[orkkrusher]

I just got the rule book of Battle Fleet Gothic because I was very intrested. I have visited the sites and downloaded a lot. So I was wondering if people can teach me basic Tau tactics, what to buy, and help me decide my limit and make a fast, high hitting and missle launching furry list to complement my ships I will buy (that you will help me decide). I still really don't get the jist of it and haven't played a game yet. Thanks, Orkkrusher.

[UltraMagnus]

well, you have to decide what tau fleet you are going to use..... yes there are two. either the GW one or the forgeworld one. the prices are more or less comparable, so i would go for the forgeworld one, the ships just look so much nicer

the fleets play more or less the same though, launch large amounts of ordinance at the enemy and harass them with wardens

[Ravager]

If you're still on in about 2-3 hours, I can load up VASSAL BFG and give you a complete run down of the Tau fleets, and some general tactics.
(If you do not have VASSAL BFG Here is where you'll find it.)

[Restayvien]

You could drop in to my BFG forum (Battlefleet Fury), Ravager Zero and Lord Demon taught me how to play BFG on VASSAL too, and Lord Demon is currently running a VASSAL campaign. Tau can be nasty to fight against, Missile Hell is not overrated!

[Shorelineviking]

For the GW Tau fleet, i would say to have a force of about 2 explorer-class starships, with accompanying Merchant class and then 3 hero class. Afterwords, fill up all of the gravity hooks with orcas:
2explorer
1merchant
3hero
8xorcas

You would want all of your large ships (explorers and heroes) to stay behind and send waves of torpedoes and mantas, and have the Merchant and orcas clean up what dosn't instantly die from the overdose of ordnance.

[orkkrusher]

So what is the price difference between forgeworld and GW and is there anything special that I have to buy?* Sorry I couldn't get on vassal my schedule is totally hectic.* Also fighters or missiles?* What classes would you reccomend?

Originally Posted by Shorelineviking

For the GW Tau fleet, i would say to have a force of about 2 explorer-class starships, with accompanying Merchant class and then 3 hero class. Afterwords, fill up all of the gravity hooks with orcas:
2explorer
1merchant
3hero
8orcas

You would want all of your large ships (explorers and heroes) to stay behind and send waves of torpedoes and mantas, and have the Merchant and orcas clean up what doesn't instantly die from the overdose of ordnance.

I was also possibly thinking for fun (not tournament) battles to possibly include human ships after reading that one story of the the Ethereal and Imperial captain with his mutinous crew.* Would you recommend that/what additional tactics should I use and what's better Sword Imperial class or Orcas?* Last of all what are good Orca tactics/are they worth?*
Thanks Da' Orkkrusher

[khanaris]

Might be fun to throw in a few Rogue Trader ships. I think they are allowable in Tau fleets anyway.

[Nerroth]

Indeed they are - and not only that, the Tau are the only fleet to have the same options as the Imperial Navy itself as regards fielding them!

One thing to note about the Tau fleet is to make the most of the fact that the Tau Empire is a multi-racial one.


Take Demiurg ships. Lots of them. They are fabulous. No other faction has the same options as the Tau do in taking them (no-one else can take Strongholds, or as many Demiurg ships as the Kor'vattra can) and they are seriously useful.

Plus, their models are great, too!


Nicassar are also handy against certain opponents, like Eldar or Dark Eldar. Their Dhows, if used well, are a handy option - just make sure you squadron the parent ships (the ones with the grav hooks) to make the Dhow squadrons as big as you can.


Forget about the Warsphere though - unless you really want to have a flavourful ship for planetary assaults. But even then, it would be better to assume that the Tau only call in Warspheres after securing in-system space superiority - and land them unopposed.

(That said, a scenario where you have to rescue a Warsphere might be interesting - since they can't travel with the regular fleet, it's not unfeasible that they might get slightly lost when entering a target system...)

[Circus Freak]

The Demiurg Stronghold is SERIOUSLY nasty.

Forgeworld Tau ships look cooler, are stronger and are cheaper to buy. No brainer, really.