Adeptus Custodes new detachment pushes Dreadnoughts into the spearhead

The Adeptus Custodes are not being framed as a passive wall of gold in the next edition. Games Workshop put Dreadnoughts at the center of its latest faction focus, and the message was blunt: the Ten Thousand are being pushed toward decisive close-range pressure, with ancient war machines leading the charge.

The 10:14 Warhammer Community video, published on 14 May 2026, said Custodes armies are getting three fresh detachments in #New40k. The standout is Might of the Moritoi, a detachment that pays tribute to Custodians who suffered grievous injuries and were interred in Dreadnought chassis. In that force, Dreadnoughts gain March of the Honoured Dead to help them close into combat more easily, while the updated Crushing Impact stratagem, the new name for Tank Shock, becomes cheaper for Adeptus Custodes Walker units.

That matters beyond Custodes players because it points to a broader rules direction. Elite armies are not just being rewarded for standing still and trading efficiently; they are being given tools to force the pace of the game. The same momentum-based collision play can also be used by vehicles and monsters, though the recoil risk remains if the dice turn against you. It is a sign that board pressure, not only raw durability, is becoming part of how elite factions are expected to function.

The Telemon Heavy Dreadnought was singled out as one of the honoured sarcophagi, which makes the point even sharper. This is not a cute side option tucked into a codex for flavour. It looks like a centerpiece style of play, where the faction’s iconic heavy chassis become the spearhead rather than the support act. The same video also highlighted a detachment that boosts the killing power of Sisters of Silence, giving Custodes players a second aggressive identity alongside the Dreadnought build.

That evolution sits neatly against the faction’s older image. Games Workshop has long described the Custodes as a hyper-elite army built around refined martial precision, martial ka’tahs and the idea that “every one of the Ten Thousand is a literal hero.” The 2024 Codex: Adeptus Custodes backed that up with 112 pages, Combat Patrol and Crusade rules, 18 datasheets and four detachments. Now the 2026 focus suggests a broader toolkit, one that still feels like Custodes but is willing to put sarcophagi and Sisters of Silence right at the front of the battle line.