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Played Poddy last night. He's using the same Tau list as he did last time, which I think he has almost got sorted now. I am using a different Blood Angels list tonight, I am using a jumper list. There's some counts as (like all Assault Marines have jump packs) and some proxies, the Orks and normal Marines for Devs and also Orks for Scouts. Be interesting to see how this list runs.

Blood Angels "Red Fleas" - 2,000 points

HQ

Librarian - jump pack, shield of sanguinus & unleash rage

Librarian - jump pack, shield of sanguinus & unleash rage
Honour Guard - jump packs, 4 x meltaguns & 3 x melta bombs

Elite

2 x Sanguinary Priests - jump packs

Troops

10 x Assault Marines - 2 x meltaguns - sgt w/ power fist
10 x Assault Marines - 2 x meltaguns - sgt w/ power fist
10 x Assault Marines - 2 x flamers - sgt w/ power weapon
10 x Assault Marines - 2 x flamers - sgt w/ power weapon
5 x Scouts - 5 x sniper rifles & camo cloaks

Heavy Support

5 x Devastators - 4 x missile launchers
5 x Devastators - 4 x missile launchers
5 x Devastators - 4 x missile launchers



Tau - 2,000 points

HQ

Shas'El - cyclonic ion blaster, plasma rifle & multi tracker
Bodyguard - missile pod, plasma rifle & multi tracker
Shas'El - missile pod, plasma rifle & multi tracker
2 x Bodyguard - 2 x missile pods, 2 x plasma rifles & multi trackers

Elite

2 x Crisis Battlesuits - 2 x twin-linked missiles pods & target array
2 x Crisis Battlesuits - 2 x twin-linked missiles pods & target array

3 x Stealth Suits - fusion gun

Troops

6 x Fire Warriors
6 x Fire Warriors
11 x Kroot - 2 x kroot hounds

Fast Attack

4 x Pathfinders w/ Devilfish - Devilfish w/ disruption pod
4 x Pathfinders w/ Devilfish - Devilfish w/ disruption pod
2 x Piranhas - 2 x fusion guns

Heavy Support

Hammerhead - 2 x burst cannons & disruption pod
Hammerhead - 2 x burst cannons & disruption pod
3 x Broadsides - advanced stablisation system & 2 x shield drones - team leader w/ target lock

Game: Annihilation + Pitched Battle

Deployment

I won the roll off and decided to go first, I want to be in assault a.s.a.p and not standing there getting shot. I deployed all my units in the centre, melta units at the front with the Honour Guard in between and then the two flamer units behind. In a tower ruin in the centre of the board in my deployment zone I dropped down two Dev units, then in a ruin to the left the other Dev unit and ruin to the right the Scouts.

Poddy deploys the bulk of his vehicles in the centre, these are both Devilfish and both Hammerheads. Supporting them is both Pathfinder units in a ruin, Kroot in a large ruin on the right and then a unit of missile pod Battlesuits supporting the Pathfinders and the plasma-pod Shas'El and unit deployed in the ground floor of the same ruin as the Kroot. On the left flank Poddy placed the Piranhas and Broadsides, hiding behind a ruin was the other missile pod Battlesuit unit.







* Tactical Notes

Ok, this is going to be weird. I am used to playing with mech armies, so anti tank is always my first priority, but today the Broadsides and Hammerheads don't bother me so much, nor do the Piranhas. The only two real units to worry me is the Battlesuits with plasma-pods and that's because of the plasma. If I can gib these units first round with krak missiles I will be happy.

So, I am going to boost up the centre using the large shrine ruin for cover from the Broadsides. I'll dive straight into the Tau lines and start smashing Kroot and Pathfinders to pieces. I hope that krak missiles can gib some plasma Crisis Suits and I will be happy.

Turn 1

I boost and run all my jump pack units up the board so they can be in range next turn - I am looking at the moment to be about 20" away, I am hoping I can get some units in assault, depends on distance.

