Tau vs IG 300pts

[phillipo9]

Tau:
1 fire warrior team
1 ethereal (HQ)
1Piranha

Imperial Guard (Me)
2 squads of shock troopers (4 grenade launchers, 2 flamers, 2 sergeants, 12 lasgun guys)
Commisar Yarrick

We both have a bit of scenery. Roughly 300pts each although he probably has more cuz of his piranha and no, I couldnt talk him out of using it even though I dont have any fast attack.
Around 30 inches between our bases. Not ideal for me He keeps his ethereal inside a building ( dont know why, barely ever uses it in his battles) Piranha usually hiding behind scenery. Usually 3 fire warriors on top of a building.
Any ideas welcome.

[Leonix]

Are you guys just playing for giggles, cause those lists dont look leagal... I know the Tau one isnt... Honestly you guys should play Combat Patrol, or Kill Team rules at that low points.

[Albatross]

Perhaps a slightly warmer approach is needed? A new player isn't necessarily going to know what makes a "legal" list (I sure didn't when I started playing).

It looks like you and your friend are just starting out. Small games that don't adhere 100% to the rules are a good way to start learning to play the game and get used to the rules. 40K can be a big time and money investment, and it seems you don't have the models yet to make a "legal" list (1 HQ and 2 Troops selections at minimum, with other restrictions applying to the max number of each type). Playing games with what you have is a great way to pick up the rules, and work out what appears to be a very complicated game (though the more you play, the more it becomes second nature and begins to make sense).

As far as tactics go, I'd suggest getting closer to your opponent. Your guns aren't going to do you much good if you're not in range of your opponent, right? It's unclear how big his fire warrior squad is (I don't know Tau well enough to guess from the amount of points the other units cost), but if you can survive a turn or two of him shooting at you, those special weapons guys will certainly be able to do some damage once they're in range. Remember that when he shoots at your units and kills some of your guys, to take the wounds on the troopers with lasguns. The extra models (lasgun troops) in the squad are there to soak up some damage. Also, don't forget your guys can run in the shooting phase instead of shooting. This is a great option if they need to get closer to an enemy because they are out of range.

It sounds like your opponent is afraid to lose any units, which is why he hides them and doesn't bring them out in the open. This is understandable when you're playing with such a small army, as you don't have that many units to lose.

The best thing to keep in mind is that it's ultimately not about winning or losing. Some games you get wiped off the board (it's never fun, but it does happen), and other games you wipe your opponent out (which can be a bit of fun for you, but might strain your friendship a bit). Try and have a good time with it!

I don't think spending more money on models is the only way that you two could improve your games, but you might find playing with a few more units might embolden your opponent and give you more options with how to fight. I know that when I started to play 40K I didn't have much money to spend on buying new units, and it took me a long time to save up for another box of space marines. This didn't mean that my friends and I didn't have fun playing the game with small armies, as it took all of us a long time to build up bigger and bigger armies. We kept at it because it was a fun thing to do, regardless of how much time and money we had put into the hobby.

Keep on playing. Try different tactics. Some will work, and others won't, but you'll learn how to play the game more thoroughly and hopefully have fun in the process!

[phillipo9]

thanks you very much
when you say 1 HQ and 2 troop selections does that mean 2 troops at least or 2 squads of troops at least or even 2 different types of units like a squad of shock troopers and a squad of ogryns?
also if my shock troops can move in the shooting phase, does that mean they can move 6 inches in the movement phase and then another 6 inches in the shooting phase?
thanks again and please correct me if im wrong.

[Leonix]

Focus the Ethreal... Hes paper frail, and can win you the game.

Any weapon S6+ can pop the phirana, and it has a max weapon range of 18".

Firewarriors come in squads of 6-12... When we say 2 troops, we mean any 2, up to a max of 6 troops... So 2 platoons, or 1 Squad, and 1 group of ogryn... or whatever, just need 2.
Its move phase, shoot phase, assault phase, no extra move unless using a special rule like the run rule.

[phillipo9]

so my force is practically legal because i have 1 HQ and 2 squads yes?

