The entire 2000 point force is only 25 models. This includes four characters and six bikers, and includes every unique unit in the codex including the only named character they have. Not only do I accomplish my goal of a fully painted army, but I also accomplish my preference of showing off a little of everything from an army (too many years of painting display case armies, I suppose).
It's also a cheaper army to build and paint. This army is one blister of Trajann, two boxes of Custodian Guard, one box of Wardens, two boxes of Allarus Terminators, and two boxes of Vertas Praetors. Money-wise, that's only $500 with taxes! And we know that GW armies aren't typically that... affordable. For the paints, it was only 17 colors, plus three if you count the flesh-tones that I had to sneak in there. Including the two spray-paints (the cheap primer and the GW gold) and the basing materials, the hobby supplies come out to around $140. Luckily, most of us wargamers have gobs of paints and other hobby materials already. Three weeks of work and only a few c-bills to get a super-elite, good-looking army ready for the tabletop? I'd say this project was a victory, despite the schedule creep.
But none of this really matters without the part that everyone really cares about, right? That's right- the army list. Those previous posts already explained the rules for each of the units, so now it's just a matter of sharing the whole thing put together.
The army listCustodes Battalion Detachment
-Captain-General Trajann Valoris 185 pts
-Shield-Captain with Castellan Axe and Misericordia 118pts
-three Custodian Guard with Guardian Spears 156 pts
-three Custodian Guard with Guardian Spears 156 pts
-three Custodian Guard with Guardian Spears 156 pts
-three Vertus Praetors with one Salvo Launcher 275 pts
-three Vertus Praetors with one Salvo Launcher 275 pts
Custodes Vanguard Detachment
-Shield-captain with Castellan Axe in Allarus Terminator armor 124 pts
-three Allarus Custodians with Castellan Axes and Misericordias 249 pts
-three Custodian Wardens with Castellan Axes and Misericordias 183 pts
-Vexillus Praetor with Guardian Spear and Vexillan Magnifica 122 pts
Total 1999 pts, 10 Command Points
The concept
Well, I already mentioned that I like to include a little of everything from a codex. This allows for the player to 'test out' certain units and get a feel if they want to buy them. Plus, I can't tell you the number of times that we'd have an argument about which unit could stomp which unit, resulting in pulling models from the display cabinets and handfuls of dice...
But I really did think this through as I was lucky enough to have an entire army but no more. The Vertus Praetors are the best unit in the army and often allied with other Imperial forces to take advantage of their potency. So they were obviously the first unit that I had to double up. One of the models is built with a bare head, giving me the option to also play that one as a Shield-captain on Dawneagle Jetbike and still having a sizable unit of bikers still to use. Two of the models between the two units have Salvo Launchers, which I think will be really useful for popping Flyers and those monstrous targets with a lot of wounds. And if I don't have the points (which I thought I didn't but then remembered math), it's easy to explain them away as Hurricane Bolters...The next unit I thought about picking up multiples of was Terminators. I'm a HUGE Terminator fan and have multiple units for every army that can, including a Deathwing army and half the Ultramarines' First Company. While they may not be very popular in the meta, Terminators have a role to play in this army as both deep-striking-objective claimers and bringers of the horde tar-pit (between grenade launchers and a ton of attacks, they can hold other units up for a while!). More than anything, I just love Terminators and this army is no different.
The Custodian Guard were the hardest part as a) I only had two boxes worth between the Talons of the Emperor box and the Prospero HH game set, and b) they may be three-man-minimums, but I'm always a fan of at least five. As it turns out, the points worked out the conundrum for me and led me to the MSU style that my army uses and the codex encourages. Remember that a single box of Guardians makes a three-man squad, a captain, and a Vexilla-bearer. And nine T5, 2+ wounds isn't bad for just over 150 points...The characters were obvious. Everyone says that the Vexilla Magnifica is the go-to because this army needs all the help avoiding getting shot off the table it can get. If the standard-bearer is allied with an Imperial force, then the banner can be 'upgraded' tot he Vexilla Imperialis, which gives a 5+ invulnerable save to Imperials within 9". Not bad, but not necessary in a Custodes army as everyone has a 5++ already (and a 4++ in an all-Custodes detachment!). I went with captains on foot because they were cheaper and gave out the rerolls to the units that needed them most- the infantry. But including Trajann Valoris was the "cherry on top". I already love using Lord Calgar in my Ultramarines (despite my decades of anti-special character rants) and it makes sense to keep that theme going. Plus, he's just really, really good.
That's it! My rationale for the army is mostly based on wanting variety and having the cool stuff in there. The first battle is going to be against Death Guard and that should be really interesting. I think that I will be destroyed utterly because the army isn't really... substantial. But we'll see in an upcoming post!
Let me know what you've been working on while patiently waiting for me to catch up. This is the end of the first quarter of the year and I finished my first of four painted armies. On track so far...
Happy Hobbying!
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