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Author Topic: New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K  (Read 4666 times)

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Offline dragonsanzo

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New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K
« on: September 6, 2016, 02:25:26 PM »
Hey all, as mentioned I'm a new player to Warhammer 40k miniatures war game but I've been a long time fan of Warhammer 40k (in fact i only got into the miniature war game once i graduated) and have played some of its properties such as Dawn of War 2 and Deathwatch RPG.

So far my own army is pretty small and unfortunately i have yet to finish painting them all and learning how to play with them as no one in my usual haunts plays Unbound. I'm also painting them in my own colors with the help of some of the more talented players back at the shop.

Here is what I currently have:
- A Tau Commander (Coldstar suit) with gun drone
- One Pathfinder Unit (one Shas'ui using pulse carbine, three ion rifles and three rail guns, the rest are also using Pulse carbine and the standard drones that comes with the box)
- one Sniper Team (finecast, second hand, very old)
- two Devilfish with drones(finecast, second hand, very old)
- Two spare drones (gun and markerlight)

Here is what I'm planing to buy once i save up cash:
- Two Fire Warriors Teams.

Since i have yet to play a proper game to learn (other than read the rulebook) any tips that can be shared to balance/improve my army? Other than buying more units that is XD.

Thank you guys in advance.
« Last Edit: September 6, 2016, 02:30:06 PM by dragonsanzo »

Offline Wyddr

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Re: New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K
« Reply #1 on: September 6, 2016, 08:39:29 PM »
Well, once you get the two firewarrior teams, you can probably cobble together a 500 point list out of all that.

I think you'll generally find that Sniper Drones are a tidbit underwhelming except against very specific enemies (Monstrous Creatures, very high toughness troops), though the spotter's markerlight is fantastic.

The Coldstar Commander works best as a secondary commander. As the sole leader, he doesn't put out enough firepower and he doesn't support the rest of the army very well. You'd be better off with a standard commander, who can do more to help the rest of your guys.

Two teams of firewarriors in two Devilfish is a very effective combo. Keep them together and use them to obliterate enemy infantry and take down light vehicles.

As a general rule of thumb: always focus your firepower on a unit until it is wiped out. Half a unit assaulting you can still wipe out whole units of your own, so you need the target you select for destruction to actually be destroyed.

Final note: avoid assault (close combat) at all costs. Your guys will lose to almost literally anything in the game.

Offline dragonsanzo

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Re: New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K
« Reply #2 on: September 6, 2016, 09:02:12 PM »
I see. Well My original game plan was to go heavy on drones and the shop owner did recommend the Coldstar over then Enforcer suit.

Although I do have a honest question about the Tau though. Which is morally better, regular Tau or the Farsight Enclaves? Especially when it comes to the Greater Good?

Offline The GrimSqueaker

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Re: New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K
« Reply #3 on: September 6, 2016, 10:02:08 PM »
Although I do have a honest question about the Tau though. Which is morally better, regular Tau or the Farsight Enclaves? Especially when it comes to the Greater Good?

Ah, a fluff question.

With the release of the Farsight book we now know that he's not all that traitorous. There's a wealth of background in it and well worth the read. Breaking it down to the essential, Farsight encountered a Warp gate that opened to allow certain things attack his troops ending in the death of the force Ethereals. Farsight was more than a little put out at how the Ethereals probably all ready knew about these opposing forces and kept everyone in the dark about it. His idea was to take the colony fleet and establish a separate outpost where the four castes lived together without Ethereal interference. Farsight predicted that if he told the truth (his version) to the Empire the Tau would fall into Mont'au and destroy themselves.

The new Damocles books also showed he's perfectly willing to help the Empire when their backs are against the wall.

Summary: There's little difference morally regarding the Empire and the Enclaves depending on how you feel about the Ethereals.
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Offline Wyddr

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Re: New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K
« Reply #4 on: September 6, 2016, 10:07:20 PM »
Heavy on Drones? (rolls down window) RUMMY! SOMEBODY WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!

GrimSqueaker will be along shortly to congratulate you on aiming for drones. I think that's a generally poor plan, myself. Here's why:

Drones are more expensive than Firewarriors, but have comparable firepower (and less range). They don't have a transport option, aren't sufficiently durable to survive, and aren't really any better in assault than Firewarriors. They also compete in the Fast Attack slot against more useful Pathfinders, vastly superior Piranha, and the Flyers.

Gun Drones are *great* when you get them for free attached to a Devilfish and Piranha. Paying to field them? No thanks.

I guess I can maybe see a reason to take Gun Drones on a Coldstar suit (adds to his firepower), but it also opens him up to taking Morale tests if he loses any of them, and having your flying commander run away because his favorite gun frisbee is blown up kinda sucks.

