Warhammer 40k - The Amazing Tau

The Amazing Tau: Tournament Edition

2010-01-17T12:55:00.001-08:00

During this weekend just past I played in my first tournament of my Warhammer 40k 'career' and, to ruin the suspense in the first sentence of the post, I won Best Individual General.

Prior to the tournament I felt that, for no particular reason, I may do well however after my first game in which I scraped together a minor victory thanks to a convenient Planetstrike stratagem I felt that things may become a little tough.
Alas, the day moved on and I faced off against Dave, an Eldar player in another 'special game' in which I chose the role of attacker with 1,200 points and he played the defender with 1,000 points. The catch was that I had to end with more units within 12 inches of his table edge than he had. In my favour the terrain was fairly open and he had brought no vehicles though he did field a Wrathlord and the mighty Avatar. Against 2 Broadsides, 2 Hammerheads and a wealth of missile pods however he never really found his way into the fight and by turn 5 his army had been destroyed with me losing just two shield drones.

Following this I engaged in a small 1,000 point battle with 'Big Red' and his IG army. Due to mission rules I was only allowed to start with my troops and heavy support deployed and he was only allowed his troops and fast attack. Given that he had no fast attack and I had brought two hammerheads his two plucky little Chimeras were in for a harrowing first turn. With one entire squad annihilated his two Leman Russ Tanks arrived and proceed to either miss or be 'disruption podded' by my two Hammerheads then, as an indicator to how the remainder of the game would play out were both glanced by my Hammerheads and with me rolling two sixes, were both wrecked. The game continued on to turn six when he was wiped out with me taking no casualties.

My first game of day two was an Apocalypse game in which my IG team mate, Leo and I would face down a team of Sisters of Battle and their loyal Space Wolf lapdogs. Deploying corner to corner we fully expected to be attacked by our MeQ opponents with great vigour. Consisting of a Basilisk, two Hammerheads, two Broadsides, two Hydras and one Leman Russ our deployment zone was by no metric short of long-range firepower. Alas, by turn two our opponents had shown no interest in pushing up and seemed content to hide in cover trying to minimise the damage potential of the railguns. The only incursion we really experienced was a Penitent Engine, a group of Seraphim and a squad of meltabomb armed scouts using a stratagem to appear behind us and destroy a Hammerhead and a Hydra. Fortunately they died, we pushed up and despite not being able to kill a Landraider after no less than four unsaved penetrating hits, three of which were AP1, we claimed a major victory. Their general, the accursed Living Saint lived up to her name and refused to stay dead despite apparently dying three times.

My final game of the tournament was a simple 1,750 point annihilation mission against Taras Sisters of Battle army. I managed to stay mobile and make good use of both railguns and missile pods throughout the battle and by turn six the ladys had been shattered and their general slain. I managed to end the battle with nine killpoints to zero having taken no wounds or vehicle damage. In her defence though Tara had fielded an entirely close range army whos vehicle support had been wiped off the field mercilessly in the first turn.

I ended the tournament with four major victories and one minor victory plus four generals killed, one short of the skull-taker award thanks to the foul Living Saint. It was a good tournament, I had fun and for my efforts I won myself a Skyray. Unfortunately out team did not win overall due to a deafening lack of paint which was nobodys fault, Micro.

What I have learned:
Tau really do need to stay mobile. They do not outshoot the IG and they do not out assault anything but they can combine movement and fire-power very well thanks to the humble vehicle multi-tracker and the more surly Crisis suit.

Of man and rat

2010-01-11T00:13:00.000-08:00

This weekend the mighty forces of the Rat Tau will join with the last remains of an Imperial Guard scout fleet and renegade group of Goblins that have equipped themselves for battle and smashed their way into the mercenary trade.

In other words, I am entering a tournament in which I will team up with two Imperial Guard armies to play through a series of games over two days including one Apocalypse game featuring Derikari and myself with Micros lads (those left alive after a Cities of Death game) as strategic reserves. Overall it should be an entertaining and educational tournament but enough of that, onto the details.

Under the instruction of Imperial Star Commander Deri Ka-Ri I will be fielding no less than five tank hulls within my 1'750 point list. As an overview my list for the tournament will consist of;
Many Crisis Suits
Mech Infantry
Hammerheads
Broadsides

A simple list reminiscent of a simpler time. I have, over the past weeks experimented with pathfinders and piranhas, drone teams and stealth suits. I even had a brief affair with the beautiful and deadly Commander Shadowsun but none of these could fulfil me the way that railguns and a torrent of S5 AP5 fire can. Plasma and fusion be damned! When the final skimmer has come crashing to the dirt and the last crisis has fallen to its knees I will stand tall and say that I did it my way with not an ethereal to be seen... That said I have still taken two plasma rifles in the list.

