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Ok, I know im jumping the gun rather severly first assuming there will even be an 'ard boyz next year and second that will be fortunate enough to make the finals, but I want to start putting together a 2500 pt tau list with the expectation of facing the armies that should be top of the metagame next year.

Im guessing we will have Shooty Marines ( las plas may make a resurgence due to the changes in rending in 5th edition ), Mech Eldar ( tough in 5th but not as bad ), Lash Prince Chaos, Zilla Nids, And Orks with lottas and skarsnits boyz as the most common. Based on that I have the follow list which I think ( of course I have not played in 3 years so I may be very off here ) should do well against those lists.


HQ - Shadowsun - 175
HQ - Shas'El with CIB,TLBC, HWMT - 82

ELITE - 3 XV8 Crisis Suits with TLMP, drone controller, 2x shield drone each - 219
ELITE - 3 XV8 Crisis Suits with TLMP, drone controller, 2x shield drone each - 219
ELITE - 6 XV-25 Stealth Suits with Shas Vre, markerlight - 200

TROOPS - 12 Firewarriors with Shas Ui, bonding knife, markerlight -145
TROOPS - 12 Firewarriors with Shas Ui, bonding knife, markerlight -145
TROOPS - 20 Kroot with 10 Kroothounds, Shaper - 221

FAST ATTACK - 8 Pathfinders with Devilfish - 176
FAST ATTACK - 1 Pirhana with FB and TA - 70

HEAVY SUPPORT 3 Sniper Drone Teams - 240
HEAVY SUPPORT 3 Broadsides with drone controllers and 2 Shield Drones each - 300
HEAVY SUPPORT 3 Broadsides with drone controllers and 2 Shield Drones each - 300

Total 2492


Ok, I know this is not a conventional list and It may just be unworkable but my idea is that the army should do very well against any shooty army due to the profusion of shield drones and the large number of markelights I should be laying down some pretty devastating fire. The suits, drones, sides and lights should allow me to make quick work of skimmer based armies and the firebase should be powerful enough to hammer any footslooging hoard (158 S4+ shots possible in one turn )

So am I just too out of practice or is this worth starting to build. As I only have my commander, one fish and 8 FW purchased so far I can still go either way but I want to have enough time to paint them all to a GT acceptable by the Summer so I need to get buyin now.

Thanks in advance for any help.

bigtmac68 wrote:Ok, I know im jumping the gun rather severly first assuming there will even be an 'ard boyz next year and second that will be fortunate enough to make the finals, but I want to start putting together a 2500 pt tau list with the expectation of facing the armies that should be top of the metagame next year.

.

LMAO - Designing a list for 5th edition 40k, but the reason you give for jumping the gun - will there be an ard boys, and will you or won't you make the finals.

Well ok, im triple jumping the gun, but since im starting again from scratch im gonna need a good amount of lead time, so trying to anticipate what the state of the game will be by the time im done.

Since ive yet to see a Brimstone validated rumor that turned out to be total crap, Im willing to put my $800 on the line in anticipation of a summer 08 5th ed.

worst case, this army is pretty good in 4th ( again, based soley on mindhammer since I havent played in years) so Im not too bad off either way.

With Tau you know you're going to need a substantial number of Fire Warriors. I'd start by painting those up first. You can tweak other aspects of the list as more concrete rumors start arriving.

What do you do when you come across an army with a librarian?

That's something I wrestled with for my Tau list, and the best answer I had was Shadowsun. She's a heck of a lot of points, but she's got a 36" leadership 10 bubble that will really help against Boo!.

You may want to consider putting Advanced Stabilization System on at least one of the Broadside teams; the mobility can really be worth it.

I see LOTS of ST5 shooting in your list, and a decent amount of S7, but very little AP2; you're really going to struggle against Nidzilla.

If you're going to spend the points for a markerlight for your Shas'ui, spend a few extra on a target lock. Otherwise you're likely to waste the markerlight shot or 11 pulse rifle shots.

Just some observations.

