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I wanted to make a gunline (I'm not trying to win tournaments, stow the 4ed gunline fault soapboxes) and I chose to make it somewhat fluffy. The idea was to try to field an army using units I didn't see many people taking with Tau lists. Primarily, I'm going to feature an ethereal and skyray. The army is going to be troop heavy, with heavy markerlight support, and hopefully this will make an effecitve gunline. Mind you, this is 'not' a "static" gunline. I plan to mobilise it around the field dropping off kroot or sections of the FW gunline off at objectives as they loop the board.

The 'fluff' behind the army is that they're a specialist cadre that excell at fighting in low visibility, namely blizzards and hazardous ice planet type conditions. The cadre is dubbed "snowblind" and employ a large number of markerlight units. The general tactic will be that the pathfinders set up early on opposite sides of the board (forcing the enemy to have to divide if they want to assault them) and paint targets for the gunline. Before the gunline is in range, however, they will be pulling seeker missiles off of the skyray, hopefully knocking out transports and/or light armor early on.

The ethereal is meant to be taken as a challenge. I fully expect him to be a target, and want him to be. The more they focus on him, the more my specialist units can pick off pieces of their army I dont like. If he dies... all hell will likely break loose, but if it looks like that's approaching, I'll try to get the FWs into fish so they don't have to see the horror (or take the test). I also found that I dont really need to take any shas'ui on the firewarrior teams given that all Tau with line of sight to the ethereal can reroll their morale. I lose the knives yes... and that does suck, but hopefully we'll shoot first. The ethereal does take a knife though, so his honorguard can regroup easier if they do get into it.

The gunline will come on with the ethereal and stick with each other for most of the match. The Kroot will outflank or infiltrate to claim weak objectives or to harass enemy specialists if they get an opening (snipers, tank hunters, etc) depending on the board and how the opponnent sets up. The crisis suits and HQ will orbit the gunline (Staying in the backfield until needed) and serve as anti-horde or armor with their flamer and FB, and they're essentially sacrificial to their purpose. I don't mind losing a single suit w/ FB or flamer since I'll be having the stealth team coming onto the table with the same purposes essentially.

The stealth team will deepstrike in, hopefully about the time the enemy is starting to close on the gunline. This 'should' catch the assaulting units in a hell of a cross fire. Gunline in rapid fire range + the burst cannons from the stealth suits. (87 S5 AP5 shots with a good chance of being markerlit ^^; ) After that the stealth team will be left to it's own devices, just going wherever fire support is needed.

The skyray will stay right in the middle of the gunline, providing them with a fairly durable source of at least 2x markerlights, not to mention the SMS salvos when enemies start to close in. The pathfinders 'devilfish will also joinethe gunline and stay on the flanks to provide a sort of 'shield wall'. I dont plan to actually put troops in the transport unless they're getting hit by artillery or need to get somewhere quickly. They're essentially sacrificial 'road blocks' for assaulting units and have flechette on them to server that purpose further.

So... if envisioned properly, I'll have a wad of about 40 FW's trekking around the board being orbited by crisis (response suits) and portable "walls" in the devilfish as they can fly over the gunline and settle down in between the FW's and whatever is coming at them

I dont expect this list to win all of the time, but I wanted to post it to see if you guys think it had enough teeth to bare in a casual game. I wanted to make a fluffy army with exotic units, but I don't want to waste anyone's time playing a game where we already know the outcome. So... do you guys think this would put up a fight at least?

