[MalVeauX]

Witch Hunters: Combinations of Forces - "Shortcut from the Know Thy Self"

[sup]By your friendly neighborhood Inquisitor, MalVeauX[/sup]

Many times, it comes up with players, old and new, whether or not to field a pure army (Inquisitorial or Adepta Sororitas) or an allied army, or even an inducted army. So let's take a little look into what each have to offer, and how they support each other for what could be considered a good template for successful combinations of army lists concerning the Hunt for the Witch.

Just a forewarning: There is no right or wrong way to field your army. If you have a theme, stick to it and have a blast. Some combinations work better for others and may be helpful to you too. As always, this is just a combination of experience and preference which may not be shared by everyone.

The Possibilities:

Parent lists:

--Witch Hunters
--Daemon Hunters
--Space Marines (*including various chapters)
--Imperial Guard (*including various variants, such as Steel Legion, etc)

These are all Parent Lists which can have the Witch Hunters allied or leading and still be a great addition or beginning for an army. Those parent lists can have both Inquisitorial units and Adepta Sororitas units alike, without conflict of interest. But let's go a little further now...

Adepta Sorortias Witch Hunters:

This parent list of Witch Hunters focuses on the Sisters of Battle. Should this option be used as the Parent list, there is no possibility of taking Space Marines in the army. However, they still are able to take Inquisitorial units from the codex, allied Daemon Hunter units and inducted Imperial Guard. However, Space Marines are out of the question.

Inquisitorial Witch Hunters:

This parent list of Witch Hunters focuses on Inquisitorial units as well as still having a mixture of everything else it has access to. It can take Adepta Sororitas units, allied Daemon Hunter units, Inducted Imperial Guard or Inducted Space marines. However, should it take Adepta Sororitas units, it may not take the Inducted Space Marines. This is the most "open" list you could possibly have as a Parent list.

Space Marines with Witch Hunters Allied:

The Space Marines as the parent list grant the Witch Hunter ally the ability to mix Adepta Sororitas units with the Space Marines, as well as Inquisitorial Units as well, but of course, one is limited to the standard array of 0-1 HQ, 0-1 Elite, 0-2 Troops and 0-1 Fast Attacks.

Imperial Guard with Witch Hunters Allied:

The Guard can take the Witch Hunters allies and have both Adepta Sororitas units as well as Inquisitorial units without an issue of restriction. But again, they are limited to the standard array of allied numbers.

Daemon Hunters with Allied Witch Hunters:

The Daemon Hunters can take the Witch Hunters as a standard ally, without a problem concerning themselves or their Grey Knights and are able to take both Adepta Sororitas, Grey Knights and Inquisitorial units in the same list without conflicts. They are still limited to the standard allied numbers though.

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So now we know how we can combine our various forces to include or being with the Witch Hunters. But how well do they couple together? Which combinations tend to work really well? We can explore that next.

Combining Forces for Good Results:

Parent Lists with Combinations of Inquisitorial Squads and Adepta Sororitas Squads:

--Inquisitorial Witch Hunters with Inducted Space Marines
--Space Marines with Allied Inquisitorial Witch Hunters
--Adepta Sororitas Witch Hunters with Inducted Imperial Guard
--Imperial Guard with allied Adepta Sororitas
--General Witch Hunters with allied Daemon Hunters

You will notice, that the Adepta Sororitas and Imperial Guard seem to go hand in hand, just as the Inquisitorial units tend to go hand in hand with Marines. This is for many reasons, but one of the larger reasons it he rules of conflicting combinations that the codex gives us. However, given those limitations, these units work well together for the very reason they're limited in the first place. Why mix power armor with more power armor with similar abilities? Why mix Imperial Guard with more Guard units but under the name of the Inquisitorial Seal? I'm sure you could find a reason, but our codex creator made it harder for us to pull it off within the rules.

