Imperial guard vs Tau

[Takaratie]

I have an question for the Ig Generals here.
Im gone fight an Tau Army soon( 500 points), and I would like to know what type of equipment you use against Tau, and what Tactics to use.

In a couple of weeks ill probable fight a mutch large tau force, and what do you advice to use then?
o before I forget, he doesnt like the Kroot and doesnt have them in his army.

Thanks in advance

Takaratie

[Zartan]

Heavy bolter heavy weapon teams.

[Str10_hurts]

Deepstriking 5 man squadswith demo charges to take out suits.

Do not bother with are: chimera, sentinels, ogryns or conscripts.

Things that work are: 4+ saves, infiltrators, hell hounds, auto cannons, demo charges (deep strike),ratlings and veterans.

Try and give us a sample list so we can work from there.

[the spook]

Hellhounds Hellhounds and Hellhounds. Add a Leman Russ Demolisher, and you've got two things that make my Tau quake in fear...

Of course my Kroot will tear your weapon squads apart..

[Laspistol]

The last time I fought Tau at 500 my oponent was Krootless as well, not that I'de be to worried about them anyway.

What I suggest is mortars. Tau hate guess range weapons, especially since they pin. Pinning the slit-heads helps a lot, because Firewarriors can kill a whole squad of Guardsmen every turn if you let them.

Templates are also your friend. Take missile launchers and grenade launchers to cover up his Firewarriors. You can bust suits with the launchers while still having a template if you move.

As has been said, but HBs or ACs in fire teams, and stick them into cover. Try to get as much in cover as you can for that 4+ save.

Also, don't fear to assault them. Tau are bad enough in CC to break and run from a determind rush of IG. Don't go out of your way to do it, but consider it a more viable option than normal. As always when assaulting with IG try to hit them with multiple squads and never attack an enemy that is equal or greater to you in number.
Command squads can actually be the powerhouse CC units on the board with power weapons. If you roll well they can be good against a lone suit.

I advocate the use of deep-striking Stormtroopers. Arm them with a melta, a flamer, and a power weapon on the sargent. They're flexible enough to take any threat, keep moving, and will soak up Tau shooting.

If at all possible, try to set up so as to funnel him into the open where the co-ordinated fire of squads can take him to pieces.

[Hokkaido23]

Stay away from exposed infantry at all costs. If you can, use the Mechanised doctrine and give every squad a chimera. In 500 points this will limit your numbers but since theyre invulnerable to pulse rifles (from the front), who cares?

Heavy weapons teams are great until the Tau get within 30" and then you can kiss your teams goodbye. Even in cover, the sheer volume of S5 ap5 fire will destroy them.

I agree with deepstriking storm troopers, but dont treat them as if they are invulnerable. Drop them where they can kill everything that can see them.

Hellhounds are excellent here as well.

[inquisitorautry]

Heavy bolter heavy weapon teams.

Heavy bolters are a very useful thing against Tau. Wounding on 2+ is good. But what's bett is that sometimes the Tau player will forget to move his Fire Warriors into range. If you can deploy at 31+ inches away then you get at least one, sometimes two rounds of shooting before the Fire Warriors can go anything to you.

[Strikerkc]

Heavy bolters are a very useful thing against Tau. Wounding on 2+ is good. But what's bett is that sometimes the Tau player will forget to move his Fire Warriors into range. If you can deploy at 31+ inches away then you get at least one, sometimes two rounds of shooting before the Fire Warriors can go anything to you.

Often meaning that the poor fire warrior squad in question will simply cease to exist.

I remember the game Autry proved this piont. Poor fellow he was playing went an extra turn before he realized the the IG was actualy out ranging him, and couldn't recover.

[bigred]

Hellhounds....do terrible things to Tau armies

Deep Striking Sentinels with autocannons... can seriously disrupt a Tau firing line and maybe take out 1 or 2 hammerhead/devilfish before being destroyed

And last but not least, Heavy Bolter teams are a must... as many as you can muster and in cover.

Watch out for the dreaded markerlight/ railgun-submunition combo as it can kill a squad per turn (5" pieplate, wounds on a 2+, no save, ignores cover...Ouch!). If you see pathfinders, mark them for destruction ASAP.

You wants Lots and Lots of models on the table. Offer the Tau a large number of equally dangerous targets. Resist the urge to use expensive shiny units, as the Tau will target them and blow them away early game. Go for target saturation instead.

Finally, don't forget to fix bayonets and CHARGE if the sucker gets close. Tau suck in HtH, and are one of the few (of not the only) army, IG can beat there.

[Str10_hurts]

But still remember a single guard squad versus a firewarrior squad the firewarrior squad the outcome is even.

