A return to 40k - Adepta Sororitas army beginnings

[TheDreadfulSagittary]

Greetings!

 

After long years of other projects (mostly Horus Heresy/Age of Darkness and a little bit of Adeptus Titanicus) I decided to return to 40k. I stopped playing the main game with the transition from 7th edition to 8th because of many reasons, but as 2020 kicked in I felt that there are some hidden resources still within me to give 40k a new chance. It is still the most popular game, and wherever I go, I will find someone who plays it. I like the models, and I think that I can make some compromise with the rules. 

I'm musing with the idea for some time now, made some careful steps last year, but in the end everything remained the same, and I threw away my initial ideas. But as GW started getting ready the multi-part boxes for the Adepta Sororitas, I felt that I have found the project, that could take me back to the game again. 

 

I bought the Codex and the first box of Sisters this week, and I started to read it, and make some plans, but I'm a bit uncertain on how to begin. I didn't want to mess it up  And as much as I would like to have an effective army on the field, I also want to have a satisfying hobby project to. 

 

Now, I would like to ask for some assistance with my first steps. 

 

From my personal perspektive I lean more for the Ebon Chalice because of the colour scheme, but the Sacred Rose and the Bloody Rose looks also interesting. What would you recommend: stick to one Order, or use multiple orders in multiple Detachments, to use their advantages? Also, I didn't found that many hints on Ebon Chalice, and it seems, that most people run mainly Valorous Heart or Argent Shroud.

 

Miniaturewise, first I would like to create the backbone of my army with several Battle Sisters Squads. Would a start with 4 5-lady Squad with double Storm Bolters be a good start? I'm also thinking on getting the Retributor Box for additional Heavy Weapon bodies, wherewith I could later mix up the Storm Bolters. I would like to focus more on the Sisters side of the Codex, with maybe some Penitent Engines/Mortifiers. Also, I love jump infantry 

 

Thank you for your suggestions in advance, and I hope, that I could pop up updates on my army regularly... 

[WarriorFish]

Welcome back :tu: I'd say it's best to stick to a single Order, rather than trying to get the most out of an Order's rules here and there. Stormbolters are decent, but that special weapon slot is more likely better taking something other than more bolter shots. Flamers for hordes and melta for tougher targets are staples for a reason ;)

 

Keep us updated with your progress :tu:

[ThePenitentOne]

Welcome back! It was sisters and [GSC] that brought me back too.

 

I am intending to use multiple orders when I build my army. For me, it fits story wise and rules wise, so it works. I suspect that I am a minority on this though, and I imagine most people play with just one.

 

I like the idea that my "Army" is composed of many combat groups because I play escalation style. The whole army fights together very rarely- each Order has a different job to do, and they will handle any threat that they can on their own. In times of great need, they call in their sisters from the other orders.

 

I call it Sisters Soup. I'll be putting a tactica up, hopefully by the end of the day- it was supposed to go up yesterday, but i got too busy. 

[b1n0gHo5t]

Welcome welcome
The thought of plastic Sisters and a friends husband whose into 40k got me back
we going Warhammer world april BIG ooft i have 2k of painting to do before then haha god help me
I'm going Full Bloody rose Smash hammer soo yeah wish me luck

My paint scheme for custom order using Bloody Rose traits & stuff



http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/sisterp.php <---painter to let your imagination go wild

Edited February 8, 2020 by b1n0gHo5t

[Jack Burton]

Welcome back!  Do you consider yourself more of a hobbyist or competitive player?  (Of course we're all at least a bit of both) but if you lean more towards hobbyist then go with the Ebon Chalice since the color scheme is appealing.  Or, you could go with a custom color pattern and a custom Order.  Then you could explore playing as successors of different orders and experiment with the rules before landing on something permanent.

[TheDreadfulSagittary]

Thank you all for the welcoming posts! 

 

Welcome back! It was sisters and [GSC] that brought me back too.

 

I am intending to use multiple orders when I build my army. For me, it fits story wise and rules wise, so it works. I suspect that I am a minority on this though, and I imagine most people play with just one.

 

I like the idea that my "Army" is composed of many combat groups because I play escalation style. The whole army fights together very rarely- each Order has a different job to do, and they will handle any threat that they can on their own. In times of great need, they call in their sisters from the other orders.

 

I call it Sisters Soup. I'll be putting a tactica up, hopefully by the end of the day- it was supposed to go up yesterday, but i got too busy. 

 

Aye, PenitentOne, GSC would be the next thing that I would absolutely do! I love the Neophite miniatures and all the vehicles (those Atalan Jackals are RAD!!!). But unfortunately I cannot afford to kickstart two new project, and because I'm more on the loyal-imperial-human side I went with the Sisters. It didn't mean that I will never do any GSC, but not in the foreseeable future...

