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"Such base creatures have little capacity for fear, but we shall teach them of it when we can." -Canoness Athena I, Order of the Parthenon, addressing her Order facing an Ork Horde. The Order of the Parthenon is one of the minor Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, or the Sisters of Battle, founded by Athena I and approved by the Ecclesiarch Decius XXIII in the late 41st Millennium as part of their Penitence for their actions during the conflict between Ecclesiarch Decius XXIII and Inquisitor Lord Fydor Karamazov of the Ordo Hereticus over Preacher Icarael, the losses suffered at the Third War for Armageddon, and the failure during a Drukhari raid that resulted in the Capture of the Canoness Commander of the mission and other Sisters. Since their inception, the Order of the Parthenon has established a number of subsidiary convents throughout the galaxy at sites that are significant to the Ecclesiarchy. Sometimes little more than minor garrisons, but on occasions much Larger Covents, like on Pavonis. The order is renowned for its unrelenting pursuit of those who defy the Emperor by doing harm to His Imperium and its citizens. Xenos, marauders, Chaos armies and heretical cults are met with burning fury by the Sisters of the Order of the Parthenon as the continue their long Penitent Crusade. The Order of the Parthenon holds sanctuaries on a few Imperial worlds, many of which were established as escorting members of the Missionarus Galaxia. Some of these sanctuaries operate in relative isolation, existing far beyond the established boundaries of the order's parish, but the majority are located in the Segmentum Ultima. The distribution of the order's preceptories has seen the sisters of the Order of the Parthenon engage in many of the Imperium's enemies in different campaigns when they are not spreading the word of the Imperial Creed and reconsecrating old Monasteries. As the Great Rift now divides many of the order's sanctuaries, the sisters of the Order of Parthenon have not relented in their quest to Bring the Light of the Emperor to those in darkness. They stand dauntless against the Chaos forces that pour from newly opened Warp Storms, and they march out to annihilate any foe that would prey upon Humanity's beleaguered defenders. The fire of their spirit is a beacon of hope, a sign that even in this time of abounding horror, the Emperor has not abandoned His faithful servants. Founding Date 998.M41 Patron Saint Saint Katherine Founder Athena I Convent Convent Sanctorum Homeworld Formerly Ophelia VII Pavonis Allegiance Imperium of Man Colours and Hearldy Markings: Black power armour Black vestments with white trim red lining (after Saint Katherine's death) Black power armour red vestments (post-Third War for Armageddon) Grey Power Armor Black Corset and Gloves Tan/ White Vestments Black Lining Bolter/ Weapon casings casing- Red White Ecclesiarchy Icons Red Fleur de Lis Gold Rosarius Order History: "Let them all die, the blasphemers who did such things." -Canoness A. Janelle, address her Battle Sisters before they engaged a Chaos Cult Originally part of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, the Order of the Parthenon was founded after a failed mission against a Xenos raid by the Drukhari resulted in the death and/ or capture of the mission’s Canoness and multiple other sisters. The few surviving members of the mission performed valiantly but were stricken with the grief at the loss of so many of their fellow sisters and failure in protecting the Shrine of Sebastian Thor. This was second straight mass causality loss, and after the Incident on Salem Proctor, involving the Ordo Herticus. The acting Canoness Superior of the Order of Our Martyred Lady sought out the Abbess Sanctorum and the Ecclesiarch Decius XXII for approval to form a new Order Minoris. The purpose of the new order was to create a small Commandery of Sisters that are too valuable to become Repentias, in need to way to cope with their grief, and rededicate their Faith to the Emperor. The Abbess granted the Canoness Superior the chance to create an Order Minoris. Canoness Superior selected Canoness Commander Athena to lead this Order. Canoness Commander Athena chose the name the Order of the Parthenon and selected the planet Pavonis in the Eastern Fringe. Canoness Commander Athena I set about selecting various sisters amongst the Order of Our Martyred Lady that fit the Abbess and Canoness Superior's decree. Once the force was assembled, they departed Ophelia VII aboard Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor Ares' fleet and informed of their mission. All their previous iconography for the Order of our Martyred Lady was removed and their armor painted grey with tan vestments with black linings, and red Fleur de lis. Notable Campaigns Defense of the Relic (998.M41)- An item referred