A copy of this has been submitted as an article but I thought I'd post one here for the forum guys too. Enjoy
Witch Hunters Guide:
Introduction:
An Imperial force that reinforces the faith in the Emperor of Mankind and hunts down the heretical. The main force consists of Battle Sisters who are always attached to the Ordos Hereticus Inquisition branch. With an Inquisitors influence at hand other forces of the Imperium can be called upon to aid the destruction of the heretic, mutant and witch. The army prefers to purify the unjust with fire and deploys many flame based weapons such as flamers and meltaguns.
Unique to the army:
Sisters of Battle:
Orphans raised by the Scholar Progenium, these women are trained to have unshakeable faith in the Emperor and will not back down until their quarry is dealt with. Each Sister is clad in power armour and armed with a bolter, also able to call on faith points to enhance their fighting ability. Because of their faith they have a natural ability to ward of psychic threats such as force weapons and hold off psyker attacks.
Inquisitors:
Agents of the Emperor with absolute power over any resources and armies of the Imperium in order to aid them to combat the enemies of the Imperium. Some are secret agents who work alone or with a band of warriors, others choose a more direct approach and quelch their enemies with the Imperials mighty armies.
Acts of Faith:
Battle sisters are armed with faith in the Emperor and this faith may encourage sisters to do heroic deeds in the face of the enemy. During the game any Adapta Sororitas unit/model may call upon this to enhance their combat efficiency, such powers such as turning their basic armour save into an invulnerable save, making them fearless etc.
Hand of the Emperor:
Due to Sisters if Battle having low Initiative this is a worth while act of faith to use when causing more damage is important, more useful when combined with characters equipped with Eviserators as it brings their strength to 8 which can instant kill or cause wounds on big beasts. Very handy in large squads as it means they are able to absorb the punishment, however it may be a better option to use The Passion act of faith when faced with power weapon foes.
Divine Guidance:
More useful when shooting than in combat unless there's a large presence of hits. Commonly used with large volumes of shooting especially when combined with Heavy Bolters or Flamer weapons. Because Flamer weapons require no roll to hit and hits everything under the template it is common practice to use this faith in conjunction with this weapon type. Useful in large squads of sisters so this act of faith is beneficial most when put to use with Sisters of Battle squads.
The Passion:
Highly useful act of faith as it allows Sisters to hit at the same Initative as Eldar Aspect Warriors. Because of this high Initative boost it often enables them to strike before most, beneficial with Celestians/ Seraphim who have improve combat capabilities or with regular Sister squads whom are charged. (Striking before attackers will prove useful in lessening their on coming attacks) Not very useful in large squads hence Celestians or Seraphim but with Imagifiers this can be remedied.
Light of the Emperor:
Not as useful as this will mean Sisters take more hits if they lost combat but out of combat it means they stand their ground where needed. However it may be more useful to give Superiors and Heroines the Book of St. Lucius if a sturdy front line is needed instead of using up a faith point.
Spirit of the Martyr:
Highly useful as it means reduced squads of Sisters make a heroic stand against deadly shooting. On Heroines it can turn them into a monster when resilience is concerned but remember that toughness 3 is easily Instant Killed so don't over rate this faith point. While handy it is not full proof.
Holy Rage:
A special rule that some units are special to. This allows these units to reach combat quicker. Much like fleet of foot the Eldar have but less controllable.
Using the Units:
Inquisitors:
During battle the Inquisitor may have a retinue that accompanies them, these are trusted individuals who have proved themselves to be useful in the fight against the heretics. By having an Inquisitor in your army you gain access to more options in the Witch Hunters army such as Assassins and Orbital Bombardment. These guys are called henchmen and each boosts the inquisitors fighting ability. As well as this some henchmen can aid the Inquisitor in battle they may have access to certain weaponry.
Acolyte:
Doesn't give the Inquisitor any stat upgrades but they can however have access to the armoury which boosts their own fighting ability. These guys tend to be the supporters for the Warriors. The most useful of these would be the special weapons such as combi-weapons, storm bolters or power weapons. Depending on what role you want you Retinue to take, Acolytes and help both in shooting and close combat. The greatest advantage is with these guys is that you can confer wounds the Inquisitor has taken onto them, this potentially stops opposing attacks that have the ability to single out a model or from single wound allocation when the squad takes too much damage. Acolytes make better shield when concentrated with armour equipment (Power armour and carapace armour) over weapons, thus a more defensive retinue. Incidentally Acolytes are able to buy both power armour and man catchers...with this in mind they can also reduce attacks received as well as make excellent shields, since an Inquisitor does not count as an Independent character when with a Retinue they can happily hide behind these guys and still give all their attacks.
Sage:
Improves an Inquisitors shooting ability. If you have more than one they also confer shooting bonuses to the whole Retinue. These guys are only more useful if the Inquisitor or/and the Retinue take on the role of being a shooting unit. Quite Advantageous when you don't want a Plasma weapon over heating in your squad.
Warrior:
These guys are the backbone of the Retinue as the squad takes shape depending on who you take from this choice. Crusaders offer close combat potential while Veteran Troopers offer special weapons potential. Servitors offer the hard punch of both worlds since they can take power fists and heavy weapons. Remember that Sisters of battle lack some of the more hard hitting weapons that other Imperial armies have, these guys are one of the solutions to remedy this in the form of plasma and Melta weaponry. They also add more in the form of longer ranged shooting from the servitors.
Familiars:
Relatively cheap but a great bonus to have if your Inquisitor is concentrating on Psychic Powers or Close Combat as they increase combat ability and psychic power allowances. However they help in a less direct way as their own combat abilities are quite close to naught, but it is another wound to add to the Retinue when squad resilience comes into play.