You have the basic concept, but there are a number of things that you can do to improve this list. You lack mobility, and some failed morale checks and your running off the board.

1) An Ethereal is better than shadowsun. No, they don't work against BOO, but they do work on the crazy number of LD8 checks you'll be taking if you play a smart opponent. Shadowsun also won't help you against BOO since she is a unit and can be fired on. Once her drone is dead, the Libby can BOO to their hearts content.

2) Your broadsides don't need 6 drones. They don't contribute to your damage output. 2 drones is enough. Get ASS instead so that you can move and shoot. Target lock on the team leader is also useful, but not required.

3) I'd make the elites into fireknifes. As previously mentioned, you have very little AP2 firepower. Combine that with the fact that deep striking libbys are one of the best things against your army, and you'll have a tough time getting rid of that threat.

4) I'd swap the stealths for XV8s, but thats just me. I'd also add a bodyguard to your Shas'El. There isn't anything better than Crisis Suits in the Tau army.

5) The fast attack seems out of place. I don't see a purpose for them. Multiple pirahnas could work as objective grabbers, but I think you need these points to have a purpose.

6) Something to consider is pulse carbines for your fire warriors. I can't stress enough the ability to move and shoot.

Daydream

Daydream wrote:You have the basic concept, but there are a number of things that you can do to improve this list. You lack mobility, and some failed morale checks and your running off the board.

1) An Ethereal is better than shadowsun. No, they don't work against BOO, but they do work on the crazy number of LD8 checks you'll be taking if you play a smart opponent. Shadowsun also won't help you against BOO since she is a unit and can be fired on. Once her drone is dead, the Libby can BOO to their hearts content.

2) Your broadsides don't need 6 drones. They don't contribute to your damage output. 2 drones is enough. Get ASS instead so that you can move and shoot. Target lock on the team leader is also useful, but not required.

3) I'd make the elites into fireknifes. As previously mentioned, you have very little AP2 firepower. Combine that with the fact that deep striking libbys are one of the best things against your army, and you'll have a tough time getting rid of that threat.

4) I'd swap the stealths for XV8s, but thats just me. I'd also add a bodyguard to your Shas'El. There isn't anything better than Crisis Suits in the Tau army.

5) The fast attack seems out of place. I don't see a purpose for them. Multiple pirahnas could work as objective grabbers, but I think you need these points to have a purpose.

6) Something to consider is pulse carbines for your fire warriors. I can't stress enough the ability to move and shoot.

Daydream

great points , I will try an ethereal as an alternate during playtesting, but I think boo is one of my greatest weaknesses and I should not have too much trouble hiding shadowsun from the majority of enemy fire with terrain, she is only one model and wont be doing any shooting of her own unless a boo shows up close to her. I think Ed is correct that Boo is my biggest weakness, but if an ethreal works better it will free up a lot of points.

Im going to build my suit with magnets so I can test out my idea of massed deathrains vs fireknives. stand their ground and absorb enemy fireThe idea is that with the massed drones they will be able to Im hoping that 9 sniper drones and 6 broadsides should give me enough should enable me to respond to point target threats like a boo libby and his retinue while an insane amount of st5 just makes marines take too many saves to deal with. May not work.

I may just kill the pirahna and use those points to upgrade the fw squads with tls, and swapping the shield drones for bass systems is probably a good idea.

As far as zilla nids go, would 6 st10 ap1 shots with re rolls every turn not be a difficult thing for zilla to deal with? If not then I may have to go with traditional fireknife, will have to see.


Thanks for all the feedback, all will be considered and is deeply appreciated

Just a bit of math on the Fear the Darkness power.

Assume Leadership 8 for the squads due to Shas'ui. Don't forget that FotD imposes a -2 penalty to Leadership for this test.

Chance of making it with
Ethereal re-roll: 15/36 + 21/36 * 15/36 = .66
Shadowsun: 26/36 = .72

Shadowsun benefits from not needing line of sight and having a stealth suit to help keep her alive, and the ethereal is cheaper and has a larger potential area of effect.

Just some food for thought.