What do I need?

[Frater Cornelius]

Heya lads!

After some consideration I decided to dump the DA project of mine, grow my bread about 10'' longer and finally to give in to a secret, unrealised wish of mine: a SoB detachment.

They won't really be SoB though but rather a part of my SW Company. Just as my Tau are non-Astartes SW, those ladies will either be a local cheerleader club coming along (rather lame but easy) or an actually home-made SoB Order and do something heretical to it. Harder to pull of but so much more rewarding (my actual plan).

Either way, they will be adjusted to the warrior-like feel on a brutal yet mysterious world with a small touch of pseudo-religiosness.

Maybe give them red braids and call em Bloodbraid-something?

Anyway, my question is, what unit composition would be a good start. As with any new army, my aim will be a solid allied detachment to my SW (possibly Tau, even though they are desperate allies) before I move on to making them a primary.

My thoughts were getting a 10-woman strong Battle Sister Squad with Heavy and Regular flamers in a Rhino. Will use Wyches to convert them.

Not sure what Elites are feasible at the moment. I usually prefer midfield dominance (SW, hurrrrr) and highly aggressive gameplay. Even my gunlines manage to be aggressive somehow.

Fast Attack.. Here I am split between Seraphim and Dominions. Dominions offer very nice cover ignoring Melta spam. Put em in a melta Immolator, Scout, drive 6, disembark and shoot with Dominions and Immolator. Sounds like good support for Drop Pods and Rhino Rushes.

On the other hand, Seraphim. Shredding Flamers, mobility and as an escort for Celestine (should I choose her).

Heavy Support? Exorcists. Just gonna use my Razorbacks with a missle-platform on top.

And now, HQ. I am split between Priests, Cannoness with Comand Squad or Celestine. Priests are cheap and give nice bonuses, nuff said. Cannoness and Command squad are expensive but I feel they can be tooled out to be effective. No idea though.

Finally, Celestine. Her rules and stats don't convince me. She's easier to ID than an Eldar IC. On the other hand, I can stick her in a Seraphim Squad. Also, I have this amazing conversion planned. Put a Valkyrie-like Sister on a Griffon (winged horses are to 'nice' for my aesthetics) and give her a flaming sword. Now put the Griffon on it's back legs to match the size of Celestine.

So, that's the general idea. Hope you can help me out

On a final note: Here I don't give a flying Peking Duck about competitiveness. I have two very strong armies standing here, so SoB will be a fluffy project. And who knows, I do sometimes manage to turn a seemingly random list into a hard force.

[*Furyou Miko]

Priests can't be your compulsory HQ, they're auxiliaries.

 

Normally, I'd say go for the Canoness with Mantle and pistol, but that conversion sounds too awesome to pass up for Celestine.

 

You don't have to spend lots and lots of points on the command squad to make it useful. It's pretty nice as just a bolt pistol and chainsword squad with the blessed banner of the orders militant... which has the nice bonus of working on all friendly units within 12", which means it gives your Wolves +1 attack as well as your nearby Sisters.

 

You're better off with two five-strong Battle Sister squads, I think. One with a heavy bolter, and one with flamer/flamer/combi-flamer in an immolator. If you take a short-range blasty CCS (banner, four combi-flamers or banner and eight plasma pistols if you REALLY want to pour the points in) and advance them alongside your wolvish assault elements, you're looking at an incredibly potent dispersed death star.

[Frater Cornelius]

Thanks for the advice. I just acquired (don't ask) a copy of the codex. True enough, Priests can not be mandatory. D'oh well. I suppose Celestine it is. I too got possessed by that conversion idea. Seraphim it is then? Not a big fan of death stars, although you can count TWC as such. Interesting idea though. Something to consider.

 

Btw, 'Friendly Units' actually excludes SW, as they are allies of Convenience and thus 'enemies you can not target'.

[Naminé]

I would personally take doms as a first choice over Seraphim anyday, even though Seraphim are a great, great unit.

 

That alone speaks volumes.

 

As for Celestine, there are advantages to running her alone; she does not need a bodyguard. 135 points gets you a Heavy flamer, fast moving distraction unit that is hard to kill and puts out some good damage. With her tiny footprint you can depstrike her aggressively to fry a target, and then she can wreak havoc.

 

Best targets are large, weak infantry squads such as cultists and pathfinders.

[Da Taz]

For around 2,000 points you could run this:

Canoness with mantle, power maul and combi flamer-bolter

command squad with Immo and three heavy bolters, D. and H.

priest with laspistol and CCW

Squad of Death Cult Ass. (7)

Squad of 9 Repentia and Rhino. Place Priest with them.

six squads of SOB, (6 girls) Vet Sister with combi-flamerbolter,  meltagun and Heavy Flamer,  Immo with twin Flamers

Two Exorcists.

