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Author Topic: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please  (Read 2883 times)

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Offline RapierSix2587

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First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« on: January 7, 2014, 09:00:19 PM »
Hey everyone, this is my first post so apologies for any rule breaking, I have read the rules but just in case I missed something, I am sorry, anyways, on with the rest of the post aye?

I have decided to start playing 40k, I have a mate who plays a lot and he has been saying for a while (since I met him at his 21st.. 2 years ago) that I would love it, so after reading through some codex's I happened to like the Tau the most, mainly because of the whole reliance on range fire power and tactics to win (I.E. No Zerg rushing, haha!).

I have decided to jump straight into the games, I learn fast so I am pretty sure I'll catch the hang of it quick, I do watch my mate play a lot and they use me as a portable Rulebook, I know most the rules of the top of my head so yeah, so I want to start at big games (I.E. 1850 pts).

So I wrote out a Army List using a great little App called BattleScribe, so I'll write it up here, please give me any advice and reasoning on what I should do and all that jazz, tips or how I should use particular units to their best, and don't forget to basically thrash my list, haha! Here it goes:

HQ - 187 pts

Commander
- Crisis "Iridium" Battlesuit
- Neuroweb System Jammer
- Onager Gauntlet
- 2x Plasma Rifles
- Shield Generator
- Stimulant Injector

ELITES - 558 pts

XV104 Riptide
- Ion Accelerator
- Stimulant Injector
- Twin-Linked Plasma Rifles

XV8 Crisis Team (Fire-Knife Config)
- 3x Plasma Rifles
- 3x Missile Pods
- Bonded

XV8 Crisis Team (Helios Config)
- 3x Plasma Rifles
- 3x Fusion Blasters
- Bonded

TROOPS - 390 pts

Fire Warrior Team (12)
- Shas'ui
- Bonded

Fire Warrior Team (12)
- Shas'ui
- Bonded

Fire Warrior Team (12)
- Shas'ui
- Bonded

FAST ATTACK - 158 pts

Pathfinder Team
- Shas'ui
- Bonded
- Markerlights
- Recon Drone

HEAVY SUPPORT - 557 pts

Hammerhead Gunship
- Blacksun Filter
- Disruption Pod
- Railgun With Submunitions
- Sensor Spines
- Twin-linked Smart Missile System

XV88 Broadside Team (HRR Config)
- 3x Twin-linked Heavy Rail Rifle
- 3x Twin-linked Smart Missile System
- Shas'vre With Velocity Tracker
- Bonded

XV88 Broadside Team (HYMP Config)
- Shas'vre With Velocity Tracker
- 2x Seeker Missiles
- 2x Twin-linked High Yield Missile Pods
- 2x Twin-linked Smart Missile System
- Bonded

Total - 1850 pts

So what do you guys think? Let me know, and sorry again if I broke any rules.






Offline Spectral Arbor

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #1 on: January 7, 2014, 10:41:38 PM »
I can't see any broken rules. :)

As a suggestion on list formatting, if you can fit a unit onto one line, it's easier to see the whole list at once, which makes critique easier, for me, anyway. Feel free to use reasonable short forms, like "Iridium" or "Neuroweb"

I'm not a Tau player, but I happen to have been schooled by them, and I learned quickly. I think Tau do a "mobile" force very well, which works with 40k's multiple objective missions. To that end, Devilfish transports are really good at delivering your troops to objectives. They're tough, with a "built in" save, that you can improve, if I recall correctly. I'd suggest a pair of those. You could probably get away with leaving one team at home on an objective.

If you're lucky, you'll get the opinions of two guys from around here that happen to have different views on things...

PS: Welcome to the forum!
« Last Edit: January 7, 2014, 10:43:51 PM by GreatBigTree »

Offline RapierSix2587

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #2 on: January 7, 2014, 10:49:11 PM »
Thanks a lot for the reply GreatBigTree, good to know I didn't break any rules,

I shall take that on board and shorten stuff in the future, apologies for that, and I want to put Devilfish in there a lot, and I can if I drop a full Broadside group but I though since my "Suits" will be doing most of the fighting I actually want to have all my Fire Warriors firing all cylinders from turn 1, and they can move (and Run) to the objectives late game, what I am aiming for is using my Fire-Knives, or Riptide to tackle a unit and get First Blood, and use the Commander and the Helios units to take down a HQ for Slay The Warlord, and hopefully harass most of there rear units, that gives me 2 VP is I go first, and with all the fire power I am bringing I am pretty sure (if I get first turn that is) that I will get First Blood, but thank you for that advice, I'll try and move some points and bring on a Devilfish or 2, thank you!

