Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Tau 2,000 point list for the NOVA Open

The NOVA Open current has about 80 players for 40k and that means there is going to be some serious competition. As a Tau player, my expectations are pretty low, and instead I've decided I'll be happy with a nice looking army to present rather than an ass-kicking one. However, I've decided I want to at least strike some fear into my opponents, if only to build the reputation of the Tau Empire. Last night I scribbled down a list I am thinking of fielding. It is devoid of Hammerheads, which feels strange to me, but lately I've been noticing that the popularity of Meltaguns, Multimeltas and other weaponry has made them less competitive and less durable than Broadsides supported by Shield Drones. So I decided to field 6 Broadsides instead. All I have to do is get two more Broadsides, assemble them with the usual frills and paint them up for the Open. 

The Crisis Teams have changed as well. I am no longer going for the Fire-Knife multitracker approach. I've decided that these guys need BS4 to be effective and seldom need to fire both weapons. This way at range I'll fire my Missile Pods at transports and when the enemy gets close, switch to plasma and fry the enemy. The Fusion Blaster is thrown in for uniqueness and wound allocation, as well as targeting any threats that happen to get too close. 

The rest is pretty straightforward. It's a pretty no-frills list, just lots of ranged firepower. In fact, when I scribbled this down, at the top of the page I wrote "Tau Mega-death List."

Shas'El: Plasma Rifle, Missile pod, Targeting Array, Hard-wired Multitracker, Target Lock, 2 Shield Drones

Shas'El: Plasma Rifle, Missile pod, Targeting Array, Hard-wired Multitracker, Target Lock, 2 Shield Drones

Crisis Team: 3 XV8s
1: Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Targeting Array, Leader
2: Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Targeting Array
3: Fusion Blaster, Missile Pod, Targeting Array



Crisis Team: 3 XV8s
1: Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Targeting Array, Leader
2: Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Targeting Array
3: Fusion Blaster, Missile Pod, Targeting Array

Fire Warriors
6 Fire Warriors
1 Devilfish, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines


Fire Warriors
6 Fire Warriors
1 Devilfish, Disruption Pod, Sensor Spines

Kroot Pack
10 Kroot
5 Hounds

Pathfinder Team
8 Pathfinders
1 Devilfish, Disruption Pod, Multitracker, SMS

Piranha Squadron
2 Piranhas: Fusion Blasters, Targeting Array, Disruption Pods

Broadside Team: 3 XV88s
1: Broadside: Targeting Array, Leader, Lock, 2 Shield Drones
2: Broadsides: Targeting Arrays


Broadside Team: 3 XV88s
1: Broadside: Targeting Array, Leader, Lock, 2 Shield Drones
2: Broadsides: Targeting Arrays


18 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey OSH, I think you need 3 squads of 2 Broadsides to be more effective.

Everything else looks ok.

DuendE said...

great list .. i like that !

Grizzled Gorilla said...

Very interesting list.
I would have to agree that the Broadsides with the Shield Drones are a pain. I actually groan each and every time someone deploys them against me.

Still liking the new banner!

tau4eva said...

Why sensor spines on your fish instead of multi-trackers?

Tylermenz said...

If you drop off three hounds you can ride the kroot around in the pathfinder's devilfish once they are done with it...

CJ said...

I have to agree with the rest of the gang on the 3 units of 2 for the simple reason that your going to loose one drone anyway and taking LD tests should not be any real issue and with 3 units instead of 2 they need to split fire even more and if you fail you only loose 2 Bs instead of 3 at once. Further more you can split the fire of these 3 units on 3 targets instead of 2. 2 railgun shots with Smart Missiles should be enough for any transport.

Besides that a very solid list Looks good :) It might even give the leafblower IG a run for their money in terms of firepower.

Anonymous said...

since the broadside commanders have target locks, he can actually hit four targets at once.

Anonymous said...

I'm still not a fan of the targetting array replacing multitrackers... having said that, for the same price, why not twin-ink the plasma instead?

Same price and really, the 6/2 will hit better when it's needed... and when it's needed, you're going to want to hit more, imho.

