Forum-Suggested Starter Lists (WH)

[Brother-Captain Sharp]

Here are the lists that have been put forward. Feel free to discuss them.

Sisters of Battle

HQ
Palatine, Bolt Pistol, Blessed Weapon, Rosarius, Book of St Lucius, Frag Grenades, Melta Bombs: 102

Fast Attack
5 * Dominions, Veteran Superior, 2 * Meltas, Immolator: 164

Troops
10 Sisters of Battle, Veteran Superior, Heavy Flamer, Flamer, Power weapon, Rhino: 202

10 Sisters of Battle, Veteran Superior, Heavy Flamer, Power weapon: 146

Heavy Support
Exorcist: 135

Grand Total 749

Basic idea is to be mounted up and mobile. The Palatine goes with the Dominion squad to lend some close combat muscle for when the going gets nasty and she's equipped to be capable, but not outstanding. She should do well enough however. The Dominions are tasked with opening up any heavy armour that might be on the field, or transports and similar. The Immolater's task is to then burn whatever comes out from the transport, and on it's way there to toastify anything that gets too close. Towards the rear on home turf we have the Exorcist. The purpose of this beastie is to crack transports and annoy infantry/Monstrous Creatures. Should anything get near it, we've another Sisters squad (unmounted) to lend a hand and bolter/burn anything that gets too close. Relies on synergy a lot, and a pretty fixed battle plan, but I think it could prove capable at this level.

HQ
Canoness w. Brazier of Holy Fire, bolt pistol (56)
Celestian Retinue: Celestians retinue: 5 Celestians w. 2 meltaguns incl. Veteran w. Brazier of Holy Fire, Book of St. Lucius in rhino w. Smoke launchers (163)

Troops
10 Battle Sisters w. flamer, meltagun incl. Veteran w. Book of St. Lucius in rhino w. Smoke launchers (19
10 Battle Sisters w. flamer, meltagun incl. Veteran w. Book of St. Lucius in rhino w. Smoke launchers (19

Heavy
Exorcist (135)

Total: 750, 5 faith points

First off, starting a witch hunters army is a very costly undertaking, if you buy all the models from a retailer. This is due to the fact that all squad sized boxes have been pulled back, leaving only blister packs with up to three models in each. More about this later though.

The Canoness in this particular list has been shaved down to a very low point cost. This is in fact to utilise her two faith points and the Martyrdom Special Rule. Giving her a brazier of holy fire allows her to shoot a flamer template once in the game and together with the bolt pistol she gains an extra attack in close combat.

The celestians are there mainly for giving the canoness some means of protection until she can get in range with her brazier i.e. riding in a rhino. The unit has been given meltaguns for tank or Monstrous Creatures hunting. Braziers are there for any close encounters with hordes or anything that wants to get into close combat with the celestians.

As for the Battle Sister squads, giving them both a flamer and a meltagun allows them to be somewhat versatile, which can be very practical when holding objectives. In the heat of battle, you'll never know what your foe will throw at your defensive positions. Rhinos are provided to give them extra protection and mobility. Remember to use the smoke launchers at the right time!

To give the list some much needed long range firepower, enter the Exorcist. With the potential to deliver six strength 8, AP 1 shots, this is a must in any Witch Hunters army. This will in almost every battle be the subject of much heavy fire, so keep your Exorcist on the move and in cover when possible - remember though that you still need to be able to draw line of sight when firing. Use your exorcist against tanks, monstrous creatures and transports, since it is the only thing in the list that has an honest chance of doing any damage before the enemy gets within range of your bolters, meltaguns and flamers.

Remember, the trick with Sisters of Battle is to get them in rapid fire range. Use the Divine Guidance Act of Faith and watch how your enemy cries when you unload a devastating volley of bolter rain with (hopefully) a lot of AP 1 pownage!

As mentioned earlier, a Witch Hunters army is a very expensive one to collect, so think wisely before investing. All vehicles can be purchased in retail, however the Sisters of Battle models are only in blister packs of three models. The best suggestion in this case is to search ebay or similar sites for any Witch Hunters armies or squads. You will be able to find relatively good deals on regular Battle Sisters models, and you can add special weapons from GW's website, or if you're lucky, find them on ebay as well.

If I made any mistakes or left out any lists that you know you sent in, feel free to PM me or post in the thread.

[Flying Tigress]

Can we work on one for us newbies now that the WD Codex is out? I am no Canoness yet. My tactics lack... Faith.

[jmg202]

its so much more fun to try things out yourself and works with your style and interests.

[Flying Tigress]

Of couse it is! It's just neat to see what other people are also doing.

I'm one of those terribly new, new peoples. Not only am I learning the nuances of my army, I'm also learning the nuances of the rules. I'm having a blast, but my Boo is delighting on kicking the living bejeebus out of me on a near nightly basis. Actually, I'm totally just painting my gals for the most part before I get into any serious tabling of my army.

Alls I know for sure is my mandatory 1 HQ/2 Troops choices (St. Celestine/2x Battle Sister Squads) need painting before the local GW 2v2 500 pt. tourney starts... Ack. Painting is time consuming. And fun.

[jmg202]

Well if hes playing guard its going to tough if hes playing any kind of decent list and not taking it easy on you.

[tone.tran]

I would suggest looking through some of the lists in the current army list sections. It's likely a suggested starter list won't be up for some time. Of course, if there is enough interest, I'm sure we can get something together for the new dex.

Make sure you do try your hand at making a list yourself and posting it up. Getting other member's personal opinions on your list is likely to be much more helpful in learning the nuances of your army.

[Flying Tigress]

The best I've come up with was 750 and I posted it not in the army list section but in the SoB forums. I plead noobly ignance. >.<

[sseraphim184]

Vehicles are some times prohibited in some low point tournaments. You might drop the Exorcist and field a Retributor squad. I personally like 4 heavy bolters, add a Retributor Imagifer, and arm the Sister Superior with a Storm Bolter. This costs 140 points. The Retributors get rending with their Divine Guidance Act of Faith, great for jacking up big tough guy units like Terminators and Ork Nobs. In a 1000 point list, I deploy both the Exorcist and the Retributor squad.

[Grey Wolf]

Vehicles are some times prohibited in some low point tournaments. You might drop the Exorcist and field a Retributor squad. I personally like 4 heavy bolters, add a Retributor Imagifer, and arm the Sister Superior with a Storm Bolter. This costs 140 points. The Retributors get rending with their Divine Guidance Act of Faith, great for jacking up big tough guy units like Terminators and Ork Nobs. In a 1000 point list, I deploy both the Exorcist and the Retributor squad.

Never thought about that before. Glad to learn some new HW support tactics in low point battles.