Quelle: Firebase No#7
klick ~37 MB PdF
Für die, die es noch nicht kennen.
Ausgangssituation:
Eine schlechte TAU Armeeliste der 4.Edition, die Wandlung in eine Bessere und die Neuausrichtung auf eine Liste zur 5.Edition.
Dazu einige grundlegende taktische Denkanstöße zum Spiel 40K sowie den TAU im Besonderen.
Hier mal der Artikel:
TIP #1 – If you’re just getting into 40K, read the
rules and watch people play the game. You will
minimize the possibility of a major headache
later on. Your models won’t have extra guns
sticking out of their foreheads, and your bikers
won’t be wielding Lascannons.
Before going any further, I must clarify that
this article is for the 40K player who is moving
into the main phase of army building. You’ve
bought your models. You’ve begun assembling
them (or you might have even fi nished putting
all of them together). You have a tentative
army list written up, and you’re going to play
a few games before you begin painting. This
is the time when you’re going to be doing a
lot of experimentation. Additionally, this article
is for anyone who doesn’t mind completely
revamping their army at any given time – you
don’t mind re-confi guring models after they’ve
been painted, and you don’t mind buying and
painting new models to replace existing ones.
I borrowed a Tau army list to use as my guinea
pig – to demonstrate some of the pitfalls of
army building, as well as how to minimize them.
This Tau army list’s owner has been playing
4th Edition 40K for about two years. He wins
sometimes, but wants to have a better win-loss
ratio in the future.
One of the fi rst things you’ll notice while looking
over this list is the astounding amount of unit
upgrades it uses. Some armies are great for
this sort of thing; Space Marines, for example,
have a huge armory of powerful wargear,
and many units can purchase at least some
upgrade options. Many players go overboard
with an exorbitant amount of this stuff. This is
okay if the wargear is useful. However, sinking
a ton of points into a small number of models
is ineffi cient. Yeah, you may be able to play
a game of 1850 points, but if you’re playing
it with 1450 points worth of models and 400
points worth of wargear, you’re going to get
squashed.
TIP #2 – Don’t take more wargear instead of
taking more models. If eight models in your
army have Artifi cer Armor, that’s 160 points that
could be put towards an additional unit; you
could have a Predator with three Lascannons
smashing up your opponent’s tanks instead of
a bunch of Veteran Sergeants with 2+ saves.
This tip’s importance will change from army to
army. While a Necron army is not going to have
very many upgrade options (most of which are
useful a fair amount of the time), an Imperial
Guard army can very easily be hamstrung by
over-spending on tank equipment.
Now let’s look at the individual unit
confi gurations in the BEFORE list. The fi rst
thing to notice is the weapon confi guration
on the Shas’O. Tau Crisis Suit Commanders
have the best ballistic skill in the entire army.
Equipping one with barrage weaponry like the
Airbursting Fragmentation Projector doesn’t
take advantage of such a high ballistic skill (or
BS for short); it should probably be replaced
with something that requires a traditional to-hit
roll. Paired with the potential AP1 that a Cyclic
Ion Blaster offers, a Plasma Rifl e would be a
great choice for a replacement.
Next is the Ethereal. Here’s a model that a Tau
army can really benefi t from – he’s fearless,
and he allows some of your Tau to use his high
leadership. Used in this capacity he has great
merit, but it’s important to exploit his offensive
strengths as well, otherwise he’s just a fi fty
point piece of terrain. Give him a bodyguard
of Firewarriors! In the same way that the Crisis
Commander’s BS is important, a Firewarrior unit
with a higher BS than normal is just as good.
Not only does the squad have the ability to hit
17% more often, but it also gives the Ethereal a
greater degree of protection from enemy fi re.
No one wants to lose their Ethereal!
TIP #3 – Utilize the abilities and stats of your
units as much as you can. Get the biggest
bang for your buck. If a model has an initiative
value of 6, don’t give it a Power Fist that
makes its initiative useless. If a unit has Furious
Charge, make sure that it is going to be able to
charge. Don’t hamper your models’ strengths
by giving them wargear that’s ineffi cient. Add
to their effectiveness by
increasing their capacity for
using their abilities.
Crisis Suit teams are excellent
at gunning down infantry or
cracking armor, and they can be
tailored to suit either role. The Crisis
Suits in the BEFORE list are
extremely versatile, but in
actuality this is a drawback.
Two of the suits each have
three weapons, only one
of which they can fi re each
turn. They can fi ll any fi re
support role needed, but too
many points are wasted on
weapons that will rarely see
use. It’s a much better idea to
focus what Crisis Suits do by equipping them
with two weapons each and allowing them the
use of a multi-tracker. It’s also important that
the two weapons they possess have similar
strengths and possibly similar AP values. This
way all the suits in a unit can fi re all of their
weapons on a single target, allowing you to
rely on a much more predictable outcome.
