Sisters of Sigmar

*For centuries, the nobility of the Empire has sent wayward or troublesome daughters to the Order. Since their fortress convent survived the cataclysm, they have become a source of suspicion and resentment.*

*Sisters have unique skills and weapons for fighting evil. They also have access to Prayers of Sigmar, but can't use blackpowder or bladed weapons (including arrows or bolts).*

Sisters of Sigmar are one of the many Factions you can play in Mordheim: Warband Skirmish, to constitute your Warband.

## Sisters Traits

Compared to Human Mercenaries...

* Novices get an almighty +10 Initiative (as fast as Skaven).
* Novices start with -10 WS, -10 BS and -16 Ld. This, however, is offset by a cap of 7-8 Increases in Ld and WS/BS (instead of 5-6).
* Matriarch additionally compensate for these flaws with Hearts of Steel starting spell (Immunity to Fear and All Alone to members at a range of 8 squares and +10 Ld to the entire Warband).
* Sisters have access to Special Skills (Sisters):
	+ Dual Wielding allows wielding dual hammers and gives +10 WS when using them.
	+ Sign of Sigmar Combat defence agains Cult of the Possessed and Undead (enemy WS reduced to halve in their first attack).
	+ Protection of Sigmar 50% Magic Immunity.
	+ Aegis of Sigmar Protection agains missile weapons (-20 to hit them).
	+ Absolute Faith May reroll failed Fear tests.
	+ Righteous Fury Hates Skaven, Undead and Cult of the Possessed.
	+ Utter Determination (Matriarch only) can reroll Rout tests.
	+ Unsettling Charge Charged enemies cannot Parry attacks or use the Step Aside skill.
	+ Mauler combines and replaces Strongman and Mighty Blow in one skill (no Initiative penalty of double-handed hammers and +10 Strenght when using them).

* Their Henchmen, and not only Leader, can learn Wyrdstone Hunter, Streetwise and Haggle skills.
* Sisters have a 40% discount when hiring Henchmen (Novices).
* Sisters units (not their Hired Swords) are restricted to daggers, Bludgeoning Weapons and Slings.

 Leader: Matriarch

*The Sigmarite Matriarchs, of whom there is an inner circle of twelve, are answerable to the High Matriarch of the temple. Each must lead a warband of Sisters in frequent searches of the city in order to purge the ruins. Matriarchs are driven by a zealous devotion to the Cult of Sigmar and a relentless determination to redeem the Sisterhood in His eyes.*

Leader: Leadership Range 6

## Henchmen: Novices

*By tradition, the Sisters draw their recruits only from the most noble houses of the Empire, and families considered it a great honour to have their daughters accepted into the order. They must endure several years as Novices during which time their devotion will be tested to the full. All are eager to prove themselves worthy to be the handmaidens of Sigmar.*

 Known skills
 Skill access

## Sisters Weapons and Armour

Sisters can use special weapons that are exclusive to them:

* Sigmarite Hammer: Enhanced Skull Hammer (Strength bonus that doubles vs Undead and Possessed).
* Dual Sigmarite Hammers: As above, but give an extra attack and +10 WS with Dual Wielding.
* Sigmarite Great Hammer: Enhanced Comet Maul (Strength bonus double vs Undead and Possessed).
* Steel Whip: Melee weapon with longest reach in the game (3, or 4 with Mastery) that ignores Parry.
* Dual Daggers: Dual blades for an extra attack, usable by Augur only (yes, they're only Daggers, but Augur delivers quite a punch even against armored opponent thanks to her rerolls).
* Comet Morning Star: A Morningstar with a little extra Strength.

Sisters also have access to common weapons, but they can only wield Daggers and Knives, Bludgeoning Weapons, Flails and Slings.

 They also have special Helmets and Hoods (Cloth Hood (Def+1, I+4), Pot Helm (SoS) (Def+5, Ld+5), Kettle Helm (SoS) (Def+7, Ld+5) and Chainmail Hood (Def+9)) and armours (Improvised Armour, Improvised Leather and Plate, Robes and Cuirass (SoS)). While they can't equip common Hats and Helmets, they can equip special versions of all common heavy armours including Gromril Armour.

 Sisters of Sigmar as Witch Huntes have access to Holy Tomes, you should equip your Matriarch with 4 of them as soon as possible, they do not increase your warband rating as investing skill points in prayers do and greatly boost the ability of the Matriarch to cast Prayers of Sigmar.

## Levelling a Sisters of Sigmar Warband

 All members of the Sisterhood, Matriarch, Novices and Augur are best suited for quick sneaky heavy armoured close combat, and to fight evil (Cult of the Possessed and Undead, and Skaven to some extent). Thus there are two possible ways to develop them, Tanks and close combat Damage Dealers. However, it is faster to level them as dual wielding damage dealers than tanks. Initially you can skip their academic Special Skills, since most low-middle level warbands are Human or Skaven. However, it could be interesting to learn Streetwise and Haggle with the initial skills of 3 or 4 Novices/Augur (Matriarch points are better spend in spells), in order to more easily outfit your warband at the minimum cost.

