This week’s Grown Men Playing With Toys’ Battle Report features the Adeptus Custodes Lions of the Emperor and Might of the Moritoi playing Disruption against the Thousand Sons Rubricae Phalanx playing Take and Hold. As backdrop for the game….
The Adeptus Custodes do not leave Terra without reason. They are the Emperor’s own, each one a masterwork of genetic and biological engineering that took decades to create, and they do not spend themselves lightly. When the Custodes take the field, it is because whatever waits on the other side has been judged a threat significant enough to warrant their personal attention.
Ahriman has heard that his brothers are a threat to the Imperium before. The most brilliant sorcerer the Thousand Sons ever produced has withstood the burning of Prospero and has fought the Custodes before. Behind him march the Rubricae, echoes of men who once were brilliant and are now shells of ceramite and dust animated by sorcery and sealed forever in armor that was supposed to save them. They do not tire. They do not fear. They do not stop.
The Custodes bring perfection forged in the Emperor’s image. The Thousand Sons bring an eternal magic that curdled into something the Emperor would not recognize.
They said we’re too old, but we said “hold our dice”…..as we find out whether the Emperor’s golden guardians can silence Ahriman’s endless pursuit of forbidden knowledge or whether the Architect of Fate has already seen how this ends….
JUMP TO:
Adeptus Custodes Specific Strategies
Thousand Sons Specific Strategies
RULES / POINTS VERSION:
11th Edition, 2026-2027 Chapter Approved
July 2026 Rules and MFM Update
MATCHUP:
| Faction: | Detachment: | Force Disposition: |
| Adeptus Custodes | Lions of the Emperor and Might of the Moritoi | Disruption |
| VS | ||
| Faction: | Detachment: | Force Disposition: |
| Thousand Sons | Rubricae Phalanx | Take and Hold |
MISSION:
| Category | Details |
| Adeptus Custodes Primary | Death Trap |
| Thousand Sons Primary | Determined Acquisition |
| Terrain Layout | Layout B |
| Deployed First | Thousand Sons |
| First Turn | Adeptus Custodes |
| Adeptus Custodes Secondaries | Tactical |
| Thousand Sons Secondaries | Tactical |
LISTS:
Adeptus Custodes:
List
Adeptus Custodes
Lions of the Emperor and Might of the Moritoi (3 Detachment Points)
Disruption
Strike Force (2,000 Points)
ATTACHED UNITS
Attached unit 1
Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour (155 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• Warlord
• 1x Balistus grenade launcher
• 1x Guardian spear
• Enhancements: Superior Creation
Allarus Custodians (330 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard ()
• 6x Allarus Custodian
◦ 6x Balistus grenade launcher
◦ 6x Guardian spear
Attached unit 2
Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike (170 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Interceptor lance
• 1x Vertus hurricane bolter
• Enhancements: Admonimortis
Vertus Praetors (215 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard ()
• 3x Vertus Praetor
◦ 3x Interceptor lance
◦ 3x Vertus hurricane bolter
Attached unit 3
Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike (165 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Interceptor lance
• 1x Vertus hurricane bolter
• Enhancements: Praesidius
Vertus Praetors (215 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard ()
• 3x Vertus Praetor
◦ 3x Interceptor lance
◦ 3x Vertus hurricane bolter
OTHER DATASHEETS
Caladius Grav-tank (225 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
• 1x Twin arachnus heavy blaze cannon
• 1x Twin lastrum bolt cannon
Caladius Grav-tank (225 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
• 1x Twin arachnus heavy blaze cannon
• 1x Twin lastrum bolt cannon
Telemon Heavy Dreadnought (250 Points)
• 2x Arachnus storm cannon
• 1x Armoured feet
• 1x Spiculus bolt launcher
• Enhancements: Interred Expertise (Upgrade)
Witchseekers (50 Points)
• 1x Witchseeker Sister Superior
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Witchseeker flamer
• 3x Witchseeker
◦ 3x Close combat weapon
◦ 3x Witchseeker flamer
Note: I am in the process of repainting my Custodes and they aren’t quite done yet.
Thousand Sons:
List
Thousand Sons
Rubricae Phalanx (3 Detachment Points)
Take and Hold
Strike Force (2,000 Points)
ATTACHED UNITS
Attached unit 1
Ahriman (100 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• Warlord
• 1x Black Staff of Ahriman
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
• 1x Transmogrifying Blast
Rubric Marines (100 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Aspiring Sorcerer
◦ 1x Force weapon
◦ 1x Inferno bolt pistol
◦ 1x Malefic Curse
• 4x Rubric Marine
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Icon of Flame
◦ 3x Inferno boltgun
◦ 1x Soulreaper cannon
Attached unit 2
Exalted Sorcerer (120 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Astral Blast
• 1x Force weapon
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
• Enhancements: Risen Rubricae
Rubric Marines (190 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Aspiring Sorcerer
◦ 1x Force weapon
◦ 1x Inferno bolt pistol
◦ 1x Malefic Curse
• 9x Rubric Marine
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Icon of Flame
◦ 9x Warpflamer
Attached unit 3
Exalted Sorcerer (90 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Astral Blast
• 1x Force weapon
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
Rubric Marines (200 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Aspiring Sorcerer
◦ 1x Force weapon
◦ 1x Inferno bolt pistol
◦ 1x Malefic Curse
• 9x Rubric Marine
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Icon of Flame
◦ 9x Warpflamer
Attached unit 4
Infernal Master (110 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Fires of the Abyss
• 1x Force weapon
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
• Enhancements: Lord of the Rubricae
Rubric Marines (100 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Aspiring Sorcerer
◦ 1x Force weapon
◦ 1x Inferno bolt pistol
◦ 1x Malefic Curse
• 4x Rubric Marine
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Icon of Flame
◦ 3x Inferno boltgun
◦ 1x Soulreaper cannon
Attached unit 5
Infernal Master (95 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Fires of the Abyss
• 1x Force weapon
• 1x Inferno bolt pistol
Rubric Marines (110 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Aspiring Sorcerer
◦ 1x Force weapon
◦ 1x Inferno bolt pistol
◦ 1x Malefic Curse
• 4x Rubric Marine
◦ 4x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Icon of Flame
◦ 3x Inferno boltgun
◦ 1x Soulreaper cannon
DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
Chaos Rhino (80 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Havoc launcher
• 1x Inferno combi-bolter
• 1x Inferno combi-bolter
Chaos Rhino (80 Points)
• 1x Armoured tracks
• 1x Havoc launcher
• 1x Inferno combi-bolter
• 1x Inferno combi-bolter
OTHER DATASHEETS
Scarab Occult Terminators (385 Points)
• 1x Scarab Occult Sorcerer
◦ 1x Force weapon
◦ 1x Inferno combi-bolter
◦ 1x Malefic Curse
• 9x Scarab Occult Terminator
◦ 2x Hellfyre missile rack
◦ 7x Inferno combi-bolter
◦ 9x Prosperine khopesh
◦ 2x Soulreaper cannon
Tzaangor Enlightened with Fatecaster Greatbows (55 Points)
• 1x Aviarch
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Fatecaster greatbow
• 2x Enlightened
◦ 2x Close combat weapon
◦ 2x Fatecaster greatbow
Tzaangor Enlightened with Fatecaster Greatbows (55 Points)
• 1x Aviarch
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Fatecaster greatbow
• 2x Enlightened
◦ 2x Close combat weapon
◦ 2x Fatecaster greatbow
Tzaangor Enlightened with Fatecaster Greatbows (55 Points)
• 1x Aviarch
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Fatecaster greatbow
• 2x Enlightened
◦ 2x Close combat weapon
◦ 2x Fatecaster greatbow
Tzaangors (75 Points)
• 1x Twistbray
◦ 1x Autopistol
◦ 1x Chainsword
• 9x Tzaangor
◦ 9x Autopistol
◦ 9x Chainsword
FACTION SPECIFIC STRATEGIES:
Adeptus Custodes:
This Adeptus Custodes list is built around a different approach to Lions of the Emperor from how I played it in 10th Edition. Gone are the Custodian Warden bricks that seek to stat check the opponent with a 4+ Feel No Pain before rushing them down and smashing them in combat. Instead, this list is built around speed and flexibility as I really want to try it in Disruption.
