Adepta Sororitas | Warhammer 40,000 Tactical Guide

• The majority of units aren’t that tough, with middling defensive stats, and whilst there are ways to boost their survivability they can fall fairly quickly against concentrated firepower
• Their tanks are all quite expensive, and whilst they can kick out good firepower, they aren’t quite as efficient as they could be
• Some units, particularly Characters, are effectively worthless for certain army builds or subfactions
• Being a fairly mid ranged army means they can be quite susceptible to counter assaults
• Aspects of their rules can be quite niche, or difficult to benefit from, depending on the match up, taking some time to master
• Quite reliant on Characters for support buffs, meaning the army can start to fall apart if they get picked off, as well as potentially bleeding Secondary Points

Reroll Hit rolls in the first round of combat. A great offensive booster, granting great reliability and reduces the need for Character rerolls. Remember however most units with this ability will generally be hitting on 4s in the first place, so once this expires these units will be a lot less efficient. As a result make sure whatever they hit dies or is crippled so badly you can go off and destroy something else, triggering this again.

Your “pure army” rule, provided every model is SORORITAS but still allowing UNALIGNED, CULT IMPERIALIS and AGENTS OF THE IMPERIUM (cos Imperium). You get a few ways to generate Miracle Dice (by rolling a D6 at the time of generation and keeping that to one side), in order to fuel your Acts of Faith. You gain one Miracle Dice at the start of each Battle Round, one at the end of any Phase where an enemy unit was destroyed by a SORORITAS unit, and one at the end of any Phase where a SORORITAS CHARACTER was destroyed, with a few other ways to generate via Stratagems and special rules. 

Each Miracle Dice lasts until used to call an Act of Faith, and an Act of Faith can be called once per Phase (again with some ways to call more via special rules). When you call an Act of Faith, you pick a Miracle Dice, and before making a roll (so no replacing after a bad result) you use that Miracle Dice instead, in place of a Hit, Wound, Damage, Save, Advance, Charge or Morale. You can only use one Miracle Dice per Act, with the exception of Charges where you can replace both dice rolls with two different Miracle Dice. They always count as unmodified rolls and can never be rerolled. 

So Acts of Faith turn you from a fairly reliable army, to an extremely reliable one. Need to make a 7” Charge and have a 4 and 3 in your pool, congratulations you make it. Got that Meltagun through the enemy Invulnerable and have a 6, boom 6 Damage. Need that lone Superior to not fail Morale and keep holding that Objective, good thing you have a 1 in your pool! Now of course they are subject to the whims of fate, given they’re rolled for, so there may be times you’re left with less than ideal Miracle Dice, and as they are often generated at the end of the Phase, you might not get one until after you want it. On top of that you need to consider carefully when you’ll be using them as, outside of a few exceptions, once an Act is called that Phase, that’s it. 

Carefully weigh up what each is worth and when. 5s and 6s are of course great for Damage rolls, but don’t discount them for Advance and Charge rolls. 3s and 4s are useful for most rolls, whilst 1s and 2s are realistically only good for Morales and fuelling certain Stratagems. You can however use them in certain niche instances to effectively auto fail a save and kill a model, thus freeing you to shoot the unit next turn, or pull them just out of charge or shooting range (also very fitting given the whole martyrdom schtick they have going on), so there are some fringe uses of all the dice. 

All told the Acts are a great tool for reliability, but ironically not one to rely on. In addition there will be times you have more Miracle Dice than you know what to do with. Don’t fret if you have a big pool of them, or even no situation to use them in, look at them instead as a layer of protection if you do come up against a situation where you just know you need a certain result to enact your grand plan

After you know the mission, you determine your Sacred Rites (note this means they do not need to be written on your Army Roster, granting you a modicum of flexibility), by either choosing one or rolling 2D6 (rerolling both on doubles until you have two different results). The Rites you gain last until the end of the battle, and offer a variety of different benefits