[HQ]
Shas'el w/ FB / CIB / MT
Ethereal w/ Bonding Knife
- Honorguard w/ 11x FW (2x with Carbines for emergency pinning in conjuction with the devilfishs' gundrones. Should have enough markerlight to make it work)

[Troops]
10x FW
10x FW
10x FW
10x Kroot w/ 6x hounds

[Elites]
6x Stealthsuit team w/ 2x Fusion / 2x Target lock / Marker Drone / and 3x Blacksun filters (irritating )
1x Crisis suit w/ FB / MP / MT
1x Crisis suit w/ Flamer / MP / MT

[Fast Attack]
5x Pathfinders: 4 w/ PC/ML : 1 w/ Railrifle
Mandatory Devilfish w/ Dispod and Flechette
5x Pathfinders: 4 w/ PC/ML : 1 w/ Railrifle
Mandatory Devilfish w/ Dispod and Flechette

[Heavy Support]
Skyray w/ SMS, Dispod, and Flechette

A lot of your plan and speculation is going to go right out the window once you belly up to the table.

Type it up if you want, but it doesn't really matter to us.

bobert wrote:The ethereal is meant to be taken as a challenge. I fully expect him to be a target, and want him to be.

There is a viable (but scorned) use for him. 3 broadsides, all Drone Controllers, each suit holding the leash on 2 Shield Drones; shove the ethereal in this. 12 wounds (+ethereal), each with 2 up armor, six good Invulnerable saves, Fearless, and suit Toughness. Wrap with a large kroot unit ("bubble-wrap" or "kroot-loop" <-- mine ) and it's a really hard unit to kill. Props to Darrian666 for telling *me* about it.

bobert wrote:Shas'el w/ FB / CIB / MT
Ethereal w/ Bonding Knife - Honorguard w/ 11x FW (2x with Carbines for emergency pinning in conjuction with the devilfishs' gundrones. Should have enough markerlight to make it work)

Now, see, he doesn't need a BK. Check the Fearless thing he does.

bobert wrote:6x Stealthsuit team w/ 2x Fusion / 2x Target lock / Marker Drone / and 3x Blacksun filters (irritating )

BSF? The 2 FB + 4 BC Stealth crew is split in purpose and therefore weak. Units in 40k succeed when focused. The 2 FBs ... hhmm. I think I already told you this in the other thread.

bobert wrote:1x Crisis suit w/ FB / MP / MT
1x Crisis suit w/ Flamer / MP / MT

Same thing about flamers, too.

Too much nooBishness going on here. Are you reading *any* of the other tau list threads?

I'm going to assume you must have just skimmed my post...
I did state clearly that I don't intend for this to be an unbeatable list. It's just for fun, and my question was whether or not it will provide enough of a game to be worthwhile. I also stated I read other lists and wanted to take units other lists were not taking... As for the technical bits, I was told the ethereal's honorguard is not fearless. Only units he 'joins' are fearless. Some RAW mess I'm not a fan of, but am trying to abide by. As for the BSF, if one model in a stealth team takes a support system 'all' models take a support system, and BSF is the cheapest option. I appreciate criticism, but I'll ask you to keep the insults to yourself.

I should also note I'm not asking for any tips on how to make it 'better'. I like it the way it is. I just wanted to share the idea and again, see if you guys thought it would provide a fun match (as is).

bobert wrote: I appreciate criticism, but I'll ask you to keep the insults to yourself.

Hmm, yeah, I guess it was a dig at you. "nooB". Sorry, but a lot of the advice given in the 750 thread ... well, again, I'll withdraw the 'noob' shot, apologize. And let's start over.

bobert wrote:I'm going to assume you must have just skimmed my post...
I did state clearly that I don't intend for this to be an unbeatable list. It's just for fun, and my question was whether or not it will provide enough of a game to be worthwhile. I also stated I read other lists and wanted to take units other lists were not taking...

I read it. And heartily wish to help you maximize your intent, thus the ethereal + b-side advice.

bobert wrote: As for the technical bits, I was told the ethereal's honorguard is not fearless. Only units he 'joins' are fearless. Some RAW mess I'm not a fan of, but am trying to abide by.

Yeah, I see where someone is going to give you grief on the "he doesn't join the HG, they're assigned to him." RAW claim. That's poo-poo kaka for lack of a better term in a family friendly forum.

Anyway, if you go the b-side route instead, the whole point is moot.

bobert wrote:As for the BSF, if one model in a stealth team takes a support system 'all' models take a support system, and BSF is the cheapest option.

