The new Custodes datasheets turn basic Custodian Guard into T7, 5-wound bricks, and make every Custodes list in 11th Edition harder to move off objectives.
If your plan for Custodes was to bury a Guard squad under bolter fire, well, that just got a whole lot harder. GW dropped the first three datasheets from the new Codex: Adeptus Custodes on Warhammer Community, and they’re following the same stat-bump we saw with the Space Marines datasheets.
Bigger numbers are pretty much everywhere, but with fewer bodies to spread around. It’s the first drop from the Big Autumn Preview wave, and with Custodes codex coming soon, it’s time to start thinking about lists.
- Custodian Guard jump to T7 and 5 Wounds, but squads cap at three models: Sodality units with a Vexilia add Sustained Hits 1 and OC 4 each, so they sit on points and dare you to move them.
- Trajann Valoris hands out re-roll 1s to an army that already hits on 2+: the Watcher’s Axe and Moment Shackle keep him a tank-killer in melee on top of it.
- Telemon Heavy Dreadnoughts hit T11 and 14 Wounds with Knight-threatening caestus fists: two fists add Twin-Linked, and the reworked Martial Ka’tah rules land tomorrow.
OC 4 Sodality Squads Turn Every Objective Into a Siege
This datasheet is the one that will win you games, even though it’s not the flashiest. Custodian Guard are BATTLELINE at T7 with 5 Wounds each, and GW says they’re now throwing out the kind of close combat damage even power fist veterans have trouble matching. Of course, there’s a catch. You only get three of them, and in a mission pack that wants bodies on objectives, that hurts.
- Toughness 7, 5 Wounds on BATTLELINE infantry
- Squad cap: three models max before Leaders, some units even smaller
- Sustained Hits 1 on the Custodian Guard Sodality
- OC 4 per model when the squad includes a Vexilia
Okay, so what does that actually look like on the table? Three models at OC 4 with the Vexilla gives you 12 OC sitting on an objective, and anyone trying to take it has to chew through 15 wounds at T7. That’s a lot of plasma going into one objective, and if your opponent has to commit that much just to clear it, the rest of the army gets room to work.
If you remember the 10th Edition Custodes datasheets, Guard were T6 with 3 Wounds and still paying elite-army points for the privilege, now they’ll be tougher, but probably cost more. Custodes also went 7-0 at Manchester recently on the old rules, so they weren’t exactly hurting for wins.
Trajann Valoris Makes Every 2+ Roll Feel Like a Formality
Trajann still looks ridiculous, and GW isn’t exactly being subtle about it. The Watcher’s Axe can tear into battle tanks before any of his abilities get involved, and when something really, absolutely needs to disappear, the Moment Shackle piles on more attacks. On top of all that he hands nearby Custodes re-rolls of 1.
- Watcher’s Axe: tank-killing melee on its own
- Moment Shackle: extra attacks when you need a sure kill
- Captain-General aura: re-roll 1s for nearby Custodes
That aura gets pretty silly when nearly every Custodes model in the book is already hitting on a 2+ with its BS or WS. Re-roll those 1s and you’re down to whiffing one attack in 36.
The last time Trajann’s rules leaked, he was the kind of character you built the whole list around. Nothing here really suggests that’s changing, especially with Custodes already sitting where they are on the 40k tier list.
The Telemon Heavy Dreadnought Now Puts Knights on Notice
Then there’s the Telemon, which just keeps ramping up the stats. The Arachnus storm cannon can chew through hordes like Orks and Tyranids, while the adrathic desolator goes after Terminators, light vehicles, and monsters. Then you get to the Caestus Fists, which are out here threatening Chaos Knights and Greater Daemons.
- Arachnus storm cannon: anti-horde firepower
- Adrathic desolator: anti-elite and light vehicle shooting
- Caestus fists: Knight-level threat, Twin-Linked when you take two
- Defensive profile: T11, 14 Wounds, strong Save and Invulnerable Save, Guardian Eternal, Leadership 5+
T11 plus Guardian Eternal turns the Telemon into a real headache to remove, and with plastic Telemons in the Custodes Support Battle Group, a lot more players are actually going to own two or three of them. If you’re still on the fence about whether to grab the box, this might help you decide.
New Aquilon Terminators Are Super Tough
GW already showed the numbers for the new Aquilon Terminators, and they’re coming in at T8 with six wounds. That’s not the rumored T10, but it’s still a pretty nasty defensive profile for a Terminator unit.
The new plastic kit also has two 40k loadouts: Lastrum storm bolters with Solarite power talons, or Adrathic combi-destructors with Solarite power gauntlets. GW’s clearly positioning Aquilons as the heavier option alongside Allarus Terminators, although points and full weapon rules will decide just how scary they actually are.
We’ve got the full Aquilon Terminators and new Custodes Codex reveal here if you want all the details.
Final Thoughts on the New Custodes Datasheets
We’re still missing Martial Ka’tah, though. It’s sitting on all three datasheets, it was the army rule last edition, and GW says it’s been expanded, with the actual rules landing tomorrow. If it still hands out Sustained Hits or Lethal Hits by stance, well, these profiles could get even scarier.
And yeah, now we want to see the Terminators. Leaks already put Aquilon Terminators at T8 W6, while rumors pushed them toward T10, which makes Guard at T7 look like the floor for this codex. Really, we need the points. That’s what tells us whether being capped at three models is actually worth all of this, and that’s the number we’re waiting to see.
🔗 Related Reads:
- How to Play 40k Adeptus Custodes Codex: Review
- 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
- New Custodes Support Battle Group Box: Review Breakdown
- Space Marines Datasheets Turn Guilliman Into a Full-Time Threat
- Warhammer Big Autumn Preview 2026: Every New Reveal From GW Analyzed
- New Warhammer 40k 2026 Roadmap, 11th Edition Release Schedule
What do you think of the new Custodes datasheets, and is T7 worth the three-model squad cap?