1. Hand of the Emperor- +1 to Advance and Charge rolls. Obviously more useful for a combat oriented army build, but can still be handy in a pinch when used to claim Objectives or move into position in the early stages
2. Spirit of the Martyr- Models slain by a melee attack roll a D6, and on a 6 explode strike out with great vengeance and furious anger, doing a Mortal Wound to the attacking unit, up to a max of 6 Mortal Wounds per phase. Doesn’t happen if a VEHICLE explodes, and certainly not the most reliable of abilities, but can punish a melee heavy army over time. Obviously not so useful if you’re not facing much in terms of melee threats, and offensively there are better Rites.
3. Aegis of the Emperor- The Deny the Witch part of your Shield of Faith auto passes on unmodified 5s and 6s now. Goes without saying this is worthless against armies with no Psykers, and frankly questionable against those with only 1. But against armies with 3+ Psykers, or against Thousand Sons and Grey Knights, it’s very much worth it. A 33% Chance to just say “No” to usually powerful and important Psychic Powers can immensely sway the battle in your favour. 
4. Divine Guidance- 6s to Wound with Shooting attacks get an extra -1 AP. A great all round choice, unless you’re going heavy melee. This will stack up over time and is widely applicable. If you’re stumped on what to pick, or aren’t looking at the melee ones for your army build, you can’t really go wrong with this one. 
5. The Passion- Exploding 6s in melee. If you’re going melee heavy, just pick this. Whilst it can be tempting to roll and hope you get this and Hand of the Emperor as well, the offense boost this offers to your melee units is often too strong to not have guaranteed.
6. Light of the Emperor- Ignore any Leadership and Combat Attrition modifiers. If you’re going with smaller sized or minimum sized squads, this is likely not all that useful, as any modifiers will likely come too late if they come up at all. With larger squads this can be quite helpful, and if there is a large amount of Leadership shenanigans in the opponent’s army it could be useful, but this is generally going to be one you’ll want to pass on.

A PRIEST that knows War Hymn and an extra one, can intone one of them, grants +1 Ld to CORE and CHARACTERS within 6”, lets you modify any Miracle Dice used within 6” by +1/-1 (to a max/min of 6 and 1 respectively), and doesn’t take up a slot if in the same detachment as a CANONESS. Overall not a bad choice, especially given her Hymns and the Miracle Dice manipulation offers nice flexibility (it affects all SORORITAS units, not just CORE) and acts as a good safety net for lower Miracle Dice.

The mini CULT IMPERIALIS PRIEST, they only know War Hymn, and impose a -1 Ld to CHAOS units in 6”. Can be given a few different weapons, though if you have the 5pts give them the Zealot’s Vindicator to pack a hidden surprise punch. If you’re only looking at War Hymn, or to let another Priest use an alternative Hymn, they aren’t a terrible pick, and at 25-30pts they can be slotted in without breaking the bank.

The first of the CELESTIAN units, acting as a 5-10 Battle SIsters squad with +1 WS, A and Ld, as well as getting a further +1 to Hit if within 6” of a CANONESS or PALATINE. They can also run both a Special and Heavy weapon in any size squad, but no more than one from each type, as well as the standard Incensor Cherub and Simulacrum. Their main schtick is the Bodyguard rule however, making sure that any ORDER or SANCTIFIED CHARACTER within 3” is untargetable by Shooting. Yes even if they’re closer. Yes even if there is only 1 Celestian. Yes even if that Celestian is out of line of sight or range. So they’re really quite good as, well, bodyguards, in addition to packing the usual array of equipment you’d expect from Sisters. Despite their improved melee stats, that’s not where they want or indeed should be, rather use them as an anchor for your ranged units and to provide protection for your squishier Characters.

The second CELESTIAN unit, and these decidedly do want to be in melee. T3 and 1W might not sound like much, but with a 2+/4++ they can tank a decent amount of damage, and on the return they pump out 2A at WS3, with either their Mace for Str 5 -1 Dmg 2, or with the Halberd at Str 6 -3 D1. Both are good options, though of course depending on what you’re likely to encounter the most, with the Halberd being the best all-purpose weapon and the Mace being ever so slightly better against 2W models and those with 4W+. The Superior can take a special Pistol, and has the option for a Spear of the Faithful, effectively combining both profiles of weapons into a tasty Str 6 -3 Dmg 2, and for 5pts you always should. On the defense they can Heroically Intervene, and can Set to Defend when Charged or Heroically Intervening. And like the Celestians above they have the Bodyguard rule for Character protection (despite the fluff explicitly saying they don’t serve as Bodyguards, but whatever I guess), and with their superior defensive buffs are a more reliable choice for doing so, especially if escorting a melee Character around like a buffed up Canoness or Morvenn Vahl herself.

Here to keep your warriors around a bit longer, giving a 6+++ to INFANTRY within 3”, and heals an INFANTRY model for D3 Wounds at the end of your Movement Phases. The shrugs can stack up across the game, though with the short range and with most units only having 1W anyways, it’s not the most potent of defenses, and the healing will likewise be useless for anything other than CHARACTERS. Like the Dialogus doesn’t take up a slot in the same Detachment as a CANONESS, but in general her rules are bit more limited due to the nature of the Sisters units as a whole not meshing incredibly well with her healing abilities, when compared to other armies with similar units like Space Marines.