The plan is simple. Move and shoot. The broadsides will remain generally static though for an army to attack them directly they will have to run the gauntlet first. As always, I will be vulnerable to outflanking and possibly to deep striking TeQs though I have faced both and found that dealing with them was was a pinch so long as you are ready for it and the crisis suits stay within range to support the broadsides up until they are definitely lost.

What I have learned:
It's difficult to rate Broadsides highly enough. They may not last the whole game but then, they may not need to.

Sorry looking maggots...

2010-01-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

Through this, my first month or so as Imperial Battle Lord, Commander of the Winds and Prince of the LaserRat I have enjoyed and endured battles both hard fought and hard won. However, it has only been within the last two weeks of so that I have felt like my plans in a game have actually come together. Previously I had been winning but how I won wasn't how I had planned to win and it seemed that I had simply stood my fearless rat-warriors in one spot, fired the guns and watched everything disappear (both mine and theirs depending on the game). Recently however, with many thanks to the likes of Micro and Deri "Would you like some army with your Kroot" Kari, I have felt that through the Tao of the Mech Tau and the "M-m-m-m-m-mobility!!!" doctrine I have been able to put together a plan with a specific outcome in mind and actually realise that outcome. I'm even brave enough now to take on Terminator Squads without running away and hiding in the bathrooms. Then I ran into Mega Armoured Nobz but that's another story.

Furthermore, I have finished my Broadside and Farsight conversions. When I can get some decent, non-blurry photos of them I will share with all haste.

What I have learned:
Be the wind, not the tree.

Blood Angels and Tau fight as one... Wait, what?

2009-12-12T13:59:00.001-08:00

As I have pressed on with only a few minor changes to my army list and no increase in size yet I am at a crossroads of sorts. I don't particularly feel like doing the conversions required to field Kroot and I am converting a Farsight character at the moment which leads me to the conclusion that I may want to take a 'renegade' army.
The drawbacks to fielding such an army are many since the Kroot obviously bring a significant power to the army that the Tau otherwise lacks. Farsight does of course bring his own set of benefits with him but in a much more predictable way than our primitive friends.

The benefit of course to taking a "Farsighty" list is that in 'doubles' tournaments where I play with another army I am able to provide arguably unmatched ultra long range tank killing as well as the power of Farsights ability to decimate armor in close combat while relying on the other army to deal with infantry and sitting on objectives. In a solo game however I would still be a victim of the typical Tau problem of being unable to match the objective capturing ability of other armies.
Next week I will hopefully get the opportunity to test this very theory in a game against the unstoppable Goblin Guard (Imperial Guard 2.0) when I ally with Trashman and ravenous (and as yet headless) Blood Angels. Our last meeting was brief and murderous however this time, if the universe wills it and I don't tell Trashman to place his entire army in reserve I feel that we may be able to make something happen. With any luck, that something will be a field of dead Imperial Goblins.

Needs More Fire Warrior

2009-12-07T06:04:00.001-08:00

You really cannot have too many Fire Warriors from what I've seen so far.
During this weeks games I amended my list in order to both make use of the very powerful Airburst Frag Projector and try to make better use of my Fire Warriors whos Str 5 AP 5 weapons I had hitherto failed to truly appreciate.
Over the course of two evenings play I only drew one win out of six games though I did manage a clutch of draws one of which should have been a definite win and one of which really should have been a loss had it not been for unbelievable luck.

Fortunately throughout these games I had the opportunity to face a number of Imperial Guard armies which was a welcome change from the Marines however it did highlight the flaws in my low shot number, low AP plasma rifle fetish that I had acquired the previous week. The large number of battlesuits that I brought carrying missile pods were largely unable to effectively move the massed Imperial Guard off an objective particularly when they were both in cover and under the effect of the 'Incoming!' order.

In light of this, the primary lesson for this week was with respect to markerlights and the realisation of just how powerful (read necessary) they are for a Tau army to play aggressively which, after seeing how effective battlesuits within 18 inches in a strategy that I will try to follow more closely. In the low point games that I am playing at the moment however I feel that I do not have the room for a relatively expensive Pathfinder team which makes this heavy use of markerlights possible however the presence of one of these plus a target lock within a Fire Warrior team adds a significant level of flexibility when things start to take an unexpected turn such as a Hellhound approaching your precious scoring units and refusing to die.

In other news there is a conversion competition coming up at my local GW so, provided I improve my photo taking ability I should have some more shots of my entry up in the next couple of weeks. As for the regular army conversions the Fire Warriors are still progressing slowly, oh so slowly.