Shooting; unit of Devs unleash krak missiles through the doorway on the Shas'El plasma-pod unit, Poddys dice are strong and he passes all cover saves. The other Shas'El and Crisis Battlesuit are not so lucky and get gibbed by krak missiles after two Devs fire at the unit through the windows of a ruin. Scouts attempt to blast a unit of Pathfinders, they are out of range by 3".

Poddys first turn, he moves the two Piranhas flat out down my left table edge as the Broadsides move into position. Hammerhead in the centre moves away and the Devilfish moves in it's place, the other Hammerhead moves just a bit while the other Devilfish moves 12" away towards my right table edge. Crisis Suits jump out from behind the ruin where the Pathfinders are while the Shas'El and Crisis Suits take two wounds moving through dangerous terrain with their jet packs.

Shooting; both my Librarians cast shield without any problems. Pathfinders blast the Honour Guard with markerlights, the Shas'El's unit unleash a torrent of plasma and missile pods which leaves just the Priest left, though he doesn't last too long and gets brought down with a salvo of Kroot fire power. Everything else available in the centre then blasts a melta Assault Squad, two Marines go down. The Hammerhead and Broadsides blast a unit of Devastators, a Dev and the Sgt are dusted - squad passes morale test.

In the assault phase the Battlesuits run away, though the Shas'El's unit won't escape my assault range and Poddy has strangely left one missile pod Crisis unit out in the open....

Kill points - Blood Angels: 2 Tau: 1



* Tactical Notes

I don't feel that was a too bad turn. Could have gone slightly better I guess with those krak missiles gibbing the Shas'El's unit, but it's a dice game and Poddys dice were on fire with cover saves. I have lost my Honour Guard thanks to Poddys good luck and then returning plasma fire, that's four meltaguns down and also Priest. I've got enough meltaguns, so that's ok, but I'll have to watch where I place my Priests now and make sure all units are in feel no pain range.

Next turn I'll send a flamer Assault Squad to batter the Shas'El's unit while meltas will move up to blow up the Hammerhead and if I am lucky get two units into assault with the Pathfinders. Krak missiles will blast the exposed missile pod Battlesuits and rain down on the Piranhas as well.

Turn 2

Assault Squads bound up the board, melta unit is in range of the Hammerhead, though it's going to be close if they are in melta range. I am pretty sure that the other flamer and melta unit will be out of assault range of the Pathfinders.

Shooting; the mauled unit of Devastators seeks some revenge on the Tau and gibs the Crisis Battlesuit unit out in the open. The other Dev units fire kraks at the Piranha squadron, one explodes and the other is shaken after cover saves have been taken. Meltas are just out of 2D6 armour pen range on the Hammerhead and fail to penetrate. Bolt pistols from a melta and flamer unit fire into both Pathfinder units - one passes morale with only two fish-dudes left, the larger unit fails morale and falls back, but lands on top of their own Crisis Suit unit and is destroyed. Bolt pistols and flamers fire at the Shas'El's unit, I do no damage thanks to poor rolls to hit and to wound, never mind. Scouts fire at the Kroot, I am hoping they get pinned, but only one Kroot takes a wound and passes the cover save.

In assault the flamer unit charges the Shas'El, Librarian casts unleash rage - the Tau are wiped out thanks to mass power weapon wounds and armour saves. Squad then consolidates 6" towards the Kroot.

Tau roll for reserves and the Stealth Suits arrive, they land off target and land between the two Devastator positions.

I suggest to Poddy to move his units to come around in a pincer movement and fire all avilable guns at the depleted melta Assault Squad, then fire all Broadsides at the depleted Devastators. He does as I suggest movement wise.

Shooting; remaining Battlesuits, both Hammerheads, Devilfish and Kroot fire at the melta unit, but my saves are awesome and I think only a single Marine dies after the fire storm. The Broadsides don't do much better and only kill one Devastator along with the Stealth Suits - Devs pass morale test.

In the assault phase the last Crisis Battlesuit unit jumps into hiding, though there will be no escape from the red fleas!

