05:47
Gredus
I've been reading over the various bits and bobs that's been available for the new Dark Eldar, and I'll be honest I think the die hard "I'll stand right here" Kauyon players could be in for a world of hurt.
At the moment the majority of armies out there are Spesh Mareens. Most Tau by now know what to expect, what their target priority is, and what to avoid. Pretty much each list will ram Rhino's and Razorbacks down your throat and either spam you with Nordic Puppy Cavalry marching to the beat from Techoviking. Or Sparkly Vampires with FNP falling from the sky with sad faces singing this track from Queen....
Dark Eldar are nothing like that.
The only likeness will be the multiple vehicle targets, and oh boy will there be lots to shoot at. Expect about 4 Raiders and 2-3 Ravagers. The Chaos Space Elves have some sneaky guns (and some nasty ones - FU Dark Lances) but that's not the worry for Tau. What you need to worry about is that these guys can out speed almost any army in the game and drop the nastiest sons (and daughters) of bitches into your units before you're likely to get 2 turns of shooting done. Heck you might be lucky if you get 1 turn. (They can move 12, then 2d6. If they can then disembark 2 inches from front as it's open topped then assault 6....Hello potential 30 inch assault range)In my opinion the only way to be able to counter DE with keeping a list balanced against Marines and hordes like Nids and Orcs, is by using 2 main tactics; Stick and move. "Stick and what?" I hear you say... Clearly you're not a student of Shas'el Apollo Creed:
"Stick and move is when a boxer jabs or uses long range punches then quickly steps backwards using elusive footwork to evade their opponent."
Yup I'm talking about good and proper Mont'ka tactics.
DE are fast, but they're fragile (Str 11 is their toughest vehicle armour). They are either going to come at you all engines screaming or trying to hop from cover to cover backing you into a corner. It's key that your army is able to react to this threat and bring all guns to bear. A Tau unit that doesn't shoot in your shooting phase is not something that should happen. (Ok.... unless it's an Ethereal) You want to shoot, move, shoot move over and over. If you stay still you'll have a unit of Wyches dropped on you head.The only counter I see to this from Kauyon players is awesome deployment and i'm sure Aloh'Nan'El from Shoot Tau Thrill will have something sneaky up his sleeves in this department.
Personally I'll be running a suit heavy list armed to the teeth. Any troops are likely to be hidden in Devilfish that will be moving and shooting every turn they can. If I use Kroot I have no illusion they will be simply Splinter Rifle/Wyche fodder and will gladly sacrifice them for this reason to allow my suits to keep shooting. I think that Burst Cannons could be making a comeback into a few lists and for 150 points, 3 suits that can lay down 15 shots a turn up to 18 inches is not to be underestimated. Outside of 18 inches you still have those 6 Missile Pod shots.
Treat the Emo Space Pixies like fast moving Nids. Find out which flying piece of scaffold their CC units are in and blow them out the sky. Don't take gambles and don't split fire, 1 unit getting through to your lines can put you a world of hurt and will be an unwelcome headache when you're trying to plan how to maneuver your army.
Don't be too disheartened if it seems like everyone is changing blogs, switching allegiances or "starting new projects". Remember it's a new codex that means our favorite musical is in town.I'd suggest reading up as much battle reports as you can once they start rolling in. This will give you a heads up from different Generals regarding what tactics work and don't work. You can either charge into a match straight away or sit back review the carnage.
Remember, Information is ammunition.
Posted in
Tactics
6 comments:
I don't know much about the new codex, but it seems that hiding behind some kroot screens will still be a viable strategy. I need to rebuild my Tau to get them back on the field, but I'm not really worried about these elvish punks unless they can pop out after going flat out. Otherwise, keeping your units close together so a raider can't land behind you or between the screen and the Tau seems to be the best idea.
Agree with Heretic. Plasma/MP suits still drop AV10-11 and munch infantry. Railheads still munch infantry. Broadsides still munch AV10-11. And Kroot, Piranhas, Drones plug holes and take assaults in the face.
Facing DE will most likely be like facing what some mech Eldar players try to play currently but being able to assault out of their transports. This makes plugging holes like Heretic says that much more important and forcing the DE assaults into a single Kroot/Drone squad at a time.
Tau have always been mobile behind their screens outside of Piranhas. Those Kroot screens are once again emphasised against a fast assault army which can still likely spam DL.
Yeah, I agree with the Kirby and Heretic. Dark Eldar aren't going to change the game much for Tau. First off, anything S5 and up is going to put a hurting on their raiders and ravagers and their speed doesn't matter much when we've got the range to take them down wherever they go.
Second, standard Tau defense strategies listed above, will still work fine, even better because ravagers and raiders aren't tanks and can't tank shock your kroot away (I could be mistaken about this, haven't seen the codex). So what if they can assault on the second turn, they'll only have drones and kroot to fight before they die to a concentrated Tau counter-attack of rapid firing pulse, plasma, and missile pod spam. The sky ain't falling. The Tau Empire still rules the Eastern Fringe and beyond.
I don't run Kroot (non-competitive Mont'ka player, LOL), but otherwise I have to agree with what everyone else has posted. It's all going to be about blocking off what you can (harder to do against other skimmers, but still doable) and utilizing long-range firepower. Aloh'Nan'El's army will probably do well because it'll force the DE to run into a big block of Tau onion layers; even if he's eschewed mobility, he won't need it based on his play style. Mobile players like myself will have a harder time, but a combination of blocking with Piranhas and Drones and forcing the Dark Eldar to play lengthwise/diagonally along the table should counter their greater speed somewhat. One thing that will actually be somewhat better against DE will be Fire Warriors - 30" Str 5 guns actually pose a threat to both their transports and troops; however, Missile Pods and Railguns are still the weapons of choice against their army. Target Locks will be good, too, as there's likely to be a lot of Raiders to shoot at.
Ok when I put this post up at 5am, 5 hours before I was due to get up for work, I had the best intentions. It seems I totally missed what I was trying to say in my head.
I think the DE will be very very nasty in CC and get into it much quicker that a lot of Tau players will expect. Next week I'm trying my first Kroot screens since I now have enough models to see how they do. I will also hopefully have my first match against Space Wolves.
This post is a fine example of why I should not try to post about tactics when I'm still a noobie!
Being shot down by 4 people including OSH and Kirby is kinda painful!
Don't worry about it too much; I get shot down tactica-wise before I start, and I've been playing for three years. :D
I will say that it's not like DE are going to make us any worse in assault than we already are. They'll get up to us fast, but having played DE (only once, but it was a lesson firmly taught), that's nothing new. They're a paper tiger, though, and if you can weather that initial rush you should have a chance to pay it back with gunfire.
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