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Imperium army

Adeptus Custodes tier list

Tier list and tournament results · 40k 11th edition

Winning lists32921 top-3 finishes
Best finish1st of 36Les stratèges d ambre le retour

329 winning lists (the top quarter of their event, every source), Sep–Nov 2026; 373 public lists whose units we can read; 24 published in full. Updated 11 Nov.

Results

329winning lists, Sep–Nov 2026
1stof 14Turniej SzczecinAuric Champions, Might of the Moritoi and Solar Watch31 Oct ›2ndof 12Grill&Hammer na SzmaragdzieLions of the Emperor, Might of the Moritoi and Solar Watch24 Oct ›2ndof 20Turniej | kt ToruńDread Host, Lions of the Emperor and Might of the Moritoi24 Oct ›Lists we can show: 24 ›
By month
Jun●●●●●5 of 137
Jul●●●●●●●●●●●●+54 of 1579
Aug●●●●●●●●●●●●+135 of 2067
Sep●●●●●●●●●●●●+146 of 1901
Oct●●●●●●●●●●●●+128 of 1942
Nov●●●●●●●●●●●●+55 of 449

Its lists in the top quarter, out of all such lists, by month; the months this page counts in bold.

Detachments

17in its 373 public lists
Lions of the Emperor287 lists ›Might of the Moritoi135 lists ›Emperor's Chosen66 lists ›Solar Watch42 lists ›Dread Host30 lists ›
Show 12 moreHonoured Companions28 lists ›Auric Champions24 lists ›Grav-Assault Force4 lists ›Emissaries Imperatus3 lists ›Guardians of the Throne3 lists ›Null Maiden Vigil2 lists ›Aquilan Shield1 list ›Shadow Keepers1 list ›
Shield Host (not in the new codex)25 lists
Tharanatoi Hammerblow (not in the new codex)21 lists
Solar Spearhead (not in the new codex)5 lists
Silent Hunters (not in the new codex)2 lists

Units

29tiers from 8 creators

Letter: 8 creatorsBars: our dice math

Epic Heroes1

Trajann Valoris265 pts · 178 listsSbottom 42%bottom 36%

Characters5

Shield-Captain180 pts · 50 listsAbottom 18%bottom 19%Shield-Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike205 pts · 125 listsBbottom 33%bottom 31%Knight-Centura55 pts · 7 listsCtop 50%bottom 31%Shield-Captain in Allarus Terminator Armour185 pts · 97 listsCbottom 19%bottom 32%
Show 1 moreBlade Champion175 pts · 111 listsCbottom 31%bottom 17%

Battleline2

Custodian Guard Sodality240 pts · 171 listsBtop 28%top 41%Sentinel Guard Sodality240 pts · 21 listsBtop 45%top 27%

Infantry9

Witchseeker Squad110 pts · 274 listsStop 34%bottom 28%Prosecutor Squad45 pts · 304 listsSbottom 7%top 50%Allarus Custodians270 pts · 331 listsAtop 37%top 33%Venatari with Verutum Lances270 pts · 52 listsAtop 43%bottom 48%
Show 5 moreAquilon Terminators with Solarite Power Gauntlets285 pts · 18 listsBtop 30%top 39%Custodian Wardens295 pts · 201 listsBbottom 26%top 21%Vigilator Squad55 pts · 23 listsCtop 22%top 28%Aquilon Terminators with Solarite Power Talons275 pts · 2 listsCbottom 35%top 36%Venatari with Kinetic Destroyers255 ptsDtop 45%top 50%

Mounted2

Vertus Praetors330 pts · 213 listsBtop 25%top 25%Gyrfalcon Jetbike Sodality260 pts · 6 listsBtop 26%top 25%

Vehicles7

Telemon Heavy Dreadnought280 pts · 136 listsStop 45%top 26%Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought220 pts · 121 listsAtop 49%top 38%Caladius Annihilator Grav-tank250 pts · 85 listsAtop 47%top 47%Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought230 pts · 29 listsBtop 47%bottom 49%
Show 3 moreCaladius Grav-tank230 pts · 30 listsCbottom 19%top 37%Pallas Grav-attack135 pts · 4 listsCbottom 9%top 32%Ares Gunship580 ptsCbottom 21%top 11%

Transports3

Anathema Psykana Rhino70 pts · 10 listsCbottom 2%top 7%Coronus Grav-carrier225 pts · 1 listDbottom 11%top 11%Orion Assault Dropship690 ptsDbottom 19%bottom 26%

Each unit: its points and how many of the army's 373 public lists take it, Sep–Nov 2026.

