Topic: Starting Tau (1500pts List)

[Ainafallas]

Just got a load of models relatively cheap so thought i'd plan out a list and see what people thought of it.

HQ:

Shas'el - Plasma, Fusion, Targetting Array, HW-Multi-Tracker - 97

Elites:

2 Crisis Suits
Twin Missile Pods, Targetting Array - 106

2 Crisis Suits
Twin Plasma Rifles, Targetting Array - 130

2 Crisis Suits
Plasma, Fusion, Multi-Trackers
Team Leader upgrade - Bonding Knife and 2 Shield Drones - 164

Troops:

4 Firewarrior Squads
-5 Pulse Rifles
- 1 Shas'ui with Markerlight - 80 each

10 Kroot - 70
10 Kroot - 70

Heavy:

Hammerhead
- Railgun, SMS, Target Lock, Disruption Pods, Decoy Launchers, Multitracker - 185

Hammerhead
- Ion Cannon, SMS, Target Lock, Disruption Pods, Decoy Launchers, Multitracker - 150

2 Broadsides
- A.S.S, upgrade to team leader with bonding knife and two shield drones - 200

Leaves about 5pts spare.

So what do you think?

[Forte']

Lets start from the top and work down.

HQ OK maybe a stim injector

Elites i would do it like this

2 Crisis Suits
Missile Pods,Plasmas, Targetting Array

2 Crisis Suits
Plasma Rifles,,Missile pods,Targetting Array

2 Crisis Suits
Plasma, Fusion, Multi-Trackers
Team Leader upgrade - Bonding Knife and 2 Shield Drones - 164

Troops OK maybe make the kroot into one big squad and add some hounds.

Heavy i would drop the second hammerhead and take sniper squads. Under the new codex you can take multiple squads as the same heavy. Only 80 each squad and they are 36" str 6 ap 3 pinning, also they have stealth. Cant go wrong.

Hope it helped

[Shas'O Taij]

Heavy i would drop the second hammerhead and take sniper squads. Under the new codex you can take multiple squads as the same heavy. Only 80 each squad and they are 36" str 6 ap 3 pinning, also they have stealth. Cant go wrong.

I secound that, and you can probably fit 2 or 3 in if you drop some upgrades!

[Ainafallas]

Sniper drones? Hmm hadn't really considered them to be honest. The only time i've ever faced them they just got ignored and didn't get any shots off until the drone controller was sniped.  Obviously thats just one case in point so how does everyone that uses them find them? Worth it? Or does the fact they're non-scoring and static count against them a lot?

[int main()]

2 Crisis Suits
Twin Missile Pods, Targetting Array - 106

2 Crisis Suits
Twin Plasma Rifles, Targetting Array - 130

Actually these are just fine,I use suits like these in my list as well.BS4 and twin-linked never hurts 


Sniper drones could be good for this list since your list is the static type.I play(and somehow have only played) mech tau so I can't say much on this matter though.

[Locarno]

Sniper drones? Hmm hadn't really considered them to be honest. The only time i've ever faced them they just got ignored and didn't get any shots off until the drone controller was sniped.  Obviously thats just one case in point so how does everyone that uses them find them? Worth it? Or does the fact they're non-scoring and static count against them a lot?

Used in force? Scary.
3 or more units are horrendously effective, especially when used to lay down a 'pinning web'*...


* See here: http://www.40konline.com/index.php?topic=121937.0

[Forte']

Think about this,

A SM squad fully equipped for combat is coming for you firewarriors. They are making there way across the table getting stuck in terrain and the like. Hit them with some markerlights from your firewarriors(take hw multitracker and hw target lock and it doesn't mess up your shooting). And BANG. Nine drones fire, six drones hit, all wound and minus five for pinning (firewarrior markers ). And WAMO free shooting or the turn to hop in that fish and run for heck.

[Granite Slam]

   A multi-tracker on a fire warrior shas'ui is pointless. It only allows you to fire two battlesuit weapons and neither the pulse rifle or the markerlight are battlesuit weapons. Go figure. But yeah, a target lock on the markerlight carriers never hurts and does give you better options.
   I'm not a fan of  twin linked and BS4 on battlesuits, it just seems to cry out "I wish I was a Marine!" one or the other does the job. Missile pod/plasma rifle is a good standard combination and a burst cannon/plasma rifle is good if you aren't wanting to use them to deal with light armour. Obviously you'll be wanting to swap the targetting array for a multi-tracker so that you can use both guns. If you really want the targetting array then you could always go with the more atypical configurations. A plasma rifle, shield gen and targetting array for example or plasma/ta/dc+shield drone 'vre with bonding knife + plasma/ta/dc+shield drone.

