Chapter Approved 2018 - Tau Overview and Best Units

[@TabletopTitans]

There are two point errors in my graphics I wanted to clarify. At 9:00 I show that 3 Broadsides are 316 points but they are are 363 points, also at 13:35 I say that 5 Hazard suits are 360 points but they are 390 points with an ATS. Hope you enjoy the video.

[@davidclarke1388]

Hey, I noticed another graphic error, stating the Riptide's Heavy Burst Cannon was 16 shots, but I think this is 12. Unless I'm missing some clever wargear/sept trick?

[@NethOni]

@@davidclarke1388 they are base 12 shots but gets boosted to 18 shots through the use of the nova reactor ability

[@davidclarke1388]

@@NethOni ahhhhh. Thank you for clarifying!

[@TDelBos]

Have you had a chance to try the Piranhas in a list? I am thinking of trying them out as well and am curious of your thoughts. (PS - Great Videos!)

[@Lovgren85]

Really good breakdown, and a fantastic format. As a brand new Tau player (who moved over from Necrons) the amount of customization is staggering, so I’m super glad you discussed the different load outs as well!

[@IAmNotGr33n]

Same boat here..

[@coolsskin]

@@IAmNotGr33n Me3!

[@johnniewalker877]

David Lövgren as another newbie to a newbie welcome to the fun side. Also how was it playing necrons? They were my second option to play other than tau.

[@coolsskin]

@@johnniewalker877 i have played VS necrons a lot i think its something totally different than TAU XD I think you can compare necrons somewhat with Deathguards (SLOW AS F#$%) but IT will NOT DIE WHAHAHAHA i hate it XD specially when you dont have any more pulse rifle or anything ell left to shoot that one last necron! NEXT round Bam all necrons are back again.... (thats a cool mechanic)

[@4everMedicore]

Also new T'au player who moved away from Necrons, haha A bit sad really, I look forward to this new project tho.

[@TableTopLaboratories]

You are literally setting the standard for tactics and unit review videos. I picked up a Tau army a few days ago in a trade and haven't played with or against them in years but I already feel like I have learned so much in just watching a couple of these to the point where I can field a competitive force. Thanks for the great content!

[@TrippyTheShroom]

Immediately earned a sub. One of the best formats and breakdowns ive seen on the internet.

[@johnnychow762]

Best 40k analysis videos on youtube, hands down! Would love to see more battle reports with your list, or match-up breakdowns between this list and some of the top lists at LVO!

[@HunterMearo]

As someone who plays low point games (500-1000) the Broadside drop is amazing, it let's me happily take 2 broadsides, 25 fire warriors, fireblade, commander, 3 stealth suits and 3 crisis with plenty of drones. The flexibility of the tau is really starting to come into its own right now.

[@OliMcDonald]

Just want to say what an excellent video this is. Professional presentation, really handy putting the information on the screen, and an excellent method of rating units against each other. I love that you sneakily changed the background to the unit you were talking about, really nice touch. Please keep up the great work, I've now subscribed to you :)

[@XxSatsugai]

Hey man, great videos so far. Just a small suggestion : putting a small indication on the bottom of the screen (or anywhere) to indicate when you are changing topic or switching tiers would be a nice addition. Keep up the good work!

[@TabletopTitans]

David J. Good idea David. It’s a new format so ideas are always welcome.

[@ZaWyvern]

David J. My list has 4 broadsides, a Skyray and 2 riptides. So I was estatic. Actually considering dropping a riptide for crisis suits for mobility. Or maybe hazard suits

[@ZaWyvern]

oops. that was supposed to be in the public section... sorry.. ;)

[@XxSatsugai]

@@ZaWyvern no worries at all ;)

[@Dr420alldayeveryday]

Your videos on the tau really helped me out. Thanks man looking forward to seeing the battle reports

[@jdallen1955]

Great video - glad to see someone agreeing with me about Piranhas. I used 2/2/3 sa'cea outrider detachment wit seeker missiles and fusion to devastating effect going second in a game against eldar. I'm a little surprised you don't think more highly of vespids. They have also been great for me and 306 points gives me two units of 9 (or 3 of 6) for 36 S5 AP-2 shots I can put anywhere on the board. I've found they are excellent elite killers in particular. Add that they can fly and have a 14 inch move, and you get enormous flexibility and utility. I try to put some on most of my lists.

[@TabletopTitans]

Jeff Allen your piranha detachment sounds solid! The Vespid for me just don’t have the durability I look for in a tau unit. They also lack the versatility. Many great tau units are good against hordes, elites and vehicles, they only work well against elites.

[@piotrbrys8008]

As a new Tau player, this really helped me on my army list thx!

[@J.Panxer]

GW charging 15 bucks plus shipping for 2 drones is criminal. Forgeworld charging 100 bucks plus shipping for an XV9 is a hanging offense. One question though, Tau don't have any psychic defense, but the Crisis bodyguards have the sworn protector rule; I'm wondering if the wording on the rule has any wiggle room to use them as wound sponges against psykers? Thanks.

[@lofton2323]

I just wanted to say thank you. Your videos are amazing you use visual examples and speak in a clear and concise manor. Keep up the great work! I would love to see more videos!

[@TabletopTitans]

lofton2323 thanks lofton! I’m glad you are enjoying the videos. I’m having fun making them, but they are a huge amount of work, so it’s always helpful to know that people are getting something out of them,

[@unscspartanx47]

amazing video! quality was top notch, and you were very well spoken and you actualy know what you are talking about. 10/10 just subscribed

[@FatherGharov]

Wonderful videos, you make everything crystal clear and really enjoyable. Can't wait to see your upcoming battle reports with T'au!

[@Gunny_Huntarr]

suggestion in such a LONG postulation / supposition, leaving the Power point image up will keep the audiences' focus on the topic your referring to. place it in a smaller window in the top right when your done with the large image. Thanks for the topic

[@neqtor]

That's some very impressive content you create. Keep that up! Something that I would love to see, is the actual model, preferbly YOURS, and not just a picture from the internet like I've seen other people do, pick up your models while you're talking about them !

