On Sunday, December 8th, GrimDark Gaming hosted a narrative tournament at the Hobby Bunker in Malden, MA. The format was 3 rounds, 1500 points, no LoW, 2 detachments maximum. Each round was a custom mission centered around the theme that a ship has been destroyed in orbit of the planet Talvir and smaller craft have crash landed on the surface with vital intelligence that is of interest to all parties. More on the specifics of the missions later. The competitors were split into two teams; Protect and Purge.
Overall people mostly brought fluffy lists and the general attitude leaned more towards having fun with the narrative than WAAC. I thought this would be a good even to try out my small force of Adeptus Custodes that I have been slowly building. It started with a set of Custodian Guard from the Burning of Prospero set that I enjoyed painting and slowly grew with some terminators and 3D printed versions of Forgeworld units. At 1500 points, it seemed like a reasonable goal to get everything painted in time for the event. Looking at the missions, I knew I would need some mobility (which is a challenge for Custodes) and since I couldn't really compete on holding many objectives I would have to choose secondaries that focused on killing units. Here is the list I brought:
Custodes Battalion (+5CP)
[HQ] Shield Captain in Terminator Armor w/ Axe
[HQ] Shield Captain in Terminator Armor w/ Axe
[HQ] Shield Captain w/ Spear
[TR] Custodian guard: 2X w/ Spear, 1X w/ Sword and Shield
[TR] Custodian guard: 2X w/ Spear, 1X w/ Sword and Shield
[TR] Custodian guard: 2X w/ Spear, 1X w/ Sword and Shield
[EL] Vexillus Praetor in Terminator Armor w/ Vexilla Magnifica
[HS] Caladius w/ Twin Illiastus Accelerator Cannon and Twin Lastrum Bolt Cannon
[HS] Telemon w/ Arachnus Storm Cannon, Arachnus Storm Cannon, and Spiculus Bolt Launcher
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| Sad Telemon lost an arm |
My general plan was to keep the two terminator shield captains in reserve along with a unit of Custodian Guard using the From Golden Light Stratagem while the rest of the army castled up around the Vexillus Praetor for the -1 to hit bubble with the other two units of Custodians pushing out. The Custodian unit in reserve could come down on an objective with a shield captain and be very hard to shift. The other Shield Captain could either threaten another objective turn two or show up turn three to try for line breaker. As for secondaries that would really depend on the opponents list and how they are deployed since I'm going to be looking for the most amount of the same thing that I can reasonably kill.
Mission 1: Shuttle Crash A courier shuttle has crashed, seize the pilot and their databanks!
Battlefield Setup:
Deployment zones are Front Line Assault (within the lines from 6” forward along the short edges to the point 15” along the short centerline from the long edge of the battlefield). After all deployment concludes, randomly determine a table corner. Place a flying shuttle marker 12”x12” from that corner, adjusting its position by the minimum distance necessary toward table center to not overlap models or impassible terrain. Models may move under the flying shuttle marker and over or onto its base.
Mission Specific Rules:
At the start of battle round 2, the second player rolls a D6. On a 1–2 the shuttle marker scatters toward the diagonally opposite table corner, on a 3–4 it scatters toward the center of one of the far table edges, and on a 5–6 it scatters toward the center of the other far table edge, as shown to the right. Remove the base and place the crashed shuttle marker at the point 3D6 in that direction. Next place 4 escape pod markers 12+2D6” from the shuttle’s final position toward each of the four table corners, rolling the distance for each separately and adjusting the distance by the minimum needed to remain on the board if necessary. Neither shuttle nor debris will crash onto terrain where the models can’t stand. Adjust their final positions by the minimal necessary distance to prevent this. Each model under the shuttle or debris markers’ final positions incurs a S8 AP 0 hit on their unit, with no bonus for cover. Surviving models are displaced the minimum necessary distance to place the shuttle or debris. The crashed shuttle marker is played as Ruin terrain that blocks line of sight. Both it and the debris markers are considered objective markers.
