Editing Warhammer 40,000/Tactics/Imperial Agents (section)

====HQ====
Easily the best section of this army, so don't be afraid to unashamedly drop points here. Everyone has their uses, especially the two special characters, which in this army Celestine and Jacobus might as well be mandatory if you want to win.

*'''Canoness:''' The Canoness is the cheapest base HQ Sisters have which in itself is quite handy, since one can never have too many Bolter Bitches running around. Seeing as how she's still just T3 with a 3+ Armor Save you '''WILL''' give her at least a Rosarius for the improved invulnerable save. Depending on what you've planned to do with her you can kit her a few different ways, but she's usually used as a supportive meatshield HQ. Generally giving her a combi-weapon or a good supportive relic is a solid option. Her AoF gives Hatred... in Assault Phase. Decent on the face of it, but Priests/Uriah already have Zealot, so what's the point? She's also Stubborn, which isn't all that important, but good to remember in a pinch (as with the AoF, pretty much only if your priests croaks).
**'''Consider the following:''' Canoness can provide valuable support, while Jacobus / Celestine (usually) steal the warlord spotlight. She's a cheap HQ choice, '''BUT''' she doesn't '''HAVE''' to be cheap. Given that she can have eternal warrior, a 3+/4++ AND an Eviscerator, she can become pretty formidable. Don't go up against big-time CC HQ's, but she could hold her own against the likes of a Lucius, for example. Or, alternatively, you could lose the eviscerator, but take the cloak and have her tank wounds (in this instance, she should NOT be your warlord). Retributors ''love'' their mistress, giving them a little extra durability that they need to make it to close combat.
***'''Alternative opinion:''' While still not the best, she could beat models '''FAR''' above her weight in the right squad. Kit her out as mentioned above (with eternal warrior and the eviscerator), but throw her in a Ecclesiarchy Battle Conclave squad, preferably in a decent transport (you'll need to do some ally shenanigans to get an assault vehicle) with 4-5 crusaders, 5-6 death cult assassins and 1-2 priests (1 of them having Litanies of Faith). the squad itself will have rerollable 3+ invuln save in the front of the squad to keep the assassins alive and (if you took a second priest) either shred, or more AP2 attacks (depending on your need). As a result, your Canoness' 4++ is now rerollable and she will sometimes have shred. Very strong indeed.

*'''Priests:''' For only 25 points, these independent characters are your cheap unit buffers. They are Zealots (Fearless and Hatred), they can take relics (litanies anyone?), and they can use War Hymns to additionally augment their unit (reroll to wound, reroll failed saves, or grants the Preacher Smash, which is hilarious, albeit for the most part impractical). Always take them, no matter what army you're running or what your plan is they can come in handy, even if you are running a single squad of basic Sisters as an allied detachment, I don't care. Take the crazy preachers. 
:The big puzzle with Priests is figuring out what wargear to take, from your rather extensive armory. There are a few stand-out options, however:
::'''Plasma Gun''': Interesting because they're the only thing in your whole army that can take a non-combi plasma. Less interesting because having your source of Fearless burn his fingers and croak is a bummer, and because Rapid Fire is not a good thing in a choppy squad. Take these if your priests are riding with a standard Battle Sister squad, since their AoF gives Preferred Enemy (pretty much eliminating any chances of Gets Hot! screwing you over), and because they generally don't want to charge anyway.
::'''Power Weapon''': If the priest is hanging around with a fighty squad - Celestians, Battle Conclaves - a little more armor-chopping power is nice to have. I'd pass on the sword, since priests are only S3, but both the axe and maul are good options. The maul is more interesting than it looks because if you use a War Hymn to gain Smash, it becomes AP2 and the Priest becomes S8, allowing the crazy preacher to squash Chapter Masters (although don't bet on it happening, it's far more likely to miss/get saved by an Invuln).
::'''Eviscerator''': Add a bit more heavy punch, fitting since it might as well be a chainfist. A good bet with Celestians, or maybe with Repentia, but expensive as it more than doubles the Priest's base cost. If you take this, Smash will never be needed.
::'''Combi-Weapon''': Always nice. For the reasons mentioned above, It'd be better to avoid combi-plasma (take it on someone with a 3+ if you really want it, or just take a real plasma gun), but combi-meltas and combi-flamers can both help out in the right circumstances (both times acting as a nice surprise for the enemy).  Combi-weapons can also be useful for non-Sisters armies and can be well worth it, since the preachers are already really good buffers for any army and can provide good weapons at a price (with their base and special gear) that's affordable.  They can also be helped with the whole "Only X in Y can take Z" weapons, providing extra options wherever you need them.
::'''Storm Bolter''': No, really. It's cheap, and it's Assault 2 rather than Rapid Fire. A nice option if you're cheaping out or if you're not sure what squad you'll want the priest to run with. Pass on the Shotgun, and definitely pass on the Autogun, but this is handy.

