How important are 3 Exorcists for Sisters in 2500pts

[Toogeloo]

Many of the people I game with recommend to me that I should drop my squad of 10 Retributors w/ 4 Heavy Bolters in exchange for a third Exorcist. The Retributors do ok for me, not great, but ok. But Exorcists seem to fair just as well. Sometimes they don't do anything, sometimes they really shine.

 

If I plan to Induct some Imperial Guard for the upcoming 2500 point tournament, should I take a third Exorcist nad make some of the Guard cover the Heavy Bolters instead (instead of Autocannons or Lascannons)? I may or may not induct Guardsmen, but if I did, I would only do about 3 squads and an HQ for one platoon, and more than likely not more than a single platoon of guardsmen. If I don't Induct Guardsmen, I was thinking I may run 5 squads of BSS and a Retributor Squad.

 

I am having a hard time find a good balance I think.

[Coppella]

In any game 3 exorcists are never a must. I usually field 1 Exorcist per 1000 pts. that is kind of a personal guide line. So many people dislike playing against them, so I go easy with most of them. Mind you, most of my opponents usually end up wishing I took a 3rd Exorcist instead of 8 Retributors with 4 heavy bolters.

Its a win-win situation for us, and a choice of two evils for our opponent. One throws out a ton of shots, while the other is pretty random. Both can be AP1 with faith, and both have good strength. One takes a lot of shots, while the other may only take one. So Both add a lot of fire power, but the exorcists remains mobile. So this defaults Retributors to defending an objective, or just adding cover fire for your Rhinos. They work great together.

 

Now take into account that Sisters are BS4, have power armor, faith, and are still pretty cheap points wise.

Imperial guard are BS3, thick T-shirt saves, fa....vox caster, and sort of cheap.

Really puts some perspective on it eh?

 

Balance? I'm guessing you mean mechanized and non-mechanized balance. Thats not a problem either. 2500pts, hmm, thats easily 4-5 Sister Squads in Rhinos, and 1 15 Sister squad on foot. Retributors and foot sloggers hold an objective in your deployment zone, while most of the army speeds off to purge the foe. You could even leave an Exorcist back to add some more punch against their target.

 

Good Luck in your tournament!

 

P.S. - I recently won best general in a team tournament with my Sisters and Crimson Fist allies. So we can be extremely competetive. (we beat every team we played against, which was: Space Marine/Tau, Demon Hunters/Eldar, Orks/Orks, Chaos/Chaos, 3-Fire Prism Eldar/Hvy-wpns-r-us Guard)

[SJumppanen]

Many of the people I game with recommend to me that I should drop my squad of 10 Retributors w/ 4 Heavy Bolters in exchange for a third Exorcist. The Retributors do ok for me, not great, but ok. But Exorcists seem to fair just as well. Sometimes they don't do anything, sometimes they really shine.

 

If I plan to Induct some Imperial Guard for the upcoming 2500 point tournament, should I take a third Exorcist nad make some of the Guard cover the Heavy Bolters instead (instead of Autocannons or Lascannons)? I may or may not induct Guardsmen, but if I did, I would only do about 3 squads and an HQ for one platoon, and more than likely not more than a single platoon of guardsmen. If I don't Induct Guardsmen, I was thinking I may run 5 squads of BSS and a Retributor Squad.

 

I am having a hard time find a good balance I think.

 

If you have IG with lascanons then you may not need 3rd Exorchist and you can take Retributors. This would give you higher modell count but would make AT weapons bit more static than Exorchist. Lascanons also have slight advantage over missile in its higher strenght, but it loses accuracy in IG hands. On the other hand, Exorchist is pretty much the best MC killer in the game (least in the imperial side) and pretty good against all those skimmer tanks there is.

 

Basicaly it all depends on what are you against.

 

Against IG EXO is best when used against Ogryn and walkers, maybe Chimeras too, but anything else it is sub-optimal. LRs have too much armour in the front so take these out with Seraphims or Canoness and regular IG infantry is beter taken out with Retributors.

 

Tyranids is another army that Retributors exels against, but there is definitely place for EXO also. Must be mentioned that even regular sisters can be murderous against MCs when using large numbers and Divine guidance.

 

Eldar: Retributors.