Wounded Pilot. At the end of the first Movement phase in which at least one model has moved within 1” or onto the crashed shuttle marker, the current player places a Wounded Pilot within 1” of any such model. The Wounded Pilot attaches to that unit unless forbidden to do so (e.g., it has Battlefield Role Flyer).
M WS BS S T W A Ld Sv Keywords
Pilot 6" - - 3 3 2 - 6 5+ Infantry, Lucky, Neutral NPC
Lucky. This model has a 6+ invulnerable save.
Neutral NPC. This unit is neither a friendly nor an enemy model. If you have more models within 3" of this model at the start of your turn than your opponent, then the Neutral NPC is considered controlled by a unit of your choosing among those models. You may move, fallback, or advance the Neutral NPC in your subsequent Movement Phase, attempt charges with it in your subsequent Charge Phase,and choose it as a unit to Fight in the subsequent Fight Phase. You may also choose for a Neutral NPC to receive wounds suffered by a unit by which it is controlled. A Neutral NPC may be chosen as a target in the Shooting and Psychic phases if it is visible to the model firing or manifesting and closer to that model than any enemy unit. A Neutral NPC may always be chosen as a target in the Charge and Fight phases.
Primary Objectives At game end if the Wounded Pilot is attached to a unit, then that player has captured or rescued them and earns 3 victory points. Control of the crashed shuttle marker is worth 2 victory points at game end and each escape pod marker 1 victory point. Note that the Wounded Pilot may be killed and therefore points denied. After this game, mark on your army list one INFANTRY CHARACTER to be a Courier. This will come into play for a later mission. The Courier has the intel from the shuttle crash.
So that's a lot of info but TL:DR a shuttle crashes in a random spot and some escape pods scatter, a pilot pops up when a unit comes into range, points for securing the pilot, shuttle, and escape pods.
My opponent for this game was playing Salamanders with the fun new Master Artisans chapter tactic which is very annoying (re-roll one hit and wound per unit). His list was something like a battalion, Jump Chaplain, Terminator Librarian, Lieutenant, several intercessor units, several tactical squads in rhinos, a Dreadnought, 2 units of Eliminators, 2 units of Infiltrators, and a big unit of jump pack TH/SS assault marines. Target priority was going to be the Eliminators since they can threaten my characters, and the TH/SS guys because they will squish Custodians in combat and move fast.
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| So artisanal |
Deployment: I deployed first. Not knowing where the shuttle was going to come down I deployed my castle in the center of my deployment zone with two Custodian units on the flanks. As planned, I put the two Terminator Shield captains and a unit of Custodians in deep strike to drop in once I knew where the objectives would be.
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| My deployment |
My opponent deployed very aggressively with his Eliminators and Infiltrators in the center of the board and everything else in his deployment zone ready to push forward, Librarian Terminator in deep strike. I think his idea here was to create a deep strike denial bubble of 12" with the Infiltrators and protect the Eliminators from getting charged. However, this actually worked to my advantage as he left nothing in his backfield to deny me from line-breaking later in the game and his Eliminators were an easy target from my big guns.
After deployment we chose secondaries. My opponent chose Chosen Ground: Place a secondary objective marker worth 3 victory points in your opponent’s deployment zone, one in their table half worth 2 victory points, and two anywhere more than 6” outside your deployment zone worth 1 victory point each. Score the given victory points for controlling these at the end of any battle round beginning with the second. Each marker may only be scored once per game.
I chose Seek and Destroy: Choose and declare a Battlefield Role other than Troop or Dedicated Transport. Score 2 victory points for each enemy unit of this role destroyed. I chose Heavy Support since I could draw a clear line of sight to the Eliminators and wanted them dead anyway.
Before the first turn we had to determine where the shuttle crashed. Unfortunately for me it wound up just outside my opponents deployment zone so it would be a foot slog for my two units of Custodians.
My first turn was simple. I advanced the two Custodian Guard squads towards the shuttle and shifted the Caladius closer to the objective that my opponent had placed in my deployment zone to bubble out his deep strikers. I shot everything at the Eliminators. I was able to take out one unit for First Strike and hurt another one.
