Don’t miss all the details on the new Adeptus Sororitas Sisters of Battle Beta codex from the Chapter Approved 2018 book that’s on the way!
Games Workshop gave us a closer look at what the Sisters would be getting in 8th edition. Join us as we break down their Stratagems, Warlord Traits, & more.
We’ve seen the points previewed for Chapter Approved so it only makes sense that we would take a look at the latest Sisters of Battle updates! Check it out.
Sisters of Battle 2018 & Beyond
Full codex release potentially set for the Q3 2019 window we have been predicting since Adepticon that lines up with GW’s statement of an 18 month development time on new projects.
Starting with Sisters of Battle’s earliest previews:
We’ve also got an early look at a Plastic Sister of Battle from Adepticon. The amount of detail in the new model is 10x more prevalent from the classic metal Sisters we have for right now. You can tell a lot of thought was put into this project.
Adeptus Sororitas Mechanics
Shield of Faith: All Sisters in your army have a 6+ Invulnerable save and can Deny the Witch on 1d6. There are ways to buff the Shield of Faith mechanic. For example, Celestine will be able to increase the Shield of Faith roll by +1. Seraphim units will apparently get a +1 to their invulnerable save base anyway. Vehicles are going to have the Shield of Faith rule and all of the buffs cap out at a 3++.
Imagine Celestine with a squad of Seraphim that you used the Banner of the Militant Order stratagem on. That translates into a whole squad of Sisters with a 3++ save.
Sisters of Battle will also be getting a new mechanic called “Faith Points” You can spend a Faith Point and roll dice to see if you meet the Devotion value for an Act of Faith. If it’s successful, you perform the act! It looks to be vaguely similar to a Psychic power.
Faith Points: Faith Points are something outside of CP. But when you’ve gathered enough “faith” your sisters can do incredible feats that seem to defy the odds. As for generating Faith Points, it’ll come down to some stratagems giving you one, some Order Convictions (Chapter Tactics) let you either get one on a 4+ after you kill an enemy unit or net you one when one of your own units dies.
Faith point generation has been changed a bit. Now armies start with 3 points and get +1 for every ten models with the rule “Act of Faith”. There are, however, multiple alternate ways to generate extra faith points as well.
- stratagems
- a stratagem grants d3 FP when you lose a character (3 if it’s your warlord) you can also use this one as reaction to the death of your character.
- an order’s conviction grants 1 FP when you lose a unit.
- an order’s conviction grant 1Fp on 4+ if you destroy one enemy unit.
- a warlord trait grants 1Fp on a 4+ each turn
- a relic grants a 5+ refund of one FP used to cast an Act of faith.
Acts of Faith
Most Sisters of Battle Armies will have a hefty handful of Faith Points. The question is, can you roll 2d6 for the devotion cost? is it 1d6? Or is it a D6 for every Faith Point you decide to spend? With the low cost of the Devotion, it looks like you’ll just be rolling 1d6.
Regardless of that right now, let’s take a look at the Acts of Faith we have to choose from.
Unlike in the previous system, Acts of Faith are designed to scale up based on army size, with you getting an additional Faith Point for every ten models with the Acts of Faith rule in your force. This makes the Sisters of Battle incredibly flexible, with Acts of Faith, combined with Stratagems, allowing them to adjust their tactics on the fly.
- Devotion Cost (4): Add 3″ to Movement.
- Devotion Cost (3): Heal a model or Resurrect a (unit/model)
- Devotion Cost (3): Grants a 4+++ against mortal wounds.
- Devotion Cost (4): Add +1 to the Ballistic skill of the unit.
- Devotion Cost (3): Automatically pass morale.
Order Convictions (Chapter Tactics)
As for the Convictions, there will be six total and only apply to Infantry models.
Valourous Heart will give you a 6+++ FNP roll on top of their 6++ invulnerable save.
Order Conviction: Gain +1 Faith Point when a unit dies.
Order Conviction: Overwatch on a 5+ and never lose more than one model when you fail a morale test.
Order Conviction: Gain +1 Faith Point when you destroy an enemy unit on a 4+.
If you plan to be going Act of Faith-heavy, the Ebon Chalice gives you +1 to whatever you roll making it more likely to happen.
There will be six total Convictions to choose from by the time Chapter Approved gets here.
Sororitas Stratagems
Sacred Rites (1CP): Gain +1 to FNP roll
Martyrdom (??CP): Gain 1D3 Faith Points when a character dies.
Sacred banner of the Militant Order (??CP): +1 Shield of Faith roll for one battle round (basically a 5++ without any other buffs).
Extra relic stratagem (1/3CP): This is just like the other “extra relic” strats in codexes all across 8th edition.
Purity of Faith (1CP): On the roll of a 4+ a Psychic power is negated.
Pretty good when you drop a unit full of flamers that are automatically hit their target, have their range increased to 12″ AND get to shoot again later in the turn.
If you need to squeeze out the last bit of damage on a tank that’s hard to crack, you can use this stratagem and have your flamers and Meltas get +1 to wound. Not too bad for only 1CP. The only stipulation is that there has to be a Bolt weapon in range of the target and everyone has to be shooting at it.
If your Sisters find themselves in a situation where they can attack a Psyker, spend 1CP to make them outright bully him by rerolling all failed wounds.
This is outright absurd. 1CP to turn ALL storm bolters in a unit into the bolt guns the lore describes. This stratagem tacks on -2AP and upgrades the damage to a flat 2.
If you nail an Act of Faith test on a character, you can pop 3CP to make it an aura around the character affecting every unit within 6″. It doesn’t cost anything extra. You can see where the power level multiplies ten-fold when you’ve got three units fighting twice.
Relic of the Sororitas
Speaking of aura abilities, you can increase the range by 3″. Now imagine a 9″ bubble touching your Sisters when you pop Vessel of the Emperor’s Will.
Magic Mantle: (Cannonness model only) Grants a 3++ invulnerable save.
?? Brazier: Friendly Order units within 6″ can Deny the Witch on 2d6 rather than 1d6 from the Shield of Faith rule.
Warlord Trait
The Sisters that orbit your Warlord get their Invulnerable save increased by 1. We all know how brutal a 5++ Daemon save can be.
Penitent Engines
Apparently, a Sister duct taped to a Dreadknight from the 1940s is a better war machine than a Space Marine Dreadnought. The Penitent Engines can now ALWAYS fight twice, they reroll all failed hits whenever they charge or get charged, and have a 5+++ FNP.
Sisters of Battle looked are looking to be bringing something formidable to the table after all. With the Brazier giving the entire army a hefty Psychic blanket, they will be able to actually cause a real hiccup for Magnus and his Thousand Sons.
What are your thoughts on the previews for Sisters of Battle so far? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
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About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
