Adeptus Custodes Codex Review Warhammer 40k 10th Edition (2024) (2024)

The Talons of the Emperor arrive with their 10th edition update, replete with new Detachments, Enhancements and more – in this article we’ll be taking an in-depth look at the new Codex.

Thank you once again to Games Workshop for sending Sprues and Brews a copy of the new Adeptus Custodes Codex for us to review. If you would like to support the site then why not order your copy through our affiliateElement Gamesand save yourself a little money too!

We’ve also have a review of the new Ork Codex here which you may also want to check out!

The new Codex clocks in at 111 pages and as expected follows the standard format of other 10th Edition Codexes with just over half of the Codex given over to lore, background and model showcases. Following these pages we come to the Combat Patrol rules, Tristraen’s Gilded Blades. This force contains three Custodian Guard, three Custodian Wardens, two Allarus Terminators all lead by Tristraen, a Blade Champion. The Combat Patrol utilises the general Adeptus Custodes Army Rule, Martial Ka’tah, which we’ll cover in more detail below (spoiler alert, there have been some changes).

As expected you get a handful of Enhancements, Objectives and Stratagems to make use of when playing Combat Patrol. The Warrior Exemplar Enhancement is pretty cool, rewarding additional CP each time Tristrean is able to destroy an enemy unit (following a successful 3+ dice roll). I also really like the Victory’s Price Secondary Objective which rewards you with three VP each time you destroy a unit but deducts a VP each time a unit from your army is destroyed, facilitating an interesting risk reward style strategy!

As alluded to above, there have been some changes to the main Army Rule, Martial Ka’tah, which make it much more flexible albeit at the cost of some bonuses. The first thing to note is that your now able to select an individual stance for each unit in your army when they are select to fight as opposed to selecting a single stance to apply to the whole army. This is a fantastic improvement in my view as it really allows you to make best use of the army rule at all times without compromise. The trade off however comes from that fact that the Kaptaris stance has been removed as an option, reducing the defensive options available to you (although -1 to hit effects are available elsewhere in the Codex).

There are four Detachments presented in the Codex and let’s first look at the revised Shield Host Detachment from the Index.

Shield Host

Quite a big change here, the 4+ FNP ability has disappeared, replaced instead with the Martial Mastery which allows Custodes units to inflict Critical Hits on a 5+ and improves the Armour Penetration characteristic of their weapons by 1. This is quite a straight forward set of abilities which synergises well with the Martial Ka’tah army rule however Aegis of the Emperor was a very useful ability and it certainly reduces the durability of the army although a 4+ FNP against mortal wounds can be bestowed to units in a pinch via the Arcane Genetic Alchemy Stratagem.

Enhancement wise there are has been a bit of a shake up too, here we get four new options (with some of the Index Enhancements being redistributed across the other Detachments. From the Hall of Armouries is a strong pick, granting a damage and strength bonus to the bearer’s melee weapons although restricted to a Shield Captain only. Castellan’s Mark is nice tactical option allowing you to redeploy a number of Custodes units prior to the first turn – useful for correcting deployment mistakes or taking advantage of an opponent’s own deployment strategy. Auric Mantle is a nice pick for Blade Champions and Shield Captains (especially those in Allarus Terminator armour) – increasing the wounds characteristic of the bearer by 2! Lastly we have the Panoptispex which provides the Ignores Cover ability to a units ranged weapons.

On the Stratagem front we have a few changes and new options. There is the aforementioned Arcane Genetic Alchemy of course and we also see Avenge the Fallen and Unwavering Sentinels return – the former providing a damage boost to a unit’s melee weapons and the latter providing a useful -1 to hit effect to a Custodes unit within range of an objective. Multipotentiality allows a unit that fell back to declare a charge, useful for such a small elite force. Vigilance Eternal provides a ‘sticky objective’ ability, allowing a unit to tag an objective and then move away. Finally Archeotech Munitions works as a sort of Martial Ka’tah effect for a unit’s ranged weapons, allowing you to select either the Lethal Hits or Sustained Hits 1 ability to benefit from.

Talons of the Emperor

This Detachment allows you to more effectively field a combined force of Adeptus Custodes and Sister of Silence. The Revered Companions rule provides two effects, the first provides the 5+ FNP ability against Psychic Attacks and mortal wounds whilst within 6″ of an Anathema Psykana unit. The second provides a +1 to hit bonus for Anathema Psykana units whilst they themselves are within 6″ of an Adeptus Custodes unit. I really like this thematic rule and it is great to see a reason to play a mixed Custodes and Sisters force – very thematic!