His first turn was mostly moving up towards the shuttle and his midfield objectives. He got withing range of the shuttle for the Pilot to pop out and join a unit of Tactical Marines. I don't think he was able to do any significant damage in shooting.
Turn two I dropped in the Custodian Guard and Shield Captain as close as I could to the shuttle while the other Custodians continued to rush towards the shuttle. In shooting I cleaned up the remaining Eliminators but couldn't target the Assault Squad because of some Chaplain litany that would only allow me to target them if they were the closest squad. I shot at the Tactical Marines holding the Pilot with my deep strikers and he decided to let the Pilot die along with several Marines. I made my charges and wiped the squad. They finished up sitting on top of the shuttle waiting for the counter punch from the Assault Marines.
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| Coming for that shuttle |
On his turn 2 I expected him to bring in his Librarian into my backfield to score that objective but he ignored it in favor of going for the shuttle. I think this is the big mistake that cost him the game. Even if he didn't make his charge in the Caladius this turn, he definitely would've been able to get to it the following turn to score the objective for 3VP.
So now he had his whole army closing in my my 4 guys. His shooting was again lack luster and he may have killed on guy in one of the units that was advancing forwards. He made his charge with the Assault Marines. The Assault Marines killed off a Custodian but were smacked back very hard and nearly wiped out.
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| Mayhem by the downed shuttle |
On my turn 3 I dropped my remaining Shield Captain behind some terrain in his back line where he couldn't draw line of sight. I focused fire on the Dreadnought and took it out. I killed some Assault Marines and the Librarian and consolidated with my remaining Custodian Guard and uninjured Shield Captain onto the shuttle to brace for the next wave.
His turn 3, as expected, everything closed in on the remaining Custodian Guard and Shield Captain on the shuttle. These guys tanked a bunch of saves and managed to last long enough to contest the objective at the end of the turn. The game ended here due to time constraint. If it had gone on another turn I may have been able to finally get my other two Custodian Guard units into the fight and continue contesting the objective if not holding it outright.
I won this game by several points.
Key Takeaways: This was my first time ever using Custodes and I really didn't have enough respect for how tough these guys are. Throwing a shield in every squad to get them to 3++ is a very tough nut to crack. I definitely made the right call on secondaries because there was no way I'd be able to fight for more objectives with such a low model count army and even though the Eliminators had a 1+ save in cover the S7 AP-3 D2 big guns did a great job of removing Primaris. Positioning is also very key with this army. Keeping the Vexilla in position to throw a tanglefoot grenade to make a deep striking charge into the Caladius impossible will probably be important in the future.
Mission 2: Refinery Your army ain’t going nowhere without fuel, top up!
Battlefield Setup:
Deployment zones are Search and Destroy Place 4 fuel tank markers on the table: One in each corner of the battlefield 16” from both edges. Then, each player, starting with the player with Deployment Advantage, places 1 additional fuel tank marker on the table 6" from a table edge , 6" from deployment zones, and 12" from another marker. Fuel tank markers act as objective markers.
Primary Objectives:
Each fuel tank marker begins the game holding a reserve of 3 victory points. At the end of their player turns beginning in the second battle round, players score 1 victory point for each fuel tank marker they control that has any victory points remaining in its reserve. Each marker scored then loses a victory point from its reserve. Controlling a fuel tank marker at game end additionally yields the victory points remaining in its reserve. At the end of game, write down your primary score for you Bulldog Transport for Mission: Escape. This is your fuel for your Bulldog!
TL:DR sit on objectives to get points for keeping your transport alive in the next game.
My opponent in this game was playing pure Thousand Sons. He had a battalion with Ahriman on disk, a sorcerer on disk, a hell-forged Leviathan with Butcher Cannons, a big pack of 10 Scarab Occult Terminators, and three units of rubrics (two in rhinos, one on foot).
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| Insert obligatory dust joke |
Deployment:
I don't remember if I deployed first or second but nothing too interesting to say about deployment other than I used my same deep strike strategy and he put his blob of Terminators in deep strike.
