1500 Ork+Tau

[delkins42]

My 1500 point list
HQ
Bikerboss
>cybork, klaw, squig

Troops
BikeNobzx5
>1x klaw, pole, waaagh banner
>doc+orderly
>5xcybork

Slugga Boyz
>nob, klaw, pole, 4+, big shoota
>Trukk, red, ram

Slugga Boyz
>nob, klaw, pole, 4+, big shoota
>Trukk, red, ram

Heavy
Wagon
>Rolla, red, grots, 4x big shootas

Allies
HQ
Shas'o
>TL missile pod, 2+, target lock, slow and purposeful, blacksun
>2x shield drones

Troops
Firewarriorsx12 w/ rifles

Heavy
Broadsides x3
>Team leader, 3xmultitrackers, +bs
>2x shield drones

For 1850 games, I add an Aegis+quadgun, 9 Lootas, and a loaded dakkajet


Due to the FAQ I changed the nob bikers to have only 1 klaw and look out sir between the Nob leading the group and two others in base contact. The boss usually runs around with them as one could expect. The Shas'o is generally attached to the broadsides for the blacksun filter and to confer slow and purposeful if I need to move. With extra points [1850] I add a wall and a quadgun for the shas'o to shoot .

The strategy is centered around forcing my opponent to come to me to kill the broadsides (which are targeting their >24" weapons) and then slamming them with mobile orks. While a Tau+Ork army seems to use Orks to prevent forces from reaching their gunlines, I added Tau to my Orks to force my opponent to come to me or accept losing a tank [occasionally 2] every turn. The battlewagon is really just there for a cheap rolla and 4x bigshoota platform. The most important part is I get to use my sweet ork-tau (posted in the modeling forum)

I've done well so far against balanced IG, mech ork, and daemons but am looking for any input about people's experience (or meta knowledge) with a few units:

Keeping Using 5 nob-bikers (for the waaagh banner + FNP) or switch to a 12xbiker squad+nob+klaw?
Take a second dakkajet instead of the 9 lootas?
12 shoota boys in the trukks instead of the slugga boys?
Get rid of the wagon for something else?
Get rid of one of the trukks and put more boys in the wagon?

What do you think?

[Aegwymourn]

why do you have "slow and purposeful" on the shas'o? Since he comes with a Jetpack he has the relentless special rule allowing him to move and shoot any of the XV8 weapons. Depending on where you deploy him as well might want to drop the Target Lock. On my own Shas'O i have used the Stimulant Injector (FNP) to good effect. Buy a blacksun filter for the Broadsides, the Team leader can have wargear options. Might also want to consider a Target lock for the team leader. Splitting that fire can be handy if you are fighting decent numbers of low AV vehicles. Alas I dont play orks so I dont have any advice on the rest of your list.

[delkins42]

I usually attach to Shas'O to the broadsides for a few purposes:
>2 more shield drones to soak wounds
>advanced stabilization on him confers slow and purposeful on all the broadsides
>blacksun filter confers night vision on all the broadsides
>I use multitrack and target lock to shoot his TL missilepod and the quad gun at infantry

Putting a target lock on the broadside team leader sounds like a good idea. I haven't faced a wall of low AV yet so have just been pouring all 3 into the same target. Would letting the Shas'o run wild and free by himself be more effective then using him as more longer ranged shooting?

[Aegwymourn]

i use him to block for fire warriors since in 6th they tend to get shot up really bad since they one of our two scoring units. Then your opponent has to decide if he really wants to shoot through the 2+/4++ drones and shas'o to get to the fire warrriors. especially since once the drones are down anything that would ID the Shas'O gets LoS! to the fire warriors. Most people dont know how to deal with it.

I hadn't thought of putting him with broadsides since in my 1500 point list i use two units of two (each with 2 shield drones and multi-trackers with a team lead for BSF) which wouldnt be an option for your allies list. So far I havent had the opportunity to use a quad gun so I havent had the need to find someone to man it (i'd probably default to my etheral though).

[delkins42]

Well, the list pretty much got shut down against Dprince pavane+flamer+screamer spam list with 4++ across the board. There were a few instances of him saving 10/10 wounds on a 4++ but also a lot of just not being able to resist some rediculous mechanics. Back to the drawing board for a bit

[delkins42]

Heavy
Broadsides x3
>Team leader, 3xmultitrackers, +bs
>2x shield drones

Boooooooooo, I'm also looking for general list-failiure inputs like "hey dude, you can't actually take both a multitracker AND a targeting array since they only get one support system"

30 Points more to use on something else.

From you Tau guys, how effective are 2-broadside teams at taking out av13/14 vehicles driving around?

[delkins42]

I did a little shuffling and now have 2 questions for taught players. I dropped one of the broadsides and reduced the firewarriors down to a 6-man team in exchange for 3 kannons a land 9 lootas, which seems like a great tradeoff for firebase versatility.

I assumed that a 2 broadside team is still pretty threatening to high AV. How useful is a 6man firewarrior squad without a devilfish to hide in? Is it worth the points to make them more survivable?

[delkins42]

Doing a little more in depth Daemon codex reading looks like I just got fake-rules-ed to death. armourbaneing turboboosting screamers and both screamers and flamers being 2 wound 4++ seemed a little odd... and it was! Most of his units would have definitely been F'd (pardon the use of harsh letters) due to volume of fire from the list with just a 5++ and my trucks and battlewagon wouldn't have been insta-gibbed by screamers on the turn they arrived. I'll update after my next rematch.