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So i recently got a really really good price on some Tau units for sale, which i couldnt resist buying even though ive never played with or against Tau before

The units i own:

1x Ethereal
24x Firewarriors
3x Crisis suits
2x broadsides
2x Hammerheads
8x gun drones (Which i can proxy as any other drones)

I know i will be playing Space marines with no flyers on a 4'x2' board. It is just going to be a casual game with a friend.

I have studied rules and lists for a while now to try to get the hang of Tau.

Here is the list i have come up with and how i intend to play them:

HQ:
1x Ethereal - no extra gear
This guy is cheap and the only HQ i own and i plan on keeping him behind my Fire warriors, providing them with his Ld.

Troops:
1x9 Fire warriors - Pulse rifle
1x8 Fire warriors - Pulse rifle
These will hang out in cover near my deployment, shooting at whatever comes close. If we get objectives, they will go for them although they will be slow.

Elites:
Crisis suit team (2x shas'ui, 1x shas'vre)
Loadout:
Shas'ui: 2x burst cannon & Target lock.
Shas'vre: 2x burst cannon & Iridium Suit.
The Shas'vre will be the tank, though i will try to JSJ and keep out of LOS mostly. ( We usually play with lots of LOS blocking cover).

Thoughts on Crisis suit team:
I'm not quite sure if i should choose different support systems, perhaps the one which grants BS 2 in overwatch as my opponent may try to get close fast. I also like the idea of the Shas'vre being a support with e.g. C&C, MSS, Iridium suit. Thoughts on this?

Heavy:
1x Broadside - Standard
1x Broadside - Standard

Points 494 ( If my calculations are correct).

I would like to implement some markerlights somehow to support my suits and possibly broadsides, but am not sure if its worth it or how to best do it in a low points game.

Any critique or advice more than welcome. My forces are limited atm, but i plan to expand slowly in the future.

Thx for reading

Marker drones? Not the best unit on their own but you need markers, really. And if you don't have commander to babysit the drones or pathfinders that might be the only option you got with current models.

Hi mate!

Ethereals are really nice at low points limits. They provide you with a good amount of shooting from your fire warriors. Unfortunately, they're very vulnerable warlords and can easily lose you a close game if they die.

For this reason, I suggest you replace the Shas'vre in your team with a commander. You don't need an extra suit for this and your Shas'vre leader will do fine as a commander. - he's just begging to, with iridium armour!

Since your army already has a lot of shooting. for 500 points, you don't really need burst cannons - I'd go with fusion blasters or plasma guns for easy AP2..

at 500 points, I'd run this:

commander
2x PG, Stim Injector, and Drone Controller.
Puretide Engram, XV8-02. Give him a single drone.
172
This guy is an absolute tank. He's T5 with 2 wounds, the equivalent of a 5+ invulnerable save and he ignores most shooting and close combat attacks!

3x 6 fire warriors

You can proxy your ethereal as a fire warrior - most opponents won't mind if you give him one of your spare pulse rifles.

162

Elites
I'd run 2 crisis suits with PG with ATS (for those nasty precision shots!), then 4 drones.
162 points

There. You've got 4 points to play around with, one very killy and fairly hard unit at 500 points, that can hurt marines and terminators very effectively.

That unit will be doing the work of your army, but it won't die quickly and even if you lose all the suits, that commander will still be on the table at the end of the game. Just make sure to kill any S10AP2/1 shooting up first!

Based on what you own I would say you would want something like:

Ethereal (50)

12 Firewarriors (108)

12 Firewarriors (108)

Hammerhead with Railgun, submunitions, smart missile system and disruption pods (145)

XV88 with HYMP and 2 Missile Drones (89)

Totalling 500 on the nose, whilst letting you deal with virtually all target types in some capacity, although you will be limited in some capacity against flyers, but you should be able to table before they come on.

Thx for the replies! 2 very different lists providing me with lots of variation in a small points game.

Scipio: The drones youre referring to in your list, are they Markerlight drones?

sephiroth081184 wrote:
Thx for the replies! 2 very different lists providing me with lots of variation in a small points game.

Scipio: The drones youre referring to in your list, are they Markerlight drones?

Mate I usually go gun drones, but that's just my personal preference. at 500, you don't have enough squads to make the markerlights worthwhile. More dakka is good dakka, as they say.