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Ive played in 2 tournaments lately and lots of regular games with my new tau army.
2 things Ive found about my tau
Everyone (almost without fail) targets my riptide with nearly everything until its dead... (And it just so happens im good at making 2+ saves)
My riptide usually survives 2-3 turns (smaller point games 500-1250)
What Ive found as a tau player..
My fire warriors are my MVP's, by a long shot, its not even fair how awesome they are for the points cost
The best part about this is, my riptide is just a BIG tank with a target on his forehead and takes all the heat for the beginning of the game, while I lay down so many S5 shots its ridiculous.
I love the fact that people shoot at my riptide simply because it means my fire warriors can and will take out most of your army while you target the wrong unit
I won the 500p tourney with Aun'va, 2 small squads of fire warriors, a couple pathfinders and a riptide
Also, I dont care what you say about Aun'va, he has always done well for me, the LD10 with reroll failed leaderships is what I take him for, and his 2 abilities he gives a turn is great.
In my 1000p list I had Aun'va and cadre with 2 larger units of fire warriors, 1 riptide, 1 small squad of pathfinders, 1 longstikehead with railgun, 1 hammer with ion, 1 skyray
again the Riptide (and longstikehead) were the big targets...

Anyways point Im making
Ive found the riptides fire power to be less than what I was expecting and his Tanking abilities to be the key in keeping my fire warriors alive
Let me know what you think

Why would you shoot at something that durable when there are squishy Tau all over the place?

EDIT: Didn't see the 500 point thing. Yeah, at 500 points a Riptide is ridiculous.

You bring a Riptide to a 500pts tournament dude, that's why you get the impression that your Firewarriors were so great...

At 500pts, a Riptide can basically wipe an entire army all by itself, no wonder everyone tried to gun it down. :/ Now add the fact that Firewarriors and Pathfinder can go to ground for a 3+ or 2+ cover save, and that they're far easier to hide out of LoS, and you'll probably understand why people left your Firewarriors alone.

At the 500p tourney I was 1 of 4 with a riptide,
and even at 1000-1250, I the the riptide just a tank

In my gaming group there is a Tau player who has a riptide. I have played three games against him since he's owned it and not once have I taken a single shot at it. Of course, we play bigger than 500 point games, but the point is there is so much other squishy stuff around I just ignore the big huge almost indestructable robot and try to kill everything else. So far I have had good sucess with this plan.

I think you're correct about one of its strong points is how much fire it takes away from the rest of your army. I believe that its one if its biggest advantages, and also why I have never once shot at it.

Yeah, I played 2 games against the store manager near me, 1000p
first time he wasted 2 full turns killing it,
second game he completely ignored it.
needless to say, I tabled him first game by turn 4
second game was incredibly different, I still won but much closer..

Both my regular opponents play Tau as their main and both run triptides when possible. I learnt the hard way not to target them from range... My Eldar and Daemons are losing 40-60 to Tau, My Nids are winning 80-20 and my Orks are losing 100%.

I try to ignore them from range for the most part but if I can catch one a Trygon, Iron Armed DP or Wraithknight mince them up pretty quick. Orks unfortunately never really get close.

One thing I have had success with are Wraithguard but that's still only 12" unfortunately.

I found similar situations with my decked out tau commander (T5, 2+/4++, FnP, + 2 shield drones). Players will waste ridiculous amounts of firepower each turn trying to take that guy out.

People forget that usually all they have is 5 turns to try and win. In 40k you can't afford to waste 2+ turns focusing on just 1 threat.

500 points isn't even 40k, that's some other game where the normal rules don't matter.

I've only ever shot at a Riptide with Puppet Master. Otherwise I just ignore them, or catch them in a multi assault. In fact, the vast majority of my Riptide kills have come by sweeping advance due to multi assault (I've killed a couple with Daemonettes 1 on 1). But yeah, for most Armies they're immune to shooting.

 gossipmeng wrote:
I found similar situations with my decked out tau commander (T5, 2+/4++, FnP, + 2 shield drones). Players will waste ridiculous amounts of firepower each turn trying to take that guy out.

People forget that usually all they have is 5 turns to try and win. In 40k you can't afford to waste 2+ turns focusing on just 1 threat.

This.


I find that people see the big scary riptide or the blinged out tau commander, and they lose their minds trying to kill it, merrily ignoring the firewarriors and crisis suits doing a lot of the heavy lifting themselves.

Caveat to this: Pathfinders. Pathfinders (rightfully) attract a lot of hate.

But yeah, people see a riptide and i think a switch flips into OMGWTFmustBBQthatThing mode.

 KonTheory wrote:

The best part about this is, my riptide is just a BIG tank

It is not a tank as tanks are easy to destroy

To all ignoring one riptide, could you ignore two or three of them? I have only faced one, our Tau player thinks they cost too many euro.

I use my Avatar of Khaine for the same thing. People see this small meltagun carrying MC coming at them, assume it's my warlord and focus on it. Meanwhile the rest of my army is slaughtering them.