 

And for the other thing: those are exactly my thoughts! I like the idea of a crusading force with battle sisters from various orders. The only thing that I'm not sure if it would be a great idea from a gaming perspective.

 

 

Welcome back!  Do you consider yourself more of a hobbyist or competitive player?  (Of course we're all at least a bit of both) but if you lean more towards hobbyist then go with the Ebon Chalice since the color scheme is appealing.  Or, you could go with a custom color pattern and a custom Order.  Then you could explore playing as successors of different orders and experiment with the rules before landing on something permanent.

 

I'm more of a hobbyist... I was never great in competitive play You know, I used to be the boxing bag in our group... 

I didn't mean, that I would like to be a WAAC player from now on, but I would like to look into more in the deapths of the army, and build up something that could stand his ground. That's why I didn't want to rush with the building of the miniatures to. I'm still trying to figure out, how to equip the first squads 

[WolfVonhinslik]

I painted mine as none of the official orders so I have the option to play whatever order I want. This is an old picture, ive since based them

 

[TheDreadfulSagittary]

Still not sure on how to build up my first box of Sisters. It seems that most of the time it is better to run them in MSU format, but I still toying with the idea of 10 strong squads, riding in Rhinos... 

 

[b1n0gHo5t]

Still not sure on how to build up my first box of Sisters. It seems that most of the time it is better to run them in MSU format, but I still toying with the idea of 10 strong squads, riding in Rhinos... 

 

I know how you feel atm

its melta or flamer in my squads

with the Superior with the odd plasma pistol

[bkde]

Regardless of whatever faction you start with, plan for a battalion.

 

Two HQ's (Canoness w/blessed blade and bolt or inferno pistol, Canoness w/power sword, plasma pistol, rod of office)

 

Three squads of battle sisters (5 or 10 is up to you).

 

For special weapons 6 stormbolter girls are recommended (these will make their way into most lists). 4-6 meltaguns. The flamer is often overlooked in favour of the stormbolter (longer range, more consistent # of shots and Blessed Bolts strat).

 

Superiors are really up to you. Common configurations are chainsword (always) and boltgun or combimelta or combiflamer. It may be wise to magnetize to swap between the options.

 

Heavy weapons are really a mixed bag and depend on personal preference. Personally I rarely run heavy weapons on my girls, preferring to use vehicles (Immo for heavy flamers, Exorcist missiles in place of multimeltas, both Immos and Exorcists for hull heavy bolters). Hope this helps.

[TheDreadfulSagittary]

Regardless of whatever faction you start with, plan for a battalion.

 

Two HQ's (Canoness w/blessed blade and bolt or inferno pistol, Canoness w/power sword, plasma pistol, rod of office)

 

Three squads of battle sisters (5 or 10 is up to you).

 

For special weapons 6 stormbolter girls are recommended (these will make their way into most lists). 4-6 meltaguns. The flamer is often overlooked in favour of the stormbolter (longer range, more consistent # of shots and Blessed Bolts strat).

 

Superiors are really up to you. Common configurations are chainsword (always) and boltgun or combimelta or combiflamer. It may be wise to magnetize to swap between the options.

 

Heavy weapons are really a mixed bag and depend on personal preference. Personally I rarely run heavy weapons on my girls, preferring to use vehicles (Immo for heavy flamers, Exorcist missiles in place of multimeltas, both Immos and Exorcists for hull heavy bolters). Hope this helps.

 

Thank you for your advice!

 

I'm also planning a battalion for start, and want to buy two more boxes of regular sisters (when and if I will again have the time... it seems I picked a bad date to start again, after I got the first kit my free-time was reduced to 0. Yes, that means that those girls are still on the sprues  ). 

I searched some lists and storm bolters seems the regular choice, because everyone tries to keep the BSS as cheap as possible. Melta seems tempting to, but I didn't like the flamers in this edition. I might try the Retributors with the heavy variants...

[ThePenitentOne]

I tried twice to put together the tactica I talked about earlier in the thread, and I found that I kept running out of points. I really wanted to talk about sisters soup, because I still think it's awesome, but when GW boosted the CP on battalions brigades, they de-incentivised the inclusion of any other king of detachment. This makes it a lot harder to build a multi-detachment force.

 

However, some of the advice that would have gone into the tactica still holds here.

 

Blessed Bolts is one of the best strats in the game, and putting storm bolters anywhere but dom squads seems like a huge waste to me. Getting AP -2 Damage 2 on 4-8 shots is unwise when you could instead use the strat on a squad that gets 8-16 of those shots, right?

