Golden Fury: The Custodes Return: A Review

The golden boys are pulling double duty this week, with a new Legio Custodes release that works across both Warhammer 40,000 and The Horus Heresy, while Warhammer: The Old World gets a substantial wave of smaller Battle March army boxes aimed at getting forces onto the table quickly.

This week feels less like one massive release and more like a collection of genuinely useful additions. The Custodes finally get several long-awaited units moved into plastic, while Battle March offers a much easier entry point into The Old World without committing to one of the larger army boxes.

Preorders for this release wave open during the After Dark at Midnight EST on August 29.

Custodes Support Battle Group

The obvious centerpiece of the week is the Custodes Support Battle Group, and this one is probably going to attract attention from players on both sides of the Warhammer timeline.

Inside are:

• 4 Gyrfalcon Jetbikes

• 1 Pallas Grav-attack

• 1 Telemon Dreadnought

More importantly, all three are arriving in modern plastic.

For Custodes players who have been around for a while, that's arguably the real headline. These are established units being brought into Games Workshop's current plastic range, removing another chunk of the army's historical reliance on older kits and resin.

The box itself is also unusually flexible because the models can be used in both Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: The Horus Heresy. That makes the Battle Group considerably more appealing than a typical system-specific release, especially for anyone who already plays Custodes in one game and has been considering crossing over into the other.

You've also got a pretty entertaining mix of units here. The Gyrfalcons and Pallas bring plenty of speed, while the Telemon remains the enormous golden brick in the middle of the formation carrying enough firepower to make its presence known.

The important caveat is that the Custodes Support Battle Group is a limited release available only while stocks last. Given the combination of new plastic kits, cross-game compatibility, and Custodes being Custodes, we would not be surprised to see this become one of the more sought-after boxes of the weekend.

Journal Tactica: Prospero Burns – Judgement of Valdor

Custodes players heading back to the Age of Darkness are also getting a new Journal Tactica, this time focused on the Burning of Prospero.

Prospero Burns: Judgement of Valdor dives into the Legio Custodes' involvement in the assault on Tizca and the increasingly supernatural mess that unfolded as the battle escalated.

As usual with these Journal Tactica releases, this isn't just a lore supplement. The book includes new scenarios, additional game rules, new units, and perhaps most interestingly, an entirely new Daemons of Tzeentch army list.

That makes this a considerably more substantial release for Horus Heresy players than the relatively small format might suggest. If you've been building around the Prospero conflict, Custodes, Thousand Sons, or the more daemonic side of the Heresy, there's quite a bit packed into this one.

Legio Custodes Dice

Naturally, the Custodes are also getting appropriately shiny dice.

The new Legio Custodes Dice Set contains 19 pearlised red D6 with gold pips, replacing the six with the Legio Custodes icon, alongside a scatter die.

They're nice, thematic, and almost certainly exactly the sort of thing Custodes collectors are going to want sitting next to the new Battle Group.

Like the Support Battle Group, however, these dice are only available while stocks last.

Battle March Comes to The Old World

The other major part of this release is something we actually think could be very healthy for Warhammer: The Old World.

Games Workshop is rolling out five new Battle March army boxes, built around the smaller 400-750 point format.

The Old World can be a fairly intimidating game to enter. Armies are large, units often come in sizable blocks, and a traditional force can become a serious hobby commitment before you've even played your first proper game.

Battle March gives players another option.

These boxes aren't just smaller collections of random models. They're intended to put a compact, functional force on the table while offering savings compared to buying the included kits separately. That makes them useful both as introductions to new armies and as relatively straightforward expansions for existing collections.

Empire of Man

The Empire box contains:

• Commander of the Empire

• 20 Empire State Troops

• 10 State Missile Troops

• 10 Empire Archers

• 10 Flagellants

• 5 Empire Pistoliers

This is probably one of the most traditional-looking Battle March forces in the wave. You've got plenty of infantry, ranged support, some wonderfully unhinged Flagellants, and Pistoliers providing mobility.

If someone's mental image of The Old World involves blocks of ordinary humans desperately trying not to get eaten by everything else in the setting, this certainly delivers.

