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What is the optimum army list and play style against Tau for CSM player?

lomax wrote:What is the optimum army list and play style against Tau for CSM player?

1st: Don't go for "Optimum Army Lists", as there are too many variables for "optimum lists". Tau have few vehicles, so you don't really want very many* AT guns. Their Battlesuits have pretty good armor so go with some low AP weapons.

2nd: Depends on the Tau player. One good bet against static Tau is to drop some Raptors with a Icon, or some bikes with an Icon, into their field, get them stuck in CC ASAP, and then use them to summon daemons. Ties up their shooting for the rest of your army to advance unharmed. If your fighting a more mobile Tau force, swarm them with Unculted marines and Chosen, and manouver so that you've got their force in between as many of your troops as possible, so that they can not run away.

* Naturally, this does not apply against transport heavy Tau armies, and you will still probably want one or two lascannons, just in case.

Obliterators. And Berzerkers. Warptime deamon prince.

Move quickly and get into close combat. Set up the obliterators in cover and target broadsides/hammerheads.

First turn will be a shoot out between broadsides and obliterators over long range. Crisis suits will try to break open rhinos with S7 Assault 2 twinlinked missile pods. A vindicator can come in handy for a mass pie plate to take out troublesome crisis suits. Give it demonic possession so it can always move and shoot.

AP3 bolters will take out anything in the army except broadsides. Assault heavy armies will fair better if they can get into assault quickly.

lomax wrote:What is the optimum army list and play style against Tau for CSM player?

The same as any other army, a double lash list.

Pathfinders die quick to being lashed out of cover and clustered together.

I usually play against a CSM player and they things I fear/hate are, bikes due to their quickness, me having to waste markerlight hits to get ride of their turbo boosting cover save and the fact they have meltas. 1k Sons are annoying with their inv save and their ap 3 weapons and he had doombolt. Raptors can be annoying if I don't focus fire them. So basically take anything that can close the gap quick and things that have low ap. Also his chosen infiltrating screwed me up once.

Berzerkers are kind of overkill vs tau, normal CSM will beat them in CC np.

Not that fearless troops won't be very handy against tau, who can kill 25% of units with ease (sans orks). If you do run CSM make sure to take the icon of chaos glory, leadership 10 reroll-able is great in almost all situations.

Bolter armed noise marines might work well, and sonic blaster noise marines would give you better shooting range (move and fire 24" assault 2) versus the tau who will often keep jumping out of range in the assault phase.

Viper217 wrote:Berzerkers are kind of overkill vs tau, normal CSM will beat them in CC np.

Not that fearless troops won't be very handy against tau, who can kill 25% of units with ease (sans orks). If you do run CSM make sure to take the icon of chaos glory, leadership 10 reroll-able is great in almost all situations.

Bolter armed noise marines might work well, and sonic blaster noise marines would give you better shooting range (move and fire 24" assault 2) versus the tau who will often keep jumping out of range in the assault phase.

I agree, normal CSM will do the same job for cheaper. I say 3 rhinos with full CSM squads, a flamer in each and an icon, 3-4 packs of lesser deamons because even they will mess up tau. If you want cult marines go with plague bearers since many tau guns are S5+ termicide and maybe 2x2 oblits for anti tank the rest mech up and get to him ASAP because if you assault him, you pretty much won.

In a recent game against Tau, my opponent's long range shooting decimated my army in the opening turns, but my whole force was mech and just kept charging him. By turn 3 I had my lord and a single full strength CSM squad in CC and just ran right through his gunline for the rest of the game. 25% of my army wiped out about 80% of his. As nasty as the Tau were from across the board, they folded in h2h. Speed seems to be the key.

Agreed. and if CSM had drop pods i doubt you would lose more than 20%