Kill points - Blood Angels: 6 Tau: 1





* Tactical Notes

I've got a very good lead here and I plan to keep it that way. I've tackled the last plasma unit so now the only things left to sort of fear is the railguns, and lets face the single shots are the most are going to kill a single Marine and that's not factoring in cover saves etc. I did also have some luck with the unit of Pathfinders which fell back and couldn't go the full distance thanks to their own unit, Tau killed themselves!

Next turn I'll sweep the Assault Squads across Poddy's board edge, not to sound cocky, but I don't think there's a lot he can do about it. I'll send a flamer unit after the Kroot, meltas on the Hammerhead while the other melta unit goes after the other Hammerhead and the other flamer unit tackles the last Battlesuit unit. Devs and Scouts will deal with the Stealth Suits and last Piranha.

Turn 3

Flamer unit walks through terrain to get under the Kroot, I have cunningly placed the flamer Marines so they can draw LOS on the Kroot. Meltas walk up to the Hammerhead while the other meltas go after a Devilfish instead, reason for this is to keep my units in feel no pain and shield range. Other flamer unit moves towards the last Battlesuit unit.

Shooting; flamers unleash on the Kroot and score 8 wounds, Kroot fail morale and fall back, but are blocked by my Assault Marines and destroyed. Meltas blast the Hammerhead and it explodes, other meltas blast the Devilfish, two weapon destroyed results. Flamers blast at the last Battlesuit unit causing a single failed wound. Scouts and Devs fire at the Stealth Suits, three times I roll 12" spotting distance and the Stealth Suits are 14" away from two Dev units, I manage to kill two of them and the survivor passes morale.

Assault; flamer unit charges the Battlesuits, Librarian casts unleash rage and the unit is wiped out - flamer unit consolidates towards the melta unit, which has assaulted the Devilfish. The Devilfish is shaken and immobilised.

Poddy's third turn, Devilfish moves up my right flank to blast the Scouts while the last Hammerhead moves so it doesn't get auto hit. Broadsides move about in attempt to escape possible assault next turn.

Shooting; both Librarians cast shield, one fails after rolling 11. Pathfinders fire pulse carbines along with support from the Hammerhead at the flamer unit, some Marines die. The depleted Devastator unit gets blasted by Broadsides and fusion guns from the Stealth Suit and single Piranha, I get lucky on cover saves, though one Marine dies and the Dev unit fails morale and falls back.

In assault, the melta Assault Marines krak grenade the the Devilfish and it explodes - unit fails morale and falls back off the table.

Kill points - Blood Angels: 9 Tau: 1





* Tactical Notes

Things are going down quickly for the Tau now. Doesn't help that Poddy has failed two morale checks and two units have run away, one blocked and destroyed by my own Angels.

There isn't a lot left or much to say, really. The flamer unit which blocked the Kroot will fly to the Devilfish moving down my right flank and krak grenade it, while the depleted melta unit will tackle the last Pathfinder unit as the other flamer unit and melta unit will go for Broadsides and the Hammerhead respectively. Devs and Scouts will finish off the Stealth Suit and Piranha.

Turn 4

Battered melta unit jumps into terrain and takes no wounds, the flamer unit isn't so lucky as they bound out of terrain and a Marine dies along with the Priest (I so thoughtful of my opponent I give away kill points!). Other flamer unit bounds other a ruin towards the Broadsides, they are definately out of assault while the melta unit pursues the Hammerhead. Single Devastator falls back off the board and gives up a kill point.

Shooting; Scouts fire at the Stealth Suit but the solo Tau is fine, krak missiles do better and gib the little fellow. Remaining Devs blast the Piranha and score weapon destroyed. Flamers are out of assault range of the Broadsides (next time, Gadget!) so fire bolt pistols, all Tau are safe. Meltas fire at the Hammerhead and both miss!

In assault; flamer unit charges the Devilfish and blows it up with krak grenades, Fire Warriors fail morale after taking wounds and fall back. Melta unit charges the Hammerhead and scores only shaken :(. Depleted melta unit charges and kills the Pathfinders.

