Pulse Rifles

[Bob The Mercenary]

I hated the Orks when I played. Fucking foot of Gork or Mork or whateverthefuck always taking out my archer line.

[krogothwolf]

Tau pulse rifles fire at 1/3rd the Rate of a Bolter so they aren't really rapid fire.

I played Blood Angels in my time and let me tell you, my chaplin led Death Company was god mighty. I even took down abaddon and his guard with them It was a joyous occasion. I never really had a problem with Tau due to the speed Blood Angels can get into Hand to Hand at. Almost every single one of my games I played there were very few units left on the map by the time it was over, it was pure mayhem and slaughter fest.

One game against an Eldar player by the end of my 2nd turn 80% of my forces had already invaded and engaged in hand to hand on his end of the bored. Guns don't work to well when a Chainsword is rippin your guts out.

[Heresy488]

After Action Report (AAR):


- Great Threat from Hive Fleet Arachnid -

Start: Investigating anomalous energy readings on a nearby planet of a Sept World, the Tau Cadre of Shas'o Khan discovered Genestealers projecting a telepathic beacon to summon more of their kind to ravage the planet.

No less than fifty of the beasts were found with support from Zoanthropes. Their horror was met by the noble and virtuous troops of the Cadre. However, insufficient time to ready the reinforced squads of Green and Silver squads as well as the new vehicles and Battlesuits meant that many personnel and equipment was deployed lacking the Cadre colors and standards. What more, whatever weapon systems that were installed on the Battlesuits at the time of delivery were what they were deployed with. Specializing the Cadre to the task was not an option.

The Cadre began their hunt, believing the Greater Good of their mission would see them through the day. If they could not stop the Genestealers then a whole Hive Fleet may appear next door to a billion defenseless Tau.

*** *** *** ***

The Devilfish's deployed carrying Red and Gold squads, with Silver squad flanking their right with Green Squad, Team 2 and Combat Drones in support of them. Flanking the APC's left were the Crisis Battlesuit Team with Green Squad Team 1 and the Commander in his recently re-armed Battlesuit. Confidence was high and the troops were eager to encounter the enemy.

The Zoanthropes were able to shoot first, but the difficulty of the terrain shielded the vehicles from the worst of it and the Cadre pressed on. The Stealth Team that deployed ahead communicated via burst transmission that they were in position to flank the first Zoanthrope and awaited orders. The Commander did not hesitate to train no less than a half dozen burst cannons on the abomination, and it was destroyed with extreme prejudice.


But this early kill only served to slacken the Tau's guard. Bursting from the earth, a Lictor pounced on the rear Devilfish and very nearly penetrated it's rear armor. The vehicle scurried out of the way to clear Line of Sight for Silver squad to shoot from cover, decimating the monster in a single volley of Pulse Rifle fire.

That Lictor was but a taste of things to come. On the third turn, the entirety of the Tyranid force appeared via Deep Strike, five squads of Genestealers, ten creatures each, and a horrid Genestealer "hero" of some kind, if that word can be misused in such a context. They flanked Green Squad Team 1 and the Battlesuits, and destroyed them all to a man. The Stealth team that had emerged from hiding earlier shared a similarly gruesome fate in a single round of close combat.

Red and Gold squads deployed from their transports and took covering positions adjacent to Silver squad. From three directions, the monsters spewed from the holes and crevices of the broken planet, and the Tau found themselves surrounded. Silver squad, the real heroes of the battle, scored no less than ten hits out of twelve shots and caused wounds on all the creatures, however the armor of the beasts was too much for the advanced weapons to find homes.

By turn six, even the stalwart Tau Commander lay slain. The Gun Drones were similarly unable to find success against the beasts - either they knew the futility of hiding or were too stupid to know the threat against them, but every Tyranid repeatedly passed their morale test against pinning from the Pulse Carbine fusillades.

Every Tau who was caught by the beasts and forced to fight hand-to-hand was killed, mercilessly. Many Genestealers were slain, of that have no doubt. But if it had not been for the quick-recall of the Cadre via teleportation, surely the battle would have ended in a route. The Genestealers still own the planet and though the casualties they sustained weakened their psychic beacon, all this attack bought was time at the expense of lives. That is not the Tau way of war, and lessons must be learned from this encounter so that the same mistakes are not repeated.

- The Tyranids were able to make excellent use of cover to obscure Line of Sight and gain cover saves against weapons that normally would have pulverized their carapace to goo. Flanking tactics and advantageous positioning must be emphasized.
- Stealth Teams are not to be deployed unless the Cadre is in position to support them. Certainly, had the Team not revealed itself from so far away, at least one of the Fire Warrior squads would have been able to cover their movement.
- Vehicles are a tool to be used and not precious commodities to be hoarded. Mistakes were made while acting to preserve the Cadre's vehicles. If they had been used more offensively, as many as double as many Tyranid could have been destroyed. Their lack of heavy weapons made the vehicles perfect tools for setting up artificial barriers for flanking and restricting their movement.


Finally, the loss of two Commanders in three battles in unacceptable. The nature of war notwithstanding, the facts remain that the Ork Warboss that had been harassing the nearby colony in the system still lives, and the Tyranid "commander" as well still lives. Firing discipline and restraint must be emphasized to our officer corps, lest we lose too many Commanders and find ourselves with no one to lead the Cadre into battle. Promotions through the usual channels of the chain of command proceeded smoothly, and for that we are all thankful.


Shas'o Khan, out.

End.

[krogothwolf]

Ouch, Tau getting into close combat against Tyranids is a nasty way to go. What do you use as a hand-to-hand combatant as a buffer for the shooters? Or do you just hope you don't enter Hand-to-hand?

[Kerensky287]

So, what, is this a Warhammer thread now? Because it's about time we had one.

Of course, I haven't had time to play in ages so I can't really contribute other than that it's too fucking expensive.

[krogothwolf]

I was going to make one earlier but then everyone started going on this one, would it be better to actually start a Warhammer thread instead of going Offtopic on this one?

[Heresy488]

The Tau are not an exclusive army - they have rules for accommodating any race into their Cadres, even humans. So I could buy a Platoon of Imperial Guard and have them operate as auxiliaries The purpose of the Tau is to unite the galaxy in a multi-racial conglomerate.

For close-combat, there are Tau-unique mercenaries called the Kroot. They are these reptilian guys with cool bayonets at the end of their rifles. The Kroot hide in cover then burst out shooting and cutting. Think Orks mixed with Velociraptors. The Kroot even take a turn after melee to eat the dead - really cool.

I have Kroot, just not assembled or painted yet. Their models are hyper-detailed, and it's a little intimidating. But yea, the Tau's tactics are to stay at range at all costs. If that's not an option, send in the Kroot.

[Inst]

Don't forget Fish of Fury, where Fire Warriors in a Devilfish deploy in rapid-fire range against wounded targets.

By the way, regarding British soldiers, their weapons ARE automatic. They're just trained to do accurate single-shots, which may be akin to the condition of the Tau Fire Warriors.

[Heresy488]

HEY MODERATORS! (if any of them are paying attention)

How about a Warhammer 40k sub-forum, for posting entertaining battle reports, short stories about our armies, and generally discussing the game? I have several more fights I can type out, and I am seeking advice on the best way to counter Ork Deffcopters (they have the twin-licked Rokkit launchers and are killing my Battlesuits).

I'm just saying, there's an audience of at least 1 for a new sub-forum.

[Kim]

Doesn't this thread suffice?

I mean, we don't have a D&D subforum, or a Final Fantasy subforum, or a [insert whatever franchise thingy here] subforum. I don't really see us needing or getting an entire subforum for Warhammer.