Kepora
01-06-2010, 02:14 AM
As usual, there's absolutely nothing concerning Tau on the front page of BoLS. I know they're not the top army, but so few articles even giving them credit where credit is due...it's almost sickening. Anyways, enough whining; I'm here to try and right this wrong. I am Kepora, also known as Orpheus Hangar from Advanced Tau Tactica (http://www.advancedtautactica.com), and I'm here to try and teach you marine players that you aren't the only ones capable of stopping the Great Devourer.
Units I think should be taken:
HQ: Farsight. Enough said.
For those of you whom are unfamiliar with the only close-combat Tau, Farsight clocks in at BS4, WS5, S5, T4, W4, A4, and I5. Not the most impressive unit at first glance, but then you need to consider that he carries a plasma rifle that-as with all Crisis Battlesuits-can be fired at full range, even when moving, and can even follow through with an assault (thanks to Jetpack units being Relentless in 5th Edition).
"So a Tau is assaulting; big deal." some of you may be thinking. Well, after you consider his higher-than-average initiative and the fact he gets 5 attacks on the charge, you need to deal with the fact that the Dawn Blade, for all intents and purposes, makes him a MC in close combat. Add on a shield generator that gives him his 4+ invul and you've got a hard-hitting Tau that's sure to leave even Marines in shock.
"No Eternal Warrior? I'll just melta/powerfist him." Bzzz! Wrong! Unlike any other battlesuit team, Farsight can take up to SEVEN BODYGUARDS. That's SEVEN S5 T4 2-wound battlesuits that can each take up to two drones and a mean assortment of weaponry. In order to kill Farsight, you're going to need to chew through every single on of these suckers.
"Templates, then?" Good luck. Yes, you may hit something, but with the potential of 8 battlesuits total and up to 14 drones, they can be spread out enough to keep big booms from wiping everything out. On the high drone subject, I'm toying with a new mix of gun, marker, and shield drones to make wound allocation even more of a pain in my opponent's Toxin Sac.
"And just how do you plan to do that?" Simple. a total of 3 Twin-linked Flamers, 3 Twin-linked Plasma Rifles, 1 Twin-linked Missile Pod, 1 Airbursting Fragmentation projector (essentially a big template bolter), 1 Cyclic Ion Blaster (5 shots with AP1 potential, enough said), 3 Fusion Blasters, and 2 Plasma Rifles (not counting Farsight's) with 4 Shield Drones, 2 Marker Drones, and up to 8 Gun Drones. No, let's break that down:
2 TL S7 AP4
5 S3 AP4 (Potential for AP1)
1 S4 AP5 Large Blast
3 TL S4 AP5 Flamers
6 TL S6 AP2
6 S6 AP2 (counting Farsight)
3 S8 AP1 Melta
2 Markerlights
Up to 8 TL S5 AP5
On a good round of shooting, that's 30 shots (not counting templates) that can make even Space Wolves cry, as well as two markerlights for additional BS bumps, Leadership reduction, or Cover Save reduction (or even removal if you're lucky enough). I don't know about you, but that is a LOT of Dakka.
"Alright, your shooting sucked/I still have guys left. Bite me!" Ok, I will. On top of Farsight's attacks, each drone will get 2 I4 attacks, so that's up to 14 S3 additional hits, and then the Crisis Suits will have 3 attacks on the charge, throwing on up to 21 additional S5 hits.
So, let's review:
-Up to 22 models in a single unit.
-The units that really matter are all multi-wound Ta 3+ save guys with lots of big guns
-They can pump out up to 30 shots, 3 TL Flamers, and a big template bolter in a single round of shooting
-In an assault, they can dump up to 40 attacks onto an enemy, and Farsight's ignore armor saves. That's 70 chances to wound (not counting templates) from a single unit!
All in all, I think Farsight's almost a necessity among Tau players against almost any enemy-unless you really, REALLY enjoy Kroot, Stealthsuit, or Broadside spam.
Shadowsun: Never used her before, but she can provide a good Leadership bubble to keep Firewarriors or Broadsides from running away, and her two (non twin-linked) Fusion Blasters can help protect them from any big bugs who dare to get close.
Shas'o/el: Only take another commander if you have the room for him. if so, give him bodyguards and add more Dakka to a unit Farsight is shooting at, engaging other swarms with lots of Burst Cannons/Missile Pods, or running him solo in the backfield with a Positional Relay (bring in only one unit from reserves at a time and the units arrive on a 2+). -EDIT- Turns out reserves start coming in on turn 2 as usual.