Penitents:
These are excellent psychic nullifiers, useful against armies like Eldar or Tzeentch Chaos Marines who specialise in psychic attacks, but other than that they are rather useless. Like Familiars they are cheap and add another wound to the Retinues size.
Chirurgeon:
These function like Imperial Guard medics. Very useful in keeping the Inquisitor alive, especially when complimented with acolytes in heavy armour. Unfortunately unlike medics their ability does not confer to the rest of the squad.
Equipment:
An Inquisitor can be armed with war gear much like the Canoness, depending on what you give them they can compliment the Retinues battle role or act as a deterrent to the Retinues weakness.
If close combat is the Inquisitors concern weapons such as the force weapon allows them to slay an opponent outright, however a cheaper option would be to take a power weapon, both can be combined with pistols or Brazier of Holy Fires to increase number of attacks.
In shooting the Inquisitor has the option of going for armoury weapons or psychic attacks. Storm Bolters offer a static offensive when advancing by foot and Combi-weapons are only devastating for a single shot before they go back to bolter firing. Scourging psychic power adds a constant hail of high strength shots at a decent range so this is more useful to take unless there is some need for one shot special shots to be taken. Scourging also does not take up a weapon slot.
One useful piece of war gear worth keeping might be Inquisitorial Mandate, which confers extra attacks to nearby units in close combat for the turn, quite useful when used to support a unit such as the Repentia or Arco-Flagellants. More useful as a supportive role, especially when complimented with other close combat characters. (This isn't too impossible since Elite Inquisitors are really cheap and are also Independent characters that can be added to a Lords Retinue)
An Inquisitor Lord may take transports. The basic Rhino enables the squad to get to places quickly but offers little in offensive power. This is one the most cost effective manner if you just want to get somewhere quick, but their offensive capabilities can be remedied by adding an additional Storm Bolter upgrade or/and a Hunter Killer Missile. The Chimera adds decent amounts of long range support, when combined with a Retinue who specialises in long range shooting it can prove very useful. Although most of the weapons are Anti-infantry based this can be sorted by giving it a Hunter Killer Missile as mentioned with the Rhino. Chimera front armours are also decent enough to ward of most small arms fire and carrying capacity makes it a safe bet to transport large Retinues. A Land Raider adds a battle tank to the field over a regular transport, this choice is very useful when a close combat Retinue is involved but the major plus is the staying power and heavy shooting provided by this vehicle. This is one of the few ways to gain access to Lascannon technology, quite a sure way to hunt opposing vehicles.
Retinue Examples:
The follow are examples on how one can set-up their retinue to fulfil various roles.
Inquisitor Lord: Combi-Plasma gun
Warrior Henchman: Plasma gun
Warrior Henchman: Plasma gun
Warrior Henchman: Plasma gun
Acolyte: Combi-Plasma gun
Acolyte: Combi-Plasma gun
Acolyte: Combi-Plasma gun
Sage
Sage
Rhino Transport: Extra Armour, Smoke Launchers
The set-up above is built with the ability of powerful anti-heavy infantry rapid fire. Aided by a rhino to get them there quickly. The sage confers improved accuracy for the inquisitor and the squad. Note, such set-up may be powerful but it isn’t very points efficient.
Inquisitor Lord: Force Weapon, Bolt pistol, Inquisitorial Mandate
Acolyte: Power weapon, Carapace armour
Acolyte: Power weapon, Carapace armour
Crusader
Crusader
Crusader
Familiar
Inquisitor (Separate Elites Choice): Power weapon, Bolt pistol, Power Armour
Inquisitor (Separate Elites Choice): Power weapon, Bolt pistol, Power Armour
Inquisitor (Separate Elites Choice): Power weapon, Bolt pistol, Power Armour
Land raider Transport: Extra Armour
The set-up above is an extreme version of a combat offensive squad, while quite expensive the Land raider offers enough resilience for a squad to get close enough to charge, not to mention it is one of the few vehicles where infantry can assault after disembarking. The vehicle is also tough enough to remain well within enemy lines while acting as a possible shield to the disembarked squad or blazing away at opposing vehicles/ monstrous creatures.
Inquisitor: Inquisitorial mandate, Bolt pistol, Power weapon, Purity seals
The set-up above is purely supportive. Being an independent character they are able to join with squads to aid in combat. The mandate is used for this purpose. Useful when placed with Celestians, Acro-Flaggellants or Repentia.
Inquisitor: Power Weapon, Bolt Pistol, Scourging
Servitor: Heavy Bolter
Servitor: Heavy Bolter
Servitor: Plasmacannon
Sage
Sage
Chimera Transport: Multi-laser, Heavy Bolter, pintle-mounted Storm Bolter, Extra armour
The set-up above concentrates of supporting the army from afar offering a large amount of anti-infantry or anti-light vehicle firepower. Note the Chimera can be deployed separately from the rest of the squad or used as a shield when terrain is not suitable. The sage’s job is to keep the plasmacannon from over heating while the Inquisitor acts as a deterrent against incoming units that get too close.
Heroine:
Leader of a convent of Sisters. Her skills are superior to those of her sisters and her faith is just as unmatched. Compared to the Inquisitor Lord her combat abilities are roughly the same, however she is granted unique equipment which only she has access which bolsters her killing powers. She is one of the cheapest HQ choices around so if you're scrap for points this is the ideal character to take.
Usage:
Because of the vast choices in wargear a Heroine has access to she is able to take on many roles such as combat based or shooting based, supportive or purely offensive. In any role she takes it's always a good idea to limit how many points you spend on her. Her toughness value is always a reminder of how frail she really is and is subject to instant death. Because of this always have her supported by a squad making use of the Independent Character rule or have her will hidden from weapons Line of Sight if she's a lone character.
