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Hey Dakka,

So I am looking at building a Sisters army for 9th. I think I have the bare bones mapped out but I was hoping on some advice on how to flesh out the rest of the list or what to change from what I already have planned.

I am aiming for a 1000pt army to start with the aim of later building it up to 2000pts. It doesn't need to be a beat stick, i'm not going to any tournaments, but I would just like a well rounded fun force that can easily be built upon.

I was thinking:

Canoness - bare bones
5 x Sisters - 2 with stormbolters
5 x Sisters - 2 with stormbolters
5 x Sisters - 2 with stormbolters
5 x Sisters - 2 with stormbolters
5 x Seraphim - plasma on the Superiior, 2 with inferno pistols
5 x Seraphim - plasma on the Superiior, 2 with inferno pistols
Exorcist - Exorcist Missile Launcher, Heavy Bolter

689 points

My thoughts are (but please correct me if i'm wrong):
I have a good solid base of troops for that level.
The seraphim double up as anti-tank/elite infantry and will be great for grabbing objectives

However, is the plasma pistol worth it on the Seraphim Superior?
Are the stormbolters on the Battle Sisters worth it over bare bones?
Which second HQ should I go for? I'm thinking a Missionary but I hate the model.
What else would you add with the points I have left? I'm sure the competitive answer is another Exorcist and some more Battle Sisters but I quite like the idea of some Repentia in a Rhino or some Zeraphim.

Storm bolters: Yes. Plasma pistol...humhum. It's basically 2 shots on turn you come with stratagem so it's not worst but if you need to trim points can go.

Second canoness also works. Triumph might be interesting in future but you really need at least 2nd exorcist for it to buff.

And yes exorcist for future

Repentia and zephyrim are bit weaker on VH. Maybe penitent engines or mortifiers? Both with flails. Penitents on reserves.

tneva82 wrote:
Storm bolters: Yes. Plasma pistol...humhum. It's basically 2 shots on turn you come with stratagem so it's not worst but if you need to trim points can go.

Second canoness also works. Triumph might be interesting in future but you really need at least 2nd exorcist for it to buff.

And yes exorcist for future

Repentia and zephyrim are bit weaker on VH. Maybe penitent engines or mortifiers? Both with flails. Penitents on reserves.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. OK cool, i'll keep the plasma pistols in mind if I need some extra points for something.

I'm not tied to Valourous Heart (infact my test model is painted as the Order of Our Martyred Lady), I just thought it was a good choice for what I had so far. I'm happy to change once I've settled on the units.

Regarding storm bolters, there is no harm in equipping/gluing all the ones you get in the box, and use them as normal bolters when tinkering with your lists.

Same reasoning for the sister superiors and the combi melta, which can count as a simple bolter.

Depends if your meta are WISIWYG jerks or.not.

VH works very well with what you have though you really need imagifiers(missed lack of those). VH without imagifier is semi-pointless. VH with imagifier=solid.

Repentia gains almost nothing(technically you get OPTION to use 6+++ if you WANT them to die so can opt to use worse FNP but...yeah hard to see that as advantage) from being valorous heart. Zephyrim aren't that bad as they have 3+ and no FNP but the bloody rose extra attack, AP and stratagem for +1 to wound is so sweet for melee units. Walkers meanwhile don't have order gains so you can use them regardless of order without issue.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Siegfriedfr wrote:
Regarding storm bolters, there is no harm in equipping/gluing all the ones you get in the box, and use them as normal bolters when tinkering with your lists.

Same reasoning for the sister superiors and the combi melta, which can count as a simple bolter.

Depends if your meta are WISIWYG jerks or.not.

It's not being jerk but being polite to opponents and making games faster.

At least if you have storm bolter models as bolter or combi melta as bolter then have ALL of them. Most jerk thing you can do is "this squad's combi melta is bolter but this one is actually combi melta"

tneva82 wrote:
VH works very well with what you have though you really need imagifiers(missed lack of those). VH without imagifier is semi-pointless. VH with imagifier=solid.

Repentia gains almost nothing(technically you get OPTION to use 6+++ if you WANT them to die so can opt to use worse FNP but...yeah hard to see that as advantage) from being valorous heart. Zephyrim aren't that bad as they have 3+ and no FNP but the bloody rose extra attack, AP and stratagem for +1 to wound is so sweet for melee units. Walkers meanwhile don't have order gains so you can use them regardless of order without issue.

An Imagifier looks like a good call and i'm going to try and add one to the list. I'm now thinking I might use Order of the Bloody Rose as the -AP sounds nasty on the Seraphim's pistols and would allow me to use some Repentia or Zeraphim more effectively (heck the extra attack might even be pretty good on regular Battle Sisters too?!). Open to other ideas though.

Grab the Triumph. Not because you need the model, but to make a lot of characters out of it.

From the Triump you can easily make the Imagifier, a much better Missionaire and a lot of other stuff. Sisters armies are always character heavy, especially if you play the Martired. You cannot go wrong with buying a bunch of characters.

