Does anyone use Pentient engines?

[Levin]

As the title implies, anybody use these guys? Personally I'd rather have a mixing of Retributors and an Exorcist or 2.

[Torquemada Coteaz]

Exorcists I definitely use.
Haven't toyed with pentinents yet.
But both aforementioned models are GREAT so if your just wondering whether to buy them, go for it (I'm getting another exorcist soon, but wondering if i should take the risk of using GW ordering... *shudders*)
The thing with penitent engines is that you need to shield them on the way to the enemy lines

[experiment 626]

'open topped' really does hurt the penitent engines as even S5/6 weapons will immobilise or destroy you 50% of the time on a glancing hit... penetrating hits means you're a gonner! (you have only a 1 in 6 chance of surviving a penetrating hit!)

maybe try and use either a chimera or a rhino for some mobile cover? all vehicles are size 3 (though admitidly, land raiders can be argued to be size 4!)... however, blocking your opponent's line of sight is always recommended!
also don't forget about your 'holy rage' rolls! i've seen a penitent engine move 15-18" into assault in a single turn...

hope this helps,
cheers!

[DeAd_cOmMaNdO]

ive toyed with the idea of making an ecclesiarchy army for border patrol, with loads of priests, missionaries, arco flagellants and penitent engines and fanatics, though the cost of the engines puts me off (money, rather points)

i think, for the points (especially in border patrol), theyre fine and if you are lucky enough to get them in combat theyre as good as twice the nuber of killer kans and even marine dreads.

[Torquemada Coteaz]

I would tend to use a rhino or immo to screen them (and any flagellants) as these are definite firemagnets

[Levin]

Still didn't answer the question... Does anybody ACTUALLY use them? I've never seen one on the board. Thought about buying a few, but never seen anyone else.

[experiment 626]

well, i've faced-off *against* one though the outcome wasn't pretty...

basically my opponent fell 1" short of reaching an assault where i was kicking the sister's collective butts! in my turn, i counter-charged the engine with a platoon hq section containing a priest with eviscerator... (my 1st mistake!) i rolled a 5 on the penetrating hits table and caused a 6" explosion! too bad no sisters coped it, mind you, 13 of my guys bought it
i ended up losing that game by one model... so i guess you could say that my opponent's penitent engine was in fact a game winner that day?!

cheers!

[Torquemada Coteaz]

I would use them.
however i always seem to buy other armies models before thinking about my WH, leaving me with little WH to play with.
come to think of it i havent played my WH basically at all (few of one-off games a year ago ish, thats it)

[Grandmaster Ezra Godfrey]

I've seen penitent engines used before, and they massacred me when I was using a much different 1.5k army. Basically, the Penitent went through it's "Holy Rage" thing, and got within charging range of my Chimera due to it's damn dozer blade that I put on!!!...

Anway, it killed all the IST's and the Inquisitor inside before getting shot to pieces by my purgation squad, where in turn they got shot to pieces by an exorcist...

[Perturabo]

Ive never even seen a Sisters of Battle Army/Witch Hunters army let alone seen a Penitent Engine-they just dont seem very popular.
I think the army looks fantastic and has some really good models and background, its a shame!

[ArmouredWing]

P.E.'s are pretty under rated but they do need a little practice to get the best out of them. Careful deployment is key as once the battle starts they become automonous charging headlong a the nearest enemy unit.
Firstly, they are NOT dreadnoughts. Toe to toe a dreadnought will tear them apart and your points will be wasted but they are very effective against the bane of a WH player, terminators.
When I use P.E.'s I'll band them together in a unit rather than field them independantly. This way you can incur a loss whilst covering the ground between your lines and your opponent's.
When they do engage they have the potential to wipe out units at a time, firstly from the heavy flamer fire and then from the potential attacks they can inflict during CC.
I like them although don't use them as often as I'd like these days mainly due to the fact I like fielding pure SoB armies but they can tip the balance in your favour when taking on tougher, stronger or heavier armoured opponents.
The Mini's are pretty good too with a lot of scope to customise and pose.

[IVSothicIV]

Get a penitent. I don't know how good they are, but they are a cool model.



Well, if you like painting blood like me.

[Steellegioncpt]

Yes they are great, I never use less than Three though. I mean mass numbers and they are a bullet magnet in some cases which is a great advatage when your enemy is debating on firing their 4 ML man Devastor Squad at either you PEs or your Seraphims!

