LVO Tau Task Force 268 - 2/2

Total Points: 2075

T’au Empire Mont’ka Strike Force
Army Analysis
Strategic Analysis

Mobility

Strong

Alpha Strike Potential

Excellent

Ranged Threat

Excellent

Melee Threat

Critically Lacking

List Design

Strong
Summary

This T'au Empire list is a finely-tuned instrument of aggression, built around the Mont'ka Detachment's philosophy of the Killing Blow. The game plan is to execute a devastating alpha strike, leveraging superior mobility and overwhelming firepower in the first three battle rounds to cripple the opponent's key assets. The list is packed with synergistic combos, from Cadre Fireblades leading Breacher teams to a Coldstar Commander super-charging a unit of Crisis Sunforge Battlesuits. Your success hinges on effective use of the 'For the Greater Good' Guiding mechanic, with your three Stealth Suit units forming the critical lynchpin of your strategy. You must play aggressively to establish an early lead, then pivot to holding objectives once the Mont'ka benefits expire.

Army Strength

This list's primary strength is its exceptional Alpha Strike capability, amplified by the Mont'ka detachment. For the first three turns, your army gains significant offensive buffs ([Assault] and [Lethal Hits]), allowing you to dictate the pace of the game from the outset. The inclusion of the Kroot Lone-spear with 'Strike Swiftly' enables a pre-game move for key units like Hammerheads or Riptides, setting up immediate firing angles.

The army boasts a highly synergistic and potent ranged threat. With three units of Stealth Battlesuits acting as premier Observers, your key damage dealers like the Riptides, Hammerheads, and Crisis Suits will be operating at peak efficiency. The combination of high-strength, high-AP weaponry and the volume of fire from Breacher teams creates a multi-faceted threat that can handle nearly any target profile.

Army Weakness

The most glaring weakness is a near-total inability to perform in melee combat. Any dedicated melee unit that closes the distance will likely eliminate its target with ease. This necessitates careful positioning, screening, and target prioritization to keep enemies at arm's length. Your game plan must account for preventing charges, as you have no effective counter-charge units.

The list is also subject to the "Mont'ka Cliff." On turn four, the army-wide detachment benefits disappear, leading to a significant drop in offensive output. While the Cadre Fireblade with 'Exemplar of the Mont'ka' provides a late-game scalpel, the rest of the army must transition to a more defensive, objective-focused role. If you haven't inflicted enough damage by turn three, you may struggle to close out the game.

List Balance

The list is exceptionally well-balanced across its ranged capabilities, with dedicated units for anti-vehicle (Railgun Hammerhead, Sunforge Crisis), anti-elite (Riptides, Ion Hammerhead), and anti-infantry (Breacher Teams) roles. However, it is completely one-dimensional, sacrificing all melee potential for shooting supremacy. This is a common and often successful T'au strategy, but it leaves no room for error against fast-moving combat armies.

List Legality: The army is currently 2075 points, which is over the standard 2000-point limit for a Strike Force game. You will need to remove 75 points to make this list legal for matched play. Dropping a unit of Stealth Battlesuits (80pts) or Darkstrider (60pts) and a Cadre Fireblade (50pts) would require adjustments but are potential options.
Statistics
  • Total Points: 2075
  • Total Units: 19
  • Total Models: 67
  • Army Composition: 5 Characters, 2 Battleline, 12 Other
  • Elite Ratio: 50%
  • Horde Ratio: 50%
Critical Units (Auto-Includes)
  • Stealth Battlesuits (x3): The absolute core of your army's effectiveness. Their 'Forward Observers' ability is the best Guiding buff available and is essential for maximizing your damage output.
  • Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit: Provides unparalleled mobility and offensive buffs to a Crisis unit, creating a surgical strike tool that can reach anywhere on the board.
  • Hammerhead Gunship (Railgun): Your most reliable answer to enemy super-heavy vehicles and monsters. Its presence forces your opponent to play cautiously.
Anti-Vehicle
  • Crisis Sunforge Battlesuits
  • Hammerhead Gunship (Railgun)
  • Sky Ray Gunship
  • Riptide Battlesuits
  • Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit (Fusion Blasters)
Anti-Elite
  • Riptide Battlesuits
  • Hammerhead Gunship (Ion Cannon)
  • Pathfinder Team (Ion Rifles)
  • Crisis Sunforge Battlesuits
Elite
  • Riptide Battlesuit
  • Crisis Sunforge Battlesuits
  • Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit
  • Hammerhead Gunship
  • Sky Ray Gunship
Infantry
  • Breacher Team
  • Pathfinder Team
  • Kroot Farstalkers
  • Cadre Fireblade
  • Darkstrider
  • Stealth Battlesuits
Role - Fire Overwatch
  • Riptide Battlesuits (Ion Accelerator)
  • Breacher Team (at close range)
  • Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit (with attached unit)
Role - Screening & Chaff
  • Kroot Farstalkers
  • Pathfinder Team
  • Stealth Battlesuits (early game)
Ability - Scout
  • Darkstrider (Scouts 7")
  • Kroot Lone-spear (Scouts 6")
  • Pathfinder Team (Scouts 6")
Ability - Infiltrators
  • Darkstrider
  • Kroot Farstalkers
  • Pathfinder Team (via Recon Drone)
  • Stealth Battlesuits
Ability - Lone Operative
  • Kroot Lone-spear
Devastating Alpha Strike

