Vaunted as a high honour among their Legio, the role of Custodian Venatari is reserved for those who have proven themselves both with success in the Blood Games – an exercise designed to test the Emperor’s personal defences – and through aptitude with the sophisticated flight systems and archaeotech weaponry which are the hallmark of the Venatari. Their domain resides both among the rooftops and spires of the Imperial Palace and in the skies above any Custodian assault, overseeing and assessing potential threats below before swooping into a killing dive – be it from their eyries on Terra or a dropship’s assault bay.
| LD | CL | WP | IN | |||||||||||
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | LD | CL | WP | IN | SAV | INV | |
| Venatari (⌀40mm) | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||
| Venatari (⌀40mm) | 14 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 3+ | 6+ |
These small shields do not offer much protection on their own, but the complex energy fields housed within serve to diffract and weaken radiation and kinetic energy directed at the wielder. These fields are directional and relatively small, and must be angled precisely to affect incoming strikes - a feat that only the Legio Custodes can easily accomplish.
The Ranged Strength of attacks made as part of a Volley Attack or Overwatch Reaction are modified by -1 when resolving Wound Tests against a Unit that includes one or more Models with a tarsus buckler.On the battlefields of the Horus Heresy, precision proves far more valuable than wanton carnage, allowing attacks to be placed on the most valuable targets and not the chaff of the enemy army. Whether through well-honed skill or artfully crafted weapons, warriors capable of such feats are highly sought after in any host.
Attacks made with the Precision (X) Special Rule are allocated by the Attacking Player, not the Defender.Some weapons are capable of breaching armour with a terrifying ease, whether by specially designed munitions, careful targeting or sheer brute power.
When rolling To Wound for a model that has the Breaching (X) special rule, or is attacking with a weapon that has the Breaching (X) special rule, for each To Wound roll equal to or higher than the value listed in brackets, the controlling player must resolve these Wounds at AP 2 instead of the weapon’s normal AP value. This rule has no effect on models that do not have Wounds, such as models with the Vehicle Unit Type.For long centuries of unbridled internecine carnage on Ancient Terra during the Age of Strife, the ’Blade of Mercy’ or ’Misericordia’ came to represent the complete power of life and death, for the bearing of such a blade - usually in the form of a long dagger or short sword made to perpetrate a single killing thrust - marked one with the dread authority of the executioner-judge. Beyond the power it represented, the Misericordia might also be used in practice to carry out a ’clean’ sentence of death on a transgressor, or to offer terminal surcease to a warrior grievously wounded in battle at their master’s discretion, in either case living up to its name as an agent of mercy as well as death. When the Emperor attained dominion over Terra and ended the bloody cycle of the warlords’ reign, his agents and judges, and only they, came to carry the Misericordia as his mastery eclipsed all others, and it is a tradition the Legio Custodes still uphold.
A Unit containing any Models with a Misericordia may select a unique aftermath option in which it makes a single attack against an enemy Unit from the same Combat.
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Deep strike deployments are usually conducted en-masse and at a distance from the enemy, lest the attacking force be destroyed in detail as it lands.
The Deep Strike Special Rule allows a Unit to enter play anywhere on the Battlefield.The Legio Custodes Trait is used in the following Legio Custodes datasheets:
The Loyalist Trait is used in the following Legio Custodes datasheets:
The The Sodality Trait is used in the following Legio Custodes datasheets:
Transport vehicles are designed to balance armour and capacity, attempting to mount the most protection without compromising how many warriors they can carry. Yet, some warriors are plated in such imposing armour or even spawned in such an aberrant nature that they occupy far more space than any regular fighter. Such warriors are mighty in both power and stature, but prove more difficult to ferry into battle.
Models with the Bulky (X) Special Rule take up more space on Transport Models.Some warriors are either so preternaturally tough, so bitterly intransigent or so favoured by fortune that they can survive almost any attack. Devastating close combat strikes and huge explosions all fail to bring down this warrior in a single hit and only repeated attacks can end their rampage.
A Model with this Special Rule takes less Damage from attacks.Warriors trained to break the foe’s lines are often at the forefront of their host, but are ill-suited to holding ground in the face of an enemy counter-attack.
