Tau Expansion - Making Them Tournament Worthy(ish)

I really fancy a change of pace and a break from power armoured troops. Luckily my brother has tau and doesn't mind me working on them for him.

Here is my attempt at making them reasonable for tournaments and reasons behind my choices.

HQ
1 Shas'el with bonding knife, twin linked missile pods, flamer, hardwired drone controller and 2 shield drones. 1 shas'vre bodyguard with targeting array, twin linked missile pods = 170 points.

ELITES
1 Crisis team leader with bonding knife, hardwired drone controller, 2 shield drones, twin linked missile pods and targeting array. 1 crisis suit with targeting array and twin linked missile pods = 146 points.

1 Crisis team leader with bonding knife, hardwired drone controller, 2 shield drones, fusion blaster, plasma rifle, multi tracker. 2 crisis suits with plasma rifles, multi trackers and fusion blasters = 226 pts.

1 Crisis team leader with bonding knife, hardwired drone controller, 2 shield drones, fusion blaster, plasma rifle, multi tracker. 2 crisis suits with plasma rifles, multi trackers and fusion blasters = 226 pts.

TROOPS
16 Kroot = 112 pts.

16 Kroot = 112pts.

9 Fire warriors and 1 shas'ui with bonding knife, mounted in a devilfish with disruption pods = 200 pts.

FAST ATTACK
8 Pathfinders and 1 shas'ui with bonding knife, mounted in a devilfish with disruption pods = 208 pts.

HEAVY SUPPORT
1 Hammerhead, railgun, burst cannons, multi tracker and disruption pods = 175 pts.

1 Hammerhead, railgun, burst cannons, multi tracker and disruption pods = 175 pts.


Total = 1750 points.


The basic idea behind this is my 2+2+2+2 theory. Now tau are never going to be able to outshoot imperial guard and just can't take a beating like space marines, but what they do have are some nifty little rules and some supercharged guns. When creating any list for a tournament I try and ensure I have at least 2 units capable of fullfilling each role I need in game.

Firsty I need at least 2 units to take out transports at range. Deathrain crisis suits are perfect for this as twin linked BS4 autocannons are super. I will need elite slots for harder hitting units so my only option is to turn 1 squad into my commander and bodyguard which is fine.

Next I need something to take on marines and terminators. Helios suits fill this role well as plasma rifles and fusion blasters are AP 2 and 1 respectively. So 2 units of 3 suits are just what I need to finish up my elites choices.

Then I need battle tanks for both firepower and as distractions for enemy heavy weapons. Hammerheads are the best we can field and with disruption pods they have protection from shooting and with multi trackers giving the ability to shoot as if a fast vehicle, then it means I can still move 12" and shoot with the railguns... awesome. 2 of these please.

Lastly I need troops to hold objectives. I have to take a unit of fire warriors but don't want a static force so they get a devilfish so that they can act as a mobile reserve unit that I can hold back and use to fill any gaps or add weight of firepower to where I need it most. Secondly I need kroot. They are the only thing that can launch a proper assault and although not great, they can hold against eldar, IG, nids and dark eldar as long as they aren't dedicated assault troops. They also function as pretty good screens for my crisis suits.

So I have some spare points left. What do I spend them on? Well as it's a tournament list and objectives missions are going to form a large portion of the missions available then another troops choice is needed. I think 16 more kroot will do nicely to help shield my crisis suits and infiltrate ahead.

Now what every tau army can't really work without - a large unit of pathfinders to help with markerlight support. I prefer larger squads as BS3 is pretty unpredictable and more marker hits means more helios suits shooting at BS4 or BS5.


So there is a rundown of my list and ideas behind it. If you have any feedback then feel free to post.