Alright, I know I haven't posted at all, but I've been swamped. Her is the thing though; in two weeks, my semester ends.
After that, I have over a month of free time, meaning a month of painting, listing, and gaming. If I'm lucky, I'll be getting at least two games a week, more if my brother has stepped up his Eldar.
So there will be more, count on it.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Stagnation
So my 40k life has been slowing down considerably due to outside influences and increasing difficulty in finding a game. I've also grown tired of the local tourney scene, as my games have started to come down to the big dice roll of "Can I kill X before it hits my walls".
Sadly, you all are the ones to suffer from it.
I plan on finishing the series on Pushing Flanks, and I will keep up competitive and tactical advice, but my playstyle may be shifting strongly to another form of play...maybe I'll go back to a Mont'ka vehicle rush and attempt to make that work.
Sorry for the slow.
Sadly, you all are the ones to suffer from it.
I plan on finishing the series on Pushing Flanks, and I will keep up competitive and tactical advice, but my playstyle may be shifting strongly to another form of play...maybe I'll go back to a Mont'ka vehicle rush and attempt to make that work.
Sorry for the slow.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Pushing Flanks: The role system
Where to push (in depth)
Choosing where to push a flank is a tough decision. The decision is multi-faceted, and each step requires difficult decisions. A push will necessarily require loss on both sides; you WILL have to sacrifice your own units to make a push. This section of the guide speaks about how to identify what units you can use in a push and how you should use them.
I have split these units up into three types, to help identify their roles. The roles may overlap, or units may take on a role they normally do not, depending on circumstances:
Pushers (Piranhas, Kroot, Empty Devilfish, Pathfinders)
Pushers are necessary to the Kauyon style push, hence why I label them “pushers”. These are the units that rush into the enemy army and sit right in front of them, disabling them. The idea here is that the units get in the way of the enemy, and hold them off whilst your other units do their jobs. Piranhas and Kroot get an honorable mention; this is what they excel at. Unused Devilfish make decent blockers, but rank lower compared to the above two due to the fact that you give up the transportation ability. Pathfinders are last on this list, as you generally want to use your Pathfinders as Clearers.
Clearers (Crisis Suits, Broadsides, Pathfinders, Shadowsun, Piranhas, Kroot)
Clearers are the iconic units of a Kauyon Push. The wreak havoc through their shooting, reducing vehicles to wrecks, vaporizing units, and volleying crude weaponry into poorly armored fighters. First up on the list are Crisis Suits and Broadsides. They are the kings of our ranged firepower. When up close, two Fireknife Teams can easily vaporize a unit or two, a Deathrain unit can get a damage result on a tank, and Broadsides can volley either weakly armored units or hit a tank hard. Pathfinders get a mention for making our firepower godlike. Shadowsun or other melta units such as Piranhas can assist in anti-tank. Kroot can hurt weak infantry pretty badly with Kroot Rifles if they don’t feel a need to run at the end of the phase.
Refugees (Fire Warriors during Objective games, Crisis Suits, Pathfinders, anything important to your later gameplay that can get out in time)
Large list. Practically everything can fit onto this list, but you have to be sure that:
a) -The unit can effectively escape. By this I mean that the unit is fast enough to escape the enemy pursuers in the worst case scenario. This is important, and I will go over why a single hopeless refugee can ruin your push. Your Pathfinders and Broadsides can’t make it out? Tough shit.
b) -It has utility. Don’t bring along a unit that can’t either act in a useful way. Battered units of Pathfinders pop into my mind here. If your unit only holds a few Kroot or Pathies, you can’t even block with it properly. It won’t get much use besides constantly running away to not killed and eventually getting picked off by random fire. It is far better to let these units stand and help out as they can in clearing.
Always remember; the purpose of a push is to protect the refugees, not to go out in a blaze of glory. So if anything might jeopardize these units, don’t do it.
As I said above, there are exceptions and grey areas between these roles; for example, a fast Clearer like a Crisis Suit may double as a refugee. In this case, it is always useful to run with your remaining suits if you clear the targeted enemies earlier than expected. Always use the offensive capabilities of the refugees last, if you can help it. This will save the option of using your run move.
A Clearer can also double as a wall; units that are too slow to escape may go out in their own, miniature blazes of glory, shuffling into the way before unleashing salvos into the enemy. Broadsides and Kroot do this well.
Finally, a Pusher may fake the intention of acting as a Refugee. For example, they make it seem as though they are running away, then expand into a full wall when the enemy gets close. Pathfinders, Piranhas and Kroot (during objective games) can all pull this off convincingly, buying your true refugees more time.
Next up in this segment will be identifying opposing units, and how to react to them.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Pushing Flanks: An introduction
Pushing the flank... this is a term many of you have heard in reference to particular games, decisions, etc. What exactly is "pushing the flank"? How does one execute this maneuver? Why should one do so? How do I know which flank to hit? These will all be covered by this series.
First and foremost, a definition. What does it mean to push a flank? To understand this, we have to define flank, and a push. Whilst the majority of you likely know this, a flank is one of two things:
a) A subdivision of the enemy's army, specifically the outer groups.
b) The extreme right or left of an army.
Either of these definitions work.
A push, in military terms, is best defined as:
a) To move forward whilst removing obstacles
Now, looking at this in the context of the Tau Army. Unlike the majority of pushes, our army is in the unlucky scenario in which it cannot end said push in an assault (save for a random Kroot+Suit finish, which I don't recommend). This is not good for us. Whilst other armies get to gain extra movement and damage, we are stuck with shooting everything to death. This means that we are far less likely to be able to pull off massive pushes such as, say, Blood Angels, can do. We have to be tricky.
Hence the pushing of a flank comes into play. When looking at an attacking force, you need to be able to identify where it has weakness, and then pound that weakness into the dirt. If you are lucky, you can find a weakness on one of the flanks. This will allow you to move toward that side, clear it, and use the new found area to maneuver away from the bulk of the force.
