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Hey dakka, once again, posting a Tau list, this time wandering if its at all competitive. I actually took it mostly from the new painting guide. Anyhow, Any advice is welcome.

HQ

- Coldstar Commander w/ Velocity Tracker and Shield Generator

ELITE

- Ghostkeel w/ base loadout

- Crisis team: all w/ 2x plasma, 1x rocket pod

- Crisis team: 2 w/ a burst cannon, flamer and shield generator the other with a burst cannon, flamer and Iridium armour

TROOP

- Breacher Team of 10 w/ a Guardian drone in a devilfish

- Strike Team of 10 w/ defence turret

- Strike Team of 10 w/ defence turret

FAST ATTACK

- 10 man team of pathfinders w/ 2 rail rifles

HEAVY SUPPORT

- Hammerhead w/ submunitions, SMS and Longstrike

LoW

- Stormsurges w/ Pulse Driver Cannon

A couple of questions: how would you guys chop this down into a 1500pt list for when I want to and, even if it isn't massively competitive, would it still win games?

Cheers

These are all going to be suggestions to make it more efficient on the tabletop, though if you like the models don't worry too much Feel free to use any or all!

Do you need the v. tracker on the commander? Thought FMCs had skyfire innately? I'd consider a regular commander instead of the coldstar - coldstar doesnt have the best weapon options.

I'd say any use of devilfish is likely to be pretty suboptimal competitively.

Shield generators are pretty much never worth it on crisis suits - you're better off just having more suits. The iridium armour is more up for debate, but it seems excessive for the cheaply armed suits you're trying to protect with it.

If possible, keep the weapons on crisis suits all the same. You also can't fire three weapons in one round of shooting unless you meant twin-linked plasma rifles?

I'd split the pathfinders up for target saturation and also lose the rail rifles.

Sky rays and broadsides are usually superior to hammerheads, but if you want a hammerhead then that's a good way to run it!

Hey, thanks for the advice DoomMouse. I just read the rules and he does get to choose skyfire each round without the velocity tracker so I'll take that off and save points.

I gave the suits a rocket pod as well as their 2 plasma to give them long range fire support if needed, but, as its so situational, I'll get rid of them to save points too.

I gave the cheap squad shields for 2 reasons: 1) because they're cheap and won't be too expensive if given the shields and iridium armour. 2) because they're so close combat with 18" range weapons. Do you think it's a waste of points?

I was thinking of swapping the Ghostkeel for a riptide. Seems like it'd suit the list more.

Good idea to split the pathfinders up. Not sure why I didn't haha

I do agree the broadsides are superior but hammerheads are just too cool


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Alternatively, I was thinking of swapping out the shield generators for 6 gun drones. Would that be more useful/ effective?

 DoomMouse wrote:
I'd say any use of devilfish is likely to be pretty suboptimal competitively.

I dunno, I think Breachers can profit greatly with a Devilfish. Move the 'fish up the board, unload the guys right in front of some MEQ or something, then let 'em have it! Much easier to get those Breachers up the field and into their 5" sweet spot safely if they can ride in a vehicle. For strike teams, they are probably a waste.

Is this the Hunter Cadre or a CAD?

It isn't a hunter cadre, though it'd probably benefit from it


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I'm thinking of taking out the Stormsurge, replacing the team of suits with burst cannons and flamers and replacing the Ghostkeel and making this list instead of 1500pts:

HQ

- Coldstar Commander w/ Shield Generator, stimulant injector and 2 gun drones

ELITE

- Crisis Suits x3 w/ 2x missile pods each

- Crisis Suits x3 w/ 2x plasma guns each, one w/ Iridium armour

- Riptide w/ Ion Accelerator

TROOPS

- Breacher team of 10 w/ guardian drone in a devilfish

- Strike team of 10 w/ a support turret (missile pod)

- Strike team of 10 w/ a support turret (missile pod)

FAST ATTACK

- Pathfinder team of 5 w/ 1 rail rifle

- Pathfinder team of 5 w/ 1 rail rifle

HEAVY SUPPORT

- Hammerhead w/ submunitions and Longstrike

First off all of Doom Mouse's suggestions will improve your list. As to the question about it being competitive no it is not, you'd struggle to make a list much worse than this without deliberately making it bad. Competitive is about efficiency which means getting the most value out of the points spent. None of your options taken are efficient and nothing synergises to make the whole worth more than the individual parts.

Will it win games? In any remotely competitive or competent environment no it won't. It will get steam-rolled over and over. However in a very casual environment where people are just chucking a random collection of models onto the table to see what happens it will probably win the odd game. In a beginners environment where everyone is trying to learn the rules more than they are trying to win, it will be fine.

