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Hello. I really, really hope this is in the right forum.

Anyway, while I've enjoyed lots of Warhammer 40k novels, read a lot of humor on 1d4chan, and played as an Explorator in a game of Rogue Trader, I have yet to play a game with the tabletop. Too expensive, in terms of time and money, to collect and paint them all myself, especially given my poverty and notorious lack of fine motor control. However, a friend of mine has decided to get out of the game, and is going to sell me his old army in a few weeks, prepainted, with a carrying case, all at less than a third of retail price. I couldn't resist such a deal.

The catch? He plays Tau, and I know the Tau are a rough army to learn the game with, being very shooty but crap in close combat and requiring special tactics to avoid getting torn apart.

I've been trying to read up on Tau tactics from a variety of different sources in order to prepare, but I figured getting some advice from a variety of experts would behoove me just as well.

So, here I am. What do you suggest?

A rough list of available troops will be provided as soon as I get one.

First off hello and welcome to 40k, yes it is an expensive hobby but check the prices of 18 holes of golf lately?

I have gone from Space Marines to Orks to Blood Angels(a little Eldar in there) and now am on to Tau. A lot of people say they have no tactics or only one. Because that's what they have played against is only someone who sits back with some heavy weapons and unloads them while running everything else away. Now you will learn this when you start to play that everyone and every army has a different way of playing. First find out what you like to do, grab the codex and read up on the rules see what you find interesting, what you think that you could explore(i guess is the word I am looking for) There are many ways to play each army, and by knowing what each HQ/Elite/Troop/Fast/Heavy can do you can custom your army to what you want them to do. Just remember that whatever "plan" that you have for the game will normally go out the window by then end of turn one. So have a backup or five. The game changes when your opponent makes moves or you both roll the dice. So try to stay one step ahead, by seeing what they are going to do and changing your "plan" to accommodate what is going on in the game and how you can make it go your way. The number one way to do that with Tau is Markerlights, they are to Tau what faith points are to Sisters. They change the dynamic to fit Tau scheme better. Hope this gave you a little in site. Didn't go much into what tactics to use, again make your own to what you like. And remember with Tau more than any other army. They work better as an army then as an individual squad.

Spectral
some general advice
1. when you deploy keep your stuff together. dont split up unless you're going to suicide something.
2. run lots of marker lights and crisis suits. they are what your army does.
3. dont take kroot vespid or drones. fire warriors, path finders, crisis suits are what you want.
4. dont take tau special characters.
5. kill their most mobile stuff first.

40k takes a long time to learn dont let it get to you if you dont win much at first. and yeah tau are kind of a tough army to start with. good luck.

Making any army walk across the field while you can unload into them always the way to put the game in your hands. Kroot can be run, but depends on how you use them, always know they WILL die. Vespid are too squishy from too far away when they get close they can inflict some damage, but cost it too much. Crisis suits can make or break an army, see what you like but don't spend too much on any single one. make a squad of a few that you like.

Just noting AF's points a bit:

#3: Don't take drone SQUADS, but do take shield drones on crisis/broadsides. Stay away from etherals of all kinds. Kroot can have a place in some armies.
#4: Pretty much, unless you want to run a farsight bomb (Farsight, 6-7 crisis retinue, 8+ Drones) seems fun, might not be so competative.

The real problem with Tau is the lack of close combat support. A simple 5 man tac squad with a powerfist can wipe any number of your squads out, as they will ignore most of your saves, instant death your suits, and with init 4 will sweeping advance you if you lose combat.

While there are tactics to avoid getting stuck in assault, experience will be your best teacher there. In the meantime, my advice would be to start with an optimized list and play it to death. This way, you will learn the in's and out's of your list.

The common trap new players fall into is to switch their list every game to try new units or builds. DONT DO THIS! The issue with 40k is that a single game is pretty much worthless as a learning experience. Dice and mission objectives are so varied that you would need to play at least 9 games versus the same opponent to play each mission, and 18 games to play each board edge, and 36 games to play each board edge going first one game second the next. Add in crucial die rolls that can and will swing the balance of the game, then add in different point values, and you begin to see the depth of the game a single list versus a single list can offer.

