Psychosaur wrote:Hi, I'm a new player and I'm looking for some advice on the army list I've put together.
I'm building a Tau army of 1500 points (for now).
Congrats! Welcome to the blue-faced, Marxist party!
Psychosaur wrote:
HQ:
Commander Shas'O (Crisis Suit Commander)
Cyclic Ion Blaster
Airbursting Fragmentation Projector
Command and Control Node
Hard-wired Multi-Tracker
Bodyguard XV8 Shas'vre (Crisis Suit) x1
Missile Pod
Plasma Rifle
Multi-Tracker
Total Points: 197
Both of these weapons I have some issues with.
>> As the Bringer said, downgrade him to a Shas'
el. It might not seem like much but the 10 points WILL be useful later.
>> I'd find another weapon pairing. The Cyclic looks all nice and such but I don't like wounding light infantry on 4s with any Tau weapon.
>> I've had mixed feelings about the Airbursting for a while. I just never want to reduce my suit to being just a
GEQ wounder. It wounds Marines on 4s so I don't take such a specialist weapon. If you still want, I'd try a combo of the Airbursting with either a Missile or Burst Cannon. That way, he'll have a job and you'll get one of the few Blast weapons in the army.
>> The Command & Control Node is completely useless in this edition. Use the bit that comes in the Commander Suit box for something else.
>> I've learned this from Knute. If you bring Bodyguards, there is little reason not to use a Targeting Array and hard-wire the Multi-Tracker. A
BS 4 suit is a much better platform for a Plasma Rifle + Missile Pod platform.
>> On that note, I recommend bringing more bodies when the points are below 1850. So, I usually forego Bodyguards for normal elite suits in this case.
Psychosaur wrote:
Elites:
Shas'Vre XV8 (Crisis Suit)
Multi-Tracker
Missle Pod
Plasma Rifle
Drone Controller
Gun Drone x2
XV8 (Crisis Suit)
Plasma Rifel
Missile Pod
Multi-Tracker
Total Points: 154
Shas'Vre Stealthsuit Team Leader
Drone Controller
Marker Drone
Bonding Knife
Burst Cannon
Stealthsuitx2
Fusion Blasterx1
Burst Cannonx1
Targeting Array
Total Point: 147
'Kay. A few points here.
>> You never need to upgrade fully to a Shas'vre unless you're taking some Special Weapon. Which you don't really need to. Ever.
>> Other than that, the Crisis team looks good. You could try dropping the Drones in order to free up points for bodies but it's really your call.
>> Stealth teams. Yeah. They're in there too. If you take them, it should be for a Stealth Marker team. I haven't liked them too much since they deny me Crisis teams and in Tau I need special weapons since they aren't found anywhere else. Take them if you like, just do us a favor and drop the Fusion Blaster. It goes against their purpose which is Light Infantry killing.
Psychosaur wrote:
Troops:
Shas'Ui Fire Warrior
Bonding Knife
Hard-Wired Drone Controller
EMP Grenades
Photon Grenades
Pulse Rifle
Gun Drone x2
Fire Warriors x9
EMP Grenades x9
Photon Grenades x9
Pulse Rifles x9
Devilish APC
Gun Drones x2
Burst Cannon
Sensor Spines
Total Points: 265
Shas'Ui Fire Warrior
Bonding Knife
Hard-Wired Drone Controller
Photon Grenades
Pulse Rifle
Gun Drone x2
Fire Warriors x9
EMP Grenades x9
Pulse Rifles x9
Total Points: 163
After extensive testing, you're going to find that Fire Warriors are awesome yet squishy. In fact, the entire army is awesome yet squishy. The main reason Tau win is because they shoot their opponent dead. Meaning, you win in the Shooting Phase and should thank the Ethereals if you win in the Assault phase. Due to this fact, you don't want your Fire Warriors, if assaulted, to live since "Locked in Close-Combat" equals a protected enemy unit. So, do the following:
>> Remove the Photon Grenades. They hep the Fire Warriors live which, ironically, you don't want them to do when they get assaulted.
>> Drop the Gun Drones. Two more Fire Warriors in the squads are better than two Gun Drones. Pinning is too uncommon to rely on these days.
>> Remove the EMP grenades. They can be fun but not on large squads that you want Rapid-Firing something. If you take them, take them on 6-8 man
FW squads for some cheap, extra tank attacking. (Which I don't recommend.)
Psychosaur wrote:
Fast Attack:
Shas'Ui Pathfinder Team Leader
Hard-Wired Drone Controller
Shield Drone
Pulse Carbine w/Markerlight
Pathfinders
Pulse Carbine w/ Markerlights x3
Rail Rifle
Devilfish APC
Gun Drone x2
Burst Cannon
Disruption Pod
Sensor Spines
Total Points: 234
>> I don't enjoy the Rail Rifle option on the Pathfinders. Sure it's nice to cause Pinning with a S6 gun but I'd prefer the Markerlight hit which ups my Crisis teams
BS by 1. Besides, you're putting S6 weapons onto BS3 models which I don't like doing unless it has a decent rate of fire like the Plasma Rifle.
>> I'd remove the Sensor Spines from the
FW Devilfish and replace them with Disruption Pods. I'd also just remove the option from these guys. You won't often find yourself moving into Difficult Terrain so there is no sense to bring it.
>> Try to bump the Pathfinders up to 6. It'll help your Markerlight hit %.
Psychosaur wrote:
Heavy Support
XV88 (Broadside) Shas'Vre Team Leader
Advanced Stabilization System
Twin-Linked Rail Gun
Smart Missile System
XV88 (Broadside)
Advanced Stablization System
Twin-Linked Rail Gun
Smart Missile System
Total Points: 170
Hammerhead Gunship
Rail Gun
Sensor Spines
Target Lock
Disruption Pod
Burst Cannons
Total Points: 170
>> Like the Broadside suit squad. I think they need Shield Drones but they're outfitted well.
>> Again, Sensor Spines. With the saved Spine points, you can get your Broadsides some protection.
Overall, nice start. You'll want to try out some Kroot if you can. Using them as a screen to protect your other units comes in really handy and can give you an extra Shooting phase for only 70+ points. A worthwhile investment that. Also, some beginner articles can be found on Tau of War I think its called regarding deployment possibilities with Tau. Nice to look into. Also, AdvancedTauTactica is a good reference site as well.
Learn well and welcome to the Greater Good!
[ 3000pts ]
[ 1500pts ]
