The lists: 1750 Tau Empire - Shas'O - plasma, fusion, multi, shield drone 127
- Shas'el - plasma, missile, array, hwmulti 97
- 2 Crisis - plasma, missile, multi, team leader, array 139
- Crisis - team leader, plasma, missile, array, hwmulti 77
- 4 Stealths - arrays 160
- 10 Fire Warriors in Devilfish - sms, decoys, multi, array, pod 225
- 10 Fire Warriors in Devilfish - sms, decoys, multi, array, pod 225
- 10 Fire Warriors - shas'ui, markerlight 120
- 10 Kroot 70
- 10 Kroot 70
- 10 Kroot 70
- Hammerhead - railgun, sms, decoys, multi, lock, pod 185
- Hammerhead - railgun, sms, decoys, multi, lock, pod 185
1750
1750 Iron Warriors - Daemon Prince - ccw, bolt pistol, stature, speed, strength, resilience, aura, armour, essence 167
- Lieutenant - power weapon, bolt pistol, flight, strength, resilience, frags, bionics, infiltrate 121
- 2 Obliterators
- 2 Obliterators
- 2 Obliterators
- 5 CSM - MoCU, lascannon 90
- 5 CSM - MoCU, lascannon 90
- 6 CSM - MoCU, 2 plasmaguns, infiltrate 128
- 6 CSM - MoCU, 2 plasmaguns, infiltrate 128
- 8 CSM - MoCU, bp&ccw, AC with powerfist 148
- 8 CSM - 4 heavy bolters 172
- Predator - autocannon, heavy bolters, possession, mutated hull 160
- Basilisk - indirect fire 125
1750
Background: Shas'O Ko Sa'cea stared intently at the viewscreen in front of him. Displayed on it was a vid-capture of last night's engagement with the Gue'la. These Gue'la, who called themselves the Iron Warriors, fought differently than some of forces they had encountered before. Though their technological level was no higher than the Gue'la of the Imperium, they possessed a greater understanding of what they used. They had also demonstrated great expertise in siege warfare, able to pick apart some of O'Ko's well-thought defensive measures.
His cadre had managed to repel the Iron Warriors before dawn arrived, but by then they had taken a great toll on his Sa'cea sept Fire Warriors. Several XV8 and XV15 suits were immobilized during the fighting, leaving their pilots stranded in the field after both sides hastily withdrew to nurse their wounds. Shaper Kaarpak had not returned with the other Kroot Carnivores and was presumed dead. All of them would need to be recovered so the campaign on Fi'Rios could end and the world embraced in the Greater Good.
"Perhaps a team of XV15s could affect a rescue under cover of darkness tonight..." O'Ko's musings were interrupted by the high-pitched chirp of a comm signal. He tapped the reply button. "Report."
"Shas'O, Shas'Ui Ei'da on the comm, priority one signal," the Shas'la on the other end replied tersely. "He's one of the stranded XV15 pilots who.."
"Yes, put him through," O'Ko cut off the Shas'la. Ui Ei'da would not be using a priority one signal if the need were not urgent, and neither of them could waste time reviewing information already known. "Ui Ei'da, report."
"I'll get right to the point, Shas'o," Ui Ei'da's voice was somewhat muffled by static. It was a testament to the Tau technology that she had been able to get the comm system working so easily. "The Iron Warriors are launching another assault on our position. I count thirty-nine basic infantry, six of the armour suits they call "Obliterators," one Basilisk artillery tank, one Predator, and a very large Gue'la who looks to be the leader. Two of the Obliterators, the tanks, and the Gue'la leader are not an immediate threat, but the others can overwhelm us by themselves. Have also intercepted enemy comm signals saying that they intend to salvage our weaponry and battlesuits for their own purposes. The Gue'la force will arrive at my position in approximately fifteen minutes."
"Thanks for the warning, Shas'Ui," O'Ko replied as he started transmitting orders to mobilize his forces. The Hammerheads and Devilfish would take some time to deploy, and would have to rely on the Fire Warrior team and Kroot already there to hold ground until the rest of the force arrived, including a few XV8s and XV15s. He wanted to have his tanks fighting with him from the start, but not a moment could be lost. Like the Gue'la tanks, their armour would have to catch up. The board: The battle takes place on the outskirts of a ruined city, surrounded by scattered woodlands.
