Is the Caladius as busted as people say they are? It’s no debate that these tanks have made a name for themselves in 40k’s meta, but are they next?
The appeal to the Caladius is that they’re a fantastic weapon platform for the points. They have the FLY keyword which means you can fall back and shoot. And even come with a nice 5++ invuln. While the tanks may be cheap for what you normally pay for in the Custodes’ roster, are they as busted as people say?
Sure hitting on 2’s re-rolling 1’s (to hit and potentially to wound), for the most part, is great. However, with great power comes an even greater overall great point cost as well.
Maybe, more importantly, in the wake of the new Space Marine codex, are they still as busted as we think? Let’s take a look:
Option #1 on Bringing Caladiuses
For 210 pts, you get all of that firepower and a decently-tanky body. That may look like a great cost. But one thing to consider is that you have to fill out a detachment for matched-play games. The cheapest/highest-value way to do it is to bring a Spearhead detachment with three of these and take an HQ choice (most people choose Trajann for the CP regen/strike twice and aura rerolls).
Some players are even throwing in a Vexilla Magnifica for the -1 to hit bubble. But that’s when things start getting pricey:
- Trajann
- Vexilla Magnifica
- 3x Calaiduses
total pts: 937
Looking at a 2k list, that’s already half of your resources that are gone into five models. On top of that, you still need to think about stashing away another 85 pts for the 2cp cherry-pick your very own Assassin strat.
Of course, if you build your list with these components, you’re almost forced to turtle up and make the most of the characters. You’ll almost always have the three Caladiuses with their butts backed up into the Vexilla/Trajann’s face. If you do this, you make the most of your shots and have more survivability. However, you limit your firing lanes and are nowhere near as reactive as some lists like Orks can be.
Option #2 on Bringing Caladiuses
If you want to be more mobile, you can drop the Vexilla and swap Trajann with a bare-bones Shield-Captain on Bike. That way, you’ll at least have a solid pseudo-Smash Captain to run down mid-field and intercept stuff.
If you go this route, you’ll be a lot more mobile, you’ll have way more firing options (assuming you spread your tanks), but won’t have as much of the value.
Your tanks will be more susceptible to getting picked off one by one and you will never see as much potential fulfilled out of these guys as the first option. This option only costs 790 pts. That’s still slightly more than a third of your army. However, at least you’re making the most of the Caladius unit allotment.
If you wanted to make the 2nd list option even cheaper, you could take the Shield-Captain off of his bike and try to have him keep up with at least one tank all-game which is a thought. But again, you won’t be quite as reactive and you’ll still need to put more points into intercepting units like Smash Captains somewhere else.
Option #3 on Bringing Caladiuses
Or you can take an on-foot version to give you double re-roll bubbles and twice the spread to throw those tanglefoot grenades that can really trip up assaults on your tanks.
Overall, Caladiuses are definitely good. There’s no questioning that. However, when you realize that they are taking up almost an entire half of player’s lists, they may seem a lot less “busted”.
It comes down to having the ability to prioritize targets and having some hot rolls in the process. With that being said, what’s the best way you’ve found to deal with Caladius spam lists?
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About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
