When the Adeptus Ministorum needs someone slain, they call upon their daughters of death, the lethal and fanatical Death-Cult Assassins. Preternaturally agile and capable of dodging the most vicious melee attacks, the Assassins slip behind enemy lines slaying commanders and other key personnel. In addition, the Death-Cult's stealth and observation skills make them ideal for spotting enemy units infiltrating their main force. A few well-placed Death-Cult Assassins in the right locations can cause more confusion and terror than a heavy tank.
Strategy[]
Though nowhere near as effective as the Vindicare Assassin, the Death Cult Assassin fulfills a similar role: Elimination of key personnal.
Being most effective against enemy commander units, this should obviously dictate using them against said units. Care must be taken to avoid detection; While she can deal damage very quickly, she is delicate and will undoubtedly die before killing or even reaching her target if discovered. Unlike other "assassin" units, Death Cult assassins are not limited to a single example, up to three can be fielded at one Troop cost each. Obviously this is more effective against Imperial Guardsmen and enemy Sisters of Battle, as both make heavy use of Commander units in their ranks. While undetected, her melee attacks deal absolutely staggering levels of morale damage. Just a few strikes is all that's needed to completely break the morale of most squads.
Unfortunately, the Death Cult Assassin suffers from a few distinct disadvantages that severely limit their usefulness. First and foremost, she is melee only. While a Vindicare can be left to "Hold Position" to keep them safe from chasing enemies and being detected, such a tactic almost ensures the Death-Cult won't even engage enemy targets. As a result, she cannot be left to defend areas. Furthermore, as most leaders are added to squads, she will often struggle to get at her primary target, as she will attack the squad rather than a specific unit. In high-number squads such as Guardsmen, this can often prove to be more than she can handle before being discovered and eliminated. Which brings us up to her final, and most severe issue: Without stealth, she is completely and utterly useless. She wont be able to close the gap with almost any squad before being eliminated. As she is completely offensive-focused, this can pose a huge issue, as the enemy will almost certainly have turrets and detectors near their own base.
The Death-Cult Assassin excels at dealing with elite tier 3 infantry and unattached commanders of any level. XV88 Broadside Battlesuits are particularly susceptible to her attacks as they are often kept out of the main mass of the army for easier pathing, but this also makes it easier for her to reach them. Keeping an Assassin or two mixed in with Sister Repentia Squads and other melee units can keep the Assassins unnoticed and provide them with a meat shield even if they're detected.
Locating an enemy Death-Cult Assassin can be tricky. Without active detectors near her location and no bright weapons fire flashing towards her target, she can operate without interference for quite some time. As a lone unit, she doesn't present the usual pathing interference that an entire infiltrated squad would present. Although her attacks have a small flash on impact, the best detection method is by sound. Her attacks have a loud electrical crack regardless of whether or not she has been detected, but only when she is onscreen. If you hear this noise, get detectors on hand quickly and move your army to get them out of melee. It is nearly impossible to successfully engage the Death-Cult Assassin in melee even when detected thanks to her special dodge ability and powerful melee weapon, but her low health and Infantry High armor make it very easy to gun her down with ranged weaponry once she is detected.
Upgrades[]
Death Cult Assassin has no upgrade.
Abilities[]
Assassin agility[]
Death Cult Assassin deftly slips between the blows of her enemies, reducing incoming melee damage by 33%.
Execution[]
Every 1.5s, Death Cult Assassin has a chance to instantly kill engaged Infantry, Heavy Infantry and Commander, if enemy has 40% health or less.
Weapons[]
Power Stiletto[]
This is the only weapon of the Death Cult Assassin, making her a melee-only but powerful anti-infantry unit. (Execution passive is included in Power Stiletto chart, but since it is the only Death Cult Assassin's weapon, it is more relevant to list it as innate ability.)
Power Stiletto
Damage Per Second Values
Infantry
Vehicles
Buildings
Daemons
Morale
Base Damage
Low
Med
High
H.Med
H.Hi
Cmdr
Low
Med
High
Air
Low
Med
High
Med
High
DPS
Base
Min
Max
Min.D
Initial DPS:
21.5
43.0
43.0
43.0
86.0
86.0
4.3
4.3
4.3
1.0
4.3
4.3
4.3
60.2
34.4
2.5
5
80
92
1
Cost
Default Weapon
Range
Melee
Setup Time
0 s
Build Time
Default Weapon
Accuracy
100%
Refire Rate
1 s
Area of Effect
None
Requires
Nothing
Notes
Every 1.5 s when attacking Infantry, Heavy Infantry, and Commanders, this weapon can instantly kill the target if it has 40% health or less.
