Codex Adeptus Custodes is the 3rd release for the 11th Edition of Warhammer 40,000 and in today’s review we’ll be taking a deep dive into the book to see what has changed and whats been updated in the new rules. More so than the Space Marines and Ork Codexes we see more changes here and it’s going to be interesting to see how the rest of the edition cycle plays out.

Massive thanks to Games Workshop for sending us over a copy to check out on the site. If you would like to support the site then why not order your copy of Codex Adeptus Custodes through our affiliate Element Games and save yourself some money too?

We’ve also recently reviewed some of the ace new kits that are being released in this wave, which you can see below or over on YouTube

So without further ado let’s dive into the new Codex and see what The Ten Thousand have in store for this edition…

Codex Adeptus Custodes Review

11th Edition 40k has been one of huge changes so far. The previous two Codexes for the Space Marines and the Orks have both seen substantial changes to stats, and it seems like Games Workshop will be making massive updates to armies to make them feel more like they do in the lore.

Codex Adeptus Custodes is no different in that respect, and we se an already elite army being made even more so. In the lore these are the greatest warriors of the Imperium, and a single one can stand against a great many foes. While they used to be pretty tough in the game, they still didn’t feel as legendary as they should be on the tabletop. That has all changed in this book, with armies being possible at under 15 models!

But first, let’s talk a little about the format and the lore. If you’ve picked up any of the previous books you’ll know that they are now soft back format at a more reasonable price of £25. For someone who likes to collect Codexes, this makes it much easier to be able to dip into other books other than your main Codex – and the format itself is much easier for taking to a game compared the the hard back books that we had to carry around last edition.

I get quite a lot of 2nd Edition vibes from these new books with the first 2 thirds of the book containing background and lore, including a full bestiary going through every single unit in the book and a decent hobby section too!

This hobby section of Codex Adeptus Custodes gives you three examples of different types of Custodes army with both the list of miniatures you’d need to put them together along with example detachments to make it work on the battlefield – this is a great idea and it this acts as a nice way of newcomers getting into the faction, with a little guidance on which units to pick up.

There’s also a really nice painting section with some advice from the Eacy Metal team on how to paint Custodes including their scheme for gold, gemstones and leather along with their guide for doing cloaks. There’s some really good advice here and between them should give you a good start on painting a Custodes army!

I love seeing hobby pages like this back in Codexes again, and I hope this is something we continue to see throughout the life of the edition!

The last third of the book is dedicated to the rules, and like with the last two Codexes we get a couple of pages that go through step by step the things you need to pick and choose from when constructing your list.

So how does the army play?

Well Martial Ka’tah is back again in Codex Adeptus Custodes, but much expanded from the previous incarnation. Essentially at the start of your command phase each of your units is readied – and then during the turn you can pick a readied unit to benefit from one of 6 different abilities. These trigger at different points over the turn, and once a readied unit has one used on them they can’t benefit from any more that turn – but you can use abilities on every unit each turn if you want to.

Conservai lets models do actions when they normally cant – for example if they are engaged or battleshocked. In addition this Ka’tah allows you to also shoot after doing an action, which is handy given your limited numbers.

Calistus allows your models to move through other models

Salvus allows units to ignore modifiers to BS, hit and wound rolls when shooting (Which is amazing considering how these can be stacked by modifying both hit and BS now)

Dacatarai allows your units to reroll 1s in Melee

Kaptaris makes enemey units have -1 to hit you

And finally Rendax gives your unit Lethal Hits against Monsters and Vehicles.

There’s a nice assortment here and you’ll want to weigh up how best to use these each turn. On top of this, some detachments also give a specific Ka’tah some additional benefits too – so this will be something you want to factor in when constructing your force.

Custodes also get a couple more special rules – Aegis of the Emperor gives your units a 5+ Feel No Pain against Mortal Wounds, while Aquila Commander is the normal “Warlord gains a CP at the start of the Battle Round” rule we’ve seen in the other books.

The Sisters of Silence also get some special rules too, with Daughters of the Abyss giving them a 3+ Feel No Pain against Psychic Attacks, and any unit within 6″ of them getting a 5+ Feel No Pain instead!

Like with the Space Marines and Orks we also get a new Special Move Type listed – Shock Disembark. This interacts with other unit rules that we’ll see later and allows you to set up a unit within 3″ of a transport when they disembark as long as they did not embark this turn.

Detachments

So let’s take a look at the new detachments in Codex Adeptus Custodes and check out what they do:

Guardians of the Throne is our big 3 point Detachment, and this allows you to give Custodes units either Sustained Hits or Lethal Hits on their melee attacks, which is handy when they are up against greater numbers or tough targets. There’s some nice enhancements here such as Bane of Abominations giving the wielder +1 to wound against Characters, Monsters and Vehicles while Eagle’s Eye gives your character an extra wound and a once per game 3+ inv, which is pretty nice! The 6 strats here are pretty versatile with the ability to ready a unit who has already used a Ka’tah, drop an enemy unit’s hit and wound by 1 or allow units to move 3+D3 in the enemy movement phase.