Beastmen Brayherds

The Beastmen receive:

• Beastman Chieftain

• Beastman Shaman

• 10 Ungor Herd

• 10 Bestigor Herd

• 20 Gor Herd

• 10 Chaos Warhounds

This one feels particularly complete for its size.

There's a commander, magic support, multiple infantry types, and Warhounds to provide some speed around the edges. It's a compact little Beastmen army that still manages to look like an actual Brayherd rather than simply being a handful of disconnected kits.

Wood Elf Realms

The Wood Elves get:

• Araloth, Lord of Talsyn

• 10 Eternal Guard

• 5 Sisters of the Thorn/Wild Riders of Kurnous

• 8 Glade Guard/Deepwood Scouts

• 4 Glade Riders

There's a lot of flexibility packed into this box thanks to the multiple build options, and it's probably one of the more visually varied forces in the Battle March lineup.

It's also interesting to see Araloth included rather than a generic character, giving the box a little more personality straight out of the gate.

High Elf Realms

The High Elf Battle March contains:

• High Elf Lord

• 10 Lothern Sea Guard

• 5 Shadow Warriors/Sisters of Avelorn

• 5 Ellyrian Reavers

• Lothern Skycutter

• Tiranoc Chariot

Of the five boxes, this might be the one that most immediately looks like a miniature army rather than simply a starter collection.

You've got infantry, cavalry, a character, ranged options, a chariot, and the extremely High Elf solution to transportation that is the Skycutter.

There's a surprising amount of variety here for a smaller-format force.

Orc & Goblin Tribes

Finally, the Orcs and Goblins bring:

• Orc Boss on War Boar

• Battle Standard Bearer

• Goblin Shaman

• 15 Orc Mob

• 5 Wolf Riders

• 5 Orc Boar Boyz

• Orc Boar Chariot

Unsurprisingly, this one leans heavily into getting across the table and hitting something.

Between Wolf Riders, Boar Boyz, a Boar Chariot, and a Boss riding a Boar because apparently walking is beneath him, there's a lot of movement packed into a relatively small force.

It also feels appropriately chaotic, mixing Orcs and Goblins together instead of making the box overly uniform.

A Better Way Into The Old World?

We actually like the idea behind Battle March quite a bit.

The Old World's traditional mass-battle scale is part of its identity, and we certainly wouldn't want that going anywhere, but asking a completely new player to immediately assemble a full-sized fantasy army is a pretty substantial barrier to entry.

A 400-750 point format gives players somewhere to start.

Buy a box, build a manageable force, play some games, and then expand toward the larger battles The Old World is known for.

For existing players, these also look like potentially useful reinforcement boxes depending on what you already own. The fact that Games Workshop is positioning them with savings over purchasing the contents individually certainly helps.

Black Library – Raldoron: Revenant

Black Library rounds things out with Raldoron: Revenant by Guy Haley.

The novel follows Raldoron of the Blood Angels during the Age of Darkness as he attempts to command newly created Inductii while the Legion's infamous Red Thirst threatens to drag them back toward the brutal legacy of the Revenant Legion.

And considering this is the Blood Angels we're talking about, we're sure everything will remain perfectly calm and reasonable.

The regular hardback edition is part of this release wave.

There is also a signed Special Edition featuring red foil detailing, a ribbon marker, and additional premium presentation elements.

However, the Special Edition of Raldoron: Revenant will not be available from Wargame Portal or other third-party retailers. Anyone specifically looking for that edition will need to purchase it directly through Games Workshop while supplies last.

Our Take

This is a surprisingly balanced release week.

The Custodes Support Battle Group is unquestionably the headline. Moving the Gyrfalcons, Pallas, and especially the Telemon into modern plastic is a meaningful update to the range, and letting the same models work across both 40K and Horus Heresy makes the box much easier to justify for Custodes collectors.

Battle March might be the more interesting release in the long term, though. Giving The Old World a smaller, purpose-built format with army boxes to match creates a much more approachable starting point for players who like the setting but aren't ready to immediately commit to a massive ranked-up army.

Nothing here completely reinvents either game, but there's a lot of practical value in this wave. New plastic Custodes are always going to get attention, and we're particularly interested to see whether Battle March develops into a genuine stepping stone toward full-sized Old World armies.

Preorders open at Wargame Portal during the After Dark at Midnight EST on August 29.