2000 Point Tau List - too much of a good thing!

[Carrelio]

Hey guys, I've been playing a bunch of 6th edition games, but I still have not pinned down a list I like (for any point value).  Up until now, I've been doing this mostly on my own, combining concepts and tactics I read about on the internet with my own playtesting.  In this way I am getting closer to a list I want, but I could definitely still need some help in smoothing over any of the issues.  I have a 2000 point game against a friend (he plays Orks and CSM) coming up, so now definitely seems like the time to post this here.  My biggest issue is that to fit in everything I want, I look to be over-cost.  Please feel free to comment and critique, and help me slim this list down to a competitive 2000 points!

HQ:
Helios Pattern Shas'el - 127 points
-plasma rifle
-fusion blaster
-target array
-hwmt
-hwbsf
-hwdc
-2 shield drones
2 Helios Pattern Bodyguards - 164 points
-plasma rifle
-fusion blaster
-target array
-hwmt

Aurora Pattern Shas'el - 130 points
-plasma rifle
-CIB
-target array
-hwmt
-hwbsf
-hwdc
-2 shield drones
2 Helios Pattern Bodyguards - 164 points
-plasma rifle
-fusion blaster
-target array
-hwmt

Elites:
3 Deathrain Pattern XV8 Crisis Battlesuits - 161 points
-3 TL missile pods
-2 target arrays
-flamer
-team leader
-hwbsf

3 Deathrain Pattern XV8 Crisis Battlesuits - 161 points
-3 TL missile pods
-2 target arrays
-flamer
-team leader
-hwbsf

Troops:
10 Fire Warriors - 133 points
-shas'ui
-bsf
-drone controller
-2 gun drones
Devilfish - 80 points

10 Fire Warriors - 133 points
-shas'ui
-bsf
-drone controller
-2 gun drones
Devilfish - 80 points

10 Fire Warriors - 133 points
-shas'ui
-bsf
-drone controller
-2 gun drones
Devilfish - 80 points

Heavy Support:
3 Broadside battlesuits - 278 points
-target arrays
-team leader
-bsf
-hwdc
-2 shield drones

Hammerhead - 160 points
-railgun
-burst cannons
-disruption pod
-bsf

Hammerhead - 160 points
-railgun
-burst cannons
-disruption pod
-bsf

Total: 2144 points

Comments: So as you can see, 141 points over my target cost.  I had considered allying with eldar for a farseer's magic defense, and some pathfinder snipers to camp on an objective and ruin people's day... but clearly that is not happening.

Some of you may be wondering why I did not give either of my Shas'el BSF... others might not.  Chances are, with a helios team I'll be just within 12 inches every turn they are in use, so I have no need for a bsf.  People may also be wondering why helios at all?  Theyw ill be deployed by deepstrike and acting as my main marine killers in this army as well as running interference in the back lines.  For that they are perfect.  they can pop in, have the strength to take down anything I want from a unit of marines to a full on landraider, and then they can jump to safety (typically behind the smoking landraider crater).  This may just be a lingering tactic from the previous edition, but I feel like Tau really come into their own at close range (since so much of our equipment is either close range shooting, or rapid fire).

Devilfish will no doubt be another point of contestion.  I decided on taking them after I played a couple games without them, and found my fire warriors absolutely pinned down.  No way to break cover without being killed.  No speed to reach objectives.  In the end, they were just cleared from the board as a bloody paste.  I decided the best thing to do was to load them into devilfish.  The devilfish don't need to shoot well, so no upgrades.  Just scoot about and provide me cover!

And on the topic of those fire warriors... I think its pretty self explanatory, but some people are still opposed to the shas'ui and drones.  Shas'ui leadership is a nice boost in an edition that will see my fire warriors out of their tanks more often.  The drones are I4 which is great for escaping lost combats.  It actually makes escape 50-50 against marines... so yah... I'll take maybe living over death any day!

The hammerheads provide some much needed big blast templates and a little bit of anti-tank (though that is a secondary roll).  I don't predict them moving faster than combat speed, so no need for a multitracker.  I did give them disruption pods.  I did this to give myself cover for my other tanks on the first half of turn 1 (before my tanks move); hammerheads out front, devilfish in behind.

Please comment!

[Carrelio]

Laying out all the items in the army on my table, it looks pretty clear to me that I should either drop a hammerhead, or a pair of helios suits and then have 15 points (ish) leftover to spend on other things. Any thoughts on this?

[Unusual Suspect]

If that's how you're inclined to drop points, I'm wondering... are you then planning on a single 'el with a monat bodyguard each, or one 'el with 2 bodyguards and 1 'el "freelancing"?

If you're planning on keeping a group o' 3 suits, and even if you're not... have you considered dropping the bodyguard for a regular Elite Crisis Suit squad?

Unlike in 5th, as far as I can tell, there is little more usable protection in being an effectively "upgrade" character rather than the Independent Character one is when not using bodyguard units.  On the contrary, an 'el attached to a monat 'vre from an elite slot now has a 2+ LOS rather than its mere 4+ as part of the bodyguard unit, and the 'vre in the elite counts as a Character, with all that entails (Directed Fire, drones-as-characters if that's how your group rolls, a 4+ LOS, among others).