Given these combinations, let's take a look at why they're good combinations for us:

Inquisitorial Witch Hunters with Inducted Space Marines:

The Inquisitorial Witch Hunters are basically a guardsmen type army, with humans and carapace armours through out the list. The list does not lack range nor combat punch, but it makes great use of resilient troops and ordinance heavy support choices that the Marines grant us to support our guardsmen-esque infrastructure. This is my opinion of course, but I think the Inquisitorial squads are better at fire support rather than being tough and absorbing damage. This is where the Marines come in handy. The Marines are tactical and can be useful for ranged and close combat support. They also supply us with a fresh new face of Tanks where our Inquisitorial access is limited in our own codex. Inquisitorial fire support with advancing Marine close range support is a great combination to use the right troops for the right purposes (resilient, tough, short supply in the grit--average, but numerous and full of ranged fire support behind them for support).

Space Marines with Allied Inquisitorial Witch Hunters:

This is a very similar combination with the same reasons as the opposite, however, this is good for Marine Parent List players to add the Inquisitorial feel to their army or gain access to things such as Assassins. The main purpose of this combination is to add cheaper firebase troops with large access to powerful weapons--in our case, the Storm Troopers. They also grab the powerful Inquisitor himself and his brew of assassins (such as the coveted Callidus or Vindicar). It is a great way to add fire support to a combat specialized marine force.

Adepta Sororitas Witch Hunters with Inducted Imperial Guard:

The Sisters of Battle are already suited in power armor and have close range powerful weaponry with the trio of purity. Combining them with Marines only makes sense from a theme standpoint, but even then, it's a conflict of interest as they're fairly similar in what they can do, with Marines being more powerful in their case. What the Sisters lack however, is the ranged support that they need to be able to make it to that middle ground. This is where the Imperial Guard fit in quite nicely, adding access to many guardsmen with long range heavy weapon support as well as very impressive heavy support with the Leman Russ and some more armoured fast attack selections. It's a great blend of resilience close range troops supported by numerous and weaker long range support squads, but with a serious range power. The danger of the Guard's long range weaponry provides a screen for the advancing sisters in their power armor with their close range weapons.

Imperial Guard with allied Adepta Sororitas:

This opposite combination of the two are also a good way to put some power armor in the ranks of the Guard. They're a cheaper alternative to marines or grey knights but pack a mean punch with a great save, great ballistic skill and strong numbers, but notably cheaper. A Guard army can use this to add fast units such as Seraphim and large squads of power armored sisters and Heroines with Celestians to really add a presence to the army. We have that good mix of resilience close range goodness with ranged support.

General Witch Hunters with allied Daemon Hunters:

This method is always acceptable because both armies can benefit from the close combat power that the Grey Knights can deliver, both as Fast Attack and Elites and HQs. The troop selections are also a good way for a resilient combat troop, but with a price of course. The reason for the combination though, is to add an "always-deepstriking-powerful-units" feel to either forces, be it Inquisitorial or Adepta Sororitas. The Grey Knights can come deep striking as a Fast Attack as well as an Elite and HQ selection for instant combat support as well as a little dakka action from the massed storm bolters and psycannons. Overall a very popular mix due to the attraction of Grey Knights with the versatility of the Witch Hunters list.

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I hope this little insight to some of the combinations of the Witch Hunters and other forces can inspire your own application of these rules, be you a beginner or veteran. It's always fun to field your army in a new light and for those returning the sisters or becoming a new fan. It's also a good way to add that Inquisitorial feel to your army without finding your units working well together. But remember, one man's garbage is another man's treasure!

As always, please add or contribute and/or point out problems with your own thoughts!

[Shasel_Aunat]

HOLY SMOKE (Pun intended!) That was awsome! Great detail made it easy to under stand! I vote that you get +1 Karma and I also vote that this should be stickied!

[Manolis]

You do may have GK terminators in your WH army, right? Thses guys are so powerfu and they can give your enemy a nasty headache when they lead your front.

Btw Great post. You do love WH dont you? ;Dl

[MalVeauX]

Manolis:

You sure can. Grey knights ally with witch hunters without restrictions. All inquisitorial armies will, since they're under the direct control of the inquisition (unlike marines).

Sisters armies make great use of Grey Knight Terminators to get a nice combat boost that can always deepstrike to arrive at the scene of the battle.

Of course I love all Inuiqisitorial armies... can't wait for Xenos Hunters!

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Shasel_Aunat:

Thanks man--more will be coming soon. Glad to see it's appreciated

[Big_Chief_Willy]

Wow ive only been here afew weeks and have learned alot but so far your post has taught me the most.