Adeptus Custodes Codex Review: 11th Edition Ka’tahs & Rules

Spikey Bits » Adeptus Custodes » Adeptus Custodes Codex Review: 11th Edition Ka’tahs & Rules

The Adeptus Custodes codex gives Custodians six martial ka’tahs instead of two, faster movement, and higher toughness to offset their increased costs.

Remember when you could just out-walk Custodes? The full codex makes that a lot harder to do becasue they have the speed to keep up now. 

GW’s also given them more ways to use the six ka’tahs they have now, and the new Custodes datasheets already showed us Guard got tougher, so your opponents have a much bigger problem on their hands. 

The power creep feels pretty familiar for Warhammer 40k 11th Edition because GW keeps giving each unit more options, but with fewer golden boys (and girls) on the table, each one has more work to do anyways.

Codex: Adeptus Custodes Codex Price & Release Date

Updated on October 5, 2026, by Rob Baer with the full detachment and datasheet breakdown from the Adeptus Custodes codex for 11th Edition.

• Adeptus Custodes Codex Release Date: October, 17th, 2026
• Pre-Order Date: October 3rd, 2026 
• Retail Price (MSRP/RRP): $40(USD). Regional pricing is listed below.

This is the third paperback codex of 11th Edition, following Orks and Space Marines. If you’re wondering where the rest of the rules went, GW has split them up a bit. Points are staying digital, Combat Patrol rules live in the app, and the next Munitorum Field Manual update will cover force dispositions along with which characters can lead which units.

As for narrative rules, they aren’t in this book either. GW could always add some later in the edition, but right now there’s nothing on the horizon suggesting 11th Edition is getting anything like that.

Custodes Units Going to Legends

The new Adeptus Custodes codex shakes up the roster, but most existing armies are coming through intact. Games Workshop is, however, pulling several Horus Heresy and Imperial Armor units into the main 40k codex, including Aquilon Terminators, Venatari, the Telemon, Galatus and Achillus Dreadnoughts, Gyrfalcon Jetbikes, and the Custodes grav vehicles.

But not everything stays, as seven units did get axed to Legends.

Staying in the codex:

• Trajann Valoris
• Shield-Captain
• Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armor
• Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike
• Blade Champion
• Custodian Wardens
• Allarus Custodians
• Vertus Praetors
• Knight-Centura
• Prosecutor Squad
• Vigilator Squad
• Witchseeker Squad
• Anathema Psykana Rhino

Moving to Warhammer Legends:

• Aleya
• Valerian
• Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought
• Venerable Land Raider
• Custodian Guard Sodality with Adrasite Spears
• Custodian Guard Sodality with Pyrithite Spears
• Sagittarum Custodian Sodality

The Ares Gunship and Orion Assault Dropship are staying matched-play legal through digital datasheets, so they’re not joining the Legends pile, but they won’t be in the codex either.

Overall, you end up with 27 datasheets, partly because GW gave several wargear options their own entries. Losing two named characters hurts, sure, but having the Forge World range right there in plastic takes some of the sting out.

Custodes Get 13 Detachments in Their New 40k Codex

The new Adeptus Custodes Codex comes with 13 detachments, including six Unique: Shield Hosts that form the core of your army, plus seven more built around specific units and playstyles.

The points system is pretty simple once you see it laid out. Guardians of the Throne costs three points, while each of the other 12 detachments costs one. At 1,000 points you can stack two of the one-point detachments, and at 2,000 you can take three.

Six of those one-point options are Shield Hosts, and each one comes with its own Favored Ka’tah. The catch is you can only take one Shield Host detachment, so that choice is huge and can really set up how the rest of your army plays.