Tau's forth turn, Fire Warriors continue to fall back while the Hammerhead moves 12" away from the Assault Marines.

Shooting; Broadsides blast one of the remaining Devastator units, only the Sgt snuffs it. That's it for Tau!

Kill points - Blood Angels: 13 Tau: 3



* Tactical Notes

Oh dear, looks like things are not looking good for Tau. Tau have a full unit of Broadsides which are no doubt going to get their faces punched in, a not shooting Hammerhead which is close going to get assaulted, a weapon destroyed Piranha and a falling back Fire Warrior unit. Not to sound big headed, but I can confidently say this game is in the bag.

Turn 5

Flamer Assault Marines bound towards the Broadsides while the melta unit chases the Hammerhead and the other flamer unit walks after the Fire Warriors.

Shooting; Fire Warriors get shot to death and all die. Hammerhead eats melta and explodes. Broadsides lose a shield drone.

In assault, flamer Assault Squad charges the Broadsides - Tau lose combat by 2 wounds after a Marine dies, Tau pass morale test.

Tau's turn and straight onto assault, Broadsides die.

Blood Angels with with 16 kill points and tabling the Tau.



Summary

First time using this jump list and I must say it's a doddle to play. It's very simple, jump and run forward, take what's coming to you and then assault next turn.

Not sure if I made any mistakes this game, thought I did once as a Priest appeared to be out of feel no pain range of a unit, but was a nat's cock within range. I've been playing Blood Angels for sometime, so I shouldn't be making mistakes really.

List wise I think it's pretty spot on. The Scouts were pretty useless, but to be fair on them they are meant for objective games. I guess I could lose them and invest the points in power fists on the Honour Guard and infernus pistols in the melta units, this would give those units more punch. In objective games I could combat squad a unit and just pack all the melta in a single 5 man unit.

Poddy is getting better each game. I think his deployed was almost spot on as he put most of his vehicles in the centre, which means I had to get past them to get into assault - though his mistake was moving some of them away on his first turn. He also missed some of the windows in the ruins (I've done this) which let me draw LOS on a Suit unit through one ruin and of course the other unit I could see easily through the doorway. Other mistake he made was leaving a missile pod Suit unit out in the open, I asked him about this after and he said he had his head in the clouds and thought my Devs just failed morale and I had to roll to regroup, which means they squad could not fire in my turn as they moved.

Fortunately for me this game my dice were on fire - lots of times I rolled many 6s to wound. When my saves come up my Marines just kept passing armour or feel no pain saves. 40k really is a dice game, if your dice are poor or on fire there's nothing you can do about it and just roll with the game.

DoA Marines have an easy time trouncing Tau if they don't have plasma suits.... well played! The result was easy to see after turn 2

These aren't DoA Marines though, they are not deep striking. But yes, I think jumper Angels is Tau's paper to rock.

Yeesh...saw the lists and I knew that Tau was in for a trouncing. Tau just do not like mobile, resilient non-meched assault armies. This was a nightmare list for them to go up against.

You're totally right, I think a army like the Red Fleas is Tau's paper to rock. Poddy even said it was a pain in the arse, his anti tank weapons (one of Tau's strong points) were pretty redundant this game.

Nice battle report and go Blood Angels....... I mean Red Fleas!

jy2 wrote:Yeesh...saw the lists and I knew that Tau was in for a trouncing. Tau just do not like mobile, resilient non-meched assault armies. This was a nightmare list for them to go up against.

Yeah, it's not well suited to deal with mercer's fleas at all. Given that Poddy was tabled last time too, right? I'd have him tweak the list, yes tailor, and go again.

Fire Storms, no Deathrains. He needs volume fire. One would think, no, get plasma rifles in the fight. But, two AP2 shots endanger them to assault the next turn. And one AP2 shot to stay safely away from assault distance isn't going to have enough impact on a jumper crew. Stealths *out* and redistribute the bodyguard suits into that Elite Slot. TAs for each HQ, and meaybe even Team LEaders with Target Arrays.

