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hi, i'm a new 40K Tau player and i keep hearing about this Fish of Fury, can some one explain to me what it is, how it works and agains whom?
also any general Tau tactics would be apreatiated

Take 2 Devilfish filled with Fire Warriors. Run them up to an enemy unit, just a few inches away and place them rear to rear, about 2.5" apart, so that they form a wall in front of the enemy unit you want to kill. Disembark the gun drones from the front of each the devilfish at the ends of the wall. So how you have two fish, back to back, and some gun drones on each edge. You have a huge wall in front of an enemy unit.

Disembark the FWs from both fish behind the wall, ensuring that you stay bunched up as close to the center of the wall as you can. You should be within 12", so you get to rapid-fire, under your devilfish, with 40-48 (depending on how many FWs you took) S5 shots. That's nasty, even against Marines. The best part is that the devilfish doesn't block LOS, so that you can shoot under it, but the enemy can't assault you the next turn. You're behind the center of a huge wall. The enemy has to walk all the way around the fish, all the way around the drones, staying 1" away from your models at all times, if they want to try to assault you. Done correctly, they can't. And for good measure, the next turn your opponent will have to take target priority tests if they want to shoot at your FWs.

I'm sorry that I don't have a diagram, but I'm hoping my example was clear enough for you to understand.

http://www.tauonline.org/ViewContent.php?id=8

lol TO, they didn't invent the FoF. Now www.advancedtautactica.com on the otherhand...

well i still don't understand two things:
1)those this work against heavy infetry? i mean i can see a unit on SM or Necrons simpley shruging it off and rapid firing me right back.
2) what stop the enemy from poping my Devilfish and charging thraw it? i mean i tried using DF but thay keep getting poped on turn 1

second Q: what is the FW to Kroot ratio you recomened? I LOVE KROOT. i usealy infiltrate tham and then use them to ambush the enemy to stop him from advancing toword my lines
i had a very good experience charging kroot into necrons and necron destroyers, thay useally waste a faw tunrs entangeld with the kroot wich means thay can't teleport of hyperboost, i was even abel to break a unit of destroyers using sheer numbers. the 30 attacks i can lay on the charge tends to overwelm the necrons

Posted By YingYangTau on 10/21/2006 10:04 AM
well i still don't understand two things:
1)those this work against heavy infetry? i mean i can see a unit on SM or Necrons simpley shruging it off and rapid firing me right back.
2) what stop the enemy from poping my Devilfish and charging thraw it? i mean i tried using DF but thay keep getting poped on turn 1

second Q: what is the FW to Kroot ratio you recomened? I LOVE KROOT. i usealy infiltrate tham and then use them to ambush the enemy to stop him from advancing toword my lines
i had a very good experience charging kroot into necrons and necron destroyers, thay useally waste a faw tunrs entangeld with the kroot wich means thay can't teleport of hyperboost, i was even abel to break a unit of destroyers using sheer numbers. the 30 attacks i can lay on the charge tends to overwelm the necrons

1) Any normal SM unit can "shrug off" 40 S5 shots. Sure, why not. Actually, with that number of shots and potential wounds, you could even take out Terminators. But I can't be bothered to do the maths at the moment.

2) If tour oponent is going after devilfish early then they are ignoring something else in your army to do so>

The necrons absolutely can teleport out of combat with the kroot. That's what they're best at.

1)are decoy lounchers a good investment on the devilfish?
2)i guess that my aponents simple couldn't grasp the idea of Necrons running away from Kroot
3)people keep telling the the Necron pyramid (forgot it's real name) is a major problem, why? i mean on paper it looks like one squde of BASS could rilegun the thing in one turn before it can even react, i thought Living metal dosn't affect the Railgun

P.S what's the Fireknife and Helios set up for Crisis Suits people keep refaring to?

P.S.S sorry for the spelling, english is not my first languge

I'd try www.advancedtautactica.com it's got all the answers to your questions in its guide, and a very nice, informative forum of its own dedicated to all things Tau.

24 FWs rapid firing (48 S5 shots) are worth 5.33 wounds.

The FoF is highly ineffective, but its a lot better than static FWs.

ah where to begin...

ok the tactic alread mentioned is one of 2 ways to do FOF

 

the other is the tank company-which is what i run(5 fish-2 FW/3 PF, 3 hammerheads and a crisis suit commander at 1850)

 kit out your fish with the neccesities-smart missles, targeting array, multi traker, decoy launchers and fletchedt launchers(best CC system in the game). stick a min sized FW squad in it and keep them inside at all times save taking objectives or opportunistic shooting at the end of the game.  now you have a skimmer that will always move over 6, always hit on 3's can split fire and 4 of it's shots need no LOS.

 

since you like kroot you are probably more of a horde player so FOF may not appeal to you.

decoy launchers-

yes it is worth it, in fact if you put nothing else on your fish the decoy launcher is the must have item. it pretty much makes fish only killable on a glancing 6.

fireknifes are the most popular(and moste overall effective) crisis suit design-missle pod+plasma rifle+multi tracker=fireknife(with other wargear for you squad leader if you upgrade him).

Really, it's more of a tactic for blocking off movement lanes than one for killing things. Fire Warriors aren't horrible offensively, and they'll inflict some wounds (rapid firing Fire Warriors with help from a markerlight or two can be quite brutal, acutally), but they aren't the main killers in a Tau army, so don't expect to take out whole squads of Marines with them. The main point is to force your opponent to move around the skimmer chassis so that they can't close in on your battlesuits, which are doing the majority of the killing. Of course, allowing the Fire Warriors to get charged gives the enemy something to slingshot off of, so avoid that at all costs. Also, the FWs are pretty fragile, so don't just throw them out in the open. If you think you'll be better served by dropping them off in cover and letting the Fish do its thing solo, don't hesitate to do so.

so basicly i'm using my DF as canon fodder to stop the enemy from charging and myFW as an excuse to get DF?

"Cannon fodder" implies that you intend for the Fish to die. In truth, you need it to survive in order to do its job. Otherwise, your opponent will just take a terrain test, cross the wreckage, and charge you. Fire Warriors in rapid fire range have twice the kill-per-point potential that Stealth Suits have, but they're much more vulnerable, so they generally don't get enough rounds of shooting in to earn their keep. Without the skimmer in the way, they'd get a single chance to shoot, then get charged. Of course, even then, they can get shot to pieces if there's any significant enemy shooters in line of sight. In many cases, you can get a second round of shooting off against an ideal target, but kiss your FWs goodbye if your opponent castles up. That's why it's a dicey proposition at best to base your army around such a tactic. It's a secondary tactic at best. Battlesuits are the main killers in a Tau army, since they can shoot while remaining comparatively safe. The thing is, you've only got so many FOC slots to fit them in. Kroot do a great job of running interference, but FWs have advantages over them when it comes to light vehicle popping, dealing with a lack of infiltration, and using their extended range to thin hordes. Like a lot of things out there, they'd be a lot more viable if the metagame weren't as Marine-heavy.

Posted By fourganger88 on 10/21/2006 10:31 AM

1) Any normal SM unit can "shrug off" 40 S5 shots. Sure, why not. Actually, with that number of shots and potential wounds, you could even take out Terminators. But I can't be bothered to do the maths at the moment.

Well...let's clarify that your 48 S5 shots will get rid of an average of 5.3 tactical marines or 2,6 termies....

And to get that result you are making an investment of 430 points...

Don't seem like the most cost effective tactic to me...

Better used against gaunts or orks or other mob like armies

Works great with some extra shots here or there, but...Tau still suck