Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Trying to put up a fight vrs a pretty tough tau list. The last game we played I brought my crons, in 2250... And got pretty stomped. Working on building up a admech army - and the war convo seems like the best option.

The last game consisted of:
TAU:
2 riptides
1 stormsurge
1 cold star commander
2 firewarriors squads
1 fireblade
4 units of 4 marker drones
1 piranha
2 units of 2 broadsides (rail/plasma)
5 stealth suits

He had the formation that made drones +1 bs, another that allowed 3 units to Combine as 1 and benefit from better bs, and something that let his piranha move flat out and shoot same phase (same for firewarriors and drones)

My necrons brought duecurion inc
Overlord warscythe phase shifter, orb
2x 13 man warriors with attached cryptic (from royal court)
2x 10 man immortals with tesla
3 night scythes
3 bikes w tesla
5 sword and board lychgaurd

A canoptek Harvest with:
3 wraiths particle beamers, whip coils
3 scarabs
1 tomb spider with twin linked Beamer

A royal court containing zandrekh (warlord) obyron, a default lord with phase, veil and warscythe, 2 crypteks

Zandrekh and the duecurion overlord joined the lychgaurd and took a scythe. The 2 immortals each got either obyron or the other lord (for the veils) and the Warriors each got a cryptek and rode in the remaining scythes.

I was able to get the wraiths into combat with the stormsurge t2 (going first) and the scarabs and spider did ok vrs the rest of army. My reserves sucked on t2 but t3 everything came in. However I couldn't do a thing. The wraiths failed to hurt the surge, the spider and scarabs eventually got gunned down - I couldn't hurt the riptides and his cold star only took 2 wounds and passed his grounding checks, shooting down a scythe. At end of t4 I had lost both immortals units, the lychgaurd were off in the wrong corner (thanks to overcharged jump jets on the riptides) and I had half of 1 warrior squad and 2 fliers left. Having only killed the piranha, some firewarriors, broadsides and a few drones. I just couldn't hurt his big stuff and they flat out OWNED ME.

So.

With admech in mind ..... How do I counter or at least put up a fair fight against that tau?? I don't think they are broke - just tough. I want to provide a "fair fight" and get a match that's even. The last one was a horrible easy win for the tau, despite my best efforts model wise. (Only other cron models I own- 2 ctan, 2 monolith, 2 ghost ark)

I'd like to go admech /skittari for future games and some help in beating the tau with that would be awsome. Heck even some pointers for the crons would be helpful.

Thanks!

(And no - for those who read earlier posts I decided not to expand my daemons... Yet )

If you can't beat tau with crons, you're not going to be able to do it with Ad Mech.

Drop the fliers from your crons and the lychstar is where the teleports should be.

Trade out the tesla for heavy gauss on the bikes and go hunt drones.

I don't think wraiths can take beemers and coils, and even if they can, it's a waste since their job is to get into CC and tie up something scary. Wraith, coils and you're done.

I'd suggest less warriors and less immortals too, since they're troops without ObSec and as such, they're basically tax.

A small unit of flayed ones will do a decent job of soaking fire and a squad of deathmarks should put out enough shots that it causes a riptide a few issues.

With that kind of match-up you want tow go one of two ways majority Skitarii or majority Cult Mechanicus. The admech strengths really show when you play the formations. Against tau I would suggest a Killclade formation of Sicarians, a Ironstraider Cavaliers Formation, Then a Dominus Maniple for your Warlord. And for the Dominus Maniple use the Ranger version and take the Armorbane Sniper rifle. or if you want a closer in fight go for Vanguard with a plasma Culiver. With this set up you will out shoot, out maneuver, and have nasty surprises for tau.


Killclades get a 12" Neurostatic aura which is -1 WS,BS,LD, IN for your opponents. And in one turn you can run and charge that same turn. (By the way they have a 15 in charge)
The Cavaliers is a first turn re-rollable reserve that can fire any weapon from any unit in that formation and they too have a 15in charge
The Dominus Maniple gives you a nasty warlord that is a 2+/4++/4+FNP rerollable. oh and you will be able to reroll ones.

Use the Doctrine right your first three turns having either awesome BS or WS.

Caedes wrote:
Trying to put up a fight vrs a pretty tough tau list. The last game we played I brought my crons, in 2250... And got pretty stomped. Working on building up a admech army - and the war convo seems like the best option.

