[ForbiddenKnowledge]

Well, I've always like the WH, and I think I want to try a new army for the new rules, so I think its the perfect time to indulge my warrior nun love :P

Ok, the last part sounds a bit dodgy, so we'll ignore that.

I'm looking for a combined arms approach, with mobile, static, combat and CQB, hopefully an army that can work fluidly in concert with each unit.

I'm thinking around 1500 points worth, not too big, and not to large, with a very character based design.

So far I'm wanting to look at:

Cannoness, maybe a bodyguard - Primary combat unit
Inquisitor (elite one) - probably fire support, or combat support. Yet to decide. I also want to give him a Rhino, although it will be the repressor model. The rhino will be tricked out to suit him, although it will mainly be mobile cover/extraction (what with the new rules)
Couple of squads of sisters, as my mainstay.
Dominion unit in an immolator (can they take troops?)
Retributor unit for long range (4 HB's probably) and an Exorcist (FW, mind :P)

Then maybe some arco flagellants or an assassin or something, still to be decided.

Does this look like a good groundwork to begin from? I've yet to get the codex, so this is just paving the way, but I'll pick it up in a week or two to flesh out an actual list design, but this is roughly what I feel I want.

[ToastMaster]

Well, I've hung up my Witch Hunters cape, but I still have decent experience with the army.

Originally Posted by Rafe

Cannoness, maybe a bodyguard - Primary combat unit

A Cannoness is a must for a Sisters army. They're one of my favourite ICs, because they can seriously throw down the law. I always decked mine out with a Blessed Weapon, Inferno Pistol, Cloak of St. Aspira, Jump Pack, Frag Grenades and a Book. If you pass her Faith Test (which is all too easy), she's got a 2+ inv. save, can move 12" a turn, and can seriously hurt heavily armoured squads with her Pistol and S5 Power Weapon.

Originally Posted by Rafe

Inquisitor (elite one) - probably fire support, or combat support. Yet to decide. I also want to give him a Rhino, although it will be the repressor model. The rhino will be tricked out to suit him, although it will mainly be mobile cover/extraction (what with the new rules)

If you're taking an Inquisitor, it's best to take advantage of his gun armoury. His retinue's not good for combat, with a bunch of slow, s3 models, and it's much better to give the scrawny guys some big guns and let them snipe. A few Sages will be good to raise the Inquisitor's BS to a respectable level, as well as cover for a few mess ups from the rest of the squad. Maybe a Familiar or two if you want them.

Rhinos are good for keeping your Inquisitor safe from small arms fire, but also attract a lot more attention from heavy weapons. But Inquistiors generally need a vehicle to get them (and their retinues) to mid-field so that they're in range.

A fun thing to consider is a DH Inquisitor with Psycannon running around popping off shots while taking advantage of his IC status.

Originally Posted by Rafe

Couple of squads of sisters, as my mainstay.

I usually took Battle Sisters in Rhinos, to give my force a mechanized side. I'd take about 14 Nuns for footslogging squads, or a full ten for Rhinos. Always the two special weapons as well, as they're cheap and add serious flexibility and power to the squad.

Always upgrade a Sister to Vet. Superior for the Faith Point.

Originally Posted by Rafe

Dominion unit in an immolator (can they take troops?)

I usually loaded my Dominions up with a bunch of Meltas for some close-ranged tank hunting power because of the distinctive lack of it in a Witch Hunters force. They'll also do very nicely against thick units of GEQs if you give 'em Flamers and deploy them on the front line.

Originally Posted by Rafe

Retributor unit for long range (4 HB's probably) and an Exorcist (FW, mind :P)

Never had much experience with Retributor squads, but I loved Exorcists. The Exorcist is probably my favourite vehicle in 40k. Did serious damage to Marines and Termies, as well as Monstrous Creatures and light-medium armoured tanks. However, they attract a TON of anti-tank fire from Lascannons and whatnot, and aren't too resilient. I'd still consider them to be possibly one of the best investments in a Witch Hunters army.

Originally Posted by Rafe

Then maybe some arco flagellants or an assassin or something, still to be decided.

Not much experience with Flagellants and Assassins, but MalVeauX's got some fantastic tacticas for them in the stickies.

Originally Posted by Rafe

Does this look like a good groundwork to begin from? I've yet to get the codex, so this is just paving the way, but I'll pick it up in a week or two to flesh out an actual list design, but this is roughly what I feel I want.

Looks good so far. Witch Hunters are a really unique and fun army to play as. Good luck!

[ForbiddenKnowledge]

Cool, well I'm gonna look into either getting the dex in a week and a bit, or going further overdrawn and getting it :P

I'll then try a test list, maybe a small 500 point as a start, and go from there to the 1500.

