Future Plans

So uni is out in about a week's time.
Naturally, this means I will be at home, with a load of free time.
And naturally, the urge to expand has hit again.

My plan as of now is to attempt to buy one box of each of the items my army needs, discarding the older models or selling them, as the multi-stripped paintjobs are making them difficult to work with. So I'm probably saying goodbye to a bunch of older models, probably via Ebay or a local sale.
From there I plan to dupe the sprues I buy, keeping them as master sets, and building my army back from the ground up.

I've been working through some new ideas for a list, and it contains some Forgeworld; particularly XV9s.
I'll keep you all updated as I go.

Turbo: Piranha strike forces

I've already posted stuff on Piranha units, but for the sake of having it all in one place I'm making a rehash. From my old post, "Speeding Up":

"Piranhas are useful in a wierd way to the Tau army as they don't bring a lot of firepower, and because of this their mobility seems rather useless; I can bring one Fusion Blaster and Targetting Array there for 70 points? And they seem rather fragile compared to most other vehicles. Weakest possible armor on the side and rear and overpriced compared to Landspeeders, as well as poorly armed in comparison.
So why use Piranhas? Because they make excellent roadblocks. Piranha roadblocks can be used in two ways; the Swordfish and the School of Piranhas.

The Swordfish tactic is simple; A piranha with a Fusion Blaster and Targetting Array rushes the enemy and parks directly in front of the enemy's vanguard vehicle, moving flat-out. The enemy can attempt to destroy it in his shooting phase, but the movement prior will be slowed by him circumventing your vehicle. If your vehicle lives, then you can hop to the enemy's rear armour and fire your meltagun, or plop down in front again.

The School of Piranhas uses two or more Piranhas (two are a cheap annoyance; three or more are a tank murdering unit that should be feared). Each Piranha is armed with a Fusion Blaster (you could use Burst Cannons, but I feel they are a waste of the Piranha), Targetting Array, Flechettes, and some should have Target Locks. The strategy begins the same as the Swordfish; rush a tank, block path, melta and then annoy. But this becomes much more effective; the space taken up by two Piranhas is enough to waste entire turns of movement, and three or more can easily block mulitple units. In addition, the Target Locks will allow you to attempt melta on multiple vehicles; an extremely useful ability. Finally, the Flechettes will allow you to block off infantry paths; putting them between you and an offending unit will force them to move around. Assaulting them will not help your opponent either, as the Flechettes will tear light infantry apart, while hurting even the heavier ones (two Flechettes in a squadron while statistically wound every model in the assaulting unit! That means only 5 Boyz from a full 30 man mob will live, or you can shred about three Marines from a full Tacsquad if they attempt to grenade your Piranhas to death). In addition, when moved at cruising or flatout speeds, the enemy needs 6s to even hit the vehicle, which is easily failed.

If you are having trouble stemming an enemy rush, try using Piranhas in your list; from popping mech to Flechetting hordes, these models can annoy or kill any would be threat that holds vehicular form."

Holding Ground! Troops, Part 2 (The Noble Fire Warrior)

Fire Warriors are one of the most conflicted units in the game, and as such are rarely fielded en masse anymore.

Fire Warriors hold the best basic gun in the game, both in terms of range and strength. On the other hand, their Weapon Skill, Initiative, and Attack stats leave them in the dust for melee; their weakness to close combat is in fact the source of the meme that Tau suck at close combat.

Many players simply take this in stride, falling back on the seemingly above par shooting skills of the Tau. This is, in itself a folly, however. While Fire Warriors do excel in tearing apart light infantry targets at range, their shooting can't really match up to the posterboy of 40k; the Space Marine. If Space Marines and Fire Warriors fought at 24", simply plonking shots at each other, the Marines would cause more hits, equal wounds per hits, and cause more deaths per wound. I'm well aware that I am comparing to a more costly unit, but to be honest, this is assuming a fight on the Tau's turf; shooting. The Marines could cut down the Tau with ease if they moved in; not that they'd have to.

Fire Warriors aren't the toughest thing in the game, with MEDI-class (Medium Infantry Equivalent) toughness and armor, but they aren't the weakest, they can survive against a good amount of basic rounds, and can outlast enemies such as guardsmen and orks, but these forces tend to outnumber them almost two-to-one, and can outmaneuver/mob your Warriors if they ever reach close combat.