The last game consisted of:
TAU:
2 riptides
1 stormsurge
1 cold star commander
2 firewarriors squads
1 fireblade
4 units of 4 marker drones
1 piranha
2 units of 2 broadsides (rail/plasma)
5 stealth suits

He had the formation that made drones +1 bs, another that allowed 3 units to Combine as 1 and benefit from better bs, and something that let his piranha move flat out and shoot same phase (same for firewarriors and drones)

I hope he had 2 (at least the first one here)additional units, 1) another firewarrior squad and 2) another drone squad. Otherwise he has the dawnblade contingent (re-rolls to wound and pen against 1 unit) and not the Hunter contingent (3 or more units shooting at same target getting +1bs and shared marker lights). The drone net he used is not the drone net that can be taken as the auxiliary slot for Hunter contingent.

Other than that:
1) if it is after ur shooting phase he is sol for interceptor. That is just a sick move on his part.
2) I can't say much for skitarri but I play against drone all the time and he has a lichguard, destroyer lord, and divine (if that is the guy those stats change when you roll lower than the game turn) bomb. He runs that thing down the middle right at me. If it is not ap2 his destroyer tanks the shots while lower the loch guard tank them.
3) I have played as mesh once and he had 9 of the crab things with the s10 ap1 blast things. He just blasted me to smithereens and didn't lose 1, except to my 1 6 on the d chart.

Yea he has the hunter Contignant thing, and the upgraded drone network and some other 3 rd formation. It's ALOT of shots - including at least 2 big blasts from riptides often str 8 ap 2 and 2 more st 10/ap1 from the surge. And many times its ignoring cover, and plus massive bs. So he never misses and just wipes units off the board. The only thing that gave me a slight hope last game was the RP rolls. I did get wraiths into CC with the surge - but they couldn't dent it, and just died to stomps. Took a few turns - but yea. That thing plus broadside plus riptides plus everything else is ... Just kind of nuts.

I was thinking the admech war convocation might be a good thing to try. Free upgrades and gear and no gets hot means I can spam plasma and at the very least return the favor with volume of shots. Then I suppose it's a matter of LOS and dice.

(I did try death marks at one point as well - they bounced off riptide armor and failed to even give it pause. - armor/invun and fnp against 5 shots = riptide laughing )

Also the last game he actually forgot to do any intercepting at all. I got my deepstrikers In without issue. Just his following turn - unit gets wiped out from those pie plates and any survivors quickly finished from firewarriors, or whatever else is around. Very anti climatic.

Caedes wrote:
I was thinking the admech war convocation might be a good thing to try. Free upgrades and gear and no gets hot means I can spam plasma and at the very least return the favor with volume of shots. Then I suppose it's a matter of LOS and dice.

Most of the units mandated in the war convo is T3 with 4+ armour and FNP and are relatively short ranged. Tau have an abundance of str 6+ ap4+ shooting, so you will get no saves of any kind and they generally outrange you by a fair distance.

Just wanted to make sure on the setup.

With what you just said don't send wraiths against the surge. Tie him up with another squad. The wraiths can wreck everything else except maybe the riptides.

To handle riptides you need to ignore armor and hope he nova charges a system that is not the shield. At that point it is a 5+++

So .... What about a war convo, bunkering up with a macro cannon Aquila strong point? Maybe give it a few void shields?

So I've devised a 1850 pt list, using war convocation. My group and flgs all agree on this as well that the formation should be a skittari maniple instead of a "battle maniple" - so with that in mind, gonna try the following.

Dominus with psuedo generator
3 destroyers with plasma
3 destroyers with plasma
20 fullgrite priests (the beat stick ones)

2x10 vanguard with 3 plasma, omniscope, alpha with arc maul and arc pistol
2x dunecrawlers w/ neutron cannon
2xdunecrawlers w/Icarus array

Knight warden with sanctuary and iron storm missiles

Allied grey knight librarian, lvl 3 w hammer and Storm Bolter.


The idea here is put the dominus and Libby in with the fullgrites infiltrate them as close as I can, and hopefully with invisibility or other psychic shenanigans get them into combat, preferably something small like a drone squad - wipe them out fast and start rocking that 3++ as soon as possible. Everything else just advances as needed unloading plasma at whatever it can, while the crawlers try and deal with bigger stuff. The knight will Likley force the flank and try to drive things towards the middile to be plasmad down, or run over by the Fulgrites.

Army has no deep strike, no fliers, and don't much care about cover, hopefully invalidating a good amount of points the tau spend on countering such. And it's got 2 pretty solid combat threats that should be in charge range pretty quick, along with some decent ranged power as well.

Thoughts?

Hmmm no comments on list idea?

The war convocation IS supposed to be the skitarii battle maniple, changing it would make it beyond overpowered in my opinion. It's already very high tier and able to beat tau it just requires knowing the special rules and how to use them.