to as only the “relic” was being stored in the Parthenon after the Ordos arrival. The Adeptus Astartes from the Iron Hands Chapter assisting an Adeptus Mechanicus Detachment laid siege to the Order of the Parthenon’s Church. The siege only ended when Inquisitor Ares intervened forcing a truce between the 2 sides. The Bloody City (998.M41)- The cities inhabitants began to rise up and protest against the Imperium. The protests turned violent and full-scale rioting began. The Adeptus Arbites arrived in force and were slaughtered. The last remaining Arbite was able to send a distress call out before his death. Upon entering the city, Canoness Athena I led the mounted forces only to discover how bad the situation actually was. The City was under the influence of a Cult of Khorne. The cultists soon were eliminated but the threat was far worse than originally thought. So Bezerkers of Khorne were appearing in the streets slaughtering the Sisters. Canoness Athena I had her forces fall back to a more defensible position. Rhinos full of Bezerkers charge toward the sisters position and that is when Canoness opened her vox to the forces in wait. A large mob of Zealots assaulted the Bezerkers as they approached the Sisters position, as the zealots chanted their war hyms of victory a Khorne brass scorpion ran threw them killing the survivors of the melee with the Bezerkers straight into the Sisters defended position. In a hail of bolter and melta fire the sisters were able to down the Daemon engine of Khorne. The Violent End (998,M41)- After the Blood City Battle a Dark Angel strike force was in system seeking an Alpha Legion, they were chasing. While at the Master of the Dark Angels force discussed with Canoness Athena I, the Alpha Legion and Iron Warriors began their attack. The long range artillery being laid down by the 2 Chaos Forces forced the Dark Angels and Sisters to Seek Refuge behind the Imperial Wall. The Dark Angels rushed to man the walls with their plasma weapons as the Chaos Forces rushed the wall. The Dark Angels Chaplain rushed out to face the hordes of chaos with a squad of marines and Canoness Athena and A few Squads joined them. A series of artillery blasts soon took out the chaplain and his squad. The Iron Warrior Warsmith disembarked his rhino with his chosen and walked past the dying Chaplain, and kicked him in his skull helm, straight towards Canoness Athena and her sisters. A single Alpha Legion artillery round soared thru the air detonating on the Warsmith’s rhino. The Warsmith pointed towards Canoness Athena and said “You only live past this moment….because I have idiots that need to be killed immediately.” The Warsmith turned around and walked towards the Alpha Legion lines infuriated. Canoness Athena checked on the Chaplain and he was already gone. Laying next him was a Book that had the word “Salvation” on it. Talons Luminous (998.M41)- One of the materials refineries on Pavonis emergency beacon activated notifying the Ordo of intruders on site. Canoness Commander Athena I dispatched a small surgical strike team to investigate and repeal attackers. Canoness A. Janelle lead forces set up a perimeter and began the in investigation. The power to the refinery was disabled and large shapes could be seen moving in the distance. The Sisters began paying attention to a multi armed shadow near a small tracked vehicle. The sisters attempted to use their IFF sensors on the shadowy figures to no avail. Canoness A. Janelle informed her forces to prepare to move in to attack position. On Canoness A. Janelle’s command the Sisters began to move into attack positions. Bolter fire erupted from the intruders. “Chaos Marines,” yelled someone on the battlefield. Canoness A. Janelle jump packed to on one of the refinery platforms while Veteran Seraphim Superior Rochelle continued past the area to get behind the enemy lines. The Marines began running up the Platforms stair case to get to Canoness A. Janelle. Canoness A. Janelle engaged Marines on the landing to the stairs to reduce their strength and numbers. As Canoness A. Janelle kept killing the Marines, she could hear them screaming for reinforcements. Veteran Seraphim Superior Rochelle approached the multi limbed figure that was near the tracked vehicle with a large thud the enemy commander landed behind Canoness A. Janelle, his lightning claws glowing in the darkness. Canoness A. Janelle engaged the enemy commander in a fierce fight. Veteran Seraphim Superior Rochelle approached the multi armed enemy placed her bolt pistol to his head and said “I suggest you call your forces off, Techmarine…..You are intruders in an area we are protecting.” The Techmarine tuned to face Veteran Seraphim Superior Rochelle and her squad and voxed aloud “Cease Fire.” The Marine commander kneed Canoness A. Janelle in the face as she ducked his lightning claw swing, sending her sliding in to the railing. The Commander