The six new unique Shield Host detachments are

• Aquilan Shield
• Dread Host
• Emissaries Imperatus
• Emperor’s Chosen
• Shadowkeepers
• Solar Watch

And the other seven are:

• Guardians of the Throne
• Auric Champions
• Honored Companions
• Lions of the Emperor
• Might of the Moritoi
• Grav-assault Force
• Null Maiden Vigil

Aquilan Shield is all about planting Custodes on objectives and making them a pain to shift. They get tougher against high-Strength shooting, and enemies trying to fall back can get punished for it. Dread Host goes the other direction and wants to get stuck in, with charge re-rolls, shorter enemy pile-in and consolidation moves, and even ways to advance and charge.

The rest of the detachments spread the love around to Terminators, Dreadnoughts, grav-tanks, Characters, Wardens, and Sisters of Silence. So instead of every Custodes list leaning on the same few units, you’ve got a lot more room to build around the models already sitting in your collection.

But, if you’re looking for a jetbike or fast attack detachment, well, there isn’t one yet. But GW says more detachments are coming over the edition, so we wouldn’t be surprised if one turns up later on

You can see how all 13 fit together in our full breakdown of the new Custodes detachments.

Guardians of the Throne Is the General Pick, For 3 DPs

Pick a Custodes unit to fight, and it gets Sustained Hits 1 or Lethal Hits. Yep, that’s basically the old ka’tah as a detachment rule. Sustained Hits against everything is handy for beating up elite infantry. Rendax already gives you Lethal Hits against MONSTERS and VEHICLES, so you can double up or use your ka’tah for something else that turn.

For those three detachment points, you do get some handy stratagems. Spend 1CP and a unit can advance, shoot, and charge, which Custodes haven’t had much access to. Swift as the Eagle gives Guard and Wardens a D3+3″ reactive move when an enemy ends a move within 8″. Superhuman Focus readies a unit again at the end of any phase, while Auramite Clad worsens incoming AP by one, like Armor of Contempt. Keep in mind that Wardens don’t get that one since they already have it.

Prime Target re-rolls one hit, one wound, and one damage roll in the shooting phase. Shield of Honor makes engaged enemies attack the unit you nominate or take -1 to hit and wound.

Castellan’s Mark lets you redeploy three units, including reserves, while Bane of Abominations gives +1 to wound against CHARACTER, MONSTER and VEHICLE targets. Another enhancement adds a wound and a 3+ invulnerable save for a phase, and the dagger adds three S5 AP2 D2 attacks. We’d still lean toward the one-point combos.

Emperor’s Chosen gives you a lot of the same damage and Auramite Clad for a third of the cost, but would you pay the extra for advance-and-charge? 

Shadowkeepers Punish Big Melee Hits on Objectives

Wardens of the Dark Cells give enemies -1 to wound in melee if their Strength is higher than your Toughness and your unit is within range of an objective. For T7 Custodes, you’re mostly looking at S8 and up. It won’t help against guns, so a lot depends on who you’re playing. Kaptaris is the Favored Ka’tah, with an extra Battle-shock test for one enemy unit at -1 Leadership at the start of the Fight phase.

• Trying to fall back? No Escape might put you straight back in combat. For 2CP, an unengaged Custodes infantry unit can charge an enemy that ends a fallback within 6″ of it.
• Indomitable Guardians (1CP) lets a unit on an objective fight next after an enemy unit fights, while Grim Responsibility gives infantry Lethal Hits in melee against CHARACTERS or MONSTERS.

For enhancements, Gene-alchemic Warding gives a 5+ Feel No Pain, and Unstoppable Destroyer gives a 4″ pile-in and consolidate with your pick of consolidation move.

Solar Watch Turns Custodes Into a 20″ Threat

Talon Sortie lets your units fall back and charge, but take a look at what happens with Calistus, the Favored Ka’tah. It adds +2″ of movement, putting Terminators at 9″ and regular infantry at 10″, even before you get to jetbikes and jump packs. Sally Forth then lets a Shield-Captain give an infantry unit within 6″ advance-and-charge at the start of the charge phase.

So, for standard infantry, you’re looking at an average threat range of around 20″.

These stratagems are a bit less exciting, sadly.

