Horde list with Sisters? Viable?

[dude163]

Im thinking at 9 points a pop at my local clubs 1250 point level Icould run 100 on foot.......

 

has anyone tried a horde SOB list?

[Montford]

I was in a 3,000 point per player mass battle and I did VERY well with three Battle Sister Squads of 15 Sisters each. They were kitted out with a plasma pistol and chainsword on the Superior, and a Melta and a Multimelta as Special and Heavy Weapon (with 12 boltguns I was able to minimize the absence of a flamer). The Squads just hung in there even facing off against Imperial Guard tanks such as Baneblade and (Mastodon I think?) It was part of a pure Sisters list: every single model was Adepta Sororitas.

 

Celestine and the Geminae, 3 Canonesses, 3 x 15 model Sister squads, 4 Immolators, 3 Exorcists, 2x Seraphim Squads (8 each), Dominion Squad w/ Stormbolters, Repressor, 4x Imagifiers, Repentia Squad of 9 w/ Mistress, 2 x Retributor Squads (4 Heavy Bolter, 4 Multi Melta) and a pair of Hospitallers. All that comes to 106 models. In addition to the IG I was also facing Dark Angels. Fortunately I had some Blood Angles helping on that flank!

 

I did take losses but did not lose any Squads. One Troop squad was down to 5 models at one point, and at the end I had a Seraphim squad which consisted of a single Sister with a pair of Inferno pistols!. Her squad tangled with a DA Dreadnoght and got shot up by a squad of Primaris, but the took the Dreadnoght down and I had help against the Primaris. I did lose three Immolators and an Imagifier.

 

So that's as close to a horde as I've gotten with my Sisters. Take it as you will. I was pleased with the girls' performance.I have decided that, should plastic sisters come to be a reality, I'll buy 50 at least in order to be able to field a full Brigade with the six Troops choices each a 15 sister squad.

[Drider]

every so often i ponder about a horde list, rets behind an ADL backed up by a cannoness and imagifier, seraphim to grab objectives or tie up stuff in combat, a couple of dominions to vanguard out to zone out deepstrikers from my back line,  and a good blob of sisters to choke up the mid field. maybe sprinkle in some repentia +mistress + priest to stand stag over the mid field blobs.

 

no idea how effective it would be but it is something i ponder from time to time. The problem i see is we don't exactly have the range for proper back line support and if you move the rets up the table so they can get good coverage they'd just get shot out. t3 is t3 after all and a 3+ isn't as good as a 2+

Edited December 6, 2017 by Drider

[Ficinus]

The cost and weight of that army would be massive.

 

It would probably be most effective to run 5 Sister squads, each with Heavy Bolter, Stormbolter, Combi-plasma (72 points for the squad). Twenty of them would be 1440 points and have decent mid-range shooting. It would also allow for a build with a ton of Command Points and enough Canonesses to ensure every squad was re-rolling ones to hit.

[Beams]

The cost and weight of that army would be massive.

 

It would probably be most effective to run 5 Sister squads, each with Heavy Bolter, Stormbolter, Combi-plasma (72 points for the squad). Twenty of them would be 1440 points and have decent mid-range shooting. It would also allow for a build with a ton of Command Points and enough Canonesses to ensure every squad was re-rolling ones to hit.

20 drops means your going last, and your acts of faith only affect 5 models instead of 15.

 

All that said, I'd go with a combination of cheap 5 girl squads with upgrades and a kitted out 15 girl squads and 10 girl 5 stobolter Dominions. Sprinkle in imagifiers to make it tasty... But you'd also be looking at the most expensive army in whatever store you were playing. I know I can't afford it, so I stay mech.

[robofish7591]

The real question is can you afford or carry that many sisters? 

 

As for my actual answer...  I think sisters are better off mechanized.  Immolators and repressors are excellent vehicles and 8th editions morale rules really punish large squads that don't have access to a way to mitigate morale losses.  Plus, taking more smaller squads means that you get more special/heavy weapons (depending on what kind of squads you take).

 

But that is just my opinion, its all just theory since I haven't tried putting that many models on the table at once.  Actually, I think I might be just shy of owning 100 sisters models. 

[Blackarmor_redtruth]

Also seems to go against the fluff - we are not a giant, standing army. We are the scalpel and flamer. Or maybe the flamer and plasma'er. Go for it though, maybe it is a whole brigade defending a planet or what-not.

[Azekai]

Also seems to go against the fluff - we are not a giant, standing army. We are the scalpel and flamer. Or maybe the flamer and plasma'er. Go for it though, maybe it is a whole brigade defending a planet or what-not.

Twenty squads of five is nothing like a 'giant standing army.' It is only large in the context of a skirmish game. I think any major order would easily be able to field 100+ sisters, perhaps even thousands if they were grouped in defense of heavily contested shrines or temples.

 

Games Workshop rarely gives definitive numbers on anything, but given the sheer scale of the Imperium, I think it is absurd to say a group of a hundred sororitas is unfluffy.

[CaptainMarsh]

Fluff wise, Sisters are a much larger organization than the Astartes. If you're on the attack, fluff wise, it would make sense for Horde sisters to be viable.

[Lord Grimskull]

Tripple storm bolter on a full clip of 15 ladies is only 141 pts. The dakka!

[taikishi]

Two squads of five Dominions with Storm Bolters is 120 points, puts out more Dakka, cares less about Ld, and has more of a footprint on the battlefield due to Vanguard and being able to act as independent units.

 

Also, I seem to recall reading on this very forum that there are actually LESS Sisters than Astartes in the galaxy though I'm having trouble finding the reference. Believe it was a post from Miko, though.

 

Edit: Found the thread from two years ago speculating on the matter.