You can use a spread out attack line against an opponent by getting to its side. For example, against a foot army, you may see something like this:
(Obviously, this is simplified, and not to scale)
We can see that the enemy has stacked the majority of his attacking force, specifically the hard-hitter, the Hive Tyrant, on the left. The Tau player thus should push the right flank, taking out the fastest threat, the genestealers, as well as hitting the secondary threat of the Hormagaunts.
The Kroot Wall then does its job of taking the initial assault; for all intents and purposes, I assume it falls.
The Suits then maneuver around the right, into open area, and kill the Hormagaunts who could have easily threatened them.
From here on out, it is easy; the remaining forces do not have the speed to catch the suits, only, at best, match their pace.
While a push is almost never this clean, this is a good example of what I mean. You take out the least durable enemies and use that open space to get away.
Next up in the series is identifying flanks and their composition.
First and foremost, a definition. What does it mean to push a flank? To understand this, we have to define flank, and a push. Whilst the majority of you likely know this, a flank is one of two things:
a) A subdivision of the enemy's army, specifically the outer groups.
b) The extreme right or left of an army.
Either of these definitions work.
A push, in military terms, is best defined as:
a) To move forward whilst removing obstacles
Now, looking at this in the context of the Tau Army. Unlike the majority of pushes, our army is in the unlucky scenario in which it cannot end said push in an assault (save for a random Kroot+Suit finish, which I don't recommend). This is not good for us. Whilst other armies get to gain extra movement and damage, we are stuck with shooting everything to death. This means that we are far less likely to be able to pull off massive pushes such as, say, Blood Angels, can do. We have to be tricky.
Hence the pushing of a flank comes into play. When looking at an attacking force, you need to be able to identify where it has weakness, and then pound that weakness into the dirt. If you are lucky, you can find a weakness on one of the flanks. This will allow you to move toward that side, clear it, and use the new found area to maneuver away from the bulk of the force.
You can use a spread out attack line against an opponent by getting to its side. For example, against a foot army, you may see something like this:
(Obviously, this is simplified, and not to scale)
We can see that the enemy has stacked the majority of his attacking force, specifically the hard-hitter, the Hive Tyrant, on the left. The Tau player thus should push the right flank, taking out the fastest threat, the genestealers, as well as hitting the secondary threat of the Hormagaunts.
While a push is almost never this clean, this is a good example of what I mean. You take out the least durable enemies and use that open space to get away.
Next up in the series is identifying flanks and their composition.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Pushing Flanks
So, the Spearhead deployment brought an end to the Laying Traps series, unless you guys want to hit me up with a request involving a weird board, terrain problems, odd deployment type, etc.
Luckily for you all, I have bit off WAY more than I could chew when I promised to explain the mechanics of flank pushing, and it is likely going to turn into a series in and of itself. So I'll be working on that for you all.
In the meantime, however, there will probably be few updates besides the occasional random idea, or a unit review. So if any of you want me to discuss a certain aspect of the game, please let me know.
Luckily for you all, I have bit off WAY more than I could chew when I promised to explain the mechanics of flank pushing, and it is likely going to turn into a series in and of itself. So I'll be working on that for you all.
In the meantime, however, there will probably be few updates besides the occasional random idea, or a unit review. So if any of you want me to discuss a certain aspect of the game, please let me know.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Battle for Salvation (Again)
So, I've decided not to attend. No doubt the tournament is going to be fun, but the ride up would take too long for my tastes.
Once I've got my models together I'll see what I can do for other tourneys, but for this weekend I'm just gonna be chilling at my LGS or with friends.
Good luck to everyone! (Particularly Old Shatter Hands!)
Once I've got my models together I'll see what I can do for other tourneys, but for this weekend I'm just gonna be chilling at my LGS or with friends.
Good luck to everyone! (Particularly Old Shatter Hands!)
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Laying traps: Spearhead, Deployment
Spearhead deployment is one of the simplest styles of deployment for Kauyon Tau. Save for against outflanker heavy armies, the Tau normally can come out on top in this deployment type.
That being said, this deployment type can be tricky in the later turns… it is not how you act early on that will give you the advantage, but how you react. Due to the nature of Spearhead deployment, enemies can come from above or from the sides.
Fortunately, most opponents favor a flank to attack from, so it is not too difficult to find a weak flank to push. Deciding where to push is an important skill for a Tau force, and I’ll be going over the tactics of “pushing a flank” at a later date.
Deployment is rather simple; you spread your Kroot walls around your formation, making a quarter-circle around your firebase, with any overlap in the middle of the curve. This partially overlapping wall will shift towards the biggest threats as the game goes on.
The reason for this formation is that the enemy is able to attack from a multitude of angles in this game type. The position of the Kroot Walls allows for you to stay in a fully reactive formation until your opponent commits his units to a goal. Once your opponent shows his hand, then you can commit your walls to suppressing him.
The rest of the castle acts normally/as shown. Crisis Suits up front, ‘Sides in back, Pathfinders supporting, etc.
This formation has two possible outcomes. Either:
-You eliminate the enemy forces that attack from above your position. You will get into the position that Mont’ka players brag about; you are on the short table edge, using your superior range to pound away at the enemy across all 6’ of the board.
-Alternatively, you could end up destroying the force that started the game deployed. This position is more high-risk/high-reward as it puts you right in front of the enemy’s reserve units, but also gives you the center board and the ability to get into rapidfire range with more ease.
These situations rely almost entirely on your ability to pick which flank to attack and do so effectively. If both flanks prove too strong/you get unlucky/you pick wrong, you can be pushed into a contracted position in your corner. Whilst this is not the end of the world, it is important to note that you will lose a large amount of mobility.
