Tau Help Desk: Adepticon Combat Patrol Tournament

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Greetings from the beach head at Adepticon. We are preparing our
scouting patrol units to survey the area for a suitable location for
the primary force strongpoint. We are spread thin due to the number of
potential landing zones. Currently we are unable to send the normal
Pathfinder units forward in this process. The teams we are sending
forth are being taken from regular units. With the blessings of the
Greater Good I trust this will be enough to hold the positions long
enough for the main force to join them. Please see that this
deployment meets with your well heeled designs.

400 Pts - Tau Empire Roster - ESWAT Combat Patrol

Total Roster Cost: 399

Troops: Fire Warrior (7#, 196 pts)
  6 Fire Warrior w/ Photon Grenades
     1 Devilfish w/Disruption Pod, Flechette Discharger,
Multi-Tracker, Smart Missile System, Targeting Array

Fast Attack: Piranha Light Skimmer (3#, 75 pts)
  1 Piranha Light Skimmer w/ Flechette Discharger, Targeting Array

Fast Attack: Piranha Light Skimmer (3#, 75 pts)
  1 Piranha Light Skimmer w/ Flechette Discharger, Targeting Array

Elite: Crisis Battlesuit (1#, 53 pts)
  1 Crisis Battlesuit w/ Twin Linked Missile Pod, Targeting Array

I await your response. For the Greater Good!

Reply:

Commander,

In response to your request for approval, the Aun of Voi’la have requested your patrol be accompanied ny Shas’Ui Rio’Myroi, a veteran battlesuit pilot of the Thoth campaigns. His command will help bring much needed fire support should your patrol encounter enemy forces.

The Aun also suggest rounding up a gaggle of Kroot, whose attunement to natural surrounds will assist in routing out any concealed forces amoung the vegation on the sector.

Ha! I love getting emails like this.

Combat patrol tournaments are really fun as the games are lightning fast and you get to meet lots of guys (because you're playing a lot of rounds). Because of the low model count, you’re more likely to see beautifully painted patrols at the event. If I were going to Adepticon, I would certainly play in this event as it gives you a nice healthy 3 hour break on Saturday when you can cruise the convention and look at all the cool stuff there.

The Adepticon Combat Patrol Tournament is using the following ruleset: http://www.adepticon.org/11rules/2011cp.pdf

Pretty standard Combat Patrol rules but with the addition of the swing slot, allowing this Tau Commander to field two Piranha units.

I’d be nervous about running this list however. It doesn’t have enough firepower, it just doesn’t have the firepower to really kill much. A lot of the points are put into upgrades like Flechette Dischargers, which are situational and only really useful when you’re opponent has no way of killing vehicles outside of Close Combat and those armies are few and far between. Cheap melta abounds in 5^th edition and you’re more likely to be shot at, than assaulted.

What I do like is that it stays within the theme of being a patrolling force, so as I re-work it slightly I want to keep that in mind.

Troops:

6 Fire Warriors with Pulse Rifles 60 points

1 Devilfish, Disruption Pod 85 points

This unit has had it’s SMS and upgrades removed. The Gun Drones are more valuable than SMS anyday. They will pop off and contribute fire and get in the way of assaulters.

Fast Attack:

1 Piranha, Fusion Blaster 65 points

Again, stripped of it’s upgrades. Sure we lose BS4, but we need those points for more guns.

Fast Attack:

1 Piranha, Fusion Blaster 65 points

Elites:

2 Crisis Suits: Twin-linked Missile Pods, Flamers. 94 Points

Total: 399.

We've kept the main structure of the list but we've removed most of the unit upgrades in order to get another Crisis Suit in the mix. Well worth it in my opinion. The theme is left intact, and we've just beefed it up a bit. 

In Space Marine and Imperial Guard Patrol lists, you might see at least 2 transports and having the extra Missile Pods will help. An IG list can go real cheap and could potentially field at least 3 Chimeras, Space Marines you're likely to see two Rhinos or Land Speeder Storms if facing a scout list.

With this in mind, I decided to think up a list that I might run in this tournament. I want a bigger force with more models and more firepower. Since the mandatory Fire Warrior unit is waived for this event, I decided to skip them altogether in favor of Kroot. This would be my scouting party, a large clan of Kroot to sniff out the enemy with Piranha providing an eye in the sky and 2 units of Crisis Suits to pummel the enemy with high-strength fire, then to purge them with flame if they get too close.

Troops:

10 Kroot. 70 points.

10 Kroot. 70 points.

Elites:

2 Crisis Suits: Twin-linked Missile Pods, Flamers. 94 Points

2 Crisis Suits: Twin-linked Missile Pods, Flamers. 94 Points

Fast Attack:

Piranha with Fusion Blaster and Targetting Array. 70 Points

Total: 398

Alternatively, you could drop the piranha and one of the Crisis Suit squads to field a unit of 5 Stealth Suits. These would work well with Kroot as they can both infiltrate and the kroot can form a defensive skirmish line as you blast away with Burst Cannon Dakka. 

I'm sure there are lots of ways to build out a successful Tau Patrol, but I think the main principal should be: Keep the upgrades to a minimum, get as much bodies, and therefore guns, as possible. 

I'd also suggest doing some google search for Combat Patrol lists, for inspiration and to get an idea what others might bring to the table.