 Novices Recommended Initial Stats

* Wounds 5, less than 5 is a poor choice and a bad investment.
* Weapon Skill at least 20 and as high as possible.
* Ballistic Skill does not matter (they are not going to be shooting).
* Strength at least 30 and as high as possible.
* Initiative at least 40 and as high as possible.
* Leadership is not that important since Hearts of Steel make all Sisters in the Warband immune to Fear and All Alone test. However if you have a choice take the highest value.

### Tanks

Matriarch and Novices can be developed as Tanks. In general, they will have lower Defence value than other dedicated tanks, such as Dwarf Treasure Hunters, but they are far more agile and have a more powerful punch than them. Thanks to Armour of Righteousness Matriarchs can be developed as Damage Dealers and be amazing tanks. The best equipment for this purpose is a Chainmail Hood (Def+9), Robes and Cuirass (W:2, Def+35), Sigmarite Hammer and Votive Shield (Def+15). You could replace the Robes and Cuirass for a Gromril Armour, for Def+5 and -1 to Run, but I prefer the freedom of movement. Additionally the Sigmarite Hammer can be replaced for a Steel Whip to engage enemies in combat faster, but their low armour penetration and lower strength makes it a worst choice.

**Note: It is easier and faster to train Novices as dual wielding damage dealers instead of tanks. Additionally, it is a better choice in middle, late-games were there are a lot of weapons that limit max defence. Dual wielding Novices have +10 WS than all warbands except Dwarf Treasure Hunters and other Sisters (which have the same WS). This offers almost the same defence in close combat against bladed weapons and a better defence against bludgeoning weapons than a Votive Shield.**

A possible skill development will be: Armour Training, Strength Increase 1, Wounds Increase 1, Resilient, Sprint (I like to run), Hidden in the Shadows (protects them from missile weapons), Weapon Master, Strength Increase 2, Wounds Increase 2, Weapon Skill Increase up to 40+, Attack Increase 1, Strength Increase 3, Wounds Increase 3, Quick Reactions, Lightning Reflexes, Quick Recovery, Weapon Skill Increase up to 50+, Attack Increase 2, Step Aside, Dodge, Combat Master, Strike to Injure, Sign of Sigmar, Protection of Sigmar, Aegis of Sigmar, Weapon Skill Increase up to maximum, Unsettling Charge, Advanced Weapons Training, Advanced Weapons Master, Web of Steel, Absolute Faith, Righteous Fury.

### Damage Dealers

Matriarch and Novices can be developed as agile and fast close combat damage dealers. They can either be equipped with a two-handed hammer (Sigmarite Great Hammer or Comet Maul) or with two one-handed hammers (Dual Sigmarite Hammers). Additionally, they could forgo their head defence in favour or higher Initiative (Cloth Hood) and have a Gromril Armour for protection. Initially you can equip them with a Club and a Sling.

After crunching some numbers, thanks to their +10 WS Dual Sigmarite Hammers no matter the race of the enemy warband do a little more damage than Comet Mauls. They also do slightly more damage than Sigmarite Great Hammers, except in extremely rare situations against Cult of the Possessed and Undead when the Enemies either have 0 Defence or a Parry value of at least 40% and your sister has no Unsettling Charge Skill. Additionally, the +10 WS obtained for wielding Dual Sigmarite Hammers protects your warrior in combat. It should also be considered that Dual Sigmarite Hammers are cheaper than Comet Mauls and cost Gold Crowns instead of 2 Fate tokens as the Sigmarite Great Hammer does. Thus, I recommend that you train and equip your Novices and Matriarch with Dual Sigmarite Hammers.

A possible skill development will be: Strength Increase 1, Wounds Increase 1, Sprint, Advanced Weapons Training, Dual Wielding (with Dual Sigmarite Hammers gives +10 WS) or Advanced Weapon Master + Mauler (with a Comet Maul or Sigmarite Great Hammer), Hidden in the Shadows (protects them from missile weapons, and allows them to hide and do an Alpha Strike strategy), Armour Training, Strength Increase 2, Wounds Increase 2, Unsettling Charge, Weapon Skill Increase up to 40+, Attack Increase 1, Strength Increase 3, Wounds Increase 3, Initiative Increase up to 50+ (this way you make sure to still be able to do an alpha strike easily), Weapon Skill Increase up to 50+, Attack Increase 2, Strike to Injure, Combat Master, Resilient, Initiative Increase up to maximum, Weapon Skill Increase up to maximum, Quick Reactions, Lightning Reflexes, Quick Recovery, Dodge, Absolute Faith, Righteous Fury, Step Aside, Sign of Sigmar, Protection of Sigmar, Aegis of Sigmar, Advanced Weapons Master, Web of Steel.

