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1000 point Farsight Enclave TAC League List
By YankeeDave

Hi Everyone

This is my first post here as I have come back to mini-wargaming after a very long hiatus and am entering my first local friendly league at 1000 points and wanted some help to tune my list. As it is a friendly league, I don’t want to come across as too “beardy” as I am quite a hardcore gamer and always try to min/max in other games and I am afraid it has come across in this list, so opinions are greatly appreciated.
The league will be 12 players and as it stands now, it will be a Take All Comers list, so I have tried to cover all my bases. There is a limit of 0-1 Flyers in this league. This will be discussed in more detail later on. This is a Farsight Enclave 1000 point TAC list.

HQ – Cadre Fireblade – 60 points

This is a go to in my earlier lists, as I love the extra shot at 30 inches. I find it really impedes the movement of enemy units and can clear the board down from a long way out. I am concerned that this would be better off as an Ethereal, as I will may be using my Pathfinders in close proximity to my Fire Warriors, which make him a better HQ, but the Fireblade is better when I place the Pathfinders out on the flanks to cover more of the board with marker light goodness.

Elites (455pts)

XV104 Riptide (245pts)

Earth Caste Pilot Array (Heavy burst cannon, Riptide battlesuit, Riptide Shield Generator, Stimulant injector, Twin-linked smart missile system)

This unit sits up front and gets in the face of units advancing up the board, Nova Charging the HBC and rerolling Gets Hot with the ECPA. A distraction from the other units in my team and causing a major amount of damage.

XV104 Riptide (210pts)

Early warning override, Ion accelerator, Riptide battlesuit, Riptide Shield Generator, Twin-linked smart missile system, Velocity tracker

My other Riptide is on heavy armour/Flyer killer. There is a limit of 0-1 flyers, so not sure I need the EWO and the Skyfire, but I don’t want to be caught without it either, as a HellDrake could tear through my troops very quickly.

Troops (366pts)

12 Fire Warriors, Pulse Rifles, Bonding Knife Ritual (120pts)

To be placed with the Fireblade to hold the back Objectives and pour serious amounts of fire into advancing units.

3 Crisis Suits (216pts)
3x Twinlinked Fusion Blasters
Bonding Knife Ritual
3x Gun Drones
3x Shield Drones
3x Counterfire Defence System

This unit works triple duty, in that I would want to deepstrike this unit to take the enemy’s backfield objective or hold a mid-field objective if needed. Counterfire Defence to help ward off other assaulting units and it also acts as linebreaker or tank killer against IG mech armies and Eldar with Waveserpents. Need to think about the weapons and wargear loadouts for this team. The shield and gun drones provide extra ablative wounds and shots during overwatch.

Fast Attack (120pts)

Pathfinders (60pts)
Markerlights, pulse carbines, bonding knife ritual

Pathfinders (60pts)
Markerlights, pulse carbines, bonding knife ritual

Markerlight goodness, to help out the already aggressive use of the firewarriors and to help reduce the scatter on the blast weapon of the Ion Accelerator on the 2nd Riptide. Every Tau Army needs Markerlight goodness! Also, should this be one unit of 10 or 2 units of 5?

Total: 971 of 1000 points.


My idea with this army is to load up the Pathfinders and Fire Warriors as a group, hopefully within cover and blast away at approaching units, while holding the back marker. The HBC Riptide will move around the board, targeting units that strike me as priority kills, while the IonTide will stand in front of the firewarriors and provide a cover save for them if needed and also clear up any tanks/flyers that are troubling me, as well as units such as Devastator squads that I can out range. The Crisis suit team will be my roving Jump-Shoot-Jump objective taker and linebreaker, deepstriking if appropriate and causing trouble with the HBC Riptide.

This current list rolls up at 986 points, so I have 29 spare points to use and I am allowed to go over by 1 point, so could afford a grav-inhibitor drone with the pathfinders to slow the assault on my backfield troop group by arranging that group of pathfinders around the outside of the rest of the teams. Could also put in other extra stuff, but not sure what.

My worries are drop-pod teams appearing as if by magic and obliterating my troops and poison/force weapons wiping out my Riptides. I have tried to cover all bases with this list, but all opinions are welcomed, as I am still really new to playing. I am also worried I have gone over the top and have made a “cheesy” list, so if I have, please tell me, as I don’t want to offend other players.

Thanks for the help!

<EDIT> Realised I had too much Wargear on my Crisis Team!

Assuming that you cast your nova charge on your heavy burst cannon, and that you’re firing at the helldrake’s front armor. You have a 19% chance of destroying it and will most likely do 1 wound per turn. This is assuming you manage to get two markerlights on the helldrake and use them to boost your riptide’s BS. So statistically speaking it will be turn 6/7 before your riptide can shoot it down (if only he and the pathfinders fire at it).

I am unsure as to the purpose of the other riptide. In your description you talk about the first riptide.

You only have 2 scoring units. This makes you weak when it comes to holding objectives. Additionally, you’re plan is to have the Fire Warriors sit in the back and hold objectives. There’s no reason to have a squad that big if it’s sole purpose is to sit on a point.

If you put Cadre Fireblade in the Fire Warrior’s unit then that unit becomes extremely vulnerable. It’s now worth a point, and by killing it they will eliminate your objectives potential. Having him in the Fire Warrior’s unit also doesn’t make sense unless you plan on having your Fire Warriors fight, which will put them in danger.

Putting Fusion Blasters on your Crisis Suits means that they will have to get close to their targets to be effective. This again puts them in danger and since they are the other half of your objective potential, they are probably just as valuable as anything they could kill. This danger is also unnecessary since you already have 455 points that can take out vehicles.

The Counter Fire Defense System will only encourage your enemies from not assaulting you. Then again, you will most likely only get one hit off with your fusion blasters in overwatch anyways. So it’s not even that good of a deterrent. However it still makes the Crisis Suits vulnerable to shooting, which they probably won’t survive anyways.