One of the most common Crisis Suit weapon
confi gurations that players use has a Plasma
Rifle, a Missile Pod and a Multi-tracker.
Additionally, if you want to add in just a little
versatility, upgrading the Team Leader to carry
a third weapon is always an option. His ability
to take hard-wired equipment allows him
three weapons and a Multi-tracker, as well as
a Target Lock.
Stealth Suit teams are similarly versatile.
They can crack open a stray tank or harass
enemy troops. Sadly, it is this
writer’s opinion that giving
the unit any upgrades
beyond the extremely cheap
Fusion Guns (two points
each!) will make the unit
extremely over-priced. With a
starting price of thirty points
per suit, they’re just slightly
more expensive than a Crisis
Suit, but have less potential
for dishing out firepower.
Their true strength lies in their
ability to infi ltrate.
TIP #4 – It’s better to do one
thing well than to do many things badly. Every
unit in the game has a point cost, and every unit
has a specifi c window of opportunity during
which it can have its greatest affect on a game.
If a unit isn’t using its abilities to their fullest, it’s
a waste of points and you may as well not play
with it (if it’s having no affect on the game, then
you’re playing with an army that is essentially
smaller than your opponent’s).
The force organization chart (FOC) is full of
slots for your units to occupy. Try sub-dividing
your units so that there are more of them,
subsequently taking up more slots on the
FOC. For instance, if there are three slots
open, and you have two squads occupying
those slots, why not divide one of the squads
in half (if possible) and take up an extra slot?
There are some drawbacks to this, as well as
some advantages. The sub-division of units
gives their controller greater tactical fl exibility.
You get more units at the same cost, with very
different applications and possibilities.
TIP #5 – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Many types of units fall into this category: Eldar
Viper Jetbikes, Imperial Guard Sentinels, Tau
Crisis Suits (although it’s rare to sub-divide
them), and any other vehicle squadron. Why
suffer the drawback of grouping all your
Landspeeders into one squadron that can be
affected by a single enemy unit’s fi re? Break
them up into separate squadrons of one. More
targets for your opponent means that he’ll
have to dedicate more units to killing them.
Tau Troop units are
a mixed bag.
There are so
many different
ways to
use them, and so many different confi gurations
that are effective. However, it’s not normally
a good idea to give a shooting unit like
Firewarriors any kind of extra equipment.
They’re good at firing their
Pulse Rifl es, and not much else.
Equipping the squad leader
with a heavy weapon while the
rest of the unit has some great
move-and-fi re capability is a
risky maneuver. Many times,
targets will present themselves
at just over 12” from your unit,
and a quick move forward into
rapid fire range will double
your fi repower; this leaves your
squad leader’s heavy weapon
out of the fi ght. Again, this is
another case of valuable points
going to waste.
TIP #6 – Keep it simple, stupid!
Wiser words I’ve never heard
(thanks Dad). Don’t be afraid
to utilize a unit for its basic
strengths. Sometimes players
get too caught up in giving
their units a plethora of extra
weaponry, veteran upgrades,
transport vehicles, etc. There is
absolutely nothing wrong with taking a squad of
ten Space Marines with Boltguns and a Plasma
Gun (160 points). They still have a great deal
of fi repower, a good armor save, and can tie
up an opponent in hand-to-hand if necessary.
Is it necessary to give them a heavy weapon, a
transport, a veteran and his wargear? If that’s
what you’re going for, that’s fi ne, but for all
those extra points you could have another unit of five Marines with a Lascannon.Fast Attack selections for this force are extremely fragile,and in my experience have a
very low incidence of success.
However, the Tau excel at
allowing their units to cooperate
with each other to achieve
great results. I recommended
removing a squadron of Gun
Drones to make room for an
entire unit of Pathfi nders and
their accompanying Devilfi sh.
Pathfi nders can really bring a
Tau army together because
they have so many different
attributes that augment other
units. Markerlights are their
number one asset, allowing
other units to ignore cover
saves, modify pinning tests,
hit more often, and fi re Seeker
Missiles. Not only do the
Pathfinders themselves help
coordinate things, but their
Devilfi sh has wargear that allows
a deep-striking unit to re-roll its scatter dice
when it arrives. If you need a strong anti-tank
presence on turn two or three, simply drop a
single Fusion Blaster-equipped Crisis Suit onto
the table with the Crisis Suit Commander’s
Positional Relay
TIP #7 – Coordinate your units. If your individual
units seem weak or inadequate, make sure
there are several different units in your army
that can work together for more effective
results. For instance, Eldar armies tend to use
the Avatar of Khaine in combination with lots
of Guardians, ensuring that the Guardians are
fearless and will hold their ground. A Farseer
gives the Avatar re-rolls to his armor and
invulnerable saves. The Guardians, in turn,
provide a living shield for the Farseer.
