The Case for Carbines

When I first started collecting Tau models, I stuck a few Carbines into my Fire Warriors because I liked the look of the weapon and because I felt that they could be useful. A shot at pinning a unit, plus keeping some range while moving, were great assets to have. Of course, I limited how many I assembled based on the supplies given in the box set, and due to the fact that the 3rd Edition Codex (before the Tau became an empire…) limited Carbine usage to half of the squad. Recently, especially right around the time that 5th Edition came out, I advocated including all Carbine teams in certain situations, most notably in my Saving the Fish of Fury article on ATT (ignore the “Fish of Furry” joke if you don’t know the back-story…), and I felt that this would be a good time to go into those ideas again.

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THE CASE FOR CARBINES

Within a squad of Fire Warriors, any number of the warriors may replace the Pulse Rifle with the Pulse Carbine at no additional cost. The “no additional cost” caveat is the first bonus. Since carbines are widely regarded as inferior weapons due to their general lack of versatility and killing power, trading for this weapon without having to stick more points into the unit is a great plus. Our codex is quickly getting outpaced by newer ones, and the high cost of all of our units is really hampering (especially when you also have to shell out for vehicles like I do…). Taking carbine warriors changes their role on the battlefield, and since they are a scoring unit (or a Kill Point), you really need to think about changing them around before you actually do.

So, what can carbine warriors do that rifle warriors can’t? For starters, reliably advance while still laying down firepower. Sure, you can argue that the rapid fire range of rifles is fine, plus the extra shot is nice, but think about this: when you’re in range to rapid fire, you’re definitely in range of being charged next turn. Suddenly the extra shots don’t matter when a scoring unit is being cut down in close combat. With carbines, you have a greater standoff distance, plus the potential for pinning, while slim, can help slow down advancing hostile units. My favorite trick is to keep firing while falling back (carbines are assault weapons). You keep the range, you can harass the pursuing unit, plus you can actually attack back! Try this with rifle warriors, and you’ll be disappointed.

Carbine warriors can also be used effectively in the EMP Commando mode. By sneaking into a rear position, the warriors can unload some pulse shots into the rear armor of a tank before charging in with EMP Grenades. You can’t assault after using rapid fire weapons, so you drop the effective potential of this unit greatly if they take the bulkier rifles. The weapon also looks more covert ops, so bonus points for coolness!

As mentioned briefly in my STFOF article linked above, these carbine warriors are great when used in addition to a rifle team, either for opponent destruction or objective holding. The added shots from the rifle team help make up for the low number of shots from the carbines, while the pinning ability can help protect the entire contingent. The carbines are also better at advancing into forward positions with a larger threat radius, helping to secure the eventual stronghold of the rifles.

Of course, I run fully (or almost fully) mechanized lists, so I’d be remiss without mentioning the benefits in these armies. When taken within a Devilfish, the common Fish of Fury attack gains six inches of range. That means that you don’t need to open up your unit to counter assault since you should be out of charge range (when accounting both for unit depth and the move-around added distance from the Devilfish’s footprint), increasing their life expectancy on the tabletop. Should that expensive Devilfish go down, your carbine warriors can still effectively advance to the objective and defend it until another Devilfish arrives; they can also simply fall back and either wait for evac or hold a “home” objective.

Yes, this is a pretty quick summary, but what do you expect from a college junior with finals coming up? You really need to simply try out carbines in your army (but don’t switch all of your Fire Warriors over immediately!) to figure out the perfect ratio between carbine and rifle teams, team sizes, etc. based on your opponents and terrain availabilities. Just don’t bring carbines to fight against Tyranids, in this edition or next…

XV-15/25 Stealth Teams

The Stealth Team is one of my favorite units in the current Codex: Tau Empire and my favorite to employ, although many Tau players choose not to take them in favor of the more customizable XV-8 Crisis Teams. While I do agree that Crisis Teams can be made to do things that Stealth Teams could never accomplish (my own Fireforge suits, Helios, etc.), my Stealth Teams have been a great asset to my army. In all but my last game (1500 vs. Hybrid Eldar, Capture and Control, Pitched Battle, Victory 1-0), they have been one of my best units, outperforming basically all of my other units.

How do I get such good results from these ‘lone wolves’ of the Tau army? Why do most people not use them?

Well, I can only answer the first question fully, but I will say that initially I didn’t like the Stealth Teams, mostly because of the way I was using them, then I bought the Tau Empire Battleforce, which included three of the plastic Stealthsuits (which I also initially didn’t like in favor of the older XV-15s of which I own three), and I just gradually started to love them. Right now, I have twelve XV-25s, and plan on buying at least six more once I get some free time to focus on 40k.

Lone Wolves on a Crowded Battlefield
Due in part to the age of the codex, Tau armies have a limited set of “optimum” builds for both the entire army and for individual units. It’s just a fact of life, and in order to be competitive with a Tau army for the most part you need to work with these optimum builds in the tournament setting. Of course, there is quite a bit of leeway, especially when you aren’t trying to win a Games Day, and in many cases this opens up points for a very effective and useful Stealth Team.

