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G'day!

Okay, so I wanted to put together a basic witch hunter list for 1000 points that I can build off working up to 1500.

I understand storm troopers arent that great, but I already have the models nd that's why they're there instead of more sisters.
I wanted to create a pretty elite in your face style army, and hope I have achieved this. Any thoughts? Also, how should I change my list while building up to 1500?

1000 Witch Hunters Army

HQ
Canoness 101
Power Weapon, bolt pistol
Book of St. Lucius, jump pack, cloak of st Aspira

Priest 40

Elites
Arco-Flagellants 210
6

Troops
Battle Sister Squad 165
9 sisters, storm bolter, flamer 110
Veteran superior 55
Book of St Lucius, plasma pistol, power weapon

Rhino 58
Storm Bolter
Smoke Launchers
Extra Armour

Inquisitorial Storm Troopers 150
9 storm troopers, 1 veteran
2 Plasma guns
Power Weapon

Chimera 85
Multi Laser, heavy bolter

Heavy Support
Penitent Engine 80

Penitent Engine 80

969 points, 31 spare

I'm tempted to run this list alongside some of my guard. Adding another identical sister unit (223 points), and a decent sized guard platoon for about 300 points. I'd be able to get say 3-4 lascannons for anti tank. Of I could just stick to witch hunters and get 2 exorcists .

Cheers for looking.

P.S. in regards to penitent engines and arco-flagellants, does anyone else like them at all? I don't see too many other lists with them around.

well I assume you are still using 4th ed rules, so pen engines are completely awful. It remains to be seen if 5th ed changes this, I suspect not.

I like arcos myself, but they are unlikely to do much for their points. Just way to fragile, and you have to handicap a unit with a priest. If you want a fragile CC unit that is actually likely to work out, try Death Cultists, or the other Assassins. At least the required unit to unlock it is useful. Shooty WH or DH Inquisitors are a decent little firebase, and unlock some nice war gear that can be nasty. Heck you can even make a decent CC Inq riding a land raider.

Give the canoness a better CC weapon, S3 power weapons do very little on what should be a MC or IC killing unit. Blessed weapon is probably best vs these. If you want some anti tank in her, the eviscerator works.

Don't give sisters storm bolters. I know they come in the box of sisters, but to be honest, they aren't good. Rhino units like to be heavy flamer/flamer or heavy flamer/melta.
Storm troopers are useful, but i would min size them with no vet with 2 plas. Its a cheap throw away unit that lets you buy a chimera and some plasma guns.

On getting the list to 1500: 3-4 total rhino sister units, maybe seraphim, and some exorcists. The biggest weakness of sisters is effective long range fire, and kinda poor CC performance. They are good at tying up units for awhile, but are unlikely to win assault vs all but the most worn down of units. Seraphim help with this, but i don't know how well they will perform with the 5th ed nerf of hit and run.

If you are looking to make you army more elite, using Grey Knight allies is a good way to do this, Grey Kights are pretty expensive, but you can make some very nice squads with them.

P.S. in regards to penitent engines and arco-flagellants, does anyone else like them at all? I don't see too many other lists with them around.

There is a reason for this. They are great looking models with cool fluff and if they contact they can be awesome in CC (esp on the charge).

The problem is that they are very fragile. Arco flagellants only have 4+ saves. Pen Engines are armour 10 all round. Add to this that they MUST run screaming at the nearest enemy.

At which point they get shot and you lose A LOT of points.

If you are playing low point games with lots of terrain, they can work. If you are playing apocalypse with a min. sized table (absolutely no more than 1 square foot/100pts a side), they can work. That's because in both cases its much harder for your opponent to kill them before they make contact.

Another thing to bear in mind is that 5th ed will make both units worse. True LOS means its harder to screen their advance with terrain and no consolidation means that arco-flags will get at best 1 unit before dying - unless that unit is 200+ points then you've not covered their cost.

If you are determined to take anything, make it pen engines rather than arco's, take at least 2 in 1500 or 3+ in bigger games and screen them with rhinos (preferably loaded with sisters) as you advance.