When Fire Warriors gain Markerlight support, they gain a fearsome new set of teeth. Being able to strip cover away from light infantry and boost accuracy makes long range warfare a deadly nuisance for opposing forces, and a bloodbath when the Fire Warriors close to rapidfire range. However, there are downsides to this. The use of Markerlights for Fire Warriors is generally a waste unless the Fire Warriors are facing their favorite form of enemy; light infantry. The cost of Pathfinders or a similar Markerlight source is also a factor, as is their survival.

What do Fire Warriors bring to the table that make them more favourable than Kroot? To me, it's rather simple; they can bring a Tank.

The Devilfish is expensive, and has a slight deficiency due to starting with an extra killpoint attached, but they can become a very powerful asset for your army; from the SMS, a rather rare cover-ignoring weapon for the Tau, to the chassis itself blocking off lines of fire and assaults to your Crisis Suits. The durability of AV12 combined with a near constant cover save makes this vehicle one of the more difficult targets to kill; meaning that tossing a small squad inside and using the vehicle as a scoring unit is an effective tactic. Using the vehicle in this way gives it a great role; early game it blocks paths, drops SMS fire, keeps your shooters alive. Late game, it moves in to score, able to deploy a relatively healthy Fire Warrior squad out for a rapidfire if the enemy gets within range.

Flechettes on the Devilfish cement their role as a wall and allow them to dissuade light hordes from trying to reach your Fire Warriors inside; and also protect the Fire Warriors from the enemies using your Devilfish as extra movement without a large penalty. And if you are moving at cruising speed, you are incredibly durable against all but some of the best equipped vehicle shredders.

Basically, I see Fire Warriors not as a unit in and of themselves, but almost as symbiotically connected to their vehicle; they give it extra firepower and the ability to score, and it gives them protection and speed. As a quick example, the Fire Warrior unit I've been using most lately is:

6x Shas'la w/ Rifles; Devilfish w/ SMS, Multitracker, Targeting Array, Flechette Discharger, Disruption Pods -190

I run three of these and a small squad of Kroot in 1850. They are more than capable of keeping my suits alive, withstanding enemy firepower, and shredding light infantry. Their cover-denying capability and good Ballistic Skill allows more to forego a lot of need for Markerlights. They can Tank-shock onto heavily protected objectives, and they can simply drift onto any objectives that are not. They are a valuable asset in my army.

Any of the readers use a different build? Any static players? Anyone who throws six Fire Warriors in a Pathfinder fish and grabs Kroot instead?

Holding Ground! Troops, Part 1 (Kroot, the Creeping Menace)

Kroot are an odd unit for Tau. Statwise, they seem to be geared for assault, but point for point they are better at shooting than Tau. Unlike the rest of our technologically advanced army, they are unarmored, and use simple weapons. In fluff, they form the role of scouts and shock troops, doing everything from tearing apart advanced Marines, and Eldar to holding off swarms of Hormaguants.

But how to use them in game?

The problem with Kroot is that they are absolutely bad statwise, not making up their points in either shooting or combat against anything else in the game. Kroot can hold their own against guard and smaller squads of Nids, but they fail to hurt anything that is really dedicated to combat, and they are a flamer or blast away from extinction.

Kroot also do not work well in a combatant role in small numbers. A squad of 10 will get knocked out of the game too fast for you to even realize you wasted 70 points. A full horde of 20 Kroot can give some punch, but the combat resolution rules still don't favor our unarmored, uninspired brethren to take out combat specialists. The size increase does help against shooting, however, increasing the amount your opponent has to down before you have to take a moral test; an annoyance for the opponent if you hide them in cover.

Kroot have two buddies that can be brought along with them for the purpose of boosting their abilities in one way or another. The first buddy is the Krootox, sporting the Rapidfire equivalent of a Missile Pod. I would suggest never taking Krootox in your whole life ever as it takes away your Kroot's ability to Infiltrate, drastically reducing their effectiveness (see below). The Krootox is made to increase the effectiveness of "sit and shoot" Kroot. I have never such a monstrosity work, and do not plan to.

The second buddy for Kroot is Kroot Hounds (puppies!). Kroot Puppies cost a point less than the common Kroot, put out equal attacks, with equal Strength, Toughness, Weapon Skill, etc. but with I5! The downside? Kroot Puppies have no guns, as puppies with guns would be to awesome even for 40k to contain. The Puppies also do not benefit from fieldcraft, as they break cover to chase grenades.

