Tau Army development

[Lord Hanaur]

Consider this.  Thoughts?

 

 

 

Combined Arms Detachment:

 

Aun'Va, Master of the Undying Spirit

Reason:  Because his automatic Warlord Trait is amazeballz and his sprinkler of death effect on Fire Warriors and Sniper Drones is very good etc... super cool)

 

5 Fire Warriors

 

 

5 Fire Warriors

Reason:  perfunctory Obsec.  I think it's pretty important to have some.  I really wanted one more unit in there and may change something later to allow for it.  Taking objectives is important and armies like Eldar can do last minute Obsec objective grabs with their bikes which, if you have no obsec in reserve, you can't do anything about.  just having a unit that can tie the issue on them comes up more often than people thought it would when this kind of stuff first came out and everyone was lauding things like the Decurion.  But Decurion players found out pretty quick how much it sucks to kill people all day long, lose practically nothing in return and lose the game.  Someone with a random Fire Warrior left or who snuck a Jet bike over yonder and whammo, instant loss.  Orks can, conceivably almost auto win just by reserving and then slogging around to a few objectives against armies that have no answer to Obsec.  Cant kill enough fast enough at a certain point.  So as little as these units are, I included the CAD for that reason.

 

 

5 Marker Drones

Reason:  Because:  Marker Lights and Tau are like jam to a scone

 

3 Firesight Marksmen with 6 Sniper Drones

Reason: secondary Markerlight support unit with bite and really good defense, They will also man the Gunrig.  Their targets can be compatible.  Aun'Va gives the Sniper Drones 3 shots apiece at 24" range.  The Sniper Drones and Marksmen are already BS 5, so the Gunrigs ability to let the unit re-roll 1's essentially gives you a unit that is hitting on 2's, twin linked, just like the Commander and his Marker drones will be.  The Sniper Drones directing a Gunrig?  A perfect match.

 

Tidewall Gunrig

Reason:  Heavy duty early fire support against both normal troops and heavy duty armor.  It guarantees essentially aT4 3+ cover save for the Sniper Drones and their Marksmen, plus provides mobile cover otherwise for Aun'Va and the gang.  One Gunrig should be able to maneuver a little bit on most boards.  Much cheaper than a Hammerhead gunship and while it won't provide everything the Hammerhead does, it will provide a serious boost early on.  A little luck goes a long way with a Railgun and one that's essentially never missing?  You never get a second chance to make a first impression!

 

Retaliation Cadre

 

Commander (2 Marker Drones, Irridium Armor, Stim Injector, Onager Gauntlet, Command And Control Node, Drone Controller)

Reason:  he tanks and protects the Markerdrones very well.  He can punch a hole in you if forced to, but his primary goal is to make sure the markerlights never miss, and that there are enough of them to ensure the vaporization of the target you want dead.  Big horde on the way?  No problem.  Gotta kill some annoying Obsec unit that's messing with your Chi?  Consider the telemetry on its way.

 

Crisis Battlesuit (Flamer+Fusion)

 

Crisis Battlesuit (Flamer+Fusion)

 

Crisis Battlesuit (Flamer+Fusion)

Reason:  Required for the Formation but also quite useful for saving my other fire for things besides popping cans.  They are low cost at just 42 points and its assured that anything attempting to kill it is most likely more expensive which ablates the enemies firepower if they dedicate time to killing them.  Line Breaking is a thing and in some missions its nice to just slink into a corner with a lone Monat suit to snag that Victory Point.  In this Formation, they are BS 4 on the turn they drop which is the turn it matters most.  They can get markerlight help if needed but they have a decent chance at glory anyways.  In any event, not much lost if they fail.  They are also adaptable.  They can attempt to diminish units of any kind with their weapons.  They aren't just useful for tanks, they can also wash a softer unit in flames and make it seriously consider whether it can ignore that a second time.

Tactically they do one more thing for me:  if someone charges them, it helps me clump the enemy up for an Ion shot.  KARTHOOM.

 

2 Broadside Battle Suits (High Yield Missile Pods, Both with Early Warning Overrides)

Reason:  They are Relentless in this formation and auto-Deep Strike turn 2 if I like.  This suits my play style very well.  I am nothing if not patient, and I do not mind seeing what the enemy will do before I play my hand.  With no chance that they won't come in late, I can hardly resist taking a pair of these and situating them perfectly to make pursuit a lot less fruitful than it would have been as a sitting duck.  Moreover I prize mobility and making my Broadsides relentless?  Yes please!  I bemoan my inability to put some shield drones in the unit but have no idea where I would get the points.  Still, if i can justify it through actual games that I need the shield drones badly enough I might make some changes there.  Over many years I have come to think of them as an absolutely excellent investment so I am going out on a limb going without them.

