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So currently the 'Fear bomb' sounds the best but i have been wondering how to take down riptides. I actually think i've found maybe a couple alright ways to do so. Oddly some sslyth coming down in a raider seems like it'd probably work. In fact i may stick an archon with them in the raider. Probably best to give the archon the 'Fear bomb' and i'm guessing you get the 9" bubble all along the raider's base making for a pretty big 'Fear Bomb'. You may ask why a raider and that's because when they come down the raider can jink vs interceptor and with night shields a 3+ cover could ruin that. Also they'd have to force one of the units to waste fire killing the transport and if the transport doesn't explode you could use its hull to block 'line of sight'. This would ruin the shooting of the sslyth sadly but for your next turn if you can get out, shoot and then assault the riptide it might work out. Each Sslyth is WS 4, str 5, t 5, i 4, 3 attacks. However it has 2 weapons and when you charge you get the 5th attack. 5 attacks each and not bulky so you can have even 9 Sslyth in a raider with an archon or similar. If the sslyth are all alive (unlikely even if archon has shadow field to take shots though they shouldn't be hurt too bad. Against the riptide when they charge that's 45 str 5 attacks at WS 4 not counting the shooting wounds or the archon's attacks. Basically 30 hits, 10 wounds and probably a couple wounds from them. Not sure on the strength and attacks of riptides in combat but with everything i think the tau would lose the fight or at least get locked in combat for forever.

I'm actually curious how to take down those riptides though covens units sound like the best option.

Well poison mass fire kills mine a lot

Step 1: Make a beeline for the marker lights.

Step 2: Rapidfire poison at them.

Step 3: ?????

Step 4: Win.

Yeah i'll admit i'm having a hard time thinking of how to kill those riptides. If they pop the 3+ inv. save ability there's not much i can do even with massed poisoned shots.

I've actually been wondering if i can detach my archon with shadow field and just attack the riptide in close combat with him. If nothing else it'll pin him down most of the game until i can mop up everything else. WS 7 vs whatever riptide has (gotta be less than 4) means he only hits archon on 5's and the shadow field means the archon gets his inv. saves until he fails one. The lack of numerous attacks should mean they stay locked in combat for forever.

As long as riptides don't have hit and run or something.

A Riptide has a 2+ armor, so the 3++ invulnerable save will not increase its survivability against your poison. Also, the only Riptide with Hit and Run is the Y'Vahra, the FW Riptide.

Also, don't detach the Archon to assault a Riptide. Its overwatch shots and close combat attacks are at least str 6, so at least one failed invulnerable save will instant death your Archon.

Oldmike wrote:
Well poison mass fire kills mine a lot

That's quite the mass of fire, seeing as it's 135 BS4, poisoned 4+ shots (or just over 11 double splinter venoms) to down a stimtide on average.

But seeing as it's 21 Darklance shots (41 if he successfully nova's the shield every time) to bring one down, I guess that's more realistic.

Numbers will be reduced for every time it fails a nova roll, but realistically, you ignore the Riptide, poison the crap out of the markerlight sources, dark lance the Crisis and Broadsides and hope that you've got enough left in the tank.

With the jink nerf crippling much of the DE army, I'm not sure you can realistically build any sort of competative list without delving heavily into covens. The fearbomb is clever (assuming it still works after the DE FAQ), but the instant someone is mech'ed up or fearless (or both for gladius marines), it all kinda falls apart. Probably doesn't work so well against reserve manipulation armies either, but I guess when you're in the Dark Eldar's boat, beggars can't be choosers and you take what you can get, even if it only works against a select few armies.

Dark Eldar have one turn to not get gunned down, and that's first. (Assuming you sized or won the roll off) After that it's paper thin boats getting blown out of the water by fish people (ironic, isn't it? ) your best hope is to take out his marker lights. Even then 3+ jink won't save you when a 10 point model can blow you up. Sure they need double 6s but it isn't that hard when there's ten of them and you're lit up like a Christmas tree. Pretty much GG after that.

