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Sisters of Battle Strategies and army builds

 Post subject: Sisters of Battle Strategies and army builds
PostPosted: Wed May 20, 2020 11:09 pm 
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Hi everyone,

Couldn't find a thread on this already.

Any tips on building a sisters list? Found a really good list of proxies from Vanguard somewhere else on the forum but wondering about lists and strategies. I've played about 10 - 15 games and have 4000 points of Eldar but would like a new 3000 point army and thinking sisters might be for me.


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 Post subject: Re: Sisters of Battle Strategies and army builds
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2020 1:44 am 
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Sisters are like Spacemarines, but without the ATSNKF (2 blast marker) benefits, a lack of drop pods, or fast skimmers, except for the (limited to 1) Inquisitorial warband with valkyries. They have shorter ranged weapons on their basic units and cost just as much as the marines. They have slightly larger formations, and have the sometime useful (but most often not) faithful ability.

I tend to use faithful in the first round, and maybe the secoind on formations that do not have blast markers. I know they have an initiative of 1. I find that when I need a 2+ for faithful, I roll 1s. Faithful gives fearless and a 6+ invul save. It helps reduces losses when they become broken from additional blast markers, but The formation is generally lost the next round unless I can rally them, and get all the blast markers off them.

They do not have any decent artillery, though their good access to Hunter missile tankes helpsagainst strafing runs which kill off broken formations. I usually find enemy kill off my transports, and the hunters first, and try to break my sisters. Since I do not have indirect fire, I have to rush forward to engage the enemy because the weapos ranges on most formations are generally short or 15cm. Since the only real ranged weapons the exorcists are very expensive, and have a poor armour save (unless I get faithful to boost it), they are also taken out by enemy artillery as a primary target. Remeber marine tanks have a 4+ save generally, but need more blast markers to break them. Most marine armies are around the mid tier level for tournaments unless they take drop pod/ planet fall armies. Although Imperial Fists Fortress line defense armies are top tier.

Batle sister formations are the core of the army with Repressors and Rhinos and a hunter and Priest helping in engagements., backed up by Exorcist anti-vehicle formations. Sisters (except Repentia) favour Fire Fight, rather than Close Combat. Repentia are handy, but have less armour save except. I have taken enemy out wholesale using their MW, but any enemy who uses skimmers can avoid this by putting their vehicles in front to stop me using their CC ability - damn eldar and tau.

I tend to include a couple or perhaps 3 battle sister formations, 1 or 2 exorcists. I then take 1 choir (seraphim), a repentance, one inquisitorial warband in valkyries, a penitance and a crusaders formation (but I think these have been removed). I back these up with a Lightning Squadron or 2, and before the list was updated, I added a Reaver Titan.

I designed a fan based sisters Ministorum list to make the list more tournament viable. It added Adeptus Arbites, and changed things up a bit. Costs of the basic formations were dropped a little, upgrades allowed them to increase the formation sizes, and I allowed more formatoin to be added to the core options. The allied Arbites add in a cheaper fast and interesting option to the list. Bikers, Riot teams, and Interdiction teams. These can either be teleporters, or get valkyries and vendettas. making them a flexable objective takers, or a gap filler.

I recommend a top tier list to be able to hold your own in a tournament like Orks, Tau (spotter and artillery), Dark Eldar (assault based drop list or fast advance assault list, Feral Orks, Imperial Fist fortification list (almost impossible to break even with feral ork Orkasaurus wedge trying to charge in), Imperial Guard artillery and armoured list. Sisters are just so below the bar, I really only use them in fun games, and my Miinistorum list can not be used in tournaments as it is just about mid tier if it were played.

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Last edited by Deb on Sat May 23, 2020 2:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Sisters of Battle Strategies and army builds
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2020 12:15 pm 
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Sisters have a lot of scout and MW options. They have been most successful with these units used in greater numbers.

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 Post subject: Re: Sisters of Battle Strategies and army builds
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2020 2:48 pm 
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The sisters list I downloaded from the website which is up for consideration for aproval does not have any scout units at all. The Dominions have had scout removed and even if they still did have it, they are 200 points for 4 stands of troops with a melta guns that can only be used un close combat and get the MW rule.

Their 2 transports Rhinos if you do not want to spend points have 5+ saves and faithful. The 4 dominions have a 4+ save Add n apriest or a palantine and they are another 50 pointsmore expensive per unand faithful. If you kill off 3 units, or 2 units and add an extra blast marker, they are broken. Add in a Priest or a palantine, and they cost 50 more points per upgrade.

The Macro weapons in the sisters army are wither 15cm range, used in close combat or FF. Nothing has a range of 30cm or more for the standard troops that has MS. Even teir Retributors have only range 30cm heavy bolters.

