The scenarios were interesting and very challenging but I have to say that they seemed to give armies with majority of assault troops an advantage. The first one was a throwback to 4th edition which meant non-troops units could score, which I only found out when the game was over, handing victory to my opponent when I thought I was getting a draw. That last scenario allowed any unit in reserve to come on from any board edge, much like Snitgrot's special ability, not only that but it was kill points. A scenario like that is set up for horrible abuse. I lost 7-5 in kill points on that mission.
Tactically, I did what I could with what I had. Bringing an army with an older codex to a tournament is asking for trouble but I held my ground. The second game saw Ol' Shatter facing the Hammer of the Emperor--IG cheese and tank spam. Still I feel I learned a lot in this tournament, as opposed to last. First, I've got to get my deployment down better. Second, I'd like to learn the art of the skimmer wall a lot better. Third, I've got to drop that Ion Cannon for another Railgun.
Winning Best Painted was a huge boost for me. The last tournament I attended, I lost best painted because I didn't have a display board. I made sure this time to make one. It gets me thinking...the next 40k Bunker Tournament is in 3 months. In order to win best painted again, I'm going to have to step it up again. Just to keep it fresh and competitive in the Best Painted category. You can't keep winning best painted without updating your army or bringing a new one. The Tau Empire are going to get the Forge World treatment and my Fish are going to be upgraded a bit. Stay turned, updates will be shown here.
15 comments:
Hi mate, sorry to hear you got a loss, but looking at your army, I seriously think I could beat that with me 1500 point list.
I don't want to sound arrogant in saying that, but the Piranhas, stealth suits and Shadowsun just aren't that good and wouldn't make much difference in the battle.
Okay, the Piranhas might...
Can you post up your army list, tell us about how you played some more and I'll give you some tips.
-Just got back from an Apocalypse game with Tau. I'm exhausted!
He Old'Shatterd Hand,
nice win on the painting mate it's a well deserved one I believe. The display base is looking stunning the only one think that bothers me is the base of old shatterd hand himself it looks a bit to dark in contrast but still a great model in it's own right :)
Good luck en have fun pimping the army even more.
Cheers CJ
Cj, Thanks my man! Not everything is uniform in my army...I'm not so concerned about that. Cloning is not what I do. :)))
Adam. I wonder how your army would have fared in this tournament with the scenarios. The first one was night fight, but not the normal rules, restricted sight was set per game, so they just said you can see 36 inches this turn, next turn it was reduced to 24. So acute senses and other night-fight wargear couldn't work. Second scenario was fine but I was facing a horde army...of tanks!!! This one I managed to draw. In the last scenario, reserves could come from ANY table edge. The scenarios were seriously retarded and tended to favor close combat armies.
Thanks for the offer of help. I'm not worried about the composition of my list. My units were fine and did very well thank you. I think the reason I lost twice and drew once was because of tactics and my deployment issues. I really didn't have any chance to practice with this list beforehand and I think that it was did it. I also don't play that many different armies and a regular basis.
PS, don't you knock Shadowsun, man, that's my girl!
On second thought, if I were to change the list, I would drop the ion cannon on the one hammerhead and trade it for a railgun. I would downgrade Old Shatter Hands to a Shas'el and give him a target array to get BS5. Then I might add a third piranha somehow.
Ever thought about throwing in some kroot to use as a meat sheild against assaulters ? sorry if its a noob suggestion im just starting up a Tau army as my secondary army, so im trying to get as much tactic info as possible since its an older codex compared to my other army (IG)
PS: big fan of your blog, the paint work on your tau is simply amazing.
Chernobyl, I used to run with a squad of ten kroot in every game. This was largely because I am a painter first and I spent lots of time painting them. I have to say I don't think they are very useful. Because of their I3, they tend to strike last in assault even when they charge. That coupled with their lack of an armor save, means they generally fail in the assault. Adding kroot hounds helps as they are I5 and strike before marines and stuff. I've seen lists with 10 kroot and 5 kroot hounds for 100 points. I can't speak much to their effectiveness though as I've never run a squad like that.
I say: if you've already purchased them, try 'em out. If you haven't purchased them, don't bother with the kroot until GW gives us a new codex. Kroot should have the stealth universal special rule and move through cover in my opinion.
PS, thanks for the kind words.