True. But really, I'd skip the FusionBs, and dedicate the unit to anti-Infantry. I used to have this 2FB/4BC set up, but found the all BC focus to yield better results.

How about the MP/flamer suits? Why not the BC/flamer combo, which is a better anti-I, and a more complimentary set up?

bobert wrote:I should also note I'm not asking for any tips on how to make it 'better'. I like it the way it is. I just wanted to share the idea and again, see if you guys thought it would provide a fun match (as is).

But it will need *some* sharpening up.

Ref the ethereal and b-sides:
I understand the b-side setup and agree it's effective, but it's just not what I'm going for with this army. I took the honorguard for fluffy reasons, as well as for the BS4. They'll only need 1 light to be hitting on 2's. There are 10 markerlights floating around for the gunline to use, and I expect 1 unit to always be moving (Indian run), so that leaves 3 units to use the lights (and whatever is left over the rest of the army can use). All going according to plan I'll have 30 5/5 shots hitting on 2's at 30" every round. Even half of that should make enough of a mess of something for it to be finished off by the stealths without needing the full BC fusillade.

Ref the Fusion in the stealthteam:
The stealths are suppose to play midfield to the enemy's backfield. I really like the idea of dropping 2 fusion blasters behind enemy armor. With the PF's devilfish marker beacon and all the markerlights, they should have a relatively good chance of dropping in where I want them and hitting what I want them to hit. After they've popped the armor they're free to bound about merrilly harassing smaller units, taking attention off the gunline.

Ref the Flamer monat
He is essentially a dedicated bodyguard to the gunline. His job is to throw himself in front of anything getting too close to the gunline "primarily the honorguard unit" to buy time for them to react. I dont expect him to be "good" at CC. I just need him to tie stuff up long enough for the FW to react, or for the hounds to back him up. He can already hit at range with his MP, so I figured it was worth losing 3 of my ...~80 5/5 shots at that range, to pick up a weapon that might server another purpose, like burning stuff out of cover or such.

Well first off I wanted to say welcome to the world of tau as I know you're relatively new to it! That being said, I'm a guy who prides himself on taking unusual things from codexes and trying to make them work (6 dreadnought master of the forge army, 80 genestealer nid army, etc.). I recently made a tau gunline as well and it worked decently although I've made a lot of changes (you should check it out, unconventional tau swarm I think was the name of it). But now i'll look over your list and give you some advice from my own experiences

bobert wrote:Primarily, I'm going to feature an ethereal and skyray. The army is going to be troop heavy, with heavy markerlight support, and hopefully this will make an effecitve gunline. Mind you, this is 'not' a "static" gunline. I plan to mobilise it around the field dropping off kroot or sections of the FW gunline off at objectives as they loop the board.

While the skyray and ethereal are fun units to use I really dont recommend this "kinda sorta static" way of going about a gunline. why? because you shoulda A: never mobilize kroot unless they're already on an objective and in danger of losing it through falling back via leadership and under half strength, or have them out in the open. B: Other armies do a much better job of this dual role. And every transport you buy is going to be another 1-2 possible killpoints for the enemy.

The 'fluff' behind the army is that they're a specialist cadre that excell at fighting in low visibility, namely blizzards and hazardous ice planet type conditions. The cadre is dubbed "snowblind" and employ a large number of markerlight units. The general tactic will be that the pathfinders set up early on opposite sides of the board (forcing the enemy to have to divide if they want to assault them) and paint targets for the gunline. Before the gunline is in range, however, they will be pulling seeker missiles off of the skyray, hopefully knocking out transports and/or light armor early on.