I would never focus on a Riptide, anyone with a sense of math knows that it won't work.
Nevertheless, fielding one in a 500-point game is just ridiculous.

KommissarKiln's rule of thumb in this matter:

If it has 2+ and <5 lascannons or meltas won't take care of it, it's not worth your time.

I'm not going to say anything about your character because I don't know you.

But people who take riptides in 500 point games make me want to punch babies.

Which is apparently every Tau player except, like, two.

Naw wrote:

 KonTheory wrote:

The best part about this is, my riptide is just a BIG tank

It is not a tank as tanks are easy to destroy

To all ignoring one riptide, could you ignore two or three of them? I have only faced one, our Tau player thinks they cost too many euro.

I have yet to play against multiple Tides. My friend only has one, and the tourney I was in a month ago only had one guy with two riptides and I never played him. I think I would still try to ignore them the best I could, and kill everything else. Once I have gotten into a position to kill other things, I hopefully would be in a position to engage one or more in hand to hand, which it obviously does not excel in.

Of couse, most plans don't make it past first contact and all

Eissel wrote:
I'm not going to say anything about your character because I don't know you.

But people who take riptides in 500 point games make me want to punch babies.

Which is apparently every Tau player except, like, two.

Oh, welcome in 6th edition! Where we do not have codex creep! And anyone who says otherwise is a liar !


And on the Riptides, I must say that they are one tricky unit to face. If you shoot at them, they will tank the damage and you are screwed. If you ignore them, they will wreak havoc and you are screwed. I would say, unless you specifically tailor your list to beat the Tau Master Race or you happen to be a CD/Nid player (with a magical ability to roll Iron Arm and Warp Speed with 70-100% reliability) you are screwed at the moment your opponent deploys his Riptides and Fire Warrior Castle.

Tau players want their riptides to be shot at, instead of their markerlights, FW, kroot, vehicles, battlesuits, ect.

Or are you relying on the riptide to actually win the game? Might wanna play nids or GK for that.

At 500 points of course I'm going to be shooting at the thing that can wipe out my entire army in a turn! In larger point games I ignore them. They can't make a significant hole in my army and will probably end up killing themselves

I haven't bought a riptide for that reason. I know it scares people . That and an combination of my stellar die rolls, it wouldn't last one turn. Eventually when the impulsive side of my brain takes control ill go get one.

Well when I play tau (we play 1850 mostly) I bring 5 riptides so they kind of have to target the riptides or get facerolled

BaconUprising wrote:
At 500 points of course I'm going to be shooting at the thing that can wipe out my entire army in a turn! In larger point games I ignore them. They can't make a significant hole in my army and will probably end up killing themselves

Oh yeah I forgot that riptides can use apocalypse templates...

In that matchup kill his troops then he can't score. You can also use a throwaway unit to tie up the riptide in CC for 2 turns. Stay out of LoS from the riptide, get into cover (he won't always have markerlights hit to strip the cover). If he tries to overcharge the ion cannon he might roll a 1 and do nothing for a turn like one of my opponents did.

At 500 pts there are much scarier things such a 2 vindicators for the same points.

Idk I just don't find vindicators that scary for some reason.

Bring allied Vanquishers with Beast Hunter Shells from the armored battlegroup list.

That horrible squelching sound was your riptide eating a HEAT shell to the cockpit.

 AtoMaki wrote:

Eissel wrote:
I'm not going to say anything about your character because I don't know you.

But people who take riptides in 500 point games make me want to punch babies.

Which is apparently every Tau player except, like, two.

Oh, welcome in 6th edition! Where we do not have codex creep! And anyone who says otherwise is a liar !


And on the Riptides, I must say that they are one tricky unit to face. If you shoot at them, they will tank the damage and you are screwed. If you ignore them, they will wreak havoc and you are screwed. I would say, unless you specifically tailor your list to beat the Tau Master Race or you happen to be a CD/Nid player (with a magical ability to roll Iron Arm and Warp Speed with 70-100% reliability) you are screwed at the moment your opponent deploys his Riptides and Fire Warrior Castle.

It's not really all that different than people who do 2x Tervigon and Termagaunts, or who bring a wraithknight at 500 points.

Still sucks though. :[ Riptides feel like they do a little more, compared to the others.

i have a friend who plays tau. he really likes aun'va, so he always takes him and a fireblade, as well as a riptide (even at 750pts)

his aun'va is usually the first thing targeted. my flyrant killed him on turn 1 one game, and it was awesome.

Last time I played Tau in a 1000 pt game I pretty much ignored the Riptide until I had taken out the other stuff.

Seriously guys. Beast hunter shells.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:
Seriously guys. Beast hunter shells.

Nova Charged shields.

 Kain wrote:

 Unit1126PLL wrote:
Seriously guys. Beast hunter shells.

Nova Charged shields.

So you can wound yourself once before suffering instant death?