Tau Heavy Support selections are often
fraught with the same problems I’ve already
mentioned; the only difference is that their
tanks take the issue one step further. Many
items of Tau vehicle wargear seem very
appealing to a newer player, but in actuality
are almost completely useless when subjected
to the scrutiny of an experienced eye. Since
Hammerheads and their sister models have the
ability to move 12,” suffer only glancing hits,
and fi re all their weaponry (due to the vehiclemounted
Multi-tracker), there’s no use for such
wargear as the Blacksun Filter, Disruption Pod,
Sensor Spines or Flechette Discharger.
TIP #8 – Investigate the army lists of more
experienced players. Veteran players of 40K
usually have many years of experience under
their belts. They often know exactly how useful
specifi c types of wargear can or can’t be, and
what units use that wargear better than others.
For instance, any seasoned Tyranid player will
tell you that Implant Attack is a staple biomorph
for a Hive Tyrant since it doubles the number of
wounds it infl icts against multi-wound models
in close combat. No Tyranid player wants to
risk the chance of a Space Marine Librarian
surviving long enough to cause a wound with
a Force Weapon! Likewise, a Sisters of Battle
army fi elded by a veteran player will never be
without a Book of St. Lucius, and an Imperial
Guard army’s Basilisk will almost always be
upgraded to fi re indirectly.
Finally, there is one mistake that I see made
very, very often with units of Battlesuits, and
that mistake is being repeated here with the
Broadside unit. Not every Battlesuit in a unit
must be equipped in the exact same way
(except in the case of Advanced Stabilization
Systems which clearly state they must be
a uniform upgrade). This is why the Team
Leader upgrade is so important, and why it’s
not necessary to give all Battlesuits in a unit
the Target Lock wargear. There is one initial
target for a fi ring unit, and any other targets
are determined by individual Target Locks. This
means that one model can fi re at any unit it
wants, and the other two (with Target Locks)
can split their fi re at one or two other units. I
also recommended the inclusion of a pair of
Shield Drones to augment the unit’s defense.
With the ability to allocate shots to the Shield
Drones before taking saves on the rest of the
unit, their 2+ armor and 4+ invulnerable saves
can shield these expensive Broadsides from
Lascannon, Brightlance and Exorcist fi re quite
easily.
The fi nished product doesn’t look so extremely
different from its initial version. It would require
the purchase of six Firewarriors, a Devilfi sh and
eight Pathfi nders, as well as the modifi cation of
several models. However, the AFTER version is
much, much more effective on the battlefi eld,
and still has enough variety to maintain a
desirable level of tactical fl exibility, as well as
the ability to keep its owner interested and
involved in the game. Of course there’s one
more tip:
TIP #9 – Stay on your toes. Games Workshop
often revises their rules, releasing new army
books and rules editions every few years. In
fact, there’s a brand new edition of 40K just
around the corner! Be careful what you do
with your army modifi cations between now
and then, because what is now considered
cannon may just disappear from the rulebook
in a couple months.
5TH EDITION WARHAMMER
40,000 IS HERE!
Warhammer 40,000 just became an entirely
new ballgame, and coincidentally, it happened
in the midst of the writing of this article!
Thankfully, all my previously stated rules still
apply. However, there are a few new ones to
take into consideration. Due to the drastic new
ways the game has changed, army construction
just became much, much more interesting.
It’s no longer a game that simply rewards the
greatest tally of victory points. Controlling
objectives, coordinating your forces, and
completely eliminating enemy units are now
the most direct paths to victory.
TIP #10 – Learn to read. If you haven’t already
mastered the English language (whether it be
American or British in nature), then you better
get with the program. There’s a whole new
rulebook. Throw away your 4th Edition rules
and buy a shiny, new hardcover 5th Edition
rulebook (or the upcoming Black Reach box
set). Keep it on your bedside table. Keep it on
the shelf by the toilet. Knowing the new rules
is paramount to understanding army
construction.
It’s hard for a Tau player to
adjust to the new rules…
or is it? I think it’s pretty
simple, really, since all that’s
required is a couple more
boxes of Firewarriors,
and possibly another
unit of Kroot. One of
the largest adjustments
that Tau players will
have to make for the
new rules edition deals
with the shift of scoring
unit status. Troops
selections are now the
only scoring units. Yes,
Tau players, you must
now include even more
models with guns in your
army. I think you can handle it.
