Nuns with Guns at NOVA Open 2016

So, following my ill fated attempts at playing my War Convocation list at ATC and going 1-5, I decided to run a significantly less competitive list at the NOVA Open this past weekend.  I figured an Inquisition themed list with Sisters, Inquisitor Coteaz + Henchmen and an Imperial Assassin would be fun and fluffy. With the exception of the Culexus Assassin, I’ve got dozens of games with the bolter girls/Coteaz/henchmen combo so I’m more comfortable with their rules and how to get what I can out of them.  

My list was:

Sisters of Battle CAD

HQ

Jacobus- Warlord

St. Celestine

Troops

Battle Sister Squad x 5 w/Melta Gun in Immolator w/Multi Melta

Battle Sister Squad x 5 w/Melta Gun in Immolator w/Multi Melta

Battle Sister Squad x 5 w/Melta Gun in Immolator w/Heavy Flamer

Fast Attack

Dominion Squad x5 w/4x Melta Gun in Repressor

Dominion Squad x5 w/4x Melta Gun in Repressor

Heavy Support

Retributer Squad x5 w/4x Heavy Flamer in Repressor

Retributer Squad x5 w/4x Heavy Flamer in Repressor

Fortification

Aegis Defense Line w/ Quad Gun

Inquisition Allied Detachment

HQ

Inquisitor Coteaz

Elites

Henchmen Squad

2x Jokaero

3x Acolytes w/ Plasma Guns

4x Acolytes (1x bolter)

1x Psyker

Assassin Detachment

Culexus Assassin

Going into NOVA I knew my list would suffer against long range shooting (namely Tau and some Eldar builds) as they could pop my transports right quick.  Space Marine grav spam would hurt my tanks and troops, but Celestine and the girls can handle MSU pretty well whilst Coteaz has a 24” bubble of fuck your drop pods.  Chaos Daemons, IG, Orks, Jet Bike spam, Nids, would all offer their own challenges but I felt confident that I could do okay via ignoring cover melta guns and spamming flamers.

Game One:

I played Kenny from New York, who was an awesome dude and a rather good player, he ended up in like 9th overall.  Sadly, his army was lost in transit by Delta so he was playing borrowed minis at the last minute. He ran pure Tau, a Stormsurge, a few Riptides, Fire Warriors, Drones and a buffmander.  He then proceeded to wreck my face.  I picked progressives knowing that I couldn’t hold on for end game, but his Riptides and Stormsurge just popped tanks then killed girls.  On the plus side, we finished early got some beers and dinner the next night, super good dude and if I end up in Manhattan for grad school, I hope to play him again.

Game Two:

Space Marines.  Normally I’m pretty happy to play Marines as Celestine can run through their squads while the girls can put enough wounds that armor saves go away.  Not so much with the natural Invisibility and Electrodisplacement to a charge.  I played Amir from New Jersey, nice dude, very friendly, fun game, but his dual conclave on bikes with the 2+ re-rollable FNP EW chapter master from Iron Hands.  He dropped a pod in, made it over 12” away, then summoned daemons to kill the Culexus, Electrodisplaced and multi-charged. Without the FAQ/Nerfs to Invisibility and Electrodisplacement, he was able to move up, swap units, then multi charge me with an invisible star.  It went down hill from there for the bolter girls.  His summoned screamers did damage, while my Dominions were able to outflank and move to his back field. I scored a few points, but it was a very one sided loss.  

Game Three:

Tau again, hooray!  I played Joe from Georgia, who had an amazingly well painted Tau Army.  He had won best Tau and best painted at ATC a couple months back, and I could see why.  Running two squads of three Ghostkeels in the formation, some deep striking stealth suits, a Tidewall with Fire Warriors and two outflanking Kroot Squads, I was hoping that I could ignore his cover, cause enough wounds to kill some Ghostkeels and force leadership checks.  So I didn’t.  I managed to score a few points, slew his warlord (Celestine made it across the board and charged the Fire Warrior squad with the HQ) and killed a couple units, but in the progressive version, I couldn’t actually move the relic back so I just had to try and hold it; his Ghostkeels made short work of my tanks despite a ridiculous amount of 6++ invuln saves made.  After the game we got dinner and beers, and we found out that he had painted and made a fair amount of the charity Ork Army, especially the Ork Jet Bikes (which are amazing, some of the coolest minis I’ve ever seen).  A great competitor and a true hobbyist, or really an artist. I look forward to seeing his next project.

So day one was a 0-3 day, not my best, but I couldn’t ask for a nicer group of guys to kick my teeth in.  

Day Two

Game One:

I played Jack from Delaware, one of the Icehouse guys that host the annual Delawar GT.  Super nice dude and a quick game.  He ran three Imperial Knights including an Atrapos and a Riptide Wing (3x Riptides with bonuses). I hoped to scout up and melta a Knight or two, and I did manage to put some hull points down, but I just couldn’t affect the army.  He killed my henchmen squad early on, then proceeded to pop tanks, gatling gun girls to mist, and assault whatever was left over. I scored a couple points, then it ended and we got beers.  

