Sisters of the Blade

[Gus Landt]

This thread is for discussion on the Sisters of the Blade - an unforgiving faction comprised of the most elite mercenary female warriors on Adon!

[Wedge]

Hey guys, I'll get us started here with the Sisterhood as they are my second army and I just completed my 1000 point list after spending the summer in an escalation league building my forces and tweaking my tactics.

 

Sisterhood - 998 points

 

Troop 1

Joeliyn, Leader of the Blade

Armor of Mettle

Kyla, Vampire Hunter

Lorielle Silverrain

Blade Warden x 3

Angelic Warrior x 2

Chain Sister

Luck Stone

 

Troop 2

Callindra Silverspell

Magic Ranged Weapon

Siellendria, Spell Sister

Blade Warden x 3

Chain Sister

 

Troop 3

Kassandra of the Blade

Armor of Courage

Shaedra, Paladin

Chain Sister x 2

Blade Warden x 3

 

Troop 4

Volendria of the Blade

 

This is played using the Mercs at Heart Doctrine which will allow you to start the game with 5 Luck Stones, each of which has a value of +2 to any roll thanks to Joeliyn. The army is built with three main tactics in mind:

 

1) Luck Stone Regeneration: The three leaders, and their supporting Elites and soldiers, were chosen with particular attention to ensuing that they get the most possible use out of the Lead By Example faction doctrine that generates a Luck Stone each time a leader slays an enemy model. Joeliyn is a very potent hybrid threat in both melee, and with her deep magic set. She is a key piece for the army as her WL ability boosts all Luck Stones to +2 and her damage potential finds her earning several more throughout the course of a battle, which is why she is wearing the Armor of Mettle to increase her odds of survival. Callindra Silverspell with the Magic Ranged Weapon should be an extremely deadly archer, coupled with Siellendria, Spell Sister who can cast Barrage on her gives Callindra the potential to really rack up the kill count. Kassandra of the Blade is one of the strongest melee models in this faction, and giving her the Armor of Courage significantly increases her chances of successfully defeating her targets.

 

2) Ranged Domination: There is a very strong theme of ranged domination in this army by choosing 4 unique ranged attackers that all are offensively explosive. In troop 1, we have Kyla, Vampire Hunter with her high RAV Piercing/Sharpshooting crossbow and Lorielle Silverrain with her [email protected] with Weaponmaster/Indrect Shot bow. Both of these can work independently to surgically remove high value targets at long range, regardless of Stealth, Deflect, or LOS or they can gain the benefit of Barrage from Joeliyn and deal AE damage to grouped units. In troop 2, Callindra provides a very similar threat to Lorielle except that she can Rapid Shot, which makes her Barrage potential (thanks to Siellendria, Spell Sister) extremely deadly to swarm armies. Finally Volendria of the Blade is a very fast moving, long range archer who is best kept in reserve until your enemies high value Tough models fall to their last damage track, allowing her to move into range and use Sniper to destroy the model and prevent it from Toughing up.

 

3) Diverse Model Composition to Handle a Wide Variety of Threats: This army has a wide variety of tactics it can employ on the fly depending on the opposing army composition or the scenario which they are playing on. This army has high ranged damage, respectable magic power, deep strike potential, flying support, is "bad dice proof" thanks to the large number of Luck Stones, and has respectable melee interference models.

 

This all adds up to a very enjoyable play experience on the table that can be played in several different ways and still come out on top.

[Shakandara]

I like that, Wedge, and it is very similar to a list that I've been toying with. I, however, forego the third troop to instead add Kyra and Lavarath to the equation, and use slightly different soldier choices...

 

Sisterhood - 1000 points

 

Troop 1

Joeliyn, Leader of the Blade

Kyla, Vampire Hunter

Lorielle Silverrain w/Magic Ranged Weapon

Blade Sister x 5

Duelist x 3

Blade Warden x 2

 

Troop 2

Callindra Silverspell w/Magic Ranged Weapon

Siellendria, Spell Sister

Shadow Sister x 3

Duelist x 2

Blade Warden x 2

 

Troop 3

Kyra and Lavarath

 

Luck Stone

 

My list makes a slightly lesser use of the bonus luck stones, but I think the dragon helps compensate.

 

~v

[Wedge]

Cool, I have never quite been able to settle on how to best employ Kyra and Lavarath, so I'm interested to see how she performs for you. Shes got such a hefty price tag, I really question whether she will be able to recuperate her cost in enemy kills. It seems like her most effective use is to hope you can find a sizable chunk of enemy units and get off a really big spray attack.

