Mobile Roadblocks?

All right, I never really rapidfire posts, but this is a cool moment for me.

I had just suggested the use of Vespids or Gun Drones as a mobile walling unit, but now I think I have a better idea of one:

Stealth Teams.

Filling out a Stealth Team with 6 men and 12 Drones costs 300, not much more than two walls of Kroot, but fully mobile, nearly immune to ranged firepower, resistant to other guns, and able to stretch a distance equivalent to a single Kroot Wall. In addition, it can put out some withering firepower on enemy units that move in to assault you.

I'm just thinking... could this be a way to use a fully mobile Kauyon strategy? Using the Stealth Team as your Wall/Lure, and bringing them into the range of mass Crisis and S5 fire. The wall also can be used to Outflank the same way a Kroot Wall can, or Infiltrate up like they would as well.

It is a bit expensive for a sacrificial unit, but it has its values.

I think I'm going to try this out, it sounds like fun. May be a path back into using the speed of Mont'ka with the lure of the Kauyon.

Kroot Wall list

The crude vehicles rumbled loudly down the beaten roads of the lost Imperial Sector, the sun rising in the distance to light the shadowy city. The smell of Ork fuel was easily distinguishable, not that it was a necessary marker with the sight of several greenskins protruding out of the topless compartments. The column came to brief stop upon sighting the scouts, but that brief moment was superseded almost immediately by war cries and the revving of engines. The Orks had found a target and would like nothing less than to engage it and tear it to shreds.

The Burnas were the first to reach their target, igniting flames that had proven effective at pushing back the avian forces they had faced earlier in the campaign. Massive swathes of burning fuel cut into the improvised cover of the creatures, killing a handful of the scouting party. Instead of a fleeing party, however, the Burnas were met with furious growls as wolf-like creatures pounced out of the mangled building and tore into them. The Burnas fell back under the onslaught, only to be caught and torn to shreds. The vehicles and their cargo were undeterred by the canines, thundering forward nonetheless.

The next instant can only be described as an explosion. A tremor shook the road, and the dust and soot of battles past obscured the road, shielding the scouts from view. Before the pollutants could fully clear, a bright bolt of energy struck outwards. It connected with the foremost Ork vehicle, reducing it to a smoldering wreck in the path of the Ork advance.

The origin of the blast appeared in the smoke. A hulking walker appeared, much like common weapon platforms of the Ork’s enemies, with a few striking differences. Great wings protruded from the suit, and a large spout of green energy spewed violently from its right fist. The walker was crowned in a helmet-like array of odd technology, including odd smoking areas to the sides of its sensor suite.

The Walker’s voice boomed loudly through its speaker suite, assuming a simplistic but effective Ork tongue, “Enemies of the Empire! This planet is the property of the Tau Empire. There is a cost for your trespass and belligerence, and you shall play it in blood!”

The road was lit by a plethora of lights, followed swiftly and lethally by a burst of plasma and a plethora of missiles. There would be no victory for the Orks that day.

In the post before this, I talked about competitive lists VS fun lists. I thought it would be worthwhile to post my preliminary idea of what such a list would look like, how it would work, etc. This may be the path I take with this army, for better or for worse.

So first, the list:

HQ

Fireforge Crisis Commander- Shas'el w/ TL-MP, FB, HWTL -85

Fireforge Crisis Commander- Shas'el w/ TL-MP, FB, HWTL -85

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, DP; Piranha w/ FB, TA, FD -165

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

The list has a lot of synergy in it, and I'll be describing it by layer to help illustrate this.

The outmost layer will be a wall of Kroot, joined by one of my Fireforge Commanders. The attached IC will make them harder to run off, which will be helpful as they won't have too much staying power bar lucky terrain and tricks (see below). The Commander adds a little melta and a tankshock deterrent (I will actually put him directly in front of/assault a tank so they must TS him or go around... which is an auto melta-hit).

The second layer is completely identical except for the fact that their cover is nearly assured by the forward unit. Same deal with melta and such. This unit can function as counter-charge if it needs to, but will mostly stay in place.

Layer three are the Suits, who will be jumping in and out of my castle, ensuring cover for themselves whilst avoiding the enemy gaining the same favor. Their role is rather simple; shooting. Broadsides will sit pretty center stage and blast transports to pieces.

Piranhas will start a little behind the suits, and move out early on to block enemy movements and provide cover for my Kroot; it is unwise to underestimate the durability of AV11+cover; and I can see them absorbing a large amount of shots. If neither role is necessary, they will sit back for contesting duties. Flechettes allow them to be a pain to both hordes and vehicles in their quests to disrupt movement.

Seeing as how Markerlights only need to see a sliver of their target and there is no cover from the Valkyrie's Mark, they will sit farther back, and light targets of priority. They will stay still as long as possible, being my last unit to move into a blocking position, bar the suits. Fire Warriors who refuse to stay in reserve will sit with them as well.

Finally come the vehicles; they sit back and provide minimal fire support, but have two important goals. First and foremost, they will act as outflank blockers, covering my sides from enemy attacks if I am forced into a corner deployment. Secondly, they will act as mobile bunkers and objective takers. In KP games, heavily wounded units can shelter in them, and in objective games, they will pickup any maimed Kroot units or my reserved Fire Warrior squad and ferry them to an objective.