 

You'll have 7 Immo.'s for a very hard hitting fast attack and let the sisters walk while shooting! Two exorcists to work the tanks and each squad will have a meltagun for anti-tank. The command squad can form a firebase and support the rest. The Squad of DCA can do counterattack or assault. The squad of repentia  with priest can attack stuff like Termies and tanks! Even SM's will have a hard time with three or four Immo flame onto one of their squads! LOL!

[*Furyou Miko]

Yes, but that's not really what the OP was asking for, Taz. <img data-cke-saved-src="http://image.bolterandchainsword.com//public/style_emoticons/default/tongue.png" src="http://image.bolterandchainsword.com//public/style_emoticons/default/tongue.png" class="bbc_emoticon" title=":P" /><br /><br />Not being able to Banner the wolves is a bit of a blow, sadly. I favour Dominions over Seraphim in general, but I have to admit that against hordes, Seraphim are more effective... but the enemy usually has something high-value, high-resilience worth shooting the meltas at.

[Fredegar Kadere]

Considering this is an Allied Choice your FOC is limited in a by the book match. Not 100% what you are asking for here but my thematic ideas are as followed:

Mobile force:

HQ - Celestine

El - Celestian Squad w/ Immolator

FA - Seraphim Squad

Tr - Standard Battle Sister Squads w/ Rhinos

HS - Exorcist

With the Digital Codex, Celestine really really needs a Seraphim escort now. The change of her "4+ I'm alive all the time" to "maybe once a game" is brutal. There was a reason I never used Celestine in the Witchhunter Codex and they decided to bring that back in all its marred glory. Celestian Squad with Meltas and Multi-melta Immolator to pop targets. Seraphim act as escort for Celestine and equipped with Hand Flamers for burny goodness. Battle Sisters with Flamers for burny goodness. Exorcist to soften up 2+ or ID targets.

Firebase Force:

HQ - Canoness & Command Squad w/ Immolator

El - Celestian Squad w/ Immolator

FA - Dominion Squad w/ Immolator

Tr - Standard Battle Sister Squads w/ Rhinos

HS - Retributor Squad w/ Immolator

Give all Immolators Multi-melta and have them sit mid-field/backfield to pop enemy transports and ID targets. Tool the Canoness however you like, but run the Command Squad as a mini-Retributor Squad with Heavy Flamer or Heavy Bolter. Celestian with Melta to pop targets. Dominion with Melta to do early scout and pop target (then die spectacularly). Battle Sisters with Flamers for burny goodness. Retributor with Heavy Bolter to soften hordes / objective sitters.

Assault force:

HQ - Canoness/Jacobus w/ Priests

El - Repentia Squad

FA - Seraphim Squad

Tr - Standard Battle Sister Squads w/ Rhinos

HS - Penitent Engine Squadron

Tool out the HQ and Priests to be melee beasts and stick them with the Repentia. Repentia run up the midfield. Seraphim act as a hit and run escort for the Repentia group using either Hand Flamers for burny goodness flanking or Infernos for vehicle popping. Battle Sisters lead the charge in Rhinos to shield the Repentia and have Flamers for burny goodness. Penitent Squadron on one flank or infront/behind the Repentia.

In Summary, the Mobile force would be the best to expand with into a full seperate army while still augmenting the strengths of the Space Wolves and your suggested playstyle. Space Wolves do Death Star better for cheaper, Space Wolves do long-range Firebase better with Long Fangs. Mobility outside of leading to next turn assault and mid-range Firebase is what Space Wolves don't do as well as the Sororitas. When expanding into a full army from the Mobile force, I would swap out all Rhinos for Immolators and run a pair of Dominions over Seraphim. Don't expect to win KP matches. The Sororitas are a combo army that has to bring overbearing focus on a single enemy target. Each piece has to do their job or you will get swept.

Now to answer your specific questions:

Elites are lackluster. Run them as a Celestian / Immolator combo if you have the free points to use. Decide if you want them to horde/soften hunt or tank hunt, then treat them as non-scoring Flamer Battle Sisters or non-scouting Melta Dominions.

Fast Attack are a toss up. Dominions are your MC / Tank hunters and really do require you to double down, run two as a supporting pair or don't run them at all. Seraphim are the better horde/soften counter and a flanker fire magnet. The current 'Internet Meta' thrives on Alpha Striking, if your local meta is the same then go Dominions.

HQ is a playstyle choice. Celestine is a nice centerpiece model to have just to have but I would not use her unless you are running Seraphim. She shares the same traits as the Seraphim for use, but has the abliity to tie up weak enemy troops. She will die horribly to any competent or half-way decent enemy melee character. The Canoness and Command Squad consider like the Celestians. Choose a focus and stick with it. If you want a melee Canoness then run priests and conclave for her to stick with, but this has the same downside as Celestine as far as durability one on one.

[Frater Cornelius]

Very good post. Thanks!