[Inquisitor Kasimir]

I have two I'm planning on adding two of them to my Order of Vigilant Faith army.
Can't say I've used em yet,but I believe the trick to using them effectively is to give your opponent something else to shoot at.
If you don't chances are you aren't going to make your points back.
Just my take on them.
Kas.

[rintinglen]

I don't use them, nor do any of the other three Witch Hunters Players I know. The sisters are a shooty army, and penitent engines don't shoot, ergo, they don't help.
However, they are big and attractive models, so if you are playing someone like me who gets distracted by big shiney toys, sigh, they can definitely help by soaking up firepower that might otherwise be directed at a more valuable model or unit.
But if you take them, they soak up a Heavy support choice. You need those for other things. I normally use an Retriutor Squad armed with HB's and two exorcists.
The chief problem for Sisters is their general lack of ranged anti-tank weaponry. Only elites and heavy support choices can take any at all, and they are restricted to multi-meltas, which aren't quite the thing for shooting it out with a Tau Tank Force. To use a Heavy Support Choice on a PE Squadron is, if you'll pardon the expression, Heresy.

[last of the bloodthirsty]

well if yuo have issues with tank killing... what is the strenght of a pe if its high enough use that to get in down and dirty with the tankies

[Lochlannon]

Personally I stall away from pentient engines. I would rather field two excorcists and somethng else. The complication (IMHO) is they are a heavy choice. The one time Ii did field one.. it got close enough and into hand to hand combat. The other side went first and he blew up taking 12 models with him. Never used one sense. Iits a pretty big point soak that really does one thing. Excorcists do great and you can hold units back to support.. go in and support the PE and you have your army strung out or all in at once. Now these are my opinions mind you. I did do the PE followed by the arco flagellants kind of a screen, but this too faled a bit. If you buy one PE and 5 arcoflagellants plus the abligatory priest you have a points sink of 295 points.. all these fight well in hand to hand but you don't have much control. For the same point sink you could get two excorcists, an excorcist and Retributor squad, an excorcist and most of a seraphim choice. Now if you tooke the PE.. lowered theiir costs slightly and made them a Fast attack choice.. it certainly might show up more often. Just thoughts.

[Word Bearer 81007]

the effectiveness of the engine is easily based on numbers. running one is a bad idea and waste of points. currently i run them in squads of two but intend on running three. i have had them ripped to shreds by heavy fire but so has every other model at one point or another. they have also caused a twenty man alpha legion chosen squad to lose combat and run off the board. even though sisters without a doubt are formost a shooty army a little cc help never hurts. and if you wanna get real technical a engine has a better chance of cracking a land raider than a exorcist does.(i do love the exorcist though). to answer your question i play, support, and love my engines.

[Imperial Commander Gent]

Oh, just dont run your penitent engines into furiosos! That is not good! Right Word Bearer!

[Cirative]

Interesting...

I always wondered why I don't see many penitent engines in play.

What are the weapon systems on a PE? And how many attacks does it get?

[Jericho199]

They have two dreadnaught close combat weapons, each fitted with a flamer. The two flamers fire together as a heavy flamer unless one of them is destroyed. If both arms are destroyed the drop down to str 5.

They get D6 attacks.

So on paper they're quite good

[iNsOmNiAc'S dReAm]

The P.E. Look great on paper, but dont generally survive long enough to do any real damage in actual fight. With my sisters, I generally field 2 exorcist and a squad of retributors.

[experiment 626]

Originally Posted by iNsOmNiAc'S dReAm

The P.E. Look great on paper, but dont generally survive long enough to do any real damage in actual fight. With my sisters, I generally field 2 exorcist and a squad of retributors.

IIRC, an av11 open-topped walker, while cool in concept is much more difficult than you'd think to use in-game!

perhaps if you had a 'blocker' of some kind or are playing a cities of death game they'd be a fairly tasty choice, but on most battlefields which have little in the way of cover the engines sadly tend to sit on the shelf and act as dust collectors!

cheers!

[iNsOmNiAc'S dReAm]

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks once again for your infinit wisdom

[Cirative]

So basically the penitent engine is in need of a buff. Sounds like its only real downfall is its "open-topped" vulnerability.

[experiment 626]

Originally Posted by Cirative

So basically the penitent engine is in need of a buff. Sounds like its only real downfall is its "open-topped" vulnerability.

well it also suffers from the typical 'big model' crutch too...

so many players see big, nasty looking models and think that they have to kill it at all costs 1st turn or they're force will die a horrible, painful death!
of corse, a penitent engine has the possiblity of being ace if it makes it into contact... but then, it could also roll a 1 three phases in a row!>.<

cheers!