 

I prefer to kit BSS for versatility, which means a melta and a flamer. which facilitates the Holy Trinity strat. The autohits of the flamer are great for overwatch because you don't need to roll a  to hit; the melta is deadly with Miracle Dice because you can guarantee high damage. I max MD hard, so I go all in on simulacra and cherubs. I will field a few MSU because they can work well supporting other units, but MSU suck at holding objectives, so I always like to include two squads of 15 for the purpose of holding objectives once they've been captures by the smaller more mobile units.

 

These large units benefit most from Trinity, so they are the best candidates for that build. With MSU, you'd get +1 wound on the d6 flamer shots and 3/6 bolters. You'd also get it on the melta shot, but realistically, the melta doesn't need it so much. If, on the  other hand, you use that strat on a max sized squad, you get it on d6 flamer shots, 13/26 bolter shots and the melta. It's true that you won't always be able to use Trinity because the flamer has to be in range to do it, but it's also true that if you don't build for it, you'll never get to use it.

 

I save double melta for seraphim- sky striking with Deadly Descent to extend the range of 4 Inferno inferno pistols, one of which can get guaranteed high damage with a MD makes a better tank killer than 2 meltaguns and a combimelta in an MSU BSS, even if the squad is mounted.

 

My advice? In short, don't put special weapons where they aren't maximised for strats, and any special weapon purchased merely because it's cheap is wasted points.

[TheDreadfulSagittary]

I'm not a big fan of the flamers in this edition. Assault D6 is so unpredictable. I mean, you are able to reroll it with CP (if I'm not mistaken), but why would you waste it on a regular flamer? And if the assaulter stormed my girls from 9 inches, than I could throw it away anyways. But maybe I'm completely wrong, as I haven't played any 8th edition games. I'm really sorry, I feel so dumb sometimes. I started playing in 4th, played the most from 5th 'till 7th, and the game now feels completely new to me. 

 

I made some progress and now I have the Superior assembled. Nothing fancy, just chainsword, bolter and head with hood  I like the many options that the miniature had. I'm completely sure, that I will buy another two sets, and make another builds for her. The only thing I'm not sure, how could I make another one from the set, to have two 5 sister squad from it... 

 

Because I'm not sure that I need a Simulacrum the next one will be the cherub. Which base is it on? The guide shows 32mm, but the box came with an extra 28mm base. 

[ThePenitentOne]

It's true- flamers aren't great; they are the thing that limits Trinity the most.

 

Never feel dumb; you're playing Sisters, so the Emperor's got your back. Not only that, people here are pretty cool. I say dumb stuff all the time and no one has ever been a jerk about it.

[bkde]

Blessed Bolts is one of the best strats in the game, and putting storm bolters anywhere but dom squads seems like a huge waste to me. Getting AP -2 Damage 2 on 4-8 shots is unwise when you could instead use the strat on a squad that gets 8-16 of those shots, right?

 

I prefer to kit BSS for versatility, which means a melta and a flamer. which facilitates the Holy Trinity strat. The autohits of the flamer are great for overwatch because you don't need to roll a to hit; the melta is deadly with Miracle Dice because you can guarantee high damage. I max MD hard, so I go all in on simulacra and cherubs. I will field a few MSU because they can work well supporting other units, but MSU suck at holding objectives, so I always like to include two squads of 15 for the purpose of holding objectives once they've been captures by the smaller more mobile units.

 

These large units benefit most from Trinity, so they are the best candidates for that build. With MSU, you'd get +1 wound on the d6 flamer shots and 3/6 bolters. You'd also get it on the melta shot, but realistically, the melta doesn't need it so much. If, on the other hand, you use that strat on a max sized squad, you get it on d6 flamer shots, 13/26 bolter shots and the melta. It's true that you won't always be able to use Trinity because the flamer has to be in range to do it, but it's also true that if you don't build for it, you'll never get to use it.

 

I save double melta for seraphim- sky striking with Deadly Descent to extend the range of 4 Inferno inferno pistols, one of which can get guaranteed high damage with a MD makes a better tank killer than 2 meltaguns and a combimelta in an MSU BSS, even if the squad is mounted.

 

My advice? In short, don't put special weapons where they aren't maximised for strats, and any special weapon purchased merely because it's cheap is wasted points.

This is true, however Doms I find I’m taking less and less in favour of seraphim. Putting SB’s in BSS is less about Blessed Bolts, and more to pump up the volume of fire for squads I’m taking anyways to fill a battalion.