Combat Offensive:
A Blessed Weapon and Cloak of St. Aspira is a popular choice since both of these boosts her stat line. An alternative would to give her an Eviserators instead of a Blessed Weapon. Her low initiative means she strikes at the same time or last most occasions, the Eviserators improves strength and ability to destroy tanks (especially when combined with "The passion" act of faith).
There are two ways you could use a combat Heroine. The first would be to have her join a squad so she can lend them her combat prowess. This is useful for counter attacks and leadership. The second would be to give her a Jump Pack so she can hunt down small squads or aided by Seraphim act as shock troopers. This is good for reacting to unexpected threats and bogging down enemy infantry whom you wish not to shoot. The second option is more versatile than the first.
Shooting Offensive:
When shooting offensively mobility is a key part in success as most weapons available is short ranged. Using mobility it increases the chances of the Heroine shooting weapons like Flamers or Melta weaponry before opposing squads have a chance to react.
A popular choice with a Shooting canoness would be to give her either a Brazier of Holy Fire or a Combi-Flamer with her mounted in a transport or given a Jump Pack. Both choices allows her to use a flamer combined with "Divine Guidance" although the Brazier is a more practical choice seen as it's one handed so she benefits from an extra attack when combined with a power weapon. This set-up lends itself to aiding other squads which concentrate more on the shooting aspect weather they are regular squads mounted in transports or jump infantry such as Seraphim.
Shooting Offensive also lends itself to the anti-tank role. Given a Jump Pack and Inferno Pistol a Heroine can be turned into a fast crack tank hunter. You may even Master-Craft the Inferno Pistol so you can re-roll misses for a more certain kill.
A less popular choice would be to arm her with a Storm Bolter and Power weapon. This choice is more useful in a static advance on foot. It is often not expected for troops to be able to move and shoot 24". More useful if the squad she joins excel in Storm Bolter usage as massed numbers of shots can cause some unexpected casualties.
Supportive:
A Heroine makes an excellent warrior to rally to when given wargear such as Purity Seals, Liberi Hereticus or/and Book of St. Lucius. These all aid the army in a less direct way, affecting their Leadership or helping their Faith Tests. Liberi Hereticus enables her to automatically call upon a Acts of Faith when it is vital one is needed, more useful if she joins a squad, this way the results also confer to the squad she joins. For example: it is normally difficult for a large squad to pass Acts of Faith that require you to roll above the squad number. The Book of St. Lucius aids the army on a Leadership basis as it enables squads nearby to stand firm against most morale based weapons or hold their lines when taking heavy casualties.
Priests:
Not a HQ choice in themselves but having them does open up more options in the codex such as Acro-Flaggellants or Penitent Engines. They Function much like a cheap hero to aid squads and although they have access to the armour their strength lays in close combat due to the Fanatical Special rule they posses. You may give them more armour to make up for their lack of defence but remember that they themselves are not Independent characters so they cannot e targeted specifically when in combat, because of this it's quite worth upgrading their close combat weaponry. Keep note, due to their Righteous Fury rule it is best not to stick them in squads that specialise in shooting heavy weapons, although regular squads can shoot when a priest is with them they may only do so when they further that charge range away.
Celestians:
These act much like the regular sisters of battle but they are better in combat as they have a better weapon skill and imitative. Plus they also have the holy hatred rule that allows them to hit effectively in combat regardless of weapon skill with a few exceptions and they are faithful without the need of a faithful character. A good bodyguard choice for a Heroine. Celestians benefit greatly from using the Passion as a counter charge technique especially when an Inquisitor is present with an Inquisitorial Mandate. See the Battle sisters for more information.
Arco-Flagellants:
These require a priest in order to include them in the army but a unit worth having on the field. An excellent unit to fulfil a close combat, with a high toughness combined with an invulnerable save they are extremely hard to kill. Their Implant Injectors rule boosts their combat ability as well as their movement speed.
Usage:
Acro-Flaggellants have a very high toughness for infantry based models, they also have an Invulnerable save, this will make up for their lack of numbers. However despite being quite resilient this squad is still subject to large volumes of rapid fire, due to this it is best to have them advance using all the cover they can get to avoid line of sight. This weakness against rapid fire also makes them not suited to being shock troopers as they have a chance of getting caught out before reaching combat. They do however make excellent counter combat units as their high resilience and sheer number of power weapon attacks (when Implant Injectors are active) will often lead them to victory. There is also a high possibility that they will be able to use won combat to move into combat with other enemy units that may have advanced with the previous. Due to this they work very well when placed near squads with a larger number of models such as Sisters of Battle.
The squad’s high resilience only applies to small arms fire or close combat with infantry based models. Against higher strength weapons such as the auto-cannon and multi-laser the squad will start to suffer. Due to this it is always best to deploy the squad behind terrain during the set-up stage to avoid incoming long ranged weaponry. This is where smaller squads will benefit over a large squad. If there are any Elite choices spare it is recommended that a full squad of six be reduced to two squads of three, this way they can cover a larger area when split up or move as one but if any incoming shooting is done only a single squad of three will suffer the casualties.
Sisters Repentia:
Another close combat unit. The repentia wield an Eviserators each, which acts much like a chain fist, this means unlike Arco-Flagellants they are meant to take down more specialised targets.
