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A new Tau stratagem is, "Pick an enemy within 18" of your Commander; that enemy is -1 to Hit for that shooting phase." [Or something very similar to this.]

With a natural BS4+ the Baneblade and its variants will be, unwounded, hitting at 5s.

Still fun to bring in a pickup game when you know what you're playing against beforehand. But in a room of 50-500 people, the chances of encountering Tau are too high to risk taking it.

Thoughts?

Yup, that would suck. However, competitive play is always about your luck with matchups. Even top-drawer lists have occasional bad events where they draw a hard counter in the first couple of games (or just roll badly). I don't think Tau is going to be common enough that I'd worry about it over-much. Plus, the opponent does need to get within 18" of your SH, which may open up some other tactical opportunities.

You might still decide not to bring one, and that might even be my choice, but that choice should be made, IMO, based on wider issues with the meta in question, rather than the chances on encountering one specific army. Just my two cents.

There are a fair few units in other armies (and various chapter/ legion/ race equivalent traits.) that have -1 rules across the army so this isn't a condition exclusive to T'au. The fact it costs command points makes it less splashable than in other armies where it is a bonus rule.

People were already using stratagems and doctrines to boost hit chances with baneblades competitively. tau also suck in melee so if your commander wants to get within 18in "Crush em" is also an option. There is also plenty of -1 to hit modifers in many armies. this is nothing really new.

Also worth noting that if you're playing competitively you're probably running the baneblade in a Tallarn supreme command for the trait+stratagem so he's not on the board initially and only comes on turn 1/whenever its advantageous to make sure he gets all his psychic buffs and offensive strats off.

This isn't really different to (off the top of my head) the tyranid and GSC psykers The Horror and Mass Hypnosis, both of which have -1 to hit debuffs, at 24" range instead of 18". And, as people have said, just Crush Them!, they're within 18"

Dark Angels can do it too with a warp charge 6 power called Aversion, and it has a 24” range. It’s a pretty common thing, I wouldn’t get too worked up about it.

Yet another reason to add to my long list of "why I run 3 superheavies and 1 just doesn't cut it".

If it survived the introduction of raven guard and allitoc and other -1 to hit armies why would a -1 to hit strategum suddenly invalidate it?
Are you just scaremongering becuase you don't like tau?

Baneblades are dead? HAHAHAHAHHAHA

Baneblade all list are a staple in the ETC (European Tournament Circuit) Team-Tournaments. They are one of the most skewed lists out there, and some baneblade variants are obscenely OP.

A 3 shadowsword list is the response of a team to any Primarch or heavy-tank list.

 Galas wrote:
Baneblades are dead? HAHAHAHAHHAHA

Baneblade all list are a staple in the ETC (European Tournament Circuit) Team-Tournaments. They are one of the most skewed lists out there, and some baneblade variants are obscenely OP.

A 3 shadowsword list is the response of a team to any Primarch or heavy-tank list.

I look forward to the tournament win!

You really should be able to protect a single baneblade from being within 18" of an opposing commander (unless they are literally sacrificing it to make your baneblade -1 to hit. In which case you are still winning.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:

 Galas wrote:
Baneblades are dead? HAHAHAHAHHAHA

Baneblade all list are a staple in the ETC (European Tournament Circuit) Team-Tournaments. They are one of the most skewed lists out there, and some baneblade variants are obscenely OP.

A 3 shadowsword list is the response of a team to any Primarch or heavy-tank list.

I look forward to the tournament win!

Theres have been wins in team tournaments (The most popular style of big tournament in europe, we don't usually have GT's of single players, thats more of a USA and UK thing) with teams using the 3 baneblade variants lists.
I know, team tournaments are a totally different meta because teams can chose what list faces what lists, etc... so thats why many teams use skewed and spamm lists like those.

 Galas wrote:

 Unit1126PLL wrote:

 Galas wrote:
Baneblades are dead? HAHAHAHAHHAHA

Baneblade all list are a staple in the ETC (European Tournament Circuit) Team-Tournaments. They are one of the most skewed lists out there, and some baneblade variants are obscenely OP.

A 3 shadowsword list is the response of a team to any Primarch or heavy-tank list.

I look forward to the tournament win!

Theres have been wins in team tournaments (The most popular style of big tournament in europe, we don't usually have GT's of single players, thats more of a USA and UK thing) with teams using the 3 baneblade variants lists.

How big are those team tournaments? 3k each team with 1.5k per player? Otherwise I can't see how you'd fit 3 Baneblades into a single player's list.

Unless the Team Tournament allows people to just play One Army as Two Players (so two commanders of a 2k army, essentially) but then it's just a one-person tournament, but with two players pretending to be one.

Why on Earth would this be the death *knell* when there literally entire armies with this ability?

EDIT: fixed phones autocorrect that was bugging people apparently

Team Tournaments are done by a group of 4-8 players. Every player has his own 2.000 list. And then matchs are one team vs other team. They do the pairings of Player 3 of Team A vs Player 1 of Team B, etc...

Those teams do their list based in what they are expecting to face, what they think or know other teams are gonna bring, etc...

I don't know the minutiate of the process but basically Teams have some flexibility chosing what one of their armies face the armies of their opponents. Thats why you have skew lists like this being used.
Right now I can't find you the bases, I'll look again latter and if I find them I'll link you them.

 Galas wrote:
Team Tournaments are done by a group of 4-8 players. Every player has his own 2.000 list. And then matchs are one team vs other team. They do the pairings of Player 3 of Team A vs Player 1 of Team B, etc...

Those teams do their list based in what they are expecting to face, what they think or know other teams are gonna bring, etc...

I don't know the minutiate of the process but basically Teams have some flexibility chosing what one of their armies face the armies of their opponents. Thats why you have skew lists like this being used.
Right now I can't find you the bases, I'll look again latter and if I find them I'll link you them.

Ah yeah, no that makes sense.

A setting like that would emphasize skew for sure, yeah.

Also, if that was an issue, there's the Salamander command tank, which can give +1 to hit to a tank within 6" for a turn. Costs 130-150 pts, and takes an elite slot.

 MrMoustaffa wrote:
Why on Earth would this be the death nail when there literally entire armies with this ability?

close thread

So it's what other armies have had army-wide for months, it costs some number of command points to use, it can only be used on one target, and you have to get an HQ within 18" to use it? I mean, there's a lot more things I'd be concerned for before your baneblades.

I didn't think baneblade types were typically regarded as competitive anyway, and based upon the constant background whine I thought that no one entered into a tournament unless they're using 60+ guardsmen (which is Sooper Indestructible(TM) and so they wouldn't get close enough to the baneblade until turn 7 which is 6 turns after the lasguns kill the entire army), or they're playing Eldar (which have something better on their entire army if they feel like it). I'm starting to wonder if maybe I just don't understand what's "competitive" anymore.

"OHH NO THERE IS A POTENTIAL COUNTER FOR THIS UNIT! HOW HORRIABLE!"

It's the death nail, for sure.

Not really. A single, relatively easily avoidable counter compared to whole armies that only have to stay outside of 12"? It barely registers.

(also, its "death knell", or maybe "Final nail in the coffin". Just fyi. )

Tau are the Death coffin full of nails for the baneblade chassis for sure.