'Custodes Are Not Space Marines' — Games Workshop Addresses 'The Telemon in the Room' and Explains Warhammer Lore Behind New Female Miniatures

Games Workshop has published a Warhammer lore mentation for the beingness of pistillate Custodes pursuing a caller miniature scope announcement connected Friday.

During a preview livestream, the British institution down tabletop wargames Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 revealed caller models for the Adeptus Custodes, a faction made up of genetically-engineered, functionally immortal transhumans who enactment arsenic the Emperor’s bodyguards connected Terra. The Custodes are not Space Marines. Indeed, they are bigger, faster, and much almighty than the mean Space Marine. And, arsenic we shall explore, they are created successful a precise antithetic way.

Games Workshop showed disconnected new, eye-catching Custodes models during the livestream, and alongside the antheral types are pistillate types. While pistillate Custodes had been mentioned successful erstwhile Warhammer 40,000 material, and adjacent starred successful an authoritative Warhammer animation, their debut successful miniature signifier was capable to acceptable disconnected complaints online from immoderate who accused Games Workshop of retconning the established lore. These radical judge the Custodes should stay antheral lone because, they insist, this is what the lore had acceptable out. Some besides impeach Games Workshop of pandering to a "modern audience" with the pistillate Custodes, echoing the alleged “anti-woke” rhetoric.

Female Custodes are present in-game. Image credit: Games Workshop.

Perhaps mindful of this reaction, Games Workshop had a lore nonfiction acceptable to spell pursuing the reveal. In it, the institution explained however pistillate Custodes are made imaginable and however they disagree from Space Marines, which stay antheral only. The gist, according to this article, is determination is nary retcon.

“Lore wise, Space Marines are made from quality males, consenting aspirants oregon unwilling conscripts connected the cusp of adolescence,” Games Workshop explained. “They are subjected to a bid of horrific trials, and the strongest look arsenic remorseless killers, their humanity stripped distant truthful they tin service arsenic surviving weapons successful the Emperor’s armies. There are nary pistillate Adeptus Astartes.

“Custodes are not Space Marines. Other than the evident constituent that they are some towering, gene-enhanced warriors, the similarities beauteous overmuch halt there. Custodes are taken arsenic infants and recrafted by past science.The process is arcane and bespoke to each individual. The Emperor himself retained oversight of the process (at slightest until that full Horus Heresy happening went down).”

Image credit: Games Workshop.

Games Workshop besides addressed the content that each the Custodes are made from the sons of Terran noble houses, arsenic acceptable retired by Custodes lore established for the 8th Edition of Warhammer 40,000. While immoderate Custodes are made this way, that was not the lone root of recruitment, Games Workshop explained.

“Other methods mightiness person been arsenic overt, others acold much secretive,” the institution said. “Noble daughters could besides person been taken, and astatine immoderate point, you tally retired of noble houses — adjacent aft you’ve conquered each of Terra, the inexorable warfare instrumentality of the Imperium inactive requires a changeless churn of recruits.”

Games Workshop concluded: “all Custodes, antheral oregon female, embody the pinnacle of the familial and cellular engineering the Emperor employed erstwhile creating his armies. They are each flawless creations, pushed beyond the bounds of quality potential. There is nary quality successful combat efficacy betwixt a antheral Custodian and pistillate Custodian.”

It’s harmless to accidental the play has been packed with ‘discourse’ pursuing the Custodes reveal. YouTube comments, societal media, and subreddits bash so person galore comments from radical complaining astir the specified beingness of these pistillate Custodes models. Some are truthful upset they’re threatening to permission the hobby down implicit it. But it’s important to enactment that determination is simply a important pushback connected this sentiment from galore Warhammer 40,000 fans who person nary occupation whatsoever with pistillate Custodes and disregard immoderate retcon concerns.

It’s worthy remembering that, for each the complaints astir retcons, Warhammer 40,000 “lore,” specified arsenic it is, has ever been an unreliable thing. Indeed, it is built upon the thought that each we cognize of what was, what is, and what volition beryllium comes from a definite constituent of view. Crucial events are often delivered from a character’s perspective, and that quality whitethorn person an docket of their own. The Imperium itself — a rotting, fascist authorities built upon 10,000 years of propaganda — twists the facts, if we tin adjacent telephone them such. There is small successful the Warhammer 40,000 beingness that tin beryllium relied upon. That is benignant of the point.

And we’ve been present before. The Necrons — present 1 of the astir fashionable xenos factions successful the mounting — were erstwhile mindless automatons all. Now, we person novels astir idiosyncratic Necrons with much property than your mean cause of the Inquisition. We don’t telephone the Imperial Guard the Imperial Guard anymore (well, we’re not meant to!). We are to notation to the Guard arsenic the Astra Militarum and not to accidental different connection connected it convey you precise much.

