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Offline Cryptid

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The best possible Tau Battleforce List
« on: January 7, 2010, 01:24:30 AM »

 What's up guys, I am new to the game and to the Tau Empire and I was wondering if anyone could give me some pointers as to what a 500 pt. list would be like using the models from the battleforce. Me and my friends are doing a noob tournament this weekend.

 I have scoured all you dudes' ultimately helpful advice but sadly I cannot use many of the tactics due to model issues.

 Anyway, I pretty much have this worked out:

 Xv8 will be Shas el
 Plasma rifle
 Missile Pod
 Multi Tracker

 12x Kroot Carnivores

 12x Fire warriors
  Devilfish

 2x stealth suits
 1x leader dude with HW drone controller, marker drone, and fusion blaster.


 I guess the sweet plan is to use the commander as a support for the FW and blow up vehicles, FW shoot and run using the Devilfish, Kroot outflank or counter charge I guess?? And the stealth suits mark stuff up and maybe take out a transport if necessary with the melta thing. I'm not sure If I should use the markerlight drone or spend pts on a disruption pod for the fish, or the photon nades for the fire warriors.

 Yes, I do know that this is not optimal model selection, and the stealth dudes probably aren't worth it. But Hey, I'm fielding the best battleforce I can.

 So! Any advice at all will help me achieve sweet victory for the greater good!!! Oh and one quick question: If a stealth suit has a HW multitracker, can he shoot a markerlight AND his burst cannon in the same turn???? Sorry I looked at all the FAQS and didn't see that question answered. Probably cause it's dumb.

 THANKS

Offline Daedalus_Mk_V

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Re: The best possible Tau Battleforce List
« Reply #1 on: January 7, 2010, 01:41:29 AM »

 I guess the sweet plan is to use the commander as a support for the FW and blow up vehicles, FW shoot and run using the Devilfish, Kroot outflank or counter charge I guess?? And the stealth suits mark stuff up and maybe take out a transport if necessary with the melta thing. I'm not sure If I should use the markerlight drone or spend pts on a disruption pod for the fish, or the photon nades for the fire warriors.

 Yes, I do know that this is not optimal model selection, and the stealth dudes probably aren't worth it. But Hey, I'm fielding the best battleforce I can.

 So! Any advice at all will help me achieve sweet victory for the greater good!!! Oh and one quick question: If a stealth suit has a HW multitracker, can he shoot a markerlight AND his burst cannon in the same turn???? Sorry I looked at all the FAQS and didn't see that question answered. Probably cause it's dumb.

 THANKS
Kroot are best off not outflanking at 500 points. Put them in terrain on an objective and shoot the enemy up. Fire Warriors can't hide all game, so be ready to use them offensively. Marker Drone is junk, really, you're better off dropping it for either TAs on the Stealth unit or minor upgrades for everyone else. Did you glue your Commander together? If not, consider replacing his Missile Pod with a Burst Cannon or Fusion Blaster, either is more effective with a Plasma Rifle. Photon Grenades are also seriously bad, as a general rule they do not benefit your Fire Warriors in any meaningful way.

The answer to your question is yes, a Stealth team leader with a multitracker and a markerlight can fire both of his guns at the same time. It's a tactic I use regularly.

Offline RedTerror

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Re: The best possible Tau Battleforce List
« Reply #2 on: January 7, 2010, 02:08:47 AM »
What's up guys, I am new to the game and to the Tau Empire and I was wondering if anyone could give me some pointers as to what a 500 pt. list would be like using the models from the battleforce. Me and my friends are doing a noob tournament this weekend.
First of all, welcome, and good luck with your tournament... any extra info would help, like if you're required to run at least one HQ, is everyone restricted to just the battle box, and so on... now onto the list suggestions!

Xv8 will be Shas el
 Plasma rifle
 Missile Pod
 Multi Tracker
Somewhat of a role conflicting build... if you want him to take out commanders try plasma/cyclic.  If you want him to go for what tanks the enemies may have give him either twin-mp (if there's definitely nothing with higher armor than 12 in the game), or even twin-fusion (if you don't mind him getting up and dirty).  Give him a targeting array, and he'll be a nice BS 5 character.