Doing this might even release you from requiring Pathfinder support, although it's still nice to remove cover, I suppose.

Tnoussis said...

I used a very similar list in a planetstrike game today, but i hammerheads, and a sky ray instead of a second crisis team and broadside. It wasn't my first choice, but it was all i had models for. I got crushed in the second turn, with virtually all my units destroyed. I found that i had not way of dealing with his infantry, although i had lots to kill armor, but he had none. How do you take on heavy infantry lists with tau?

MFerek said...

I like that you openly admit to your low expectations, and I like your army title. I laughed at both

Xyhelm said...

As I've shared with you before, I prefer Shas'o Commanders. You're paying 10 points for targeting arrays. Why not pay 15 points more and get BS5, WS4, an extra wound, an extra attack, and an extra leadership?

I'm also very surprised that you're not using multitrackers like usual. Let us know how that goes.

I love your set-up with the Crisis suits. I think I might do the same with mine.

Only 3 Troop choices? That usually doesn't work for me. But having all those Broadsides will be good. Hopefully, your opponents will focus on them instead of your Troops.

Just as you're going for, you list does look very scary! I'd hate to fight all that firepower on the battlefield. Great job!

Anonymous said...

*I have to tend to disagree w/ you taking TA over MT. I think more shots wins games but to each is own.
*Your list seems pretty armour heavy, your going to have no problems dropping tanks and or transports, but if you come across a horde army, you don't have enough shots; I'd suggest more kroot ie:(4 10 man squads to sit in trees w/ 3+ and act as bump stops)
*Also I prefer a ShasO w/ a 2nd HQ as an El. Give the El' irid. arm and some shield drones and park his butt next to your PF.
*Just some options for you to think about, best of luck!!

Pete W said...

It's going to be a different Tau list than many expect. We're planning on putting this through its paces this weekend against Marines and maybe Blood Angels if we have time.

I think the TA vs MT will be interesting to see. Certainly, having no wound allocation games to play with missiles vs plasma could be powerful and I think the BS4 could be quite deadly.

A horde would be a challenge to deal with but there seem to be fewer and fewer of these as 5th edition marches on.

Anonymous said...

Aye, if it's not too much trouble, please share your findings re: TA vs MT.

It would take quite a performance disrepency to sway me but I'm certainly willing to reassess.

Pete W said...

There will definitely be a battle report or two (depending on which of us has more time) talking about the configuration.

One of my favourite things about OSH is that he is keen to try new things and find different ways to play the tau. This is a great example as the standard MT fireknife has been around and used for as long as I have read about the Tau. Perhaps it will be more effective to have a more accurate and more selective unit in the game.

We'll see either way.

Pete W said...

Well we got a game in against Blood Angels (good practise for the NOVA tourney) and I think OSH is onto something.

The TAs let him hit me accurately at range and then prevented any wound allocation games up close. All I could do was hope my cover saves helped me against FNP-ignoring BS4 plasma fire.

Good game. Battle report coming

Marshal Wilhelm said...

This is a unit configuration I have been toying with:

Crisis suits.
Is it worth turning a 3 Suit team into a unit with three distinct models for wound allocation?

3 Suits
PR MP mt
3 x 62 = 186 pts

3 Suits
1] team leader
PR MP mt - 67
2] PR MP mt - 62
3] tl PR MP - 67

196 points.

For ten more points, the unit is all unique for a 105% increase.

>24" same output
>12" <24" one less PR shot against Armour - no biggy, imo
<12" two less MP shots against Infantry for more accurate Plasma - worse against horde, much better against TEq and MEq.
If horde (on Foot) is within 12" of your Suits and you need those shots, the bugler is getting ready to play ~ lol.
MEq and TEq are much likely to get within 12" due to DS, Transports and Jump packs.
This makes me think tl PR is no loss compared to PR and MP, because you already have 2 within the Team.

What do you think?

Tim said...

@Marshall Wilhelm,

I like it. The only judge is experience though, give it a whirl. First off, I am sure you will find them more durable with wound-allocation tricks. As to the damage output, not bad either. Try it out.