#tauempire #warhammer40k #tactics Just checking out how cool the Keel really is. Feel free to help support at my Patreon: patreon.com/CommanderNearsigh...
The first box I purchased for myself was the Tau Combat patrol with that Ghostkeel. It actually is strong enough to carry many small games and does feel kind of overloaded with it's stealth mechanics and firepower. It was quite possibly the strongest unit I had for a very long time. However, the Broadsides and Hammerheads caught my eye a little more which downplayed the power of the Ghostkeel in my mind. I tend to build lists excluding the Ghostkeel and focus more on any other battlesuits. You reminded me how important this guy really is when it comes to overall strength.
I absolutely love the tau from a painting perspective and especially the ghost due to it actually looking like a suit instead of a box lol. And now that im getting into actually playing the game outside of my first army admech im absolutely loving them and the broadside
You just described my army lol. Shadowsun, max Ghostkeels, max Stealth Suits, max Vespid, (in reserve) 6 Piranhas divided in 3 units of 2, and two units of Breachers in Devilfish waiting behind cover to zoom to where the opponent decides to focus. I am undefeated in 10th and only the Necron player in my group has come close to beating it. I also use the Fusion weapon on 2 of the Ghostkeels because my overall anti-tank is low as I otherwise would rely mostly on the 16 seeker missiles. I also play extremely aggressively, and often even charge with Stealth Suits if it means the Ghostkeel gets another turn uncontested on an objective. The Vespid will drop down next turn to clear up anyway
@@CommanderNearsight I've always played mobile Tau since 3rd edition, though back then I got there with Devilfish and Hammerheads (and a few Crisis Suits) I also have 80 Kroot which now is 20 too many and GW is trying to sell me more of them so they better add battleline to Kroot hah
I very much agree with your assessment of the ghostkeel, I had my first game of 40k recently and the ghostkeel took out maybe 1/3 of my opponents list while only taking damage from two failed hazardous checks
@@CommanderNearsightI like it I usually place my pathfinders and stealth suits on objectives to hold them while my ghosts are off doing secondaries than I usually use my broadsides missile drones to deal with heavy infantry and the Broadsides rail guns for the extra anti tank. Stealth suits in cover are surprisingly durable even against melee units, not perfect I don't to well against horde armies but other than that no complaints
@@CommanderNearsight I hadn't considered running 3 ghostkeels, I definitely have the points to spare (only at 835 rn) but I agree that 3 seems awfully stifling in a casual setting 😅 my playgroup would not like it too much
You made a good case for the Ghostkeel, but its main weakness is the meh firepower for its cost. It good for holding objectives slightly away from the main fight using its lone operative, but couldn't Aun'Va do that for 95 points less, you could have Aun'Va and a Broadside for less points that a Ghostkeel which does more damage unless the Ghostkeel gets within 9" and it has the possibility of hitting on 2+. Firepower is its weakness, a great example being 2 broadsides for 20 points more, or the Riptide at only 5 points more. Also after the points drop the Riptide is probably on par with the Ghostkeel for toughness due to having a 4+ inv save, higher toughness & 2 more wounds while also doing more damage with an extra ap and damage compared to the Ghostkeel's cyclic ion raker at twice the range. I think an all,or majority, stealth army would have issues with a poor amount of firepower. The enemy would just meet the stealth army over the mid field objectives and wreak the stealth/ghostkeel units there easily. I think Stealths and Ghostkeel are units to compliment the main Tau firepower not be the focus of the army, but in that complimentary role they are very good. Great video, loving these unit explorations. Breachers (with a cade fireblase) in a devilfish or Solo Commanders (particularly compared to other cheap 80/90 points units or other deepstrike options) would be other good options for a video
Thank you very much! And I have been itching for some more infantry talk so I'll be getting right on the breacher video! And later I'll absolutely talk Solo Commander spam
the smoke keyword is also useless on the ghostkeel, it will most likely always have cover, and all smokescreen does is give the unit stealth and the benefit of cover, it doesnt stack with the current stealth
I actually got one of these because I expected it would pair well with the theme and play style of the kroot. I even kit based it to look like the Kroot had scavenged a damaged one.
Having a great time with this guy's, ghostkeel finally are great but spamming theses tend to make the game a pain for your opponent so normally i run only 1.
