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The Arms & Armor of the Custodes: LORE

By Juan Lopez | January 20th, 2018 | Categories: Adeptus Custodes, Lore, Warhammer 40k Articles & News

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The Custodes are well trained and prepared for combat. Now, let’s take a look the arms and armor of the first modified warriors created by the Emperor!

Via our friends at Lexicanum

Generally, the Custodes are larger and much more powerful than Space Marines, however they are far more alike the legendary Thunder Warriors, as they were created by a similar process. The armor of the Custodes is a finely wrought form of Power Armour, greater than that of even Astartes models, made with auramite rather than ceramite. Some Custodes further protect themselves by carrying a Praesidium ShieldStorm Shield or equipping themselves with Terminator Armour. Praesidium Shields are wielded by the Adeptus Custodes and were the ornate precursors to the later Storm Shields.

Legio_Custodes_Squadron_1Each is forged from all but indestructible layered ceramite and resilient alloys reinforced with inbuilt field generators. For armament, the Custodes are renowned for carrying Guardian Spears,  the traditional weapon of the Adeptus Custodes during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. The spears were halberd-like power weapons incorporating a ranged weapon at its tip. The weapon’s powerful ranged and close combat duality complemented the fighting style of this bodyguard force, giving them good capabilities in both close combat and at a distance. In battle, Custodes spin these weapons in great arcs, slaying enemies with each strike be it in melee combat or from afar. This weapon is closely associated with the Custodes, and is depicted on their banners and badges. Other weapons carried by Custodes include Sentinel BladesPower Knives, and Custodes Vexilla.

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As befitting of their role as the Emperor’s guards, the Custodes were given access to the finest and most advanced technologies of the Imperium. This is often reflected in their vehicle designs, which are mostly Anti-grav. The Custodian Guard is known to have used Grav-RhinosCaladiusPallas, and Coronus Grav-Tanks, and Paragon Pattern Jetbikes. The Grav-Rhino was a rare and advanced variant of the Rhino armored personnel carrier equipped with Anti-Gravity drives, allowing it to hover over the earth itself. This vehicle is known to have been used almost exclusively by the Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence during the Horus Heresy.While no Grav-Rhinos are currently known to exist in the 41st Millennium, at least one Grav-Rhino remained in use with the Sisters of Silence by mid-M32 during the War of the Beast.

CustodesGrav-Rhino

The Caladius pattern grav-tank was often deployed in situations requiring the heaviest of weapons the Legio Custodes could bring to bear. Well-protected and highly maneuverable, it was perhaps the most powerful armored unit of its size in the Imperium’s forces, utilizing technologies and systems derived not only from the Dark Age of Technology, but from developments made as a result of the Great Crusade’s two centuries of warfare. The Caladius’ primary weapon were twin Liastus Accelerator Cannons while its secondary systems were two Lastrum Bolt Cannon.

The Pallas is a type of Grav-Tank used by the Custodian Guard during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. It incorporated numerous technologies recovered by the famed Technoarchaeologist Arkhan LandDesigned as a high maneuverability hunter-killer, the Pallas Grav-attack is a rapid strike vehicle utilizing advanced repulsor-lift technology. Filling a similar battlefield role to the various patterns of Land Speeders of the Legiones Astartes, the Pallas has superior agility, improved armor, inbuilt shielding technology, and more powerful weaponry in the form of its twin-linked Arachnus blaze cannon – an expertly engineered weapon that can successfully eliminate both infantry and armored targets.

The Coronus Grav-Carrier is a type of Grav-Tank and armored personnel carrier used by the Custodian Guard during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. A technologically advanced vehicle, it was only produced in limited numbers and replaced the Jocasta grav-carriers previously used by the Custodes during the Unification WarsThe Coronus Grav-carrier is perhaps one of the most recognized vehicles used exclusively by the Legio Custodes. This heavily protected transport skimmer provides them with a degree of speed and agility unmatched by the grinding armor of others who fight in the name of the Emperor, allowing the Legio Custodes to deploy rapidly into a range of terrain whilst reducing the risk of being pinned down by enemy forces. Principally used as a transport, the strikingly-designed Legio Custodes Coronus Grav-carrier served as the technological basis for the Pallas and Caladius grav-craft. While its primary function is transporting a unit of warriors into battle, its armaments – hull-mounted Lastrum Bolt Cannon and turret-mounted Arachnus Blaze Cannon – ensure that it is more than capable of mounting appropriately aggressive defenses.

In the ten thousand years since the Heresy, the Custodes have meticulously maintained and preserved much of their equipment. However few of their technologically advanced vehicles remain and they rarely use post-heresy designs.

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About the Author: Juan Lopez