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Panxer
04-20-2012, 08:29 AM
I had a very positive experience with a Tau build yesterday, and I'd be interested to read thoughts. The list is probably widely considered as fairly 'standard', but it's infantry heavy (as opposed to my normal suit heavy list)

So here goes...

HQ
Shas'El, Cyclic Ion Blaster, Fusion Blaster, Shield Generator, Stim Injector

Ethereal, Honor blade, EMP Grenades

Elites
x2 XV8, Fusion Blasters, Missile Pods, Multi-trackers

x2 XV8, Fusion Blasters, Missile Pods, Multi-trackers

x2 XV8, Fusion Blasters, Missile Pods, Multi-trackers

Troops
x12 Firewarriors (pulse rifles),EMP Grenades, Shas'Ui with Bonding Knife

x12 Firewarriors (pulse rifles), EMP Grenades, Shas'Ui with Bonding Knife

x12 Firewarriors (pulse carbines), Emp Grenades, Shas'Ui with Bonding Knife

x12 Firewarriors (pulse carbines), Emp Grenades, Shas'Ui with Bonding Knife

x12 Kroot, x4 Kroot Hounds

x12 Kroot, x4 Kroot Hounds

Fast Attack
Tetra Marker Speeder, Target Array

Tetra Marker Speeder, Target Array

Heavy Support
x2 Sniper Drone Teams

Hammerhead Gunship, Railgun, Burst Cannons, Disruption Pod, Multi-tracker, Seeker Missile

Hammerhead Gunship, Railgun, Burst Cannons, Disruption Pod, Multi-tracker, Seeker Missile


*This is what I used against Necrons and the kills which were made were made by the suits (which killed a transport and actually didn't run off of the board this time!), The hammerhead (which only managed to wreck an Annihilation barge, and I got lucky with a unit of Deepstriking deathmarks mishap'ing into oblivion (which provided the winning kill point).

There were no real Tau losses this time. The Stim Injector and Shield Generator saved my XV8 commander (who survived the whole game), I lost a unit of Firewarriors to assaults by wraiths (which kept my Aun alive long enough to not force a table wide morale check), Scarabs ate a hammerhead, and a unit kroot kept a unit of Krypteks from operating against my tanks. Otherwise my FW's gummed up and screened his advance against me and kept me alive. It was the weirdest thing!

My standard tactic is to use armor and mecha to lay down and concentrate fire, while using kroot to pen and secure the flanks (throwing in slight variations of tactics depending on the missions). I think this list is more gummy an perhaps more effective than a mecha-nized list.

Thoughts?

ElectricPaladin
04-20-2012, 10:54 AM
I'm glad that you've had luck with this list - the funny thing is, it breaks every guideline for Tau list building that I've ever heard! I kind of want to ask you questions, rather than offer my own advice.

* How did the Fireforge XV8s work for you? I was initially interested in Fireforges as a "this is probably a suicide mission" deep strike squad - the idea being that if they scatter poorly, they still have a long-range weapon and don't end up completely failing to contribute - though I usually eschew them in favor of Fireknives as my main battle suits and Deathrains as my fire support.

* I'm surprised to see so few shield drones. I never field XV8 squads without two shield drones. How did that work for you?

* Ethereal? I've heard that they're, well, crap. How did yours contribute?

* What is the utility of the Pulse Carbines? What did they add to your force?

* Why didn't you put target locks and disruption pods on your Tetras? They're cheap upgrades that - it seems to me - would add a lot. 4 Markerlight shots is a lot for one target - split it two ways an you're golden. Disruption pods would give them incredible survivability.

* Other than that, how did the Tetras perform?

* Sniper drone teams? I've also heard them described as, basically, crap. How did they do?

Panxer
04-20-2012, 03:16 PM
I'm glad that you've had luck with this list - the funny thing is, it breaks every guideline for Tau list building that I've ever heard! I kind of want to ask you questions, rather than offer my own advice.

