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Made in us
Pyromaniac Hellhound Pilot






What must a good Tau list have to be competitive?

   
Made in us
Shas'o Commanding the Hunter Kadre




Olympia, WA

Heavy Support:
None really. They have plenty of good choices but none of the Heavy Supports are mandatory for GOOD play. However, the Broadsides have the most promise and are relatively good performers. I seem never to regret taking one, sometimes up to three (separate) with Shield Drones. Shield Drones were better before, but are still worthwhile. If you take 2, take a Bonding Knife.

Side note: Not needed for competitive Tau but a unit of three Firesight Marksman is gold if you can afford it. Great option for adding Markerlights to your army.

Troops:

I love Krootox. Holy CRAP, they add so much to that unit. And now they can outflank with the unit? good NIGHT that's cool. Couple this with a Positional Relay or the Recon Drone and you have got one serious rear arc hunting group of bad mammajammas. That Markerlights work for Kroot is just too good.

Fire Warriors with EMP are excellent as well.

Between the two, I would definitel make sure to get adept at using the Krootox in your Kroot units.

Elites:

They have no bad elites. Need a horde hose that can take a hit and gives you great deployment options? Stealthsuits with their Advanced Targetting Systems are your friends. Need a unit that can end Land Raiders? Crisis Teams. Need a multipurpose anti-TEQ bullet magnet? Riptide Battle Suit is your man. Of the three, Stealth units could be considered the weakest but that's not saying much and the margin is small. At their jobs, they are all very good. Crisis teams can take dual Brusrt Cannons so although they aren't as hard to hit, they can hose you pretty darn good as well.

HQ:
My favorite is Aun'Va. Effectively a 7 wound guy that has a very cool defense mechanism and more importantly pretty much buffs the whole army, makes your Pulse weapons like a death sentence and makes you unbreakable i nthe backfield. His little unit can even do a little damage in melee against softer enemies.

The Buffmander is my other favorite. He has no weapons, and costs a lot. But what he lets the Markderdrone swarm do is phenomenal and he can join a Missileside unit and REALLY make them dangerous to even the most erstwhile enemy units.

Fast Attack:

A Markerswarm is number oneo n my list. I'd probably take 8 drones in a unit just to make sure that when you're snap firing at flyers, you have enough hits. match them up with the Buffmander.
Why a Marker Drone Swarm Rather than a Pathfinder unit? because the Buffmander can make them hit on 2's, re-rolling misses. They are tough 4, not 3. And they have 4+ armor, not 5+ like the Pathfinders. WAY more production from them than a Pathfinder unit provides.

Pathfinders themselves serve as really good assassins using their Rail Rifles. Now a RAPID FIRE weapon which a lot of people still get wrong in their head for some reason. IMagine those with Markerlight support, showing up behind armor or even behind a unit of Assault Marines and just slaughtering them wholesale. They can do it.

I dont think you NEED the Pathfinders, but I'll tell ya' what: I personally have groewn to rely on them a great deal for their deployment option of outflanking. Mobility is just priceless in some games.



This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/12/11 04:14:37


Hold out bait to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and then crush him.
-Sun Tzu, the Art of War
http://www.40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com

7th Ambassadorial Grand Tournament Registration: http://40kambassadors.com/register.php 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




Two main competive builds are still what they were:

Pulse rifle spam: Ethereal with 72 rifles for 216 shots rapid fire/overwatch shots, just needs riptides or Broadsides to provide AT/AA/AV support.
FE Suit spam: 9 slots of specialized elite units.

   
Made in ru
!!Goffik Rocker!!






The most common tourney tau build is Farsight bomb with Shadowsun.

Also, be warned that some of Jancoran's advices might not work for you unless you're allready a skilled general. But, that's a way to find out, eh

About Aun'va. He requires some listbuilding around oneself to prove useful. I remember there was a thread about Aun'Va with tankmander and a bunch of sniper drones + firewarriors. And they pretty much decimated most of their foes. But i think, like all tau castles, are very vulnerable to decent barrage. A wivern or a bunch of lobbas hidden behind blos could ruin their day. And something like a wagon rush would be deadly too.