On paper, the list has three main threat packages. The first is a Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour leading a full six-man Allarus Custodian squad, which appears to be a slow-moving but extraordinarily durable melee hammer that is designed to hunt Monsters and Vehicles. It is that, but also provides the flexibility of being able to divide up into 7 single model units via Unleash the Lions, 6 of which can go back into Reserves via From Golden Light. I’m not sure how meta they are, but look forward to having fun seeing how flexible I can make that unit.
Beyond that are the two Shield-Captains on Dawneagle Jetbikes leading units of three Vertus Praetors each. Both are there to provide fast, hard-hitting mobile threats that can cover the board and project threat anywhere at any time. The idea with them is to zip in, smash something in shooting and melee before moving back behind cover via the Sweeping Advance ability.
Lastly, the list features more ranged shooting than is usual for Custodes in the form of two Caladius Grav-tanks and a Telemon Heavy Dreadnought with the Interred Expertise. They are there to gun down any Monsters or Vehicles, the Caladius tanks, and to handle any Horde units, the Telemon, while being hard to kill in return.
The list’s Force Disposition is Disruption, which I am hoping will reward the list’s mobility and flexibility.
Win Condition: Generically speaking, this list wins by slicing in and out of combat like a scalpel. It wants to isolate its targets from the main host like a pack of wolves hunting prey and then take them down 1 or 2 at a time before retreating back to safety. That means it wins by killing the right units at the right time and by eliminating the opponent’s ability to score secondaries or do actions.
For this matchup, the Custodes win this game by being patient and methodical. The Thousand Sons list will seek to build a wall of Rubricae that is durable, hard to shift, and heavily supported by Psykers. It also has the capability to do a lot of damage all at once in both players’ turns, which could be devastating for a Custodes force that does not have a lot of models. The Custodes cannot afford to smash headlong into a prepared position or full Rubric Overwatch on an Objective. Instead, they need to outflank and threaten objectives the Thousand Sons cannot ignore, force the Rubricae to move out of their optimal positions. This should make for a very interesting game given that the primary mission is all about the Custodes doing actions in terrain in order to lure their opponent onto those terrain pieces and objectives. The Custodes will have to be smart about what units are doing the actions vs what units are prepared to punish the Thousand Sons when they come to clear or those objectives out again. They also will need to castle up a bit more than I usually prefer to and make the Thousand Sons come to them.
What I Want to Work On This Game: I really want to see if I can get maximum impact out of the Unleash the Lions and From Golden Light combination. It is so cool in theory and I want to see if I can time it right to work in this game.
| Category | Description |
| Leader / Bodyguard Combos: | Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike with Vertus Praetors 1 |
| Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike with Vertus Praetors 2 | |
| Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour with Allarus Custodians | |
| Key Stratagems: | Manoeuvre and Fire [1CP] Movement phase – WHEN: Your Movement phase, just after an Adeptus Custodes unit from your army Falls Back. TARGET: That Adeptus Custodes unit. EFFECT: Until the end of the turn, your unit is eligible to shoot and declare a charge in a turn in which it Fell Back. |
| Swift as the Eagle [1CP] Opponent’s Shooting phase – WHEN: Your opponent’s Shooting phase, just after an enemy unit has shot. TARGET: One Adeptus Custodes unit from your army (excluding VEHICLE units) that was selected as the target of one or more of the attacking unit’s attacks. EFFECT: Your unit can make a Normal move of up to D6″. | |
| Unstoppable Advance [1CP] Movement phase – WHEN: Your Movement phase, when a friendly ADEPTUS CUSTODES WALKER unit is selected to move. TARGET: That ADEPTUS CUSTODES WALKER unit. EFFECT: Your unit has MOBILE. | |
| Prioritised Eradication [1CP] Shooting phase – WHEN: Your Shooting phase, when a friendly TELEMON HEAVY DREADNOUGHT unit is selected to shoot. TARGET: That TELEMON HEAVY DREADNOUGHT unit. EFFECT: Your unit’s Arachnus Storm Cannon weapons have [RAPID FIRE 6] and Iliastus Accelerator Culverin weapons have [RAPID FIRE 2]. | |
| Gilded Champion [1CP] Any phase – WHEN: Any phase, just after an Adeptus Custodes Character model from your army has used an ability on its datasheet that states it can only be used ‘once per battle’. TARGET: That Adeptus Custodes Character model. EFFECT: Your model can use that ‘once per battle’ ability one additional time during the battle (but not in the same phase). | |
| Key Combos: | Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour + Auramite and Adamantine ability + Strategic Mastery ability + Gilded Champion stratagem Used to “re-rack” their once per game ability for 0 CP once per game. This is very powerful if you can stagger the use of across multiple rounds as “Strategic Mastery” comes with the caveat that it can only be used once per round. It also fits nicely with the Jet Bike Captain’s Sweeping Advance ability. |
| Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour + Allarus Custodians + Strategic Mastery ability + From Golden Light ability + Rapid Ingress stratagem + Unleash the Lions stratagem This is one that I am trying to bring back to see if it will work better in 11th Edition when the Lions are playing Disruption. The idea is to Deep Strike the unit in, then use Strategic Mastery and Unleash the Lions to split the unit into 7 individual units, 6 of which can Uppy Downy next turn to spread all over the board in the late game. | |
| Telemon Heavy Dreadnought + March of the Honoured Dead detachment rule + Interred Expertise (Upgrade) enhancement + Prioritised Eradication stratagem This one is new to this list and I am very excited to try it out. It results in a Telemon that can put out 36 shots with its Arachnus Storm Cannon with re-roll 1’s to Hit and Wound. It is dependent upon getting with 12 inches of the opponent to maximize the shot count, which is dangerous against the Warpflamer Rubric units, but could do some serious work into those larger bricks when it does go off. |
Thousand Sons:
This Thousand Sons list is built to be a wall of flame, magic, and dust. It has five units of Rubric Marines, supported by five characters and backed by a Death Star of Deep Striking Scarab Occult Terminators. Two of the Rubric Marines units are maxed out with Warpflamers and paired with the Exhalted Sorcerers in order to give them maximum durability and the ability to Heal models. They also serve as a major Overwatch threat, especially to anything that ends their Movement Phase on an Objective.