Against mass barrage IG or the such, this entire idea kind of goes in the toilet. I have to play loose in such a case; Kroot Outflanking, Suits moving with a escort Devilfish for cover, Pathies in cover, Broadsides making a big lure of themselves while hitting everything they can, Commanders DSing... not as static of a plan in that case, but I'll do what I can.

That's my take on it at least. I am rather new to the idea of kroot wall armies, so if I missed something big or you have a suggestion, please toss it into the comments.

Combat Patrol Video

As promised, a quick explanation of the Stealth Recon list in the last post, explaining the use of Piranhas in combination with Stealth Suits.

Running a Combat Patrol

So due to fan questioning and the general 40k blogosphere, I'm jumping on the Combat Patrol bandwagon.

What is CP?
Combat Patrol is an odd little game that is simple to play and an easy way to get started. It is small enough to get a general grasp on the rules of the games, and see the synergy between units on a smaller level; synergies that larger armies can be built on.

Combat Patrol can, however, be brutal. The small points level rewards the leanest of players, who can fit every fist and bullet into their list they can. Those small level synergies can be deadly combinations, with no way to force through them; take, for example, Fritz's Harlequin list: http://saimhann.blogspot.com/2010/05/clown-patrol-harlequin-combat-patrol.html#/

The list has a very low model count that you won't expect from Foot Eldar (Footdar), but has a few nasty surprises; it is practically unshootable due to durability (2+ saves in CP via cover!) and the Shadowseer (unshootable over 24", annoying night-fighting-like tests). It snipes something early and then books it away and hides, and can handle itself in assault (Harlequins are very good).

In this competitive form of CP, every move counts; there is no room to blunder, as a single mistake, a single model's death, can change the game. It is a very exciting game, and it is over shortly enough for a rematch or three.

What does a CP list need?

First off, CP is about Victory Point denial. There are two ways to do this; unit-pinching and, on the opposite spectrum, unit-spam. Unit-pinching puts massive amounts of points into units that are made very hard to kill; see Fritz's list. Unit spam means putting very small amounts of points into units so that when they give up points, the amount is very small. An example of this would be a list with 5 8-man Fire Warrior squads.

A CP list, first and foremost, needs a single Troop choice. For us Tau players, this choice is a bit limited; we are stuck, as always, with a choice between Kroot and Fire Warriors. My opinion on this is simple; the Fire Warriors are more durable, and give us more deployment options (i.e. not cover-tied) than the Kroot, meaning that they can take up better firing positions; furthermore, their 30"range means that on the 4'x4' tables that CP is played on, they;ll always have a target. They prefer backfield sniping in CP, while Kroot are used up-close; meaning that unless your opponent has brought as much ranged firepower as, well, the Tau, he will be far more likely to pick up Kroot points than Fire Warrior points. So I give my personal edge to the Fire Warriors. (I should also note that it is undecided whether a unit of Fire Warriors are 1+ in CP. I'd say no, as the Commander cannot be taken. Otherwise, I assume normal FOC limits for CP, as it makes the game easier to get through. Yet another reason for Fire Warriors ;D).

My second maxim for Combat Patrol is to have some anti-tank, while my third is to have vehicles. The reasons? First off, while most vehicles aren't allowed in CP, some are. You need a solid way to deal with them when your opponent starts spamming chimeras or something else stupid. Second off, while Pulse Fire can down AV10 when you hose it at them, a meltagun can't hurt for emergencies. The inverse applies to my statement; most players lack effective vehicle killing weapons, rationalizing that they are unnecessary in a game with only light armor. For this role, and one that will be explained below, the Piranha (with Fusion Blaster and Targeting Array) makes it into my list.

Now it is clear we need a firepower element. Right now my list has very few actual guns, and thats bad for any army, but specifically Tau. Many will take the knee-jerk response and jump right to Crisis Suits, and for good reason; Crisis Suits are the workhorse of Tau. A Fireknife can put out more high strength shots than most, can do it from a long range, and likely pick up cover.

There are downsides to the Crisis Suit, however. One wound and it gives up half its Victory Points, and even at its extreme range it is in danger; Instant Death! can remove it outright. So it is our best shooter but, is a glass cannon. Note that this is a problem in CP, as they can get away with being rather fragile in objective games, but here, it matters.

Instead I prefer the Crisis Suit's overshadowed brethren; the Stealth Suits. The Stealth Suits work up-close, which is problematic, but with the use of Piranhas as a mobile terrain piece, they can draw assaulters away yet stay safe against enemy returns. They are nearly immune to long range shooting due to the Stealth Field. Also, Infiltration allows them to hit turn 1. So Stealth Suits are my go to CP unit, despite my general dislike of them in the normal game.

My final CP list ends up looking like this:

8x Shas'la (Rifles) -80

3x Stealth Shas'ui -90

3x Stealth Shas'ui -90

Piranha w/ Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array -70

Piranha w/ Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array -70

-400

The overall synergy of this list is a bit hard to explain without a representation of the models of some sort, so I have a video for you all! Next post is the general strategy of the army, with, of course, the visual examples.