Ethereal: If you're running Farsight, you won't be using one. If you're running a mobile cadre, you probably won't be seeing him either. In a gunline, however, he can prove useful; a bodyguard of up to 12 BS4 Firewarriors can be attractive, and they can hitch a ride in the Taxi (AKA the Pathfinder Devilfish) to apply pressure where needed. Another dirty trick is to give him a pair of shield drones and attach him to a Broadside squad.
ELITE:
Crisis Battlesuits: If you took Farsight, then you're going to need at LEAST one of these to fill your FOC slots. If you run Farsight like I do then take only one, make it a Shas'vre, give it the Positional Relay and stick it in the back like the Shas'el I mentioned above. No need to put more points here unless you can afford it.
Stealthsuits: One word: YES. Don't bother with the Fusion Blaster with these guys; it's too short-range to make their stealth fields effective. Give them all Targeting Arrays (+1 BS) and a pair of Marker Drones for the Shas'vre if you can afford it, then watch bugs die left and right to 18 S5 AP5 shots from nowhere. It's good to stick Marker Drones with these fellas just because they're more survivable here.
TROOPS:
Firewarriors: Ah, good old Firewarriors. Kickass guns but very squishy. Only take a minimum number of FWs per squad, toss in a Shas'ui w/ Bonding Knife and a Photon Grenade, then stick them in a Devilfish armed with a Smart Missile System, Disruption pod (MUST-HAVE for ANY Tau vehicle! DO NOT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THIS!), Flechette Dischargers (makes Assaulters think twice), a Targeting Array, adn the piece of gear that lets them fire as a Fast Vehicle (don't have my codex on-hand, can't remember what it's called.) This baby can move up to 12" and still fire 4 S5 AP5 shots at 24" range that ignore line of sight (Night Fighting rules? Hah!) and ignore cover unless 50% or move of the enemy units are actually INSIDE area terrain as per ignoring LoS. The warfish is probably one of the best troop choices in the game in my opinion; just rush them to objectives near the end of the game and don't dump out the Firewarriors unless they need to hold an objective or you're 100% sure that what they'll shoot at will absolutely and utterly die.
Kroot: As fun as they are, I don't use them unless I'm in an Apoc-sized game due to Farsight not being able to take them. If you CAN take them, though, make sure to bring plenty of Hounds; I5 S4 attacks are nothing to sneeze at when you're going up against mere Gaunts, and the sheer size of the squads can bog down even the bigger bugs. Don't bother shooting unless they're camping on an objective or they're close to a unit that you KNOW will slaughter them in an Assault. Also, these guys are dirt cheap and can infiltrate or outflank if you don't attach a Krootox; definitely something to consider as, at the very least, a disruption tactic.
FAST ATTACK:
This is probably where Tau are the most lacking-which is ironic given their philosophy of Mobile Warfare.
Vespid: Though not good on their own, their Skilled Fliers rules makes them good for deep-striking near difficult terrain in order to help assassinate bigger bugs and/or support Firewarriors. They're also decent on a charge. if you can afford a big enough squad of them, you'll have an annoying unit that'll draw a lot of fire away from the bulk of your force (S5 AP3 guns make even Marines very angry).
Piranhas: Don't bother with the Fusion Blasters on them unless you want to go MC-hunting-which they'd probably be good at if you don't have a large number of them. If you DO have a high number of them, keep the Burst Cannons, gear them up with Flechettes, Disruption Pods, and the wargear that lets them move safely through cover (I THINK it's the Sensor Spines). Send them down flanks to go Guant-hunting; their front armor of 11 makes Gaunt guns useless and the flechette dischargers (which only one of them needs in order to use, thanks to them being in a squadron) makes them dangerous to assault. If you have spare points, pop on a seeker missile or two and use them to snipe MCs with leftover markerlight hits (remember the MLs on the SS team?;) )
Pathfinders: Find a nice piece of terrain to hide them in and keep them there. If you want, give them some rail rifles if you need more MC/Warrior-hunting power. Use their Devilfish to guide in Deep-Striking units, or you can use it to outflank. -EDIT- A fellow ATT member pointed out to me that Kroot can't start the game in a different transport. That being said, both units can outflank, and the Kroot CAN jump into the Pathfinder's Devilfish in order to go objective-taking.