TIP#11 – Troops, Troops, Troops. Since units
that are chosen from the Troops section of
any codex are now the only available scoring
units, and two thirds of all rulebook missions
are based on controlling objectives, Troops
selections have suddenly become invaluable.
Coincidentally, Firewarriors are some of the
most heavily armed, cost effi cient Troops in
all of 40K. Take more. Take even more than
that. Even the previous dark horse of Codex:
Tau Empire, Kroot Carnivores, have become
an almost unavoidable staple. They have the
ability to ‘Outfl ank,’ giving them monstrous
tactical fl exibility. There is nothing like seeing
an opponent’s jaw drop when a swarm of
Kroot walks onto his fl ank, swamping an
unassuming unit with a ton of strength
4 attacks, or opening up with a
barrage of Kroot Rifl e shots.
As previously stated, it’s very easy
to go overboard with wargear.
There are times when it’s okay
to break this rule, though, and
according to the 5th Edition
rules, now is one of those
times. Tau vehicle wargear
gets a rather large boost,
making it highly desirable.
Equipping any vehicle with Decoy
Launchers and a Disruption
pod is now a great idea. Most
vehicles in 5th need to work
hard to gain a cover save
of 4+, but Tau vehicles must
simply pay 5 points. With the added ability to
re-roll glancing hits with a Decoy Launcher, it
becomes six times harder to knock one of these
formidable hovertanks to the ground. This is
especially important because, for instance, the
high armor value (AV) on a Hammerhead will
tend to result in many glancing hits over the
course of a game.
TIP#12 – Survival of the Fittest. Keep your tanks
alive with vehicle wargear. If it looks a little like
a Falcon, kills stuff like a Falcon, and you can
keep it alive like you can keep a Falcon alive,
then it must be a 180-point Hammerhead!
Everyone hates to face off against Eldar
Holofi eld-enhanced tanks, but it might just be
harder to kill a Tau vehicle in 5th. Remember
that if your tanks are alive at the end of the
game, they can move forward and contest an
enemy objective.
Contesting objectives is an especially viable
tactic now. Since any unit (not just Troops) can
contest an objective, a tactically sound Tau
force can achieve a sneaky victory of annoying
proportions. Using the Positional Relay, it’s easy
to delay the deployment of your reserve units
until it’s too late for the opponent to deal with
them. However, if you need to use them all at
once, that’s entirely possible to do as well.
TIP#13 – Steal home. With the ability of the
Shas’O to delay some of your reserves, and
the ability of Tau hover tanks to withstand an
amazing amount of punishment, it becomes
entirely possible to contest every enemycontrolled
objective on the fi nal turn of the
game. I’m sorry… did I say that there were
twenty Kroot outfl anking you? I meant forty.
After several much-needed revisions to the 4th
Edition Tau army list, I’ve gone through and
modifi ed it once again for 5th Edition.
Happy hunting with your Tau cadre!
AFTER – TAU – 1850 POINTS – 5TH EDITION REVISION
HQ
Commander Shas’O - 145 (Plasma Rifle,
Cyclic Ion Blaster, Hard-wired Multi-tracker,
Positional Relay, Failsafe Detonator)
Ethereal – 80 (2 Close Combat Weapons,
Hard-wired Drone Controller, 2 Shield
Drones)
ELITE
Crisis Battlesuit Team (1) – 53
(Twin-linked Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array)
Crisis Battlesuit Team (1) – 53
(Twin-linked Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array)
Crisis Battlesuit Team (1) – 53
(Twin-linked Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array)
TROOPS
Fire Warrior Squad (10) – 100
Fire Warrior Squad (10) – 100
Fire Warrior Squad (10) – 100
Kroot Carnivore Squad (17) – 140 (Shaper)
Kroot Carnivore Squad (17) – 140 (Shaper)
FAST ATTACK
Piranha Light Skimmer (1) – 70
(Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array, Decoy Launchers,
Disruption Pod)
Pathfinder Team (8) – 206 (Devilfi sh, 2 Seeker
Missiles, Decoy Launchers, Disruption Pod)
HEAVY SUPPORT
Broadside Battlesuit Squad (3) – 280
(1Broadside Suit, Team Leader, Smart Missile
System, Advanced Stabilization System,
Hard-wired Target Lock, Hard-wired Drone
Controller, 2 Shield Drones), (2 Broadside
Suits, 2 Smart Missile Systems, 2 Advanced
Stabilization Systems)
Hammerhead Gunship – 170
(Railgun, 2 Burst Cannons, Multi-tracker, Decoy Launchers,
Disruption Pod)
Skyray Missile Defense Gunship – 160 (2
Burst Cannons, Multi-tracker, Targeting Array,
Decoy Launchers, Disruption Pod)
klick ~37 MB PdF
Für die, die es noch nicht kennen.
