Tau w/Space Marine Allies 1.5k

[ElectricPaladin]

While the idea of a distraction is all well and good, I personally don't much like the idea of a suicide brigade. Marines are only marines and essentially you'll be handing your opponent both a kill point and a spring board (charge + advance).

In my opinion, allies should offer an army something they don't already have. Libby aside, a tactical squad offers standard firepower - something Tau already have a lot of. If you were going to use this method, I would honestly keep the libby with your tau so you can prescience them, rather than sacrifice it with your tacticals.

On another note, have you considered allying GKs to tau? For the same price as 10 tacticals, libby and pod you could get 5 terminators and a better libby with a few points left over. This gets you both a distraction unit and a very solid close combat unit - something tau absolutely lack.

I talk about the marines as though they were a suicide squad, but that's really not what I mean. What they are is a fork, in the chess sense. The goal is to put my opponent in a "a difficult position in which he cannot counter all threats" (thanks Wikipedia!). When the Space Marines drop on turn one, my opponent has a choice. He can divert firepower at the Marines, which is a bad choice because 1) Marines are very hard to kill and 2) it allows my Tau time to maneuver into position (Devilfish advancing on objectives, Kroot and Tetras outflanking, XV8s deep striking... whatever). Alternately, he can attack my Tau, which is a bad choice because 1) there are a bunch of rapid-firing Marines firing their boltguns at his face!

Whatever he choses, I have the opportunity to seize the advantage.

I'll consider messing with Grey Knights, though to be honest, I am quite put off by their fluff, look, and reputation. I guess I could try assembling and painting them as Exorcists... that would help a little.

Like I said, I'll consider it. However, the other advantage that this strategy has is, as I pointed out above, it gives me something to do with the tactical marines I have lying around and am unlikely to use in my Blood Angels army. The same can't be said for the Grey Knights. I investigated the idea of using my leftover models to start a small Exorcists Chapter force some time ago, but the Grey Knights Codex is weird - doesn't seem to use a lot of standard Space Marines models - and I'd have to buy more plastic.

And that is something I avoid whenever possible .

[Seirin]

Fair enough on the GK point, though I find if you don't use any named characters then the fluff is plenty acceptable.

As for marines, to call them 'very hard' to kill isn't right. TH/SS termies can be HARD to kill, but basic marines die in droves quite easily. If you play them then I would suggest two things - 1; use them to target back-line stuff (this means if the opponent charges them he/she can't 'springboard' towards ur tau, and u can kill tanks with melta nicely) and 2; write them off and be pleased if any survive - I know I for one would see it as an easy 1/3ish of your army to destroy in one easy turn.

[ElectricPaladin]

Fair enough on the GK point, though I find if you don't use any named characters then the fluff is plenty acceptable.

As for marines, to call them 'very hard' to kill isn't right. TH/SS termies can be HARD to kill, but basic marines die in droves quite easily. If you play them then I would suggest two things - 1; use them to target back-line stuff (this means if the opponent charges them he/she can't 'springboard' towards ur tau, and u can kill tanks with melta nicely) and 2; write them off and be pleased if any survive - I know I for one would see it as an easy 1/3ish of your army to destroy in one easy turn.

Well, they're harder to kill than my Tau, anyway .

I'll keep your tactical notes in mind. They seem accurate.