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So, I recently picked up a copy of The Horus Heresy: Burning of Prospero very cheaply at my FLGS. I now have a squad each of Sisters of Silence and Adeptus Custodes. First off, are these even viable units currently? My instinct says no, but I feel like they could be good for less competitive games.

Regardless of whether or not they are competitive, what is the best loadout for these units? For Custodes, I'm thinking sword and board is the way to go, as they don't get an invul save normally. I think I would try to get a Vexilla in, also. For the Null Maidens, I'm thinking either bolters to keep the unit cheap and potentially harass psykers hiding behind cheap troops, or flamers for anti-horde work. Or maybe I should go "Rule of Cool" and give them the big swords.

What does Dakka think?

I own 10 Vigilator back from 7th where their Psychic Abomination rule was better, I've run them a few times since then in 8th and my opinion on them is they're overpriced. They are extremely flimsy and so you'll definitely need a Rhino to have them survive, and get them closer to their targets. However once they get the charge against the right targets they can deal nice damage, but their S4 makes them really a counter against specific enemies, they're best against psychic armies likes Thousand Sons and Grey Knights, or against Daemons.

So my commentary will be from a competitive standpoint as I've fielded Custodes at tournaments.

They DO have a place in competitive listing. Sword and Board is the best loadout hands down (though they do have a 5++ without the shields, FYI). The trick is to not treat them like an assault army. They can't deep strike and you're blowing way too many points to load them in a landraider and ship them off to attack. They're bodyguards: wrap them around units and characters you want to protect who can do the ranged damage and anchor them there.

A pure Custodes or pure Talons force isn't gonna cut it either. These kids need to soup. They're the epitome of soup. Celestine makes a great HQ followed by Voldus (to give 3 denials) or any other high volume Psyker.

When working with the Sisters of Silence, I like the Greatsword the best, but the Flamers are likely the most competitive. The Greatsword are redundant with the Custodes and the damage out of the Bolters is pathetic. We're just not in a world where Rapid 1, S4 at 24" is gonna cut it. The flamer squads can at least advance and fire easily to pretend they're Eldar.

That said, Sisters are in a worse place than Custodes. They can and will got shot off the board IMMEDIATELY unless you have lots of LoS blocking terrain. Having 3 squads to deal with Psykers isn't a bad idea, but go overboard at your peril. Conversely, your Custodes should hold up to even heavy artillery barrages for at least 3 rounds. They'll also dominate anything they get in melee (even putting a noticeable hurt on an Imperial Knight).

In the soup theme, Guilliman isn't a bad inclusion. He gives +1 to advance and charge rolls, which benefit Custodes and Flamer Sisters both. Custodes hit on 2's already so re-rolling 1's is a true re-roll misses aura for them by default. It's not bad on Sisters either, though Flamers don't need it. If you can make the ranged power your Talons are protecting Ultramarines, then you've really got some synergy working.

You're not gonna break top tables, but you can push yourself into top 20/100 with this from what I've seen and experienced so far.

Thanks for breaking it down for me! I play Dark Angels, so maybe I could put the Custodes in as bodyguards for Azrael and his retinue. I also do have Celestine and Voldus, so I could do a Patrol with them and the Custodes since the boys in gold are Troops. My original thinking was to run Celestine, a unit of Silent Sisters and a couple of Assassins as a Vanguard detachment. Witchseekers are 20 points per model once the flamers are factored in, plus I'd need to bring a Rhino for them. It would be a significant part of my army, but I think maybe I could make it work, especially if there is a price drop on them once an Imperial Agents codex drops.

Is the Vexilla a good buy on a unit of Custodes? It seems like together with Marines it's less necessary since they already have ATSKNF, but it would be good with something like Astra Militarum or Sisters of Battle. It does boost their attack power, though, so maybe it's worth it anyways?

 ZergSmasher wrote:
Thanks for breaking it down for me! I play Dark Angels, so maybe I could put the Custodes in as bodyguards for Azrael and his retinue. I also do have Celestine and Voldus, so I could do a Patrol with them and the Custodes since the boys in gold are Troops. My original thinking was to run Celestine, a unit of Silent Sisters and a couple of Assassins as a Vanguard detachment. Witchseekers are 20 points per model once the flamers are factored in, plus I'd need to bring a Rhino for them. It would be a significant part of my army, but I think maybe I could make it work, especially if there is a price drop on them once an Imperial Agents codex drops.

Is the Vexilla a good buy on a unit of Custodes? It seems like together with Marines it's less necessary since they already have ATSKNF, but it would be good with something like Astra Militarum or Sisters of Battle. It does boost their attack power, though, so maybe it's worth it anyways?

Now you're on it! Custodes are great screens for characters because you know nothing is going to knock them down to reach that character for awhile. One idea I've been experimenting with is to put them around some Librarians and having the Librarians smite from safety behind the golden shields. You can also Advance them forward as a distraction Carnifex to camp mid-field objectives (Custodes don't suffer the same movement penalty as Terminators since they're technically in Artificer Armor equivalent).

If you're going to put Sisters and Assassins in a Vanguard detachment, then just throw the Custodes in there too. You do get troop slots in the Vanguard. Also, the Culexus' aura actually stacks with the Silent Sisters' aura so they're a great combo. The Rhino also adds to the Sisters' aura so you're getting extra benefit for it.

Most Custodes players I see recommend the Vexilia. The offensive punch is usually considered worth it (sadly, I already modeled mine so I mostly run without). You get 16 Sentinel Blade/Spear attacks with 5 Custodes normally but that increases to 17 Sentinel Blade/Spear and 4 Power Knife attacks with the Vexilia.