GW revealed three new 40k 11th edition Adeptus Custodes detachments, each built around elite units you probably already own.
Games Workshop dropped three new Adeptus Custodes detachments, each built around a unit type that’s been waiting for a reason to see play for what seems like years. There’s one for the Dreadnoughts, one for the Sisters of Silence, and even the Allarus Terminators, and all three cost 1 DP, which means you can run the full set in a single 2,000-point Strike Force list.
GW even spells out the game plan for them in the preview itself, too. The Sisters run objectives and do reconnaissance work, Dreadnoughts push up the board and shoot hard, and of course, Terminators drop in and force immediate answers. Whether that combo holds up under competitive pressure is a different question, but the bones of the list are all in the Faction Focus.
So, if you play the Adeptus Custodes and you’ve got a Telemon, a squad of Allarus, or a unit of Witchseekers that hasn’t hit the table in a while, here’s what each of these new detachments actually does.
- Might of the Moritoi gives every Custodes Walker +2″ Movement plus +1 to advance and charge rolls: Dreadnoughts become a threat-range problem opponents have to solve at list-building, and the Telemon puts out serious shots at close range with the right stratagem.
- Silent Hunters lets Sisters of Silence perform actions while advancing and null Hidden units: The Skin-Crawling Disorientation rule means your objective-running Sisters also peel defensive buffs off whatever your Dreadnoughts need to shoot.
- Tharanatoi Hammerblow re-rolls charge rolls for Terminators that just Deep Struck: The Mnemo-Locked Shrine Cipher enhancement breaks the Turn 2 ingress restriction and lets a full Terminator unit drop in Turn 1.
- All three detachments cost 1 DP and carry ARMOURY or LIONS tags: You can run all three in a 2,000-point Strike Force, which is exactly the army shape GW is telegraphing.
- Crushing Impact is now a core stratagem available to any Monster or Vehicle: The recoil risk is real, but on a high-Toughness model like the Telemon, the math is in your favor.
Might of the Moritoi Turns Custodes Dreadnoughts Into a Battering Ram
The March of the Honored Dead rule gives every Custodes Walker +2″ Movement and +1 to advance and charge rolls with no conditions or triggers. On a Telemon that already moves 8″, that’s a big threat-range problem for your opponent.
The +1 to charge rolls stacks on top of that, so a standard charge off a Deep Strike, or a fast push across the board, becomes genuinely reliable instead of dice-dependent.
We already knew Tank Shock is back, now called Crushing Impact, and it’s a core stratagem for everyone this edition. So, any Monster or Vehicle can use it, not just Custodes.
The Auramite Sarcophagus enhancement makes it 1 CP cheaper on Custodes Walkers, but roll 1s on those dice, and your own unit eats mortal wounds. On a Telemon, the math is in your favor, but it’s not guaranteed.
The Prioritised Eradication stratagem is where the Telemon gets pretty scary. For 1 CP, both Arachnus Storm Cannons gain Rapid Fire 6: 12 shots each at half range, 24 total from the cannons alone. The Iliastus Accelerator Culverin gains Rapid Fire 2 if that’s your loadout instead.
- March of the Honoured Dead (detachment rule): All Custodes Walker units get +2″ M and +1 to advance and charge rolls. Always active, no conditions.
- Auramite Sarcophagus (enhancement): Crushing Impact costs 1 less CP when targeting the bearer’s unit.
- Crushing Impact (1 CP, core stratagem): After a Monster or Vehicle ends a charge, roll D6s equal to the model’s Toughness against an engaged enemy unit. Each 1 hits your own unit with a mortal wound; each 5+ hits the enemy (max 6 mortal wounds per unit).
- Prioritised Eradication (1 CP): Telemon gains Rapid Fire 6 on Arachnus Storm Cannons and Rapid Fire 2 on Iliastus Accelerator Culverins for the phase.
This detachment has the ARMOURY tag, so it can’t pair with another ARMOURY detachment, but it fits in alongside either of the other two new ones.
