Nascent Sister of Battle force

[Dosjetka]

Hello fellow sisters and brothers of the Ecclesiarchy!

 

After thinking long and hard about it, I think I'm going to start building a Sisters of Battle army instead of the ever-elusive Space Marine army I have been trying to assemble for the past six years with no success. Now, before anyone from any other sub-forum screams "Heretic!" and guns me down, I'd like to explain why I chose the Sisters of Battle.

 

Firstly, I see them as the underdogs of the current 40k scene, but with a hard core of seasoned veterans still fighting on with them and proving that they can work as well as most other armies out there, if not better.

 

Secondly, due to the cost of the models, I can only buy a blister or two every so often, which gives me the time to fully paint what I buy before buying more. Yes, this means that it'll be a while before my army is completed (even the first 500 points), but I will find ways to proxy models until I manage to assemble all the Sisters I need.

 

Thirdly, their fluff is just full of awesome and I love the idea of having a pure female force (and not for some weird sexually-orientated fetishes that some may or may not have).

 

Fourthly, I loved how they were portrayed in one of the short stories found in the Heroes of the Space Marines book from BL, where they fought alongside the Black Templars. Sister Superior Helena was just great.

 

Now that's explained, I'm going to go through my ideas. Right now, I'm thinking of going with the Order of the Bloody Rose as they seem to fit the ticket quite well. Also, I enjoy painting red armour.

 

However, for the initial composition of my force, I'm not too sure what to get. From the little that I've read, the only 'viable' HQ options are Uriah or Celestine. I'd love to have my very own Canoness, so I'd like to know if that option could potentially work while still being reasonably good? For the Troops slots, there are only SoB squads, so the question shouldn't even be asked. However, should I run them as a blob or in Rhinos? I like to keep my forces mobile, but does putting them in a Rhino do the right job or are they too fragile to even be considered? And should they have mixed special weapons or fixed roles?

As for the other slots at my disposal, I love the look of the Penitent Engines, but apparently they're quite fragile unless up-close, where they cut through everything in a great display of zealous carnage. Am I right there? Also, I have very little knowledge about how other squads (such as Celestines, Dominions, Seraphim, etc...) work and should (or are heavily suggested to) be included in a Sisters army, so a bit of help for that would be great.

 

So, any advice on how to get a (preferably multiple) well-placed grip(s) on da flamer-toting supa shmexy spehss nunz is welcomed and immensely appreciated :teehee:

 

Cheers,

 

Ludovic

[thade]

The seasoned Sisters experts will be along shortly. :) In the meantime, welcome! You've made the right choice. :)

[Aqui]

An unusual choice Ludo ^_^  but you've mentioned most (if not all) of the reasons why I like Sisters myself.  It's just a pity that they aren't viable for me (cost wise) at the moment to collect them myself (until the forever rumoured plastic Sisters turn up <_< ). 

[Dosjetka]

Why, thank you thade. It's nice to be welcomed in such a way and I shall patiently await the advice of the said-veterans :)

 

EDIT: Whoops, didn't see your reply there Aquilanus! Aye, an unusual choice, but I think it'll be one that I'm going to be happy with for quite a while, especially when those plastic sisters are released ;)

[Inquisitor Fox]

*cackles beating Miko to the punch*

 

Ahem... welcome!  Sisters are awesome, and I heartily agree with all your points :)  If it makes you feel better, I've been collecting them for 10 years, and finally have all the pewters I need for my now 1500 point army (losing half my models from my Witch Hunters Codex to my Grey Knights Codex hurt) and just need 4 more vehicles.  So I feel you on the "limited collecting budget"!

 

Our Troops choices are pretty standard, you have anti-infantry with flamers, or anti-vehicle with melta.  Under Codex: Witch Hunters the general consensus was also a meltagun/heavy flamer setup, but I've actually leaned away from "all around" units and went more towards specialist units in my roster building.  My current list (here) might actually prove a good read because it's the tale of revision from my old Witch Hunters models right as soon as the White Dwarf Codex hit, and I had to decide what I was going to build towards and suchnot.

 

Large foot mobs can definitely work, but if you run them on foot make them large (15 to 20 models) to account for attrition.  Keep in mind that if you're moving on foot, a multi-melta may not be the best option for covering lots of ground.  Heavy flamers are still assault weapons so they don't have that problem.  That being said, nothing makes vehicles stay away like stationary BS4 multi-meltas.

