So, this was a bit delayed due to Black Library weekend. Having to go through several novels and open world games left me a little burned out, hence the brief break. However, we're back now, and rather than just leaving this unfinished (like two previous reviews which might as well be written off by this point, sadly) we're going to close this out for good. We'll move onto Battletome: Daughters of Khaine tomorrow, starting with the lore.
Okay, with that done, on with the review.
Stratagems:
The obvious limitation placed on the Custodes is their high cost and small numbers. Along with making them easy to outflank and overwhelm if mishandled, it also limits their capacity to utilise Command Points. This might help to explain why such a substantial number of those cost only a single point each, and just why they seem to focus on very individual or singular situations. They're less the general purpose buff most armies can use in a variety of situations and more something keyed to a handful of very similar encounters. Much like Formations, i'm personally not a big fan of these, but at least they offer some more freedom in terms of an army's structure.
Avatars of the Emperor (1 Point): When the Morale phase states, the player picks out a Custodes unit which isn't a vehicle. All Imperial infantry units within 6" match this model's Leadership for that phase.
A nice general bonus, as it throws a bone to those wanting to integrate Custodes into bigger armies as a spearhead. The fact it works with bikes is a welcome addition as well, and it seems like a useful thing to keep Guardsmen holding the line for a little longer against an enemy. Whether this is to attain victory or serve as a speed bump is up to you.
Avenge the Fallen (1 Point): During the fight phase, pick out a single Custodes unit. Every model un the unit gains an additional attack for every model slain during this turn.
This is an old idea we have seen done many times before, and it's a more refined one than many. Along with limiting this buff to a single turn, it seems to emphasise the ability to quickly thin out horde numbers if a Custodian unit is being bogged down. Against Tyranids, Orks or the like this should be quite effective, and perhaps some players can even find a use for throwing it against certain important characters.
Bringers of the Emperor's Justice (1 Point): Ah, welcome to the first cloned rule of this book! This is a very situational one which is shared by the Blood Angels, where your extra swing on a 6+ is multiplied to a 4+ role. While this does further help to enhance squads in combat with the Legion, it doesn't fully fit their character. Even if you accept that Horus killed the Emperor, the Custodes have little connection or link to the Black Legion outside of the Siege of Terra.
Burst Missile Net (1 Point): A fairly dull one which allows bikes to re-roll damage when firing flakkburst at a shared target. Good with some lists, but unremarkable.
Castellan Strike (1 Point): A very similar option to the above example, briefly boosting attack potential, but focusing more on units outfitted with castellan axes. All models armed with one in a unit gain +1 to their AP if they are focusing their attacks on a single target. It's a nice momentary power buff for some of the more expensive units the Custodes field, and as a brief opportunity to bring down something big.
Concussion Grenade (1 Point): This allows a unit of Allarus Terminators to attack in the shooting phase with AP0 grenades. What's the advantage of this? Infantry units struck cannot use Overwatch and take a -1 when rolling to hit certain targets. So, it's effectively a glorified shock grenade.
Admittedly, given how close combat orientated the Custodes are, and their limited capacity to engage at range, it's a welcome alternative to bikes when breaking a gun line.
Even in Death... (2 Points): This is effectively a "Fight to survive!" mechanic recreated on a tabletop level. When a Custodes character (unfortunately, yes, that said character) is killed he can make a single shooting or fight action right before being removed. The problem is that there's only one character that this can be applied to, and for two points it's not a very good additional option.
Plus, this is more or less a direct replication of "Only in Death Does Duty End" from Codex: Space Marines. At least there you had plenty of choices to apply this to.
Ever Vigilant (2 Points): This is intended for close range shooting to drive back forces as they close in. When an enemy unit lands within 12", the Custodes are capable of hitting them with a -1 result to their BS. Admittedly, Space Marines get the same thing, but the increased Custodes BS means that they have a notable advantage here. Plus it immediately blunts Sternguard attacks which could be harmful to your small numbers.
Eyes of the Emperor (1 Point): This is a situational creation taken to the extreme, where it allows the Custodes player to throw away one tactical objective and draw a new one. It can help to abruptly turn the tide of certain games, but short of one or two choices it's not something you will use often.
From Golden Light They Come (1 Point or 3 Points): This is an exceptionally useful one for the army despite the potentially high cost. During your deployment phase, you can pick out up to two units of Custodes infantry, bikes or Dreadnoughts to Deep Strike into the enemy. This costs a single point for one unit and three for two, and it can only be used once per game. However, for the enhanced mobility, disruption and the capacity to easily outflank an advancing force, this is worth its weight in gold.
Indomitable Guardians (1 Point): Following an enemy charge and fight phase, you can pick out one Custodes unit engaged with the enemy. You can then choose a unit within 3" of an objective and fight with them against a target. This might sound odd, but given the difficulties Custodes can end up having when it comes to objectives, the momentary bonus can be a surprisingly effective push.