Although I do have a honest question about the Tau though. Which is morally better, regular Tau or the Farsight Enclaves? Especially when it comes to the Greater Good?

This will vary depending on which fluff you choose to emphasize and how you want to play. I don't think it's definitive. Certainly Farsight is more populist and egalitarian, letting all castes interact and work together, etc.. He's also a bloodthirsty lunatic, who may or may not have his mind controlled by the Old Ones, so there's that.

The Tau Empire itself is cold and dystopian in a few ways (controlled breeding, mind control, etc.), but it's also significantly more peaceful, diplomatic, and prosperous.

Pick your poison, basically.

Offline The GrimSqueaker

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Re: New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K
« Reply #5 on: September 6, 2016, 10:14:30 PM »
Heavy on Drones? (rolls down window) RUMMY! SOMEBODY WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!

GrimSqueaker will be along shortly to congratulate you on aiming for drones. I think that's a generally poor plan, myself.

I like Drones. I know they're not a winning game plan generally. Same as I don't like Piranhas even though I realise their strengths. I used to still field my stock Tigershark (the one without the rail cannons) as it meant DRONE TIME!

It's a matter of aesthetic.  :)
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Offline dragonsanzo

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Re: New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K
« Reply #6 on: September 6, 2016, 10:31:50 PM »
I see. So basically Tau and Farslight Enclave are not so different structurally but rather who leads them right?

Also I'm with GrimSqueaker with the drones. I like then more than most of the bigger Tau mechs out there and its more of an aesthetic choice.

If thats the case when i look at my current armies, what should I NOT purchase to improve the army. I know that atmospheric combat is out of the question but what minies/units should i not invest in?

Offline The GrimSqueaker

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Re: New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K
« Reply #7 on: September 6, 2016, 11:39:37 PM »
I see. So basically Tau and Farslight Enclave are not so different structurally but rather who leads them right?

It's a little more complicated than that but as far as game play goes it really doesn't matter. The Enclaves have some very interesting characters in The Eight. You've got a legacy character like The Dread Pirate Roberts, there's an AI running a battlesuit, an Earth Caste member running a Riptide, a Tau dreadnaught style inside an XV-8 the pilot can never leave, and that kind of jazz.
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Offline Wyddr

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Re: New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K
« Reply #8 on: September 7, 2016, 09:56:27 AM »
If thats the case when i look at my current armies, what should I NOT purchase to improve the army. I know that atmospheric combat is out of the question but what minies/units should i not invest in?

Things that are actively bad in the Tau codex include:

-Vespid (they are seriously awful and in order to work you need to build your whole list around them)

-Kroot Shapers (waste of points. Just get, like, 3 more Kroot)

-Most of the stranger Pathfinder drones I have never found a reasonable use for. Shield Drones, Gun Drones, and Marker Drones all have their place. Everything else? Meh.

-I haven't met anyone who thinks the Razorshark is a good buy.

-Aun'va (assuming he's in the current codex--did they take him out? Can't remember) is AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL. I think they cut him out for the 7th ed codex update, though. 

And...that's mostly it. Everything else varies from "inefficient, but useable" to "holy crap, this thing is AMAZING."

A couple units are a matter of taste (I think the named characters, while ostensibly cool, are too expensive for what they do) and a couple rely on how you build the rest of your list (Sniper Drones, for instance, are only useful in certain army builds and in certain metagames), but I wouldn't say you should categorically stay away from them. 

Offline dragonsanzo

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Re: New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K
« Reply #9 on: September 7, 2016, 06:53:11 PM »
-Most of the stranger Pathfinder drones I have never found a reasonable use for. Shield Drones, Gun Drones, and Marker Drones all have their place. Everything else? Meh.

I agree with the particle accelerator drone and perhaps the grav drone (unless as one tau player told me is good at repelling Goblins) But isn't the big drone with the burst gun even a little bit useful?

Offline Wyddr

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Re: New Tau player but a long time fan of 40K
« Reply #10 on: September 7, 2016, 09:44:00 PM »
Not especially. I mean, you're paying the cost of about two pathfinders for something that has two pathfinders worth of firepower plus a positional relay (which practically never comes up--how much outflanking do the Tau ever do, anyway? And *if* they do, what are the odds you're hugging the right side of the board at the right time?) and a homing beacon (which is probably better off on a Stealth Shas'ui, frankly, since they can actually infiltrate).

Pathfinders should be marking things, not shooting things or doing much of anything else. I guess maybe there's a build out there that involves a Pathfinder team full of rail or ion rifles and a Recon Drone, but I don't see it as being the best use of the unit.

 


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