 

Rhinos are really our only option for mobility (unless you use the Repressors from IA2, which are a super-rhino you can shoot from that has a pintle-mounted heavy flamer) so they kind of have to do the job really.  Stay in them while they advance, then they get blown up and you bail out then you close, or they drop you up into rapid fire range where you get out and let the bolters sing.

 

Penitent Engines are nastily effective assuming they make it to the enemy.  They also make a real nice "booga booga" style distraction from the rest of your advancing forces.  Does the enemy shoot the Penitent Engine, or the Rhinos holding all your troops, or the deep striking Seraphim or some such?  Utilizing screening tactics you can extend the life of your Penitent Engines, however as a general rule I'd have to say most people seem to avoid them in favor of the other Heavy Support choices.  Their real problem is slot choice, if they were Elites they'd probably get used a lot more.

 

Exorcists are your friend.  They're simply glorious really, one of the better HS options in the game.  Take one to three depending on your own choice.  I like a squad of Retributors (Adepta Sororitas Devastators) with heavy bolters though, they've served me well over the years.  I've debated here and there a squad of Retributors with multi-meltas (good bye enemy armor!) or with 4 heavy flamers, but always just went with the heavy bolters for long range fire support, which the army as a whole lacks completely.

 

Dominions and Seraphim fill much the same role, but by different means.  Dominions scout and are designed to get special weapons right up in the face of the enemy from the get-go.  Flamers and meltaguns make for dead bad guys.  Seraphim are our elite troops, jump pack experts all with two pistols for maximum hit-and-run firepower while keeping a melee presence.  They're skirmishers really, with either an anti-infantry focus with lots of hand flamers, or anti-vehicle/heavy infantry with inferno (melta) pistols and a plasma pistol.  I've used the latter for a long time, and in fact just picked up a second squad of them to run 2 units of Seraphim, one anti-infantry and one anti-vehicle.

 

Celestians are um.... well, to be bluntly honest Battle Sisters with a bonus attack.  They're like old old Space Marine Veterans in power armor, the kind before Vanguard and Sternguard existed, the kind no one took because they were just more expensive with a bonus attack with their bolters that couldn't score.  Their act of faith makes them a little better in melee, but since they're only armed with bolters and pistols it's of limited use.

 

The Battle Conclaves are really where the melee action is, Repentia are a neat concept that always seem to go up in smoke due to their defense being feel no pain.

 

Personally I use a generic Ecclesiarchy Confessor instead of a named character, due to army history, the model's awesome past deeds, being a really spiffy looking model, and so on.  He's armed with a plasmagun and an eviscerator and is just neat.  However, Uriah Jacobus is just really spiffy for his points cost.

 

Likewise Celestine is just pure win wrapped up in a gorgeous model wrapped up with bargain points cost.  Thankfully I have a converted counts-as Celestine "Canoness" from when we could give a Canoness or Palatine a Jump Pack.  So I have a model with a jump pack that counts-as Celestine for my own commander.

 

Most people don't seem to use a Canoness or the Sororitas Command Squads due to a HQ slot issue.  The Command Squad is kind of fun, but it suffers from many of the problems a Space Marine Command squad does.  Limited bodies and once you start adding standards or heavy weapons suddenly it's multipurpose with very limited wound allocation, and requires a generic Canoness to unlock.  Note the act of faith of the Celestian command squad is different from a standard Celestian squad.  Go figure.

 

Lemme know if you still have any questions or want elaboration :)  Welcome to the fold!

[*Furyou Miko]

Welcome to the Sisterhood. You'll find a Tuck in the vestibulary beside the door.

A canoness is, sadly, completely sub-par in every way compared to the two named characters. However, you can use her if you want - it's just a bit of a handicap. If you run her with a Rosarius, Power Weapon and Inferno Pistol she comes out at the same points as Celestine.

On the subject of what units are good, what units are bad... heh. Basically, anything in the book is a better choice than Celestians, and Repentia are awesome but have limited practicable applications. You're pretty much spot on with Penitent Engines - they love to be in the thick of it. They do suffer against Marines with Krak Grenades though, since those strike first.