Also I am against anything in transports or light armoured vehicles. No pulse rifle can harm chimera's....but It will be raining missile pods an an occasional railgun. not to forget flanking stealth teams.

Baselisk and hellhound are for me the only real opional vehicles versus tau. (in my humble opinion ofcourse)

[TaintedSpam]

As a Tau player, I find this topic amusing. The recipe for IG supremacy over Tau, just like any other army, is lots of Guardsmen and Tanks. You didn't say if you were using an alternate force org chart or not, so a Leman Russ is impossible to fit into an standard org chart @ 500 points. However, you can fit 75 men into 500 points - a bare HQ and two three squad platoons with heavy bolters in the command squads. While using terrain carefully, This list would be difficult to stop. If he takes a RailHead, that's a whole lot less firewarriors on the board.

For a switch, remember Assault is in your favor. Rough Riders, used properly, will EAT any non vehicle in the tau list, except for kroot and you can just lasgun them to death.

While typing this, I also looked at a custom doctrine IG list with Rough Riders, Iron Discipline, a HSO, and two platoons with Missile Launchers - 60 models.

...

[immolatus_dead]

well atleast in my and my friends game it went a bit different than u advice here he had hellhound, sentinel, horsemen, lots of auto-cannons, and even more squads with just flamer and/or g-launchers i destroyed his hellhound on 1st turn his sentinel got 1 of my suits and he just had too many guards my kroot didn

[Ko Improbable]

Another point of advice: Don't be afraid to assault the battlesuits with regular grunt soldiers. Asside from Commander Farsight, and suits in the same army as him to a lesser degree, they're generally still pretty bad in CC and you're almost always going to outnumber them. If you rain down enough attacks, you'll get enough through the armour and the toughness. Chances are, due to outnumbering them so badly, they'll run and you'll have a good enough chance of cutting them down as they do. Even if you can't hurt them enough, you'll tie them up for a few turns.

[Ahmato]

Use Rough Riders. A squad of about 6 w/t Hunting Lances and a V.Sgt with PW, is very cheap compared to the sheer hitting power they've got, especially against Tau. Remember to hide them, as they are really just fast moving IG...

Ahmato

[Getz]

Remember. Tau beat IG by focusing all their firepower on a single point in your lines and defeating you in local firefights.

Despite all the advice about heavy bolters, if your opponent mechanises his firewarriors they won't do jack so I'd suggest Autocannons. In 500 points you're unlikely to see Pathfinders, but the FW team leader may still be packing a markerlight so stay wary.

Much of the most effective Tau equipment is unlikely to come out to play because of the low points value of the game, but don't forget that both Kroot and FW's will hand you your ass in a sling in a straight shooting match (heavy weapons or no, you've only got 500 points to play with) so just lining up and shooting at him is unlikely to hand you victory.

[last_chancer]

I'm about to fight Tau as well but in 1000 point game...

Are there any IG or CSM unit choices I simply MUST take...

What about potential points wasters...

I expect the replies will be mostly the same,
but i'll just have more points to play with...

Keep on,
last_chancer

[Str10_hurts]

I'm about to fight Tau as well but in 1000 point game...

Are there any IG or CSM unit choices I simply MUST take...

What about potential points wasters...

I expect the replies will be mostly the same,
but i'll just have more points to play with...

Keep on,
last_chancer

See first page for IG.

For CSM, deamonnetes, lots of infantry, heavybolters, meltagun, cheap 2+ saves.
But actually just a lot of cheap infantry (yours is better) and a lord with defensive mutations and very important flight or speed and create a little deamon bomb, but keep stuff cheap.

No goes are armour (exept AV12, its ok). Anything thats small and expensive, cause the suits will hunt it down.

[last_chancer]

OK, that sounds good...

Should i use a Defiler/Daemons...?

What about IG Hardened Veterans...?

Im trying to tie it in with a Blood Pact feel...

Thanks,
last_chancer

@ Str_10 hurts: I posted on your "2000pt. Tau" thread, check it out.

[Str10_hurts]

Defiler wont see till turn 2 and with indirect fire it will do nothing, turn 1 suits are within 36'' and bugging your army.

Deamons... Oh yes! extending your charge move = good, combat orientated = good, come into play summond from turn 2 on = even better.

Veterans should be infiltrating, denying suit set up and go suit huning with meltaguns.

General note: keep your squad size big, tau exel at picking off small elite units.

[onlainari]

Heavy bolter heavy weapon teams.

Hellhounds Hellhounds and Hellhounds. Add a Leman Russ Demolisher, and you've got two things that make my Tau quake in fear...

I play tau and those three units I do not fear.

In other words, the thread starter really needs to tell us what kind of tau he's up against.