Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

OK, here's my attempt to wedge as much of the goodness I could find from the War in the Webway from Aaron Dembski-Bowden's novel Master of Mankind into a single 3000 point Horus Heresy Loyalist army.

I had to use one "counts as" model to wedge in Dominion Zephon of the Blood Angels, but I think it's a good fit. If you have any suggestions, I will take them to heart... and it would be helpful to get some feedback before I buy everything I need.

War in the Webway 3,000 point list:


HQ # 1 TRIBUNE (Ra Endymion) - 305 Points w/ Archaeotech Pistol & Meridian Swords

Warlord Trait: Golden Exemplar

HQ # 2 CLADE EVERSOR ASSASSIN ("Counts as Dominion Zephon, the Blood Angel") - 125 Points

TROOP # 1 CUSTODIAN GUARD × 10 - 485 Points
W / 9 × Guardian Spear, 1× Magisterum Vexilla and Sentinel Warblade

TROOP #2 CUSTODIAN GUARD × 10 - 480 Points
W/ 9 × Guardian Spear, 1× Magisterum Vexilla and Master-Crafted Power Weapon

TROOP #3 CUSTODIAN GUARD × 10 - 480 Points
W/ 9 × Guardian Spear, 1× Magisterum Vexilla and Master-Crafted Power Weapon

TROOP # 4 SENTINEL GUARD SQUAD × 10 - 520 Points
W/ 9 × Praesidium Shield and Sentinel Warblade, 1× Magisterum Vexilla and Solarite Power Gauntlet

HEAVY SUPPORT # 1 CALADUS GRAV-TANK - 225 Points

LORD OF WAR # 1 KNIGHT CASTIGATOR (Aquila from the Ashes of Knight House Vyridion) - 380 Points

3000 Points Exactly.

I have a couple of bits of advice.

Firstly, you are jumping in the deep end. Take your time to learn the army with much smaller games before you go all in like this. 3k is a lot to play with and Custodes are not as easy to grasp as the Legion list is.

Secondly, you and your opponent will be bored rigid playing this as there's no real variety in your list. The Custodes list is small to be sure but at 3k you shouldn't be bringing 30 of the same thing when they cost almost 500pts a squad.
Sure, your Custodes have combat power, but there's no real shooting, anti-tank, or much in the way of dealing with Dreadnoughts/Automata beyond the Knight which is going to be a major target for any heavy weapons your opponent will bring.
I would maybe play against this army once and not like to play it again as it's extremely bland.

If you haven't watched this, I would recommend it.


I understand that the FW Custodes kits are expensive but if you're largely limiting yourself to stuff you can use in HH and 40k only, you're not going to have a good time in HH.

Oh and drop the Assassin, they're rubbish and proxying one for Zephon's model is just going to confuse people.

Thanks for the advice, I apparently needed it.

The reason for picking 3,000 points was due to me asking around and the size I was told people play at the GW store was 3,000 points.

I remember 40k having different point levels, does the same exist for 30k?

The main concern with 40k boxes is that I didn't want to buy models that I couldn't use in 30k, like the terminators.

I've decided to hold off on playing 40k for a while, since the HH ruleset is closer to what I remember when I used to play guard (a long, long, time ago). And I'm not one for the endless updates and point changes for tournaments (my biggest tourney appearance is coming in dead last at Adepticon 2009 - lost to the ringer team ).

Back to the list, the lots if guys mentality comes from my guard days. Whether it was armour or men, redundancy was what I did.

As I specified earlier, I'm not good at making balanced lists. So if you could point me in the right direction, it'd be helpful.

My only thing I want to have in the list is the Knight, because it's sitting next to me in all its unassembled grey plastic glory.

(I had originally wanted to play all Knights, but everyone says no one wants to play against a Knight army in 30k or 40k. And as I had a IG Armoured Company that no one enjoyed playing against, I didn't want to go that route. It's no fun to me if my opponent is actively trying to strangle me from across the table.)

Should I grab a Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought or another Grav-tank?

I'm kinda lost right now. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[I'll try to check the video when I'm on another device, we're kinda.limited on what platforms we can use on the company's tech. They blocked reddit on Tuesday]

In terms of playing different point levels, there is no set rules for exactly how much you must play. 3k is where the big toys come into play but I'm sure if you ask people will be willing to do some intro and smaller scale games while you learn to play.

There isn't any real advice I can give you until you've at least picked up the army book.
Play around with some test lists using proxies and things if you can but really consider branching out of just using the Troops units. The options are there even if they are expensive, third party services exist for conversion kits.

The Loyalist book is the only one I lack... for now.

Just a thought - if your concern is cash, marines are really the best way to go. The AOD box is literally the best deal and parts of the box can be found all over the place for cheap. It's about 2000 points for $300 usd.

If you want to go Custodes, my suggestion is to 3D print some of the spears or buy some via forgeworld. Same goes for the custodes with the guns. They are some cheaper buys that will give you more variety and they can still be Spears in 40k. If you can swing it, a custodes dread will also be fun too. You can't go wrong with wither one. Then if you can snag a Telemon or a tank, you'll get more mileage from your army.

As far as an army, you'll want the highest ranking custodes for a leader. Then take units of 5-6 models. Each squad has line so you have flexibility to snag objectives. The units with the guns will give you access to clear out chaff. 5 of them should put out 20-25 shots that will delete light armor or cause a lot of armor saves on power armor. If you get one of the 3 dreadnoughts, it gives you a strong anti-armor unit. The Acastus has the spear with a lascannon and a fist (brutal weapon), the galatus with the sword and shield, and the telemon with lots of firepower. Any unit that makes contact with the enemy will take damage. Over time, you can decide to snag the ones with jump packs, the jet bikes, or even the terminators. You can even 3D print the aquillon terminator arms if you buy the plastic terminators. They are ok but you'll get more mileage from the regular custodes. The FW spears give you access to other weapons. All of which can be 3D printed too.

Cool, thanks. This really helps. I keep forgetting that 3d printed forces are so readily available now. I wish it was around back in the late 90s when I was buying guardsmen by the bucket full.

It is well worth remembering that allies is a thing in Heresy. A combination of some cheap ($) marines with some expensive (pts) Custodians might be equally cheap but more flexible for you.