Melissia
05-06-2010, 12:23 PM
What I WANTED to do today has apparently been canceled, leaving me with too much time on my hands. SO! I decided to take the general style of the "Art of the Wraithlord" blog post and make it into something applicable to the Sisters. Namely, the core unit of the Sisterhood, the meat, bread, bones, and muscle of any Sisters of Battle army, and indeed any Witch Hunters army (quite frankly I find that Witch Hunter units are little more than laughable anyway)... the Battle Sister Squad.
40k Tactics: Art of the Battle Sister
Battle Sister Squads: Basics
Battle Sisters have only one real issue when using them: getting from point A, your deployment zone, to point B, rapid fire or assault range. This leaves a Sisters force with two requirements... either lots of bodies (for footslogging) or lots of Rhinos (for mechanized).
While Battle Sisters are very survivable and almost never flee (thanks to the Book of St. Lucius and Acts of Faith), they are woefully short range and are not that great in an assault. With them having no equipment longer ranged than 24", and doing the overwhelming majority of their damage at 3"-12", Battle Sisters require a lot of finesse in the movement phase in order to properly use them.
Keep in mind the movement range of any unit that is better than Battle Sisters in an assault (Which, let's face it, is nearly all of them without Acts of Faith). Always try and stay just out of range of an assault, and try and get the enemy to move close enough that you can move and then lay on the rapid fire + flamer template which Sisters squads are so (in)famous for without letting them get close enough to assault. This is much easier said than done, and it's the reason why I always recommend Mechanized forces. Mechanized Battle Sisters are able to move 12", disembark from their transports, and then shoot their weapons, giving them a greater threat range and allowing them to hang back more.
-- Infantry/Walkers: 12" assault threat (6+6)
-- Fleet: 12"+d6" assault threat (6+d6+6)
-- Transports: 15" assault threat (6+6+3)
-- Jump Pack: 18" assault threat (12+6)
-- Bikes/Jetbikes: 18" assault threat (12+6)
-- Beasts/Cavalry: 18"+d6" assault threat (6+d6+12)
-- Open Topped Transports: 21" assault threat (12+3+6) * At least, if I'm reading the rules correctly, which I assume I am.
Keeping track of the circle of assault threat when fighting assault-dedicated enemies is the most important element of playing Sisters, and certainly the most for Battle Sisters. Anything which can move a long distance and assault the Sisters is a big risk, because it means Sisters can't get off their turn of shooting. Battle Sisters themselves have the greatest threat range when mechanized, and are thus able to (somewhat) mitigate the problem of long-ranged assault units.
When fighting a heavily shooting-based army such as Guard, the stakes are much different. There, footslogging Sisters are even weaker, because they must run 6"+d6" every turn until they get into rapid fire range. Meanwhile, Mechanized Sisters are able to move 12" and pop smoke the first turn, allowing them a (hopefully) much faster and safer move into attacking. The game against shooty armies is far simpler than the one against assault armies, and the army plays almost as if it were an assault army.
Battle Sister Squads: Armory
All squads are assumed to have the Book of St. Lucius. A Sisters squad without the BoSL is like a Marine squad without ATSKNF, or an Ork squad without Mob Rule. Similarly, when picking a Rhino, I almost always use Forgeworld rules for mine-- thus dropping the cost of the squad by 19 points per squad. It really does make a difference. That said, there are three general setups for Battle Sister Squads.
Flamer / Heavy Flamer (or Flamer / Flamer for cheap lists)
-- This setup is pure anti-infantry firepower. It is deadly against MEQ, GEQ, and anything in between. However it has ZERO anti-tank firepower, and so should only rarely be taken. A combi-melta on the veteran to balance out the list can be helpful, but even at BS4 one melta shot is a risk for the amount of points you pay.
Heavy Flamer / Meltagun (or Flamer / Meltagun)
-- The most balanced setups. Combined with a combi-flamer on the veteran, this is my preferred setup. Every squad has the ability to pop vehicles, and has plenty of firepower in bolters and templates. The combiflamer is a much better purchase than the combi-melta because it doesn't require a to-hit roll and is cheaper besides.
Meltagun / Meltagun
-- Very anti-tank heavy. Not entirely a BAD setup per se, but lacks anti-GEQ and anti-horde because of the lack of cover save ignoring goodness that are flamers. Combined with a combi-flamer, however, this is somewhat mitigated. In footslogging armies, this is the preferred setup-- after all, the squads have plenty of bolters for anti-infantry, and they need all the anti-tank they can get.
In regards to other options:
-- Frag Grenades: Battle Sisters are not built for assault. If they ARE to assault (which is actually a valid tactic in some situations), however, it's best done with Hand of the Emperor, which completely negates the main benefit of having Frag Grenades in the first place.
-- Krak Grenades: Let's face it, they're just too expensive on Battle Sisters. The only real use they might have is against Walkers, but even then the highest pen kraks get is 12 anyway.
-- Imagifier: For the most part, it's too expensive to justify on a troops choice. Whenever you have ten or more members, it becomes nearly impossible to succeed certain acts of faith, and nearly impossible to fail others. I say NEARLY, because it's still possible, but the Imagifier doesn't really help much until one gets down in numbers to around seven models. And at the price you pay for it, it's better to give it to something harder hitting which needs it more, like Celestian Retinues.
