We sat down with Quinn from the Warhammer Studio design team to learn more about the new Journal Tactica: Prospero Burns – The Judgement Of Valdor, and the extra options it opens up for Legio Custodes armies.
Quinn: Prospero Burns – The Judgement of Valdor showcases a new perspective on the destruction of the home world of the Thousand Sons. It details and expands upon the destructive actions of the Legio Custodes at Tizca, as originally established in The Horus Heresy: Book Seven Inferno, first published during the first edition of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy.
Occurring on the eve of the Horus Heresy, the Burning of Prospero* was a terrifying revelation to the Imperium, featuring widescale inter-Legion bloodshed for the first time, as well as the first incidence of the Emperor’s Custodians being unleashed against the Legiones Astartes.
The Adjutorum Sodality
As part of this focus, the Journal includes a new unit for Legio Custodes armies – the Adjutorum Sodality, which draws together a number of specialist Custodians into a retinue for one of the Legio’s commanders. First is the Vestarios, who brings the ability to mitigate Tactical Statuses on Custodian Units in a similar way to the Legions’ nuncio-vox – an extremely useful tool for an army with such limited numbers.
Second is the Blade Champion, whose name will be familiar to Warhammer 40,000 collectors, a combat powerhouse who can fight Challenges on their commander’s behalf. Finally, the Signifer acts as the standard bearer for a Custodian army, carrying a representation of the Emperor imbued with a shard of His psychic might.
This can be activated once per battle to score an objective before reducing its value to 1 from that point onwards, letting an aggressive push by a Legio Custodes army debilitate their foe’s scoring potential, a major boon for an army which lacks the objective scoring punch of other forces.
Oblitum Pattern Cohort Doctrine
Alongside the Adjutorum Sodality, the Oblitum Pattern Cohort Doctrine allows Solar Auxilia Units to be fielded as allies in a Legio Custodes army, which are otherwise restricted to Silent Sisterhood Allied Detachments.
Access to Units with Line (X) lets Custodian players gamble for boosted objective scoring, as part of the psycho-conditioning Oblitum Auxiliaries undergo risks them descending into a fugue and becoming Stunned, though their immunity to negative Leadership modifiers ensures they stand stalwart at the side of the Ten Thousand.
For players who really want to lean into the theme of a core of elite Custodian backed up by waves of ‘lesser’ mortal troops, the Helot Tercios Auxiliary Detachment even allow the inclusion of Militia Units, which are great for screening your more valuable Custodians.
Thanks, Quinn! Journal Tactica: Prospero Burns – The Judgement Of Valdor is available to pre-order from Saturday, along with the Custodes Support Battlegroup. Join us later in the week as we learn more about the new rules for the Daemons of Tzeentch.
* Delve into this pivotal battle with the novels, Prospero Burns and A Thousand Sons – both available via the Black Library App.
