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I've always wanted to make a proper battlesuit-heavy list, but army building and points cost limitations always held me back. Then came the Farsight Enclaves - but before I could save enough to make use of them back in the day, it had gone just as quickly as it had come. Then again a couple editions ago - and here we stand after the release of Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good. And - for the first time - I think I've developed a list that's flexible enough, scratches my battlesuit itch, and - just as importantly - is a list of my own making, not some netlist (like certain folks who give our glorious Riptides a bad name...)!

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NAL'DA STRIKE FORCE - 2500pts

BATTALION DETACHMENT: 1217pts

SEPT: Farsight Enclaves

HQ - Shas'o Orpheus (Farsight): 110
Dawn Blade, High-intensity plasma rifle, Warlord (Hero of the Enclaves)

HQ - Shas'el Tal'den (Commander in XV85 Enforcer): 138
Fusion Blaster x2, Fusion Blades, Advanced targeting system

HQ - Strike Commander "Bolt" Ivanovitch (CadreFireblade): 42
Pulse rifle, Photon grenades, Markerlight

TROOPS - Strike Team: 84
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x11

TROOPS - Strike Team: 84
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x11

TROOPS - Strike Team: 84
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x11

ELITES - XV9 Hazard Support Team: 294
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
Shield drone x4

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 100
Shield Drone x10

HEAVY SUPPORT - XV88 Broadside Battlesuits: 321
Broadside Shas'vre w/ Magna rail rifle, Plasma rifle x2, Seeker missile, Advanced Targeting System
Broadside Shas'ui w/ Magna rail rifle, Plasma rifle x2, Seeker missile, Advanced Targeting System
Broadside Shas'ui w/ Magna rail rifle, Plasma rifle x2, Seeker missile, Advanced Targeting System
Marker Drone x6

VANGUARD DETACHMENT: 1283pts

SEPT: Farsight Enclaves

HQ - Shas'el (needs a name) (Commander in XV86 Coldstar): 137
Promising Pupil (Exemplar of the Mont'ka), High-output burst cannon, Burst cannon, Missile pod, Shield generator, Onager gauntlet

ELITES - XV104 Riptide: 281
Ion Accelerator, Fusion Blaster x2, Advanced targeting system

ELITES - XV104 Riptide: 281
Ion Accelerator, Fusion Blaster x2, Advanced targeting system

ELITES - XV8 Battlesuits: 584
Shas'vre w/ Plasma rifle x2, Advanced targeting system
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x2, Advanced targeting system
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x2, Advanced targeting system
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x2, Advanced targeting system
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x2, Advanced targeting system
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x2, Advanced targeting system
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x2, Advanced targeting system
Shas'ui w/ Fusion blaster x3
Shas'ui w/ Fusion blaster x3
Veteran Cadre
Shield drone x13


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The plan with this army is fairly straightforward. The Riptides, Shield drone squad, Broadsides, Firewarriors, and Fireblade form a perimeter or bubble (as terrain and scenario demands) to try and hold an area of the board while providing a powerful fire base to try and deal with enemy armor and larger, harder targets.

The Coldstar will more than likely start on the board, taking advantage of it's 20" movement and 20" advance to put Exemplar of the Mont'ka to use, unleashing a hail of fire on any isolated enemy and pouncing on targets of opportunity.

The XV9s will likely either start in cover elsewhere in the deployment zone to provide a deterrent to deepstrikers, though in many games they'll likely be used to go objective-hopping - mowing down infantry wherever they may come across, and hopefully killing tougher models like Terminators through raw number of attacks.

Farsight, the Enforcer, and the XV8 squad and accompanying drones will obviously be used as a bomb, with a mix of high quality plasma and added fusion firepower to the mix. This squad - particularly the commanders - will be played very aggressively, moving onto hard (and hopefully markerlight tagged) targets to focus fire on key units, and - if necessary - introduced them to the Dawn Blade and fusion blades. The thirteen shield drones combined with the Defence in Numbers stratagem should keep them in play long enough to do damage, and the Veteran Cadre upgrade helps them be more independent, allowing the broadsides and riptides to prioritize markerlight usage.

