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Hi I'm new to 40k only played 3 games. There is a 1k tourney at the end of the month and i thought i would post my list to see what people thoughts on how it will do. Any help and advice would be appreciated.
Tau Commander-Shas'o points 122 missile pod, plasma rifle, vectored retro-thrusters, and hard wired multi-tracker.
Elites-Xv8 Crisis Battlesuit Team- Team leader points 64 hard wired target lock, hard wired multi-tracker, fusion blaster, and missile pod.
Suites 2 and 3 54 points apiece fusion blaster, missile pod, and multi-tracker.
Stealth Team points-92 for squad 2 shas'ui with burst cannon and 1 shas'ui with fusion blaster
Fire Warrior Team points- 240 24 fire warriors with pulse rifle
Kroot Carnivore Squad Shaper points-33 pulse rifle 11 kroot with kroot rifle points-88
Gun Drone Squadron point-72 for 6 twin linked pulse carbine
Devilfish points-95 burst cannon, 2 gun drones, multi-tracker, and disruption pod
Broadside Battlesuit Team points-80 twin-linked railgun, smart missile system, and targeting array
Total points-994
So any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome.

The Crisis Suit Commander could stand to be a Shas'el, and equip him with Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, and Multi Tracker. The retro-thrusters could be helpful depending on if you're playing a CC army, as we all know Tau aren't cuddly This would make your HQ cost 87 points, 97 with Thrusters.

Drop the Stealth Suits, they're too expensive for a 1,000 pt game. I would take the Crisis suit and outfit it as follows

Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, Multi Tracker x2

Missile Pod, Fusion Blaster, Multi Tracker

This makes the squad cost 153 pts, and is much more effective, plus you have room for two more Missile Pod/Plasma Rifles.

Kroot Shapers are absolutely worthless, not a good use of 21 pts, get 3 more Kroot to fill his place.

24 Fire Warriors could be questionable, it just depends on how you use them. If you make a firing screen with them to protect your suits from assault, you could potentially do very well. Take advantage of the Jet Packs and take your 6" to hop over the line of Fire Warriors so hopefully you can shoot 2 Plasma shots due to rapid fire, and pop them back over the line during the Assault Phase.

For Fast Attack, drop the Drones and get a squad of Pathfinders. They may seem expensive because of the necessary Devilfish, but kick the Devilfish you already have, and stick the Fire Warriors in there. Get 6 Pathfinders so the cost of the squad is the exact same. Markerlights are the backbone of an effective Tau army, so 6 in a 1,000 pt game will do good.

On the Broadside, give him Advanced Stabilisation Systems. As your only heavy hitter, its important that he is mobile, and still able to fire. This will help to keep him alive by making the best use of cover.

So overall, you're looking at

HQ

Shas'el - Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, Multi Tracker, Vectored Retro Thrusters - 97 pts

ELITES

Crisis Team - Missile Pod x3, Multi Tracker x3 Plasma Rifle x2, Fusion Blaster - 153 pts

Crisis Team - Missile Pod x2, Multi Tracker x2 Plasma Rifle x2 - 124 pts


TROOPS

Fire Warriors - x12 - 120 pts

Fire Warriors - x12 - 120 pts

Kroot - x14 - 98 pts

FAST ATTACK

Pathfinders - x6 - 72 pts

Devilfish - Disruption Pod - 85 pts

HEAVY SUPPORT

Broadside - Team Leader, Targeting Array, A.S.S. - 100 pts


This comes to 969 pts, leaving you 31 to do with what you please, as I'm out of ideas. Maybe more Kroot or Pathfinders?

Good luck, I hope this helps!

Thanks for the help, and I took what you said and with what I have made a new list.