 

While Holy Trinity is fine, equipping a squad with extra weapons, where one of those shots is wasted (usually the melta at 14 or 16pts whatever it is) only to make them better at wounding things with bolters, and positioning all weapons in range, only for a strat you may get to use. There’s too many if’s for me. I’d rather just slap the stormbolters on 3 squads of BSS for 12 points and fill that battalion.

 

It just sounds like a waste. But that may just be my playstyle, I prefer small squads of cheap BSS, instead of large squads kitted for Holy Trinity.

 

Regarding inferno seraphim. They’re great, but I think they’re limited to two per list. Drop one turn 2, drop a second turn 3, use the strat on them both as it’s only possible to use the strat once per phase and anything not on the board turn end of turn 3 dies.

[RolandTHTG]

I'm not a big fan of the flamers in this edition. Assault D6 is so unpredictable. I mean, you are able to reroll it with CP (if I'm not mistaken), but why would you waste it on a regular flamer? And if the assaulter stormed my girls from 9 inches, than I could throw it away anyways. But maybe I'm completely wrong, as I haven't played any 8th edition games. I'm really sorry, I feel so dumb sometimes. I started playing in 4th, played the most from 5th 'till 7th, and the game now feels completely new to me.

 

I made some progress and now I have the Superior assembled. Nothing fancy, just chainsword, bolter and head with hood I like the many options that the miniature had. I'm completely sure, that I will buy another two sets, and make another builds for her. The only thing I'm not sure, how could I make another one from the set, to have two 5 sister squad from it...

 

Because I'm not sure that I need a Simulacrum the next one will be the cherub. Which base is it on? The guide shows 32mm, but the box came with an extra 28mm base.

There's actually 2 cherubs in the battle sister box, the first attached to one of the simulacrums, the second is an independent model. The 28mm is for that 2nd one.

 

Thanks for the topic, I'm a new sisters player and I'm learning a bunch from the discussion.

[TheDreadfulSagittary]

It's true- flamers aren't great; they are the thing that limits Trinity the most.

 

Never feel dumb; you're playing Sisters, so the Emperor's got your back. Not only that, people here are pretty cool. I say dumb stuff all the time and no one has ever been a jerk about it.

 

Yes, I hope that the Emperor - may His light shines on us all - got my back. But more importantly all of you got my back in this endeavour, and I'm really grateful for it!  And it is also true, that the people here on B&C are really cool and helpful. It's really nice to be part of this community!

 

Here comes my first update on my girls! I put together the Superior last night, and managed to finish the rest of the squad today. Here they are:

 

 

(You might notice there is some warp-trickery going on here. Got to look for the heretic responsible for it, and burn him with holy fire...)

 

I went with the storm bolters, but I will definitively take the meltas from the next box. And man I love these models! These ladies have such dinamic poses, great details and lots of options! They are absolutely a joy to look at, and I hope that I can do justic to them with the painting... 

My only criticism of the kit are the mould lines. They run througt the details and are running throught the most annoying parts of the miniatures. My last GW plastics where the Titans of AT, but on those the mould lines ran smartly along the edges, and not through the icons. I havent found a fleur de lis, which wasn't affected with a line running through it...

 

I will order another box of BSS tomorrow, and - because again no new Sisters for next week - I might toss a box of Mortifiers to them... And that will be all the hobby money for february spent for the holiest cause  

Edited February 16, 2020 by TheDreadfulSagittary

[TheDreadfulSagittary]

It has been a month since I posted here anything, and the world changed drastically. It is really a hard time for everyone, and I myself try to be as cautious as possible. But as our company is still producing like there is no tomorrow even we in the office aren't allowed to work from home (or more precisely, not all of us). So after the working hours I close the doors of my home, and try to stay sane  I'm trying to reassure my friends that everything will be fine, and we will only have to wait it out 'till the virus goes away. To look after each other now, that everyone is so vulnerable locked in their homes is really-really hard, but I hope, that sometimes some words may help... 

 

As some of my main activities, exercises are suspended for the unforeseeable future I might be able to spend more time of this particular hobby (although my dance teacher is making great efforts to give us something to practice every week). The only thing that might hinder this is my mood, which in this situation is always on the edge... 

 

I managed to grab some boxes this week, and so my Sororitas army project is starting to kick in! 

 

 

As I already have a 10-lady BS Squad I plan to build two 5 women-strong Squads out of this second box. One with storm bolters, but I might build the other with meltas. 
As for the Seraphim box, I'm not sure how to build them. I might go with the Seraphims first, and get later some additional boxes for the Zephyrim, but the temptation is a bit strong to build them with swords 

 

As for the painting aspect, I'm not sure on what schemes to use. I like the rules for the Bloody Rose, but I like the look of the Sacred Rose a bit better. Or I could go with some random colours... I'm thinking on bone coloured armour... 