Tau are such a hard counter to DE it's not even funny. Your army relies on cover saves? Ignores Cover. Your army has low av and Toughness? High strength. Your only hope is fear bombing his important crap and neutering enough fire power for you to last longer than turn 5.

I have seen first hand how durable grotesques in a grotesquaries are and how they can shrug off Tau shooting. Just murder the markerlights asap and then grotesque missile them up the field jinking the whole way. Use your deep strike units to hit their critical units and let the durable melee stuff rip the remainder of their army apart. Also poision spam again riptides it ok but without the AP your going to struggle chewing through that 2+ armor and 5+ FNP

Kill the markerlights turn 1. Whatever you run make sure you focus fire on those markerlights and get rid of them ASAP, this will be key, more so for DE than most other armies.

Ravagers with Disintegrators are excellent for taking out Stealth, Crisis and Broadside suits since thats 9 S5, AP2 shots each. A unit or 2 of Scourges equipped with Heat Lances (S6, AP1, Lance, Melta) can be really deadly as well, though you'll mostly be deep striking them in so watch out for Intercepter. Assuming you ignore Death from the Skies like everyone else, the Razorwing Jetfighter can be deadly with 4 missiles that are either S6, AP5 Large Blast or Fleshbane Larg Blast (ignore Shatterfield Missiles, not worth the points). Having 2 Dissintegrators and a Splinter Cannon gives it lots of anti-infantry shooting as well, but the Tau's abundance of Skyfire and Intercepter is definitely a problem.

Tau are weakest in close combat, something that the Dark Eldar are very good at. Grotesques can be brutal in close combat against most things, especially in a Grotesquerie formation where all the potential buffs are good, so stiking them in a Raider with Aether Sails to get into your opponents deployment zone turn 1 is a good idea. Incubi will butcher just about anything in the Tau lines, especially if you throw in a Succubus or Drazhar but remember to always place the mooks up front and keep the Klaivex and HQ at the back, given how much firepower Tau put into overwatch you either want this to be the last unit to charge or for the regular Incubi to be the ones that die first, the Klaivex and HQ will do the heavy lifting in combat. You could also put in an Archon with Shadowfield to tank incoming fire. Reavers can be exceptional with their Cluster Caltrops, a unit of 6 or 9 will run over most opponents but with a 5+ armour they rely on the 3+ jink more oftern than not and the Tau's abundance of Ignores Cover with AP5 just kills them off, Airburst Fragmentation Grenades are particularly leathel to them, so be very careful where you place them. The Purge Cotorie formation from the Start Collecting is pretty good since the Archon gives out Preferred Enemy like sweets, very useful for Blaster and all those poisoned shots, especially when focus firing on a single unit is the usual DE tactic anyway.

As for the Riptide and Stormsurge, Talos Pain Engines are the answer. A unit of 3 with Splinter Cannons puts out 18 twin linked poison shots and 5pts for Chain Flails which lets them re-roll failed To-Wound rolls is a bargain, and better than the 15pt Ichor Injector's Fleshbane as it's got far more utility (especially when you roll as many 1's as I do). 1 on 1 they will murder a Riptide in close combat and a squad of 3 will make sure you get the job done quickly, though using them to deal with Stormsurges is harder as the SS will likely be sitting on your opponents board edge so not as easy to get to. They will be a primary target for your opponent though, which can be good as T7 with 3+ armour and FnP makes them hard to kill, add a Cronos behind them to make it FnP 4+ and they become an excellent bullet sponge. To be really nasty you can run a Corpsthiefe Claw formation, a squad of 5 Talos that have Scout and score VP's for every none-veicle unit they kill in close combat, with a Dark Artisan Formation close behind them. Thats 6 Talos, a Cronos and a Haemonculus (make him the Warlord for the Master Artisan Trait the formation makes you have) so thats 36 twin linked poison shots, 30 S7, AP2 attacks on the charge with WS5 (25 for the CTC plus 5 from the Talos in the DA) and re-rolling failed wounds. Everbody has 4+ FnP when within 6" of the Cronos and all of the MC's re-rolling 1's for FnP. Those 7 models are nearly 1000 points though, and the lack of invuln's makes them rather susceptable to Instant Death and Strength D.