* How did the Fireforge XV8s work for you? I was initially interested in Fireforges as a "this is probably a suicide mission" deep strike squad - the idea being that if they scatter poorly, they still have a long-range weapon and don't end up completely failing to contribute - though I usually eschew them in favor of Fireknives as my main battle suits and Deathrains as my fire support.

I find the Sunforge/Fireforge load out the most economical and versitile for the XV8's. The Fireknife is awesome and effective against heavy infantry but doesn't do that well against heavy armor. So, the missiles can handle light transports, and the meltas can handle the heavy stuff, so if the enemy takes out your railguns first (they will), then you've still got the ability to take out a land raider or leman russ if you need to. To address the scatter problem I use anything that's equipped with a marker beacon to help out with that. It's not perfect, but it's better than what most armies have as far as deepstrike goes.

* I'm surprised to see so few shield drones. I never field XV8 squads without two shield drones. How did that work for you?

I don't like using shield drones for anything that isn't an HQ or XV88's. In my experience, if you take shield or any other kind of drones, you're going to lose one, fail morale and fall screaming off the board with a skinned knee. It never fails with me. This is why I try to take multiple teams of two xv8's with no drones, and either try deepstrike as many of them as I can together in one blob, or mass them in a blob during deployment to concentrate fire and provide a defense or screen.

* Ethereal? I've heard that they're, well, crap. How did yours contribute?
I don't usually take one unless I'm fielding XV88's armed with plasma and shield generators. Then I typically fold him up with them, place them somewhere defensible with good observation and field of fire. I take two shield drones for the Aun, just in case there are more than one invul saves I have to take, and you've got a fearless, x3- 2+ armor with 4+ invuls and an IC which helps XV8's with their morale problems.

* What is the utility of the Pulse Carbines? What did they add to your force?
Assault 1 Pinning. Give them EMP grenades and you've got an anti-armor suicide screen. Oh, you've got a land raider full of terminators? 4+ to hit, 4's and 5's glance, and 6's penetrate. You've got a 50% chance of neutralizing any vehicle on the board and forcing your opponent to get gummed up for a turn or two mopping up the squad. Yeah, you'll lose the squad, but they've earned their points and bought you needed time to maneuver.

* Why didn't you put target locks and disruption pods on your Tetras? They're cheap upgrades that - it seems to me - would add a lot. 4 Markerlight shots is a lot for one target - split it two ways an you're golden. Disruption pods would give them incredible survivability.
If I'm not mistaken, tetras come with disruption pods as a stock option, I try not to field more than one in a squadron, because I'm trying to keep them alive by keeping them in the back field and constantly moving them. They're fragile, and constitute a completely mobile pathfinder team for half the points. I typically upgrade them with a target array, and maybe flechettes if I'm feeling froggy or have the points to spare.

* Other than that, how did the Tetras perform?
Effhing amazing. They're small, fast, nonthreatening, cost half as much as pathfinder team and fire 4 marker shots which hit on 3's. Totally worth the points. I'd have put 3 out there, but I didn't have the points.

* Sniper drone teams? I've also heard them described as, basically, crap. How did they do?
They didn't kill a dang thing. They didn't even cause a pinning check the whole game. What they DID do though was provide two more markerlights which hit on 3+, and also provide a target of distraction to an over eager enemy who see them as a threat (which tends to keep my tetras alive that much longer)

Panxer
04-20-2012, 03:25 PM
I forgot the part about only taking 2 XV8's per squad. The logic is that if you only have two, if you lose one you're never below 1/2 strength, and even if you break you'll always have the opportunity to try and regroup. Yes, you can upgrade one vet to a leader and give him a bonding knife, but that's 10 extra points per squad that you could be putting elsewhere. If you have the points to max out your XV8's? Do it! But I've played enough games to know that Murphy is always watching, and I WILL lose a drone (most times on turn 1), I WILL fail morale, and I WILL fall screaming back 3D6 off of the board. So my 200+pt doom squad with all their expensive and shiny toys got shot at, lost a robot, reevaluated their role in life, and ran away... This is almost ALWAYS the case when I play, so I typically mitigate the risk by playing the elites as spartan as I can and transfer their abilities over to other units to overlap and make failsafes.