Usage:
Compared to Arco-Flagellants, Sisters Repentia has low armour saves and low toughness. Their main strength going for them is their incredible hitting power and slightly above average weapon skill. Like Arco-flagellants however they do have their own means of moving faster and reaching combat/ cover but their fragile nature and expensive cost does not promote them to the shock trooper task. These girls are far more suited to hunting down armoured units such as dreadnoughts and vehicles or small squads of elite infantry (Battlesuits, Heavy weapon teams, snipers, wraithgaurd etc) whom have little in combat abilities, this may also extend to regular core infantry units like Tau Firewarriors and Imperial Guardsmen. This way they fight at an advantage with high success of winning. Repentia are not suited to counter opposing close combat units like Arco-flagellants are since their fragile nature will work against them so these squads should be avoided at all costs or a massacre of their part is very most likely.
Assassins:
Tough and strong, but each quite expensive. Each has their own abilities which make them an effective killer. As strong as they might be do not expect any of them to survive the full onslaught of an enemy squad by themselves. Best fielded when they are supporting other units. Keep note to make sure you have ample amount of squads that can fulfil mission objectives before considering taking these. In the end this may make a difference, I advise not to take these in 1000pts or below.
Culexus:
He's good against Psykers no doubt about it but when fighting against regular psykerless armies there's a less direct way he can be useful. He makes an excellent combat support character with his Soulless rule. This would force an opponent to roll a morale test at Leadership 7 base. Now presuming you did enough damage to at least reduce them to half strength and out numbered this then becomes Leadership 5 which is fairly hard to pass. So basically he becomes a Leadership sinker. If combined with Arco-Flagellants or other combat units he can cause allot of casualties with the over-run cut-downs
However this is a double edged sword against regular squads as "Soulless" would also effect friendly models....but luckily Sisters have a unique equipment to save against this, the book of St. Lucius, with this they are able to use their unmodified leadership for tests.
Against opposing character models he can be combined with an Inquisitor Lord with the Purgatus psychic power so there is a high possibility of forcing a cut-down. Incidentally if an Inquisitor had the Divine Pronouncement psychic power equipped he could for force swathes of enemy units to fall back when a Culexus Assassin is nearby.
Callidus:
Useful assassin she's armed with a weapon that ignores all saves and a neural shredder which fires like a strange flamer, but with an Ap of 1 it's a deadly weapon. Addition abilities such as Polymorph allows her to turn up any where on the battlefield and Jump Back which allows her to move out of combat, thus preventing the enemy from striking her for a turn. She is expensive however, so kamikaze runs should be avoided. Highly useful when used to knock out small squads of specialised units such as Tyrannid warriors, Lictor, Battlesuits, heavy weapon teams etc. Avoid using her to tackle big squads alone however, while she has a chance of winning against great numbers she is likely to fall.
Eversor:
A regular favourite I’ve noticed in other imperial armies, cheaper than the rest and is capable of dealing mass damage to regular squads, getting more than the usual +1 bonus in combat and power weapon, he also charges at a longer range. He also always wounds on a 4+ which is a great add for dealing with those big beasties, wraithlords for example. And when he dies he causes a blast marker which can deal more damage to a squad. One of the better close combat Assassins and unlike the Callidus he is built go into combat out-numbered.
Vindicare:
Basically a really good sniper. He wields an Ap 2 sniper rifle with three special rounds which causes various effects. Other pieces of gear he has makes him able to se the enemy better and reduces his own presence. The major plus he gets is being able to target anything within line of sight and range, very useful in dealing a wound to a character model. I personally don't use him, an interesting model to have but I don't think he does enough damage compared to the Eversor and Callidus. I think of it in the sense of only one kill per turn so it's six kills at most, this can make up for his points but the eversor and callidus are capable of dealing more damage than that.
Death-Cult:
Cheapest assassin available and good for their cost. You can buy three for a single elite’s choice (but may be deployed separately) and each armed with a power weapon, fearless and able to infiltrate. Unfortunately they aren’t as tough as other assassins but you can expect them to hold off a squad for a turn or two and maybe even take one down, but don’t expect it to happen though unless all three are attacking the same squad. Probably more useful when aiding another squad in combat than going off by themselves to do their own thing as they may backfire and act as a leap frog for enemy units (moving them closer to you).
There are still less direct uses for them though. The idea is that a single Death cult would not stand up to a large squad of basic infantry even if she charged, so it's an idea to avoid doing so. Aim for smaller units, battle suits and heavy weapon squads for example. She may have trouble catching the faster units but if she does she can potentially thwart shooting for a turn, even kill the squad if she's lucky.
Disrupting opposing infiltration is another use you can employ on these girls. Being cheap their deaths wouldn't be a huge lose to the overall army. The way this works is basically deploying them using infiltration rules where you don't want your opposition to deploy. For example, you have a rather frail tank deployed behind some woods but your opponent has some Tau Stealth Suits armed with fusion blasters (meltaguns) that can infiltrate. If you're lucky enough to deploy your infiltrators first you could deploy your death cult assassins in the woods, nullifying an 18" radius (presuming she has line of sight) where no opposing infiltrators can deploy. Against armies that do nothing but infiltrate (Chaos Marines Alpha Legion or Imperial guard doctrines) you can potentially box their entire army into a small area.
You can also use them as support, sisters aren’t great in combat so a death cult or two charging into combat with sisters can turn the tide. Because there would be more than one unit in combat there's less chance of you falling back and getting cut down as all units would need to fail their leadership tests if they lost combat.
Lastly, you can use them also as a wall in a sense. The rules state that they are independent, not independent characters, so in a way they count as a unit not dissimilar from regular squads of infantry. Saying such you can advance you army with a death cult assassin in front of them forcing your opponent to take leadership tests in order to shoot the units behind, not much but can be of great use.
Battle Sisters:
Power armour, high ballistic skill and armed with a bolter, Sisters of Battle will form up the backbone of your force. This combination makes them hit as hard as any marine squad for cheaper the cost or even harder should you choose to go for a full squad of 20 and they can use faith points. Unfortunately unlike Space Marines their squad allocations aren’t built to be multi-purpose and as a result they cannot carry long ranged weapons or some of the potent assault weapons.
