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Babar_babar wrote: I did add the second Riptide because they tend to atract a lot of atention. If I drop it from the list, what do you think I should invest in??
Fusion piranhas are now 48 measly points. Just saying.
Babar_babar wrote: Arent they (fusion piranhas) 68pp as you need to take the 2 drones?
They are indeed. I just forget it all the time because in my mind I always save 200pts off my list for "general drone purposes". Even at 68 pts though, a piranha is a super mobile platform, with melta potential in close range and can also serve as a huge pathing blocker (or even send the drones and serve as pathing blocker for multiple turns. I think I will start including 2-4 piranhas in my lists. If nothing else, they can push for that deep lying objective on later turns.
Babar_babar wrote: Arent they (fusion piranhas) 68pp as you need to take the 2 drones?
They are indeed. I just forget it all the time because in my mind I always save 200pts off my list for "general drone purposes". Even at 68 pts though, a piranha is a super mobile platform, with melta potential in close range and can also serve as a huge pathing blocker (or even send the drones and serve as pathing blocker for multiple turns. I think I will start including 2-4 piranhas in my lists. If nothing else, they can push for that deep lying objective on later turns.
And they have 69% chance of leaving 2 drones, 83% chance of 1, behind when they die to continue to harass and take up board space and score objectives
I was reading some post in advancedtautactica and I have seen one debating about sniper drones, and the general consensus there is that they are very good. I personally havent try them as they did seem a bit overpriced to me at 18pp.
ZergSmasher wrote: I usually run 3 Riptides in my Tau lists, and they put in good work. It does require a significant investment in Shield Drones to keep them alive, but the firepower is really solid.
Yeah they put out withering firepower for sure. Nothing wrong with it. They're just going to get whittled fast. But I suppose you assume that in your estimations.
Hold out bait to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and then crush him.
-Sun Tzu, the Art of War
http://www.40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.com
Babar_babar wrote: I was reading some post in advancedtautactica and I have seen one debating about sniper drones, and the general consensus there is that they are very good. I personally havent try them as they did seem a bit overpriced to me at 18pp.
Has anyone have any succes with them?
They are our best source for mortal wounds atm which is very much needed against Knights and other armies heavily relying on invul saves.
Sniper Drones deal a mortal wound on a wound roll of 6+ and the Focus Fire stratagem makes this a 5+. Now, wiht a Firesight Marksman, a Drone Controller and 5 Markerlights, these things shoot twice at 24", hitting on 2+, rerolling 1s and dealing an additional mortal wound on a wound roll of 5+.
With a squad of nine Sniper Drones, that's an average of 5.8 mortal wounds in addition to their regular damage, able to be targeted at characters as well.
Being -1 to hit is just the cherry on top, really.
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2019/01/11 12:24:47
So this question has probably come up first, but I need some clarification on the Mont'ka ability:
-The ability says it affects units within 6" of the Commander at the start of the movement phase. Does this mean that they are then 'buffed' by him and free to move away from the Commander with Mont'ka effect?
Or does the aura stay with the Commander, and do those that have been affected by it at the start of the movement phase, have to stay within 6" of him to keep the benefits?
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2019/01/15 12:12:53
Doctoralex wrote: So this question has probably come up first, but I need some clarification on the Mont'ka ability:
-The ability says it affects units within 6" of the Commander at the start of the movement phase. Does this mean that they are then 'buffed' by him and free to move away from the Commander with Mont'ka effect?
Or does the aura stay with the Commander, and do those that have been affected by it at the start of the movement phase, have to stay within 6" of him to keep the benefits?
It's in the Tau codex FAQ
Spoiler:
Q: If a Commander uses their Master of War ability to declare
either Kauyon or Mont’ka, and a friendly <Sept> unit that
was more than 6" from that Commander at the beginning of the
turn subsequently moves within 6" of that Commander during
that turn, does that <Sept> unit then benefit from Kauyon
or Mont’ka?
A: No. Kauyon and Mont’ka only affect those units that
are within 6" of the Commander when the ability was
used at the start of the turn.
I know this is going to sound really silly and I shouldn't make my decision based on this, but I recently got offered a Tau Army for pretty dang cheap. Now, if I didn't already have 3 armies, I wouldn't hesitate. But, I'm thinking maybe I can replace one of my existing armies. The thing is that this takes time and I'm busy as of lately, not pouring too much time into the hobby. However, the deal is very sweet $$-wise.
I would buy TAU if they were to be my competitive army. The question is, are the models that are offered to me (because, it's just everything that a friend owns) competitive enough to warrant me buying it, or am I going to be looking at a heck of a lot of extra expenses to finally shape a good list?
