Help collecting and building Sisters

[Icechiang]

Hello! This is my first post in this sub forum and I have come looking for help and advice from the Veterans here.

 

I have the Imperial Allies codex and the Fall of Cadia book. I would love to collect some Sisters to supplement the imperial allies as well as be a part of the Castellan formation.

 

I've never played Sisters before and was wondering what are some people's favorite units and what not. The only models I have is the new Saint Celestine and Geminae as well as he special Cannonnes.

 

My other armies include a good amount of Imperial Guard, a chunk of Deathwatch, and I am going to collect some space marines again and turn them into Fists I think. I also have a small Space Wolves army.

 

I like fluffy armies and more for fun. Though I would like to give a fighting chance if that makes sense.

 

Thank you for the help!

[A.T.]

With your HQ taken care of you'll want to start with a troop or two, and probably a dominion squad and exorcist.

If you aren't joining Celestine to a non-sisters unit then a squad of seraphim fit but are expensive.

 

Model wise the immolator kit can be swapped between rhino and immolator configuration freely (just don't glue the window in place) - three is a good start. The exorcist can also be constructed to swap out for a command rhino/immolator with a bit more work and possibly a few magnets.

You'll want four meltaguns dominions, a combination of four meltaguns, flamers, and heavy flamers for battle sisters (your choice), three superiors, and four battle sisters (optionally replacing one or two with simulacrums for the look).

 

That will get you rolling. As it stands you don't need a great many bolter-armed sisters to run a typical list unless you plan on giving the big unit a stab (1 vet, 1 banner, 2 specials, and 16 bolter sisters)

 

 

 

Sororitas:

HQ - Veridyan - An aura of precise shot. Don't think of her as anything else.

HQ - Canoness - A weak counterpoint to the marine captain, usually taken either cheap to fill out the slot when a non-named sister is desired or with a 4+ save, eternal warrior, and eviscerator to have a bit of bite.

HQ - Celestine - Needs no more introduction if you have her rules, far and away the most powerful character in the faction.

 

TROOPS - Battle Sisters - You only have one choice. At first glance they look like a particularly weak marine tactical squad for marine-like prices - which they are - but you get two special weapons in a squad of 5 and that goes a long way.

Can optionally be run as a blob of 20 with Jacobus and another priest (below), but it's more of a grinding tarpit than a competitive strategy.

 

TRANSPORT - Rhino - Your basic rhino, with a 6+ save for 5 more points. Two fire points make it your common battle sister transport

TRANSPORT - Immolator - Just the one fire point, but also a twin linked multimelta. Your basic transport for scouting dominions and emergency AA potshotting (since the sisters have no dedicated AA weapons). Always take with meltas

TRANSPORT - Repressor (Forgeworld) - Essentially a super-rhino. Nearly twice the points but with a front AV of 13, a ton of fire points, and a heavy flamer.

 

FAST - Seraphim - Non-assault jump troops. Armed with flamers they are good against low durability troops but struggle to do anything against high toughness troops. Can take four melta-pistols at a high premium for a short range (often too short to use effectively with deepstrike)

FAST - Dominions - Scouting meltaguns. Four meltaguns plus optional combi-weapon, scouting, often with another multimelta on their immolator. That's really all they do, and they do it quite well. Used to blunt the enemy attack before they pile forward and the closest thing the sisters have to an 'alpha strike' option.

 

ELITE - Celestians - Avoid

ELITE - Command Squad - Cheaper Celestians, can be used to pack extra heavy or special weapons into an army or get FnP on a small bodyguard unit. Can also take power weapons, but not a good idea usually.

ELITE - Repentia - Unarmoured, slow moving, T3 assault troops that strike at init 1 and have no assault transport. They can't even wound some of the bigger things (like the wraithknight) reliably as they are still low toughness and their 1/game FnP is similarly ineffectual at times. But if the stars do align to let them get a bunch of hits in they can make a fair mess.

 

HEAVY - Exorcist - Essentially a tri-las pred with less effect against heavy armour but better mobility. Affordable (points wise) with a good fear factor that it might roll a 6 and wipe out half a squad of something.

HEAVY - Penitent Engines - Assault dreadnoughts with a low init and tendency to explode when shot at. Hit like a truck, if they get that far.

HEAVY - Retributors - Your choice of 1/game possibly rending heavy flamers, heavy bolters, or multimeltas - the latter more attractive now that they can get a turn of relentless when jumping out of a transport around Celestine. Decently accurate but mundane weaponry by 7th ed standards.