Equipment:
The squad can be outfitted with three different weapons, these are the storm bolter, meltagun, flamer or Heavy Flamer. Depending on what you equip a squad with it can affect their purpose on the field greatly. Storm Bolters are great in a larger squad advancing on foot, though this provides mainly static shooting it's often not expected for a unit to be able to shoot 24" after moving. Meltaguns are useful when a Witch Hunter army consists mainly of foot infantry, having these weapons dotted around the field can box in opposing vehicles as the army advances, in smaller armies it's better off to let other more specialised units to deal with vehicles however as Sisters of Battle are armed mainly for an Anti-infantry purpose. Flamers are excellent when combined with "Divine Guidance" as it gives a great chance of inflicted unsavable wounds, the downside is that these weapons are incredibly short ranged and there's a high chance of getting caught by fast moving units before they had a chance to fire. This can be remedied however by giving a squad with flamers a Rhino which gives them a great deal of mobility.
Frag and Krak grenades aren’t really necessary as sisters are built more for shooting than combat. Flamers and meltaguns do a better job than this equipment option. An Imagifiers is a highly useful upgrade for other smaller Battle Sister variants (Celestians/ Dominions) but in a regular squad of 10 the extra dice is rarely needed.
Veteran Superiors
With the addition of a Veteran Superior to the squad it enables the whole squad to do acts of faith while adding an additional faith point to the pool, they themselves also make excellent characters in support of the squad. There's two ways these girls can be equipped. They can be outfitted to support the squad’s role whether that’s anti-infantry/ anti-tank. This can be done by giving them a weapon that compliments the two choices made by the squad members. For example, in a large foot moving squad armed with two storm bolters the Superior can be given an additional storm bolter. If the squad is a Transport drop armed with flamers, the Superior can be given a Combi-flamer or Brazier of Holy fire.
The Second way is more common in that they are outfitted to do combat. Often this is done with an Eviserators weapon upgrade as the extra strength will prove useful against tougher units. With the Hand of the Emperor act of faith it allows the superior to hit as a Power Fist Space Marine, this will enable her to instant kill most infantry base models or inflict great damage on armoured units such as dreadnoughts due to her 2D6 armour penetration. With her not acting as an Independent Character she is able to be shielded by her squad so her striking last is of little concern. A less common upgrade would be to give her a power weapon. Although the squad itself isn't great in combat they can certainly hold their own when given a power weapon superior combined with The Passion act of faith, the Initiative increase provided here will enable them to strike before most squads. This provides an excellent counter measure to being charged. An Imagifiers is useful here in order to pass the faith test for large squads. Lastly she can just be kept as a standard Veteran Superior as she is armed with a close combat weapon and pistol anyway, this is more useful for saving points and less disadvantageous when one wants to Martyr her.
A less direct way of aiding the squad is to give her a Book of St. Lucius and Purity Seals. These two options benefit the squad on a Morale based level as it would be very hard to make them run from the front lines and if they did they can rally rather quickly. Purity Seals are useful in limiting the distance the squad runs.
Inquisitorial Storm Troopers:
Armed with hellguns and a high ballistic skill, these guys can still give off their share of firepower. If Sisters aren’t going to be your core then these will function just as well in their own way. While less cost effective than sisters they do have their own unique strengths which make them worth having along with sisters.
Equipment:
Basic equipment wise hellguns are rather low strength but the shear volume of shots provided in larger squads should compensate for the lose. Keep in mind that each Storm Trooper always has a Tagetter, this way you can use them to act as a guidance for other squads nearby when determining weapons range before declaring the shot.
Like Sisters of Battle, Storm Troopers also gain weapons upgrades for squad members. These come in four flavours; flamer, meltagun, plasmagun and grenade launcher. The flamer offers a higher strength weapon over hellguns which also has more coverage. Likewise with Sisters without a way of moving quickly the squad may find itself caught out before being able to fire this weapon due to range. An advantage with Storm Troopers is that they can be taken in squads of five, this would make the meltagun upgrade a little more viable as they can function as multiple small squads to deal with vehicles, again more useful if given a transport so they can catch up with tanks. Plasmaguns are the main advantage with this unit since the army lacks them; these high strength weapons can provide more than a single shot a turn, making these ideal for hunting down heavy infantry (Terminators, Tyranid Warriors etc). Lastly the Grenade Launcher, being an assault type weapon this is more useful when given to a foot moving squad over mechanised, this will make full use of the extensive range.
When picking weapons you can mix and match but the full strength of a squad is more apparent when equipped with unique weapons of the same type, this way they can concentrate on a single role and support the army this way.
Storm troopers can gain access to a transport with the choice of a Rhino or a Chimera. A Rhino is highly useful when looking for a cheap way to get to the front. This is the best transport to take if fielding small anti-tank squads. The Chimera offers more in long ranged support which would benefit the army as it lacks this.
Usage
If possible field Storm Troopers against lighter infantry as they won’t deal a huge amount when facing power armoured foes unless supported with hellguns alone. Use these with purpose in the army, with the sister dealing most of the anti-infantry you can dedicate these guys to another task such as having them focus in on a mission objective or hunting down a specific target with specialised weaponry. Best used as a support/side task unit than a front line trooper due to their armour.
Seraphim:
Battle sisters with jump packs, they act like an equivalent of the space marine’s assault marines. They have just as many attacks as assault marines but just doesn't hit as hard or as tough. Like most other Sisters if Battle their strength lays in shooting, as a result this unit plays a vital mobile shooting role within the army.
