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This is SprueSentry strategy commentary, not official rules. Confirm the specifics and points against the free Space Marines Faction Pack before a game.
Three army-wide stances you switch between at the start of your Command phase, each usable only once per battle: Devastator (shoot after Advance), Tactical (shoot and charge after Fall Back), Assault (charge after Advance).
A unit's ranged weapons Ignore Cover, plus improved AP while in the Devastator Doctrine.
Melee weapons gain Lance, plus AP while in the Assault Doctrine.
A small reactive move to dodge a charge or adjust for an objective; larger while Tactical Doctrine is up.
A dying melee unit still gets to swing.
Worsens incoming AP by 1.
Lets the bearer's own unit turn on the Tactical Doctrine independently. Captain.
+1 Attack and +1 Strength in melee, rising to +2 under the Assault Doctrine.
A 2+ save plus Feel No Pain 5+ for a front-line character.
The led unit's ranged weapons gain Sustained Hits 1.
Anchors the doctrine-support enhancements and buffs a front-line brick.
Assault Doctrine plus Honour the Chapter and The Honour Vehement make a reliable mobile threat.
Storm of Fire and Fire Discipline reward a durable shooting unit.
See the box: price and offersHow to play Gladius Task Force in 11th edition — the 3-DP all-comers benchmark, its Combat Doctrines, and why it can't be paired with a support detachment.
Sprue Sentry strategy commentary for 11th edition, not official rules. Games Workshop updates points and rules regularly; always confirm against the current official rules and latest update before a game.
Gladius Task Force is the generalist benchmark for Space Marines in Warhammer 40,000 11th edition (launched June 2026): the flexible, take-anything detachment most lists are measured against, and the best starting point if you're unsure what to play. It costs the full 3 Detachment Points.
This is SprueSentry strategy commentary, not official rules. Gladius's detachment rule is well-established, but reviewers note the June 2026 pack largely republished the existing stratagem and enhancement text, so always confirm the specifics — and current points — against the free Space Marines Faction Pack before a game.
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:
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.
(11th-edition points weren't independently confirmed, so build to the current pack's costs.)
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.
3 DP — the full budget of a 2,000-point army. Unlike 2-DP detachments, that means you cannot pair Gladius with a 1-DP support detachment; it is a single self-contained package.
Combat Doctrines: three army-wide stances (Devastator, Tactical, Assault) that you switch between at the start of your Command phase, each usable once per battle. Devastator shoots after Advancing, Tactical shoots/charges after Falling Back, Assault charges after Advancing.
No. At 3 DP it consumes your entire detachment budget at 2,000 points. If you want to combine detachments, take a 2-DP core (like Ironstorm Spearhead or Anvil Siege Force) plus a 1-DP support (like Fulguris Task Force or Librarius Conclave) instead.
Yes — it's the recommended starting detachment. It's the flexible all-comers option, works with almost any Space Marine collection, and lets you learn Oath of Moment and doctrine timing before you move on to combining detachments.
Written by Sprue Sentry, grounded in the cited sources. Original commentary, not Games Workshop rules text.