 

 

 

Non-sororitas:

HQ - Priest - Walking zealot rule. Not so useful for sisters as they lack credible assault units but a good fit for allies and cultists/crusaders and allied units.

HQ - Jacobus - 3 wound walking zealot, but backed up with counter attack and a 5+ shield of faith for any sisters squad he joins. Usually used for blobs.

 

ELITE - Death cultists - All kinds of death for 3+ and worse saves, but fragile - needs help getting into combat.

ELITE - Crusaders - The help death cultists need (when taken in the same squad) - a mix of the two is typical.

ELITE - Arcos - The least common of the ecclesiarchal units putting out decent quantities of low quality attacks for a reduced cost over the other two.

 

HEAVY - Avenger (Forgeworld) - Bit of a glass cannon, best taken cheap. Will shoot stuff up with lascannon and S6 AP3 when it arrives but will then have to run the gauntlet, and with low side AV and few hull points can be a short lived support unit.

[Icechiang]

Thanks for the indepth reply! I really appreciate it.

 

I know I want at least one squad of regular battle Sisters for the Castellan formation. The exorcist sounds like a solid heavy support option though I do have plenty of IG tanks. I was envisioning an army of mixed troops, IG heavy support, and the elite marine stuff with an inquisitor or two.

 

I didn't really look at dominions but what you say makes a lot of sense. Where would I normally put Saint Celestine? Seraphim are pretty cool.

[A.T.]

I didn't really look at dominions but what you say makes a lot of sense. Where would I normally put Saint Celestine? Seraphim are pretty cool.

 

In her previous (weaker) form she would usually run behind a squad of seraphim to use them as a meatshield, otherwise one stray plasma pistol and she was gone.

 

The newer Celestine looks more like she'd be tanking for something else and seraphim aren't exactly an elite high-priority target, but they are the only jump troops the sisters have - more a matter of having no other unit that can keep up with her.

Outside of the Sororitas list she could be joined to an astartes jump squad or even custodes or interceptors (ignore the detachment image in the Imperial Agents book - one Interceptor squad is a valid GK detachment with an optional Dreadknight on the side).

 

Do note that as GW forgot how faith works she will 'de-faith' any sisters unit she joins, though your opponent might let that one slide.

[Sister_Miriya]

My favorite unit would be the command squad with 4 heavy bolters and a Hospitaller. For just over 100 points, they work great as an objective holder. 4+ cover save, FnP and 12 heavy bolter shots will keep them around for a while.

 

Add a transport of your choice and your good to go!

 

Also note, even if you take a 20 (wo)man squad of battle sisters, you can still take an immolator just they cannot go into said tank until they get to 6 or less models.

[Servant of Dante]

If you're doing a force to supplement the rest of the Imperium, I'd say BSSs, Dominions, and Exorcists are the top choices. The Command Squad provides excellent utility. Personally I'm not capable of playing Sisters without Seraphim, even if they aren't the best on the table I just love jump infantry, and those models are great :P

[Icechiang]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to have to do some eBay searching. How do you build your Battle Squads normally?

[Servant of Dante]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to have to do some eBay searching. How do you build your Battle Squads normally?

Ah, hehe yeah that might have been helpful if I'd mentioned that . . .

Anyway, since we can do 2 special weapons, we can always get 2 weapons that fit the same battlefield role (unlike space marines). Few people go for storm bolters, though I still maintain that for 5 points they are a solid choice if you are already putting a Heavy Bolter in the squad. Most of the time, for me, it's 2 melataguns or 1 flamer and 1 heavy flamer (though actually I run 2 flamers since I don't have enough heavy flamer models). I personally like larger squads. 5 Sisters are significantly more squishy than 5 space marines, and 5 marines isn't all that much anymore. So for me I either go min size with 2 weapons in an immolator (a suicide squad basically, Dominions lite) or I go for 9 and a priest in a rhino, or sometimes I go all the way and field 20 with 2 priests (and give one of them the Litanies of Faith relic) and a Simulacrum. It's a huge target and slow moving unfortunately, but it can be fun to see all that power armour together

[Jacinda]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to have to do some eBay searching. How do you build your Battle Squads normally?

 

One of two ways depending on the rest of the army, what I need, where they will spend their time on the table, etc.

 

Battle Sister Squads will have the basic 5 models and either 2 flamers or 2 melta guns.  No heavy of either version.  Forward units will take a multimelta Immolator.  My rear unit I use to guard the Exorcists will always be on foot with 2 meltas and a combi-melta for the superior.

