Heresy & Heroes

It’s time for our second LPAL of the day and this time we’re looking at the Emperor’s true Golden Boys (sit down Ultramarines), the Adeptus Custodes. Thank you to GW for sending me the book to work with and look through.

It’s also worth noting that if you’re a fan of Imperial lore in the 41st Millennium, this book is a must have. There are some truly delightful touches in the lore sections, with the ‘Deeds of Legend’ sections in particular being a real treat. And on a purely aesthetic note, I love the ‘old gold’ palette that this book uses throughout – perfect for the faction it deals with.

Now, after the abject failure that was my attempt to do a small 2000 point army for the Genestealer Cults, it’s nice to be sat working with a faction that I know I can produce a very small army list for in terms of model count. So let’s go with a bit of a challenge – let’s aim for less than 20 models. Should be fun. And for those not familiar with these lists, I aim for limited repetition, fun to play with on the tabletop, and a very low model count for us painters who don’t have time to work on more expansive armies. Let’s see what I can do with the Adeptus Custodes…

HQ Choices

We’re going to build our entire force inside a single Vanguard Detachment for this, allowing me to take advantage of the cool and costly Elites choices available, but before we get onto them, let’s see who’ll be leading the army. For a start, we’ll take a Shield Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike with a Salvo Launcher and a Misericordia because all of that looks and sounds very cool. The Custodes jetbikes are one of my favourite things in this range so expect to see more of these ‘Movement 14”’ monsters later on. And because I like to get the new stuff into these lists when I can, we’re going to add a Blade Champion into the mix. His Vaultswords have plenty of different profiles making him very handy whatever the enemy throws at this army.

Elites

Let’s start with the two Contemptor Dreadnoughts I’m adding in here as these remain some of my favourite units in the game, and I’ll probably be giving them each multi-meltas because why the hell wouldn’t I? Then we’re taking two units of 3x Allarus Custodians, all armed with an additional Misericordia (don’t want to get too bogged down with hordes and these will help). I also just happen to think the Allarus are a little cooler-looking than your standard Custodes. Then we’re going to give those dudes a bit of support with a Vexilus Praetor in Allarus armour because those Vexilla options are too sweet not to employ in a force like this.

Fast Attack

This is easy for me – two units of 3x Vertus Praetors on their jetbikes, with each unit packing a Salvo Launcher and a bunch more Misericordias to ensure they can take on any enemy.

Heavy Support

A Land Raider. Because it’s big, packs plenty of firepower and despite its age, these rolling boxes still have a habit of scaring your opponents. If they focus on trying to bring this down, the rest of your army has a chance of getting into the fight unscathed.

Army List:

Vanguard Detachement – 

HQ – Shield Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike

HQ – Blade Champion

Elites – Contemptor Dreadnought

Elites – Contemptor Dreadnought

Elites – 3x Allarus Custodians

Elites – 3x Allarus Custodians

Elites – Vexilus Praetor in Allarus Terminator Armour

Fast Attack – 3x Vertus Praetors

Fast Attack – 3x Vertus Praetors

Heavy Support – Land Raider

Points: 1956 (with 44 points to spend on one of the Captain-Commander traits)

Model Count: 18 (now that’s a nice number for any army!)

Army Name: Old, Gold and Bold

Additional Stuff:

Pretty simple tactics for this one. Big tank sits at the back and uses its long range to force the enemy to hide. Your small core of footsloggers move up to the centre to hold and fight, with the Dreads dealing with anything armoured that gets too close. Finally, you have seven jetbikes to zoom around, take back-field objectives and take on anything they want to. I’m not saying it’ll be great, but I think this list could be a lot of fun for the right person. 

Looking through the Shield Hosts, I’d take this army as Emperor’s Chosen due to the access it has to a 4+ FNP and a “Salamander” reroll. That’ll help things survive a little longer for sure, and who doesn’t enjoy a cheeky reroll?

And that’s it really. A very fun, simple and low model count army – we shall call that a success! It’s always nice to put together a successful list, and it’s a fun codex to play around with for sure. Frankly, I’m just happy I managed to get through the whole post without calling them “Custards”… dammit! So close! Anyway, until next time, happy hobbying. Onwards!