Two of the other Rubrics are armed with Inferno Boltguns and will go in the two Rhinos with the Infernal Masters. Their job will be to attack the opponent’s Expansion Objective and to go hunting for the opponent’s Action Monkey units. The Tzaangor and Tzaangor Enlightened are in the list to do actions and to bait the opponent into coming into the range of the Rubrics’ guns. Lastly, the Scarab Occult Terminators are the “hammer unit” that is there to drop out of Deep Strike, ideally into the opponent’s back field, and reign destruction.
The list is designed to be precise, methodical, and, once the opponent makes a mistake, incredibly explosive.
The Force Disposition is Take and Hold, which I am hoping aligns with the list’s fundamental game plan to incrementally move up the board, taking objectives and killing enemies as it goes.
Win Condition: Generically, this list is designed to bait the opponent into making the first mistake and then to flame, spell, and bolter them to death when they do. It is designed to only do the bare minimum in the early game and then to explode with damage and board control as the game progresses.
For this matchup, the primary mission seems to match what this list wants to do. It will reward the Thousand Sons for putting out their smaller units, the sacrificial Tzaangors, early and then out trading the more expensive but less numerous Custodes as the game progresses. It will win by forcing the Custodes to expose their expensive units for bad trades and then punishing them when they do.
What I Want to Work On This Game: Warpflamer positioning to step Overwatch and follow on shooting turns, ideally combined with copious uses of Hidden. The two ten-man Warpflamer squads are the list’s strongest units when the enemy comes to them, but they need to be positioned correctly to maximize their effectiveness. Focusing on when to stay Hidden versus when to reveal and shoot is the key focus for this game.
| Category | Description |
| Leader / Bodyguard Combos: | Ahriman with Rubric Marines |
| Exalted Sorcerer with Rubric Marines 1 | |
| Exalted Sorcerer with Rubric Marines 2 | |
| Infernal Master with Rubric Marines 1 | |
| Infernal Master with Rubric Marines 2 | |
| Transport / Infantry Combos: | Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 1 in Chaos Rhino 1 |
| Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 in Chaos Rhino 2 | |
| Strategic Reserves: | Scarab Occult Terminators |
| Key Stratagems: | Ardent Automata [1CP] Movement phase – WHEN: Your Movement phase, just after a RUBRICAE unit from your army Falls Back. TARGET: That RUBRICAE unit. EFFECT: Until the end of the turn, your unit is eligible to shoot and declare a charge in a turn in which it Fell Back. |
| Inexorable Advance [1CP] Movement phase – WHEN: Your Movement phase. TARGET: One RUBRICAE unit from your army. EFFECT: Until the end of the turn, your unit can ignore any or all modifiers to its Move characteristic and to Advance rolls made for it, and ranged weapons equipped by models in your unit have the [ASSAULT] ability. | |
| Revenge of the Rubricae [1CP] Opponent’s Shooting phase – WHEN: Your opponent’s Shooting phase, just after a THOUSAND SONS PSYKER model from your army is destroyed. TARGET: One RUBRICAE unit from your army that was within 6″ of that PSYKER model when it was destroyed. EFFECT: After the attacking unit has shot, your RUBRICAE unit can shoot as if it were your Shooting phase, but when resolving those attacks it can only target the enemy unit that just destroyed your PSYKER model (and only if it is an eligible target). | |
| Fire Overwatch [1CP] Opponent’s Movement phase – WHEN: End of your opponent’s Movement phase. TARGET: One friendly unengaged unit (excluding TITANIC units). EFFECT: Your unit shoots using snap shooting: you can only target one visible enemy unit within 24″ of your unit (and only if it is an eligible target); each attack only hits on an unmodified hit roll of 6 (irrespective of BS or modifiers); you cannot re-roll hit rolls. After shooting, until the end of the phase, your unit is not eligible to start an action. | |
| Key Combos: | Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 + Benefit of Cover army rule + All is Dust detachment rule + Arcane Shield (Psychic) ability + Rebind Rubricae (Psychic) ability This is one of the combos that this list is built around. It results in 2 x 10 man unit’s that have have a 4+ Invulnerable Save, +1 to Save rolls against Damage 1 attacks, and the ability to return 1 to 2 models per Round. Bonus, they also make for a nasty Overwatch or target for Revenge of the Rubricae if you want to do damage in your Opponent’s turn. |
| Scarab Occult Terminators + Benefits of Cover army rule + All is Dust detachment rule + Rites of Coalescence ability This is the other major combo that the list is built around. It’s a maxed sized unit that becomes incredibly durable thanks to -1 to Wound against ALL attacks and +1 to Save against Damage 1 attacks, which combos great with Benefits of Cover. The unit also can Deep Strike and pump out an insane amount of damage when paired with Twist of Fate and Destiny’s Ruin. | |
| Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 + Bringers of Change ability + Fire Overwatch stratagem + Revenge of the Rubricae stratagem Woe be on to those who move finish a move on an Objective and within line of sight of one of the 10 man Rubric units as they will flame them and then re-roll the Wound roll. Ditto for any unit that dares to stand on an Objective and then shoot at those Rubrics. They will just kill off the Aspiring Sorcerer, and Heal him back next turn (see above combo), and blast them right back with the same combo. |
ROUND-BY-ROUND RECAP:
Custodes win the roll off and elect to have the Thousand Sons deploy first.