Kroot Puppies are very effective for Kroot, as they bring in two boosts via their I5:

1. Sick of your Kroot getting killed before attacking? Take wounds on the Kroot Puppies, who have probably already attacked, to keep your units that have yet to swing alive. This is useful if you want your Kroot to actually have a chance to kill the enemy on the charge.

2. Are your Kroot forming a wall of expendability against a charging foe they cannot hope to defeat? Save the Puppies! If, at the end of combat, you have more Puppies than Kroot, you flee (or sweep) at I5 as opposed to I3. This can keep your Kroot from being run down, allowing them to get away without dying miserably.

Shapers are another upgrade Kroot can grab at. Costing as much as 4 Kroot, a Shaper benefits from getting a free T-Shirt saying "I Love Angkor Prok", which gives him a 6+ save, and has brought a box of spares that he is happy to sell to any Kroot for 1 point. He is slightly less challenged than normal Kroot, bearing a leadership of 8. He has figured out the contraptions of Tau weaponry, allowing him to use a Pulse weapon for free, though that takes away from his total amount of attacks in CC, making it a poor option. Sadly, he does not hold his points weight in neither shooting or CC compared to 4 of his kind and thus is used by Tau players very rarely.

How does one use Kroot to get good effect out of their weak, armor-less hides? The true advantages to Kroot are four-fold, and come from outside their statline.

1. Kroot are Troops. This means Kroot can score objectives, a modern marvel as it was once thought they would simply eat them. A tactic known as pillboxing has evolved from this, and it is the simplest form of objective scoring you will ever see. Place an objective in cover, preferably woods, and sit a massive blob of Kroot on it, who continually go to ground when fired upon. It will annoy anyone who has not brought effective cover-ignoring weapons to know end, as they bring hundreds of fifties of pounds of ordnance down on a difficult to extricate horde. This leaves your opponent's with an irksome choice; dedicate firepower to the 100 or so points of Kroot hiding away, or hit your actual firepower.

2. Kroot hordes take up space. This can be used to make a very annoying wall, circle, etc. that can screw with your opponent's ability to maneuver. In DoW games, you can place your Kroot far forward if you get first deployment, limiting the area your opponent can deploy into. You can form large blocks around vehicles to dissuade deepstriking melta from landing too close. You can circle up around your Broadsides to protect them from quick assaults. They can provide a wall of cover to your Crisis Suits, allowing them to jump behind it after firing freely.

3. Kroot make great outflankers. A 20 or so man squad (with Puppies!) can threaten the flanks very well, tarring up units in assault or killing weakened enemies. If no targets are available, they can come in on a cornered objective and score. Your success with this strategy will vary, but back in the day when I used outflanking Kroot as part of Ninja Tau and Ethereal Tau (I know; ew) they ranked up: 2 Rhinos (1 full of TacMarines that couldn't disembark), a Daemon Prince with 3 wounds, 2 Basilisks, and some Scouts. It can be rather effective.

4. Kroot can INFILTRATE. This is a big deal. You can set up to push back enemy Infiltrators, or stop a first turn rush, or any such nonsense. You can get yourself into shooting range or threaten infantry targets. It is a very reactive ability that can help to remove alpha-strike threats from a less tactical opponent. That being said, I prefer to use Stealth Suits for this role, as their guns have more of a punch, but Kroot are cheap and effective at this.

Tau players, how do you use Kroot? Do you see them as useful or useless?

One last thing; Kroot can win you the game automatically against an all-reserved all-bike/infantry army :D

http://img198.imageshack.us/i/photo053gnr.jpg

The Few, The Proud... The Elites PT4 (Crisis Teams: The Ta'ro'cha)

The Ta'ro'cha is loosely translated from Tau language as "three minds, one purpose" from the Tau language. One would be wise to keep this in mind when setting up their unit; the Team will do well if their purpose (and weapons) are one.

Ta'ro'cha teams are the greatest amount of special/heavy firepower that can be achieved in a single unit for our army. They are similar to Duo teams in that taking long range builds is an effective use of points, and very far from Monats in the sense that a suicide drop with them will be costly (though still acceptable with the dirt-cheap Heatwaves).

The biggest change is their notoriety; experienced enemies will know to target unprotected Ta'ro'cha teams early on, as each death will cause a massive loss of firepower. Thus the major change over duos is not how you use the team offensively; but how you keep it alive.