Inescapable Vengeance (2 Points): This effectively nullifies one immediate rule often used to protect characters. In picking out a unit of Allarus Terminators during the Shooting phase, the can ignore the closest target rule and opt to fire at an enemy character within range. As many of the character killing bonuses and skills stem from close range weapons, this is a nice bonus to really make use of their grenade launchers and to disrupt tactics built on a familiar core rule. If you end up killing him, well, that's one less problem to worry about in melee.
Inspire Fear (1 Point): This gives a -1 to enemy Leadership. Nothing much, and not all that useful in the grand scheme of things, even if it's not an inherently bad option. There are just many more Stratagems which are effective for this same cost.
Networked Machine Spirits (1 Point): The rare example of a vehicle one, and a nice option for Land Raider heavy forces. When two Ven. Land Raiders are within 6" of one another, this can be used to briefly render them immune to negative to-hit modifiers. This makes them very useful in taking out a variety of Eldar units along with those fielded by the likes of the Alpha Legion.
Piercing Strike (1 Point): This is a good general-purpose option in having your basic Custodes deal with some tougher targets like the odd Greater Daemon. In effect, during the fight phase, you can add +1 to any wound rolls when attacking with Guardian Spears. If this lasted past a single phase or could be used for more than one unit, this would be downright broken, but in its limited form this is a brief power boost which allows them to potentially fight out of unwinnable situations.
Plant the Vexilla (1 Point): An exceptionally useful one, this adds another 6" to the vexilla's range so long as the model carrying it does not move. When paired up with a teleport homer or even the right formation this can be downright deadly.
Sentinel Storm (2 Points): An odd option which is more of a reaction than a truly useful one, at the very end of your enemy's shooting phase, a unit can open fire with its sentinel blades. It could help to further thin the ranks of a charging unit, but we have better options for that on here.
Shoulder the Mantle (1 Point): This creates the rare option of battlefield promotions in Warhammer 40,000, as it allows another figure to serve as Warlord if your current one dies. This is limited only to Shield-Captains, but it also allows you to re-roll those traits anew and denies your opponent a Victory Point for slaying the Warlord. Overall, not a directly helpful one in regards to winning fights, but a useful option for limiting the enemy's capacity to win games.
Spark of Divinity (1 Point): A psyker booster, this allows any figure casting a psychic power within 12" of a Custodes unit to deny the power as if the Custodes themselves were psykers. Another one which can obviously only be used with allies.
Stooping Dive (3 Points): Focusing on the bikes once more, this allows you to pick a single unit within 12" of an enemy model at the end of an enemy charge phase. This unit can then immediately charge them as if it were your phase, with all the bonuses you would expect. This also allows them to fight first in combat, even if the enemy has a special rule which could normally allow them to go first.
It's clear just why this costs so many points, but the benefits are clear even at a glance. This can rapidly turn the tide of an enemy assault and quickly inflict considerable damage against the typical Death Star choices similarly small and elite armies favour. Overall, it's one well worth considering picking up.
Tanglefoot Grenade (1 Point): You can guess what this does from the very name. While it doesn't work on flying units, at the start of the enemy movement or charge phase you can select an enemy unit within 12" of a Custodes squad. Roll one D6 and reduce the target's movement value by that much for the rest of the phase. Note phase, not turn. Still, anyone who has missed a charge by one inch knows how much this might hurt them, and the more lumbering close combat squads such as Terminators will dread this being thrown their way.
Unflinching (1 Point): You gain a 5+ Overwatch ability, which works well with the standard sentinel blade abilities. A good option for further thinning out swarm armies.
Unleash the Lions (2 Point): Something tells me that someone wanted to put "Kraken" in here, but it didn't quite fit with the Custodes' spirit animal of choice. In this case, during the movement phase, you pick out a unit of Allarus Terminators. These split up into single one-model units which can move and fight separately. In most cases, this would be useless, but given each Terminator has four wounds, this is intended for them to engage multiple varied targets at once. I could definitely see it being used to rapidly mop up enemy squads or further drive infantry into retreat, but it does open them up to being overwhelmed by counter-charges. It's risky but better than you might think at first glance.
Vexilla Teleport Homer(3 Points): This one was mentioned very briefly earlier, but it is an utterly amazing combo-ability if you can get it off. This allows for a unit to Deep strike within "6 of a vexilla, and for them to act accordingly. While this sadly cannot be used in the same turn that a vexilla bearer Deep Strikes into the game, it does mean that you can immediately have them come down and benefit from the buffs it typically grants. Overall, this has the potential to shred armies who do not see it coming.
