Sisters of Battle: Redux

Recently, Games Workshop revisited the Sisters of Battle for Warhammer 40K by releasing a new official codex in the August and September issues of White Dwarf magazine. The reason for doing so is simply because the old codex was out dated, and included ally rules that are no longer in effect since before the release of the Grey Knight codex earlier this year. In fact, Games Workshop so badly wanted to kill those ally (and opposing corrupt army) rules that they posted updated PDF versions of both codexes with the ally rules redacted. With the new official White Dwarf codex, they also took the opportunity to separate the Sisters of Battle from the Inquisition, as they are the militant arm of the Ecclesiarchy.

With this official new release, they have completely removed any sign of the Inquisition, and made the army a Sisters of Battle specific army. Some appreciate this and some denounce it. The army list, upon analysis, and some of the changes made are considered highly flawed by some (the lack of significant wargear options like jump packs for the Cannoness is a glaring example), and to many changes the character and even the elite feel of the Sisters of Battle. Though we here at A40K don't necessarily worry about "competitiveness", we always consider effectiveness of an army, and that still remains to be seen.

With this updated Codex, one would expect at least a re-release of the old metal models in Finecast. So far, that doesn't seem to be the case, and for any of you planning on building a new Sisters of Battle army from GW, expect to pay a mint for an all metal army if you buy new. Your best way to save is to try and find a reasonable trade, or scour e-Bay for a good bargain. Don't expect to save a lot of money though because shipping heavy packages costs more, not to mention the potential for increased prices as bidding wars break out if demand goes up. And there appears to be no word from Games Workshop if there will be Finecast releases for Sisters in another wave in the near future, or even the much rumoured plastic Sisters of Battle in the further future.

So what's a hobbyist to do about it all? Well, there are many alternatives, including scratch building Sisters of Battle from the existing range. I recently saw some extremely convincing conversions made from Dark Eldar Whyche and Kabalite Warrior bits, with some Imperial armaments thrown into the mix. You could also scratch build your own vehicles, like the Repressor or the Exorcist. But how would you build an Exorcist?

It's somewhat serendipitous that Apocrypha 40,000 would return at the same time as the Sisters of Battle are revised, because our final published issue #10 in our original format, was Sisters of Battle themed. So to honour the Sisters of Battle, whether you prefer the old or the newer edition, and to celebrate our return in this new format we here at Apocrypha 40K would like to present to you the original A40K Sisters of Battle issue in its original format.

Although it is old content, going back to 3rd edition era, much of it is still very interesting. You will find:

• A conversion of an Exorcist, made from a Rhino, plasticard, and other spare materials.
• A Sisters of Battle story
• Additional background summary of the Sisters of Battle told in our style
• A scenario pitting the Sisters of Battle against Infidel Renegades as they defend a holy relic
• And much more!

So, go check out this blast from the past, and enjoy! Hopefully it will inspire you to bring your Sisters of Battle to glory once again, or to start a new convent in the name of the God Emperor.

See the Sisters of Battle issue here.