Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I was going to start a witch hunters army but decided against it and to go with orks but i was wondering anyways if they are any good.

I have heard some good things about them being pretty competitive and doing well in friendly games but get completely trashed with a poor army list.

So what makes people play witch hunters? and what are their best units?

Seraphim are pretty mean if utilized well. Jump infantry that carry flamers and melta pistols with hit and run... mmm..

Faith is fluffy fun, and is totally what makes them so awesome competitively. In a pinch their devotion may allow for their normal save to become an invulnerable one. They may also be blessed with rending bolter shells. Nothing makes your opponent frown like a ten sister gunline rapid fire rending shots into their terminators.

(1) They have access to small units that can pack multiple special weapons

(2) Immolators are one of the most cost-effective tanks in the game. They can simultaneously transport those small units at full speed without sacrificing firepower.

Danny Internets wrote:(1) They have access to small units that can pack multiple special weapons

(2) Immolators are one of the most cost-effective tanks in the game. They can simultaneously transport those small units at full speed without sacrificing firepower.

(3) Cheap Power Armor.

1) rending bolters due to divine guidance
2) point item to make everyone stubborn.
3) Exorcist tanks are best light armor killer in the game IMO D6 ap 1 krak missiles per model

Side note inferno pistols are only AP 2 not 1 so aren't quite melta pistols

Faith Points + Power Armor = you get to choose how to be pain xD

Their units only have T3 though
How do they fix that?

Sisters rock in 5th.

Great troops, great anti horde, great anti tank, and faith which gives them the flexibility to adapt to other armies.

Sisters are a really cool army.

Flamers and melta EVERYWHERE. If they made plastic sisters, I'd seriously consider them as a second army.

The Battle Sister is one of the best basic troops in the game. Sisters armies generally aren't very diverse, but they are quite powerful.

Sisters are just about the best army in the game really. The reason you don't see more people playing them is that Every trooper is metal.

They are all metal!? That is such a turn off for the army. The models are amazing

Fetterkey wrote:The Battle Sister is one of the best basic troops in the game. Sisters armies generally aren't very diverse, but they are quite powerful.

Understatement. Necron lists tend to be more diverse, and I am counting Sisters in Rhinos and Sisters in Immolators as two separate things

can you play a sisters army with no rhinos? Sisters on foot? My assumption would be no because their optimal range is only 12 inches

You can and get twice as many SoB in each squad, but since the apparent strong point of the game at the moment is being mechanized there might not be worth it. But, I think they would be alright for holding the home objective.

I have done it a few times, in fourth and fifth, but it is nowhere near as effective. Stringing a single unit of Sisters across two objectives like an Ork player is kind of funny, but it really is self-nerfing. Most armies are more than happy to wait for you to get close enough for them to assault you, and the rest (eg Tau) are more than happy to sit there in safety and shoot the kack out of you. A Power Armour hoard is kind of funny, but Sisters are no Black Templars.

Anyone remember how pre-fifth release, people were predicting that footslogging Sisters would be utterly broken and dominate everything? People are stupid.

Sisters are one of the stronger armies, but rely on good play to be successful. Virtually all of their useful firepower is short ranged, and while they've got a 3+ save to fall back on, they're really nothing special in CC. All this means that if you don't coordinate your units, if you have an unexpected turn of events, things can really turn on you.

You can do a lot with Sisters, but if you don't think your play through very carefully, it can be a frustrating experience. Faith use is also very important, and can significantly alter the outcome of a game.

Battle Sisters are arguably the best troops choice in the game. 10 SoB with a VSS, 2 Meltaguns and a Rhino comes out at under 200 points. They can hold objectives extremely well and with their faith points can take on a much wider range of threats than you'd expect.

The only problem they have is, much like Grey Knights, a pure Sisters list only has 5-6 units to choose from, so they tend to get a little repetitive. All metal models is a major problem/annoyance too.

My friend and I play alot of allied games of my guard and his sisters against two poor suckers. My guard pound him from long range and when they finally do close with us the sisters counter attack.

The two glaring weaknesses is their lack of close combat capability and ranged firepower. Basically they are masters of close range fire, but at the expense of all else. Seraphim are the only real CC choice for them, but they require constant use of faith points to truly be effective. The exorcist is the only real ranged unit they have (retributors with heavy bolters tend to be to redundant with the rest of the army) and it is always a fire magnet.

Seraphim aren't all that great in HtH, they have low S and a low model count. They are brilliant however at bouncing round the board, popping tanks and tying up HW squads thanks to their H&R (with no Int. test).

SoB do have two positives in HtH: A small unit (4-5 models) can effectively tarpit anything with a high strength, low attacks characteristic thanks to their faith and 3++ saves

Their other saving grace is the legendary 'FlyingNun' - A Canoness fully kitted out will have; a 2+ save, 4x S6/8 pw attacks on the charge, makes everything near her ld10 stubborn, is immune to the first instance of instant death, be jump infantry, have an ap2 melta pistol, and cost about 150pts. Sick.

As Volkov says, the Exorcist is SoB's only long range anti-tank, but most players will have at least two and trying to concentrate your fire on these will most likely leave you with a virtually undamaged horde of Sisters in your face on turn 2. Not good. Conversely, taking out the transports leaves you suffering a rain of krak missiles every turn, also not good. Just another reason to play with SoB rather than against them.

If GW ever gets around to releasing plastic models for the WH range, i can see them having a huge surge in popularity. The codex has a lot of character, the minis look great and the lists it can out out are none too shabby either

That seraphim tactic sounds sick. It is a very orky way to do it except with more armour, faith and they are damn fast

So I was playing in a game the other day and I decided to try out a different tactic that worked pretty out well just adding another reason to why sisters are good.

instead of the 10 girl squads in rhinos I tried out units of 12 on foot
I took allied gaurd
Platoon command + chimera
3 infantry platoons + chimeras
Commisar pw sarges and a WH priest (no IC reroll hits 2 wounds 4++ save)
I blobed the squads together and stuck the sisters in the chimeras on turn 1 to great effect
Chimeras boosted my anti transport fire signifcantly not to mention allowing me to pepper more infantry from inside the transport
and the 12 model squads made divine guidence that much more effective.
(caviat my normal group of friends don't use updated IA rules for sistesr rhinos so there is only 1 firing point in them which is annoying)