And I hope one of them reply at least, the more advice the better

Offline Spectral Arbor

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #3 on: January 7, 2014, 10:58:16 PM »
I'd bet you'll get replies within a couple of days. No apologies! Other people do it deliberately, I just find it easier to critique that way, so I suggest it. Your list, your format, you're happy, life's good.

From what little I've been paying attention to Tau, it seems like Broadsides are going out of fashion. That probably has to do with their lesser mobility, which might not play into the "mobile" firebase that seems to be pretty effective. Like I said, you'll get some better advice shortly. I hope you enjoy your entrance to 40k. You've chosen one of the more powerful armies, right now, which is hard to go wrong from a competitive standpoint. :)

Offline RapierSix2587

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #4 on: January 7, 2014, 11:02:48 PM »
Fair enough, well thank you again, I'll amend it in the future to make it easier for everyone, and thanks I shall be waiting for it

Offline Halollet

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #5 on: January 8, 2014, 08:28:58 AM »
Prepared to be trashed. :D :P

HQ - 187 pts

Commander
- Crisis "Iridium" Battlesuit
- Neuroweb System Jammer
- Onager Gauntlet
- 2x Plasma Rifles
- Shield Generator
- Stimulant Injector
Drop the Shield Generator and the stimulant.  With the iridium armour they're redundant.  With that suit, the commander is 1 toughness away from being as tough as a hive tyrant with an armoured shell.
Quote
ELITES - 558 pts

XV104 Riptide
- Ion Accelerator
- Stimulant Injector
- Twin-Linked Plasma Rifles
Find the minimal points to add Interceptor.  Make those deep striking terminators pay!
Quote
XV8 Crisis Team (Fire-Knife Config)
- 3x Plasma Rifles
- 3x Missile Pods
- Bonded
Drop bonded. It only kicks in below 25% which is impossible with 3 models.
Quote
XV8 Crisis Team (Helios Config)
- 3x Plasma Rifles
- 3x Fusion Blasters
- Bonded
Same here.

I'm curious; where are you going to put your commander?
Quote
TROOPS - 390 pts

Fire Warrior Team (12)
- Shas'ui
- Bonded

Fire Warrior Team (12)
- Shas'ui
- Bonded

Fire Warrior Team (12)
- Shas'ui
- Bonded
Drop boneded, its not worth it.  If you have 2-3 firewarriors left then they're going to be dead regarless.
Quote
FAST ATTACK - 158 pts

Pathfinder Team
- Shas'ui
- Bonded
- Markerlights
- Recon Drone
Drop bonded.  How big is the squad here?  They will get shot to bits every game, trust me.
Quote
HEAVY SUPPORT - 557 pts

Hammerhead Gunship
- Blacksun Filter
- Disruption Pod
- Railgun With Submunitions
- Sensor Spines
- Twin-linked Smart Missile System
Sensor Spines are worthless.  If you shimmy out in the open you'll already have the best cover save you're going to get 99% of the time.
Quote
XV88 Broadside Team (HRR Config)
- 3x Twin-linked Heavy Rail Rifle
- 3x Twin-linked Smart Missile System
- Shas'vre With Velocity Tracker
- Bonded
Does only one model have velocity tracker?  Its legal but is silly.  With the heavy rail, I would leave them to shooting other tanks and leave the sky fire to the high yield guys.

Again, drop bonded! :p
Quote
XV88 Broadside Team (HYMP Config)
- Shas'vre With Velocity Tracker
- 2x Seeker Missiles
- 2x Twin-linked High Yield Missile Pods
- 2x Twin-linked Smart Missile System
- Bonded
Give both models Velocity Tracker and drop bonded.  I would add some missile drones too.  To both units actually.  Cheap cannon fodder that still add respectable firepower! :)
Quote
Total - 1850 pts

I look forward to your version number two list!
« Last Edit: January 8, 2014, 08:34:42 AM by Halollet »
One sure mark of a fool is to dismiss anything that falls outside of his experience as being impossible.

