Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

My first game against new tau, and also my first game with daemon allies, as well as my opponents first game as new tau, but it was still exciting and fun so i thought i would share.

Chaos List -2000 Pts

CSM

HQ
1 Chaos Juggerlord, axe of blinding fury, sigil, gift
1 Huron Blackheart

Troops
20 CSM 2 Melta guns (escort huron)
10 Cultists

Heavy
8 Havocs, 4 ACs
3 Oblits of nurgle

Fast
4 Nurgle Bikers 2 meltas
5 Spawn (escort juggerlord)
1 Heldrake (baleflamer)

Daemon Allies
HQ
Lord of Change, 2 greater gits, 1 lesser, ML3

20 Daemonettes

Tau List - 2000 Pts

1 Commander, with 2 bodyguards, and 6 gun drones, all plasma
1 Ethereal

10 Firewarriors, devilfish
10 Firewarriors, devilfish(With ethereal)

6 Pathfinders devilfish
8 Pathfinders

1 Riptide - ion accelerators, interceptor
1 Riptide - ion accelerators, interceptor

3 Broadside missilesides, interceptor
1 Hammerhead, longstrider, +1 coversave thing
20 Kroot snipers


Game details
Mission: Scouring (fast are scoring, 6 objects) - this is very good for me, i have 3 fast and objectives aren't great for a static gunline (although with all those devilfish its not that static, but my pressure list if all goes well will force him into a corner).
Deployment: Vanguard - This is good for me also, since i can narrow down his deployment to pretty much one corner.
Initiative: CSM - Also good for me, he will have one turn of shooting before i hit his lines.
Nightfighting: No - I am not up enough on their rules to know if its good for him or not.

Commander Warlord trait - Tau: if units go to ground you can force them to get up and act normal one use only
Huron warlord trait - Infiltrators: 1

Lord of Change:

Lesser: Staff of Change
Greater: 4+ FNP
Greater: 3+ Armour
Psychic power1: Prescience(reroll to hit)
Psychic power2: Misfortune(reroll successful saves)
Psychic power3: Forewarning(4++)

I rolled great on the greater rewards, and for psychic powers i didn't get precognition, but forewarning was a great roll.


Pre Game blurb:
I don't know the tau's weapons, range options....basically i am blind, so i may stupidly move into range and my target priority my be terrible. So with that in mind my plan is the blitz, get in their face with my fast pressure list and once i am close hopefully they fold in combat. I will rush with the LOC, daemonettes, spawn+ jugger, and bikers with the oblits, havocs and CSM as support. The mission favours me, however the board has 4 ruins one in each corner, the tau shooters will have good cover saves plus i have heard some mean things about tau shooting, and riptides.

Deployment


Chaos Turn 1


Tau turn 1


Chaos turn 2


Tau turn 2


Chaos turn 3


Tau turn 3


Chaos turn 4


Postgame
Terrible first two turns of luck for the tau player. Those markerlights would just never hit.
Heaps of things i did wrong. Firstly i totally didn't realise how brutal supporting fire is and should have better managed my charge order to mitigate that. My first turn shooting priority was terrible. I should have been firing lascannoning those missilesides from the start. They are deadly.

My AC havocs were really useless, i could have used a lascannon havoc squad instead.

My opponent kept forgetting to use his assault jump move to keep his riptides safe. It wont be so easy in the future.

Hmm i was thinking the csm was very thin on troopies then i saw scouring. Bit lucky there but to be honest its not gonna change the way you play you just might have something that can grab an obj at the end of the game.

Individually I really like all the things you got in your list- mad pimp LoC, Juggerlord and huron + the usual T6 bikes and helturky but it really feels like you dont have enough threats at 2k.

If you go all out 3 troops at 2k where one is cultists (so ima just ignore them) and have a t2-3 cc table or lose list (lets face it your giving up first blood prolly and objs) then i might have trouble justifying a heldrake that comes in t2+. Well i might have a problem if they werent so good...

Who you gonna infiltrate? Huron and the csm blob and the deamonetts? because you cant infiltrate the jugger (cav) but really they are fast enough already. I guess that will get the csm blob/huron giving support to the fast jugger/spawn and LoC charge threats. Though infiltrating 3 oblits MoN is prolly a decent option as well.

The more i think about it the more i think the csm might actually have this one. Depends on your LoC for me. He, the bikes and the spawn distracts enough and soaks up enough shooting while old juggerlord and oblits go to town and you might have a win.

I dont know much about new tau but:

If i was the tau i would blast the spawn and isolate the lord for id funtimes as a priotity. If jlord gets to the front line then make a rscreen of fire warriors. Lose the cc die and give another free turn of entire army shooting.

Even tau will be able to tarpit the LoC who is really not that scary. Shooting much at him with a 3+ 4++ and 4+fnp is a mistake possibly just enough to ground if you have left over shots...

The Oblits are a decent threat but just watch the firing lanes and you're golden. Dont underestimate 20 deamonetts shoot them with small arms and then force his 2 big blobs (now much smaller) through a choke and they wont make their points back.

