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Question about DKoK Assault List vs TAU

In a couple of days I will be fighting my first battle against Tau. I know almost nothing about them apart from the fact they are very shooty and have markerlights which can negate cover.
Thus I've not the faintest clue what my target priorty should be and which tactics to use.

When it comes to armylists, should I use loads of infantry with lasguns and a shooty firebase? or will I be more succesful with a swift strike force (2 hades with 20 engineers/ 2 chimeras with grenadiers / death riders)?
What would work best?

Thanks in advance for some tips.

My experience with mechanized assault Orks (Battlewagons, Trukks, Nobz and Boyz) vs. 6th edition Tau so far is that everything that is on the board gets blown to bits. I fear Firewarriors for the amount of strenght 5 shooting they put out, especially combined with an Etheral and markerlights.

Hades Assault drils would be a good bet, as you can be in their face with a demolition charge on the turn you come in. Tau make short work of light infantry, even in cover, so try to get out of LOS if you can. Also beware of Riptides, they kill everything. If you can, try to tarpit it with an assault squad, a squad of Boyz in a Trukk works well for me, they just have to get there.

Thanks for the tips. I will be using two Hades Breaching drills with 7-10 engineers each. Should I use the demolition charge to blow up his big stuff? (never used them).

I also thought about using two chimeras and an Hellhound to get there fast and strike. Is it wise?

What kind of tau list are you going to be facing? and what models do you have available?

I am not really aware of what he has in his arsenal but have heard he has two of the big things and likes the suits. He also uses an Aegis defence line.

I have:
20 engineers: 2 centaurs/2 hades breaching drils
20 Grenadiers: 2 Storm Chimeras (with autocannon)
50 guardsmen with platoon command and various special weapons
3 lascannon and 6 autocannon HW teams
Hellhound
6 Death riders
2 Lemann Russ with a vanquisher/battlecannon turret and an exexutioner turret
3 thudd guns
2 Avenger Strike Fighters
Aegis defence line

got a Quartermaster? What do yo use for HQ? Venner?

Thudd guns are a must.

Heavy mortars would have been nice too.

Aegis line packed with heavy weapon teams, with Venner in the middle. Leadership 10 bubble for orders/morale tests.

Hellhound will burn out fire warrriors nicely but Tau anti-armour will rip it a new one.

Massed infantry assault woks too. He can only target one 10 man squad at a time, and they don't run so he has to kill them all.

I have found that the ignores cover thing doesn't mean that much when he has to deal with a lot of targets.

Avengers would pound his suits and riptides nicely,

The trick is to keep Tau pinned or brocken. They have low morale and no re-roll ability like Imperial guard. I have made them run off the board numerous times. And when they are pinned they can only snapshot

What points game are you playing?

DOOMONYOU wrote:

What points game are you playing?

We are doing 1850 points.

For the love of the Emperor, kill the markerlights. Pathfinders, Marker Drones, and the like should probably your top priority targets.

Bring the thudd guns man, aim them at pathfinders and firewarriors.

One thing IG can do with artillery is beat Tau at their own game, range. IG CAN outrange tau with artillery, and still be beefy and killy up close when we need to. Demo charge is good stuff.

TBH you're going to be at a big disadvantage here compared to playing a codex IG list or the DKoK siege list. The assault brigade is based around elite infantry (grenadiers as troops, death riders) but Tau shooting kills them almost as quickly as basic guardsmen. Meanwhile you don't have the static turn-1 firepower of codex heavy weapon spam so your elite infantry will have to survive a turn or two of shooting before they can get into range to return fire.

squeeze a skyshield in on your list to stick your thudds and lascannons on to for 4++.

you could go infantry heavy with meltabombs and MG's so to negate any advantage he may have on anti tank weaponry. You'll get a respawn too and still take your thuds to pound anything to cause death by the eventual failed saving throws. Getting Venner into the list may be useful as i would imgaine he will stay static so you can make use of his buffs when in the enemy deployment zone.

You have plenty of options though with your list. More death riders may be the way to go in the future though. 10 cavalry are intimidating enough he may leave your infantry alone long enough so that they get in close to do their thing.

it would be interesting to hear what your final list is and what the outcome was?

Make sure you take these;

Hellhound
Great against pathfinders or FWs. If you take it though you may want to thing about going mech/grenadieers. Either way if you can get it in range it will kill something.

2 Lemann Russ with a battlecannon turret and an exexutioner turret
The LRBT is great against the T4 W2 3+ suits and the executioner is great at keeping the riptides and iridium commander from getting uppity and going all out on tanking wounds/offensive.

3 thudd guns
These are great in every way. Very hard for the Tau to kill and do great damage to the Tau markerlight units and troops. Best yet the pinning test has a great chance to actually pin Tau units.

I would actually recommend forlorn hope and some plasma toting IS. Run them straight into the Tau line and into combat. At the worst the Tau player will be forced to kill them and at the best they will take the Tau player down through sheer numbers and attrition. You can then bring a new platoon on in your deployment to claim your objectives. However on the 1/6 chance you get KP mission I apologize for my advice.

For my HW teams, should I go Autocannon or Lascannon and why?

I now have a list with:

Command squad (naked)

2 x 8 engineers with Hades, meltabombs and meltagun

2 x platoon command with two squads and flamers for Forlorn Hope
Grenadiers in chimera

Hellhound

2 x HW team with autocannon
3 x thudd gun
2 x Avenger strike fighter

Aegis with autocannon

What should go out and what should go in?

Upgrade an autocannon squad to a lascannon.

Whats the idea with the engineers? anti-tank? At best they will be in turn 3 with the hades on turn 2, this will be too late to do much. Maybe just cut them down to the basic squad and tank shock with the hades when it comes on, try to break the tau lines.

Some Plasma guns in the platoons work well. Flamers or meltas in the squads and plasma guns in the PCS is what i run, that gives you all assault weapons with the without mercy order, and an elite killer with the PCS.

What are you running on the avengers? basic loadout with no extras?

Carapace on the CCS would be a nice upgrade and maybe a melta/Plasma to deal with any suits that deepstrike, if you can get the points for venner it would be worth it for his bubble.

Maybe a 3rd engineer squad in a centaur to advance with the grenadiers or sit on the aegis line to protect the thudds. You might encounter outflanking kroot or stealth suits or deep striking battle suits.