 

Here were Miko's quotes specifically:

 

 

 

Depending on your source. The only studio answers we've gotten are the 2e codex saying "Six major orders of between five hundred and ten thousand Sisters each" and a blurb from a character for the Inquisitor RPG that put the Adepta Sororitas recruiting 500 new members a year.

Fantasy Flight then give us something like 15,000 Martyred Lady in the Calixis Sector alone.

 

So that's a maximum of 60,000 for the major orders and then however many minor orders there are, each of which which may only number in the hundreds or fewer.

Edited December 8, 2017 by taikishi

[Beams]

I'm really a fan of Max sized stormbolter Dominions. They are relatively cheap, and AoF'd put out as much firepower as 30 Bolter Marines. They also are decent at holding objectives and can get 10 girls moving fast onto objectives. If you place your objectives right, you can get them into cover, and removing them is fairly hard.

[CaptainMarsh]

Two squads of five Dominions with Storm Bolters is 120 points, puts out more Dakka, cares less about Ld, and has more of a footprint on the battlefield due to Vanguard and being able to act as independent units.

 

Also, I seem to recall reading on this very forum that there are actually LESS Sisters than Astartes in the galaxy though I'm having trouble finding the reference. Believe it was a post from Miko, though.

 

Edit: Found the thread from two years ago speculating on the matter.

 

Here were Miko's quotes specifically:

 

 

 

Depending on your source. The only studio answers we've gotten are the 2e codex saying "Six major orders of between five hundred and ten thousand Sisters each" and a blurb from a character for the Inquisitor RPG that put the Adepta Sororitas recruiting 500 new members a year.

 

Fantasy Flight then give us something like 15,000 Martyred Lady in the Calixis Sector alone.

 

So that's a maximum of 60,000 for the major orders and then however many minor orders there are, each of which which may only number in the hundreds or fewer.

Check out the current Index. It references Sisters of Battle being recruited by the millions and deploying in numbers "...in numerical strength the Chapter Masters can only dream of."

 

I think the AS being a smaller organization is a holdover belief from earlier codices and texts. 

[Servant of Dante]

Fluff wise, Sisters are a much larger organization than the Astartes. If you're on the attack, fluff wise, it would make sense for Horde sisters to be viable.

Actually, do you have a quote on that? I’m not really interested in Lexicanum or another wiki as sources, but if you know of anywhere besides the 2E codex that talks numbers I’m curious.

 

Edit: I missed the part where Captain Marsh mentioned the index. Disregard :P if you have any other sources I’m still curious though!

 

As for the 2E codex, it has the 6 Major Orders averaging 3-4 thousand Sisters each. I tend to assume minor Orders are much smaller (hence the term “minor”). So in my view of the fluff, yes, hoards of Sisters is almost unheard of. At Armageddon, where you had entire chapters turning up, the Sisters had just 2 companies worth present if I’m remembering correctly. As for the source on that, it’s from an old GW webpage that I’ve not kept the web archive link to handy (sorry). I’ll bother someone who knows how to find it when I have the chance.

Edited December 12, 2017 by Servant of Dante

[Servant of Dante]

Two squads of five Dominions with Storm Bolters is 120 points, puts out more Dakka, cares less about Ld, and has more of a footprint on the battlefield due to Vanguard and being able to act as independent units.

 

Also, I seem to recall reading on this very forum that there are actually LESS Sisters than Astartes in the galaxy though I'm having trouble finding the reference. Believe it was a post from Miko, though.

 

Edit: Found the thread from two years ago speculating on the matter.

 

Here were Miko's quotes specifically:

 

 

 

Depending on your source. The only studio answers we've gotten are the 2e codex saying "Six major orders of between five hundred and ten thousand Sisters each" and a blurb from a character for the Inquisitor RPG that put the Adepta Sororitas recruiting 500 new members a year.

 

Fantasy Flight then give us something like 15,000 Martyred Lady in the Calixis Sector alone.

So that's a maximum of 60,000 for the major orders and then however many minor orders there are, each of which which may only number in the hundreds or fewer.

Edit: Miko said that? Yikes . . . She knows her fluff, I’m going to make sure I’m not lying, be right back :D I’m unaware of any numbers in the 2E codex that day up to 10000 each.

 

Addendum: looks like Miko just said “500” and “10,000” rather than what the codex actually says, which is “a few hundred” to “six or seven thousand.” I apologize for freaking out (I edited my overreaction out rather quickly, but still).

 

Like I just said, that codex (the second edition Codex: Sisters of Battle printed in 1998) says the Major Orders average 3-4 thousand (thats 3000 to 4000) each and get up to 7000 at peak points. So we’re talking maybe 21 thousand Sisters in the Major Orders all together at once, and I tend to assume that more than hal of Sisters Militant are in Major Orders (but that’s purely an assumption on my part).

 

Here’s my source. Codex: Sisters of Battle page 35. Note that this doesn’t really conflict with what Miko said, but it’s more specific in some ways.

 

As for the FFG numbers, they directly contradict the 2E codex so I don’t find them in any way canonical or meaningful. But that’s really just my opinion :D

 

Thanks for the quote, I need to look at my copy of Inquisitor more closely it seems :P About 500 new Sisters a year sounds about right to me. I’ll have to see if I can find the page that’s on later.

 

And the index numbers, well, if you’ve heard me say this before I apologize for repeating myself, but I have an easy time diseegarding fluff I dislike from the new books. This does give a green light to hoard Sisters, but you won’t see me changing my views (not that that should stop anyone from doing what they want :D )

 

In the end it does come down to your personal interpretation, as Miko so wisely said.

Edited December 12, 2017 by Servant of Dante