If you are put in this corner, a crafty opponent will pound your walls, attempting to trap you behind them as they score. Again pushing the flank becomes necessary as an escape, and if you fail for a second time, you will almost definitely lose.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
1850 and 2000 point Kauyon lists; also, the Hammerhead
HQ
Shadowsun -175
ELITE
Fireknife Crisis Team- Shas'ui TL w/ PR, MP, MT, HWDC; 2x Shas'ui w/ PR, MP, MT; 2x Gun Drones -211
Fireknife Crisis Team- Shas'ui TL w/ PR, MP, MT, HWDC; 2x Shas'ui w/ PR, MP, MT; 2x Gun Drones -211
Deathrain Crisis Team- Shas’ui w/ TL-MP, DC; 2x Shas’ui w/ TL-MP, BSF; 2x Gun Drones -155
TROOP
Fire Warriors- 6x Shas'la -60
Kroot-10x Mercs; 3x Hounds -88
Kroot-10x Mercs; 7x Hounds -112
FAST
Piranha Squadron- Piranha w/ FB, TA; Piranha w/ FB, TA -140
Pathfinders-6x Shas'la; Devilfish w/ DP -157
Pathfinders-6x Shas'la; Devilfish w/ DP -157
HEAVY
Broadsides- Shas'ui TL w/ AdvSS, HWDC, HWTL, HWBSF; 1x Shas'ui w/AdvSS; 2x Gun Drones -193
Broadsides- Shas'ui TL w/ AdvSS, HWDC, HWTL; 1x Shas'ui w/AdvSS; 2x Gun Drones -190
1850
HQ
Shadowsun -175
ELITE
Fireknife Crisis Team- Shas'ui TL w/ PR, MP, MT, HWDC; 2x Shas'ui w/ PR, MP, MT; 2x Gun Drones -211
Fireknife Crisis Team- Shas'ui TL w/ PR, MP, MT, HWDC; 2x Shas'ui w/ PR, MP, MT; 2x Gun Drones -211
Deathrain Crisis Team- Shas’ui w/ TL-MP, DC; 2x Shas’ui w/ TL-MP, BSF; 2x Gun Drones -155
TROOP
Fire Warriors- 6x Shas'la -60
Kroot-10x Mercs; 3x Hounds -88
Kroot-10x Mercs; 7x Hounds -112
FAST
Piranha Squadron- Piranha w/ FB, TA, DP; Piranha w/ FB, TA -145
Pathfinders-6x Shas'la; Devilfish w/ DP -157
Pathfinders-5x Shas'la; Devilfish w/ DP -145
HEAVY
Broadsides- Shas'ui TL w/ AdvSS, HWDC, HWTL; 1x Shas'ui w/AdvSS; 2x Gun Drones -190
Broadsides- Shas'ui TL w/ AdvSS, HWDC, HWTL; 1x Shas'ui w/AdvSS; 2x Gun Drones -190
2x Sniper Drone Team -160
2000
The Sniper Drones add some extra anti-infantry firepower and a net gain of one Markerlight. I am thinking of instead going the route of upgrading the Deathrains to Fireknives (48 points) and buying something nice instead, but I don't really see what would be worth buying. So it is Sniper Drones for now.
To 1&3, you will all probably nod your head. But 2? How can I say that the pie plate of doom is bad?
Let's look at some comparisons. First off, against a spread enemy formation (you know, the types good players use when they see templates?) the template can only really hit 3 enemies. Let's just assume, for the sake of argument, that you always get a hit with it.
So the Hammerhead gets 3 hits with S6 at AP4.
Now let's take the output of the Deathrains, shall we? They hit approximately 4.5 times, with higher Strength, and same AP. They have less range, but it will rarely come into play. Note that even with the ablative Drones (which I didn't take into account for shooting) the Deathrains still come out cheaper than most Hammerheads.
Now the Sniper Team. Assuming the same as before:
Hammerhead hits three times.
Sniper Drones (6 shots between teams) hit 3 times.
Wounds the same amount.
But SDT has AP3 and a chance to pin.
Remember this is all assuming no scatter.
So the Hammerhead cannot match the firepower of these units. In addition, its only advantage is its speed, which is the same speed as the Deathrain and whilst being faster than the stationary Sniper Drones, rarely comes into use until late game contesting.
Thoughts/Comments/Critiques?
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Hammerhead Tank? SMS? List musings.
I've been working with my list lately, and I've started to notice... my Hammerhead tank is not pulling its weight. With the points I throw into my Hammerhead, I can almost afford another two Broadsides without Shield Drones, or I can definitely afford a squad of Deathrains, fully equipped, both of which would add to my firepower immensely.
Furthermore, the SMS on my Pathfnder Devilfish hasn't really come into play... not that I expected it to, I only tossed it on because I didn't have anywhere real to put the points. If I drop those as well, the prospective Broadsides can grab some Shield Drones and other goodies. Alternatively, the prospective Deathrains can bloom into fully armed Fireknives, giving me a massive amount of anti-infantry weaponry.
What to do? I'm leaning towards the extra Railguns from the Broadsides right now, as 5 Railguns in addition to all my missiles will solve any tank problem I have. It could be argued that the Crisis Suits bring effective anti-tank as well, with more infantry killing power, but I'm not sure that I feel entirely safe with only one unit holding Railguns. Despite cover, Shield Drones, and leadership boosts, I am terrified of my Broadsides being singled out and me losing my best way to deal with heavy tanks. With two Broadside squads, I can finally play a dual firebase list effectively as well.
On the other hand, against all but high AV vehicles, the missiles are more effective overall. The plasma would be an excellent addition as well, as it would make my offensive force overwhelming powerful.
My feel now is that I should take the Broadsides for the extra AT, and the Deathrains or Fireknives at 2000. I could easily reduce a Kroot unit to find the points for firepower..
Thoughts? I'd love suggestions here, I feel I'm close to maxing out my firepower.
I'm torn right now.
Furthermore, the SMS on my Pathfnder Devilfish hasn't really come into play... not that I expected it to, I only tossed it on because I didn't have anywhere real to put the points. If I drop those as well, the prospective Broadsides can grab some Shield Drones and other goodies. Alternatively, the prospective Deathrains can bloom into fully armed Fireknives, giving me a massive amount of anti-infantry weaponry.
What to do? I'm leaning towards the extra Railguns from the Broadsides right now, as 5 Railguns in addition to all my missiles will solve any tank problem I have. It could be argued that the Crisis Suits bring effective anti-tank as well, with more infantry killing power, but I'm not sure that I feel entirely safe with only one unit holding Railguns. Despite cover, Shield Drones, and leadership boosts, I am terrified of my Broadsides being singled out and me losing my best way to deal with heavy tanks. With two Broadside squads, I can finally play a dual firebase list effectively as well.
