[TipTop1987]

As the title says, I'm making an 1850 list for a challenge board for the store I play at. All comments are welcome (Though, please be constructive if you don't like the set up). And as a note: TUP stands for Total Unit Points.

So, here's the list:
Tau 1850 Reserves List

HQ:
Shas’o:
Equipment:
-XV8 Crisis battle suit
-Fusion blaster
-Missile pod
-Shield generator
-Iridium armour
-Stimulant injectors
-Hard-wired Multi-tracker
-Hard-wired Drone controller and 2 Shield Drones.
TUP: 184

TROOP:
Fire Warriors:
Team:
-1 Shas’ui Team leader
-11 Fire Shas’la
Equipment:
-Pulse carbine
-Photon grenades
-Bonding knife (Shas’ui)
-EMP grenade (Shas’ui)
Devilfish:
Equipment:
-Burst cannon
-Landing gear
-Smart missile system
-Decoy launcher
-Disruption pod
-Flechette discharger
-Multi-tracker
-Targeting array
-Seeker missile (2)
TUP: 305

Fire Warriors:
Team:
-1 Shas’ui Team leader
-11 Fire Shas’la
Equipment:
-Pulse rifle
-Photon grenades
-Bonding knife (Shas’ui)
-EMP grenade (Shas’ui)
Devilfish:
Equipment:
-Burst cannon
-Landing gear
-Smart missile system
-Decoy launcher
-Disruption pod
-Flechette discharger
-Multi-tracker
-Targeting array
-Seeker missile (2)
TUP: 305

Fire Warriors:
Team:
-1 Shas’ui Team leader
-7 Shas’la
Equipment:
-Pulse rifle
-Markerlight (Shas’ui)
-Bonding knife (Shas’ui)
-Hard-wired Target lock (Shas’ui)
TUP: 110

Kroot:
Team:
-1 Shaper
-9 Kroot Warriors
-4 Kroot Hounds
Equipment:
-Kroot rifle (Kroot warriors and Shaper)
-Armour (Kroot Warrior and Shaper)
-Fangs (Kroot Hounds)
TUP: 119

ELITE:
Crisis Team:
Team:
-1 Shas’vre Team leader
Equipment:
-XV8 Crisis battle suit
-Cyclic ion blaster
-Shield generator
-Position relay
TUP: 85

Stealth Team:
Team:
-1 Shas’ui Team leader
-5 Shas’ui
Equipment:
-XV25 Stealth suit
-Burst cannon
-Targeting Array (All members)
-Fusion blaster (Shas'ui Team leader)
-Markerlight (Shas’ui Team leader)
-Bonding knife (Shas’ui Team leader)
-Hard-wired Target lock (Shas’ui Team leader)
-Hard-wired Drone controller with 2 Shield Drones (Shas’ui Team leader)
TUP: 292

FAST:
Pathfinders:
Team:
-1 Shas’ui Team leader
-4 Shas’la
Equipment:
-Pulse carbine
-Markerlight
-Photon grenades
-Bonding knife (Shas’ui)
Devilfish:
Equipment:
-Burst cannon
-Landing gear
-Smart missile system
-Decoy launcher
-Disruption pod
-Flechette discharger
-Multi-tracker
-Targeting array
-Seeker missile (2)
TUP: 235

HEAVY:
Hammerhead
Equipment:
-Landing gear
-Targeting array
-Rail rifle
-Smart missile system
-Decoy launcher
-Disruption pod
-Flechette discharger
-Multi-tracker
-Target lock
-Seeker missile (2)
TUP: 215

[leatherback]

at 1850 points, you need at least 2 railguns (or a lot of deepstriking fusion cannons) to be effective in my experience.

[TipTop1987]

I really don't think so. I've ran pretty effective games at this points level with only the one. Though, I did run a second Hammerhead with the Forge World Twin-linked Plasma cannon... But I'm making up for that with the Seeker missiles to give me the punching power. And the Shas'o is my Deep striking Fusion blaster. :P

[recursivecoin]

This list has more pork than the bailout bill.

Trim the fat. Take out all that exrta wargear.

I think you could trim enough fat to add another FW team, kroot squad or a Hammerhead.