Aquilan Shield is our first Unique Host, and this makes incoming shots have -1 to wound rolls if the strength is more than your toughness (which given the high toughness of the army is only really going to trigger against the heaviest of weapons) but sadly this cannot be used on vehicles. They also have an enhanced Salvus which increases their range by 6″

Dread Host allows Custodes to reroll charge rolls, and they get an enhanced Dacatari that reduces enemy pile in moves by 2″

Emissaries Imperatus get an army wide Fights First and in addition their enhanced Conservai allows you to do actions when advancing or falling back.

Emperor’s Chosen allows Custodes units to rerol a hit and a wound every time they fight, which is pretty cool. On top of this their enhanced Rendax gives them the ability to do between 1 and 3 Mortal Wounds to monsters and vehicles they are engaged with.

Shadow Keepers is basically the same as Aquilian Shield, but instead affects incoming melee attacks. They get an enhanced Kaptais that forces engaged units to make a battleshock and -1

Solar Watch is the last of the unique shield hosts and this makes units that fall back able to charge, and on top of this their enhanced Calistus gives you +2 moement.

I suspect most people will pick the unique shield host detachment that fits their play style the most, and then top it up with 2 of the following generic detachments

Auric Champions has you pick a “dreadful foe” each Command Phase and get a +1 to wound against that target on your characters. This detachment is very much aimed at characters with strats such as the ability to do a one per game ability a second time!

Honoured Companions on the other hand is based around your Trusted Sentinel units, and this allows them to re-roll wounds of 1 when near objectives. There’s also a really nice strat that gives a unit below starting strength +2 attacks.

Lions of the Emperor is your Terminator detachment, and this allows you to pop any unengaged terminators into reserves at the end of the enemy fight phase, which is ace!

Might of the Moritoi is the Dreadnought detachment, and this gives buffs that change depending on the wounds of the models. At full strength they gain +2 OC, and below starting strength they can reroll hits of 1 and below half strength they reroll hits and wounds of 1! Also worth noting here is an upgrade that can give a Custodes Dread a 5+ Feel No Pain!

Grav-Assault Force is the vehicle detachment and has a very tasty rule giving all Grav Assault vehicles a 4+ Inv save! This is a really good detachment with an ace strat that allows a destroyed vehicle to claim an objective as long as no one else in on that objective!

Null Maiden Vigil is the final detachment in Codex Adeptus Custodes, and this is for anyone who wants to run an army of Sisters of Silence. This gives your Prosecutors Battleline, allows you to take a Sisters unit as your Warlord and also gives you an aura that forces a -1 battleshock test to anyone within 12″ in their command phase. I just wish we’d got access to the Kharon Aquisitor from Horus Heresy rather than the humble Rhino!

Codex Adeptus Custodes Datasheets

As mentioned earlier, the new Custodes Codex has made some big changes to all units, generally speaking units have higher toughness, more wounds, move faster and hit harder. This is balanced by some substantial points increases and units having a max size of 2 or 3 models depending on the units (Please keep in mind points are subject to change, so I won’t be going into exact points here as they may change by the time the book comes out)

What’s also new is that every single plastic unit from The Horus Heresy is now in the Codex too! This is a brilliant change and something I hope that we also see for Imperial Knights. Heck, could we finally one day be able to use Mechanicum units in a Mechanicus army one day? I can dream!

Let’s take a look through the top level changes for each unit in the book.

Trajann Valoris – Now clocks in at T7 with 10 wounds and hits at S12 with his axe! With 6 attacks and cleave on his Axe he can also hold out against much bigger units, and with AP 3 and 4 damage a pop he can fight entire units of terminators too! If that’s not enough, once per game he can also increase the attacks by 3 and gain a 3+ inv too!

Shield Captain is now T7 with 8 wounds and keeps a variety of weapons allowing you to use the old or new models for them. Once per battle round they can also become readied, allowing a unit to take advantage of a second Ka’tah

Shield Captain in Terminator Armour bumps up to T8 with 9 wounds, and has the ability once per battle to be moved into strategic reserves and make an ingress move the same turn!

Shield Captain on Jetbike gets a big bump to Toughness 8 and 10 wounds, and hits like a truck with 8 S8 lance attacks at AP2 and damage 2 each. Every time it fights it can make a normal move if it kills whatever it was fighting, or instead make a free fall back if it’s still enagaged.

Blade Champions jump up to T7 and 7 wounds and have the ability to reroll advance and charge rolls. On top of this they get to pick a unit each battle round to get +1 to wound against.

Sentinel Guard Sodality and Custodian Guard Sodality are your battleline units. They are now T7 with 5 wounds each, but cost just under 250 points for 3 and you can’t take them in bigger units either. The Sentinels get Lethal hits when on an objective or attacking something on an objective, while the Custodians get sustained hits.

