Tomorrow is the first 1850 singles tournament that I'll have been to in a year. I decided a couple months ago that I actually wanted to win, so I bit the bullet and 'invested' in a Stormsurge. Check out the list I'm taking and why I took what I did...
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Riptide Wing
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I think that in some of my games the use of the Culexus will be pivotal. If I am up against a Deathstar that uses psychic buffs I will likely need to keep him protected with my big battlesuits.
I will be posting a short summary of the tournament very soon.
The List
We are using the ITC format so I was limited to 3 detachments. Here is what I will be taking tomorrow:
Disclaimer: the title says "competitive" but it really means "as competitive as I think I can make it" which may not actually be competitive anymore. Tau are rapidly falling behind as assaults and 99% damage reduction becomes easier and easier to pull off.
Farsight Enclaves CAD
- Commander-Fusion Blades, Iridium, Talisman, VRT, DC, 2 Marker Drones
- Crisis Team- 1x Heatwave-D, BKR
- Crisis Team- 1x Heatwave-D, BKR
- Drones- 4x Marker Drones
- Tetras- 2x Tetras
- Y'vahra - EWO, Stims
- Stormsurge - EWO, Shield, VT, Burst Cannon
- Burstide- VT, EWO, SMS
- Iontide- EWO, SMS
- Iontide- EWO, SMS
Officio Assassinorum
- Culexus Assassin
Why What?
I waffled between bringing a Retaliation Cadre or the Stormsurge with attending marker support. I eventually decided that I really needed something with D strength in the list and went with the Stormsurge.
The Stormsurge is the core of the army. It acts as fire-magnet, bait, and is my ace when facing enemy Lords of War. Naturally, bringing the Stormsurge required more markerlight support than I was used to, so I had to cobble together some Tetras to give myself extra markerlights.
To support the Stormsurge I needed something relatively independent, tough, but potent. I chose the Riptide Wing because I had the Riptides for it and I didnt' have enough Ghostkeels to properly run an Optimized Stealth Cadre. That works fine since the OSC special rule got nerfed a little bit in the latest Imperial Knight FAQ. I figure that as long as I'm going alpha-strike with the Stormsurge, I might as well bring the alpha-strike formation.
The Culexus Assassin was a tough call for me, but I decided that I really, Really needed him. Psychic shenanigans are out of control, even before the new Angels of Death supplement dropped (which we are allowing in our tournament, btw). The Talisman and the Culexus are my only defense against this and my only hope of stripping away buffs from enemy deathstars.
To fill out the rest of the list, I could either spam crisis suits or take the minimum requirement and add something else. The Y'vahra has always served me well and really throw my opponents, so I squeezed him in. Bonus is that the new FAQ made his flamer even better!
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Battle Plan
The list is pretty straightforward. If an alpha-strike is possible, that is what I will do. My Y'vahra is going to be my secret weapon. While my opponents obsess over the Riptide Wing and Stormsurge my Y'vahra can blindside them and kill some key units. The Tetras, as well, serve as a fast moving unit that can get places you weren't expecting. Coupled with the Heatwave monats, these units can cause a lot of disruption in the enemy deployment zone.
I think that in some of my games the use of the Culexus will be pivotal. If I am up against a Deathstar that uses psychic buffs I will likely need to keep him protected with my big battlesuits.
I will be posting a short summary of the tournament very soon.