Tau commander shas'o- missile pod, fusion blaster, v-r-t, and hw multi-tracker points 114
Xv8 Team leader multi-tracker, bonding knife, missile pod, and plasma rifle points 72
Xv8 suits 2-3 multi-tracker, missile pod, and plasma rifle points 62 apiece
Fire Warrior Team 1 12 fire warriors with pulse rifle points 120
Fire Warrior Team 2 1 Shasui with drone controller, marker drone, gun drone and 9 fire warriors points 160
Kroot Carnivore Squad 1 shaper with pulse rifle and 11 kroot with kroot rifle points 121
Gun Drone Squad 8 gun drones points 96
Devilfish with multi-tracker and disruption pod points 95
Broadside Battlesuit Team 1 team leader with targeting array points 85
total points 987
so hopefully with this list I will at least not be totally humiliated at the tourney in a week and a half.

Tau are tricky at 1k points, but I think you are spot on.

a great value I think is a single crisis suit at 47 points with TWin linked Missle pod and flamer, this could pop transpoorts at distance, as well as use flamer to toast stuff.

If you are going to keep the Gun Drones, make sure to play them as an irritating tarpit, just shoot with them, then charge in for the assault. They aren't good for much else than that, but maybe it'll spare a turn of an enemy CC squad closing in.

thanks the only reason I'm keeping them is i don't have many other figurines. But maybe I should replace them with 3 stealth suits?

starraptor wrote:Gun Drone Squad 8 gun drones points

I think 'tis best to split them into two groups of 4. Remember it is emensely fun to DeepStrike them behind an enemy tank and blow it up from the rear. And yee, gods, I've done that more often than I can believe, and I usually don't field GDs.

starraptor wrote:Devilfish with multi-tracker and disruption pod points

Really, don't bother with the MT. The BC dice aren't too worth it.

starraptor wrote:Broadside 1 team leader with targeting array and a-s-s.

This not legal. The RG and SMS take up two points and then there is one left, not enough for A.s.s and a Target Array, both being Support Systems.

Competitive? Tau *aren't* competitive in 5e (and I've tried).

Especially not with nearly 100 points in GDs and no Railheads. Still, these are the models you have so go have fun! And Deep Strike the GDs; it is such a kick to blow someone's tank for less than 50 points!

I don't think the drone squad would do much ymmv. it would be a good idea to maybe get a gun drone on your suit squads just for an ablative wound. Maybe a piranha would help with an to tank as your lacking some quick solutions for them alveit it is only 1000 points.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Btw brother. The most gun drones can do is glance on armour rear 10 and you can't blow anything up glancing

daemon wrote:Btw brother. The most gun drones can do is glance on armour rear 10 and you can't blow anything up glancing

Actually they would glance on 5s and pen. on 6s. This makes me contemplate taking Gun Drones.

As for your list, starraptor, I have a few comments. First of all, +1 to all of Brothererekose's suggestions. Second, I would not replace the drones with 3 Stealth Suits. As mentioned before, Stealth Suits are only really good in higher point values and I think they'd only be good if you could take 5 or 6.

What other models do you have besides stealth suits? If you have the 3 extra Kroot I would take them over the Shaper. Or you could put in 3 Kroot Hounds, which strike at I 5 and have 1 more attack. It allows you to get some hits in before or at the same time as your opponent usually. Also, if you can find the points for it, I would put some Shield Drones with the Broadside. 1 or 2, depending on how many points you can squeeze (maybe drop a couple FWs?). This will significantly help its survivability.

I can get either a blister of pathfinders before the tournament or kroot hounds. As I said I've only just started playing and have only 3 games under my belt. So that being said I have been looking up tau strategies but my lack of models is probably going to hurt me. Thanks for all the feedback and i hope to hear more.

oh right. I forgot 5+6=11 XD


Automatically Appended Next Post:
oh right. I forgot 5+6=11 XD

So for my HQ I dropped the v-r-t for a shield generator because I played today against Chaos Space Marines. The fact that he cant be part of a squad with V-R-T was game losing for me. I could not keep him alive until the end of the assault phase. So I think the 4+ invulnerable save is going to work better. That brings my army list to 997 points. As always any feedback is welcome.

starraptor wrote:So for my HQ I dropped the v-r-t for a shield generator because I played today against Chaos Space Marines. .... So I think the 4+ invulnerable save is going to work better. That brings my army list to 997 points. As always any feedback is welcome.