Re: Stormbolters, I'd go all or nothing. Stormbolters sprinkled throughout your regular squads probably don't do anything, but you could do a Dominion Squad with 4 Stormbolters that scouts up ahead and unleashes some blessed bolts at a Primaris unit or some such.

Brightsword, my advice would be to build your squads very differently from how you did. Instead of spamming the same options all the time, I would advise to build with a variety of special weapons. That way you will be less affected by meta/rules changes. Get a mix of special and heavy weapons, and later as you expand your army you'll get enough to specialize on stormbolter (or anything else) but you'll have tried the other options too and gotten to compare them IRL

Sunnyside took the text right out of my typing fingers.

Blessed Bolts might be my favourite strat in the dex. I know that Doms are weaker since they can't give their vehicles scout anymore, but if you get them with RF range just once and launch 16 AP-2 shots that do 2 damage each, you'll never want to use a storm bolter any other way.

Personally in my BSS, I kit for Trinity. Now I know Trinity is a pretty weak strat, and that's okay; honestly, they Trinity part is just a bonus. I like having the melta as a deterrent to the armour charge and the Heavy Flamer is a great heavy weapon because who cares about a -1 to hit when you auto hit?

It won't work as well now that overwatch is a strat, because you can only deter one charge- as soon as you take that overwatch, it then becomes safe for the rest of the enemy army to charge. But if you've got a meltagun in the unit and a pair of 6's in your MD pool, some fool is going to pay for charging you.

Storm bolters in that scenario, however, are merely a couple of extra bolter shots. No biggie.

Thanks for all your responses, guys. Any thoughts on the best units/compositions to round this list off?

I'd say, either transports (rhino or immolator, whichever you like best) or some retributors.

 Brightsword wrote:
Hey Dakka,

So I am looking at building a Sisters army for 9th. I think I have the bare bones mapped out but I was hoping on some advice on how to flesh out the rest of the list or what to change from what I already have planned.

I am aiming for a 1000pt army to start with the aim of later building it up to 2000pts. It doesn't need to be a beat stick, i'm not going to any tournaments, but I would just like a well rounded fun force that can easily be built upon.

I was thinking:

Canoness - bare bones
5 x Sisters - 2 with stormbolters
5 x Sisters - 2 with stormbolters
5 x Sisters - 2 with stormbolters
5 x Sisters - 2 with stormbolters
5 x Seraphim - plasma on the Superiior, 2 with inferno pistols
5 x Seraphim - plasma on the Superiior, 2 with inferno pistols
Exorcist - Exorcist Missile Launcher, Heavy Bolter

689 points

My thoughts are (but please correct me if i'm wrong):
I have a good solid base of troops for that level.
The seraphim double up as anti-tank/elite infantry and will be great for grabbing objectives

However, is the plasma pistol worth it on the Seraphim Superior?
Are the stormbolters on the Battle Sisters worth it over bare bones?
Which second HQ should I go for? I'm thinking a Missionary but I hate the model.
What else would you add with the points I have left? I'm sure the competitive answer is another Exorcist and some more Battle Sisters but I quite like the idea of some Repentia in a Rhino or some Zeraphim.

Stormbolter are A LOT worse now that they've jumped up 50% in price. whether they're worth it or not is entirely dependent on what % of your list is battle sisters. Also keep in mind that for 4 additionaly points, you could get a combi-plasma instead.

Celestine is pretty mandatory in most infantry lists. Missionary is w/e without melee.

Also keep in mind Order Convictions. It's not like space marines where the chapter tactics are just little bonuses, none of the SoB melee options are worth anything without bloody rose. (The ministorum options, namely arcoflags, are good no matter what conviction you use.

 Brightsword wrote:
Thanks for all your responses, guys. Any thoughts on the best units/compositions to round this list off?

That depends on your play style. Do you plan on Infantry Horde, Mechanized, Assault, or Walker Assault?

 Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:
I'd say, either transports (rhino or immolator, whichever you like best) or some retributors.

Don't take immolators, take rhinos. Immolators are extremely trash.

ERJAK wrote:

 Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:
I'd say, either transports (rhino or immolator, whichever you like best) or some retributors.

Don't take immolators, take rhinos. Immolators are extremely trash.

They're fun if you're into less competitive, more narrative gaming. I've used them in 9th thus far and they are surprisingly resilient thanks to obscuring, their high mobility, and the ability to change into combat. They're still extremely expensive, so if you're looking to WAAC you aren't making the most efficient decisions, but they are certainly great looking models that can perform well.

You want to know what a real trash unit is? Geminae. Now that is what trash looks like, bub.

I would never field SoB without melta in the basic squads, but thats just me.
I dont like relying on all my AT being concentrated in 2 small specialist squads. You lose them (& the exorcist)? All your left with is a bunch of bolter rounds.
But maybe that'll work for you....

tneva82 wrote:


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Siegfriedfr wrote:
Regarding storm bolters, there is no harm in equipping/gluing all the ones you get in the box, and use them as normal bolters when tinkering with your lists.

