Sisters of Sigmar Tactica
By: Tachyon, with help from: Bill Stripp, and the Mordheim mailinglist.
As published at WyrdFish.
Version 2.02

Ophelia stopped. Her eyes squinted as she saw movement in the buildings across the town-square. "Shhhht!!!" she hissed, while signalling her fellow sisters to take cover. Angelica, the Augur sat next to Ophelia, not hindered by the setting sun and the drizzling rain her blessed sight already knew what they were to expect. "Skaven!", she said, making Ophelia look up and ask Sigmar for forgiveness. Facing Angelica again, she said: "Have the seen us yet?". "No!", was the reply, "But they will smell us before we can surprise them!". Ophelia thought for a second, "Well, then let's make sure they know we are here then, By Sigmar! Charge!!!".

The Sisters of Sigmar are survivors of the two-tailed comet, searching Mordheim for the Wyrdstone to make sure its damaging powers are kept from humanity. This article will hopefully provide you with some insights on the Sisters of Sigmar and give you a few pointers on how to equip them and some tactics on how you could use them on the Battlefield.

Weaponry
Sisters are meant to be in the midst of the battles, not watching it from the side. Especially when equipped with the truly Sisters' only weapons. The Sigmarite Hammer and the Steel Whip. Certainly because the Sisters choice of missile weapons, is restricted to a sling, seriously limiting their long distance firepower.

Slings
On the other hand at 2gc a piece, the sling is rather a powerful weapon, especially considering you can shoot twice at short range. But be warned, the moment you are at short range, you most probably are in charge range as well. Still it is not a bad idea to stock up on them, as you never know when you get a chance to fire them.
Try and use them as much as possible, but don't play your warband accordingly. Have your Sisters move and fight as normally, and take the negative modifiers. Though any wound scored with a sling is a benefit, the Sisters are more effectively during Close Combat.
A more sneakier point to use them is when one of your models recovers from being knocked down outside hand-to-hand combat. She can't run, or charge and only move half her movement, so most of the time I'll have her pull out the sling giving her something useful to do.

The Sigmarite Hammer
This is the one and only close combat weapons for the Sisters, besides the usual benefits of blunt weapons regarding stunning your opponent, the Sigmarite Hammer gives the Sisters +1 Strength and against Possessed and Undead models it gives you an extra +1 on your to wound dicerolls. This gives your Sisters a powerful Hand-to-hand weapon. The Sigmarite Hammer still is a one handed weapon, so you can equip your Sister with a buckler or a shield, or when you prefer a more offensive character another weapon, maybe even another Sigmarite Weapon for your Matriarch or Sister Superior, but at 15 Gold Crowns a piece that might be a bit expensive when you are starting out in a campaign.

The Steel Whip
Another Special Sister's only Weapon, and another powerful one. First of all it cannot be parried, which makes it more usable than any other weapon. Second of all you can use it as a Hand-to-hand weapon against models up to 4" away. And you can use this ranged attack from the whip during your opponent's Close Combat Phase as well. This makes the Steel Whip a good weapon for lending support to Sisters already engaged in close combat. Aiding the Sister in Base-to-base contact with the enemy with an extra (two) attack(s), which can't be parried! All this makes the Steel Whip an excellent weapon to give your models which you want to see protected from enemy attacks. And considering it's possibilities, it is a bargain at only 10 Gold Crowns.

Armour
When you play such a Close Combat oriented warband, you need to think about your defence as well. When your Sisters are fighting base-to-base they are sure to be hit as well during your battles, getting knocked down, stunned or even taken out of action. A Sister down is not only losing a chance to deal blows, but also a good chance for you opponent to take her out of action.

Helmet
A Helmet is a very useful piece of armour. Sure it doesn't give you a save modifier, but it gives you an extra chance to be merely Knocked Down, by a blow that would normally have stunned your Sister. The biggest advantage from a helmet is, that it is a reasonably cheap and doesn't make you have to choose between the armour or the extra attack like with Bucklers and Shields. If you can spare the money, helmets are a good investment.