A Unit that includes Models with this Special Rule scores fewer Victory Points for controlling Objectives, but can score Victory Points for destroying enemy Units that hold Objectives.Infantry units include all types of foot soldiers. Infantry are fairly slow moving, but can cross almost any terrain and make the best use of cover to avoid enemy fire.
Infantry is the most basic Type, and is applied to most Models in the game. A Model with the Infantry Type uses the Core Rules without modification, gaining neither benefit nor penalty. Models with the Infantry Type may Embark and Disembark upon Models with the Transport Sub-Type.Heavy beams and armour-piercing cannon rarely inflict superficial damage, but always blast and break the hull of their target. Such weapons are superior tank killers, their sheer power prized over lesser weapons when the objective is to apply maximum damage without concern for finesse.
A Weapon with the Armourbane Special Rule counts Glancing Hits as Penetrating Hits.Designed to pierce the armour worn by heavy infantry, some weapons have gained a fearsome reputation on the battlefields of the Floras Heresy. While many such weapons are rare or temperamental in use, the sheer power of their attacks more than makes up for this.
With a Weapon that has the Breaching (X) Special Rule there is a chance that a Wound Test may result in the Wound ignoring Armour Saves.When fired, neutronium cascade weapons emit a combination of baleful energy and exotic radiation of such intensity and instability that any target left standing risks continued molecular collapse.
Penetrating Hits inflicted by attacks with the Annihilation Cascade (X) Special Rule can cause additional Hits.Whether equipped with antigrav repulsors or empowered by some esoteric, psychic art, this unit is able to skim above the ground. While incapable of true flight, this does allow it to avoid any of the hampering effects of the prevailing terrain, gliding over obstacles that would ensnare or entangle more conventional troops.
The following Rules apply to all Models with the Antigrav Sub-Type:This datasheet has Recon Battlefield Role. Full list of Legio Custodes units sharing same Battlefield Role follows:
| Ranged Weapon | |||||||
Ranged Weapon | R | FP | RS | AP | D | Special Rules | Traits |
| Kinetic destroyer | |||||||
| Kinetic destroyer | 12 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 1 | Breaching (5+) | Assault |

These small shields do not offer much protection on their own, but the complex energy fields housed within serve to diffract and weaken radiation and kinetic energy directed at the wielder. These fields are directional and relatively small, and must be angled precisely to affect incoming strikes - a feat that only the Legio Custodes can easily accomplish.
The Ranged Strength of attacks made as part of a Volley Attack or Overwatch Reaction are modified by -1 when resolving Wound Tests against a Unit that includes one or more Models with a tarsus buckler.Light troops are equipped and trained to fight on the move, pausing only briefly and trusting to speed over cover or heavy armour. Many armies will make use of such warriors as scouts, but they also serve as harassers and pursuit troops.
The following Rules apply to all Models with the Light Sub-Type:Many units within the Legion conduct warfare at pointblank distances, blasting their foes with a deluge of short ranged firepower.
A Model with this Special Rule does not have to make Volley Attacks as Snap Shots.Whether by stealth or sheer speed, some warriors approach the battlefield from unexpected directions. Such an attack can derail even the most well-laid plans and upend the strategies of any general, turning the tide of battle.
A Unit of Models with the Outflank Special Rule can enter play from outside of Deployment Zones.Some weapons are designed not only to kill and main, but also to shock and disorient the foe. Such weapons may rely on blinding flares, bursts of enervating energy or even subtle poisons to slow and disable the enemy, but their effects are the same. Debilitated and vulnerable, warriors struck by such weapons become easy prey.
Weapons and other attacks that have the Stun (X) Special Rule have a chance of inflicting the Stunned Status on the Target Unit.Designed to be carefully attached to a target and blast precise holes in the thickest armour, these cumbersome devices are ill-suited to open war. However, when a vulnerable target can be isolated in battle, there are no better tools for piercing its protection.
Weapons with this Special Rule can only attack Vehicles and immobile Models.| Melee Weapon | |||||||
Melee Weapon | IM | AM | SM | AP | D | Special Rules | Traits |
| Neutronium cascade mine | |||||||
| Neutronium cascade mine | -3 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 3 | Armourbane, Annihilation Cascade (9), Detonation | Power |