How many points do you need to open up? Two-hundred fifty points. That might seem like a lot, especially when you compare it to other units both in cost and weapon output, but hear me out.

Those two-hundred fifty points are broken down as follows:

Stealth Team Leader with Burst Cannon, Bonding Knife, Hard-Wired Drone Controller, and two Marker Drones – 100 Points
Five Stealth Team Members – 150 Points

This team I have dubbed the “(Outflanking) Aggressive Stealth Marker Team” (terminology from my Stealth Team Tactica on ATT). I put the “Outflanking” in quotes because I always outflank them, but you might not want to for whatever reason. I’ve found that outflanking them, even with the little bit of variability, helps them out greatly. In fact, they’ve only turned up on the wrong side once (last January in a tournament), but there is more reason for that than stellar rolling…

I use this team to hit basically any target in the opponent’s army. The Strength 5 Burst Cannons, while relatively abundant in a Tau army, are great for hitting rear armor on vehicles, taking out infantry, and almost anything else you want them to take out. The two Marker Drones almost always benefit the Stealth Team, primarily to boost their Ballistic Skill to 5, although dropping cover can help in certain situations. After appearing, throwing out eighteen shots into the unit, they jump back (hopefully behind cover, but if not then just straight backwards) to avoid enemy fire. Rinse and repeat.

The Stealth Field Generator, in my opinion, doesn’t help out the Stealth Team as much as it should, even though it is the main reason for their high points cost. Honestly, something like the Harlequin’s Shrouding (or whatever it is called) would be better suited for the technologically-advanced race, but you have to make due with what you have (and hope for a change in the next codex…). The average spotting distance is right around their optimum operation range, meaning that half the time they’ll need to soak up the shots with their armor save. Of course, if you just eliminate the closest enemy unit every time, then their stealth protection increases quite a bit.

Why Outflank?
Building on the disparity of the Stealth Field Generator, the Stealthsuit is not very survivable. It only has a 3+ save, meaning that any army made to take out Marines (which every army basically is built around) will have no problem with them, and they only have one wound each. The two Marker Drones are usually the first things I drop once saves start being taken, but that’s the preserve the weight of fire from the Burst Cannons. You can’t just send the Stealth Team out on its own, or else you will be very disappointed.

You also can’t have them operate with the main army either, in my opinion, so where does that leave you? Having the team arrive via outflank keeps them alive until they are in range, meaning that they should take out something before a lot of fire gets tossed their way. When they arrive, they should have a primary (closest) target in mind that is also within range of other units in the Tau army, like Hammerheads or Crisis Teams, for back-up. The primary target for the Stealth Team does not have to be the primary target for the aiding units; they are just there for a little help should it be needed.

The Stealth Team pumps shots into the unit, jumps back, then continues attacking. The jump might even be slightly lateral to help keep the enemy in range or the start them approaching a secondary target, but this is dependent on what other units are on the board and relatively close to the board edge.

I mentioned earlier that my Stealth Teams almost never arrive on the wrong side. There is a very simple reason for this; they have targets no matter what. I never pick an enemy unit and think, “I need my Stealthsuits to take them out.” In fact, that’s no way to play any unit in the Tau army anyway (with a few exceptions), so that thinking should just be tossed right away. The Stealth Teams are opportunists, so of they arrive on a side with a heavy transport instead of the dismounted warriors, send them against the transport! The strength of the Burst Cannons and the two Markerlights should be enough to take it out, so make it your primary target.

Conclusion
While I’ll admit that this isn’t as extensive as my ATT Tactica, I wanted to include some personal thoughts on my own specific build that couldn’t be included in a general tactica for obvious reasons. I love taking this Stealth Team (hence including two in 1850 games), and they have been great for me. They will always have a place in my army.

Escalation Tournament

Well, yesterday didn’t go exactly as I had planned. The Fortress closed at six, giving us just 1.5 hours to play a game, so we cut it down to 1500 points. Add in the fact that the store owner kept talking our ears off while we were playing, plus my opponent’s entire Tyranid army being in assault from Turn 2 onwards (I think we only went through three turns), all adds up to a sub-par outing.

Even worse, due to the time constraints, I couldn’t take any notes on what was going on. Here’s an abbreviated version of what happened during our five-objective Dawn of War match:

Entire Tau force kept in reserve, two Hormagaunt squads and a Flyrant deploy at the 24-inch line
Tyranids move very close, Tau tanks arrive and seriously wound the Flyrant and take pot-shots at the Hormagaunts
Two Genestealer squads and a Lictor arrive from reserves, charging every one of my tanks
…more assault, more pot-shots, rinse and repeat..

Not a good game for me, but what can you do when the odds are stacked ridiculously against you?