Buckler
When you want to give a Sister some extra defence go for the Buckler. Be sure to think about this thoroughly, because giving a Sister a Buckler will make you give up one of her attacks in close combat. In return it will enable your heroine to parry one of the blows struck towards her. If you want to protect your model in hand-to-hand combat, the buckler is the way to go.

Shield
However, if you seek an edge when your models are in heavy missile fire, you better buy the shield. Bucklers and parrying close combat attack are fine, but when your Sisters are struck down before they reach base-to-base contact, you have a problem. Plus when you use the shield as missile protection you don't need to give up your second hand-to-hand weapon, as you strap you shield on your back before you join in the frenzy using the second attack from the additional weapon instead of the save the shield provides. As a shield strapped on your back doesn't provide it's usual save

Characters
With their holy mission to gather and hide the Wyrdstone shards, the Sisters need a good close combat warband. The body of the band exists out of warrior Sisters, masters of martial arts but also ecclesiastic skills. These are the experienced Sisters which already have been serving the order for a long time. With a Matriarch leading the warband, capable of casting the Prayers of Sigmar and the Sisters Superior providing the Sisterhood with decent heroines for their bands. And as Mordheim is a Heroes' game, don't be too shy to purchase the full compliment of heroines, when you are starting out. With the Sigmarite Sisters and the Novices as the warband's henchmen to flesh out the group You have got decent option in building an awesome warband for any campaign.

Augur
A special heroine for the Sister of Sigmar is the Augur. The Blind Augurs have been favoured by Sigmar and have acquired a second sight from their Patron God. These blessed sight enables them to predict the near future and enables them to reroll failed characteristic and to hit rolls. This ability is powerful indeed, enabling you to improve your chances of getting that result you wanted. Consequently Augurs are good characters to use when you need to perform specific actions to obtain your goal within a battle. But starting out an Augur is rather weak, and certainly needs protection from her fellow Sisters until she has obtained some advancements.

Combat Tactics.
When you are composing your warband and equipping the characters, you already are deciding which role each model is going to play on the battlefield. While you normally have your Close Combat group and your missile group, with the Sister you've got added close range support due to the usage of the steel whips.

Don't have your Sisters wandering around Mordheim on their own! Keep the Sisters together in small groups of 3 or 4. At the front of such a group the Sisters with the Sigmarite Hammers, or other close combat weapons, and on the second line of the group the models with the Steel Whips. So when the first line charges (or gets charged), make sure that the second line of supporting models is within the 4" range of their whips. When one of the close combat models gets knocked down, stunned or taken out of action, you also can have the supporting model charge the opponent's model on the verge of breaking through.

Another issue worthy of your attention is which kind of warriors will you choose to become the front of your small groups and which will be the second line. Will you put the Henchmen in front, because they are more expendable? Or will you opt for the Sisters Superior because they are able to wield 2 Sigmarite Hammers? At first I'd say protect your Heroines, until they have gained some nice skills which can be used in Close Combat.

With Slings as the only option for firepower, there is no need to keep a group of Sisters back to give missile support to your fighting models. Use slings to target opponents not in close combat. When you are really really lucky your model didn't move and the opponent ends up within 4" You can shoot at it twice and then have your Whip(s) strike your opponent's models down (if it was still standing :).

The Matriarch is the only Sister which is capable of casting. If she is dead (from the Serious Injury chart), you won't be able to get a new Sister capable of casting Sigmar's Prayers! So keep your Matriarch alive! I'm not saying that you should protect her and leave her a the calm side of the battlefield. Therefor her Stats and her Close Combat spells are too good, to let her miss out on the action. But keep her on the supporting side of things, especially at the first few battles.

A good way to advance towards your enemies is called: "The Leapfrog". One Sister will half move and shoot while the other Sister runs. Then they reverse the positions, having the Sister now in front half move and shoot, and the Sister who did that last turn run. This allows you to put up a reasonable amount of missile-fire while still advancing on the enemy.

Fleeing the Battlefield
This is one of the hardest part of playing battles. When do you succumb to your opponent and have your Sisters flee the scene? Rarely a scenario is worth loosing your band, but when is it the wise option to run? Or when do you grind your teeth and try to stick it out?

