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So I just played today for the first time against a knight. To make things more interesting there were 3 knights in a formation T_T. Man those reroll saves are annoying >_<. After playing against them, I realized I made multiple silly mistakes.

-First I should have spread out my units more (damn you large blasts!!!).
-I need more mobile units to get a better shot at the side without a shield.
-I should not go face to face with them.
-Target priority (didn't know the warlord gets 3+...).
-Just focus one at a time! (Big mistake on my part. Took 2 HP each on his 2 non-warlord knight).
-Better deployment strategy.

I was playing a Tau army with a FBSC (my saving grace). Took me 4 whole turns for me to take away 18HP! Drones on my broadsides were my saving grace too! Woohoo ablative wounds! Weird thing was after he assaults I did more damage to the knights, I was able to put a solo suits between them and they lose the rerolls! So I want to ask the Dakka community! Any more tips on handling these monstrosities?

Whoa how did you get solo units between them? But otherwise it sounds like you won and you already realized your mistakes, I think we can call that a wrap!

Well it was after he charged my poor tetras and the other two had nothing to charge and thus there was around 6'' between 2 knights. Deep strike my solo suits at the sweet spots then thrust move to block their moving lanes

Those knights were tough though. Thankfully that was 50%+ of his army. I basically ignored the rest of his army and focused the knights. I would love to go against knights again and see if what I learned would be useful. Also debating if I should take more meltas (5 solo suits with TL FB). Hmm so many decisions to make hahaha

So what you're asking is how to beat the Adlance better.

You hit most of the points, the 2 biggest pieces of advice I can give are 1) avoid the shield and 2) don't be afraid to fight them in melee, which kind of goes with point #1 (not really applicable to your tau, however).

1) Shoot from multiple sides, so that the shield isn't a factor. The biggest mistake people make is throwing al their firepower at one side, giving the knight player an easy choice on shield placement. Even S6/7 firepower on unshielded AV12 will chip away hullpoints.
2) The shield doesn't work in melee. And the knight has only 3 attacks base, plus his stomps. If you can hit it with an armorbane or high strength CC unit (think meltabombs or powerfists/MCs) it will fold...you only need to wipe off 6 hullpoints, assuming you're starting with a fresh knight. 3+ or better saves are important though so the stomps don't hurt as bad.

Might be an opportunity for haywire grenades on fire warriors.

I thought about FW with grenades but they will not reach those knights...If I give them a transport it then gets too expensive for my taste. Also, I run a FE list so I like my solo TL-FB suits

Actually take away the reroll on the knights save and they started losing HP faster than he can kill my ML sources. 72 (48 TL) S7 shots with tank hunter does the job quite nicely. I am going to try to run a Burstide with TL-FB and ECPA next time. 2-4 HP a turn would be nice

I would put the emp grenades on, If he sits back and tries to shoot, with proper spacing, you should win that war, if he comes to you, screen with emp firewarriors feed him one unit a time and strip those hull points very easily. They dont have to reach the knights they are there to deter/stall charges on your better shooters. fb suits and piranhas can get around the shields with mobility and get reliable pens.

Try pairing the FB suits. A pair of HRR broadsides are also fun. Plunk them at opposite sides, and you have a good shot at stripping extra HP per turn. A Mark'O setup also helps.

I'd consider running shadowsun and attaching her with her special drone to a riptide.

 TranSpyre wrote:
Try pairing the FB suits. A pair of HRR broadsides are also fun. Plunk them at opposite sides, and you have a good shot at stripping extra HP per turn. A Mark'O setup also helps.

I'd consider running shadowsun and attaching her with her special drone to a riptide.

She can no long join a Riptide in 7e. but the drone idea still works. just get it in 12" of what ever needs to reroll 1's. I used a : shadowbomb to get the pressure of my lines last time I played against a knight with tau. 4 FBs rerolling 1's and 4 BC clearing space to run too. Her warlord trait is great for getting out of charge range.

If you have them, take a pair of Railheads and park them in opposite corners of your board; playing width-ways, you should be able to fire on 2 arcs (ie. one Unshielded) as soon as the Knights close, and if he's using Paladins rather than Errants his shooting isn't too hot against them. Throw in some DS melta suits behind for the final touch (every time I've lost my Knight, it's been Fusion Suits!) and focus on one at a time.

I do not really like railheads and HRR broadsides...Not very point efficient. I think next time I fight a knight formation I will be bringing 5 x solo suits with either TL or Dual FB! (FE) So I do not feel so bad if they mishap or die, 43 or 53 points a pop. Also, the FBSC does a lot of damage to them if they do not have the stupid reroll >_<