Ausgangssituation:
Eine schlechte TAU Armeeliste der 4.Edition, die Wandlung in eine Bessere und die Neuausrichtung auf eine Liste zur 5.Edition.
Dazu einige grundlegende taktische Denkanstöße zum Spiel 40K sowie den TAU im Besonderen.
Hier mal der Artikel:
TIP #1 – If you’re just getting into 40K, read the
rules and watch people play the game. You will
minimize the possibility of a major headache
later on. Your models won’t have extra guns
sticking out of their foreheads, and your bikers
won’t be wielding Lascannons.
Before going any further, I must clarify that
this article is for the 40K player who is moving
into the main phase of army building. You’ve
bought your models. You’ve begun assembling
them (or you might have even fi nished putting
all of them together). You have a tentative
army list written up, and you’re going to play
a few games before you begin painting. This
is the time when you’re going to be doing a
lot of experimentation. Additionally, this article
is for anyone who doesn’t mind completely
revamping their army at any given time – you
don’t mind re-confi guring models after they’ve
been painted, and you don’t mind buying and
painting new models to replace existing ones.
I borrowed a Tau army list to use as my guinea
pig – to demonstrate some of the pitfalls of
army building, as well as how to minimize them.
This Tau army list’s owner has been playing
4th Edition 40K for about two years. He wins
sometimes, but wants to have a better win-loss
ratio in the future.
One of the fi rst things you’ll notice while looking
over this list is the astounding amount of unit
upgrades it uses. Some armies are great for
this sort of thing; Space Marines, for example,
have a huge armory of powerful wargear,
and many units can purchase at least some
upgrade options. Many players go overboard
with an exorbitant amount of this stuff. This is
okay if the wargear is useful. However, sinking
a ton of points into a small number of models
is ineffi cient. Yeah, you may be able to play
a game of 1850 points, but if you’re playing
it with 1450 points worth of models and 400
points worth of wargear, you’re going to get
squashed.
TIP #2 – Don’t take more wargear instead of
taking more models. If eight models in your
army have Artifi cer Armor, that’s 160 points that
could be put towards an additional unit; you
could have a Predator with three Lascannons
smashing up your opponent’s tanks instead of
a bunch of Veteran Sergeants with 2+ saves.
This tip’s importance will change from army to
army. While a Necron army is not going to have
very many upgrade options (most of which are
useful a fair amount of the time), an Imperial
Guard army can very easily be hamstrung by
over-spending on tank equipment.
Now let’s look at the individual unit
confi gurations in the BEFORE list. The fi rst
thing to notice is the weapon confi guration
on the Shas’O. Tau Crisis Suit Commanders
have the best ballistic skill in the entire army.
Equipping one with barrage weaponry like the
Airbursting Fragmentation Projector doesn’t
take advantage of such a high ballistic skill (or
BS for short); it should probably be replaced
with something that requires a traditional to-hit
roll. Paired with the potential AP1 that a Cyclic
Ion Blaster offers, a Plasma Rifl e would be a
great choice for a replacement.
Next is the Ethereal. Here’s a model that a Tau
army can really benefi t from – he’s fearless,
and he allows some of your Tau to use his high
leadership. Used in this capacity he has great
merit, but it’s important to exploit his offensive
strengths as well, otherwise he’s just a fi fty
point piece of terrain. Give him a bodyguard
of Firewarriors! In the same way that the Crisis
Commander’s BS is important, a Firewarrior unit
with a higher BS than normal is just as good.
Not only does the squad have the ability to hit
17% more often, but it also gives the Ethereal a
greater degree of protection from enemy fi re.
No one wants to lose their Ethereal!
TIP #3 – Utilize the abilities and stats of your
units as much as you can. Get the biggest
bang for your buck. If a model has an initiative
value of 6, don’t give it a Power Fist that
makes its initiative useless. If a unit has Furious
Charge, make sure that it is going to be able to
charge. Don’t hamper your models’ strengths
by giving them wargear that’s ineffi cient. Add
to their effectiveness by
increasing their capacity for
using their abilities.
Crisis Suit teams are excellent
at gunning down infantry or
cracking armor, and they can be
tailored to suit either role. The Crisis
Suits in the BEFORE list are
extremely versatile, but in
actuality this is a drawback.
Two of the suits each have
three weapons, only one
of which they can fi re each
turn. They can fi ll any fi re
support role needed, but too
many points are wasted on
weapons that will rarely see
use. It’s a much better idea to
focus what Crisis Suits do by equipping them
with two weapons each and allowing them the
use of a multi-tracker. It’s also important that
the two weapons they possess have similar
strengths and possibly similar AP values. This
way all the suits in a unit can fi re all of their
weapons on a single target, allowing you to
rely on a much more predictable outcome.
