Tau FAQ... Yay.

So, the Tau Empire finally received an updated FAQ last month.

And I will admit, I was excited. After the FAQs that the Dark Angels and Black Templar got I thought Tau were going to get a nice new updated. But after going through it my honest reaction is: Meh.

I am glad that they clarified the Seeker Missile issue. I interpreted it like that all along, admittedly not that many people agreed with me.
And the Sensor Spines are nice, its handy not having to roll for Dangerous and Difficult Terrain when you need to grab that last round objective.

The last thing that is useful, but not really game changing is the issue with Gun Drones not counting as a Kill Point when left attached to a vehicle when it blows up. Once again, the 40Kers here in South Africa have always played like that.

Its looking increasingly like the Tau are going to need a new Codex for them to be really competitive in tournaments again. And with the way the recent Xenos Codexs have turned out, I am a bit fearful that they may do something silly to my beloved blue aliens. Then again, I am assuming a new Codex will be released in the next five years.

Rant Mode: ON

I only really got into Warhammer 40K in the last two years, I always thought it looked fun.

And it is, there is no arguing about that. But what kept me playing 40K was the Tau more than anything else. The Rules set is clunky. I never liked the fact that each player completes their entire movement, shoot and assault phase before the other player got to go. It has happened a few times where the game is decided in the first round before I could actually do anything.

Despite this, I think 40K is a fine system. There are just a number of better gaming systems, and most definitely better game publishers. Notably, Privateer Press and Catalyst Games Labs spring to mind. Game Workshop does well admittedly, I just feel somewhere they have lost sight of the most important part component of their companies.

The player.

As a regular on the Battletech Forums its common to find the staff of Catalyst making regular posts, answering questions and in general keeping players in the loop. The product line developer of Battletech - one Herbert A. Beas II - has regular live chats via IRC with anyone willing to join the channel. And I have heard similar stories about Privateer Press.

Games Workshop feels distant and cold to me. Players are rarely, if ever, let into the loop. I don't think anyone can even reliably tell me which codex is being released next. I really want to play and enjoy 40K, but I do get a bit peeved when just about every army can out shoot my Tau, and then rip me to shreds in close combat as well. And this irritation will probably continue until the Tau get a new codex some time in 2020.

So what am I ranting about? I want to spend money on 40K, until I see the awesome new BattleTech Box Set. I want to spend money on buying some cool new Crisis Suits for my Tau Army. I want to, until I see Catalyst releasing an awesome new PDF detailing the rise of the Republic of the Sphere.

Games Workshop is making it rather hard for newcomers to the hobby to actually like them. Something that seems to come easily to other games publishers that want my money just as badly.

Vespid: Are they worth it?

With the rebuilding of my Cadre during the last few weeks I have found myself seriously thinking of deploying a few Vespids. I want to do this more because I have found many Tau Army Lists to be roughly similar, and by making use of a few Vespids I can give my Army List something unique.

But more importantly for me, having a Stingwing group will be something
of a surprise to my opponents.

The biggest problem, I believe, most Tau players have with the Vespid is their cost. Costing barely less than an Assault Marine, the Vespid have lower BS and WS, not to mention one less Strength, but most importantly, the Marines have an armour save of 3+ whilst the poor Vespid are stuck with a measly 5+.

But, I do honestly think Vespid have a place in any Tau Cadre. And I think Vespid will make most opponents wonder what you are actually planning on doing with them.

The Vespid are fast, very fast, and mobile, even by Crisis Suit standards. This I find very appealing, being able to move 12 inches, and able to re-roll failed Dangerous Terrain is something that I find particularly appealing. It also gives a hint where the Vespid should be. Vespid should never stray far from the cover save that will be granted by broken terrain. A 4+ Cover Save is going to increase their life span on the Battlefield by quite a bit.

The Vespid differ from Kroot in that they are too expensive to be used as a simple roadblock to protect Crisis Suits and Broadsides. I would used them as a rapid flanking force, circling round to engage long range units such as Devastators.
The low BS of Vespids could be hindrance here, but with the use of Pathfinders and Markerlights I think the Vespid can be very effective. The Neutron Blasters with their S5 AP3 can be very useful, negating the Marine armour save.

