Return of the CHURCHTANK: The THREE THOUSAND POINT superheavy for the Sisters of Battle

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**SisterSydney**

This unit is admittedly insane. It's 1,950 points of super-heavy that has no Destroyer weapons [EDIT: Oh, boy, did I ever fix that on page two]. It's a 100-model transport with Assault Vehicle and a maximum speed of 6". And it gives nearby friendlies all sorts of Leadership re-rolls. Even if you had the points, I'm not sure what its tactical role would be. But that old artwork of Sisters of Battle pouring from a cathedral on treads is just too inspiring not to homebrew. (And if someone has a JPEG of that, please post it in this thread!). So, having taken a very different approach from the first time I tried to design this unit, I offer for your consideration, critique, and hysterical laughter....

[The final (?) version of this insane thing -- and 29 more Sororitas units -- are now in my fandex/expandex.]

[EDIT: click here for much more insane, yet tactically more sensible, ~~2,880~~ 3,000-point version]

ECCLESIARCHY BATTLE CHAPEL: 1,950 points (Lord of War)

A black steel cathedral on massive treads, the Battle Chapel uplifts the spirits of the faithful and crushes the bodies of the unclean. From each of its three towers fires a Titan-sized exemplar of the Adepta Sororitas' "holy trinity": a Melta Cannon and an Inferno Gun in the two front towers, a Vulcan-Mega Bolter equipped to sweep the sky of enemy aircraft in the lofty central tower. 50 Battle Sisters can fire out from its galleries, while its capacious nave can hold 50 more Sisters or even tanks, ready to roar out when the sacramental assault ramp drops down between the two forward towards. Choirs of Progena sing sweet hymns of hatred that, vastly magnified, emanate from the Battle Chapel in all directions, while a vast cloud of black exhaust pours constantly from the massive engines in back.

Rules:

Spoiler:

Design notes:

Spoiler:

**TheCrazyCryptek**

The pricing seems about correct to me, if anything maybe a bit too expensive over all. It has some nasty weapons and decent survivability but, I think there are other super heavies that you get more bang for your buck. Eldar Phantom Titan comes to mind.

Fluff wise I love this idea. It's loud and overwhelming, the Ecclesiarchy way!

**SisterSydney**

Thanks. And yes, many Titans with the right D-weapon load out could shred this thing. No Destroyer weapons is a big issue ... I'm tempted to add the Apocalypse Missile Launcher fluffed as some kind of giant Exorcist, but have no idea how to cost that.

At least this version, unlike the last one, has Void Shields -- the upside of basing on a Reaver Titan.

The only way this vehicle comes close to making tactical sense, I think, is as part of a 3,000-point or larger army with lots of infantry to benefit from its Awe-Inspiring buffs and a fair number of regular-sized vehicles to help shoot Titans to death one HP at a time. This isn't one of those units where you can plunk one model down on the table and say "this is my army."

I think the best target for the Battle Chapel isn't other superheavies, but normal troops (because its trio of weapons have blast, template, and high rate of fire) and fortifications, which can't get out of the way before the Chapel rams them and then pours 100 infantry on them.

**Mr Morden**

Awe Inspiring

I would make it all friendly Imperium of Man units or something similar - it shouldn't help Allied Xenos units?

**SisterSydney**

Good point -- but the Allies rules in 7th take care of it. Only Battle Brothers count as "friendly units," and for the Sororitas, only other Imperial forces count as Battle Brothers. Allies of Convenience, Desperate Allies, & Come the Apocalypse allies -- which any Xenos would be -- count as "enemy units" you can't shoot at, charge, or target with templates, blasts, and psychic powers. So only Battle Brothers, ie only Imperial units, can benefit.

**MrFlutterPie**

I always loved the "Church building tank" vehicle idea.

I have always thought about doing a budget version buy buying the cities of death church building and slapping it on top of a baneblade chassis for fun

**SisterSydney**

Don't have Cities 'o Death -- what would that combo bring? Any Titan-scale weapons?

**MrFlutterPie**

I don't know to be honest it was just a silly idea I have always had. The model probably could keep the heavy bolter sponsons the baneblade normally has. Then you could add on extra guns mounted on the church as needed.

To be clear this was just a modelling project I was thinking about. No rules of any kind exist for it.

**TheCrazyCryptek**

SisterSydney wrote:
Don't have Cities 'o Death -- what would that combo bring? Any Titan-scale weapons?

If I remember correctly there are rules for destroying ruins and them becoming difficult terrain afterwards. Something like this should definitely destroy any ruins it touches in the same manner to represent it just pulverizing what's left of those buildings. It should also have Thunderblitz to help it destroy functioning buildings like bastions and stuff.

**SisterSydney**

Good ideas. As a super-heavy vehicle (rather than a walker), the Battle Chapel gets Thunderblitz automatically. Ruining buildings is another question -- how would you write a rule for that, or is there a rule somewhere for vehicles that can do that?

**mr. peasant**

Hmm... brings me back to memories of this:

Tim Kline's Leviathan

**SisterSydney**

Awesome model, but it's a little, y'know, small.

**TheCrazyCryptek**

SisterSydney wrote:
Awesome model, but it's a little, y'know, small.

I don't know, that model dwarfs that Baneblade which is a big model. What size where you thinking on the table top?

**Mr Morden**

SisterSydney wrote:
Awesome model, but it's a little, y'know, small.

Have you considered that it might be better to model the table as the vehicle to fight over - ?