• Inexorable ignores move, advance, and charge modifiers, and At Spear’s Length lets you fall back and shoot.
• Gravimetric Grenade (1CP) gives one enemy unit within 12″ -1 to charge, but that only helps when they roll exactly what they needed.

The other enhancement gives non-Terminator infantry or mounted units +1 to advance and charge rolls. In theory, you can stack it with Sally Forth to reach even farther.

Dread Host Wrecks Enemy Pile-Ins

Dread Host gets pretty nasty once you look at the details. Dacatarai is its Favored Ka’tah, and enemies engaged with that unit lose 2″ from pile-in and consolidation moves. Leave a big melee squad with just 1″ to move and plenty of its models won’t get to do much.

Fortunately, the advance-and-charge strat costs 1CP, and you use it after the advance roll. That way, you know whether that charge looks doable before spending the CP. Which is great because the average Custodes threat range is around 19-20″ now!

Lightning Wrath (1CP) gives you a D3+3″ pile-in, though it’s pretty situational. The 2CP strat for a unit that just made an Ingress move stops snapshots against it and gives enemies -1 to hit it until your next turn. That’s a lot of CP without much direct payoff.

One enhancement gives Cleave 1, while Flawless Bladework gives Sustained Hits 1.

We’d lean toward Flawless Bladework on a Shield-Captain, since the extra damage helps against everything.

Emperor’s Chosen Just Makes Everything Hit Harder

Magna Imperator gives every Custodes unit one hit re-roll and one wound re-roll each time it attacks, shooting or melee. Doesn’t sound like much? Try it on salvo launchers, castellan axes, or Dreadnought fists. It’s extra damage without anything else to keep track of.

Rendax is the Favored Ka’tah, dealing between one and three mortal wounds at the start of the Fight phase. You also get Superhuman Focus and Auramite Clad from Guardians of the Throne, too.

• Impenetrable Bastion lets a non-MONSTER, non-VEHICLE unit secure an objective at the end of the Movement phase.
• Radiant Mantle gives an infantry unit a flat -1 to hit that stacks with cover, and the other enhancement gives a model Devastating Wounds.

If we’re picking a one-point Shield Host, we’d need a pretty good reason to pass this one up. However, either way, you’ll still need another way to get your Custodes into combat faster.

Aquilan Shield Leans Into Guns

Gilded Guardians gives non-MONSTER, non-VEHICLE units -1 to wound against ranged attacks with Strength higher than their Toughness while within range of an objective. You’ll probably use that more often than the Shadowkeepers melee version, because those big guns are usually pointed straight at your Custodes. S

Salvus is the Favored Ka’tah here, adding +6″ of range so Guardian spears get extra rapid-fire shots at 15″.

• Rapid Reactions costs 1CP and lets infantry shoot an enemy that just fell back from them. Your opponent can stay in combat or take a full round of Guardian spear shooting on the way out.
• Maneuver and Fire lets you fall back, shoot, and charge.
• Tip of the Talon gives shooting +1 Strength against targets within 9″, taking Guardian spears to S6.
• One enhancement heals a model D3+3 wounds at the start of any phase, and the other gives a unit’s ranged weapons +1 attack, though jetbikes miss out, sadly.

Emissaries Imperatus Fight First Across the Whole Army

Heralds of the Throne gives every Custodes unit Fights First, lol, imagine getting that in 10th Edition. It’s less of a big deal in 11th, but melee armies will still think twice before charging more than one golden unit in one turn. Conservai is the Favored Ka’tah, letting you do actions after advancing or falling back.

• Keep an eye on Selfless Service. For 1CP, you can declare a charge against something within 6″ at the end of the enemy Charge phase. Your opponent has to watch that distance or risk getting charged.
• Slayer of Nightmares (1CP) gives +1 to wound in the Fight phase against units tougher than yours, and another strat ignores hit and wound modifiers in that phase.
• The Auriferous Orb grenade enhancement deals a mortal wound on a 2+ against anything other than a MONSTER or VEHICLE, about two per use, and gives the target -1 to hit.
• Edge of the Blade re-rolls hits and wounds of 1 on the turn its model charged.