The Thousand Sons deploy pretty aggressively and uniformly across the board. They want to move across the board in a uniform way, ideally taking and then holding Objectives as they go. The idea is to secure their Expansion Objective as early as possible and then hold it all game with one of the 10 man Rubric units. The second 10 man Rubric unit is Infiltrated into the midfield where it is setup just behind the Objective 4 terrain, in an ideal position to overwatch anything that dares to set foot on that terrain. From there, the rest of the army is positioned to either zone out their Deployment Zone while also having access to the midfield, the Tzaangors and Tzaangor Enlightened, or to attack the Custodes’ Expansion Objective in waves, Rhino 2 and Ahriman’s unit.
The Custodes deploy….strangely. They put nothing in strategic reserves and instead focus on building 2 castles that can zone out their entire Deployment Zone. The first caste is around their Expansion Objective and features one of the tanks, the Witchseekers, and a unit of bikes. The second castle is around their Home Objective, which has the Allarus brick on it as well as having the second unit of bikes, the Telemon, and second tank nearby. The Custodes seem to be daring the Thousand Sons to come to them and are obviously very concerned about the threat of the Deep Striking Scarab Occult Terminators.
Board state after Deployment is shown below.
Post Deployment
Prior to the roll off, the Thousand Sons use Ahriman’s Arch-Sorcerer of Tzeetch ability to re-deploy 3 units. Exalted Sorcerer + Rubrics 2 moves to stage behind terrain near Objective 3 (and away from the Telemon), Tzaangor Enilightened move to deploy on the line near Objective 4, and Ahriman + Rubrics deploy next to Rhino 2 (and away from the Telemon).
The Custodes then win the roll off to go first and Scout Move the Witchseekers onto Objective 3.
Board state at the start of the battle is shown below.
Start of the Battle
ROUND 1:
| Phase: | Go First: Adeptus Custodes |
| Score at Start | 10 |
| CP at Start | 0 |
| Command | [Adeptus Custodes] Gains 1 Core CP [Thousand Sons] Gains 1 Core CP [Adeptus Custodes] Draws Behind Enemy Lines and Assassination secondary objectives [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour + Allarus Custodians uses Strategic Mastery to reduce Unleash the Lions cost by 1 CP [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour + Allarus Custodians uses Unleash the Lions for 0 CP |
| Movement | [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 5 to Perform Action [Adeptus Custodes] Witchseekers Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 3 to Perform Action [Adeptus Custodes] Telemon Heavy Dreadnought Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 4 to Perform Action [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 Makes a Normal Move into Terrain to Shoot [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 2 Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 3 to Shoot |
| Shooting | [Adeptus Custodes] Witchseekers Perform Trap Action on Objective 3 [Adeptus Custodes] Telemon Heavy Dreadnought Performs Trap Action on Objective 4 [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 Perform Trap Action |
| Charge | [Adeptus Custodes] None |
| Fight | [Adeptus Custodes] None |
| End of Turn | [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Primary: 12 VP |
| Score at End | 22 |
| CP at End | 2 |
High scoring first turn for the Custodes as they take advantage of the Thousand Sons being wary of the Telemon and push out aggressively to Trap 2 Objectives and 1 other piece of terrain. It will be tougher going from here as they have Trapped all easy to access terrain but they are well positioned since they are still somewhat castled up, have a lead, and know the Thousand Sons need to come to them to win.
Board state in the middle of Round 1 is shown below.
Middle of Round 1
| Phase: | Go Second: Thousand Sons |
| Score at Start | 10 |
| CP at Start | 1 |
| Command | [Thousand Sons] Gains 1 Core CP [Adeptus Custodes] Gains 1 Core CP [Thousand Sons] Draws Centre Ground and A Grievous Blow secondary objectives |
| Movement | [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 Advances onto Objective 5 [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 uses Inexorable Advance for 1 CP [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 Advances towards Objective 4 to Shoot [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened 2 uses Take to the Skies and Advances onto Objective 4 [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 disembark and Make a Normal Move to Stage [Thousand Sons] Chaos Rhino 2 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 3 to Stage [Thousand Sons] Ahriman + Rubric Marines 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 4 to Stage |
| Shooting | [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 5 casts Temporal Surge on Ahriman + Rubric Marines 1 [Thousand Sons] Ahriman + Rubric Marines 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 4 [Thousand Sons] Ahriman casts Doombolt on Telemon Heavy Dreadnought and deals 6 Mortal Wounds [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 casts Twist of Fate on Telemon Heavy Dreadnought – Spell Fails [Thousand Sons] Aspiring Sorcerer in Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 casts Destiny’s Ruin on Telemon Heavy Dreadnought [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 shoot Telemon Heavy Dreadnought and Destroy the Unit [Adeptus Custodes] Telemon Heavy Dreadnought Explodes and deals 3 Mortal Wounds to Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 and 3 Mortal Wounds to Tzaangor Enlightened 2 |
| Charge | [Thousand Sons] None |
| Fight | [Thousand Sons] None |
| End of Turn | [Thousand Sons] Scores Secondary: Centre Ground — 5 VP [Thousand Sons] Scores Secondary: A Grievous Blow — 5 VP [Thousand Sons] Scores Primary: 4 VP |
| Score at End | 24 |
| CP at End | 1 |
Well that wasn’t great for the Custodes.
In fairness, they did put the Telemon out as a bit of a Distraction Carnifex in hopes that it would draw out 2 of the Thousand Sons Rubric units. This did happen as planned. Unfortunately, both Ahriman’s Doombolt and the Exalted Sorcerer’s Dev Wounds psychic attack both went off at full force and took down the Telemon. Hindsight 20/20 for the Custodes, next time put a Caladius out as the Distraction Carnifex instead as they are less valuable in this matchup.
That said, it’s not all bad news for the Custodes and they still maintain a strong board position and are setup well to score points next turn. The trick now will be to keep scoring without losing units too quickly as the Thousand Sons advance up the board.
Board state at the end of Round 1 is shown below.
