[jammie]

hiya,

Well, today i did it. My warhammer stuff is still in oxfordshire, but once again the obbsession has driven me to get some more. today i brought myself:

1 x XV8 battlesuit.
9 x varios paints.
1 x clippers
1 x super glue
1 x horus hersay the galaxy in flames.
2 x white dwarf old edition form the launch of the tau

I have so far painted on of the drones (will put photo online soon) and i am in the middle of painting my secounds. i have also started preparing the bits of my XV8 getting rid of all the molding marks ect.

Tommrow i am goign to start working on the main suit. this will be my first suit in about 3 months so i am looking forward to it. anyone have any advice?

Also, i am thinking about starting a list, So far (when the rest of my tau turn up anyway) i have:

1 x develfish
2 x firewarriors (12)
1 x kroot (12)
2 x XV88 boradside (still need lots of work)
2 x XV8 battle suits.
2 x stelth suits (3 x old, 3 x new)

the next model which i am looking forward to painting when i have finished the commaner with be the hammerhead, with interchangable turret (so it is also a sky ra, and a develfish if i need it to be)

Any ideas or advice on creating my first list? preferable without needing to get any more units

^hope thismake some sesne^

^licks^

jammie & lion

[Captain America]

The stealth teams can have a fusion blaster each for dealing with heavy armor. And maybe some Target arrays to up the BS on them.

If you dont have drones, you could always use extra blank bases as proxies for another option which would be droning up the stealth teams. If I plan on dropping them somewhere really nasty, I like them to have some shield drones. Or if they are going for infantry, gun drones make a nice supplement to the burst cannons.

As for battle suites I like giving my commander Irridium Armor and shield drones since the drones take the armor save of the unit which is 2+ and 4+ invulnerable. Then you can tag him with a pulse rifle and missle pod, or if you feel gutsy even a fusion blaster. But I think the list you have is nice as is.

You just need to work out the points for different battles.

[ToastMaster]

Heya,

Originally Posted by jammie

Any ideas or advice on creating my first list? preferable without needing to get any more units

Creating your list really depends on what you'll be facing. If you're fighting a lot of lightly-armoured infantry type opponents like Imperial Guard, and Dark Eldar, you might look into a lot of static force, and as many shots as you can get. If you're fighting a lot of heavily-armoured opponents like Space Marines, other Tau, and tons of Termies, consider Mech forces, where you can field a lot of Armour Piercing weapons. If you don't know who you're going to be fighting, or you fight a lot of different people, aim for a hybrid list, taking weapons and wargear items that can do well against all kinds of troops.

Originally Posted by jammie

1 x XV8 battlesuit

This must be your Commander Battlesuit. Here are a few setups based on who you might be facing:

Anti-Light Armour=
Headquarters XV8 Commander Battlesuit
Shas'O
--Cyclonic Ion Blaster
--Burst Cannon
-Multi-Tracker

This guy's a very cheap Commander, but he's definitely a good one when you're fighting a lot of lightly-armoured infantry. He can pump out 8 AP5 shots at BS5 per turn, making him a very nice addition to any army fighting light armour opponents. He can basically take out a squad by himself in just a few turns. Pretty good for barely 100 points. Againt GEQ: 4 casualties per turn. You could even add a Drone Controller to this guy and take a Marker Drone with him. He's definitely cheap enough to allow you to afford one, and it'd help Firewarriors, and other static squads take out enemy GEQ's.

Anti-Heavy Armour=
Headquarters XV8 Commander Battlesuit
Shas'O
--Fusion Blaster
--Plasma Rifle
-Multi-Tracker

112 point Commander that can pump out 3 incredibly well strengthed shots that can pierce any armour, one of them capable of instant-killing T4 units like Space Marine Commanders. Not only this, but he's pretty good at hunting tanks. Add his mobility with his high-strengthed guns and he can take down anything from lightly armoured tanks (mainly Plasma Rifle) to moderate-heavily armoured tanks (Fusion Blaster). Just an all around good Commander for piercing armour.

Anti-Hyrbrid Armour=
Headquarters XV8 Commander Battlesuit
Shas'O
--Cyclonic Ion Blaster/Missile Pod*
--Plasma Rifle
-Multi-Tracker

This guy is again a pretty cheap Commander, but he's not specialized like those other Commanders. While of course both of the previous setups can pack a punch fighting anyone, they're specifically made to fight a certain force. This list is built off of two anti-setups. Anti-horde/light infantry, and anti-heavy infantry. Plasma Rifle can pump out armour piercing rounds; up to two of them in one turn based on your range, while both of the first weapons can cause different affects on a force, depending on how concentrated the hybrid force is on one part of their army. *The Missile Pod is a great thing to have if you're fighting a hyrbid force with some tanks, and can also provide a nice amount of shots, while the Cyclonic Ion Blaster can pump out 5 shots a turn, which can be either anti-GEQ in the extreme, or even anti-MEQ. So it's a pretty mixed setup, which can really help if you're fighting unknown foes, or a lot of foes at one time.