HEAVY SUPPORT:
Hammerhead: YES. Only take the railgun; the Ion cannon just can't compete. Give it Burst Cannons and a Target lock, allowing it to shoot at up to 3 seperate squads (though focusing the burst cannons onto a single squad would be more productive). Only use the solid slug to hit lone MCs who aren't in cover or if you have nothing else to shoot at; otherwise, start pie-plating the little bugs! At a base BS4, that S6 AP4 Large Blast isn't going to scatter TOO far, and even if it does, you're playing against 'Nids-you'll hit something! That S6 AP4 is going to put down a lot of hurt, so kit out this fella to survive all game! If you run Farsight, then this will be necessary; you can only take one of these beauties with him!
Broadsides: Another big "YES" unit. Up to three TL Railguns and a 2+ save will make Nidzilla players very, VERY mad. If you want to be a jerk, give at least two of them Target Locks so they can all pick different targets. If the enemy gets close, no problem; switch to the Smart Missile Systems and make them wish they were never spawned with 12 S5 AP5 LoS-ignoring shots. Even if they survive, Broadsides are still T4 and 2 wounds a piece with the aforementioned 2+ armor save. They're going to need either some big bugs or a LOT of surviving smaller bugs to bring them down in an assault. -EDIT- Goes to show what happens when you type an article when you're sick and don't have your codex on-hand; Broadsides are T4, not T5.
Sniper Drone Teams: If you have points left over, plant them near a home objective and start sniping Warriors. 36" range at S6 AP3 will hurt, and up to three separate teams can be taken per Heavy Support slot.
Skyray: Only really useful if you need more markerlights and/or the seeker missiles for sniping MCs. The front AV of 13, however, will make this tank a nuisance for most 'Nids; if you have it, try to make it as much of a pain as possible and draw fire from your Hammerhead. Give it a Smart Missile System if you want to plant it behind a piece of terrain; the only guns that'll need LoS are the markerlights; give it Burst Cannons to go out in front and support other units. Again, Disruption Pods and Flechettes are good choices here.
Not counting any Forgeworld units, there's a breakdown of how different Tau units can be used to bring down the tide of bugs that are sure to be headed to your local gaming community. As you can see, I've pretty much thrown out the idea of forming a gunline; unless you have a LOT of cover, it'll pretty much be suicide against 'Nids. I hope that this article can help out fledgling Shas take on the 'Nid menace with greater skill, and thus help show other players the power of the Greater Good.
Units I think should be taken:
HQ: Farsight. Enough said.
For those of you whom are unfamiliar with the only close-combat Tau, Farsight clocks in at BS4, WS5, S5, T4, W4, A4, and I5. Not the most impressive unit at first glance, but then you need to consider that he carries a plasma rifle that-as with all Crisis Battlesuits-can be fired at full range, even when moving, and can even follow through with an assault (thanks to Jetpack units being Relentless in 5th Edition).
"So a Tau is assaulting; big deal." some of you may be thinking. Well, after you consider his higher-than-average initiative and the fact he gets 5 attacks on the charge, you need to deal with the fact that the Dawn Blade, for all intents and purposes, makes him a MC in close combat. Add on a shield generator that gives him his 4+ invul and you've got a hard-hitting Tau that's sure to leave even Marines in shock.
"No Eternal Warrior? I'll just melta/powerfist him." Bzzz! Wrong! Unlike any other battlesuit team, Farsight can take up to SEVEN BODYGUARDS. That's SEVEN S5 T4 2-wound battlesuits that can each take up to two drones and a mean assortment of weaponry. In order to kill Farsight, you're going to need to chew through every single on of these suckers.
"Templates, then?" Good luck. Yes, you may hit something, but with the potential of 8 battlesuits total and up to 14 drones, they can be spread out enough to keep big booms from wiping everything out. On the high drone subject, I'm toying with a new mix of gun, marker, and shield drones to make wound allocation even more of a pain in my opponent's Toxin Sac.
