Tau vs Eldar Battle Report
This is the second of three battle reports to dissect Jaldon?s ?Way of the Tau? tactics, and this should be a real barn burner as Jack and Jaldon have been wacking on each other since the very beginings of Epic-A, and even before that in other games. As stated in the first report Jaldon cannot change his list, and Jack will be in the box until he hands in his list. Debate here still rages about ?The Way?, though most agree it looks real good so far. As in the first batrep a brief explanation of ?The Way? follows and then the batrep begins. Enjoy
Biel Tann Eldar: Jack
Tau: Jaldon
Judge: Bob
?The Way of the Tau?
Rather then write the article ?The Way of the Tau?, and then debate it?s merits using theory, and then do a couple of batreps, I decided to flip it around and do the batreps first. So as not to leave the readers of these reports in the dark, and so all of you can hold it over my later, here is briefly what I mean by ?The Way of the Tau?.
Before discovering ?The Way? I used the same basic tactics of containment and maneuver while taking advantage of the Tau special traits whenever I could, thus I was always trying to hold the enemy off while wearing them down with firepower. The Vorash?a Shasal?a (Steppe Riders) Army list flips this around and concentrates on maximizing ?the Tau special traits before using containment and maneuver to defeat the enemy. Once this leap of faith had been taken the Tau Army suddenly became capable of swift, decisive, offensive action, thus instead of just reacting and hoping for the best, they were taking the battle to the enemy and throwing them off balance.
To do this the Vorash?a Shasal?a.................
(1) Blankets the entire area of contact with markerlights so that guided weapons are being delivered with their full effect.
(2) Uses almost the entire army?s firepower forward, so as close to the enemy as is needed to bring enough firepower to bear to shatter key enemy formations in a single activation.
(3) Uses Coordinated Fire Attacks designed to be just as destructive, and decisive, as a normal Firefight Assault would be.
(4) Fully exploits the plethora of disrupt weapons available to the army, and then uses them to insure that Coordinated Fire Attacks achieve decisive results.
Now I am not going to guarantee that I am going to win every battle in the series, and I cannot even guarantee that I?ll be able to show off all of the possibilities found using ?The Way?, ?but I do know I am not going to get blown out of any of the battles, and that I will be able to show a good bit of what I do mean by it.
Tau Army
1st Fire Warrior Cadre (375pts)
8xFire Warrior, 4xDevilfish, w/Ethreal
2nd Fire Warrior Cadre (300pts)
8xFire Warrior, 4xDevilfish
3rd Fire Warrior Cadre (300pts)
8xFire Warrior, 4xDevilfish
4th Battlesuit Cadre (475pts)
4xXV8, 3xXV15, w/Shas?o
5th Battlesuit Cadre (450pts)
4xXV8, 3xXV15, w/Shas?el
6th Hammerhead Contingent (350pts)
3xHammerhead (Rail), 1xSwordfish, 1xSkyray
7th Hammerhead Contingent (325pts)
4xHammerhead (Rail), 1xSkyray
8th Pathfinder Contingent (350pts)
6xPathfinder, 3xDevilfish, 4xGun Drone
9th Gun Drone Swarm (200pts)
4xGune Drone, 4xHeavy Gun Drone
10th Assault Contingent (300pts)
1xMoray (Rail)
Eldar Army
1st Aspect Host (600pts)
4xDire Avengers, 4xStriking Scorpions, 4xWave Serpents, Autuarch, Exarch
2nd Aspect Host (525pts)
4xDire Avengers, 4xHowling Banshee, 4xWave Serpents, Exarch
3rd Aspect Host (325pts)
8xSwooping Hawks, Exarch
4th Storm Host (300pts)
1xFarseer, 7xGuardians, 4xWave Serpents
5th Guardian Host (300pts)
1xFarseer, 4xGuardian, 3xHeavy Weapons Platforms, 4xWraithguard
6th Falcon Troupe (250pts)
5xFalcons
7th Fire Prism Troupe (250pts)
3xFire Prisms
8th Engines of Vaul (250pts)
1xVoid Spinner
9th Scout Titan Group (650pts)
2xRevenant Titans
The Eldar Plan
It has been a long time since I?ve been in a battle report, and for those that have seen my Eldar Army before I?ve made some changes to the core formations I use. I no longer field two Storm Hosts, one has been changed to a more ?stable? Guardian Host. Depending on how I feel this formation either holds some of my home objectives, or burns it?s way through a Wraithgate, in this battle it will be doing the former.
