Venerable Contemptor-Achillus Dreadnought

Few honors within the Adeptus Custodes match interment within a Contemptor-Achillus chassis, a fate reserved for Custodians whose bodies have finally failed after centuries of war but whose skill and will remain too valuable to lose. Rebuilt around a war machine older than most Imperial institutions, the warrior within continues the fight from inside armor thick enough to shrug off firepower that would annihilate a squad of their still-living brothers.

The Achillus pattern is built specifically for close, merciless work, its arms fitted with siege claws and melee weaponry engineered to seize and dismantle enemy walkers, monstrous creatures, and fortified positions alike. When a Shield Host commander needs the largest problem on the battlefield solved directly and permanently, it is one of these venerable machines that receives the order, and few things the Imperium has faced have survived the answer for long.