New to SG Tau - How to Expand My Army?

[Carrelio]

Hi everyone,

I’ve only very recently come to play battlefleet gothic, but from all I’ve read about it, it seems like an awesome game and I really look forward to trying it out.  My local Games Workshop has announced they will be holding a BFG campaign over the course of the summer, and I’d like to take part.

I recently picked up some relatively cheap Tau models from the specialist games range (not sure what everyone’s problem with them is, I fell in love with the look right away), and while I’m sure they will make a great start to my army I would like some opinions on what I should look to be getting next (since SG Tau are not the cheapest ships in the world and I don’t want to make too many more mistakes than I already have).

My eventual goal is to have different fleet options all the way up to 2500-3000 points. While not many people at my GW play BFG yet (they are all buying fleets now) the local meta is very very competitive so I would like to try and make the list as strong as possible in an attempt to pre-emptively counter for that in the coming campaign.

I have done a lot of research over the past couple days (read every article on this site, and much of what other sites have had to say about Tau, or BFG fleets in general), and some conclusions of what would make a powerful Tau fleet stuck out. A powerful ordinance phase typified mostly by resilient bombers, and underpriced heroes kept in check by the need to be accompanied by other capital ships. Tau escorts look powerful, and they are, however escorts have a series of weaknesses which make them riskier to use.

With those points in mind I currently own the following:
1 Explorer
2 Merchants
2 Heroes
17 Defenders (don’t ask...)
3 Messengers
8 Orcas

To better power up the list I was thinking of adding:
2 Explorers
2 heroes
8 orcas (2 packs)

However, given that that is $200 before the taxes or shipping costs, I thought it might be a better idea to hear what everyone thought before I rushed in to buying more stuff. Any advice would be helpful, not just about the purchases, but in playing SG Tau in general!

Thanks!

Carrelio

[Talos]

Since you will be playing in a GW store, presumably with only GW rules, you are best off with the traditional hero/explorer/orca spam. In a nutshell, 3 explorers that sit back and ordnance the crap out of everything, with three hero's to man the front line. The orca's either tackle other escorts and light cruisers or charge the line with the hero's, depending on the situation. Easy to play, very dangerous, and long ranged.

If you are playing with a better set of rules (i.e. faq 2010 or BFG:R) then a different post will be in order.

[Carrelio]

That's pretty much what I thought.

What would be the difference assuming we did use the 2010 compendium rule adjustments?

[Talos]

That would still be a good fleet regardless, but you would probably consdier running mechants. Horizon has a fleet with quite a few of them as a gunline IIRC. PM if he doesn't but in to explain

The FW is really neat but is quite different than the normal tau fleet in a few fundemental ways. Many people run one or the other but if you want a combi-fleet it could work well.

GW Tau:
-Ridiculous ordnance capabilities
-Average resilience, low maneuverability
-Weak Battery (long range), average lances

FW:
-Pretty average firepower across the board, slight emphasis on ordnance
-Slightly less resilient than GW tau, but much more maneuverable and a bit faster

Basically GW tau sit back and shoot things to shit, basically throwing up a tough cruiser screen and then a desperate escort screen to stay alive until they pound their enemy to dust. FW are more of a combined offensive fleet; they use their maneuverability and range to set up firing lanes where they can destroy enemies through a multi-level barrage of battery, lance, torpedoes and bombers. FAQ 2010 is super sweet and comes recommended by everyone as does eldar MMS 1.9b. (Ask horizon or sigoroth for that one) When were done, you should definitely consider BFG:R as it will basically be the most awesome of every system ever created. And humble too

[Carrelio]

Thanks for the advice

I hope he shows up to get a word or two in

[Talos]

Don't wait for that; just send him a PM he is quite reliable, being a moderator and all:)

[Carrelio]

Alright, will do.

[horizon]

Eh, hey, I don't have a SG Tau fleet, I only have 1 explorer and then a 2000+ pts FW Tau fleet. I think you have mixed me with someone else.

[Carrelio]

Well, thanks anyways
Any advice anyways?

[Talos]

Sorry guys; I thought horizon had the tau merchant gunline. Either way, that's a type of fleet.

[Carrelio]

No worries. You've been very helpful already. I think I will definitely be picking up at least 2 more explorers and another hero.

Edit: In your opinion, what is the better way to load up a merchant class ship if you do end up taking one? Lances? or Orcas?

Edit 2: And how would you go about bumping up the 1500 point triple explorer hero list to 2000?

[AndrewChristlieb]

If your looking to bump up to 2k for a campaign id look at some Merchants w/ hooks and some Defenders for scenarios like Convoy where you may be required to field escorts.

[horizon]

Hey,

I remember that back on the old port maw forum someone did command a gun line of Tau with a core of Merchants, Heroes and Messengers.
In the official rules I think the merchant  is to weak, with bfg revised I do see potential in this setup compared to the more usual power game fleet of only explorers heroes and orca's.

Good placement will give you a pretty awesome 45cm gunnery line. Chip in a FW Tau part with Protectors and Castellans and you will find a pretty unique fleet which can still hold its own. Oh, add a demiurg stronghold as the centrepiece.

[Carrelio]

Alright
Thanks for the help everyone. I've settled on picking up another 2 explorers and a hero.

That will give me 3 explorers, 3 heroes, 2 merchants, 8 orcas, 3 messengers, and 18 defenders (I found another in the box...)! That will give me enough to build the basic 1500 point explorer+hero combo, and lots of wiggle room to try out different stuff and add on to it as the points and missions change throughout the campaign.

I notice a lot of people don't use the messenger that much. Is that because its an escort? Or because its powers really don't synthesize well with an ordinance heavy Tau fleet? Given how strong Tau escorts seem offensively but how susceptible they usually are to ordinance, I would have thought something that improves their turrets would seem like a pretty good idea. With that in mind, I would have thought a squadron of 2 Castellans and a messenger would be a pretty solid combination; 4 missiles to take out other missiles, a 45cm range battery with no penalty for firing over 30cm, and rerolling its 2+2 turrets against ordinance. What am I missing?

[Talos]

It's just that the messenger is very expensive and contributes about zilch firepower to the fleet. Also, with the FW tau the custodian also has a tracking system with double the range. And unlike the messenger, who is undergunned even for an escort, it is actually quite heavily armed for its points, toting 8 torpedoes, 6 launch bays, 12 battery and 2 lances.

I have heard arguments for the messenger, it just seems to me that it was always just better to have the extra defender, ya know? It could see use anyway, but only in larger games where the points are not as tight.

Just my 2 thrones