[@TabletopTitans]

I wanted to fit my models into this video, but I couldn't seem to work them in. I will be sure to get them on camera more often.

[@Skylersthemann1]

What a great video! I loved the format and it definitely help get me back up to date since I've been away from the game for a few months. Subscribed!

[@johnokeefe8260]

Any new tau videos coming?

[@polareskimo]

You need to have a podcast format. Extremely good break down! I hope we get to hear battle report summaries from you sometime! :D

[@feshepherd]

Very nice synopsis of Tau CA 2018! I like your format of the tier break down on individual units. I love my Riptides! My list hasn't changed that much as well. Great overview!

[@Fattyboom666]

Great info and great explanation about your thoughts. Keep up the good work and can't wait for your games to come on our channel!

[@josheckroth1721]

This guy looks like what I imagine a Tau player to look like.

[@Horus-89]

Haha Im TAU Player and im lookt like ork player💪😁

[@romulusnuma116]

Just found this channel looking forward to more really great and informative video

[@gustavgrime]

Amazing works in this channel! keep this way! T'au its my favourite army so far! :D Cheers from Argentina!

[@TheTroublebrewing]

Your stuff has been really helpful to me, keep it coming bud.

[@bradking6902]

Great breakdown mate, Im just getting back into the game and it seems from me re-entering in the end of 7th ed and now seeing the changes in 8th, we look like we got the short end of the stick... Something I've always wished they'd look into is a charge style counter via drones where they get an ability to fly into charging units as a last line of defence blowing up on impact, auto hits a single unit with roles to wound (obviously sacrificing themselves) this would also work within the Tau narrative of trying to preserve Tau life. Theres still the risk/reward factor of potentially losing a drone for no benefit but you could wipe the last 2 units charging your broadsides....

[@TabletopTitans]

That sounds like a cool idea. I think Tau is actually one of the stronger armies in 40k right now. It is well above the average and from the stats I have seen it has almost a 50% win rate, making it nearly perfectly balanced. Tau is by no means overpowered, but there are multiple strong builds that can win you any matchup.

[@kookieslayer]

Amazing work, Can't wait to see the battle reports with that list!

[@aitoriri1]

I've never played Tau but after this video I'm consedering making at least a kill team. Great video btw

[@TabletopTitans]

I've played Tau in Kill team a bit and they are not my favorite. Kill Team for me is more fun when you have a mix of shooting and combat units. That said, I have had fun with my stealth suits in Kill Team.

[@shasocastris]

Overall, this is an excellent video. I generally agree with the points you've made about the new strong units and the interesting choices that should be tested in the new era. One significant mistake, however, is that you claim that if you deploy first, you go first. If you deploy first, you have the CHOICE to go first, which is significant. In the (admittedly few) games I've played so far, I've found that when I deploy first, my opponent's tend to take less than optimal positions as they try to hide from Tau firepower. In these cases, I've just had my opponent go first, which generally forces them to get into the positions they wanted to be in, wasting movement and having worse shooting. It also lets me take advantage of the Prepared Positions stratagem if I like AND most importantly puts my army in a better position to score VPs in the CA 2018 Eternal War missions. While the discussion of going first deserves its own video, I felt that your remarks as a whole suffered from this oversight. The fact that going first is a choice has a massive impact on the game. For the Tau, I think going second puts us in the interesting position of luring the opponent into our mid-range firepower and at the same time positioning our forces to actually do the mission. Lastly, I do think you'd benefit from trying out Vior'la breachers in Devilfish. They do not put out the most firepower but they are some of the most tactically flexible units in our army. Since DF aren't that much of a threat offensively, it is easy for them to be overlooked for harder targets. And since they are Vior'la, both they and the breachers are uncommonly fast. It is very easy to get within 5" of whatever you wish the breachers to shoot at on turn two at the latest. And while the breachers are doing that, the Devilfish can play a similar role to what you envision piranhas doing, sitting on objectives, being difficult to remove, and with the ability to charge and tie-up powerful shooting units. In your analysis, I'd put the combo at Tier 3. Cheers!

[@TabletopTitans]

Thanks for clarifying. I agree that many units in the Tau codex like Breachers can do damage. What I look for in a unit, is something that can do damage and be very durable. I believe the core of the Tau army is durability, so I really only value the durable units.

[@corvididaecorax2991]

@@TabletopTitans I would consider the core of the Tau army to be Synergy more than durability. Fire Warriors can be made to be astoundingly scary with the number of bonuses it is possible to pile onto them. I have shot up Imperial Knights and Baneblades that way, with near ease. But then it depends on your situation. Broadsides can get fewer bonuses, but my last list tabled my opponent with nine of them even before the new points changes. So perhaps Durability can be combined with Synergy.

[@TyTy-ye6nz]

great vid, really informative and production is crisp. Thumbs up

[@davethepak]

Thank you for the video. Good insights in there - while I do not agree with all of them, they are good food for thought and will give me new things to ponder. Excellent production quality on the video as well. Just a note on the remora - these are great harassment and psychological units - they are not quire dangerous enough to draw a lot of fire - combine this with hard to hit, and it is rare opponents bother to shoot at them. I find them useful for when you need just a few more shots on a specific hard to reach target (or character) - then their mobility is a great asset.

[@TabletopTitans]

The Remoras can have a lot of very interesting use cases, so I don't want to completely discount them. I just find that they don't really fill a void I have in the army too well. They are fast, but they have long range weapons, so they don't really need it. They can't hold objectives, but they can help control the board. They are good with seekers, but the Skyray is a little better. They don't really put out enough shots, but they hit well. They are very easy to remove unlike most of the Tau army.

[@STLSpartan]

The Daniel Negreanu of Tau

[@isaacowen3295]

fire warriors are by far one of the best units tau have to offer, best fire power piont for pionts in the game when properly supported, you can give them 42 inch range making them extremely flexible or they can over watch on 5s and when theres 6 units together that makes them pretty much unassaultable!

[@TabletopTitans]

You are right that they are amazing at damage output and in mass they can be crazy. The reason I rate them poorly is for me the Tau is about durability and they are one of the least durable in the army. I also really fear units in the Tau army that don't have fly. The best players in the world will very easily tag and trap your firewarriors which will quickly lose you the game. Overall I love fire warriors and I use them in every game. That said I don't rate them too highly for competitive play.