For secondary I chose
Meat Grinder. Score 1 victory point for each opposing Troop or Dedicated Transport unit destroyed. This made 5 points available and with lots of D2 weaponry I could ignore his All is Dust saves. I think he chose the same secondary.
My target priority was the Leviathan and the troops and Rhinos. I took the warlord trait that allows my warlord to deny the witch to try to counter all the psychic shenanigans. This came in very handy.
I also don't remember who went first but turn 1 was everything pushing out towards objectives. I killed a unit of Rubrics with mostly bolter fire but one managed to survive and go score an objective. I knocked a bunch of wounds off the Leviathan with my big guns. He wasn't really able to do much damage this turn. On turn 2 I dropped my deep strikers into his backfield to go after the objectives there and kill Rubrics and Rhinos. He dropped in his Terminators far back and away from my deployment zone since a unit of Custodians had a good denial bubble. They killed that unit of Custodians in shooting. He attempted to charge the other unit of Custodians and the Telemon with his sorcerer on disk but the overwatch from the Telemon was enough to kill him before he made it in. This was lucky for me because that would have shut down the Telemon from shooting in the next turn.
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| Photo taken through the fuzziness of the Warp |
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| Two Custodians are not gonna have a good time |
On the other side of the board my Custodian Guard and Shield Captain made it into combat with the Rhino and crushed it. This put them on an objective. Ahriman charged into them the following turn and did not have a good time. In that same turn I killed a bunch of Terminators and the rest fell to morale. The rest of the game was him picking up the rest of his units. I think it only went to turn 4.
This game went really well for me considering I expected the psychic phase to be much more brutal. He probably should've split the Terminators into two squads to avoid that morale problem.
Mission 3: Escape
You have the intel, and you have the fuel for the Bulldog. Time to escape with the intel!
Battlefield Setup:
Deployment zones are Dawn of War: Up to 12” from the long edges of the battlefield. Before deployment each player’s army gains a Bulldog Transport as a separate detachment of its own:
M WS BS S T W A Ld Sv Keywords
Bulldog Transport 12” - - 6 7 12 - 6 3+ Vehicle, Transport (6 Infantry Models), Smoke Launchers (4), Advanced Repair Systems, On Assignment, Fuel
Smoke Launchers (4). Up to four times per game, this model may use its smoke launchers in your shooting phase. If you do so, your opponent must subtract 1 from all hit rolls against this model from shooting attacks until your next turn.
Advanced Repair Systems. Roll a D6 at the start of each of your turns; on a 6 this model regains up to two lost wounds.
On Assignment. This unit is taken to have whatever faction keywords are shared by all of the units in your army list and receive faction rules and chapter tactics. For the purposes of Space Marines, the Bulldog has the "Angels of Death" Special Rule.
Fuel. The Bulldog has a starting fuel equal to the number of PRIMARY VICTORY POINTS FOR MISSION 2 . For every time the bulldog moves more than half of its movement characteristic, the Bulldog uses one fuel. If the Bulldog advances, it uses two instead.
Mission Specific Rules:
Bulldog Transports must be the first units placed in deployment and set up w holly within 6 ” of the edge of the battlefield containing the longest extent of t heir player’s deployment zone. They do not count toward any secondary objective but do count toward First Blood and Linebreaker.
Bulldog Transports and Couriers may exit the battle by moving off the edge of the battlefield opposite their starting position. They do not count as destroyed and do count toward Linebreaker if they do so. They must be on the table for at least two turns first.
Primary Objective:
Players score 3 victory points if at the end of game if their courier with the Intel is alive, within 6" of the opposite table edge, and/or moved off the table per mission specific rules. If the enemy courier is killed in this battle, score 3 victory points. Also, for every 4 wounds taken off the enemy's Bulldog Transport, score 1 victory point.
TL:DR Keep your bulldog alive and kill the other guys, get your courier off the opposing board edge. Both my opponent and I misinterpreted this and thought it was advantageous to get your bulldog off the table so that's what we were both trying to do.
My opponent for this game was playing Raven Guard and his list relied heavily on nailing the deployment phase. He had a battalion with Shrike, Smash Captain, Jump Chaplain, 4 units of Scouts, 2 Land Speeder Storms, 3 units of Eliminators, and 3 shooty flyers.