Give him a Shield Drone or two instead. 'Tis cheaper than a Shield Gen and if the Invuln Fails, against say a Power Fist, that means Instant Death for the drone, not your Shas. As for where to get those points? A GD or two or three off of one squad for a medium squad of 5 or 6 GDs.

@ daemon: We all get mixed up now and then.

This won't help for your upcoming tournament, but Railguns+Enemy armor=happy you. Invest in some more broadside suits, or get a hammerhead tank.

I also wish I knew what models you do have, so I know what we are working with. I guess the gun drones aren't the worst thing you could take. Yes avoid stealth suits if you can. But I think at this point, its best to just use what ever you got, and cross your fingers.

Additionally, try to get in as many games as possible before the tournament. A great general can take a poor list and do average. A poor general with a great list can do poorly. The more games you do, the better you will learn how to handle your Tau.

One last thing:

FOR THE GREATER GOOD!!!

that is all.

So I made some changes to my list again. Here is my current list I think it is better.
Tau Commander Shas'o missile pod, fusion blaster, hard wired multi-tracker, hard wired drone controller, shield generator, and 2 gun drones. 114 points
Team leader Crisis Suit bonding knife, shield generator, hard wired multi-tracker hard wired drone controller, plasma rifle, missile pod, marker drone, and gun drone. points 132
Suits 2-3 multi-tracker, missile pod, and plasma rifle. points-124 for the 2
Fire warrior team 1 and 2 Shas'ui with bonding knife x2 fire warriors 11 x2. points 270 total
Kroot Carnivore squad kroot shaper and 11 kroot points 121
Devilfish multi-tracker and disruption pod. points-95
Broadside team leader targeting array hard wired drone controller, and 2 gun drones. points -105
Total points 991
p.s. I don't currently own any shield drones.

It's not bad.

It's not great, but it's not bad.

Since you don't have much to work with, this is probably the best you can do. I just wouldn't expect to do super great in the tourney.

Bubble wrap your fire warriors. Protect the broadside with your life. Use the suits to lure your opponent into rapid fire range of your firewarriors.

starraptor wrote:p.s. I don't currently own any shield drones.

I own one. Just one out of the 3300 or so points of models I own. So I yanked the carbines off of a few GDs (you must have a couple you can spare) and simply call them SDs and no one says boo, not for several years. Do it and you'll be much happier for your broadsides to have 2 more 2+/4++ with Broadside Toughness models, instead of a couple 4+ GDs.

I don't really expect to do great I just don't want to be totally annihilated. And will that actually work making gun drones into shield drones. It seems a little shady. Also at the beginning of next month I'll have about $100 to buy more models. So witch ones should I buy you guys.

Oh hell yes it will work. I have been playing Tau since they came out and a vast majority of my shield drones are converted gun drones. All I did was cut the carbines off, and then use a little low gage (meaning thick) guitar string to make little "Shield Generation Coils" over the top of him. They look more shield drone-ish than the GW box models! (and they're freakin' free... sorta)

As long as it's mostly GW materials, and it looks right, the conversion is as legal as it gets.

I've seen people convert their own Broadsides out of XV8's. They don't look half bad, either.

Besides, Tau are one of the fairly less common armies, and out of that army, the drone is probably the least noticed piece. Chances are the horde of MEQ players won't even know what they are looking at.

Cottonjaw wrote:Oh hell yes it will work. .... Besides, Tau are one of the fairly less common armies, and out of that army, the drone is probably the least noticed piece. Chances are the horde of MEQ players won't even know what they are looking at.

