'Fighting the Tau' Tactica

[Eternus]

Howdy Astroknights, who wants to share their thoughts on what works well against the Tau, with their 3-suit twin-flamer Wall O' Death overwatching units and multiple Riptides at a very cheap 180 points a pop?

What do you employ when fighting the fishmen, what works, and what about them do you struggle with?

I am thinking that they might struggle with lots of AV14, especially at extreme (battlecannon) range.

[Skringly]

I am thinking that they might struggle with lots of AV14, especially at extreme (battlecannon) range.

My first question was going to be as what army. As of course your own force composition is going to shape a lot of your tactics that you can effectively apply. Your last comment assumes you're coming from a guard standpoint primarily?

Devoid of specific details, in my opinion the best way about taking Tau on is maximum aggression and application of pressure. Tau as an army are perhaps the best example of a force that punishes half hearted or piecemeal attacks. With the volume of fire they have at their disposal, the best thing to do is to overwhelm them so they can't just wipe you at their leisure. You need to dictate the pace of the game and leave them without the luxury of choosing what targets they want to delete off the table. Be it as a combat army or a shooting army I maintain that a tactical aggressive stance is the best way forwards.

[Eternus]

Thanks bud. I have been struggling against them with Dark Eldar, seemingly because Tau pack a lot of medium to high strength firepower at short to medium range, and in my last game even getting into assault when I was close enough was a nightmare because of the wall of death Overwatch fire. It was only a 1k game though, so hard to take a force that can cover all the bases.

I was considering taking Guard because I have a large force with plenty of AV14, so wondered whether battering them to death outside most of their range was an option. Otherwise I need to eliminate the units that make it hazardous to assault before charging in.