[@isaacowen3295]

@@TabletopTitans fair enough, i must say i havnt played much competatively, there arnt many big tournaments close to me, i love fire warriors i honestly think that an army of just fire warriors and support characters with a couple of heavy supports could do really well just beacue its unassaultable, take tau sept riptides with heavy burst and counter fire to back them up in over watch and thats better than they're normal shooting!! what do you think?

[@DestructiveHat]

@@isaacowen3295 there are units that are immune to overwatch and you'll be disappointed by that overwatch fire when you depend on it. If melee harassers get in you'll quickly find yourself trapped in a melee you won't win. I have a buddy that plays orks and my fire warriors are meaningless against blobs of Boyz who eat the overwatch and then krump me. So I'd say it's situational.

[@isaacowen3295]

@@DestructiveHat honestly if you can get blobz of boys close enough to charge, your possitioning your fire warriors wrong, use theyre range, another interesting idea for your consideration, if the enemy is threatening to charge you throw another trash unit that can survive one round of combat into the enemies unit in your assault phase they finish it in thiers and you get another free round of shooting? or throw somthing like a riptide in that wont die and can fall back in your turn?

[@DestructiveHat]

@@isaacowen3295 not much you can do about a lucky "da jump". 🙁

[@T_Kempf]

Awesome video. Tiny critique. When you talk about Hazard suits with Farsighted and drop zone clear it sounds like you are saying you can take 5 in a unit while they are limited to 3. But seriously, I love this channel you are building. Amazing quality content. Hope you take some awesome shots of your beautiful armies and put them on screen for us to admire while listening to tactics.

[@T_Kempf]

Also. Sniper drones? There is a lot to do with them IMO. Did you ever try to make them work?

[@TabletopTitans]

Hi Tobias, your right I did give that impression. I was trying to make general claims, but I should strive to be as clear as I can. Thanks for the feedback. In the future I will take the time to shoot more of my minis. I brought them to the studio that day to film, but I ran out of time to get them on camera nicely.

[@albertofrankdiaz6664]

nooob here, question... why in 15:40 with 4 crisis have 33 shots? de ion make 6 shots, that would be 24 shots , why i am missing??

[@imbigwes]

I like your videos, but I feel a big plus would be to have visual sections of the screen dedicated to showing units you're talking about so you can display the changes and the unit so newer players or folks that are interested in Tau but not familiar with the intricacies can follow along better. With your two camera angles you could easily make this work.

[@killat0r]

Hello, I am just wondering if www.tabletoptitans.com is actually your website that is advertised on some of your videos? When I go there, it looks like something nowhere near the quality, look, style, or branding that these videos are. Just a heads-up/wondering! :) I absolutely LOVE the videos and CANNOT WAIT for some Tau Battle Reports!

[@matthewharries5130]

Any chance Tabletop Titans could do a battle report of a 2000 point Tau game? Would like to invest in building a Tau army and Titan tactics have given the best details of how to use them, but I'd really like to see them in action so that I can use them effectively.

[@EthanTateWatt91]

As much as I loathe Tau this was a great format for a video. Keep it up! It would be great to see more factions.

[@alecchaitawsome]

*cough cough* eldar

[@codypannell9463]

This didn't change my list and only made it better since i used 4 min squads of fire warriors, 2 fire blades, 2 units of crisis suits, 2 riptides, 2 coldstar commanders, 3 units of pathfinders, and shield drones throughout. Fired Blades, Fire Warriors, and a riptide in tau sept (BN for Command points). Coldstar Commander and pathfinders in a v'orla sept. and Coldstar Commander, 2 crisis suit units and the second riptide (to make the detachment work) v'orla sept. I'm gucci lol

[@codypannell9463]

Maybe it's not meta, but it's fun af and if handled well very good. High risk high reward type thing.

[@codypannell9463]

Actually I did change it up a little. With the way the new deployments work I threw the second riptide in with the BN and took all the attached drones as their own units to make 3 detachments still and added a shadowsun to the BN to sit with the riptides lmao

[@ThePoshestEgg]

Is it okay to make a custom design based off of the Soviet Union for my tau?

[@ussenterprise1394]

Great video and overview of the Tau offensive options. What are your thoughts on the tiers post-Psychic Awakenings: Greater Good? Especially interested in your thoughts on Farsight Enclaves Crisis Suits. Thanks.

[@TabletopTitans]

We did an in depth review of the new Tau book on the channel, take a look!

[@TheWalrussMan]

Great vid and a great format! Very lovely!

[@danieldiekmann5469]

4 Crisis do 33 shots ? How does it work ?

[@jacvin1]

Great analysis man, have you got plans to go through all army's or just a select few would love to see an overview of each army's chapter approved

[@TabletopTitans]

I may not have the time to review each army in chapter approved, but I do plan to get around to a tactical breakdown of most armies. The ones that I do later I will simply just describe the current state of the army and it will be clear that it includes CA values. I'm currently working on a Tau battle report and a complete overview of the 22 specialist detachments in Vigalis.

[@antonymash9586]

I think stealth suits are useful as a screening unit. -1 to hit with another -1 to hit from a photon grenade in CC will boost their survivability, then they can fall back and shoot. Plus they can forward deply to create a deepstrike bubble and then pull back to support your fire base. Add in pathfinders with one of those grav drones and you have a formidible obstical to assault even without tau sept.

[@TabletopTitans]

They are really great and they have won me a lot of games. I only took them out to fit in the extra dakka.

[@antonymash9586]

@@TabletopTitans The question then becomes how much is enough dakka? When dose that beccome overkill and a points liability. Especialy concidering you now have to play the mission rather than just table your opponent. At what point do you have to balance out uility over firepower? The other related question I would ask is given the fact that St5 is everywhere is paying that extra premium for str 6 and str7 weapons worthwhile? Most tanks are T7 so is paying the extra points really worth it for +1 to wound? Especialy as we have so many other ways to boost that.