HQ
Canoness 120
Blessed weapon
Book of St. Lucius, jump pack, cloak of st Aspira


Elites



Troops
Battle Sister Squad 164
9 sisters, storm bolter, storm bolter 110
Veteran superior 55
Book of St Lucius, plasma pistol, power weapon

Rhino 58
Storm Bolter
Smoke Launchers
Extra Armour

Battle Sister Squad 176
9 sisters, melta, heavy flamer 110
Veteran superior 55
Book of St Lucius, plasma pistol, power weapon

Rhino 58
Storm Bolter
Smoke Launchers
Extra Armour

Inquisitorial Storm Troopers 70
5 storm troopers
2 Plasma guns

Chimera 85
Multi Laser, heavy bolter

Storm Troopers

Fast Attack
Seraphim Squad 100
Superior and 4 seraphim 70
2 Twin inferno pistols 30



Heavy Support
Exorcist 145
blessed ammo

976, not too sure where to put the 24 points.

How's this list?

Point 1:

Blessed Ammo can only be used with Heavy bolters and storm bolters (neither of which your Exorcist comes with unless you spend another 10 points for a pintle mount)

Blessed ammo should only be used on Immolators with twin heavy bolters (at which point shooting eldar pathfinders becomes hilarious!)


Point 2:

The other thing is you've put inferno pistols on your seraphim (anti-tank) but not bothered with krak grenades and/or melta bombs. If you take an AT unit give it plenty to do the job. Esp. as in 5th ed you can't guarantee you'll always be able to leave the inferno pistols until last.

Meanwhile your canonness has an anti-infantry blessed weapon, whilst having a jump pack so she can go with your AT seraphs. If you want to run your canonness with your seraphim, make it all anti infantry by swapping the inferno pistols on the seraphs for flamers, or make it all anti-tank by giving an eviscerator or inferno pistol to your canonness.

I see you are giving the vet a plasma pistol and power weapon. The thing about plasma pistols is that it is a kinda expensive upgrade for 1-2 short range shots that you will get with it. If you are taking storm troupers you really don't need the AP value in this unit. power weapons in the hands of a low S, low I, low WS model are kinda sad. If you want to give her a weapons upgrade, a eviscerator would be better, after all its S6 with extra armour pen if needed. I just run mine with a bolter and a book though, that way if you need the faith from killing her early you can just take a wound on the vet without throwing away a lot of points. Its also a useful tactic in CC because sometimes you WANT a sister squad to break, so you can rapid fire the unit instead. (a rare tactic, but one that can catch an opponent of guard!)

Your canoness is missing a couple points of war gear that should be obv: you have no pistol to use the high BS with, and assaulting cover with expose your gal to high I attacks. so buy frags and a bolt pistol

Your seraphim anti tank squad should have an eviserator for the superior (who should be a vet, because if i recall the vet for this gets a free Simulacrum Imperialis), its really amazing at slicing up main battle tanks. A fast moving hit and run unit with 2 (twin linked!) shots of S8 AP2 with melta and S6 + 2d6 armour pen in assault? sign me up!

if you have points left over, then beef up the model count of the seraphim, or buy a mantle for your cannoness. i mean with T3, 1 unsaved S6+ wound squishes her.

the nice thing about sister is that the models are cheap for what you get, so if you have a choice between a non essential war gear item, or more sisters, choose more sisters.

Here is what i would run with what you seem to have:

HQ: Canoness BW, BP, Cloak, jump pack, book, FG 122 points
Troops: sister squad in rhino. 2x melta, vet with book and bolter, rhino with smoke and EA: 207 points
Troops: sister sqaud in rhino. 1 Hvy flamer, 1 flamer, vet with book and bolter, rhino with smoke and EA: 205 points
Troops: 5 Inq Storm Troopers in chimera, 2 plas, standard chimera 155 points
Fast attack: 4 seraphim, 2x inferno pistols, and 1 vet with evis, and bolt pistol. 175 points
Heavy: Exorcist 135 points

The points were too tight to give the seraphim a book, but if they stick close to the canoness, they should be able to leech off it. or you could swap the book from the cannones to them. I personally would run an addition exorcist over the Storm Troopers, because they cost almost the same, and the exorcist is way better than these guys (and a little cheaper). i specialized the sister squads for different tasks, one of them is a troop killer, while the other is addition AT, and hard target killer. The Inq are for giving you and extra objective grabbing unit, and for killing AV 2 guys. (throw away unit if used for this)

@Chimera_Calvin: seraphim come with krak for free.

My bad - didn't have the book with me...