GW brings us some info on how Sisters play in 9th ed 40k courtesy of the Warhammer-community page.
The Sisters of Battle may be among the Imperium’s most elite military wings, but how will they adapt to the new edition of Warhammer? Well, we’re here to investigate, channelling the wisdom of playtester Andrew Gonyo to get the inside scoop. Have your boltgun, flamer and melta at the ready, as it’s time for the Adepta Sororitas Faction Focus!
Who Are They?
The Adepta Sororitas are the military arm of the Ecclesiarchy. They are divided into several Holy Orders of highly trained and dedicated warriors, whose faith in the God-Emperor of Mankind is absolute. In battle, they purge the enemies of Humanity with a zealous fury and steely determination that rivals even the mighty Adeptus Astartes. So strong is their conviction in the God-Emperor’s divinity that it is not uncommon for them to perform deeds on the battlefield that are nothing short of miraculous.
How They Play in the New Edition
They may wear power armour and wield boltguns as their primary weapon, but the Sisters of Battle are a very different beast to the Space Marines on the battlefield. Here to give us some pointers on how they’ll play in the new edition is Andrew Gonyo. In addition to being a playtester and member of Team USA, he’s won tournaments more times than Saint Celestine has returned from death!
Andrew: The Adepta Sororitas were a big hit when they released earlier this year, and one of the biggest improvements we’ll see in the new edition for them is an increase in the number of available styles of play. While there are currently several viable styles, the strongest Adepta Sororitas armies in matched play tended to be very infantry heavy, with a fairly high model count. However, my favorite army compositions for the Sisters of Battle – and probably in general – is now more of a mechanised/mixed force approach. With the changes to how vehicles interact with the game, I think you’ll see more viability to these styles of play than we currently do.
Next, while some Factions have many ways to deploy, Adepta Sororitas have generally been a bit more straightforward: they’re either hoofing it on foot, riding in a transport, or are one of the two units – Seraphim and Zephyrim – capable of dropping directly onto the battlefield. However, we’ll soon be able to get some of our key units into more interesting positions using Strategic Reserves. This gives a new lease on life to a few units that were a bit too fragile for me to want to deploy or that needed to get close to the enemy, but previously couldn’t – Mortifiers and Penitent Engines, I’m looking at you.
Lastly, as a brief note on the Fight phase, I think there are two main ways the Adepta Sororitas are going to excel. Multi-charges are getting much riskier and harder to perform for most,* but with the help of their faith and a couple of trusty Miracle dice, the Sisters of Battle are really going to shine. Secondly, many Adepta Sororitas units are quite squishy – and the prevalence of Overwatch in the current edition really made certain unit types questionable to go charging into. In the new edition, that will become much less of a problem with the changes to how Overwatch works.
I think the largest challenge players will face in the new edition is the change to the Look Out, Sir rules, which requires more careful positioning of your Characters for them to benefit from the same level of protection. Adepta Sororitas armies tend to be somewhat dependent on key support Characters, so having them become more vulnerable will present a new challenge. I intend to overcome those by keeping a close eye on what I keep near them – there should be no shortage in my army of both Vehicles and decently sized Infantry units, and the two of those together should give me all the protection I need to keep my linchpins alive.
In the new edition, I’ll be approaching the Sisters of Battle with more use of multiple small units. The changes to both Blast weapons and morale favour armies that field medium-sized units. I previously used larger units, but now with the benefit of playing smaller, more sensibly sized squads, I’ll have some points left to take other units – more Dedicated Transports, maybe even the Mortifiers I always wanted but couldn’t quite fit in.
Key Units
Now that we know the score, let’s take a look at some units from the Adepta Sororitas roster upon whom the God-Emperor’s divine benevolence has fallen.
Hospitaller
Andrew: There are a few Adepta Sororitas units I never leave home without, the first being the Hospitaller. Failing Morale tests can be devastating in the new edition, which is going to make the Hospitaller’s Last Rites Stratagem key to keeping your important units around for longer.
Seraphim/Zephyrim
Andrew: Adepta Sororitas are spoiled for choices when it comes to units that can drop directly into the fray, but I’ll almost always end up taking both Seraphim and Zephyrim for their speed and ability to pop into a backfield at a key moment. Whether you choose one or both units really depends on what you’re after – the close-range (literal) fire support of the Seraphim or the armour-shredding melee punch of the Zephyrim, backed up by their access to the handy Embodied Prophecy Stratagem.
Penitent Engines
As if these engines of mutually destructive horror weren’t already geared up to dish out some serious pain in melee, the Big Guns Never Tire rule will mean that Penitent Engines can use their heavy flamers at point-blank range – much like the Blaze of Agony ability allows Mortifiers to do. Get them stuck in and start cooking your targets even as you bloodily dismember them with buzz-blades and beat them to death with enormous flails!
Thanks, Andrew! How do you plan on delivering the God-Emperor’s holy wrath to your foes in the new edition? Let us know on the Warhammer 40,000 Facebook page, Instagram and on Twitter using #New40K.
* In the new edition, your charge roll has to be sufficient to reach ALL of the units you have declared a charge against, otherwise your charge is unsuccessful and no models are moved.
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