Next weekend’s preorders are headlined by the arrival of the Legio Custodes, bringing with them a collection of elite infantry, iconic grav-tanks, and towering Dreadnoughts for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy. These releases will be going live during the After Dark window at Midnight EST on 03/21, and if early interest is any indication, we suspect allocations for the Custodes kits may end up being rather limited due to demand.
Legio Custodes Battle Group
The centerpiece of the release is the Legio Custodes Battle Group, bundling the brand new range into a single launch box. For collectors and Horus Heresy players alike, this is the fastest way to get the new kits on the table.
Inside the set you’ll find:
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1 Shield Captain with helmeted and unhelmeted head options
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6 Custodian Guard with extensive helmet options
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6 Sentinel Guard with similar customization options
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1 Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought, alternatively buildable as a Contemptor-Galatus
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1 Caladius Annihilator Grav-Tank with weapon options
Transfer sheets are also included for both the Dreadnought and vehicles, packed with hundreds of decals to properly decorate your golden war machines.
From a hobby standpoint, this box looks excellent. The Custodes aesthetic has always leaned heavily into ornate armor and regal design, and these new kits appear to push that even further with lots of head and build options across the infantry. The inclusion of the Caladius grav-tank and a Contemptor variant also gives the set some real weight for anyone starting or expanding a Custodes force in Horus Heresy.
As usual with these launch boxes, the individual kits will be released separately later on, but this is the first opportunity to get them all at once.
Liber Custodes: The Forces of the Emperor
Alongside the models comes Liber Custodes, the new army book covering the Emperor’s personal guard.
This 120-page hardback includes:
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Army rules for the Legio Custodes
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Rules for the Anathema Psykana
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Rules for the Divisio Assassinorum
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Unit profiles and lore
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Ally rules for incorporating Custodes forces into Loyalist armies
For Horus Heresy players, this will be the essential book if you want to field the golden host properly. Like most of the modern Heresy army books, it looks to combine faction lore with the rules needed to run a full army or allied detachment.
Glaive Super-heavy Special Weapons Tank
For the Legiones Astartes, the big centerpiece of the release is the Glaive Super-heavy Tank.
Built on the Fellblade chassis, the Glaive swaps out the traditional heavy weaponry for a massive volkite carronade, a weapon designed to melt through infantry formations and heavy armor alike. Volkite weapons have always been iconic in the Heresy setting, and scaling one up to this size makes for a very thematic centerpiece vehicle.
The kit also includes several sponson weapon options:
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Lascannon arrays
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Laser destroyers
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Gravis heavy bolters
On the tabletop, this one is clearly designed to dominate infantry-heavy battlefields, and visually it fits right into the growing stable of massive Horus Heresy armor kits.
Journal Tactica: Mailed Fist
Also arriving with this wave is the latest Journal Tactica, titled Mailed Fist: Legiones Astartes Super-heavy Tanks.
This 48-page supplement focuses heavily on armored warfare in the Horus Heresy and includes:
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Background lore on the development of Astartes super-heavy tanks
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New unit profiles
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The Leviathan Missions, which introduce large-scale asymmetrical armored battles and multiplayer games
For groups who enjoy the more cinematic side of the Heresy system, this looks like it could be a fun addition that leans heavily into massive tank battles.
Hobby Tools and Dice
The hobby accessories in this release appear to be largely rebrands of existing tools, including a beginner tool set and a new dice pack.
The dice are exactly what you’d expect: simple bone-colored dice with black pips and a skull on the six. Nothing groundbreaking here, but functional and thematic.
The more interesting release is the new Warhammer Colour Painting Handle.
Originally it looked like this might be a replacement for the classic spring-loaded handle, but following the asterisk on the reveal article, it appears that the older painting handle is staying in the lineup. That raises the obvious question of where exactly this new handle fits.
The new version uses a friction-based grip instead of the mechanical spring system and appears to be a lighter, simplified design meant to hold bases between 25mm and 40mm. It’s likely intended as a budget or entry-level alternative for hobbyists who just need something simple to hold a model while painting.
That said, we’re still not entirely sure where it sits in the lineup. The original handle already works extremely well and offers a more robust grip system, so the value proposition of this new version isn’t immediately clear. It may end up being useful for painters who want multiple handles on the desk at once or simply want a cheaper option, but at first glance it feels more like a side grade, when the current paint handle is already budget friendly.
Final Thoughts
Overall this looks like a strong Horus Heresy release wave, particularly for Custodes collectors who have been waiting for updated kits and a consolidated army book.
The Legio Custodes Battle Group is easily the highlight, bringing together some excellent centerpiece models alongside highly customizable infantry. For Horus Heresy players who enjoy elite armies with striking visual presence, this one is likely going to be very popular.
Given that popularity, we suspect allocations for the Custodes kits may be on the smaller side, so if this release is on your radar it may be worth keeping an eye on the preorder window.
These go live during our After Dark preorder window at Midnight EST on March 21st.