Simple strategies, but effective I think - and it should be able to reorganize itself depending on the anticipated situation.
Top

You can run 3 units of Shield Drones as Fast Attack, that'll give you another CP.

Running anything but the maximum amount of Commanders possible is probably a mistake in terms of how competitive it is.

I'm not sure why your list says magna rail rifles, I don't think that exists, Broadsides can get heavy rail rifles but I believe those are rarely taken, the missile Broadsides are better AFAIK. The smart missiles are usually very good with advanced targeting systems, if you continue running those weapons on your Broadsides you don't need advanced targeting systems.

Heavy burst cannons are more effective and cheaper than ion accelerators on the Riptides. You don't have any reason to run big Fire Warrior squads IMO, split them out as much as possible. 4x fusion is super effective on Coldstar Commanders, but I don't know how strong you want to make this concept of yours.

Advanced Targeting Systems on plasma is sort of wasted, the math works out so that the first AP is more important than the fourth, definitely worth it going from 0 to -1 but you're not getting a lot from -3 to -4, nothing against units with an invulnerable save.

I'd recommend using the XV9s as a screen instead of the Fire Warriors since Fire Warriors can be wrapped and trapped, making an enemy unit impossible to shoot, while the XV9s can fall back and shoot. Depending on the enemy you might not even need to DS the Suits, against a horde list you'll be screened from most of the board and you might as well start killing as much as possible from turn 1.

 vict0988 wrote:
You can run 3 units of Shield Drones as Fast Attack, that'll give you another CP.

Running anything but the maximum amount of Commanders possible is probably a mistake in terms of how competitive it is.

I'm not sure why your list says magna rail rifles, I don't think that exists, Broadsides can get heavy rail rifles but I believe those are rarely taken, the missile Broadsides are better AFAIK. The smart missiles are usually very good with advanced targeting systems, if you continue running those weapons on your Broadsides you don't need advanced targeting systems.

Heavy burst cannons are more effective and cheaper than ion accelerators on the Riptides. You don't have any reason to run big Fire Warrior squads IMO, split them out as much as possible. 4x fusion is super effective on Coldstar Commanders, but I don't know how strong you want to make this concept of yours.

Advanced Targeting Systems on plasma is sort of wasted, the math works out so that the first AP is more important than the fourth, definitely worth it going from 0 to -1 but you're not getting a lot from -3 to -4, nothing against units with an invulnerable save.

I'd recommend using the XV9s as a screen instead of the Fire Warriors since Fire Warriors can be wrapped and trapped, making an enemy unit impossible to shoot, while the XV9s can fall back and shoot. Depending on the enemy you might not even need to DS the Suits, against a horde list you'll be screened from most of the board and you might as well start killing as much as possible from turn 1.

Magna Rail Rilfes are a prototype system from Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good.

ATS on plasma is a waste, however, if that same squad to perform double duty as a combat as last result squad, then sure. 2500pts isn't the standard size game, combat is less and less important for Tau so.. its probably not a good use of points. CIBs would be better than plasma in most cases.

vict0988 wrote:You can run 3 units of Shield Drones as Fast Attack, that'll give you another CP.

Running anything but the maximum amount of Commanders possible is probably a mistake in terms of how competitive it is.

I'm not sure why your list says magna rail rifles, I don't think that exists, Broadsides can get heavy rail rifles but I believe those are rarely taken, the missile Broadsides are better AFAIK. The smart missiles are usually very good with advanced targeting systems, if you continue running those weapons on your Broadsides you don't need advanced targeting systems.

Heavy burst cannons are more effective and cheaper than ion accelerators on the Riptides. You don't have any reason to run big Fire Warrior squads IMO, split them out as much as possible. 4x fusion is super effective on Coldstar Commanders, but I don't know how strong you want to make this concept of yours.

