick.. you get the idea. To make matters worse we got confirmation AND the beta rules that some of those gorgeous FW models will be coming over to 40k for the Custodes.. namely the Dread with the giant spear, YES!
Custodes are fast, hard hitting and durable in an edition where that doesn’t EXACTLY mean the same thing it once did in 7th (is that a bad thing?) but they got it all. Yes, they are an elite army and the challenges with that are true but these gorgeous models (and they are VERY PRETTY) are super fun and definitely viable for competitive play.
Custodes are Meant to be Allied: Winning at the List Building Phase
Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat: Stop list shaming Custodes players who mix, take other detachments or don’t particularly feel like running ONLY Custodes. Is this a bit self-serving? Yeah! I will probably never take pure Custodes because I like giving myself the best chance to win while playing with models I love (Nids, Ad Mech, Custodes, Knights etc). This codex was written with a LOT of synergistic combos intended. Custodes make great.. guardians for things like Guard, Ad Mech and other imperial soft belly factions. They need their giant golden men!
I think virtually every serious Custodes list will include roughly 300 points of guard. The extra battalion, bodies and the ability to farm up command points with the warlord trait (grand strategist) and the relic (kurov’s aquila) is too much of a complement to what the Custodes lack / want to pass up. Beyond that you can plug and play your own flavor. I like Assassins because they again are tactically fun but also allow me to reliably grab some objectives and keep me scoring on the ITC mission while the Custodes bash faces. Honestly though you can go MORE guard, Ad Mech with like dakka bots or onagers OR you can go full on Custodes. A small terminator squad with some bikes is fun or you can have a sick 1, 2 punch of “arriving from the golden light” with Terminators or bikes then following it up with a homer beacon of a block of guard or wardens through the Vexilia deep strike stratagem.
Custodes are new and the combos you will see with them is limitless. People are also talking about taking a supreme detachment of shield-captains on bikes and plugging in 5 of those bad boys into an otherwise normal imperial list.
My Experience With Them
To finish up I want to just give a personal testimony that I have LOVED my time with them so far and I am eager for more. Custodes play like bad asses and have some of the most fun stratagems I have ever seen. The “swooping” one for bikes where you can charge in your opponents charge phase has made for some really really fun counter play but also given my opponents pause on their decision making. With my Custodes battalion I find that I am really getting a kick out of the 3 units of 3 Guard that I run. These guys are the basic troops and I just run them with spears but I’ve had a squad survive a re-rolling dev squad unleashing everything on them and I’ve had two guys solo a Space marine captain with a shield and hammer (easily). The shooting is as people have said, not impressive. Unless they are shooting at tough 3 or screening units.. with all the accuracy and sheer volume of bolter fire they can unleash you will mow down the small stuff. My Custodes collection is large and I have everything so I am particularly excited for league play with them where I can most effectively mix in elements that I normally wouldn’t play but am eager to see on the table.
Well, that does it for now. Just a quick write-up on what I have experienced with these big beautiful golden men of the emperor. If any of you are enjoying them or have some thoughts let us know. I am super stoked and cannot wait to get more games in!
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