   As for the sniper teams. Well. They're great but do require carefull positioning to be effective. Deploying in cover isn't a must as with their stealth suits they have to be seen before they can be shot, not to mention the target priority test and the fact that your opponent probably wants to shoot at something else.

-S

[Forte']

Check your codex again man in the infantry wargear it says that you can fire two weapons.

"I wish I was a Marine!"

It does. I am a fan of deepstriking a fusion equipped battlesuit behind them dang 14 armor leman russes to see what they are really made of. Your don't need fancy wargear just a fusion and a target array just for kicks. Think about it a 50 ish point guys will freakout the enemy to try and kill this 3 up save guy while your army goes forward.

[Granite Slam]

Check your codex again man in the infantry wargear it says that you can fire two weapons.

   Checked and I still get the same result. Where does it say that you can fire two normal (ie: non-battlesuit) weapons?

-S

[int main()]

Checked and I still get the same result. Where does it say that you can fire two normal (ie: non-battlesuit) weapons?

I'm not sure if the infantry armory has the multi-tracker but if it does you should be able to use it and fire 2 weapons...as to why you'd bother,I don't know.Most of the time if you have a FW shas'ui with marker you should take target locks not trackers.

I'm not even sure why you need to differentiate between battlesuit and non-suit weapons at all,I don't think the the MT entry differentiates between battlesuit and non-battlesuit weapons but I don't hav the dex on me now so can't be 100% sure.The only difference should be whether non-battlesuit models can take it or not.

[The GrimSqueaker]

It's a glitch in the Codex. The definition of Multi-Tracker makes reference to being a Battlesuit system that allows the firing of multiple Battlesuit weapons. The Infantry Wargear section states that suitable models may be equipped with a hardwired Multi-Tracker but there is no definition of Multi-tracker added. Infantry models aren't equipped with Battlesuits weapons so there's the catch. While a Marker Light may possibly be considered a Battlesuit weapon pulse rifes/carbines are not.

So, as it stands. The Multi-Tracker is useless for non-Battlesuit infantry models. However, talk to your opponent and see if they may agree with you prior to the game.

[Forte']

It is in the infantry armory so one would assume it works for infantry and infanty weapons. Anyway my thought was that you could fire the squad at one thing and the 'ui fires his weapons at something else. But that is just me.

Sniper drones? Hmm hadn't really considered them to be honest.

Used right they are quite effective to say the least. 36" is great range to have the rail rifles although for a sniper rifle that is pretty bad.You can sit quite nicely just outa bolter range and still shoot. At 240 for a heavy thats not bad. A tricked out rail head could be that much.

[int main()]

It is in the infantry armory so one would assume it works for infantry and infanty weapons. Anyway my thought was that you could fire the squad at one thing and the 'ui fires his weapons at something else. But that is just me.

That's the target lock not the multi-tracker.Which is actually a better idea to have on a FW shas'ui with a markerlight.

[The GrimSqueaker]

It is in the infantry armory so one would assume it works for infantry and infanty weapons.

Alas one may never assume anything. As the definition stands it explicitly states battlesuit weapons and that's where a rules lawyer can be a right pain.

[Ainafallas]

Well after talking to my mates who play tau (who are at the GT Heats now with them  ), i decided i might as well go with fish of fury squads for my troop choices.  Ok its less scoring points but im not that worried about that as i took eldar with over 400pts of non-scoring to this years GT and did pretty darn well.  The main thing ive been trying to work out with this list is how to use the plasma/fusion suits well without them being too close and getting charged. What i worked out was that i could just put a devilfish in the way and that would stop them being assaulted and it would also be a useful protection for my IC.  At least in theory anyway.

My main question now is: how useful do people really find the plasma/fusion suits? Any good?

[Forte']

Deep strike them behind enemy tanks. Afta you splode them use it to take out high powerd or expensixe units but don't give it to much wargear. Chanses are that if you don't hide jump out and hide again it will get smoked.

[Ainafallas]

The other option that im more leaning towards at the moment is to play Farsight Enclave.

Farsight - 170
Bodyguard of doom: 4 Shas'vres, all with HW Target locks, HW multitrackers and targetting arrays, two with plasma/fusion, two with plasma/missile pod, 8 shield drones in total - 468pts in total

Shas'el with plasma/fusion/targetting array/HW Multitracker - 97

Crisis with twin missile pods and targetting array - 53

Crisis with twin missile pods and targetting array - 53

6 Firewarriors

10 Firewarriors in devilfish with SMS, decoys, targetting array and multitracker - 220

Hammerhead
- Railgun, SMS, Target Lock, Decoy Launchers, Multitracker - 180


2 Broadsides
- A.S.S, upgrade to team leader with bonding knife and two shield drones - 200

Probably not that good against hordes but thats why theres a fish with FWs in there.