On the other hand, against all but high AV vehicles, the missiles are more effective overall. The plasma would be an excellent addition as well, as it would make my offensive force overwhelming powerful.
My feel now is that I should take the Broadsides for the extra AT, and the Deathrains or Fireknives at 2000. I could easily reduce a Kroot unit to find the points for firepower..
Thoughts? I'd love suggestions here, I feel I'm close to maxing out my firepower.
I'm torn right now.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Battle for Savation
After careful deliberation, I have decided not to participate in Battle for Salvation. The amount of money and time I would have to put into my army to get it fully ready and painted for the tournament is beyond my capability at this time and registering now whilst my army is incomplete seems wrong to me; I may take someone else's spot who is .
That being said, I may still go to the tournament. I enjoy watching games almost as much as I like playing them, and it will be a nice way to meet fellow bloggers. I may not be going for sure, but I will do my best to plan ahead and get there.
Good luck to all the players who are participating!
That being said, I may still go to the tournament. I enjoy watching games almost as much as I like playing them, and it will be a nice way to meet fellow bloggers. I may not be going for sure, but I will do my best to plan ahead and get there.
Good luck to all the players who are participating!
Laying traps: DOW Deployment 2 (2nd Turn Deployment)
Scenario: Dawn of War (or similar), Any mission type
Enemy forces: Anything that wants to assault you. So anything.
This deployment option attempts to form your castle as quickly as possible, just like in every formation. The downside to this one is that you can be pushed back early on, giving you problems of space,especially if the unit pushing you back is an offensive threat (guess what particular HQ I'm thinking about).
Anyways, it starts out fairly simple; you move your Kroot into the outer shell of the castle, and wait:
Your opponent then gets a choice; should he fall back or attack you with his deployed unit? If the enemy falls back to regroup, he gives you time to build the full castle, which is bad. So in the next picture I assumed he ran up and attempted to rapidfire the first line. This would draw fire as his other nits came on board, and hopefully run off my first Kroot.
In the above picture, I assume he does not run off the Kroot, as it statistically is unlikely, but the formation doesn't suffer too greatly from the loss of the first wall. The proximity of the attacking enemy allows an almost certain death, even through night-fighting.
Your vehicles can't fit behind the wall nearly as well, due to your original castle being pushed back to 6" tall. Instead, they come in on the sides, and f you can gain midfield, they'll slink back into place. Piranhas move forward to get ready to melt or blockade part of the incoming force.
Blow the close by enemy to hell. It isn't as if you'll get anything else thanks to night-fighting.
The castle than practically plays as normal, save for a little less space.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Marshal Wilhelm
Marshal Wilhelm has brought up some very good points in the recent comments section about Dawn of War, and I think that the length and thought put into them deserve both credit and response. Marshal Wilhelm said:
"You don't like DoW?
Interesting.
With Templars, it is very annoying. You are a mêlée army you have to cover much of the board to beat face.
That makes Annihilation hard against someone who has no reason to close with you.
C&C is also frustrating. Joe Foe has his objective all but off the TT and you have to cover 48" to get there, unless he hasn't killed your 2 TROOPS + HQ, which can reduce the distance to 24-42" away.
This makes Seize Ground the only desirable mission for a mêlée army.
Now for the response out. I'll be re-quoting throughout:
With Templars, it is very annoying. You are a mêlée army you have to cover much of the board to beat face.
That makes Annihilation hard against someone who has no reason to close with you
You note that there is one less turn for the enemy to get to us in Annihilation, meaning problems for assault oriented armies. I will concede that point, but note a necessary side of that; in objectives, there is one less turn for the Tau to weaken the enemy before they have to move on objectives. In an objective game, unfortunately placed objectives can allow assault armies to simply wait in ambush and bear the storm... Fritz's Harlequins come to mind as a perfect example of this, whilst other armies have to survive in different ways, such as reserves, going to ground, etc.
If you deploy first, you push his guys back to within 6" of his edge.
You have gained 6" more than you would with Pitched battle set-up against his initial forces, and 12" more against the rest.
You note that I should push back enemies. This is precisely right, but it comes at the cost of my forward Kroot often enough, and that is too early a death for my comfort. Still, it is how we must play.
You note that I gained area, but also note that due to a lack of ability to shoot, I also lose time. It is a fairly even trade off, but it is not a decision I get to make.
T1: Kroot long shoot they enemy TROOPS [providing they are foot]
The rest of your forces come on.
12" for Fish chassis. 24" for Piranhas [if warranted] 6+d6" for Infantry.
Suits 12+d6"
End of T1, his stuff is in position [12ish" on] and so is yours. Night fight done with.
You have 24+" between you and him, just like if you deployed via Pitched Battle.
As most guys rush-to-crush Tau, one less turn for them to cover the TT.
Not good or good?
Kroot will shoot downfield always if they stay up front... otherwise they fall back.
You are right in stating that the proposed scenario is good, but I still worry about the units that can break it. For example: I often play against Chaos Marines. A Lash Prince can bring the Kroot int assault range and, if he is lucky, lock himself in there. If this happens, I am unable to shoot the beast at my doorstep turn one, and then it can get rid of my second wall. This leaves me in an inferior Mont'ka, with a deadly beast breathing down my neck and another nearby (not to mention the Marines and Oblits on route). This is the worst case scenario, yes, but it is one that Dawn of War allows, and that I sit through many a time.
Overall, Dawn of War screws practically everyone. Shooty armies lose turns of shooting, assaulty armies lose space... I honestly think it is the worst deployment type of them all.
For example, playing against Templars:
Imagine a clump of Rhinos in the middle.
1] He brings his guys on to the left of them. So you attack his Rhino clump from the right.
The distance between you and his subsequent forces is increased.