"And just how do you plan to do that?" Simple. a total of 3 Twin-linked Flamers, 3 Twin-linked Plasma Rifles, 1 Twin-linked Missile Pod, 1 Airbursting Fragmentation projector (essentially a big template bolter), 1 Cyclic Ion Blaster (5 shots with AP1 potential, enough said), 3 Fusion Blasters, and 2 Plasma Rifles (not counting Farsight's) with 4 Shield Drones, 2 Marker Drones, and up to 8 Gun Drones. No, let's break that down:
2 TL S7 AP4
5 S3 AP4 (Potential for AP1)
1 S4 AP5 Large Blast
3 TL S4 AP5 Flamers
6 TL S6 AP2
6 S6 AP2 (counting Farsight)
3 S8 AP1 Melta
2 Markerlights
Up to 8 TL S5 AP5
On a good round of shooting, that's 30 shots (not counting templates) that can make even Space Wolves cry, as well as two markerlights for additional BS bumps, Leadership reduction, or Cover Save reduction (or even removal if you're lucky enough). I don't know about you, but that is a LOT of Dakka.
"Alright, your shooting sucked/I still have guys left. Bite me!" Ok, I will. On top of Farsight's attacks, each drone will get 2 I4 attacks, so that's up to 14 S3 additional hits, and then the Crisis Suits will have 3 attacks on the charge, throwing on up to 21 additional S5 hits.
So, let's review:
-Up to 22 models in a single unit.
-The units that really matter are all multi-wound Ta 3+ save guys with lots of big guns
-They can pump out up to 30 shots, 3 TL Flamers, and a big template bolter in a single round of shooting
-In an assault, they can dump up to 40 attacks onto an enemy, and Farsight's ignore armor saves. That's 70 chances to wound (not counting templates) from a single unit!
All in all, I think Farsight's almost a necessity among Tau players against almost any enemy-unless you really, REALLY enjoy Kroot, Stealthsuit, or Broadside spam.
Shadowsun: Never used her before, but she can provide a good Leadership bubble to keep Firewarriors or Broadsides from running away, and her two (non twin-linked) Fusion Blasters can help protect them from any big bugs who dare to get close.
Shas'o/el: Only take another commander if you have the room for him. if so, give him bodyguards and add more Dakka to a unit Farsight is shooting at, engaging other swarms with lots of Burst Cannons/Missile Pods, or running him solo in the backfield with a Positional Relay (bring in only one unit from reserves at a time and the units arrive on a 2+). -EDIT- Turns out reserves start coming in on turn 2 as usual.
Ethereal: If you're running Farsight, you won't be using one. If you're running a mobile cadre, you probably won't be seeing him either. In a gunline, however, he can prove useful; a bodyguard of up to 12 BS4 Firewarriors can be attractive, and they can hitch a ride in the Taxi (AKA the Pathfinder Devilfish) to apply pressure where needed. Another dirty trick is to give him a pair of shield drones and attach him to a Broadside squad.
ELITE:
Crisis Battlesuits: If you took Farsight, then you're going to need at LEAST one of these to fill your FOC slots. If you run Farsight like I do then take only one, make it a Shas'vre, give it the Positional Relay and stick it in the back like the Shas'el I mentioned above. No need to put more points here unless you can afford it.
Stealthsuits: One word: YES. Don't bother with the Fusion Blaster with these guys; it's too short-range to make their stealth fields effective. Give them all Targeting Arrays (+1 BS) and a pair of Marker Drones for the Shas'vre if you can afford it, then watch bugs die left and right to 18 S5 AP5 shots from nowhere. It's good to stick Marker Drones with these fellas just because they're more survivable here.
TROOPS:
Firewarriors: Ah, good old Firewarriors. Kickass guns but very squishy. Only take a minimum number of FWs per squad, toss in a Shas'ui w/ Bonding Knife and a Photon Grenade, then stick them in a Devilfish armed with a Smart Missile System, Disruption pod (MUST-HAVE for ANY Tau vehicle! DO NOT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THIS!), Flechette Dischargers (makes Assaulters think twice), a Targeting Array, adn the piece of gear that lets them fire as a Fast Vehicle (don't have my codex on-hand, can't remember what it's called.) This baby can move up to 12" and still fire 4 S5 AP5 shots at 24" range that ignore line of sight (Night Fighting rules? Hah!) and ignore cover unless 50% or move of the enemy units are actually INSIDE area terrain as per ignoring LoS. The warfish is probably one of the best troop choices in the game in my opinion; just rush them to objectives near the end of the game and don't dump out the Firewarriors unless they need to hold an objective or you're 100% sure that what they'll shoot at will absolutely and utterly die.