 

Tau: Depending what they got, but still i would take Retributors in my list.

 

Anything with 3+ save: EXO. But consider taking =I= with HB retinue.

[WarriorFish]

It's mostly down to what your army needs, but the reason why so many people advocate the Exo is because it's very good and inexpensive. Factor in that it lost nothing in the 5th changes and gained more durability and they're quickly shaping up to be a real bargain for 5th!

 

Not only that, but they're multi-purpose and the SoB's only long range AT (so if anyone complains about them, feel free to complain when they take long range AT, see how they like it).

 

Rets are still good, but it can be hard for them competing with Exos for those FOC slots at times. They can't be beaten for laying down a withering hail of AP fire though, and can reliably threaten ligher armour too. IG can replace them in a way, with their platoons providing some flashlight rounds too (not amazing no, but still can do some damage). What the IG does benefit from is giving you more scoring units and letting you split your fire better.

 

Of course, and there's the Leman Russ too (2 Exos + 1 Russ = cool). Having said that, I still think IG should only be included if you have a good use for them. Otherwise they can work out pretty expensive just to get your hands on a Russ.

 

Over all, I think 3 Exos goes best when you're fully mechanised, as your opponent will be forced to divide his AT fire so it becomes a lot less effective. Rets provide some excellent firepower and I've seen them form very reliable corners for a defence. I share Toogie's musings that generally speaking, 3 Exos vs 2 Exos and 1 Ret is pretty even, as long as the Ret squad is kept large and BoSL'd up (standard anyway, right?).

 

So I think it's more what you'd like or feel your army could do with more of that should decide it. The main point we should all remember is that we never talk about less than 2 Exos... :P

[SJumppanen]

Just a small note: I usualy play 1500 point games. So in 2500 point game there is propably targets for 3 EXOs.

[Melissia]

But consider taking =I= with HB retinue.

Hell no, stick with Retributors, they have Faith and a lot more flavor :P

 

Regardless, the three exorcists aren't absolutely necessary, but they are rather efficient for points cost. Especially if you have some good rolls.

[panbient]

Many of the people I game with recommend to me that I should drop my squad of 10 Retributors w/ 4 Heavy Bolters in exchange for a third Exorcist. The Retributors do ok for me, not great, but ok. But Exorcists seem to fair just as well. Sometimes they don't do anything, sometimes they really shine.

 

do they recommend the change before or after a match? they might be trying to get you to ditch something they don't enjoy facing from across the table.

 

as was stated earlier i'd stick with the rets. don't be afraid to move and run them on the first turn, especially if you're facing tau. i wouldn't induct IG either. more sisters, more faith, more DG goodness.

[Melissia]

Inducting guardsmen should only be done if you are going to heavilly integrate them into your strategy.

 

I have a list that does that in the army list section, with a general strategy to go along with it, if ya care to look.

[WAR]

I once fielded 3 exorcists in a 1850 point (4th ed) game. I was playing against a friends Ravenwing army and I got first turn. Pregame he used his scout rule for the bikes got them closer. My First turn I fired one exorcsist at the 3 LS squadron and killed all three, second exorcsit fired at the second squadron of land speeders and killed them, the third exorcsit fired at the masters LS and guess what....killed him. His first turn he moved the bikes closer, and then shot and stunned a rhino whit a multimelta forcing evac, his bike squad then assaulted the sister squad. After melee the lone Ravenwing sgt had to take 4 wounds for being outnumbered ten to one (max outnumbering was 4). He died. My second turn exorcist fired at his pred annhilator taking out the turrent and a heavy bolter and stunning it also, the second exorcist killed the next bike squad and the final exorcist killed his scout squad. Game over and I never moved a model except to get out a penetrared rhino.

 

3 exorcists rock but with the trend of heavy troops and at 2500 points I would leave the retributors in

[Eltnot]

My recommendation is to leave it at two exorcists, add in the Guard Platoon, and if you have the points, the Retributers also. A third exorcist is neither here nor there for damage output at 2500 points, but if you face an army with plenty of anti tank (Imperial Guard comes to mind), it won't last much longer than it's companions. An Imperial Guard Platoon provides you with a unit that isn't wasted when sitting in your deployment zone to hold an objective (unlike a BS Squads, or storm troopers to a lesser extent). They are also harder to remove the firepower from (Exorcist can be killed or neutralized with a couple of hits, you have to kill close to 20 guardsmen who will be in cover to get rid of their heavy weapons completely).