looked at her and said “So Sororitas, we both are on side of the Emperor….I guess we both made mistakes starting this fight, The Talons Luminous and the Adepta Sororitas.” With blood running down her face, Canoness A. Janelle stood up and said, “no, You and your Talons Luminous made the mistakes, You entered a restricted area unannounced, You disabled the power, You attempted to steal from the refinery, You opened fire on us…Given these actions, How else would we engage you and your force. Plus you misidentified us, calling us Chaos Marines. The 15 dead marines and neophytes of the Talons Luminous, I personally killed this day, Have you to thank for their deaths. And the Inquisition will be notified of the Talons Luminous’s actions….” The commander looked over the area they had been fighting and saw all his dead marines. And fell to his knees. Return to the Bloody City (998.M41)- Canoness Athena I was receiving word that the area of know as the Bloody City was becoming unstable again. Canoness Athena I and a few squads proceeded to the area. Upon entering the city, nothing seemed a miss until the skies darkened. Shadows began to move on their own in the darkness. Veteran Sister Superior Ginger and her squad began clearing a multistory building. Out of the darkness, glimmering shapes began to appear on the stairs below them. Flames jumped at the sister squad from the glimmering shapes. No damage was taken by the sisters and Sister Rebecca turned her Heavy Flamer on the shapes. The shapes withered and died to the sudden blast of promethium. The victory was short lived; Veteran Sister Superior Ginger glanced out at the street below. The forces were in disarray. Daemons were everywhere. Canoness Athena I was attempting to vox the forces but only static came through. Veteran Sister Superior Ginger had her squad proceed back down the stairs to join the rest of the forces. Suddenly a Greater Daemon of Khorne appeared as Veteran Sister Superior Ginger and her squad made it to the ground floor. One of the Forces Exorcists tanks was hurled into the building Veteran Sister Superior Ginger and her squad was in. The Sororitas immediately fell back and out of the city. Betrayers to Throne (998.M41)- An Astra Militarum Force soon deployed on Pavonis to set up quarantine around the Bloody city. Canoness Athena I with the Lord Commissar and the Company commander on what they were planning on doing to contain the threat in the City. After the meeting Canoness Athena I discusses with her Senior Sisters about the uneasy feeling she had. All Sisters in attendance agreed something was amiss. Canoness Athena assembled a small recon team to assist her with multiple squads in rhinos as back up. Canoness Athena I informed the vehicles in the convoy to hold back as her Immolator continued forward with the Dominions. The Immolator moved as close as it could to the Astra Militarums HQ. The Dominions and Canoness Athena I disembarked to into a building and began their investigation. Soon they had their answer. A Chaos Dark Apostle was amongst the Guard. Canoness Athena voxed the go codes to the rest of her forces and returned to her Immolator with the dominions. The Rogue Astra Militarum force quickly ran to their positons in response to the inbound rhinos. As the Astra Militarium mounted troops and tanks departed the HQ and Staging area, Canoness Athena once again disembarked her Immolator. The Immolator surged forward at the Lord Commissar and his Conscripts that were running towards the Sisters Rhinos. Sister Bambi opened up the nozzles to full and killed all the conscripts in one blast. The Lord Commissar laughed as he only survivor of the unit, before he was cut down by the storm bolter fire from the Dominions. The Immolator turned and proceeded over the berm to engage the Heavy weapon troops in the HQ area. Canoness Athena I and the Dominions engaged any infantry they encountered until it was the command squad remaining with the Dark Apostle. Before a word was said the Dark Apostle was lifted through the air blood spurting from a spear through his chest and the Command squad turning to see the unknown Attacker. Storm bolter fire ripped through the command squad. Canoness Athena I made the Sign of the Aquila to her chest and was greeted and by the same gesture back. The giant in Silver Terminator Amour identified himself as a Brother-Captain Raines of the Grey Knights Chapter. Canoness Athena pulled out the map and informed the Brother Captain of the borders to the Bloody City. Canoness Athena I and Brother Captain Raines then departed on their separate ways. Order Combat Doctrine: "The enemy is close by, and does not surrender. Do they not know the Sisters Militant?" -Confessor Waddsmith addressing the Order of the Parthenon The Order of the Parthenon portrays intellectual, strategic, and disciplined side of warfare, directly contrasting with the chaotic, violent