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2014/12/11 06:11:48


 
   
Made in se
Fresh-Faced New User




The following list won the Swedish open Championships with 100-0 (won every game with full points)

Tau Empire (Combined Arms Detachment)
HQ
Commander (197pts) (Warlord)
-Command and Control Node, Drone controller, Multispectrum, Sensor Suite,
Puretide Engram Neurochip, Vectored retro-thrusters, XV8-02 Crisis 'Iridium'Battlesuit
2x Marker Drone (24pts)

Ethereal (50pts)

Troops
Kroot Carnivore Squad (75pts)
10x Kroot
-Sniper rounds
1xKroot Hound

Kroot Carnivore Squad (75pts)
10x Kroot
-Sniper rounds
1xKroot Hound

Elites
XV104 Riptide (190pts)
-Early warning override, Ion accelerator, Twin-linked fusion blaster

XV8 Crisis Team (207pts)
3xCrisis Shas'ui
-2xMissile pod, Target lock
3x Marker Drone

Fast Attack
Pathfinder Team (44pts)
4x Pathfinder Shas'la

Pathfinder Team (44pts)
4x Pathfinder Shas'la

Heavy Support
Sniper Drone Team (171pts)
2x Firesight Marksman
9x Sniper Drone

Fortification
Void Shield Generator (100pts)
3x Projected Void Shields


Firebase Support Cadre (Formation Detachment)

XV104 Riptide (215pts)
-Early warning override, Ion accelerator, Twin-linked fusion blaster
1xShielded Missile Drone

XV88 Broadside Team (246pts)
1xBroadside Shas'ui
-Early warning override, Twin-linked high-yield missile pod, Twin-linked smart missile system
2xBroadside Shas'ui
-Target lock, Twin-linked high-yield missile pod, Twin-linked smart missile system
3x Missile Drone


XV88 Broadside Team (246pts)
1xBroadside Shas'ui
-Early warning override, Twin-linked high-yield missile pod, Twin-linked smart missile system
2xBroadside Shas'ui
-Target lock, Twin-linked high-yield missile pod, Twin-linked smart missile system
3x Missile Drone


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The voidshield is bizarre and totally broken!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/12/11 12:40:59


 
   
Made in im
Nasty Nob on Warbike with Klaw





Liverpool

 CKO wrote:
What must a good Tau list have to be competitive?
Most important: A General that knows what they're doing!
Unit choices are secondary. Best list in the world won't help without the above.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/12/11 12:52:33


 
   
Made in us
Shas'o Commanding the Hunter Kadre




Olympia, WA

trulsante wrote:
The following list won the Swedish open Championships with 100-0 (won every game with full points)

Tau Empire (Combined Arms Detachment)
HQ
Commander (197pts) (Warlord)
-Command and Control Node, Drone controller, Multispectrum, Sensor Suite,
Puretide Engram Neurochip, Vectored retro-thrusters, XV8-02 Crisis 'Iridium'Battlesuit
2x Marker Drone (24pts)

Ethereal (50pts)

Troops
Kroot Carnivore Squad (75pts)
10x Kroot
-Sniper rounds
1xKroot Hound

Kroot Carnivore Squad (75pts)
10x Kroot
-Sniper rounds
1xKroot Hound

Elites
XV104 Riptide (190pts)
-Early warning override, Ion accelerator, Twin-linked fusion blaster

XV8 Crisis Team (207pts)
3xCrisis Shas'ui
-2xMissile pod, Target lock
3x Marker Drone

Fast Attack
Pathfinder Team (44pts)
4x Pathfinder Shas'la

Pathfinder Team (44pts)
4x Pathfinder Shas'la

Heavy Support
Sniper Drone Team (171pts)
2x Firesight Marksman
9x Sniper Drone

Fortification
Void Shield Generator (100pts)
3x Projected Void Shields


Firebase Support Cadre (Formation Detachment)

XV104 Riptide (215pts)
-Early warning override, Ion accelerator, Twin-linked fusion blaster
1xShielded Missile Drone

XV88 Broadside Team (246pts)
1xBroadside Shas'ui
-Early warning override, Twin-linked high-yield missile pod, Twin-linked smart missile system
2xBroadside Shas'ui
-Target lock, Twin-linked high-yield missile pod, Twin-linked smart missile system
3x Missile Drone


XV88 Broadside Team (246pts)
1xBroadside Shas'ui
-Early warning override, Twin-linked high-yield missile pod, Twin-linked smart missile system
2xBroadside Shas'ui
-Target lock, Twin-linked high-yield missile pod, Twin-linked smart missile system
3x Missile Drone


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The voidshield is bizarre and totally broken!


Wow that list is a LOT like mine! Buffmander, ethereal, two pathfinder squads (he uses his differently but whatevs), 2 kroot units, a riptide, Crisis team, sniper drones...

