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Hiya, have been quiet on dakka for a while but have a question only dakka people can solve

Basically as per title I'm a Tau playera and it occurs to me that as the Tau are a shooting army they don't really have any practical ability to combat vehicles in close combat.

The problem came up when my railgun failed to damage a Space Marine dreadnought which then promptly ploughed through all my rear lines of troops and there was nothing I could do at the time to stop it.

The solution may seem to be very clear, buy EMP grenades for all the Fire Warrior squads. This is a fair enough idea, but when you consider that most people field 12models per team with three teams in an army and I always equip them all with all photon grenades, Team leader and bonded(they are a life saver). Then the points jump from a reasonable 147points per team to 203points.(extra 12xEMP grendades plus 2xgun drones)

I feel I had to add gun drones just to justify the points cost, by giving extra models and thus make them longer lasting.

Is there any way to take down something like a dreadnought in close combat without relying on Fire Warriors with EMP grenades. Or failing that, a useful way of cutting cost of Fw warriors teams?

example, spliting into teams of 6xFW per team, one teams has photons and other has EMP?
Your insight is most valued as I'm stumped

Well the most obvious thing to do is not to take so many FWs. If a railgun is your only AT, you're a bit screwed anyway. Personally i'd try to build your tau list so that the troops kill troops, either kroot or FWs, but then the rest of the list can kill anything. So your crisis have missile or fusion, piranhas have fusion and you have at least two heavy support choices that can take out tanks with ease. Of course, sometimes everything will go wrong with your shooting and that dread will get in combat. Well in that case, space out your infantry so the dread cant consolidate into another squad. Then shoot it again.

Dreadnoughts are getting into CC with you, and you think grenades are the answer to the problem? No, sorry. Destroying the Dreanoughts at range is the answer to your problem. You're Tau, for crying out loud; a Dreadnought hitting the table should count itself already dead.

Fire warriors should never buy any upgrades. They get guns, that's it.

All their upgrades are drastically overpriced and serve to make a not-very-good squad into a not-very-good and also expensive squad.

Buy them in squads of 6 or 10 and don't care if someone kills them.

Is there any way to take down something like a dreadnought in close combat without relying on Fire Warriors with EMP grenades. Or failing that, a useful way of cutting cost of Fw warriors teams?

The single biggest problem i see is-

You have foot slogging fire warriors.

Unless you mechanise them they are dead, especially when you have that many of them in that many squads your just screaming for somebody to assualt you.
a dread still need 6's to touch a skimmer in CC and if it moved enough it can only be glanced=live firewarriors 90% of the time. and the tank isn't a slouch either when it comes to killing infantry.

The only other option is to have 2 (small) un remarkable FW squads as throw away units that either get assaulted and die, protecting more important things with thier sacrifice(like crisis suits) for the greater good. or becaue they are the least important units they will get ignored in favor of the more important stuff.

Thanx everyone for your responses.

Think you may have mis-understood what I meant "Tegeus", I'm not looking for a way to take down a dreadnought without using firepower, I'm looking for a viable alternative to destroying a dreadnought in CC if my shooting has failed me.

What your own comments and the comments of everyone has made me realise is that I'm taking too much Footsloggers and not enough anti-armour choices that would make my chances of stopping a dread much easier. Yes the upgrades are expensive so I think I'll stick with the Team Leader and Bonded upgrade for 15pts per FW team just to make them stay on the table longer, drop a team of FW so I can afford some better anti armour choices and maybe a devilfish as well.

Cheers everyone, this is exactly what I needed to hear