[Vallessian]

If the sisters are going to be foot slogging, make sure you have 20 woman squads. This will cost 160 bucks just for the infantry keep in mind.

Don't trick the inquisitor out. Just give him a small retinue of gun servitors to provide fire support, because he isn't as strong as the Inquisitor Lord, so he won't be sticking around for very long. The main reason for taking him is to get an assassin.

And if you want arco flagellants, you will require a priest.

[ForbiddenKnowledge]

Originally Posted by Vall

If the sisters are going to be foot slogging, make sure you have 20 woman squads. This will cost 160 bucks just for the infantry keep in mind.

Don't trick the inquisitor out. Just give him a small retinue of gun servitors to provide fire support, because he isn't as strong as the Inquisitor Lord, so he won't be sticking around for very long. The main reason for taking him is to get an assassin.

And if you want arco flagellants, you will require a priest.

Hmm, it would be cool to have large squads

I think they are likely to be dependant on points, that said I could mount them (one might get mounted anyway).

The Inquisitor is (after advice) likely to be fire support, but he might get a bit tricked out as I want the character rather than super effective lists. I would rather spend 50 points to get a nice fluffy character than save them for efficiency

Priests are cheap, though aren't they? Something like 40 points?

Undecided what assassin I want to go for though, the vindicare is useful, I love the brutality of the Evorser - he just slaughters and redecorates the room with his enemies.

I have seen the damage a well played suicide callidus can do, though, so I do wonder about one of them.

[Vallessian]

Yes, you are right about the priests points, but considering how bad they are if not given any wargear, they are quite expensive. And they must be attached to another unit, so that unit will suffer from holy rage.

As for Assassins.

The Vindicare looks excellent on paper, and he is excellent for singling out enemy leaders, but consider the fact that he only fires once per turn.

The Eversor is quite possibly the best close combat unit available to the Imperium. He can get an ungodly amount of attacks that ignore armor on the charge. And it helps that he can charge 12. Oh yeah, and he can fire his needle pistol which can wound even a C'tan on a 4 up twice before he charges...And don't forget meltabombs!

The Callidus is excellent due to the fact that she appears wherever you want, and her sword ignores both armor and invulnerable saves. Excellant way to take out a tricked out enemy HQ. The word in your ear rule is not as effective as it first looks though. It will work nice for bring that annoying whirlwind out from cover, but it doesn't do anything drastic.

The Culexus excels against psykers, so if you are facing somebody like the eldar, he is a great choice.

My personal favorite is the Eversor. He can wipe out pretty much anything when he charges, so he is guaranteed to earn his points back.

[ForbiddenKnowledge]

I'm looking at the Evesor, but might have a callidus model on standby, so to speak. I do agree though, I love the whole idea of the evesor, so its definately my favourite.

I have seen what callidus can do though - one appeared in my lines once, took out my commander and two suits with that damn flamer thing, and next turn killed half my kroot. Used right they are brutal

[ToastMaster]

I've only ever used the Callidus, because I found her to be quite perfect. She's equipped with fantastic wargear and special rules, and her ability to deploy anywhere and still be able to "move and fight normally" is amazing.

I loved taking her against Marines, as she could always easily get her points back: Deploy in front of a squad of Marines, melt a few faces with her AP1 flamer, then charge and cut anyone, Invulnerable Save or not, down with the C'Tan Phase Sword.

Originally Posted by Rafe

I have seen what callidus can do though - one appeared in my lines once, took out my commander and two suits with that damn flamer thing, and next turn killed half my kroot. Used right they are brutal

Plus, the "A Word In Your Ear" special rule can be really nasty.

Originally Posted by Rafe

I do agree though, I love the whole idea of the evesor, so its definately my favourite.

I've always been tempted to field an Eversor, but never got around to it. Tell me how he does whenever you get around to fielding your Witch Hunters.

[ForbiddenKnowledge]

Will do

It will be a while yet, unfortunately, I hope to get the dex and the first set in a couple of weeks after payday, but it will be a long way from a legal army.

[Fun With Matches]

as funky as eversors are, and my god do i love them, in my experience they never really perform all that well.

i love the rules for the eversor and i think the fluff and ideas around them are also bery nice but in the game, yes they can devastate in combat and the needler is also a bonus, but the true impact of the eversor in combat relies on lucky roles for the extra attacks when he charges. alright when he explodes its quite funny and can knock off a couple of extra wounds from something, but in my experience both the callidus and the vinicare were slightly more key to the success of a game

but at the end of the day, its up to the player and how you play the game as to which assassin you would like more, and which would suit your army.