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| CMON |
"Hey Kirby,
One of my friends introduced me to your blog relatively recently. I'm a new player to the world of 40k, and decided on playing Tau as my first army. I've come up with a list that looks good (in my novice opinion) on paper in terms of balance, but would like some additional criticism, as not many people play Tau at my local gaming store.
HQ - 127
Shas'el - Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Targeting Array, HW Multitracker, HW Drone Controller with 2 Shield Drones
Elite - 230
Slot 1 - 165
Crisis Suit team - 2 man
Shas'vre - Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Targeting Array, HW Multitracker, HW Drone Controller with 2 Shield Drones
Shas'ui - TL Missile Pods, Targeting Array
Slot 2 - 165
Crisis Suit team - 2 man
Shas'vre - Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Targeting Array, HW Multitracker, HW Drone Controller with 2 Shield Drones
Shas'ui - TL Missile Pods, Targeting Array
Troops - 470
Slot 1 - 135
Fire Warriors - 12 man w/Shas'ui, bonding knife
Slot 2 - 135
Fire Warriors - 12 man w/Shas'ui, bonding knife
Slot 3 - 100
Kroot - 10 Kroot, 5 hounds
Slot 4 - 100
Kroot - 10 Kroot, 5 hounds
Fast Attack - 474
Slot 1 - 167
Pathfinders - 6 man, Devilfish with Flechette Dischargers, Disruption Pod
Slot 2 - 167
Pathfinders - 6 man, Devilfish with Flechette Dischargers, Disruption Pod
Slot 3 - 140
Piranha Squadron - 2 Skimmers, Fusion Blasters, Disruption pods on each
Heavy Support - 580 points
Slot 1 - 180
Hammerhead - Burst cannons, Railgun, disruption pod, multitracker, Target Lock, Flechette Discharger
Slot 2 - 200
Broadside Team - 2 man (one of which is a Shas'vre), Advanced stabilization system, HW Drone Controller (on 'vre), 2 Shield Drones
Slot 3 - 200
Broadside Team - 2 man (one of which is a Shas'vre), Advanced stabilization system, HW Drone Controller (on 'vre), 2 Shield Drones
Grand total 1981 out of 2000
The intent is to scout move the pathfinders in devilfish, then deploy them in cover, and then let the fire warriors camp out in the devilfish for objective capping and mobile anti-infantry at range. One of the two kroot carnivore squads would be used as bubble wrapping (for Broadsides), while the other would be used for outflank/infiltrate to threaten the flanks of the opposing army. I know that the pathfinders will be a high priority target for my opponents, so I have put a fair amount of twin linking on my suits in my army knowing that I may not have the pathfinders beyond the first or second turn. The primary anti armor are the two broadside teams, with the hammerhead acting as a secondary anti-armor and a primary anti-horde infantry base, hence the flechette discharger and the target lock to be able to still hit a hard target with the railgun and target softer ones while on the move. Any help in focusing this "take all opponents" would be greatly appreciated.
Sean"
Sean, the list overall looks fine but for two things - your Crisis suits and Fire Warriors. I'd be looking to have three teams of three Crisis suits, two with the plasma/missile/mutli-tracker setup and one with the twin-linked missile setup (buy either a flamer or blacksun filter for the 3rd hard point). This means dropping the Shas'vre, targeting arrays and shield drones from the squad. Whilst these upgrades do increase the durability of the squad (specifically the drones), they are pretty pricey and more firepower is often the best answer for Tau. If you have any spare points over at the end, grab a team-leader and you can attach some drones if you feel like it but remember, they count towards casualties for falling back which can make your suits scatter.
Next we have Fire Warriors - they are basically there to make the Devilfish scoring and don't need the Shas'ui or Bonding knife upgrade nor the extra bodies. Again, if you have extra points you can buy more Fire Warriors for the squads if you like - this increases their durability and in a pinch gives you more firepower, but you really want them hiding as much as possible to keep your scoring options alive.
Other than that, looks solid. Increasing the Kroot to 17 strong (10 + 7 hounds) forces the opponent to kill five from the initial squad to cause a morale check and adding a target lock to the Commander ensures he can join squads and still fire effectively. Otherwise everything you need is there.