Kroot: As fun as they are, I don't use them unless I'm in an Apoc-sized game due to Farsight not being able to take them. If you CAN take them, though, make sure to bring plenty of Hounds; I5 S4 attacks are nothing to sneeze at when you're going up against mere Gaunts, and the sheer size of the squads can bog down even the bigger bugs. Don't bother shooting unless they're camping on an objective or they're close to a unit that you KNOW will slaughter them in an Assault. Also, these guys are dirt cheap and can infiltrate or outflank if you don't attach a Krootox; definitely something to consider as, at the very least, a disruption tactic.
FAST ATTACK:
This is probably where Tau are the most lacking-which is ironic given their philosophy of Mobile Warfare.
Vespid: Though not good on their own, their Skilled Fliers rules makes them good for deep-striking near difficult terrain in order to help assassinate bigger bugs and/or support Firewarriors. They're also decent on a charge. if you can afford a big enough squad of them, you'll have an annoying unit that'll draw a lot of fire away from the bulk of your force (S5 AP3 guns make even Marines very angry).
Piranhas: Don't bother with the Fusion Blasters on them unless you want to go MC-hunting-which they'd probably be good at if you don't have a large number of them. If you DO have a high number of them, keep the Burst Cannons, gear them up with Flechettes, Disruption Pods, and the wargear that lets them move safely through cover (I THINK it's the Sensor Spines). Send them down flanks to go Guant-hunting; their front armor of 11 makes Gaunt guns useless and the flechette dischargers (which only one of them needs in order to use, thanks to them being in a squadron) makes them dangerous to assault. If you have spare points, pop on a seeker missile or two and use them to snipe MCs with leftover markerlight hits (remember the MLs on the SS team?;) )
Pathfinders: Find a nice piece of terrain to hide them in and keep them there. If you want, give them some rail rifles if you need more MC/Warrior-hunting power. Use their Devilfish to guide in Deep-Striking units, or you can use it to outflank. -EDIT- A fellow ATT member pointed out to me that Kroot can't start the game in a different transport. That being said, both units can outflank, and the Kroot CAN jump into the Pathfinder's Devilfish in order to go objective-taking.
HEAVY SUPPORT:
Hammerhead: YES. Only take the railgun; the Ion cannon just can't compete. Give it Burst Cannons and a Target lock, allowing it to shoot at up to 3 seperate squads (though focusing the burst cannons onto a single squad would be more productive). Only use the solid slug to hit lone MCs who aren't in cover or if you have nothing else to shoot at; otherwise, start pie-plating the little bugs! At a base BS4, that S6 AP4 Large Blast isn't going to scatter TOO far, and even if it does, you're playing against 'Nids-you'll hit something! That S6 AP4 is going to put down a lot of hurt, so kit out this fella to survive all game! If you run Farsight, then this will be necessary; you can only take one of these beauties with him!
Broadsides: Another big "YES" unit. Up to three TL Railguns and a 2+ save will make Nidzilla players very, VERY mad. If you want to be a jerk, give at least two of them Target Locks so they can all pick different targets. If the enemy gets close, no problem; switch to the Smart Missile Systems and make them wish they were never spawned with 12 S5 AP5 LoS-ignoring shots. Even if they survive, Broadsides are still T4 and 2 wounds a piece with the aforementioned 2+ armor save. They're going to need either some big bugs or a LOT of surviving smaller bugs to bring them down in an assault. -EDIT- Goes to show what happens when you type an article when you're sick and don't have your codex on-hand; Broadsides are T4, not T5.
Sniper Drone Teams: If you have points left over, plant them near a home objective and start sniping Warriors. 36" range at S6 AP3 will hurt, and up to three separate teams can be taken per Heavy Support slot.
Skyray: Only really useful if you need more markerlights and/or the seeker missiles for sniping MCs. The front AV of 13, however, will make this tank a nuisance for most 'Nids; if you have it, try to make it as much of a pain as possible and draw fire from your Hammerhead. Give it a Smart Missile System if you want to plant it behind a piece of terrain; the only guns that'll need LoS are the markerlights; give it Burst Cannons to go out in front and support other units. Again, Disruption Pods and Flechettes are good choices here.
Not counting any Forgeworld units, there's a breakdown of how different Tau units can be used to bring down the tide of bugs that are sure to be headed to your local gaming community. As you can see, I've pretty much thrown out the idea of forming a gunline; unless you have a LOT of cover, it'll pretty much be suicide against 'Nids. I hope that this article can help out fledgling Shas take on the 'Nid menace with greater skill, and thus help show other players the power of the Greater Good.