How can Eldar beat Tau

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**King Crow**

I just played a game against a friend and my Tau won by quite a bit and i really wasn't expecting that outcome. Do eldar usually win against Tau? or is it maybe just because the Eldar codex is so old?

**Squidmanlolz**

The Tau Codex is older than the Eldar...

**DaKKaLAnce**

I think they have been around the same time...2006

**Squidmanlolz**

DaKKaLAnce wrote:I think they have been around the same time...2006

Tau are older by a few months, not a big difference.

**DaKKaLAnce**

Ok gotcha, thanks!

**AchillesFTW**

Tau always were Eldar's hardest match-up because the staggering amount of S5 firepower melted Eldar infantry. Not to mention the plain fact that Tau outgun Eldar easily.

**King Crow**

oh i thought the Tau codex was newer. but anyway, i thought the eldar were a very elite army. i just really didnt expect to win. i rolled pretty good and even made a few intentinal mistakes and still won by a lot.

**Kevlar**

I'm sure there are some eldar builds that will walk all over tau. It doesn't take much from close combat oriented troops. I'd imagine lots of storm guardians, scorpions, and banshees supported by 3 wraithlords and an avatar would do the trick.

**Squidmanlolz**

Scorpion spam, an Avatar, and wave serpents, probably. Unless the Tau bring a lot of railguns...

**Lobokai**

Scorpions and even Warp Spiders are really tough for Tau. Avatar is a beast, and I've seen Banshees with Jain Zar run wild on Crisis Suits before.

Basically anything CC and able to get close fast makes a bloody mess of the Tau. Everything else, dies at range.

PS: If you think you'll need to blunt a CC attack, take 300 points of Kroot with plenty of hounds.... they'll earn their points every time.

**Squidmanlolz**

Kroot are really good for warding off CC, infiltrate large groups of Kroot and Kroot hounds 12" in front of the enemy. Make the enemy have no option other than facing the Kroot. Clean up the rest with ranged fire. Rinse. Repeat.

**Great White**

The only thing eldar have on tau is speed. They are fast and can get in there and f you up. Just keep them at arms reach and shoot. He needs to get in there with some close combat units.

**Avatar 720**

Night Spinners can make Battlesuit units next to immobile if they value their suits. Outflanking Starcannon walkers make a mess of broadsides. Wave Serpents mitigate Railgun S10 and Fragons ignore disruption pods due to range.

Mass scatter lasers and shuriken on your serpents eat infantry, and avenger squads can mow down whatever needs mowing down. Warp Spiders can jump up to Crisis Teams and fill them with S6, plus if you have a Powerblade Exarch + Withdraw, you can cause damage in the combat, leap out at the end of the Tau combat to stop them shooting, shoot and re-engage in your turn.

Mind War can handily eliminate battlesuits you have LoS to (they're only Ld8), an Autarch with a power weapon and a jump generator can increase the killing power of your spiders.

Eldar really have a good amount going for them against Tau.

**Lord Rogukiel**

Basically what's already been said on here. Fast assault units will ruin a Tau player's day. I think outflanking scorpions are really good for this.

**akaean**

You need to play really aggressively. A squad of storm guardians will beat kroot in close combat, if they charge and have doom support.

Wave Serpents are also more resiliant to Rail Guns than any other transport in the game, and you can get a 4+ cover save on all of them.

Get right in the Tau's face, as fast as you can. Engage his Crisis Suits with Jetbikes and Warp Spiders, and just generally play to get in his face as quickly as possible. Eldar are a better army than tau at point blank range, and Eldar are too fast and too well defended for Tau to prevent them from getting there.

The moral of the story is if you try to skirt his army and engage him in shooting you are just asking to get curbstomped by tau's superior fire power. Your Dire Avengers have fists- use them.

**kinratha**

What was the list of tau you ran, and the list of eldar that he/she ran?

**CaptKaruthors**

Eldar have few problems vs. Tau. Their speed allows them to close the distance to eliminate the D-Pods abilities...and Eldar's massed fire is just as dangerous to their infantry as Tau's fire power is to Eldar's infantry. I call the match up a wash to be honest. Either of those armies are capable of beating each other.

**wuestenfux**

Well, Eldar can win vs. Tau. I usually play Mech Eldar and one way to win is to tank shock them to death in round two.

**King Crow**

kinratha wrote:What was the list of tau you ran, and the list of eldar that he/she ran?

It was a really small game

he ran

256 pts
7xEldar Avengers 86 pts

16xGuardians 120 pts

1xViper 50 pts

I ran

254 pts
12xKroot 84 pts

12xFireWarriors 120 pts

5x FireWarriors 50 pts

**juraigamer**

As a general rule of thumb, you can't win a shooting fight vs tau unless you're imperial guard.

**DevianID**

Eldar should beat tau due to close combat. Shooting is a wash at short range, and eldar usually never play the long range gun line beyond war walkers. A final nail is psykers being a one sided deal.

**Avatar 720**

King Crow wrote:
kinratha wrote:What was the list of tau you ran, and the list of eldar that he/she ran?

It was a really small game

he ran

256 pts
7xEldar Avengers 86 pts

16xGuardians 120 pts

1xViper 50 pts

I ran

254 pts
12xKroot 84 pts

12xFireWarriors 120 pts

5x FireWarriors 50 pts

There's your issue, it wasn't using any sort of FoC, there wasn't a pre-determined points value or game type... Hell, the Guardians didn't even have a compulsory weapon platform.

The Vyper can be taken down by FW shooting, and the next largest range is 18" on the Avenger catapults. You also have 17/34 shots that wound on 2s and ignore Guardian Armour, and 12/24 shots that wound on 3s and ignore guardian armour.

In a game that one-sided and all over the place, what did you expect?

Get a 500-750pt force each that conforms to the FoC and is codex legal and see how that pans out, maybe get your friend to register here so he can get some help using his army.

**akaean**

yea, you really shouldn't be playing anything lower than 500 points as regular 40K unless you are playing 200 point combat patrol.

Have him try running a list like this.

[75] Farseer- Guide
[230] 10 Dire Avengers : Wave Serpent- tl Shuriken Cannon, Extra Cannon
[115] 10 Guardian Defenders + Warlock- Shuriken Cannon, Embolden
[40] War Walker- 2 Shuriken Cannon
[40] War Walker- 2 Shuriken Cannon

Total : 500 points.

This list uses pretty much everything in the battle force, so its a very reasonable starting off point. As for tactics against tau, try to get the Dire Avengers into combat with Fire Warriors, shoot out with the War Walkers and Guardians in cover.

**Lobokai**

Sigh, if you don't want to follow any normal rules or guidelines, its really tough to expect reasonable or even typical results in a match.

Maybe you just transitioned from WarmaHorde?

**King Crow**

Ok everyone calm down about the FoC. We're both beginners and we just went by point value and the amount of models that he had becuase he's even newer to the game than me.

I'll be sure to tell him how importaint FoC is and advise him to get up to 500 pts with and HQ for a good game. Thanks for all the help!