[@TabletopTitans]

@@antonymash9586 Your not wrong. For now I'm going to see how well this overwhelming force approach works. I do intend to still play the missions with this army. I will likely move my gun-line out and onto the objectives turn one to force my opponent to come and try to take me off of them.

[@antonymash9586]

@@TabletopTitans Which is not going to be easy concidering how durable some of those units can be.

[@benhadaway3322]

Just Saw the Tom Hanks movie, Brian dresses like Mr Rogers! XD Great video!

[@ruudschippers8918]

Another great video! Incredibly useful!

[@kriddius]

"Tau troops choices die too easily and are a liability to the Tau army" Minus huge respect points right there. Any player who says any troops choice is a liability, in any codex, is talking out their asses. A 3+ armour save in cover at 7 points a model with a 30" S5 weapon and a plethora of options to make them increasingly lethal with proximity characters and marker lights? Strike teams are amazing! most people just take the bare minimum in squad number and size and rule them out as "useless". I guarantee you, take 2-3 teams with a fireblade (a steal at approx. 300 points or so) and watch your opponent take massive detours to avoid that part of the table entirely. Your army will not only benefit from a veritable hail of pulse rifle fire but it may actually LOOK like an actual army and not a smattering of the "best" battle suit units you can cram into your points allotment. I never take less than 3-4 full sized teams and they routinely and repeatedly cross the board when they have to and take objectives on the other side of the board, devilfish or no. And as far as Crisis teams go? They should have always been a staple were it not for the commander cheese spam. Now that oversight is plugged they're back and cheaper than ever as their weapons all got cheaper too! The "true" Tau army looks amazing, is fluff friendly and dishes out a staggering amount of fire from any range. I'm loving them more now than I ever did in 7th edition, even without the ultra easy-mode that was 2+ cover for stealth and broken formation mechanics.

[@Kanjejou]

Well it depend but usually ap-1-2 weapons are very common in armies nowadays so with theyr T 3 and sav4+ they die very fast to heavy bolter or assault canon let not talk about the new bolters rules that make them shoot more(a hurricane bolter dreadnought can pose a serious threat at 12 if moving or even 24 if the dread have found its cover/perfect spot, in the end any good shooter or good gun can melt firewarrior. they can dish out big punches but not as much sakka as other infantery, their STR5 make them good vs a lot of stuff but they don't have the awesome of for exemple IG or eldar + a special gun, where you can unleash laser on small stuff and use special on the right target. And i do play a lot of Fire warrior but they can die very fast if they get focused too much. and the problem is that tau can't charge/assault efficiently so if the point isn't clean its almost a suicide to get you fire warrior there. worse a lot of melee units can use their charge and consolidation to circle the firewarrior thus you cant disengage and the guys can sit those scary melee squad in you gun line safe until your melee phase free them as they finish the squad, then its their turn adn now they hit a really important unit of your army. but if you play with lots of firewarrior and kroots its less of a problem since you have redudency and screaning.

[@Fattyboom666]

How are your thoughts with the XC9s if you have a 5man, is that combined with like 2x riptides. Would love to hear/see your thoughts aobut the other units how you would combine it =)

[@senseilewis3707]

I take 3 Battalions in my Army of 2k points. I take a standard of 12 x Strike teams in squads of 10 (that's 120 fire warriors) that's 840 points in addition I also take a minimum of 4 x cadre firebaldes . 2 of them under the Tau sept and 2 of them under the Borkan sept helping split my Tau 60 in each sept for 156 points. In total I spent 996 points. Now depending on the army I am facing I will customise the remaining 1,004 points I can customise the 2 other HQ. Now in my standard army list I personally take 2 x Battlesuits in Coldstar armour with the high yeield burst cannons with 2 x fusion blaster on each one as well. I also have 7 squads of pathfinders, 3 squads a 9 men and 4 squads at 8 with 21 rail rifles in total. I also take the pulse accelerator drone. If you want to look at th shot damage. at 42" my borkan get single shots. 36" everything can shoot except coldstars 21" my borkan get Rapidfire 180 shots + 60 shots then 39 Railrifle shots, etc... at 18" everything can Rapid fire 360 shots pulse rifle, 62 rail rifle shots etc..... the distances I have including the pulse Accelrator drone with cadre fireblades. I also have some extra upgrades on my coldstars :) or take some extra drones

[@TabletopTitans]

Sensei Lewis that is a crazy cool army list man. I have never actually seen anyone with that many fire warriors in person. I know that is a strong way to play tau but it’s hard to recommend to people. That army is a lot of work to build and paint, it’s a ton of work to play and I think most people would run out of time playing it. Also in ITC you would still have some trouble because you would give up secondary and primary points very easily. You would be super deadly, but it would still be hard to score more points.

[@senseilewis3707]

@@TabletopTitans I do agree with you in certain aspects, but then, it depends how you play the Tau overall. I treat my Tau like guardsmen! Similar to the romans, or any army, I have my army split into 5 sections that can work completely independently, or co-operate with other units. For each section I have the following 1 x cadre fireblade with 30 Tau firewarriors, 1 x pulse acclerator drone (minimum) and 1/2 pathfinder units. Then for them to work together you just upscale it, however, the twin pair is normally the opposite tau sept, to which I mentioned earlier. So I half of them Bor'kan and half of them Tau sept. Now as range is quiet a thing, I can either wait and for my Bor'kan guys to the rear of the tau sept warriors, or if I want to be aggressive, have my bor'kan units to the front. I then look at pair fire and manovre to move forward or backwards in groups of 30/60 fire warrior units. Bear in mind, I still have got my 2 x coldstar units! Now there main purpose is to destroy anything that could potentially out range me. supplying them with there high yield burst cannon and 1/2 x fusion blaster with Advanced tracking system and/or (the one to cancel the moving penalty). Now I would play these models in 2 ways... either A deploy them at the start and use the 40" movement range or B alternatively Manta strike them and advance 20" then shoot.

[@TheRed1086]

@@senseilewis3707 Maybe I read your comment wrong, but what is the actual load out on your Coldstars? I thought one of the FAQ's said if you take the HOBC then you must also take the Missile Pod.

