Gladius Task Force: The 11th-Edition Space Marines Generalist Detachment

Gladius's detachment rule is Combat Doctrines — three army-wide stances you switch between at the start of your Command phase, each usable only once per battle, so you cycle through them across the game:

• Devastator Doctrine — units can shoot even after they Advance.
• Tactical Doctrine — units can shoot and declare charges even after they Fall Back.
• Assault Doctrine — units can charge even after they Advance.

The skill is timing: bank the doctrines and burn each one on the turn it maximises your tempo. Note this is the detachment rule — it is separate from your Space Marines army rule, which at the current launch state is still Oath of Moment.

Gladius is deliberately costed at the full 3 DP. In 11th edition a 2,000-point army has a 3-DP budget and can normally combine detachments — but because Gladius takes all 3, you cannot bolt a 1-DP support detachment onto it the way you can with a 2-DP core. Sources are candid that GW priced it this way because Gladius dominated 2025 competitive play. So the choice is stark: raw flexibility in one package (Gladius), or a specialised 2-DP core plus a 1-DP support (for example Ironstorm Spearhead + Fulguris Task Force). Pick Gladius when safety and adaptability matter more than a combined-detachment gimmick.

• Storm of Fire (Shooting) — a unit's ranged weapons Ignore Cover, plus improved AP while in the Devastator Doctrine. Use against cover-campers, and double up under Devastator.
• Honour the Chapter (Fight) — melee weapons gain Lance (a charging bonus), plus AP while in the Assault Doctrine. Spend it on the unit you just charged.
• Squad Tactics (reactive) — a small reactive move to dodge a charge or adjust for an objective; larger while Tactical Doctrine is up.
• Only in Death Does Duty End — a dying melee unit still gets to swing. Hold it to guarantee retaliation on a key unit.
• Armour of Contempt (defensive) — worsens incoming AP by 1; the universal Space Marine save-saver for your linchpin unit.

• Adept of the Codex (Captain) — lets the bearer's own unit turn on the Tactical Doctrine independently, without spending your army-wide once-per-battle choice. Superb flexibility.
• The Honour Vehement — +1 Attack and +1 Strength in melee, rising to +2 under the Assault Doctrine; put it on a melee Captain leading Assault Intercessors.
• Artificer Armour — a 2+ save plus Feel No Pain 5+ for a front-line character you need to survive.
• Fire Discipline — the led unit's ranged weapons gain Sustained Hits 1; ideal on a shooting-unit leader.

(11th-edition points weren't independently confirmed, so build to the current pack's costs.)

• Captain — anchors the doctrine-support enhancements (Adept of the Codex, The Honour Vehement) and buffs a front-line brick.
• Assault Intercessors / melee bricks — Assault Doctrine plus Honour the Chapter and The Honour Vehement make a reliable, mobile threat.
• Sternguard Veterans / bolter firebase — Storm of Fire and Fire Discipline reward a durable shooting unit, and Devastator Doctrine lets it advance-and-shoot.
• Almost anything — Gladius is lightly restricted and faction-wide, so nearly any Adeptus Astartes unit slots in; that's the point.

Choose Gladius when you want the strongest general-purpose list rather than a themed one — for beginners, for pick-up games, and any time raw flexibility and safety beat a gimmick. It teaches Oath of Moment targeting and doctrine timing without extra sub-systems, and almost any collection fits.

Sample gameplan: open in Devastator Doctrine so units Advance onto objectives and still shoot; use Storm of Fire to crack a priority target. Flip to Assault Doctrine on the turn you commit your melee bricks — Advance-and-charge with a Captain-led Assault Intercessor unit and spend Honour the Chapter. Keep the Tactical Doctrine in reserve for a reactive turn (Fall Back and still shoot/charge). Throughout, hold Armour of Contempt and Only in Death Does Duty End as reactive CP.