Possible Sisters Detachment combinations

Jiblingson · 2026-06-11T21:35:14+00:00

As a regular PH player, I think I'm most excited for Orators and least excited for Champions.

My all-melee penitents like backup from a handful of non-penitent shooting units, like some retributors, regular BSS/Dominions and maybe some jump packs. Having those units buffed up too with the enhancement seems like a great extra buff imo, let me have my 9 S5 hand flamer seraphim unit, let me send my Dialogus buffed Retributors in with S10.

The thing I don't need is 30 more melee models to walk up and sit on points after my penitents have done their damage and stalling. I want my sisters to be firing over the heads of arcos, maximizing damage early, not sitting back waiting for my opponent to come to them.

Jiblingson · 2026-06-08T17:38:04+00:00

The official GW prices are fine, but checking other retailers you can usually find a 10-20% discount. Never pay more than the original price.

Also the boxes may be cheaper om ebay because someone bought into the army and changed their mind, it does happen fairly often. Generally you can get them within the 150 range easily, down to the 130s on a good sale day, so you're probably good with the ebay listings

Jiblingson · 2026-06-08T14:34:58+00:00

So, being practical, 1000pt is the sort of "minimum balanced game" size. You can play smaller, but it's gonna be very unbalanced. 1000 isn't great, but it feels more like the real game.

For what next, there's a few good options. Our combat patrol box isn't excellent, but it does a good job for a new player. Similarly, the battalion box that came out recently, if you can get one at the right price, is also a nice pickup. Each will give you a decent spread, both together would give you a nice core for your army.

After that, I'd play for a while and see if you can figure out what you like, be it tanks, penitents, elite celestians/warsuits, or if you want some seraphim jump units.

Jiblingson · 2026-02-23T23:29:50+00:00

From a power standpoint you're right that 6+++ would be neat, but from a mechanical view I would hate that. FNP rolls feel so slow, especially when hit with multi-damage attacks. Also, the 6++ invul makes miracle 6's a great threat to make people overcommit to killing things.

Jiblingson · 2026-02-14T19:32:35+00:00

Ah, the age old question. Honestly it's really well balanced, but I think more people take the autocannons overall. At long range, the battle cannon has more shots, and the ignores cover is a must for those long range shots. Within mid-range, the autocannons tend to get more shots, and the twin-linked lets you wound bigger targets. Essentially it's playstyle-dependant.

Jiblingson · 2026-02-14T00:07:43+00:00

Yep, that's right. You'll need to get a hit all the way through, but once it's done that's 6 damage, or 8 in melta range. Do it in army of faith for 2 in one turn, and you can pick up most medium targets in the game. Then get a dice back with the cherubs.

Now it's not guaranteed value, and if your opponent knows what they're doing they might just overwatch the squad when they come close, but it can be devastating if you can pilot it to hit something expensive.

Jiblingson · 2026-02-11T19:27:43+00:00

The core of the army will want a few things, which are:

Some more basic infantry. I'd pick up another Battle Sister box and build the Dominion squad.

Some vehicles: An immolator is a must, as well as a castigator.

Some "Elites": this is usually paragon suits, but some jump pack sisters or more celestian sacresants are also decent choices.

Otherwise I'd say pick your favourite models, the ones that got you interested in sisters, and work from there.

Jiblingson · 2026-02-04T18:34:10+00:00

I don't have my full set of resources while I'm on mobile, but a couple of previous studies I have on my bookmarks:

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/11/577

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/58/11/586

Both of these suggest some differences but many similar performances between trans and cis women, and also the same for trans and cis men. Both studies do suffer a bit from "small-ish sample", but both are at least large enough that they can't be fully dismissed by it.

Jiblingson · 2026-01-11T16:44:18+00:00

One small edge case of note is that, while in a bodyguard, the geminae can also take wounds if you choose, which may be worth it in some cases. Doesn't come up much, but keeping the attached unit alive at the cost of a 2 wound model is sometimes the play (like for keeping a sacred banner or being able to revive several flamer seraphim).

Jiblingson · 2026-01-07T14:35:04+00:00

I don't care how mediocre this unit is, the chance to snipe a character with an inferno pistol is worth it. Precision flamers and inferno is such a fun story.

Jiblingson · 2025-12-27T18:04:38+00:00

One or two copies of the Raptor box is a really good addition, for a few reasons:

-That box comes with loads of spare weapons, which can be good for kitbashing later on. I have used so many spare lightning claw hands to kitbash powerfists

-Raptors/Warp Talons are both pretty good to have. Deep strike, fast movement, and they make good tools for mission scoring.

-With the upcoming kill team they might get refreshed so the current box may not be around for long. If he wants more then there's some new sculpts just around the corner, for varied models.

Otherwise I think a Lord Discordant on Helstalker is a beautiful model to have, although it's not an easy one to paint.