Drone support. I am a firm believer in Drone Support. For a very small amount, you can add more wounds to your unit, and in the case of Shield Drones, a useful invulnerable save. Marker Drones are an expensive way to do this (with a few added boons), but I'd recommend against it in most cases, as it makes your unit a bigger target. Unless of course you want to make the unit a target, in which case go ahead.

Wound allocation. I spoke of this in the section on Duos, but a Ta'ro'cha team needs the allocation far more; while Duos gain an extra wound of preserved firepower, the Ta'ro'cha gains two (not counting ablative Drones). The way to gain difference in the models varies, however, and may mess with coherent firepower. For example, take a Deathrain squad as follows:

Shas'ui Team Leader w/ TL-MP, Flamer; Shas'ui w/ TL-MP, Flamer; Shas'ui w/ TL-Flamer, MP -142

This squad is fully different, meaning that it can take full use of wound allocation rules to its advantage. The is little firepower compromise either; one suit has lost its twin-linking on its main gun, but has gained a twin-linked flamer for its secondary role of burning away infantry. If I wanted to solidify the unit's role as Missile dakka, I could have given said Shas'ui his Twin-linked Missile and a Black Sun Filter, thus keeping the unit "different". If Drones wish to be added to the unit, than I simply give the Team Leader a Hard-wired Drone Controller.

This effect is more difficult to achieve with suits that use multitrackers, however. Take the standard unit of Firestorm Suits, for example:

Shas'ui Team Leader w/ BC, MP, MT; Shas'ui w/ BC, MP, MT; Shas'ui w/ BC, MP, MT -155

The general idea of using Burst Cannons and Missile Pods in unison cannot be kept here. We will either have to change a weapon (see example 1) or Twin-link a weapon and drop the other entirely (example 2):

1. ...; Shas'ui w/ PR, MP, MT (Adding in a Fireknife as opposed to a Firestorm allows you to keep full wound allocation but loses a Burst Cannon.)

2. ...; Shas'ui w/ TL-MP, BSF (Using this suit moves the purpose of the unit to be more Missile Centric. Giving the Shas'ui a TL-BC would do the opposite.)

Cover Saves. Even with Drones, Crisis Suits can take heavy casualties from low AP weapons (which good players will almost always direct at your suits). There are two effective ways I have seen for generating cover saves besides the simple JSJ tactics. I cannot take credit for either however.

The first tactic is the use of Piranhas moving fast or Kroot walls to get cover saves. To use te latter, place 50% of your Kroot in area terrain and form a line with the other half. Jump your suits over this line to shoot and then back again. Enemies returning fire are shooting through a unit, thus granting you saves. Shooting the Kroot allows you to take saves with them (or go to ground), but the Kroot are expendable in this tactic generally. With the former, you move the Piranhas fast near the suits (the Piranhas get saves) and then using the Piranhas as mobile terrain and moving behind them. This tactic is based heavily on Fritz's tactics using Guardian Jetbikes and Vypers to generate coversaves. For those of you who no little of Fritz and hisvarious 40k blogs, I suggest visiting his youtube page as a start. Sifting through the older tactics videos will give you a look at his unorthodox but effective playstyles. Check out: http://www.youtube.com/user/WayOfSaimHann

The second tactic is also someone else's. It is called Circling the Wagon, and is the brainchild of one of the only two other active Tau blogs of found on the net. You use a Devilfish or other battletank as a moving chunk of cover. For mutual support, Crisis Suits with flamers are a good reason for assaulters to stay clear of your vehicles. You can check out Tau of War's youtube page here: http://www.youtube.com/user/tauofwar

Next up on my list of posts will be looking into Crisis Commander tricks and the Positional Relay.

The Few, The Proud... The Elites PT3 (Crisis Teams: Duos)

Duos are odd little Crisis Teams. They can bring enough firepower to make good use of Markerlights while still remaining cheap and expendable (and thus still a good candidate for deepstrike). In addition, the use of Target Locks can make a cheap squad do damage far beyond their cost.
Duos are used in an almost identical way to Monats; cheap units are dropped to where your opponent wants them least, burning or smashing things in their wake. Alternatively, you are reaching the level of firepower where suits that hang back and use Markerlights and Missiles effectively enough to actually do something at range.

Because of the similarity, I will not be posting effective builds here, as they are the same as for Monats, mostly. I will be however, remarking on three things; Wound allocation, Target locks, and Drone support.

