What’s in the Codex: Sisters of Battle?

13 years ago

Not only are Priests in the IG codex, they get their Eviscerator for 15pts whist the Sisters of Battle ones have to pay 25pts…
Heck all Sisters of Battle models who can buy one has to pay 25pts for their Eviscerator!
Banishers from the GK codex who only cost 15pts each gets to buy an Eviscerator for 15pts a pop so if you wanted to you could have 12 Banishers with Eviscerators.
Banishers have Preferred Enemy Daemons and Aura of Faith: Daemons within 6″ has to re-roll successful inv saves.
They only have 5+ save and 1A base but you can get 2 with Eviscerators and 1 without for the same price as a SoB Priest with Eviscerator.

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cazboab

13 years ago

Sisters are slightly better than guard veterans, but that’s all you get, you don’t get the option to drop them down a notch for quantity over quality, and you don’t get the cool toys like the master of ordinance or vendettas etc, essentially if you’re used to playing an elite small guard army sisters are slightly more versatile in that style of play due to having bolters to glance vehicles to death, and getting more access to heavy weapons, but they can’t swamp an objective with 50 grunts and a couple of commissars, or lob demo packs left right and centre.

Ministorum Priests are in the IG codex, only they get a few more options-the evicerator and shotgun are the only options open to IG, although they’re free and ten points less respectively- and the acts of faith rule in the sisters codex- they also get shield of faith too, but with a roserius giving them a 4+ its superfluous.

Acts of faith are rolled for at the beginning of the fight sub phase, so you don’t get a +1 from the sisters repentia that get to fight in close combat, you’d get a +1 if one or more dies from overwatch, but since they’d die before the act of faith is in place they won’t get to fight.

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madcowcrazy

13 years ago

Penitent Engines might seem good on paper but on the table they care close to useless.
They suffer from a number of problems, too expensive for what you get, no survivability at all, no upgrades.
It’s an AV11 Open Topped Walker that is made for assault.
Scout Sentinel which is AV10 Open topped but only costs 35pts, 2HP.
Armoured Sentinel is FA12/10/10, not open topped for 55points, 2HP.
Killa Kan is 11/11/10, not open topped for 40pts minimum, 2HP

The Penitent Engine has less survivability than all of these, reason being it’s an assault walker. Sentinels and Kans you can keep back, put high S long range weapons on and hope to be able to get their points back from killing vehicles, terminators or MSU.
The Penitent Engine has to get into assault…

If it gets hit by 1 melta shot it’s Penetrated on a roll of 4+ on 2D6, it’s destroyed on a roll of 3+ on the penetration chart (+1Open Topped +2Ap1).
The only thing you have to rely on is that 6+ inv save…

What is it designed to kill? With 6E it became even weaker in assault because of krak grenades etc. What unit in the game can you actually assault with a PE and win? There are very few: Vehicles that can’t defend themselves, gaunts, tau, guardians and kabalite warriors come to mind. Any unit that normally takes a power fist (Ork Nob) or has krak, melta or haywire grenades it cannot successfully assault. Forget about Necrons, it will be dead before even getting to assault.

What the PE pilot is in the fluff is a psychopathic killing machine that doesn’t care about anything other than to die on the fields of battle in a desperate attempt to gain forgiveness for a crime committed. Though the extra attacks etc represent this it just doesn’t survive long enough to actually do any damage. Even if you take 9 more than half will get shot down the first turn because of low survivability, unless you tell your opponent to bring no AV guns.

When I wrote to Robin Cruddace about the problems with the SoB codex I suggested the following changes. Lower points cost to 50pts per PE, you buy 3 per HS slot but they all act independently (NEW FAQ states they are deployed as squadron) and for 40pts you can give the whole unit Scout (This to represent them charging towards the enemy as they have no self control, suggested Repentia get this as well because both Repentia and PE rush into combat to receive absolution from something done wrong).

So for 190pts you could get 3 PE (50×3) that can outflank or scout move (you’d buy it for outflank but scout makes sense from a fluff perspective), that act independently and might actually be able to kill something.

Would this be over powered? Not really, it’s AV11 open topped! If your army can’t handle that you aren’t playing a balanced army. In a tournament setting this change still wouldn’t be enough but it’d be a step in the right direction.

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madcowcrazy

13 years ago

Compare the Celestian squads to SW Grey Hunters, if I’m not mistaken both cost 15pts each but the SW ones have the Space Marine statline, cheaper weapons and better wargear.

The SoB WD codex is a pile of shit, it’s a slap in the face of anyone who plays Sisters of Battle. Sad part is the old Witch Hunters codex is actually better than the WD.
If the WD Codex was a pile of shit the FAQ is even more so…

Q: Can allied Independent Characters benefit from Acts of Faith if they
have joined an affected Sisters of Battle unit? (p29)
A: No.

Q: Do Acts of Faith affect allies who have joined or been joined by
Sisters of Battle independent characters or units? (White Dwarf,
August 2011 Page 94)
A: Yes.

As it concerns SoB it probably a typo since they never do spell checking or proof reading.
As IG are the only Brothers in Arms the SoB have you could give that 50man IG blob squad +1I and Preferred Enemy in assault… Doesn’t work during the shooting phase as the AoF is done during the Assault Phase. Assaulting IG, who would have though…

Overall everything in the SoB codex is overpriced compared to anything in the game…
3+ Save doesn’t mean shit when you only have T3, taking a power sword on a Canoness is a waste of time since you will wound on 5+ vs T4. Blessed weapons that always wound on 4+ in close combat would be better.

