So I'm in the middle of playing a game of Tau vs Orks using Zombocom's Tabletop software - defintiely worth a look btw.

It's the first time I've used the Tau and at the top of turn one I found myself completely at a loss as to how to proceed. Everything feels so fragile and I was faced with a horde of orks!!

We're now at the end of turn 2 and all of my mistakes are becoming apparent, bad positioning, forgetting rules - from pathfinder markerlights to crisis suit jetpack moves. It really feels like you need to play at least a move ahead at all times, in a similar way to if you were playing chess, so you're always setting yourself up for the next manoeuvre.

I suspect they play well if you can go in and overwhelm specific targets wiping them out with little or no comeback but I would appreciate any advice from anyone with experience. If anyone feels like they could provide an idiot's guide to Tau tactics that would be really helpful. Any go to units or combinations of units or any moves or coordinated fire strategies that you should always have in the back of your mind. One thing that feels a bit scary is the need to get in really close with fire warriors for example whilst wanting to avoid close combat at just about all costs.

Despite making a dogs dinner of the first couple of turns it still feels like there's a lot of potential to do some real damage - maybe that's another trait of the list?

Any pointers would be gratefully received...

I have played the Tau about 15 times by now, and never against orcs, so while I'm definitely not a grandmaster, I do know a few tricks. Here's mine:

- The tau Really need their markerlights. Balancing out your list to make sure they don't get eliminated too soon, while not sinking all your points into them is key to winning with them.
- When facing an assault horde: Stand back and overwatch. A firewarrior formation on overwatch can break or badly mangle a tyranid swarm running at them. This works, sometimes, against teleports and airdropping forces too.
- People tell me I really should use kroot to screen against assaults, but I've not seen it work yet.
- They are Rubbish in assaults. It's better to leave a position to return later than to get squished.

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mechanised firewarriors are pretty good at resisting assaults.... make a line of skimmers in front of the formation and stop stuff getting into BTB with your troops, force FF and you stand a decent chance against orks in combat

I've seen the big 10FW/5DF formation used to good effect several times, wiped out a mech infantry company in 2 rounds of shooting, 1 overwatch, 1 sustain fire....

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We finished up our game last night and once I remembered the markerlights and got some coordinated fire moves happening I was pretty impressed with how this army plays. Those large Fire Warrior Cadres can really put out a lot of hurt, and recon squadrons can make things really tricky for your opponent between markerlights and crossfires.

I actually lost it in turn three but Rastamann decided to overlook a game winning opportunity in favour of playing the fourth turn (must remember to protect my blitz next time) - we were having fun! I then went on to sneak a win on a tie break but to be honest, even if we'd finished at turn three it would have felt like a victory after really messing up the first couple of turns.

One thing that occurred to me is that Railgun Hammerheads seem sort of pointless when you've got the option of Broadsides. I think I'd rather have the Fusion Cannon variant as it seem to fill a gap in the army, namely the lack of Macro Weapons with greater than 15cm range. I was up against a Supa Stompa, and although I broke the formation I had a really hard time killing him off. In fact I didn't manage it despite throwing all I had at him, minus my crisis suits which by this stage had broken.

Anyone got any thoughts on Hammerhead loadouts and tactics, Fusion Cannons seem like the best option despite the short range, maybe it's just down to playstyle?

And another couple of other things, can units benefit from their own markerlights, so tetras always get a +1 to hit for example? And can seekers fire without markelights? The wording reads like a possible misprint but I think it may just be representing pre 6ed seeker rules.

I prefer the fusion heads as well; but our meta has a lot of RA, and a house rule emphasises short range fire.

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Let there be code.

Units with markerlights get their own bonus if the target is within markerlight range.
Seekers have the Guided Missile rule, so they only get to shoot at markerlighted targets. Which is where tetras come in (o:

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Let there be code.

Just posting this for info really...

Having played a few more games I really like piranha upgrades to pathfinders and piranha skewed recon formations. Alpha strikes are definitely possible with a well placed coordinated order.

And having said fusion cannon hammerheads were good I'm currently a fan of the standard load out and playing the range game.

I've just played a great game against Rastamann's marines and lost it on the tie break. It felt like I should have won it but despite hammering his bts devastators and breaking a warhound twice before it got to act I couldn't manage to get much to stay broken.

Marines are damn tough! Any tips against them? I tried to focus on fewer units rather than scratching several but even a lone land speeder had a significant effect on the outcome. Maybe a couple of dice rolls didn't go my way, like failing to rally anything at all on the last turn, but I don't think I can really complain about that.

I still have a lot to learn, but I have to say E:A is by far the most tactical system I've played and at least the result are going in a positive direction!