End of Round 1
ROUND 2:
| Phase: | Go First: Adeptus Custodes |
| Score at Start | 22 |
| CP at Start | 2 |
| Command | [Adeptus Custodes] Gains 1 Core CP [Thousand Sons] Gains 1 Core CP [Adeptus Custodes] Draws A Tempting Target and Bring It Down secondary objectives [Thousand Sons] Selects Objective 4 as A Tempting Target [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Primary: 4 VP |
| Movement | [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 Makes a Normal Move into Terrain to Shoot [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 Makes a Normal Move towards Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 to Shoot and Charge [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 2 Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 3 to Shoot [Adeptus Custodes] Witchseekers Advances onto Objective 3 to Screen [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 uses Fire Overwatch for 1 CP and shoots Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 and does 4 Damage [Thousand Sons] Scarab Occult Terminators use Rapid Ingress for 1 CP to Deep Strike on Objective 4 |
| Shooting | [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 shoot Tzaangor Enlightened 2 and Destroy the Unit [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 2 shoots Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 and Kills 1 Model [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 shoots Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 and Kills 1 Model [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 shoot Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 and Kill 6 Models |
| Charge | [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 Charges into Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 |
| Fight | [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 uses Martial Ka’tah — Dacatarai Stance for Sustained Hits [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 Fight Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 2 and Destroy the Unit [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 uses Sweeping Advance to Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 3 [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 uses Strategic Mastery on Gilded Champion for 0 CP |
| End of Turn | [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Secondary: Assassination — 5 VP [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Primary: 3 VP |
| Score at End | 34 |
| CP at End | 4 |
A good recovery turn for the Custodes after a really bad end to Round 1. Going into the turn, the gameplay was to try to continue to run up decent score in primary while also starting to apply some pressure to the Thousand Sons Starting to chip away at their scoring units and neutering or killing at least one of their “hammer” units. The Custodes accomplished this by killing the Tzaangor Enlightened 2, which resulted in a 2 for 1 of scoring the Custodes points while also costing the Thousand Sons potentially denying the Thousand Sons points, and the Exalted Sorcerer + Rubrics 2, which alleviated a lot of the pressure on Objective 3 while also scoring more points.
Even better, the Custodes also forced the TSons to burn CP at a high rate in order to maintain their board control, in this case via incentivizing them to bring the SOT’s in via Rapid Ingress in order to maintain control of Objective 4.
They still have a long way to go but at least losing the Telemon thanks to underestimating the TSons damage output isn’t looking like an “instant lose” type mistake.
Board state in the middle of Round 2 is shown below.
Middle of Round 2
| Phase: | Go Second: Thousand Sons |
| Score at Start | 24 |
| CP at Start | 0 |
| Command | [Thousand Sons] Gains 1 Core CP [Adeptus Custodes] Gains 1 Core CP [Thousand Sons] Draws Engage on All Fronts and Assassination secondary objectives [Thousand Sons] Scores Primary: 6 VP |
| Movement | [Thousand Sons] Scarab Occult Terminators Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 4 to Charge [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 2 to Stage [Thousand Sons] Chaos Rhino 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 5 to Stage [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened 1 Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 5 to Hide [Thousand Sons] Ahriman + Rubric Marines Makes a Normal Move towards Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 to Shoot [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened 3 Makes a Normal Move back to Screen [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 Makes a Normal Move towards Ahriman + Rubric Marines to Buff |
| Shooting | [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 casts Temporal Surge on Ahriman + Rubric Marines [Thousand Sons] Ahriman + Rubric Marines Makes a Normal Move towards Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 [Thousand Sons] Ahriman casts Doombolt on Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 and deals 6 Mortal Wounds [Thousand Sons] Aspiring Sorcerer in Ahriman + Rubric Marines casts Destiny’s Ruin on Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 [Thousand Sons] Ahriman + Rubric Marines suffers 3 Mortal Wounds from Channeling the Warp [Thousand Sons] Ahriman + Rubric Marines shoot Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 and Kill 1 Model |
| Charge | [Thousand Sons] Scarab Occult Terminators Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Thousand Sons] Scarab Occult Terminators Charges into Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 |
| Fight | [Thousand Sons] Scarab Occult Terminators Fight Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 and do 2 Damage [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 uses Martial Ka’tah — Dacatarai Stance for Sustained Hits [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 Fight Scarab Occult Terminators and Kill 6 Models |
| End of Turn | [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.1 uses From Golden Light to move into Strategic Reserves [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.2 uses From Golden Light to move into Strategic Reserves |
| Score at End | 30 |
| CP at End | 1 |
A bit of a mixed bag turn for the Thousand Sons. Coming into the turn, they were in a strong position but needed some time to catch back on CP generation as they burned it too quickly last turn. The plan coming into the turn was to try to do as much damage into the bike units as possible since they are the biggest threats on the Custodes side. Their guns are legitimately scary and their mobility is a serious issue to deal with. The Thousand Sons were willing to trade short term points for continued board control, additional CP breathing room, and wiping out the Custodes main damage dealers.
Coming out of the turn, the Thousand Sons kind of accomplished that goal. Ahriman and his Rubrics popped off and did legitimate damage to the bikes near them by killing the 3 Vertus Praetors. The Shield Captain is still up, but he isn’t as scary in shooting without his bodyguard unit. On the other side of the board though, the SOT’s were not as fortunate. They cracked off the charge that they wanted but then completely whiffed in melee by rolling only 2 of 18 successful Wounds. The Custodes then saved 1 of those and did not lose a model. The Custodes then cracked back hard as they are outside of 6 inches of any other friendly unit and therefore got full detachment buffs, which led to the SOT’s losing 6 models. It’s not game losing, but also not ideal as the Custodes do have the ability to Fall Back and Shoot/Charge next turn, which probably means the SOT’s are going down. Ideally, the Thousand Sons wanted to kill at least 2 bikes in that unit this turn.
Either way, this is looking like it will be a close game as both sides have had some back and forth swing s in momentum. Board state at the end of Round 2 is shown below.