Edit: Only because I was distracted having 'fun', Inqy.

Nicole made all good points. ^^;

[Naminé]

Hi there! Welcome to the Ecclesiarchy!

 

I'm not a vet by any means, but I have been having a lot of success with my Battle Sisters so I'll chime in with my advice, and you can take it or leave it. :p

 

Firstly, as others have said, the only elites worth taking are the Repentia, and even then they're difficult to use effectively. With fleet they can get some distance at least, and I usually let them steal another unit's Rhino so that people 'forget' they're there until later. Worth considering if you're going to be facing a lot of Mech or a fortress.of Redemption.

 

Penitent engines are similar only they will single handidly wipe out anything they melee against that doesn't have a decent invulnerable save. The heavy flamers make them dangerous too but I would run them in squadrons of at least 2. Mine tend to get ignored in all honesty, due to the aggressive way I play and the fact I have lots of other scary units on the table.

 

Battle sisters are simply what you make them, and can fill any roll pretty well. Rhinos are great for small squads of flamers or meltas. Just use them as the are intended and go for the right targets. It doesnt matter if your Rhino dies when it has kept the unit inside at full strength and gotten it into the right place.

 

As for the HQs, named characters are where its at for Sisters... If you run something else then a confessor gives you the wonderful battle conclave as a unit option, or a cannoness with a setup like Furyou mentioned. Just keep them protected :)

 

Sorry for any spelling mistakes or random punctuation, I'm typing this on my new Blackberry and my fingers are too fat for the tiny buttons :(

[WarriorFish]

Welcome! These days new recruits are few and far between but that will all change one day when we get our plastic

The above advice is solid and needs no embellishment but I'll say what I always do to initiates into the Sisters: when it doubt just add more Sisters! Our standard Troop squad is the bread and butter of a list and you will always benefit from more.

Also Sisters benefit more than most from allied Guard if that's up your street, like the old Witch Hunters codex that included Inquisitorial elements.

[Dosjetka]

INP: Wow, thank you very much for the in-depth reply! I've read everything, but for now, I have no questions. If I do have any later on, after having munched through your post again, I'll ask :)

 

Miko: Cheers for the Canoness build! I may choose Celestine to start off, but then I'd like to shift to a Canoness. We'll see how it goes! I'll definitely include a pair of Penitent Engines at some point (and at the very least) and I will probably add some Repentia along the way too.

 

Naminé: Thank you for the advice! I'll definitely be rolling out those Penitent Engines in pairs and I'll most probably start out with Sisters in Rhinos to keep them alive and then possibly move on to blobs (but that'll be in a while, if plastics aren't released soon)!

 

WarriorFish: Cheers for the tips! I was thinking of potentially allying some Guard to my Sisters, but that'll be later on. For now, I'd like it to be a pure Sister force :)

[*Furyou Miko]

Well, I love my Canoness, Mirai, and I hate to see her suffer in ignomity. ^^; I run her with a Thunder Hammer (counts-as Eviscerator), which is less optimal but has its moments... and the current sculpt is a beautiful model, and elegant in its simplicity. SM characters might have a choice of dozen arms and a hundred head options, but the Canoness is four pieces and looks better than all of them. :D

[Fibonacci]

However, for the initial composition of my force, I'm not too sure what to get. From the little that I've read, the only 'viable' HQ options are Uriah or Celestine. I'd love to have my very own Canoness, so I'd like to know if that option could potentially work while still being reasonably good?

It would be a handicap but having a Canoness is not an auto-fail.  She is costly in points for what she gets and she does not get much.  A Canoness does let you take a Command Squad.  Now the Command Squad is often seen as over cost and limited, I think is under rated in the new 6th edition rules.

 

For the Troops slots, there are only SoB squads, so the question shouldn't even be asked. However, should I run them as a blob or in Rhinos? I like to keep my forces mobile, but does putting them in a Rhino do the right job or are they too fragile to even be considered? And should they have mixed special weapons or fixed roles?

I like to keep 2 troops in rhinos (or Repressors) and possibly a 3rd either foot or in a rhino depending on points I have left to spend.  All 3 squads are base strength of 10 models each.  And you are right, they are fragile so be careful where you put them.  You need your troops to hold objectives and they do best coming in after other forces have weakened the defenders.  I also like to take special weapons in pairs.  2 melta or 2 flamers per squad. 