2] He brings his guys straight behind them. You can still attack from the right [or left] and the distance [being a triangle] is larger.
or
you can deploy directly in front of the Rhino clump and his subsequent guys will have to drive around their carcasses. Also increasing the distance.
3] He brings his guys on in two parts and on either side of the Rhino clump. He is now as close as he can be to your guys with one part, but quite far away with the other part.
Beautiful! Destroy him in detail!"
Well said, and what I attempt. Many a time a Marine player attempting a cascading cover formation against me gets blockaded nearly completely by a wreckage and a Piranha. Making your opponent's footprint work against him is incredibly useful.
"You don't like DoW?
Interesting.
With Templars, it is very annoying. You are a mêlée army you have to cover much of the board to beat face.
That makes Annihilation hard against someone who has no reason to close with you.
C&C is also frustrating. Joe Foe has his objective all but off the TT and you have to cover 48" to get there, unless he hasn't killed your 2 TROOPS + HQ, which can reduce the distance to 24-42" away.
This makes Seize Ground the only desirable mission for a mêlée army.
With a shooty army, DoW can be good. Very good.
If you deploy first, you push his guys back to within 6" of his edge.
You have gained 6" more than you would with Pitched battle set-up against his initial forces, and 12" more against the rest.
T1: Kroot long shoot they enemy TROOPS [providing they are foot]
The rest of your forces come on.
12" for Fish chassis. 24" for Piranhas [if warranted] 6+d6" for Infantry.
Suits 12+d6"
End of T1, his stuff is in position [12ish" on] and so is yours. Night fight done with.
You have 24+" between you and him, just like if you deployed via Pitched Battle.
As most guys rush-to-crush Tau, one less turn for them to cover the TT.
Not good or good?
If he deploys first, his initial force gets mugged by your whole army,
AND
you come on so you can be in range of his initial force with Suits and Fish chassis but also as far away from the bulk of his subsequent forces.
For example, playing against Templars:
Imagine a clump of Rhinos in the middle.
1] He brings his guys on to the left of them. So you attack his Rhino clump from the right.
The distance between you and his subsequent forces is increased.
2] He brings his guys straight behind them. You can still attack from the right [or left] and the distance [being a triangle] is larger.
or
you can deploy directly in front of the Rhino clump and his subsequent guys will have to drive around their carcasses. Also increasing the distance.
3] He brings his guys on in two parts and on either side of the Rhino clump. He is now as close as he can be to your guys with one part, but quite far away with the other part.
Beautiful! Destroy him in detail!"
If you deploy first, you push his guys back to within 6" of his edge.
You have gained 6" more than you would with Pitched battle set-up against his initial forces, and 12" more against the rest.
T1: Kroot long shoot they enemy TROOPS [providing they are foot]
The rest of your forces come on.
12" for Fish chassis. 24" for Piranhas [if warranted] 6+d6" for Infantry.
Suits 12+d6"
End of T1, his stuff is in position [12ish" on] and so is yours. Night fight done with.
You have 24+" between you and him, just like if you deployed via Pitched Battle.
As most guys rush-to-crush Tau, one less turn for them to cover the TT.
Not good or good?
If he deploys first, his initial force gets mugged by your whole army,
AND
you come on so you can be in range of his initial force with Suits and Fish chassis but also as far away from the bulk of his subsequent forces.
For example, playing against Templars:
Imagine a clump of Rhinos in the middle.
1] He brings his guys on to the left of them. So you attack his Rhino clump from the right.
The distance between you and his subsequent forces is increased.
2] He brings his guys straight behind them. You can still attack from the right [or left] and the distance [being a triangle] is larger.
or
you can deploy directly in front of the Rhino clump and his subsequent guys will have to drive around their carcasses. Also increasing the distance.
3] He brings his guys on in two parts and on either side of the Rhino clump. He is now as close as he can be to your guys with one part, but quite far away with the other part.
Beautiful! Destroy him in detail!"
Wilhelm also brought up some interesting theory on Broadsides, but I will wait to answer that until I get around to the Broadside unit analysis, if you don't mind.
Now for the response out. I'll be re-quoting throughout:
With Templars, it is very annoying. You are a mêlée army you have to cover much of the board to beat face.
That makes Annihilation hard against someone who has no reason to close with you
You note that there is one less turn for the enemy to get to us in Annihilation, meaning problems for assault oriented armies. I will concede that point, but note a necessary side of that; in objectives, there is one less turn for the Tau to weaken the enemy before they have to move on objectives. In an objective game, unfortunately placed objectives can allow assault armies to simply wait in ambush and bear the storm... Fritz's Harlequins come to mind as a perfect example of this, whilst other armies have to survive in different ways, such as reserves, going to ground, etc.
If you deploy first, you push his guys back to within 6" of his edge.
You have gained 6" more than you would with Pitched battle set-up against his initial forces, and 12" more against the rest.
You note that I should push back enemies. This is precisely right, but it comes at the cost of my forward Kroot often enough, and that is too early a death for my comfort. Still, it is how we must play.
You note that I gained area, but also note that due to a lack of ability to shoot, I also lose time. It is a fairly even trade off, but it is not a decision I get to make.
T1: Kroot long shoot they enemy TROOPS [providing they are foot]
The rest of your forces come on.
12" for Fish chassis. 24" for Piranhas [if warranted] 6+d6" for Infantry.
Suits 12+d6"
End of T1, his stuff is in position [12ish" on] and so is yours. Night fight done with.
You have 24+" between you and him, just like if you deployed via Pitched Battle.
As most guys rush-to-crush Tau, one less turn for them to cover the TT.
Not good or good?
Kroot will shoot downfield always if they stay up front... otherwise they fall back.
You are right in stating that the proposed scenario is good, but I still worry about the units that can break it. For example: I often play against Chaos Marines. A Lash Prince can bring the Kroot int assault range and, if he is lucky, lock himself in there. If this happens, I am unable to shoot the beast at my doorstep turn one, and then it can get rid of my second wall. This leaves me in an inferior Mont'ka, with a deadly beast breathing down my neck and another nearby (not to mention the Marines and Oblits on route). This is the worst case scenario, yes, but it is one that Dawn of War allows, and that I sit through many a time.
