40k Video Battle Report – Space Marines vs Tau Empire

In preparation for The Maul in the Mall, Josh and I decided to pull out somewhat meaner armies for a change as a means of testing for the event. This battle report’s mission was Big Guns Never Tire with Hammer & Anvil deployment, with a bigger focus on scoring as many points as possible while simultaneously denying the enemy. What followed was a gruesome slugfest across the center of the table, with Drop Pods raining down on my flank in an attempt to drown the Tau forces in a tide of Space Marines!

“Gue’ron’sha reinforcements, incoming from orbit.” The Air Caste pilot’s voice was grim. Three other Hunter Cadres had been annihilated using this simple technique.

“Stay your course,” O’Mal’Caor responded. “For the Tau’va.”

The Gue’ron’sha were making their approach into the city, emboldened by the defeat of so many Fire Caste. Anger flared in O’Mal’Caor’s chest, burning fiercely at the thought of so many brothers dead…

“Temper your anger,” came the voice of Aun’vre Taigo. It unnerved the Shas’O, how he could so readily interpret his thoughts with nothing but an open intercom.

He nodded. “The Gue’ron’sha will pay for their crimes.”

For three weeks the Space Marines had marched across the city, burning Tau holdings with the help of something known only as the Xia’la. Whatever this Xia’la might be, it was known only by a handful of grainy feeds recovered from slain Fire Caste warriors. Whatever it was, it was big.

The throaty rumble of engines sounded, and a small force of Gue’ron’sha moved into the killing field, powering forward in their primitive transports. O’Mal’Caor signaled to the Devilfish Teams, and they started their advance along the unprotected flank.

Without warning, solid chunks of steel rained from the sky, landing among the Devilfish and sending them into evasive maneuvers. Squads of Gue’ron’sha poured from their drop vessels, raining fire on the hulls of the APCs. O’Mal’Caor was ready to give his Broadsides the order to fire when the ground thundered beneath his feet.

“What was that?” voiced one of the Broadsides.

The Space Marines had launched a smoke barrage to mask their arrival, but the support systems in Mal’Caor’s battlesuit sliced through them easily. A moment later a great iron beast tore through the smoke, war horns blaring as its primary weapons powered up. A terrible blast of incandescent energy roared from the weapon mount, melting the hull of Taigo’s Devilfish.

“Commander, report!” came the Ethereal.

“It’s the Xia’la,” breathed another Broadside pilot.

“No. It is a target,” growled the Commander.

The Armies

Relictors 3^rd Company

Space Marines/Imperial Knights – 2,000

Space Marines

Chapter Tactics: Imperial Fists

HQ

Pedro Kantor: WARLORD

ELITES

Sternguard Veteran Squad: four additional Veterans; 2x Heavy Flamer, Drop Pod transport

TROOPS

Tactical Squad: five additional Space Marines; Multi-Melta, Meltagun, Combi-Melta, Drop Pod transport

Tactical Squad: Flamer, Razorback transport with Lascannon and Twin Plasma Guns

Tactical Squad: Flamer, Razorback transport with Lascannon and Twin Plasma Guns

FAST ATTACK

Assault Squad: four additional Space Marines; 2x Flamer, Drop Pod transport

Stormtalon Gunship: Skyhammer Missile Launchers, Twin Assault Cannons

Stormtalon Gunship: Skyhammer Missile Launchers, Twin Assault Cannons

HEAVY SUPPORT

Devastator Squad: three additional Space Marines; 4x Lascannon

Whirlwind

Imperial Knights

Knight Errant: Melta Cannon

Vior’la Tok’rhenna Shi

Tau Empire – 2,000

FORTIFICATION

Skyshield Landing Pad

HQ

Commander: WARLORD; XV8-02 “Iridium” Battlesuit, Command & Control Node, Multi-       Spectrum Sensor Suite, Puretide Engram Neurochip, Vectored Retro-Thrusters

Ethereal

ELITES

XV104 Riptide: Ion Accelerator, Twin Fusion Blasters, Early Warning Override, Velocity            Tracker

XV104 Riptide: Ion Accelerator, Twin Fusion Blasters, Early Warning Override, Velocity            Tracker

TROOPS

Fire Warrior Team: four additional Fire Warriors, Devilfish transport with Twin Smart Missile       Systems, Sensor Spines, and Disruption Pod

Fire Warrior Team: three additional Fire Warriors, Devilfish transport with Twin Smart Missile     Systems, Sensor Spines, and Disruption Pod

Fire Warrior Team: three additional Fire Warriors, Devilfish transport with Twin Smart Missile     Systems, Sensor Spines, and Disruption Pod

FAST ATTACK

Piranhas: two additional Piranhas, Fusion Blasters

Pathfinder Team: three additional Pathfinders

Pathfinder Team: three additional Pathfinders

HEAVY SUPPORT

XV88 Broadside Team: two additional Broadside Shas’ui; Twin High-Yield Missile Pods, Twin Smart Missile Systems, Target Locks; 6x Missile Drones

Sky Ray Missile Defense Gunship: Sensor Spines, Blacksun Filter

After Action Review

Randall:

What started as a nail-bitingly aggressive force turned south quickly for the Space Marines. I feel that Griff would have benefited from a first-turn rush against my front line, bringing the Knight and the Razorback squads into the fray as the first Drop Pods arrived. As it turned out, I was able to simply point and click to remove the landing squads from play.

Jink is a true beast of a rule. I’ve been using it to great effect with my Hive Crones, but in this game I realized just how great it is for Tau Skimmers. Whereas other Skimmers may want to stop and consider the shooting they’re losing, Snap Shots on Twin Smart Missiles is a small price to pay for a 3+ Cover Save. I’m eager to face a Dark Eldar army at some point to see how much difference Jink makes to their survivability.

I’ve said since the beginning of the new Tau Codex that the second Riptide would be subject to the Law of Diminishing Returns, given my approach to 40k. Now that I’ve tried it, I feel my beliefs were justified. I’d much rather have a squad of Sniper Drones or Crisis Suits instead, because I feel that they will address some of the list’s weaknesses more adequately than a second Riptide. I’m not denying the XV104’s power, but I definitely felt less cohesive with another tenth of my points sunk into the second behemoth.

Griff:

I feel that I made a mistake in playing conservatively in the beginning. I should have rushed everything I had to the center and forced the issue on my turn one, but that is only in hindsight. The Knight turned out to be a bit of a liability in the end. We discussed the Fire Warriors after the game ended, but if they had EMP Grenades, I would never be able to engage up close with heavy armor. This Tau list is powerful and I am a big fan, but I believe it is missing a unit that will stop Monstrous Creatures in their tracks. I am advocating for the second Riptide to go away in favor of a squad of Sniper Drones. One Riptide should be enough to deal with the threats that you encounter. Two of them seem to trip over each other a lot.