There are some nice Enhancements on offer here too, most offering some form of defensive boost. Radiant Mantle provides a -1 to hit effect to the bearer and its unit so long as the attack originates within 12″. Champion of the Imperium provides a buff to the Detachment effect itself, extending the range of the two effects to 9″. Aegis Projector is a nice if somewhat unreliable pick, reducing the damage resulting from the first failed saving throw each turn to 0. Lastly we have the Gift of Terran Artifice provides a good offensive boost to the equipped character granting a +1 to wound bonus to said model’s melee attacks.

I really like how many of the Stratagems here also benefit both Anathema Psykana and Custodes units, in some cases both together! Hunt as One allows a Custodes units to fall back and still shoot or declare charges, you can even select two Custodes units to benefit so long as an Anathema Psykana unit is with range of both units. Talons Interlocked grants a buff to the Custodes shooting attack and once again you can select two units to benefit provided a Sisters of Silence unit is nearby. Emperor’s Executioners and Taloned Pincer both follow a similar pattern, the former time providing a +1 to wound bonus to a number of Custodes units and the latter allowing a number of Custodes units to make a move in response to an enemy unit ends a move within 9″. Empyric Severance can be used to improve the Revered Companions psychic defence effectiveness, allowing it to trigger on a 4+ rather than a 5+ (again providing one of those super helpful Sisters unit is nearby). Lastly we have Shield of Honour which is another really cool and thematic Stratagem which allows a nearby Custodes unit to intercept an attack directed at a Sisters of Silence unit!

Null Maiden Vigil

This Detachment allows you to build an army consisting purely of Anathema Psykana, even allowing you to select Prosecutors as a Battleline option. The Detachment rule, Creeping Dread, is an Aura effect which forces all enemy Psyker units and enemy units that have lost at least one model to make a Battle-shock test in the opponent’s Command phase ‘if’ they are within 12″ of an Anathem Psykana unit. That test suffers a -1 penalty if the unit in question is below half strength.

There are some interesting Enhancements here that provide some nice boosts to your character units. Raptor Blade provides an attacks, strength and damage buff to the bearer’s melee weapons which is further improved if any enemy pskyers find themselves in engagement range. The Enhanced Voidsheen Cloak reduces the damage on incoming attacks, even reducing that damage to 0 if the source was an enemy Psyker. Huntress’ Eye just pours salt in the wound for your opponent as a chosen unit must suffer another Battle-shock test in your own Command phase. Finally we have Oblivion Knight which provides a bit of a force multiplier effect, bestowing a +1 to hit bonus on the bearer and her unit. If the target of their attacks is an enemy psyker they will also benefit from a +1 to wound bonus too!

Desperation’s Price is a cool Stratagem which can either inflict Battle-shocked on a target enemy psyker or 3 mortal wounds depending on the outcome of a leadership test. Witch Hunters can be used to boost the ranged output of the target unit, bestowing either the Lethal Hits or Sustained Hits 1 ability. Anathema Blademastery provides a re-roll hits effect for melee attacks for a selected unit which is further enhanced with a wound re-roll if the target of these attacks is a psyker. Psy-Chaff Volley is a nice Stratagem which can be used to apply a debuff effect to an enemy unit that was hit with an attack from a unit of Prosecutors. This debuff improves the armour penetration of all attacks directed at the debuffed unit. In addition if the debuffed unit happens to be Battle-shocked or a psyker they’ll also suffer a -1 to hit penalty themselves. Purgation Sweep can be used to increase the number of attacks a Witchseekers can make with their ranged weapons and provides additional bonuses if the target of this attacks is…yes, you guessed it, battle-shocked or a psyker. Finally we have Psychic Abomination which can be used to limit an opponent’s shooting attack against one of your units, granting Stealth to the target unit and also preventing an enemy psyker or battle-shocked unit from targeting them at all from outside of 12″.

Auric Champions

The last Detachment in the Codex encourages you to pack as many Custodian characters into your force as possible! The Detachment rule, Assemblage of Might, requires you to nominate a single enemy unit each turn against which Characters in your army will benefit from a +1 to wound effect. A straight forward enough effect which will most likely see your characters wounding most opponent’s on a 2+.

What’s really interesting here is that many of the Enhancements on offer serve to turn your already formidable characters into useful force multiplying pieces. Inspirational Exemplar is a useful pick which allows you to remove the battle-shocked state from a unit – really useful as you’ll most likely need your small number of units to be operating at peak efficiency throughout the battle. Martial Philospher can be used to allow the bearer and his unit to perform some movement shenanigans. The bearer and his unit can fall back and still shoot and declare charges. In addition, once per battle, they can make a 6″ move in response to an enemy unit ends a move within 9″. Blade Imperator and Veiled Blade both provide a boost to the damage output of a Custodes character. The former provides a nice mortal wound ‘impact hits’ type effect whereas as the latter increases the number of attacks the equipped character can make (and also provides a significant Objective Control boost as well).