Add a kroot and OutFlank both, to hit the Devs ... maybe.

Turn the Dumbfish into Warfish.

MTs & Target Locks on the Railheads to have the BCs shoot on the Move.

I still think the tau will lose, but with those tweaks, I'd say mercer would have a harder time tabling him.

mercer wrote:These aren't DoA Marines though, they are not deep striking. But yes, I think jumper Angels is Tau's paper to rock.

Its a DoA list, just because you didnt play it that way this game doesn't change that its a jump pack list.... yeesh

This game definitely highlight's Tau's major weakness. There's very little they can do against mass FNP. Even a horde Tau list with penta-layer Kroot bubble wrap will struggle against mass FNP Assault Marines backed by Devastators missile spam.

Thanks for sharing.

Red Fleas!

Last night was my 10th game against Mercer and 11th game overall in 40k and boy was it the most painful experience to date. To my knowledge it was my first tabling at the hands of Mercer. I may be wrong but I don't think so. I feel that out of all of our games played this was the only time that my Tau have offered absolutely no challenge at all. When I arrived at Mercer's house and he showed me the list he would be experimenting with I thought shoot, this is going to be tough. Then we rolled Kill Points... I looked at my list, which I've made as a 'take on all comers' and thought great my railgun totting units won't be contributing much to the fight. In fact, I thought there's no way my Tau can punch out enough shots to whittle down his force before they come crashing into my boys and go to town on me.

The game pretty much took the route I expected.

If I was able to go first, it was an objective based game and the dice Gods looked down on me with favour then maybe, just maybe I may have offered the slightest of challenges.

Tactically I don't think I made too many mistakes, at least none that resulted in my complete and utter downfall. Yes I hung out a unit of Crisis suits to dry because I had disengaged my brain but other than that I was pretty pleased overall. My Broadsides really let me down I felt but you can't roll well every game can you!?

It really was a deflating experience seeing what little shots I did manage to penetrate his marines armour with, having them then fail their save, live to fight on after FnP came to the rescue. It truly felt like a demonstration of why Space Marines are supposedly GW's golden child. I'm not complaining, honest!

Brothererekose, I did take MT's on my Hammerheads. As for the Stealthsuits, as soon as I've got myself another couple of Crisis suits they will be out!

Like I've said, it wasn't the most enjoyable evening of 40k I've ever had but yet again there was a handful of things that I've learnt and taken from the game so it was a worthwhile experience. As always in between the explosion and gun fire noises made by Mercer he was always on hand to offer advice for my future endeavours. Now I just need to commit that advice to memory!

Maybe you two should switch armies for a night

Seriously though, while playing an army you get the best insight into their capabilities and weaknesses. I doubt that was a lengthy game so you could get two in easy

Four and a half hours long enough for you Red Corsair? If Mercer stopped flapping his gums we could have finished the game in a third of that time. You just try shutting him up though...

Pilgrim Pod wrote:Brothererekose, I did take MT's on my Hammerheads. As for the Stealthsuits, as soon as I've got myself another couple of Crisis suits they will be out!

Like I've said, it wasn't the most enjoyable evening of 40k I've ever had but yet again there was a handful of things that I've learnt and taken from the game so it was a worthwhile experience. As always in between the explosion and gun fire noises made by Mercer he was always on hand to offer advice for my future endeavours. Now I just need to commit that advice to memory!

Getting tabled is rarely fun; you have my sympathies.

What do you think about the FireStorm focus instead? Frees up points for Team Leader Target Arrays, more kroot for the OutFlank tactic, etc.

Brothererekose wrote:
What do you think about the FireStorm focus instead? Frees up points for Team Leader Target Arrays, more kroot for the OutFlank tactic, etc.

Missile Pod + Burst Cannon isn't enough to counter 3+ and FNP.