-- Priest: Priests CAN be useful... but are generally better on Celestian squads. Because Priests come with NO equipment, they are more expensive than they appear in the army list. Probably the best setup for Priests puts them at 100+ points each, which is very... ouch, on a troops choice unit that already often comes to ~200 points. Furthermore, Mech units can't even take them to begin with because Rhinos only hold ten models.
40k Tactics: Art of the Battle Sister
Battle Sister Squads: Basics
Battle Sisters have only one real issue when using them: getting from point A, your deployment zone, to point B, rapid fire or assault range. This leaves a Sisters force with two requirements... either lots of bodies (for footslogging) or lots of Rhinos (for mechanized).
While Battle Sisters are very survivable and almost never flee (thanks to the Book of St. Lucius and Acts of Faith), they are woefully short range and are not that great in an assault. With them having no equipment longer ranged than 24", and doing the overwhelming majority of their damage at 3"-12", Battle Sisters require a lot of finesse in the movement phase in order to properly use them.
Keep in mind the movement range of any unit that is better than Battle Sisters in an assault (Which, let's face it, is nearly all of them without Acts of Faith). Always try and stay just out of range of an assault, and try and get the enemy to move close enough that you can move and then lay on the rapid fire + flamer template which Sisters squads are so (in)famous for without letting them get close enough to assault. This is much easier said than done, and it's the reason why I always recommend Mechanized forces. Mechanized Battle Sisters are able to move 12", disembark from their transports, and then shoot their weapons, giving them a greater threat range and allowing them to hang back more.
-- Infantry/Walkers: 12" assault threat (6+6)
-- Fleet: 12"+d6" assault threat (6+d6+6)
-- Transports: 15" assault threat (6+6+3)
-- Jump Pack: 18" assault threat (12+6)
-- Bikes/Jetbikes: 18" assault threat (12+6)
-- Beasts/Cavalry: 18"+d6" assault threat (6+d6+12)
-- Open Topped Transports: 21" assault threat (12+3+6) * At least, if I'm reading the rules correctly, which I assume I am.
Keeping track of the circle of assault threat when fighting assault-dedicated enemies is the most important element of playing Sisters, and certainly the most for Battle Sisters. Anything which can move a long distance and assault the Sisters is a big risk, because it means Sisters can't get off their turn of shooting. Battle Sisters themselves have the greatest threat range when mechanized, and are thus able to (somewhat) mitigate the problem of long-ranged assault units.
When fighting a heavily shooting-based army such as Guard, the stakes are much different. There, footslogging Sisters are even weaker, because they must run 6"+d6" every turn until they get into rapid fire range. Meanwhile, Mechanized Sisters are able to move 12" and pop smoke the first turn, allowing them a (hopefully) much faster and safer move into attacking. The game against shooty armies is far simpler than the one against assault armies, and the army plays almost as if it were an assault army.
Battle Sister Squads: Armory
All squads are assumed to have the Book of St. Lucius. A Sisters squad without the BoSL is like a Marine squad without ATSKNF, or an Ork squad without Mob Rule. Similarly, when picking a Rhino, I almost always use Forgeworld rules for mine-- thus dropping the cost of the squad by 19 points per squad. It really does make a difference. That said, there are three general setups for Battle Sister Squads.
Flamer / Heavy Flamer (or Flamer / Flamer for cheap lists)
-- This setup is pure anti-infantry firepower. It is deadly against MEQ, GEQ, and anything in between. However it has ZERO anti-tank firepower, and so should only rarely be taken. A combi-melta on the veteran to balance out the list can be helpful, but even at BS4 one melta shot is a risk for the amount of points you pay.
Heavy Flamer / Meltagun (or Flamer / Meltagun)
-- The most balanced setups. Combined with a combi-flamer on the veteran, this is my preferred setup. Every squad has the ability to pop vehicles, and has plenty of firepower in bolters and templates. The combiflamer is a much better purchase than the combi-melta because it doesn't require a to-hit roll and is cheaper besides.
Meltagun / Meltagun
-- Very anti-tank heavy. Not entirely a BAD setup per se, but lacks anti-GEQ and anti-horde because of the lack of cover save ignoring goodness that are flamers. Combined with a combi-flamer, however, this is somewhat mitigated. In footslogging armies, this is the preferred setup-- after all, the squads have plenty of bolters for anti-infantry, and they need all the anti-tank they can get.
In regards to other options:
-- Frag Grenades: Battle Sisters are not built for assault. If they ARE to assault (which is actually a valid tactic in some situations), however, it's best done with Hand of the Emperor, which completely negates the main benefit of having Frag Grenades in the first place.
-- Krak Grenades: Let's face it, they're just too expensive on Battle Sisters. The only real use they might have is against Walkers, but even then the highest pen kraks get is 12 anyway.
-- Imagifier: For the most part, it's too expensive to justify on a troops choice. Whenever you have ten or more members, it becomes nearly impossible to succeed certain acts of faith, and nearly impossible to fail others. I say NEARLY, because it's still possible, but the Imagifier doesn't really help much until one gets down in numbers to around seven models. And at the price you pay for it, it's better to give it to something harder hitting which needs it more, like Celestian Retinues.
-- Priest: Priests CAN be useful... but are generally better on Celestian squads. Because Priests come with NO equipment, they are more expensive than they appear in the army list. Probably the best setup for Priests puts them at 100+ points each, which is very... ouch, on a troops choice unit that already often comes to ~200 points. Furthermore, Mech units can't even take them to begin with because Rhinos only hold ten models.