Oh Sister, Oh Sister, Where Art Thou?

As many of you know I am a gigantic IG fan, but a very, very close second is the Sisters of Battle (SoB). The SoB in 4th edition was given a lot of love with the introduction of the Penitent Engine and the Sisters Repentia and in my personal opinion the best SoB Codex to date. I must say though I am very disappointed with the recent GW development of the 5th edition SoB Codex posted in a White Dwarf article.

The codex was lacking in story, art, tactical prowess, innovation, and overall genuine interest by the authors. First and foremost, Faith Points (the backbone of the SoB army) was sorely diminished. Not only changed in ability but overall chance to succeed. Faith points previously succeeded on a roll equal to or less than the number of battle sisters in a squad, relatively easy. Now it is on a roll of 5 or higher, which can be modified by an HQ or Simulacrum to make it easier which also has its challenges. The cost of a battle sister was raised by a point and by the time upgrades, HQ, and Simulacrum is added to the total points of a battle sister squad a 10 sister squad is nearly 200 points and that only accounts for one troop (I just pooped a little). Way too much for a S3, T3 unit considering I can get the same thing in a Vet IG squad for HALF the price, literally!! Faith Points which used to bring the teeth to the fight for SoB now just bring hardened gums, not really a focal point anymore.

My only hope in this dark SoB current state is the rumors of the up and coming battle sisters models. Apparently the models will be more slender and possibly have veils (very cool if done correctly). Below is an artist rendition on the new style.


And here is a possible leak of the actual future model. It gives me goose bumps in weird spots.


So far GW has not given me any reason to go out and buy SoB models, but with these leaks there is hope for a 6th edition future.