Equipment:
The bonus with Seraphim is they can do the "Divine guidance" tactic that normal sisters can do as up to two models may upgrade their twin-pistols for twin-flame pistols. On top of this they can do hit and run, which means they can break off from combat at the end of a round of combat (presuming that one of the two sides didn't fall back before hand). This is basically a fall back move but they regroup automatically at the end of the movement and the opponents models may only consolidate. Do this at the end of combat during the opponents turn and you will be able to shoot at them again using "Divine Guidance" and get a +1 attack for charging. An addition plus is that they give all Adapta Sororitas units within a certain get an improved leadership.
As well as anti-infantry they can take on the roll of anti-tank. Having jump packs they can put the inferno pistols into good work. In addition, they may be given Melta bombs so they may deal with tanks in combat as well. If the squad does take on this roll the veteran tends to be equipped with an inferno pistol (master-crafted sometimes, depending on if it can be afforded) or an Eviserators so she can still do damage in combat against normal troops as well as tanks. Indeed she may have both but keep mind of the point’s costs.
Big squads of seraphim work well when using them as Anti-infantry (due to faith points testing and number of shots and attacks in combat) but smaller squads work well against tanks (reason being that when they destroy a tank they will end up being in the open, this will mean they are les of a loss in small numbers and are easier to hide when advancing).
Dominion Squads:
Smaller squads of battle sisters that use a lot more special weaponry than regular squads. Up to four of these sisters may exchange their regular bolters for special weapon. That’s a possible four flamers, again combined with the "Divine Guidance" act of faith could quite easily decimate any squad. In addition, if the squad was small enough they may be mounted in a Immolator, which adds a heavy flamer for support.
The choice of using six sister per squad can open up to many more immolators than normally allowed, one could choose to use four storm bolters instead of flamers, this way they can advance and lay down a hail of bullets from long range (as they don’t have to be deployed in a transport) , the immolator can do the same with its heavy bolter.
When options are involved these girls work very much like regular Sisters of Battle but are much more potent due to their larger range of special weapons. This will encourages multi-purpose possibilities into Dominion squads but it also means they can go for a single major strength.
Retributors:
Like the dominion squad but instead of being overly armed with special weapons this unit is armed with heavy weapons. This is one of the few squads that can provide some sort of long ranged support.
Weapon Choices:
There are two heavy weapons that this squad has access to, the Heavy Bolter or Multi-Melta. The Heavy Bolter specialises against troops while the Multi-Melta specialises against vehicles. You may have the squad equipped out with a single type of weapon or a mix of the two.
A large squad of ten with Heavy Bolters is a popular choice, this gives the squad range and makes use of "Divine Guidance" while remaining at a reasonable price. While the other sisters would not contribute much to the long range shooting they do make shield the heavy weapons from incoming shots. Also a larger squad means they are more resilient to unexpected foes such as deep strikers as fast assault units. The squad is very frail to armoured vehicles though as the strength of Heavy Bolters is not sufficient enough to penetrate armour. By replacing a single Heavy Bolter for a Multi-Melta the squad is prepared for such threats.
A squad consisting purely of Multi-meltas is a little more difficult to use due to their shorter range. The weapons are also an expensive upgrade so employing a large squad is more difficult on resources. On a standard board they would do well supporting forward units from vehicles and monstrous creatures.
A good bonus to this squad is that you can purchase an Immolator transport so you can get two heavy support choices for the price of one.
Usage:
A large downside to using infantry mounted heavy weapons is that they cannot move and shoot like vehicles. This means deployment is quite crucial in how you want to play.
Heavy Bolters are quite the anti-infantry weapon. When deploying you do not want them exposed to vehicles. Even if the squad has a multi-Melta or two chances are that these are out ranged by vehicle mounted weaponry.
You have the option to deploy two ways. You can either deploy them in an area where they have a good overall view of the battlefield or you can have them tucked away with limited line of sight but marking certain path ways or objectives. The first option is a typical set-up for long ranged units, the downside with this is that they can also be seen by all they can shoot at. With small squads this will prove fatal as they have high chances of being obliterated. Also should they be outgunned (for example: Eldar Dark Reapers) they also have a high probability of being gunned down before they get to shoot. The second option allows you to play a little more reserve as shooting towards them is nullified, this however goes for them too. The upside of playing such a way means that threat levels are put into use. This means areas of terrain where infantry or vehicles will hesitate to move into because of this squad’s presence, this potentially boxes off areas leaving other units in your army to go in for the kill.
Both ways of play have their upsides and downsides, which ever you choose should depend on circumstance. If you are facing a heavy shooting army where you know you're easily out gunned then the more reserve approach should be taken, however if you are at an advantage you should seize the chance in gaining as much coverage as possible.
For short ranged Retributor squads it may need transportation to get closer. With a transport they can use the rear hatch to open fire upon squads up front while still being in the safety of an armoured vechical. This would render them immune to most small fire arms which they may suffer from if left in the open.
Immolator:
Sporting twin-heavy flamers that may shoot even though having moved max distance, may re-roll any rolls to wound or penetrate and has a transport capacity of six models. Downside is that it has light armour. Although for a few more points its weapons can be upgraded to a heavy bolter or multi-Melta for more range or anti-tank potential.
Has various tactical advantages in battle:
-It can act as a quick response vehicle.
-It can move small squads around quickly as it isn’t dedicated.
-It can shield other squads from being shot at, having an armour of 11 renders any shot below strength 4 useless, being a cheap choice it's not too costly if it is destroyed.
-It can be used as a mobile wall, blocking passages from the opponent.
These can be applied to just about any vehicle, but because it's cheap these can be used extensively in large groups of light vehicles. This sort of use has proven itself many times to me in battles so it does work provided they are done under correct conditions, you can't expect it to withstand a lascannon for example, but it can prevent a group of banshees from assaulting. An excellent light support tank, especially when playing low points games.
