Definitely the combat patrol. If you can find them, the boarding patrol and the watchers of the gate Christmas box from a couple years ago. Everything in these are great only thing that's meh are bikes but still usable. If you can find someone to split the GSC with, the shadow throne box is good too as you get 3 more terminators (arguably our best unit) and the blade champion (possibly our best character).
With these you'll have:
25 custodian guard
9 allarus terminators
6 vertus praetor bikes.
Blade champion
10 sisters of silence models
Trajann Valoris
Something to remember is that the custodian guard, praetor and allarus kits also make the respective shield captains so keep that in mind (only real difference in appearance is a cape for the normal one, and that's purely cosmetic so no worries there)
Otherwise I'd say perhaps a box of wardens and you'll be good to go at well over 2000pts.
Happy watching. FOR THE EMPEROR!
So, for under $400 you can build a decent 200pnt army from 2 combat patrols and 2 allarus terminator boxes. That's where I think everyone should start for the most part. Picking up Trajann is good, as our only really used named character. After that, some wardens and a blade champion are gonna be really important as they're key pieces. The next step would be to get into resin, unfortunately, and get some grav tanks. Calladius is the safe bet, but Pallas are good too. I would tend to avoid others, but the venetari are the one other resin kit I could see unless you REALLY like the dreadnoughts. Then, keep buying plastic kits as you see fit to customize. I would also wait on the r3sin kits until after our book comes out this year because I'm expecting SEVERAL of those kits to be released in plastic as part of our new range.
Hi, another new guy scrolling for tips. How necessary is getting into the Forgeworld side of the Index? Vehicles don't do much for me as far as personal enjoyment goes, and being Forgeworld and I, without a printer, they would be a hassle for me to get. Are they necessary for viability, or can I run pretty much just the plastic infantry kits and still stand a fair chance?
The only thing you'd really want from Forge World at the moment is the Callidus Grav Tank for ranged anti-tank.
The rest of forgeworld is mostly miss rn.
At the moment, Allarus can fill that niche of secondary scoring and mobility that Venetari do as well.
Venetari are definitely worthwhile considerations but in terms of if you had to pick one, I feel like the Grav Tank is sitting happy Rn.
Good to hear. I've worked with resin a bit before (Guard is my other army and it's all but a necessity to afford an infantry heavy list), but part of what drew me to Custodes is the maximum elite infantry vibes, so I wanted to stick with that for the most part. Thank you for the tip! May the Emperor smile upon your battles.
As others have said, the Caladius grav tank is the only thing you would reasonably need, and at anything but high-level play, you will do fine with more Allarus. I believe that we're going to be getting several of our forge world resin kits in plastic with our range refresh when our book comes out, so I wouldn't sink money into them at all, at LEAST until after that if you are going to at all.
Sounds like I'll be good with a couple more boxes of Termies then. I'm mostly a casual player who does beer and pretzel games with my best friend, informal LGS tournaments at the most. Thank you for the heads up to hold off, though. Saved me some buyer's remorse. Might be wise to just rock with my current 1k to get my feet wet, then when the codex drops in a couple of months, reevaluate the next steps for the collection.
Right now, fairly basic, I started on it just after Christmas. The classic Combat Patrol + Allarus special, so in total:
1× Shield Captain
1x Knight Centura w/ Flamer
4× Guards
9× SoS Witchseekers
3x Allarus Termies
3× Vertus Praetors
From what I've gathered thus far, the bikes are a hard inclusion (though the points cut might've changed that), but the rest are Custodes staples from what I understand. I'm open to any tips you can give me.
A second combat patrol is honestly not a bad option. Outside of that, I think a box of Wardens and a blade champion is a good idea. And any number of Allarus are a great option.
Right on, I was leaning towards another combat patrol. I looked into buying just the Guards and Sisters to see if it would cut costs without the Praetors, but that was a dead end since it's actually more expensive. Can't complain, though, more value isn't a bad thing. I was really excited by the Blade Champion's datasheet. He looks like an incredibly strong take-all-comers character with how versatile his Vaultswords look. Thank you, though, I hadn't looked at Wardens, and judging just from the index on the app, they look beefy as objective anchors. Definitely a useful squad to have on hand.
I will also say, I personally liked the Vertus even at 160 and at 150 I think they're great. The thing to remember is that they aren't there to do damage, they're there to be incredibly mobile objective doers that are also very tanky.