Wound allocation comes into play when Crisis Teams become larger. The essence of wound allocation can be found in the BRB (Big Red Book AKA the core rulebook), but it is worth summarizing how it works here.
If a unit has multiple multi-wound models that are identical, then any wounds that are placed on the unit are saved normally, and unsaved wounds are allocated on models so that none can be placed on others until the first wounded model is removed.
Wordy? Not done yet.
If these models differentiate in any way, then the the wounds are allocated before saves are made. In addition, you can place wounds on whoever you want, meaning that a Crisis Suit with one wound remaining can be spared the worst of the fire, or can be sacrificed to an Instant Death! attack to save the models with more than one wound left.
This is useful for Crisis Suits, as you can make it so that you can take more wounds than normal before losing a model (and thus firepower).
To do this, the Suits must be different in some way. This could be as simple as making one a Team Leader or giving the two suits slightly different equipment. Target locks are effective for this, as they give an effectiveness boost and also add diversity in the unit.

The second thing to learn is why and how to use Target Locks in Duo Team. Consider the firepower and threat of two identical Sunforge Battlesuits in a unit. They can drop down and pop a single tank, and then will likely suffer enough return fire to kill them. They may flame infantry if no tanks present themselves.
A unit of Sunforges with one model replacing their flamer witha Target Lock costs one point more, and has the potential to kill two vehicles, if the opportunity presents itself. In addition, it has wound allocation.

The final thing worth noting is Drone Support. Buying Drones for something this cheap and expendable doesn't sit right with me, personally. I normally reserve Drone Support for large squads, as an investment of that size needs protection.

That's all for now. I'll have three man teams up as soon as I can.

The Few, The Proud... The Elites PT2 (Crisis Teams: Monats)

The Crisis Teams are the iconic weapon-bearers of the Tau Army, sporting many forms of special weapons. They are also the cement of your army, filling in any cracks in your offensive power and solidifying an offensive core.
Crisis Teams are a complex subject, involving many layers of strategy and tactics, and to ease the strain of writing on myself and sifting/reading for you all, I'm splitting this into multiple posts. And so we go.

Monat refers to a Crisis Suit that is alone, fighting without squadmates or drone support, normally bearing the weight of a suicide mission. Monats are rather simple; they are cheap units that carry effective special weapons and it doesn't mean much if they die; they shouldn't cost more than 70 points apiece anyways.
Effective Monat Builds include:
Heatwave (TL-Flamer, BSF) -34
Cheapest possible suit of all time; Deepstrike it in and roast someone. It will die to rapidfire or assault. End of discussion.
Toasterboy (TL-Flamer, MP) -43
A slightly upgraded version of the Heatwave, sporting a Missile Pod thatwill allow it to move upfield to its target, or as a secondary if Deepstrike goes askew and lands away from the original target.
Sunforge AKA "Suicide Suit" (TL-FB, Flamer) -47
This is the standard suicide suit, dropping from the sky hoping to get close to anything, flaming infantry and melting tanks, only to die in a torrent of fire and fists. Burn bright, not long.
Deathrain (TL-MP, Flamer) -47
A suit to jump around and annoy at range. Anti-light vehicle with a flair for setting infantry on fire.
Fireforge (MP, FB, MT) -54
My personal favorite Monat, filling in for quick, effective anti-vehicle for those who don't attempt to squeeze in expensive railguns at low point levels.
Helios AKA "Forgeknife" (PR, FB, MT) -62
Anti-heavy infantry, anti-tank. Deepstrikes to deliver melta and rapidfire plasma and annoy or distract opponents. A little on the expensive side.
Fireknife (PR, MP, MT) -62
Anti-light vehicle, a flair of anti-heavy infantry. Long ranged, and use of cover can make it worth its points.

This is it for now. I'll be back with two man team tactics soon.

Speeding Up

The Battleforce also lacks a form of Fast Attack; meaning that you'll have to get some yourself if you want to use anything.

I've already toldyou how to convert spare Fire Warriors into Pathfinders, so that should be of little concern.

I do not recommend the use of Vespid, and Gun Drones (while severly underestimated) are not recommended either. The latter is usable, but their effectiveness is mostly as an annoyance unit, meaning that they are not that great to take until you've filled your other points with Scorers, Railguns, and Crisis Suits.

That leaves us the use of Piranhas.