[@senseilewis3707]

@@TheRed1086 hi buddy, in the 8th ed codex it says you can "replace your high yield burst cannon and/or missle pods for up to two weapon/support systems". it then also says you are allowed to take an additional 2 weapon/support systems. The key bit in the wording is "and/or" The actual load out of my coldstars is the same, however it may differ in systems part. I have my HYBC with 1/2 fusion blasters and then depending how I play them upto 2 pieces of support systems. I stick to having in total 4 pieces 2/3 weapons and/or 1/2 support systems.

[@LasertechStudios3142]

@@senseilewis3707 That is actually the outdated codex. If you read the Tau codex Errata, it changes that text to "This model may replace its high-output burst cannon and missile pod with two items from the Ranged Weapons and/or Support Systems lists.’" You can find the Errata document here: whc-cdn.games-workshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/warhammer_40000_tau_empire_en-1.pdf You can find all of Warhammer 40ks Errata here: whc-cdn.games-workshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/warhammer_40000_tau_empire_en-1.pdf So unfortunately in the current edition of the game your loadout wouldn't work. It would be fucking awesome if I could run HYBCs and double fusions on my coldstars though. Its probably too strong of a combination for a battlesuit that fast and that accurate, which is why they changed it/intended it to be that way.

[@hoshimoshy]

Thanks so much for the break down. Great video

[@smilezor]

very professional , good work

[@IntotheGloam]

I have been testing a list like the one you describe in the video with 3 riptides, 3 broadsides and shadowsun plus 2 other commanders. The challenge I am having is deployment. Whereas you used to deploy in a building with drones on the ground floor, is it now a good idea to deploy in the middle of your deployment zone outside of a building so that after using Mont'ka you can move in a way that gives line of sight while maintaining aura and drone coverage in case the opposing army deploys defensively? Do you think it is possible to get a good Mont'ka out of castled up position in a building? Great job on the video as usual.

[@TabletopTitans]

Since your army has fly (other than the broadsides) it is very easy to fly out of a building, you don't even lose any distance since you only measure horizontally for fly. You need to make sure your broadsides are in a good position to move as they are also your slowest unit. If your opponent does not have a lot of good Drone killing shooting then you are free to deploy out in the open in the most optimal spot in your deployment zone.

[@IntotheGloam]

@@TabletopTitans Thank you very much! I never knew flying out of a building was measured horizontally. Hmmm

[@beyornd-two]

Incredible video! When can we expect the tau battle reports? :)

[@SAINT200690]

Advanced Targetting system doesnt affect the Rail Rifle special rule of rolling a 6 and getting a M.Wound does it?.. Because one jeezer ive seen says it gets it on a 5+ now which is B.S because you cant change or alter special abilities, can you!!.. and I play Tau.

[@fernandolabarthe4315]

The list that you described I didn't see any marker light support, do you not run them? I really like taking a Sa'cea vanguard detachment with an ethereal and 3 spotters, thoughts on that? it gives you leadership 10, re-rolling misses on 3+ spotters.

[@TabletopTitans]

Fernando Labarthe I have 3 drone units. Each unit has 4 marker drones each. One of my riptides has a drone controller in place of the velocity tracker.

[@TheCleet69]

What’s your thoughts on the skyrays??? I thought they would be in one of the tier slots.. more so above hammerheads..

[@TabletopTitans]

The Skyray is really great! It has a similar problem to other Tau tanks that they are easy to kill, but its better as it only really needs to live for one turn. Once it shoots its missiles I find people often don't try to kill it and it gets to run around being very useful.

[@johnniewalker877]

Will you be doing individual unit reviews for the Tau Empire?

[@ThirstyB3N]

Thanks for the great overview. What would you recommend for 2000 pts? Still not sure so wanna know your opinion.

[@TabletopTitans]

Are you looking for competitive games or casual? Also do you want just a strong list or the most powerful build I can suggest?

[@ThirstyB3N]

​@@TabletopTitans I'm looking for the strongest build for competitive. And if you want a strong list for casual as well. Kinda curious about the differences :-) Thanks!

[@TabletopTitans]

My strongest list for competitive is a gunline based army focused around Shadowsun and being able to reroll all hits twice and reroll wounds on my Broadsides. Tau Sept Battalion - 265 Shadowsun - 110 Etherial on drone - 50 5x Strike team - 35 5x Strike team - 35 5x Strike team - 35 Tau Sept Vanguard - 965 Enforcer Commander with x3 Ion, ATS - 136 Riptide, heavy burst, SMS, Velocity, ATS - 278 Riptide, heavy burst, SMS, Velocity, ATS - 278 Riptide, heavy burst, SMS, Drone controller, ATS - 273 Tau Sept Outrider - 769 Enforcer Commander with 4x Missile pods - 136 3x Broadsides with SMS, HYMP, ATS - 363 9 Drones (4 marker, 5 shield) - 90 9 Drones (4 marker, 5 shield) - 90 9 Drones (4 marker, 5 shield) - 90 For casual games I think you can do a lot of different things. Just make sure your army has at least 4+ damage dealing units and isn't all support units. Damage dealing units are Riptides, Broadsides, Crisis, Commanders, Stormsurge, Hammerheads, Skyray. Also make sure you at least have some drones for your battlesuits, but be careful not to bring too many as in a casual game that can be really frustrating for your opponent.

[@staalhugger4927]

Sorry for asking but how do you get your XV9 Hazard to do 80 s5 -1ap shots for 360points, the ATS that is 30p for 5 models. or do i miss somthing? best regards Erik. ps keep doint this, you vidoes er fantastick!

[@TabletopTitans]

Staalhugger ya fair question. It’s a small mistake, I’m showing the points without the ATS, but I’m indicating that they had the an ATS.

[@robborobbo871]

I have never seen Hazard suits before, and I can’t find them in my codex. Where do you find the rules to include them?

[@TabletopTitans]

They are a Forge World model found in the Imperial Armor Xenos book from Forge World.