Furthermore, I don't think one should be too afraid to Assault with Vespid. Bearing in mind it is better to first thin the ranks a bit, Assaulting can be a useful tool to finish off small groups of Space Marines, and more than anything else, it can a big surprise to have a Tau player Assaulting.

Evolution of the Mont'ka

During 2010 I found myself using two main Army Lists. Neither of which was optimised, nor well-designed. I did however have a fun time playing with them. They did have severe limitations, which cost more than one game during 2010.

The list below did allow me to finish Fourth at ICON, which to this day I remain impressed with. The list I used during UpCon differed only in that the Pathfinders were replaced with three Stealth Suits and a Marker Drone; as well as a few Seeker Missles.

ICON Hunting Cadre v3: 1750 Pts - Tau Empire Army

1 Commander Shas'el (HQ) @ 127 Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Targeting Array
Hard-wired drone controller [0]
Hard-wired multi-tracker [5]

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Commander Shas'el (HQ) @ 119 Pts
Fusion Blaster; Missile Pod; Targeting Array
Hard-wired multi-tracker [5]
Hard-wired drone controller [0]

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Crisis Battlesuit Team Leader (Elites) @ 183 Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [54] Pts
Fusion Blaster; Missile Pod; Multi-Tracker

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [62] Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

1 Crisis Battlesuit Team Leader (Elites) @ 183 Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [54] Pts
Fusion Blaster; Missile Pod; Multi-Tracker

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [62] Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

1 Crisis Battlesuit Team Leader (Elites) @ 164 Pts
TL Missile Pod; Targeting Array

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [53] Pts
TL Missile Pod; Targeting Array

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [53] Pts
TL Missile Pod; Targeting Array

6 Fire Warrior Team (Troops) @ 145 Pts
Pulse Rifle (x6)

1 Devilfish @ [85] Pts
Disruption Pod; Burst Cannon

2 Mounted Gun Drones @ [0] Pts
TL Pulse Carbine

6 Fire Warrior Team (Troops) @ 145 Pts
Pulse Rifle (x6)

1 Devilfish @ [85] Pts
Disruption Pod; Burst Cannon

2 Mounted Gun Drones @ [0] Pts
TL Pulse Carbine

8 Pathfinder Team (Fast Attack) @ 221 Pts
Pulse Carbine & Markerlight (x8)

1 Devilfish @ [125] Pts
Disruption Pod; Multi-tracker; Seeker Missile; Qty: 1; ; Marker
Beacon; Burst Cannon; Smart Missile System

1 Hammerhead Gunship (Heavy Support) @ 185 Pts
#Targetting Array; Disruption Pod; Multi-tracker; Seeker Missile; Qty: 2;
; Railgun; Burst Cannon (x2)

1 Broadside Battlesuit Team Leader (Heavy Support) @ 275 Pts
Smart Missile System; TL Railgun; Advanced Stabilization System
Hard-wired drone controller [0]

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Broadside Battlesuit @ [80] Pts
Smart Missile System; TL Railgun; Advanced Stabilization System

1 Broadside Battlesuit @ [80] Pts
Smart Missile System; TL Railgun; Advanced Stabilization System

Total Army Cost: 1747

Evolution into 2011:

I have decided to name my modified Shas'el Crisis Suit Commander, Geist. And along with this new character I have changed my List.