Exorcist:
Main tank for the Witch hunter’s army. With a front equal to that of other battle tanks it is able to ward of most shots fired upon it. It's also cheaper than most main stay tanks so this makes it affordable even in low key games. Although it has the resilience to stay in the front this vehicle is best used as long ranged support due to it's only weapon being the Exorcist Launcher.
Usage:
As mentioned it is best to keep this vehicle near the rear of the army lending it's support. Most of the anti-tank roles can be assigned to this vehicle but it's also excellent against heavy-infantry and monstrous creatures. The biggest advantage this vehicle has over Retributions is that it can move and shoot, this enables it to bring it's missiles to different parts of the battle field without loosing out on it's shooting. Being able to move also allows the vehicle to hide behind terrain during deployment to avoid shots if first turn was given to the opponent. Due to the unreliability of the Exorcist Launcher however it is always best to have other means to anti-tank other than this vehicle.
Penitent Engines:
Requiring a priest to unlock, the Penitent engine is a really cheap walker that specialises in close combat over shooting. However it's also lightly armoured so it is likely to be destroyed if exposed to any form of anti-tank. This can be remedied by making use of their low cost and buying full squadrons of three. This maximises the possibility of them reaching combat. Once in combat very few units will be able to stand up to them due to their armour values over toughness, this renders all strength 4 models hopeless against the Penitent engines. Unlike regular walkers they have the Holy Rage rule which allows them to speed up the field. This makes penitent engines a suitable shock trooper, when paired up with Acro-Flaggellants they form an almost unstoppable wall of combat, they will often best even tyranids. Keep note there are no restrictions on how many squads of these you can have in an army other than whets available in the force organisation chart, this can turn the usually combat inefficient Witch Hunter force into a close combat monster.
Orbital Strike:
Only available if you have an inquisitor. The strike comes in three flavours:
Lance:
A simple strength with a high strength and low AP. Being the cheapest it's useful for knocking out squads of infantry or bombarding areas of terrain where you know your opponent will show up. Less effective against vehicles however since you require the central hole to hit the vehicle in order to strike it at maximum strength.
Melta:
A torpedo like a meltagun, useful against tanks as well as infantry, probably more favourable since the new rules with the centre hole needing to be in contact with the tank for full strength. Slightly less effective against infantry as it unable to knock out terminator models.
Psyk-out Warheads:
Doesn't kill but can knock out a psychic power on any model it wounds, provided they had one. Useful if you're playing a psychic army such as Eldar, otherwise it's pretty much ineffective.
These strikes target a piece of terrain but can scatter quite a long distance so it can be rather random. But slot this somewhere unexpected, like a mission objective, and it can be devastating to an opponent (remember you can hold back the strike until your opponent reaches the targeted area), note though your units can be just as easily a victim of this weapon if they got too close. Very useful when you're playing an assault mission where you have to take a defended position.
Allies and Induction:
Of course if you do not want a pure Witch Hunter’s army there are always options from the Imperial Guard and Space Marines codexes. Imperial Guard can offer that long range hard hitting weaponry that isn’t so available in the Witch Hunters army while space marines offer that extra toughness which sisters do not have (But a witch hunter army cannot include space marines and sisters at the same time)
Space Marines in Witch Hunters
Space Marines are a very multi-purpose race with excellant protection. When choosing these for Induction however there will be the lose of Sisters of Battle models from the Witch hunters list, but with their absence, Space Marines can take up the role with the larger range of weapon upgrades availiable. How will Space Marines benefit Witch hunters?
With Sisters out of action when choosing Marines you are left with storm troopers to fill in the core troops choices, they themselves are relatively cheap when transports arn't included which leaves plenty of points to spend on other units. As mentioned above Space Marine Tactical squads can make up whatever hole the absence sisters make. With the large selection of Marines availiable the Witch Hunter army can be shaped into many things.
Combat Monster:
With access to Dreadnoughts (allies option only) and Assault Marines the army can move towards a combat heavy army when combined with Arco-flagellants and Penitent Engines (Induction option). With all highly durable units at your command here they can rush forwards warding off blows untill they reach combat, you can even out fight a tyrannid army comprised of purely monsterous creatures. The army will lack some long ranged support but this can be made up from the Tactical Marines, Storm Troopers and Inquisitor units as mentioned.
Recon with a hard punch:
With Assault Marines, Scouts, Bikes and Land Speeders you will gain access to a lot of mobility to an extent which is not present when purely using Witch Hunters. This is a very powerful army in that you can out monuver an opponent, capture ares before he does, throw circles around him for the kill and have a high possibility of striking first.
Guns guns and more guns:
With Tactical Marines, Devastators, Land Raiders, Predators and Dreadnoughts you can create an effective long range barricade. Very powerful shooting can be gained from this type of army as you can bombard the opponent with weapons such as Lascannons and Missle Launchers that is not normally present in a Witch Hunters list. The army will act very sturdy as defending marines is one of the hardest things to remove and you potentially act as a slow moving fortress.
Imperial Guard in Witch Hunters
The main advantages are that taking Imperial Guard will open up a larger range of weapons for the army to play with. One such is the battle cannon mounted on a Leman Russ. Such power cannot normally be attained and makes a nice addition to support.
While Guardsmen themselves aren’t amazing the massed amounts of shots they can unleash is very threatening, considering their cheap points cost. But they also open up many armoured fist squadron opportunities which can be used in place of using the more expensive Inquisitional Storm Troopers.