The army is designed to fight up close and personal. It has Rhinos, which are easily destroyed. If it spends precious points on upgraded transports, they have a better save, but the points increase makes formations that take this too epensive to field. Thus making your army have less formations. The 4+ save is not that great. The chance of getting Faithful passed is also risky, and the 6+ invul save gives a poor chance of saving a failed armour save. Fearless from it helps, but that only lasts one round.

Exorcists are the armies ranged hard hitting formation, and these are targetted by smart enemy.

What you are saying is I should build an army around a core of Repentia and Dominions supported by Penitent engines with say exorcists for long range fire power. Perhaps we should just cut the list down to these formations.

I want to see a wider range of options for ranged indirect barrages. Even if you have to purchase them from the 1/3 portion of the army. I want the basic troopwers to have Heavy Bolters, and the Retributors to have a Heavy Bolter and a Multi-Melta per stand. Dominions with Scout and meltaguns and flamers, as you have always been able to equip the with.

Either that or drop their prices dramatically. You could use something similar to the old faithful rules for the 40K 5th ed sisters army to make it more likely that formatins that have suffered losses will get faithful next round.

A dice roll of 3+ is needed with bonuses to the roll if certain things (cumulative) have occured. +1 if it has a character attached to it. +1 if the formation has lost units since the end of your last game turn. Automatic faithful if the formation is broken or under half strength. This will make the formations more durable, and enemy will not be able to simply break a formation and then pick it off with aircraft, shots from formations that could notmally hurt them (by putting blast markers on them), and enemy then have to get into close combat, or concentrate fire power on them.

They need some bonus to make them viable and have a chance of winning sime games. I think if you have limited Scout, only 15cm and engagenent type MW and no ranged indirect barrages, thn they need a bonus niche to make them survive. MW are no good if they can not get into range. Fearless and an invul save is no good if the unit is less likely to get it once they are broken or take blast markers.

A simple statement that they have scout units and a lot of MW and they should be used in great numbers in the army does not make sense if the scout formations that used to have it (but do not seem to have it now) are really small, and if the MW weapons can not get into range of the enemy.

Perhaps we are using differemt sisters army lists, because the UK list is not legal in Austalian tournaments, only the legal NetEA list. I have seen 4 different sisters lists, including my ministorum list.

Let me know if the list I downloaded directly from the Net EA website is not the correct one you are referencing to, and provide me with a better link to it.

ttps://www.tacticalwargames.net/taccmd/ ... 30&t=32860 (your list you shared to us)

or this one

https://www.tacticalwargames.net/taccmd ... 30&t=34122 ( the current up for approval list)

If the second one, then it still has the spaceship, and the dominions still have scout, but the Titans are removed completely. If the first one (the one from your post) then you get a nuted Warlord, lose the chapels and the spaceship, and the Dominions lose the scout abiltiy. Either way the list is less powerful.

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 Post subject: Re: Sisters of Battle Strategies and army builds
PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2020 3:12 pm 
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I think my idea for faithful would make the army last longer, and the enemy will need to expend more formations firepower to kill off the sisters formations. Similar to the way an Iyanden Eldar army can sit and take damage, but cost a lot to purchase.

They will have weak transports, lack of ranged (except for Exorcists) weapons, and tend to be weaker in assaults (unless you spend a lot of points on priests) with most of their formations in CC engagements performing lack luster (but still perform better in FF). They currently are like a engagement army with out either the speed to position themselves, ability to drop right onto enemy quickly, or formations that can take a lot of damage/ blast markers and still survive the following rounds without being whittled down from blast markers. And they cost way more points than they should for what you get.

You need to still be thematic, but fix the flaws. Morale is their strength. Close in weapons are again are a strength. Long Ranged anti armour weapons (except Excorcists) and inbuilt artillery are not present. But have always had allied Titans, and other super heavies to make up this shortfall. They also are supposed to have a massive amount of religious fanatics led by priests following the army into battle. Poorly armed and armoured, but fanatically fearless inspired on by the priests in their midst. Your list does not have these. Maybe make it that you have to have an Inquisitorial warband to use them, but I have not seen any of the old pictures from white dwarfs that did not have hordes of religious fanatics accompanying them.

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 Post subject: Re: Sisters of Battle Strategies and army builds
PostPosted: Sun May 24, 2020 11:07 pm 
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Thanks for these comments and the time you took to respond so thoroughly! This would mainly be an army for fun and because the lore and proxy models are amazing. I've never played in a tournament and local gamers aren't orientated that way either. The list does sound like it has lots of challenges and I like your ideas for changes. Might try it out on Tabletop simulator and see if I can get down with it.


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 Post subject: Re: Sisters of Battle Strategies and army builds
PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2020 2:11 am 
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Look at my update ministorum list 1.5. I have added changes to the sisters list to make them moore thematic and durable.