EDIT: He sais there's also "quite some" drones, w/e that means
Now, I know there's 2 Riptides, 2 Hammerheads, 40 warriors and 6 crisis suits which ought to be good, but the question is, how much more am I going to need to build a competitive list? I know this is a very weird and very broad question, so sorry in advance. Essentially, is it worth it as an army by itself or am I gonna have to buy like 400$ more worth of stuff to make a competitive list?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/01/17 22:36:59
"After Aeons of slumber the Necrotyr awakend to harvest the galaxy anew... but realizing they will never be Ultramarines, the Necrotyr descended into stasis once more."
Now, I know there's 2 Riptides, 2 Hammerheads, 40 warriors and 6 crisis suits which ought to be good, but the question is, how much more am I going to need to build a competitive list? I know this is a very weird and very broad question, so sorry in advance. Essentially, is it worth it as an army by itself or am I gonna have to buy like 400$ more worth of stuff to make a competitive list?
Well, it depends on the weapons load as well. For example, Rail weapons (Broadsides and Hammerheads) are really overshadowed by Ion weapons in this edition. You'll want Cadre Fireblades to buff infantry and as many Commanders as you have detachments. I doubt you have a 'hard-core' tournament competitive list from that collection, though I'm not sure how much you'd have to spend to get to one.
Now, I know there's 2 Riptides, 2 Hammerheads, 40 warriors and 6 crisis suits which ought to be good, but the question is, how much more am I going to need to build a competitive list? I know this is a very weird and very broad question, so sorry in advance. Essentially, is it worth it as an army by itself or am I gonna have to buy like 400$ more worth of stuff to make a competitive list?
Well, it depends on the weapons load as well. For example, Rail weapons (Broadsides and Hammerheads) are really overshadowed by Ion weapons in this edition. You'll want Cadre Fireblades to buff infantry and as many Commanders as you have detachments. I doubt you have a 'hard-core' tournament competitive list from that collection, though I'm not sure how much you'd have to spend to get to one.
I'm supposed to get the sprues as well. Did the old Broadsides have Ions? Although, I think he mentioned something about "broadsides are old models 3 have rail and sms,the other 3 got conversion sms and hymp + missile drones , their rail exist on sprue" . Does that mean they don't have Ions? Idk what "hymp" is. Pathfinders are also the old models, if that's any important.
"After Aeons of slumber the Necrotyr awakend to harvest the galaxy anew... but realizing they will never be Ultramarines, the Necrotyr descended into stasis once more."
I'm supposed to get the sprues as well. Did the old Broadsides have Ions? Although, I think he mentioned something about "broadsides are old models 3 have rail and sms,the other 3 got conversion sms and hymp + missile drones , their rail exist on sprue" . Does that mean they don't have Ions? Idk what "hymp" is. Pathfinders are also the old models, if that's any important.
If it's converted, it's an old broadside based off the Crisis Suit with some extra metal bits. Those were rail only. The current Broadside has Rail and High Yield Missile Pods (HYMP), which are the superior option in most cases. They never got Ion weapons.
Old pathfinders are fine, though they never had the Ion option the current ones do. I think Pathfinder Rail Rifles are still viable compared to their Ion option, it depends what you're shooting at,
I suggest you go over to the Army List sub forum to see what people are building their Tau armies around for competitions, it would probably give you a better idea of what you might need or be able to use.
Most of them generally are built around the core of 30 to 60 Firewarriors player dependant, 1-2 commanders, 1-2 Fireblades, 2-3 riptides, 3 firesight marksmen, 10-20 shield drones.
Fill out the remaining points per flavour, usually sniper drones, broadsides and pathfinders.
Really the issue is with CA2018 changing a lot of points in the more competitive direction a lot of the Tau codex if not 100% competitive isn't exactly GK level of suck.
A super cheap brigade of Sa'cea to offer CP dominance and all the markerlights you will ever need. Bonus points is that it clocks really cheap and we are free to put whatever else we want.
2 x Cadre Fireblade
1 x Etherial
6 units of 5 strike teams + markerlight
3 x Farsight marksmen
3 units of 5 pathfinders
3 units of 3 sniper drones.
That's a full brigade for just a tad over 700 pts. It gives 12 CP, it has 27 markerlights, 6 of them on a 3+ and on characters.
Why Sa'cea? We can now reroll all those markerlights in the cadre, the farsight marksmen, the strike teams and one roll per pathfinder unit. Since each of them is a separate unit, we always get our reroll on every one of them.
Beyond that, we get our 30 fire warriors and the farsight marksman- sniper drone synergy.
Then we are left with 1250+ pts to fill in other goodies and never have to worry about CP or markerlights ever again.
A super cheap brigade of Sa'cea to offer CP dominance and all the markerlights you will ever need. Bonus points is that it clocks really cheap and we are free to put whatever else we want.
2 x Cadre Fireblade
1 x Etherial
What do you think?
