We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

After finishing my last army, the Rock Badgers–a homebrew Space Marine successor chapter to the Space Wolves–I needed something new to start for Warhammer 40k. I had been waffling on getting into Black Templars with all of the new stuff that they had coming out, but I was put off by the starter set–particularly only getting 13 models for $200. I still may go back to the Black Templars (in fact, I definitely plan to) but I’ll wait till the range comes out in individual kits.

So I started a Sisters of Battle army. The reason for this is the same reason that I would have picked the Black Templars: I absolutely love the over-the-top baroque and religious iconography, symbology, and lore. Both Sisters of Battle armies and Black Templar armies are everything that is iconic about Warhammer 40k: gothic, religious zealots, covered in skulls and reliquaries, and absolutely delightful.

(I realize that my college Art History professor would be upset with me describing Sisters of Battle as both Baroque and Gothic, but there you go.)

But how was I going to start a Sisters of Battle army?

How to Start a Sisters of Battle Army

Step One: The Lore

The first place that I started on my road down the Sisters of Battle lore (aside from just the general aquaintance of being a Warhammer 40k player for 30 years) I first turned to Baldermort’s Adepta Sororitas Sisters of Battle Lore video. The video is well over 40 minutes, but worth every minute (all of his videos are). It gives about ten minutes of original fiction, and then dives into the lore.

Other lore sources you may want to check out are the books in the Black Library, including Sisters of Battle: The Omnibus by James Swallow.

What is the Sisters of Battle Lore?

The Sisters of Battle, Adepta Sororitas, are based more than anything on the foundation of faith. This is interesting because the Emperor had always wanted the eradication of faith, superstition and religion, which makes it all the more ironic that he has ended up as the God Emperor of Mankind.

But this was part of the flaw in the Emperor’s plan, because daemons and gods were truly real. And the Emperor was truly immortal. As Baldermort says, the step between “god-like power” and “god” was all to easy to make.

After the Horus Heresy, the Adeptus Ministorum, the Ecclisiarchy, made belief in the Emperor as the God of Mankind the state religion. There’s a long story here, referred to as the Age of Apostasy, in which the High Lord of the Ministorum, Goge Vandire, began a reign of blood, with huge amounts of power and madness. But there was resistance, and there was war.

Vandire heard of a small convent of militant women, the Daughters of the Emperor, who were entirely devoted to the Emperor and maintaining their purity. Vandire sent an envoy to them, but the Daughters of the Emperor were reluctant. However, after Vandire faked a miracle to prove that he was blessed by the Emperor, the Daughters of the Emperor became Vandire’s bodyguard–they were deceived.

But it wouldn’t last. The Adeptus Custodes met with the Daughters of the Emperor, and they brought six Daughters to the Throne Room of the Emperor. What the six saw has never been recorded, but when they returned they understood Vandire’s corruption. The Daughters, his bodyguard, decapitated Vandire. The Ecclisiarchy was ordered to give over the military might–they “could have no *men* under arms”, but there was nothing said about women. So the Adepta Sororitas was founded from the Daughters of the Emperor. They became the military arm of the Ordo Hereticus.

Step Two: What Sisters of Battle Order Should You Choose in 40k?

There are many orders in the Sisters of Battle, or Adpeta Sororitas, and when you’re wondering how to start a Sisters of Battle army in 40k, you’ll want to pick an order. These are not unlike chapters of the Space Marines, with each having their own flavor and tactics. In brief, these are:

Order of Our Martyred Lady

They are one of the most balanced and flexible armies, so a good starting army for the Sisters of Battle (think the Sisters’ Ultramarines). In gameplay, they get extra Miracle Dice, they get to use a Command Point in add +1 to wound, their trait of Shield Bearer gives -1 damage and auto-six Miracle Dice. They also have a really excellent Relic in the Inferno Pistol which is a Strength 9 12″ pistol that does D6+3 wounds–one shot could wipe out a major opponent.

Order of the Valorous Heart

They are an army that fights wars of attrition, known for being being able to suffer and endure harsh conditions due to their personal penitence. They have more than the average number of Sisters Repentia squads. In gameplay that are extremely durable, with a +1 save against AP -1 and -2 weapons, and a 5+ Feel No Pain against Mortal Wounds. They can use one command point to ignore modifiers to hit, and their warlord trait gives them a 5+ Feel No Pain and gives them back a wound when using an act of faith. Their Relic gives them an 4″ aura of -1 toughness, so you’d want to get it in the front lines.

Order of the Bloody Rose

These are known for being close combat and battle rage. They want to get into close range, with +1 AP and +1 Attack in the first round of melee. Their stratagem, Tear Them Down, lets 6s auto wound in melee. Their warlord trait gives them +1 attack and advance-and-charge, and the Relic is a Strength 5, AP -2 chainsword with +3 attacks. The best units in this Order at the Repentia, Sacresancts, and Zephyrim. This is the Order whose rules I use for my own homebrew Sisters of Battle, the Order of the Malachite Grove.

Order of the Argent Shroud

This is an easy army to run for new players because they generally just charge ahead without much thought for strategy and sophistication: advance, advance, advance. In gameplay they are swift moving, so they count as stationary for shooting even if they advance, and they can reroll one hit or wound per attack. It makes them very good with multimeltas. Their stratagem is Our Shield, which gives them a 4+ Feel No Pain against mortal wounds, and their Warlord Trait is Selfless Heroism, with a 6″ heroic intervention and fights first.

