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I will try to make these rules as balanced as possible. Stats based on GK Paladins. C&C welcome


Adeptus Custodes Strike Squad Unit Size 1-10 60pts per model


WS - 5 BS - 4 S-4 T-4 W-2 I-4 A-2 LD-10

Equipment
Artificer Armour
Guardian Spear - Range S AP Type
- +1 2 Melee
Storm Bolter

Special Rules
ATSKNF, Bulky, Preferred Enemy (Chaos)

Eyes of The Emperor - Once per game, a squad of Custodes may elect to gain Preferred Enemy (Everything) until end of turn.

(u)Options(/u)
The whole squad may replace their Guardian Spears with Power Weapons and Storm Shields - free

a S5 Ap2 weapon that strikes at I4 seems a bit off to me, especially an entire squad of them.

Why would you ever switch to PW/Iron Halo?

More Survivability. Sorta like the lychguard warscythe - shield thing

Maybe PW/Storm Shield, but not PW/Iron Halo. The only thing that will kill you in CC is AP2. Most AP2 is swinging after your AP2 (Init 1 for PF/CF, etc). Swapping out that advantage for a 4++? Not likely.

At range, you can get a 5+ cover for free from practically anything. Just not worth 5 ppm to get a worse option.

Ok, i was originally going to give them storm shields as well. I had thought that would be too OP.

Dark Haemonculus wrote:
Ok, i was originally going to give them storm shields as well. I had thought that would be too OP.

You're already in OP land, you might as well keep going.

how?

You have a WS 5 AP 2 I 4 model with 2 wounds for 10 points less then a Paladin.

Ok how about changing the spear to either S= user or AP 3
I dont think there's anything wrong with I4, thats standard

These are not op, if anything under powered, a standard custodes is this
Ws6
Bs4
S4
T4
I5
A2
W2
Ld10
Sv2+ 5++
Custodes power weapon is a relic blade.
With built in storm bolted
Unit 3-6
35 pts each

Dark Haemonculus wrote:
how?

Severely under-costed.

+1W terminator = paladin, so we are up to 55 points per model, which will cover the save, stat line and storm bolter, as well as the preferred enemy, ATSKNF and bulky (sorta)

Improved melee weapon over anything a paladin can swing. Figure 5 points or so. 60 points.

Swap to PW/SS for free,

60 points each doesn't sound too far off really. 45-50 if you dropped to 1 wound.

thanks for the advice, will edit OP

Sure I 4 is normally ok but not with unit-wide AP 2. If you have AP 2 in Initiative-order its either MCs, on single Chaos-HQs or on Warscythes (Which are I 2 so are not that bad).

Honourguard with Relic Blades come at 50 ppm. As they're S6 and yours get WS and W boost you should at least price them the same, probably more (I'm not sure about pricing Wounds).

What you're missing is that vanilla marines aren't as powerful as some other codexes. Take space wolves for example. So they're not really a good comparison point

The problem with Honourguard isn't the price per model it's the conditions you have to fulfill to unlock them and that you could get a unit with a 3++ instead which suits the role the unit is supposed to fulfill just fine, but that does not make the Honourguard bad.

Only a chapter master. Which you ALWAYS take over a captain anyway.

No you don't. OB is very situational and you have to stay stationary which is not good for a melee-beatstick, but why are you taking Captains or CMs at all if you could get libbys or chaplains instead? Even the MotF does more for your army.

But this is all waaay off topic.

The problem is you have a unit that is insane in CC.

You're getting attacks that kill TEQ while striking at initiative and more than likely killing anything that has an AP2 weapon. There isn't really even a point to having 2W, since you're rendering Powerfists and Poweraxes pointless.

Force fields were standard equipment for Custodes. They all had one.

The whole point is that they're a CC squad. They die very easily to shooting, which is why I didnt give them forcefields, If they want to survive shooting, they have to ditch the spears anyway.

Try toning it down a little. I know custodes are better then marines individually, but if you read the fluff, they are any better as a unit, because the marines have a unique cohesiveness. Try to actually make them just a little better then average marines. Here is my idea.

Custodian Defenders Unit Size (5-10 models) 140pts + 27pts per additional model
WS BS S T W I A LD SV
5 4 4 4 1 4 1 9 3+ Custodian
5 4 4 4 1 4 2 10 3+ Custodian Captain

Equipment: Guardian Spear (+1 I, +1S AP3 on charge, S AP4 otherwise) Range 12" S4 AP5 Assault2

Special Rules: Stubborn, Percision Shots, Counterattack

Custodian Captain can change out his Guardian Spear for Power sword and stormshield for 10pts

Dark Haemonculus wrote:
The whole point is that they're a CC squad. They die very easily to shooting, which is why I didnt give them forcefields, If they want to survive shooting, they have to ditch the spears anyway.

Why make rules for them at all if you're not making rules for them? Custodes had forcefields as part of their standard kit.

If you want to make Super Paladins, make Super Paladins. Don't call them Custodes.

I could, but they could be compensating for the 2+ armour. And I forgot to mention these are for use with the horus heresy rules from FW so can be a little OP

Apart from the stats they could do with something that truly separates them from marines and shows that they are Imperial palace guards that fight as several individuals rather then a cohesive unit. (As per HH novels, for what they're worth!)

Maybe something like custodes deploy as a squad but can split off their unit individually and join any other Imperial allied squad similar to an IC.
An attached custodes must always take a Los test against any wounds allocated to an IC in a squad if it is able to do so. (Bodyguard)
If they need to take a morale check for the purposes of falling back they do so on a per-model basis, splitting the unit as required.

It would make them more than just gold pimp-marines, with strengths and weaknesses of their own..