Offline RapierSix2587

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #6 on: January 8, 2014, 05:11:55 PM »
Okay, thanks for the reply btw Halollet!

And okay, I changed a few things, but I need the Shield, or "Invun Save"  on the HQ cause I will be playing my friends a lot, and they spam Plasma weaponry, Melta Weaponry, and one of my mates lays FW Armoured Company, and the rest play Chaos or "vanilla" Marines, and I've watched my mates Imperial Fist Command Crush everything by throwing that S10 Hammer, haha!

Anyways, on with the list mkII, have fun tearing it to shreds, haha!

HQ - 175 pts

Commander - ATS, Neruoweb, Onager, 2x Plasma Rifles, Shield Gen, Iridium

ELITES - 557 pts

XV104 Riptide - EWO, Ion, FnP, TL-Plasma

XV8 Crisis Team - 3x Plasma Rifles, 3x Missile Pods

XV8 Crisis Team - 3x Plasma Rifles, 3x Fusion Blaster

TROOPS - 354 pts

12 Fire Warriors - Shas'ui

12 Fire Warriors - Shas'ui

12 Fire Warriors - Shas'ui

FAST ATTACK - 120 pts

10 Pathfinders - Shas'ui

HEAVY SUPPORT - 640 pts

Hammerhead Gunship - Blacksun, Disruption Pods, Submunitions, TL-SMS

XV88 Broadside Team - 3x TL-HRR, 3x TL-SMS

XV88 Broadside Team - 3x TL-HYMP, 3x TL-SMS, 3x Seekers, 3x Velocity Trackers

Total - 1846 pts

What do you guys think of that?

Offline Halollet

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #7 on: January 8, 2014, 06:20:40 PM »
If you have that much Plasma and Melta that your commander is going to go up against then I would drop the Iridium because it won't make a difference.  Then I would buy him a pair of shield drones with those points.  Remember that those drones can also Look Out Sir the commander on a 2+ as well!

Also, where is your commander going to go?


For the rest of the list, its certainly not my style, but play it out and see how you like it.  I find that Tau is very versatile for the different play styles people have.  I would love to hear your battle report to see how everything faired for you!
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Offline RapierSix2587

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #8 on: January 8, 2014, 06:32:22 PM »
Hey thanks for the quick reply, and I thought that too but then I realised his massed Boltgun/Autogun walls and Khorne stuff, so I figured the extra T would help, and depending on my opponent he will either go with the Fire-Knives and act as mid-range fire support, or he will go with the Helios's and go MC or HQ Hunting, and if he uses a lone HQ (A guy at the store we go too uses an Eldar army and his HQ is always alone with the long range cannon/sniper rifles/magic boom boom stick, so yeah, send him straight after those kinda targets, thats why he has the Advance Targeting, to sniper commanders.

And I realise I am not playing how any of the other Tau players I know play, but I liked the idea of a defensive force that has fast movers to confer stuff, cause it was a close choice between Tau and Guard, haha! But I like the design of the Tau better, and yeah sure, I'll write it up this weekend after my first game.

Offline Halollet

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #9 on: January 8, 2014, 09:00:02 PM »
If that's what your commander is doing then I would strongly suggest you put the puretide chip on him. It will help a lot with those MCs AMD the other rules should come in handy.
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Offline Wyddr

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #10 on: January 8, 2014, 09:40:37 PM »
Hi there! Welcome to the forums!

HQ - 175 pts

Commander - ATS, Neruoweb, Onager, 2x Plasma Rifles, Shield Gen, Iridium

Okay, so you're going for an aggressive commander build, yes? Generally, Shield Drones are superior to Shield Generators--they protect every bit as well, but if you miss a roll you just lose a drone rather than a wound. The shield generator is really expensive, as is Iridium--you really ought to pick one or the other. If you run into tons of plasma, take the shield gen (or drones); if you run into lots of other stuff, take Iridium. People tend to throw tons of points into their Commanders and it is very rarely needed. Of the two, I prefer the Iridium, since cover saves can be had for free and other suits can be used to take most shooting hits.