 

As for the other slots at my disposal, I love the look of the Penitent Engines, but apparently they're quite fragile unless up-close, where they cut through everything in a great display of zealous carnage. Am I right there? Also, I have very little knowledge about how other squads (such as Celestines, Dominions, Seraphim, etc...) work and should (or are heavily suggested to) be included in a Sisters army, so a bit of help for that would be great.

Penitent Engines are not something I would advise.  They are low armor so easier to get penetrating hits against and open topped so easier to destroy on the damage chart.  They are difficult to get into combat and need to be taken in squadrons of 2 or 3 which makes them pricey in both points and money to buy them.
Celestians: don’t use them.   They cost too much and don’t bring as much as other units do.
Dominions: load up with melta and either outflank or scout them close.  These are you big tank killers.
Seraphim: Take dual hand flamers and go after hordes or troops hiding in terrain.  They reroll their invulnerable saves, reroll missed faith tests and once faith is made they reroll to wound.  Very killy; very mobile and once joined with Saint Celestine, they can Hit & Run on the Saint’s Initiative of 7.

Etc:

Battle Conclave is our close comabt deathstar when joined by Jacobus. 

Sisters Repentia make excelent counter assault troos but seldom survive if they lead the way; they do their best against walkers and can really surprise people with their effectiveness. 

Retributors are either taken with 4 Heavy Bolters for ranged fire support or 4 heavy flamers packed in a rhino to clear objectives of campers. 

Exorcists are the ranged support work horses and make excellent HQ killers; they are also very good at taking out light armor, walkers, multi-wound terminators and other tough targets.

[Dosjetka]

With the aim of keeping everything in the same thread, I'll post my 600 (well, 595) point army list here rather than over in the Army List sub-forum. I hope that that's alright.

 

HQ:

 

- Celestine (115 points)

 

Troops:

 

- Battle Sister Squad (135 points) w/ ten Sisters, two flamers

 

- Rhino (35 points)

 

- Battle Sister Squad (145 points) w/ ten Sisters, two meltaguns

 

- Rhino (35 points)

 

Fast Attack:

 

- Seraphim Squad (130 points) w/ five Seraphim, two pairs of hand flamers, power sword

 

 

For me, this list has all the essentials. Some (limited) anti-armour, a hell of a lot of flamer weapons, mobility and some speed (Seraphim and Celestine). Any thoughts?

 

Also, adding onto the core units to bring the whole army up to 1000 points, I'm thinking of boosting the Seraphim to a full squad (+75 points), a six-lady Retributor Squad in a Rhino with four heavy bolters, naked (not literally) Sister Superior and a Simulacrum Imperialis to make sure that I get that delicious Rending special rule (+152 points), another melta-toting Battle Sister Squad in a Rhino (+180 points). That leaves me with a 1002 point list. Any suggestions/alterations to make on the potential additions?

 

EDIT: Damned typos.

 

EDIT #2: Obviously, at such a low point limit, there's not much room to play about with different combinations, but feedback is nonetheless appreciated :)

 

EDIT #3: Content added.

[Fibonacci]

It will make a solid base for your army.  If you add an Exorcist and another Seraphim that would put you at 750 points.

 

Saint Celestine is strong HQ made stronger in lower point games.  Don't be afraid to lead off with her in the front and let her take the heat early on.  She will have more chances to stand back up that way.

[Dosjetka]

Fibonacci: Cheers for your advice three posts up and thanks again for your input now :tu: Do you think that I should maybe swap out the Retributors for an Exorcist in the 1000 point list two posts above? Or leave the Retributors there and maybe remove the third Battle Sister Squad (something that I'm reluctant to do)?

 

EDIT: And I'll make sure that Celestine gets stuck in, no worries there :lol:

[*Furyou Miko]

The 600 point list looks solid, but 600 is an odd number (and since you have 5 points spare, toss a meltabomb on a superior ;)) so I'm not sure why you built to that. ^^; 500 or 1000 are the usual 'small game' values round here, with 1500 being standard and 2000 being a larger game.