12x Kroot Carnivores
Kind of hard to get used to at first, but once you get them down, you'll be fine.  They are NOT a very effective "counter assault" unit.  They don't match up to any other army's assault units, and barely match up to non-assault units.  They are great for the outflank (but considering it's 500 points, don't know if this will matter much).  They (point for point) can throw out more fire power than fire warriors, and are more surviveable than fire warriors if they stick in a forest on the defensive.

12x Fire warriors
  Devilfish
12 man fire warrior squad is kinda big, try splitting into 2x 6 mans.  It'll give you one more scoring unit.  As for the weapons on the fire warriors, probably rifles is the way to go.  Have one of the 6 man defensive, and have the other 6 man in the fish being aggressive.  I'd suggest Disruption pods on the fish, it makes it ohhh so much more surviveable.  And I doubt most of your enemies (assuming they all use the battle boxes) would expect an armor 12 tank (just us and eldar iirc). If you notice most of the boxes come with rhinos at best.  Also look into a "warfish", it'll be expensive for a 500 point game, but if you need to point sink (you may), this may be a viable option, helps with your fire power, and it'll drop a kp from your fish (the drones count as their own unit).

2x stealth suits
 1x leader dude with HW drone controller, marker drone, and fusion blaster.
Personally if it's a 3 man squad, I'd say keep it simple, stick them all w/ bc's, and keep them cheap.  But if you are trying to point sink, the drone controller and marker drone is a good combo, but I'd drop the fusion.  It makes it so either the squad goes after a tank, and makes the BC's useless (and also puts them within 12" of the tank, and considering the average roll for night fight is 18"... you're in trouble), or you use the bc's against a softer target, and the fusion's a bit of an over kill.

 
So! Any advice at all will help me achieve sweet victory for the greater good!!! Oh and one quick question: If a stealth suit has a HW multitracker, can he shoot a markerlight AND his burst cannon in the same turn???? Sorry I looked at all the FAQS and didn't see that question answered. Probably cause it's dumb.
Yes, the suit can shoot both in the same turn, but in your list earlier you stated that the DRONE has the marker light, which wouldn't matter on the suit's equipment.  Plus point of note, whatever the markerlight shoots at, so does the rest of the squad.

Also, if you decide to drop the gun drones from the devilfish, you could use those 6 drones you get in the box as a gun drone squadron, usually I wouldn't suggest using these guys all that often, but their pinning could be rather useful in a 500 point game.

Basic advice; in order of importance (in my eyes)
  • Target Priority: Learn which targets need to die, and take care of them, then move on to the next, and repeat.  Don't split your shots too much, as even the simplest unit can get into hand to hand, and destroy your army.
  • Disruption Pods:  Put them on EVERY vehicle... except Piranha... that's just a waste...
  • Markerlights: They are your friends... they are the ultimate utility of tau... Increase BS, lower Cover, Night Fight Assistance, Pinning Assistance... they do it all!  They help with the above mentioned target priority, and many enemies learn to fear them fast (usually they take all the beating in my games early on) simply because they themselves aren't deadly, but they make the rest of your army do beastly.
  • Fire Warriors: 4+ save "sounds" surviveable... they're not... they are extremely squishy... keep them safe, use terrain, and so on.  Also, learn to harness the longest range, highest strength basic weapon... even if it is on a BS 3 unit!
  • Grenades: ... never... just never... they are not worth the points, and trying to deny the enemy extra attacks in hand to hand just causes the fire warriors to be locked up longer, denying you the shooting in your phase against the assaulters

That's all I can think of for now! If you have any more questions, I'm sure I'll be around, and there are many other nice people on this forum willing to throw in their input!  Good luck!
« Last Edit: January 7, 2010, 02:19:14 AM by RedTerror »

Offline Cryptid

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Re: The best possible Tau Battleforce List
« Reply #3 on: January 7, 2010, 02:41:37 AM »
 Guys thank you so much this is great advice. I didn't glue the weps on the Crisis suit because I knew I would make a goofy choice. Everything will be magnetized one day. Oh and I would LOVe to model the Cyclic Ion gun, but sadly it does not come in the battleforce.

