5th Edition Tau Survival Tactics & Build Strategies (Chapter II)

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**focusedfire**

As per request, I am rebooting this subject in a new thread and apologies to Lorek(and dakka) and for the attempted Threadromancy on the previous one. I am opening this thread with the
First Post Copied and edited from this Thread:http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/237732.page

focusedfire wrote:As the name says, 5th ed affected the Tau in some drastic ways and seeing as its going to be 2-3 years before they get a New codex. I figured that this would be a good time to work on adapting the Tau Tactics and Builds to 5th ed.
This thread is about sharing lessons learned, dirty(but legal)tricks, and the use of conventional and unconventional tactics in an effort to make the Tau more competitive or at least keep them interesting to play until the next codex.

Please no trolling or Tau hate posts. I will report such very quickly if others haven't already done so. I really would like for this thread to be about the exchange of strategies, tactics, and new ways of making the codex work in 5th ed.

I think most reading this thread will have enough experience to not need a recap of the basics. If I'm wrong on this please let me know. Having said that, I will begin with what are, IMHO, the current most common or promising Builds with their inherent tactics.

First, There is the Mech Tau Build. This build seems to be one of the more common builds. Its strengths are the use of Devilfish transports and Railgun Hammer Head Tanks that when teamed with the Tau diruption pod makes for a very durable, if somewhat boring to play,build. Mech Tau follows the philosophy of the Mont'ka(IMO). You hit hard in one area until the enemy is no more. Then you use the opening for manuvering room. This Army starts it dash for objective on turn 3. Sometimes turn four depending upon objective placement.
Positives-The build is mobile and very durable.
Negatives-Lack of massed firepower and can sometimes be less than inspiring to play.

Second, The Tau Staitic Gun-line Illusion. Not many run this build. I've been told that it is too chancy. The strength of this army is also its weakness. It is a Jack of all trades army that is balanced but doesn't excel. This army normally has four vehicles and the rest are infantry or jump infantry. This army plays off of their positioning and focused firepower. You set up to where your deployment looks like a classic static gun-line with the infantry dominating you deployment zone. The trick is to have the devilfish properly screened so that come turn 3 they are still around. Just about the time that the first hardhitters are in range to assault you load up your scoring units and dash off towards the objectives with the Tanks and jump infantry.
This army uses a combination of both the Kauyon and the Mont'ka.
Positives-Strong Firepower Army with the flexibility and tools to be good against most armies.
Negatives- Lose a transport or troop unit and the game can go quickly from a strong win to desperately scrambling for a draw.

Third, Ninja Tau- This is a tactic gaining popularity amongst the more experienced Tau players as well as possibly the newer players, too. This is a build that uses a piece of wargear and deepstriking units to allow the Tau player to set the tempo of the game by giving the Tau player a very precise means of controlling what comes on the Table from reserves and when they arrive. Using this the Tau player leaves one, acouple, or his entire army in reserve except for one or two squads. This build probably gives the most Tactical flexibility for the Tau but has its drawbacks too by pretty much having to make it to turn 5 in order to win..
This build is very much a mixture of Kauyon and Mont'ka with the emphisis being heavily upon the Kauyon style of warfare.
Positives-Army is protected by being in reserve and arrives where it will do the maximum amount of damage to your opponents forces.
Negatives-This Tactic relies upon the survival of one squad being on the table with minimal support for 3 Turns and in timed matches your opponent may intentionally "Play Slowly" hoping that the game ends turn 4 before you can get you army in position.

Fourth, is the Broadside spam army. This is a build that goes for maximum fire power and durability but sacrifices mobility in the process. This build is where the player tries to go for 2-3 full squads of the Broadsides which doesn't leave room for much of anything else. This army is a Mont'ka static gun-line army.
Positives-9 Railgun shots a turn and 9 armour save 2+models.
Negatives-Loss of mobility and reduced flexibilty in types of fielded weapons.

These are the basic starting point builds that I can immediately think of. The above are just quick references and if I missed any please to post them. If You feel that I am wrong then please post your reply from your POV. I will debate but if it tuns into an arguement then I will stop. Again this thread is about viable 5th ed Tau build strategies and tactics.