nature of the Adepta Astartes and Astra Militarum. The Order of the Parthenon uses wisdom and war strategy, with tactics focused on, foresight, defense, and the protection of civilization. Strategic Planning Over Violence: The Order of Parthenon favor careful planning and only engaged in combat when necessary or for a just cause. Defense and Protection: Unlike other Imperial Forces who thrived on the destruction of war, Order of the Parthenon as a defender of cities (specifically Shrine Worlds needing Reconsecration), escorting Missionarius Galaxia (The specialized branch, working under the Ecclesiarch to bring enlightenment to lost worlds), and a protector of civilization. Use of Intelligence and Wit: The Order of the Parthenon makes use of vetted local assets to assess and determine course of action to minimize collateral damage with maximum outcome of the the scope of warfare. Mentorship and Guidance: Order of the Parthenon does not just fight; they will mentor local assets, work as Military Advisors, provide spiritual guidance through prayer, providing the insights needed to win against overwhelming odds. Order Beliefs: “The Emperor will not help those who do not desire it.” ― Canoness A. Janelle speaking to a unknow tribal leader after they refused the Imperial Creed. Tribe killed by Xenos threat. During their founding the Order of the Parthenon have struggled with there failings and guilt for their fallen sisters. All Sororitas are taught that to die serving the Emperor is the purest fate His servants can hope for, but amongst the Sisters of the Order of the Parthenon, this ideal is expressed so fervently that it can appear to the uninitiated as though they are all on the verge of taking the Oath of the Penitent. Isolated battle-sisters stand bravely against onrushing hordes of foes, hymns of defiance and reports of bolter rising to a simultaneous crescendo -- and when the blades of the foe hack into the sisters' flesh, they give their souls willingly up to the God-Emperor. Such noble deaths are met with shouts of praise from the slain sisters' comrades, for it is by such unwavering loyalty and boundless faith that the Emperor's gaze is drawn to the battlefield. In the name of these martyrs, those who remain achieve feats that defy explanation, destroying foes of far greater numbers and transforming inevitable defeats into miraculous victories. As the years have progress the Order of the Parthenon, has changed combat doctrines and their faith has grown even stronger. Spreading the Light of the Emperor, the Imperial Creed, vetting local assets with uses of the Order Sabine, Order Dialogus, and Dogmatas, helping Missionarius Galaxia. Notable Sisters for the Order of the Parthenon: Canoness Commander Athena I (KIA)- Hard Nosed Canoness, commonly seen leading the forces on foot in mass. Well Respected and knowledgeable understands her mission and seeks the right Superiors to complete the job. Carries Combi-melta. Killed in combat fighting Chaos Knights along with her small bodyguard. Canoness A. Janelle (KIA)- Aggressive, head strong Canoness prefers close combat and use of jump packs. Once Single handily engaged multiple squads of Terminators and Tactical Marines from the Salamander Space Marine Chapter over what was a considered a rude comment towards her and her sisters during the Battle of Armageddon. Only the intervention by Chaplain Xavier of the Salamanders stopped the fight. Killed in a Campaign against Speed Freak Ork Army, her death helped the rest of the force focus on eliminating the Ork Threat. Veteran Sister Superior Ginger (KIA)- One of the best Sister Superiors available and first pick to join the Ordo Minoris when created. Has served with Canoness Athena I for many years and has become the Combat instructor for the new Sisters in the order. Levelheaded and strict, she usually leads the base sister squads to evaluate them in combat. Killed by Cultist. Veteran Seraphim Superior Rochelle (KIA)- Calm and cool compared to Canoness A. Janelle. She is the voice of reason that speaks to Canoness A. Janelle, when she listens. Often leads the Seraphim bodyguard for Canoness A. Janelle in battle. After Canoness A. Janelle death was promoted to Canoness and eventually led her own Commandry. Died of old age. Sister Bambi (KIA)- Survivor of the Xenos Raid. Commonly assigned to drive the Mission Commander's Transport. Shot down a raider transport with a squad wytches with her Rhino's Stormbolter after the squad had disembarked to take an area. Resulting crash delayed the Wyches from engaging in close combat for a few brief moments. Died in the Return to the Bloody City, when the Greater Daemon of Khorne, threw the Exorcist into the building, she was driving. Sister Alana (KIA)- Survivor of the Xenos Raid. Heavy Bolter weilding Retributor. Commonly referred to one of the best shooters, most aggressive and ruthless members of the