@starraptor: It does not have a gun on it, so no one will misinterpret it. And there's nothing in the least bit shady about it. It is not even a "proxy"; you have converted a model over to be another and it looks clear enough. I have not played as long as Cottonjaw, but in the 5 years I've played 'em, no one has ever given me any grief about the models ... well other than to complain that JSJ is broken and Railguns are ...

Brothererekose wrote:

Cottonjaw wrote:Oh hell yes it will work. .... Besides, Tau are one of the fairly less common armies, and out of that army, the drone is probably the least noticed piece. Chances are the horde of MEQ players won't even know what they are looking at.

@starraptor: It does not have a gun on it, so no one will misinterpret it. And there's nothing in the least bit shady about it. It is not even a "proxy"; you have converted a model over to be another and it looks clear enough. I have not played as long as Cottonjaw, but in the 5 years I've played 'em, no one has ever given me any grief about the models ... well other than to complain that JSJ is broken and Railguns are ...

Railguns are ultra-hardened stale cheese, sliced down to one micron thick, and propelled at enemy armor at 16 times the speed of sound, vaporizing it's target into a wafting cheddary smell.

Not simply mere "Cheese".

Cottonjaw wrote:Oh hell yes it will work. I have been playing Tau since they came out and a vast majority of my shield drones are converted gun drones. All I did was cut the carbines off, and then use a little low gage (meaning thick) guitar string to make little "Shield Generation Coils" over the top of him. They look more shield drone-ish than the GW box models! (and they're freakin' free... sorta)

As long as it's mostly GW materials, and it looks right, the conversion is as legal as it gets.

I've seen people convert their own Broadsides out of XV8's. They don't look half bad, either.

Besides, Tau are one of the fairly less common armies, and out of that army, the drone is probably the least noticed piece. Chances are the horde of MEQ players won't even know what they are looking at.

So with this info I changed my list So instead of the shield generators and the gun drones I have 5 shield drones 2 on my commander 1 on the crisis team leader with the marker drone and 2 on the broadside.

starraptor wrote:

Cottonjaw wrote:Oh hell yes it will work. I have been playing Tau since they came out and a vast majority of my shield drones are converted gun drones. All I did was cut the carbines off, and then use a little low gage (meaning thick) guitar string to make little "Shield Generation Coils" over the top of him. They look more shield drone-ish than the GW box models! (and they're freakin' free... sorta)

As long as it's mostly GW materials, and it looks right, the conversion is as legal as it gets.

I've seen people convert their own Broadsides out of XV8's. They don't look half bad, either.

Besides, Tau are one of the fairly less common armies, and out of that army, the drone is probably the least noticed piece. Chances are the horde of MEQ players won't even know what they are looking at.

So with this info I changed my list So instead of the shield generators and the gun drones I have 5 shield drones 2 on my commander 1 on the crisis team leader with the marker drone and 2 on the broadside.

You're going to love the added survivability of your most powerful (and most commonly targeted) pieces, now that you're fielding shield drones.

Cottonjaw wrote:You're going to love the added survivability of your most powerful (and most commonly targeted) pieces, now that you're fielding shield drones.

Hear, hear!

...

Cottonjaw wrote:Railguns are ultra-hardened stale cheese, sliced down to one micron thick, and propelled at enemy armor at 16 times the speed of sound, vaporizing it's target into a wafting cheddary smell. .... Not simply mere "Cheese".

Izzat sort of a Cheezit taste or Nacho Cheese Doritos?

Brothererekose wrote:Izzat sort of a Cheezit taste or Nacho Cheese Doritos?

It's nacho cheese Doritos dipped in nacho cheese.

As to some future purchases.

Get another broadside, maybe two. And crisis suits. They should be your fav. Paying retail (which isn't the best) you could get a broadside and 2 crisis suits. That would be my suggestion. Though I would troll ebay and try to find some on the cheap.