 

Regarding soldier choice, I think its fair to compare the Chain Sisters with the Blade Sisters since they both serve the role of mid-cost melee support pieces with a price difference of only 2 points. As such, I have had a lot of success with the Chain Sisters since their DV is guaranteed to be one higher than the Blade Sisters (who have to rely on Deflect to reach an 11). I also generally prefer Disable to Vengeful as I feel like reducing the overall number of attacks my opponent gets to roll against me is preferable to the Chain Sisters boosting MAV when they are very likely to die on defensive (again because of the lower DV). Additionally Disable works on both offense and defense, and also benefits my allied soldiers, where as Vengeful is only a boost to the model who has it and even then only on Defensive combat when you've already taken damage. So to me, the Chain Sisters higher DV coupled with less aggregate attacks coming in on them and other allies, leads to them taking far less damage and thus staying on the table longer than their Blade Sisters analog.

 

I can definitely see a good argument for the Duelists, I've considered swapping out a Blade Warden for one myself as the Provoke can really save lives in certain key situations. In fact... my build is 2 points shy of 1000 and if i dropped a Blade Warden in troop 1, I could put in a Duelist to help further protect Joeliyn, Kyla and Lorielle. I think I'll do that right now

 

Good list Shakandara, I would like to hear how it plays for you.

[Shakandara]

Excellent points about the Chain Sisters. I guess I haven't considered them much because there is only a single sculpt. I hate fielding the same model in endless repetition, so perhaps I need to start looking for another proxy (or a good model to convert) as an alternate version for Chain Sisters. I got lucky with the Duelists and found a suitable proxy quickly (3311 Rhainie), so I have nice variation there.

 

As for the dragon, I am rarely worried about whether or not large models like her actually kill their points value in return. Sometimes, just occupying the enemy by forcing them to overcommit to such a large threat is good enough. That usually means that I am able to play my game elsewhere on the table. And if they fail to deal with the big model early, I can make them pay for it later. What has seemed to work best for me is to bring her up behind a large main troop (like Joeliyn's) and Roar. Hope over the line with a quick Fly-and-land and Spray. At that point, she should have caused enough effect that whatever gets thrown at her, even if it is enough to kill her, will produce enough kills on the defensive to have made the inclusion worthwhile.

 

I'm going to rework my list and see what I can do to get Chain Sisters in there without causing too much mess with the troop composition.

 

EDIT: Something like this...

 

Sisterhood - 998 points

 

Troop 1

Joeliyn, Leader of the Blade

Kyla, Vampire Hunter

Lorielle Silverrain

Magic Ranged Weapon

Chain Sister x 6

Blade Warden x 2

Duelist x 2

 

Troop 2

Callindra Silverspell

Magic Ranged Weapon

Siellendria, Spell Sister

Shadow Sister x 3

Duelist

Blade Warden x 2

 

Troop 3

Kyra and Lavarath

 

Luck Stone

 

~v

Edited August 11, 2010 by Shakandara

[Wedge]

I feel what you are saying about proxies for the Chain Sisters, although I like the model, they are one of my bread and butter grunts, so I will ultimately need many of them. I was not able to find an alternate sculpt that gave me a chain sister vibe, but if you do, let me know cause I would like to pick some up

 

You bring up an interesting psychological playing tactic with Kyra and Lavarath that honestly deserves an entirely separate thread, namely: Using models that present a psychologically intimidating presence on the field (Dragons, Giants, other Giant Sized creatures) causing your opponent to over commit resources to dispatch the perceived threat of the model, even though there are very likely much better ways for him to employ his forces. This distraction can often create opportunities to deal a lethal blow to your opponents key models which can change the tide of the game. I would say that this is a sub-category of the tactics which involve baiting your opponent, as well as being related to facing players that incorrectly evaluate the relative threat level of enemy troops either through inexperience or tactical error.

[Shakandara]

Check out 3273 as a conversion possibility. Female in heavy armor with fairly little to remove to convert her to chains. Also, IIRC, doesn't Rasia have a braid too? So does 3273.

 

~v

[rgtriplec]

I feel what you are saying about proxies for the Chain Sisters, although I like the model, they are one of my bread and butter grunts, so I will ultimately need many of them. I was not able to find an alternate sculpt that gave me a chain sister vibe, but if you do, let me know cause I would like to pick some up

 

 

I always liked this sculpt it is one of the old DHL Sisters. I really like Garrity's take on the Sisters.

 

http://www.reapermini.com/FigureFinder#detail/02176

 

 

Here is a 1500 list. I prefer 1500 to 1000.

 

Siellendria is probably my favorite caster in the game, because her spell choices fit with how I like to build the Sisters and she is non-unique with an 8. I figure they can buff the archers with Barrage, and use Prismatic Light or Teleport an enemy into one of my troops. I like flying models because the seem to bring a certain aspect of fear and awe with them. I think cav solo is the best archer, so I gave her wings to get to choice spots faster. The Angels and Ferret Riders are to inflict fast damage. I prefer cheap foot soldiers so the Blade Wardens and Duelists are my top choices. Hopefully the speedy troops and good range and casting and my 9 luck stones can inflict enough damage early. Because its kind of a paper tiger list.