[thade]

The long, consistent stream of respectful, kind, and encouraging advice that's stacked up in this post serves as evidence: you made the right choice. <3

[derpasaurus]

Heyhey! I've got around 1200 points of Order of the Argent Shroud sisters, thanks in large part to the awesome advice I got here when starting.

I can say you should specialize your troops, definitely. I have one troop selection with a melta and a multimelta, and a 2nd with 2 storm bolters. Both 10 strong. Eventually will have a third with a flamer and heavy flamer.

I'm trying to strike a balance between mobile and static forces. In general I like to button them up in their rhinos and skateboard around. The storm bolters put out a lot of fire at a decent range (fire from the top hatches for as long as you can!) and even accounting for snap fire, people will usually think twice about getting too close to a storm bolter, melta/multimelta firing rhino.

 

I run repentia, and i've noticed everyone is scared of them, even if they don't have a lot of armor, they tend to draw a lot of fire. a full squad of 10 is like 170ish points. I'm also looking forward to some penitent engines, I've playtested some and MAN are they fun!

 

Dominions are next on my list. I want to do a small squad with a couple of meltas and an immolator, and then a larger one with a repressor and a whole mess of flamers :D

Play-wise sisters really benefit from having a wide variety of units on the table, their abilities and rules work very well together, so I advise a wide selection of units, too. Small/average size games are great, too, because our units are so cheap. It'll be interesting to see how your army comes along. 

Welcome, again! I bet you'll have a lot of fun playing this army.

[Dread]

Wecome and congates on choosing one of the most beautiful armies as well. I am finally towards the end of collecting my 4th sisters army(and it won'tbe going anywhere this time). It is a fun army to play and fun to paint as well. I hope you enjoy them as much as most of us here. My best advice is meltsguns, meltaguns and meltaguns. Put them in a rolling box and they seem to help me thr my games. Oh did I mention meltaguns? Miko will have some of the best advice you can get around here. Enjoy

[Inquisitor Fox]

I find five or six strong isn't half bad for a Seraphim unit... they're more of a counter-charge melee unit as opposed to true assault forces. They're skirmishers with combat capability. Instead of upping them to 10, I'd actually think about a second unit (getting you more special weapons that way) of either the anti-armor or anti-infantry variety. Everyone tends to go anti-infantry though I've had a lot of luck with my anti-armor group (plasma pistol/power sword, 2 sisters with 2 inferno pistols). Granted mine takes doing conversions with plastic meltaguns and it'll take four of them, but it's a lot of fun to destroy vehicles and take out terminators or crisis suits and the like.

Retributors are very solid, but the Exorcist does make a large difference, especially if you have other vehicles in the list. In point of fact, if you keep the Retributors at a squad size of six (which ironically is what I run), I'd recommend an Immolator over a Rhino for them (Sisters Razorback usually given twin heavy flamers of death). The Immolator can also have twin heavy bolters or twin multi-meltas instead, but heavy flamers is traditional.

I think your approach to Sisters is very solid. It may seem bland and stereotypical but to be honest we all favor these units for a reason, they work Stick to the basics and use them together and you won't go far wrong.

EDIT: The reason I mention having other vehicles in the list if you take an Exorcist is to absorb the anti-tank firepower. One Exorcist is good, two are almost infinitely better because the enemy has to split their fire. Add an Immolator or two and some Rhinos, and all of a sudden that's 4 or 5 vehicle chassis they have to deal with at once, two of which are relatively burly. If I had infinite points and money to spend, my heavy choices will be one unit of Retributors, and two Exorcists. I'm also considering the Avenger Strike Fighter from Forgeworld, but that's down the road and expensive :)

[WarriorFish]

I've played a lot of smaller point value games (though always in 250 point increments) and games play slightly differently due to the restrictions and army strengths and weaknesses are exaggerated as you might expect. For such games versatility tends to be more useful than specialisation so I'd have a melta and flamer in each squad.

 

I like your plans for 1000pts too, more Seras is always good as they tend to attract unwanted attention. HB Rets are a great unit but as the Inquisitor says it's best to take them after you've got some invaluable Exo support in.

[*Furyou Miko]

Actually, it's very easy to make Seraphim with inferno pistols, you don't need to do a complicated conversion at all!

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/KaguraHakubi/IK%20and%2040K/My%20Projects/Seraphim_zpsec28f8b7.jpg

 

On the left, inferno pistols. On the right, hand flamers.