The most obvious matter to look at is your casualties. How many models of your warband have been taken out of action? A personal turning point of mine is one third of the warband, at this point I'll take a critical look at any of my upcoming turns to see whether or not it is worth it to continue the battle.

Are the ones taken out of action Heroines or Henchmen? Well it's evident that Henchmen are more 'replaceable' than the heroines. You don't want to enter the exploration sequence without any Heroes.
When close to half of your heroines are taken out of action, it is wise to start looking at your possibilities on winning the scenario. There is nothing worse than loosing a good part of your warband only to get +1 experience.

But the most apparent question you should ask you self is, what is your current position? Are you winning the scenario? Are you pressing hard against the opponent's warband? Is victory within reach? Well, when things look up for your warband you are probably not even thinking about fleeing anyway. But try not to forget that campaigns reward smart play, not reckless bravery. What good is it when you loose 4 heroines and only gain a sword and light armour?

Hired Swords
From the Rulebook there aren't that much Hired Swords a Sister of Sigmar band can hire. Actually there are only three; the Pitfighter, the Ogre Bodyguard and the Halfling Scout. From these three the Pitfighter is the least interesting hireling, giving nothing special towards the Sisters.

On the other hand, the Ogre is one of the best hired swords for the Sisters. With 3 wounds and toughness 4 it gives your Sisters some staying power. With his 6" move you can run him forward, catching the first waves of arrows and crossbow bolts, and have him wreck havoc to the opponent's warband. By the time they have blocked or disposed him, your Sisters will be all over the rest of their warband. At 80 gold crowns and 30 upkeep it is an expensive hired sword. But when you have seen him in action, taking care of half the opposing band, worth every penny.

The Halfling Scout serves two purposes. His bow provides the Sisters with some needed missile fire, though the extra 6" may seem trivial, sometimes that extra bit makes all the differences. The Scout can be used as a sniper, covering the progress of your Sisters with his missile-fire. Positioned on a higher level with a clear view of the path the Sisters will take towards the opposing warband. And the added bonus of having another henchman added to your warband, when it has already reached its maximum of members. For 15 gold crowns a bargain, especially when your warband reaches that maximum.

Warbands
Here is an example warband for the Sisters of Sigmar:

1 Sigmarite Matriarch @ 92 gc
Sling; Steel Whip; 2nd Steel Whip; Experience (x20)

1 Augur @ 37 gc
Sling; Dagger; Steel Whip

1 Sister Superior @ 57 gc
Sling; Steel Whip; 2nd Steel Whip; Experience (x8)

1 Sister Superior @ 57 gc
Sling; Steel Whip; 2nd Steel Whip; Experience (x8)

1 Sister Superior @ 57 gc
Sling; Steel Whip; 2nd Steel Whip; Experience (x8)

4 Sigmarite Sisters @ 200 gc
Sling; Hammer; Sigmarite Warhammer; Shield

Total Army Cost: 500 gc

The idea behind this warband is to have the Sigmarite Sisters henchmen groups form the front line and the heroines with the Steel Whips. Forming the second line, using their whip's 4" range to lend support to the henchmen. Breaking the band in 2 groups will enable you to cover more ground, and pursue several goals at a time.

You see all members of the warband have been equipped with Slings. At the total cost of 18 gold crowns for this investment it is worth it! Use them at every chance you get, but don't play accordingly, have your Sisters move and fight normally.

The Sigmarite Sister Henchmen group has been equipped with shields, to give them a small edge on missile fire. When advancing towards the opposing warband, place them in front of the heroines to protect them from the missile fire. Note that this doesn't work when the opponent shoots from elevated positions, as they can choose their target and not have to shoot at the first model in sight.

Mother Reverend Hubertha, the band's Matriarch, stepped over the body of what, seconds ago, was her direct opponent. In the distance se saw the rest of the Skaven skitter away. Looking backwards se saw that two of her younger protégés lied dead on the streets, Ophelia was struck down too, but she seemed to be regaining her consciousness. "When will this Evil stop!", se spoke upwards, as is she was talking to Sigmar himself. Then she reached down, to fetch some herbs in her pouches and slowly walked towards Ophelia.

Tachyon.

and another fish bites the dust.

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01.30.2000 22:04:32
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