retributors. Constantly bumps heads with Veteran Retributor Superior Alma over the targets they are to engage, but usually the one that downs the most amongst the squad. During the Engagment with Dark Eldar, Alana shoot down a raider full of warriors and killed the survivors of the crash, shortly after that. Also successfully eliminated Eldar War Walkers attempting to scout a position. Alana joined Canoness Commander Rochelle, and served with her until her death at the hands of the same Drukhari raiders, she fought and survived as a member of the Order of the Martyred Lady. Order Appearance: Order Colours: The Order of the Parthenon were formerly of Order of Our Martyred Lady and wore black power armour with black vestments that possessed red linings from the death of Saint Katherine until the end of the Third War for Armageddon in 998.M41. They currently wear Grey Power armour, Black gloves and corsets and tan vestments with the black inner liners. Chapter Icon: The Icon is the standard Ecclesiarchy logo and on operations for the Inquisition the Stylized "I" will be used.
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Hello, and welcome to the compendium page for my Adeptas Sororitas Tactica series, Tactics for Units. This series is covering the Adeptas Sororitas units that can be found in Index Imperium 2! Here is where you'll be able to quickly and easily find the earlier entries in this series, and future entries will be added here as they are written! Cheers for reading. HQ Canoness St Celestine Elites Celestians Repentia and Mistress of Repentance Imagifers, Dialogus', and Hospitilars Troops Battle Sisters Fast Attack Dominions Seraphim Heavy Support Retributors Exorcists Dedicated Transports Sororitas Rhino Immolator For reference, I will not be covering Forge World units, just units in Index Imperium 2.
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Tactics for Units: Dominions Welcome back, after rather more of a break than intended, to Tactics for Units, a series of tactica articles focusing on Adeptas Sororitas units in 8th edition. Today, we’ll be looking at the most recent incarnation of one of the Sisters Militant’s most consistently bright stars; the Dominion squad. The Dominion is an Adepta Sororitas specialised in the use of a special weapon, and on the battlefield, they are often arranged into specialised units called, aptly, Dominion squads. Dominion squads have excellent maneuverability, which they leverage to bring their impressive firepower to bear at their opponent’s weakest points. Stats The Dominion squad has the same relatively average stats as the Battle Sister Squad. Of note, of course, is the BS3+, which helps them use their special weapons as needed. The 3+ save is good to help them stay alive, and their Leadership 7 (8 with the Superior) means the squad is unlikely to lose more models to Morale, should they take casualties. All things considered, an average but well rounded set of stats. Nothing special, by the standards of the Sororitas, but perfectly serviceable. Special Rules Dominions have three Special Rules; the army-wide Acts of Faith and Shield of Faith, and their unique rule Vanguard. Acts of Faith is one of the defining rules for Adeptas Sororitas, and the Dominion squad is no different. This rule allows, on the roll of a 2+, one unit in your army to make an out of sequence action that occurs before the Movement Phase. Of particular interest to the Dominion squad is Hand of the Emperor, which allows the unit to make a move as if it were the Movement Phase. With the necessity of good positioning to maximise their special weapon fire, this is a golden option for the ladies. Similarly, Divine Guidance is great, as you bring these ladies for their guns, and this doubles the return on your investment. Not much more to say beyond that! Spirit of the Martyr is a perennial favourite, as bringing back slain models is always good, especially in a squad with large numbers of model-by-model upgrades such as Dominions. The Passion is… Well, not quite worthless, but I would caution against it. Even if you give your Superior a chainsword or power weapon, the number and quality of attacks is just so poor as to make it a waste of time. These ladies do not want to be in assault, so try and keep them out. If they DO end up in combat, consider using Divine Guidance and have them shoot their bolt pistols. You will lose out on perhaps one Strength 3 hit, but in exchange get +1 to hit and +1S. Better if you gave the Superior a plasma pistol. Shield of Faith is a neat and fluffy little rule that grants a 6++ Invulnerable save. Now, with a 3+ armour save, it is unlikely that you will find yourself getting less than a 6+ save after AP is applied, but for those few times when it does? Golden. It also grants a modified Deny the Witch roll, which allows the unit to Deny using a single d6. It isn’t going to come up particularly