[@Great0ld0ne]

Hey, I love your vids, you do a great job at establishing your knowledge of tau tactics. Because of that, i wanted to ask your opinion on a unit of 3 hazard suits with twinburst and ats. 48 ap -1 seems good to me as a deepstrike option together with crisis missle teams for roaming field presence using viorla with proper drone support. I like playing mobile tau and I'vee been eyeballing those hazard suits since that points drop

[@TabletopTitans]

The hazards with double burst and ATS is really excellent. Combined with drones, they are deadly.

[@botucker5827]

What are the commanders equipped with? When I list out your proposed list with two 4x fusion coldstars it comes in at 2071. Also I'm assuming it's battalion+vanguard+outrider.

[@TabletopTitans]

One suit has ion, the other has missile pods. Also yes those are my detachments.

[@jw7500]

Sooooo the 3 big things to take away from this are: - Broadsides are great again (espescially missle pod variants) - The start collecting T'au box with the fire warriors and 3 crisis models is a great buy this time around - Shadow Sun is allmost an auto include now, espescially since how good gun drones are now, since she comes with drone controller. When you where talking about units to sit on objectives, aren't Stealth Suits good for that? -1 to hit, fly and a 3 up save Which factions are very hard to play against with T'au? From the very limited experience I have, I would say 1K Sons is not so good because of the Psyker shenanigans, but which are also not so much in our favor? One final question: You where talking about gun drones in the tier list, what about all drones overall? What are in your opinion the best drones from best to worst? Another good and indepth breakdown!

[@tarox5209]

Where is it? Cant find she comes with drone controller

[@jw7500]

@@tarox5209 I am pretty sure he said that somewhere.... EDIT: never mind, you take drone controller on your XV25's that should be played alongside her.

[@TabletopTitans]

I typically put a drone controller on one of my 3 riptides in place of a velocity tracker. Also I think Tau generally have good matchups. I only fear amazing eldar players who can fly around at range with -2 or -3 to hit along with a pile of characters that ignore overwatch. Then again I think everyone fears amazing eldar players. I generally don't have trouble with 1k sons. In those games I just put all my drones and fire warriors up front to soak up the wounds and by turn 3 they are tabled.

[@Tryptic214]

Very good overview. I know they will probably be low-tier, but what are your thoughts on Flamer Crisis suits? The list I am considering running has 3 5-man Pathfinder teams that each bring drones (including a Recon drone) and a squad of 3 Flamer suits (145pts plus drones). Once I see the enemy army, I can choose to run the flamer suits on the board, or keep them in Manta Strike. The idea is with 3 Recon drones spread throughout my army, if the enemy does charge in too close to them I can use the Stratagem to drop the suits within Flamer range and a Coldstar to fly over and use C&C Node. I've only had one test game so far, but the C&C Node flamers just annihilated the Genestealers they landed on.

[@TabletopTitans]

Flamer suits can be very dangerous against the right target. My main issue is that hey are only good in very narrow situations. The reason Ion suits are so strong is that they can clear anything from infantry and elites to vehicles and super heavies.

[@LordFurious22]

Where can we find the Battlereports?

[@limsam68]

Great video. My only suggestion would be pictures and timestamps about the topics you are currently on like you did when discussing the tier list. How do you feel about the limited CP from a single Battalion? It will cost at least 3 CP per turn for C&C, Branched Nova, and Uplinked Markerlight not to mention rerolls. If you use Focus Fire it will probably leave you out of CP by the 2nd turn. Also, do you think the lack of board control will be a problem for the list?

[@TabletopTitans]

Thanks for the thoughts, I ran out of time for graphics on this video, but I agree they would be better. I think Tau are not as CP dependent as other armies. I typically play with 10CP and it is fine. Anything above that is great for Tau. I very rarely use Branched Nova, and uplinked markerlight. I do use command and control and I use Focus Fire typically once per game. I find I have CP until turn 3, but games against my Tau are typically decided by turn 2.

[@limsam68]

@@TabletopTitans I believe there's an error in the Broadside points at 9:00. I hear you say 316 points but 3 Broadsides with HYMP+SMS+ATS are 363 points

[@TabletopTitans]

Seizure Salad ya there is, I only caught it after uploading. I wish KZbin would let me correct it.

[@limsam68]

@@TabletopTitans You could add an annotation or a pinned note in the comments

[@CM-os7ie]

Could you tell me how viable this strategy I use is? And answer a question that makes this strat relevent. (Skip to TL;DR for an Overview) Any game 2.5kpts or more I am considering taking a Cadre fireblade, a Firesight Marksman, and 3 Units of 9 Sniper Drones in a Spearhead Detachment. This Detachment is T'au sept and will rely heavily on being closer than normally comfortable to the front lines, which I use to pick off Melee Characters, Apothercaries or Repair models, and Infantry models with invulnerable saves. The Idea is, Simply, that these drones screen the 2 characters with their -1 to hit them, using the Fireblades Markerlight and Uplinked Markerlight Strategem to score 2-4 hits for 1CP. The Fireblades job is to either raise it to 3 or raise it to 5. From this your Longshot pulse rifles have a 48" range, and a rapid fire range of 24". The idea is, with 3 shots per model on 27 models, you can take out a couple of Characters or even just bulky infantry units that are nearby. The Markerlights let this unit move and ignore the hit penalty so that the could move away in later turns as the opponents draw near and potencially (combined with the Firesight Marksman) be hitting on 3+s rerolling 1s. Its partly mobile, and can deal ALOT of damage VERY quickly. And with the T'au Strategem and Option to bring Darkstrider into this, the volume of shots is far enough to slay Primarch Characters in the first turn. Its durable with a high model count and costs about 500pts. TL;DR, Use the Cadre Fireblades Volley fire to spam sniper shots and a good BS thanks to a Firesight Marksman and a 1cp strat. Mathematically dealing over 9 mortal wounds in a turn in addition to normal damage, and being able to target characters for 500pts ish. The Question is, Volley fire works for Pulse Rifles, and a Longshot Pulse Rifle does infact seem to be a Pusle rifle. But does it count here?

[@bobsennick7403]

Planning a review for Farsight’s Eight? I’m tempted even though at a glance it looks like a weak way to spend 1100 points. But so cool!