Now a personal tactic that I use. I make the Broadsides my Bait unit in games where I wish to use the principles of the Kauyon in my army. I run this unit at max capacity and also run four shield drones and two gundrones. The variety of the drones allows me to exploit the wound allocation table a little by having models equipped differently. To this squad I join an Etheral with a shield and a gun drone. This gives me a durable, fearless, and Toughness 4 bait unit that has to take eleven wounds from a single squads firing before the Etheral takes on wound.

This is my Bait unit in the Tau Static gun-line Illusion and my wound soak for my Ninja Tau Commander.

Who is next with any helpful hints build strategies, or suvival tactics?

@All Posters-Since this first post there have been two notable build strategies develop. Both seem to be an evolutionary hybrid adaptations of older styles with a new unit focus.

Fifth, Piranha Spam- Also called the feeding frezny this is a Piranha spam build that exploits the piranha squadron size, speed, free gundrone units, and certain vehicle wargear. This list runs 2-3 Piranha Squadrons at near full strength, 2 units of FW in transports, 1-2 units of Kroot, and not much else. This army can be either Mont'ka or Kauyon.
Strengths- Speed, less KP than other Tau builds, and a reasonable VOF
Weaknesses-Lack of long ranged weapons and flexibility

Sixth, Ionhead Mech/ Ninja Hybrid- I've been working on and with this build for the past 9 months. Have had positive results but need more info from other before a full assessment could be made. You can see the list Here:http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/290159.page" target="_new" rel="nofollow"> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/290159.page

What I would like to know is:

Have the latest codices affected your tactics and builds?

Any old tactics that have come back into style?

Has there been any new tactics or techniques emerge that are not already posted on this thread?

Are there particular builds or tactics you are having trouble countering?

If so then please post here for discussion.

Edit for dropped sentence

**MagicJuggler**

I've pretty much kept the same armybuild since the beginning of 5th edition. I run a semi-mechanized gunline with 2 Railheads and 2 Broadsides, with 8 Fireknifes, 14 Pathfinders, 2 min-strength Firewarriors, and two Krootscreens. Oh, and a squad of two Piranhas for move-blocking.

**lambadomy**

My army is almost the same as MagicJuggler, just with more fireknives and fewer pathfinders since I don't own them.

Occasionally I join a HQ fireknife to the Broadsides similar to your ethereal tactic but not nearly as expensive. Though I'm not really expecting them to be bait, I'm more trying to encourage my opponent not to shoot at them. I don't expect my opponents to be dumb enough to try to kill that unit at range with that many drones and wound allocation tricks. It helps keep them on the board for a couple turns instead of watching them take one casualty and break.

I also find I use all of my tanks and the piranhas for run blocking as long as possible and outflank the kroot for objective missions, but it obviously depends on the mission setup. I only need the speedbump against really fast agressive armies.

Piranha spam is fun but I'm not buying 12 piranhas.

I have trouble in objective missions against huge numbers of plague marines. That is about it.

**focusedfire**

Thanks for posting, this sounds like a list I used to run.

A couple of questions:

What point level are you running?

Also and more importantly, What tactics do you use?

Do you castle your pathfinders and if so behind which units. What are the key aspects in the deployment of this build?

What are the strengths and weaknesses from your POV?

Which Armies and builds are you strong against and which give you trouble?

Does wargear play any form of a key aspect to your strategy?

These are the things I would like to discuss in this thread. Looking to build a shared information base of ideas and experience here at Dakka.

Would you care to discuss your thoughts and experience?

**MagicJuggler**

I mostly play at 2000 points.

As a rule, I don't outflank my Kroot. I set up *everything* in a corner. Classic refused Flank. One of my Kroot-units is 10 and 7 Hounds. The other is 10 and 3 Hounds. They serve mostly as a dual-layered buffer against turn-1 Drop Pods/Kopta rushes. Against the IG Aircav Rush, I infiltrate one of the two units forward, to deny areas for him to reliably Scout to, and negate the alpha-strike. Afterwards, I use the Kroot as a bullet-screen, keeping half the unit in cover, the other half in the open, in essence "extending" available cover for my Crisis Suits.

Unlike other people, I take two Shas'els. They start with the Pathfinders so they don't flee to slight breezes. Then they move to join the Crisis Suits, thus allowing for more Fireknife torrenting.