[Commander Quote]

yeah i dont really see the strategy in this list. what exactly are you going for? Im not trying to be mean either, I just couldnt play this list against any of the people I play against. Oh and what kinds of army's do you usually play against? that might clear this up for me

[Auroth]

The Shas'O doesn't need the Iridium armor. It's better to shoot and jump than attempt to try and take damage.

If anything, I think Stimulant Injectors are better than the armor, it still allows you to JSJ and gives you a second save.

[TipTop1987]

Originally Posted by Commander Quote

yeah i dont really see the strategy in this list. what exactly are you going for? Im not trying to be mean either, I just couldnt play this list against any of the people I play against. Oh and what kinds of army's do you usually play against? that might clear this up for me

I mostly play against Space Marine type armies (Mostly a Dark Angels army with three Deep Striking Drednaughts) and a few Imperial guard armies and another Tau army. And the purpose is to hold the Kroot, Stealth Suits, Shas'o and (Maybe) the Pathfinders in Reserves and bring them in with the Crisis suit with the Position relay when I really need them and keep the rest in reserves for later.

Originally Posted by Auroth

The Shas'O doesn't need the Iridium armor. It's better to shoot and jump than attempt to try and take damage.

If anything, I think Stimulant Injectors are better than the armor, it still allows you to JSJ and gives you a second save.

I did take the Stimulant injectors, as his purpose is to tank hunt behind enemy lines. And he does a really good job at it. I really need the Iridium armour to help keep him alive as he becomes the focus of fire back there.

As far as getting rid of some up-grades, I'm thinking of dropping the Photon grenades (I want to keep the EMP grenades for those Dreadnaughts, as unlikely the hits will be), the unmounted Fire Warrior squad and a Seeker missile to bring in an Ion-head or a Plasma-head.

[monocleman]

I like it...it's mobile.

Keep the photon grenades on the Fire Warriors in the Devilfishes (What is Devilfish plural-is that right?). Also, definitely keep the EMP grenades. For the one Fire Warrior Squad without a Devilfish, don't give them any grenades. Keep them spread out as much as possible in the back of your deployment zone to offer covering fire and to discourage him from drop-podding Dreadnoughts in there ;D. I would also agree with you about the iridium armor. If your Shas'o is behind enemy lines (particularly Space Marines-they hate fusion blasters), then he will be drawing, almost literally, a ton of fire from all sorts of weapons.

[MDRedeemer]

I'll go through this step by step to give a show for what I think could be done. After doing a count-up of what I think could be shaved, you can easily get over 300 points back.

Originally Posted by TipTop1987

As the title says, I'm making an 1850 list for a challenge board for the store I play at. All comments are welcome (Though, please be constructive if you don't like the set up). And as a note: TUP stands for Total Unit Points.

So, here's the list:
Tau 1850 Reserves List

HQ:
Shas’o:
Equipment:
-XV8 Crisis battle suit
-Fusion blaster
-Missile pod
-Shield generator
-Iridium armour
-Stimulant injectors
-Hard-wired Multi-tracker
-Hard-wired Drone controller and 2 Shield Drones.
TUP: 184 - A good arrangement, little expensive but nigh impossible to kill.

TROOP:
Fire Warriors:
Team:
-1 Shas’ui Team leader
-11 Fire Shas’la
Equipment:
-Pulse carbine
-Photon grenades
-Bonding knife (Shas’ui)
-EMP grenade (Shas’ui)
Devilfish:
Equipment:
-Burst cannon
-Landing gear
-Smart missile system
-Decoy launcher
-Disruption pod
-Flechette discharger
-Multi-tracker
-Targeting array
-Seeker missile (2)
TUP: 305 240. The grenades aren't terribly necessary for devilfish using firewarriors. If the devilfish is used right, there won't be ability to be assaulted, and the extra 83 points gained can easily go for some heavy artillery. Also, if you're assaulting a dreadnought with EMP grenades, or really any other tank, you're likely going to get reamed with a powerfist or shot to death in the open.