[@TabletopTitans]

Robert Sennick I doubt I will review it. It seems extremely underpowered. It would be fun in casual games, but I don’t think it will be viable in competitive play.

[@bobsennick7403]

Yeah, I thought as much. I am really tempted to build it up for fun, but I fear it won’t see play. The little benefits to each model don’t seem to add up a proper value. Keep up the good work.

[@skraal1801]

Great Vid, really new in Tau, what are your Opinions on Hazards with twin Fusion Cascades? :) Really like the hazards and wanted to go for them but not sure which ones tho :P Any suggestions?

[@TabletopTitans]

Just Interested I only like hazards with burst cannons. The issue is the 4+ to hit. I hate paying so many points for a weapon that hits that rarely.

[@skraal1801]

Thx mate, will then change and go for Bursts instead! Great advices through all out the vid, especially for new players ! :)

[@settenano]

My understanding is that the new missions require MORE troops, not less (think of mission 4 as an extreme). This is difficult for tau, since fire warriors are weak and most missions require that you survive for 1 turn on the objective to score the points. I’ll try your list, though. I have played the broadsides in the past and they are very deadly, unless you meet good players on tables with many obstacles, where they can become useless. You said you like stealth suits, but did not put them in any tier. I think they can be extra useful now in holding objectives. Here the ghostkeel could use its synergies with them.

[@TabletopTitans]

My list has really been created for the ITC. If I was playing book missions I would go heavier into troops for sure.

[@malal4726]

@@TabletopTitans and what about stealth suits, are they really that bad?

[@garregalen83]

Well down, more videos please.

[@MalchazarZJ]

How are you pointing the crisis suits? As I figure it 4 suits each with 3 cib is 36 shots. Could you just not fit the last one in under your criteria?

[@TabletopTitans]

I was trying to round them numbers out by taking out one gun, but I should have just left it in your right. I have been experimenting with only 2 CiB per suit with an ATS and that has been working well also. I still think I prefer the 3 guns as a lot of the things I face either have invulnerable saves or a bad enough save that the extra shots are preferred.

[@MalchazarZJ]

@@TabletopTitans I was curious if 2 guns and shield generators wouldn't be an option as well, with the amount of AP in the meta having the 4++ might keep them around a bit longer to do more damage, or at least require more enemy firepower to clear leaving the rest of the army relatively safe. But 3 guns or ats might just make them efficient enough for it to not matter I guess

[@TabletopTitans]

@@MalchazarZJ I never put shield generators on anything other than the Stormsurge or the Ghostkeel. I use drones to keep my suits safe, they work a lot better than shield generators. In general for Tau the best defense is a good offense. If all the threats are dead then you don't need shield generators.

[@coolsskin]

Awesome video sir great overview of al these different models! greetings mr cool!

[@rancidhotmail]

does all this info hold up in warhammer 40K 8th edition?

[@trollzyntheshinymagpie1019]

@Tabletop Titans Hello Brian, can you please create a well-balanced 1000 points Tau list for 2v2 tournaments. Your many years of experience with Tau would help me a lot to solve this problem. I just do not get a good 1000 points list with which I am satisfied. PS: I discovered your KZbin channel just a short time ago and I have to say the quality and your knowledge are amazing. Keep up the good work. Aur'ocy shath'r'i tskan sha Tau'va.

[@pigzy9807]

Great video. I my list looks quite similar (I take more fire warriors and less drones, I might have to look into more drones). I had completely written off Paranas, instead I have been useing stealth suits for a similar purpose, board control and charging tanks, but honestly, Paranas might be the way to go.

[@TabletopTitans]

All of those units are good, the stealth steams are excellent because they are infantry and can hide out in building and hold objectives. The Piranhas are great because they are fast, can charge things and can still hold objectives even after they die. I find that every time I take less drones I will less games. Having between 20-30 drones allows me to go typically 3 turns without taking a single serious wound on any of my suits. By turn 3 I have always removed my opponents heavy hitters, so I no longer need the drones. For that reason I go with the drones every time.

[@pinhead61187]

i just played a 2k game against knights and brought my ta'unar. popped cc node from a cheap commander and took drones for saviour protocol. it freaking demolished them. in case you're wondering my list was a battalion. cadre fireblade, xv8 commander with 2 burst cannons, darkstrider, 3 5-man strike teams, a pathfinder team, unit of 11 shield drones and an yvahra with a shield generator.

[@TabletopTitans]

Yup, a Ta'unar with drones in completely unreasonable to play in a friendly 2k point game. It is especially unfair to bring against Knights as you will win every single game. In a tournament setting with top players, you will find that it underperforms in many games.

[@pinhead61187]

Tabletop Titans it was mostly his idea. He just beat the crap out of my friend’s TS army and all three of us wanted to see what would happen. I don’t ever run it normally because I don’t like investing over half my points in one unit. Biggest I usually run is riptide/yvahra.

[@Kanjejou]

Why can't i find your other video like this ones excpet by accident?

[@davidmcnutt5390]

Probably a dumb question but I'm just starting 40k. Does this mean my 8th edition book is no longer valid?

[@TabletopTitans]

David Mcnutt the book is valid for all the rules, but you also need to buy this book to get the updated points for some units.

[@Subtleknife12367]

What page is the new deployment changes on. First id heard of it.

[@BlahblahblahblahJbPsucks]

Subtleknife12367 I looked through the whole book. I couldn’t find rules changes to all deployments. The new missions in CA 218 have some new deployment rules similar to what he described, but in different words.

[@carlboyd6392]

What about the Vespids?

[@SSK0910]

Can remora drone take objects? I thought it is a flyer.

[@TabletopTitans]

It can't hold an objective, but in the ITC it can still get you secondary objectives like behind enemy lines or recon. Those are what I was thinking about when I said that.

[@SSK0910]

Oh, okay. Thanks for letting me know.

[@blkice6063]

I'm new to tau, i have a question, how are you getting 33 shot from ion, with 4 battlesuits ?

[@TabletopTitans]

The four suits each have 3 ion guns, except 1 which only has 2. This lets me put things like a drone controller on the last one. Since each ion is 3 shots, and I have 11 guns, its 33 shots!