Advanced Targeting Systems on plasma is sort of wasted, the math works out so that the first AP is more important than the fourth, definitely worth it going from 0 to -1 but you're not getting a lot from -3 to -4, nothing against units with an invulnerable save.

I'd recommend using the XV9s as a screen instead of the Fire Warriors since Fire Warriors can be wrapped and trapped, making an enemy unit impossible to shoot, while the XV9s can fall back and shoot. Depending on the enemy you might not even need to DS the Suits, against a horde list you'll be screened from most of the board and you might as well start killing as much as possible from turn 1.

I'm not entirely worried about being 100% competitive; if I wanted to do a commander spam netlist, I'd just copy that. I get that shield drones are damned good, but I'm trying to have fun without being a complete douchebag to the other player, you know? I doubt I'm gonna end up in tournies of any sort, so I'm just trying to develop something fun, fluffy, but still able to do some good.

Magna rail rifles are new prototype systems form PA:GG - Strength 9 instead of 8, I think they're 1 better AP, and damage rolls of 1 and 2 round up to 3.

I ended up splitting the Riptides to one Ion and one Burst with the new prototype system that lets Ion Accelerators fire at a full 6 shots at all times instead of D6, and gives them one better AP.

As for the Firewarrior squads...I suppose I could break them up into smaller teams, but that's also less dice being rolled each time I fire, too - which means I'm forcing the enemy to roll fewer saves. That's one I'll have to think about, though. Same goes for XV9s and them swapping roles - I suppose I'll pick according to the game I'm about to play!

As for ATS on the battlesuits - yeah, that is a good point. I spoke to Shas'Fio from ATT and managed to rework my list to drop ATS on all the suits, going for triple plasma instead. I may see how going dual CIB looks instead, though - gotta look at the numbers and see how it adds up (18 points a gun - CIBs are more expensive than melta, plasma, or autocannons for other armies!).

Sazzlefrats wrote:

Magna Rail Rilfes are a prototype system from Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good.

ATS on plasma is a waste, however, if that same squad to perform double duty as a combat as last result squad, then sure. 2500pts isn't the standard size game, combat is less and less important for Tau so.. its probably not a good use of points. CIBs would be better than plasma in most cases.

Yeah, the ATS part has been changed as aforementioned. And it may not be - but back when I played, in my area it was always 2500, so that's where I kinda got comfortable lol.

CIBs look awesome, but they're *very* expensive. I reworked the list, though, and came up with this:

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NAL'DA STRIKE FORCE - 2500pts

BATTALION DETACHMENT: 1071pts

SEPT: Farsight Enclaves

HQ - Shas'o Orpheus (Farsight): 110
Dawn Blade, High-intensity plasma rifle, Warlord (Hero of the Enclaves)

HQ - Shas'el Tal'den (Commander in XV85 Enforcer): 138
Fusion Blaster x3, Fusion Blades, Shield Generator

TROOPS - Strike Team: 84
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x11

TROOPS - Strike Team: 84
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x11

TROOPS - Strike Team: 84
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x11

ELITES - XV9 Hazard Support Team: 274
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
Shield drone x4

HEAVY SUPPORT - XV88 Broadside Battlesuits: 309
Broadside Shas'vre w/ Magna rail rifle, Plasma rifle x2, Seeker missile, Velocity Tracker
Broadside Shas'ui w/ Magna rail rifle, Plasma rifle x2, Seeker missile, Velocity Tracker
Broadside Shas'ui w/ Magna rail rifle, Plasma rifle x2, Seeker missile, Velocity Tracker
Marker Drone x6

OUTRIDER DETACHMENT: 162pts

SEPT: Farsight Enclaves

HQ - Strike Commander "Bolt" Ivanovitch (CadreFireblade): 42
Pulse rifle, Photon grenades, Markerlight

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

VANGUARD DETACHMENT: 1267pts

SEPT: Farsight Enclaves

HQ - Shas'el (needs a name) (Commander in XV86 Coldstar): 137
Promising Pupil (Exemplar of the Mont'ka), High-output burst cannon, Burst cannon, Missile pod, Shield generator

