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Sunday, September 12, 2010

Email in: 1750 Tau


"Hey Kirby,

I've been looking through the Tau codex, and after reading through your Tau guides, come up with this list. I've just recently found out that the Broadsides can take something to shoot at multiple units; this is probably worthwhile, but not knowing how it works/points/not having codex, this is what I have so far.

Perhaps I can drop the SMS/Multitrackers on the Hammerheads in exchange for a bit more beef. Someone has recommended an airburst for the Shasel, along with flamer. It's only str 4 right? But a large blast, which is cool. I plan to put the Shasel in with the kroot to increase leadership, the Visor is just throw away 3 points. I didn't bother with the multitracker for him as I wouldn't fire both weapons anyway generally.

Tau 1750

Shasel
- Missile/Fusion gun/Visor

Crisis Suite x3
- Missile/Plasma/Multitracker
Crisis Suite x3
- Missile/Plasma/Multitracker
Crisis Suite x3
- Missile/Plasma/Multitracker

Fire Warriors x6

Kroot x10

Kroot x10/3 Hounds

Kroot x10/3 Hounds

Pathfinders x8
- Devilfish/Disruption

Broadsides x3
- Stabilisers
- Team Leader, Hardwired Drones, 2x Shield Drones

Hammerhead
- Railgun, SMS, Disruption, Multitracker

Hammerhead
- Railgun, SMS, Disruption, Multitracker

Warm regards,

Jason"
List is solid overall. The Broadsides need the Team Leader to have targetlock though to target different units and I'd prob drop the squad size down to 4. Whilst they lose firepower and take an Ld check after one death, frees up a lot of points. With these points I'd make the Commander a PR/MP/MT w/target lock so he can hide in units and buff Ld and make the lone Devilfish better. Add SMS, multi-tracker and targeting array for 7 S5 shots on the move at BS4. Any extra points can be used to add drones to Crisis suits or Hounds to the Kroot squads.

You want the upgrades on the Hammerheads as they are still useful if their Railgun gets blown off. They are also able to move and shoot and are more effective anti-infantry stoppers. I'm not a fan of no Piranhas as even at 1750 they can be blockers but a solid amount of firepower.

4 pinkments:

SneakyDan said...

Solid list is right, but missing a few key things.

Broadside unit should be 3 broadsides, 2 GUN drones (if any). Your broadsides should have cover, meaning a gun drone has the same saving throw as a 4+ invuln anyways right? You dont use them to soak bolter hits, you use them to soak instant death shots, so having T3 vs T4 is irrelevant.

3 Squads of kroot? Why? There isnt really any need for 4 scoring units, 3 is plenty, your Tau, you dont capture objectives, you shoot people off them. Try 2 x units of 12 kroot w/ 5 hounds. Gives you 2 20+ " screens of troops at your disposal.

Im gonna disagree with the pirahnas again. Take them if you want, but the points are better spent elsewhere, IMO, when you have 3 railgun targets a turn.

The Shas'el is armed on the side of stupid. He doesnt need fusion. Three viable options are Missile/Plasma/TA, with HW Multi, for general purpose, or, TL MP for ranged Ack Ack, or, finally, Missilepod/ Airburst frag, if you need to deal with hordes.

Do not discount Burst Cannons on Railheads. They are piss-off strong. you can move 6" and unload 6 x BS4 Str5 Ap5 shots, and a Str6 AP4 Template, on a target within 18". Thats a LOT of cover saves for hordes to make, or a lot of saves in general for marines.

Hope this helps.

AbusePuppy said...

A Shield Drone in Broadsides is useful for wound allocation stuff; also, when taking hits from non-AP2 weapons, allocating to a Shield Drone is vastly superior. (Kirb is right about the Target Lock, though- if you've got more than two suits in the XV88 team, you really need it.)

Piranhas are really vital to Tau lists because they are your vehicle blockers; Kroot can be tank shocked out of the way, but Piranhas cannot, and ramming is largely ineffective against them thanks to being skimmers.

I think you are a bit heavy on Kroot, but not catastrophically so. Just don't waste them on gimmick tricks (outflanking, etc) and you should be okay. Only one 'Fish does feel a little light, though, so I would expect to see you going to ground with the Kroot even more than normal to try and preserve scoring units.

BCs on Railheads aren't that great because of their placement. Sure, it's more shots than a SMS, but you don't get to ignore cover with it and it's more restrictive on firing (one weapon vs. two). Adding a Target Lock to your Railheads vastly increases their versatility with SMS; otherwise, I'd leave them with BCs and not worry about the secondary gun until your main one is destroyed.

(Incidentally I'm not a fan of multiple Railheads, but again, it's hardly a bad build.)

Commander shouldn't be running Fusion. MP/PR is preferred, TLMP is... acceptable, but not great. AFP is an okay gun, but you don't need with with twin Railheads. Honestly, MP/PR/TA/HWMT seems like the obvious choice, given you already run Fireknives. (Target Lock can be useful, too, but I don't advocate it as strongly as Stelek or Kirb do on commanders. Good if you're hanging with Kroot, though.)

I'm fine with the three-strong Broadsides, but fishing up points to do anything with the list is difficult; honestly, dropping a Fireknife or Kroot squad is the only other way I see. There's nothing really wrong with the list overall, you're just going to NEED to make those early AT shots to insure that vehicles can't close with you. Beware Land Raiders and Wave Serpents, who will give you a very bad time, even with all those Railguns.

Sage said...

You'll probably need Piranhas to melta down anything big & stall opposing vehicles (units of two is usually how it's done, if you can get them). If they kill something, hey, bonus. Shield Drones > Gun Drones, keep them on the Broadsides. Grab a HW-TL for your Broadside Team Leader, too.

Everyone has generally the right idea for your commander, FBs aren't great unless it's on something that can take massive firepower (Piranhas can't, but they can move fast enough to threaten someone if they move into an area).

Two squads of kroot are generally enough, so try for hounds, as the initiative makes them worth it.

After that, it's mostly mix and match.

Unknown said...

At 1750 single Piranhas work as you need the ability to block two units. If you need to force block a single rock (i.e. lone raider) you can park them next to each other. You lose a bit of security from no squadron rules but you gain flexibility (and KP...woo).

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