 

Sisterhood - 1496 points

 

Troop 1

Joeliyn, Leader of the Blade

Kyla, Vampire Hunter

Siellendria, Spell Sister

Blade Warden x 4

Duelist x 2

Joeliyn, Leader of the Blade

Luck Stone

 

Troop 2

Callindra Silverspell

Siellendria, Spell Sister x 2

Duelist x 2

Blade Warden x 3

 

Troop 3

Nicole of the Blade

Lorielle Silverrain

Siellendria, Spell Sister

Duelist x 2

Blade Warden x 3

 

Troop 5

Sable Guard x 5

 

Troop 6

Volendria of the Blade

Wings of Vengeance

Magic Ranged Weapon

 

Troop 7

Angel of Vengeance

 

Troop 8

Angelic Warrior x 3

 

 

If I play 1000 it would be something like:

 

Sisterhood - 995 points

 

Troop 1

Joeliyn, Leader of the Blade

Siellendria, Spell Sister

Blade Warden x 3

Duelist x 3

Luck Stone

Lorielle Silverrain

Magic Ranged Weapon

 

Troop 2

Sable Guard x 6

 

Troop 3

Angelic Warrior x 3

 

Troop 4

Kassandra of the Blade

Shadow Sister x 4

Kyla, Vampire Hunter

Magic Ranged Weapon

[Humansquish]

This list is based only on the model stats since I don't have the SN book to get the faction doctrines or warlord abilities. It's just a calvary swarm army.

 

Nicole

Elliwyn

Sable Guard x7

Duelist x2

 

Sable Guard x5

 

Neva

Sable Guard x4

 

Volendria

Wings of Vengeance

 

Neva

SableGuard x3

Duelist x3

 

1000 points

 

The idea of a flying cavalry archer with regeneration fills me with glee.

[GreyHorde]

Good call on the conversion possibilities for DHL # 3273, Cyanea the Just, as a proxy for Chain Sisters. And I agree with DHL # 2176 - I have lined up several of those already.

[rgtriplec]

She could be a good second or third Duelist model.

 

http://www.reapermini.com/FigureFinder#detail/02801

[wrightjd]

I've been looking a lot at Siellendra and I really like the bang she can bring for the buck. I thought about making something like this:

 

Sisterhood - 1000 points

 

Troop 1

Joeliyn, Leader of the Blade

Siellendria, Spell Sister

Isabeau Laroche, Paladin

Bladesinger Sister x 4

Blade Sister x 2

 

Troop 2

Callindra Silverspell

Siellendria, Spell Sister

Blade Sister x 2

Chain Sister x 2

 

Troop 3

Nicole of the Blade

Siellendria, Spell Sister

Bladesinger Sister x 3

Bow Sister x 2

 

Troop 4

Volendria of the Blade

 

Albatross Amulet

 

 

Also, I got the Kyra and Lavarath model and I'm bound and determined to see it put to good use, but at a 211 point price tag I'm finding useful situations for the model a bit rough since it runs as a solo. I was thinking something like this for a kyra army:

 

Troop 1

Samantha of the Blade

Wings of Vengeance

Siellendria, Spell Sister

Kyla, Vampire Hunter

Angelic Warrior x 2

Blade Sister x 3

 

Troop 2

Callindra Silverspell

Elliwyn Heatherlark, Bard

Lorielle Silverrain

Bladesinger Sister x 5

Book of Tactics

 

Troop 3

Kyra and Lavarath

 

I must admit, the sisters of the blade elites are far and away my favorite.

[wrightjd]

Also another army I am thinking about trying out once I have more angels, but it is really just a gimmick army since it eschews the use of faction abilities.

 

Troop 1

Samantha of the Blade

Wings of Vengeance

Armor of Mettle

Magic Weapon

Angelic Warrior x 4

 

Troop 2

Angel of Vengeance

Book of Tactics

Armor of Courage

Angelic Warrior x 3

 

Troop 3

Kyra and Lavarath

[rgtriplec]

I've been looking a lot at Siellendra and I really like the bang she can bring for the buck.

 

I must admit, the sisters of the blade elites are far and away my favorite.

 

 

I had mentioned in my post she was my favorite caster. I'm actually surprised that she got through playtesting with the cp 8, 5/15 on a non-unique caster that has barrage and some of the best range models in the game.

[spiritual_exorcist]

I've been looking a lot at Siellendra and I really like the bang she can bring for the buck.

 

I must admit, the sisters of the blade elites are far and away my favorite.

 

 

I had mentioned in my post she was my favorite caster. I'm actually surprised that she got through playtesting with the cp 8, 5/15 on a non-unique caster that has barrage and some of the best range models in the game.

 

I'll right, I'll bite, hit me with a Siellendra army that you think is highly powerful. CP + Barrage doesn't make that much of a difference to me, ultimately you are firing arrows using RAV. Bow sisters aren't anything special, so I assume your worry with barrage is Elites and Callindra?