We continue our journey into the forces of the Imperium with the Emperor's most faithful, in every definition of the word. Since receiving their revival in 8th Edition, Sisters have been a solid army. There hasn't really been any point in which they were meta defining, but they've been a good faction. Part of this hinges on their Miracle dice mechanic, which allows players to wield them with a level of consistency other factions envy. We already know Miracle dice are back, but now let's see what else the Sisters of Battle can bring to bear.
ARMY RULES
We now know that two factions get to have pools of dice they can substitute in to guarantee the results of a roll. We learned Sisters would be keeping theirs first, which all fans of the faction were glad to hear. Then Eldar got in on the action with their Fate dice, changed from 9th to be very similar to Miracle dice. The two rules however are different in very important ways.
For Sisters, their Miracle dice let them consistently fix rolls over the course of the game. Miracle dice can only be used once per phase, allowing you to fix only one roll in each of those phases. This will make the use of your Act of Faith in any given phase a great skill check for the army. However, you'll be consistently getting new Miracle dice. You're guaranteed to have at least one Miracle dice in every turn, and you will likely have many more.
Their Detachment Rule is less impressive in my mind. While I've talked about these rules before, I want to clarify a few things on them. The first is that these aren't really a buff, the way some people have been describing them. They're a way for damaged units to consistently keep fighting. Yes, if a Morvenn Vahl or another character takes damage their overall effectiveness goes up, and if you lose a Sister or two from a Squad, the Squad will actually put out more damage. But that isn't what's going to happen.
Your opponent is going to be trying to destroy your units, not damage them. And this rule will make them want to finish the job even more. So the main benefit you'll get from this ability is that your opponent will overcommit to killing your units. It's nice that if they fail, your unit will be punching harder than they might expect. But don't expect to be re-rolling a lot of dice because of this. The most common time this rule will come up is in the Fight phase, when you select a unit to Fight after your opponent has made attacks against it. But don't allow this rule to change your priorities and skip an important fight just so you can punch back.
STRATAGEMS
Divine Intervention - 1CP
This Stratagem comes at the cost of some of your Miracle dice, but it lets you bring back any character (except Celestine) that gets destroyed once per battle. The fact it's per character and not just flat once per battle is very nice. While you can't set the character up within Engagement range, remember that Characters have to be reattached to their unit if possible and that a unit is still eligible to fight if it made a Charge move. So this should let you return a slain Character to the fight to get their attacks in.
Light of the Emperor - 1CP
If a unit survives your opponent's attempts to end it, and you need to get your damage in, this will help make sure it does so. Situational, but great when you need it.
Holy Rage - 1CP
+1 to Wound when you fight. Fantastic! You will uses this a lot.
Spirit of the Martyr - 2CP
Fight on Death is always great, especially when combined with this Detachment rule. Okay, not gonna lie. That rule is actually looking better and better.
Suffering & Sacrifice - 1CP
Oh wow! A taunt rule! I'm not sure I've seen one of these in 40K before! This is potentially fantastic! Forcing your opponents to allocate attacks on something can give you a lot of control of the flow of battle. And with the whole Martyr theme in this army, I'm wondering if there'll be a unit to combo this with.
Rejoice the Fallen - 1CP
Like I said, you can use your rules to get your opponent to overcommit to destroying your units. The threat of this strat is possibly much greater than the actual strat itself. Though there might be some Sororitas Vehicles like Cassie that can really put this to work.
This is a nice little toolbox. Most of the time you're probably going to be using Holy Rage and Spirit of the Martyr. But all of these strats are very powerful when you need them.
ENHANCEMENTS
Saintly Example - 10 pts
Get D3 more Miracle dice when you lose the character. Note, this is in addition to the Miracle dice you get from a unit dying for Acts of Faith. I don't like planning for my stuff to die, but if you've got 10 points free this could be useful.
Litanies of Faith - 25 pts
I like this! Re-rolling miracle dice is bound to come in handy. This might also be a good use of that strat to bring a character back.
Blade of Saint Ellynor - 15 pts
It's our generic combat buff enhancement! But this one is even better since it buffs Attacks, Strength, and Damage! Of course, the double mechanic on it is triggered if the Character takes damage.
Mantle of Ophelia - 20 pts
Only ever take 1 Dmg from an attack! That is so good!
These are some pretty good enhancements. I'd say Litanies of Faith and the Mantle of Ophelia are practically auto-include, at least if you're taking a Canoness or Palatine for the latter. I'd probably also take the Blade of Saint Ellynor to boost a combat unit. I'd probably only take Saintly Example if I needed to spend 10 pts.