Square One

2009-11-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

Last Friday night I finally got to playing my first 40k games ever starting off with four good games that yielded two draws, a win and a loss. My army list for the four 750 point games was as follows;
HQ
Shas’el CS (122) – Cyclic Ion Blaster, Missile Pod, Targeting array
HW Drone Controler, HW Multi tracker
2x Shield Drones

Troops
5x Shas’la + 1x Shas’ui FW (80) 6 x Pulse Rifle, 1 x Markerlight
5x Shas’la FW + 1x Shal'ui FW (70) 6 x Pulse Rifle

Elite
3x Shas’ui CS (201) – 3 x Plasma Rifle, 3x Missile Pod, 3x Multi-tracker
2x Shas’ui CS (110) – 2 x Burst Cannon, 2x Missile Pod, 2x Multi-tracker

Heavy Support
Hammerhead (165) – Railgun, Disruption Pods, Smart Missiles, Landing Gear, Targeting Array

Total = 748

Throughout the night I collected draws against Micros Imperial Goblin Guard (which probably warrant a blog of their own) and a Tau player where is both instances I simply setup and dug in around my objective wiping the floor with anyone who dared to get too close. At this stage I was a little unsure of what else I should be doing since, for some reason I was terribly afraid of losing battle suits even though, as I now know, battle suits exist to be lost in Capture and Control battles.

Following the pair of draws I fought an annihilation battle against a Daniels Space Marines where I managed to skilfully snatch defeat from the jaws of almost certain victory by forgetting that I was playing for kill points and sending my two squads of Fire Warriors to their death for no good reason despite previously decimating over half of his forces with the loss of only one suit. A worthy lesson was learned though that the stat line of Fire Warriors can not truly communicate just how incredibly bad they are in close combat.

With that brain-fart out of the way I moved on to another Space Marine player named Adam for whom nothing could seemingly go right. In the first two games I had well learned that the combination of plasma rifles and being aggressive with battle suits was a very powerful union. This tactic, despite rolling a 1 to hit for my Hammerhead in two successive turns, ensured that by the end of turn three Adams army amounted to one very lucky Dreadnought, one very lonely squad of Assault Marines and half a squad of very lost Scouts. The suits ensured that the Assault Marines didn't remain lonely for long and with the objective cleared I was able to claim my first ever win in Warhammer 40k. Go me.

Since tyhe learning process never really ends I include a 'What I Learned' section after my battle reports.

What I Learned:
The Rules
Plasma Rifles are, in fact, the best rifles
Don't forget to jump in the assault phase
Don't forget to run in the shooting phase
Don't forget that your Fire Warrior teams exist and leave them hiding behind a wall for most of the game

Fire Warriors?

2009-11-19T02:24:00.000-08:00

More like Fire Doom-rat-warrior-lords amirite?
Yeah, I'm right.
I've finally finished my first group of Fire Warriors and their accompanying Devilfish transport. On the Devilfish I installed 5 LEDs on the underside of the body to represent "anti-grav pads" or whatever it is that makes hovertanks hover. For the Fire Warriors I used some of the (now) old school Clan Rat heads, legs and tails combined with the regular FW bodies, weapons and sundry components.

The LED work in the Devilfish is far from perfect the first time around but I feel that it still gives the effect that I was after.

The next project will be the pathfinders, suits, sniper drones and FWs that I need for the rest of my first 750 point list. How very exciting!

The Rise of The Skaven Tau Part 2

2009-11-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

Year 1545: As the vehicle makes its way to an unknown destination through the darkness of space the new nest, unimpeded by the squabbling of the mob, makes technological breakthroughs that they have never previously dreamed of. Engineers of Clan Skryre, through investigation and scavenging of the vehicles components learned how the humans were able to produce such tremendous power without the severe limitations of Warpstone, the Moulders moved away from their ad-hoc surgical methods and began working with tissue on a cellular level and Eshin agents turned their attention towards accessing the vast stores of information that the humans kept.

Year 1562: For thirty years the Skaven nest aboard the vehicle had remained undiscovered by the humans though it was not until an experiment with using human technology to stabilise Warpstone went wrong causing a massive explosion that the stowaways realised that there appeared to be no humans onboard at all. Discovering this, the Skaven set about taking some measure of control of the vehicle by trying to establish where they were and where they were travelling to.

Year 1563: Having thoroughly investigated the vehicle it was established that there were once humans on the ship however, in an apparent attempt to prolong their lifespan they had reduced their own body temperatures. While in this state one of the many experiments that were carried out by the Skaven had caused their temperatures to rise without the proper procedure and as such none of the thousands of humans onboard survived the process.

Year 1830: After hundreds of years aboard the vessel the Skaven had gained a full understanding of the human technology to the level where they were continuing the human’s cultivation of plants for both oxygen and food, maintaining the power systems built by the humans and had completely mapped out the computer systems present on the ship. Strict breeding controls were in effect aboard the ship to ensure that overcrowding was kept in check and the clan system had faded into a distant memory. The nest was ruled over by a meritocracy with each potential leader being tasked with inventing a device of some kind, the most impressive device as voted every two years by all (male) Skaven was declared the winner.