Piranhas are useful in a wierd way to the Tau army as they don't bring a lot of firepower, and because of this their mobility seems rather useless; I can bring one Fusion Blaster and Targetting Array there for 70 points? And they seem rather fragile compared to most other vehicles. Weakest possible armor on the side and rear and overpriced compared to Landspeeders, as well as poorly armed in comparison.
So why use Piranhas? Because they make excellent roadblocks. Piranha roadblocks can be used in two ways; the Swordfish and the School of Piranhas.

The Swordfish tactic is simple; A piranha with a Fusion Blaster and Targetting Array rushes the enemy and parks directly in front of the enemy's vanguard vehicle, moving flat-out. The enemy can attempt to destroy it in his shooting phase, but the movement prior will be slowed by him circumventing your vehicle. If your vehicle lives, then you can hop to the enemy's rear armour and fire your meltagun, or plop down in front again.

The School of Piranhas uses two or more Piranhas (two are a cheap annoyance; three or more are a tank murdering unit that should be feared). Each Piranha is armed with a Fusion Blaster (you could use Burst Cannons, but I feel they are a waste of the Piranha), Targetting Array, Flechettes, and some should have Target Locks. The strategy begins the same as the Swordfish; rush a tank, block path, melta and then annoy. But this becomes much more effective; the space taken up by two Piranhas is enough to waste entire turns of movement, and three or more can easily block mulitple units. In addition, the Target Locks will allow you to attempt melta on multiple vehicles; an extremely useful ability. Finally, the Flechettes will allow you to block off infantry paths; putting them between you and an offending unit will force them to move around. Assaulting them will not help your opponent either, as the Flechettes will tear light infantry apart, while hurting even the heavier ones (two Flechettes in a squadron while statistically wound every model in the assaulting unit! That means only 5 Boyz from a full 30 man mob will live, or you can shred about three Marines from a full Tacsquad if they attempt to grenade your Piranhas to death). In addition, when moved at cruising or flatout speeds, the enemy needs 6s to even hit the vehicle, which is easily failed.

If you are having trouble stemming an enemy rush, try using Piranhas in your list; from popping mech to Flechetting hordes, these models can annoy or kill any would be threat.

Bringing in the Heavies

One of the constants in the Battleforce lists are their reliance on Crisis Suits for anti-tank. This can be the route you take, but the Tau are unique in that they carry the best long-ranged anti-tank weapon in the game; the Railgun.

Fortunately for everyone else, Railguns can't be crammed into every corner of our lists; only our heavy support. So here will be talking of our two Railgun toting Heavies.

The Hammerhead makes a very effective use of the Railgun if equipped (minimally) with a Disruption Pod and a Multitracker. This allows it durability at a range and the ability to move 12" before firing the Railgun, which is useful for side armor hunting. It can be used to tank shock objectives later in the game. It also can fire an anti-infantry round.

Broadsides are slower, but put out much more firepower. They are slightly more accurate then a Hammerhead, and with the use of Shield Drones and cover they become more durable to shooting (if easy to wipe in assault). You can get two Railguns for the price of one mounted one, and the SMS deal quite a bit of damage as well; I actually find myself firing said weapons far more often in the later phases of the game.

Which should you get first? Buying a Hammerhead model is cheaper than buying two Broadsides, and keeps mobility in your army. Broadsides, however, clearly put out more anti-tank firepower... but is the damage output worth the speed sacrifice and the additional chassis? Its your choice overall; I run both in high-points.

2 Battleforces (1000pts)

While a usable 500 point army can be made from a Battlebox, a decent 1000 point army can be made from two boxes.

First come the Troops; Again we start with the base of Fire Warriors riding in a durable Devilfish, but with the extras we can have two squads. As above, the choice to take Rifles or Carbines is yours, but again I recommend Rifles.

8x Shas'la (Rifles) -80 pts
8x Shas'la (Rifles) -80 pts
The trick in the prior list of taking the Devilfish that come with the Pathfinder squads is used her again... with a quick catch discussed later. Redundancy (use of the same unit multiple time) makes it more difficult for the enemy to blunt your offensive tankrush.

Next we have the Krootses (not actual plural). Kroot like hordes. They take less morale test that way, bring a lot of wieght in combat and can shoot a lot from cover. It is also VERY difficult to remove a Kroot horde from cover; one of the reasons Kroot hordes are sometimes championed above mechanized Fire Warriors. Their extra deployment techniques make them tricky, as they can start right next to your opponent or off on the side in a wood. The can sit 50% in terrain and 50% in a line across the field to grant cover to your other units. They die to anything that denies cover by the bucket. But they are nonetheless dangerous. Use them.

