Custodians of Mecatol Rex

By pyrefly1986, in Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition

Since the custodians are Winnu, if a Winnu player is the first to arrive at Mecatol Rex, would the Custodians join them, peacefully annex or fight their own Kind?

Since the custodians are Winnu, if a Winnu player is the first to arrive at Mecatol Rex, would the Custodians join them, peacefully annex or fight their own Kind?

I am unsure if the rules handle this but I think they do. As far as I'm concerned, the Custodians are so distantly related to The Winnu that they no longer view The Winnu as their brethren. If you read the backstory for The Winnu on the reverse of their race card they essentially went to Mecatol Rex and demanded the Custodians give them the throne, to which they were rebuffed.

Rules-wise, no. The Winnu are a faction like any other, and they have no racial ability stating that they are immune to the Custodians. Therefore, there is no special treatment.

Theme-wise, the Winnu faction represents the majority of the race, who live on their homeworld and generally live their lives as they see fit. The Custodians are a group of Winnu who were selected and sworn to serve a particular purpose on Mecatol Rex. Sort of like the Swiss guards who serve at the Vatican.

If the Swiss government went down to the Vatican and demanded they be allowed to take control of the city-state while the Pope was in absentia, I don't think the Swiss guards would allow it just on the basis that we're all Swiss here. These guards, regardless of origin, have sworn to serve the Pope in Vatican City, not the Swiss government.

(In modern times the Swiss guards may not all be Swiss anymore - they probably take applicants from anywhere and just continue to use the uniforms. But you see my point.)

Thematically though, The Winnu's racial technology gives them a special advantage in regards to MR and the Custodians. I have seen a Winnu player use this racial technology to his great advantage. (the racial tech where The Winnu get to remove the Custodians and place a GF on MR)