=====Special Characters=====

*'''Uriah Jacobus, Protector of the Faith:''' [[Ollanius Pius|Badass]] old guy who loves to smite heretics with his '''Twin-barreled shotgun.''' For 100 points you get a buffed up priest with a decent assault shotgun (basically an AP4 Storm Bolter). His banner gives Counter-attack and Fearless within 12" and, more importantly, he gives the unit he's attached to an additional AoF that always gets passed automatically, and can be used even if a model with a Simalacrum Imperialis in the unit died.  It also doesn't prevent the unit from using any other Act of Faith it might have in subsequent phases. 
:Let's not forget he is still a priest, so Zealot, War Hymns (on LD 9!) and for being a HQ, Martyrdom special rule. Not to pile on, '''BUT''' his Warlord Trait also makes his squad have a 5++ instead of 6++ and under 7th edition, there's no rule stating that your highest LD character has to be your Warlord. The question is not whether or not you take this guy, it's to what squad do you attach him (9/10 woman Repentia? 20 woman Sisters blob? A bunch of assassins?). If you're taking allies, consider buying him (either taken with who else you think is appropriate, or just by himself in a Delegation) and the squad you stick him with an assault vehicle. Anyway you want him, he will not disappoint.

*'''Canoness Veridyan:''' While a kickass model, Veridyan isn't much different from a standard Canoness stat wise. She carries no unique weapons outside of a bolt pistol and power sword and to top it all off, her act of faith is the same as a regular Canoness. What she does have that is unique is her special ability Clinical Precision, basically she gives precision shot and strike to ALL sister models. For a cheap 85 pts, she's not that bad of an HQ choice, but that being said, avoid putting her in melee, as she has a 6 up Invulnerable save at best, so park her in a Command Squad with Heavy Bolters near some exorcists, and get that sweet precision shot bonus. 