Now, playing the same list over and over can be a bit booring, so I would recommend a 1500 point 'core' that you build your army around. As most games tend to be 1750-1850, that leaves enough points to make a few tweeks here and there without upsetting your core force--since your core is the driving force the 300ish points you modify here and there wont do too much to ruin your learning experience.

If I had to give list building advice, I would start with some optimized units. First, the Troops... I would recommend 2 small Firewarrior squads in fish transports. Cheaper is better other than a few vehicle upgrades. Then I would run 2 units of kroot with kroot hounds... the init 5 of the kroot hounds really helps, and the ability to outflank or infiltrate is a good ability for a troop unit to have.

For elites, I would grab at least 6 suits with missiles. Their range and high strength means you can pop transports without sticking your neck out too far. There are several ways to build missile suits--twin missile pods with +1 BS is good, twin pods with a cheap flamer, and a single pod with a twin flamer are all decent options to keep cost down and threat up.

For the HQ a suit with some fun weapons is of course mandatory... I like the cyclic ion blaster and a plasma, but there are many good options.

In the heavy category, hammerheads and broadsides should be maxed out, as s10 with great range is critical versus many enemies. 3 Hammerheads is the easiest to get a hold of, but 2 hammerheads and 3 broadsides offers a nice mix. 9 Broadsides is probably a bad idea unless you know for certian you can fit the broadsides and the other units I mentioned.

Anyway, hope this mini book helps...

Well, I cant really help on tau tactica (wait for sainthazard) but I can help on rape avoidance!

Get a rape whistle.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
No seriously, how funny would that be, if like a some ork boyz charged a firewarrior squad, and upon them killing them all, you just pull out a whistle and blow it. HAHHAHA!

Don't listen to most of the tactics things you see online, except for some basic stuff like "don't use vespids" Just play some games, find what fits your playstyle. Posting a list of what you have would be nice, because it sounds like you're not going to be buying much in the way of new stuff, so just figure out the basic use for each squad, have them work together and combine firepower, and have fun. You may not win all the time, but just work to have fun.

Yup. It's best to start with games of 500pts, and work your way up as you learn small unit tactics and gradually integrate armour and tanks into your game as you begin to grok how the rules work.

Someone is going to hate me for this. But www.yesthetruthhurts.com has some pretty good articles on how to play tau.

Eidolon:

Actually I'd agree. While the author is an abrasive neckbeard, his approach to 40k means that he's able to see how the Tau work. It's something to iterate here that shooting and close combat are balanced in 40k by having shooting be considerably less risky than close combat. Since the Tau are good at shooting, once you get the combined arms part down pat, they're ideal for the low-risk reliability oriented players.

Would be nice if you could use another term like avoid getting beat badly.

Tau really is a shooting army although you do have some kroot for holding objectives and bubble wrap.

DevianID has the right idea

My Tau lists look something like this depending on metagame and points.

HQ
commander with plasma missle

Elites
2-3 units of 2-3 Suits with missles

Troops
Small unit of Firewarriors who commandeer the pathfinders devil fish
0-1 fire warriors in devil fish
2-3 Units of Kroot with hounds for bubble wrap and holding objectives.

Fast Attack
Pathfinders with Devil fish but Fire warriors steal their devil fish and path finders deploy in cover
2 units of 1-2 Piranha
(Piranha's have fusion blasters for destroying heavy armor like Land Raiders or Russes and move fast enough to get in position)


Heavy support
1-2 units of 1-3 broadsides with shield drones.
1-2 hammer heads with railgun, smart missle system disruption pod, multi tracker, target lock
(heavy support really depends on your meta game if you face mechanized armies go with more broadsides, hammer heads have the alternate template for hordes)

As far I as have been able to glean, there are primarily three ways to play tau: mechanized, gun-line, and everything in between. How you tailor your tau army and lists is totally up to you. I personally prefer a hybridized list with mechanized infantry/hammerheads supported by broadsides. I don't have kroot models, but IIRC they become more important as your face becomes less mobile (acts as a speed bump to slow enemy advance). My advice would be to try out a strategy and run it for a few games, and then start adjusting based on what worked and what didn't; what you liked and what you didn't. Eventually you'll get a force that suits you.