Overall, Dawn of War screws practically everyone. Shooty armies lose turns of shooting, assaulty armies lose space... I honestly think it is the worst deployment type of them all.
For example, playing against Templars:
Imagine a clump of Rhinos in the middle.
1] He brings his guys on to the left of them. So you attack his Rhino clump from the right.
The distance between you and his subsequent forces is increased.
2] He brings his guys straight behind them. You can still attack from the right [or left] and the distance [being a triangle] is larger.
or
you can deploy directly in front of the Rhino clump and his subsequent guys will have to drive around their carcasses. Also increasing the distance.
3] He brings his guys on in two parts and on either side of the Rhino clump. He is now as close as he can be to your guys with one part, but quite far away with the other part.
Beautiful! Destroy him in detail!"
Well said, and what I attempt. Many a time a Marine player attempting a cascading cover formation against me gets blockaded nearly completely by a wreckage and a Piranha. Making your opponent's footprint work against him is incredibly useful.
Tau Alliance
Though I'm sure that you all have heard of him, Old Shatter Hands runs a pretty effective Tau blog at The Tau of War, and has recently given me a shout out. So, as a token of appreciation, and even though I'm sure you all know about it already, I have added a new feature to the blog.
A new gadget named "The Tau Alliance" should now be present in the sidebar, with a permanent link to Tau of War. I'll be adding sites such as NockerGeek's as well, and any other up and running Tau blog that I often discuss with or reference to.
A new gadget named "The Tau Alliance" should now be present in the sidebar, with a permanent link to Tau of War. I'll be adding sites such as NockerGeek's as well, and any other up and running Tau blog that I often discuss with or reference to.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Laying traps: DOW Deployment 1 (1st Turn Deployment)
Scenario: Dawn of War (or similar), Any mission type
Enemy forces: Anything that wants to assault you. So anything.
Dawn of War is my least favorite deployment type, by far. For one, I need Adv.S.S. on my Broadsides almost exclusively because of it, I can't light things up first turn, and I have to deal with Night-Fighting when trying to hit enemy transports. Dawn of War also effectively shaves a turn off the game, a turn needed to whittle down the enemy before moving out to contest, capture or finish the enemy off. Those problems, coupled with the ability of problem HQs such as Daemon Princes (One of the only units in the game able to assault through the 18" barrier thanks to Lash) being right up in your face first turn, leaves a lot to be desired for as a Tau general.
Assuming that you gain first turn, you want to take advantage of the fact that the enemy has to deploy 18" away from you, whilst being wary of Infiltrators. You also want to set up in a way that disallows prospective Infiltrators from getting behind your lines.
The main idea behind this formation is that you will deploy your forward Kroot formation up, but leave the majority of the enemy forces far back and the deployed ones dead, whilst forming your castle. The formation starts like so:
In the back, we see the beginnings of the castle; Shadowsun is on board, giving you at least the semblance of a threat to vehicles, though a small one at that. Your backfield Kroot are set up in their standard shielding position, giving cover and slight assault protection to your incoming units.
The forward Kroot are deployed far up, to push the enemy formation as far back as they can go. Each model provides an 18" buffer against the enemy.
To illustrate just how much of the board is covered by this formation, I've put together this picture below. The blue area is made up of a group of circles with 18" radii. No enemy can deploy in the blue area, and none can infiltrate there if they are visible.
As you can probably tell, this covers quite a bit of the area on the map. The only enemies your opponent will be able to target when he comes in are the Kroot, and only the deployed troops will be able to rapidfire them.
Finally, on your first turn, you bring in your castle and aim to hit whatever is on the board (night-fighting will nerf almost all shooting here).
Depending on preference, you can either leave your forward Kroot up as a skirmish line (a role in which they will probably perish), or fall them back and keep them close by.
From here on, the formation plays like the Pitched Battle castles. Block and shoot.
Thoughts?/Questions?/Responses?/Critiques?
Blogger
Blogger just updated image posting (along with some other things), so that means that my pics will be bigger and easier to decipher now!
Speaking of which, Dawn of War deployment is on its way.
Speaking of which, Dawn of War deployment is on its way.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Laying traps: Pitched Battle, Deployment 3 (Heavy Deepstrike Defense)
Tossing this one up, as it is rather short.
Scenario: Pitched Battle (or similar), Any mission type
Enemy forces: Used against heavy deepstrike, namely Drop Pod forces, preferably little to no backfield outflankers, whatever for Outflankers and Infiltrators.
This deployment attempts to neutralize the advantage of deepstriking melta forces from wrecking your vehicles early on or killing off a squad of suits with no cover, or (in rare cases) straight up assaulting you.
The deployment looks something like so:
I do not show Fire Warriors here, but they sit by the middlemost Devilfish, and hop in to avoid trouble.
The Kroot make a full bubble around the forces, giving enough space between themselves and your vehicles that melta range cannot be established. The Crisis Suits are protected by cover saves, as melta will probably reach them regardless of position.
The rest of the game is simple... stay in formation, blockade against and fire upon the enemy as they appear. Once the remainder of the force shows up, you no longer need walls everywhere... meaning a Kroot squad can likely, but not always, be dedicated to assault or scoring in a devilfish.
Remember that Drop Pod armies specifically gain their ability at a cost; they are slow afterwards, meaning in objectives you can use Piranhas and Devilfish to threaten to score. Furthermore, Drop Pods are asking to be melted for easy points in KP games, a task that you can set your Piranhas and Shadowsun to, provided they don't take away from blockading and leading, respectively.
This setup is weaker (but not weak) to frontal attacks, so use it only when you expect heavy deepstriking forces. Luckily, this formation does not take long to move back to the traditional Pitched Battle setup if your opponent decides to drop empty pods or otherwise not deepstrike.
Furthermore, this formation suffers severely against backfield outflankers, leaving you two choices if these appear in your opponent's army in anything but minuscule numbers:
1. Push forward Turn 1, and deploy your Gun Drones as free walls against the threat.
2. Deploy in formation 2. This may leave you in a load of trouble, but you can likely push forward with ease if the enemy has backfielders and deepstrikers.