One of the most common Crisis Suit weapon
confi gurations that players use has a Plasma
Rifle, a Missile Pod and a Multi-tracker.
Additionally, if you want to add in just a little
versatility, upgrading the Team Leader to carry
a third weapon is always an option. His ability
to take hard-wired equipment allows him
three weapons and a Multi-tracker, as well as
a Target Lock.
Stealth Suit teams are similarly versatile.
They can crack open a stray tank or harass
enemy troops. Sadly, it is this
writer’s opinion that giving
the unit any upgrades
beyond the extremely cheap
Fusion Guns (two points
each!) will make the unit
extremely over-priced. With a
starting price of thirty points
per suit, they’re just slightly
more expensive than a Crisis
Suit, but have less potential
for dishing out firepower.
Their true strength lies in their
ability to infi ltrate.
TIP #4 – It’s better to do one
thing well than to do many things badly. Every
unit in the game has a point cost, and every unit
has a specifi c window of opportunity during
which it can have its greatest affect on a game.
If a unit isn’t using its abilities to their fullest, it’s
a waste of points and you may as well not play
with it (if it’s having no affect on the game, then
you’re playing with an army that is essentially
smaller than your opponent’s).
The force organization chart (FOC) is full of
slots for your units to occupy. Try sub-dividing
your units so that there are more of them,
subsequently taking up more slots on the
FOC. For instance, if there are three slots
open, and you have two squads occupying
those slots, why not divide one of the squads
in half (if possible) and take up an extra slot?
There are some drawbacks to this, as well as
some advantages. The sub-division of units
gives their controller greater tactical fl exibility.
You get more units at the same cost, with very
different applications and possibilities.
TIP #5 – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Many types of units fall into this category: Eldar
Viper Jetbikes, Imperial Guard Sentinels, Tau
Crisis Suits (although it’s rare to sub-divide
them), and any other vehicle squadron. Why
suffer the drawback of grouping all your
Landspeeders into one squadron that can be
affected by a single enemy unit’s fi re? Break
them up into separate squadrons of one. More
targets for your opponent means that he’ll
have to dedicate more units to killing them.
Tau Troop units are
a mixed bag.
There are so
many different
ways to
use them, and so many different confi gurations
that are effective. However, it’s not normally
a good idea to give a shooting unit like
Firewarriors any kind of extra equipment.
They’re good at firing their
Pulse Rifl es, and not much else.
Equipping the squad leader
with a heavy weapon while the
rest of the unit has some great
move-and-fi re capability is a
risky maneuver. Many times,
targets will present themselves
at just over 12” from your unit,
and a quick move forward into
rapid fire range will double
your fi repower; this leaves your
squad leader’s heavy weapon
out of the fi ght. Again, this is
another case of valuable points
going to waste.
TIP #6 – Keep it simple, stupid!
Wiser words I’ve never heard
(thanks Dad). Don’t be afraid
to utilize a unit for its basic
strengths. Sometimes players
get too caught up in giving
their units a plethora of extra
weaponry, veteran upgrades,
transport vehicles, etc. There is
absolutely nothing wrong with taking a squad of
ten Space Marines with Boltguns and a Plasma
Gun (160 points). They still have a great deal
of fi repower, a good armor save, and can tie
up an opponent in hand-to-hand if necessary.
Is it necessary to give them a heavy weapon, a
transport, a veteran and his wargear? If that’s
what you’re going for, that’s fi ne, but for all
those extra points you could have another unit of five Marines with a Lascannon.Fast Attack selections for this force are extremely fragile,and in my experience have a
very low incidence of success.
However, the Tau excel at
allowing their units to cooperate
with each other to achieve
great results. I recommended
removing a squadron of Gun
Drones to make room for an
entire unit of Pathfi nders and
their accompanying Devilfi sh.
Pathfi nders can really bring a
Tau army together because
they have so many different
attributes that augment other
units. Markerlights are their
number one asset, allowing
other units to ignore cover
saves, modify pinning tests,
hit more often, and fi re Seeker
Missiles. Not only do the
Pathfinders themselves help
coordinate things, but their
Devilfi sh has wargear that allows
a deep-striking unit to re-roll its scatter dice
when it arrives. If you need a strong anti-tank
presence on turn two or three, simply drop a
single Fusion Blaster-equipped Crisis Suit onto
the table with the Crisis Suit Commander’s
Positional Relay
TIP #7 – Coordinate your units. If your individual
units seem weak or inadequate, make sure
there are several different units in your army
that can work together for more effective
results. For instance, Eldar armies tend to use
the Avatar of Khaine in combination with lots
of Guardians, ensuring that the Guardians are
fearless and will hold their ground. A Farseer
gives the Avatar re-rolls to his armor and
invulnerable saves. The Guardians, in turn,
provide a living shield for the Farseer.