Thank you very much everyone. I'm sorry, but I'm having trouble getting an army list out of the guy selling it to me.

But yeah. I know there's no teacher like experience. That said, there aren't usually any spare armies at the local hobbyshop on game day, so I'm pretty much stuck for the moment.

AbaddonFidelis wrote:Spectral
some general advice
1. when you deploy keep your stuff together. dont split up unless you're going to suicide something.
2. run lots of marker lights and crisis suits. they are what your army does.
3. dont take kroot vespid or drones. fire warriors, path finders, crisis suits are what you want.
4. dont take tau special characters.
5. kill their most mobile stuff first.

40k takes a long time to learn dont let it get to you if you dont win much at first. and yeah tau are kind of a tough army to start with. good luck.

This is all good advice except for number three. I agree with Vespids and drone squads, but I'd add in etherals and take out Kroot. Kroot are excellent as long as you just play to their strengths. They are stat-wise equivalent to an ork boy in CC but can be much more deadly. You just have to make sure that the only times you use them (pretty much) are when they can either infiltrate into forest or use them to flank. Try using them for anything but those two uses and they are junk.

Good advice all


one bit of advice to the OP

don't be afraid to lose, especially the first few(dozen) games or so because you most likely will.

when you lose try to figure out why you lost, ask your opponent. unless he is a total d-bag he will likely be glad to point out what happened.

after finding out what went wrong you will try to not let that happen again.



o and stay away from space pope and all etherials.

Tau are certainly not the easiest army to start with. They are very unforgiving and require a lot of games to get used to. Speaking from experience, it takes about 20 games to find your feet and more after that to become really proficient. Tau require constant attention to detail because the smallest mistakes in movement or target priority can be fatal. Websites like dakka as well as Advanced Tau Tactica, and Yes The Truth Hurts can get you up to speed and should be consulted early and often. This is not meant to be discouraging, far from it. However, when you do start Tau, realize what you are getting into.

A little more about playing Tau at this level.

Once you reach this level and above, the great Pathfinder v No Pathfinder debate starts. Pathfinders are increadibly useful units, that can cover a number of flaws in the Tau list. IMO however, I can't justify the 200+ points it costs to field a full Pathfinder squad and their Warfish until I reach 2000 pts. YMMV and certainly others will tell you that they are a mandatory unit and they may not be wrong. My advice is to try them for yourself.

Kroot are another major bone of contention with Tau players. Many people use them as "bubblewrap" to protect high point crisis and broadside teams. Other people despise them and will never field them. The two major unit sizes are the basic 10 carnivores and the 5 hound 10-12 carnivore groupings. The first is a ultra basic cannon fodder troop. Because I can't ever seem to find the 60$ for kroot hounds, this is my preferred size. I always outflank with them to keep them alive. In this role, they serve to chew up small board hugging squads and vehicles. If used in this role remember one rule, Double Tap Marines, never assault them. Marines will slaughter your carnivores before they can swing and you will do less damage overall. This initiative deficiency is why you have hounds. With hounds, you can assault marines, just remember to put the wounds from the marines on the hounds, so your carnivores survive to swing. The shaper and the armor upgrade are worthless. For the cost, you can get more carnivores and do more damage.

Fire Warriors have so much potential, but often fall short of what you expect of them. Always set you expectations low for FW, any damage they do is a bonus. Their main duty is to ride in their transport and make it scoring. Sure they can pop out and rapid fire something (Land speeders come to mind) but their main role is to sit pretty. You will never need more than 12 FW. The only time I have needed more is for kill team. (where they are awesome) Put a squad of 6 in a devilfish and drive them around. I have two in my lists. That said, a FW squad sitting innocuously in cover in a corner can cover a surprising amount of the table with strength 5 shots. Against light vehicles like Land speeders and vypers this is a potent threat and one you opponent will often overlook.

