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If you are starting a dedicated Horus Heresy Legio Custodes force, buy the Legio Custodes Battle Group first. Games Workshop presents it as a foundation for a Talons of the Emperor army, and its published contents cover command, infantry, anti-armour firepower and a heavy melee threat. If you already own a Loyalist army, the same box can instead serve as the core of a Custodes allied detachment. Your next purchase should be chosen only after deciding which of those two jobs the collection must perform.
Decide whether you need an army or an allied detachment
The right first purchase depends less on a shopping list than on the role you want Custodes to play. A dedicated Legio Custodes force needs enough units to function as your main army. An allied contingent is deliberately smaller: it adds selected Custodes capabilities to an existing Loyalist force without replacing that army’s normal structure.
| Question | Dedicated Custodes army | Loyalist allied contingent |
|---|---|---|
| What you already own | You are building the force from the ground up, or Custodes will be your principal army. | You already have another Loyalist army that supplies the main force. |
| What the first purchase must do | Provide a balanced starting collection with command, core infantry and tools for hard targets. | Provide the specific Custodes units permitted in the allied structure and complement your existing army. |
| How much of the collection you need immediately | More units will be needed as you develop the army beyond the initial foundation. | You can stop after the contingent meets the role you wanted, then expand only if you want more Custodes on the table. |
| Rules requirement | Talons of the Emperor supplement plus the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Age of Darkness Rulebook. | The same supplement and core rulebook, with the allied rules applied to your Loyalist army. |
The March 2026 Games Workshop allied-army guide identifies a Shield Captain for the Command slot and Custodian and Sentinel Guard Sodalities for Troops slots. It also states that Custodes are loyal to the Emperor and cannot be selected as Traitor allies. That makes the allegiance check a first-step rules decision, not a detail to solve after buying models.
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Games Workshop describes the Legio Custodes Battle Group as a solid foundation for either a dedicated Talons of the Emperor army or an allied force. Quinn, a Games Workshop Horus Heresy games developer associated with the Liber Custodes book, calls it “an incredibly solid foundation” for both uses. That is the manufacturer’s guidance; it is not an independent tournament test, a points-efficiency analysis or a guarantee of battlefield performance.
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The box is useful as a starting point because its published unit mix spans several jobs rather than concentrating on one type of model:
- Custodian and Sentinel Guard: a hard-hitting infantry core for occupying objectives and delivering close-range pressure.
- Shield Captain: a command character that gives the collection an identifiable leader from the start.
- Caladius Annihilator Grav-tank: a dedicated armoured platform intended to challenge heavy enemy vehicles.
- Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought: a powerful melee-oriented threat that can also contribute to the army’s answer to armoured targets.
Those descriptions are the roles Games Workshop assigns in its buying guidance. They should help you decide whether the contents match your games, but they do not establish a numerical win rate, a points advantage or a current retail value.
What each included role contributes
Custodian Guard and Sentinel Guard as the core
Infantry is the part of the Battle Group that gives a new army bodies with which to contest the mission. Custodian Guard provide the main Custodes presence, while Sentinel Guard add another form of elite infantry to the same foundation. The important buying implication is that you are not starting with a character and a vehicle alone; you receive a core around which later detachments and support choices can be planned.
For an allied player, these units are also the entries explicitly identified as Troops choices in the March 2026 guide. That makes them the natural first check against your intended allied structure. Confirm the current wording in the guide and your army’s detachment rules before assembling a list, because the permitted slot is what determines whether a purchase can actually perform the job you want.
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Shield Captain for command
The Shield Captain gives the first collection a command slot and a clear leader. In an allied detachment, Games Workshop’s March 2026 guide specifically places the Shield Captain in the Command slot. In a dedicated army, the model can anchor the initial force while you learn how your infantry and heavier units operate together.
Caladius Annihilator Grav-tank for heavy targets
The Caladius Annihilator is the Battle Group’s explicit answer to heavy enemy vehicles in the manufacturer’s description. That does not mean every opposing army requires one, or that the tank solves all anti-armour problems by itself. It means the starting box includes a unit intended to challenge a target category that elite infantry may not handle efficiently. If your local opponents rarely field vehicles, consider that role before buying a second armoured unit.
Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought for melee pressure
The Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought gives the collection a heavy close-combat threat. It changes the way an opponent must approach your infantry because the army is not represented solely by foot troops. Treat it as a role piece: its value in your collection is the pressure and threat range Games Workshop associates with the unit, not an unverified promise of damage output.
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The cited Talons of the Emperor PDF is version 1.1. It contains the Legio Custodes and Anathema Psykana army lists and rules for including Divisio Assassinorum agents in Loyalist armies. The document says it contains the units and rules needed to select a complete Legio Custodes army, and it includes rules for Sisters of Silence detachments and Loyalist Assassin inclusion.
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It is a supplement, not a standalone ruleset. The PDF says you need the Warhammer: The Horus Heresy – Age of Darkness Rulebook for full use. Plan that rulebook into your first-game budget and setup even if the models are already assembled. Owning the models without the core rules leaves you unable to use the army rules as intended.
What the supplement enables later
The rules coverage gives you two expansion directions without requiring an immediate second purchase. Sisters of Silence can become a later Anathema Psykana component, while Divisio Assassinorum agents can be included in Loyalist armies under the supplement’s provisions. The available material establishes those rules pathways, but it does not establish a current price, stock status or exact retail contents for those additions.
A purchase sequence for a dedicated force
Use this sequence if Custodes will be your primary Horus Heresy army. It prevents you from buying specialist units before you know which part of the force is missing.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware match- Confirm allegiance and rules. Decide that the army is Loyalist, obtain the version 1.1 Talons of the Emperor material and have the Age of Darkness Rulebook available.
