Blade Champion

"He gazed around the Colosseia. It was as large as a fleet escort, with tiered seating for those increasingly rare occasions where the Custodians were present in numbers enough to witness the Blade Champions complete trials and duel one another. The walls of the arena were decorated with murals and mosaics depicting Blade Champions past and their triumphs. There was Sabium Karindas, a true master of Decapitus, who felled the Iron Warriors warlord Kraabas Puzar. There was Hayani Rimush, standing atop a mound of dead Hrud a hundred metres tall -- it was said no Blade Champion before or since had demonstrated such perfection in the Rendax fighting movement. Kambyses' favourite was the depiction of Nabonideion Seleukis, the breaker of beasts. The way he had combined the Goliat's third sequence, Conservi in Magnos form and pure Vanquis fighting movements was legendary. This great champion was depicted standing on the back of a Tyranid Hierodule, driving his longsword into the back of its neck as it writhed and squirmed in a failed attempt to throw him off. So many, thought Kambyses. There were dozens more. He could recount all their tales. All served as inspiration and examples. 'In the sight of you all I will prove myself worthy of our title,' he declared, before igniting his blades once again."

—Blade Champion Kambyses, admiring the other great heroes of his order

A mighty Blade Champion of the Adeptus Custodes in combat, wielding his Vaultsword.

A Blade Champion is a fearsome warrior-hero of the Adeptus Custodes dedicated to melee combat, revered as a paragon of martial skill even among the vaunted ranks of those transhuman champions.

Role

The Adeptus Custodes are the guardians of the God-Emperor Himself, each a magnificent warrior with martial skills renowned across the Imperium and rightly feared by their enemies. To join the ranks of the Blade Champions is an honour beyond measure -- one earned by defeating the mightiest foes in battle time and again.

In recognition of their great deeds, the names of every Blade Champion are etched within the Tome Eternal, which sits in the Emperor's own Throne Room.

Within the ranks of a Custodes Shield Host, a venerable Shield-Captain will often be joined by a number of senior warriors -- such as Blade Champions -- who act as his companions and who can also command forces in their own right. Indeed, Blade Champions often accrue unofficial bands of warriors from within the Custodes and the Sisters of Silence, leading them into combat.

In battle, a Blade Champion is a living weapon in the Emperor's hand. His role is to identify the greatest battlefield threat -- be that a mighty leader, a host of killers or a deadly war engine -- then to employ his archeotech blades, known as Vaultswords, and specialised martial fighting styles to ensure their swift and absolute destruction.

Martial Ka'tahs

A mighty Blade Champion of the Adeptus Custodes

Unlike other members of the Adeptus Custodes, Blade Champions don't take part in the Blood Games that constantly test the matchless defences of the Imperial Palace -- their duty is to train relentlessly to perfect their skills as a warrior. The old adage that the best defence is a good offence is exemplified by the Blade Champions, for they protect the Master of Mankind through their ability to defeat any threat, no matter what form it takes.

Once a Custodian ascends to the vaunted rank of Blade Champion, he will spend his years perfecting the Martial Ka'tahs of the Custodes -- their ancient systems of melee martial arts -- in the Colosseia Auris within the Imperial Palace.

The Adeptus Custodes have developed many thousands of different martial ka'tahs -- unique fighting stances, martial arts and battlefield techniques. These they have evolved over millennia using ancient lore, paintings and statuary, as well as their experiences in war against all manner of Human and xenos peoples. The Custodes have developed many other ka'tahs in the same manner, such as the Politik, Oratorial and Philosophik ka'tahs, all of which have many hundreds of unique disciplines and styles within them.

Some of these potent fighting styles are utilised only by the Blade Champions' order, making them capable of eliminating countless enemies with their deadly Vaultswords.

• Behemor - This ka'tah's clinical strikes prevent even the toughest hide or armored hull from withstanding the Blade Champions' blows.

• Calistus - Calistus is the art of keeping up relentless fire while advancing against the enemy.

• Conservi - Conservai emphasises seeing the bigger strategic picture over and above the slaughter of enemies.

• Dacatarai - This aggressive fighting style has been adapted by the Custodes to deal with hordes of foes who vastly outnumber them.

• Decapitas

• Goliat

• Hurricanis - The ka'tah of Hurricanis lets the Blade Champions carve their way through enemy ranks in a blur of blade and blood.

• Kaptaris - Kaptaris is optimised to trap enemy units in close combat with the Custodes, where the elite warriors can eliminate them.

• Rendax - Masters of Rendax are superlative monster and war machine hunters.

• Salvus - Masters of Salvus are preternaturally skilled marksmen with any form of ranged weaponry.

• Vanquis

• Victus - The execution techniques of the ka'tah of Victus have been used by Blade Champions to claim the lives of countless tyrants and warlords.

Notable Blade Champions

• Aristothes Carvellan - Carvellan is a Blade Champion whose prodigious swordsmanship puts even his fellow Custodes to shame. He is currently leading a Custodes strike force against a vast Genestealer Cult that is active beneath the Imperial Palace, seeking to capture their Patriarch alive.

• Hayani Rimush - Rimush is a famed Blade Champion who killed so many xenos Hrud during a single battle that he was left standing upon a mound of their corpses over a hundred metres tall. It is also said that no Blade Champion before or since has demonstrated such perfection in the Martial Ka'tah of Rendax.

• Kambyses - A Blade Champion of the Custodians who often trained in the Colosseia Auris of the Imperial Palace and admired the depictions of the other great members of his order.

• Sabium Karindas - Karindas was a true master of the Martial Ka'tah of Decapitus. He felled the Iron Warriors warlord Kraabas Puzar.

• Nabonideion Seleukis - Seleukis was known among the Adeptus Custodes as the "Breaker of Beasts." The way he had combined the Goliat's third sequence, Conservi in Magnos form and pure Vanquis fighting movements was legendary among other Custodians. This great champion was depicted in the Colosseia Auris of the Imperial Palace standing on the back of a Tyranid Hierodule, driving his longsword into the back of its neck as it writhed and squirmed in a failed attempt to throw him off.

Wargear

An Adeptus Custodes Blade Champion armed with a two-handed Vaultsword.

• Custodian Armour

• Vaultsword - A Vaultsword is a type of archeotech power sword that is used by the elite Blade Champions of the Adeptus Custodes. They can be wielded either as single greatswords, known as "Klaimors," or paired with a slightly smaller "Nemis," depending on what the fighting style of the Blade Champion's chosen Martial Ka'tah requires.

Sources

• Warhammer Twitch: Warhammer Preview Online: Warhammer Day
• Warhammer Community: How do you Prove Yourself as the BEST of the Best of the Best? Become a Blade Champion!
• Shadow Throne Rulebook, pg. 4
• Codex: Adeptus Custodes (9th Edition), pp. 81, 88-89
• Games Workshop Website: Blade Champion