I?ve also started fielding Swooping Hawks on a regular basis because I really like the flexibility of this formation over trying to cram points into a Vampire Raider. Their ability to teleport in right where I want them has given more then one opponent fits, and I like it.
Outside these changes I have pretty much stuck with the formations I know how to use real well, as I didn?t know who, or what, I was going to be facing at the time I designed the list.
As always my basic plan of not really having a battle plan hasn?t changed, so my army will pretty much center deploy, and then use it?s speed to re-deploy based on Jaldon?s deployment and force composition. However having seen Jaldon use the Tau before, and knowing how he plays in general, there are two things I am pretty sure of; (1) There will be a pretty hefty Warrior Cadre led by an Ethreal, and Jaldon is going to use it to cover an area of the battlefield he wants me to stay out of; (2) There is going to be one or two Morays floating around, and Jaldon isn?t going to have any qualms about sticking out there to take down the formation he doesn?t want participating in the festivities.
As long as it doesn?t appear suicidal, I am going to try and eliminate these two formations as early as possible. Well I?ve heard enough about ?The Way? Jaldon, let?s dance!
Tau Plan
So, Jack, my old adversary, well no point in trying to divine the plan he?ll use, he never has one. It has always amazed me how Jack can just plop his army on the table and then cobble together a coherent battle plan after the first strategy roll! I?ve even watched Jack use the same identical deployment in three battles, against three different opponents, and against three different armies, and then win two out of the three, amazing to me!
The normal procedure of putting up a containment line to hem the Eldar in so one can crush them would force me to scatter my firepower concentrations too much to be effective. Fortunately the Tau are almost as maneuverable as the Eldar, have about equal firepower overall, and about the same armor saves across the board, so my CFAs don?t have to mass as much as they needed to against the IG. Also the Eldar ability to triple activate makes it a lot easier for them to recover when they are thrown off balance, so I am going to have to present a constant threat across the entire front to prevent them doing it.
To accomplish this task I am going to loosen up my firepower knots and instead of covering a little over 1/2 the table I am going topush this out to a little over 3/4 of the table. Also the 1st Warrior Cadre is going to be included as an active part of one of those CFA knots instead of as a pure delay/contain force. I fully expect Jack to field Scorpion SHTs, Falcons, Fire Prisms, and Revenants making my lone Moray?s life exciting, but short. Hopefully I?ll be able to savage his forces while he is busy blowing the Moray out of the sky! I am really looking forward to a wide open battle with loads of action, boy this is gonna be fun!
Turn 1 (Eldar Win Int and keep it)
The Void Spinner opened fire (sustained) on the 8th Pathfinder Contingent behind Woods A it?s deadly webs destroying a Gun Drone and a Pathfinder. (Jack said he wasn?t going to wait for the Moray to just pinhole his EoV before it had a chance to shoot) The Moray moved out (double move) to the right of Woods A to bring the Void Spinner into range, it?s Rail Cannon shot plowing into the Eldar vehicle (-2xDC)
The 5th Guardian Host advanced (double move) establishing a position ?in Woods F. The 9th Gun Drone Swarm swept over Ridge 210 (double move), spread out, and took up a position at the base of that same ridge.
The 7th Fire Prism Troupe moved up behind Ridge 105 (advance) and let fly on the Moray, but all of it?s shots flew wide of the target. (all missed) The 8th Pathfinder Contingent moved out (double move) and took up a screening position between Ridge 210 and Woods A, it?s Guided Missiles all failing to strike a single vehicle in the 6th Falcon Troupe atop Hill 803.
The 2nd Aspect Host performed a Hit&Run on the 8th Pathfinder Contingent destroying one Gun Drone before settling in behind Ridge 105. The 3rd Warrior Cadre loaded up the troops and moved (double move) into position behind Ridge 105.
The 4th Storm Host performed a Hit&Run on the 8th Pathfinder Contingent destroying a Gun Drone before joining the 2nd Aspect Host behind Ridge 105. The 6th Hammerhead Contingent swept up to the crest of Ridge 210 (double move) and poured fire into the 6th Falcon Troupe destroying two Falcons, and forcing the rest to take cover behind Hill 803. (Jack now proceeded to kick himself)
The 1st Aspect Host loaded up and took up a position behind Woods F. The 4th Battlesuit Cadre moved out (double move) and took up a position straddling the gap between Ridge 210 and Woods H.
The Revenants advanced to the left of Ridge 105, pouring fire into the Moray and ripping it out of the sky. (Jack scored 10xHits!) The 5th Battlesuit Cadre moved over Hill 703 (double move) and established themselves in Woods A.