Devilfish are the unit that keep Tau competitive in 5th edition. These should always have a Disruption pod. 5 points for a 4 up cover yes please. I always make my Devilfish a Warfish by addition a targeting array, multi tracker and Smart missile system. This makes up for the lack of shooting from the FW team inside. It also replaces the drones that count as an extra kill point. It does add about 40 points onto the cost of an already expensive transport however, so YMMV

Steath Suits are just not very good unfortunatly. They are simply too expensive and take an elite slot away from crisis teams. If they were cheaper or could take more special weapons they would be more useful. Right now they are an over priced torrent of fire unit that lacks definition.

Crisis suits are the backbone of most any tau army and are a topic of much contention between Tau players. There are many opinions on the subject, many of which have merit. I will present mine here and hopefully others (if Focusedfire hasn't ninja'd me already ) will chime in with their ideas so you can get a broader picture. IMO, and I stress, IMO anything that gets in the way of providing the maximum number of shots is a bad thing. I would prefer to the maximum number of crisis suits on the table, then to have fewer, more efficient, and to an extent more survivable suits. Call it quantity over quality, but IMO suits aren't tremendously survivable anyway and I would like to get more of them on the table so if I lose a few, I have more to fall back on. A Soviet Army ideal for the Space Commies (ooh the irony) With the philosophy out of the way, lets get to the configurations.

I run 4 (configurations) in my lists

My commander is a Shas'el with a Targeting Array, Missile Pod, Hard Wired Multi-tracker, and Fusion Blaster. (Modified FireForge) This is a multi role suit, who can attach to one of my other squads and support their fire, or can be deep struck to hunt armor with the melta.

I always run at least one, and usually two squads of (Fireknives) This is the most common suit configuration, and is a true multirole suit. Simply a Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, and Multi tracker this suit covers most all of your bases and is a must include in all of my lists. Its an expensive suit (a squad of three runs just shy of 190 pts) but the utility, is invaluable.

My other must include unit is a unit of (Deathrain-F) This suit is designed to be cheap, but it does its job reliably and cover's some bases that I find lacking in my lists. With a Twin Linked Missile Pod and a Flamer, this squad will drop a chimera or a rhino every turn or can reliable put wounds on high toughness creatures and HQ's. If necessary, it can close and use the flamers for anti-horde. Note this configuration has no multi tracker, so its an either/or situation with the weapons.

The last configuration is a response to the large numbers of FNP Blood angels and Loganwing armies I have started to see much more regularly. The (Sunforge) is a major sacrifice to the ideal of ignoring armor and FNP. Using a Plasma Rifle, Fusion Blaster, and a Multi tracker this unit will utterly decimate most units not in cover. However, the extremely short range makes this a one way mission if you can't totally wipe the squad in question. Costing equal to the Fireknives, its an expensive suicide unit, but its very effective vs low model count elite armies. It also smokes Carnifexes. This squad more than any other benefits from markerlight support to make sure that those shots count.

Vespids are unfortunately made of fail. While its occasionally satisfying to drop the bug bomb on the local marine player, they are far too fragile and expensive to be used competitively.

Piranhas are a matter of personal taste. I really enjoy taking them, and I find they provide a useful function for me. However, they do give up a lot of kill points if they aren't squadroned. I always field mine with a Fusion Blaster, a Targeting Array, and a Disruption Pod. This provides maximum utility, but makes them a little expensive. Their use it very situational, but boils down to either Tank hunting or being a speed bump. The tank hunter is self explanatory. Being a speed bumb means turbo boosting directly in front of a fast moving assault unit to slow them down or directly in the path of a vehicle to force them to move around the piranha (or risk dangerous going through the piranha's wreckage ) This "Stiff arm" can buy you critical early turns where Tau can win or lose the game. ( a note about the drones, don't forget the piranha is a open topped vehicle and the drones can assault out of it. Use this to contest late objective or to keep a fleeing squad from regrouping. Also despite their crappy BS, the drones can occasionally pop rear armor with S5 Shots, so sometimes its worth ejecting them to go for the twofer when behind the enemy. Their shots are also pinning FWIW)

Sniper Drones have never been a favorite of mine. This is simply a recognition that field sniper drones means less railguns. In lower point games (1000 or less or in team tournaments) they can be very effective. The combination of dropping marines on two's w/ no armor save and the BS4 networked markerlights are nice and they would be used much more if they occupied a different FOC slot, but they don't and I can't recommend them. Slipping a rail rifle or two into your pathfinder squad is a better way to get rail rifles onto the battlefield.