[Leonix]

yes, assuming the SC is legal, so check your commisar because some special characters can only be used in games of certain point lvls.

As for your friend he is missing a Commander (he must have one to be legal), and hes only (currently) packing 1 troop choice.

[wookieplus]

At this level of points trying to stick to the '1 HQ 2 troops' doesnt make much sense. If I were you, I'd come up with some simple restrictions. Here are some suggestions:

'must have at least 1 troop'
'no unit greater than 120 points'
' no 2+ armour save'
'max vehicle armour 12'.
'max 1 heavy,1 fast, 1 elite'

Using some or all of these restrictions will enable you to build small flexible forces, ideal for learning the game, without someone deploying a 'gamekiller' unit (e.g. a leman rus on the IG side).

[Leonix]

At this level of points trying to stick to the '1 HQ 2 troops' doesnt make much sense. If I were you, I'd come up with some simple restrictions. Here are some suggestions:

'must have at least 1 troop'
'no unit greater than 120 points'
' no 2+ armour save'
'max vehicle armour 12'.
'max 1 heavy,1 fast, 1 elite'

Using some or all of these restrictions will enable you to build small flexible forces, ideal for learning the game, without someone deploying a 'gamekiller' unit (e.g. a leman rus on the IG side).

MIght as well do combat patrol rules then.

[Ann]

thanks you very much

also if my shock troops can move in the shooting phase, does that mean they can move 6 inches in the movement phase and then another 6 inches in the shooting phase?
thanks again and please correct me if im wrong.

Pretty close. You can move six inches in the movement phase, and then if you don't shoot you can instead move D6 inches as a "run" instead. Remember, too, that running isn't slowed down by difficult terrain, which can be nice.

Good luck in your games and have fun!

Ann

[wookieplus]

MIght as well do combat patrol rules then.

well, these are CP size armies, so yes. I thought that the CP rules themselves were only in 4th Ed rulebook, so am assuming that the thread originator may not have these available.

[Leonix]

well, these are CP size armies, so yes. I thought that the CP rules themselves were only in 4th Ed rulebook, so am assuming that the thread originator may not have these available.

True enough.. Adepticon has CP rules they use each year, just need to Google it... Like this.
http://www.adepticon.org/11rules/2011cp.pdf

[scorcher5]

Are you guys just playing for giggles, cause those lists dont look leagal... I know the Tau one isnt... Honestly you guys should play Combat Patrol, or Kill Team rules at that low points.

THe IG list is illegal as well. In order to have infantry squads, you must take a platoon command squad. Also, i see Yarrick as a huge waste of points. It may be all you have at the moment, but in the future, try getting a leman russ and bump up the battle to 500pts. Guard without tanks are like Han Solo without Chewbacca.

[Purlictor]

This list isn't legal if you run your infantry as infantry squads, but if you field them as veteran squads they're perfectly fine (which fits nicely with the 6 special weapons you have at the moment - 3 special weapons per squad).

Yarrick, and special characters in general, aren't worth it in low point games most of the time. Run him as a lord commissar, or otherwise just drop him in favour of a chimera/ more infantry.

The best advice would be to get the rulebook and codex: Imperial Guard though :p

[Leonix]

THe IG list is illegal as well. In order to have infantry squads, you must take a platoon command squad. Also, i see Yarrick as a huge waste of points. It may be all you have at the moment, but in the future, try getting a leman russ and bump up the battle to 500pts. Guard without tanks are like Han Solo without Chewbacca.

The Tau list is not, and I was asking if Yarrik has a point limit as many SCs can only be taken in certain sized games.

[Aeviaan]

Actually Leonix, that's mostly just a Tau thing. There are no point restrictions on new special characters.

[Leonix]

Actually Leonix, that's mostly just a Tau thing. There are no point restrictions on new special characters.

I think it was more of a 4th Ed thing, but no matter... I don't know IG well enough, but the Tau list needs a commander to be legal... But in general as most have already said SCs are a point sink in low point games... With a few minor exceptions of course.