Aquilon Terminators are T8 now with six wounds in the new Codex Adeptus Custodes, and the plastic kit gives 40k players two different ways to build them.
We ran the T10 rumor on Monday, and now we know the real stats. GW showed the Aquilons at T8 with six wounds, so somebody had the right idea and got a little carried away with the number. Custodian Guard are also getting better now; T7 with five wounds tells us this isn’t just one new Terminator datasheet getting juiced up too
Honestly, the Ten Thousand have spent two editions being demigods in the books and a lot less impressive once you actually put them on the table. GW looks ready to close some of that gap now too because their Big Autumn Preview revealed the Codex, the new Combat Patrol, a Command Pack, and eleven existing kits getting new packaging along with the Aquilon reveal.
So, if you’ve been waiting since July after the Aquilon leak, at least that mystery is over. Custodes are now firmly on the 11th Edition Codex release schedule, which has been thin on confirmed dates, and they showed up on the wider 2026 Warhammer 40k roadmap right where the rumor mill had been putting them all along.
- Aquilon Terminators: T8 with six wounds, two 40k build options out of one plastic kit, and the T10 rumor came in a little high.
- Squad sizes: GW says Custodes units get smaller and more expensive across the whole Codex.
- Range packaging: eleven existing Custodes kits get reboxed for both 40k and Horus Heresy.
The Rumor Mill Had the Direction, Just Not The Right Stats
Updated on September 28, 2026, by Rob Baer with the latest Aquilon Terminators statlines from the Warhammer preview and pricing.
New Aquilon Terminators Price & Release Date:
- Aquilon Terminators Release Date: October 17th, 2026
- Pre-Order Date: October 3rd, 2026
- Retail Price (MSRP/RRP): $81(USD). Regional pricing is listed below.
Honestly, T8 with six wounds is close enough that the original rumor wasn’t completely off base. It isn’t T10, but these guys are going to be a pain for a lot of the mid-strength guns people normally point at Terminators.
GW also confirmed two 40k builds for the kit on stream:
- Lastrum storm bolters paired with Solarite power talons
- Adrathic combi-destructors paired with Solarite power gauntlets
GW put the Aquilons right next to Allarus Terminators in the reveal article and described them as immensely durable, with enough damage to wipe out units many times their size. That’s a pretty big claim when Allarus already occupy the Terminator slot in the army.
But, at the very least, GW isn’t presenting these as another flavor of the same thing. They’re just supposed to sit at the heavier end of the plastic Custodes lineup now.
Sadly, they were also the only new unit GW showed. Nobody said Aquilons are the only new kit coming with the Codex, but GW didn’t put anything else on screen either. So for now, that’s what we’ve got. They’re arriving in an army that’s spent most of the edition somewhere around the middle of our 40k tier list, and the rest of the book sounds like it’s getting just as much attention as the new Terminators.
The Codex is Rescaling the Entire Faction, Not Just One Unit
This is where the Custodes release gets a lot more interesting than one new Terminator kit, for sure. GW is calling the Codex an “epochal change” and says the datasheets have been fundamentally rescaled. Points are going up, squads are getting smaller, and the goal is to make Custodes the most elite army in the game.
GW said on stream that units will cost more points than they do now and that squad sizes are coming down too. The three-model maximum rumor hasn’t been confirmed, so we’re not treating that as settled yet. Even without that number, though, anyone who already owns Custodes will probably rebuild some lists once the book lands.
We saw a similar shuffle when the Space Marine Codex cut model counts and adjusted stats too.
The book itself also follows the Orks and Space Marines format, with a softback Codex inside a decorative slipcase and the usual mix of lore, hobby material, and army rules.
The Combat Patrol is Doing Something Combat Patrols Don’t Usually Do
The new Combat Patrol will probably get almost as much attention as the Codex, because GW packed a lot into this one. For actual Combat Patrol games, the box carries about two Combat Patrols’ worth of points while costing about what you’d expect from a normal box.
That’s not usually how these things work, especially for Custodes, so it will be worth comparing against the rest of the Combat Patrol boxes ranked by value. Here’s what’s in it:
- A Shield Captain
- Six Sentinel Guard
- Three Venatari
- A Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought
GW says the three squads can be built in alternate configurations too if you aren’t worried about keeping everything legal for Combat Patrol. That’s handy if you’re buying the box to start a regular Custodes army instead of just playing the smaller format. Considering how expensive Custodes can be to start, having a box with some room to build things the way you actually want them is welcome for sure.
Eleven Custodes Kits Just Picked Up Dual System Packaging
GW is also reboxing eleven existing Custodes kits with both the 40k and Horus Heresy logos on the front. Every one of them works in either system, which isn’t much of a surprise if you’ve been following the Horus Heresy release schedule this year:
- Shield Captain
- Custodian Guard Sodality
- Sentinel Guard Sodality
- Venatari Sodality
- Custodian Dreadnought
- Telemon Heavy Dreadnought
- Gyrfalcon Jetbike Sodality
- Pallas Grav-attack
- Caladius Grav-tank
- Caladius Annihilator Grav-tank
- Coronus Grav-carrier
GW calls this one of the largest expansions of the Custodes range since the faction launched, which is technically true and also a little cheeky. Most of these already came out as standalone Legio Custodes releases earlier this year.
Either way, the boxes now include both logos, so GW can sell the same plastic across 40k and Horus Heresy without pretending the ranges are separate.
Final Thoughts on Aquilon Terminators and New Custodes
We still need the points before anyone can say much about how hard Aquilons are actually going to hit the table. T8 with six wounds on a three-model unit sounds nasty, but 120 points and 200 points are two very different conversations.
The other thing we’re waiting on is whether GW has another new Custodes kit hiding behind the Codex release. Once the pre-order article (or a new preview) arrives, we should have a much better idea of whether this release is mostly about rebuilding the army around new rules or if there’s more plastic coming with it.
🔗 Related Reads:
- Custodes Rumors Turn Terminators Into T10 Walking Tanks
- GW Leaks New Aquilon Terminators for Custodes
- Combat Patrol 40k: Best Boxes Ranked by Value
- 40k Codex Release Dates: Orks, Space Marines and 11th Edition
- GW’s Autumn Preview Reveals: New 40k Codexes, LoTD and More
- New Horus Heresy Roadmap and Release Schedule
- Warhammer 40k Tier List 2026: Best and Worst Factions Ranked
What do you think about the new Aquilon Terminators and the Custodes datasheet rescale?
