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.

This is the list I've drawn up for the Tau Empire I'm I'm about to start. I'm basing it around the D'Yanoi sept, so drew up the list with the following in mind:

*The army had to contain at least 1 squad of stingwings, as D'yanoi is virtually next door to the vespid homeworld.

*The codex states the sept was cut off from the Empire for a long time, and is still regarded as rustic and backwards. I decided to show this in the list by not taking any Special Issue items from the armoury.

D'yanoi Sept 1500pts:-

HQ:

*Shas'el. Plasma rifle, missile pod, shield generator, hard wired multi tracker... 107pts.

*Ethereal with Honour blade... 60pts.

TROOPS:

*12 fire warriors. photon grenades, 2 pulse carbines, Shas'ui... 142pts.

*12 fire warriors. photon grenades, 2 pulse carbines, Shas'ui... 142pts.

*12 Kroot. Armour (6+ save). Shaper with pulse rifle... 122pts.

ELITES:

3 XV8 battlesuits. 1 with twin linked burst cannons and target lock. 1 with plasma rifle, flamer and drone controller with 2 gun drones. 1 team leader with plasma rifle, fusion blaster, drone controller with two gun drones and bonding knife... 198pts.

3 Stealthsuits. Shas'vre with fusion blaster, bonding knife, drone controller with markerlight drone... 137pts.

FAST ATTACK:

1 strain leader and 5 vespid... 102 pts.

1 Piranha. 2 seeker missiles... 80 pts.

HEAVY SUPPORT

3 Broadsides. 2 target locks, 1 targetting array... 230pts.

2 sniper drone teams... 160pts.

 

I'm not sure if the absence of hammerheads and devilfish will put me at a disadvantage... people seem to take them in Tau armies as if they were compulsory, but hopefully the extra infantry will make up for it. The basic plan is to form a solid firebase of firewarriors in the middle with the broadsides, as well as the kroot to handle any enemy assault units that get too close. Meanwhile the crisis and stealth suits head up one flank, while the vespid close in on the other under cover fire from the sniper teams. The Piranha isn't likly to do much, it's basicly a platform to get some seeker missiles onto the board, or drop drones behind the enemy to pin them for a turn or two. Anything else it kills is a bonus.

Advice and feedback would be appreciated.

Shas'el. Plasma rifle, missile pod, shield generator, hard wired multi tracker... 107pts.

You'd do well dropping the shield generator, hiding behind your other units, and picking up a targetting array. As is, 5/10.

Ethereal with Honour blade... 60pts.

I would drop the honour blade, because I would be keeping this guy out of close combat at all costs. Stick him with the broadsides. 6/10

3 XV8 battlesuits. 198
- team leader, plasma rifle, fusion blaster, two gun drones and bonding knife
- twin linked burst cannon, target lock
- plasma rifle, flamer, 2 gun drones

Simply awful unit. You should buy 2 weapons on crisis, and a multitracker so you can fire them both. You shouldn't be getting gun drones to do the firing for you. You shouldn't be mixing S5 and S8 like this. You should be protecting your suits with shield drones. 2/10

3 Stealthsuits. Shas'vre with fusion blaster, bonding knife, drone controller with markerlight drone... 137pts.

A bad unit. Markerdrones are not worth it. Ever. Another stealth will increase your efficiency. There's no need for the Shas'vre upgrade when you can get a team leader upgrade. A fusion blaster is a poor weapon choice for stealths. 3/10

12 fire warriors. photon grenades, 2 pulse carbines, Shas'ui... 142pts.
12 fire warriors. photon grenades, 2 pulse carbines, Shas'ui... 142pts.

A mix of rifles and carbines, as well as photon grenades, makes this good unit bad. 3/10

12 Kroot. Armour (6+ save). Shaper with pulse rifle... 122pts.

A unit of kroot is good. Giving them pointless upgrades and increasing their squad size is not. 7/10

1 strain leader and 5 vespid... 102 pts.

Yay you've minimised the squad. Good idea. 5/10

1 Piranha. 2 seeker missiles... 80 pts.

A seeker boat is ok, you have sniper drone teams to fire markerlights. 6/10

3 Broadsides. 2 target locks, 1 targetting array... 230pts.

Poor choice. You should be getting ASS, nothing else. You should also be getting shield drones with your broadsides, by getting a team leader upgrade. 4/10

2 sniper drone teams... 160pts.