20x Kroot Mercenaries; 4x Kroot Hounds -164
How to get the Hounds? Model some of your Kroot in leaned over positions, don't give them guns (maybe cut the knife ends off and put that in their hands) and make them converted "Feral Kroot". Paint blood on their hands and maws. These conversions are simple and effective.

Pathfinders are key, and start becoming really useful at 1000 points or higher. Here we will field 8; the other 4 coming from the conversion method outlined in the post before.

4x Pathfinder Shas'la; Devilfish w/ SMS, TA, MT, DP -168
4x Pathfinder Shas'la; Devilfish w/ SMS, TA, MT, DP -168
You can combine these units if you want, giving the second 'fish instead to Fire Warriors. This method will save you one KP, but will make the squad a big target. This way you can light up an extra target, and will make killing all of your lights annoying.

Remember that measly Stealth Team with low amounts of firepower? With a full squad they can shred through soft targets, hurt heavier infantry, and even break through rear armor through use of extra deployment options or just great maneuvering.

1x Stealth Shas'ui Team Leader w/ Bonding Knife; 5x Shas'la
This is where you will first see the use of morale upgrades. A full Stealth Team benefits from a Bonding Knife, as if they fall back from their forward roles they can regroup and move back up, once again aggravating the opponent.

Now we go back to the Crisis Commander; again we lack Heavy Support (AKA no Railguns), so any Crisis Suits need to be of the anti-tank variety. So we use the same Commander as before.

1x Crisis Shas'el w/ TL-MP, FB, HWMT -85
Nothing needs to be said. Its all in the last post.

In 1000 points, one Suit with anti-vehicle guns isn't enough. Luckily for us we can afford a second.

1x Crisis Shas'ui Team Leader w/ TL-MP, FB, HWMT -65
A less accurate, less tough, but equally shooty suit. Use is the same as the Commander, only slightly more expendable.

So the final list looks like:

1x Crisis Shas'el w/ TL-MP, FB, HWMT -85
1x Crisis Shas'ui w/ TL-MP, FB, HWMT -65
1x Stealth Shas'ui TL w/ BK; 5x Stealth Shas'ui -190
8x Fire Warrior Shas'la (Rifles) -80
8x Fire Warrior Shas'la (Rifles) -80
20 Kroot Mercenaries; 4x Kroot Hounds -164
4x Pathfinder Shas'la; Devilfish w/ SMS, TA, MT, DP -168
4x Pathfinder Shas'la; Devilfish w/ SMS, TA, MT, DP -168
TOTAL= 1000 pts

Single Battleforce Army (500 points)

The Battleforce contains (as stated previously) 1 Crisis Suit, 3 Stealth Suits, 1 Devilfish (2 Drones on 'fish), 12 Fire Warriors (comes with two drones), and 12 Kroot.

The first thing you need in a Tau army is to decide how you are going to run your Fire Warriors. In lower points they can afford to be on foot, but since this is likely your first army, it will be nice for you to try both mechanized and footslogging troops.
Model 8 of your Firewarriors with Pulse Rifles or Carbines (Rifles are widely seen as superior) and this will be your mandatory Fire Warrior Squad.

8x Shas'la (Rifles) -80 pts
This squad will move forward and attack an objective or some infantry in a Devilfish. In this point level, the Devilfish will be difficult to kill, and "Tankshocking" makes them great for attacking objectives.
Note: This squad will not buy the Devilfish for themselves, but they will ride in it. More on this below.

Next is for the second Troop choice. Since you cannot form a Firewarrior squad out of the remaining form (there's a point, trust me), you must look to your Kroot. These guys will give you experience with footslogging units.

11x Kroot Mercenaries -77 pts
Note: Kroot are odd. They will die if shot at almost always, but can make decent use of cover to make themselves more durable. They can also bring a hefty amount of attacks onto the enemy via close combat. For this list, your Kroot fulfill the role of a "pillbox" unit; they will sit in cover on an objective and shoot anything in their range. If shot at, they will "go to ground" (check the core rulebook) making them difficult to remove from an objective.

Pathfinders are our next choice. While these are normally not to be used below 500 points, it is important to learn the workings of Markerlights. "But we don't get Pathfinders!" some will proclaim. While it's conversion time.
Take the 4 extra Firewarriors, model them with Carbines and no shoulderpads (for a scouty feel). These will act as your Pathfinders. The Devilfish that you're forced to take with them will be given to the Firewarriors on the first turn.