Game Two:

Ben from New Hampshire brought a fluffy Space Wolves list with old school las/plas razorbacks, a Land Raider, Arjac, Ulrik and a generic lord with some Wolf Guard riding in it, three land speeders and some troops in the razorbacks.  It was a pretty close game, but the girls managed to pull the win, it didn’t hurt that his lascannons rolled way more ones than normal, either to hit or to penetrate, thus my tanks and girls stayed alive a lot longer.  Fun game, two pretty fluffy lists playing on a bottom table and drinking beers later one. Great guy, great game, and I finally got a win in.  

Game Three:

I ended up playing a guy that just moved to the same town in which I live, but I had not yet met. John is also in Fayetteville, NC, and was running an Imperial Guard list with an allied Genestealer Cult. He had a couple Chimeras, a few Taurox, a Leman Russ, a Valkyrie, one Wyvern, and Imperial Knight and a few squads in the transports.  The Genestealer cult had a Magos, a couple squads, and the Broodlord that could infiltrate up to one inch from my dudes, which is pretty rad especially since that nasty bastard rolled Invisibility and I couldn’t target him with templates.  The game was pretty close, but he was going for end game points while I was going progressives. I managed to wear down Genestealers and stay alive against the Broodlord which attacked Coteaz and the Henchmen, but he perilsed and lost his last wound.  We made it through five turns until time and I pulled off a minor win.  Another great close game against a super good dude that I can play in the near future.  

On the whole NOVA 2016 was a blast. I withdrew on Saturday evening as although I was 2-0 in the bottom bracket, I didn’t have it in me to play two more games and really just wanted to drink, socialize and see everything that was going on.   On the bottom level there was Warmachine, X-Wing and Armada, Fantasy/AoS, Malifaux, and several other games I couldn’t name.  There was a 30k event that looked A-Mazing, and I might play in that next year instead of the GT.  I really enjoy competitive 40k, but eight games is a lot and I don’t think I will have the time to really practice with a strong army to play it well enough in a year’s time.  

One thing I didn’t dig was NOVA’s not using the ITC nerfs.  Invisibility is nasty, and playing it twice in its full strength just sucks.  Ditto on the Electrodisplacement.  I could have taken advantage of the ruleset in use and brought my girls in via Drop Pods, but every other tournament in the US is observing that FAQ so I didn’t.  Mike Brandt, Dewry, Neil Gilstrap and the dozens of other folks I can’t name that ran NOVA did a great and wonderful thing, they held an awesome event that lasted Thursday through Sunday and had something for every tabletop gamer.  If you ever get the chance, NOVA is a blast.  

Nuns with Guns

Nuns with Guns.

Following my less than victorious trip to ATC with the admittedly cheesy WarCon as covered below, I’ve decided to return to my roots (kinda) for NOVA in a few weeks and run the bolter girls, Sisters of Battle, Adepta Sororitas or whatever other name they go by these days.  

Although NOVA isn’t using the GW FAQs as I understand, and I could bring them in drop pods a la Flesh Tearer’s Taxi Service; I have decided to go MSU Sisters in their own vehicles as locally we use (most) of what GW published in the FAQs and ITC is pretty much there too.

Also, when I get crushed with Bolter Girls, nobody judges me.  It’s like street racing a Prius*, nobody expects you to win. And if I do, because someone stalls out at the launch, or I pull a surprise W on the bottom tables, I feel a little better about myself, instead of getting face kicked with WarCon and its crazy amount of free crap and feeling bad, because I suck, and my opponent knows it, and I know it, and the judge knows it and my friends know it, and you, maybe not super judgy reader, knows it.  

*I own a Prius.  It’s a swell car.  Also the slowest of four at the house, by a lot.

So… I started playing sisters when their codex was two issues of White Dwarf, which doesn’t make me a proper OG, but I did start when you could still buy their full line from GW.  It wasn’t cheap then, and is silly now, but I got in early-ish like Apple or Google, and it’s now so expensive I can’t really buy much more.  

I remember reading about St. Celestine, this angry little beatstick that would die then come back  on a 4+.  And if she didn’t, no worries, roll again next turn, and keep doing this. No limit to her returns. Doubled out by a power klaw? Oh well, she wore down that warboss and she’ll be back next turn to heavy flame and charge the boyz.  She wounded everything on a 4+, Riptides included, and could bog them down in close combat like a pint sized champion.  I had never seen her played, and at the start of 6th ed you could run allies, so hot damn, I bought her and a few bolter nuns, and added from there.  

A couple years later, and I should measure the damn army in pounds, everything but the rhino/immolater is at least partially metal or all metal. I don’t want to think what it would cost to replace it, so I don’t.  Also, if you wear sandals while playing this army, don’t drop the metal Exorcist on your foot, it’s like eight pounds of sharp metal.  Ask me how I know!

As fun as the bolter girls are, I’m drawn to the old school Inquisition theme, the witch hunters, assassins, inquisitors.  So that’s what I’m going to bring.  

