Me and Greg got a game in over Tabletop last week.
I was using the developmental 6.71 version of the Tau list and chose this:
8 Fire Warriors + 3 Broadsides + Skyray + Ethereal 525 (BTS)
8 Fire Warriors + 3 Broadsides + Skyray 475
4 'Railheads' 225
4 'Railheads' 225
Stealthsuits + Gun Drones 250
Stealthsuits + Gun Drones 250
Kroot 175
Barracudas 150
Tiger Sharks 275
6 Gun Drones 100
Tiger Sharks 275
6 Gun Drones 100
I've mostly seen Tau played with a quite mobile style; Fire Warriors in Devilfish and that and I wanted to run the list in a different direction, based around two large garrisoned Fire Warrior formations including Broadsides and Skyrays.
Greg was using the Biel-tann list from the Tournament Pack I believe. I think it was this:
Swooping Hawks 300
Scorpion 250
5 x Rangers 125
6 x Rangers 150
Guardians in Wave Serpents 350
Guardians in Wave Serpents 350
4 Falcons, Fire Prism 265
4 Falcons, Fire Storm 250
Revenant Titans 650 (BTS)
Nightwings
Tau teleport two formations of Stealth Suits by the mounted Guardians on the left in a position to crossfire to each other. Due to the new re-rolling of 1s special rule neither picked up any BMs (they otherwise would have).
Tau get lucky and win the initiative. Both Stealth Suits formations sustained fire the mounted Guardians, getting crossfire to each other. 5 Guardians die and the farseer makes a lucky invulnerable save but the formation breaks.
Revenants single and kill 2 Stealthsuits.
Hammerheads attack Revenants doing 2 damage.
Nightwings fail to activate
Other Hammerhead formation doubles and attacks the Revenants but their hit is saved.
Scorpion singles and attacks these Hammerheads killing 1. It is overwatched by one of the Tau infantry formations and takes a point of DC.
Kroot move into more protective screening positions.
Falcons double and kill 2 more of the Hammerhead formation, the last one flees broken.
The Tau Fire Warrior formation on the right double towards them and kill 3 Falcons, breaking them.
The other Falcons attack them in turn and score 4 hits with lance, but luckily the Tau all save.
Guardians with Wave Serpents move on the right to behind the hill.
Barracudas attack Revenants, do no damage but break them.
Tigersharks fly on and ground attack broken guardians, killing 2. 2 more Wave Serpents and the Farseer then die as a result.
Rally: Revenants, Falcon, Wave Serpents, single Hammerhead
Fail: Stealthsuits at back of board, Fire Warriors.
Turn 2
Swooping Hawks teleport on, taking a BM in the process.
The initiative roll is tied so goes to the Eldar this time.
Falcons wipe out Hammerhead formation.
Nightwings retain and fail to come on again.
The single surviving Hammerhead from the other formation shoots the Scorpion, doing a point of damage to it (Lance preventing it re-rolling) and breaking it.
Tau try to retain (to attack the Firestorm) with the Stealthsuits but fail.
Wave Serpents kill a Gun Drone.
Recon doubles and puts a BM on Falcons, breaking them.
Retain with Fire Warriors (intending to double and attack Revenants) but fail. They shoot Falcons instead killing 2 of them.
Revenants marshal and shoot the Recon, killing 4 of them.
Tigershark and Gun Drones ground attack Swooping Hawks killing 1.
Tigersharks fly on and attack Scorpion, auto killing it due to it being broken.
Guardians fail to activate.
Gun Drones fail to activate, but shoot the Wave Serpents anyway, breaking them.
Fire Warriors on the left do an unusual manoeuvre – spreading out so that their Skyray is in range to markerlight the Swooping Hawks by my blitz, while their Broadsides move into position the other way to fire at extreme range to kill a Fire Prism, the other 2 Falcons then dying from BMs.
Barracudas fly on and kill a Falcon, Fire Storm dies consequently. One of the Barracudas is killed by AA from the Revenant however.
Rally: Gun Drones, Revenants, Gun Drones, Fire Warriors
Fail: Wave Serpents, Kroot.
Turn 3
Tau win again on a draw!
Fire Warriors on the right double and take the last DC off one of the Revenants.
Gun Drones retain and shoot the Revenant again, breaking it.
Nightwings fail to come on AGAIN for the third turn in a row. We decide they are distracted by tea and crumpets on the craftworld.
Gun Drones single and kill 2 Swooping Hawks
Rangers by the blitz go on overwatch
Tigersharks fail to activate.
Wave Serpents fail to activate and break themselves.
BTS Fire Warriors fail to attack Swooping Hawks, clear BMs instead.
Swooping Hawks marshal.
Guardians fail to activate.
Tigersharks attack Revenants but do no damage.
Stealthsuits double to FF support range of the Hawks.
Kroot Engage the Swooping Hawks
3 Kroot and 3 Hawks die and support fire wipes out the last of the Hawks.
Victory conditions wise neither had scored anything by this point, but things were clearly going badly for the Eldar and Greg conceded rather than continuing for what would have been a one sided turn 4.
Post game thoughts
A good game
The Fire Warrior, Broadsides and Skyray formations are pretty good, I thought I'd try them out to be different but I'm keen to use them more. Stealthsuits are lethal too, perhaps a little too good now, but I'll have to test them more and see. Railgun Hammerheads can do some decent damage now with their lance equivalent, but they're still pretty easy to take out and seem fine for the cost. I got lucky in winning the initiative twice and the Nightwings not coming on at all made my air game much easier. Tau are a bad match up for a shooty themed Eldar army but I think Greg could have done better if he'd tried to assault more as Tau are terrible in assaults. He unfortunately forgot to use the Avatar and kept his tanks and Revenants out in the open for the game, which made it easier for me as titans with walker are always best in area terrain cover (the -1 to hit being worth the 1 in 36 chance of taking a point of damage).
Comments and feedback welcome.