 

The Guard Platoon would benefit from having some nearby Retributers though for access to a BoSL.

 

I noted that some mentioned using divine guidance with Retributers, this is generally a bad use of faith points. A full strength Retributer squad puts out 18 shots (12 hits average). A Battle Sister Squad churns out around 16 shots plus automatic flamer hits when rapid firing, and so are much better bang for your buck when using divine guidance.

[IronFather Tim]

I like 3 but I fly 2 and 3 penentant engines thisd gives you some heave mobile targets thet shoot the snot out of and your exersists get to snipe back, The priest I stuff in a repentia squad.

 

a retrbutor squad of 4 heavy bolters is god but it is not good vs tanks, 2 hb and 2 multimelta's is better in a imalator with tl multimelters, or a repressor. teach them fear.

 

Iron Father Tim

[march10k]

If you're taking some guard anyway, take a russ with the two exorcists. If/when you lose the battle cannon, you get three heavy bolters, and it has AV14 to boot. Win/Win/Win situation!

[Toogeloo]

If you're taking some guard anyway, take a russ with the two exorcists. If/when you lose the battle cannon, you get three heavy bolters, and it has AV14 to boot. Win/Win/Win situation!

Chances are, I would only field a single infantry platoon of IG. It getss too expensive to field more than 1 platoon just to get a Russ out of it.

 

 

After some reflection, I decided to stick with only the models I have (2 Exorcists, 2 Rhinos, 2 Immolators, and a bunch of Sisters models). I made a list to reflect what I plan to play in an upcoming tournie in the Army Lists section. After changing the list several times, I feel I will be sticking with what I have and not buying anything else to compliment it. Only 4 months of game experience isn't gonna be improved with 100+ bucks dropped on various upgrade choices.

[panbient]

I noted that some mentioned using divine guidance with Retributers, this is generally a bad use of faith points. A full strength Retributer squad puts out 18 shots (12 hits average). A Battle Sister Squad churns out around 16 shots plus automatic flamer hits when rapid firing, and so are much better bang for your buck when using divine guidance.

 

generally speaking you're right, i wouldn't DG rets every turn, especially not against troop squads. but if you're firing on a tank or MC having a dozen 36" shots with possible AP1 seems worthwhile. not likely a situation that generally arises more than once a match but that one time....

[Coppella]

Rets don't get as much Faith loving as most. 12 shots at 36", can certainly pick apart units that are advancing. Now picture this setup: 10 Rets - VSS w/storm bolter. 4 Hvy bolters, and 5 sisters with bolters. Thats 12, S5 shots at 36", +7, S4 shots at 24", and +5 more S4 shots at 12". Thats enough shots to rip apart most infantry. Even terminators will get smacked around if you use Divine Guidance at 24".

Certainly something to make your opponent think twice about.

[WAR]

I Recently dusted off my retirbutors off for two games and they killed two spawn ( and a berzerker here and there) in game one but in game two, a ranger squad, a dire avenger squad, a two walker war walker squadron (love that new immoblise = destroyed squadron rule) before they fired, and they put two wounds on a wraithlord (using the DG)

[march10k]

If you're taking some guard anyway, take a russ with the two exorcists. If/when you lose the battle cannon, you get three heavy bolters, and it has AV14 to boot. Win/Win/Win situation!

Chances are, I would only field a single infantry platoon of IG. It getss too expensive to field more than 1 platoon just to get a Russ out of it.

 

 

Ah. That makes some sense, then. I use two armored fist squads and a russ. My fists run about 165 each, so 330...I'm sure your dismounted platoon costs a lot less! Still, I think 450-500 points for two armored fist squads and a leman russ is probably the best guard induction possible. By giving the fists autocannons and nothing else, you get two heavy bolters, two multilasers, two autocannons, and the tank for your money. The multilasers and autocannons are particularly nice, since sisters don't otherwise have access to S6-7 weapons for light vehicle hunting...which makes them vulnerable to mechanized lists. A couple spare mechanized scoring units of your own don't hurt, either!