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This is a bit of a mixed force for me as I usually tend to go for all hard targets or all infantry. In this list I have a small guard horde backed up with some very hard to kill tau units. I'm trying to cover all the major bases:

Hordes covered with lasgun fire and several smart missile systems and wyverns
Anti-air covered with two sky rays and a riptide with a HBC and VT
Assault armies I will try and screen with conscript tarpit
Knights and AV14 will have a lot of fusion blasters appearing behind them from the deep striking crisis suits
Hopefully invisible deathstars can be at least partially mitigated by markerlights
Drop pods will have to deal with a fair bit of interceptor, and I have the option to screen most of the army with conscripts

Psykers are a bit of a weakness however... I don't think there's an easy way to get around it with this list. What do you guys think? Could this hold its own competitively?


Tau farsight enclave detachment

Fireblade 60pts (in bastion with broadsides)

Riptide with ECPA, EWO, Burst Cannon, VT 235pts

3 Suits with Twin Linked FBs + BKs 129pts
Crisis suit with fusion blaster + twin linked fusion blaster, BK 58pts
Crisis suit with fusion blaster + twin linked fusion blaster, BK 58pts
Crisis suit with twin linked fusion blaster, BK 43pts

Tetra 35pts (homing beacon can allow for some accurate deep strikes for suits)

3 Broadsides with HYMPS, SMS, BK and EWOs 213pts (in bastion)
Sky ray with Blacksun filter 116pts
Sky ray with Blacksun filter 116pts

Bastion 75pts

Allied Imperial Guard Detachment:

Company command squad 60pts
2 Priests 50pts

PCS with Autocannon 40pts
3 Combined squads with autocannons and 2 bolters 181pts (one priest goes here)
40 Conscripts 120pts (one priest goes here)

2 Wyverns 130pts

Any advice anyone? I think this is one of my favorite lists that I've build so far and I'm rally looking forward to trying it out in a tournament

I like it; although I wish you could find a better use for the fireblade or ditch him altogether. But I get that you're low on points. I think the blob is a good support but honestly, you might want to take a peek at Newcrons.

You're spending 581 points on allies. For that, you could get a Canoptek Harvest; which would fulfill the exact same purpose (CC/Tarpit) with more speed, and about the same survivability. AND you would have 231 points left over to fill out the Tau a bit more. (Assuming a 2 source limit). Let's assume, now that you have some points to play with you would drop the Fireblade. So 291 points of room now. Try this:

Tau farsight enclave detachment

Commander: 2x Missile Pods, Target Lock, Drone Controller, 2x Marker Drones

Riptide with ECPA, EWO, Burst Cannon, VT

3x Crisis suit with Missile Pods and target locks, 6x Marker Drones
Crisis suit with fusion blaster + fusion blaster, BK
Crisis suit with fusion blaster + fusion blaster, BK
Crisis suit with twin linked fusion blaster, BK
Crisis suit with twin linked fusion blaster, BK

Tetra (homing beacon can allow for some accurate deep strikes for suits)

3 Broadsides with HYMPS, SMS, BK and EWOs (in bastion)
Sky ray with Blacksun filter
Sky ray with Blacksun filter

Bastion

Canoptek Harvest

6x Wraiths: Whip Coils
Spider
3x Scarabs

1748

The commander can hang with the missile pod crisis and grant BS5 to the marker drones who will make rock stars of the Riptide and fusion suits. Not only that, your AT is greatly enhanced with all those missile pods. And with all those target locks, its diffused as well. Always nice. Your commander is also more survivable, way more, than a lone fireblade. You'll give up warlord less often.

Wraiths and friends fulfill the same role as the guard but are more mobile and more deadly. I'm not a maths guy but I suspect they have similar survivability since the Harvest grants them Reanimation Protocols whilst the spider is alive and w/in 12".

You still check all your boxes but your AA, AT and marker support is better, you have more scoring, your commander is more survivable and your CC threat is deadlier.

Suggestion: make your bastion a bunker and max out on missile drones, give one broadside a drone controller. Shoot tonne loads of crap at everyone...

Thanks for the responses people!