Silent Hunters Gives Sisters of Silence a Real Job Beyond Objective Sitting
If your Sisters of Silence have spent the last few editions sprinting to objectives and doing nothing else, Silent Hunters is the detachment that finally gives them a second job. The Skin-Crawling Disorientation rule lets Anathema Psykana units perform actions after advancing, so they can push up the board without sacrificing scoring opportunities, and each unit gets Ceaseless Vigilance: pick one visible enemy unit within 12″ and give it +3″ detection range.
The detection range part is the one that changes your shooting turns. Hidden is one of the nastiest defensive tools in 11th edition, and a Telemon with a pile of shots is useless if its target is safely tucked behind a ruin. Sisters nulling a Hidden unit on demand means your Dreadnoughts and tanks can shoot the things you need them to shoot, not whatever happens to be standing in the open.
The anti-psyker tools are still here, and they’re stronger. Psyk-Out Grenades now give Sisters the Explosives keyword, and when you trigger the Explosives stratagem against a Psyker unit, you can re-roll the mortal wound rolls. The Synchronized Inferno stratagem gives Witchseekers’ Torrent weapons Blast 1 for the phase, which is a real answer to the kind of large infantry blobs that would otherwise just soak the Sisters’ output and keep walking.
- Skin-Crawling Disorientation (detachment rule): Anathema Psykana units can perform actions after advancing. Each unit can null one visible enemy unit within 12″, giving it +3″ detection range.
- Psyk-Out Grenades (upgrade): Gives the unit Explosives. Re-roll mortal wound rolls when targeting a Psyker unit with the Explosives stratagem.
- Synchronised Inferno (1 CP): Witchseekers’ Torrent ranged attacks gain Blast 1 for the phase.
Tharanatoi Hammerblow Makes Turn 1 Deep Strikes Possible for Allarus Terminators
A charge re-roll after Deep Striking is useful, but Allarus Terminators dropping in Turn 1 is what’s going to make opponents nervous. Normally, ingress moves are locked until Turn 2, giving your opponent a full turn to screen their priority units. The Mnemo-Locked Shrine Cipher enhancement cuts that entirely: put it on a Shield Captain in Allarus Terminator armor, and the unit makes an ingress move in your first Movement phase, before your opponent has had a chance to set a proper screen.
With The Hammer Falls active, that Turn 1 charge even comes with a re-roll, which closes out the biggest risk in the plan. Normally, charges still need the dice to cooperate, but a re-roll on two dice is a meaningful bump on what’s otherwise a coin flip at best.
For the turns when the charge still fails, Hardened Resolve is there. For 1 CP, your Custodes Terminators gain +1 Toughness when an enemy unit targets them in the Shooting or Fight phase. On Allarus Terminators that are already a serious removal problem, that extra point of toughness can be the difference between surviving the counterpunch and watching your investment evaporate before it gets to swing.
- The Hammer Falls (detachment rule): Custodes Terminator units that made an ingress move this turn can re-roll charge rolls.
- Mnemo-Locked Shrine Cipher (enhancement): Bearer’s Terminator unit can make an ingress move in the first Movement phase, bypassing the Turn 2 restriction.
- Hardened Resolve (1 CP): Friendly Custodes Terminator unit gains +1 Toughness when targeted by an enemy unit, until the end of the phase.
This detachment has the LIONS tag, so it can’t pair with another LIONS detachment, but it runs freely alongside both of the other two.
Final Thoughts on New Adeptus Custodes Detachments in 11th Edition 40k
Custodes have a reason to put the Dreadnoughts, the Sisters, and the Terminators on the table at the same time. Whether that trio is actually good depends entirely on what GW charges for the privilege, but the design intent is the clearest it’s been for this army in years.
Expect the first 11th edition Custodes lists to test all three at once and go from there.
🔗 Related Reads:
- How to Play 40k Adeptus Custodes: Codex Review
- New Adeptus Custodes Solar Spearhead Detachment Rules
- All New 40k Adeptus Custodes Model & Rules Rumors
- New 11th Edition Space Marines Detachments Revealed
- Warhammer 40k 11th Edition Rules: Everything We Know
- Games Workshop New Releases Roadmap