The toughest opponent so far, would be Artillery Guard or Aircav Guard. There was one rather build I ran into at 2000 points, that basically took a Company Command Squad, 2 Veteran Squads, 9 Vendettas, and 8 Hydras. So fighting it was a matter of slowly attritioning it to death. I eventually did succeed, but it was a *very* tough fight.

**focusedfire**

I've been running an Ionhead mech list that uses Piranha and deepstrikers for my anti-tank. The commander has a Posi relay that allows for reserves flexibility and the 2 pathfinder-D-fish bring the Deep strikers in on target.

I often start the Game with my Piranhas and Heat Waves in reserve, then use the posi relay to bring in the Piranha on second turn. What units start in reserve does depend purely upon the list I am playing

I tuck my command squad in a corner, behind one of the tanks for the first turn or so. My kroot are often used in defensive infiltration just in front of the pathfinders. If I'm running the PF's with Rail Rifles then the kroot are positioned a little different.

This army has the tools to adjust to the various armies it might face, but LR and monolith spam can be an annoyance. Haven't played against a leaf blower list yet nor have had the chance to play against BA. When I do, I will let you know how the list fairs.

**focusedfire**

Don't know how many people already use this, I thought it was a common tactic until several people thanked me for the idea. BTW, this works best when used in conjunction with the positional relay.

When running piranhas load each with a single seeker missile. Make sure that there are at least 2 marker lights in the army for each seeker taken. The piranhas are left in reserve and brought in on the 2nd or 3rd turn. They move flat out down the board angling for a position which gives the seekers either side or rear armour shots and sets them up to move in for a shot in the next turn. Because the piranha gain the coversave for moving flat-out I often save points by not taking the disruption pods. The thought on this is that my piranha are armed with fusion cannons and have to get within 12" of the enemy to fire.

Anybody else?

**MagicJuggler**

Usually, I find the Piranhas are more important as move-blockers than anything else, depending on the army being faced. Keeping them on the table also serves to draw a lot of firepower away from your Hammerheads and Broadsides.

**focusedfire**

My philosophy is that for a shooty army the Tau have enough unit that don't shoot/do damage(Pathfinders and marker drones). If I am fielding any other units they are there to do damage.

My experience has been that the Piranha aren't very durable and that I really don't mind if my opponents fire at the Hammerheads and Broadsides. This is because I run my Hammerheads as cheap Ion Heads and my Broadsides set up as fearless deathstars.

I don't often run seekers be cause of the points and the difficulty of getting the slower Tau tanks into the backfield. Usually you should be trying to keep your tanks out of cc range. With Piranha I'll run the Seekers in the manner previously stated.

By bringing in the Piranha from reserve you allow the enemy time to move out and expose his side and rear armour. You then get to exploit the piranhas being fast yet still get off a couple of anti-tank shots. Running them without seekers and on the board first turn, the piranhas usually spend the first turn not shooting yet getting wailed upon by assault cannons and the like.

Now if you are facing a lot of first turn assault lists then deploying them as a screen will work but it is a very expensive screen, IMO.

**Krellnus**

An interesting tactic a person at my FLGS developed is this:
6 FW in a devilfish w/ emp grenades
rush up the table
get into CC with vehicles
They are shock troops in both a military and literal sense.
In one game they blew up a land raider.
It is quite effective because people are like "Tau, Combat?!"
I myself was surprised at how well it worked
Thoughts?

**Lorek**

I've thought about that, but to me it has some gaping flaws:

The first is cost. You're adding 30% to the cost of a Firewarrior by giving them EMP grenades (and they already cost a bunch).

The second is effectiveness. Against most vehicles, you're going to be hitting on a 4+ or 6+, and even then you have a 1/6 chance of penetrating. I really don't like those odds.

The third is that you're going to lose your Firewarrior squad after that. Tau have enough problems keeping their Troops alive.

The fourth reason is that you can't charge out of a Devilfish after it has moved, so you're taking an extra turn to get there.

**focusedfire**

I had heard about this before but had forgotten about it until ir was mentioned in another thread here on dakka. "It" being the practice of Kroot-suiting.

Kroot-suiting is where you deploy or attach a Shas'o commander with a large squad of Kroot. This is used as a means of giving the Commander a large number of alblative wounds while also giving the Kroot solid leadership.

I, personally, have never used this tactic but it seems to have merits worth discussing. I'll list some of the pro's and con's to get the ball rolling.