A PRIEST that knows an extra Hymn, intones one, has an Aura to enable CORE units within 6” to Shoot and still perform Actions, as well as picking a CORE unit within 6” in your Command Phase to become ObSec, counting as double if they already are. She has a decent melee profile, but her buffs are the main strength. A bit more expensive than the Dialogus if all you are looking for is a Hymn, but her other abilities make up for it, letting you play the mission in a much stronger way, be it doing Secondaries without losing firepower, or using units like Sacresants to steal objectives from under your opponent’s nose.

The third of the CELESTIAN units, eschewing functionality such as Bodyguarding through walls and line of sight for being HOLY MECH SUITS! Coming stock in units of three (no more, no less…), each one packs a decently tough profile of 4W T5, a 2+ and -1 Dmg, and a good spread of wargear on the offense. Ranged goes for the Holy Trinity but in Heavy form (so a Heavy Bolter, Heavy Flamer or a Multi-melta), and a secondary weapon of either 2 Storm Bolters for some light anti infantry punch, or a Paragon Grenade Launcher, effectively an Assault 2 Krak Grenade Launcher, for some slightly heavier anti Marine style duties. Melee wise they wield Maces for 3A at Str 9 -2 Dmg3, albeit at -1 to Hit, or Swords for 4A at Str 6 -3 Dmg2. The Swords are the better all purpose weapons, unless you’re expecting to fight lots of stuff with -1 Dmg, or explicitly 3W models where the 2Dmg becomes slightly wasted in efficiency. Being VEHICLES comes with it’s own advantages and disadvantages, occasionally precluding them from some rules or making them susceptible to others, whilst allowing them to blaze away in melee and avoid certain interactions that apply to INFANTRY. Despite their decent profile, they are quite pricey, rocking at 80pts a model, more with a Multi-Melta, and with only Shield of Faith as an Invulnerable they are very susceptible to heavy firepower. They can do some work, but they pay a premium for their comparatively high stats and good wargear, and might not be the best choice if you’re looking for pure efficiency.

Here to lead the below Repentia and make them both faster and angrier. You will generally only get mileage out of their Aura, giving all REPENTIA within 6” +1 to Wound, making their already potent melee even more scary. They can also select a REPENTIA within 3” to grant them Advance and Charge, as well as rolling 3D6 and discarding the lowest for their Charge Rolls, making them very fast and reliable. The downside is that this is a Command Phase ability, so useless if you’re in a Transport, and if you find yourself in a position where a unit of Repentia is alive on the battlefield and you have the opportunity to use this on them, the opponent has bigger issues to worry about (like why they haven’t managed to kill the Repentia). At 40pts she’s cheap and provides powerful buffs, but only for the Repentia, so without them she’s worthless, and given her need to be near those maniacs, she will be dangerously close to the enemy most of the time, so Relics and Warlord Traits are probably wasted on her. She can fight with her whips, but you want to avoid throwing her into anything tougher than a Guardsmen Squad, as 5A at Str 3 -2 D1 isn’t going to threaten much, even with the slightly better wounding she gets vs Ld7 and below units. Keep her with Repentia, make them hit harder, and don’t worry too much if she doesn’t make it.

One of the glassest cannons on the tabletop, packing 2A at Str 6 -3 Dmg 2 base. -1 to Hit on their Eviscerators is a bit of a blow, but Zealot makes up for it a fair bit, as well as being CORE, so they do get access to a large number of ways to buff. They die though. With the standard Sister profile, but without the Power Armour, they only really have their 6++ to rely on (this can be buffed further of course, but requires more Character support). They do have a 5+++ on top, which can help of course, but concentrated firepower can swiftly remove them, though you do get a Miracle Dice for their Martyrdom when they are slain. Being on foot is a death sentence for them, which while nice for them, less so for you, so stick them in a Transport at the very least. They will die, so make sure they do some damage before they go, or at the very least act as a good distraction. Provided they make it into combat, even a 5 lady squad without character support can take a decent chunk out of things, though be wary of Invuns, 3W models or Dmg Reduction.

Actually three separate units, these all follow similar principles, being exclusively melee CULT IMPERIALIS INFANTY that have CORE but don’t interact with many rules due to lack of other Keywords. They all have Zealot, and each IMPERIALIS PRIEST in the same Detachment lets one of them be taken without using up an Elite slot.