Tau Heavy Support selections are often
fraught with the same problems I’ve already
mentioned; the only difference is that their
tanks take the issue one step further. Many
items of Tau vehicle wargear seem very
appealing to a newer player, but in actuality
are almost completely useless when subjected
to the scrutiny of an experienced eye. Since
Hammerheads and their sister models have the
ability to move 12,” suffer only glancing hits,
and fi re all their weaponry (due to the vehiclemounted
Multi-tracker), there’s no use for such
wargear as the Blacksun Filter, Disruption Pod,
Sensor Spines or Flechette Discharger.
TIP #8 – Investigate the army lists of more
experienced players. Veteran players of 40K
usually have many years of experience under
their belts. They often know exactly how useful
specifi c types of wargear can or can’t be, and
what units use that wargear better than others.
For instance, any seasoned Tyranid player will
tell you that Implant Attack is a staple biomorph
for a Hive Tyrant since it doubles the number of
wounds it infl icts against multi-wound models
in close combat. No Tyranid player wants to
risk the chance of a Space Marine Librarian
surviving long enough to cause a wound with
a Force Weapon! Likewise, a Sisters of Battle
army fi elded by a veteran player will never be
without a Book of St. Lucius, and an Imperial
Guard army’s Basilisk will almost always be
upgraded to fi re indirectly.
Finally, there is one mistake that I see made
very, very often with units of Battlesuits, and
that mistake is being repeated here with the
Broadside unit. Not every Battlesuit in a unit
must be equipped in the exact same way
(except in the case of Advanced Stabilization
Systems which clearly state they must be
a uniform upgrade). This is why the Team
Leader upgrade is so important, and why it’s
not necessary to give all Battlesuits in a unit
the Target Lock wargear. There is one initial
target for a fi ring unit, and any other targets
are determined by individual Target Locks. This
means that one model can fi re at any unit it
wants, and the other two (with Target Locks)
can split their fi re at one or two other units. I
also recommended the inclusion of a pair of
Shield Drones to augment the unit’s defense.
With the ability to allocate shots to the Shield
Drones before taking saves on the rest of the
unit, their 2+ armor and 4+ invulnerable saves
can shield these expensive Broadsides from
Lascannon, Brightlance and Exorcist fi re quite
easily.
The fi nished product doesn’t look so extremely
different from its initial version. It would require
the purchase of six Firewarriors, a Devilfi sh and
eight Pathfi nders, as well as the modifi cation of
several models. However, the AFTER version is
much, much more effective on the battlefi eld,
and still has enough variety to maintain a
desirable level of tactical fl exibility, as well as
the ability to keep its owner interested and
involved in the game. Of course there’s one
more tip:
TIP #9 – Stay on your toes. Games Workshop
often revises their rules, releasing new army
books and rules editions every few years. In
fact, there’s a brand new edition of 40K just
around the corner! Be careful what you do
with your army modifi cations between now
and then, because what is now considered
cannon may just disappear from the rulebook
in a couple months.
5TH EDITION WARHAMMER
40,000 IS HERE!
Warhammer 40,000 just became an entirely
new ballgame, and coincidentally, it happened
in the midst of the writing of this article!
Thankfully, all my previously stated rules still
apply. However, there are a few new ones to
take into consideration. Due to the drastic new
ways the game has changed, army construction
just became much, much more interesting.
It’s no longer a game that simply rewards the
greatest tally of victory points. Controlling
objectives, coordinating your forces, and
completely eliminating enemy units are now
the most direct paths to victory.
TIP #10 – Learn to read. If you haven’t already
mastered the English language (whether it be
American or British in nature), then you better
get with the program. There’s a whole new
rulebook. Throw away your 4th Edition rules
and buy a shiny, new hardcover 5th Edition
rulebook (or the upcoming Black Reach box
set). Keep it on your bedside table. Keep it on
the shelf by the toilet. Knowing the new rules
is paramount to understanding army
construction.
It’s hard for a Tau player to
adjust to the new rules…
or is it? I think it’s pretty
simple, really, since all that’s
required is a couple more
boxes of Firewarriors,
and possibly another
unit of Kroot. One of
the largest adjustments
that Tau players will
have to make for the
new rules edition deals
with the shift of scoring
unit status. Troops
selections are now the
only scoring units. Yes,
Tau players, you must
now include even more
models with guns in your
army. I think you can handle it.