Religious fanatics accompanied by priests chanting to the emperor as a shield for the sisters, and their hordes assaulting the enemy. while the sisters get into range and bring fiery justice to the heretic.

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 Post subject: Re: Sisters of Battle Strategies and army builds
PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2020 4:14 pm 
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The Sisters list which is up for approval is the latest and incorporates a lot of changes to the list and the building the list from previous versions. This list is to be play tested and once approved. We can build upon it. No use going back to the drawing board to reinvent the wheel.

I have been playing sisters for the last three years. They are up close in your face firefight troops, only range unit is the exorcist. They have variable transport options (rhino, Chapels etc). Plus most troops have 4+ armour save which is good and they mostly have a 4+ in firefight. Lightning strike aircraft rock and are cheap.

Yes the main formation is expensive and I usually two to three formations are required, Exorcists don't leave home without them I usually take a formation of 6 but recently been trying to two formations of 5 (redundancy). I have 36 penitent engines (thanks to Deb) but the most I have played is close to 30 in several games. They rock but are also targeted quite often. The support of redemptionists, repent sisters and Inquisitor troops are not bad and fill out the list with specialized troops.

they do have scouts in Dominion sisters and other troops can garrison based on the garrison rule.

You really need to get close andp personal to wipe out the heretics and see them burn, use vehicles for transport and get in cover/range and then do firefight, don't try to do CC (except for the CC specialized troops).

Playtest the list currently available and post up battle reports (see Debs post above).

AC ChivalrynSorcery (aka Kal)

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 Post subject: Re: Sisters of Battle Strategies and army builds
PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2020 7:11 am 
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I did not say change it now. I meant change it later a couple of years after it has been approved. I

I found the 2.1 list and yes dominions have scout, but they still are easily brokem. The list has one tactic. Rush to the other side of the table and destroy as many enemy as you can before they wipe your forcew out. Do not bother grabbing objectives as that wealens your army, and isolated sisters or cheaper formations tend to get broken and then killed off from BM. take the enemies BTS, their Blitz and one other objective. Hopefully you might win, as long as you protect your BTS and most of the core sisters formations. Except for a few armies, most have a decent ground based AA or their own intercept aircraft to kill off the Lightning fighters, even if I take 3 squadrons of them.

I also found that unless the enemy is really crap at CC they generally avoid FF with the sisters, and use their numbers to take them out. I have used my rhinos as a shield in engagements, and then they get taken out with their low armour save, and my sisters never seem to be able to take out enough enemy.

I stll think the list is mono dimensional, and easily beaten, With Exorcist having a 4+ save I found it amazing how easily even a 4+ save can fail with enough multiple hits or MW causing damage on them. Once broken, the enemy just need to keep hitting them as their own Hunters can not use AA while broken. Drop Disrupt on them, an it falls apart quicker. Then you have to hold out, and try to pass faithful.

I have played them a lot, and tried various builds. I have used redundancy, good core units, even a lot of seraphim to help my CC engagements, but a good enemy will target them, the Exorcists, and my transports, and so on.

I just hate the list not having the invul save automatically. It would help them last a little longer.

Anyway the list is up for review, and we will see how they perform. I know I will not use them in a tournament, until the problems that I have identified are rectified, but casual games or games using my Ministorum Defence Conclave will probably be what I play if I use sisters.

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 Post subject: Re: Sisters of Battle Strategies and army builds
PostPosted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 9:28 pm 
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The Epic UK list enjoys the scout's option (and a lovely cheap unit to spam), which is probably where I have got my success from.
That said, this strategy should still run true.
Exorcists, - they are the balls at tank killing, - add a hunter.
Have two squads of these minimum, (ensuring the hunter doesn't get suppressed), and you have a nice air umbrella.
The range of the hunters means that you can push these (hiding them behind cover) to around half way.
This will 1. make your opponent think twice about armour in the open, 2. give you a solid umbrella across most of the board in which.....
Your lightnings fly free.
After a solid air umbrella, with your opponents tanks not getting in the open due to the Exorcists, you can use the free reign of the air for your lightnings to go tank hunting.
With the enemy armour trembling, you now base your list on infantrty assaults.
You have rhinos, and know your safe from the air, so you can start units mounted as long as artillery isnt too heavy.
Here the priests (inspiring) and the MW FF really comes into its own.

The strategy accepts a few things, - unless your opponent forgets the speed of rhinos, the Blitz is just not for you.
But, by playing an upper defence, - securing your side, and having a lot of nasty assault/anti-tank, most lists struggle.
The big weakness is anti-large, most lists have some solid TK going on, even a couple of squads of exorcists will really struggle to hurt a reaver. If your opponent has a titan, just find ways of making them shoot/procrastinate, cause if they shove it up your throught its going to hurt....


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