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.

So, the game I've been putting off for a few months now is this evening. I am running Eldar, my friend is with Tau. His list will be along these very rough lines:

Commander+Crisis Team with drones (probably drone controller)
Riptide
Fire warrior teams in devilfish x2
Stealth suit team
Broadsides
Hammerheads x2

So, very mech/high armour heavy. I am thinking of running this:

Farseer - singing spear
Farseer - jetbike, mantle
Fire dragons x9 + exarch w/fast shot, Wave Serpent (SL, HF)
Dire Avengers x5, Wave Serpent (SL, HF, SC)
Dire Avengers x5, Wave Serpent (SL, HF, SC)
Dire Avengers x5, Wave Serpent (SL, HF, SC)
Jetbikes x3
Jetbikes x3
Nightspinner

I am 40 points shy of the limit.
Considering: drop farseer, split dragons into 2, add wave serpent (so smaller, less survivable alpha-strike units, but more flexibility)
Change Nightspinner to Fire Prism (kinda think the Spinner may actually be better vs. tau's low initiative - can insta-death suits, hits armour on the side, and can just sit back and barrage from cover).

I have access to striking scorpions (but they're kinda poo), dark reapers (maybe with an ADL+comms array?), 2x falcons w/bright lance (usually I'd say these are rubbish but S8 is going to be key), and a crimson hunter. Oh, and also a blob of guardians with weapons platform, but I like the MSU/ wave serpent spam strength.

Can anyone give me some guidance, both in list and in tactics? I'd really like to not get crushed by my friend's Tau again!

Well, I battled Tau several times with my Serpent spam list and never lost.
First, you have to take out the marker light.
Then the Serpent will generally rule.

I'd drop one Jetseer, the Jetbikes, and the Spinner, and add another Serpent and Warwalkers with scatterlasers.

Good luck!

This is actually one situation where i would recomment keeping the night spinner. ID on broadsides is pretty fun. Keep in mind that you will not be able to fire if you jink, though.

I would split the Fragons as you said. Gives you another serpent, and adds flexability. 9 dragons firirng at one tank is way overkill anyhow.

This is on situation where I wouldnt take the mantle seer. one ingores cover hammerhead shot and theres slay the warlord;

Report to follow... MVP was actually the mantle seer, oddly enough, followed by the jetbikes... I will explain tomorrow when I've had some sleep! Close game, but I lost

Wow serpent spam losing? Thats new.

I don't think wave serpent spam is auto win. They're pretty bad when they jink and they have no low ap shots. Anyways probably no point trying to calm down the griefers

good to hear that it was a close game! those are always the most fun! looking forward to reading your report!

Rx8Speed wrote:
I don't think wave serpent spam is auto win. They're pretty bad when they jink and they have no low ap shots. Anyways probably no point trying to calm down the griefers

good to hear that it was a close game! those are always the most fun! looking forward to reading your report!

Serpents are not bad even with jink when equipped correctly: tl scatterlaser, underslung shuricannon.
And they are very resilient vs shooting.

It was actually a close-run thing, despite me losing pretty much turn 1 (bad choice of table quarter, lack of ruins to deploy in - largely due to the new eldar-themed terrain I'm working on not being as good as imperial ruins) - I lost two wave serpents to broadside and hammerhead fire, and on my turn failed to kill a hammerhead with the prism and only killed one of the two broadsides. I pushed up the table hard to get the fire dragons in, one squad of which did really well but just failed to take down the command squad.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
MVP was actually the mantleseer - I just hid behind some LOS blocking terrain, popped out and eldritch stormed his two hammerheads (one immobilised) every turn, then hid away again. With a bit of luck I could have turned the game around. the jetbikes were amazing - really survivable, and obsec, so I did threaten a win on turn 5. A 1 in 3 chance of winning the game from the position I found myself in on turn 2 was pretty good. In hindsight, I'd change the prism to a nightspinner - it would have been more effective - and a better choice of table edge would have given me the cover I needed.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Edit: had to stay out of the 30" SMS range - but with turbo boost that wasn't a problem, and he was busy trying to save his command squad from fire dragons, and kill my obsec jetbikes whilst finishing up the remaining dire avengers that held on to my objective far longer than they should have... the fire dragons were incredible and I was really glad I took the two min-sized units.

My opponents list is pretty good vs. wave serpent spam - he runs SMS on everything he can, which ignores jink!

I suggest for next time throwing a bunch of three man jetbike squads or even single Vypers unupgraded at the Tau as distraction. And be a prick about it too. Rush them forward and as soon as you're done moving say 'Jink'. Get it in his head that you are Jinking these units again and again and again and now he HAS to shoot them with SMS. Well, the big vehicles don't have split fire so let them shoot everything they have at 50pt units while the 150pt units and up go through unmolested. Huge gamble and your opponent might wise up to it quick, but it's worth a shot. Throw some Bright Lance on the Vypers just cause insta-kill Crisis suits and make it a very obvious threat, but yeah. Distractions are fun. Might need two CAD but you already have two HQ and plenty of troops. Ditching a single Serpent might get you the 3-4 Vypers needed to make it all work as needed.

I make zero guarantees but it could be a fun match that way.

First blood is too important to give up in this way.