Just look at the Misstress of Repentance, has an awesome S8 weapon… that wounds vs Ld… I guess she’s designed to kill Tyranid MCs as she has an easier time wounding a Carnifex than she does a normal space marine…

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asgelb

13 years ago

This is why every day I get less excited by anything GW. Seeing how they treat armies, change rules without worrying about how it will affect certain armies (thus screwing once-devoted players) are just a few of the reasons I am starting to look elsewhere. Sure, fluff models are pretty cool from GW, but rules in my opinion suck, as does the “screwage” they give out when changing armies, rules, etc.

Seems every company these days releases a nearly equal army release throughout the year, where as GW gives one army a boost while neglecting the others until their scheduled release.

With the screwage of SoB, I don’t want to sink money back into the game. Fantasy armies are at least interesting, 40k now is boring and dry.

That’s why I’m looking forward to Spartan Games’ new 28mm game Dystopian Legions.
The models look cooler, the rules can’t be any worse than 40k, and the company, Spartan Games, sends out equal releases among armies and doesn’t seem to turn players off by screwing them with huge rules changes.

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asgelb

13 years ago

Also…9 Battle Engines??! Nevermind the rules and the points….buying 9 of those from GW will cost you $315!! For a useless model!

For that price you can get FULL armies in so many games. Like I said, I won’t put any more money into 40k. Crappy game. Fantasy has some redeeming factors…for now I’ll keep playing that, but for my sci-fi fix I’ll get into something else.

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coverttoaster

13 years ago

The cannoness got the shaft as well as C:WH allowed them to take a jump pack to lead seraphim squads. This is why virtually all sisters armies take St Celestine and Uriah Jacobus as they are about the only HQ’s worth taking at the moment.

Also Andy and Darrell have missed the fact that repentia squads have FNP and a shield if faith save. They are one of the few squads that have benefitted from the re-write as before they couldn’t embark on transports and I think they had to move towards the closest enemy unit as well.

However the White Dwarf codex hasn’t done much to change the overall way an SoB army plays as you still sit back with two or three Exorcists and shoot the crap out of your opponent. GW have altered the “balance” of the codex though by dumbing down the previously good units and buffing the previously suck units for an overall decline in the effectiveness of an SoB army.

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razorfiend

13 years ago

shame full excuse for a codex. Reeks of sloppy half done job.
As you gentlemen mention all the time its overpriced, and the weakness outweigh the strengths anytime-
why cant celestiens take power weapons when their faith power is hit harder? ex. ex.
GW needs to release a proper codex, that’s much more competitive or eventually Sob bites the dust and no one plays them. (considering selling my 2500 pts of them)

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deathangel

13 years ago

i’m an ex sisters player, and for their advantages (and there are more than were mentioned in this vid) i’m still an ex sisters player, and that was back in 5th, so……..yeah

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deathangel

13 years ago

meant to say back before 5th…sorry

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theniffrig

13 years ago

Why do the best looking models in these games always have either the worst stats or the most over-priced points costs making it so that you can’t really field them in a normal force?

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kaalen

13 years ago

i remember playing that computer game as well shadow of the horned rat that started my love of the Skaven army 🙂

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wwbushidow

13 years ago

Well since they both lost to Sisters, I sense a little bit of sour grapes!

I played with Penitent engines with 5th edition rules and they were pretty good, but not so much with the new rules. I think vehicles are less survivable now, especially this one. Ignore shaken and stunned doesn’t really help that much, since you would still lose a hull point, so someone can kill it very quickly. With 5th ED rules, I took two engines and wiped out Blood Angels close combat troops, and I had wounds to spare since I hit so much! You would have to use a lot in order for them to close enough, or be fighting with lots of terrain.

Retributor Squads are AWESOME!! All of the weapons in the squad are Rending, and not just the Heavy Bolters, so don’t forget that. Also, Rending Heavy Flamers aren’t bad either. I took out all but one Terminator with three Heavy Flamers, then bolters killed the other one. Make sure you target the Terminators with some other squads, so you can be sure to kill them. I agree that they should have at least 6 HB’s if the squad numbers 10. Also, all Sister HB’s should get Inferno Bolts to re-roll wounds. That would be nice too.

Exorcist is good, and you should take two and a Retributor Squad, or two Retributors and one Exorcist if you want.

Jacobs and Celestine are the best leaders. Jacobs for his re-rolls of the Faith Points, and his unit gets +1 attack and Feel No Pain, so he is best in my opinion and not Kyrinov. No use in taking a Cannoness, since she can’t have a Jump Pack, so no advantage there.

Seraphim should have Inferno pistols, not Hand Flamers. Infernos are vehicle killers, Terminator killers, etc.

Death Cult Assassins are great, but Crusaders can protect them. Put the Crusaders in the front for movement to protect the Assassins, since they have a Storm Shield.

Those are my thoughts.

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wwbushidow

Reply to wwbushidow

13 years ago

Also, take two big Battle Sisters Squads with 20 models for your troops, that way they are super-shooty. Sisters are a shooty army after all.

You don’t want too many units, since you will have a max of 6 Faith points, so keep the points under 2000 and you will have fun.

This is a fun army because it is quirky!

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wardsey

13 years ago

Seraphim entry Angelic Viasage rule states seraphim get to rer-roll failed acts of faith and invun saves granted from shield of faith aka their 6+ invun. I do not cheat Darryl and i would like an apology for your comment that i may have been cheating.

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thyphoid

13 years ago

Hi just watched the vid you accuse and other gamer of cheating, when it clearly states under the angelic visage rules for seraphim’s they get to re-roll acts of faith and invy saves grant by the shield of faith special rule.Now I know the person your talking about, you know him and everyone at the gaming club we attend knows him. I believe an apology is in order and seeing you did as a member of staff for beasts of war on a public form, that’s where the apology should take place.

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