Sniper drone teams aren't as good as hammerheads. 6/10

I'm not sure if the absence of hammerheads and devilfish will put me at a disadvantage... people seem to take them in Tau armies as if they were compulsory, but hopefully the extra infantry will make up for it. The basic plan is to form a solid firebase of firewarriors in the middle with the broadsides, as well as the kroot to handle any enemy assault units that get too close. Meanwhile the crisis and stealth suits head up one flank, while the vespid close in on the other under cover fire from the sniper teams. The Piranha isn't likly to do much, it's basicly a platform to get some seeker missiles onto the board, or drop drones behind the enemy to pin them for a turn or two. Anything else it kills is a bonus.

Advice and feedback would be appreciated.

I would rate this list 3/10 for competitiveness.

Hey, thanks for the feedback.

I'd be inclined to leave the shield generator on the Shas'el mainly coz I like the look of it on the model, though it makes sense to drop the honour blade on the ethereal. He will be sitting right at the back the whole time anyway.

In hindsight, the Crisis team is pretty awful. I was trying to make a unit to cover all situations, which is probably a mistake. I'll have to take a look at it and see what I can do to fix it up. I'd like to keep some gun drones in the unit, as they can be good for pinning units and keeping them out of close combat for another turn. However, I may throw some shield drones in their for extra protection.

The stealthsuits will probably lose the shas'vre, it was a fluffy choice based on the idea of scouts having a higher ranking officer with them as they'd be away from the main army. They'll be some revision on this unit too.

The carbines in the fire warrior teams are there to fulfill the same role as the drones in the crisis team: pinning units to give you more turns shooting. However, the grenades will most likely be dropped as hopefully they won't be needed.

Kroot are kroot. I went with the pulse rifle purely because I like the model, but it's an easy one to change, as is the armour.

I considered ASS for the broadsides, but thought it mostly pointless as hopefully they wont be moving, or as little as possible anyway, while their current config. means they can open up on multiple targets if playing IG or orks with lots of buggies. However, as the list is still only a draft it could easily change to ASS if I find it's not working out.

Sniper drone teams aren't as good as hammerheads, but I like them, and are one of the reasons I decided to collect Tau.

Thanks for the advice, hopefully they'll be a revised list up soon.

It's nice to see a fluffy list for a change. But I see no reason it can't be a little more competitive and I see a bit of fat that can be trimmed. Just a note: I haven't gotten my hands on the new Tau Codex so I'm not sure about the quality of my advice. Here goes, anyway.

HQ:
I like this layout for the XV-8. The Shield Generator is optional, however as you should be bouncing that guy in and out of cover rather than leaving him open to attack.

The Ethereal is always a good, solid choice. The Honor Blade is excess fat as he shouldn't be thrown into Hand to Hand for any reason. Give him shield drones instead and lump him in with the Broadsides.

Elite:
Consider trimming this unit down to 2 models and adding a Shas'Vre bodyguard to your Shas'El. As you've already come to realize: these units should be specialized rather than jacks of all trades. Something else to bear in mind is that Drones count towards leadership tests when taking casualties. Far better to cut these out and replace them with Shield Drones for your Ethereal and Broadsides.

Stealth Suits rock! The Shas'vre is hardly necessary however and for purposes of fluff you should remember that in order for a Firewarrior to use a battlesuit he already has to be a veteran (Shas'Ui) anyway. The team leader is far more practical. If you can free up the points elsewhere (drop a Sniper Drone team, for instance) I would beef this unit up with more models. The fusion blaster would be a nice surprise for your opponent but consider the points cost and the chosen role for you Stealth Suits. Drop the Markerlight drone.

Troops:

Ahh, Firewarriors, my friends! Why I started playing Tau to begin with. I would drop the Photon grenades and Bond them instead. Combined with the Shas'Ui and Ethereal, these Firewarriors should be a solid screen for your Broadsides.

Kroot. What can I say about Kroot? Ask yourself how often in a game you get to make a 6+ armor save and how often do you pass that save? Also ask yourself how much better Leadership 8 is compared to 7. And what is more effective- a negligble armor save and slight Leadership bonus or 3 more models in the unit? If you go with Kroot stick them in a forest and hope for the best, otherwise consider dropping them for more Firewarriors instead.

Fast Attack:
I don't know anything about the Vespid except that they are ugly and their fluff is despicable. If they count as having Tau Jetpacks then by all means, keep the unit to a minimum, otherwise more models.

The Piranha is a nice little toy for zooming off to capture quarters. It's a also a nifty idea to sneak some Seeker Missles onto the board with one but Seeker Missles aren't really worth the points and requisite Markerlight.

Heavy Support:
Good choice with the Broadsides. Consider giving them Shield Drones.

Sniper Drones are new and unknown to me. At the moment I can't see why you would take two teams and I would definately cut one out and put the points elsewhere: probably into a couple of more Stealthsuits.

Other comments:
Good luck! I hope this was helpful!