Helios (Plasma + Fusion + MT) is effective, but puts Crisis Suits too close for comfort.

Very nice Bat rep mercer

Pilgrim Pod wrote:Four and a half hours long enough for you Red Corsair? If Mercer stopped flapping his gums we could have finished the game in a third of that time. You just try shutting him up though...

Wow lol, my Bro and I could get that game done in an hour and a half.

To be honest I can't picture in real life lol. I bet we'd have a heck of a time though

Zid wrote:Its a DoA list, just because you didnt play it that way this game doesn't change that its a jump pack list.... yeesh

No, Zid, you are incorrect. This isn't a DoA, Descent of Angels list because there is no deep striking. This list cannot be played with deep strike because of the Devastators. It could be modified by switching Devs for Vanguard, then it would be a typical DoA list. At the moment it is not DoA, nothing deep strikes and the list doesn't work deep striking either. There's a difference between how a jumper list and DoA list play.

SabrX wrote:This game definitely highlight's Tau's major weakness. There's very little they can do against mass FNP. Even a horde Tau list with penta-layer Kroot bubble wrap will struggle against mass FNP Assault Marines backed by Devastators missile spam.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks man.

Red Corsair wrote:Maybe you two should switch armies for a night

Seriously though, while playing an army you get the best insight into their capabilities and weaknesses. I doubt that was a lengthy game so you could get two in easy

Probably could have got two games in if Poddy wasn't yakking all the time and eating chocolates all night instead of playing. He spent more time in the chocolate tin than moving his models around the board

Brothererekose wrote:

What do you think about the FireStorm focus instead? Frees up points for Team Leader Target Arrays, more kroot for the OutFlank tactic, etc.

Missile pods and burst cannon isn't enough, it's only one extra shot over plasma and loses the AP, which kills Marines. The missile pod and plasma is probably the best all round Tau suit set up. Poddy would have been better torrenting a single unit with everything including railguns.

Great White wrote:Very nice Bat rep mercer

Thanks man.

Red Corsair wrote:

Wow lol, my Bro and I could get that game done in an hour and a half.

To be honest I can't picture in real life lol. I bet we'd have a heck of a time though

It's Poddy, he won't shut up. We didn't start till nearly 8p and he arrived before 7p, he is tooo busy gassing about everything and eating chocolate. Took him ages to get his stuff out his retro case, stood there gawping while I got my stuff out and stuffing his face full of sweets.

Quickest I've done a 2k game is 2hrs.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Brothererekose wrote:Yeah, it's not well suited to deal with mercer's fleas at all. Given that Poddy was tabled last time too, right? I'd have him tweak the list, yes tailor, and go again.

No, never tabled Poddy. Tailoring lists is bad. You want all round lists, not tailor to a jumper list you're rarely going to see.

Seriously I'm so tired of every Jumper list being called a DOA list. it's worse than every IG list with mech and guns "leaf blower"

Duke, I totally agree. Just because some lists look a like doesn't mean they are. Is a Rhino rush and Razor spam list the same because both vehicles look the same except one has a turret?

No they don't. DoA and jumper lists work differently, they are not the same, just as every mech Guard list isn't a leaf blower.

Non-DoA jumper lists is a lot of fun. Not many armies are capable of handling so many FNP/Furious Charge jump infantry. However, in my recent games I've been struggling against armies with units specialized for assault. This includes Daemons, Wraiths, Paladins, and Monstrous Creatures. IMO, Assault Terminators with Thunder Hammers + Storm Shields is a must!

I did really enjoy the jumper army, makes a refreshing change from mech and it is still a fast moving army. Units you mentioned would cause me headaches, I just hope that those units can be softened up prior to assault and then pile two units into them. Assault Terminators do not suit this list though.

A good read as always. As a tau player I can tell you that this kind of list is very difficult to defeat as tau. Especially so when a good commander is at the helm.

