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So with 9th all about the objective game I thought I might try something different with Tau. Trying to be ultra mobile in this list. The basic idea is the army will have two cores made up of a fireblade, riptide, pathfinder unit and 3 lots of firewarriors with drones. The commander will hop between the two as needed and the rest of the army will be used to outflank and target key units. Thoughts? I'm new to Tau so I'm not sure how well this will work.


++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (T'au Empire) [95 PL, 12CP, 1,999pts] ++

+ Configuration +

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)

Detachment CP

Sept Choice: Vior'la Sept

+ HQ +

Cadre Fireblade [3 PL, 75pts]
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Cadre Fireblade [3 PL, 75pts]
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Commander in XV84 Crisis Battlesuit [7 PL, 138pts]: Academy Luminary (Vior'la Sept), Airbursting fragmentation projector, Missile pod, Supernova launcher (replaces 1 airbursting fragmentation projector), Target lock, Warlord
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

+ Troops +

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

+ Elites +

XV104 Riptide Battlesuit [14 PL, 305pts]: 2x Smart missile system, Advanced targeting system, Counterfire defence system, Heavy burst cannon

XV104 Riptide Battlesuit [14 PL, 305pts]: 2x Smart missile system, Advanced targeting system, Counterfire defence system, Heavy burst cannon

XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit [10 PL, 175pts]: 2x Fusion blaster, Fusion collider, 2x MV5 Stealth Drone, Shield generator

XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit [10 PL, 175pts]: 2x Fusion blaster, Fusion collider, 2x MV5 Stealth Drone, Shield generator

+ Fast Attack +

Pathfinder Team [4 PL, 65pts]: MV31 Pulse Accelerator Drone
. 5x Pathfinder: 5x Markerlight, 5x Photon grenades, 5x Pulse carbine

Pathfinder Team [4 PL, 65pts]: MV31 Pulse Accelerator Drone
. 5x Pathfinder: 5x Markerlight, 5x Photon grenades, 5x Pulse carbine

TX4 Piranhas [8 PL, 141pts]
. TX4 Piranha: 2x MV1 Gun Drone, Burst cannon, 2x Seeker missile
. TX4 Piranha: 2x MV1 Gun Drone, Burst cannon, Seeker missile

++ Total: [95 PL, 12CP, 1,999pts] ++

Created with BattleScribe

Seems like a really fun list. Not having enough Markerlight support is going to be your biggest challenge. Two units of Pathfinders will fall over to a stiff breeze. That said, not having enough Markerlight support is going to be a universal problem for all T'au players going into 9th edition I think. It might be a good idea to swap out Shield Drones for Marker Drones to help with that.

I don't love the Counterfire Defense Systems on the Riptides. You're not T'au Sept, so re-rolling over-watch is not that great of an ability. I would certainly be surprised if it resulted in any game-changing moments. If you decide to swap out some Shield Drones for Marker Drones, Riptides would make excellent Drone Controller platforms. Velocity Trackers or Multi-Trackers would also be good picks. The same goes for your Ghostkeels. They get two hard-points, so you might as well use them both up.

I hear you about markerlights. With the changes to characters and the fact that markerlights are heavy weapons it really does limit you when you need to move. That said I figure for this list one markerlight hit is enough for most instances so I'm not overly concerned.

I changed up some of the drones and dropped the CFDS for drone controllers on the riptides. I also dropped the pathfinders, keels and piranhas for some air superiority. What do you think?


++ Battalion Detachment 0CP (T'au Empire) [92 PL, 11CP, 1,999pts] ++

+ Configuration +

Battle Size [12CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points)

Detachment CP

Sept Choice: Vior'la Sept

+ Stratagems +

+ HQ +

Cadre Fireblade [3 PL, 65pts]
. 2x MV7 Marker Drone: 2x Markerlight

Cadre Fireblade [3 PL, 65pts]
. 2x MV7 Marker Drone: 2x Markerlight

Commander in XV84 Crisis Battlesuit [7 PL, 138pts]: Academy Luminary (Vior'la Sept), Airbursting fragmentation projector, Missile pod, Supernova launcher (replaces 1 airbursting fragmentation projector), Target lock, Warlord
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

+ Troops +

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

Strike Team [3 PL, 80pts]
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Markerlight, Pulse carbine, Pulse pistol
. 4x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Pistol + Pulse Carbine: 4x Photon grenades, 4x Pulse carbine, 4x Pulse pistol
. 2x MV4 Shield Drone: 2x Shield generator

+ Elites +

XV104 Riptide Battlesuit [14 PL, 300pts]: 2x Smart missile system, Advanced targeting system, Drone controller, Heavy burst cannon

XV104 Riptide Battlesuit [14 PL, 300pts]: 2x Smart missile system, Advanced targeting system, Drone controller, Heavy burst cannon

+ Flyer +

Barracuda AX-5-2 [12 PL, 255pts]: 2x Long-barelled burst cannon, 2x Missile pod, Swiftstrike railgun

Tiger Shark [21 PL, 396pts]: 2x Burst cannon, 2x Skyspear missile rack, 2x Swiftstrike railgun, 2x Missile pod

++ Total: [92 PL, 11CP, 1,999pts] ++

Created with BattleScribe

With only 4 Marker Drones, the Drone Controllers are probably wasted on the Riptides. Maybe do Multi-Trackers to give them a built-in Marker token?...

The Flyers are certainly worth trying. With the increased importance of objectives though, I would be hesitant dropping the Ghostkeels. They're looking to be a star unit in 9th, but that still needs battlefield testing.