End of Round 2
ROUND 3:
| Phase: | Go First: Adeptus Custodes |
| Score at Start | 34 |
| CP at Start | 4 |
| Command | [Adeptus Custodes] Gains 1 Core CP [Thousand Sons] Gains 1 Core CP [Adeptus Custodes] Draws Forward Position and Beacon secondary objectives [Adeptus Custodes] Selects Allarus Custodians 1.6 as Beacon [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Primary: 4 VP |
| Movement | [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 Falls Back [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 uses Strategic Mastery on Manoeuvre and Fire for 0 CP [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.1 Deep Strikes on Objective 4 [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.2 Deep Strikes near Ahriman + Rubric Marines [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 Makes a Normal Move towards Ahriman + Rubric Marines to Charge [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 4 |
| Shooting | [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 shoots Scarab Occult Terminators and Kills 2 Models [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 shoot Scarab Occult Terminators and Destroy the Unit [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.2 shoot Ahriman + Rubric Marines and Kill 1 Model [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 shoot Ahriman + Rubric Marines and Kill 2 Models |
| Charge | [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 Charges into Chaos Rhino 2 [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.2 Declares a Charge – Charge Failed |
| Fight | [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 uses Martial Ka’tah — Dacatarai Stance for Sustained Hits [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 Fight Chaos Rhino 2 and do 2 Damage [Thousand Sons] Chaos Rhino 2 Fights Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 and does 0 Damage [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 uses Sweeping Advance to Falls Back |
| End of Turn | [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Secondary: A Tempting Target — 5 VP [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Primary: 3 VP |
| Score at End | 46 |
| CP at End | 6 |
Custodes continue to press and have another decent turn. They also are starting to bring out the Allarus Custodes and dropped 2 of them in strategic spots that turn, which was fun to see.
Going into the turn, the plan was to kill the SOT’s in order to “keep on schedule” with Primary scoring and to try to start catching up on secondaries by scoring A Tempting Target with 1 of the Allarus and then killing Rhino 2 with the Jet Bike Captain 2. Beyond that, the Custodes really wanted to incentivize the TSons to start pushing forward with urgency so they can start dropping more Allarus into their Territory to start executing on all of the Secondaries that they have in their hand.
The Custodes were able to achieve most of this as the SOT’s went down and Allarus Custodian 1.1 took control of Objective 4. They also moved Calladius Grav-Tank 1 out as bait to try to get the Thousand Sons to start pressing. The only thing missing was killing Rhino 2, which tanked almost all incoming hits.
It wasn’t a perfect turn, but was solid as it kept the Custodes on schedule. Board state in the middle of Round 3 is shown below.
Middle of Round 3
| Phase: | Go Second: Thousand Sons |
| Score at Start | 30 |
| CP at Start | 2 |
| Command | [Thousand Sons] Gains 1 Core CP [Adeptus Custodes] Gains 1 Core CP [Thousand Sons] Draws Beacon and Display of Might secondary objectives [Thousand Sons] Selects Tzaangors as Beacon [Thousand Sons] Ahriman + Rubric Marines Passes Battle-shock [Thousand Sons] Scores Primary: 3 VP |
| Movement | [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 uses Inexorable Advance for 1 CP [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 Advances towards Objective 2 to Shoot [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 1 disembark and Make a Normal Move towards Objective 4 to Shoot [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened 1 Makes a Normal Move to Midfield to Shoot [Thousand Sons] Chaos Rhino 1 Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 5 [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened 3 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 1 to Screen [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 Makes a Normal Move towards Allarus Custodians 1.2 to Shoot [Thousand Sons] Chaos Rhino 2 Makes a Normal Move back to Screen [Thousand Sons] Ahriman + Rubric Marines Makes a Normal Move into Terrain to Shoot |
| Shooting | [Thousand Sons] Ahriman casts Doombolt on Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 and deals 6 Mortal Wounds [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 casts Twist of Fate on Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 [Thousand Sons] Aspiring Sorcerer in Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 1 casts Temporal Surge on Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 1 [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 1 move onto Objective 4 to shoot [Thousand Sons] Aspiring Sorcerer in Ahriman + Rubric Marines casts Destiny’s Ruin on Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 [Thousand Sons] Ahriman + Rubric Marines shoot Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 2 and Destroy the Unit [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 shoot Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 and Kill 2 Models [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 1 shoot Allarus Custodians 1.1 and Destroy the Unit [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 shoot Allarus Custodians 1.2 and Destroy the Unit |
| Charge | [Thousand Sons] Ahriman + Rubric Marines Declares a Charge – Charge Failed |
| Fight | [Thousand Sons] None |
| End of Turn | [Thousand Sons] Scores Secondary: Assassination — 5 VP [Thousand Sons] Scores Primary: 2 VP [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 uses From Golden Light to move into Strategic Reserves [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 uses From Golden Light to move into Strategic Reserves |
| Score at End | 40 |
| CP at End | 2 |
Now there’s the explosive damage from the Thousand Sons that I remember. They finally push forward aggressively and the result is a lot of damage to the Custodes.
The plan coming into the turn was to start pushing, even if it meant deferring point scoring, otherwise the Custodes would start to run away with the game. As a part of this, one of the Jet Bike Captains needed to die while the other’s unit needed to get significantly neutered. Those needed to happen as a bare minimum in order to avoid a major trackback next turn. Beyond that, killing both of the exposed Allarus Custodes was a nice to have as both could be potential point scorers or damage annoyances next turn if not dealt with now.
The Thousand Sons accomplished all of these goals while also maintaining enough CP for a major Fire Overwatch and Revenge of the Rubricae threat next turn. The Custodes will have to tread very carefully in order to maintain their lead.
Board state at the end of Round 3 is shown below.
End of Round 3
ROUND 4:
| Phase: | Go First: Adeptus Custodes |
| Score at Start | 46 |
| CP at Start | 6 |
| Command | [Adeptus Custodes] Gains 1 Core CP [Thousand Sons] Gains 1 Core CP [Adeptus Custodes] Draws Plunder and Secure No Man’s Land secondary objectives [Adeptus Custodes] uses New Orders for 1 CP to drop Secure No Man’s Land and draw Burden of Trust [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 2 assigned to Guard Objective 3 [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Primary: 4 VP |
| Movement | [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 Deep Strikes near Objective 5 to Shoot [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 Deep Strikes near Objective 1 to Shoot [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Chaos Rhino 2 to Shoot [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Ahriman + Rubric Marines to Shoot and Charge |
| Shooting | [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 uses CP Re-roll for 1 CP and shoots Chaos Rhino 2 and does 6 Damage [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 shoot Ahriman + Rubric Marines and Destroy the Unit [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 2 shoots Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 and Kills 3 Models [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 shoot Tzaangor Enlightened 3 and does 1 Damage [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 shoot Tzaangor Enlightened 3 and Kill 2 Models |
| Charge | [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 Charges into Chaos Rhino 1 [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 Declares a Charge – Charge Failed [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 uses CP Re-roll for 1 CP [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 Charges into Tzaangors |
| Fight | [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 uses Martial Ka’tah — Dacatarai Stance for Sustained Hits [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 Fight Chaos Rhino 1 and do 4 Damage [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 uses Martial Ka’tah — Dacatarai Stance for Sustained Hits [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 Fight Tzaangors and Kill 3 Models [Thousand Sons] Chaos Rhino 1 Fights Allarus Custodians 1.3 and does 0 Damage [Thousand Sons] Tzaangors Fight Allarus Custodians 1.4 and do 1 Damage |
| End of Turn | [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Secondary: Behind Enemy Lines — 5 VP |
| Score at End | 57 |
| CP at End | 4 |
An interesting turn for the Custodes as a lot went right, and more right than expected, while some other usually dependable things did not go as well.