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| Steve's great looking army |
Deployment: He deployed first and was very thoughtful and meticulous about where he placed his units. He spread out his Eliminators with one unit close to either board edge and one in the middle. Shrike and the Storms full of scouts hung back on the left side while the Scouts on foot deployed on the right side in the middle of the board. His Chaplain and Smash Captain deployed with the Scouts on the right.
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| Just gonna chill over here |
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| Rex Bannerman bans line of sight to Eliminators |
This is another game where I was worried about the Eliminators threatening the characters in my castle. To mitigate this I fully deployed on the far right side of my deployment zone to nullify one unit of Eliminators. I also chose this side because I planned to take Meat Grinder as a secondary again and target the scouts with my Custodian Guard while my big guns picked off the Storms from long range.
For his secondary he chose
Control the Field. Each table quarter in which you have a scoring unit and your opponent does not, or you have an Objective Secured Unit & your opponent does not, is worth 3 victory points at game end.
I took first turn and blew up a Storm and killed an Eliminator. The scouts that came out of the Storm hid in a ruin to deny me a secondary point for the whole game. My bulldog advanced up towards the other board edge (it did the same thing all game). On his first turn his flyers closed in on my castle but were only able to do a little damage to the bulldog because I was tanking saves. He failed to damage any of my units with any shooting. He charged his Smash Captain and Chaplain into my castle to lock up the Telemon and try to kill the Caladius. He took the Caladius down to 4 wounds and I killed his Chaplain with my Shield Captain who heroically intervened. He spent the CP to have his Smash Captain fight again but the Caladius managed to survive with 1 wound left. My Telemon was trapped in a corner and couldn't fall back so he stayed locked in combat.
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| All up in my face |
On my turn 2 my Caladius fell back and a unit of Custodian Guard came back to bail out the Telemon. The other unit of Guard pushed up to take on the midfield Scouts. My deep striking Custodian Guard and Shield Captain dropped in to intercept his bulldog which was being escorted by Shrike, also his courier. I dropped my other Shield Captain who was also the courier on the far left side where he just had a unit of Eliminators and took some pot shots at them. He just needs to survive the turn then run off the board next turn. I wiped a unit of Scouts in shooting and picked off the other Storm with the Caladius. The deep strikers failed to make it into combat with Shrike who was cowardly standing on top of a container but did make it into the scouts that came out of the wrecked Storm. Those Scouts were able to stand firm. I took out his Smash Captain in combat on the other side of the board.
On his turn his flyers shuffled around but their shooting was still mostly ineffective due to my ability to make tons of saves. Admittedly my dice rolling in this game was on fire. He got Shrike into combat with the Shield Captain and Custodian Guard and was able to wipe the squad and put a few wounds on the Shield Captain. I punched back but failed to wound.
On turn 3 I cleaned up the remaining Scouts on the right side and started working on the Eliminators while making sure I was line-breaking. My bulldog drove off the board this turn. I killed Shrike in combat for Slay the Warlord but he used a stratagem to fight with Shrike and kill my Shield Captain to also get Slay the Warlord. I forgot to use Shoulder the Mantle to deny him that VP.
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| Warlord showdown |
His turn was mostly shuffling around to get units in each table corner for his secondary. I'm pretty sure this game went 4 turns and I'm combining some of these turns in my memory but it was a month ago so it's the best I can do.
At the end of the game I was up but a couple a VP. Very close game and tactical with movement and positioning. This was the only game where I actually lost a full unit of Custodian Guard and a Shield Captain.
All in all it was a great tournament and a fun first outing for my Custodes. I definitely need to remember to use some of those stratagems. I'm happy with how my strategy panned out over the three games but I would like to see how this army performs in an ITC format. I'm working my way towards a 2000 point list with some Vertus Praetors and Trajaan Valoris.
That's a very long first post but hopefully future posts will be shorter. I'm planning to post about the paint scheme for my Custodes as well as some more specifics on working with 3D printed models.