Year 2878: It had been over one thousand years now and hundreds of generations of Skaven had lived and died aboard the vehicle that the humans had called Icarus III. Stories of Skavendom were vague now but generally they told of the horrors of life underground and how evil, selfish rats had ruled over clans fighting petty wars over the ownership of dark, worthless tunnels. Young Skaven were uncared for and each Skaven was left to fend for themselves without the rigid support structures and discipline of New Icarus.

Year 2891: 1359 years after they left Skavendom forever the new nest continued to maintain and control Icarus III however the time had come when the powerplant seemed unlikely to be able to continue operating for much longer. The Skaven had done what they could to keep it running but they had run out of Warpstone hundreds of years ago and without it the repairs were only temporary. The currently acting leader of New Icarus, Brighteyes Kritkin, made the decision to leave space and attempt a landing on one of the planets orbiting a nearby star.

Year 2892: Using the sensors constructed by the humans the Skaven located a planet not unlike the planet that their ancestors had left behind when they first boarded Icarus III. From information left behind by the humans and his own understanding of the vessel Kritkin was able to land the massive vessel without loss of life though on inspection of the crafts engines after landing it was clear that the damage was significant and the decision to land had saved New Icarus.

Year 2893: After his performance in the landing of the craft along with a recent brilliant invention it was decided that Kritkin would remain leader of Skaven for his entire life and that elections would be held immediately upon his death. Exercising caution on behalf of New Icarus Kritkin declared that most Skaven would remain on board Icarus III for another two years while specially chosen teams investigated the planet.

The Rise of The Skaven Tau

2009-10-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

While I'm still in the process of building, converting and painting my army I have written a few words of 'fluff' behind my idea for the Skaven Tau army.
Keep in mind that in terms of rules on the tabletop nothing changes and for all intents the Skaven Tau are simply different looking Tau models.

Timeline

All dates given in years after the events of the ‘Warhammer Fantasy’ setting.

Year 500: As fighting on the surface dies down and Clan Moulder has been all but wiped out by the combined forces of Clan Skryre and Clan Eshin an uneasy peace falls upon Skavendom that will last hundreds of years. The humans on the surface have made quantum leaps in technology that are unrivalled by even the most capable of the Skryre engineers.

Year 900: After a long period of technological stagnation and dwindling food sources the Skaven population has fallen by 80% in the past 700 years. Belief in The Horned Rat has all but vanished, The Council of 13 has lost credibility and most of the viruses, the last weapon that the Skaven had against other races has been rendered useless by advances in medical technology.

Year 934: Through a short civil war lasting only a matter of days, Clan Skryre kills all members of The Council of 13 and their few remaining followers. Clan Skryre declares themselves to be lord over all other clans with their Lord-Warlock as supreme ruler over Skavendom. Skryre rules with an iron fist, crushing any dissent with brutal force backed up by their war machines and their close allies in Clan Eshin.

Year 1482: After 500 years of relative peace and technological prosperity under Clan Skryre the Skaven have made a significant leap forward in the subterranean agricultural technology signalling an end to the long running food shortage which had hampered their much needed population growth.

Year 1529: On a routine mission to the surface to gather information and intelligence, agents of Clan Eshin discover the existence of a vehicle designed and built by humans with the intention of travelling to distant places far from the tunnels of Skavendom. The technology described by the agents is unlike anything that the minds of Skryre engineers ever thought would be possible. Aware that Skaven technology is no longer able to compete with that of humans the Lord-Warlock of the Skaven declares that they will attempt to infiltrate this vehicle and follow the humans to wherever they plan to go.

Year 1531: With a close eye on the human vehicle, the construction of which is near completion, the Lord-Warlock assembles a team of 2,500 of the strongest and most cunning Skaven from each of the four clans. The team would include breeders and nurses with the intention of creating a nest aboard the huge vehicle while the engineers would gather information on human technology which could someday be sent back to Skavendom.

Year 1532: With the Skaven nest successfully set up aboard the human vehicle without detection the new colony is cut-off from Skavendom and it becomes apparent that they will never be able to return.

To be continued...

Welcome to the Ground Floor

2009-10-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome, I am Warrio and this is my blog detaining my exploits surrounding my Tau army in the table top wargaming system known as Warhammer 40,000. This is my first army in 40k and is indeed my first foray into the table top wargaming community at all. I have no experience in painting models, developing army lists or devising strategies within the wargaming context so I look forward to this blog documenting for your pleasure my humble beginnings, meteoric rise and eventual tragic decent.

I have a number of ideas for what I would like my army to look like and throughout my future posts I will provide plenty of pictures and, should any of my ideas turn out nearly as well as they look in my imagination I will provide tutorials on what I have done. To this end I should thank Adam who authors a blog which I have found to be both an excellent read and an impressive source of information about how (and occasionally how not) to play Tau.