Honour Companions Reward Guard and Wardens on Objectives

Bringing Guard and Wardens? They’re your Trusted Sentinel units here, re-rolling wound rolls of 1 in shooting and melee while within range of an objective. They also get Swift as the Eagle from Guardians of the Throne.

• Emperor’s Domain (1CP) lets them make an objective consolidation while engaged, including leaving melee to do it.
• Avenge the Fallen gives squads below starting strength extra attacks, but attached Characters don’t get those.

One enhancement makes a Trusted Sentinel unit’s Heroic Intervention cost 1CP less, and you can use it even if another unit already did that phase. The other goes on a Character and stops enemies setting up from Deep Strike within 12″. Spread a few of those across the board, and you’re covering a lot of space.

Lions of the Emperor Teleport Terminators Around the Board

Any Terminator unit that isn’t engaged can head back to reserves at the end of the enemy Fight phase, then drop in where you need it. Pretty much Grey Knights board control, just in gold this time.

• Vigil Unending (2CP) gives Terminators -1 Damage against shooting and melee, while Unleash the Lions splits a Terminator unit into single models in your Command phase.
• Fury of the Emperor adds +2 to a charge after an Ingress move. That +2 gives you about a 58% chance of making the charge. Add Dread Host’s charge re-roll and your arriving Terminators make it roughly five times out of six.

Both enhancements go on the Allarus Shield-Captain. Lightning Descent lets their unit Ingress in the first Movement phase, while the other makes Rapid Ingress cheaper without counting against other uses that phase.

Might of the Moritoi Wants a Few Dreadnoughts

Here Dreadnoughts get +2 OC at starting strength, then re-roll hits and wounds of 1 once they’re below half strength.

• Unstoppable Momentum lets them go straight through terrain, and one enhancement gives a Dreadnought Feel No Pain.

Put that on a Telemon with its saves and -1 Damage, and, yeah, you’ve got a lot of armor to get through. So, we’d expect lists to bring several Dreadnoughts and commit to this, or just leave them at home altogether.

The Character, Grav-Tank and Null Maiden Detachments

The grav-tank detachment gives grav vehicles a 4+ invulnerable save. Caladius tanks probably get the most out of it, though it only helps against AP-3 or better. One enhancement lets a grav unit fall back and shoot.

For Characters, Duty Unto Death lets you fight on death on a 3+, with +1 for Characters. Shroud of the Hidden Blade gives you a stealth, lone-operative style enhancement that even works on a Dawneagle jetbike, and Superior Creation brings a Character back on a 2+ with three wounds.

Null Maiden Vigil is the Sisters of Silence option. Silent Sisterhood lets an ANATHEMA PSYKANA model be your Warlord and gives Prosecutors Battleline. A 1CP strat gives a Vigilator squad Sustained Hits or Lethal Hits when it fights.

Another debuff marks an enemy unit, improving the AP of every attack against it by one until the turn ends. Your Custodes can use that too, so those AP2 Guardian spears hit at AP3. Plus both enhancements go on the Knight-Centura.

Ka’tahs Stopped Being a Fight-Phase Coin Flip

This probably changes how Custodes actually feel on the table more than any of those statline bumps did last week. In 11th edition, every unit starts your turn readied; you choose one ka’tah when its WHEN window opens, and once you spend it, that unit is done until a Character ability or stratagem readies it again. So instead of waiting for the fight phase and flipping a stance, you’ve got to think about that pick before the turn gets away from you.

And three of the six aren’t even about combat, which is pretty different for Custodes:

• Conservai (Command phase): until the end of the turn, being engaged or battle-shocked doesn’t stop the unit from starting an action, and starting an action doesn’t stop it from shooting.

• Calistus (Movement phase): when a readied unit makes a normal, advance or fall-back move, it can move through every type of model.

• Salvus (Shooting phase): the unit ignores modifiers to its BS, hit rolls and wound rolls.