TIP#11 – Troops, Troops, Troops. Since units
that are chosen from the Troops section of
any codex are now the only available scoring
units, and two thirds of all rulebook missions
are based on controlling objectives, Troops
selections have suddenly become invaluable.
Coincidentally, Firewarriors are some of the
most heavily armed, cost effi cient Troops in
all of 40K. Take more. Take even more than
that. Even the previous dark horse of Codex:
Tau Empire, Kroot Carnivores, have become
an almost unavoidable staple. They have the
ability to ‘Outfl ank,’ giving them monstrous
tactical fl exibility. There is nothing like seeing
an opponent’s jaw drop when a swarm of
Kroot walks onto his fl ank, swamping an
unassuming unit with a ton of strength
4 attacks, or opening up with a
barrage of Kroot Rifl e shots.
As previously stated, it’s very easy
to go overboard with wargear.
There are times when it’s okay
to break this rule, though, and
according to the 5th Edition
rules, now is one of those
times. Tau vehicle wargear
gets a rather large boost,
making it highly desirable.
Equipping any vehicle with Decoy
Launchers and a Disruption
pod is now a great idea. Most
vehicles in 5th need to work
hard to gain a cover save
of 4+, but Tau vehicles must
simply pay 5 points. With the added ability to
re-roll glancing hits with a Decoy Launcher, it
becomes six times harder to knock one of these
formidable hovertanks to the ground. This is
especially important because, for instance, the
high armor value (AV) on a Hammerhead will
tend to result in many glancing hits over the
course of a game.
TIP#12 – Survival of the Fittest. Keep your tanks
alive with vehicle wargear. If it looks a little like
a Falcon, kills stuff like a Falcon, and you can
keep it alive like you can keep a Falcon alive,
then it must be a 180-point Hammerhead!
Everyone hates to face off against Eldar
Holofi eld-enhanced tanks, but it might just be
harder to kill a Tau vehicle in 5th. Remember
that if your tanks are alive at the end of the
game, they can move forward and contest an
enemy objective.
Contesting objectives is an especially viable
tactic now. Since any unit (not just Troops) can
contest an objective, a tactically sound Tau
force can achieve a sneaky victory of annoying
proportions. Using the Positional Relay, it’s easy
to delay the deployment of your reserve units
until it’s too late for the opponent to deal with
them. However, if you need to use them all at
once, that’s entirely possible to do as well.
TIP#13 – Steal home. With the ability of the
Shas’O to delay some of your reserves, and
the ability of Tau hover tanks to withstand an
amazing amount of punishment, it becomes
entirely possible to contest every enemycontrolled
objective on the fi nal turn of the
game. I’m sorry… did I say that there were
twenty Kroot outfl anking you? I meant forty.
After several much-needed revisions to the 4th
Edition Tau army list, I’ve gone through and
modifi ed it once again for 5th Edition.
Happy hunting with your Tau cadre!
AFTER – TAU – 1850 POINTS – 5TH EDITION REVISION
HQ
Commander Shas’O - 145 (Plasma Rifle,
Cyclic Ion Blaster, Hard-wired Multi-tracker,
Positional Relay, Failsafe Detonator)
Ethereal – 80 (2 Close Combat Weapons,
Hard-wired Drone Controller, 2 Shield
Drones)
ELITE
Crisis Battlesuit Team (1) – 53
(Twin-linked Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array)
Crisis Battlesuit Team (1) – 53
(Twin-linked Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array)
Crisis Battlesuit Team (1) – 53
(Twin-linked Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array)
TROOPS
Fire Warrior Squad (10) – 100
Fire Warrior Squad (10) – 100
Fire Warrior Squad (10) – 100
Kroot Carnivore Squad (17) – 140 (Shaper)
Kroot Carnivore Squad (17) – 140 (Shaper)
FAST ATTACK
Piranha Light Skimmer (1) – 70
(Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array, Decoy Launchers,
Disruption Pod)
Pathfinder Team (8) – 206 (Devilfi sh, 2 Seeker
Missiles, Decoy Launchers, Disruption Pod)
HEAVY SUPPORT
Broadside Battlesuit Squad (3) – 280
(1Broadside Suit, Team Leader, Smart Missile
System, Advanced Stabilization System,
Hard-wired Target Lock, Hard-wired Drone
Controller, 2 Shield Drones), (2 Broadside
Suits, 2 Smart Missile Systems, 2 Advanced
Stabilization Systems)
Hammerhead Gunship – 170
(Railgun, 2 Burst Cannons, Multi-tracker, Decoy Launchers,
Disruption Pod)
Skyray Missile Defense Gunship – 160 (2
Burst Cannons, Multi-tracker, Targeting Array,
Decoy Launchers, Disruption Pod)