Custodian Wardens also get some love with higher strength and damage on their weapons, the axes now hitting at S10 with D4! They can now only be taken in units of 2 or 3 models.

Allarus Custodians get similar updates to the Wardens but they also get =1 to wound when fighting units with higher toughness (though with a T of 8 theres not many things they will get +1 against!)

Aquilon Terminators are the new kids on the block and come in two different flavours. With Solarite Power Gauntlets they are anti tank specialists hitting with 5 S10 attacks and AP 3 and Damage 3, while armed with Power Talons they shred through infantry with sustained hits and rerolls of 1 to hit and wound. The talon armed ones also get a choice of decent 3 shot Blast 2 Torrent flamers or 3 shot rapid fire 3 bolters!

Venatari are another new unit added in the book, and they also come in two different loadouts. With Lances they gain lance and precision, while with Bucklers they have sustained hits. Both types can be popped into strategic reserves at the end of the enemy fight phase, and can also once per battle use their mines to cause mortal wounds on a nearby unit. At movement 12 they are very nippy too!

Telemon Heavy Dreadnought also joins the 40k custodes with an absolute beast of a profile – T11 and 14 wounds along with a 4+ inv makes this a tough nut to crack, and on top of this any incoming shots are -1 damage too! Base it comes with duel fists, but can swap out one fist for a ranged weapon, and there’s a range of different profiles for these.

Contemptor Dreadnoughts are also here in both of the Horus Heresy loadouts, the Galatus and the Achillus. One is armed with a S12 spear with Lance and D3+3 damage for ripping appart high toughness targets, while the other has a cleave and sustained hits sword and has a better 4+ inv from it;s shield.

Vertus Praetors share the ace lance that the captain has and gain sustained hits on the charge, but are only 7 wounds

Gryfalcon Jetbikes on the other hand have 9 wounds and a do more damage in melee (though have one less attack) and have a wide range of weapon options allowing you to tailor them to different roles. They are only taken in units of 2 however.

The Pallas Grav-Attack is a cheap and quick weapons platform that can move D6 after shooting, and has the option for a short ranged weapon with good AP and damage or swap that for longer range and rapid fire but less AP (but still a decent damage 3)

Coronus Grav-Carrier is a very tough (T12 and 16 wounds) transport that carries 8 models and rocks a 5+ inv. It also has the ability to do a D6 move whenever it loses a wound in the shooting phase too! On top of this when it advances the unit inside can use the Shock Disembark mentioned earlier!

Caladius Grav-Tank comes in two different flavours with the standard version armed with an Illastus Accelorator Cannon specialising against non monster/vehicle and the Anniilator with the Blase Cannodate being a decent anti tank platform. Both have T11 and 14W with a 5+ inv and each has special rules tailored to it’s favoured kind of target.

The Sisters of Silence also get some units in the book:

Knight-Centura is the Character, and she gives her unit +2 movement and reroll advance and charge, making them really good for doing objective duties. She also forces units that fall back to make desperate escape rolls (at -1 if they are battle shocked)

Prosecutors are your basic Boltgun armed sisters, that can be used to detect enemy units at range, anti psyker 4+ on their guns also makes them surprisingly good at hunting down certain targets.

Vigilators are armed with swords and keep a similar profile to last time around, but do gain extra attacks

Witchseekers are pretty good, now armed with Anti Psyker 4+ flamers and force a unit that they hit to make a battle shock roll.

Finally, the Sisters of Silence also get access to a Rhino with the Shock Disembark rule. It’s a real shame we don’t get access to the Kharon Aquisitor here, but hopefully if the Sisters of Silence get a future plastic Horus Heresy release then we will also get access to them in Warhammer 40k.

Summary

So what do I think of the new Codex Adeptus Custodes? Well, after the buffs the Space Marines got to their stats I was hoping that the Custodes would get something to bring them up more in line with the lore, and I was not disapointed.

Across the board Custodes are tougher, hit harder and feel more like the super human warriors that they are. With that comes points increases and a Custodes army now really feels like an elite force that is only deployed in dire need, and have an interesting play style with a few low model count units that have to think carefully about board positioning, but with enough quick models and reserves schenanigans to snap back and forth as needed

The big win for me is the fact that every single plastic Horus Heresy Custodes unit is now in the book, something that massively expands the units available to the army and hopefully starts a trend of the cool heresy stuff getting rules in 40k codexes. Knights in particular hopefully get this treatment, but there’s always the potential for more surprises down the line too.

I do hope that the rollout of books is quick this edition though, as we’ve now had 3 books in a row with suped up rules, and some of the old 10th edition armies may start to feel a little weak compared to the new 11th edition books.

Codex Adeptus Custodes is up for pre order today and is released Saturday 17th October

Games Workshop provided Sprues and Brews with a free copy for review purposes.