DATASHEETS
Morvenn Vahl - 135 pts
Previously we'd seen the stats on the Lance, but we didn't know what Vahl herself did. Her combat profile is okay, but though she has a decent number of wounds she's hardly equivalent to other walkers. She'll be leading other Paragons, though, and granting full re-rolls to Hit and Wound when she does. This alone should allow them to hit pretty hard in combat. But she also gets a Finest Hour style ability to get a substantial buff to her Attack output. As with many Leaders, I feel she could be cheaper. I really do think that GW is charging a premium for the Leader ability.
Canoness - 60 pts
I've noticed that S6, SP-2, D2 is kind of the generic Character damage profile. But she also doesn't get many attacks with it, meaning she might hit a little less hard than you might expect. She can definitely put out a lot of ANTI-PSYKER hate if you give her a condemnor though. But if you're planning on getting her into melee, you probably want that inferno pistol. Her wargear options are kind of weird, though. You might actually want to take the plasma pistol and power sword just for the Rod of Office. Sorry if that seems like a lot but her wargear options kinda threw me.
Obviously you're taking her for the ability to grant full re-rolls to Hit and one of the two Rod abilities. The fact she can give herself a once per game 2+ Invuln is honestly gravy. Again, I think she could be cheaper.
Palatine - 55 pts
The Palatine comes with Scout, so you don't have to worry about a unit losing it if she joins. She grants LETHAL HITS, which is great for the Sisters' normally low Strength weaponry. But the real kicker here is she's one of the few models that can trigger additional mortal wounds, and it's on her unit! Since all you have to do is successfully wound to trigger this, that combos incredibly with the LETHAL HITS ability. I was a bit worried she's over-costed from her profile, but I think I'd happily pay 55 pts for her!
Junith Eruita - 100 pts
Not a bad profile, and the 2+ Sv in particular is nice. She's basically a Space Marine Captain with a 2+ Sv. She also has the standard commander CP generation and makes her unit -1 to Hit. I think she's probably going to be pretty good.
Missionary - 35 pts
Very similar to the Guard version, he's still giving you a nice melee buff. However, unless Sisters have rules that allow them to take multiple Leaders on their units, I don't see you taking him over other Characters.
Saint Celestine - 150 pts
Celestine and her Geminae are surprisingly tanky at 2+ Sv and a 4+ Invuln. Her Geminae also act as bodyguards, giving her a 4+ FNP, while she revives them if they die. And, of course, she gets to revive once per battle on a 2+. The Saint herself strikes at -3 AP for some pretty good killing power. She's also surprisingly good in Overwatch with The Ardent Blade acting as a Torrent weapon. While she can lead Seraphim and Zepharim, she doesn't really buff them. Though I'm pretty sure the way rules work for attaching units she can heal the models in that unit.
The Triumph of Saint Katherine - 150 pts
I'm pretty sure this is better than Celastine for 150 pts. Although not quite as tanky, this does come with 18 Wounds. Additionally, while Celestine just keeps herself and her unit alive, this hands out two chosen buffs every turn in a souped-up version of a commander ability. All of these buffs are useful. But if you've built up a pool of dice, Ebon Chalice seems particularly good, especially when combined with Bloody Rose.
Daemonifuge - 80 pts
This fun pair of characters can potentially allow you to catch an opponent off guard and potentially assassinate a Character or two. They've got the awesome combo of both Fights First and Lone Operative, making them both hard to deal with at both range and in melee. They can use Heroic Intervention for free, so they have to be careful putting any unit near them. And before they strike, you can potentially do a few mortals to your target. I think they're pretty good at 80 points, if a bit niche.
Battle Sisters Squad - 110 pts for 10 models (11 pts a model)
Battle Sisters are 11 pts a model! That is awesome! In addition to being your primary objective holder, they help you generate Miracle dice. Their weapons and profile are okay, but you're mostly taking them for objective scoring.
Sister Novitiate Squad - 90 pts for 10 models (9 pts a model)
If you're trying to take an objective these might work. They get an objective attacking style rule for re-roll Hits that will make their attacks count for more and can even Advance and Charge.
Aestred Thurga and Agathae Dolan - 70 pts
Aestred also gets to have 2+ Sv and her weapon isn't bad either. The big deal here is that not only do they grant DEVASTATING WOUNDS to a unit in melee, they get to improve Miracle Dice used. This can virtually guarantee you'll get a mortal in. I think these two are a steal!
Imagifier - 40 pts
You're not taking this Sister for her stats. You're also not taking her for Litany, though it will be nice when it works out well. What you're doing is attaching her to a unit of Sacresants to make them incredibly more tanky. The fact you can tack her onto a Battle Sisters Squad that already has a leader is gravy. And I'm pretty sure 40 pts is more than worth it for that.