So far the army is something like this:

Sisters of Battle CAD

HQ

Jacobus (Warlord)

St. Celestine (beatstick)

Troops

Sisters squad x 5 in Immolator w/MG

Sisters squad x 5 in Immolator w/MG

Sisters squad x 5 in Immolator w/MG

Fast Attack

Dominions x 5 w/4x MG in Repressor

Dominions x 5 w/4x MG in Repressor

Heavy Support

Retributers x 5 w/4x Heavy Flamers in Repressor

Retributers x 5 w/4x Heavy Flamers in Repressor

Assassin Detachment

Culexus Assassin (burn the witch!)

Inquisition Detachment

Coteaz (but not this one, he’s okay)

Inquisitor (not sure the flavor, maybe Psyoculum or Daemonblade or Psyker)

Inquisitorial Squad (maybe in a Chimera, maybe)

2x Jokaero (space monkeys?!), 3x Troops w/Plasma Guns, 1 or 2 Psykers, 2-3 Crusaders (sweet 3++), and some ablative wound guys (4pt troops to suck shots)

So traditionally I like to run a big blob of girls (20) with Jacobus to give them the 5++ from his warlord trait; attach a priest or two for the CC bonuses, then stick them in cover and sit on an objective forever.  With the advent of grav, this is less appealing as the 3+ doesn’t get the distance it used to; ditto on AP3 shots from Imperial Knights.  Its also hard to hide, slow and doesn’t put out much in the way of killing (1 special, 1 heavy and a bunch of bolters).  They aren’t really cheap enough to justify the points sink, they aren’t fast in any way, and they aren’t killy.  A couple smaller squads with priests could hide better and remain fearless; while a couple small squads in Immolaters could actually move around and shoot things.  Much better Sisters players than I have had great success with MSU, mostly running Rhinos and melta guns, but I like Immolators so that is what it will be.  Who doesn’t like a twin linked heavy flamer or twin linked multi melta?  

Although lacking in the sheer awesome bonus rules and free shit departement, Sisters do have a few tricks.  Celestine currently can come back once on a leadership test, with full wounds, and charge, etc as normal.  Jacobus is still an angry little bastard with 3 wounds, fearless, counter attack to his squad, a 12” fearless bubble, and the sweet ass sweet Litanies of Faith bonuses in CC, plus giving his unit a 5++ if the army’s warlord.  The battle sisters can roll a leadership test once per game for a preferred enemy (I use it in my shooting phase); the Dominions get ignores cover with their melta guns (pretty sweet against bikes/jetbikes/cover camping Tau), and the Retributers get rending with their heavy flamers once per game.  All the bolter girls (and their sweet rides) have a 6++ or better to boot, which isn’t amazing but it is sweet to roll a six and that see that pen just go away…

The Dominions can also scout or outflank, which is kinda fun against anything not Tau, and since both the Dominions and Retributers will be in big, armored boxes with front armor 13 and gun slits, they’ll be firing out all of their weapons and most *should* be able to do some damage.  Or die in a horrible, fiery explosion.   Sadly it isn’t 5th Ed, they just don’t make tanks like they used to…

My plan is to keep the girls in their tanks, ride or die style, using cover to my advantage and either scouting or outflanking the Dominions to melta something important.  I’ll have three squads of Obsec troops in Immolators, plus to four other units in Repressors. Coteaz and the Inquisition will probably sit in the back, use his 24” bubble of intercepting fuck you to kill drop pods, deep strikers and the such, while also twin linking the space monkey’s Lascannons/Multimeltas/Heavy Flamers; whatever they’re feeling at that moment plus the three plasma guns.  The other Inquisitor will either provide more psyker fun, the silly but fun Daemonblade or a Psyoculum to give the unit BS10 against enemy psykers.  

St. Celestine, well, she’s there to wreck face and chew bubblegum.  Against any proper close combat unit and she’ll get doubled out right quick plus S5/AP3 means little to 2+ armor saves; however, against space marines, she can hurt some feelings.  I7, WS7, built in heavy flamer, five base attacks, master crafted power sword and a jump pack make her the bane of power armor marines.  And, if there happens to be a power fisting sergeant, well… somebody is getting challenge-fisted, and it’s not this nun. Being a small target, she can hide quite well, then counter charge, or distraction carnifex from terrain to terrain, use that sweet heavy flamer to meltinate a cover camping scout squad, eldar jetbikes, or some slightly armored fish fellows.  Then she charges and wrecks shop.  Hands down my favorite 135 points in the game.

The Culexus Assassin is the other side of this nasty-onesy coin.  He’s hard to hit, he’ll do damage in close combat, and he’ll null and void invisibility; so best to kill the bastard sooner than later, although you’ll still need to see him, and he is one more infiltrating, move through cover distraction carnifex for my opponent to deal with.  

I have exactly zero delusions about winning much with this army, I think I’ll end up on the lower tables and maybe go 3-3 or 4-4 if I play well, the dice gods smile, and I don’t get straight warhammered on beer while in the Hyatt.   NOVA is a fantastic event and I missed 2014 and 2015 by being in the wrong country doing bad things to bad people.  If you’ve never had the opportunity, I highly recommend it, Mike Brandt and company put on an amazing event and I only wish I could do more while I was there, just not enough hours in the day.