I have (almost) finally decided to take the plunge and collect a Tau army.  Working on the odd premise that since I am going to games day UK I can buy the models there and not pay postage (Though how the postage could reach £50 I have no idea).

For my army I have set myself a few restrictions

1) I want a Manta.  They are a centre piece just like a warlord or a Heirophant brood
2) I don’t want any sentry towers.  I don’t like them in their current incarnation so I wont use them.
3) I want fire warriors.  They are the core of the army in background, so I want a core of them
4) I would like to keep the cost to below £175, £200 tops
5) No damn xenos (except bluies)

With these restrictions I have come up with the following list, which I need ripped apart and rebuilt into something I can buy and maybe win with.

Manta

Crisis cadre

Crisis cadre
Shas’o

Hammerhead support group

Fire warrior cadre
Devilfish
Skyray

Fire warrior cadre
Devilfish
Skyray

Hammerhead cadre
Sky ray

2900pts, so I have 100pts spare

The plan is to have the two fire warrior cadres and the hammerhead cadre form an armoured wedge that rushes forwards, whilst the rest of force drops in the manta onto where I think the enemy BTS might be, or their blitz.

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Tyranid air marshal

I recommend stealth's - you can use scenic empty bases!

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I won't comment directly on your list but I will point out that if some here get their way, your list may not be legal anymore and then you will feel VERY cheated (and maybe have wasted a lot of money).

I hope this does not happen to you.

It may be a good idea to wait. If you wish to playtest, you can use some proxies until the list is more finalised. I fear that I have wasted a lot of money on Tau units that some here do not like and may be removed from the list. Totally annoying!

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Just call me Steve.

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As with all experimental lists things can change so stick with standard Tau units like hammerheads and firewarriors, stealth and crisis suits. You'll always need them and they're not going anywhere. Aircraft and Skyrays might be a good option too for AA ability. If you're going Manta you'll have a large points sink so you won't need to go as ballistic on other types of units as you normally would. Go basic and you'll do well for the future.

Despite how good I think it'd be for the Tau, I don't think CS will split the SG list into 'hunter' and 'armoured' lists.

Notably, if you buy your Tau from FW, you can use all of the minis by using FW's Tau army list.

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Currently doing a plastic scenery kickstarter

I am not that worried about my army list becoming invalid.

How could fire warriors, hammerheads and firewarriors not be in the list.

The most likely choose for my foot list is that hammerhead cadre or support group might be removed.  However I don't think that  both will, and with 12 hammerheads I can have 3 support groups or 2 cadres.

The only change that my list (any most peoples lists) couldn't handle is a change in the size of fire warrior formations, since they are so damn expensive.

TRC what should I drop to get the stealths in?

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Tyranid air marshal

It's obviously not so much that those particular units may become invalid, more that you may not be able to field them all in one list (if the list were to ever be split as some hope for).

_________________
Just call me Steve.

NetEA Rules Chair
NetEA FAQ

Want to play Iron Warriors in Epic Armageddon? Click HERE
Some of my Armies.
My Hobby site.

Well I have until september to see if any splits happen, and even then I can't see the split being complete.  A foot list will still armour in it.  Just not as much.

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Tyranid air marshal