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Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






Bay Area

Three days had passed since the water caste contacted Lord Zala, governor of Junius, an imperial mining world located on the fringe of the Tau Empire. At first, Lord Zala had refused negotiations, and threatened to obliterate the Tau dignitaries. In response, the water caste summoned Shas’el R’ue, commander of the Shadow Cadre, and Shas'O Sup'ah, commander of the Destroyer Cadre. Within five hours, the two commanders had silenced all of Junius’ orbital defenses and surface-to-space silos. The PDF were no match to Tau’s superior airpower. Lord Zala finally conceded and agreed to meet the water caste on their terms. While Lord Zala negotiated, he secretly sent for reinforcements.

Two days after encrypted transmission was sent, two Grey Knight Strike Cruisers appeared in the Junius system, lead by Grand Master Mordrak and Castellan Garran Crowe. The Grey Knights delivered a swift planetary assault. The Tau envoys were taken completely by surprised. A full company of Grey Knights teleported inside the governor’s palace, and seize control. Tau sentries put up a meager defense, but were no match to the well-equipped Astartes. Lord Zala was freed and re-establish control over his dominion.

Outrage by the Governor’s deceit, Shas’el R’ue and Shas’O Sup’ah immediately mobilized their forces. The entire planet escalated in all out war between the Grey Knights and the Tau ground forces.

.....

The first encounter between the commanders occurred days later outside Helios, capital of Junius. Grand Master Mordrak had garrisoned his forces behind the city’s walls, expecting a swift counter-attack from his xeno adversary.

Shas’el R’ue was eager for retribution. By noon, Manta drop ships and Orcas transports had finished deploying Shas’el R’ue and the Shadow Cadre two kilometres outside city’s limits. From there, he and the rest of his forces advanced towards Helios.

Mordrak decided a preemptive strike would be the best course of action. Just as the Shadow Cadre reached the city’s walls, he launched an all-out assault.


jy2’s battle report featuring 2000pts Grey Knights (Mordrak) vs. my Tau: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/364017.page

At the end of the day, both forces agreed to a temporary ceased fire after suffering heavy casualties. Apothecaries and Earth Castes collected their dead and evacuated the wounded. Mordrak had suffered severe injuries and had to be flown back to orbiting Strike Cruiser.

The next day, Shas’el R’ue renewed his attacks. Remaining garrisoned Grey Knights makes a tactical retreat, surrendering Helios to the Shadow Cadre.

.....

With Mordrak temporarily out of commission, Crowe assumes overall command. He issues his first command: annihilate the Shadow Cadre and re-secure Helios. A squadron of Thunderhawks and Storm Ravens quietly descends towards the planet’s surface. Under the cover of darkness, Crowe and his mechanized fleet lands and deploys in the heard of Helios.

Advance sensor arrays detect the intrusion. Shas’el R’ue immediately mobilizes his forces. As Junius’ sun slowly rose in the west, the two forces clashed.


jy2’s battle report featuring 2000pts Grey Knights (Crowe) vs. my Tau (Broadside Spam): http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/386276.page

Dreadnoughts stomp through the streets, laying down a heavy torrent of fire from their Autocannons. Purifers drove from block to block, purging any resistance. Crowe single handily massacre scores of Kroots, a bloody trail in his wake. By high noon, much the capital was littered with dead Kroots and wrecked Battle Suits. Crowe’s daring raid paid had off. Only a handful of Battle Suits escaped the cleansing. Among them was R’ue, clinging to life by a thread after receiving a deep gash at the hands of Crowe.

.....

Tremendous casualties and losing Helios was a tremendous blow to Tau’s military campaign. Shas'O Sup'ah and the Destroyer Cadre redeployed to the front line while the Shadow Cadre fell back into reserves. Unlike his predecessor, Sup’ah was more level headed. He saw the tug-o-war over the planet’s capital as a meaningless conflict. Instead, he adopted guerrilla warfare, striking where the Grey Knights were most vulnerable, and fleeing away.

A week of intense fighting passed. Orcas transported small teams of Broadsides, Crisis Suits, and Fire Warriors. From a distance they struck and withdrew, repeating the same cycle over and over. Furious by xeno’s hit and run tactic, Crowe mobilized his forces to crush any skirmishers using fast mechanized infantry.