4x Pathfinder Shas'la; Devilfish w/ Smart Missile System, Targetting Array, Multitracker, Disruption Pod -168
The Pathfinder squad is a good help to your everything but your Kroot, and they have some interesting effects (look 'em up in the codex).
The Devilfish has been upgraded a LOT. This is called a Warfish, holding considerable firepower, and being rather tough to crack. It can transport your Firewarriors into fire and back.

Next is the Elite choices; Stealth Suits come to mind, as the Commander will teach you about Crisis Suits.

3x Stealth Shas'ui -90
Stealth Suits are decent for delivering small arms firepower to unexpected places. Learn how to use their extra deployment options and you will do fine.

The final part is the Crisis Commander. First off, Shas'o are normally not worth the points. The extra point in BS is nice, but that can be accomplished by buying a Targetting Array for a Shas'el; for less points.
Second off, I normally leave my Crisis Suits until last when building. It's not that they aren't important, they are; they just fill in gaps. For example, this list has multiple anti-infantry weapons, overpowering most warriors. But no way of dealing with vehicles except ramming means problems; hence the need for a Commander wo can fight tanks:

Shas'el w/ Twin-Linked Missile Pods, Fusion Blaster, Hardwired Multi-Tracker
-85
This Shas'el is for hitting vehicles specifically; deepstriking with him is suprisingly useful, as Missile Pods hitting rear armor are painful. Make sure you familiarize yourself with melta weapons, but never attempt to deepstrike into melta range against any vehicles carrying troops (unless necessary), as even if you do pop the transport they will assault and kill you Commander next turn.

So the list is as follows:
Shas'el w/ TL-MP, FB, HWMT -85
3x Stealth Shas'ui -90
8x Shas'la (Rifles) -80
11x Kroot Mercenaries -77
4x Pathfinders; Devilfish w/ SMS, TA, MT, DP -168
TOTAL= 500 points

Next post I will outline how to make a 1000 point army using two Battleforces.

Starting Tau Pt1

This is for any newer players that stumble upon the blog, fresh from training as Shas'saals.
First off, get a codex. Don't pirate it, then you are a douchebag. Buy the 'dex, and if you don't have a friend who already plays, buy a core rulebook. For actual collecting, you should start off with the Tau Battleforce.
This will give you a full squad of Fire Warriors (12), meaning you can either treat them as a single unit or split them into two minimum-sized squads, depending on your plans. This is great, as at least two troop choices are needed in standard games, and for Tau, one of them must be a group of Fire Warriors. You also get a Devilfish, which is an excellent, though expensive pointswise.
You also get 12 Kroot, just a little more than a full squad. These guys are either hated or loved by Tau players, depending on playstyle. I will post some theory on them at a later date. Suffice to say that they are point for point a better offensive unit the Fire Warriors, but lack the ability to bring transports, and lack any armor, making them easy to kill if not hidden in cover.
You get three Stealth Suits, who by themselves, are near pointless. Many players avoid Stealth Suits, as they suffer from being worse in terms of firepower to points conversion than Crisis Suits. They do however, gain in terms of maneuverability; they have additional deployment options that Crisis Suits don't have.
Speaking of the Suits, you get one of those. This Suit will act as your Commander early in your career, as you MUST have at least one Shas'el or Shas'o to lead your army.

A second Battleforce will give you more than enough models to make a decent army. Then you need to branch out into Heavy Support. Hammerheads or Broadsides, or both. Skyrays are unorthodox but entirely usable. Sniper Drone Teams are great units, but they compete with things that are much better uses of the slot.

Next pos, I'll review how to build a viable army using one Battleforce, then using two.

Welcome to the Shas'o Covenant.

Welcome, my fellow Commanders.

I am Aloh'Nan'El, formerly Aloh'Nan'O, and Sept Commander of one of the foremost military forces to ever be off the records of our Empire. After a period of avoiding active communication, I believe the time has come for me to convey the hardships and knowledge I have learned over the years. I will be attempting to communicate via video log in the future, uploading both still images and aerial scouting drone footage, though the quality of both may vary due to the constantly changing distance between myself and the other colonies.

For the newer military commanders and even the more hardened veterans, I will attempt to highlight both tactical acumen and the various ways to employ the various weaponry of the Fio caste.

I look forward to this continued correspondence, and I hope that my musings will not fall to the Warp, but instead reach someone, anyone, who can make use of them.