Skyrays are also something that is probably in the wrong FOC. The combination of limited ammuntion and weak (and expensive) secondary armament makes it a no go for me. Great in Apoc though.

Broadsides are simple the final answer in Anti-anything really. If its a single target that resides on the table and can be seen, broadsides can kill it in at most two turns. Broadsides are pretty simple to deploy. Always give them the unfortunately named Advanced Stabilization system, so they have limited mobility. (and so Dawn of War doesn't screw you for a turn) Also near mandatory are two shield drones. These provide the protection from all of the scary weapons that will come their way. Broadsides nearly always should find a elevated position (cover is really nice too) and simple dominate the battlefield. I always give the team leader a target lock so that he can independently target from the squad. (Always check to see how your gaming group deals with this piece of wargear, which rides the ragged edge of legality due to an outdated codex) Don't forget that despite their tank killing prowess, that Broadsides do have a Smart Missile System as well which is much more effective vs hordes than turning one or two termagaunts into component atoms with the railguns. Broadsides should always have priority for markerlights. Reducing cover against the railguns is invaluable.

Hammerheads are the opposite side of the coin, trading concentrated firepower for mobility and the almighty large blast template. Never forget that Hammerhead have an integrated targeting array and are always BS4. Hammerhead should ALWAYS have a Disruption pod and should most of the time have a multi tracker so that you can fire like a fast vehicle. Target locks are also nice so that you can shoot two separate targets. I find that I primarily use the large blast with the hammerhead, not that the hammerhead isn't a capable anti tank platform, I just find that I have an overwhelming tendancy to roll ones and twos when I really need them. The blast template is the really the only one the tau have available, so I really try to let the broadsides and crisis suits deal with the tanks and use the Hammerhead for anti infantry.

I find that for the point levels that you are talking about, that a 1 to 2 Broadside to Hammerhead ratio is ideal. Its really fun to "bring the rain" with multiple Broadside teams, but you risk being too static to survive.


I will copy in another post on playstyle after this but I want to mention one thing.

Target priority is where Tau win and lose the game. Certain things must die for tau to have a chance. Wasted shots are the worst sin a tau player can commit.(followed closely by being so excited about the shooting phase that you skip the movement phase) To prevent wasted shots, carefully consider line of fire to the targets and what abilities your units have (anti tank, anti MEQ, anti horde) and then fire the units with the most restricted target selection first, so that you have redundancy if a units fails to destroy a target.

ie My hammerhead can only shoot the Rhino, so I will shoot it first. Followed by the Deathrain team who can target the rhino if the hammerhead misses or take out the land speeder in the open. Finally, the Broadsides will target, the Land Raider if everything has been destroyed or cover one of the other teams surviving targets. This way you never waste shots because you always have targets of opportunity available. Enemy mobility should always be targeted first. Tau can outshoot almost anyone from across the board.

Final Thoughts
Always buy the Skyray box, it contains all parts for any tau tank
Keep your troops cheap
Deploy carefully

Have Fun with Tau



Razor

Kroot can be beefy defending terrain.

They have bolters for gunning down hormagaunts and stuff.

They get an invulnerable 3+ cover save while occupying most terrain, that they can shoot out of, and non-frag enemies would strike last trying to assault them. They can often get 32-50 S4 attacks on the charge, which can tear down even marines. In even better terrain, a 2+ cover save laughs enemy shooting off.

At 7 points each, they're really a bargain with the 3+ cover save and knowing that now the enemy doesn't have absolute dominion over you in close-combat. A lot of combat units could be neutered by one kroot charge so it deters the enemy from charging straight towards you.

Also, as infiltrators, they have a chance to outflank in reserves and then in a few turns rush in from one side and assault a shooty enemy squad (which'll be defenseless in combat.) This can deny a large amount of the board edge to enemy shooty stuff that wants to stay safe.