This is an alright strategy but you gotta be careful with them as if they lose 3 members they can't regroup. You should really think about some hammerheads/broadsides

The ethereal is meant to be taken as a challenge. I fully expect him to be a target, and want him to be. The more they focus on him, the more my specialist units can pick off pieces of their army I dont like. If he dies... all hell will likely break loose, but if it looks like that's approaching, I'll try to get the FWs into fish so they don't have to see the horror (or take the test). I also found that I dont really need to take any shas'ui on the firewarrior teams given that all Tau with line of sight to the ethereal can reroll their morale. I lose the knives yes... and that does suck, but hopefully we'll shoot first. The ethereal does take a knife though, so his honorguard can regroup easier if they do get into it.

K so another point here, the ethereal doesnt need a knife as his bodyguard are fearless and thus will never be running away in the first place so they wont ever need to regroup unless you decide to kill the ethereal before them i which case you'd take the knife of the leader of the bodyguard. As scary as that test is, taking it early on in the game can be a very positive thing, battlesuits that find themselves in cc really make use of those hit rerolls. The reason you take a shasui is twofold, he not only increases the units max leadership (so if the ethereal does die you're less likely to fail the test and fallback), and also, it gives you the bonding knife which if you're going to use mass infantry is necessary.

The gunline will come on with the ethereal and stick with each other for most of the match. The Kroot will outflank or infiltrate to claim weak objectives or to harass enemy specialists if they get an opening (snipers, tank hunters, etc) depending on the board and how the opponnent sets up. The crisis suits and HQ will orbit the gunline (Staying in the backfield until needed) and serve as anti-horde or armor with their flamer and FB, and they're essentially sacrificial to their purpose. I don't mind losing a single suit w/ FB or flamer since I'll be having the stealth team coming onto the table with the same purposes essentially.

a fun thing to do with crisis suits is jump ahead of the firewarrior blockade and fire, this will allow their better weapons to not let the enemy have a cover save while at the same time not wasting the firewarriors shots as most things have a 4+ or better save anyway. Your plan for the kroot is good though.

The stealth team will deepstrike in, hopefully about the time the enemy is starting to close on the gunline. This 'should' catch the assaulting units in a hell of a cross fire. Gunline in rapid fire range + the burst cannons from the stealth suits. (87 S5 AP5 shots with a good chance of being markerlit ^^; ) After that the stealth team will be left to it's own devices, just going wherever fire support is needed.

You might consider making this a team of 3 stealth suits, giving them all 2 marker drones and the leader a markerlight and replacing a units of pathfinders. Stealth suits are ideal at this roll as they are pretty much the only unit in the tau army that is really any efficient with markerlights (42" potential range, jump shoot jump, cant be shot back at easily, go first in cc against units with no frag grenades etc..)

The skyray will stay right in the middle of the gunline, providing them with a fairly durable source of at least 2x markerlights, not to mention the SMS salvos when enemies start to close in. The pathfinders 'devilfish will also joinethe gunline and stay on the flanks to provide a sort of 'shield wall'. I dont plan to actually put troops in the transport unless they're getting hit by artillery or need to get somewhere quickly. They're essentially sacrificial 'road blocks' for assaulting units and have flechette on them to server that purpose further.

If the devilfish are gonna be that close to the gunline then the flechette is wasted as no one is going to assault a hard to hit skimmer when weak infantry are around to kill, get another seeker missile instead.


I dont expect this list to win all of the time, but I wanted to post it to see if you guys think it had enough teeth to bare in a casual game. I wanted to make a fluffy army with exotic units, but I don't want to waste anyone's time playing a game where we already know the outcome. So... do you guys think this would put up a fight at least?

honestly, as it stands now you will more than likely get creamed every game. You are really lacking in anti tank (you only have 6 seeker missiles which are relatively low str and if the skyray gets sploded then you have NO anti tank anymore save the fusion blasters and missile pods. Try to focus more on specific roles of each unit and buffing them up.