Fire Warriors:
Team:
-1 Shas’ui Team leader
-11 Fire Shas’la
Equipment:
-Pulse rifle
-Photon grenades
-Bonding knife (Shas’ui)
-EMP grenade (Shas’ui)
Devilfish:
Equipment:
-Burst cannon
-Landing gear
-Smart missile system
-Decoy launcher
-Disruption pod
-Flechette discharger
-Multi-tracker
-Targeting array
-Seeker missile (2)
TUP: 305 240

Fire Warriors:
Team:
-1 Shas’ui Team leader
-7 Shas’la
Equipment:
-Pulse rifle
-Markerlight (Shas’ui)
-Bonding knife (Shas’ui)
-Hard-wired Target lock (Shas’ui)
TUP: 110

Kroot:
Team:
-1 Shaper
-10 Kroot Warriors
-4 Kroot Hounds
Equipment:
-Kroot rifle (Kroot warriors and Shaper)
-Armour (Kroot Warrior and Shaper)
-Fangs (Kroot Hounds)
TUP: 119 94. Cover is your friend, and not even Orks care about your 6+ courtesy save if you take it. Only ones about to whine are Guardsmen, and theres enough of them to not make it matter in the first place.

ELITE:
Crisis Team:
Team:
-1 Shas’vre Team leader
Equipment:
-XV8 Crisis battle suit
-Cyclic ion blaster
-Shield generator
-Position relay
TUP: 85 - I take it this guy is meant to simply stay alive and well, and occasionally kill a few troops? If you're worried about Deepstriking dreadnoughts, could try to give him a missile pod instead. Place him in an abstract place, and if the dreadnoughts show their back to him, light em up. Missile is cheaper, stronger, and more versatile in this instance. Worth testing.

Stealth Team:
Team:
-1 Shas’ui Team leader
-5 Shas’ui
Equipment:
-XV25 Stealth suit
-Burst cannon
-Targeting Array (All members)
-Fusion blaster (Shas'ui Team leader)
-Markerlight (Shas’ui Team leader)
-Bonding knife (Shas’ui Team leader)
-Hard-wired Target lock (Shas’ui Team leader)
-Hard-wired Drone controller with 2 Shield Drones (Shas’ui Team leader)
TUP: 292 - The cost of this squad almost makes me want to cry, but I have questions. Are the targetting arrays meant to counter the lack of pathfinders? If so, could try cutting these, cutting a firewarrior devilfish, buying more pathfinders and giving their fish to the firewarriors. This has the benefit of running more Pathfinder Devilfish, with their handy little deepstriking beacon for re-rolls. Also the fusion blaster, also to combat the dreadnought threat?

FAST:
Pathfinders:
Team:
-1 Shas’ui Team leader
-4 Shas’la
Equipment:
-Pulse carbine
-Markerlight
-Photon grenades
-Bonding knife (Shas’ui)
Devilfish:
Equipment:
-Burst cannon
-Landing gear
-Smart missile system
-Decoy launcher
-Disruption pod
-Flechette discharger
-Multi-tracker
-Targeting array
-Seeker missile (2)
TUP: 235 175

HEAVY:
Hammerhead
Equipment:
-Landing gear
-Targeting array
-Railgun
-Smart missile system
-Decoy launcher
-Disruption pod
-Flechette discharger
-Multi-tracker
-Target lock
-Seeker missile (2)
TUP:215 200

With these changes, and not even touching the stealth team, you have saved approximately 230 points. By cutting a few things on the stealth team (I'd suggest the drones and the targetting arrays) this brings our total to 320 points. Also, by cutting the smart missiles from the tanks, we save points and make them less of a desirable target than they already are. And believe it or not, gun drones DO pin... rarely, but they do! They can also stop an assault if used right, pretty great for free drones. Now here is what I would add while keeping in with the spirit of the list. (note, this is with cutting from the stealth team)

Cut a firewarrior fish, buy 6 strong (includes 'Ui with bonding knife) pathfinder team for about 87 points (Not counting the fish, since its going right back to the warriors) Upgrade the other team with a 6th member for 12 points. 99 points spent on markerlights to make use of the many seekers and aid combat efficiency. Since you want mobility and elements of surprise, we'll try a trick I saw that works quite nicely.