The 2nd Warrior Cadre (still loaded) moved out (double move) taking up a position behind Hill 301. The 1st Warrior Cadre swept out from behind Ridge 210 (double move), spread out, and established a line behind the 8th Pathfinder Contingent.
The 7th Hammerhead Contingent opened up sustained fire on the Revenants from their position behind Hill 703 (The Revenants were also lit up by the 8th Pathfinder Contingent?s markerlights), severely damaging the nearer of the two Titans. (-2xDC Jaldon scored a total of six hits out of ten shots fired)
End of Turn 1
Rally Failures: Void Spinner
Eldar Losses: 2xFalcons
Tau Losses: 3xGun Drone, 1xPathfinder, 1xMoray
Turn 2 (Swooping Hawks arrive to right of Woods G)(Tau win Int and Keep it)
The 7th Hammerhead Contingent again poured sustained fire into the Revenants, one of the mighty machines tumbled to the ground while the second reeled from a serious hit. (This time Jaldon scored seven hits -2xDC on the destroyed WE, and -1DC on the far Titan) [Had these same Hammerheads been firing at a IG Tank Company they would have ripped it to shreds over the course of the two turn loop, damn holofield]
The 6th Falcon Troupe moved up behind the 7th Fire Prism Troupe and poured fire into the 8th Pathfinder Contingent destroying two Devilfish.
The 5th Battlesuit Cadre, and the 2nd Warrior Cadre (both on advance) performed a CFA on the 5th Guardian Host, cutting down three Guardians, three Heavy Weapon Platforms, a single Wraithguard, and then shoving the Eldar out of Woods F. The 7th Fire Prism Troupe poured sustained fire into the 6th Hammerhead Contingent, but only managed to destroy a single AFV. (Hammerhead).
The 6th Hammerhead Contingent and the 4th Battlesuit Cadre (both on a double) performed a CFA on the 4th Storm Host destroying three Wave Serpents, the six Guardians inside, and hurling the survivors back behind Hill 803. The 1st Aspect Host launched an Assault CC on the 2nd Warrior Cadre and the 5th Battlesuit Cadre After losing one Striking Scorpion and two Wave Serpents, they wiped out the 5th Battlesuit Cadre (Jaldon didn?t make a single save), and cut down five Warriors, and a Devilfish.
End of Turn 2
Rally Failures: 1st Warrior Cadre
Eldar Losses: 6xWave Serpent, 3xHowling Banshee, 3xSwooping Hawk, 1xRevenant, 1xWraithguard, 3xHeavy Weapon, 1xStriking Scorpion, 9xGuardian
Tau Losses: 5xPathfinder, 4xZDevilfish, 1xHammerhead, 5xGun Drone, 2xHeavy Gun Drone, 4xXV8, 3xXV15, 5xFire Warrior
Turn 3 (Tau win Int and keep it)
The 6th Hammerhead Contingent poured sustained fire into the 2nd Aspect Host destroying a Wave Serpent and the Dire Avenger it was carrying.
The Void Spinner hurled it?s deadly webs at the 4th Battlesuit Cadre, but only managed to take out one XV15.
The 9th Gun Drone Swarm rallied, and then took up a position behind, and to the left, of Ridge 210. The 6th Falcon Troupe poured sustained fire into the 6th Hammerhead Contingent destroying one Hammerhead, one Swordfish, and forcing them to join their friends behind Ridge 210. [Dumb, dumb, dumb]
The 7th Hammerhead Contingent moved to the left of Hill 703, and fired on the 1st Aspect Host destroying a Wave Serpent. [Dumber, dumber, dumber] The 1st Aspect Host moved out of Woods F (double move), and into Woods A.
The 2nd Warrior Cadre rallied and then fired on the 1st Aspect Host, but failed to score a single hit. [The comedy of errors continues] The 7th Fire Prism Troupe opened up sustained fire on the 1st Warrior Cadre blowing apart a single Devilfish.
The 5th Guardian Host double moved into Woods F, the 2nd Aspect Host and the 4th Storm Host both rallied and then took up positions behind Ridge 105.
End of Turn 3
Eldar Win Battle: None Shall Pass, Defend The Flag
Total Eldar Losses: 2xFalcon, 8xWave Serpent, 3xHowling Banshee, 7xSwooping Hawk, 1xRevenant, 1xWraithguard, 3xHeavy Weapon Platform, 1xStriking Scorpion, 1xDire Avenger, 9xGuardian
Total Tau Losses: 3xGun Drone, 6xPathfinder, 1xMoray, 6xDevilfish, 2xHammerhead, 2xHeavy Gun Drone, 5xXV8, 6xXV15, 5xFire Warrior, 1xSwordfish
AABS
Jack has been playing ?Epic-A from almost day one, has been playing the Eldar since JJ?s first playtest list was put out, is a long time opponent of Jaldon?s, and just about as brazen. Say what you want about this battle but we had a lot of fun watching these two go at each other.