If you play with standard missions, Conservai is probably the one you’ll notice first. Getting tied up in combat or battle-shocked used to mean waving goodbye to a mission action. Now a Guard squad stuck on an objective can still score it and keep shooting while it does. Salvus isn’t as flashy, but if you’ve got a unit parked somewhere awkward just to hold a marker, ignoring those penalties is pretty handy.

Custodes still want to get stuck in, though, and the other three ka’tahs are built for exactly that:

• Dacatarai (start of the Fight phase): melee attacks against anything that isn’t a MONSTER or VEHICLE can re-roll hit rolls of 1.

• Kaptaris (start of the Fight phase): melee attacks that target your unit get -1 to hit.

• Rendax (when the unit is selected to fight): the unit’s melee attacks get [LETHAL HITS: MONSTER/VEHICLE].

Dacatarai handles infantry and ignores the big stuff, while Rendax helps get through tanks and monsters, so you’re actually looking at the target before choosing. Kaptaris is the one you reach for when you know your opponent is about to swing back, and -1 to hit on T7 (and higher) bodies is going to be rough for a lot of melee lists. Stick that on a big Terminator brick, with T8, and charging into them doesn’t sound like much fun.

It’s probably smart to put a marker or token next to each readied unit and pull it when you spend the ka’tah. Some Shield-Captain abilities and stratagems can ready them again, letting you use two ka’tahs in one battle round. Since the normal reset is in your own Command phase, though, you usually can’t use a Fight-phase ka’tah in both your turn and your opponent’s.

Rendax is definitely still worth watching when you’re punching up: against a MONSTER or VEHICLE you’d wound on 5+, it’s roughly a 40% damage boost.

Aegis is Back, and it Looks Nothing Like the Old One

Aegis is back, but yeah, it’s not doing what it used to. Aegis of the Emperor used to give Custodians their invulnerable save. Now it’s a flat Feel No Pain 5+ against mortal wounds on friendly ADEPTUS CUSTODES units that have it.

Mortal wounds are exactly the kind of thing your nice armor save or toughness doesn’t help with, and this gives you some much-needed protection.

The new Aquila Commander rule on several Character units (like Shield-Captains and Trajann) replaces the old free stratagem system.  It gives you an extra Command Point at the start of every battle round, and since this army can spend stratagems to get its ka’tahs back, so that extra CP probably isn’t sitting around for long.

And that rolls right into the detachments. Six of the book’s 13 detachments have a Favored Ka’tah that adds a bonus when you use that specific ability. Emperor’s Chosen, for example, makes Rendax deal mortal wounds to an engaged MONSTER or VEHICLE. 

To get the benefits, your Warlord just needs to be alive at the start of the battle round, even if they aren’t on the battlefield.

So now, even ig you’re leaving Trajann out, you’re probably bringing at least one Shield-Captain.

Now the Sisters of Silence Pull Their Weight Again

Now this is the kind of rule that makes you look at Sisters as more than just cheap action units. Daughters of the Abyss give ANATHEMA PSYKANA units Feel No Pain 3+ against psychic attacks, while their Psychic Null aura gives friendly ADEPTUS CUSTODES units within 6″ a 5+ against the same thing.

The Nulls have spent plenty of editions feeling like a flavor pick you brought because you liked the models and wanted cheap units to do actions. This 6″ bubble helping your Custodians shrug off psychic attacks might be a reason to bring them for something else. 

Sisters do have a few catches. They use ANATHEMA PSYKANA rather than ADEPTUS CUSTODES, which keeps them out of most Custodes stratagems and detachment rules. Outside Null Maiden Vigil, they can’t be your Warlord, and they can’t be your army’s main faction. Their 3+ Feel No Pain doesn’t work against mortal wounds anymore, either, and they don’t have Aegis to cover those.

Put that 5+ aura alongside Custodes statlines, though, and Grey Knights or Thousand Sons players could have a rough go of it.

