Unit of the Week VIII - Celestine

[Aqui]

Unit of the week I - Exorcist

Unit of the week II - Imolator

Unit of the week III - Repentia

Unit of the Week IV - Battle Sister Squad (BSS)

Unit of the Week V - The Penitent Engine

Unit of the Week VI - The Canoness

Unit of the Week VII - Ministorum Priests/Jacobus

This week focuses on Celestine, another of my favourite models I've always thought her best used with Seraphim (although the only game I've played, I made the mistake of keeping them separate). Her ability to rise again is still hated in some quarters, which could be used as a distraction tactic to divert attention from other units.

So, how do you use yours?

[Servant of Dante]

My problem is that I expect her to be able to cut up tougher targets than she can. Maybe I've just had bad luck. I love her 2+/4++, but no Eternal Warrior really hurts (I mean, come on, why doesn't she have it).

 

I guess Serephim sound like the best choice too me. I've been told she's good at tanking wounds, but I've never liked that idea with any special character. I always put the characters in back to give them the best chance of getting into combat.

 

In conclusion, I don't really know what I'm talking about, but that's par for the course.

[KiwiBen]

I often use Celestine attached to a big mob (15-20) Sisters, with a few Priests, and potentially Uriah "Battle Santa" Jacobus mixed in for good measure.  I've seen this unit absolutely massacre some pretty potent assault specialist units in the past.  Celestine's Hit and Run rule complements the charge bonuses provided by the Priests quite nicely, and it means that the Sisters get to have a go with their Bolt Pistols before charging back in too...

[Servant of Dante]

I often use Celestine attached to a big mob (15-20) Sisters, with a few Priests, and potentially Uriah "Battle Santa" Jacobus mixed in for good measure. I've seen this unit absolutely massacre some pretty potent assault specialist units in the past. Celestine's Hit and Run rule complements the charge bonuses provided by the Priests quite nicely, and it means that the Sisters get to have a go with their Bolt Pistols before charging back in too...

Oh yeah! HaR transfers to the whole unit! That makes her awesome all around! And she's less expensive than Dante

[dracpanzer]

Generally I start her with my Seraphim. Although I  will generally look to switch her mid game to a 20 sister blob with jaco/priest combo if my opponent looks like they are at all interested in assaulting them as I push them up midfield.  I don't mind her tanking for wounds, but I usually leave a few out in front of her to reduce the chance of a one shot las cannon giving her instant death.  I roll horribly for her 4++ and tend to play accordingly.  Her heavy flamer for wall of death, the ardent blade in combat itself and then her initiative coupled with HnR are great for keeping the unit from getting locked in combat.

 

Generally if it's my turn, I soften up her target then charge and keep her and her unit in CC unless they are horribly overmatched.  It's fun to HnR out of CC at the end of your opponents turn, so you can repeat it all again on your next turn.

 

Her LD bubble is great for Acts of Faith, and I love to roll an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor with Null rod and the book that gives the blob special rules (heresies?).  Great synergy with Acts of Faith, and the daemon players around here can't target the blob with all those filthy witch powers they sold their souls for. 

[Naminé]

Celestine offers a sisters army so many bonuses that it's impossible to include her in a list were she wouldn't be useful.  Being jump infantry means she is great at getting around the board and getting into combat, and the hit and run means that you can completely dictate where you want her to be.  She's our strongest infantry model defensively, and she's an infantry killer.  If she's not running around solo burning and slaying, then she can play harassment, get into combat with the big scary shooty things and stop them until something else gets in.  Her fearless helps out if you lose a priest too.

 

Her role as a tank works because it keeps the seraphim at good numbers so they can still have an effect, and seraphim are great harassment in their own right.  After turn 1 I usually split them up, depending on the need to engage multiple targets, but Celestine is more then happy running amok on her own.  It's especially satisfying when she's not your warlord, because then you have nothing to lose by getting her stuck in, and people will hate her.

 

Though she can at least stand up to anything, don't expect her to kill the big beefy characters, that's what our other cc units are for... Celestine will struggle unless you roll particularly well.  She also makes a good tank for Repentia if you're expecting lots of anti-infantry shots to pile up on them in the next turn, that 2+ save does a lot more then you might think.  After that's done, she can just hop out of the unit again and go kill :)

[grendal1989]

Celestine I find is a fantastic character if you use her somewhat carefully/cleverly and pair her with good match ups. I very rarely use her as a warlord, as she usually dies and my mantle of O cannoness is usually both more resilient and less likely to be thrown into danger(which I do with celestine as often as I can).

 

Her heavy flamer sword is useful, particularly if you have the misfortune to be charged. Her combat stats are impressive (except her T3), but you want to keep her away from things with 2+ or 3++. 

 

While not necessary, I often put Celestine with Seraphim, though not a squad with flamers since she usually uses them as ablative wounds as my local community is not very fond of her and shoot at that unit with reckless abandon. She can be very useful giving HaR and fearless to a unit in a pinch. 

 

She does pretty well dealing with back line deep strikers, as well as fearless MEQ.

 

Fun anecdote: I had a game about a month ago against a CSM Noisemarine army (a couple of Slaneesh daemon units too) I was on the verge of getting tabled from the 4 full units of a noise marine gunline (surprisingly strong shooting in such high quantities). With her heavy flamer, she stripped the last hull point off a rhino 2" away containing a Noise marine unit and then proceeded across the next 4 turns to kill to a heretic 3 full units and make her way back to the relic while the daemons were too deep in killing my exorcists. 

[BitsHammer]

My prefered use of her is in a maxed sized unit of Seraphim with handflamers. I send her and the girls horde hunting. She's great with the chaff afterall, but only okay when dealing with other, punchier, HQs. And that's only because she goes at I7, and then usually dies if she doesn't win.

[Warsmith Aznable]

I almost always put her with a Seraphim retinue. If I have two squads of Seraphim on the field she goes hunting in enemy territory with a squad with handflamers to shift troops off objectives. If the enemy HQ isn't a combat monster she'll also go headhunting.

 

I never use her as my warlord unless the game is very low points and I can't afford both her and a Canoness. Usually, as stated in my answer to the Canoness entry, she is a "distraction saint" so that my opponent hopefully forgets about my Canoness warlord.

 

Lack of Eternal Warrior hurts, but she still works.

[Drider]

I like to use her as a solo distraction carnifex. If she's taking fire then she's doing her job by taking the heat off of my other girls. If she's being ignored then she can harass back line or squishy units. She's fantastic at jumping into a squad if you know it's going to get charged next turn and adding an extra heavy flamer equivelent to overwatch. All of a sudden that little squad of girls that should be a push over just became a headache to deal with.