However I believe that this game would be less lopsided if the tau's deployment was better. Mercer smartly spread out his devastators, his main anti-crisis suit unit. The worse thing the tau player could've done was deploy his plasma suits (one of the only real threats to FNP marines) out of line of sight/ range of the missiles. This would be easy with a refused flank deployment, or deploying the majority of your units on one side. With this strategy Mercer would have to reposition at least one of his missile squads, leaving them unable to shoot for a turn, or keep them stationary and not shoot the targets you want to live.

What really makes the refused flank good though is a nice counter flank, or a unit which goes on the other side of the board. In tau's case this would be your broadsides, who could be safely on the complete opposite side of the board, You can even reinforce them with a squad of pathfinders to make them even more threatening.

This makes the opponent decide whether he wants to go fully at the brunt of your force(without full missile support), or split up to get the broadsides (not likely with Mercer's list).

It is by no means a perfect strategy, but experience has shown me that the refused flank works wonders, compared to a traditional setup.

my 2 cents

SabrX wrote:This game definitely highlight's Tau's major weakness. There's very little they can do against mass FNP. Even a horde Tau list with penta-layer Kroot bubble wrap will struggle against mass FNP Assault Marines backed by Devastators missile spam.

Thanks for sharing.

True story all the way. Also this shows the other weakness of having bad army choice (in my opinion of course).

Nice report, and amazing terrain.

Your terrain is very cool! This particular battle not so much though, the tau player had no chance. Stealth suit, really???lol Nice report though

Brothererekose wrote:What do you think about the FireStorm focus instead?

I'm going to try and accommodate a unit with this loadout in future games. I'm still playing around with my 2k list.

darkcloud92 wrote:Stealth suit, really???

Yes really.

I used only what I had at hand. In the near future they will be replaced with Crisis suits. I'll be looking for my completed TAC list to resemble something like this I reckon...

Shas'el w/ CIB, MP, MT
2 Shas'vres w/ MP, BC, TA, HWMT

Shas'el w/ TL MP, flamer
2 Shas'vres w/ TL MP, TA

11 Kroot w/ 3 Kroot Hounds

11 Kroot w/ 3 Kroot Hounds

6 Fire Warriors

3 XV8s w/ MP, PR, MT

3 XV8s w/ TL MP, 1x flamer, 2x TA

3 XV8s w/ MP, BC, MT

5 Pathfinders in Devilfish w/ DP, MT

1 Piranha w/ FB, TA, DP

Railhead w/ BC, MT, DP

Railhead w/ BC, MT, DP

3 XV88s w/ ASS, one a Team Leader w/ HWTL, HWDC, 2 Shield Drones, BK

Total - 2000pts

Still WIP though.

mythological wrote:A good read as always. As a tau player I can tell you that this kind of list is very difficult to defeat as tau. Especially so when a good commander is at the helm.

However I believe that this game would be less lopsided if the tau's deployment was better. Mercer smartly spread out his devastators, his main anti-crisis suit unit. The worse thing the tau player could've done was deploy his plasma suits (one of the only real threats to FNP marines) out of line of sight/ range of the missiles. This would be easy with a refused flank deployment, or deploying the majority of your units on one side. With this strategy Mercer would have to reposition at least one of his missile squads, leaving them unable to shoot for a turn, or keep them stationary and not shoot the targets you want to live.

What really makes the refused flank good though is a nice counter flank, or a unit which goes on the other side of the board. In tau's case this would be your broadsides, who could be safely on the complete opposite side of the board, You can even reinforce them with a squad of pathfinders to make them even more threatening.

This makes the opponent decide whether he wants to go fully at the brunt of your force(without full missile support), or split up to get the broadsides (not likely with Mercer's list).

It is by no means a perfect strategy, but experience has shown me that the refused flank works wonders, compared to a traditional setup.

my 2 cents

Thanks about the report mate.

cricketofdeth wrote:Nice report, and amazing terrain.

Thanks dude

darkcloud92 wrote:Your terrain is very cool! This particular battle not so much though, the tau player had no chance. Stealth suit, really???lol Nice report though

Thanks about the terrain