If you want to make a list that has a chance in a semi competitive environment then you need to read tactics forums. You need to get a handle on what units are good and what aren't. You then need to write a list with a central plan on how you're gong to win, taking only the options that help you achieve that goal and taking the most efficient option in each case. For example you have Longstrike, but what is he for? He's nearly 200 points for a S6 Ap4 large blast (horrid AI compared to basically everything else in the Tau codex) or a 1:7 chance to kill an AV14 vehicle (again horrid AT for the points compared to other options). So what is he for?

Whilst in the 2nd list you drop the one good thing you had (Stormsurge with ML support). Splitting the pathfinders is good but putting a railrifle in each just compounds the bad decision to take the railrifles as you can't even focus your S6 Ap1 shooting without tying all your MLs into the attack.

Longstrike is in there for AT. Mostly he's in there cos Hammerheads look cool. The submunitions are for when there are no tanks for him to hit, so he's still useful and can splash a large blast into infantry. Sure he's unlikely to 1 hit anything. That's what all the missile pods are for.

The 2 fire warrior teams with support turrets sit on objectives. The Breacher team rides in on the devilfish to harass MEQ's and cap objectives far from their deployment with the plasma suits following. the missile suits stay back and give long range support for the Breacher team, where my commander will also stay, shooting his missile pod, or flying away if in danger or can fly in where needed. The riptide will give the 2 fire warrior teams support against any nasty units that try and push them off their objectives. The pathfinders will scout in and set up to support whoever needs marker lights. The rail rifles are mostly there cos they look cool, and also can help in AT support if necessary.

That's my tactical plan anyway. Probably terrible, but its the idea behind the list.

That's not really a plan. That is a list of the generic tactical role of each unit taken. What do you want your list to excel at? How do you want to win the battle? Start with that rather than the units.

It seems as the plan is to take and hold objectives in a generic format. The downside is that it's limited to where objectives are placed in the beginning, and that FWs are defending positions likely outside of Supporting Fire range from each other. A setup like this will be very reactionary, and often lagging behind in Maelstrom points while units get isolated and wiped off the table.

Another you need to note is that the Coldstar suit is a great way to give your opponent Slay The Warlord. If you take a wound in the air, you have a e3% chance to fail the grounding check and you'll take a str 9 ap 2 wound to the face, causing instant death. A great way to field your commander is to give him Iridium, 2 missile pods, drone controller, and 6 drones ( 2 that he guys and 4 from a unit of drones) for 6 bs 5 markerlights that can jump, shoot, then jump again.

Tiberius501 wrote:
It isn't a hunter cadre, though it'd probably benefit from it


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I'm thinking of taking out the Stormsurge, replacing the team of suits with burst cannons and flamers and replacing the Ghostkeel and making this list instead of 1500pts:

HQ

- Coldstar Commander w/ Shield Generator, stimulant injector and 2 gun drones

ELITE

- Crisis Suits x3 w/ 2x missile pods each

- Crisis Suits x3 w/ 2x plasma guns each, one w/ Iridium armour

- Riptide w/ Ion Accelerator

TROOPS

- Breacher team of 10 w/ guardian drone in a devilfish

- Strike team of 10 w/ a support turret (missile pod)

- Strike team of 10 w/ a support turret (missile pod)

FAST ATTACK

- Pathfinder team of 5 w/ 1 rail rifle

- Pathfinder team of 5 w/ 1 rail rifle

HEAVY SUPPORT

- Hammerhead w/ submunitions and Longstrike

Is that Crisis suit with iridium armor a Shas'vre? If not he can't take a signature system.

 TheCadreofFi'rios wrote:

Tiberius501 wrote:
It isn't a hunter cadre, though it'd probably benefit from it


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I'm thinking of taking out the Stormsurge, replacing the team of suits with burst cannons and flamers and replacing the Ghostkeel and making this list instead of 1500pts:

HQ

- Coldstar Commander w/ Shield Generator, stimulant injector and 2 gun drones

ELITE

- Crisis Suits x3 w/ 2x missile pods each

- Crisis Suits x3 w/ 2x plasma guns each, one w/ Iridium armour

- Riptide w/ Ion Accelerator

TROOPS

- Breacher team of 10 w/ guardian drone in a devilfish

- Strike team of 10 w/ a support turret (missile pod)

- Strike team of 10 w/ a support turret (missile pod)

FAST ATTACK

- Pathfinder team of 5 w/ 1 rail rifle

- Pathfinder team of 5 w/ 1 rail rifle

HEAVY SUPPORT

- Hammerhead w/ submunitions and Longstrike

Is that Crisis suit with iridium armor a Shas'vre? If not he can't take a signature system.

Yeah he is. I've upgraded all my squads with a sergeant, cos I'm a scrub like that