Beyond wanting to critique ?The Way? Jaldon also wanted us to pay close attention to the AT firepower of the Tau Vorash?a Shasal?a army list, and evaluate it because some posters felt that this list was weak in AT firepower. Nobody present felt the Vorash?a Shasal?a was weak in AT firepower, with some saying it just may be a bit AT heavy.
The Eldar Revenants, no slouches when it comes to brushing off AT attacks, were reduced to a single damaged Titan by the 7th Hammerhead Contingent alone, after they had been lit up by markerlights. Of the twenty AVs fielded by the Eldar ten of them were left as smoldering wrecks by the end of turn three, and eight of those were Wave Serpents!
Doing a bit of math we figured, adding in markerlights, the Vorash?a Shasal?a has 25x5+, 16x4+, 7x3+, and 2x2+ AT/MW attacks, and army wide would score an average of 22.53 AT hits per turn. So we must respectfully disagree, the AT firepower needed is most definitely there.
In our opinion, over the course of two battles, Jaldon has shown us that there should be no excuse for not being able to exploit the use of markerlights, and therefore guided missiles. In those battles the majority of the guided missiles fired did so at either a 5+ or 4+, and even those that didn?t proved there worth in ?prepping? targets with the free BMs for being shot at. For us this is not only a viable tactic, but it is also easy to implement, and should be a required tactic for all Tau players.
As for the pre-planned CFA, the group still remains a bit divided. It isn?t that we don?t think they are effective, all pretty much agree they are, but rather it?s on just what is their overall effectiveness to the army across the board good, or just average.
They are effective, the CFA on the 4th Storm Host should have wiped that formation out, Jaldon easily scored enough hits to accomplish the task, and only some really lucky rolls on Jack?s part saved the 4th. The same applied to the CFA on the 5th Guardian Host, despite being in cover, and fronted by Wraithguard, it was easily broken by the CFA launched against it.
There is also no doubt they are flexible, with a double move strike range of up to 75cm it would be really hard to say they aren?t flexible, and all agree that they achieve similar results when compared to a true assault CC/FF.
The division is in overall usage with one group saying they would be better used on a limited bases, like normal assaults, thus allowing the Tau to still field some ?beefy? formations. They point to Jack?s attacks in this battle and how easily they cleared the Tau out of there table half during turns two and three.
The other half disagree and still feel that army wide usage is still the way to go, with CFAs being the backbone of both offensive and active defensive actions. Anyways, they reason, increasing formation size would result in a decrease in army activations, possibly causing a critical drop in the army?s ability to set up CFAs, and react to enemy actions.
Both sides used the Eldar counter-attacks to support their arguments, and the truth is while the Eldar did use them to clear the Tau out of their table half, this came at a cost and the Eldar were in pretty bad shape by the end of turn three compared to the Tau Army. My two cents is the truth is somewhere between these two extremes.
Battle AABS
[The only excuse I have for the following is that I had an ingrown toe nail the day of the battle, really] One of Jaldon?s dictums for new players is, ?Always keep your eyes on the objectives because that is how battles are won in Epic-A?. Nothing like being hoisted up to flap in the breeze on your own flagpole, eh Jaldon [True enough!]
All during turn three Jack was meticulously clearing the Tau out of his table half while staying prepared to drive off any new incursions. Meanwhile Jaldon, to our surprise, seemed content to let Jack do it while he cleaned up his own backyard, all the while ignoring ?None Shall Pass? [I really did forget it was turn three and was trying to set things up for turn four, and this is something I have warned many a player not to get caught up in during a victory turn]
This resulted in all present taking turns doing their imitations of Jaldon waggling his finger over the table and saying ?Never take your eyes off the battlefield objectives? it produced a lot of good laughs [It was pretty funny]
So would a turn four produced a clear Tau win if Jaldon hadn?t fallen asleep on the job? To be sure the Eldar were pretty beat up compared to what the Tau had left, but we have all seen Jack play a pretty good end game with meager forces before. Not even Jaldon felt he could have forced a clear win in turn four and felt Jack would have forced a tie breaker, and that would have too many variables for us to make a ?Jaldon Saving? prediction! Instead we will just say good battle, and lets get ready for Tau vs Ork Horde.
Once again we want to thank Cyber Shadow for his help in getting the maps posted in the report.
Jaldon and friends