Anyway, one good thing did come out of the day: we found out about an escalation tournament the store is running for the next few months. Of course, the owner kept telling us about how starting a new army would be beneficial with the discounts they’re giving, but I won’t be starting a new army soon with my Elysians still being held in reserve and my two Valkyries waiting to get on the table.

Why oh why are they allowing you?

Now, the 500 point section of this tournament (which started last week and continues for the next four weeks) has some restrictions, most of which are pretty usual for this point level, like no 2+ saves or 3+ wounds. One things that isn’t included, however, is a limitation on vehicles, past the reduced FOC ones, that is. Now, I don’t know about specific points costs, but a Space Marine player could, in theory, bring a Land Raider to the 500-point section and still be within the bounds of the rules.

Ridiculous, right? So now my friend and I have to prepare for that, since some jerk will probably consider bringing that. Of course, I can run two mounted squads and a Railhead at that points level, but that’s pretty dick-ish on my part as well (although I will bring that list just in case I face super-dick…). Right now, I’m thinking that my list will probably be the following:

Troops – Fire Warrior Team [6] – 180 PTS
Devilfish Troop Carrier [Smart Missile System, Disruption Pod, Multi-Tracker, Targeting Array]

Troops – Fire Warrior Team [6] – 180 PTS
Devilfish Troop Carrier [Smart Missile System, Disruption Pod, Multi-Tracker, Targeting Array]

Elites – Crisis Battlesuit Team [2] – 138 PTS
Shas’Ui Team Leader [Fusion Blaster, Missile Pod, Targeting Array, Multi-Tracker (HW), Drone Controller (HW), Shield Drone], Shas’Ui [Fusion Blaster, Missile Pod, Multi-Tracker

So, because of the possibility of Land Raiders or other high-AV vehicles (plus the 0-1 limitation on Elites), I’m bringing out the Fireforges. That might switch to a deep-striking Sunforge (TL-Fusion), although then I probably wouldn’t be able to handle two or more vehicles. The Missile Pods will be the primary weapon while they JSJ towards the enemy heavy tanks, hopefully getting in range before being taken down.

The Warfish are there to decrease the number of Kill Points I can give up, since with the Gun Drones this list could hand out seven. The added two shots, added range, and ignoring-LOS abilities of the SMS are a plus as well…

But wait! I might not even be able to attend! Games run on Friday, and my weekends are usually pretty packed with homework, sleeping, eating, and the occasional drink or two (or sixteen…), making my attendance at the tournament probably in danger. There’s also a $10 entry fee, meaning that I really need to see this tourney through to make up for it (over two months), ignoring the fact that I don’t have $10. Will I still have the inclination to play in two/three weeks, or the time? My H-Option for Quantum Mechanics, plus my Honors HPS, will really start to pick up work later in the semester, ignoring what I have to do for all of my other classes, so I don’t know.

Maybe if I find $10 on the sidewalk later this week…

Revised 1850 List

After thinking about my current army list, plus doing a bit of research both on the table and online, I’ve decided to change around my 1850 list for future games. You can view my current list here, or via the nav-link at the top of every page. Here, I’m just going to talk about the changes I’ve made and why.

Command Team
I added a Bodyguard suit (Vre’Mont’kunas) and a second Shield Drone, as well as linking all of the Shield Drones to the bodyguard. As my Commander will be the last model standing in that squad once it starts taking casualties, I didn’t want it to then run once its two drones fall. Since those drones will probably be the first casualties no matter what, it really doesn’t matter which Crisis suit I link them with, but this way is a little easier to scale down for smaller games. I’ve also given El’Lasa’or’es a Stimulant Injector, one of the Special Issue wargear items, to make the squad even more resilient to incoming fire.

Crisis Fireforge Monat
The Fireforge (Missile Pod + Fusion Blaster) is a tricky suit configuration combining the two highest strength Crisis weapons on one suit, making it an excellent tank or IC hunter. I talk more about the configuration in my (albeit old) ATT Tactica, which I desperately need to revise for 5th Edition… Anyway, I wanted some more anti-tank, plus as of right now only have three Crisis suits after ditching some old models. That will change soon, as I’m planning on buying at least one more before moving back to school.

EDIT 8.17.2009 : I’m currently rewriting the Fireforge tactica to make it 5th Edition compatible.

Troops Choices
I notched down my Troops choices from four (two mounted, two footslogging) to three (all mounted). After running a few games where the dismounted teams with Markerlights were either targeted first turn by enemy fire or soon after assaulted, making the added cost of the Markerlight almost worthless, I’ve decided to drop them from my list. This returns me to a fully mechanized build, like where I was a year ago at the advent of 5th Edition, while still retaining scoring units.

Well, there are my changes. I’m hoping to get a game in during the next week to test it out and see how it runs. I have a feeling that, when coupled with some new ideas I’ve been reading about, this list should be pretty good.