Tau reconnaissance spotted Crowe’s convoy moving towards Junius’ spaceport. Shas’O Sup’ah ordered his forces to assume the patient hunter tactic and ambush Crowe along the main road.


jy2’s battle report featuring 2000pts Grey Knights (Crowe) vs. Gus’s Tau: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/381530.page

The Destroyer Cadre caught Crowe off guard. A fury for missiles and super-sonic rail slugs slams into the lead vehicles followed by a hail of shots picking off survivors. Dreadnoughts return fire, taking out a couple skimmers, but it’s not enough to stem the onslaught. Smoke clears, revealing slain purifiers lying strewn all over the battlefield. By stroke of luck, Crowe gets knocked out and wakes up hours after the fight. By then, the Tau was long gone.

.....

Crowe’s bitter defeat left him craving for redemption. The Destroyers Cadre took advantage of their superior numbers by conquering more territories. Pretty soon only a handful of cities remained under Imperial control. Both the Destroyer Cadre and the Shadow Cadre united, mounting an all out attack on the Grey Knights strong hold in Helios.


jy2’s Ard Boyz battle report featuring his 2nd match 2500pts Grey Knights (Crowe) vs. Gus’s Tau: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/90/388321.page#3200199

Against all odds, the Grey Knights managed to hold out against the xeno onslaught. Combined Tau forces failed to break the Imperial defenses. Stupefied by lackluster results, Sup’ah orders a temporary withdraw to review his battle reports.

Amidst the battle, a stray Railgun inflicted severe wound on Crowe. He was immediately evacuated to Storm Raven. From he was flown to a Strike Cruiser’s infirmary bay. Fortunately, by now Grand Master Mordrak had recovered after undergoing intense treatment. Against the apothecary wishes, Mordrak suited up and teleported back into the thick of battle. His presence couldn’t have come at a worst time. Shas’el R’ue had also recovered and also returned to the battlefield. R'ue and Sup'ah launched another assault in a final showdown against the Grey Knights.

.....

jy2 and I played a 2000 points game between his Grey Knights vs. my Tau. He didn’t field his typical Crowe/Purifier/Dreadnought spam that won him 2nd place in Ard Boyz preliminaries. I guess he wanted to take a break and play something different for once. This time he fielded the dreaded Mordrak and Interceptor list. It was similar to list he fielded during our first game, but this time he traded his Dreadknights for Psyrifle Dreads.

Fortunately by the time he arrived, I had finished putting together 4 Crisis Suits, some of which I converted into Broadsides. I was extremely pleased to field my infamous 18 Suit Spam list without proxying or borrowing others' models.

Army List

Grey Knights (Mordrak)
-Mordrak, 5 Ghost Knights
-Librarian, Might of Titan, Sanctuary, Shrouding, Warp Rift
-10 Strikers, 2 Psycannons, Psybolt Ammo
-6 Strikers, 1 Psycannon, Psybolt Ammo
-10 Interceptors, 2 Psycannons, 1 MC-Hammer, Psybolt Ammo
-10 Interceptors, 2 Psycannons, 1 MC-Hammer, Psybolt Ammo
-Dreadnought, 2 TL-Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo
-Dreadnought, 2 TL-Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo
-Dreadnought, 2 TL-Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo

Tau (Shadow Cadre):
-Shas’el, Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Multi-tracker
-2 Crisis Suits, Plasma Rifles, Missile Pods, Multi-trackers
-3 Crisis Suits, Plasma Rifles, Missile Pods, Multi-trackers
-3 Crisis Suits, Plasma Rifles, Missile Pods, Multi-trackers
-6 Pathfinders, Devilfish, Disruption Pod
-6 Fire Warriors
-20 Kroots
-20 Kroots
-20 Kroots
-3 Broadsides, 2 Target Locks, Team Leader, 2 Shield Drones
-3 Broadsides, 2 Target Locks, Team Leader, 2 Shield Drones
-3 Broadsides, 2 Target Locks, Team Leader, 2 Shield Drones

Link to slideshow

https://picasaweb.google.com/101004510049334313538/2000ptsTauVsGreyKnights#5641641877144975682

Spoiler:
Victory for the Greater Good!


Afterthoughts

Spoiler:
Wow! To be honest, I didn’t expect to win this game. When we rolled Dawn of War, I thought this match would be a rehash of our previous game, where jy2 almost tabled me. Up until now, I’ve been plagued with bad dice rolls, and even suffered a 4 game losing streak against jy2. It was rewarding to come out on top. For once, miss fortune didn’t forsaken me!

