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I'm new to 30k and i am absolutely in love with the models of the Adeptus Custodes, especially the armour. So what's a good points cost to start at, and what list would you run?

Thanks in advance,
Archon

Well most games in general of 30k are at a higher points cost, 2k-3k with 2500 being the sweet spot I am told.

The Legio Custodes, as you well know, have alot of cool looking things. What you think is cool is generally the best place to start when making an army in 30k. But you could do like I did and start small, with 3 squads of 3 of their Troops choices. I went with 6 Custodian Guard and 3 Sentinel Guard, then used the last model to make a Shield Captain, who is your basic (and one of the most awesome) HQ choices in the game. From their I went with one of the FW models I thought looked cool and picked up the Custodes Contmptor-Galatus. These 11 models are around 1k points depending on load out, and intended to serve as an allied force until I add to their number.

If I remember points cost correctly, you could easily swap out the Contemptor-Galatus for the Caladius Grav-tank to suit your love of their armor, and be around 1k points.

Speaking of the 1k point mark, thats also pretty good for Zone Mortalis games, the smaller close quarters combat game type. Which the Custodes will be particularly strong in.

Custodes are very easy to push into very high points; I went and got twenty off Ebay before reading the list in detail and discovered after the fact I could push 1,500pts quite easily with just those models.

If you've already got a 30k army a good starting point would be a four-man Custodian Guard squad in a Coronus, a Shield-Captain, and a Caladius; it's a decent allied detachment for about 800pts (depending on how you arm the Shield-Captain and what alternate spears you're willing to convert on the Custodians), and you just need five Custodians and the two tanks.

If you're going to try and build to them as a standalone force I'd say the basic unit of your army should be 4-5-man Custodian Guard in a Coronus; they're really solid transports (tough, cheap, well-armed), very mobile (Fast + Machine Spirit = all weapons at full BS after going 12", or one at full BS after going 12" after jinking), and really make up for the relative lack of firepower on your line dudes. Supplement with jetbikes, Dreadnaughts, and Caladii to taste (the Pallas feels very redundant next to the Corunus to me, and the Saggitarum Guard are unfortunately actually pretty bad), then you use the tanks for general disruption (read: smashing up enemy vehicles) while the jetbikes soften up enemy infantry and you get the basic dudes into forward positions from which their melee prowess will matter. At 2,000pts you'll probably have the points for a Tribune, three squads in transports, and two other units (or a Tribune, a squad in a transport, three not in transports, and three other units, which gets you more bodies/is cheaper but has slightly fewer guns).

Remember to pick your melee battles (everything in the list looks terrifying in melee, but everything is also insanely expensive, not everything can stand up to 2+-armour units, and with infantry speed and no assault vehicles you have less power to dictate the terms of engagement than you'd like), keep a Hetaeron/Aquilon squad, a kitted-out Captain/Tribune, and/or a Dreadnaught back to intercept the really scary melee units. And it's always worth considering adding a few Sisters of Silence or an Auxilia/Militia/Taghmata allied detachment to make up for your lack of bodies/ordnance.

And lastly it's worth noting that while most 30k armies reward large squads over MSUing the Custodes actually don't; Hetaeron, Aquilon, Custodian Guard, and Agamatii have no squad tax, while Saggitarium Guard and Sentinel Guard actually come at a discount for getting a new squad over adding models to the old one. More small squads are better than fewer large squads here; you can spread your firepower/melee prowess among more targets, get more Coronuses, and force the enemy to spread his firepower around.

(Addendum: If building on a budget don't feel compelled to stick all your units in Coronuses, they are $140 USD each at current exchange rates.)

I'm painting a 3000 point Talons/Mechanicum force:

3 pallas grav attacks
1 Caladius tank
1 Coronus APC
1 sword dreadnought
Tribune with Haeteron squad
2 x Sentinal squads (4-man)
2 x Guardian squads (3-man)
1 Sisters HQ with whip

barebones Magos
Thantar w/ siege mortar
3 Thallax