Order of the Ebon Chalice

This is an order of elites, the best of the best, with a preference for flame weapons. Their Patron Saint is St Alicia Dominica, who beheaded Vandire. In gameplay they get to choose two sacred rites, and discarding extra miracle dice can make one a six. Their stratagem of Cleansing Flames gives a +4″ flamer range and a 4+ causes mortal wounds. The Relic is a sniper bolter which is a specialty weapon that does brutal damage to psykers. Hard to find the right use for it, but if you can one-shot a librarian, it’s worth it.

Order of the Sacred Rose

One of the most calm and disciplined orders who are followed by Imperial Cult. In gameplay they get more Miracle Dice, and their stratagem of Emperor’s Judgement gives them exploding sixes, and the Warlord Trait gives auto 6 when performing acts of faith. They’re best with shooting armies.

Lesser Orders:

Order of the Thorn, Order of the Glowing Chalice. These can both pick two convictions, which makes them very customizable.

Step Three: Why to Start a Sisters of Battle Army?

For me it all begins with the lore, which we’ve spent the last several paragraphs describing.

But there is also a LOT to be said for the models. After languishing unsupported and unloved by Games Workshop for more than a decade, the Sisters of Battle made their major comeback in 2019 with a large variety of plastic kits, and Games Workshop hasn’t slowed down in releasing new models, further updating the range in 2021 at WarhammerFest. The models are a ton of fun to paint, with all the ornamentation and detail, and there’s every indication that they’re going to be a long-haul army for Games Workshop.

In gameplay, they have some really fun qualities, some of which are very similar to the Space Marines. As mentioned above, each of the orders acts differently with different tactics and stratagems, not unlike orders of the Space Marines. They can be close combat or ranged, disciplined or wild. They also have the very cool mechanic of the Miracle Dice in which you can save good dice that you’ve rolled (in certain situations) and hold them in reserve for when you really want them: if you roll a 6 and don’t need a 6, you can hold onto it and substitute it into a future “roll” as an automatic 6.

And, as for meta, they’re currently very good. But, what I always say about meta will still hold true here: the more you chase the meta, the more you’re going to be disappointed because the rules change so much and armies get nerfed.

Finally, price: Some of the Sisters of Battle army choices are very good deals indeed (see our article about the Best Value Start Collecting and Combat Patrol boxes). On the other hand, paying $50 for a box of Arco-flagellants might seems steep as they are a high-price, low-point-value unit.

Step Four: How to Start a Sisters of Battle Army: How to Plan?

The first place to start is to acquaint yourself with the rules and codex. This can be an investment, but there are ways around that, including Battlescribe and Tabletop Simulator.

There is also a wealth of inspiration out there for starting a new and interesting Order of the Sisters of Battle. I’ve found that the Sisters of Battle Facebook Group is kind of meager, but Reddit is great, as is Instagram. And, of course, YouTube.

One of the best parts of planning out a Sisters of Battle army is trying out new color schemes. It took me a long time to convince myself that I was going to paint my Order of the Malachite Grove in Salamanders green, but now I absolutely love them that way. Perhaps just start with a single Battle Sister Squad and use the ten models in the box to try out different schemes before you settle on which is what you want to invest your time into.

Then, of course, choose the flavor of army that you want to play: shooty, flamer, close combat, battle rage, attrition, etc, and let that help you combine the order you want with models that you find most attractive. (I didn’t base the Order of the Malachite Grove off of the Order of the Bloody Rose because of colors and armor, but because I really wanted Repentia, Zephyrim, Arco-Flagellants, and Sacresancts in my army.

Step Five: How To Start A Sisters of Battle Army: What to Buy First?

As mentioned, the Codex is probably your best starting choice, but from there you really can’t go wrong with the Sisters of Battle Combat Patrol Box. As we pointed out in our article about the Best and Worst Value Start Collecting Boxes, the Adepta Sororitas Combat Patrol box is the second-best value out of all of them, coming in at 200%: you get $280 models for the price of $140. (Buy in USA | Buy in Europe) Not bad at all. In fact, it might be in your best interest to get two of these boxes as the basis for starting your Sisters of Battle army.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: The Sisters of Battle has a lot of REALLY COOL models, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Rule of Cool. The Triumph of St Katherine (Buy in USA | Buy in Europe) may not fit perfectly into your plan, but it’s a delightful and complex centerpiece. The vehicles. with their rocket-firing pipe organ and their stained glass bulletproof shield are hard to go wrong with. And Penitent Engines are just twisted enough to be perfect.

Some of the troops that I recommend :

• Load up a Rhino (Buy in USA | Buy in Europe) full of Repentia and fly across the battlefield to get them right in the heart of melee.
• Use Sacresancts (Buy in Europe) as a hard hitting protective unit that would make a good bodyguard for characters.
• Retributors (Buy in USA | Buy in Europe) are great for melta damage–a true heavy weapons’ team
• Seraphim and Zephyrim (Buy in USA | Buy in Europe) are both great for getting in close and fast–Sepaphim with bolt pistols and Zephyrim with swords.
• Mortifiers and Penitent Engines (Buy in USA | Buy in Europe) are a delight to paint and just fun to have on the battlefield.
• And for some serious HQ leadership, Morvenn Vahl or Celestine, The Living Saint, (Buy in USA | Buy in Europe) are both excellent choices.

Conclusion: How to Start A Sisters of Battle Army

When launching into how to start a Sisters of Battle army, there’s a whole lot of good things going for these Adepta Sororitas. No matter how you want to run an army, you can find a way through the Sisters of Battle and their many Orders and their endless customizability.

They have, in my opinion, some of the best models in the game right now, each more delightfully sacred and disturbing than the last. If you’re looking into how to start a Sisters of Battle army, follow the steps above, and you’ll have a whole array of options at your fingertips.

What do you think? Did we leave anything out? Any changes you would make to what we said above?