## Sisters Magic (Prayers of Sigmar)

Only the Matriarch can cast spells from the Prayers of Sigmar repertoire.

* Hearts of Steel is heavy compensation for the Novices' low Leadership and the warband's lack of Fearsome skill. It makes your warband immune to Fear and All Alone tests and gives +10 Leadership. Matriarch should have the highest Initiative in the Warband, in order to cast Hearts of Steel while everyone is within range (8 squares) or you should skip your warriors first turn until is the turn of the Matriarch.
* Soulfire is nice extra damage when you are in combat and have no better spells to cast (almost always).
* Healing Hand is one of the best spells in the game, and is another reason why you want Matriarch to have the highest Initiative in the Warband. I usually get this spell to max level ASAP (which is never soon enough, as there are so many things to do with so little skill points to distribute).

You could stop there your magic development and ignore the next 3 spells or invest just 1 point in each of them:

* Aura of Faith's usefulness is very narrow, unless maybe against Doom. For the rest Protection of Sigmar should do the job. This spell is low priority. But you should try to cast it if you cannont cast any other prayer, e.g. you have already cast Hearts of Steel, Hammer of Sigmar and Armour of Righteousness, there are no warriors injured or stunned and no enemies in range of Soulfire.
* Hammer of Sigmar is overkill, IMHO. But with just 1 skill point and 4 Holy Tomes you have an 80% casting chance. Thus it is usefull to have it an cast it when you don't have any better prayer to cast. It pairs really well with Dual Sigmarite Hammers. However, there's more to do with skill points, particularly boosting WS first.
* Armour of Righteousness is not a priority since Hearts of Steel makes sisters immune to Fear and they are able to equip Heavy armour. But it is really good against Bludgeoning Weapons (40 minimum Defence).

## Hired Swords

The Sisters have a special Hired Sword, Augur, that must be hired if you want 4 hired sword in your warband, if you don't want an Augur, you have to hire 4+ Novices so other Hired Swords will be available on the Shrine. These BB Sisters (blind & bald) look harmless on the surface. Their stats are not amazing, they don't have access to Combat or Strength skills, they can't wear armour and their best weapons are the Dual Daggers. But thanks to Blessed Sight, they reroll all rolls, and force opponent to reroll when attacking them. This is better protection than heavy armor, and she's often the one delivering the most damage in a turn.

The only thing bad about Augur is that a Warband can only hire one.

I preffer not to hire any other Hired Swords besides Augur, since Novices are cheaper and actual beasts in combat. But Sisters can also hire:

* Ogre: Since I rely a lot on Hidden in the Shadows, I find Ogres to be a liability in a Sisters Warband. Also, flavour wise, why would Sisters ever hire an Ogre?
* Halfling Scout: Because Sisters are mostly melee units, I've never wanted to hire an Halfing. Indeed, the moment they get into melee, ranged attacks are disabled. Bad synergy, IMHO.
* Pit Fighter could be consider for a Sisters Warband. I consider them to be male and trained versions of Novices. They synergise well with the girls, because they can take all Speed skills, but in the long run they are worst than Novices. Flavour wise, I just say it's the pizza delivery guy that got abducted by the Sisters. :)
* Duelist: like the Pit Fighter, Duelist can be considered for a Sister Warband, since they can also take all Speed Skills. Even thought initially they are trained versions than Novices, once again in the long run they are worst than them. Additionally, they are better wielding a Sword than a hammer so they don't fit flavour wise.
* Dwarf Troll Slayer and Dwarf Ranger are there to give flavour and long beards to your sisters, but their lack of Speed Skills, low Initiative and Movement makes them really, really bad choices for this Faction.

## Why choose Sisters?

* Because you want melee units built on Speed (high starting Initiative, access to +1 M and Hidden in the Shadows), and an easy way to execute the Alpha Strike.
* Because you love hidding in shadows, stalking your prey like an assassin.
* Because you want to hit hard in melee, bypassing opponent's armour.
* Because you love tanks.
* Sisters are most often compared to Middenheimers. Personnally, I prefer Sisters because:
	+ They can take Sprint and Hidden in the Shadows without needing any Initiative Increase.
	+ Initiative is the rule of the game, and the girls beat the boys at it.
	+ They can hit as hard as Middenheimers (+5 S) with Ulric Helm (+5 S), wielding a Sigmarite Hammer with Mastery (+10 S), without spending Fate.
	+ They can cast spells (Prayers) right from the start, and can wear full armour while doing so. Soulfire and Healing Hand rule in combat.
	+ They can get an additional -20% Dodge bonus against range attacks, giving them a serious advantage against Pistoliers, Snipers, Archers and Elves.
	+ While they'll never be as mobile (they can't fly), you'll rarely get a unit isolated and preyed upon by the opponent. In Treasure Hunt scenarios, just aim at intercepting carrier on the way home. It's not always enought, but many players won't escape without some kills, and it's time to teach them a lesson. :)

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