Commander Geist Hunting Cadre v2: 1650 Pts - Tau Empire Army

1 Commander Shas'el (HQ) @ 127 Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Targeting Array
Hard-wired multi-tracker [5]
Hard-wired drone controller [0]

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Commander Shas'el (HQ) @ 89 Pts
Fusion Blaster; Missile Pod; Targeting Array
Hard-wired multi-tracker [5]

1 Crisis Battlesuit Team Shas'vre (Elites) @ 151 Pts
Flamer; TL Missile Pod

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [47] Pts
Flamer; TL Missile Pod

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [47] Pts
Flamer; TL Missile Pod

1 Crisis Battlesuit Team Shas'vre (Elites) @ 151 Pts
Flamer; TL Missile Pod

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [47] Pts
Flamer; TL Missile Pod

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [47] Pts
Flamer; TL Missile Pod

1 Crisis Battlesuit Team Shas'vre (Elites) @ 203 Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Targeting Array
Hard-wired multi-tracker [5]
Bonding Knife [5]

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [62] Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

1 Crisis Battlesuit @ [54] Pts
Fusion Blaster; Missile Pod; Multi-Tracker

6 Fire Warrior Team (Troops) @ 60 Pts
Pulse Rifle (x6)

6 Fire Warrior Team (Troops) @ 60 Pts
Pulse Rifle (x6)

10 Kroot Carnivore Squad (Troops) @ 70 Pts
Kroot Rifle

4 Pathfinder Team (Fast Attack) @ 133 Pts
Pulse Carbine & Markerlight (x4)

1 Devilfish @ [85] Pts
Disruption Pod; Marker Beacon; Burst Cannon

2 Mounted Gun Drones @ [0] Pts
TL Pulse Carbine

4 Pathfinder Team (Fast Attack) @ 133 Pts
Pulse Carbine & Markerlight (x4)

1 Devilfish @ [85] Pts
Disruption Pod; Marker Beacon; Burst Cannon

2 Mounted Gun Drones @ [0] Pts
TL Pulse Carbine

1 Broadside Battlesuit Team Leader (Heavy Support) @ 278 Pts
Smart Missile System; TL Railgun; Advanced Stabilization System
Hard-wired blacksun filter [3]
Hard-wired drone controller [0]

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Broadside Battlesuit @ [80] Pts
Smart Missile System; TL Railgun; Advanced Stabilization System

1 Broadside Battlesuit @ [80] Pts
Smart Missile System; TL Railgun; Advanced Stabilization System

1 Broadside Battlesuit Team Leader (Heavy Support) @ 195 Pts
Smart Missile System; TL Railgun; Advanced Stabilization System
Hard-wired drone controller [0]

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Shield Drone @ [15] Pts

1 Broadside Battlesuit @ [80] Pts
Smart Missile System; TL Railgun; Advanced Stabilization System

Total Army Cost: 1650

I think the biggest changes that I have made is switching out the Stealth Suits for another Crisis Suit Team, and handing over Markerlight duties to the Pathfinders. Stealth Suits never did badly, but then they never stood out.

The Pathfinders I used during ICON were spectacular, greatly increasing the effectiveness of my Broadsides and Deathrains. One problem I did find however was that the one large squad of eight was far too easy to isolate and destroy. So, now I field two squads of four.

This also allowed a further enhancement, my Fire Warriors now start on foot, to board the vacant Pathfinder Devilfish. With two less Devilfish I can now field a squad of Kroot, something I have never done. I kept leaving them out for more toys and gadgets.

The other major change is the lack of a Hammerhead. In its place I now have two extra Broadsides. I found that the Hammerhead was too vulnerable, especially against Space Marines, and never really did that well in its role. The Rail Gun Submunitions never seemed to do as much damage as I felt it should.

I have yet to test this list, but I feel it will suite me better in my attempt to be a discipline of Mont'ka.

2010: A Retrospective Part 2

ICON Part 2:

So, I had ended the first day of ICON in the Top 5 of the Tournament, featuring some of South Africa's best 40K players.

So the first game of Day 2, I was matched up against Brindley Uytenbogaardt who had flown up from Cape Town for the event. He fielded a Blood Angels Army that was fully mechanised, with Rhinos, Razorbacks and Drop Pods. Deployment was Table Quarters, with a central objective counting the most VPs - 2 - whilst your opponents Quarter was worth another 2, and finally each of the flanking quarters was worth 1 VP.