I castled my forces in the middle and protected my flanks. Kroots did their part. They protected my essential units, and killed several Grey Knights. Thankfully they didn’t tie up jy2’s Grey Knights whenever he assaulted them. This allowed my Broadsides and Crisis Suits to continue shooting them to death on my turn. My Pathfinders didn't contribute much other than acting as fire magnets. My Crisis Suits rolled pretty well. Throughout the entire game, they were shooting like Marines and forcing a lot of armor and cover saves. I was pleased with how my Broadsides performed. The shield drones helped a lot. jy2's concentrated a lot of shooting, hoping he would kill enough to fore a moral test and fleeing them off the board. Unfortunately for jy2, I didn't fail a single moral test in the shooting phase. Towards the end, jy2 failed 5/6 cover saves for his Dreadnoughts. Aside from that and crappy cover saves for Mordrak and Librarian, the rest of jy2’s armor and cover saves were just about average.

In hindsight I could have done a better job protecting my right flank. Turn 1 Mordrak deep strike without scattering followed by Librarian’s Warp Rift is a nasty combo.

Kudos to fellow Dakkalite Gus Indo for giving me an awesome Kroot converted model and permission to link his battle reports into my story.

As some of you can tell from the pics, some of my Broadsides are converted from Crisis Suits. I'm just about done and will post pictures of them in my "Kroot Horde WIP" thread.


.....

A loud crack brought Shas’el R’ue attention to his right. A group of Terminators suddenly appeared out of thin air next to a group of Kroots. Among them, R’ue recognized the leader. “By the greater good, I could have sworn I killed Mordrak in previous battle,” growls R’ue. One of the Terminators, wearing blue plates of armor, points his staff towards R'ue. He watches in horror as a dark cloud erupts from the librarian’s staff and envelopes two nearby Crisis Suits and a Kroot. All three screams in terror as immaterial claws snatches and drags them into a whirling black vortex.

Shaken by what he had witness, R’ue immediately marks the Terminators on his tactical display and switches communication channels to Crisis Suit squad leaders. “Target acquired, all units attack!”

Seconds later, a flurry of missiles and a barrage of white-hot plasma flew into the Grey Knights. Mordrak’s ghostly retinue immediately steps forward, shielding their leader. Smoke settles and reveals the Grand Master and his Librarian as sole survivors. R’ue gawks in disbelief. There was no trace of Mordak’s bodyguards. It was as if they vanished into thin air. R’ue switches channels again. This time, he orders his Broadsides to attack. A cacophony of loud cracks erupts from the rear, followed by hypersonic projectiles smashing into Mordrak and the Librarian. The two leaders disappear in a spray of red mist and flying debris. R’ue nods in grim satisfaction. “The enemy is strong, but our unity makes us stronger,” he said.

.....

With the last Grey Knight stronghold crushed under the might of the greater good, the Tau rejoiced. Mobs of people still loyal to the Imperial creed stormed the spaceports, desperate to board the last ships leaving Junius. Meanwhile, remnants of the Grey Knights immediately returned to their Strike Cruisers and evacuated the system in bitter defeat. Ethereal Aun’va sent a transmission, praising Shas’el R’ue and Shas’O Sup’ah for their successful campaign. He sent an envoy, including honorable Etheral Azumi, to colonize Junius and induct it as a new Sept of the Tau Empire.

Sup’ah volunteered to temporarily stay on Junius and oversee its security. It will take years to assimilate its population into the Tau dogma. Until then, the Destroyer Cadre will remain station to quell local rebellions and defense the planet against foreign invaders. R’ue was summoned by the upper caste to investigate mysterious alien activities in the western frontier.

Aboard the Nazca, Tau Emissary star ship, Shas'el R'ue gazes one last time at planet Junius. A sense of pride fills his chest. "Mey'rin, set our course for planet Q-13," R'ue calmly orders.

"Yes, sir," replies the water caste navigator.

The Nazca silently drifts out of Junius orbit. With a bright flash, the ship vanishes into the warp.

   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





Great report, thanks.