ELITES - XV104 Riptide: 269
Ion Accelerator, Amplified Ion Accelerator, Plasma Rifle x2, Advanced targeting system

ELITES - XV104 Riptide: 273
Heavy Burst Cannon, Smart Missile System x2, Advanced targeting system, Drone Controller

ELITES - XV8 Battlesuits: 584
Shas'vre w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Fusion blaster x3
Shas'ui w/ Fusion blaster x3
Veteran Cadre
Shield drone x12


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Kepora wrote:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


NAL'DA STRIKE FORCE - 2500pts

BATTALION DETACHMENT: 1071pts

SEPT: Farsight Enclaves

HQ - Shas'o Orpheus (Farsight): 110
Dawn Blade, High-intensity plasma rifle, Warlord (Hero of the Enclaves)

HQ - Shas'el Tal'den (Commander in XV85 Enforcer): 138
Fusion Blaster x3, Fusion Blades, Shield Generator

TROOPS - Strike Team: 84
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x11

TROOPS - Strike Team: 84
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x11

TROOPS - Strike Team: 84
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x11

ELITES - XV9 Hazard Support Team: 274
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
Shield drone x4

HEAVY SUPPORT - XV88 Broadside Battlesuits: 309
Broadside Shas'vre w/ Magna rail rifle, Plasma rifle x2, Seeker missile, Velocity Tracker
Broadside Shas'ui w/ Magna rail rifle, Plasma rifle x2, Seeker missile, Velocity Tracker
Broadside Shas'ui w/ Magna rail rifle, Plasma rifle x2, Seeker missile, Velocity Tracker
Marker Drone x6

OUTRIDER DETACHMENT: 162pts

SEPT: Farsight Enclaves

HQ - Strike Commander "Bolt" Ivanovitch (CadreFireblade): 42
Pulse rifle, Photon grenades, Markerlight

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

VANGUARD DETACHMENT: 1267pts

SEPT: Farsight Enclaves

HQ - Shas'el (needs a name) (Commander in XV86 Coldstar): 137
Promising Pupil (Exemplar of the Mont'ka), High-output burst cannon, Burst cannon, Missile pod, Shield generator

ELITES - XV104 Riptide: 269
Ion Accelerator, Amplified Ion Accelerator, Plasma Rifle x2, Advanced targeting system

ELITES - XV104 Riptide: 273
Heavy Burst Cannon, Smart Missile System x2, Advanced targeting system, Drone Controller

ELITES - XV8 Battlesuits: 584
Shas'vre w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Fusion blaster x3
Shas'ui w/ Fusion blaster x3
Veteran Cadre
Shield drone x12


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I would recommend you split the Drones more evenly across units. I think you should play a Double Battalion, that would give you another 3 CP. Out of curiosity, what is ATT? I remember the name but searching for the name you mentioned yielded nothing.

As for the Firewarrior squads...I suppose I could break them up into smaller teams, but that's also less dice being rolled each time I fire, too - which means I'm forcing the enemy to roll fewer saves. That's one I'll have to think about, though. Same goes for XV9s and them swapping roles - I suppose I'll pick according to the game I'm about to play!

How many dice you roll each time you make saves has no impact on the overall amount of saves passed or failed. Whether you do 6x5 attacks or 3x10 attacks changes nothing in terms of how effective the shooting is. If you just like picking up big patches of dice you can ask your opponent if he'll allow you to resolve the shooting attacks of several units at once, it usually makes no difference and helps speed up the game.

 vict0988 wrote:

I would recommend you split the Drones more evenly across units. I think you should play a Double Battalion, that would give you another 3 CP. Out of curiosity, what is ATT? I remember the name but searching for the name you mentioned yielded nothing.