[Dread]

Bone sounds good but remember you can paint them any way you want and use the rules for any order. If you want, be creative. Right now with having to stay home, my boss shut us down, I've been on overload with my sisters and their knight companion. Anyhow, not sure how to coach you on the jump girls, to me 2 sets of inferno pistols still wins my vote. Good luck, can't wait to see what you come up with.

[Inquisitor Xenoflay]

Greetings!

 

After long years of other projects (mostly Horus Heresy/Age of Darkness and a little bit of Adeptus Titanicus) I decided to return to 40k. I stopped playing the main game with the transition from 7th edition to 8th because of many reasons, but as 2020 kicked in I felt that there are some hidden resources still within me to give 40k a new chance. It is still the most popular game, and wherever I go, I will find someone who plays it. I like the models, and I think that I can make some compromise with the rules. 

I'm musing with the idea for some time now, made some careful steps last year, but in the end everything remained the same, and I threw away my initial ideas. But as GW started getting ready the multi-part boxes for the Adepta Sororitas, I felt that I have found the project, that could take me back to the game again. 

 

I bought the Codex and the first box of Sisters this week, and I started to read it, and make some plans, but I'm a bit uncertain on how to begin. I didn't want to mess it up  And as much as I would like to have an effective army on the field, I also want to have a satisfying hobby project to. 

 

Now, I would like to ask for some assistance with my first steps. 

 

From my personal perspektive I lean more for the Ebon Chalice because of the colour scheme, but the Sacred Rose and the Bloody Rose looks also interesting. What would you recommend: stick to one Order, or use multiple orders in multiple Detachments, to use their advantages? Also, I didn't found that many hints on Ebon Chalice, and it seems, that most people run mainly Valorous Heart or Argent Shroud.

 

Miniaturewise, first I would like to create the backbone of my army with several Battle Sisters Squads. Would a start with 4 5-lady Squad with double Storm Bolters be a good start? I'm also thinking on getting the Retributor Box for additional Heavy Weapon bodies, wherewith I could later mix up the Storm Bolters. I would like to focus more on the Sisters side of the Codex, with maybe some Penitent Engines/Mortifiers. Also, I love jump infantry 

 

Thank you for your suggestions in advance, and I hope, that I could pop up updates on my army regularly... 

Hi welcome :D I would say sticking to one paint scheme is the best for the entire army. That way it looks much more synergetic and satisfying.

[TheDreadfulSagittary]

I had to finish something but now I managed to put the models together. Here are the results: 

 

 

I did two BBS (one with double SB and one with double meltas), one CCW Canoness and five Seraphim. I washed them, now they are waiting to be primed. I hope that I will manage to get some of them painted during long weekend of Easter. 

[TheDreadfulSagittary]

Happy Easter to everyone!

Last week I worked on the first BSS, and as we weren't going anywhere on Easter I managed to finish the ladies. I'm actually quite pleased with the colour scheme I picked for them, although I had some problems at the start. It seems that I have no luck with white primers. I used Army Painter on these, but I had a really-really grainy finish on them. Even with multiple there are still surfaces, where you can notice the difference. I cannot tell how I managed to pull this, because the temperatures where normal and I followed the instructions on the distance. Funny, but when I reduced the spray distance, the finish was better, still there was no chance to correct everything... 

 

 

Nonetheless painting them was still a great joy. Unfortunately this week will be full of work, but I will still try to finish another squad. It would be nice, if I could finish the three demi-squads and the Canoness until the end of April. In the meantime I will make and order with an Exorcist, to build up the army with a bit of punch...

[ThePenitentOne]

They look great! Love the double sided cloaks- it lets you bring an additional colour without making is look gaudy. Great job.

 

I'm a poor modeler and painter- my eyes aren't what they were in the heyday of my painting spree, but this quarantine thing has got me building again. I started with a different army first [DE] so that my skills will come up by the time I hit my sisters.

 

Keep going, looking forward to seeing more.

[RolandTHTG]

They're looking good. I like the armor color, and the red robes make a nice contrast.

[TheDreadfulSagittary]

Thank you guys for the positive feedback! 

I decided on the double-sided cloak, because I didn't wanted it to be fully red, because I thought that it would be a bit too much. So I took the black as a contrast to the bright red. I love how the bone-colour turned out in the end and I hope that I could keep this quality for the rest of the army. It will be a slow progress, because as my experience goes, I cannot paint more than five infantry model or one vehicle at once.