I think perhaps Dreadknights do better in an interceptor-style list. I wasn't surprised to see Modrak obliterated, I think it's hard to know what exactly to do with him as his squad will always be isolated if they're to make any use of their deepstrike,

Choose an army you can love, even when it loses - Phil Barker
 
   
Made in gb
Powerful Chaos Warrior



Reading, UK

nice battle report. Tau were used brilliantly, Grey knights got a little isolated, if they went all out at the same time then I wouldve thought they would reach the tau lines with some models still in tact.

ULTRAMARINES LIVE LONGER WITH CALGAR!

Blood Angels-2000pts
Tau-1000pts
Empre: 2400pts
Warriors of Chaos: 2000pts

 
   
Made in pl
Fresh-Faced New User





Wow. Those underpowered Tau quite just steamrolled over those... OP GKs...

Plain nastyness. Guess jy2 got sort of katharsis after his well-deserved winning spree.

   
Made in fr
Helpful Sophotect






Great reports once again, SabrX ! And good story also, well done linking all these battles.

I am not fond of Tau armies, but I found frightening the view of all these kroots lines protecting this awesome Battlesuits-firing-storm-line-of-doom-from-hell !

And I am curious about the thoughts of jy2 on this last game !
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





San Jose, CA

Great report, SabrX. I especially like how you tied in all the GK-Tau battles into 1 connected storyline. Really good fluff.

One of my problems in this battle was that I didn't throw enough threats at my opponent's army early on. In my previous battle with Mordrack against SabrX's Tau, I had 5 threats all on turn 1 - Mordrack's unit, 2 interceptors and 2 dreadknights. This time, there was only 3 - Mordrack's unit and my 2 interceptors. It made his target prioritization much easier. Also, this time, Mordrack's unit wasn't as lucky with their saves as they were in the previous battle. In our first game, they withstood (and absorbed) the shooting of SabrX's entire army and still survived. This time, I rolled more average and lost the whole unit.

I am actually at a dilemma with my Modrack-Interceptor list, and the dilemma is this....dreadknights or dreadnoughts? While dreadknights make more sense in this type of list, it is somewhat lacking in the AT department. And while it should do alright against SabrX's foot-Tau list, it will struggle against the majority of mech-lists out there. On the other hand, without the threat of the dreadknights, my alpha strike isn't as effective as it could be. Target prioritization becomes much easier due to not having to deal with dreadknights along with my other stuff.


I think in the future, my Interceptor list will eventually evolve to something like this:

GKGM - some grenades
Librarian - 3-4 powers

Psyfleman vendread (will be made scoring in an objectives games)

2x5 Strike squads - 1x Psycannon

3x10 Interceptors - 2x Psycannons, MC-Hammer, Psybolt Ammo (1-2 units will also be made scoring in objectives games)

Psyfleman dread
Psyfleman dread


IMO, SabrX's Tau army has improved since last we fought. Giving his broadsides shield drones have made them much, much better and less susceptible to being insta-gibbed by massed S8 shots. Though he had to sacrifice his piranhas for his pathfinders, it was a good trade-off in this case because I spent 1 whole turn with all my interceptors firing at them....but still couldn't take them out! That's 8 psycannon and 32 S5 stormbolter shots! So while they didn't actually get to negate any of my cover at all, they were a fire magnet that helped to keep his other units alive.

But I can see an interesting dilemma that SabrX needs to deal with as well....lack of mobility. By dumping his piranhas and 1 unit of kroots, he now has less mobility. This is not good in objective-based missions, which is 2/3 of all the missions. So while his list has improved against my army, has it really improved overall? Is it good enough to become a true all-comer's Tau army? Only practice will tell.....


Artemo wrote:Great report, thanks.

I think perhaps Dreadknights do better in an interceptor-style list. I wasn't surprised to see Modrak obliterated, I think it's hard to know what exactly to do with him as his squad will always be isolated if they're to make any use of their deepstrike,

It seems to make sense logistics-wise to have dreadknights, but just a few days later, I tried out an Interceptor list (not with Mordrack, but with GM and libbie, 30 interceptors, 2x5 strikers and 2 dreadknights) against a hybrid eldar list. He had 4 skimmers only (2 with holo-fields!), but boy, did I miss my psyfleman dreads. I think I only immobilised 1 skimmer all game. Luckily I wiped out all 3 of his scoring units in a Seize Ground game (heavy incinerators vs pathfinders for the win!) as well as his unit of 10 howling banshees (yeah, heavy incinerators!) after they wiped out 1 unit of interceptors. The thing is, this type of GK build will have a lot of problems versus fully-mech armies without the help of psyfleman dreads.