often, given the average roll on 2d6 is 7, but it might deny the occasional low-rolled Smite, or some of the newer low Warp Charge powers in more recent Codexes. It’s a Nice To Have but nothing big, overall. Vanguard is the unique special rule of the Dominions, and it is, really, one of the two main reasons you’d run Dominions. This rule allows a unit with it to make a Move before the game begins, but after player turn order is decided. If a vehicle is transporting only models with this rule, it can make this move, instead of the unit inside, even though it does not possess the rule itself. This is a fantastic rule, and allows you do easy redeploy your Dominion squads in reaction to your opponent’s deployments, or to advance a squad up into no-mans-land, giving them a head start on hunting something down, or capping an early objective.This is well worth the additional Points per Model or the extra Power of the Dominions, compared to their Battle Sister Squad contemporaries. Equipment The Dominions have the standard Adeptas Sororitas equipment of Bolter, Bolt Pistol, and Grenades of the Krak and Frag varieties. The squad begins at Five models (Four Dominions and a Dominion Superior), and can be expanded to Ten models. Up to Four models may replace their bolter with a weapon from the Special Weapons list, and the Superior can swap her bolter for another Ranged Weapon or a Melee Weapon and her Pistol for a different Pistol. Bolters are standard. Nice strength and range, but nothing special. Bolt pistols are great to have, as you can fire them whilst engaged in combat. Grenades are always worth mentioning, as one model per unit can throw one in the Shooting Phase. If you’re within 6” and you have a spare bolter Dominion, a grenade is definitely worth considering. Which one depends on what you’re throwing at. Frag gives you d6 S3 shots, which is best against anything with single wounds that isn’t T6 or more. The Krak grenade is a single S6 shot, but it has AP-1 and d3 Damage. It’s good against multiple wound things with decent armour saves, so vehicles, monstrous creatures, and characters that aren’t T3. Also, possibly 2+ saves, though that can go either way. Given the expanded capacity for special weapons, you will almost certainly be wanting to take at least a couple. If you’re taking more than one (and you should be, really), take the same kind. There’s no point trying to cover every base with one squad. Better to focus one one thing with each Dominion squad, and have redundancy and flexibility with the rest of your army. Meltaguns are the Big Game Hunter special weapon. High Strength, excellent AP, and d6 Damage make for a fairly scary Sister. However, the unreliability of d6 Damage, the point cost, the 12” range, and only one shot prevent this being an autotake in every situation. And to compound the short range, the special ability of the melta, roll 2d6 for damage and pick the highest, only occurs within half range. So your Dominions will be getting close to something in order to perform their best. Having four in a squad makes an expensive squad, but certainly helps prevent them doing nothing due to a couple of unlucky 1s. The prospect of up to 24 damage is pretty scary. Use to take down a big threat before it can give you trouble, and to hunt Characters. Be aware of Invulnerable saves, as AP-4 won’t matter if they deflect it with a storm shield. Flamers are a useful tool. They’re relatively cheap, they automatically hit their target, and they do d6 hits per flamer. Nothing special, and they only have 8” range, but being able to hit things automatically is great. It’s good when you’re up against things that have a -1 To Hit them, such as Raven Guard or Flyers. Stormbolters. We heard you like bolters. So we took two bolters and strapped them together. Now, you can bolter whilst you bolter. The Stormbolter is the last word in getting lots of S4 shots for not very much by way of point investment. Following Mathhammer, even factoring into account the Flamer’s Automatically Hitting ability, the Stormbolter still causes more unsaved wounds Per Point Spent. Note that that is Per Point, not in a vacuum. Stormbolters achieve this by being two bolters worth of fire for less than half the points of a Flamer. Compared weapon to weapon, the Flamer deals slightly more. The Superior can exchange their bolter for a Stormbolter, a Condemnor Boltgun or a Combi-weapon. The Stormbolter is a good idea if you are arming the rest of the squad with them, as it allows you to take 5 stormbolters, meaning the squad’s firepower at 5 models is the same as a barebones BSS at 10 models. Nice. The Condemnor Boltgun is a hard pass for me. Getting d3 Damage against psykers is nice, but functionally pointless against the majority of your opponent’s army even if they do bring psyker support. If you regularly face Thousand Sons or Grey Knights, then its utility goes up