The combination of the Mont'ka detachment, the 'Strike Swiftly' enhancement for pre-game movement, and a suite of long-range, high-damage weapons allows this army to land a crippling blow on turn one, often deciding the game before the opponent can fully respond.

Superior Ranged Firepower & Synergy

The army has an answer for every type of target at range. The core mechanic, 'For the Greater Good', is maximized by having three Stealth Suit units, ensuring your most powerful guns are always hitting on 3s (or better) and re-rolling key dice, creating a highly efficient killing machine.

High Mobility

With multiple units possessing the Fly, Scout, and Infiltrator keywords, alongside the Coldstar Commander granting a 12" move and Assault to its unit, the army can rapidly redeploy, seize advantageous positions, and dictate engagement ranges effectively.

Extreme Melee Vulnerability

The list has no dedicated melee units and will crumble under pressure from any competent combat army. This weakness can be exploited by fast-moving assault forces, forcing you into a purely defensive posture if they manage to close the gap.

The "Mont'ka Cliff"

Your army's power level dramatically decreases on turn four when the detachment rule expires. If you fail to establish a decisive advantage in the early game, you will find yourself outmatched in a prolonged war of attrition.

Reliance on Key Units

The entire army's efficiency is propped up by the Stealth Battlesuits. If an opponent can neutralize them early, your damage output will plummet as your Guiding network collapses. Protecting these units is paramount.

Decapitation Strike

The army's mobility and high-powered, precise shooting (especially from the Railgun and Crisis Suits) create opportunities to eliminate key enemy characters and heavy support units early, crippling their strategy before it can be implemented.

Board Control Through Firepower

By systematically removing threats from objectives, you can control the board without needing to hold every point with durable units. Your firepower becomes your primary tool for scoring primary and secondary objectives.

Fast Assault Armies

Armies like World Eaters, Orks, or Drukhari can cover the board quickly and engage you in melee, bypassing your primary strength. These armies represent a significant threat and require careful screening and target prioritization to defeat.

High Durability/"Damage-Ignoring" Armies

Factions with army-wide Feel No Pain abilities, damage reduction (like C'tan), or access to numerous invulnerable saves can weather your initial alpha strike. If they survive the first two turns relatively intact, they can overwhelm you in the mid-to-late game.

Disruption and Anti-Shooting Tech

Opponents with abilities that can block line of sight, inflict movement penalties, or force Battle-shock tests on your key units can severely hamper your ability to execute your game plan.

Overview

You are facing a T'au Empire list from the Mont'ka Detachment. This is a hyper-aggressive, alpha-strike build designed to cripple you in the first three turns. Expect a significant portion of their army to be able to shoot after Advancing, and for their key shots to be highly accurate and deadly thanks to their army and detachment rules. Their goal is to remove your most valuable assets from the board before you have a chance to use them. If you can survive the initial onslaught, their power level drops significantly from turn four onwards.

Army Rule

The T'au army rule is For the Greater Good. One T'au unit (the Observer) can guide another (the Guided unit). When the Guided unit shoots the Observer's target, it gets +1 to its Ballistic Skill. If the Observer has the [Markerlight] keyword (which many of their units do), the Guided unit also gets to ignore cover. This makes their shooting extremely accurate and reliable.

Detachment Rule

They are using Mont'ka. For battle rounds 1, 2, and 3, all of their T'au Empire ranged weapons have the [ASSAULT] ability, meaning they can Advance and shoot without penalty. Furthermore, when a Guided unit shoots its target, its attacks gain the [LETHAL HITS] ability. This combination creates a highly mobile and deadly army in the early game. Crucially, this entire ability turns off at the start of battle round 4.