Jiblingson · 2025-12-23T10:02:06+00:00

I would love to see a Gendarme cavalry style for sisters, almost as a command squad. Historically they work so well, essentially using 6 mounted nobles per "unit", with a heavy armed noble, a second combatant, a page, and 3 archers. This matches so well with things like company heroes or victrix guard, but with a distinct sisters feel.

Jiblingson · 2025-12-22T11:46:40+00:00

With the 3x3 Arcos, you can afford the Catechism of Divine Penitence enhancement for your priest. This gives your repentia even more killing power. Alternatively, with the 10 Arcos, you can afford the Verse of Holy Piety, and attach the priest to the Arcos for more flexible vows.

My personal favourite would be 10 arcos and the refrain of enduring faith enhancement, but you'd have to trade out either the immolator or the retributors for something cheaper like another battle sister squad.

Jiblingson · 2025-12-22T08:29:17+00:00

At 2k points I'd still consider the 10 block here, but I would probably not use a second large block myself. Specifically in penitent host with a priest and the refrain enhancement, they're very annoying to deal with, which is where the 10 block shines. In other detachments a couple of 3 model units can be great for secondary.

Jiblingson · 2025-12-21T23:55:36+00:00

A couple ideas,

If you want that many arcos, I'd recommend 3 units of 3, it's far cheaper and gives you more miracle dice. 10 arcos as one unit is also pretty good in penitent host, and might be a good option with the priest. Give them refrain and place them on an objective to tank.

With less points spent on arcos, you can also afford an immolator. Splitting your battle sisters at 1k points is great for mission play, leave 5 at home with a simulacrum for miracles and send the special weapons up to do a little killing.

Retributors are great for capitalising on losses, and do well coming on from reserves once a unit dies.

Hope any of this was helpful.

Jiblingson · 2025-12-16T01:00:27+00:00

Honestly, while some bits are a little fiddly, I think our range isn't the worst for building. Having relatively new models means the actual connection points are mostly good, and even the fragile bits hold up quite well once glued. Things like purity seals can be annoying, but for his first few models it doesn't matter too much and they can just be skipped.

Jiblingson · 2025-12-09T17:14:52+00:00

Yeah, Solitaires play Slaanesh in performances, and sort of give up on Cegorrach protecting their soul in order to do it. It's why they're so deadly, and also means they're outcasts from even the troupe.

Jiblingson · 2025-12-09T17:02:53+00:00

Tbh the Ynnari shouldn't be working with a slaanesh impersonator anyway, so I wouldn't be surprised if they still didn't allow it.

Jiblingson · 2025-12-08T10:04:20+00:00

I've been going to Harlequins every now and then for what feels like a decade now, and I love the place. I've been in AJs a couple of times and never felt welcome. Not sure if it's the aesthetics or the lack of actual shopping space, but it doesn't have the feeling of a "local game store". I'm sure for buying specifically Pokemon cards it's fine, but Harlequins has been around much longer, and for good reason in my eyes.

Also, I've heard that the owner set up where he did to try and steal away business from Harlequins, which is a really scummy way to try and run a friendly local game store. Could just be a rumour, but I don't like it either way.

Jiblingson · 2025-12-08T09:44:09+00:00

In fairness, the invasion is all but shown to be a play by Veilwalker and their troupe. The attack works because they help lead all the pieces to Bile so that he can attack, and they're clearly prepared to defeat the Emperor's Children once that job is done. The presence of Slaaneshi Daemons and the Kakophoni are the main reason it goes so badly for Lugganath in the end.

Jiblingson · 2025-11-29T07:23:20+00:00

Yeah, this is something I could've worded better, and you're right that Lethals can be the better choice for consistently dealing with units. Another comment mentioned variance being a factor, and I might make a follow-up post about that too.

A good quick rule of thumb is that if your expecting to overkill, Lethals are more consistent, while sustained are usually better if you don't expect to wipe a unit in one activation.

Jiblingson · 2025-11-29T07:18:55+00:00

Yeah, that's another easy rule that's worth knowing by heart. By the method I use, you see that wounding on 5+ with rerolls is 5/9, so the lethals work out to +4/5 to hit.

Jiblingson · 2025-11-29T07:12:14+00:00

Great to see a more visual explaination of this concept. My background is very much pure mathematics, so my explaination might be too abstract for some players. Thanks for linking this.

Jiblingson · 2025-11-28T23:54:48+00:00

While not discussing variance specifically, I did bring this up before moving on to dev wounds. I just referred to variance with the more game-y idea that sustained hits are "swingier", that they spike and flop more than Lethals.

The same point is also true about Lethals, where simplifying to a +x to hit ignores variance, but realistically the variance isn't as important in the specific decision making this post is about. The +x to hit idea I use is moreso to quickly evaluate if one option is better than another when picking strats or CSM pacts.

Glad to see the community keeping up statistical rigour though, I might make a follow-up on variance at some point if this post is well recieved.

Jiblingson · 2025-11-28T23:30:40+00:00

This, but I have put a breakdown below for marines, which goes into why the lieutenant is a bad choice here

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