Shas'Ui Team leader w/ Twinlinked Fusion Blaster, Missile Pod, Hardwired Multi-tracker, Bonding Knife, Hardwired drone Controller, 2 Shield drones
x2 Shas'Ui w/ Fusion Blaster, Missile Pod, Multi-Tracker - 208 points. Very capable of killing tanks, leader is accurate, still a threat at range. These also wound marines on 2+, even plague marines when fighting chaos, and can still pop dreadnoughts. Compliments the Shas'O nicely too.
This is if you want more suits. Otherwise I would take another Railhead.

With the last few points, buy 1 more Kroot warrior and 1 more kroot hound for 13 points. This is simply what I would suggest, to make the most of the list without making every loss a bloated corpse.

Hope this helps 8)

[TipTop1987]

Originally Posted by MDRedeemer

I can see your point about dropping the grenades, and I am definately going to get rid of the Photon grenades. But because I have to deal with a lot of assaulting Dreadnoughts, I want to keep the EMP grenade on the Shas'ui. I will also be getting rid of the Smart Missile Systems on all my Devilfish. I didn't realize it at the time of posting that the Gun Drones have a better ability to shoot while on them. Just kind of blind-sighted by the ability to take the SMS on 'fish. And with the SMS gone, the Targeting arrays are going to be dropped, too.

I'm curious as to why you want to get rid of all the Decoy launchers, though. I know that with the consolidated damage chart the most likely result is to get a Stunned or Shaken, but I want that opportunity to take that lucky Immobilizing result and have it (Possibly) changed to a Stunned/Shaken.

Originally Posted by MDRedeemer

The problem with getting rid of what you've said is that they most likely won't be getting cover right away. They will if I have them infiltrate, but if I have them come in using the Outflank rule, then there is a really low chance of getting cover on that move. I'd have to run them into cover, and even then, it's rather unlikely. Though, I might just always have them infiltrate... I don't know, I'll see how things pan out for them.

Originally Posted by MDRedeemer

I originally wanted him to be kinda cool looking with his set up, but the Missile pod will work just fine and help him stay alive to bring in specific units.

Originally Posted by MDRedeemer

Yes, the Targeting arrays are meant to make up for the lack of Markerlights, as they will be used more for shooting off the Seeker missiles. Though, If I'm to add another unit of Pathfinders, then I could probably get rid of them. But I'd still like to have the Shield drones for safety. And yes, the the Fusion blaster is for those shots of opportunity.

Originally Posted by MDRedeemer

With these changes, and not even touching the stealth team, you have saved approximately 230 points. By cutting a few things on the stealth team (I'd suggest the drones and the targetting arrays) this brings our total to 320 points. Also, by cutting the smart missiles from the tanks, we save points and make them less of a desirable target than they already are. And believe it or not, gun drones DO pin... rarely, but they do! They can also stop an assault if used right, pretty great for free drones. Now here is what I would add while keeping in with the spirit of the list. (note, this is with cutting from the stealth team)

Cut a firewarrior fish, buy 6 strong (includes 'Ui with bonding knife) pathfinder team for about 87 points (Not counting the fish, since its going right back to the warriors) Upgrade the other team with a 6th member for 12 points. 99 points spent on markerlights to make use of the many seekers and aid combat efficiency.

This sounds like a pretty good idea. I keep forgetting about how dedicated transports changed in 5th ed. Though, I like running my pathfinders as 5 strong (So 1 kill won't make them take a Moral check). I might also ad a Target lock to the Shas'ui so I can spread the Markerlights out among the army for better aid.

Originally Posted by MDRedeemer

Shas'Ui Team leader w/ Twinlinked Fusion Blaster, Missile Pod, Hardwired Multi-tracker, Bonding Knife, Hardwired drone Controller, 2 Shield drones
x2 Shas'Ui w/ Fusion Blaster, Missile Pod, Multi-Tracker - 208 points. Very capable of killing tanks, leader is accurate, still a threat at range. These also wound marines on 2+, even plague marines when fighting chaos, and can still pop dreadnoughts. Compliments the Shas'O nicely too.
This is if you want more suits. Otherwise I would take another Railhead.

I might actually do this but with the Missile pod Twin-linked due to it's range advantage. I've thought of it before, but as body guard for the 'O and dropping the Iridium armour if I took them that way.