"The Dread Host is one of the oldest of us. When our King-of-Ages still strode the stars, it was the Templii Veritas, and before then it had no name, but it has always been a part of us. What is a bodyguard if not an executioner, after all?"

"The Templii had only ever one Legate. The Host has ever only had one Tribune. Vespera Noctis. Though perhaps the most divisive of the Tribunate, she is also among the eldest of our brothers and sisters, having bestrode the stars since Unification, instrument of His wrath for as long as she has borne her misericord. In turn, she carries a weight that she is apt to make use of, for He crafted her with a temperament fitting surely only one purpose: the executioner."

"In attempts to interview her one quickly observes: she is a wild, choleric sort, quick to act and quicker to strike. Perhaps the best way to describe her is that subtlety is a tool in her toolbox, as it is in all of ours. She, however, is equally likely to strike you with the toolbox. Her humors, ever unruly, combined with a cunning that she intentionally veils and a sharp decisiveness, makes her one of singular dispute, particularly as it pertains to the Edict of Restraint. The Dread Host was known to flagrantly defy the Edict from the moment of its conception to the moment of its dissolution - in the Tribune’s view, it would defy its very purpose not to."

"Her history spans that of the Host’s and before. Her warplate, the Panoplia Ultima, was reforged from an archeotech cache found in the hoards of a techno-barbarian king pre-Unification. Her power claw Convergence slayed xenos pirates in the Jovian Shipyards. The axe Totality beheaded witch-lords and xenos king-beasts alike during the Great Crusade, from Terra to the farthest reaches of the Rangda’s empire. "

"During the dark days of the Warmaster’s betrayal, the Templii Veritas - always shadowed, always tensed - saw its purpose set true in stark daylight. Yet, they could not see it done. Enemies surrounded Terra on all sides, and the Emperor’s executioners were nowhere to be seen. The War of Shame bled them to the last, as it bled the Legio whole, leaving naught more than a hundred standing. In the final hours of the Siege, too, were His executioners left shelved. As the King-of-Ages and his Companions left to slay the Warmaster, what remained of the Legio held His palace to the last."

"Little is recorded of those days after, when He was borne to us broken and battered, and the Tribune refuses to speak of it. What we do record is that the Tribunate was rebuilt, and without Him to command it, the Templii was reshaped into something new. Something unblemished by failure. Scarred by failure, the new Tribune and her chosen shield-companies swore to let none rise that may threaten Him so again. The Dread Host was born that day, and it has not rested since."

Excerpt from "The Tribunate: A History", penned by Shield-Captain Vates Barduia of the Emissaries Imperatus.

1.) Got my ass BEAT. I played Chaos Space Marines and my opponent played Custodes. Had to concede by the end of his third turn because I basically had nothing left. He used Take & Hold, I had Priority Assets, both of us using tactical secondaries with no twist. Lost 23-37.

2.) I had a lot of fun. No other game, including video games, have I had so much fun even when I lost. If anything it got me more excited to play future games and adapt and change depending on what my opponent does.

3.) I made a BUNCH of mistakes. Which is OK, first game and all, but I'm glad I was able to recognize it and start to change as the game went on. I forgot to declare my hated foe for Kravek at the start, I didn't use Dark Pacts when it would have been helpful, I had too many cultists sitting in the back, wasn't thinking about cover while his tank shot me. So stuff I can learn.

4.) Probably going to change detachments. I'll share my list below, but I used Warpstrike and Devotees. I didn't end up using either in terms of mechanics like the putting Obliterators and Mutilators back into reserves, and I ended up picking Priority as my disposition, which didn't work out to well for me. But for a first game I did OK (I think). But I don't want to pick a whole disposition and detachment and do nothing with it.

Overall, a very good first impression, I already have some changes in mind, shout out to Anthony for being a great first opponent, and I am looking forward to more 40k!

Below are the pictures I took at the start, end of our first turns, second turns, and at the end when everything died.

Is there a single battle where Custodes have ever lost to a Xenos faction in the entire history of the setting? I'm compiling new Xenos Win/Loss ratios against Marines and decided to expand it to Custodes as well and I'm just trying to make sure I didn't miss something but I haven't yet been able to find a single battle against Xenos where Custodes lose.

On that note are there any battles Custodes have ever lost? I assume there must be at least a handful from the Horus Heresy books surely, but Custodes lore is not my area of expertise (beyond the numerous times they humiliate Xenos) so if anyone knows better I would appreciate it.

(Spoiler: they're losing)

(WIP)

Altheon alone under the cut, and some details