The Tithes Episode 2 stars an Adeptus Custodes called Tyrith. Image credit: Games Workshop.

From the aforesaid 8th Edition Custodes codex that stated each the Custodes are made from the sons of Terran noble houses:

Not adjacent the astir knowledgeable of the Imperium’s scholars tin accidental erstwhile the Emperor fashioned the Custodians. The information is hidden successful fragments of the past, accounts of figures appearing successful crude hieroglyphs and cave etchings, stasis-locked scads of parchment and gene-sealed tomes that nary antheral present tin open.

And:

The method by which specified singular individuals are created has ever been known lone to those of the Imperial household, and is carried retired by the astir accomplished chirurgeons and bio-alchemists of Terra wrong gilded laboratories locked distant from the show of Humanity’s masses. With the Adeptus Custodes warring lone for the Emperor himself, and beholden to the commands and scrutiny of nary other, the secrets of their recruitment person ne'er been revealed, for not adjacent the High Lords of Terra person the close to request them.

Games Workshop had laid the groundwork for the instauration of pistillate Custodes by mentioning Custodes Calladayce Kesh successful the latest Custodes codex backmost successful April 2024 (some didn’t similar the mode this was done, oregon the tweet Games Workshop enactment retired astir it backmost then, and astatine the clip determination were nary pistillate Custodes models to spell alongside the lore reveal).

Since the archetypal of the Ten Thousand were created, determination person ever been pistillate Custodians.

— Warhammer Official (@warhammer) April 14, 2024

Then, successful September 2024, fans were treated to a Warhammer animation starring a pistillate Custodes called Tyrith Shiva Kyrus, who spent her clip ripping tyranids to shreds and staring down Space Marines successful the mode lone a Custodes can.

Tyrith Shiva Kyrus was Games Workshop's archetypal portrayal of a pistillate Custodian since the lore revelation that Custodians could beryllium immoderate sex conscionable a fistful of months prior. "This information came arsenic a existent astonishment to many, since it wasn’t thing antecedently explored," Games Workshop said astatine the time. "That, successful and of itself, isn’t a peculiarly antithetic happening for Warhammer 40,000 and its lore; determination are simply loads of things the Warhammer Studios person ne'er expressly stated, whether that’s ruling them successful oregon out. Since the earliest conversations astir bringing the Horus Heresy to the tabletop and Black Library fiction, the nonstop quality of the Custodians has been nether treatment — aft all, their origins and means of creation, dissimilar for example, the Legiones/Adeptus Astartes, are shrouded successful mystery.

"A important vantage to this portrayal is that it helps america to code a communal misconception — that the Custodes are conscionable bigger, amended Space Marines. They aren’t. Space Marines were made done industrialised ritual to beryllium mass-produced, brute-force weapons of conquest. And adjacent 10,000 years aft their creation, draped successful self-assigned glory, that’s inactive existent of them astatine their core. Each Custodian, connected the different hand, is unique. Painstakingly made done peerless trade and arcane artifice, their physique, their psyche, their precise soul, is simply a bespoke instrumentality of the Emperor they unquestioningly serve."

These "gaps" successful the Warhammer lore, wherever things are near unsaid oregon unexplained, are "quite intentional," Games Workshop said arsenic portion of that aforesaid September 2024 explanation. "They fto you arsenic collectors, players, and fans capable the spaces with your ain characters, stories and narratives — making the Warhammer hobby genuinely yours," the institution continued. "They besides let america to revisit factions done miniatures, stories, and animations and connection thing caller and interesting. (Imagine however bittersweet it would beryllium if we ever said 'And that’s it. That’s everything you’ll ever spot successful this army. No caller models ever.' – that’d beryllium rubbish.)"

Now, we yet person pistillate Custodes minis, which shouldn’t person travel arsenic overmuch of a astonishment astatine all. As redditor SchmittVanDean enactment it implicit the weekend:

“And it's progressively embarrassing and weird, similar radical who inactive kick bitterly astir the Necrons. Tithes Episode 2 is simply a truly amusive abbreviated communicative of a pistillate Custodes and her Sister of Silence buddy and the characterisation of their motivations and interactions — particularly with Space Marines — are fantastic; their depiction and the mode they combat is conscionable cool. The caller models are exceptional. The lore rationale — the Custodes are created via a perfected signifier of the earlier wide accumulation cistron editing that could lone nutrient antheral Space Marines — improves some Marines and Custodes conceptually arsenic factions.”

Or, arsenic redditor tghast said: “I genuinely truly genuinely could not deliberation of thing I springiness little of a crap about.”

Image credit: Games Workshop.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].