@@CommanderNearsight The battle as a whole did not go well. The dice were not my friends that day, but the Ghostkeel punched way above its weightclass, by killing a Mutalith and Morty
Sooo I only have one I got in a funny trade with someone that's another time though. So yes I find them to be very good like support or flank holders. I remember it was I think late 9th edition early 10? I saw some one at a tournament bring almost that list you talked about they didn't have 3 only 2. The other things that where different was a riptide and a Kroot squad then everything else you said.
@@CommanderNearsight pretty good 4/1 lost to elder and just inched out a win against death guard. He charged a ghostkeel into melee at the last turn that what saved him.
This fucking thing - i play against it a lot in combat patrol and it is way too good. Especially with the strat to move 6 after firing? Terrifyingly effective
Thanks for the great video I use the ghostkeel all the time but I do have a question if 3 crisis suits fired plasma rifles on me would the stealth drone blank the whole units fire or just 1 suits fire
It would reduce 1 attack's damage(after it goes through your saves) to 0. So if a unit of 3 crisis fired a total of 9 Plasma Rifles(3 from each), you could make 2 of those deal 0 damage and still potentially take damage from the other 7.
I just finished game against orks. I had one ghostkeel. - It shot down bunch of grot tanks. - Then killed warbikers harrasing a devilfish, and tankshocked last of grot tanks. - after that it mowed down three deffkoptas. - And finally massacered gretchin on home objective, allowing me to score no prisoners and storm hostile objective! All that without loosing a wound. I love my Ghostkeel! (But I think that my fusion blaster did nothing whole game 😞)
I normally run 2, as an infiltrator "package" to hold a flanc main obj for basically the whole game 1 is kitted anti tank The other is kitter long range They play as a stand alone squad, contesting a side obj and shoothing mid board. -Range ghostkeel -anti tank ghostkeel - 2x stealth suits for screening - shadowsun. This create a massive issue normally securing one main obj for the whole game
The all stealth/infiltrators list sounds hilariously mean, yeah I'd run that. Maybe paint them in some Battletech style, call it Ghost Bear Sept or something.
The sheild drones are just the funniest things ever. Get hit by a knights harpoon and just go "I ignore that damage" . Once is powerful twice a game is just silly
In early 10th, the opportunity cost was too high to be worth it for me. It had good durability vs ranged attacks, but low firepower for the points and only 3 OC. You can fire the uncharged Cyclic Ion Raker for 5 turns against a 10 model unit of Space Marines, and you still might not kill the entire unit. If you overcharge, you get a better chance to wound and a bit more pen, but you risk Hazardous rolls and you still only kill 1-2 models per turn. You would have to make the unit guided constantly to have a good chance of removing one unit of Space Marines after 5 turns of constant shooting. The Fusion Collider setup had similar but different issues. Unless guided, it was not likely to do good damage in a single activation. And it needed to be much closer for maximizing the potential damage, meaning more risk of having enemies within 12" to shoot at it or getting charged. An opponent could ignore the firepower and just move up and either engage it in melee or make it retreat away from the objective. It worked great as a distraction against less capable opponents, as they get fixated on it and then you draw them away from objectives or more important units. It is a very tactical piece, but an expensive one. All of the above are still technically true. But now it is only 160 pts for that package. That, combined with other elements of the Tau roster also getting a cost reduction, means more units can be fielded and assist each other. For example: Taking Shadow Sun, a Ghostkeel and a unit of Pathfinders now has enough price reduction(compared to early 10th) that you can get a unit of Tetras(80 pts) on top of that. So now it can have more units supporting it, giving it even more tactical options, and you have more units to make up for the lack of firepower. I will still say that taking 3 is not beneficial. Too many points on something that deals low damage(nearly 25% of your total points) and too much redundancy for the same roles and positioning. One thing I want to mention is that the Ghostkeel is very, VERY vulnerable to most Melta weaponry. Most weapons that get within Melta range is usually 6-9" away, so Lone Operative no longer helps. Strength 9 and above also means that it wounds on a 3+. The high AP make you save on a 6+(5+ in cover). And finally, the Melta damage is an additive bonus, meaning it is one of the last things in the Order of Operations for damage calculations. So even with the special stealth drones(setting damage characteristic to 0), the Melta bonus damage will go through(0+melta bonus).
Meh, they're meta RN and i don't care I just really don't care to use them...like ever. Lore-wise on the other hand, they are awesome, I will just never field them personally.
