flagg3288
09-23-2015, 01:15 PM
Hey guys, just wanted some thoughts on this 750 pt Tau list. I wanted to make something that's fun, that's at least mildly competitive to play with as someone who is still very much learning the game, and that isn't so cheesy that people will either not like playing against me or will feel obligated to whip out their cheese and beat my brains in with it (then again it is Tau and from what I hear some people may still be mad at me for playing as them and may feel the need to smack me around with a cheese list).
HQ
Ethereal - 1x Shield Drone
Elites
VX8 Crisis Team - Bonding Knife Ritual, 3 x Crisis Shas'ui w/ Twin-Linked Flamer, 1x Drone Controller, 1x Vectored Retro-Thrusters, 6x Gun Drones
Troops
Fire Warrior Team - 12x Fire Warrior Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifles
Fire Warrior Team - 12x Fire Warrior Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifles
Fast Attack
Pathfinder Team - 6x Pathfinder Shas'la w/Pulse Carbine/Markerlights
Heavy Support
VX88 Broadside Team - 3x Broadside Battlesuit w/ Twin-Linked Rail Rifles, Twin-Linked Smart Missile Systems, 3x Target Locks, 1x Shield Drone
Total - 750/750 pts
The idea in my head is that this list presents a lot of firepower and a lot of threats. The Ethereal is a force-multiplier and supercharges my full Fire Warrior Teams. Unfortunately he also provides an extra victory point to the enemy if the take him out, which is why I gave him a defensive drone. The Fire Crisis team has a unit-wide Hit and Run, so they can dump out fire on groups of infantry up close and personal with a chance to get out before they can hit back. The drones give them extra durability and firepower (twin-linked pulse carbines + Drone controller pumps them up from BS2 to BS3). The Pathfinders are the fairly obvious weak link here, given that there's only one unit and only 6 models in said unit, and I haven't given them any special drones or anything else to give them a boost. But my thought process with them is, if they get attacked to be taken out early, then one of my other units is likely not being targeted. And if they aren't taken out early, then they're out there popping markerlights and giving a boost to the other units. Finally, the Broadside Team presents yet another threat with plenty of firepower (which is why I also gave them a Shield Drone to help keep them upright and firing a bit longer). I gave them Target Lock so they can spread that firepower around if the situation calls for it; otherwise they can just pour it all into a particularly important target. I also considered going with Advanced Targeting Systems instead of Target Locks and make it a Sniperside unit and I was wondering what everybody thought about that in particular. I also considered dropping the Shield Drone from the Ethereal and upgrading one of the Broadside Shas'ui to a Broadside Shas'vre so that they bump up to LD9 but I felt like the defensive boost to the Ethereal was more important.
TL:DR - Lots of firepower, multiple priority targets, hopefully decent base army for when I start expanding up the points ladder. It's not a super-meta hyper competitive tourney list or anything like that, I just happen to like the aesthetics and I hope it can win every once in a while. Thoughts?
Edit - I know Missilesides are a more popular option but A.) I think I prefer the look of the Broadsides with the Railguns as opposed to extra missile boxes and B.) I'm not sure what the consensus is but I feel like Missilesides are extra cheesy and I'm already approaching the acceptable cheese limits by playing Tau. Correct me if I'm wrong, as swapping the Railguns over to the Twin-Linked High-Yield Missile Pods costs nothing in terms of points as well as labor (as I have not bought the Broadside models yet anyways).
HQ
Ethereal - 1x Shield Drone
Elites
VX8 Crisis Team - Bonding Knife Ritual, 3 x Crisis Shas'ui w/ Twin-Linked Flamer, 1x Drone Controller, 1x Vectored Retro-Thrusters, 6x Gun Drones
Troops
Fire Warrior Team - 12x Fire Warrior Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifles
Fire Warrior Team - 12x Fire Warrior Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifles
Fast Attack
Pathfinder Team - 6x Pathfinder Shas'la w/Pulse Carbine/Markerlights
Heavy Support
VX88 Broadside Team - 3x Broadside Battlesuit w/ Twin-Linked Rail Rifles, Twin-Linked Smart Missile Systems, 3x Target Locks, 1x Shield Drone
Total - 750/750 pts
The idea in my head is that this list presents a lot of firepower and a lot of threats. The Ethereal is a force-multiplier and supercharges my full Fire Warrior Teams. Unfortunately he also provides an extra victory point to the enemy if the take him out, which is why I gave him a defensive drone. The Fire Crisis team has a unit-wide Hit and Run, so they can dump out fire on groups of infantry up close and personal with a chance to get out before they can hit back. The drones give them extra durability and firepower (twin-linked pulse carbines + Drone controller pumps them up from BS2 to BS3). The Pathfinders are the fairly obvious weak link here, given that there's only one unit and only 6 models in said unit, and I haven't given them any special drones or anything else to give them a boost. But my thought process with them is, if they get attacked to be taken out early, then one of my other units is likely not being targeted. And if they aren't taken out early, then they're out there popping markerlights and giving a boost to the other units. Finally, the Broadside Team presents yet another threat with plenty of firepower (which is why I also gave them a Shield Drone to help keep them upright and firing a bit longer). I gave them Target Lock so they can spread that firepower around if the situation calls for it; otherwise they can just pour it all into a particularly important target. I also considered going with Advanced Targeting Systems instead of Target Locks and make it a Sniperside unit and I was wondering what everybody thought about that in particular. I also considered dropping the Shield Drone from the Ethereal and upgrading one of the Broadside Shas'ui to a Broadside Shas'vre so that they bump up to LD9 but I felt like the defensive boost to the Ethereal was more important.
TL:DR - Lots of firepower, multiple priority targets, hopefully decent base army for when I start expanding up the points ladder. It's not a super-meta hyper competitive tourney list or anything like that, I just happen to like the aesthetics and I hope it can win every once in a while. Thoughts?
Edit - I know Missilesides are a more popular option but A.) I think I prefer the look of the Broadsides with the Railguns as opposed to extra missile boxes and B.) I'm not sure what the consensus is but I feel like Missilesides are extra cheesy and I'm already approaching the acceptable cheese limits by playing Tau. Correct me if I'm wrong, as swapping the Railguns over to the Twin-Linked High-Yield Missile Pods costs nothing in terms of points as well as labor (as I have not bought the Broadside models yet anyways).