substantially, but that’s the only time. Combi weapons are great, as they allow you to take a 5th special weapon AND your bolter for only a little bit more than the cost of the two weapons. Obviously, pairing combimeltas and combiflamers with meltagun and flamer Dominions is a solid bet. Taking a different one to allow for some flexibility in terms of targets is an option, but I would caution against it, for the same reason as I caution against mixing special weapons. Dominions are specialised tools. Being able to take on any kind of threat is what Battle Sister Squads are for. The Combiplasma is interesting, as it is one of only two ways to get plasma into the Sisters army. For what you pay, you get a fair bit. A good strength and AP, and the option to boost the strength AND damage. It doesn’t pair with either melta or flamer in terms of targets, but makes a nice alternative to taking another Stormbolter in a Stormbolter filled squad. Just make sure never to overcharge and fire both guns at once. It doubles the likelyhood of an overheat as well as making you less likely to hit. The necessarily short ranges the Dominion squad will be operating at means that the special pistols have some interesting potential for your Superior. The Infernus pistol is very short range, and expensive, but boasts Melta stats and damage. The Plasma pistol is a great option, as it is relatively cheap and has the great plasma stats you see elsewhere. Remember these if you find your Dominions get charged after they arrive. As is always the case with pistols, the main draw is being able to shoot while engaged. Melee weapons are either the humble chainsword or the various kinds of Power Weapons. The Chainsword is a free swap for the bolter, and grants an extra attack in combat, bringing the Superior up to 3. Still at her mediocre WS4+ and S3, but it’s not bad, largely because you don’t pay any points for it. Power weapons range from the high AP Sword or the low AP but extra strength Maul, with the balance of the axe between the two. If you want a power weapon, the best bet is the maul, as the Strength boost is the most important buff you can give a Sister in close combat. The Axe isn’t a bad option if you’re unwilling to give up quite that much AP, but the sword, while really cool, just isn’t going to cause enough wounds to use the AP-3. Tactics Dominions have three main roles, which largely depend on which special weapon they take. However, all varieties benefit from fast, aggressive play. Maximise the special weapons you take, and get them moving as fast as they can towards their target. A transport is a solid investment, and in the case of Immolators provides valuable supporting fire. Meltagun Dominions are, as aforementioned, Big Game Hunters. They have powerful and deadly weapons, and can take out high threat targets relatively easily. Taking multiple meltaguns helps shore up their low firing rate, and their speed compensates for the short range. I take units with 3 meltaguns, but only because I have 6 meltaguns in my collection, and I like running two squads of meltagun dominions. Consider taking them with 4 meltaguns. Taking extra sisters is to taste, as it limits the transport they can take (As Immolators have a maximum capacity of 6 models), and they can’t carry meltaguns, so won’t be contributing heavily to the squad’s target, but do provide a cushion so the squad can take a few casualties without losing meltagun efficacy. Flamers are good for sweeping a unit off of a point or removing an annoying and hard to hit unit. They can put a lot of pain into a small space, and all that pain is hitting automatically. Things like Stealth Suits, are all good options. They’re also terrifying for an assault unit to try and charge. Extra sisters won’t auto hit, but provide a wound cushion, someone to throw a grenade, and extra bolter shots will still hurt the sort of thing flamers are good at hurting, though not as effectively. Stormbolters are fantastic at taking and holding objectives. They are relatively cheap, so can use their speed to get up close to an objective, and then use their enormous amount of bolterfire to kill anything on the objective, or anything trying to get close. Extra sisters are a solid idea, as this squad wants extra bodies to boost their survivability, and a stormbolter is still a kind of bolter. Beware of units with Objective Secured or similar rules, as Dominions will not be able to hold onto an objective against an ObSec unit. Overall, the Dominion squad is a fast, deadly squad that can be outfitted to suit a number of roles. They benefit from specialisation, but have the rules and options to support that. What are your opinions on Dominions? How do you use them? Do you have any disagreements with my take on things? Please go ahead and share! I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
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