Pro's:
-Extra wounds for the Commander.

-Leadership boost for the kroot

Con's:
-Commander's mobility decreased

-Makes commander more vulnerable to ranged attacks because Kroots T3

There are more of both but I figured this is enoough to start.

This tactic is similar to when I used to attach my commander to a drone squadron back in 4th ed. The reason I stopped is that these days my FA slots are occupied by PF's and Piranhas. I just don't know if joining to the kroot is superior to joining to the Fire Warriors. Yes, the base model cost is less but the base unit cost is more. The kroot give more wounds but FW's have a better armour save............................

You know it just occurred to me that a FW squad of 6 joined by 2 Deathrain commanders w/ 2 shield drones each would give the Fire warriors an effective T4, eliminate the FW's needing a D-fish and boost the commanders survivability. This would be a great excuse to have an extra (scoring) unit of FW's on the Table.

What do you guys think?

Do you like the idea of Kroot suiting?

Or do you prefer my idea of joining the two commanders to a single 6 man FW squad and using the shield drones morphing toughness to boost a Fire Warriors effective toughness to 4?

**Mad Rabbit**

First off, glad to see a thread like this. I like seeing people who stick to Tau and make the most of the gak situation GW has put them in.

I think the kroot idea wouldn't be a great one. I'd need a pretty good reason to give up JSJ, and I don't think kroot are worth it in most cases.

The FW idea could be an effective one for scoring purposes, I would just be afraid of that unit catching an assault. However, I have a lot of experience playing against Tau, and anything you can do to frustrate your opponent's commander sniping is a good thing.

**Nightwatch**

focusedfire wrote:I had heard about this before but had forgotten about it until ir was mentioned in another thread here on dakka. "It" being the practice of Kroot-suiting.

Kroot-suiting is where you deploy or attach a Shas'o commander with a large squad of Kroot. This is used as a means of giving the Commander a large number of alblative wounds while also giving the Kroot solid leadership.

I, personally, have never used this tactic but it seems to have merits worth discussing. I'll list some of the pro's and con's to get the ball rolling.

Pro's:
-Extra wounds for the Commander.

-Leadership boost for the kroot

Con's:
-Commander's mobility decreased

-Makes commander more vulnerable to ranged attacks because Kroots T3

There are more of both but I figured this is enoough to start.

This tactic is similar to when I used to attach my commander to a drone squadron back in 4th ed. The reason I stopped is that these days my FA slots are occupied by PF's and Piranhas. I just don't know if joining to the kroot is superior to joining to the Fire Warriors. Yes, the base model cost is less but the base unit cost is more. The kroot give more wounds but FW's have a better armour save............................

You know it just occurred to me that a FW squad of 6 joined by 2 Deathrain commanders w/ 2 shield drones each would give the Fire warriors an effective T4, eliminate the FW's needing a D-fish and boost the commanders survivability. This would be a great excuse to have an extra (soring) unit of FW's on the Table.

What do you guys think?

Do you like the idea of Kroot suiting?

Or do you prefer my idea of joining the two commanders to a single 6 man FW squad and using the shield drones morphing toughness to boost a Fire Warriors effective toughness to 4?

For all those interested:http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/291203.page

**LunaHound**

Nightwatch wrote:For all those interested:http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/291203.page

Thanks for the link , i have been wondering what to do with my kroots.

**Nightwatch**

LunaHound wrote:
Nightwatch wrote:For all those interested:http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/291203.page

Thanks for the link , i have been wondering what to do with my kroots.

No problem!
I have to admit, the tactics described there really can't compete that well with a mech list, but if you want to run a Kroot army its very fluffy and a lot more fun to play!

**LunaHound**

Nightwatch wrote:
LunaHound wrote:
Nightwatch wrote:For all those interested:http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/291203.page

Thanks for the link , i have been wondering what to do with my kroots.

No problem!
I have to admit, the tactics described there really can't compete that well with a mech list, but if you want to run a Kroot army its very fluffy and a lot more fun to play!

I only have kroots and nothing else lol, so it have to do!

**Nightwatch**

LunaHound wrote:
Nightwatch wrote:
LunaHound wrote:
Nightwatch wrote:For all those interested:http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/291203.page

Thanks for the link , i have been wondering what to do with my kroots.