Coming into he turn, the idea was to start chipping away at Secondaries as the lack of points on that front is starting to be concerning. The goal was to Deep Strike in two Allarus Custodians to get Behind Enemy Lines while also killing Rhino 2 for Bring It Down and setting up a small Burden of Trust for the end of round. To support this, the Calladius and Grav-Tank 1 and last remaining jet bike unit was used to kamikaze into everything that is threatening Objective 3 in order to keep the Thousand Sons down on primary.
From an execution perspective, the Custodes positioned themselves super well but then didn’t quite follow through. The jet bikes did their part by killing Ahriman’s unit only to watch as the tank next to it rolled three 1’s to hit into the Rhino. It made one back using CP-Reroll but then failed to kill it when the Rhino made 1 save. The Allarus Custodians potentially covered for this by making both of their Charges, but 1.3 watched as the Rhino it was fighting made 3 of 5 saves and 1.4 simply missed on 2 hits to begin with.
Its not the end of the world, but exiting a crucial turn with less points than expected is very disappointing for the Custodes.
Board state in the middle of Round 4 is shown below.
Middle of Round 4
| Phase: | Go Second: Thousand Sons |
| Score at Start | 40 |
| CP at Start | 3 |
| Command | [Thousand Sons] Gains 1 Core CP [Adeptus Custodes] Gains 1 Core CP [Thousand Sons] Draws Forward Position and A Tempting Target secondary objectives [Adeptus Custodes] Selects Objective 3 as A Tempting Target [Thousand Sons] uses New Orders for 1 CP to drop A Tempting Target and draw Plunder [Thousand Sons] Chaos Rhino 2 Passes Battle-shock [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened 3 Passes Battle-shock [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 Passes Battle-shock [Thousand Sons] Scores Primary: 6 VP |
| Movement | [Thousand Sons] Tzaangors Fall Back [Thousand Sons] Chaos Rhino 1 Falls Back [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 uses Inexorable Advance for 1 CP [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 Advances towards Objective 2 to Shoot [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 1 Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 4 to Shoot [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 Advances onto Objective 3 to Score [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened 3 Makes a Normal Move into Terrain to Screen [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 uses Fire Overwatch for 1 CP and shoots Chaos Rhino 1 and does 0 Damage |
| Shooting | [Thousand Sons] Aspiring Sorcerer in Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 1 casts Temporal Surge on Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 Makes a Normal Move towards Objective 2 to Shoot [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 1 casts Doombolt and deals 5 Mortal Wounds to Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 1 suffers 3 Mortal Wounds from Channeling the Warp [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 casts Destiny’s Ruin on Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 and suffers 3 Mortal Wounds from Channeling the Warp [Thousand Sons] Aspiring Sorcerer in Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 casts Twist of Fate on Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 uses CP Re-roll for 1 CP and shoots Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike + Vertus Praetors 1 and Destroys the Unit [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened 3 shoots Allarus Custodians 1.3 and does 0 Damage [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened 1 shoots Allarus Custodians 1.3 and does 0 Damage |
| Charge | [Thousand Sons] None |
| Fight | [Thousand Sons] None |
| End of Turn | [Thousand Sons] drops Beacon for 1 CP [Thousand Sons] Scores Secondary: Engage on All Fronts — 5 VP [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.6 uses From Golden Light to move into Strategic Reserves [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Secondary: Burden of Trust — 2 VP |
| Score at End | 51 |
| CP at End | 2 |
The Thousand Sons start really pressing forward as they start their final “kick to the finish”. In this case, its the Exalted Sorcerer + Rubrics 1 moving as quickly as possible, with a little bit of Warp enabled performoncement enhancement, towards the Custodes’ Home Objective. They also take down the last of the jet bikes, which eliminates a major threat. The Custodes still have options and are positioned decently to score next turn, let’s see how it plays out.
Board state at the end of Round 4 is shown below.
End of Round 4
ROUND 5:
| Phase: | Go First: Adeptus Custodes |
| Score at Start | 57 |
| CP at Start | 4 |
| Command | [Adeptus Custodes] Gains 1 Core CP [Thousand Sons] Gains 1 Core CP [Adeptus Custodes] Draws Cleanse and No Prisoners secondary objectives [Adeptus Custodes] uses New Orders for 1 CP to drop Cleanse and draw Overwhelming Force [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Primary: 4 VP |
| Movement | [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.6 Deep Strikes near Objective 1 [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 Makes a Normal Move towards Chaos Rhino 1 to Shoot and Charge [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 1 to Shoot and Charge [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 2 Makes a Normal Move towards Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 to Shoot and Charge [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.5 Makes a Normal Move towards Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 to Shoot and Charge [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour Makes a Normal Move towards Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 to Charge |
| Shooting | [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 2 uses Split Fire to shoot Chaos Rhino 2 and Destroys the Unit and to shoot Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 and does 0 Damage [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 2 shoots Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 and Kills 1 Model [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.6 shoots Tzaangors and Kills 2 Models [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 shoots Tzaangors and Kills 3 Models [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 shoots Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 and Kills 1 Model |
| Charge | [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 Charges into Chaos Rhino 1 [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 Charges into Tzaangors [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.5 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.5 Charges into Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour Declares a Charge – Charge Failed [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour uses Strategic Mastery on CP Re-roll [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour Charges into Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 uses Unwavering Phalanx for 1 CP [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 Declares a Charge – Charge Succeeded [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 Charges into Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 |
| Fight | [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 uses Martial Ka’tah — Dacatarai Stance for Sustained Hits [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.4 Fight Tzaangors and Destroy the Unit [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 uses Martial Ka’tah — Dacatarai Stance for Sustained Hits [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.3 Fight Chaos Rhino 1 and Destroy the Unit [Thousand Sons] Chaos Rhino 1 Explodes and deals 2 Mortal Wounds to Allarus Custodians 1.3 and 1 Mortal Wound to Tzaangor Enlightened 1 [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.5 uses Martial Ka’tah — Dacatarai Stance for Sustained Hits [Adeptus Custodes] Allarus Custodians 1.5 Fight Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 and Kill 2 Models [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour uses Martial Ka’tah — Dacatarai Stance for Sustained Hits [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour uses CP Re-roll for 1 CP [Adeptus Custodes] Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour Fights Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 and Kills 3 Models [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 uses Martial Ka’tah — Rendax Stance for Lethal Hits [Adeptus Custodes] Caladius Grav-tank 1 Fights Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 and does 0 Damage [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 Fights Allarus Custodians 1.5 and Destroys the Unit |
| End of Turn | [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Secondary: Bring It Down — 5 VP [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Secondary: Overwhelming Force — 5 VP [Adeptus Custodes] Scores Secondary: Forward Position — 5 VP [Thousand Sons] Scores Secondary: Display of Might — 5 VP |
| Score at End | 76 |
| CP at End | 4 |
A good final turn for the Custodes as they put a lot of points on the board and position themselves to try to hold back the Thousand Sons’ Round 5 push. I’m not sure it will be enough and not scoring Bring It Down in Round 4 may come back to haunt the Custodes on this one.
