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Though I haven't played a significant amount of games against players using Mawlocs, I still have trouble with them.

They are utterly nasty. They rip apart my best units with their crazy burrowing abilities, and then leave when I'm set up to shoot at them. They have the ability to kill heavy troops and vehicles...

How do you deal with them without them taking out a large chunk of your army?


I play Tau if none of you could guess.

Ok. I would suggest taking battlesuits - basically if they start deepstriking and eating into your firewarriors, have some battlesuits in reserve. Come down nearby, make it eat lots of plasma and missile shots. Suits are almost your only defence against them, as railguns are overkill as they don't inflict multiple wounds.

The other option is to take some kroot as shields - wrap them around your vulnerable areas - you should lose combat and break, then rapid fire it to death in your own turn.

The final option is to mechanise everything, and keep on moving as long as you can - if it has to work hard to hit you, you are a lot better off.

Thanks for the help. I think my best bet is with keeping suits in reserve, as I don't have the resources to play mech Tau, and I don't have a pile of kroot either.

My only problem then is killing it before it burrows again, but I think it is still my best bet.

Thanks for your thoughts on the matter.

Ah, so you don't have tanks. In that case, MSU of suits. Plasma/Missile or Plasma/Fusion. Fusion has the benefit of the Mawloc not getting a save, but missiles get 2 shots.

lords2001 wrote:Ah, so you don't have tanks. In that case, MSU of suits. Plasma/Missile or Plasma/Fusion. Fusion has the benefit of the Mawloc not getting a save, but missiles get 2 shots.

For clarification, I meant completely mech Tau...

I have a couple Hammerheads.


But thanks, I'll try using my suits in those configurations.

The worrying thing about Mawlocs is that you know they are coming and you have little influence where they are going to hit you.

My advise would be to spread your likely targeted unit/s out as much as possible to prevent the entire unit from getting hit by those nasty AP2 hits.

I dont know how but my mate always rolls that hit. Its not logical since theres only a 33% chance or just over of actually getting that HIT result.

Other options include hugging the table edges, always and option for Tau with your range. He'd be wary of trying to come up under anything hugging a table edge for risk of scattering off the table.

Stoping them from burrowing, you have 2 options really. Shoot the crap out of it to kill it, If you can't commit that much fire power to delaing with it, keeping it in combat is possible. I think It only has around a 60% chance of breaking away from combat to burrow again.

L0rdF1end wrote:
I dont know how but my mate always rolls that hit. Its not logical since theres only a 33% chance or just over of actually getting that HIT result.

Other options include hugging the table edges, always and option for Tau with your range. He'd be wary of trying to come up under anything hugging a table edge for risk of scattering off the table.

About that, he uses them in conjunction with the one Lictor special character, and so he gets an automatic hit (or something like that.)

The sad thing is that there are only two (maybe three) viable tactics for Tau and the most successful IMHO is castling which requires you to bunch your units together which plays into the Mawloc's hands.

My Tau have officially been shelved until a new codex, the good news is that they'll all be completely painted if/when it ever comes out.

agnosto wrote:The sad thing is that there are only two (maybe three) viable tactics for Tau and the most successful IMHO is castling which requires you to bunch your units together which plays into the Mawloc's hands.

My Tau have officially been shelved until a new codex, the good news is that they'll all be completely painted if/when it ever comes out.

You just completely killed my morale there. Congradulations.

I'm gonna try not only using the suits as suggested, but just using loads of fire warriors, maybe around four units of 9-12, so that, hopefully, when some die there will be plenty left.

Kroot may help the situation as they can actually assualt the Mawloc if they aren't wiped out, and if I space them properly they should have at least half there numbers.

I do have a question however, would you get cover saves against the Mawloc's burrowing if you are in woods? I don't know the rules for there burrowing too well.

Sorry man, I didn't mean to be a bummer.

I'd recommend using as much cover as possible to your advantage; put your units in 2nd floor or roof positions.
Mech up as much as possible or just go farsight and try ninja tau.

Dashofpepper and some others seem to be better Tau players than I am; maybe they'll chime in.

agnosto wrote:Sorry man, I didn't mean to be a bummer.

I'd recommend using as much cover as possible to your advantage; put your units in 2nd floor or roof positions.
Mech up as much as possible or just go farsight and try ninja tau.