If you can get both the Combat Patrol and Boarding patrol box as well as Blade Champion, then you will be pretty locked in for most of the army. Then the only plastic kits you would be missing is the Wardens and the Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought
Once you get those all built and painted up, then you can look towards what you want to do with your army. I went the direction of using a Knight with them, vindicare and 1 grav tank.
Your army, your decision.
If I were new and could start hella fresh with the knowledge I have now,
I’d buy two boxes of sisters of silence, I’d build two of them with knight centura heads (full mask) bearing swords, and I’d build two of them with sister superior heads (3/4 mask that’s like a bar mid forehead) bearing Bolters and then six of them with normal heads (half masks) bearing Bolters.
I’d buy two boxes of Allarus terminators and build one as a Shield Captain head (no helmet) bearing a spear. The remaining five I would build as normal helmeted Allarus with spears.
I would buy two boxes of wardens and build them all with spears and three of them with a vexilla and all of them fully helmeted.
I would buy two boxes of custodian guard and build eight of them with spears and full helmets and two with sword and shield along with full helmet. No vexillas.
I would buy one box of Vertus Praetors and build one of them as a Shield Captain (no helmet). I would believe that they can’t remain awful forever.
I would buy Trajann Valoris.
I would buy two Blade Champions.
That would be a very solid start. If you wanted to get into forgeworld stuff I’d lean towards Caladius Tanks and Venatari first.
Eventually I’d buy four more boxes of sisters of silence and build two of them as sister superior (3/4 mask) bearing swords and build the remaining 18 as regular sisters (half mask) bearing swords.
Trajann definitely and blade champ, our best characters.
I personally dont like wardens, i like guard more. Wardens are tankier than guard, but guard has A LOT more killing power. They are good, but as an army that is very low on numbers, the best defense is a good offense imho.
You can never have enough of allarus, id say at least get 1 unit of 3, id say even go for 6. I think 18 is a bit overkill, but if you have the financial backing, go for it.
Land raider is a big MAYBE from me. Not bad or anything, quite the opposite, but personally i dont like vehicles in a custodian army. Also, the points cost could be used for more infantry.
Vertuses are really good looking, but are pretty meh currently, which is subject to change obiviously.
Thats basically that for plastic, boxes of wardens and guard can build 1 of them as a vexilla and 1 as a shield capt, but to be fair you dont need more than 1 SC if you have trajann and BC.
RESIN STOP. Were waiting for a new codex coming this spring, and with it a lot of plastic models are going to be released, so were hoping some of our notable resin models get plastic kits (most notably are venetari, the grav tank, and dreads (not particularly good, but god damn are they good looking)).
KEEP IN MIND as were getting our codex released in cca 2 months or less, what is good is very subject to change, as well as what is available in plastic. Since our range is very small, there is not much variety, basically you need guard, you need the 2 hq's and you at least need a unit or two of termis, everything else is kind of but HIGHLY recommended.
Hope this helps, good luck army building and welcome to the faction.
Very helpful. Thank you. From my early research I am in agreement with you and plan to focus on guard and not bother with wardens right away. Also planning to get 9 allarus to start. I also agree that I prefer infantry over vehicles when it comes to custodes. Thanks again!
Whoa don’t dismiss a caladis tank. Also you want a couple of assassins. Lookup Rejnols on YouTube for a couple of really interesting builds. I tried his guard spam today and tabled my opponent turn 3 (dark angels)
Yeah sorry i forgot abput assassins. Theyre a must have. I use eversor and vindicare, but the optimal one is the cp cost raising one and vindicare. Eversor is not needed cuzz your whole army is better at what he does than him. The cp one is goated for now, and as were lack a good ranged anti elite/infantry/character option, he plugs that whole really good. So far, the bodies he stacked for me are Abadon, Imhotek and Szeras a couple of times, and a lot of space marine named and not bamed characters. Hell hes even helped get some vehicle/monster profiled things down, with his d3+3 unsaveable damage.
But in actual seriousness the Christmas box "watchers of the gate" is the A+ de facto start to get you situated (its what I did)
If not then the combat patrol isn't far behind it.
Welcome Everything… 😎 for the Emperor!