Board state in the middle of Round 5 is shown below.
Middle of Round 5
| Phase: | Go Second: Thousand Sons |
| Score at Start | 51 |
| CP at Start | 2 |
| Command | [Thousand Sons] Gains 1 Core CP [Adeptus Custodes] Gains 1 Core CP [Thousand Sons] Draws Cleanse and Secure No Man’s Land secondary objectives [Thousand Sons] uses New Orders for 1 CP to drop Cleanse and draw Outflank [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 uses Insane Bravery for 1 CP [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened passes Battle Shock [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 passes Battle Shock [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 uses Rebind Rubricae to Heal 1 model |
| Movement | [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 Falls Back towards Objective 2 [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 Makes a Normal Move into Custodes territory [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened 1 Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 5 to Shoot [Adeptus Custodes] Witchseekers uses Fire Overwatch for 1 CP and kills 2 Models in Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 2 |
| Shooting | [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 casts Temporal Surge [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 Makes a Normal Move onto Objective 2 [Thousand Sons] Tzaangor Enlightened 1 shoots Allarus Custodians 1.3 and Destroys the Unit [Thousand Sons] Aspiring Sorcerer in Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 casts Doombolt and deals 6 Mortal Wounds to Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 suffers 2 Mortal Wounds from Channeling the Warp [Thousand Sons] Infernal Master + Rubric Marines 1 Plunder [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 uses CP Re-roll for 1 CP [Thousand Sons] Exalted Sorcerer + Rubric Marines 1 shoots Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour and Destroys the Unit |
| Charge | [Thousand Sons] None |
| Fight | [Thousand Sons] None |
| End of Turn | [Thousand Sons] Scores Secondary: Forward Position — 5 VP [Thousand Sons] Scores Secondary: Secure No Man’s Land — 5 VP [Thousand Sons] max secondaries this Round at 15 VP so others don’t count [Thousand Sons] Scores Primary: 14 VP |
| Score at End | 80 |
| CP at End | 1 |
And thats game as the Thousand Sons comes clawing back and barely pip the Cuistodes at the finish line. It was a close one and the Thousand Sons needed basically everything to go right for them that last turn, but they ended up squeezing it out.
Board state at the end of the game is shown below.
End of Round 5
RESULT:
Singles Format: 80 – 76 Thousand Sons WIN
WTC Teams Format: 10-10 DRAW
GAME REVIEW:
This game was super back and forth thanks to a dynamic missions, two good lists/armies, and 1 brutal mistake per player in the early game. Both players executed their game plans reasonably well and scored decently.
The Custodes pushed out early to Trap key terrain / Objectives before castling up and making the Tsons come to them. They then successfully utilized Unleash the Lions and From Golden Light to keep the TSon’s holding back until the last moment (and almost too late) out of fear of having too many Allarus Custodians dropping into their backfield to score points or cause chaos. The list did exactly what I was hoping by “disrupting” an opponent that was hoping to put up a big score and playing them to essentially a draw.
From a TSon’s perspective, they played well but needed to pick a single gameplay and commit to it. They seemed torn between denying the Custodes points by hanging back while making sure they had the board zoned out and being aggressive to score points for themselves by pushing forward. Next time, I think I need to just pick one and execute it more consistently instead of trying to do both and feeling stuck all game. It wasn’t a bad outcome, but definitely felt less consistent and in control of the game than the Custodes did, especially since the TSons were favored in this one.
WHAT I WOULD CHANGE NEXT TIME:
- Adeptus Custodes
- I called it after Round 1, but the crippling mistake was in deployment and Round 1 usage. The Telemon should have started behind their Expansion Objective and a Grav-Tank should have served as the Distraction Carnifex to Trap the Central Objective. Had Custodes deployed and played that way, they would have lost a Grav-Tank instead of the Telemon in Round 1, which would have been a bit of a “who cares?” in this matchup. Losing the Telemon early made it tough for the Custodes to chew through all of the Rubric units and also set back the Custodes CP plans as they had planned on spamming Prioritized Eradication. It wasn’t a game losing mistake, but was close to it.
- Thousand Sons
- The Scarab Occult Terminator Rapid Ingress in Round 2. The SOT’s did not need to come in that early or into that much danger for what amounted to a measly 1 VP difference in score. Jumping the gun on bringing them in removed any danger to the Custodes’ Deployment Zone and made it easier for them to move around as needed to keep the Tsons busy. Even worse, the mistake was exacerbated by the SOT’s whiffing in combat with the Vertus Praetors and then dying over the course of the next Round. It was a really bad use of an expensive unit.
EARNED THEMSELF A NAME:
The Exalted Sorcerer + Rubrics and Shield Captain on Dawnegle Jetbike + Vertus Praetor units. All four performed really well for their respective factions and carried the came for both sides. The game basically came down to management of these 4 units and the TSons won because they kept one of their’s alive and scoring until the end of the game.
MAGNUS OF THE GAME:
The Telemon Heavy Dreadnought. See above. 200+ points for a handful of VP is not OK.
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