No problem!
I have to admit, the tactics described there really can't compete that well with a mech list, but if you want to run a Kroot army its very fluffy and a lot more fun to play!

I only have kroots and nothing else lol, so it have to do!

How many?

**focusedfire**

Mad Rabbit wrote:First off, glad to see a thread like this. I like seeing people who stick to Tau and make the most of the gak situation GW has put them in.

I think the kroot idea wouldn't be a great one. I'd need a pretty good reason to give up JSJ, and I don't think kroot are worth it in most cases.

The FW idea could be an effective one for scoring purposes, I would just be afraid of that unit catching an assault. However, I have a lot of experience playing against Tau, and anything you can do to frustrate your opponent's commander sniping is a good thing.

Thank you for the kind words.

Yeah, I personally am not overly keen on the kroot suiting but for some it is a viable tactic for their kroot themed armies and because of this I figured I'd post it. Then while writing it up I got the idea for the double commander FW Squad. I think this squad would work best armed with pulse carbines.

This tactic would make your pathfinders much more durable. Wouldn't you agree?

Funny you mention assaulting. This set up makes the EMP' and photons very attractive.

**crazyK**

Very good thread.

I've tried variations of the OP lists, but usually run something like a mech (mobile scoring units - scorefish or outflanking kroot) + gun-line (stationary pathfinders and broadsides).

However, the latest lists (above 1500 points) I've run in local tournaments uses Commander Farsight. I run only 2-3 bodyguards, but one has iridium armor and shield drones. I usually place this in/near the center of the board to draw attention, and so far it's been working great. The rest of my army seems to get ignored, which allows it to keep up fire support.

If I lose initiative, I usually do the Farsight bomb and deepstrike him and the BGs as far back as possible with help from the pathfinder fish. No mishaps to date (probably just jinxed myself).

Most Tau players don't run Farsight do to the restrictive FOC, but I've found him to be worth his points, especially with the free bonding knives.

**MagicJuggler**

I am a Krootsuiter, but I use a Shas'el for this purpose. Again, the point of the Kroot is to serve as a "blob" to deny deepstrike locations or outflanks. ("No you are *not* Termiciding me!"). Plus it's nice having a bullet-catcher for the Kroot, no?

**Extinction Angel**

In recent games I have been having very good success against Tyranids and some SM builds.

Most of my tactics were driven by fluff and have turned into an interesting forray into 5th ed. Tau.

Because of their backstory I started using a lot of drones and more Kroot. At first it was pretty much a bunch of fail, but now that I've had some time to stream line the lists, some patterns are emerging.

Most interesting of which: gun drones. I'll run at least 2 max squads of gun drones that usually deepstrike. Against 'nids specifically this has been devastating. Why? Well Tervigons and Venomthropes need to sit back and be support units. Tervigons have a decent enough save and 6 wounds, but venomthropes are only 2 wounds and a mediocre save. Deepstriking in and blasting a full unit of gun drones on support staff, can really put the enemy on the backfoot.

If they aren't deep striking, then the conga line is quite consternating to most aggressive opponents.

Some obvious cons to doing this is the lack of FA slots. Less piranhas and path finders. The path finders I've been able to live without. So if I don't go with 3 squads the third slot is piranhas.

**focusedfire**

@Extiction Angel-You are dead on about there being to much competition in the Tau's FA section. This was covered in length in a thread about a year ago. Current methodology says take them for the transports and because they are a cheap source of markerlights but maybe we should ask, "Are they really necessary/mandatory and if so do we really need to take 2 squads of them?". I think that, in lower point games we might be able to trim the number of Pathfinder units by using the troop-suiting idea.

@All Posters- About the Idea of Troop-suiting, this is something that came to me while describing Kroot-suiting. Troop or PF-suiting is where you do the following to your list/army:

Take 2 Shas'el commanders equipped with shield drones and equip them w/ MP, PR, TL's and whatever items that will make them durable but no bodygaurds.

Take 1 PF or FW team that consists of 6 models or less and equip them with both EMP&Photon grenades.

Deploy the 2 commanders with the Pathfinder team about mid-board.

When set up like this the PF's/FW's will be considered to have T 4 while joined to the commanders and the commanders will benefit from the grenades and the PF's acting as additional wounds.

The downside of doing this is the drawback of making this unit very much a target and reducing the commanders mobility.