 

I do not ever take mixed weapons.  Some people do so they always have a weapon that works against whatever they are facing.  I prefer to look at as avoiding using the wrong weapon on the wrong target.  If something needs to be melta'ed, it needs two of them and flamers won't scratch it.  Likewise, daemonettes need volume of fire which flamers can give.  Two sure wounds against 16 daemonettes is not much help.  Anyway, I'm not saying my way is the right way (even if it is :) ) it's just how I build my BSS.  I think it is better to position the units to be where they need to be on their prefered target than hope the 1 weapon works.  On the other hand, with wound pools you could resolve all the flamer and bolter hits and save the big punch melta for the sergeant.  Again, I don't but it is a valid build.

[Icechiang]

Ok cool! Yeah I am not intending on making a solo army out of it. I want to use them for Imperial

Allies and the Castellan formation. I've always wanted to do a Grand army of the Imperium force and think it would look badass with all the different factions.

[Sister_Miriya]

I would say build the sisters based on your other army. If they are set up for anti-tank then take a lot of Flamers.

 

But you can't really go wrong with a double melta set up. Throw them in a rhino for the tried and true melta drive by. Hoard armies may give you problems though.

[Goonbandito]

But you can't really go wrong with a double melta set up. Throw them in a rhino for the tried and true melta drive by. Hoard armies may give you problems though.

You can make a fair dent in horde armies with Sisters imo - you just have to get up close.  Drive your squads up in Rhinos, disembark as close as you can and let loose with the flame-templates.  Battle Sister squads are pretty good for this, because having the Preferred Enemy Act of Faith synergises well with templates and rapid-fire weapons where you are rolling lots of dice (ie you get more use out of the ability to re-roll 1's).  Sure, you'll eat a charge the next turn but you should have taken alot of the bite out of it - hordes of Ork Boyz or Tyranid Gaunts are relying on weight of attacks after all and you still have a 3+ armour save.  Combine this with Heavy Bolter Retributor/Command squads and you can put some real hurt on horde armies.

[dracpanzer]

Welcme aboard!

[Ezr91aeL]

Welcome Icechiang!

 

Anyway, I'd like to aske something too: when the enemy army have flyer units, what we can do? Should I go with fortification?

[Servant of Dante]

Yeah the only AA Sisters can do (without allies) is the avenger strike fighter or some kind of AA on a fortification (like the quad cannon with the Aegis Defense Line).

[Icechiang]

Thanks for the advice! My IG army is Steel Legion so I don't actually have flamer models with them. So having my sisters with flamers will work well I think. I managed to convert a few models into melta models but can never have too much melta. I really like the double melta dominion squad in the immolator.

 

As far as sprinkling in marines when I can I was thinking of some tougher elite units like a terminator squad and some sternguard.

[Servant of Dante]

Dominions are Fast Attack choices and can get 4 meltas, while the Battle Sister Squad is a troop choice and can only get 2 :)

[Icechiang]

That sounds like a good duo to have. A battle squad as a big troop with flamers, a dominion squad and immolator, Saint Celestine or cannoness as HQ, an exorcist for heavy support, and some seraphim cause they are really cool.

 

Add in some bodies and heavy tanks from the Guard and some terminators, sternguard, a dread, and maybe a devastate centurion and we gots a good army.

[A.T.]

That sounds like a good duo to have. A battle squad as a big troop with flamers, a dominion squad and immolator, Saint Celestine or cannoness as HQ, an exorcist for heavy support, and some seraphim cause they are really cool.

 

Fair warning that a blob (20+ model) squad (if that is your intention) is slow, has little output, and will fold to any kind of pressure without ecclesiarchal support - typically Jacobus and a second priest with the litanies of faith.

 

The medium sized (~9 models and priest) is a little different as it retains the mobility and protection of a transport.

[Icechiang]

Oh yeah that's a good point. I was thinking of having a medium squad to sit on an objective or be close to medium support. Like 10 sisters, two flamers sort of thing. A dominion with meltas in an immolator, an exorcist for long range, and seraphim to be with Saint Celestine.

 

I'll fill in some tougher models and units from the other codexes.

[sedibear]

I like making the BSS in rhinos TAC (Heavy Flamer, MM, maybe a combi on the superior) when going MSU.

 

Dominions are dedicated anti-tank, and Exorcists, despite their weapon profile, work better for taking out heavy infantry as opposed to tanks. They can also scare a flier into jinking in a pinch.

 

I don't run dedicated anti-horde because generally a Rhino and a Heavy Flamer offers decent protection versus hordes, and 5-6 drive-bys with Heavy Flamers can sufficiently thin them out.

[Icechiang]

I might be getting a bunch of models from a friend so I may be posting ideas and pictures soon!