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Kill the two sissy units of fire warriors and spend the rest of the game hiding from Riptide blast templates. Win.

 Homeskillet wrote:
Kill the two sissy units of fire warriors and spend the rest of the game hiding from Riptide blast templates. Win.

It has a massive height, practically infinite range, can jump on buildings iirc and move 6+3D6 a turn even if it can't fire. Good luck with that.

If its so easy to do that anyway, what's to stop your opponent from doing the same, hiding them where you can't get to them.

 Mr.Omega wrote:

 Homeskillet wrote:
Kill the two sissy units of fire warriors and spend the rest of the game hiding from Riptide blast templates. Win.

It has a massive height, practically infinite range, can jump on buildings iirc and move 6+3D6 a turn even if it can't fire. Good luck with that.

If its so easy to do that anyway, what's to stop your opponent from doing the same, hiding them where you can't get to them.

Of course he would try to hide them, but to claim objectives they gotta come out sometime. The Tau's main weakness (and there aren't many) are their not-so-tough troops. The Devilfish isn't strong enough to protect them very long, even they have one, which the OP didn't list in this case. With only two scoring units, and each one being about as difficult to catch and kill as as a drunk sloth, that is the main weakness of the list. Yes, Riptides are great; but they are great at shooting. In cc they will almost always lose to other Monstrous Creatures, and maybe Walkers. If it ain't shooting, it ain't doing squat.

 Homeskillet wrote:

 Mr.Omega wrote:

 Homeskillet wrote:
Kill the two sissy units of fire warriors and spend the rest of the game hiding from Riptide blast templates. Win.

It has a massive height, practically infinite range, can jump on buildings iirc and move 6+3D6 a turn even if it can't fire. Good luck with that.

If its so easy to do that anyway, what's to stop your opponent from doing the same, hiding them where you can't get to them.

Of course he would try to hide them, but to claim objectives they gotta come out sometime. The Tau's main weakness (and there aren't many) are their not-so-tough troops. The Devilfish isn't strong enough to protect them very long, even they have one, which the OP didn't list in this case. With only two scoring units, and each one being about as difficult to catch and kill as as a drunk sloth, that is the main weakness of the list. Yes, Riptides are great; but they are great at shooting. In cc they will almost always lose to other Monstrous Creatures, and maybe Walkers. If it ain't shooting, it ain't doing squat.

They're not even that great at shooting, they need marker light support. This list has three marker lights. The pathfinder squads are carrying rail rifles for some reason.

What Riptides are amazing at is getting shot AT. So don't do it. (they're also really good at contesting objectives)

Incidentally, my tournament list has 4 MCs, I'm something like 6-1 against Tau. And I've never actually killed a Riptide in combat with a MC. I've killed them with multi assaulting Hounds, and with Daemonettes (I think I've killed five Riptides with 90 point Daemonette squads now)

Edit: For the record, that 6-1 is only 1-1 against Pulse Bomb style lists. Tau Troops are way scarier than Riptides.

Same theory here. Last time i played Tau, i killed one riptide with a bunch of cultists with auto guns/close combat and killed the other riptide with my warpsmith in a mighty, 4turn duel. I lost the battle, but i chumped those riptides.

To reiterate some points that have gone before, the following definitely help:

1) Kill the Troops, sit on objectives. Job done.
2) Large mobs of fearless will happily tie the Riptides up.

Sniper/poisoned weapons can do well if you actually want to take them down, but I fear you've not really got that much in either Marines, Nids, Necrons or Chaos to do so. In a similar vein though, if you can put out lots of Rending attacks you'll be able to both properly wound the Riptide and ignore its armour (in other words - Genestealers).

For Marines my best suggestion is TH/SS Termies. They will *at least* tie a Riptide up, but in all likelihood are able to destroy one inside 2 or 3 rounds too. However it's a pain that they're almost as costly as the Riptide to begin with, and they have to catch it in the first place too.

 Peregrine wrote:
Kill the 12 scoring models and win the game because you hold objectives and they don't.

Exactly this. For bonus points, kill both his scoring units, get first blood, then play keep away for the rest of the game.

Thanks for the replies guys.
I might just take 3 helldrakes and loads of Nurgle Bikers and see what happens.

To be honest, genestealers sound like a good idea too!

I don't really understand the idea behind the pathfinders myself but I undertand they have fairly low AP weaponry with high strength and are being used to protect the riptides from approaching terminators etc.