Thus, I am leaning more towards dreads in my all-comer's Interceptor list.


Deathbysoup wrote:nice battle report. Tau were used brilliantly, Grey knights got a little isolated, if they went all out at the same time then I wouldve thought they would reach the tau lines with some models still in tact.

By deploying his kroots at the 24" line (a mistake last game that he rectified this one), he forced me to deploy my strikers at my 6" line. Thus, I couldn't go all out against him. My strikers had to footslog it.

Which is why I need another 10 interceptors. Minimize the slow guys (strikers) and maximize the speed (interceptors). That's the next evolution of my Interceptor-GK list.


the weird one wrote:Wow. Those underpowered Tau quite just steamrolled over those... OP GKs...

Plain nastyness. Guess jy2 got sort of katharsis after his well-deserved winning spree.

I'm actually finding Tau to be match up very well against the Grey Knights. Where Tau have problems with are mainly fast hordes....of which Grey Knights don't really excel at.


Grenat wrote:Great reports once again, SabrX ! And good story also, well done linking all these battles.

I am not fond of Tau armies, but I found frightening the view of all these kroots lines protecting this awesome Battlesuits-firing-storm-line-of-doom-from-hell !

And I am curious about the thoughts of jy2 on this last game !

IMO, this is a very strong Tau build, maybe even one of their strongest. However, the problem will be when he goes up against another good army build in an objectives-based game. You won't beat this army in the Shooting Phase. However, you still can beat them in the Movement and Assault phases. Their kryptonite is a fast, assaulty army that can survive their shooting. Several builds come to mind - infiltrating genestealter nids, fiend-spam Fateweaver daemons, BA FNP assault marine-spam, Thunderwolf space wolves, and horde orks just to name a few.




6th Edition Tournaments: Golden Throne GT 2012 - 1st .....Bay Area Open GT 2013 - Best Tyranids
ATC 2013 - Team Fluffy Bunnies - 1st .....LVO GT 2014 Team Tournament - Best Generals
7th Edition: 2015-16 ITC Best Grey Knights, 2015-16 ITC Best Tyranids
Jy2's 6th Edition Battle Report Thread - Links.....Jy2's 7th Edition Battle Report Thread - Links
 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






Bay Area

Artemo wrote:Great report, thanks.

I think perhaps Dreadknights do better in an interceptor-style list. I wasn't surprised to see Modrak obliterated, I think it's hard to know what exactly to do with him as his squad will always be isolated if they're to make any use of their deepstrike,


IMO, Modrak is hit and miss and a one trick pony. I learned my lesson from my previous game and was better prepared for him.

A scaled down version of jy2's second potential Ard Boyz list would be much more effective.

Deathbysoup wrote:nice battle report. Tau were used brilliantly, Grey knights got a little isolated, if they went all out at the same time then I wouldve thought they would reach the tau lines with some models still in tact.


I agree. The problem with mixed movement footslogging lists is faster units extending too far. jy2 probably expected to tie up my Kroots in assault long enough for the Strike Squads to arrive and lend their support. Fortunately, I failed every single moral test for my Kroots, denying refuge to the Interceptors.

the weird one wrote:Wow. Those underpowered Tau quite just steamrolled over those... OP GKs...


Compared to all the other popular armies, I find GK easiest to play against with Tau. Tau excels against small MEQ elite style armies that don't insta-gib Crisis Suits with AP3 or less weapons. Horde and FNP spam is another major challenge for Tau. Against GK, my Crisis Suits and Broadsides at least get a chance to make an armor save.

Grenat wrote:Great reports once again, SabrX ! And good story also, well done linking all these battles.

I am not fond of Tau armies, but I found frightening the view of all these kroots lines protecting this awesome Battlesuits-firing-storm-line-of-doom-from-hell !

Tau have become like Fantasy Dwarves back in 7th ed. Castling and ranged fire power. For Tau, everything depends on how long the Kroot wall will hold out.

jy2 wrote:
I am actually at a dilemma with my Modrack-Interceptor list, and the dilemma is this....dreadknights or dreadnoughts? While dreadknights make more sense in this type of list, it is somewhat lacking in the AT department. And while it should do alright against SabrX's foot-Tau list, it will struggle against the majority of mech-lists out there. On the other hand, without the threat of the dreadknights, my alpha strike isn't as effective as it could be. Target prioritization becomes much easier due to not having to deal with dreadknights along with my other stuff.