[@blkice6063]

@@TabletopTitans thanks, I'm looking forward to more Tau videos from you, i think you have the best tactical videos.

[@rdlogan68]

Viewed several times, little nuggets of knowledge. How do you get a squad of five xv9 hazards?

[@TabletopTitans]

You don't. I was really just trying to show what you get for similar points values and ignoring unit sizes.

[@blupbp]

What a great video! I'm trying to figure out how your list looks like... Don't know how you can fit 3 commanders 3 riptides 3 Broadsides and that amount of drones into one list :/

[@TabletopTitans]

Tau Sept Battalion - 265 Shadowsun - 110 Etherial on drone - 50 5x Strike team - 35 5x Strike team - 35 5x Strike team - 35 Tau Sept Vanguard - 965 Enforcer Commander with x3 Ion, ATS - 136 Riptide, heavy burst, SMS, Velocity, ATS - 278 Riptide, heavy burst, SMS, Velocity, ATS - 278 Riptide, heavy burst, SMS, Drone controller, ATS - 273 Tau Sept Outrider - 769 Enforcer Commander with Missile pods - 136 3x Broadsides with SMS, HYMP, ATS - 363 9 Drones (4 marker, 5 shield) - 100 9 Drones (4 marker, 5 shield) - 100 9 Drones (4 marker, 5 shield) - 100

[@blupbp]

@@TabletopTitans Thank you very much! For some reasons, enforcer commanders were erased from my mind, as I'm always playing Coldstar :D What du you think about ion riptides? If you have 3 riptides and some points left I think it's worth to take a single ion for the high toughness targets (e.g. Knights).

[@TheseNutz1000]

How can you have more than 1 commander when you are only running one detachment...?

[@TabletopTitans]

Its 3 detachments. Sorry I was going a little fast and didn't break it down in detail.

[@TomDoddy]

Any reason why StealthSuits don't get a nod here? Always my MVPs in a game. Most work done, hard to kill, 6 Burst Cannons at -1 AP. Paired with a Darkstrider they get +1 to wound due to his special ability being for INFANTRY!! It's something alot of people I play against say they have never seen before so maybe it's just something that gets missed however.

[@TabletopTitans]

To me they are not a damage unit, they are a support unit. They are great for getting on objectives and hiding. They are also good for charging units early game. There are much better ways to get damage. For 306pts you get 9 stealth with ATS which is 36 shots at -1AP. For about the same points you get 4 Hazard suits which is 64 shots at -1AP. Its also 20 wounds at T5, and the Stealth are only 18 wounds at T4 and -1 to hit (which is good). The combo you are talking about can be decent, I have tried it before with 6 stealth suits and giving them +1 to wound, then I use the Viorla strat to shoot twice, which means I still get the +1 to wound. This is still only 48 shots, but if your target had 5 marker lights on it with the +1 to wound and an ATS you could easily clear a 40 man unit of cultists in one shot. Then again so could a unit of Hazard I think, and they wouldn't require Darkstrider or the strat.

[@TomDoddy]

@@TabletopTitans great response, completely understandable! Love the channel. Marry Christmas!

[@tarox5209]

What septs do you use and Warlord traits and signature system?

[@TabletopTitans]

I use the Tau sept. I find that when I split up my septs, I get messed up not being able to use my drones to support one of my commanders and it often bites me. Also the overwatch is really the best ability. My signature system is often the Puretide chip or the vector thrusters.

[@teamopz5865]

How do you update your codex for the new point reduction

[@TabletopTitans]

The points costs are all in the Chapter Approved book, so you just reference them there.

[@killat0r]

Excellent, excellent video!!

[@teamjg277]

Do you have a battle report for the new Chapter Approved Tau?

[@TabletopTitans]

I'm editing one right now. It should be ready in a couple weeks.

[@teamjg277]

Tabletop Titans still waiting for it!

[@TabletopTitans]

@@teamjg277 Ya I actually took a break for a couple weeks from editing to paint up some new models. I will be back at it shortly!

[@barksennui8255]

very professional

[@Rushman666]

Ide love to see some battle reports!!!

[@davidmacon1138]

Any suggestions other than a screen for BA relic that denies overwatch?

[@TabletopTitans]

Well a good screen is the right answer to this. I try really hard to bait my opponent into a charge with their Captain, but ensure I have drones to soak up the hammer hits. Then I can step back and remove him. Now that the Fly rule doesn't work in the charge phase, I find that these Captains aren't a threat to my Tau anymore.

[@davidmacon1138]

@@TabletopTitans so better screen, check. Placement, check. Have you heard any shenanigans about the BA smash captain being able to declare a charge against every unit in range to deny all Overwatch? Is that even legal?

[@TabletopTitans]

No that doesn't work. The Captain can declare a charge on everything, but since you didn't overwatch with them, they are still free to overwatch that phase. The Captain will likely only shut down 1 or 2 units from ovrewatching since he will touch them after the charge. You need to be careful not to give him a position where he can touch two high value targets with one charge (like Riptides) this way he only removes a bit of overwatch from your army and if anything else charges you still get to bring the pain.

[@davidmacon1138]

@@TabletopTitans Pure awesomeness! Thank you so much for the detailed response. Have a great new year!

[@bytestream64]

At 17:07 you say Drones are allowed to disembark form a Piranha when it is destroyed. Which doesn't seem to be correct since this would be a rule specific to Transports which the Piranha is not. If a Piranha dies so do all Drones that are still attached to it.

[@TabletopTitans]

Your right that it is not a traditional transport, but this is actually how it works. The Attached Drones rule on the Piranha says "When a Piranha is set up, its accompanying Gun Drones are attached, and are treated as being embarked." This means when it dies they get to disembark, which is big part of what makes the Piranha a great unit.

[@garregalen83]

Where is the battle reports? :)

[@andrewodley123]

I'm aware people give me shit for this, but I've never lost Pathfinders. Ever. I play them toward the back with a gunline of markerlights. 2 units of 5, rail rifles and ion rifles. with their extreme range and surround them with an ethereal, each unit then deploying with 2 shield drones each. that gives your pathfinders a total of 6 drones to use. What more could you want?