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As the title says, I'm thinking of starting Tau but I'm looking for some guidance. I have zero interest in playing "competitive 40k" and would just be occasionally playing at my LGS. Also, the riptide and its FW variants are some of my favorite models in the game and I'd probably want to play a list with at least 2 or 3 of them. Maybe a stormsurge too. But I understand these things are pretty OP. So, without this thread devolving into a shouting match over things being broken, is there a way to play that kind of list without being seen as a horrible cheesemonger?

2 or 3 riptides wthout being seen a cheesemonger? Damn near impossible.

Buy the codex, see which units look fun to you, look up which formations those units fit into the best with what you think would be fun to play, work out a list at 1500 points, buy/build/paint those models, and enjoy. Add to it as you see fit.

That's the hobby.

SJ

Most consider lists with more than 1 riptide to be pretty damn cheesy. I'm not really sure there is a way around it.

I personally would play you if you gave me a heads up but would bring a competitive list out of necessity.

As above.

You could limit yourself to shooting one weapon per Riptide and less marker lights throughout the army.

The Stormsurge, same story.
2d6 x4 times shooting plus it's other weapons is no fun for any non competitive army, and probably the same for a competitive Ork army. I don't remember if the 4x 2d6 is exactly right as i normally fall asleep watching the dice roll.

If you can limit yourself this way, your opponent will have some great games with you.

Not gonna lie, but there's one big thing to remember - this is far too much money to spend on something that you are not going to enjoy. If having several Riptides to paint up, model, and play with is your thing, then that needs to be your guiding light. You may not get as many games as you might have otherwise - you're playing with competitive models in a competitive book - but over time that will change as more 7.5 level books are released. Or we'll see changes to Monstrous Creatures in 8th edition to swing things back towards vehicles to sell more of those.

I've generally found that if you just talk to people beforehand, and have more flexibility in your army choices, you can generally come to an acceptable balance. But again, this hobby is way too expensive to shape your choices by what might be acceptable, as opposed to what you personally are going to enjoy.

As long as Riptides are not equipped with a Stim-Injector they won't have fnp and so they wont be that tanky. and less cheesy. imho

Burst cannon riptide a are frankly fine and I doubt anyone will tell Ye to cut back the cheese if you bring them kitted out as such.

Just my $0.02... the Retaliation Cadre seems like it would be a good place for you to start.

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Tau-Empire-Retaliation-Cadre

SG

If you like Riptides, go for Riptides. As long as you enjoy building and painting them, there shouldn't be any reason not to play them.

If you want to be a good opponent (in that you don't turn every match into an unfun steamroll in your favour), then steer away from the cheese builds of Riptides and try to work with sub-optimal builds. This method doesn't throw strategy out the window as you will have to think harder to make a sub-optimal build to work, and it gives your opponent a bit of a relief from having to deal with flying juggernauts of death.

you could try the riptide wing instead, and try to play the game without markerlight support. If you ran a wing of one of each of the FW variants and one of the standards as well, it might feel as though you are playing a Gundam game.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Carldooley, can the FW variants be used for the riptide wing formation? I thought it could only have the basic riptides. If so, hail fire with the FW variant guns would be pretty ridiculous (4 torrent shots per y'vahra, and 8 shots per r'varna if it uses the double shot nova charge).

 Maloghurst wrote:
Thanks for the replies guys.

Carldooley, can the FW variants be used for the riptide wing formation? I thought it could only have the basic riptides. If so, hail fire with the FW variant guns would be pretty ridiculous (4 torrent shots per y'vahra, and 8 shots per r'varna if it uses the double shot nova charge).

sorry, no. But in the interests of Forge the Narrative you might get your opponents to give you permission to give it a try. It wouldn't work in a tournament setting, but it very much comes down to where you plan to play.

The biggest question here is what points value you plan to play at. 2 riptides at 1850? Eh, okay, I can easily fit in some stuff to counter them. 3 riptides at 1000? Well, unless you give me a heads up and I bring an extremely hard counter to them it'll be a very unenjoyable game if I have a fluff list.

It's more durable than anything that isn't another monster, it packs heavy firepower, overall they're just not that fun to go against if you don't have a decent counter to them, aka I go into the game expecting them.

Don't let that dissuade you, they can be fun to play against, just again, use them in moderation at low points values. I play fun list DA, let me know you're bringing them so I can include some form of counter like black knights. It's genuinely annoying going against them when I bring something like my all termie lists (which in general is a garbage list anyways haha) and you wipe a squad a turn with just a single riptide, while they deal one or two wounds shooting and absolutely never get into CC with you.

When I go up against a couple riptides I wear my big boy pants and bring my A-game.

If you enjoy the models and the faction's story. Go for it. I played in a tournament the other day with one of each version of the riptide and I promise you, the FW riptides are kind of one trick ponies. I lost all three riptides game one, lost two game two, and one game three. I had a blast, and my opponents had a blast.

A lot of the game is your own personal attitude. If you treat your opponent with respect and activly try to have fun, remind your opponent of things THEY forget that can help them, and you'll do fine.

I do agree though scale with the game size, don't bring 3 of them to a 1000 point game. We run 2k in my area which means there is plenty of firepower to counter them on the table bringing 3, and the people in my area are a little more competetive, and my normal request for a game is, "bring the nastiest thing you can think of." I want the challenge, and its fun to theory craft how to counter the hardcore lists out there for me.

With that being said, I always bring a list that doesn't scare anyone (only suits are stealths, and its a CAD at 2k points), and still does decent because no one expects Breachers in DF with EMP grenades as my anti-armour/MEQ.


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If you enjoy the models and the faction's story, go for it. I played in a tournament the other day with one of each version of the riptide and I promise you, the FW riptides are kind of one trick ponies. I lost all three riptides game one, lost two game two, and one game three. I had a blast, and my opponents had a blast.

A lot of the game is your own personal attitude. If you treat your opponent with respect and actively try to have fun, remind your opponent of things THEY forget that can help them, and you'll do fine.

I do agree though scale with the game size; don't bring 3 of them to a 1000 point game. We run 2k in my area which means there is plenty of firepower to counter them on the table bringing 3, and the people in my area are a little more competitive, and my normal request for a game is, "bring the nastiest thing you can think of." I want the challenge, and its fun to theory craft how to counter the hardcore lists out there for me.

With that being said, I always bring a list that doesn't scare anyone (only suits are stealths, and it’s a CAD at 2k points), and still does decent because no one expects Breachers in DF with EMP grenades as my anti-armour/MEQ.