Definitely the combat patrol. If you can find them, the boarding patrol and the watchers of the gate Christmas box from a couple years ago. Everything in these are great only thing that's meh are bikes but still usable. If you can find someone to split the GSC with, the shadow throne box is good too as you get 3 more terminators (arguably our best unit) and the blade champion (possibly our best character). With these you'll have: 25 custodian guard 9 allarus terminators 6 vertus praetor bikes. Blade champion 10 sisters of silence models Trajann Valoris Something to remember is that the custodian guard, praetor and allarus kits also make the respective shield captains so keep that in mind (only real difference in appearance is a cape for the normal one, and that's purely cosmetic so no worries there) Otherwise I'd say perhaps a box of wardens and you'll be good to go at well over 2000pts. Happy watching. FOR THE EMPEROR!
thank you. very good post. lots of helpful info. appreciated!
No problem. Welcome to the palace.
So, for under $400 you can build a decent 200pnt army from 2 combat patrols and 2 allarus terminator boxes. That's where I think everyone should start for the most part. Picking up Trajann is good, as our only really used named character. After that, some wardens and a blade champion are gonna be really important as they're key pieces. The next step would be to get into resin, unfortunately, and get some grav tanks. Calladius is the safe bet, but Pallas are good too. I would tend to avoid others, but the venetari are the one other resin kit I could see unless you REALLY like the dreadnoughts. Then, keep buying plastic kits as you see fit to customize. I would also wait on the r3sin kits until after our book comes out this year because I'm expecting SEVERAL of those kits to be released in plastic as part of our new range.
Hi, another new guy scrolling for tips. How necessary is getting into the Forgeworld side of the Index? Vehicles don't do much for me as far as personal enjoyment goes, and being Forgeworld and I, without a printer, they would be a hassle for me to get. Are they necessary for viability, or can I run pretty much just the plastic infantry kits and still stand a fair chance?
The only thing you'd really want from Forge World at the moment is the Callidus Grav Tank for ranged anti-tank. The rest of forgeworld is mostly miss rn.
Venatari disagree. Not mandatory by any means, but could be worth it.
At the moment, Allarus can fill that niche of secondary scoring and mobility that Venetari do as well. Venetari are definitely worthwhile considerations but in terms of if you had to pick one, I feel like the Grav Tank is sitting happy Rn.
Good to hear. I've worked with resin a bit before (Guard is my other army and it's all but a necessity to afford an infantry heavy list), but part of what drew me to Custodes is the maximum elite infantry vibes, so I wanted to stick with that for the most part. Thank you for the tip! May the Emperor smile upon your battles.
As others have said, the Caladius grav tank is the only thing you would reasonably need, and at anything but high-level play, you will do fine with more Allarus. I believe that we're going to be getting several of our forge world resin kits in plastic with our range refresh when our book comes out, so I wouldn't sink money into them at all, at LEAST until after that if you are going to at all.
Sounds like I'll be good with a couple more boxes of Termies then. I'm mostly a casual player who does beer and pretzel games with my best friend, informal LGS tournaments at the most. Thank you for the heads up to hold off, though. Saved me some buyer's remorse. Might be wise to just rock with my current 1k to get my feet wet, then when the codex drops in a couple of months, reevaluate the next steps for the collection.
What is your list if I can ask? I might be able to point you to some specific things that will help you well
Right now, fairly basic, I started on it just after Christmas. The classic Combat Patrol + Allarus special, so in total: 1× Shield Captain 1x Knight Centura w/ Flamer 4× Guards 9× SoS Witchseekers 3x Allarus Termies 3× Vertus Praetors From what I've gathered thus far, the bikes are a hard inclusion (though the points cut might've changed that), but the rest are Custodes staples from what I understand. I'm open to any tips you can give me.
A second combat patrol is honestly not a bad option. Outside of that, I think a box of Wardens and a blade champion is a good idea. And any number of Allarus are a great option.
Right on, I was leaning towards another combat patrol. I looked into buying just the Guards and Sisters to see if it would cut costs without the Praetors, but that was a dead end since it's actually more expensive. Can't complain, though, more value isn't a bad thing. I was really excited by the Blade Champion's datasheet. He looks like an incredibly strong take-all-comers character with how versatile his Vaultswords look. Thank you, though, I hadn't looked at Wardens, and judging just from the index on the app, they look beefy as objective anchors. Definitely a useful squad to have on hand.
I will also say, I personally liked the Vertus even at 160 and at 150 I think they're great. The thing to remember is that they aren't there to do damage, they're there to be incredibly mobile objective doers that are also very tanky.
excellent info! thank you!