I started off well managing to immobilise two Rhinos, but this didn't stop him from flanking my castled quarter with Blood Angel Bikers and Dreadnoughts. He steadily whittled me down, taking away much of my mobility, until the final round, where I could only contest the flanking quarters, whilst Brindley's damned Angels easily controlled the centre. I lost 2 VPs to 0.

This really was a close game, and I can't wait to face Brindley in battle again as he is one of the best players I have seen. His list was versatile and powerful, without resorting to anything cheesy.

The last game of the tournament was basically 4-players per table, with the winner being the one closest to a central objective. On my table was a Space Wolf, Tyranid and a vanilla Marine -army. The Tyranid player was coincidently Quintus from my UpCon tournament earlier in the year. He had moved to War Banner in the mean time, and we quietly agreed to work together for the Greater Good.

The Space Wolf was in trouble from the beginning as I managed to Immobilise or destroy every single of his Rhinos and Razorbacks, and his Wolf Priest failed two Psychic Tests in a row. Quintus had also pretty much tabled the Space Marine player by turn 5, and happily let me be control the objective, giving me the full 5 points, with him settling for 4.

In Conclusion:

I had finished fourth! Out of 36 players I had managed to finish Fourth! I was rightly impressed. Even more so when I won a Games Workshop accessory bundle for winning the Grand Melee. Although, I did have a laugh when I realised that if I had painted my entire army, I could have walked away in Second place. Thats how we learn I guess.

2010: A Retrospective

2010 was my first full year of playing Warhammer 40K.
More specifically, it was the first full year as a Tau player. This I think can be intimidating, but the 40K group I joined - War Banner - was probably as supportive and helpful as can be. Granted I was the butt end of some jokes, but thats to be expected I think.

I took part in three major tournaments during the year. Namely UpCon, the War Banner Doubles Tourney and my biggest competition so far - ICON.

UpCon:
I think I was being a bit optimistic taking part in UpCon as it was only a month after I started playing 40K. Once again, the gaming crowd there was phenomenal, and never made me feel unwelcome, and were always willing to answer my sometimes stupid questions. I only attended the first day due to work commitments, but those three games opened my Eyes.

My first game was against the new Tyranid Codex, and coincidently one of the Top 10 South African 40K players - Quintus Zaayman. What a game it was. I don't think I was ever in with a chance, as I was confined to my table quarter for most of the game, but I almost managed to secure a draw. Newbie that I was had my Fire Warriors running around instead of being safe in a Devilfish. From then on I have feared the Doom of Malantai.

My second game was against fellow War Banner player John Killian who fielded a rather intimidating Blood Angels force, with a sizable Death Company contingent. I was tabled by Turn 4, I was completely unprepared for the speed and aggression of those Blood Angels. I think John was as surprised as I was, at the speed with which my units were ripped to shreds.

My final game was against an Ultramarines player whose name I have unfortunately forgotten. This was my best game of the day, I managed to keep his larger elements pinned down, allowing me to secure the central objective, attaining a draw.

Mayhem Doubles:

I have to admit, this tournament was a bit vague. My partner for the day was an 9-year old boy. Who, rather worryingly, was better acquainted with the 40K rulebook than me. Most games came down to me running my Crisis Suits around trying to provide cover fire to his 'Boys, who for the most part ran straight up the middle.

I think we ended in the bottom quarter of the tournament.

ICON:

This is South Africa's largest gaming convention, and is host to numerous tournaments, with this being the second largest 40K tournament. I was very nervous as I payed my entrance fee and handed in my Army List. Some of the armies were painted in amazing detail, and I did feel bad for having a few base-coated units. There were Army Lists of every faction, including the old Dark Eldar Codex, and even a Necron player.

My first match was a bye, which was fine by me, as I had to run around to find a another Broadside Battlesuit, as I had managed to leave one at home.

ICON is famous for its use of non-standard scenarios written specifically to force players to make use of non-standard armies. The second match was one such scenario, Exterminatus. Each Army had to evacuate as many units through a central Warp Gate as possible by Turn 6. To make things interesting, before each Shooting Phase two Cyclonic Torpedoes (S7 AP2) would land, drifting 5D6 from the middles of the table.