**SisterSydney**

That was pretty much my original idea for the full-scale Giant Cathedral Tank depicted in that Witch Hunters-era artwork that I still can't find dammit: have another, smaller table, say 2" by 4", that you load up with Sisters models and "drive" up to the table you're playing on....

**SisterSydney**

I'm thankful for two things: 1) I remembered a small version of the artwork that inspired the Churchtank, which I can now post, and 2) I figured out a tactical role for this bloody thing. It's a siege engine, going after the one prey slow enough for it to catch: fortifications.

That in turn gives me two new rules for unit, whose point cost I'm pretty much blindly guessing:

Siege Towers: 50 points?
The Battle Chapel's forward towers providing not only firing platforms but boarding ramps to attack the upper levels of fortifications.
Infantry models transported by the Battle Chapel may disembark directly onto any level of a ruin or building within 6" of the Chapel's front, including battlements.

Samsonic Ram:
The Battle Chapel's front steps are in fact are massively reinforced ram designed to shatter the base of a fortification's wall with a blast of sonic vibration.
Any building or immobile structure that is rammed by the Battle Chapel and takes a penetrating hit loses 1D3 Hull Points instead of one.
Further, when ramming a building or immobile structure, the Battle Chapel gains the Wrecker special rule:

"Wrecker: Weapons and attacks with this special rule may reroll failed Armour Penetration rolls against fortifications and immobile structures (such as bunkers and barricades), and add +1 to any result rolled on the Building Damage chart. If this attack damages a bulkhead or wall section of terrain and destroys it, remove that section of terrain from play if possible."

Costing:
I'm gonna guess wildly at 50 points for Siege Tower -- it's pretty useful but in a very specialized situation.
As for the Ram, it basically turns the unit's Ram attack into a Destroyer weapon if the target is a building, and gives it the Wrecker rule from the Magaera Knight. Again, powerful but specialized. 100 points?

**koooaei**

Looks more like Church Church than Church Tank.

**Furyou Miko**

If you look at the bottom of the building, in the smoke of battle you can see the tracks.

**koooaei**

Well, you can alwayz introduce a Superheavy Fortification, eh.

Oh, yep, i see the tracks now. Reminds me of how the guyz on discovery move houses. SUPER slow.

**jhe90**

So a mobile structure the size of a small table packing more guns than sane, loaded with nuns with guns.

Perfect!

**Psienesis**

Here is a larger version of the picture of the Church-Tank

Spoiler:

If you look closely, you will see that there is a veritable sea of people behind the characters in the foreground. Those tracks are easily a score meters high.

**SisterSydney**

THAT's the picture I was looking for. My Churchtank is very much a junior version.

So what do people think about the siege-engine rules and role?

**Otto Weston**

I quite like it, but one thing is bothering me.

Asymmetry.

The left and right towers should have the same armament, and considering that I'd say the super-heavy is slightly over-priced, you could have both an Inferno Gun and a Melta Cannon in each tower and I'd say that was fair.

Also, I'd love to fight against that (I'd probably be slaughtered, but it would be fun

)

**SisterSydney**

I know, symmetry is a big thing for me too, but I'm basing it on the Reaver, which has three Titan-scale weapons, and I want to represent each of the Fatal Trinity. If I gave it five Titan-scale weapons I think the unit might survive longer but anyone who tried to play it would get murdered....

**Furyou Miko**

Symmetry is for Chaos.

**SisterSydney**

Here's another idea for a role: as a mobile base to repair smaller vehicles, including in mid-battle. This would require some variation of the TechMarine's "Blessing of the Omnissiah" rule, but given that there should be plenty of servo-arm servitors aboard to give +1s, you should restore a hull point or fix a weapon on a 2+.

Costing this is tricky. A single Servitor with servo-arm costs 10 points and gives +1, but of course they do more than that one thing. Still, let's say 50 points, equivalent to 5 Servitors and a +5 bonus.

**Heir of the Void**

This is just, um, wow. Exactly what I'd expect from the Adepta Sorata, but I think a massive exorcist missile launcher might not be out of place.

Maybe use the price of an Exorcist, subtract the cost of a Soratis Rhino, and multiply by three for three times the rockets, and maybe a little extra to add and anti-air option.

**SisterSydney**

Gracias. I was pondering a mega-Exorcist, actually. What it really needs is a ranged Destroyer weapon....and the only Strength: D missile I know about is the Vortex missile.

I suppose I could add about 500 points to the thing (because, hey, 2,500 points is a reasonable price for a single vehicle, right?) by strapping a Vortex Missile Battery onto it. That would add 7 Vortex missiles and about nine hull points, plus arguably AV 15....

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ooh, and the seven Vortex Missiles could be the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse! And we could upgrade the Void Shields to seven to match!

**Otto Weston**

SisterSydney wrote:
Gracias. I was pondering a mega-Exorcist, actually. What it really needs is a ranged Destroyer weapon....and the only Strength: D missile I know about is the Vortex missile.

I suppose I could add about 500 points to the thing (because, hey, 2,500 points is a reasonable price for a single vehicle, right?) by strapping a Vortex Missile Battery onto it. That would add 7 Vortex missiles and about nine hull points, plus arguably AV 15....

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ooh, and the seven Vortex Missiles could be the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse! And we could upgrade the Void Shields to seven to match!

**Happyjew**

SisterSydney, get this thing built, and bring it to Buffalo. My Nids are aching for a chance to take this thing on.