The up-side is that doing this makes these units more durable than when thay are on their own and possibly freeing up a second FA slot.

What do you think?

**radiohazard**

One unit that I am having fun with are the Sniper Drone Teams. Maxed out, these are a headache for MEQ after their transport has been destroyed.

I'm considering running a mixed army, with Scorefish holding minimum FW squads, Fireknives or Deathrain suits, Broadsides over Hammerhead. I believe that the weight of fire from 2 or more xv88 are of greater importance than a single Hammerhead. Although, that submunition shot is too good to ignore.

**Krellnus**

I actually will usually just spam FWs and in 500pts i will have 36 firewarriors and a shas'el, that usually just leaves me pretty well off. I am not so keen on troop suiting as I am on kroot suiting (although I think that kroot suiting is pretty awesome)

**focusedfire**

Quick question?

How many of you are familiar with hopscotching/leap frogging two fire warrior teams with a single Devilfish?

I use this to move two squads of Fire Warriors while maintaining some VoF but just realized that some newer players don't know about this Tactic.

**mythological**

Quick question?

How many of you are familiar with hopscotching/leap frogging two fire warrior teams with a single Devilfish?

I use this to move two squads of Fire Warriors while maintaining some VoF but just realized that some newer players don't know about this Tactic.

I think I read about this on Advanced Tau Tactica, which is hands down the best website that I have ever stumbled across in my search for new Tau Tactics. Yet I have forgotten the exact details. May you go over this?

But to the orginal question, at 2000 points I run 1 pos relay Shas'el, 6 Fireknives, 2 Firestorms, 2 squads of 8 FWs in Warfish, 1 squad of 10 kroot with 5 hounds, 2 piranhas, 3 man broadsides squad, 2 hammerheads.

To some players, this list has a glaring weakness, no pathfinders. Well, through my experience my pathfinders have failed to make up their points in the army at all, usually I would run 1-2 squads and give their fish to minimum sized FW squads. The enemy would just wipe out my pathfinders on turn 2-3 in assualts/shoot them off of the board, so they were dropped.

My tactics is a variation of the Kauyon with a light sprinkling of ninja tau, where I use my broadside team (uses wound allocation with 2 shield drones) as the bait. The Kroot, piranhas, and one squad of fireknives in reserve. The hammerheads, fish, and the suits would deploy on one side of the field with the broadsides towards the other, I would wait till the enemy advances and depending on what way they go here is what I do:

1)Advance towards broadsides-I would wrap around their flank with my mobile firebase, removing my mobility. The kroot would be brought in reserve from the board edge if the broadsides are threatened and protect them as a meatshield. If the broadsides are left alone, I would outflank the kroot to take some objectives in the backfield or take my home objective. The piranhas would advance up the opposite flank of the mobile firebase against a MEQ enemy and disrupt formations and take out transports. Against horde, they would use their flechettes to block movement and discourage assualts from 30 man boyz squads and the like.

2)Advance towards firebase-I would move the firebase towards the broadsides to create a large, central firebase. I would then deepstrike/flank with the units in reserve to move around enemy. The idea would be a buffed pincer movement where as the enemy reacts to the threat on the flanks, the main firebase can bust through the middle in a combined assualt

A strategy that I have found extremely useful lets the FWs go on the offensive:

One squad of FWs in a fish and a squad of suits are needed. You would Move the fish 12"inches and JSJ the suits behind it, firing as you go. This is great for assualting objectives as this (in my army) could pack: 20 str 5 hits, 6 str 6 hits, 6 str 7 hits. For a combined assualt I would also bring a hammerhead and another squad of suits.

**agnosto**

My survival tactic? It's called the dust tactic. My Tau army gathers dust on a shelf until GW writes a new codex. Some people are obviously successful with them in 5th edition; however, I just can't run them well enough to win a game. :(

**focusedfire**

mythological wrote:I think I read about this on Advanced Tau Tactica, which is hands down the best website that I have ever stumbled across in my search for new Tau Tactics. Yet I have forgotten the exact details. May you go over this?