@Shrike

I see you have some similar tau/crons lists up in the forum. I'm afraid I don't have access to any crons, hence the guard... I suspect your list may be the better TAC list, but I'm not planning on getting necrons at any point. I can see how the wraiths would work well in the list though, particularly being allies of convenience so not having to worry about staying 6 inches away! i'd be disappointed to lose the wyverns though, all the same...

I was trying to think of a way to make the obligatory HQ choice more useful, but I'm not sure I could afford those toys if I do stick with the guard, so was just going to use the fireblade as a tax and an additional markerlight hit per turn.

@Kholzerino

I'll have to look up bunker rules, I don't have a copy of stronghold assault. Are they any good?

I was considering missile drones on the broadsides as they're protected in the fortification. I don't think drone controllers work on them though according to the FAQ, Otherwise everyone would be running commanders with BS5 drone controllers in their broadside unit!

The drone controller definitely does not work on them; that would be crazy haha. Be careful about adding drones. I didn't suggest it, even though I normally would, because I don't know the capacity of a bastion. For example, a bunker is 20. Being very bulky, the best use for Tau would be 3 missile sides and a cheap buffmander.

If you can fit the drones in the bastion, by all means, they are worth every red cent.

I think the drones would fit, and I believe the capacity is 20. I think that their potential might be a bit limited by fire points though.

One thing I could do would be to trade a broadside and the fireblade for a commander with 2 MPs and a PEN. Not sure if it'd be worth it though. I'd lose a markerlight, an SMS and an EWO but gain tank hunter/monster hunter for the broadside unit, which could be very valuable.

Tbh if I did have 70pts spare to upgrade the fireblade to a buffmander I'd probably rather use it for another tetra and perhaps another crisis suit or an MOO for the CCS. I really don't know what I'd cut though

But if the capacity is 20 you actually can't fit the drones. Well you could fit 2; but that's not great.

You can't take a PENchip as Enclaves; not without allying in an Empire detachment.

Oh yeah, that's true. I guess thats just another reason not to take a buffmander or drones then!

You can fit three broadsides ad five drones in a bunker. Hadn't seen that faq though. Bugger.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I've been and looked at the FAQ. It states that only broadsides may take missile drones. It doesn't say that a broadside can't take drone controller. And it doesn't say drone controller doesn't work on missile drones. Confused.

You don't need an FAQ. It says it right in the codex pg. 68.

"All Gun Drones, Marker Drones and Sniper Drones in the same unit as a model with the drone controller use the bearer's Balistic Skill instead of their own."

Damn. Thanks.

Made a minor tweak to the list. I've thinned out my deep striking melta suits and dropped the EWOs from the broadside unit to make room for a third wyvern and turning the guard into a second CAD. I think it it'll my wyverns more durable being in three units instead of just the one, and at 65pts it seems silly not to include three. I'm slightly concerned I'm not helping myself against knights, MCs and AV14 etc. but wyverns really are useful things to have around, particularly if they can snipe at different units in a single turn...

Tau farsight enclave CAD (1093pts)

Fireblade 60pts (in bastion with broadsides)

3 Suits with Twin Linked FBs + BKs 129pts
Crisis suit with twin linked fusion blaster, BK 43pts
Crisis suit with twin linked fusion blaster, BK 43pts
Crisis suit with twin linked fusion blaster, BK 43pts

Riptide with ECPA, EWO, Burst Cannon, VT 235pts
Tetra 35pts
3 Broadsides with HYMPS, SMS, BK 198pts (in bastion)
Sky ray with Blacksun filter 116pts
Sky ray with Blacksun filter 116pts

Bastion 75pts

Guard CAD (655pts)

Company command squad with autocannon and bolter 71pts
2 Priests 50pts

PCS with Autocannon and bolter 41pts
35 Conscripts 105pts (one priest goes here)
2 Combined squads with autocannons and 2 bolters 122pts (one priest goes here)

Veteran Squad with autocannon and bolter 71

Wyvern 65pts
Wyvern 65pts
Wyvern 65pts

Looks tough; is the blob fearless?

In the newest incarnation, both the conscripts and the 20-guardsman unit both have a priest in them (so have zealot, which amounts to fearless). Not really sure whether it's worth an extra 25pt priest for the small guard unit to be fearless too, but it'll make them fairly durable in CC to help shield the Tau units.