After all this building and painting that I’ve done over the last year, it’s time to put my army to the test. My first tournament is coming up on March 8th, and I need to construct a 1500-point army list. Fortunately, I have over 2000 points of Tau available (although not quite constructed), so here’s my first attempt. I actually managed to come in at exactly 1500 points!
Total points: 1500
++++ [HQ] ++++
Unit cost: 115
XV8 Shas’el
— [CIB, Plasma rifle, Targeting array, HW Multi-tracker, HW Drone controller, Shield Drone]
(My primary HQ choice. All-purpose, with lots of shots.)
Unit cost: 97
XV8 Shas’el
— [AFP, TL Burst cannon, HW Drone controller, Shield Drone]
(My secondary HQ choice, to act as a harasser/bait. Also, a decent anti-horde unit.)
++++ [Elites] ++++
Unit cost: 186
3x XV8 Shas’ui
— [Missile pod, Plasma rifle, Multi-tracker]
(A unit of Fireknives – the all-purpose Crisis Suit configuration.)
Unit cost: 141
3x XV8 Shas’ui
— [TL Missile pod, Flamer]
(A unit of Deathrain suits; great for dealing with threats at range, including light vehicles, with flamers for anyone who gets too close.)
++++ [Troops] ++++
Unit cost: 103
Fire Warrior ‘ui
— [Pulse rifle, Photon Grenade, Bonding knife]
7x Fire Warrior ‘la
— [Pulse rifle, Photon Grenade]
Unit cost: 103
Fire Warrior ‘ui
— [Pulse rifle, Photon Grenade, Bonding knife]
7x Fire Warrior ‘la
— [Pulse rifle, Photon Grenade]
Unit cost: 103
Fire Warrior ‘ui
— [Pulse rifle, Photon Grenade, Bonding knife]
7x Fire Warrior ‘la
— [Pulse rifle, Photon Grenade]
Unit cost: 103
Fire Warrior ‘ui
— [Pulse rifle, Photon Grenade, Bonding knife]
7x Fire Warrior ‘la
— [Pulse rifle, Photon Grenade]
(4 groups of 8 Fire Warriors for taking/holding objectives.)
++++ [Fast Attack] ++++
Unit cost: 189
8x Pathfinder ‘la
— [Pulse Carbine w/ Markerlight, Photon Grenade]
Devilfish
— [Burst cannon, 2x Gun Drone, Landing gear, Disruption pod]
(Markerlight and taxi support.)
++++ [Heavy Support] ++++
Unit cost: 180
Hammerhead
— [Railgun, 2x Burst cannon, Landing gear, Targeting array, Disruption pod, Multi-tracker, Target lock, Flechette discharger]
Unit cost: 180
Hammerhead
— [Railgun, 2x Burst cannon, Landing gear, Targeting array, Disruption pod, Multi-tracker, Target lock, Flechette discharger]
(Anti-vehicle support, with submunition rounds coming in handy for countering hordes.)
My overall strategy is two-fold:
- Destroying the enemy through combined/co-ordinated fire
- Seizing nearby objectives, while contesting more distant ones
The two command suits are there to basically be fire magnets, harassers, and bait. Meanwhile, the troops will be focusing on claiming nearby objectives on foot while pouring fire onto anything that gets too close. Everything else – the Pathfinders, the elite Crisis Suits, and the Hammerheads – are there to destroy targets of opportunity and to make sure that targets on my opponent’s side of the table aren’t uncontested, either through speed or firepower.