As you're not using special issue wargear, you're not losing out all that much, as far as I can see, by sticking with a Team Leader rather than a Shas'vre.  You still have a character (which, again, has tactical uses a bodyguard shas'vre can't match), and you have access to the HW gear necessary to gain that Targeting Array.

If you're set on the 3-man squad of Helios+, it is worth pointing out that my suggestion, while it shaves 15-25 points, loses out on one suit's BS 4, instead relying on an admittedly vexing BS 3.  I still feel that might be worth the points placed elsewhere.

Given this is a 2000 point build, I don't see why one wouldn't take advantage of the 3 extra elite slots to make Monat Team Leaders to replace the bodyguards.  Heck, even going the 2 man Helios 'el with monat Team Leader setup with both of your 'el, you still have an Elite slot left.   Have you considered the potential tactical usage of splitting your 6 deathrains into 3 sets of 2, rather than 2 sets of 3?  Would it be worthwhile spending some of those points to give your deathrains Team Leaders, and thus characters, with all that entails?

Aside from the bodyguards and the devilfish, and the lack of Multitrackers, you've basically got a similar list to mine, unless I'm feeling frisky and want to add a few XV-9s to the mix. *grin*

Food for thought.

Edit:  Oh, you already have Team Leaders in your Deathrains!  Carry on.

That said, with the extra points you save by switching each of your bodyguards to a Monat Shas'ui XV-8 Team Leader with the same loadouts (174, I believe?), that gives you 30 points to play around.

With those extra points, perhaps dropping a single Devilfish might allow you to split your 3 broadsides into 2 teams of 2.  Again, the more characters, the better!  With Target Locks no longer working with the infantry, I'm leery of using the 3-man broadside teams I used to devastating effect in 5th.

[Soundwave]

ditch the bodyguards entirely as they are overcosted for what ya get, consider dropping 1 xv8 from your each of your elites teams. drop one devilfish you dont really need that many and you can spend the points better elsewhere.

food for thought...

[Carrelio]

Shas'vre are the only place helios, can be used en-mass effectively in an army without markerlights.  They require the target array to boost BS, and can then use the HWMT to still fire both weapons.  But you do have a point about breaking off into smaller squads of el and team leader... but for 5 points... the difference is pretty minimal.

There has been a recent development.  I have learned my friend has a new army, he sold his chaos and bought a deathwing army.  That's 2+ saves and AV14 vehicles.  So I may drop 3 deathrains instead of the hammerhead (a little better against the landraiders)

[Unusual Suspect]

Shas'vre are the only place helios, can be used en-mass effectively in an army without markerlights.  They require the target array to boost BS, and can then use the HWMT to still fire both weapons.  But you do have a point about breaking off into smaller squads of el and team leader... but for 5 points... the difference is pretty minimal.

There has been a recent development.  I have learned my friend has a new army, he sold his chaos and bought a deathwing army.  That's 2+ saves and AV14 vehicles.  So I may drop 3 deathrains instead of the hammerhead (a little better against the landraiders)

You save 5 points, gain a Character with practically the same stats (Team Leaders can take the HWMT needed to spend a slot of TAs), you improve your 'el LOS from 4+ to 2+ (and, because the other suit is a Character, you have a 4+ LOS where none existed before).  I'm... not seeing the downside?  Is that +1 WS really that important?

Or perhaps I'm mistaken... is your plan no longer to drop a few Helios, or to keep one squad of 2 and have the extra 'el going solo or attached to something else?  I can see why, with the Deathwing army.  In that case, it becomes a much more difficult question of whether that last BS 4 is worth the significantly weaker LOS options and Precision Fire.

Hammerheads are... unreliable when it comes to downing Landraiders.  Sure, I've one-shot-killed a few landraiders in my time 1st turn... but then, I've missed 3 solid shots in a row.  I've also pinged off their AV 14 ineffectively.  Mass Broadsides are more my thing... So again, if you have the models, might i suggest dropping a hammerhead for a second set of broadsides (perhaps 2 groups of 2)?

[Carrelio]

I realize the hammerheads are less than reliable at taking down AV14 (way way better suited against the ork horde, which may still be in the cards... but has no vehicles), but they are more reliable than trying to roll a 7 on a deathrain

For a different occasion I may definitely consider breaking the helios up.  But against 2000 points of 2+ armour and landraiders, I think massed BS4 melta weapons may save the day.

[Carrelio]

Well, it was an unexpected result.  I showed up... and my friend called me and said he couldn't make it.  So I ended up playing against a grey knight player.  There were a lot of psy-backs!

Still a pretty solid list choice.  The hammerheads exploded a vehicle a turn (roasting the acolyte crews along with them) and the broadsides hammered down even more vehicles!  I was really glad to have the devilfish floating about, providing cover for my fire warriors, and giving them a way to reach the distant objectives.  And the 2 helios teams were absolute monsters for anyone outside of a transport... or the transports themselves.  I must say it is very nice to have fire warriors reliably wrecking vehicles.

Overall MVP goes to the railguns... didn't matter if they were on the hammerhead or the broadsides, every shot was bang on and always ended in an explosion.