With all those Sniper Drones, I'd replace the Ethereal with a XV8 Commander with a Drone Controller.
A super cheap brigade of Sa'cea to offer CP dominance and all the markerlights you will ever need. Bonus points is that it clocks really cheap and we are free to put whatever else we want.
2 x Cadre Fireblade
1 x Etherial
What do you think?
With all those Sniper Drones, I'd replace the Ethereal with a XV8 Commander with a Drone Controller.
They already hit on 4's via the marksmen, and they have 1 reroll per 3 dice due to sa'cea. This and with 25 markerlights, I'm not sure it is needed. The point of this is to keep the brigade as cheap as possible to focus on the rest of your list easier.
With all those Sniper Drones, I'd replace the Ethereal with a XV8 Commander with a Drone Controller.
They already hit on 4's via the marksmen, and they have 1 reroll per 3 dice due to sa'cea. This and with 25 markerlights, I'm not sure it is needed. The point of this is to keep the brigade as cheap as possible to focus on the rest of your list easier.
Commanders are good enough that you'll want as many as possible - one per detachment. You sacrifice a small amount of firepower for the Drone Controller, but you're still shooting 3 guns on 2+ with the Commander.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/01/28 00:29:25
I'm playing soon against a Necron player. 2000pts.
I'm planning on bringing 3 missile Broadsides and 3 Ghostkeels (Cyclic/2xFusion blaster/TL/SG each) to play around with them aaand I'm having trouble deciding what Sept should I bring.
Although the Borkan sept doesn't work on Fusion blasters, it would help all the other weapons a lot. From what I've seen he's a type of a Necron player that doesn't bring Wraiths that often (he prefers Destroyers and Doom scythes lately), so loosing that 5+ overwatch shouldn't be that big of a deal.
What do you think?
"I'm rather intrigued to discover that my opponent, who looks like a perfectly civilised person, is in fact mathematically capable"
A super cheap brigade of Sa'cea to offer CP dominance and all the markerlights you will ever need. Bonus points is that it clocks really cheap and we are free to put whatever else we want.
2 x Cadre Fireblade
1 x Etherial
6 units of 5 strike teams + markerlight
3 x Farsight marksmen
3 units of 5 pathfinders
3 units of 3 sniper drones.
That's a full brigade for just a tad over 700 pts. It gives 12 CP, it has 27 markerlights, 6 of them on a 3+ and on characters.
Why Sa'cea? We can now reroll all those markerlights in the cadre, the farsight marksmen, the strike teams and one roll per pathfinder unit. Since each of them is a separate unit, we always get our reroll on every one of them.
Beyond that, we get our 30 fire warriors and the farsight marksman- sniper drone synergy.
Then we are left with 1250+ pts to fill in other goodies and never have to worry about CP or markerlights ever again.
What do you think?
I'd find a different elite forthat third slot. But my list, which is going to LVO has a similar basis.
I'll be curious as to how this list does. It's very different from my own Tau lists.
My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/7/24, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~16000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Imperial Knights: ~2300 | Leagues of Votann: ~1300 | Tyranids: ~3400 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000 | Kruleboyz: ~3500 | Lumineth Realm-Lords: ~700
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2024: 40 | Total models painted in 2025: 21 | Current main painting project: Warhammer 40k Leviathan set
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: You need your bumps felt. With a patented, Grotsnik Corp Bump Feelerer 9,000.
The Grotsnik Corp Bump Feelerer 9,000. It only looks like several bricks crudely gaffer taped to a cricket bat.
Grotsnik Corp. Sorry, No Refunds.
I'll be curious as to how this list does. It's very different from my own Tau lists.
I took 2nd at a GT and 1st at an RTT with it.
Fair disclosure: The LVO version is altered somewhat from the one that did so well at these events. Whether it was the right move is yet to be determined.
The change is that Broadsides and a few extra models sit where once a Stormsurge did. The other change is that the Kroot Hounds I used in those events have now been replaced by the Stingwings (who can perform the same essential function, provide me more deployment shenanigans, and can shoot). We shall see if those changes produce better results but there are pros and cons for sure in making the changes. I am testing it now, of course. But I can give you the original version as well if you're interested.
The important thing is that the tactics really didn't change.
Played my 3rd game of 8th last night hoping for a nice gentle game with my foot marines, turned up the guy had Tau 3 Riptide's 3 missile sides, longstrike and pals on an open terrain devoid board playing kill points....
It was a massacre! Riptide's are absolutely crazy to face although I did kill one with mass bolter and storm bolter fire.
14000
15000
4000 
~16000 Astra Militarum: 
~1200 | Imperial Knights: 
~2300 | Leagues of Votann: 
~1300 | Tyranids: 
~5000 | Kruleboyz: 
~3500 | Lumineth Realm-Lords: 
~700