Yet another “multiple Characters as one unit” with all the associated downsides as mentioned above. These two however don’t really offer much, with one being quite fragile and the other having some pretty mediocre rules. Astred (the actual Sister of Battle) carries a big banner which once per game can put every CORE unit within 6” into all 6 Sacred Rites until your next Command Phase, as well as making your first use of Open the Reliquaries free. She also gets +1 to her Armour Saves vs Dmg 1 attacks, and her Blade of Vigil hits at Str 5 -2 Dmg 2, ignoring Shrugs, but with WS 3 and 3A she shouldn’t be hunting anything. Agathae on the other hard (the Ecclesiarchal one) gives a SORORITAS CHARACTER within 9” a single reroll they can use on a Hit or Wound roll in melee only. It also gives you the option to reroll a Damage roll in melee, but guess how many random Damage melee weapons exist for Sisters Characters (if you said “None”, congratulations, I’d give you a prize but we don’t award trophies for participation). She also has a rule for Crusade, and has to die first, what with being from a long line of martyrs. You know, useful stuff. For 90pts, you get some extremely niche abilities and a free second Relic, but realistically you will never see or use them as they just don’t offer enough for their cost.

Veteran Sisters with Jump Packs and twin Bolt Pistols, that also get a built in +1 to their Shield of Faith invuns (to a a max of 4++) for a little bit more survivability. Two of them, regardless of squad size, can swap their Bolt Pistols for either Hand Flamers or Inferno Pistols, though these are probably unnecessary given you can get similar output elsewhere. Where do shine however is Secondaries and quick Objective capping, given their speed, small squad size and innate Deep Strike, and their shooting and melee output being fairly mediocre in comparison to other units. Instead use them for the utility they can cover that other units aren’t able to. 

A more melee focused Jump Pack unit, trading one of their Bolt Pistols for a Power Sword, as well as an extra Attack. The Superior can, and indeed should, take the Pennant to give all CORE units within 6” reroll charges. For 5pts, even if it was only for themselves, it’s a bargain. Repentia will generally hit harder, and Sacresants are tougher to shift, but Zephyrim fit a nice middle ground, as well as using their speed and Fly to threaten targets that might have been out of reach of other units. Can also be used in a similar way to Seraphim for Secondaries, Actions etc if no ideal targets are present, so they have nice utility if you don’t want to go full choppy.

Both of variants have effectively the same profile, being VEHICLES run in units of 1-4, packing T and W 5, 4A, and a 4+/5+++. Neither can do Actions, and can pack either Buzz-blades for Str 8 -4 D2, or Flails for Str 5 -2 D1 but double attacks, both of which can be mixed for utility, or paired for +1A. Both also pack Zealot for extra reliability in combat, meaning if they make it there they can make a mess of lots of stuff. Whilst not the toughest of things and can bleed Secondaries via Bring It Down, they’re quite cheap for their output, and need to be dealt with before they reach the sweet release that melee grants them.

A battle tank that launches missiles via a pipe organ. Oh right, what does it do. Well it’s a fairly standard Imperial tank profile (T7 W11 3+) and comes stock with a Heavy Bolter. The important bit is which missiles are loaded into your instrument of doom, either the anti infantry Conflagration Rockets for 3D6 Str 5 -1 D1 shots with Blast and ignoring cover, or the anti big things Exorcist Missiles that fires 3D3 Krak Missiles, which interestingly are not Blast, making tagging this version a bit more precarious, even if it is 30pts more expensive. There’s a lot of variables with the Exorcist though, with lots of dice rolls to get through especially on the Missile version due to D6 Damage. Quite pricey, and can kick out solid firepower, but that swinginess can and will come around to bite you when you don’t want it.

A more traditional battle tank than the Exorcist, with more Heavy Bolters as Sponsons and it’s turret being a 4D3 Shot Autocannon, or for a few points more you get a Battle Cannon that can either lob D6 Str 9 -3 Dmg3 Shots, or 3D3 Str 6 -1 D1 ignoring cover shots, giving you a bit of utility for a few points more. Like the Exorcist, it’s on the costly side with random shots, though a tad more reliable given the flat damage on all it’s profiles.

The Sororita’s answer to the Razorback, being a Rhino that can only carry 6 Infantry but gets a Heavy Bolter and a turret with options of more Heavy Bolters, a twin Multi-melta or Immolation Flamers (twin Heavy Flamers with +6” Range and Str 6). You’re paying a premium for those weapons however, bringing it very close in cost to a fully fledged battle tank depending on loadout. As you’re paying a premium for the transport capacity and the weapons, make sure they get used, as defensively it’s no tougher than a standard tank. If the transport capacity is all you’re after, stick to the Rhino to save on points.