As for the Firewarrior squads...I suppose I could break them up into smaller teams, but that's also less dice being rolled each time I fire, too - which means I'm forcing the enemy to roll fewer saves. That's one I'll have to think about, though. Same goes for XV9s and them swapping roles - I suppose I'll pick according to the game I'm about to play!

How many dice you roll each time you make saves has no impact on the overall amount of saves passed or failed. Whether you do 6x5 attacks or 3x10 attacks changes nothing in terms of how effective the shooting is. If you just like picking up big patches of dice you can ask your opponent if he'll allow you to resolve the shooting attacks of several units at once, it usually makes no difference and helps speed up the game.

Double battalion? And how do you mean with the spreading? I'm open to input on ways to reconfigure the list. And Advanced Tau Tactica!

 Kepora wrote:

Double battalion? And how do you mean with the spreading? I'm open to input on ways to reconfigure the list. And Advanced Tau Tactica!

Just configure your army into two Battalions instead of 3 Detachments by splitting up the Fire Warriors, I should have suggested that from the start, but the extra CP from the Outrider was free so I suggested that in case you didn't want to split the Fire Warriors. Take 4x6 Drones instead of 3x4+12.

 vict0988 wrote:

 Kepora wrote:

Double battalion? And how do you mean with the spreading? I'm open to input on ways to reconfigure the list. And Advanced Tau Tactica!

Just configure your army into two Battalions instead of 3 Detachments by splitting up the Fire Warriors, I should have suggested that from the start, but the extra CP from the Outrider was free so I suggested that in case you didn't want to split the Fire Warriors. Take 4x6 Drones instead of 3x4+12.

Ahhh, I see what you mean. If I did that I could move the shield drones into the Battalions, then change the Elite one into a Battalion and get an extra command point out of it.

EDIT: Oh, I got a *lot* more than one back, lmao. I'm up to 7 Command Points now!

 Kepora wrote:

 vict0988 wrote:

 Kepora wrote:

Double battalion? And how do you mean with the spreading? I'm open to input on ways to reconfigure the list. And Advanced Tau Tactica!

Just configure your army into two Battalions instead of 3 Detachments by splitting up the Fire Warriors, I should have suggested that from the start, but the extra CP from the Outrider was free so I suggested that in case you didn't want to split the Fire Warriors. Take 4x6 Drones instead of 3x4+12.

Ahhh, I see what you mean. If I did that I could move the shield drones into the Battalions, then change the Elite one into a Battalion and get an extra command point out of it.

Battalions were changed to 5 CP from 3 CP.

 vict0988 wrote:

Battalions were changed to 5 CP from 3 CP.

I saw, yeah. I edited my previous post but obviously it was too late!

The MSU firewarrior squads might be easier to shoot off individually, but they'll be more resilient to high rate of fire. Plus it should be easier to go after objectives and get in cover!

Right, so. After the input I've been given here (thanks to all of you!), my list now looks like this:

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NAL'DA STRIKE FORCE - 2500pts

BATTALION DETACHMENT: 1534pts

SEPT: Farsight Enclaves

HQ - Shas'o Orpheus (Farsight): 110
Dawn Blade, High-intensity plasma rifle, Warlord (Hero of the Enclaves)

HQ - Shas'el Tal'den (Commander in XV85 Enforcer): 130
Fusion Blaster x2, Fusion Blades, Cyclic Ion Blaster, Shield Generator

TROOPS - Strike Team: 42
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x5

TROOPS - Strike Team: 42
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x5

TROOPS - Strike Team: 42
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x5

ELITES - XV8 Battlesuits: 468
Shas'vre w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Plasma rifle x3
Shas'ui w/ Fusion blaster x3
Shas'ui w/ Fusion blaster x3
Veteran Cadre

ELITES - XV9 Hazard Support Team: 274
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
XV9 w/ Double-barrelled burst cannon x2, Advanced targeting system
Shield drone x4