Top 3 Priority Targets (Kill Order)
  1. Stealth Battlesuits: These are the lynchpin of the T'au army. Killing them dismantles the 'For the Greater Good' synergy, making the entire army less accurate and less lethal. They are relatively fragile (T4, 2W, 3+ save) and should be your absolute first priority.
  2. Hammerhead Gunship (with Railgun): This vehicle is the primary anti-tank threat. Its S20, AP-5, D D6+6 railgun can one-shot almost any vehicle or monster in the game. Removing it early will protect your own heavy assets.
  3. Commander-led Crisis Suit Unit: The Coldstar Commander makes its attached unit of Crisis Sunforge Battlesuits incredibly fast and dangerous. This unit is a mobile tank-hunting scalpel that can appear anywhere via Deep Strike. Eliminating it removes a major, flexible threat.
Ability - Infiltrators
  • Darkstrider
  • Kroot Farstalkers
  • Pathfinder Team (via Recon Drone)
  • Stealth Battlesuits
Ability - Scout
  • Darkstrider (Scouts 7")
  • Kroot Lone-spear (Scouts 6")
  • Pathfinder Team (Scouts 6")
Ability - Lone Operative
  • Kroot Lone-spear
Role - Fire Overwatch
  • Riptide Battlesuits (Ion Accelerator)
  • Breacher Team (at close range)
  • Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit (with attached unit)
Core Flaws

This army has two fundamental weaknesses you can exploit. First, it has zero melee capability. If you can engage any of their units in close combat, you will almost certainly destroy them. Use this to your advantage by tying up key shooting units or clearing them from objectives. Second, the army operates on a timer. The "Mont'ka Cliff" at the start of turn four causes a massive drop in their offensive power. If you can preserve your key units through the first three turns, you will have a significant advantage in the late game.

Counter-Deployment & Movement Cues

Anticipate a turn-one alpha strike. Deploy your most valuable units completely out of line-of-sight, behind obscuring terrain, or place them in Strategic Reserves. They have numerous Infiltrator and Scout units, so use your own screening units to create a deep buffer zone and prevent them from getting early angles or board control. Be aware of the Kroot Lone-spear with 'Strike Swiftly', which will give two of their heavy units a 6" pre-game move—watch for them repositioning Hammerheads or Riptides into aggressive firing lanes before the game even begins. Your goal is to minimize the damage from their initial volley.

Unit Insights
💡 Tip This unit is your Turn 4 scalpel. Preserve it (and its bodyguards) to retain Mont'ka's benefits after the army-wide rule expires, providing a potent late-game offensive threat.

Unit Insights
ℹ️ Info Leading a unit of Breachers, the Cadre Fireblade's 'Volley Fire' ability increases the squad's total shots from 20 to 30, a massive boost in firepower.

Unit Insights
ℹ️ Info The Coldstar grants its attached unit a 12" move and the [ASSAULT] ability, turning a unit of Crisis Suits into a hyper-mobile threat capable of striking anywhere on the board.

Unit Insights
💡 Tip Darkstrider's 'Jammer Array' creates a valuable 12-inch deep strike denial zone, making him an excellent utility piece for screening your backline.

Unit Insights
💡 Tip Use the pre-game 6-inch move from 'Strike Swiftly' on two other units (like Hammerheads or Riptides) to gain early firing angles for an alpha strike or to reposition defensively.

Unit Insights
💡 Tip Remember this unit can re-roll all Wound rolls when attacking an enemy on an objective marker, making them exceptionally deadly at clearing contested points.
💡 Tip When led by a Cadre Fireblade, this squad gains +1 attack per Pulse Blaster, resulting in a devastating volley of 30 shots.
💡 Tip For maximum effect, target an enemy on an objective, ensure the Breachers are led by a Cadre Fireblade, Guide them with Stealth Suits, and use the 'Focused Fire' stratagem. This combination can force an opponent to make over 20 saving throws at AP-2.

Unit Insights
💡 Tip With their innate re-rolls against Monsters and Vehicles, they are your dedicated big-game hunters. Use Deep Strike or the Coldstar's mobility to get them into optimal Melta range (6").

Unit Insights
ℹ️ Info The Railgun is most efficient against high-wound, single-model targets that lack an invulnerable save to fully leverage its high damage and AP.

Unit Insights
💡 Tip Use their Bounty Hunters ability on a key enemy character or unit leader to give their attacks [LETHAL HITS] and [PRECISION]. This can be surprisingly effective for sniping out support characters.

Unit Insights
💡 Tip Use the 'Nova Charge' ability on the Ion Accelerator when targeting a high-value, multi-wound target to fish for Devastating Wounds. This can swing a turn.
⚠️ Warning The supercharged Ion Accelerator profile has [Hazardous]. Be mindful of this, especially if the Riptide has already taken damage.

Unit Insights
💡 Tip This unit can perform an Action and still use its 'Forward Observer' ability. Use this to score objectives while providing crucial Guiding support.
⚠️ Warning Despite having the [Infiltrators] keyword, their importance as Observers means they should be deployed cautiously to protect them from early elimination.
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