Dashofpepper and some others seem to be better Tau players than I am; maybe they'll chime in.

np about the comment, nothing will shake my fervor to further the greater good!

I was going to say something about farsight, but that is just drastic. That is really a win or lose by a ton kind of game. Not to mention, he and the other crisis suits can be instant killed unless you take a lot of shield generators, or shield drones. (Or other types of drones for that matter.)

Don't let your mate cheat you, Deathleaper (or a Lictor unit) has to be on the table for a round before he can guide in a Mawloc. He can't just place the little guy then put the big guy next to it.

Anyway, after it lands and eats whoever's under it's template just rapid fire it with everything you've got. It'll die.

Also, I have found that castling is not the best tactic for Tau. Tau have the combination of range and mobility to spread out a bit and still have mutual unit support. By spreading out, you're making it more difficult for assault armies to move from unit to unit each turn.

Hope this helps.

On the note of not allowing your opponent to cheat you...remember that by RAW, a Mawloc HAS to scatter in order to be able to nail your units, and then me must actually scatter on top of your unit.

There is nothing that allows a Mawloc to get passed the rule that he cannot be placed within one inch when deep striking. Yes, there in an interpretation that appears to allow placement right on top of your units, but it is definately not the rules as written. The Mawloc must follow normal rules for the initial placement for deep striking. This makes them far less of a threat than most players realize, and currently most Nids players seem to be trying to place them right on top of opposing units, despite the actual rules.

Alerian wrote:On the note of not allowing your opponent to cheat you...remember that by RAW, a Mawloc HAS to scatter in order to be able to nail your units, and then me must actually scatter on top of your unit.

There is nothing that allows a Mawloc to get passed the rule that he cannot be placed within one inch when deep striking. Yes, there in an interpretation that appears to allow placement right on top of your units, but it is definately not the rules as written. The Mawloc must follow normal rules for the initial placement for deep striking. This makes them far less of a threat than most players realize, and currently most Nids players seem to be trying to place them right on top of opposing units, despite the actual rules.

I love how you state this as a fact, especially when it's wrong.

"If a Mawloc Deep Strike onto a point occupied by another model, do not roll on the Deep Strike Mishap table but instead do the following."

So in a sense Alerian is correct. You place the model and roll for scatter. However, where-ever the Mawloc ends up, including exactly where it was originally placed, you do not roll on the Deep Strike Mishap table if it ends up on a point occupied by another model. They're still at risk from impassible terrain.

Night Lords wrote:

Alerian wrote:On the note of not allowing your opponent to cheat you...remember that by RAW, a Mawloc HAS to scatter in order to be able to nail your units, and then me must actually scatter on top of your unit.

There is nothing that allows a Mawloc to get passed the rule that he cannot be placed within one inch when deep striking. Yes, there in an interpretation that appears to allow placement right on top of your units, but it is definately not the rules as written. The Mawloc must follow normal rules for the initial placement for deep striking. This makes them far less of a threat than most players realize, and currently most Nids players seem to be trying to place them right on top of opposing units, despite the actual rules.

I love how you state this as a fact, especially when it's wrong.

The DS rules on page 95 state that you MUST actually place the DSing unit on the table prior to rolling for scatter...this isn't 4th, where you just have to place a marker.

You cannot place a Mawloc on top of other units before you roll for scatter, because it will not actually fit there, thus breaking the rule on page 95.

After it scatters, the Mawloc' rule kicks in and it nukes everything under it....however, that is AFTER the scatter role.

Sorry about the 1" comment. Yes, you can place it within one 1', but you cannot place it on top of another unit initially, it can only end up ont top of other units after scatter, as per page 95 BRB.

The INAT allows the Mawloc to be placed on top of an enemy model. That's the rule of the land at most major tournaments. Alerian's interpretation, if taken to it's logical conclusion, would prevent models from even being placed onto terrain since that terrain is not the table.

The problem is this.

The rules on pg 95 state that you must actually place the model on the table, prior to rolling for scatter.

"First place the model from the unit anywhere on the table, in the position you would like the unit to arrive, and roll the scatter dice" p.95...INAT got this wrong as they are breaking this rule.

You cannot actually place a Mawloc on top of other units prior to scatter, because he will not actually fit there and his rule does not kick in until AFTER rolling for scatter.

Nothing lets him be initially placed in a space occupied by another model....he must scatter on top of them in order for his special rule to work.