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

HEAVY SUPPORT - XV88 Broadside Battlesuits: 306
Broadside Shas'vre w/ Magna rail rifle, Smart Missile System x2, Velocity Tracker
Broadside Shas'ui w/ Magna rail rifle, Smart Missile System x2, Velocity Tracker
Broadside Shas'ui w/ Magna rail rifle, Smart Missile System x2, Velocity Tracker
Marker Drone x3

OUTRIDER DETACHMENT: 964pts

SEPT: Farsight Enclaves

HQ - Strike Commander "Bolt" Ivanovitch (Cadre Fireblade): 42
Pulse rifle, Photon grenades, Markerlight

HQ - Shas'el (needs a name) (Commander in XV86 Coldstar): 137
Promising Pupil (Exemplar of the Mont'ka), High-output burst cannon, Burst cannon x2, Missile pod

TROOPS - Strike Team: 42
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x5

TROOPS - Strike Team: 42
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x5

TROOPS - Strike Team: 42
Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades; Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifle, Photon grenades x5

ELITES - XV104 Riptide: 277
Ion Accelerator, Amplified Ion Accelerator, Smart Missile System x2, Target Lock

ELITES - XV104 Riptide: 262
Heavy Burst Cannon, Smart Missile System x2, Target Lock

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

FAST ATTACK - Tactical Drones: 40
Shield Drone x4

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All said in done, I have 7 Command Points left over this way, and my shield drones are more dispersed - as are my infantry squads. I lost a few drones, though, as well as the seeker missiles to make room for Smart Missile Systems on my Broadsides and Riptides. I'm at a loss as to what to change next; anything better on the battlesuits is going to require cuts elsewhere in the list, and I really don't know where else to make said cuts. Everything in the list has it's role, and I feel that if I yank anything else out it'll hamper the army in some way. Plus, as I stated - though I'm going battlesuit heavy, I'm trying not to be that guy who makes Tau unfun by spamming Coldstars and Riptides. I'd love to go CIB on the battlesuits, but holy crap, 18 points a gun is just way too damn much!

Most people follow the tournament guidelines for not bringing more than 3 units from a single datasheet for 2000 pts unless it is a Dedicated Transport or Troops choice, normally I'd suggest you should take 3 squads of Drones and split them out among your Fire Warrior and Crisis units. But then again if you're playing 2500 pts I have no idea what kind of community you play with, good luck.

You forgot the whole point of splitting up your Fire Warriors, to get two Battalions. I'm assuming you spent 2CP in list creation so you should have 11CP leftover from 2x5+3. I cannot fathom how you've spent 6CP pre-game.

6 Units of Drones aren't legal, so.... take units 4,5,6 and each firewarrior squad can have 2 shield drones (which after deployment form their own units, and act just like regular drone squads).

And... you actually show 2 battalions in your list right now, so you have 5cp+5cp, and once you fix the drones you will be battleforged and get a bonus 3cp. For a total of 13cp.

Promising Pupil is 1cp, buy 3 relics for 3cp, and the veteran upgrade for the crisis team for 2cp, is how you spend 6cp pre-game.

Now if you wanted to upgrade your crisis suit guns you could. There's 6 Firewarrriors in your squads. You only need 5. If you took those 42 points, you could upgrade a few suits to things like CIBx2 & ATS, or MPx2 & ATS.

vict0988 wrote:Most people follow the tournament guidelines for not bringing more than 3 units from a single datasheet for 2000 pts unless it is a Dedicated Transport or Troops choice, normally I'd suggest you should take 3 squads of Drones and split them out among your Fire Warrior and Crisis units. But then again if you're playing 2500 pts I have no idea what kind of community you play with, good luck.

You forgot the whole point of splitting up your Fire Warriors, to get two Battalions. I'm assuming you spent 2CP in list creation so you should have 11CP leftover from 2x5+3. I cannot fathom how you've spent 6CP pre-game.

Oh, I goofed on the rewrite - they ARE both Battalions! That was an error on my part! And Veteran Cadre is 2 CP for any Battlesuti squads more than 3 suits strong. Makes them WS4+ and BS3+!

