Wednesday 15 September 2010

Escalation 2010: Army list

Next month I shall be attending escalation at Braknell Forest Gamers. This one day tournament has four games with a twist compared to a normal tournament. Basically the first game is combat patrol, 500 points. The combat patrol rules prevent anything with more then two wounds, anything with a 2+ save or anything with a combined armour value greater then 33. After the first round each subsequent round adds 500 points to your army. Although these points can only be used to buy new units not add to existing ones.
My proposed army list is the following:
Round 1
-3x fireknife crisis suits. Team leader, bonded, hard wired black sun filter, 2x gun drones.
-3x firestorm crisis suits. Team leader, bonded, HWBSF, 2x gun drones.
-8 firewarriors. Team leader bonded. EMP grenade on leader.

In my previous combat patrol games, the missile pods were amazing, plenty of light armour to target. In order to balance this against armies that will consist of lots of infantry I have taken firestorm configured suits rather then deathrain. In further rounds, I will have pathfinders to compensate for the loss of twinlinked. The firewarriors make my one compulsory troops. The EMP grenades and filters are there mainly to fill up the points. Although given BFGs love of nightfighting (as shown at winds of war) they will probably come in handy.

Round 2.
For round 2 a standard force organisation chart has to be filled in and the combat patrol restrictions are dropped.
-10 firewarriors, leader with bonding knife.
-shas'el, fireknife, hard wired Target lock.
- 3x broadside. 1 SMS and target lock, 1 plasma and multitracker, leader with plasma multitracker 2 shield drones target lock BSF.

The broadsides help to give this list a lot of extra punch. I'm expecting quite a few marines players with rhino spam. So the target locks enable me to threaten three vehicles a turn. The shas'el can either join the firewarriors to help them hold or go with the other fireknifes. The target lock allowing full use of firepower in either scenario. The firewarriors are my second troop choice. Although they yet a lot of hate on the internets, I quite like firewarriors.

Round 3:
- railhead, burst cannons, dpod, multitracker, flechettes, target lock.
-2 x fireknife, leader bonded, 2 gun drones.
- 5 pathfinders, rail rifle, devilfish, dpod, flechettes.

Perhaps a little too much kit on the railhead, but once again, to fill up the points. A couple more fireknife suits mainly as an escort for my shas el. And pathfinders. If you only get once chance to hit the enemy, make sure it counts.

Round 4:
-railhead, as round 3
-pathfinders as round 3 devilfish, dpod SMS.
-6 x firewarriors devilfish dpod.
Railhead to fill up the last heavy slot. Another troops choice, just to have a fast(ish) moving unit with the potential to score one objective while contesting another.
More pathfinders just for fun.

Any thoughts on the list?

8 comments:

  1. Plenty of suits and mech do seem to be the best ways for Tau to go, so looks good.

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  2. Depends on which camp you fall into, Other people are coming round that the way for Tau to win is to sit in a corner (or two) behind layers of kroot. Problem is, guard do that a lot better then the Tau do. With bigger guns.
    I prefer to be able to run away from a potential fight. Then blast them to bits with mass pulse rifle and plasma fire.
    Hasn't really failed me yet.

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  3. Guard do bubble wrap tactics a lot more cheaply than Kroot, though Kroot are better for the counter attack. However, they are equally vulnerable to flamers, which makes the cheapness of guard more valuable.

    Personally when the new tau codex comes out I'd like to see mroe of the lesser races - I rarely see Kroot anywhere. Right now they are an optional extra to a tau army, but the core still has to be fire warriors. I'd like to see an option for an army build based on the lesser races of the tau empire... kinda like the kroot mercs list but with added vespids and maybe a third race...

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  4. you don't want kroot for counter attack. you use them to restrict the enemies movement by moving them within 1" then rapid firing them after surrounding the enemy. if you charge your kroot they die. in your turn rather then the enemies.
    strange you don't see kroot, how many tau players do you actually play against?
    the interwebs love kroot.

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  5. Admittedly it seems to mostly be you and Rich, though I have faced a couple others over the years. One had a large unit of Kroot. My command squad with 4 flamers made short work of those guys :oP

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  6. is a good list but you will still suffer against the faster combat armies like we all do now, mainly nids but a clever marine player will make th most of what little makes it into your lines. lets hope your oppos at each stage are suited to what you have, and hope you never have to face the marine bike list which noone should be allowed to field without getting a wet fish around the face. dont know what the terms are you use on your battlesuit so can only guess at the loadout but ive never like flamers on battlesuits, its like if you dont kill the unit or make it flee you have just given them a unit to eat next turn and wth so many fearless out there these days its highly likely thats going to be the outcome. good luck to you though

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  7. Fireknife = Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod and multitracker
    Firestorm = Burst cannon, missile pod and multitracker

    Not too bothered about marine biker lists, once they move flat out I can strip their cover save with the pathfinders and paste them with plasma. While blocking other squads movement with fish and firewarriors.
    The only real army that worries me will be Guard. I think they have one of the best codexes currently. With lots of easy options. Hmmm do I take plasma or melta. Or for the price of your one meltagun 3 of each :P

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  8. i got them in round 2, the round before my pathfinders arrived and tbh there on you in the first move you cant kill enough or have the movement to get away from the corner they force you into, its a cheesey army but nasty

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