Warhammer 40k Combat Patrol: Adeptus Custodes

Product Information

Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus and Codex: Necrons are both on the immediate horizon, and each brings a new Combat Patrol box of cold-hearted logisticians who want nothing more than to snuff out biological life with their superior technology.

The new Adeptus Custodes Combat Patrol box contains a decent number of minis, but what kind of value is inside the box? There is a slight problem here. The Dawneagle Captain doesn’t really have his own kit. You’ll need to buy a box of 3. But you can roll those two extras into the unit of 3 from above for a unit of 5. Or you can do what I would do which is to buy a third box and split them into two units of 4. So what are we looking at points wise now with a Dawneagle Captain and 5 more Vertus Praetors? Playing an Adeptus Custodes forces means that you're always going to be outnumbered, but with the best weapons and equipment, and the golden light of the Emperor behind you, you'll never be outgunned. If you have a big Custodes unit, you might eschew any of these choices for either Valerian or a Blade Champion if you want to be durable or fast respectively. Valerian is a strong fighter in his own right and provides -1AP in the Fight Phase, creating an extra-tank setup for some games, while the Blade Champion is the nastiest personal killer other than Trajann, and gives you free Heroics and once-per-game Advance Charge, which – yes please. My suspicion is that if you go for a full-sized ten model Custodian unit, the Blade Champion is the play simply because getting them into touch a turn early is so good, and Heroic Intervention is one of the key things you want free stratagems for anyway! I could see supplementing this with Wardens or Custodians with Valerian or a Shield Captain out of a Land Raider, and suspect that three Wardens with a Character is a very viable unit too.This isn’t particularly complicated (though there are some other tools that interact with it) but is pretty good. The first thing to note is that you make this choice every Fight Phase, so if you’re doing lots of charges and expecting to clean up in Fight First during your turn you can take one of the aggressive options, then in your opponent’s turn use Kaptaris when receiving counter-charges. Are some of these a reach without Forge World? Absolutely, but the format has its demands. Characters One of the absolute pleasures of playing Warhammer 40k is the models. Simply owning these creations, getting to build them and then lovingly daub them in your chosen colour scheme, is a joy. No matter your skill at any of the above, these models are created with such care, with so many intricate details, that you’re sure to find some pleasure in even the simple act of owning them.

The other main thing that makes Adeptus Custodes armies shine (other than their highly polished auramite plate) is that they have incredibly strong basic statlines, with each of your models more or less equivalent to a character in another army. This doubles for your characters; if you thought your other units were powerful, wait until you meet your HQs. The codex includes stratagems, battlefield abilities that can be used during the game, warlord traits, unique abilities given to your armies' leader, and relics, powerful equipment that can be given to your armies' characters. These can be taken for any Adeptus Custodes army, and the codex also includes unique stratagems, warlord traits, and relics for six different shield hosts, along with two fighting style traits for each. In the 8th Edition of Warhammer 40k, we saw the Adeptus Custodes come into their own as a fighting force. With new models, new characters, and new rules, they became far more than a diversion from Space Marines; they became something that stands alone, with a unique golden flavour.Now, in 9th Edition, they’re even more refined, benefiting from many rule changes in the newer version of Warhammer 40k, andmaking an appearance in somecompetitive lists. Earth – or Terra, as it’s known in the far future – wasn’t always united under the Emperor. For millennia, He worked from the shadows to influence humanity, but, once the nascent human empire faded into the Age of Strife, He took matters into his own hands. Over time, He built vast human armies to conquer the fractured nations of Terra – but even that wasn’t enough to finish the job – so, instead, He literally built an army.Custodes have a lot of Character choices – a couple of powerful named leaders, three flavours of Shield Captain, the mighty Blade Champion and a couple of Sisters of Silence choices.