Originally Posted by jammie

1 x develfish

Good all around transport. For the most part the Devilfish is a pretty standard option in a Tau force, not too much to change on it no matter who you're fighting, as it's pretty good on a general basis. For the most part this is a good list you can follow for it:

Devilfish
--Burst Cannon/SMS*
-Multi-Tracker
-Seeker Missiles
-12x Firewarriors (1x Maximum Firewarrior Squad)

*Mainly you should take the Burst Cannons, as they offer a lot of well strengthed anti-infantry support, and with the number of shots they offer can also provide good support against more heavily-armoured troops in a game. However, if you're in a cityfight match take the SMS, not needing line of sight for a weapon is awesome, especially when it's got some nice range, and provides enough shots to actually do some damage. Just leave the weapon Drones unglued, as they can still stand firm in the Drone holsters on the Devilfish without glue, and this way you can just swap then out when you want to change your setup. The Multi-Tracker is there for extra speed in movement, it's got some Seeker Missiles to add some heavy support aid to any troop squads with Markerlights, and carries a good squad of Firewarriors, which is what it's supposed to do.

Originally Posted by jammie

2 x firewarriors (12)

2 x Firewarrior Squads (x12 each)
11x Shas'la
--Pulse Rifles
1x Shas'ui
--Pulse Rifle
-Markerlight

Standard Firewarrior arrangement. Good numbers per squad, good number of squads, good all around weapons, and some markerlights to activate Seeker Missiles on the Devilfish, or help out other squads during the game.

Originally Posted by jammie

1 x kroot (12)

Kroot Squad (12x Kroot)
12x Kroot Warriors
--Kroot Rifles

A good basic squad of Kroot. Will add some close combat power to the list, and has some decent long range capabilities too. You really don't want to bother with the Kroot Shaper upgrade, though. The extra wounds aren't worth the points (3x Kroot wounds=21 points/30 points cost for Shaper), one extra Pulse Rifle won't make a difference in anything, and the 6+ saves he offers will get blown away by almost everything at long range, and even if they aren't (AP- weapons, or non-power weapon close combat units), they only give you a +16.6% save.

Originally Posted by jammie

2 x XV88 boradside (still need lots of work)

Anti-Light/Hybrid Armour=
Broadside Squad (2x Broadsides)
--Railguns
--SMS
-Multi-Tracker

They guy's are a pretty hybrid unit at the moment. Go on ahead and use this for Hyrbid matches too. Provides a lot of anti-heavy armour, can kill tanks like that *snap*, and have a lot of AP5 shots at their disposal for secondary weaponry, which can be good against light infantry.

Anti-Heavy Armour=
Broadside Squad (2x Broadsides)
--Railguns
--Plasma Rifles
-Multi-Tracker

This is great anti-heavy armour support. Provides a possible 3 shots per turn that ignore any armour saves, each can take on any type of tank, from moderate-heavy with the Twin-Railguns, to light with the Plasma Rifles. Just has a lot of strength and armour piercing in one squad.

Originally Posted by jammie

2 x XV8 battle suits.

Anti-Light Armour=
Squad of XV8 Battlesuits (2x)
--Burst Cannon
--Missile Pod
-Multi-Tracker

Cheap Battlesuits, pack a lot of shots that are highly effective towards lightly armoured... everything. 5 AP5 shots per turn, 10 in a squad of 2 can take down any infantry squad, while the Missile Pods are great against anti-light Tanks, where a total 4 shots in the whole team can take down any light tanks in the immediate 36" radius.

Anti-Heavy Armour=
Squad of XV8 Battlesuits (2x)
--Plasma Rifle
--Fusion Blaster
-Multi-Tracker

Classic Helios configuration. Great against Termies, and Power Armour units, offering up to 3 well strengthed shots that can pierce any armour. Add the mobility of the Crisis Suits to the Fusion Blaster's short range and you can get up to tanks very quickly, where once there, you can shoot them down quickly.

Anti-Hyrbid Armour=
Squad of XV8 Battlesuits (2x)
--Plasma Rifle
--Burst Cannon
-Multi-Tracker

Good hyrbid unit here. Provides you with some great Armour Piercing shots from the Plasma Rifle, and a lot of AP 5 shots from the Burst Cannon. Together they can give you up to 5 strong shots that can pierce anything from Ork to even Termie armour.

Originally Posted by jammie

2 x stelth suits (3 x old, 3 x new)

Anti-Light Armour=
Stealth Battlesuit Squad
6x Stealth Battlesuits
--Burst Cannons
-Targetting Arrays

Offers 18 AP5 shots as a squad, which with Targetting Arrays can take out a whole squad of lightly armoured infantry. It can also take a lot of shots. Whole unit has power armour saves, so they're pretty resilient all in all.

Anti-Heavy/Hybrid Armour=
Stealth Battle Squad
5x Stealth Battlesuits
--Burst Cannons
-Targetting Arrays
1x Stealth Battlesuit
-Fusion Blaster
-Targetting Array

Provides a lot of shots, and some good Armour Piercing for anti-tank (if your Stealth squad somehow ends up fighting a tank :P), and Termie/Power Armour units. It can basically cover anything heavy in small numbers. Enough low AP shots to take out a few things just by mathematical odds with dice, and has that one AP1 shot to use if it needs its. Pretty good Hybrid unit too. So Hybrid and Anti-Heavy Armour are no problem for this list (unless they're in masses).

Whew. That came out a little too extended. Hope that helps!

[nezzerus]

I just wanted to throw in my standard commander configuration

Shas'O
Plasma Rifle
Cyclic Ion Blaster
Shield Generator
H/W Multi-Tracker
Iridium Armor

Total Points: 155

This configuration is meant for survivability against Marines. It works well against just about everthing, but if you know your opponent doesn't have any power weapons (or equivalent) then you can swap out the Shield for whatever the situation necessitates. An alternative to the Shield Generator is a Drone Controller (hard-wired if you like) and two shield drones.