The Mission: Secure and Control Omega.
Deployment: 
CSM and 2 units of obliterators are deployed along with the foot fire warriors.
CSM and kroot infiltrate. One unit of kroot and one unit of obliterators are held in reserve with the rest of the forces.
Turn 1 Iron Warriors: CSM move north, obliterators kill 2 fire warriors and 5 kroot.
Turn 1 Tau Empire: Red kroot make a difficult terrain test and move 2" into the building.
O'Ko gets word the chaos marines are advancing towards his Fire Warrior team to the west of the ruined city. He doesn't expect them to hold their ground for long, but it will take some more time to arrive and support them. Turn 2 Iron Warriors: Mr Daemon Prince shows up and hides behind the forest like the big man he is.
CSM advance. Obliterators and havocs kill the red kroot and 3 fire warriors, the fire warriors run behind the forest.
Turn 2 Tau Empire: The unit of two crisis show up on the east and kill a marine. Stealths also show up on the east and advance south. A devilfish and hammerhead show up and sit to the west of the north west building, railgun hits an oblit but fails to wound. Kroot show up far west and rapid fire one unit of plasma marines south of the small forest, and along with the devilfish and rallied fire warriors kill all but one bolter marine.
It is reported to O'Ko that the marine advance in the west is resilient but no match for the Tau and Kroot firepower. He gets word the Fire Warrior team has retreated, a wise move. The Tau do not believe in holding ground at all costs. Turn 3 Iron Warriors: Predator and obliterators turn up. Obliterators stun the hammerhead and destroy the
sms on the devilfish. Prince, powerfist, and plasma units move further north. Predator kills two fire warriors, the lone bolter marine killing another. The other plasma marines kill 3 kroot and they run off the board.
Turn 3 Tau Empire: O'Ko and
El'Or'Es turn up, along with the other hammerhead and crisis. Railgun kills an oblit that turned up from reserve behind the western lascannon unit. The two surviving footslooging fire warriors kill the lone bolter marine. Devilfish moves south. Kroot, O'Ko, and the crisis shoot and kill the other plasma unit. Stealths move further south, hidden behind the far eastern building. The
El'Or'Es and the crisis pair shoot at the lascannon marines in the south east and kill another 3 marines leaving a bolter marine by himself.
O'Ko gets first glimpse at the approaching chaos marines and helps take them out. El'Or'Es decides to support the stealths and crisis pair in the east. The battle plan is to recover as much wreckage from the previous battle as possible, which involves spreading out the Tau forces, using their superior mobility to cover ground quickly. 
Turn 4 Iron Warriors: Lieutenant and basilisk turn up. The basilisk sits behind the forest and fires directly at the eastern hammerhead, the shot scattering and killing
El'Or'Es. The lieutenant hides in the southern building, the daemon prince hides behind the western forest with the powerfist unit. The predator moves towards the kroot and fires at them, killing 4. Two oblits fire at the devilfish and destroy it, 3 fire warriors dying. Another 2 oblits fire at the stunned hammerhead and fail to penetrate, while the lone oblit and lascannon squad fire at the eastern hammerhead and also fail to penetrate.
Turn 4 Tau Empire: The last devilfish turns up and hides behind the forest, killing a bp&ccw marine. Fire Warriors successfully markerlight the predator, used to increase the
BS of the hammerhead. It still misses. The other hammerhead hits the basilisk but fails to penetrate. The succession of 1's become contagious, with O'Ko and the monat crisis killing an oblit and wounding the other. The crisis pair glance the basilisk and shake it. The stealths kill the lone bolter marine in the east and hide behind the south eastern building.
El'Or'Es has fallen victim to the mighty earthshaker cannon. The shot was mostly absorbed by the building in front of him, this was enough to save his life, but he will not be able to participate in the battle any further. O'Ko spots the mighty leader of the Iron Warriors for a brief period, moving quickly in and out of his LOS to hide behind the forest. He send the orders to the hammerhead gunship crew their new number one priority, get into position to immobilise the daemon prince. 