*'''Saint Celestine (Imperial Triumvirate):''' Talk about buffs.  While originally nerfed in the Digital Incarnation, her most recent (re)incarnation has received one of the biggest buffs in the entire game.  Coming in at twice what Jacobus costs, you do get what you're paying for, starting with Eternal Warrior, a gift from heaven considering she's still only T3, and her 5 Wounds and decent armour (2+/4++) makes her really hard to kill, even if she couldn't come back to life with all her Wounds restored!  If for some reason you still thought she was too fragile, she also comes with the Geminae Superia, Canonesses that Celestine has resurrected, though their stats are midway between a Canoness and a Celestian; the main highlight is that every Wound against Celestine is instead resolved against the Geminae Superia (making Celestine a great challenge troll).  This might be a little worrying, if one of the Geminae Superia didn't come back to life each and every turn (by default giving Celestine 14+ Wounds), and to make things better, they don't prevent Celestine from joining units!
:Do note that as she can come back once per game, and does so with full Wounds, her Martyrdom only kicks in once she dies for real.  On the plus side she only awards VP for Slay the Warlord when she's removed for real.
:For her other equipment Celestine retains her Assault 1 Heavy Flamer Master-crafted Sword, which becomes S+2 AP3 in melee so she can consistently rip through hordes with both her 5 attacks and the Geminae's combined 6, and she now has Armourbane.  While you shouldn't expect her to peel open Land Raiders (you have Dominions for that) she can and will tear apart anything AV 12 and lower, and even AV 13 isn't safe from her. At I7 she'll also strike first against pretty much anything but the big greater Daemons and some of the Dark Eldar HQs. She also gets a MEQ-killing one-shot S8 AP3 Orbital Bombardment, which is useful in the turn before she reaches combat.
:She also has some potential as a character killer once again (the Gathering Storm fluff has her kicking Abbadon's ass - with her new stats, entirely possible if unlikely, even being AP3 she has so many Attacks and the Geminae can take so many Wounds for her it's not even funny). 
:Her Warlord Trait allows all units within 12" of her to use her Ld10 for AoF [[AWESOME|and War Hymns]]. Given that normal Priests are LD7, giving you even-odds on passing the War Hymns tests and the advantages successful Hymns can give you, this is easily a massive incentive for taking her if you were already planning on a lot of Priests (as you should be).
:She's also gained Saintly Blessings, being able to bless a specific type of unit within 12" of her with a special ability (Zealot for HQ, FNP6+ for Troops or +1 if they already had it, Counter Attack and Furious Charge for Elites, Fleet and Crusader for Fast Attack, Relentless for Heavy Support and It Will Not Die for Lord of War). These abilities make her a bit schizophrenic in a footslogging list. She should be at the vanguard of your assault, but if you are marching, she's going to outrun her bubble. To get around this, you can just ally her into another army that doesn't have the disadvantage of a marching list.
:Like Jacobus, the question isn't whether or not you should take her, it's where she should be, and thanks to her blessings she can excel everywhere.  If you want her in combat, put her with Seraphim or some sort of Assault Squad (Marines with Celestine will function as a battlefield blender) and if you have a gunline, then she can still function well as a counter-charge unit.  
::Overall, she is a great unit. Outside of her strength and toughness of 3 (buffed by EW), she has a fantastic statline, wargear, and special abilities, and Celestine [[wat|even has her own Relics,]] all of which are worth it in their own way.  She's not the ''only'' way to gain access to these relics, listed below, but she's definitely the ''easiest'' way.
:*'''Ecclesiarchy Relics:''' First and foremost, these Relics '''can be given to any Character who can normally take a relic (or their equivalent), provided they're in an army that includes Saint Celestine, or are part of a Wrathful Crusade Formation/Castellans of the Imperium Detachment''' (just stick with Celestine, she's worth it and those other two include options for her anyway).
::*'''Skull of Petronella the Pious:''' Offers a 6+ Invuln save to the entire squad, and isn't worth it for the Sisters.  If given to a Priest who's put into a massive blob on the other hand, it could definitely find its use, essentially giving whichever unit you want Shield of Faith (you made sure to take that Priest as part of the Ministorum Delegation right?).
::*'''Blade of the Worthy''' Essentially a Power Sword, but if the character wielding it passes a Leadership test, it turns into Celestine's own sword, but at AP2 instead of AP3.  Absurdly good, especially on somebody like a Marine to offer [[Asterion Moloc|S6 AP2 at Initiative.]]
::*'''Castigator:''' A bolt pistol, albeit one that [[Awesome|ignores both Armour and Invulnerable saves.]]  At 15 points there's little reason not to take this, especially if you know your opponent's HQs are going to be having high Armour/Invulns.  Hell, one shot at a SS/TH Terminator could make more than double its points back.  Bonus points if you put this on an Inquisitor who joins a Jokaero to double the range the pistol normally has. It is also a good way to force a terminator captain to have a pistol for that sweet dual-wield bonus.
::*'''The Font of Fury:''' The Holy Hand Grenade of Comic Sans.  A frag grenade with Large Blast instead of Blast and with the the Bane of Evil rule, causing it to have Poisoned (2+) against all Chaos units.  While it's obviously pretty decent against Chaos units (the only exceptions being Chaos Marines thanks to their armour), it can also be worth it against other armies too, since it's still Poisoned (4+) against them, and at 10 points only it's a steal, so long as you live long enough to throw it.  Just give it to somebody wearing a Jump Pack to make sure that comes to pass.
::*'''Shroud of the Anti-Martyr:''' For 35 points you can give somebody the Eternal Warrior rule.  You're paying out the ass for this, so put it on somebody who'll be worth it. A good way to determine this is if the Shroud costs 50% or more what the model does once all of their upgrades have been added, then don't give it to them, just get another model, or beef them up some more.  Chapter Masters in particular can benefit from this greatly (just for that extra fuck you to Powerfists/Thunder Hammers).
::*'''Desvalle's Holy Circle:''' For those who hate Deep-striking.  First of all it's an Iron Halo/Rosarius (so no need to buy that for whomever you're giving this to), and secondly enemies cannot arrive within 12" of the bearer, and if they scatter into that range they automatically suffer a Deep Strike Mishap.  Awesome, and it's one of the very few ways that you can give certain models like Inquisitors Invulnerable saves.