Victor of the Blood Games (2 Points): Well, there had to be at least one reference to this tradition in here, didn't there. Before the game starts, you must choose a character from your Custodes force. You then grant him a permenant ability for the rest of the game, as he can now reroll a single hit, wound or save role each turn. This is very useful in duelling or singular engagements, and can even be pushed into using your character as a wrecking ball without turning them into an all-powerful nightmare. Combined with some of their better defensive wargear, you can end up with someone being able to stonewall attack after attack thrown their way. It's not the greatest one on here, but it is quite useful.
Wisdom Of The Ancients (1 Point): This is a dreadnought focused one, which allows any one in your army to have a 6" buff bubble about them, letting them reroll 1s on hits. The best thing about this is that it doesn't override or nulify further bonuses from other sources such as the vexilla, and it's not limited to shooting or melee only. So, stick a Dreadnought in the middle of a moving wedge of squads or even a Deep Striking force, and suddenly you have a far better chance of inflicting a few more casualties on the enemy.
Despite a couple of cloned examples, this was a nice series of rules to work with. Most of them made sense thematically, both in terms of the army and even the individual squads, and reflected on their history as well. It's definitely a guideline that further reviews will judge future Stratagems by, and a perfect example of how to make an army powerful without getting into Plasma Siphon territory.
Tactical Objectives
Deliver Victory
This one is honestly fairly broken, as it allows the army to start snowballing Victory Points. All you need to do is gain one Victory Point in the previous turn from an Objective, and this one will grant you another one. Instantly. It's a fairly cheap method of quickly racking them up early on in the game, and it seems as if there should have been more to this.
Eliminate Threats
This is a victory point for completely destroying an enemy unit. Standard stuff, even if it does highlight the problem with the above option, but it comes with an interesting bonus. If you destroy at least three enemy units, this gets bumped up to D3 Victory Points, which adds an element of risk to this if you're relying on it.
War Zone Secure
A definite uphill battle for the army, this one requires you to control at least three objectives on the board for a single Victory Point. Given the army's limited numbers, you'd be hard-pressed to get it in most scenarios.
Keep Them At Spear's Length
An interesting one to be sure, this grants you a Victory Point if there are no other units within 3" of the Custodes, including both allies and enemies. The only good thing is that this cannot be pulled off on the very first turn but, really, this one seriously seems like something which is far, far too easy to use to get a quick win.
Crush Their Resistance
A very simple one - Your opponent picks out an objective, and you gain D3 Victory Points if you claim it at the end. The only benefit is that this can be effectively anywhere, which can force the Custodes player to bend over backwards to try and get them.
The Emperor's Vengeance
Another simple and surprisingly easy one, you're given D3 Victory Points if you steal an objective from your enemy. This is upped to D3+3 if you steal another three, which then snowballs into the War Zone Secure example above.
Compared with the great Stratagems outlined above, this one was surprisingly boring on the whole. There were so many other inventive things which could be done with it, and even if they were going for the most straightforward example so they can work with new rules, even just a bit more thought would have gone a long way. Overall, it's easily the weakest part of the codex.
Warlord Traits
Champion of the Imperium: An obvious one, this allows all non-vehicle Custodes units within 12" to make heroic interventions as if they were characters. Valoris has this as a standard ability, but it is an interestingly entertaining one.
Impregnable Mind: The ability is one of the anti-psyker choices in here, where the Warlord can now perform Deny the Witch rolls as if he were a psyker. this adds a +1 to the results of all relevant tests and gives him some much-needed sorcery kevlar thanks to the lack of Librarians or the like among them.
Superior Creation: Highlighting the gene-forging which goes on behind the scenes, this highlights the idea that certain Custodes are more effectively made than others. In terms of mechanics this just translates to a 5+ Feel No Pain save, but if you stack this atop of a Jetbike and Auric Aquilas, this guy is never going to die. Well, he will, but it will take more firepower than you need to kill half an army of Terminators to bring him down.
Emperor's Companion: Your Warlord rerolls his damage, which is beneficial given that many weapons are based on a D3 system.
Radiant Mantle: This reduces all efforts to shoot him by -1. Useful but not essential.
Peerless Warrior: On a roll of a 6+ you gain an extra attack, but this sadly does not result in true exploding dice.
This is more the sort of thing I had hoped we might see when Warlord Traits were first wheeled out, as they serve as general buffs and bonuses but they're not so ultra-specific that they can end up being useless. In almost any situation Imprednable Mind will be useful, while the likes of Emperor's Champion will always come into play in some way. It's not overly bold or determined to push the envelope, but I would personally take something controlled and carefully made any day.
The Final Verdict
Overall, Codex: Adeptus Custodes is a pretty damn good book. It does admittedly get away with a few things thanks to being the Custodes, and the lore isn't written with anything overly ambitious in mind. With that being said, there is exceptionally little that it screws up, and in most situations the army is extremely well balanced against enemy forces. The definiton of "tough but brittle" fits them well, and you can see why they were marked as the elite, but never saw widespread use in both the lore and tabletop. This is substantially better than many books we covered in the past Edition, and it's a sign of hope for things to come.
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