Turn 5 Iron Warriors: The daemon prince runs out and assaults the devilfish, stunning it. The powerfist unit also runs north of the forest and shoots and kills 3 kroot. The havocs also kill a kroot. The predator moves towards the fire warriors and kills 5 of them, they fail leadership and run off the board. The obliterators in the forest shoot at the centre hammerhead and shake it, while the other obliterators and lascannon fail to touch the other hammerhead. The basilisk hides behind the forest. The lieutenant jumps out and assaults the crisis, doing one wound.
Turn 5 Tau Empire: The eastern railhead moves west, fires at the daemon prince, and kills him. Stealths shoot at the oblit with one wound and kill him. O'Ko and the monat crisis shoot at the other oblit with no success, O'Ko jumps behind the forest next to the devilfish. The shaken hammerhead moves east. The lieutenant kills a crisis and sweeping advances the other crisis, and consolidates towards the stealths.
With the Iron Warrior leader mortally wounded by the mighty Tau railgun, O'Ko advances forward in hope to contest the Iron Warriors for vital wreckage in the south west. He knows this is important, as he has been told via radio the failure of his crisis pair in the east to avoid combat in the east, and with the speed of the Iron Warrior character, the good chance of the loss of the XV15s as well. Turn 6 Iron Warriors: The lieutenant charges the stealths, kills 2, and piles in. The havocs and oblit move towards the centre objective, havocs rapid firing at O'Ko's shield drone and killing it. The basilisk fires at O'Ko and scatters away. The predator and powerfist unit move onto the north western objective. Lascannons are fired at the hammerheads and devilfish with no success.
Turn 6 Tau Empire: O'Ko jumps towards the predator, fires, and destroys it. The fire warriors unload from their devilfish, and along with 2 kroot, 2 fire warriors, and the devilfish, kill 4 marines, and they run. The railguns miss. The lieutenant kills the stealths.
The Tau have suffered heavy casualties, with several Xor'Vesa suits heavily damaged and many shas'la and kroot lost in battle. They have however inflicted equal damage to the Iron Warriors, and have been able to capture many wrecks that will help them in future battles. 
Random game length: Iron Warrior player rolls a 3, game ends.
Tau Empire kills: 961pts.
Iron Warrior kills: 856pts.
Tau Empire mission victory pts: 1050.
Iron Warrior mission victory pts: 350.
Win to Tau Empire by 805 vpts. Mistakes of the Tau Empire: Stealths should not have moved up the board before everything Iron Warrior had arrived. The Iron Warrior player had the option of moving the basilisk on and firing directly at them, with a good chance of passing the night fight roll. The lieutenant possibly in charge range of them when he came on the board, however he deployed in safety instead.
Keep your eye out for all threats! Multiple times I was left hopeless as I notice my units in charge range. The most obvious mistake was hiding my crisis behind the building only to be charge by the lieutenant. The other mistake was moving the kroot too close to the infiltrating marines, leaving them in charge range of the daemon prince. Lucky for me he opted not to risk being railgunned had I failed my leadership, and kept the prince hidden.
Stealths should not have moved so close to the crisis combat, they were comfortably within range of the obliterator, they had some space to stay away.
Mistakes of the Iron Warriors: The havocs should have moved towards the middle objective instead of wasting fire on kroot. They could have possibly instead have moved towards the south east objective and moved the obliterators towards the middle objective. Then again, the stealths would probably have put them under scoring had they moved east. Still, there should have been a unit on the middle objective.
The daemon prince probably shouldn't have charged the devilfish, and instead charged the kroot the turn before. Kroot may have average leadership, but if it was passed first round and failed second round, the prince would have made a mess of my commander and thus not have lost his predator and drawn the game.
Lessons to be learned from the Tau Empire: The red kroot won the infiltrate roll and deployed in a manner to let the Tau Empire reserves have their space to get the two east objectives.
Kroot as mentioned baited the havocs to shoot at them rather than grab an objective.
The deployment of the fire warriors in a corner seemed to distract the iron warriors early on, giving the rest of the army space to
JSJ.
Lessons to be learned from the Iron Warriors: Do not spread out against Tau. The concentrated attack is way more effective, and the Iron Warriors did this perfectly. Also good idea to keep fast units (in this case the
HQ) in key positions to keep Tau away from objectives, or suffer the consequences (as I did).
Thankyou for reading.