Thoughts?/Questions?/Responses?/Critiques?
Also, if you want me to respond to a particular deployment setup (such as a Battle Mission, a tournament mission, or any of the above where terrain bothered you, give me an example of what you mean, and I'll queue it up.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Laying traps: Pitched Battle, Deployment 2 (Backfield Defense)
Scenario: Pitched Battle (or similar), Any mission type
Enemy forces: Used against deepstrike (not fully deepstriking, but with some forces) and backfield outflanking forces (which can't be in its entirety), whatever for Outflankers and Infiltrators.
The idea of this formation is to setup against split formations using a partial forward force utilizing backfield outflanking or deepstriking force. These Hammer and Anvil forces will bypass a lack in backfield defense and hurt your heavy-hitters, or your mobile vehicles. I'm thinking of Drop Pod meltas or Wolf Scouts with the same.
Your deployment will look something like this:
Here, the deployment is mostly like the former one, yet instead of infiltrating the second Kroot line they are folded up in the back of your formation. This offers no extra defense against first turn deep-strikers, but will help protect your rear units as you move out.
As the rest of your force moves forward, the Kroot unfurl. Not including running, the Kroot can reach the positions below. 'Sides assumed 4", Pathfinders obviously scouted, Fire Warriors in tank.
Whilst this is not a perfect formation of the bat, it can help deter backfield outflankers and some deepstrikers. The seemingly empty space and "undefended" Hammerhead are some tricks I often use to try to cause deepstrikers to come down in that area, only to have them at best get the Hammerhead, and get killed, or at best scatter into oblivion. Whilst the Hammerhead would normally be used for mobile contesting later game, most deepstriking armies lack the continuing mobility for this to be much of a threat.
On the next turn, the position closes up fully, allowing a fully reactive defense of your firebase:
I show Piranhas moving out in this, but they don't have to at all.
Note how the Kroot are spaced out... Backfield Outflankers can't hit anything with melta besides Kroot. Furthermore, there is little Deepstrike room either; Fire Warriors can be redeployed to fill space if needed, but the safety of the Devilfish is useful here. The list than plays as normal.
Note that this is not made to stop a mass of deepstrikers or Backfielders, but it is a useful trick for delaying those disruption units and keeping hold of the game.
Thoughts?/Questions?/Responses?/Critiques?
Also, if you want me to respond to a particular deployment setup (such as a Battle Mission, a tournament mission, or any of the above where terrain bothered you, give me an example of what you mean, and I'll queue it up.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
For future reference...
This is the list I will be using in my Kauyon deployment examples. It is a simple variation of my Kroot Wall list, giving up a few missiles for survivability.
HQ
Shadowsun -175
ELITE
Fireknife Crisis Team- Shas'ui TL w/ PR, MP, MT, HWDC; 2x Shas'ui w/ PR, MP, MT; 2x Gun Drones -211
Fireknife Crisis Team- Shas'ui TL w/ PR, MP, MT, HWDC; 2x Shas'ui w/ PR, MP, MT; 2x Gun Drones -211
TROOP
Fire Warriors- 6x Shas'la -60
Kroot-10x Mercs; 7x Hounds -112
Kroot-10x Mercs; 7x Hounds -112
FAST
Piranha Squadron- Piranha w/ FB, TA, FD; Piranha w/ FB, TA, FD -160
Pathfinders-6x Shas'la; Devilfish w/ SMS, DP -177
Pathfinders-6x Shas'la; Devilfish w/ SMS, DP -177
HEAVY
Broadsides- Shas'ui TL /AdvSS, HWDC, HWTL; 2x Shas'ui w/AdvSS; 2x Sh. Drones -280
Hammerhead w/ Railgun, SMS, MT, DP -175
1850
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Laying traps: Pitched Battle, Deployment 1
Scenario: Pitched Battle (or similar), Any mission type
Enemy Forces: Very little to no Deepstrikers, Very little to no Backfield Outflankers, and preferably no Infiltrators, though the last one really matters little.
This setup is my standard for Pitched Battle, and is my go to deployment against direct forces (forces that prefer to be on the field turn 1, or come on on their side of the field, and either rush or shoot me). This covers the vast majority of armies in the competitive scene these days... Razorback spam coming to mind.
I've put together a picture of what my standard deployment would be:
I understand that his may be hard to see, so I've provided a zoomed version:
The units here are my standard 1850 Kauyon/Kroot Wall list, save for a change in HQ; Shadowsun has replaced the two Commanders, trading ablative wounds and a few missiles for a fully Leadership 10 firebase.
Anyways, the idea behind this is that, without the threat of backfield enemies, and the enemies only popping in on your flanks and front, your are fully protected.
You will note that the forward Kroot need to be infiltrated; this is normally not a problem, but enemy infiltrators can mess with this a tad.
This army will move upfield on Turn 1, and attempt to get into optimal range for your Crisis Suits as early as possible. The idea is to move your Kroot line up and mess with an opposing charge immediately, whilst bearing down on the enemy with your full firepower. When the enemy enters your sweet spot, you will fall back again, and continually hit him with rapidfire strikes.
Your first and foremost objective in this is to demech your opponent. Infantry is very little to no threat to you, as the Kroot wall will protect you from their assault and you can strand them midfield.
A picture of your movement:
Once you have sufficiently thinned out enemy resistance, any remaining Kroot as well as the Fire Warriors can now grab objectives.
In this picture I show no movement of the Pathfinders, but note that they can Scout up and not lose much in terms of firepower...just note that they may be left behind if and when you fall back, and that they could be in trouble if the enemy seizes.
Against similarly castled or shooty armies, sending in the first wave of Kroot to mess with your opponent is useful, as it will disrupt their formation whilst you keep your cover giving wall intact. Against barrage heavy armies, you would be wise to spread this formation slightly to avoid massive amounts of pie-plates.
That is the gist of that deployment.
Thoughts/Criticisms/Suggestions/Questions?