[HQ]
Shas'el w/ FB / CIB / MT

Ethereal w/ Bonding Knife
- Honorguard w/ 11x FW (2x with Carbines for emergency pinning in conjuction with the devilfishs' gundrones. Should have enough markerlight to make it work)

[Troops]
10x FW
10x FW
10x FW
10x Kroot w/ 6x hounds

[Elites]
6x Stealthsuit team w/ 2x Fusion / 2x Target lock / Marker Drone / and 3x Blacksun filters (irritating )
1x Crisis suit w/ FB / MP / MT
1x Crisis suit w/ Flamer / MP / MT

I still think you'd be better off reducing the size of the stealth team and making them a markerlight team, put them behind the gunline and they will light em up!

[Fast Attack]
5x Pathfinders: 4 w/ PC/ML : 1 w/ Railrifle
Mandatory Devilfish w/ Dispod and Flechette
5x Pathfinders: 4 w/ PC/ML : 1 w/ Railrifle
Mandatory Devilfish w/ Dispod and Flechette

[Heavy Support]
Skyray w/ SMS, Dispod, and Flechette

I should also note I'm not asking for any tips on how to make it 'better'. I like it the way it is. I just wanted to share the idea and again, see if you guys thought it would provide a fun match (as is).

once again, I know you're werent asking for how to make it better but I just wanted to try and spice it up for you and make it more of a challenge for the opponent! Happy hunting!

Automatically Appended Next Post:

bobert wrote: As for the technical bits, I was told the ethereal's honorguard is not fearless. Only units he 'joins' are fearless. Some RAW mess I'm not a fan of, but am trying to abide by.

he accompanies his bodyguard, last time I checked accompany means "to join".

Fine... I admit I like the markerlight team idea... I'm only budging cause it still fits the 'theme' of the army, so there Saves me from having to buy anymore pathfinders too.

I agree with the ethereal and fearless. I'm only doing it cause of RAW jerks. I even had a post asking bout it a while back.

bobert wrote: Saves me from having to buy anymore pathfinders too.

Don't buy the PFs in the blister packs. Instead, buy a box of FWs. Put carbines on them. Voila! Pathfinders.

If you're really a stickler about WYSIWYG, them clip a length of pulserifle barrel and glue it on top of the carbine. Now it looks like a pathfinder. I've done two full units of PFs this way. Most of that second unit is leftover bits; legs & heads, arms and such. I'm nowhere near going to claim I'm any good at conversions and two of them look like they suffer from dwarfism, but they pass muster. And I saved lotsa $.

Ya, I'm a little bit of a WYSIWYG stickler. Just for myself though. I don't really mind if my opponent uses conversions or stand ins, but I know it's gonna bug me if I've got a knockoff in my army. Cool conversions are ok, but I do wanna try to keep things genuine. Ironically, I was in the process of attempting my first "modeling" conversion by using plastic FW arms on one of the extra rail rifle Pathfinders I had before I'd checked dakka for updates on my posts. I think it turned out ok. I'd take a picture, but I don't have a camer anymore and all I've got is an Iphone 3G and it looks like a blob...

The pathfinders do have enough subtle differences to bug me if I were to use a regular FW, but that's just me. I noticed the helmet swoops more, and they don't wear as much armor. They seem to be using some sort of Tau armor in between what the tank spotters wear and the standard FW armor. They've also got a circular patch on their right shoulder as opposed to the FWs little boxy shoulder pad thing (the small one, not the one with the homeworld symbol) Their carbine has that box bit on top, and it's also got some cables running out of the bottom of it.

It's totally bugging me that they're carrying grenades... ^^;

I love the way your army is looking so far too, how do you get such a clean crisp white coloring?

Nothing real special, I just prime white as opposed to black. Most of the white is actually the primer. I use a hobby knife to scrape off the very top layer of any colored paint that might have gotten onto the white panels and then use skull white to touch up the edges.

I dont like blacklining much either. Unless you do it 'really' well it kinda makes the models look dirty, to me at least. What I do instead is just scratch the lines with a hobby knife. If it cut to deep, all I do is expose the gray plastic undernearth the primer which just looks like the natural shadow anyhow.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
So it turns out my nintendo DS takes better pictures than my Iphone up close
They're still not great, but they give you the idea.