Slayer of Champions is a useful Stratagem which allows you to switch your Assemblage of Might target should you manage to destroy your initial pick. Superhuman Reserves is a really interesting option, allowing one of your units to benefit from its ‘once per battle’ abilities a second time! The Emperor’s Auspice is a Stratagem that could prove super useful in certain circ*mstances, granting a 4+ FNP ability to a chosen character unit. Earning of a Name can be used to boost the melee effectiveness of up to two Custodes units when attacking enemy monsters or vehicles. Vigil Unending makes a return and allows a unit to attack before being removed from the battlefield and finally Shoulder the Mantle allows a character to join a non-attached unit during a game.

Overall there have not been too many changes to the Datasheets themselves and with the exception of the improvement to the Castellan Axes (which now hit on a 2+ rather than 3+) most changes are limited to the various character options. Starting with Trajann we see that his Moment Shackle has lost its Fight First ability which is disappointing. The basic Shield Captain now has an option for the Pyrithite spear (as befitting the new model) – the weapon itself is a 12″ melta type weapon. The Allarus variant of the Shield Captain has seen its Defiant to the Last ability replaced with Auramite and Adamantine, allowing the Shield Captain to reduce all damage to 1 for a single phase. Although the ability can only be triggered once per battle there are some good synergies with the Auric Champions Detachment rules. The Shield Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike has had its Sweeping Advance ability updated slightly and now no longer provides any pile in bonuses. Finally we come to the Blade Champion who has lost the Legacy of Combat ability. The only other change of note is that most of the Anathema Psykana anti-psyker weaponry now triggers on a 5+ rather than 4+.

The Magisterium Lex Ultima returns for the 10th edition of the Adeptus Custodes Crusade rules. Over the course of a Crusade seek to achieve three randomly selected Imperatives (a.k.a objectives) which together form an Endeavour. These Imperatives may require you to simply win a battle by more than 10VP, ensure every enemy unit ends the battle at under half strength or to simple destory the enemy’s Warlord. If you successful complete all your Imperatives you’ll be able to claim a reward and then get to determine a new Endeavour for your Crusade. The rewards themselves range from additional xp and Requisition Points to CP bonuses and even some useful Stratagem bonuses.

Of course you’ll not always be successful in your Endeavour and should you fail you may instead suffer dishonour. This results in minor penalties for you army, such as your Warlord suffering the Disgraced Battle Scar and reduction in your Requisition Points stash.

As you’d expext there are number of new Agenda, Requisition, Battle Traits and Crusade Relics presented in the new Codex which add some extra options and gameplay to your Crusade campaigns. There are also Crusade Badges which you are able to claim at various milestones.

I really enjoy Crusade in 40k and the rules presented here do a good job at enhancing your narrative experience. I’d love to have seen the earning of names play a bigger part in the Custodes Crusade content – there is a name generator in the book so perhaps players can use their imagination and bestow new names on worthy units in their army!

Overall I really like the new 10th edition Adeptus Custodes Codex and I think there have been plenty of positive changes. For example I really like the flexibility offered by the the updated Martial Ka’tah rule and I think the new Detachments also provide for multiple playstyles which is impressive considering the relatively small roster of units on offer in the Codex. I’m particularly excited about the Talons of the Emperor Detachment and I think this offers a really fun and thematic way to play the army. It is fair to say that this new Codex has also seen a significant number of what some may perceive as ‘nerfs’, primarily across the different Character options. I’m not sure whether this has a negative impact on the performance or balance of the army as whole but one thing is for certain, Adeptus Custodes generals will need to adapt and update their strategies and tactics in response.

This article has primarily focussed on the rules and gaming aspects of the new 10th Edition Adeptus Custodes Codex however it is worth pointing out there are a couple of very interesting surprises scattered throughout the lore section as well! Throughout the Codex there are several very explicit references to the existance of female Custodes including several narrative passages featuring named characters. We’re introduced to Shield-Captain Bayezara Aggonades of the Emissaries Imperatus who leads a Shield Company of Dawneagle Jetbikes and there is a really cool story about Calladayce Taurovalia Kesh, a female Custodian participating in a ‘Blood Game’ who attempts to deposit an Exterminatus bomb on the floor of the Throne room itself! I look forward to reading more about the exploits of the ‘Adepta’ Custodes and hopefully we’ll see some new models in the future too!

The Adeptus Custodes 10th Edition Codex is up for pre-order today (13th of April). Thanks again to Games Workshop for sending Sprues and Brews a copy to review.