And to make things interesting, I was playing against the only other Tau player in the tournament. He to, was a newbie, having played for little more than a year. I managed to exfiltrate the maximum amount of units, and blocking more than half of his.

The third game was a hectic Free-For-All melee involving all 36 players. Needless to say it was rather intense. Any character would be Insta-Killed on a Wound Die of 6, unless an invulnerable save was available. After I finally managed to convince the Judges that a Shas'el could play with Shield Drones - as they are technically War Gear - things got off to a good start. My Shield Drones helped my Shas'el survive Chaos Demon Lords, Space Marine Librarians, a Necron Nightbringer, and a few Mephistons, I managed to pull off a Win for the Greater Good!

COGS vs Red Blok Battle Report

The mid-point of the Battle

The Setup
We used a square table that was much larger than the table we played on previously, and this time we decided to use objectives for VPs and RPs. The shipping containers would each provide 200RP per round held, and we had three objective markers diagonally in line across the battlefield. With the objectives closer to each deployment zone only worth 1VP whilst the middile one worth 2. We decided beforehand the first to 8VP would win. We also decided to leave the Type *** AFVs in reserve.

The Battle
This was pretty much a Army Box vs Army Box battle, which despite my fears proved to be pretty well balanced, the lack of COG anti-AFV weapons balancing out my Red Blok inability to hit anything further away than 20cm.

Having a large LP reserve I wagered and won the first activation for most of the game, this allowed to move my Dragonov Squad down the left flank (From my perspective) with Urod providing mobile cover for my troopers. Whilst my two Krasny Soldaty squads advanced down the right flank, careful to avoid direct LoS to the COGS Sharpshooters - nasty buggers - Neil, pretty much mirrored my deployment with his Warmongers (along with C-Naps G09 and G45) mirroring my Dragonovs.

The Prowler needs three 2+ to hit my Dragonovs and rolls 1s

His Prowler advanced quickly and engaged Urod, which despite taking damage managed to retaliate and destroy the speedy AFV first move of the second round, scoring me my first VP.

After the destruction of the Prowler, Neil shifted his Sharpshooters with C-Naps G36 to his objective marker to use AI Beacon to spawn a replacement Prowler, this bought me some time on the right flank, allowing my Krasny to safely ensconce themselves in the objective and apart from a few potshots at the Sharpshooters nothing much happened.

As round 3 started my Dragonovs continuously fired at the Warmongers, but the combination of the G45 medic and there anywhere, anytime cover saves prevented me from doing any damage. My sniper must have been drinking on duty because needing a 2+ to kill the G09 Company Commander, I only managed a 1.

My Krasny lay in wait for the approaching COGS

Round 4 began badly for me as Neil deployed his Vandal, used his Sharpshooters to outflank and exterminate my Dragonovs, and my attempt at capturing the middle objective fail horribly as my Krasny were ripped to shreds. Urod despite the best attempts of Odin and Manon was pummeled and my only remaining troops on the field were the Krasny holding my VP Objective despite the best attempts of the Sharpshooters.

My brave Krasny hang on for dear life at my VP Objective marker

After four rounds the game ended in a major defeat for the Revolutionary Forces.

Conclusions

The COGS Army is one that is by far more mobile than my own Revolutionary Forces, and has greater hitting power. The 3+ Cover Saves that they have when using the Take Cover! Drill also proved greatly beneficial.

The Sharpshooters that gave me such a headache

The reason for me being ripped to shreds in the way that I was, was my failure to not only pin the COGS units down with indirect fire, but also my Snipers complete inability to wipe out the opposing company commander and medic. I can definitely see myself in future fielding the Sniper in a Support Unit. To use the Sniper ability the unit that has the sniper cannot move, this severely limited the use of what is perhaps my best unit.

Some heavier infantry is definitely on the To-Buy list. Sadly with Dragonov attachment boxes rather rare at the moment I will have to settle for some Spetnaz Kommandos. A few Dragomirov Kolossus are also on the list.