Dialogus - 35 pts
Again, its the abilities we're looking at here. And while they're not as useful as granting a 4+ Invuln, they are decent. I'm not sure she's worth 35 points though.
Preacher - 45 pts
He's got some okay combat, but what you want is that +1 to Wound in melee. He even gets a neat little Finest Hour ability for increased Strength and Attacks. He might make a good choice for a Novitiate Squad setup for melee. He's probably alright at 45 pts.
Celestian Sacresants - 65 pts for 5 models (11 pts per model)
These things will punch hard for just 11 pts per model! And while the Imagifier can make them tankier, they also get tanky just for being lead by a Canoness, Palatine, or Junith. All of these are good combos for different reasons. A pretty cheap and effective way to get some good melee in.
Hospitaller - 40 pts
Hmm . . . 40 pts for a 5+ FNP. I think with the ability to heal a Character (potentially one brought back with Divine Intervention) she's probably okay at that cost.
Dogmata - 50 pts
Damn. I love this model, but she's just not worth it. She hits okay and her abilities are both useful for swinging control under the right situation. But she's just overpriced.
Paragon Warsuits - 240 pts for 3 models (80 pts per model)
And another nope. These are actually pretty good. Their profile reads more like a Mounted unit that's taken a speed nerf than a Walker profile, but they look like they can hit legitimately hard. But they're way to fragile for 80 pts a model.
Repentia Squad - 75 pts for 5 models (15 pts per model)
Not sure on this one. They hit hard. Like, real hard! Harder than they have any right to. But they're also made of paper. If you want to go with these you'll need to use them very carefully.
Crusaders - 20 pts for 2 models (10 pts per model)
Huh. I've never even heard of these. Guess that says something about their performance in prior editions. They look like they're okay though. If you want some melee that isn't going to die to a stiff breeze, these might work. I'm just not sure why you'd take these over Sacresants. They're cheap, though, so they might make great list fillers.
Death Cult Assassins - 35 pts for 2 models (17.5 pts per model)
That's a lot of points for a unit that is just going to get shot. If you're regularly playing with a lot of obscuring terrain they might be worth it.
Dominion Squad - 130 pts for 10 models (13 pts per model)
These don't look worth it until you notice that four models can take meltaguns. Especially when combined with Holy Vanguard, they're going to absolutely wreck something.
Seraphim Squad - 70 pts for 5 models (14 pts per model)
The Fire and Fade ability these have is a little odd, considering you probably want those inferno pistols. But it does allow you to harass a unit while getting into position to get your charge off. I think these are definitely worth the increased cost.
Zephyrim Squad - 70 pts for 5 models (14 pts per model)
Oh these hit nice and hard for their cost! Yeah, these are really good too!
Retributor Squad - 130 pts for 5 models (26 pts per model)
You've got two choices here. You can either bring mult-meltas and try to rush them up the board in a Rhino, or you can give them flamers and camp them somewhere your opponent would least want to get hit with Overwatch. I think it's gonna be kinda tough to get your money's worth either way.
Mortifiers - 60 pts
Oh! Oh that is some damage! That is some really mean damage! And they have a 5+ FNP! These might be worth it. I haven't been liking Sisters' Walkers but this might be good.
Penitent Engines - 60 pts
So these lose the Invuln but all their attacks just get SUSTAINED HITS now and they get Advance and Charge. I think those are some nice trades. I think Penitent Engines are the better of the two walkers.
Exorcist - 140 pts
That's not a bad platform for 140 pts. This is not Guard Indirect, but it's still probably good. As a bonus, it gives nearby Sisters improved Ld. I like it.
Castigator - 150 pts
Why is Cassie more expensive when she doesn't have the Indirect? She at least gets re-rolls to Hit. But you have to pick her target when you buy her, selecting either the autocannons for Infantry or the battle cannon for Monsters and Vehicles. I'd probably take the battle cannon as you have plenty of solutions for Infantry, and the battle cannon is good there even without re-roll hits. It's too bad she doesn't have some better AP though.
Sororitas Rhino - 80 pts
It's a Rhino. You're going to want a couple of these to get things like your Dominions into position. Rhinos look legitimately good for nearly any army that can take them.
Immolator - 130 pts
Fire Support is a nice rule, and we also get the rule where you can split a larger unit into two. Most of the time you're going to want to keep your units together, though. Smaller units are easier to delete than larger ones. So you're basically paying 50 points for the guns. At least the immolation flamers didn't get twin linked and just get to put out double the shots.
Arco-flagellants - 45 pts for 3 models (15 pts per model)
They're 15 pts but they are absolutely going to blend light Infantry. And with 2 Wounds and a 4+ FNP they are surprisingly tough. You're still likely going to use them as a bomb and just let them HAZARDOUS themselves to death.
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