Warhammer 40K: A Closer Look at Sororitas Novitiates
Adam here to go over the new Adepta Sororitas Novitiate squad coming to the tabletop soon.
With the new Kill Team box set to release we are seeing some new information about both the T’au and Adepta Sororitas’ new unit. We already have the exciting news about T’au being released early 2022 and now we have the new unit for the Sisters of Battle in the form of the Sisters Novitiate squad. Games Workshop has decided this time to give us a free download of the rules for the unit so we can already see what is in store for this unit in the game of 40K for those that play both 40K and Kill Team or for someone who may just want the models for their games of 40K. So with the datasheet in hand, let’s take a look at what this unit offers.
Cheap Troops
Now the average Sisters of Battle squad is fairly cheap, starting at 11 points per model. Not as cheap as a cultist but way more useful and will normally last longer in a game. Now there is a limitation that you can only ever have ten models in the unit and there has to be one Battle Sister squad for every Novitiate squad, similar to how new chaos is limited in cultists and poxwalkers. This is not really a bad situation as you are probably going to take multiple Battle Sister units anyway so it should be easy to match the number of units because the cost is so cheap at 75 points for a squad of ten.
They also still get the benefits of the Sisters army so if you are tight on points but want to include another squad of sisters they are a cheap alternative. The weapon swap to give them a melee weapon is free so the only extra cost is for the banner and you want that banner as you will be charging your opponent as often as possible considering the other benefit they have.
Close Combat Attacks
One of the things some Sisters of Battle armies are known for is their close combat lethality. Some of their units can pump out a lot of attacks, especially on the charge and this unit is no exception. Their melee weapon gives them an additional attack so that is 2 attacks per model. If you play the Holy Rage stratagem that now gives them a 3rd attack and thirty attacks for the unit.
They can also benefit from whatever order they belong to so can also add an additional attack if they happen to be from the Order of the Bloody Rose. That means, after all this, each model in the squad gets four attacks. That is forty attacks from an 80 point, don’t forget the banner, squad that can reroll advance and charges and are strength four due to their weapon. Sure there is no AP value but the sheer weight of attacks can put a serious dent in some of the more lightly armored troops and vehicles. But wait there is more…
Sacred Rites
In addition to the unit’s Order, they also have access to the Sacred Rites of the army. In the right hands, this can make an already deadly unit even deadlier. A couple immediately pop into my head just from my first pass. Plus 1 to advance and charge pairs well with the banner to get the unit where it needs to be. The unit becomes much more reliably faster and can more reliably make a charge to get all those attacks in. I think the big winner out of the available Sacred Rites is The Passion. In close combat, every hit roll of six causes an additional hit. So all those attacks, on average should generate about 6 more hits.
This can really help with the math as the unit only has a weapon skill of 4+ so if you skew high it can really cause some hits without having to roll to hit. There is also the other side of the coin where you don’t roll any, a few. sixes and you miss more than you hit. I play Contemptors with volkite so I know this pain. I think that for 75 or 80 points for the squad, it is a smart investment for your army. I can’t wait to see how they do on the tabletop, just not against me.
~Well, that’s all for this week. I hope you enjoyed the article. Let me know what you think, and what other tricks you can do with this unit, in the comments section below.