Leap Frogging/Hopscotching- This is were you use 1 transport to move 2 units of infantry while still providing a decent VoF. You run 2 FW teams, usually equipped with Carbines on one team and Rifles on the other team(You can run 2 teams of carbines also). During Deployment you set the FW teams on each side of the Warfish according to how your opponent deployed or you feel he will deploy. First turn you load the FW team equipped with Carbines into the Warfish and hop the transport over and diagaonally forward of the other FW team to a point about 6" away. Your Rifle team spends first turn firing to full range. The second turn you disembark the carbine unit on the side opposite from the Rifle team. Then you move the Rifletemam to within 2" of the warfish and embark them. Next you hop the loaded warfish to the other side of the carbine team about 6" away. Repeat as necessary

Doing this exploits the extra movement of the vehicles width and cycles your units to keep them from getting hammered every turn.

I normally will run 4 FW teams, 2 Warfish, 2 Hammerheads, and 2 Crisis teams when doing this. I split them into 2 even strike teams while leaving a Broadside Castle/Firebase in the backfield. Build the rest to your preference.

BTW, you are right about ATT, I lurk there often but have only ever posted once. I don't particularly care for their restrictive posting progression system. There is also at times a bit of hubris that floats through the place that I am sure I would get bounced for making fun of. (Not a lot of jokes over there.

)

mythological wrote:But to the orginal question, at 2000 points I run........

Its a good Hybrid list and your tactics are sound. It does seem like you might be able to cram a few more models in there but I trust that you've found what works for you.

A small btw, Out flank is declared at deployment rather than after, something you said about waiting to see what your opponent does made me want to point that out.

mythological wrote:A strategy that I have found extremely useful lets the FWs go on the offensive:

This is something I subtley try to emphasize, but not only for FW's but for the whole army. Too many people believe that the Tau can only be played defensively by trying to stay at range and shoot. This severly limits the armies ability to fight effectively and leads to them deploying all the way back against their table edge. This alone sets them up for disaster because it leaves the opponent controlling more territory to drop infiltrators and more territory to adjust their vehicle movement, while leaving the Tau no room to maneuver or regroup.

Except for a broadside castle I never set up on the back edge and will often run units forward the first turn. I aggressively use deepstrikers to force my opponent to split their forces and will usually charge my pirahna second turn to screen the command squad that has moved forward to rapid fire/assault light vehicles.

Now I'm not saying to charge into HtH. I move these units forward in an effort to create log jams where my opponents starts to trip over his own forces. Sort of like the parking lot tactic where a heavily mechanaized force gets stuck behind key lead vehicles that you targeted in an attempt to immobilize/wreck(Sucks when they blow-up and let the back one through). If you can trap those units behind the front row it is perfect for your gun-line. Same can happen to horde on some level if you can create a bottleneck point that you can force them to go through.

agnosto wrote:My survival tactic? It's called the dust tactic. My Tau army gathers dust on a shelf until GW writes a new codex. Some people are obviously successful with them in 5th edition; however, I just can't run them well enough to win a game. :(

I understand, still it doesn't hurt to pull them down for the occaisional low point game. On the other hand, you may be in the best position when the new codex comes out because you won't be so entrenched in the rules.

As to any personal success that I have with them these days:
First, I practice/study the codex and rules regularly, though I haven't gotten out to play in the last month so I am getting rusty

Second, a lot of my games rely on a combination of bringing a list that shocks/lulls them into thinking thoughts they shouldn't and by playing the player as opposed to his army. (*If you can do the last part of the second you can pull off some amaing Jedi mind tricks through bluffs and suggestion that causes your opponent to target the wrong units.)

Third, I Know when to abandon/change your battleplan to seize upon an unexpected opportunity(Watchout for traps) or to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Fourth, and most importantly, I accept my defeats with little emotion and try to figure out where I could improve.(Usually it is a timing issue)

**H3ct0r**

In my 1500 point list I currently have 6 broadsides and 2 teams of Pathfinders (8 man strong), one of my favorite tactics I have found is taking a target lock on 2 of the Broadsides in each team and split firing at up to 6 targets. In fact, If I am not mistaken you can markerlight a target and by firing one Broadside at it, the whole team benefits from things such as BS increases. These two in tandem make your Broadsides far more effective and usually eliminates the possibility of overkill, ensuring that each damage result is affecting a fresh target.

I am also a big advocate of "Aggro Tau". An aggressive Tau army where you rush your opponent can be very effective, although I have more recently found that an army where you can stand back and deal with menacing targets at range, allowing you to follow up with a rush to deal with the remainders is more effective and adaptable.