 Looks like I'm either going to use twin linked missiles and target array or two of the closer range high AP guns and multitracker on the HQ, run disruption pods on the fish, split the FWs into 2x of six, and totally drop the marker drone and fusion blaster on the stealth dudes.

 I think I'll have a good game because I came and got some advice from the PROS and I'll have a leg up on everyone else! Oh, and we really don't have any specific tournament rules because we are noobs. I am the only one specificaly utilizing the contents of a battleforce. The necron player is I think extremely limited anyway to like... 2 groups of warriors and a lord. The marine players I don't know what they will have. But we are just playing to get the rules we've been learning down and have a bit of fun.





 

« Last Edit: January 7, 2010, 02:50:22 AM by Cryptid »

Offline RedTerror

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Re: The best possible Tau Battleforce List
« Reply #4 on: January 7, 2010, 02:48:26 AM »
Ohh yeah, forgot that's not a "crisis commander" suit... Could do Plasma/Fusion w/ Targetting Array, and Hard Wired Multi-tracker.  Expensive but he'll be a bs 5, TEQ killer.  He has low range, so get good at guessing that 12", depending on your enemies you can evade assaults if you're moving right.  Just be careful with this config.

Good luck with the tourney! Keep us posted on the results and how the games go.

Offline Cryptid

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Re: The best possible Tau Battleforce List
« Reply #5 on: January 7, 2010, 03:06:34 AM »
 Yessir, will do. The fusion/plasma/MT/TA might be to pricey for this little shindigg. Maybe i'll use it anyway to practice those jetpack ranges.

 Thanks again guys! CHEERS
 

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Re: The best possible Tau Battleforce List
« Reply #6 on: January 7, 2010, 09:53:19 AM »
the Battleforce makes for a pretty good army, and not only that, with a bit of thought and ingenuity you can have a range of different army set ups and even units that can make your battleforce stand out from the rest!

Lets take a look at some possible armies straight out of the box;



Army List 1 - 600pts (599)

This first army represents a force straight out of the box, it is very similar to the one pictured on the back of the Battleforce set with only minor alterations centred around the commander and the gun drone use. The army represents a traditional cadre which focusses on a core of hard hitting warriors which are supported by auxiliary troops in the form of Kroot. The cadre is a very fast, mobile formation and can easily be expanded with more fast moving jet packers or additional tanks and devilfish mounted fire warriors to create a more mechanised force

HQ
Shas'el = 100
plasma rifle, missile pod, targeting array, Hard-wired (HW) multi-tracker, HW blacksun filter
Suits that have a plasma rifle and a missile pod are said to have the 'Fireknife' configuration. It is a good set up for beginners as it has a long range and weapons that hit harder than your troops firearms. This commander has obviously been about the block a bit and has equipped his suit with some additional kit to make his job a little easier.

ELITES
3x xv25 Stealth Suits = 132
team leader; bonding knife, fusion blaster, HW target lock, HW drone controller with marker drone
Stealth teams are used to working out on their own, away from the support of the main force so the unit is set up to deal with a variety of threats in order to help the rest of the army.

TROOPS
12x Fire Warriors (all with rifles) = 135
shas'ui, bonding knife

Devilfish Troop Transport = 95
2x gun drones, multi-tracker, disruption pod
The Fire Warriors are ferried to the battlefield in a Devilfish troop transport which allows them to clear a landing zone of enemy infantry and then hold it against counter attack.

12x Kroot carnivores = 84
The Kroot unit is flexible enough to be used to help the fire warriors or stealth team thanks to the kroots great special rules.

FAST ATTACK
4x Gun Drones = 48
Here the gun drones are banded together as a unit in their own right. This gives them a little more flexibility, they can be joined by the commander, or even perform a "deep strike" to reach weak points in stubborn enemy tanks.





Army list 2 - 600pts (599)

This force differs in that the models have been used in very different ways to create a flexible cadre that uses an extensive markerlight system to deliver the killing blow. This army could be expanded with more stealth elements and fire warriors to maximise the armies firepower whilst support in the form of more pathfinders, some sniper teams and a sky ray would give the force some additional back-up.