 

If you clip the pilot light and its tube and the flamer canister off the hand flamer and lengthen the holes in the muzzle you end up with a convincing melta pistol. If you wanted to go a little further, you could sculpt or cast a melta canister from the Canoness' inferno pistol to attach to the side of the main bit of the pistol (which as a name, but I forget it), but I didn't bother. ^^;

 

Edit: Also, told you I couldn't paint. ^^;

[Dosjetka]

Miko: Ah, yes. Well, when I used to mess around with Space Marines, I thought that 500 points was far too restrictive and I could hardly have anything in my list, so my gaming group and I decided to try 600 point lists and they work pretty well :) But yes, they are unusual in the gaming world ;) And I'll add a meltabomb to the flamer squad, in case it ends up face-to-face with an Ork Dread or a big gribbly Tyranid beast.

 

thade: I couldn't agree more with you there mate. I really am chuffed at all the feedback and advice I'm getting, so again, a big sincere thank you to all you lovely people <3

 

(Yes, I stole your little heart symbol, thade. It's mine now :P)

 

derpasaurus: Cheers for the composition and wargear tips, they're much appreciated! I'll maybe swap out the flamers for Storm Bolters and see how they do. In any case, it'll be an interesting experience, since many people say they're not as good as flamers, from what I've gathered. And I look forward to seeing how things go for me with this quite unique army :)

 

Dread: Thanks for the welcome and the advice :) Meltaguns are definitely going to be included, with a Rhino to boot!

 

INP: Taking two smaller squads instead of one big one does make sense. And I'll have a go with the anti-armour squad. Sounds fun! :D

 

For the Retributors, I think putting them in an Immolator with mounted heavy bolters would make more sense, since they match the squad's range and have inferno bolts. Oh, and the Retributors will probably have Rending heavy bolters, which is just pure awesome :teehee:

 

And for vehicles, I completely get your point and it's definitely something I need to take into consideration. At 600 points, it's going to be hard adding multiple vehicles, but at higher point levels, it's something that I'll doubtless do.

 

Finally, I'm glad that you approve of my approach :)

 

WarriorFish: Hum, I definitely get your point, and it was indeed my gut instinct. However after reading advice on this very forum, isn't specialisation still more of an advantage? Also, would it maybe be better if I went with two identical squads with each time a pair of meltaguns in Rhinos? I believe that I have enough firepower with all the boltguns and then I have added anti-armour capability with the two meltas. Sounds good to me, but that would make my Troop slots rather redundant, which is something that doesn't please me entirely. Argh, decisions, decisions!

 

Anyway, cheers for the advice and I'll swap the Retributors with an Exorcist in the 1000 point list.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Phew! Again, thanks ever so much people for your excellent advice and help. I really do appreciate it <3

 

 

EDIT: Ah, thanks for the picture, Miko, you fabulous thing :tu: And maybe you don't know how to paint, but you sure know how to game by the looks of things :D

[derpasaurus]

I can say that Miko is not a great fan of storm bolters. I can see why, to an extent, especially compared to the other choices we have. but 3 points for a gun that can shoot twice at 24" is a good price, I think. heh. However, 5 points for a weapon that can hit as many as 10+ things depending on how they're packed is clearly a bargain. I just went for more range with one of my squads. 

[WarriorFish]

In larger games specialisation can often be beneficial but like all things it depends on your preferences and style of play. I like my standard Troop units to be flexible so they can support any action by the specialists as that's what they do best for me. That's not to say all Battle Sister squads will be combi-squads of course, just that the majority probably will as this is my "default".

 

In smaller games you won't have enough units and flexibility to mitigate your opponent's reaction to your specialisation. Spreading the weaponry out a bit will prevent things like close combat units tying up your melta squad as vehicles cause headaches for your flamer squads.

[*Furyou Miko]

The way I see it is this: If you sit back with your Battle Sister squads, they're not operating at peak efficiency anyway. You're almost always going to be moving with them, and probably operating at about the 12" gap anyway - so the storm bolter is just wasted points.

 

Then again, I play very aggressively. I've been known to abandon my own objectives and just concentrate on pushing the enemy off theirs - who cares if my objective is unclaimed when I have theirs and they have none?