[Emomia]

Has always liked the look of tau and their way of playing, but unfortunately I don't have the time/money to invest in them. So I'll have to be satisfied with writing an armylist now and then. Tongue
This is such a list and I would be glad to have some comments on it.

HQ - 100pts
Shas'el, cyclic ion blaster, plasma rifle, targeting array, HW multitracker 100pts
I don't want to spend to much points but still have a commander that can do something. And I think this is quite in the middle. His job is obviously to hunt MEQ or terminators. The sad part is that he is the only AP2 source in the army except anti-tank guns...


Elites - 344pts
2 crisis suits, both with burst cannons, missilepods, multitrackers. 100pts
Cheap, mobile fire support. Aiming for skimmers and infantry.

4 stealth suits, one with fusion blaster 122pts
4 stealth suits, one with fusion blaster 122pts
The cool ones I put fusion blaster here to get some more anti-tank/anti-terminators. Don't know if it was a good Idea though...

Troops - 315
8 Fire warriors, shas'ui, markerlight, targetlock 105pts
8 Fire warriors, shas'ui, markerlight, targetlock 105pts
8 Fire warriors, shas'ui, markerlight, targetlock 105pts
With these squads I hope to get markerlight and minor fire support in different fire lanes, thus being able fight where I want to.
I feel a bit bad not having more troops... but I don't like kroot that much. Of course one could get more in one squad, mount one in a devilfish to get more out of them - but that requires big changes

Fast Attack - 432
6 pathfinders, teamleader w/ targetlock. Devilfish, 2 seekers, multitracker, SMS. 217
Support unit. The fish will try to keep out of LOS, at least until it has fired its seeker missiles. If I need to deep strike it would help with that to.

3 Piranhas, 3 fusion blasters, one of the also has 2 seekers. 215
Hopefully they will be able to work on a flank, giving their seekers some extra fear factor against tanks (side armour!). This is the unit I'm most uncertain of. Should I take two in different squads? or not take them at all?... What about targetting array?

Heavy Support - 503
2 xv88, A.S.S., 2 shield drones, HW targetlock, teamleader 200pts
Anti-tank, but still some element of speed.

2 sniper drones teams 160pts
Anti-heavy infantry... what more could be said?

Ionhead, multitracker, 2 seeker, pair of burst cannons, 145pts
I feel that they army would need some more mobile(!) ap3, and it doesn't need that much anti-tank, so therefore I go with the Ion cannon.

Total: 1696 Four points... Huh

The things I'm most uncertain of is:
1) the piranhas... how many of them?
2) The fusion blasters in the stealth teams.
3) I would like the extra (mobile) markerlights the skyray offers, but I quite fond of everything else in my heavy section...
4) Is there enought ap1/ap2?

Well, what do you think?

Emomia

[Master Shaper]

HQ - 100pts
Shas'el, cyclic ion blaster, plasma rifle, targeting array, HW multitracker 100pts
I don't want to spend to much points but still have a commander that can do something. And I think this is quite in the middle. His job is obviously to hunt MEQ or terminators. The sad part is that he is the only AP2 source in the army except anti-tank guns...

Not a bad configuration (though I personally don't care for the CIB) as it produces a large number of shots for one model. It doesn't really matter that he's the only source of AP2 shots, because, unless you're playing against Deathwing, people tend to bring terminators in small amounts. With the CIB you are probably going to average around one AP1 shot per round of shooting, so that's potentially three dead terminators (assuming you're in Rapid Fire range for the PR).

Elites - 344pts
2 crisis suits, both with burst cannons, missilepods, multitrackers. 100pts
Cheap, mobile fire support. Aiming for skimmers and infantry.

4 stealth suits, one with fusion blaster 122pts
4 stealth suits, one with fusion blaster 122pts
The cool ones I put fusion blaster here to get some more anti-tank/anti-terminators. Don't know if it was a good Idea though...

The Crisis suits look good; The Stealth suits also look good, but I would suggest dropping the Fusion Blasters. You really don't want to be that close with your Stealth teams anyway. Besides, you've got plenty of anti-tank, and I mentioned that your Commander will probably be fine against Termies.

Troops - 315
8 Fire warriors, shas'ui, markerlight, targetlock 105pts
8 Fire warriors, shas'ui, markerlight, targetlock 105pts
8 Fire warriors, shas'ui, markerlight, targetlock 105pts
With these squads I hope to get markerlight and minor fire support in different fire lanes, thus being able fight where I want to.
I feel a bit bad not having more troops... but I don't like kroot that much. Of course one could get more in one squad, mount one in a devilfish to get more out of them - but that requires big changes

If you are mainly going for markerlight and minor fire support, why not break this down into four groups of six, rather than three of eight? It'll give you a wider line of static fire, and more importantly, the wider line allows your troops to be more spread out; this way, if they are engaged (and more than likely destroyed) in close combat, you can prevent the enemy from consolidating into your other units.

Fast Attack - 432
6 pathfinders, teamleader w/ targetlock. Devilfish, 2 seekers, multitracker, SMS. 217
Support unit. The fish will try to keep out of LOS, at least until it has fired its seeker missiles. If I need to deep strike it would help with that to.