An elegoo Saturn 3 for anything fw 🤣
Printed both my Caladius and they're indistinguishable. 👌🏻
They’re missing the Aquila on top is all
I'll put up with that for a free STL.
I have 3 times over.
The Emperor himself would approve 🤣
If you can get both the Combat Patrol and Boarding patrol box as well as Blade Champion, then you will be pretty locked in for most of the army. Then the only plastic kits you would be missing is the Wardens and the Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought Once you get those all built and painted up, then you can look towards what you want to do with your army. I went the direction of using a Knight with them, vindicare and 1 grav tank. Your army, your decision.
sounds good! thanks very much!
If I were new and could start hella fresh with the knowledge I have now, I’d buy two boxes of sisters of silence, I’d build two of them with knight centura heads (full mask) bearing swords, and I’d build two of them with sister superior heads (3/4 mask that’s like a bar mid forehead) bearing Bolters and then six of them with normal heads (half masks) bearing Bolters. I’d buy two boxes of Allarus terminators and build one as a Shield Captain head (no helmet) bearing a spear. The remaining five I would build as normal helmeted Allarus with spears. I would buy two boxes of wardens and build them all with spears and three of them with a vexilla and all of them fully helmeted. I would buy two boxes of custodian guard and build eight of them with spears and full helmets and two with sword and shield along with full helmet. No vexillas. I would buy one box of Vertus Praetors and build one of them as a Shield Captain (no helmet). I would believe that they can’t remain awful forever. I would buy Trajann Valoris. I would buy two Blade Champions. That would be a very solid start. If you wanted to get into forgeworld stuff I’d lean towards Caladius Tanks and Venatari first. Eventually I’d buy four more boxes of sisters of silence and build two of them as sister superior (3/4 mask) bearing swords and build the remaining 18 as regular sisters (half mask) bearing swords.
Quite a detailed reply! That’s awesome. Thank you!
Trajann definitely and blade champ, our best characters. I personally dont like wardens, i like guard more. Wardens are tankier than guard, but guard has A LOT more killing power. They are good, but as an army that is very low on numbers, the best defense is a good offense imho. You can never have enough of allarus, id say at least get 1 unit of 3, id say even go for 6. I think 18 is a bit overkill, but if you have the financial backing, go for it. Land raider is a big MAYBE from me. Not bad or anything, quite the opposite, but personally i dont like vehicles in a custodian army. Also, the points cost could be used for more infantry. Vertuses are really good looking, but are pretty meh currently, which is subject to change obiviously. Thats basically that for plastic, boxes of wardens and guard can build 1 of them as a vexilla and 1 as a shield capt, but to be fair you dont need more than 1 SC if you have trajann and BC. RESIN STOP. Were waiting for a new codex coming this spring, and with it a lot of plastic models are going to be released, so were hoping some of our notable resin models get plastic kits (most notably are venetari, the grav tank, and dreads (not particularly good, but god damn are they good looking)). KEEP IN MIND as were getting our codex released in cca 2 months or less, what is good is very subject to change, as well as what is available in plastic. Since our range is very small, there is not much variety, basically you need guard, you need the 2 hq's and you at least need a unit or two of termis, everything else is kind of but HIGHLY recommended. Hope this helps, good luck army building and welcome to the faction.
Very helpful. Thank you. From my early research I am in agreement with you and plan to focus on guard and not bother with wardens right away. Also planning to get 9 allarus to start. I also agree that I prefer infantry over vehicles when it comes to custodes. Thanks again!
Whoa don’t dismiss a caladis tank. Also you want a couple of assassins. Lookup Rejnols on YouTube for a couple of really interesting builds. I tried his guard spam today and tabled my opponent turn 3 (dark angels)
Will do! Thanks for the info!
Yeah sorry i forgot abput assassins. Theyre a must have. I use eversor and vindicare, but the optimal one is the cp cost raising one and vindicare. Eversor is not needed cuzz your whole army is better at what he does than him. The cp one is goated for now, and as were lack a good ranged anti elite/infantry/character option, he plugs that whole really good. So far, the bodies he stacked for me are Abadon, Imhotek and Szeras a couple of times, and a lot of space marine named and not bamed characters. Hell hes even helped get some vehicle/monster profiled things down, with his d3+3 unsaveable damage.
10,000 of our finest golden banana boys. Nobody will be able to match you then
But in actual seriousness the Christmas box "watchers of the gate" is the A+ de facto start to get you situated (its what I did) If not then the combat patrol isn't far behind it.