- Buy the Legio Custodes Battle Group. Treat it as the initial collection rather than assuming it is a complete long-term army. Its published mix supplies a leader, infantry, a grav-tank and a dreadnought.
- Assemble and learn the core. Play games using the Custodian and Sentinel Guard as the infantry foundation. Identify whether your tables and opponents expose a shortage of board presence, ranged anti-armour capability or close-combat reach.
- Choose the next unit by a demonstrated gap. If games show that you need more infantry for multiple objectives, add the appropriate legal Troops or support choice from the current army list. If vehicles are the recurring problem, investigate the legal heavy options. If your force needs a different mission role, consult the list before buying another premium unit.
- Add Sisters of Silence or an Assassin only for a specific plan. The supplement supports those directions, but neither should be an automatic second purchase. Select them when their rules solve a problem your first games actually reveal.
This method keeps the Battle Group as your stable core while allowing the rest of the army to respond to your play environment. The rules document, rather than a generic online shopping list, should decide whether a prospective unit is legal and what slot it occupies.
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A purchase sequence for a Loyalist allied contingent
Choose this route when another Loyalist army is already your main force. The objective is not to recreate a full Custodes army beside it; it is to buy the smallest coherent group that meets the allied rules and adds the capability you want.
- Write down the job of the allies. Decide whether you want an elite infantry presence, a command model, a hard target for opponents to answer, or a combination that your main army cannot provide.
- Check the March 2026 allied guidance. The guide names the Shield Captain for the Command slot and Custodian and Sentinel Guard Sodalities for Troops slots. Confirm that your planned detachment uses those slots correctly.
- Verify allegiance. Custodes are loyal to the Emperor and cannot be taken as Traitor allies. A Traitor main army therefore cannot use this route under the stated guidance.
- Use the Battle Group only if its mix suits the intended contingent. Its broader contents may be an efficient starting point for a player who wants more than the minimum allied presence, but the appropriate size depends on the army you already own.
- Stop when the allied role is complete. You do not need to expand into every Custodes unit simply because the supplement offers more options.
For an allied buyer, the Battle Group is therefore a flexible option rather than an unconditional answer. If you only need the named Command and Troops entries, compare the box’s full role mix with your actual list before committing to it.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to choose between buying the box and buying individual directions later
The available official guidance supports the Battle Group as a foundation, but it does not provide current regional pricing or a price-per-model calculation. Do not infer value from an old article, a foreign web store or a temporary promotion. Check the live product listing and a local retailer for the region in which you will buy.
| If your priority is… | Start by asking… | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| A complete starting identity for Custodes | Will I use the infantry, command model, grav-tank and dreadnought in the same army? | The Battle Group’s published mix is designed to establish several battlefield roles at once. |
| A very small allied presence | Do I need only the Shield Captain and one or more legal Sodalities? | A full Battle Group may contain more roles than your allied list requires. |
| Immediate anti-armour capability | Does my intended list have a legal place for the Caladius Annihilator? | The tank is presented as the heavy-vehicle challenge unit, but the army structure must support it. |
| Future Talons expansion | Do I want Sisters of Silence or Loyalist Assassin options later? | The supplement provides rules pathways for both, so you can plan without buying them immediately. |
Because no current price or availability figure is established here, the responsible comparison is role coverage and rules fit, not a made-up savings claim. Retail stock, regional currency and box contents can change; verify all three at checkout.
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Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Buying for a Traitor army
The March 2026 guide’s allegiance restriction is decisive: Custodes are loyal to the Emperor and cannot be taken as Traitor allies. If your main force is Traitor, do not purchase an allied Custodes package expecting it to be legal.
Treating the supplement as the complete rules set
Talons of the Emperor version 1.1 requires the Age of Darkness Rulebook. Obtain both before list building and check that you are using the same current version of the supplement throughout your army.
Assuming official role descriptions are performance statistics
“Hard-hitting,” “solid foundation” and “able to challenge heavy enemy vehicles” are Games Workshop’s descriptive guidance. They are not published points-efficiency figures, win rates or laboratory measurements. Use them to identify roles, then test your own list in games.
Buying specialist additions without a role
Sisters of Silence and Divisio Assassinorum agents are supported directions in the rules, but neither is an automatic upgrade. Add one when you can state which legal slot and battlefield problem it addresses.
Relying on stale retail information
Current regional price and availability were not established in the cited guidance. Check a local retailer and the current manufacturer listing for live stock, contents and currency instead of treating an old price as a promise.
Pre-purchase checklist
- Have you decided between a dedicated Custodes army and a Loyalist allied contingent?
- Is your planned army Loyalist, as required for the stated allied rules?
- Do you own or plan to obtain the Age of Darkness Rulebook as well as Talons of the Emperor version 1.1?
- For a dedicated army, will you use all four published Battle Group roles: infantry core, Shield Captain, Caladius Annihilator and Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought?
- For allies, do the Shield Captain and Custodian or Sentinel Guard Sodalities fit the Command and Troops slots in your intended detachment?
- Have you checked live local pricing, stock and box contents?
- Can you name the specific army gap that your second purchase will fill?
Bottom line for your first purchase
Start a dedicated Horus Heresy Custodes army with the Legio Custodes Battle Group, then expand from the gaps revealed by your first games. Start an allied force only after confirming that your main army is Loyalist and that the named Custodes units fit its allied structure. In either case, pair the version 1.1 supplement with the Age of Darkness Rulebook, and treat current retail details as something to verify locally rather than assume.
Quick Recap
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