HQ
Shas'el = 127
fusion blaster, plasma rifle, multi-tracker, stimm injector, HW drone controller with 1x marker drone
This commander works hard for his troops clearing tougher opponents and enemy tanks that the infantry would find difficult to handle on their own. His independent and dangerous task means he needs some equipment to help him along his way.

ELITES
3x xv25 Stealth Suits = 130
team leader; markerlight, HW multi-tracker, HW drone controller with 1x gun drone & 1x shield drone
This stealth team can lurk in the shadows marking targets for their comrades or act more independently to focus on enemy infantry. Although they are focussed for killing enemy infantry, their equipment allows them to be quite flexible in how they do this in order that your opponents will always be kept on their toes.

TROOPS
8x Fire Warriors (all with rifles) = 115
shas'ui, bonding knife, HW drone controller with 2x gun drones
This fire team only uses some of the Fire Warrior models and is bolstered by some gun drones. They help provide some additional firepower against closing enemy troops and allows the team to have some additional range when on the move.

12x Kroot carnivores = 84
Just as before, the Kroot will serve to deter enemy infantry from objectives or help protect your stealth or fire warrior teams as they go about their mission.

FAST ATTACK
4x Pathfinders = 48

Devilfish Pathfinder Transport = 95
2x gun drones, multi-tracker, disruption pod
The Pathfinders in this army are actually converted out of four Fire Warrior models. To do this you can simply arm your models with Pulse Carbines and even leave the large shoulder guard off, after all, it would just get in the way of sneaky Tau trying to hide in cover! The Devilfish transport is given to the pathfinders, because they MUST have one according to the codex, but not to worry, because it can be used by the Fire Warriors or even the Kroot!





Army list 3 - 650pts (649)

This army is based around a hard hitting and tough to kill Shas'O commander who commands an infantry focussed force. Although it focusses on the ability of its troops it is by no means a static force (though armies like this are often described as 'static' in comparison to mechanised forces). It could be expanded by adding more fire warrior teams and some mobile XV8 Crisis teams to support the infantry core. Some heavy XV88 Broadside Battlesuits would also complement a mass of Fire Warriors.

HQ
Shas'o = 141
plasma rifle, burst cannon, shield generator, stimm injector, HW multi-tracker, HW blacksun filter
This commander is fitted to work up close and personal. Armed with high volume of fire weapons and life saving equiment makes him a pain for other enemy infantry.

ELITES
3x xv25 Stealth Suits = 125
team leader; drone contoller with HW marker drone
The stealth team here concentrate on taking on enemy infantry. They can work on their own, but would probably do more good supporting the Fire Warriors.

TROOPS
6x Fire Warriors (all with carbines) = 95
shas'ui; bonding knife, HW drone controller with 2x gun drones

6x Fire Warriors (all with rifles) = 95
shas'ui; bonding knife, HW drone controller with 2x gun drones

Devilfish Troop Transport = 95
2x gun drones, multi-tracker, disruption pod
The Fire Warriors here are divided into two separate units. They are small teams so in order to help them out they are supported by some drones One team can have the Devilfish tank dedicated to them, but at the end of the day it can be used by any of the troops choices.

12x Kroot carnivores = 98
kroot shaper
The Kroot here are bolstered by the guidance of a Kroot Shaper. Shapers help dictate the progress direction of the kroot evolution and are leaders among the Kroot society. Here, the kroot will be critical in holding objectives and supporting the stealth team in their mission. When well dug in, in cover, Kroot can be some of the best troops around. In order to make the Shaper, you can convert one of the standard Kroot models with additional parts to make him stand out as being different.





I hope this has helped you to see the possibilities of the battleforce...

oh, and welcome to the Greater Good!

Offline Cryptid

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Re: The best possible Tau Battleforce List
« Reply #7 on: January 7, 2010, 03:11:19 PM »
AWESOME those lists are now saved on a wordpad document on my desktop! Thanks for the explanation of those, too, that's really helpful.  :D I really like that first Cadre, Oink. It looks like what I was originally thinking.

 Thanks for opening up the possibilities guys!

 

 

 


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