New Custodes Datasheets Push Durability Through the Roof

The first new Adeptus Custodes datasheets are here, and GW is making every golden body on the table count for a lot more; sadly, though, it looks like the Misericordia rule isnt in 11th edition anymore. 

Custodian Guard Hit T7 and Five Wounds

Custodian Guard now sit at T7 with five Wounds each. Sodality squads can also reach OC 4 per model with a Vexilia, meaning three Custodes can bring 12 OC while forcing your opponent to chew through 15 T7 wounds.

The tradeoff is squad size, with Guard capped at just three models before Leaders.

Guard now move 8″, and you’ve got separate datasheets for Guardian spears and shields. Want to slip a shield into your spear squad? Well, you can’t do that anymore.

Spears give you two S5 D2 shots at 24″, four within 12″, and six S8 AP2 D2 melee attacks. Shield Guard only shoot within 12″ and get five S6 D2 attacks, so you’re giving up damage for a unit that’s even harder to shift.

Trajann Keeps the Hits Coming

Trajann Valoris still looks built to ruin somebody’s centerpiece model. The Watcher’s Axe brings serious melee damage, the Moment Shackle piles on extra attacks, and nearby Custodes can re-roll hit rolls of 1.

For an army mostly hitting on 2+, that’s about as close to autopilot as dice ever get.

Overall, Trajann’s gone from seven to 10 wounds and kept his 5+ Feel No Pain, so it usually takes around 15 wounds to bring him down. Once per battle, he can choose extra attacks, nine swings at S12 D4, or a 3+ invulnerable save, which you declare at the start of the phase.

His aura also re-rolls wound rolls of 1, though it doesn’t help MONSTERS or VEHICLES. Bring him, and he has to be your Warlord.

The Telemon Is Built Like a Truck

The Telemon Heavy Dreadnought moves up to T11 and has 14 Wounds, with weapons covering hordes, elite infantry, vehicles, and monsters. Take two Caestus fists, and they gain Twin-Linked, giving the big golden brick a legitimate chance against Knights and other heavy targets.

It moves 10″ now, with its 4+ invulnerable save and -1 Damage still there. If you built a double-gun Telemon, though, this one’s going to hurt. It has to take at least one fist now. You can pair that with the Adrathic gun for four S10 D4 shots or the Arachnus storm cannon for 12 shots with Devastating Wounds.

Wardens and Allarus Bring Castellan Axes

Wardens have traded their old defensive tricks for something a lot simpler: they worsen incoming AP all the time now, so they’re basically walking around with permanent Armor of Contempt. It’s a different kind of durability from the old -1 to wound and chunky Feel No Pain, but they should still be a pain to shift.

The castellan axe is looking nasty too, with three S10 AP-2 D4 attacks, and Allarus Custodians can bring it as well. Their grenade launchers also got cleaned up to a flat three S5 AP-1 Blast shots each. The tradeoff is that Allarus can’t just disappear back into reserves on their own anymore, so some of that old teleporting nonsense is gone.

Aquilon and Venatari Split Into Two Units Each

Aquilon Terminators are getting tougher, clocking in at T8 with six Wounds each, and now you’ve got two Aquilon Terminator datasheets. The solerite gauntlet squad has a fixed loadout with an Adrathic destructor for two S5 D3 shots. Those three models put out 15 melee attacks, which is a lot for almost anything to deal with.

Go with power talons instead, and you can pick infernus firepikes or lastrum storm bolters.

Venatari also have two versions, both moving 12″ in squads of three. Kinetic destroyers and tarsus bucklers give you S6 AP2 D1 shooting and attacks with Sustained Hits. The lance version keeps five S7 attacks, a neutronium cascade mine for extra mortals, and cheaper Rapid Ingress. Overall, between the two, we’d still expect most people to reach for the lances.

Jetbikes and Grav-Tanks Got Tougher Too

In the new book, Vertus Praetors come in squads of two to three, move 12″ and have seven wounds each. Their salvo launchers give you two S10 AP2 D3+2 shots now, but Twin-linked is gone. Their second jetbike datasheet has a twin las-pulsar at S10 AP3 D3+2 and gets +1 AP on the charge.