Wow. thats like an amazingly close version of my own list. he added more Broadsides and one less Riptide basically, but otherwise EXTREMELY close. The skeleton is there.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/12/11 23:14:24


Hold out bait to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and then crush him.
-Sun Tzu, the Art of War
http://www.40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com

7th Ambassadorial Grand Tournament Registration: http://40kambassadors.com/register.php 
   
Made in us
Legendary Master of the Chapter






All the vespids you can eat!

you will never lose.


But honestly its about taking a bit of everything and apply the right force into the right spot with the right support.

That be Tau.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:
 Scott-S6 wrote:
And yet another thread is hijacked for Unit to ask for the same advice, receive the same answers and make the same excuses.

Oh my god I'm becoming martel.
Send help!

 
   
Made in us
Shas'o Commanding the Hunter Kadre




Olympia, WA

Stingwings are cool. I now have a Stingwing+Stealthsuit force which is pretty fun to play. kills the marines like no ones business. Pretty fair chances to iso-kill monsters (a little up hill there but doable as long as you angle the board and dont take on too many at once).

Biggest problem with Stingwings is the reserve roll. You really o want some way to influence that when using them. Some reserves work better, the longer you can keep them off but the Stingwings usually need to come in on turn two if you can at all pull it off. Aegis Comms Relay or even an Eldar Autarch could do the trick.

Hold out bait to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and then crush him.
-Sun Tzu, the Art of War
http://www.40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com

7th Ambassadorial Grand Tournament Registration: http://40kambassadors.com/register.php 
   
Made in us
Pyromaniac Hellhound Pilot






Best way Tau deal with Imperial Knights?

 grendel083 wrote:
Unit choices are secondary. Best list in the world won't help without the above.


I am Kenpachi look it up! Just joking I get what you are saying thats why I am asking because I value wisdom. Any one can look at the codex and say hey riptides are good but you need someone with experience and wisdom to have you look at sniper drone teams.

   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





A different approach I have seen work very well is the "Fish of Fury" Tau which one of my friends has run to great success in a competitive environment and tournaments both locally and in different states. He takes Devilfish with Fire Warrior teams with EMP Grenades, a couple of Sky-Rays, x1 Hammerhead with Longstrike and anywhere between x10-x15 Piranhas. Its pretty brutal, especially with all the Devilfish Chasis vehicles have a 3+ jink!

19th Krieg Siege Army 7500pts.
40k/HH Night Lords 5000pts.
Orks Waaaghmacht Spearhead 2500pts.
 
   
Made in us
Shas'o Commanding the Hunter Kadre




Olympia, WA

 CKO wrote:
Best way Tau deal with Imperial Knights?

 grendel083 wrote:
Unit choices are secondary. Best list in the world won't help without the above.


I am Kenpachi look it up! Just joking I get what you are saying thats why I am asking because I value wisdom. Any one can look at the codex and say hey riptides are good but you need someone with experience and wisdom to have you look at sniper drone teams.


I have done a fair amount with Tau on my blog if you have interest.

http://40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2013/06/6th-edition-tau-flyers-how-to-make-them.html

http://40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2014/11/necrons-vs-tau-empire-battle-report.html

http://40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2014/11/tau-empire-vs-eldar-battle-report.html

http://40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2014/07/7th-edition-tau.html

http://40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com/2014/05/tau-empire-approaches-in-late-6e.html

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/12/12 20:50:32


Hold out bait to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and then crush him.
-Sun Tzu, the Art of War
http://www.40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com

7th Ambassadorial Grand Tournament Registration: http://40kambassadors.com/register.php 
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran




The Swedish open list cannot take a firebase support cadre without the minimum 6 broadsides and 1 riptide. Other than that it's an ok list buff mander should go with more marker drones IMO.

If I'm running an ethereal I like firewarriors.

Let's not forget forgeworld guys! Tetras are great and outperform pathfinders in my opinion.

R'VARNA's throw out tons of wounds and the new y'arna is just mean, experimental rules I know but this could be super awesome
   
Made in us
Shas'o Commanding the Hunter Kadre




Olympia, WA

We typically steer clear of Forge World, because frankly not everyone is willing to allow it and for good reason. So even when something IS good, that's usually the problem. Lol.

Fire Warriors and Aun'Va + Fireblade (if they dont move) is really really cool.

Hold out bait to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and then crush him.
-Sun Tzu, the Art of War
http://www.40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com

7th Ambassadorial Grand Tournament Registration: http://40kambassadors.com/register.php 
   
 
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