Friday, September 17, 2010
Laying traps: Deployment options for Kauyon
Deployment is a huge part of the game, and one that should be thoroughly understood.
It was once said that in chess that one should, "Play the opening like a book, the middle game like a magician, and the endgame like a machine". I honestly believe that this applies to 40k as well.
40k is, more than anything, about being in control of the flow of the game. Every time you are placed in a situation you aren't sure how to handle, your control can easily slip to your opponent.
If you allow this to happen before the first turn of the game, you will need to be ridiculously more skilled in every other area to pull off a win. And chances are, the difference won't be that large.
This segment is to give the deployments that, in my opinion, are the most effective deployment options for Tau in the majority of situations. Whilst every deployment option has its downsides and weaknesses, not every deployment option is a catch all deployment, which is why I will be looking at multiple different deployment options depending specifically on the deployment type, and the enemy units (specifically how they may deploy).
Note that I will NOT be taking into account terrain. This may seem odd, but it is important, as terrain is a constantly shifting part of the game, and I cannot account for every possible setting. Instead, these deployment options are made to be modular; models are not set in stone, and, for example, you are perfectly able to move your Broadsides to a better fire lane if there is terrain in their line of sight. Furthermore, terrain may (and should) be used to benefit you. Buildings and impassable terrain may make excellent Markerlight nests or roadblocks, while a forest becomes and obvious place to build your flak line.
The first of these will be up soon, and it will have pictures.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Rumours?
Rumours of a Tau codex have come through, started by Dante76 on Warseer.
View the original thread here: http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2
Also, discussion thread at 40kOnline here:http://www.40konline.com/community/index.php?topic=205133.0
Through a new source, who with hindsight turned out to be pretty accurate with Blood Angels and Skaven....
Pencilled in release date of Aug 2011
New Alien allies
All metal sets to plastic (Pathfinder, Krootox, Vespids)
Possible new tank
Changes to Hammerhead Railgun rules. Essentially draws a line across table hitting everything in line. Multiple pen through vehicles, only stopped by a glancing hit.
Changes to markerlights. Point system. 1 Markerlight point = + 1BS, 2 Markerlight points = reroll to wound/hit 3 = Difficult Terrain test (blinded by the lights?). Cannot be stacked. So cant have reroll to wound and reroll to hit at 4 points.
Battle Suits. A plug and play system. Essentially streamlined. Pick two guns and a skill or two skills a gun. New models might have interchangeable arms similar to Killa Kans....
On a side line, yes other armies might deserve attention quicker, but Tau currently are a: majority plastic b: play well currently.
More to come soon....
I'm not getting too excited, as there were rumors about half a year ago as well, but nothing substantial. Keeping my hopes up though.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Leading the Charge! Ethereals
This massive downside would probably sit fine with most Tau players if they got a tough model with the deal. The thing is, an Ethereal clocks in at just above a chunk of coal in terms of utility and slightly under wafer in terms of durability. The Ethereal lacks an armor save... or a save of any type. He has only two wounds, and a low Toughness. Not the epitome of toughness. The Ethereal also drops the ball by being the only Tau unit outside of Shield Drones and puppies to lack a gun.
The Ethereal has some definite perks, however; first and foremost being that he offers a re-roll to any leadership test taken by a Tau unit that can see him. He also makes any unit he joins fearless, increasing the durability against shooting of the unit he hides in by quite a bit. He adds a very small close combat punch, and can purchase Shield or Gun Drones. When an Ethereal's unit is whittled down, he can move into a vehicle;while not actively using his power at the time, it will save the problem of you running off the table.
The Ethereal can be fielded on the table one of two ways to be effective:
1. In sight, out of sight: An Ethereal will find a piece of cover ahead or to the side of your army, blocking enemy sight to him whilst allowing him to be visible to the rest of the army. A Devilfish that has landed can actually cover him completely whilst showing him to comrades to the sides; a useful thing to remember if you have, say, a Pathfinder Devilfish waiting to pick up reserved Fire Warriors. Do NOT do this if the enemy has barrage weapons.
2. In a unit: A team of Broadsides makes a great home for an Ethereal; strong, placed in the backfield, and now Fearless, the Broadsides will take quite a few hits for the Ethereal. Just beware being hit with massive amounts of hits and wounds getting to the Ethereal.Using Broadsides over, say, Kroot or Pathfinders, has the added bonus of having the Ethereal wounded as if T4.
That's all for the Ethereal.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Turbo: Gun Drone Squadrons
Gun Drones are a little used unit, again competing with the far superior Pathfinders and Piranhas. The main problem, however, is not that Gun Drones are bad, but that we shouldn't paying full price for them in most cases; A piranha squadron will bring you a small squad for free, other vehicles can bring pairs, and they can also accompany Crisis Teams for a little firepower and ablative wounds for 2pts cheaper a piece.
In their squadron form, either formed via ejection from vehicles or simply purchased, Gun Drones have a variety of uses:
-Gun Drones are often used as "glue" for wall, using their expendable mass to fill in where Kroot have fallen.
-Gun Drones can move around to act as mobile cover for other units, giving cover saves or slowing would-be assault units.
-Gun Drones have low priority on enemy lists, meaning that they can often flank the enemy position if you present the opponent a distraction. Their carbines can be an effective weapon for slowing AV10.
-Gun Drones rarely deal enough damage to cause substantial chaos, but they have one large upside to their weapons; pinning. Firing your Gun Drones at an important enemy unit gives you a small chance to pin. While not reliable, it is a useful bonus that should be thought of every once and a while.
Gun Drones that are purchased in squadron form can Deepstrike, which makes them reaching annoying positions much easier. Deepstriking allows instant access to rear armor, and allows access to backfield enemy heavy weapons. Note that Gun Drones (like Shadowsun) don't suffer from the XV8's inability to jump after deepstriking.
Gun Drones may also find a niche in my proposed "mobile wall". Making up the bulk of the proposed Stealth Wall, the squadrons themselves may be useful in a similar way. While only 8 men strong, they are a cheap option... though this, again, is overshadowed by the Piranha, as they bring the drones necessary while making the needed blockades themselves.