Same reasoning for the sister superiors and the combi melta, which can count as a simple bolter.

Depends if your meta are WISIWYG jerks or.not.

It's not being jerk but being polite to opponents and making games faster.

At least if you have storm bolter models as bolter or combi melta as bolter then have ALL of them. Most jerk thing you can do is "this squad's combi melta is bolter but this one is actually combi melta"

Thank you for illustrating my point.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

ccs wrote:
I would never field SoB without melta in the basic squads, but thats just me.
I dont like relying on all my AT being concentrated in 2 small specialist squads. You lose them (& the exorcist)? All your left with is a bunch of bolter rounds.
But maybe that'll work for you....

Whats your melta ratio in BSS squads ?

 alextroy wrote:

 Brightsword wrote:
Thanks for all your responses, guys. Any thoughts on the best units/compositions to round this list off?

That depends on your play style. Do you plan on Infantry Horde, Mechanized, Assault, or Walker Assault?

I've not really played any games in about 20 years (when I was about 10/11 years old) so truthfully I don't really have a play style yet.

Units I just like the look/idea of are Celestine, Canoness, Battle Sisters, Seraphim, Zeraphim, Repentia, Exorcists. So once I've built to 2000pts I envision a fire base of Battle Sisters. Exorcists with Seraphim and Zerraphim dropping in causing havoc and taking objectives. Then maybe one or two units of Repentia (probably in rhinos) either attacking big targets or hanging back as a counter charge.

As I say, i'm basically a complete novice so I have no idea if that's practical for my initial 1000pt list of my longer term goal of 2000pts.

Assuming you have a play group, find out how ‘competitive’ they are in gameplay. If you aren’t going to play with tournament optimizers, you will have some freedom to buy and play what you want rather than worry about having a tournament capable list.

Siegfriedfr wrote:

Automatically Appended Next Post:

ccs wrote:
I would never field SoB without melta in the basic squads, but thats just me.
I dont like relying on all my AT being concentrated in 2 small specialist squads. You lose them (& the exorcist)? All your left with is a bunch of bolter rounds.
But maybe that'll work for you....

Whats your melta ratio in BSS squads ?

Always at least 1. Always.
Because I hold the opinion that a squad (Marines, SoB, Guard, etc) needs to be able to multi-task/be as self-reliant as possible. So they each need to be able to tackle everything from infantry on up to heavy armor. Sometimes this means that an AT weapon isn't firing (range)/isn't firing at "optimal: targets (that's fine, I still want them dead...). Some see this as wasting points. Me? I'm good with packing an option & not needing it. Beats needing it & only having bolters.
I also own enough extra meltas/flamers/SB to equip all 4 of my squads with any mix I please.
So beyond my minimum 1 melta it just depends upon the mood I'm in. Though sometimes if I know ahead of time I'll be facing a particular force....

Spoletta wrote:
Grab the Triumph. Not because you need the model, but to make a lot of characters out of it.

From the Triump you can easily make the Imagifier, a much better Missionaire and a lot of other stuff. Sisters armies are always character heavy, especially if you play the Martired. You cannot go wrong with buying a bunch of characters.

Triumph is a super expensive model and a starting player doesn't need that many characters.

Cheaper way to convert an imagifier? Just give that kind of pole/banner that is included in the battle sisters kit to a model and run it as the Imagifier; standard battle sisters never need it anyway. If you are able to magnetize arms even better.

Given the amount of options in the battle sisters' kit I'd magnetized 3 out of 5 anyway, and I'd do it for any of those boxes I'd buy. Standard bolter to 2/5 as you'd need a few bolters sisters everytime.

OK so now i'm looking at the below. I still have 45 points to play with - do I go with more toys or more bodies?

Is the Missionary worth it or do I pay the extra 5 points for a second Canoness? I Could add a Repentia Superior or Dialogus but I envision the Missionary travelling with the Repentia potentially and i'm not sure how useful they would be?

Order: Bloody Rose

Canoness - bare bones
Missionary
5 x Sisters
5 x Sisters
5 x Sisters
5 x Sisters
Imagifier
9 x Sisters Repentia w/ Rhino
5 x Seraphim - 2 with inferno pistols
5 x Seraphim - 2 with inferno pistols
Exorcist - Exorcist Missile Launcher, Heavy Bolter

955 points

Note that we know that Space Marines will get a limit of one captain per detachment so it is not far fetched to think that same might apply to the canoness, especially as know that palatine (a lieutenant-level SoB HQ) is coming. So in future-proofing sense a second canoness might not be the best choice at this point.

 Crimson wrote:
Note that we know that Space Marines will get a limit of one captain per detachment so it is not far fetched to think that same might apply to the canoness, especially as know that palatine (a lieutenant-level SoB HQ) is coming. So in future-proofing sense a second canoness might not be the best choice at this point.

That's interesting to know actually thank you. As I wrote this I was thinking I wish the new Palatine was out (or at least had a release date) as it would be ideal!