 

Riptide (Ion Accelerator, Early Warning Override, Stim Injector)

 

Reason:  one of the finest units around.  Doughty and hard hitting,as well as at least having some hope whatsoever in close combat unlike most of my units (though I wouldn't say it's much more of a chance).  Still, I love the Ion Cannon because with Markerlight support, it never deviates and that is one crushing weapon to have at your disposal given its range and potency.  Paladin stars and similar things are a serious problem for a squish-fest such as the Tau Empire.  Gotta' have an answer.

 

Optimized Stealth Cadre

 

6 Stealthsuits (5x Advanced Targeting Systems, 2 x Fusion Blasters)

 

6 Stealthsuits (5x Advanced Targeting Systems, 2 x Fusion Blasters)

 

Reason:  as anti-armor goes this is pretty damn good as I can use the Wall of mirrors (if i wish) to hit rear armor.  As anti-infantry goes...this is also pretty damn good.  The combination of STR 5 on the move with Precision shot makes the full sized stealth units potent, able to de-fang a dangerous component of a unit and fade away (such as Plasma Cannons or Grav Guns in a biker Squad that normally would be protected by a Biker Chapter Master and his shield for example).  The Fusion Blaster range coupled with their ability to jump-shoot-jump makes them fairly able to take advantage of cover and while in cover they are kind of hard to kill.  Add to this the effects of Aun'Va's Warlord trait in any given round in which heavy retribution might be at hand and you can see that the Stealth units are quite doughty in their own way.  The full sized units are seen as a "tax" too expensive to pay, but I feel that with enough anti-tank in other places, I can benefit from having a firehose worth of shots at the point of need which can't be so quickly diminished.  The Wall of Mirrors ability allows the Stealth Unit to help me with Imperial Knights and the Fusion and STR 5 also make me able to at least threaten a Wraith Knight with some wounds and contribute to its death.  They certainly can hose down some jetbikes if they accomplish that mission.  They are solid and most importantly (for my play style) mobile and able to fade and hide.  I am excited I can field these in such a useful way now.

 

3 Ghostkeel Battlesuits (3 MV5 Stealth Drones, Bonding Knife Ritual, Two of them have Target Locks, 1 has a Cyclic Ion Raker+TL Fusion Blaster, Velocity Tracker  and Target Lock...The other 2 have Fusion Colliders + TL Fusion Blasters)

 

Reason:  This is a rather complicated unit.  It will take some getting used to for me.  I played a practice game with them and learned a ton about how you can use them, but I know i have more to learn here.  Bonding knife = a must on this particular unit, as I learned the hard way since it ran away fr two turns of the game...  Essentially these are the "big reveal" for the Tau Empire, even moreso i think than the StormSurge in that the Ghostkel Battlesuits have turned what has always been a maligned unit into a good one, whereas the StormSurge filled a hole but didn't really redefine anything.  The Ghostkeel kind of does.   They are a force to be reckoned with.  With their firepower and the Wall of Mirrors, it's a good time.  While they are not as tough as you might imagine for their size (T5 and a 3+ armor aren't exactly mind blowing, but then, they are Tau) they will nonetheless absolutely provide you value for what you pay.  I chose to give one of them anti-air ability out of my respect for aerial assaults and the Cyclic Ion Raker is a great tool for that (and for other things too).  While I am experimenting at this point, I was more than impressed enough with the performance and utility of the Fusion Collider to want to see more of them in action (they helped me nuke a Shadowsword).  Here again the Monat suits may help me clump things on occasion and disembarkation is always a great time to smash someones face with an ultra accurate blast or two.  Multi-wound models and big 'uns are all cause for concern for the Tau empire and we don't like melee too much no matter the unit, so ending models at a time is more important for the Tau Empire.  We really need as few models hitting us as possible when the inevitable wave crashes on our shores.  You lose something in overwatch obviously with the Colliders but there is no perfect universe.  I'll keep experimenting and seeing how these two weapons play out.  I am allowing for room in my mind for the possibility that they may change but I liked what I saw so far.