Letters from the creators who know the game best; Damage and Toughness (SWORD and SHIELD on unit pages) from our own dice math (how we score). Lists: grimstat-corpus (CC BY 4.0), September – November 2026. Also from Listhammer, MiniHeadQuarters, ChampionsHub. Questions about a list or an event? Get in touch. Win-rate letter: ours, from Stat Check's published 11th-edition win rates, 2 Nov 2026. Sources

Creators 30 Oct · SWORD and SHIELD 4 Nov · Points and lists 11 Nov

Questions
What are the best Adeptus Custodes units?
The creators' average is S for Witchseeker Squad, Telemon Heavy Dreadnought, Trajann Valoris, Prosecutor Squad. Then A: Contemptor-Galatus Dreadnought, Allarus Custodians, Caladius Annihilator Grav-tank, Shield-Captain, Venatari with Verutum Lances.
What do the letters mean?
Each letter is a weighted average of the letters up to 8 creators gave that unit, S to D: full reviews and tier lists count more than a single list.
What do SWORD and SHIELD mean?
Our own dice math against 100 top tournament lists. SWORD is the points of a top tournament army it removes per 100 of its own points each time it acts, picking its targets sensibly from a real list, with its melee counted by how often it gets into combat; SHIELD is how much of a top tournament army's turn it takes to wipe out 100 points of it, its own healing played between turns. Each comes with where it ranks among the game's units of its kind.
Which Adeptus Custodes units do lists take most?
Of 373 public lists: Allarus Custodians (331), Prosecutor Squad (304), Witchseeker Squad (274).
Which Adeptus Custodes detachment do tournament lists take most?
Lions of the Emperor: 287 of the 373 Adeptus Custodes tournament lists of September – November 2026 took it.
Sources
Letters
Each letter is a weighted average of the creators' letters: full reviews and tier lists count more than a single list. A dashed letter means no creator has rated that unit yet: it's our estimate, placed by SWORD and SHIELD only among the army's creator-rated units.
SWORD and SHIELD
Our own dice math, last run 4 Nov 2026. Both are shown scaled: SWORD is 0.8832 × the points it removes, SHIELD 2097.5 × the share of a turn, so a typical unit's SHIELD reads about 333. SWORD is the points of a top tournament army it removes per 100 of its own points each time it acts, picking its targets sensibly from a real list, with its melee counted by how often it gets into combat; SHIELD is how much of a top tournament army's turn it takes to wipe out 100 points of it, its own healing played between turns. Each is averaged over 100 top lists from the last three months, leaving out the most extreme tenth at each end; each is shown with where it ranks among the game's units of its kind (top 10%, bottom 20%): shooters beside shooters, melee units beside melee units, a unit built to support beside every unit. How we score.
Creators
The Adeptus Custodes creators who know the game best, each counted once: tier lists, reviews of their own lists and written reviews. Their tiers are their own, put on our S to D scale by us (their top tier S, and so on down); we show how many gave each and the letter they add up to.Questions? Get in touch.
Lists
373 public Adeptus Custodes tournament lists, September – November 2026, from grimstat-corpus (CC BY 4.0). Also from Listhammer, MiniHeadQuarters, ChampionsHub. Questions about a list or an event? Get in touch.
Win-rate letter
Win-rate letter: ours, from Stat Check's published 11th-edition win rates, 2 Nov 2026. Cut at S 55% and over, A 52.5%, B 49%, C 46%, D below; only the letter is ours to show, never their numbers.