Also: Onager I can understand if you plan on putting this suit in somebody's face, but Advanced Targeting System isn't the *best* use of points, but it is cheap. Not crazy about the Neuroweb System Jammer, either--I've never seen it pay off in any significant capacity.

Quote
XV104 Riptide - EWO, Ion, FnP, TL-Plasma

I'd dump the Feel No Pain. Not worth the cost, really. The Riptide is plenty durable enough without it, trust me.

Quote
XV8 Crisis Team - 3x Plasma Rifles, 3x Missile Pods

Fireknives are okay, but I've never been really crazy about them. I think Deathrain suits or Burning Eye suits are superior. Now that you can double up on the same weapon rather than being forced to twin link or take two different ones, there isn't too much of an argument for the Fireknife. Gear your suits to do one job rather than two.

Quote
XV8 Crisis Team - 3x Plasma Rifles, 3x Fusion Blaster

I'm assuming the Commander goes here and it is your intention to deepstrike them. If that isn't your intention, I'd suggest making it so. Consider twin-linking those Fusion Blasters for a few extra points. Also, to add to the unit's durability, see if you can get a pair of Shield Drones in there. 


Quote
12 Fire Warriors - Shas'ui

12 Fire Warriors - Shas'ui

12 Fire Warriors - Shas'ui

These guys are okay.

Quote
FAST ATTACK - 120 pts

10 Pathfinders - Shas'ui

Don't put 10 in the same unit--that means tons of markerlight hits on one target, and you seldom need more than 2-3 hits on the same target (if that). Split this into two units of 5. This will give you more control over where you put the markerlight hits and, paradoxically, will sometimes help them live longer--they become easier to hide, the enemy has to shoot two targets instead of one, and so on. Pathfinders die to a stiff breeze, so don't expect them to live long no matter what you do.

Quote
Hammerhead Gunship - Blacksun, Disruption Pods, Submunitions, TL-SMS

Very good tank. The only problem you have here is that you only have one vehicle. This means every anti-tank weapon on the board is going to be aiming for the one thing they can kill quickly as soon as they can. This guy lasts much longer with other vehicles sharing the AT love.

Quote
XV88 Broadside Team - 3x TL-HRR, 3x TL-SMS

Not super convinced these guys work well--the strength on their guns is *just* low enough to make them unreliable tank killers. As cool as the model is (and they are seriously cool), I haven't found a niche for them yet. Good luck with them, though--let us know how they do.

Quote
XV88 Broadside Team - 3x TL-HYMP, 3x TL-SMS, 3x Seekers, 3x Velocity Trackers

These are pretty good units and reasonably effective anti-aircraft platforms.

You're doing a static-fireline type list, and I've found those are tough to get to work. I suggest switching your Fireknives to Twin-linked Deathrains with Flamers. The three Flamers can use the Supporting Fire rule to protect the firewarriors while hanging back and shooting things.

I hope that's helpful!

Offline RapierSix2587

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #11 on: January 8, 2014, 10:55:31 PM »
Hey, thanks for the reply Wyddr!

He his meant to tackle HQ's that's his job, so I want him to survive combat if I have to charge in after unleashing (hopefully) 4 AP2 S6 hits, to be honest I would prefer the Iridium, but I am okay dropping the Shield, I completely forgot to factor in Cover, Onager is there because, it's a chance to Instagib a enemy HQ or even Vehicle, it's literally a point blank Railgun, and the ATS is only XX points, I think it's great choice due to what I want his job to be cause I can get a bigger chance to snipe HQ's in squads and weapons that can hurt me, but I can see what you mean.

In regards to the Riptide I have been told by everyone at the store to give it FnP, for the Nova abilities, but I don't and won't be using them much so that's all good then I guess.

I choose Fire-Knives because they have an effective range of 36" which means most games I can be firing 1st turn, if I was to drop this build I would make them Deathrains, they were like that so Missile Pod a transport, next time evaporate it's contents.