The Caladius also has two datasheets now. Its anti-tank version fires S12 AP3 D6+2 shots and re-rolls one hit, one wound, and one damage roll, so the dice get plenty of second chances.

The Coronus has 16 wounds, T12, and a 2+ save, with room for Terminators. You still can’t charge after its shock disembark, though, so it feels more like a big golden bunker than a way to deliver a charge, currently.

Custodes Characters Got Bigger Statlines

The Shield-Captain now has eight wounds at T7 and a once-per-battle Vengeful Surge. The Allarus version has T8 and nine wounds, choosing between five S10 D4 castellan axe attacks or eight Guardian spear attacks with Cleave 1.

We’d lean toward the shield loadouts, but on a Dawneagle jetbike, the Captain gets T8 and 10 wounds, plus a move at the end of the Fight phase to hit and run.

The Blade Champion gets an eight-attack S8 AP3 D2 Precision profile alongside the five-attack S10 AP3 D3 Devastating Wounds option. Now at the start of the first battle round, you can also mark an enemy unit and get +1 to wound against it.

Sisters of Silence Units Still Stay Cheap and Useful

Sisters have OC2 and come in units of four to 10 in the new codex. Prosecutor bolters are now S5 AP-1 with Assault. Witchseekers keep Scouts and give PSYKERS an extra -1 to their Battle-shock test. Vigilator executioner greatblades turn 5+ rolls into two mortal wounds, roughly 12 mortals from a squad of 10 Sisters. 

The Knight-Centura gets a 5+ invulnerable save and four greatblade attacks with Cleave 1. Transport-wise, the Rhino carries the Daughters of the Abyss aura as well.

 To see all the datasheets revealed, check out our breakdown here.

Final Thoughts on the Adeptus Custodes Codex

Now that we’ve seen the whole book, it feels like GW is trying to make Custodes play a little more like the monsters they’re supposed to be in the lore. We’d definitely be paying attention to how opponents deploy, because simply throwing screens in front of the golden boys doesn’t look nearly as easy as it used to.

Points are still the big question mark. On paper, Emperor’s Chosen is probably the Shield Host we’d try first, but that could change fast depending on where Terminators and Dreadnoughts come in points-wise. If either ends up cheap enough to spam, Lions of the Emperor or Might of the Moritoi could suddenly look a whole lot more interesting.

Either way, we should have a much clearer picture once the first tournament results start rolling in after the October 17 release.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is buying a codex worth it?

If you play Custodes in 11th Edition, yes: it’s the book the army’s new rules ship in. The code inside unlocks those rules in the Warhammer 40,000 app and adds new rules, lore, and detachments in updates throughout the life of the edition, so the book keeps working after release day.

Where To Buy The New Adeptus Custodes Codex

11th Edition Adeptus Custodes Codex: $40 (USA), $50 (Canada), £25 (UK), €32.50 (EU), ¥5,900 (Japan), ₩55,000 (Korea), $68 (Australia), $83 (New Zealand)

Prices vary by region and edition, so we’ve broken out the full lineup in our 11th Edition Adeptus Custodes pre-order coverage.

If you’re trying to save a few bucks or just find the thing before it sells out, our retailer guide has options broken out by region below.

Buy Yours

🔗 Related Reads:

• New Custodes Datasheets Make Custodian Guard T7 With 5 Wounds
• New Custodes 11th Edition Detachments Hand Telemons 36 Shots and Drop Allarus on Turn 1
• Aquilon Terminators Hit T8 W6 in the New Custodes Codex
• Custodes Rumors Turn Terminators Into T10 Walking Tanks
• Warhammer Big Autumn Preview 2026: Every New Reveal From GW Analyzed
• Warhammer 40k 11th Edition Rules: Release Date, Detachments + Every Change

Which ka’tah are you expecting to use most with your Custodes in the new Adeptus Custodes codex?

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