2 Interceptors and 2 Dreadknights would be a nightmare for my Tau. Any unit that can move and assault with a total of 18" or more closes the distance and wreak havoc against kroot bubble wrap.


I think in the future, my Interceptor list will eventually evolve to something like this:

GKGM - some grenades
Librarian - 3-4 powers

Psyfleman vendread (will be made scoring in an objectives games)

2x5 Strike squads - 1x Psycannon

3x10 Interceptors - 2x Psycannons, MC-Hammer, Psybolt Ammo (1-2 units will also be made scoring in objectives games)

Psyfleman dread
Psyfleman dread


Looks good. GKGM and Librarian provides a lot of synergy. For take-all-comers, you may want to include a couple Warding Staff.



But I can see an interesting dilemma that SabrX needs to deal with as well....lack of mobility. By dumping his piranhas and 1 unit of kroots, he now has less mobility. This is not good in objective-based missions, which is 2/3 of all the missions. So while his list has improved against my army, has it really improved overall? Is it good enough to become a true all-comer's Tau army? Only practice will tell.....


Had it been objectives, I would have relied heavily on Crisis Suits, Devilfish, and outflanking Kroots. Crisis Suits are surprisingly mobile, able to move 6" and additional 6" in the assault phase. Unfortunately, Tau's overall mobility is lackluster. It would have been nice if Devilfish and Hammerheads were fast vehicles, but they aren't. Without extra armor, it easy for enemy assault units to stun them and finish them off in the following assault phase. I once tried fielding 2 Piranhas in an objective game, but they died too quickly before they could contest objectives. I did recently purchase 2 more Piranhas. Perhaps 2 x 2 will last longer.

   
Made in fi
Longtime Dakkanaut




This seems like better list than your previous one. Of course, some mobility is sacrificed, but Tau lists need to be lean & concentrate on what they do best to compete.

It is interesting how Tau players have gradually de-meched whilst newer armies have done the opposite. When I started, three-Hammerhead lists with Devilfishes all around were all the rage.

I think the problem is that new armies can just put out so much S8 shooting that AV10-12 vehicles can't be expected to survive for long. Imperial armies and Orks get around this by their transports being very cheap. Devilfish is too expensive and doesn't shoot enough to justify the cost. Almost nobody seems using Warfishes anymore. At least with Piranha there is some possibility to hide it in reserve or behind large terrain piece, but it is also pretty pricey for what it does.

Mr Vetock, give back my Multi-tracker! 
   
Made in us
Death-Dealing Ultramarine Devastator




Bay Point CA

JY2: I think you should go with Dreadknights. They can become AT bashing savages if you give them hammers. I would also equip them with the personal teleporter to really put the pressure on early game. I have seen a very similar list do quite well. This list had no dreadnoughts to speak of and packed three dreadknights in the heavy slot.

Here was the list off the top of my head. Not sure what this is points wise but I know it's not over 2000

Draigo

Librarian

5 man Paladin Squad

5 man Paladin Squad

5 man GKSS Rhino

5 man GKSS Rhino

Dreadknight w/hammer/teleporter

Dreadknight w/sword/teleporter

Dreadknight w/hammer/teleporter

1850 Points NovaMarines
200 Point Kill Team
200 Point Possessed Kill Team 
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





San Jose, CA

@unityvybe:

I will be experimenting more with the 2. My heart says that the dreadknight is a better fit in this type of list....but my mind says that the psyflemans are probably going to be more useful against more of the armies out there.

However, my main goal here is mobile firepower. That means stormbolter/psycannon-spam, which means interceptors. I am concerned about footslogging paladins. They really need to be there early along with the DK's to threaten the enemy all at once. Unfortunately, without a transport, they just cannot achieve this goal, thus making the enemy target prioritization quite easy - kill then DK's first and then the paladins afterwards when they get closer. With paladins, I prefer either stormravens or Coteaz with henchmen in chimera. The paladins will then snag their rides.