GL hf

Thanks Ithani,

The Daemonettes are also scoring, so that is 3 scorers, and two of them are blobs of 20. 20 CSMs are hard to shift, the other two are pretty flimsy. But if i cram enough threats down my opponents throat he wont have time to shoot anything else.

Scouring is good for me - My fast are scoring 6 scorers.
Big guns is great my havocs and oblits scoring 5 scorers.
Relic is great with my big central blob, i can sweep the middle.
Emperors Will is good with my pressure list, i might have trouble defending my home objective against deep strikers or a sneaky outflank or speed unit.
Purge is good, since i run big blobs mostly with no transports, the nurgle bikers and cultists will have to be careful.
That leaves Crusade which with 3 scorers i am not down and out but it might be difficult with 3-5 objectives.

My infiltration order first would be Daemonettes, since its a good chance at a T2 charge with the 6 inch extra movement. Followed by the 20 CSM and Huron to add more pressure.

Battle report updated and completed.

Unless the Tau player purchased the Point Defense Targeting Relay for his devilfish, they shouldn't be firing overwatch.

The hammerhead can, with Longstrike it has the ability to fire overwatch an unlimited number of times each turn.

Nice vector strike on the tank btw. I thought Helldrakes normally had a hard time with tanks. Did you manage to catch him on rear armor, or roll high for your attacks?

Some pretty good luck for you, too. Killed 5 units in assault? Not to mention getting in his face by turn two.

Coldcast wrote:
Unless the Tau player purchased the Point Defense Targeting Relay for his devilfish, they shouldn't be firing overwatch.

The hammerhead can, with Longstrike it has the ability to fire overwatch an unlimited number of times each turn.

Nice vector strike on the tank btw. I thought Helldrakes normally had a hard time with tanks. Did you manage to catch him on rear armor, or roll high for your attacks?

Some pretty good luck for you, too. Killed 5 units in assault? Not to mention getting in his face by turn two.

I will have to keep an eye out for that point defence targeting relay next time, i am not sure if he had it on not but i will give him the benefit of the doubt, his first game through as tau i didn't want to stop at every item and question everything he said, it will all iron itself out with a few games anyway.

The hammerhead was longstrike and he was firing overwatch with it whenever he had a chance. But that was mainly against daemonettes.

I rolled 4 hits with the vector strike then got 2 6's and a 5 for 3 HP's, which ignores cover then rolled an explode to top it off. I was very lucky, and i was shocked at my luck and his poor luck throughout most of the game.

Steffo wrote:

I will have to keep an eye out for that point defence targeting relay next time, i am not sure if he had it on not but i will give him the benefit of the doubt, his first game through as tau i didn't want to stop at every item and question everything he said, it will all iron itself out with a few games anyway.

The hammerhead was longstrike and he was firing overwatch with it whenever he had a chance. But that was mainly against daemonettes.

I rolled 4 hits with the vector strike then got 2 6's and a 5 for 3 HP's, which ignores cover then rolled an explode to top it off. I was very lucky, and i was shocked at my luck and his poor luck throughout most of the game.

I point it out because I've made the mistake myself. Lack of vehicle overwatch is in the 6th edition BRB, and there has to be a special rule (or equipment for tau) for there to be an exception. A bit of a change from the defensive weapons of previous editions so I understand.


Also, very lucky indeed. Considering that you had about a 0.3% chance of getting that result, (or better) that must have been quite a shock.

Sounds like a game for the dice gods...
I have been very unlucky with marketlights in a game.. it makes a huge difference

also I noticed something. cant remember where I read it in your report.. but I think the tau player fired overwatch with a vehicle? Which isnt aloud except by longstrike

Yea i think the dice gods approved of my sacrafices to khorne.

First turn he only hit with 1 markerlight..

He had 2 units of 10 tau with the ethereal bonus which was around 45 shots 25 at BS 5, plus 2 devilfish and only 7 daemonettes died.

All the rest of his shooting my lord of change ate for only 2 wounds.

He failed EVERY moral he made.

He only passed 1 overcharge on his riptides.

To top it off all my saves were rolling hot.

This is both an excellent batrep and also a tight Chaos army. Playing very aggressively with style of army showed the strengths of Chaos. Well done and thanks for taking the time to post here.

Nice batrep. Good win.

 Dozer Blades wrote:
This is both an excellent batrep and also a tight Chaos army. Playing very aggressively with style of army showed the strengths of Chaos. Well done and thanks for taking the time to post here.

Thanks Dozer, i still took quite a beating i am not sure how i will go when the tau player starts to roll well. The rematch should be interesting. Next time all lascannons to the missilesides. Might try and squeeze in a lascannon havoc squad instead of the AC havocs.

I am also contemplating swapping out the khorne lord for a nurgle biker fisticlaw lord since he cant be instant deathed by riptides/wraithknights. But the khorne lord model is just so cool.

Chris_P wrote:
Nice batrep. Good win.

Thanks

I'd rather have the two fast Nurgle Lords. I'd arm him with a power fist and lightning claw for the +1 attack. Lascannon is where it's at versus Tau. Riptides don't like them either.