40kenthusiast wrote:Don't let your mate cheat you, Deathleaper (or a Lictor unit) has to be on the table for a round before he can guide in a Mawloc. He can't just place the little guy then put the big guy next to it.

Anyway, after it lands and eats whoever's under it's template just rapid fire it with everything you've got. It'll die.

I did not know that. That is nice to know as the Deathleaper is very weak.

Thanks all, this information will help with in game tactics as well as creating a more competitive list that will stand a chance.

This is a YMDC issue, not tactics. The fact is, you are allowed to place the model anywhere on the table, it is not restricted. Even the author himself played in a game and did exactly that.

Regardless, I care not for the RAW internet lawyer debate, what I do care is what happens when I show up to play a real game. The ruling as of right now is that it is allowed, and you better be prepared tactically to accommodate for that. In any case you should always expect a rule like this to be ruled against you so you are not caught off guard when it occurs.

The fact that you had to come in here, state your "fact" and immediately back it up with rules shows that it is not accepted that way, and by attempting to pull that off in a real game will just lead to arguments.

Mishaps are determined after scatter, and it's only mishaps that make piling models on other models a problem. Nothing prevents a model from a deep striking unit from being placed atop another model, its unit will simply suffer a Mishap according to the Deep Strike Mishap rules if it remains on top (or within 1") of that model after scatter is resolved.

DSing units arrive in the movement phase...

Movement Phase tells you that a model may not move into a space oppcupied by another model (p. 11). When you combine that with pg 95, that states you must actually place the model on the table, prior to scatter, you end up with not being able to place a model on top of other units, prior to making a scatter role. If the Mawloc doesn't physically fit where you want to initially place him, you can't put him there....no way will I let you try to balance him on top of my models.

So yes they may be placed anywhere on the table....anywhere that is not occupied by another model, that is.

This means that no DSing unit may be initially placed on top of an enemy unit, since that would be occupying the same space.

You have to know the rules to use tactics. Not all tourneys use INAT (thank goodness). So, double check with a TO if you are going to one, to see if they allow this illegal from of DS or not.

In friendly games, insist your opponent plays by the actual rules, and you will find that a slight bubble of protection will make Mawlocs much easier to deal with, since you can limit where they can actually DS ..spreading out helps alot, as you can almost force him to be initially placed where you want him to be, by limiting placement options

The mawloc DS issue has been discussed a ton in a few threads. Let's not drag the OP's request for help into another debate about Mawlcos DS. We will have to wait for Tyranid FAQ to have this answered for certain.

I haven't ever attended a tournament, so that is never a problem. (And probably won't until I'm driving)

Now that you mention it, it would seem illegal to deep-strike a unit directly on another, even for the Mawloc. This will greatly help overall, and it will also get rid of any problem I might have had with the Death Leaper guiding the Mawlocs.

No joke, this crap shouldn't spill out of YMDC.

You have to know the rules in order to use tactics....no tactics will ever work if the two players are playing by 2 differents sets of rules.

Therein lies the rub, and why rules discussions inevitably come up during tactics discussions.

Alerian wrote:<snip>

That's great man, go make a topic about it in YMDC where this should actually be. This is tactics. Seeing as how 9/10 posters (you being the lone 1) in this topic are under the assumption that they can DS on you, I think it's perfectly reasonable to base tactics around it being ruled this way.

Ok, how about we do it like this:

IF you are playing that Mawlocs can deep strike under enemy units: Then after it appears and hurts a unit/fish you should rapid fire it to death.


IF you are playing that it cannot, then after it appears and maybe scatters onto a unit and hurts it and maybe doesn't you should rapid fire it to death.

Tau don't have a lot of tools for this thing. Not getting cheated by Lictor/Deathleaper nonsense is the only important revelation here.

Just because you are in the minority doesn't mean you are wrong. I was in the minority a few months ago when I said that Deffrollas can be used during a Ram, and low and behold...GW FAQ'd that the minority was right, and that INAT was wrong....Deffrollas can indeed be used during a ram. But I digress...

I am trying to give the OP tactics that will work against a Mawloc destroying everything he has, by not allowing the Mawloc easy access to DSing near his valuable units. This requires a proper understanding of the DS rules according to pgs 11 and 95.

Played properly, the tactics I am giving a are viable. If he allows his opponent to cheat and play it the "popular" rather than the "legal" way, then they will not work.