Freakshow is also a viable method but remember that to get the best out of that you'll need allied Eldar or Harlequin Psykers, though at least the Phantasm and Torment Grenade Launchers work against Tau unlike with Marines.

 Drasius wrote:

Oldmike wrote:
Well poison mass fire kills mine a lot

That's quite the mass of fire, seeing as it's 135 BS4, poisoned 4+ shots (or just over 11 double splinter venoms) to down a stimtide on average.

You know what that's not as bad as I would have thought. Points wise it's not that hard to fit that many venoms into a list. Could fit 12 objective secured ones filled with kabolite warriors and 2 lhamians in venoms for 1410. That's almost 200 shots. It's a lot of fast objective secured units as well. It sounds good theory but I don't own 14 venoms to try it out. Venoms are pretty much the best unit in the codex anyways might as well spam them.

Here is a neat trick, put chain snares or rams on your front line transports. This will allow them to tank shock. Next stack the armor of misery with a grotesquerie and start chasing his line off the table. Drones are ld7 base, good luck making a ld4 check. Even riptides and ghostkeels lack fearless and are a 9 meaning he has to take moral on a 6! If he is in a gun line then even better. You can always WWP in the archon with one unit from the covens book to guarentee the LD trick and the best part is he intercepts at the END of the movement phase meaning you can and will have already route his gun line.

It's a ballsy move but it is by far the fasted and most efficient way to beat Tau with DE

Just remember that if he has an Ethereal, it nees to die first before it can make his line ld10 stubborn. Luckily effects don't work from transports anymore so it become hilariously simple.

Coven > Tau

Tau > DE

Play Coven

CTC + Grotequier(DS'ing with WWP with Units of 10) and Venom Spam for Fire Warrior and Other Marker Lights

While very fragile against Tau, Reavers are excellent. I like to run 6 units of 3, and if even one makes contact with a riptide you'll probably land a wound on it with all the HoW attacks on the charge.

Armor of Misery, Freakish Spectacle, or Mask of Secrets from either allied Harlequins or Corsairs typically means one Riptide swept off the board.

So i came up with some very legit strategies today for fighting riptides. One is a bit gimmicky but if it works i am going to laugh my balls off.

The first is just to fight the riptides in melee (possibly with incubi) and maybe a hero with 'armor of misery'.

The second is hilarious. You take a bunch of venoms (like a LOT of venoms) and add chain snares to them. You move and then flat out towards the riptide. Finally you tank shock it till it fails its morale to fall back (easier if you deepstrike the armor of misery hq near it) and then attack it in melee with reavers or anything nearby. Either that or if it elects to 'Death or Glory' you tank shock till one makes it through and runs over the riptide. Probably not the best strategy but given each venom upgraded like this is 70 pts (if you give them splinter cannons and chain snares) it isn't that expensive to spam. You can even take a bunch of them empty.

So yeah the venom tank shock route is gimmicky but it could work. The store owner i talked to about it said they could do the double strength punch vs the venoms at ap 2 but these guys all have flickerfield (5+ inv. save) and if the vehicle damage does get through and all it does is weapon destroyed or crew shaken then we should be fine still running it over. At ap 2 given this is open topped it will be a +2 on the vehicle damage chart.

All this said with 5 venoms tank shocking one has to get in. In fact there's a good chance one in every 2 or 3 would kill a riptide once it comes time to death or glory in turn 2. Try to position them so they won't get shot at by anything but the riptide obviously (which is probably gonna be hard).