I always wonder at the scenarios chosen for these tournaments. I read about them and they are almost always interesting, but at the same time seem poorly thought out. Feels like there is always at least one scenario that severely limits shooting (the night fight one) and another that gives a tremendous advantage to assault. Why not just have everyone fight a simple scenario from the books? At least those have been play-tested a bunch.
No kidding, Chuckles...Or at least have the scenarios based off of the ones in the book. The guy who designed these scenarios is a real great guy and he was the only one who stepped up and volunteered to design them...alas, he also doesn't play 40k, he plays only fantasy and war of the ring. I thanked him for running the tourney and told him I would like to contacted when they are planning a new one. I'd like to volunteer to help run the thing. It'll be in three months. I think you'll have to play that one!
Congrats on the best painted award - your army is very well done. Can't wait to see what FW goodies you stick in there.
You may love Shadowsun, but for 10 points more you could have another fireknife Battlesuit command team.
The night fight scenario sounds dodgey as hell, but potentially in favour of the Tau. Remember that as the battle goes on the range we typically use our guns gets shorter.
Also means you could keep some units safe at a distance while 'close up units' like Battlesuits can get in close and rapid fire plasma things to death without fear of being picked off by heavy weapons from a distance.
Second scenario against Tank Horde I've had to play myself. It's a tough one. But you just concentrate on eliminating their mobility by immobilising as many tanks as possible.
Missile pods aren't bad for this either. Then you set up the piranhas to counter if they get too close.
The last scenario reminds me of the Apocalypse game I just played. Good for you because your Battlesuits can come on from any edge and rapid fire plasma. Bad, because so many enemy units can move 12" and charge 6".
Your best bet was probably to designate some of your units as sacrificial (like the piranhas), while 'circling the wagons' in the centre and using Shadowsun, the stealths and battlesuits to counter anything which got too close, or could be taken out in a big close combat from all your elite units.
Sounds like you're learning how to play the Tau, but as the 1st Tau codex says "Learn the shorten your reach", because up close, your big guns aren't as scary and that's when rapid firing and elite units come into play.
Congrats on the best painted award. At least you won something if not a battle, right? ;)
I think I saw the Egyptian themed Tzeentch army at GD Baltimore a few month ago, Armies on Parade, if I'm not mistaken.
My friend Greg voted for it. He was absolutely enthralled by the whole army. While I didn't vote for it it was my 2nd choice. I ended up voting for the guy with the incredible IG display.
Adam, yes! This is the kind of advice I need right now. I am still learning to play Tau, I've been playing them since they came out, anxiously waiting their release, but yes, still learning. I'm still mastering the "circling the wagons" tactic. I actually went through some of your battle reports to get an idea of how you do it. Could you make some videos of that? Reading is one thing, but actually seeing it done is much more helpful.
Oni, the eqyptian themed army is awesome. It won best army appearance at the last tournament and I also saw it at Games Day. It's original, creative, and sports some cool conversions. May I be so bold as to critique it? First off, the colors are dull. There is also very little highlighting work done. While the army catches the eye because of the modeling done on it, the models just don't "pop" if you know what I mean. Pop is what makes armies look good. I have intentionally used white as a spot color to get some more pop. Blue is also great as a spot color on my army. Second, the display base needs work. The color of the base doesn't match and there is something unnatural about the slopes and the color. That said, it's a cool army and that guy deserves credit for his creativity and modeling skills.
I posted this on another blog since its brought up here i thought I would post it here as well.
If you are facing an IG tank list running tank squads remember that an immobile turns into a destroyed as according to the 5ed rules. A lot of folks forget this by accident so if something even has the remote chance of even getting a glancing is worth throwing at a tank squad.
Shatter hands, well the thought behind my suggestion of using kroot wasn't so much for them to win an assault as to tie up an assaulting unit from getting its hands on your more worth while units, using them more as a delay tactic for your FW and suits to get into a more favorable long distance position.
as for the night fighting rule , looking through the codex pretty much all the suit units have the acute senses rule which I would think would give you a slight edge over most opponents in said situation.
I know you have been playing Tau far longer then i have, but I figured its the internet and i would throw my two cents in hope you don't mind.
Hey, Went through and looked at all your pictures, cool stuff =-D I'll be watching your posts!
-Shortsonfire79
Post a Comment