Adepta Sororitas as Allies: A Layman's Guide (WIP)

[Servant of Dante]

Adepta Sororitas as Allies

A Layman's Guide

The purpose of this thread is to provide a resource to players who, while they do not play Sisters of Battle, are interested in using them as allies for their existing army. I will attempt to give details of the abilities of the units available to Sisters, giving special attention to the Ministorum Delegation detachment and the units it can contain.

A message for the regulars on the Sisters forum:

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Well, I'm kinda bored, and this sounded fun. If you have anything to add, just post it in this thread, and I'll look at adding it to this post. I want to create a comprehensive tactica for using Sisters as allies, so I'm going to try and focus on how they can complement other Armies of the Imperium, rather than how to run Sisters by themselves. Since I don't use allies often, I might need some help. Anyway, I got this idea after seeing all the talk about C:IA around the B&C, and a good number of people have expressed interest in the Priest, via the Ministorum Delegation, so I'll be giving that extra attention. I'd really appreciate anything any of you have to add, since most of you have been playing 40K much longer than I

Army Special Rules

There are only a few things to cover here, but the Act of Faith system is rather unique, so it will take just a bit of explaining.

Act of Faith

All of the Sisters have this special rule (this does not include non-Sisters models in the codex, such as Arco-Flagelants, Ministorum Priests and so on; essentially, if it has power armour or is a Repentia, it has Act of Faith). Each unit has a unique Act of Faith that they can attempt to use one time each game. To do so they must pass a Leadership test at the appropriate time, either right before they shoot in the Shooting phase, or right before they act in the Assault phase. The bonus the AoF grants lasts until the end of the turn (this is a change from the e-codex).

A Simulacrum Imperialis allows units that have access to them to attempt their AoF (Act of Faith) a second time during a game, but if the Simulacrum is lost, the unit cannot use their AoF for the rest of the game. No exceptions . . . except for Uniah Jacobus, our special character Priest. He lets his unit use their AoF an additional time, and they don't have to roll a Leadership test to do so. He can do this even if his unit had a Simulacrum and let it get killed.

It is very important to note that a unit can only attempt one AoF per turn, and only if the unit is composed entirely of models with the Act of Faith or War Hymns special rules. This means that if any character other than a Priest (or Jacobus) is attached to a Sisters unit, they cannot use their AoF. Below is a summary of each unit's AoF.

• Canoness (HQ) - Hatred in the Assault Phase
• Battle Sister Squad (Troops) - Preferred Enemy in the Shooting or Assault phase
• Repentia (Elites) - Feel no Pain (3+) in the Assault phase
• Sororitas Command Squad (Elites) - Fleet, Crusader and Move Through Cover in the Assault phase
• Celestians (Elites) - Furious Charge in the Assault phase
• Dominions (Fast Attack) - Ignores Cover in the Shooting phase
• Seraphim (Fast Attack) - Shred in the Shooting phase
• Retributors (Heavy Support) - Rending in the Shooting phase

Shield of Faith

It's the Sisters signature 6++ and Adamantium Will (+1 to Deny the Witch when targeted with psychic powers). All the models with Act of Faith, plus Jacobus, Penitent Engines, Sororitas Rhinos, Immolators, and Exorcists have SoF (Shield of Faith). SoF is also a bonus granted to all units in a Ministorum Delegation.

Martyrdom

If your Warlord dies and your Warlord is a Canoness or Jacobus, you automatically pass all Leadership tests for AoFs until the end of your next turn.

War Hymns

Even though this rule only goes on Ministorum Priests (including Jacobus), it's worth mentioning here. At the beginning of each Fight sub-phase in which a Priest is locked in combat, he may make a Leadership test (he's only Ld 7; Jacobus is Ld 9) to let him and his unit re-roll To Wound, let him and his unit re-roll Armour and Invulnerable saves, or give himself Smash (not super useful since he's only S 3 and has Krak grenades). The Litanies of Faith relic can be given to a single Priest for 3 meltabombs, so he and his unit automatically pass all AoF and War Hymns tests.

Grenades

All of our Power Armoured models, plus Priests and Jacobus, have Frag and Krak grenades.

Detachments and Formations

With the two additions that C:IA (Codex: Imperial Agents) made, the Sisters can now be run in a grand total of four Detachments and one Formation! I'll cover these individually below, though since the Formation is an Inquisitorial one, I can't give a decisive tactica for it.

Detachments

• Ministorum Delegation
• Allied Detachment
• Combined Arms Detachment
• Vestal Task Force

Formations

• Inquisitorial Henchmen Formation (requires models from the Inquisition faction)

Ministorum Delegation

• Compulsory: 1 HQ (Must be a Ministorum Priest, not Jacobus)
• Optional: 1 Elites

All units in this detachment have Shield of Faith.

This is an easy way to add Priests to your army. They are 25 points a piece and have War Hymns, as described above. One can take the Litanies of Faith for 3 Meltabombs to automatically pass the Leadership test for War Hymns. You can also give a different Priest the Mace of Valaan if you will be going within 6" Daemons, including the Daemonhost. In this case it is a Master-Crafted power maul with Fleshbane and Armourbane.

You can also optionally include an Elites choice for each Priest you bring via a Ministorum Delegation. Depending on what army you play, this may not be of much use to you. Repentia are good in close combat, especially against vehicles, but have no armour, only a 6++. The Sororitas Command Squad is the most versitile choice, since it has access to special, heavy, and melee weapons, along with the Hospitaller (Feel no Pain) and the Diologus (situational at best even when running a full Sisters list). Of special sigifigance is the option to arm all five with meltaguns or heavy flamers and give them a dedicated transport. An Immolator has space for the command squad and a Priest, and brings a turret mounted, twin-linked heavy flamer or TL Multi-melta, or TL Heavy Bolter.

Arco Flagellants are cheap and have a large number of attacks, though lack of access to an assault transport hurts them. Additionally, their only save is Feel no Pain. Death Cult Assassins, while they have power swords, a 5++ and I 6, suffer from many of the same issues. Crusaders are a sturdy unit with their 3++, but offer relatively low offensive output, albeit at AP 3.

Aaaaaaand, I'm running out of steam. Anyone want to pick this up where I left off? If not, I might continue later