Sazzlefrats wrote:6 Units of Drones aren't legal, so.... take units 4,5,6 and each firewarrior squad can have 2 shield drones (which after deployment form their own units, and act just like regular drone squads).

And... you actually show 2 battalions in your list right now, so you have 5cp+5cp, and once you fix the drones you will be battleforged and get a bonus 3cp. For a total of 13cp.

Promising Pupil is 1cp, buy 3 relics for 3cp, and the veteran upgrade for the crisis team for 2cp, is how you spend 6cp pre-game.

Now if you wanted to upgrade your crisis suit guns you could. There's 6 Firewarrriors in your squads. You only need 5. If you took those 42 points, you could upgrade a few suits to things like CIBx2 & ATS, or MPx2 & ATS.

How are 6 units not legal? It's 3 in each detachment. And true - That would make them even more vulnerable to incoming fire, but...I'll have a look and see what I can do!

FAQs. Must follow the rule of 3. (Per army, not detachment).

Stuff dies... especially troops and drones, its all about keeping your suits alive til the end of the game.

 Sazzlefrats wrote:
FAQs. Must follow the rule of 3. (Per army, not detachment).

Stuff dies... especially troops and drones, its all about keeping your suits alive til the end of the game.

Rule of 3 is a tournament suggestion, if his community plays 2500 I think all bets are off as far as what other customs they follow.

 vict0988 wrote:

 Sazzlefrats wrote:
FAQs. Must follow the rule of 3. (Per army, not detachment).

Stuff dies... especially troops and drones, its all about keeping your suits alive til the end of the game.

Rule of 3 is a tournament suggestion, if his community plays 2500 I think all bets are off as far as what other customs they follow.

Whoops Open Play? I failed to consider that. Thank you. You're right. Can you run 6 units of drones in a single detachment in that case?

 Sazzlefrats wrote:

 vict0988 wrote:

 Sazzlefrats wrote:
FAQs. Must follow the rule of 3. (Per army, not detachment).

Stuff dies... especially troops and drones, its all about keeping your suits alive til the end of the game.

Rule of 3 is a tournament suggestion, if his community plays 2500 I think all bets are off as far as what other customs they follow.

Whoops Open Play? I failed to consider that. Thank you. You're right. Can you run 6 units of drones in a single detachment in that case?

No, not just open play. Rule of 3 is an opt-in rule. If nobody says it is in play then it is not in play. GW suggests that tournaments mandate it, it's not a core part of matched play the same way the deep strike nerfs are. Most communities just always opt-in unless someone asks for an exemption because spammy armies are boring to look at and play against.

 vict0988 wrote:

 Sazzlefrats wrote:

 vict0988 wrote:

 Sazzlefrats wrote:
FAQs. Must follow the rule of 3. (Per army, not detachment).

Stuff dies... especially troops and drones, its all about keeping your suits alive til the end of the game.

Rule of 3 is a tournament suggestion, if his community plays 2500 I think all bets are off as far as what other customs they follow.

Whoops Open Play? I failed to consider that. Thank you. You're right. Can you run 6 units of drones in a single detachment in that case?

No, not just open play. Rule of 3 is an opt-in rule. If nobody says it is in play then it is not in play. GW suggests that tournaments mandate it, it's not a core part of matched play the same way the deep strike nerfs are. Most communities just always opt-in unless someone asks for an exemption because spammy armies are boring to look at and play against.

And that's something I'm trying to avoid - the usual Tau spam netlist kinda build. I want a lot of battlesuits, but I want it to be fun and interesting for both me and my opponent while still being viable. I mean...if I jsut wanted to play to win I'd do Coldstar spam with quad fusion and go triple riptide I am looking at breaking up the drones and distributing them across the firewarrior squads, though - 2 in each, having 4 on the broadsides, 2 on the enforcer, and 2 squads of 4 to drop in with the battlesuits when they drop. I really need to find a way to get more shield drones in, though - because I don't think 16 will protect the riptides and broadsides for long enough...