Helios, yes, I was gonna TL the Fusion Blasters but ran out of points,

Pathfinders, I actually have enough points to split them into 2, and they would give me great abilities against split targets, thanks for that

Hammerhead, to be honest I only want one cause it fits my fluff I am writing for them, and his main job is to 1 hit a Land Raider or equivalent 1st Turn.

Broadsides, to be completely honest, I wanted to switch there roles, make the HRR my anti-air, and my HYMP for ground units, mainly cause most Flyers (all Flyers that aren't FW) are AV12 Max, I can reliably pen and hit that with 3 shots.. I think




Offline Wyddr

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #12 on: January 9, 2014, 08:16:14 AM »
Well, I hate to break this to you, but if your Commander gets in combat with (almost) any enemy HQ, he is going to die no matter what you give him. The only real insurance you have on that score is the Onager and the Iridium--you can probably survive their initial attacks (losing some wounds) and then *maybe* you can instakill the enemy HQ, assuming you hit. Generally, the idea is to use that jetpack to *prevent* getting in combat in the first place, and that tool is very good at that job. You shouldn't have to worry about being charged except by those HQs on bikes or with jump packs.

Combat isn't what the Tau do. Don't spend points trying to make them better at something they are always going to suck at.

As for the Riptide, you really, really should use the Nova abilities. They are very, very good. Of course, you will occasionally take a wound from the thing, but the Stim Injector isn't likely to save you from this and you have a lot of wounds anyway.

As for the Broadsides, the Rifle-Sides have a 25% to pen AV 12 apiece. With three shots, this works out to about a 58% chance or so for at least one pen. Compare this to the Missile-Sides: Granted, only a 12.5% chance to pen each shot, but you have 12 shots. Running the numbers, you're more likely to get a pen out of the missile sides and *much* more likely to take off sufficient hull points to crash the flyer anyway.   

Offline Halollet

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #13 on: January 9, 2014, 08:39:31 AM »
Test out a game Rapier;
Count how many times that shield gen and iridium armour saved you.  If you find that one of them was never used or only saved 1-2 wounds then drop it. 
Also, count how many times the Stim Injectors save your riptide and see if you can get the Rail Broadsides to get their points back.  If they don't work, then don't keep em!




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Offline Wyddr

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #14 on: January 9, 2014, 10:24:45 AM »
Test out a game Rapier;
Count how many times that shield gen and iridium armour saved you.  If you find that one of them was never used or only saved 1-2 wounds then drop it. 
Also, count how many times the Stim Injectors save your riptide and see if you can get the Rail Broadsides to get their points back.  If they don't work, then don't keep em!

Quoted for truth. The best way to learn is to play. Give it a test drive and tweak as you go. Proxy units (if folks don't mind) to try them out before committing to buying/building them.

Offline RapierSix2587

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Re: First Tau/40k/Warhammer Army List - 1850 pts, C&C Please
« Reply #15 on: January 9, 2014, 05:25:14 PM »
Hey guys, played a 1000 point game last night at my mates place (he has a 4x4 Cities Of Death table) anyways, the Crisis Commander I ran had Neuroweb Jammer, Onager Gauntlet, Iridium Armour, and 2x Plasma Rifles, I rolled the no "Look Out Sir's" Warlord Trait and I think he did great, I played against my mates Imperial Guard, and 1st turn I move up onto a Ruin, and opened up with 2 shots on his blob squad, rolled 1 6, and he failed his "Invun" and then got blown away, First Blood and Slay The Warlord (And yes I know it's just luck), then s**t got funny, he moved the whole blob squad into Rapid Fire range, and opened up with 90 shots after he used that bloody order, and I only ended up taking 2 wounds, haha! By turn 3 my Broadside took out a Chimera and a Leman Russ that showed me it's Side AV, and the Commander ended up killing off his Lascannon teams, and destroyed a Demolisher in combat, haha! So I think you guys were right, Cover is most of the time better then an "Invun" thanks for the advice guys!

I've got a small game this weekend, 750 - 1250 pts so I'll write the Battle report Saturday night, even if I get slaughtered, haha!
« Last Edit: January 9, 2014, 09:25:45 PM by RapierSix2587 »

 


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