Armoured Company:
With extensive use of Armoured Fist Platoons, Sentinel squadrons and Rough Riders combined with Transported Storm Troopers and Inquisitors you can build a very fast army which has access to many long ranged weapons. Because of the large selection of weaponary when playing with these units you can assign different squads different tasks and have the mobility to monuver to the correct possitions. With the versatility of chimeras there is is always the option of holding a static firebase of assault into an enemies posisiton. Because an Imperial Gaurds hitting power up close is not as powerful as that of Sisters of Battle it is crucial that strikes are chosen with care. A reserve squad of Sisters can also remedy this. Rough Riders provide a powerful charge with their spears on the charge which can break down front lines.
Infantry Company:
With the sheer amount of infantry that can be bought an large infantry army availiable. This will enable you to afford many of the long ranged support such as Lascannons and Missle Launchers to support the leading front force that can be comprised of Sisters or Storm Troopers. As opposed to support the cheap infantry allows you to charge up the battlefeild in a large block of models. Grenade Launchers and Storm Bolters help in an army such as this. Leman Russ Battle Tanks and Exorcists offer much needed punch in long ranged support.
Witch Hunters as ally
Witch Hunters can be used as an Ally to gain some of the units not availiable when Inducting units, these can include Imperial Gaurd Hellhounds, Demolishers, Basalisks or Space Marine Commanders. The downside is that the choices availiable from the Witch Hunters codex is limited down with no entry to Heavy support choices, but the various army types mentioned above can also be done using Witch Hunters as allies instead of Induction. When it comes to Daemon Hunters the choices made in from the Witch Hunters codex are far cheaper in points than made from their home codex. With Witch Hunter Allies it gives Daemon Hunters something to support Grey Knights which is far sturdier than Storm Troopers. They would also gain advantages of fast moving infantry and other various units types mentioned in the main part of this Tactica.
Daemon Hunters in Witch Hunters:
A pure Witch Hunter army is quite static with little in Deep Strikes and chance for surprise ambushes with the exception of the Orbital Bombardment and Callidus Assasin. Grey Knights offer a chance to remedy this with their Deep Striking capabilities. With access to Terminator type infantry it adds a new punch and can provide unexpected ambushes or support your army where needed. They also offer an alternative to close combat.
If a radical Daemon Hunter side is taken up their powerful Daemon Hosts can be taken onto the feild, when combined with Arco-Flagellants and Penitent Engines they can be a force to be reakoned with.
During Battle:
Martyrdom:
This is when a faithful character dies. When such a model dies they add an extra faith point to the stack. Keeping this in mind it is always a good idea to keep such models cheap, be careful however as faithful units that are only faithful because of a character will loose thier ability to use acts of faith the following turn. This is an excellent way to counter unexpected events using acts of faith.
Deployment:
Due to the armies short rage capabilities in general you ideally want to deploy units behind cover. Units such as the Retributions who can't move too much during the game should consider marking an area of the field and wait for the opponent to come into the Line of Sight, in this they avoid being pummelled from a far while maintaining use and count as scoring.
You should keep note most units can move and shoot so it is best to hide until opportunity arises. In a foot infantry army cover is best put to good use while advancing as casulties need to be minimised as the turns to get to the opponents models may take a few turns of being shot at before return shots are made.
Mechanised Armies:
These have the need to strike first as the transports offer the speed to get weapons such as flamers into use quickly without harm. Deployment as explained above but when the tie comes to move it is best to move the transports up forward as much as possible and utilise smoke grenades and extra armour to increase the chances of them surviving. With many transports charging up the feild it is unlikely most armies will beable to stop them all so chances are a few will always make it to deliever its payload.
It is key the maximum damage is caused when disembarked otherwise there will be a tough fight. If stranded due to transport destruction consider taking a defensive posture and use the 24" of bolters to better use. This may mean falling back into terrain so the squad meets as little return fire as possible. It is best to defend where it is advantageous than loose members from an undependable position. Undependable usually means taking more shots than the squad can return. When opportunity arises they can counter charge by moving forwards unto rapid fire range.
Foot Slogging Armies:
Generally slow and the first few turns are bleak and often suffers many casulties before damage is dealt back. The army wants to wait for a counter charge by rapid fire weapons when the opponent gets close enough. The dangers of this army ares that they get caught by some of the faster units like assault marines, tau battle suits and possibly barrage weapons.
To avoid this it is best to employ some thing fast in the army, like Seraphim squads or Dominions and mix these with some long range supporters, like Exorcists and Retributors with Heavy Bolters. This kind of set-up often leaves the army able to fend for itself as it's prepared for a large variety of foes and is often a game of charging or counter charging. The large number of power armoured infantry does give this army a high rate of survival.
Generalisation:
As mentioned earlier a Witch Hunters army is quite static in the form of it's movement capabilites. With only a Callidus Assasin or Orbital Bombardment that can appear randomly to an opponent the rest of the army is very much what you see is what you get when it comes to monuvering. This means that force can be subject to deep strikes, Daemon Summonings, Bombardments and hidden deployments that can easily create unexpect holes in the army with little uncertainties from the opponents point of view. With this in mind it is a good formation of units should be kept so that each can support each other from unexpected threats.
Seraphim and Cannonesses with Jump Packs are good at reacting these kinds of threats with their speed and can often get into position within a turn depending on location. However Retributors and Exorcists can provide cover to other units with their long range. If these two types of units remained within line of sight of each other they can cover each other too of unexpected arrivals. This generally provides an unseen net of Firing arcs and Assault ranges where the army supports itself from threats. This does not only apply to the four units mentioned but can be applied to each unit, a very easy formation to keep together with Infantry based forces. The net is also quite flexible against all types of terrain as no specific deployment struture is ever needed and makes good use of existing cover and line of sight dead zones.