3 Piranhas, 3 fusion blasters, one of the also has 2 seekers. 215
Hopefully they will be able to work on a flank, giving their seekers some extra fear factor against tanks (side armour!). This is the unit I'm most uncertain of. Should I take two in different squads? or not take them at all?... What about targetting array?

Some players hate Pathfinders. Others love 'em. I don't have a problem with them, but I'd really recommend dropping the Target Lock off of your team leader. If you need to 'light up' a different target, let your static FW teams do it. Pick up some Decoy Launchers for your Warfish; a good rule of thumb is to add those points to the base cost before you take anything, as no Tau vehicle should be equipped without 'em, with the exception of the Piranha.

Piranhas NEED TAs, as far as I'm concerned. Most of the time these babies will be a one-hit wonder, and it would be awful to miss that shot! I'd probably take two instead of three, and field them independently.

Heavy Support - 503
2 xv88, A.S.S., 2 shield drones, HW targetlock, teamleader 200pts
Anti-tank, but still some element of speed.

2 sniper drones teams 160pts
Anti-heavy infantry... what more could be said?

Ionhead, multitracker, 2 seeker, pair of burst cannons, 145pts
I feel that they army would need some more mobile(!) ap3, and it doesn't need that much anti-tank, so therefore I go with the Ion cannon.

Broadsides look good, but I'd drop the Target Lock; a HW Multi-tracker is much better. And if you ever need to knock off some points, you can drop the shield drones. They're excellent, but your suits can survive without 'em.

Sniper Teams/Ionhead look great, but pick up decoy launchers for your Hammerhead. I'm telling you, they are worth it.

To answer your main questions/concerns: (1) I think two Piranhas are enough, though three isn't necessarily bad; - I just dislike having them in squadrons... it's preference though. With the saved points, you could pick up a couple more Stealth suits. (2) I'd drop the FBs in the Stealth teams. (3) You'll have plenty of Markerlight support without the Skyray (not to mention you've got plenty of Seeker missiles). I wouldn't worry about it. (4) There's enough AP3. There's enough anti-tank (AP1). Again, I wouldn't worry too much about AP2 firepower, as most people will not bring a large force of Terminators. That being said, Terminators will drop to mass fire (watch what happens if you ever get to rapid fire into them with regular ol' pulse rifles), so you're fine.

I'd drop the fusion blasters on your suits, drop a Piranha, separate your FWs into four units of six, pick up another markerlight for the team leader of your fourth unit, and add decoy launchers to your Warfish and Ionhead. The rest of the points could be spent whichever way you see fit. There's my two cents!

-MS

[Emomia]

Thanks! There was some real good advices

So with your advices in regard the list would be something like this:

HQ - 100pts
Shas'el, cyclic ion blaster, plasma rifle, targeting array, HW multitracker 100pts

Elites - 404pts
2 crisis suits, both with burst cannons, missilepods, multitrackers. 100pts
5 stealth suits 150pts
5 stealth suits 150pts

Troops - 315
9 Fire warriors, shas'ui, markerlight, targetlock 113pts
8 Fire warriors, shas'ui, markerlight, targetlock 105pts
8 Fire warriors, shas'ui, markerlight, targetlock 105pts
[size=1] Though I think I will keep them like this... their morale isn't that good, and a six man unit would be running really quick i think. And it feels less like minmaxing ;D

Fast Attack - 432
6 pathfinders, teamleader w/ targetlock. Devilfish, 2 seekers, multitracker, SMS, DL 222 pts
1 Piranha, fusion blaster, TA, 1 seeker. 80
1 Piranha, fusion blaster, TA, 1 seeker. 80

Heavy Support - 503
2 xv88, A.S.S., 1 shield drones, HW targetlock, teamleader 185pts
2 sniper drones teams 160pts
Ionhead, multitracker, 2 seeker, pair of burst cannons, Decoy Launchers 150pts

Total: 1700 exact (if i did the math right... I'm too tired for this :P )

One other question I came to think of was what about dropping the piranhas completely and instead 'upgrade' the ionhead to to an railhead. Maybe add some vespid or something to still have the same level of AP3? Is it a good idea or will the list (which is rather static) lose to much mobility?

Emomia

[Pianoman]

I wouldn't drop the piranhas. Statistically, the Ionhead has a better chance against any AV 12 and under, and is better against those fast close CC units with good armour. (Jetbikes/Assualt squads, ugh!)

Plus, in my experience people are so worried by suits and hammerheads that they'll ignore those piranhas... Until it's too late, that is... >

[Nuke]

Originally Posted by Pianoman

Plus, in my experience people are so worried by suits and hammerheads that they'll ignore those piranhas... Until it's too late, that is... >

Correct. Piranhas are great for sneaking around and such, but one must not forget the flip side: using them as a fear factor. Now that it's gotten to the point where most players at my store know how annoying a properly used piranha (and drones! Do NOT forget about them!) can be, they can at times attract more fire than really required, which is actually a good thing, because I for one have absolutely no problem zooming out a piranha from behind cover to look scary and take a lascannon shot that would otherwise be directed at, say, a Hammerhead.