6th Edition Tournaments: Golden Throne GT 2012 - 1st .....Bay Area Open GT 2013 - Best Tyranids
ATC 2013 - Team Fluffy Bunnies - 1st .....LVO GT 2014 Team Tournament - Best Generals
7th Edition: 2015-16 ITC Best Grey Knights, 2015-16 ITC Best Tyranids
Jy2's 6th Edition Battle Report Thread - Links.....Jy2's 7th Edition Battle Report Thread - Links
 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






Bay Area

Backfire wrote:This seems like better list than your previous one. Of course, some mobility is sacrificed, but Tau lists need to be lean & concentrate on what they do best to compete.

It is interesting how Tau players have gradually de-meched whilst newer armies have done the opposite. When I started, three-Hammerhead lists with Devilfishes all around were all the rage.

I think the problem is that new armies can just put out so much S8 shooting that AV10-12 vehicles can't be expected to survive for long. Imperial armies and Orks get around this by their transports being very cheap. Devilfish is too expensive and doesn't shoot enough to justify the cost. Almost nobody seems using Warfishes anymore. At least with Piranha there is some possibility to hide it in reserve or behind large terrain piece, but it is also pretty pricey for what it does.


Good analysis of how Tau evolved in 5th ed.

I've used to field a good size all-mech Tau, but it got slaughtered by jy2's Space Wolves. Since then, I've moved to the opposite spectrum: footsloggers. The major issue all Tau armies faced in horde. I actually own 100 Kroots and 50 hounds, and 3 Hammerheads. Horde doesn't scare me as much as it does others.

Stelek over at yesthetruthhurts.com has posted a couple interesting mechanized Tau lists. I'm not sure how effective they are, but they are worth testing.

unityvybe wrote:JY2: I think you should go with Dreadknights. They can become AT bashing savages if you give them hammers. I would also equip them with the personal teleporter to really put the pressure on early game. I have seen a very similar list do quite well. This list had no dreadnoughts to speak of and packed three dreadknights in the heavy slot.

Here was the list off the top of my head. Not sure what this is points wise but I know it's not over 2000

Draigo

Librarian

5 man Paladin Squad

5 man Paladin Squad

5 man GKSS Rhino

5 man GKSS Rhino

Dreadknight w/hammer/teleporter

Dreadknight w/sword/teleporter

Dreadknight w/hammer/teleporter


I've yet to see jy2 field Paladins. He's played against them using his GK on a couple occasions and usually come out on top. I don't believe Paladins will fair well against my list, not when I have 9 Railguns that can insta-gib a whole squad.

jy2 wrote:
However, my main goal here is mobile firepower. That means stormbolter/psycannon-spam, which means interceptors. I am concerned about footslogging paladins. They really need to be there early along with the DK's to threaten the enemy all at once. Unfortunately, without a transport, they just cannot achieve this goal, thus making the enemy target prioritization quite easy - kill then DK's first and then the paladins afterwards when they get closer. With paladins, I prefer either stormravens or Coteaz with henchmen in chimera. The paladins will then snag their rides.


Both your Crowe/Purifier and potential Ard Boyz list #2 are good representatives of GK mobile fire power. I'm still waiting for your btrp featuing list #2 vs. 46 Deathwing Termies.

   
Made in us
Stalwart Strike Squad Grey Knight





Sunnyvale, CA

Congratulations on your victory. Excellent battle report and while it saddens me to see so many Kroot die, excellent use of Kroot walls!

- 4000
- 1500 6th ed codex: 2 wins, 1 loss, 0 draws 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






Bay Area

Yeah, Kroots don't last long in assault. I hope they get a moral modifier or boost in the next codex (fearless, stubborn, re-roll moral). It would revolutionize Tau and provide a more reliable assault element.

   
Made in us
Trustworthy Shas'vre




DFW area Texas - Rarely

As a tau player, this made me very happy

Seriously, I do have to say, or the many newer 5th book, so far GK give me the least issues (as tau). Of course, I also play GK, so knowing them helps...

Normally tau do not have the volume of fire to take out that many GK so handily, but clearly the 20 model kroot squads seemed to help. He must have failed a lot of cover saves (vs. plasma and railguns) as well.

Great report, classic example of how it *should* go. Also, excellent comment from the GK player...not enough simultaneous threats.

Excellent commentary, thank you both for your posts.

DavePak
"Remember, in life, the only thing you absolutely control is your own attitude - do not squander that power."
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