#tauempire #warhammer40k #tactics #hammerhead #broadside Just looking at the only real anti-tank we have in the army right now. Please feel free to support it would be greatly appreciated: patreon.com/CommanderNearsigh...
Never take 2 sheild drones with broadsides as then they go up to 10 wounds and that is the next step for bring it down. Personaly i take 1 sheild and 1 missile pod
agreed, i though take a markerdrone so they can observe because most the time they would be hitting on 3's with heavy keyword so at least there is another unit that can observe :D with the markerlight keyword as the drone grants them that word
@@CommanderNearsight exactly, though i prefer to use that strat on my pathfinders since they observe twice (dependant on whats would be best at that moment though for sure)
don't forget seeker missile spam, every devil fish, pirahana, remora stealth drone etc. can carry 2 seekers for free. But best anti-tank is skyrays -3 seekers per turn, you don't run the same risk of an invul save cancelling out a turns worth of firing
the only railguns i use are literally from the broadsides. i personally don't think it's worth on the hammerheads because of the +1 to hit against monsters/vehicles multiple shots/blast and 3 damage, likewise with pathfinders, ion rifles over rail rifles for exact same reason, more shots, averagely steady damage.
I run a team of two broadsides and two hammerheads as well as two crisis suit teams lead by coldstar battle suits to deal with vehicles and i have to say thats the way to go,
What I like about the Ion Cannon Hammerhead, is when it comes along with the character Longstrike. Getting Lethal Hits on a Railgun is a waste. Getting Lethal hits on an Ion cannon can make it a threat to any unit. It still has 2 Seekers to help with the anti-tank/monster role, and the high amount of potential shots of the Plasma cannon can still chip through most targets. And together with Longstrike, they pose a threat to both vehicles(Railgun+4 Seekers) and infantry(the rest). Just to showcase. The Ion Cannon gets d6+3+Blast attacks. That makes it very effective against infantry and heavy infantry, especially if Kauyon is active. Let us target a Leman Russ-type vehicle instead though(T11, 2+ sv, Wounds 13). You roll a 3, so that is 6 attacks. You make 5 hits(+1 to hit), with 1 being critical. You require a 5+ to wound, you wound it once or twice, with an extra being auto wound(lethal). The tank takes 3 wounds, saves 2 of them, it takes 3 damage. Not amazing, but it is something. This is without Kauyon and with a moderate roll on attacks though. We also have 2 Seekers, each hitting on 2+(due to guide + the Hammerhead special rule). Both hit, both wound(potentially using the Hammerhead rule to secure the wound), 1 is saved, you roll average damage(4 damage total). You have now dealt 7 damage to a Leman Russ, and it has 6 health remaining. If it is within 18", you can give your Burst Accelerator Cannons a try. 8 shots, hits on a 2+, wounds on a 5+. You land 6 shots, 1 is lethal. 5 rolls to wound, you succeed in 1(2 wounds total). You get lucky and one goes through the 2+ save(which is 3+ due to AP). You have dealt a total of 8 wounds to the tank and the Russ is now down to 5 wounds. Not bad for a 130 pts tank that is actually set up for dealing with infantry and elites. If I had rolled better for number of attacks on the Ion Cannon, or if I was under Kauyon, there was a good chance that I could have forced it into a damaged state(4 wounds or less) or even destroy it. As for already having things against "infantry and elites", like the Crisis Suits, they are much more expensive and also, potentially, more vulnerable. 200 pts for 3 models will give you a decent amount of wounds and a lot of firepower. Up to 9 Plasma rifle Shots. Which is roughly what you would get on a decent roll against a 10 man Marine Squad with the Ion Cannon(3+Blast(2) and then anything 4+ on the D6). The Crisis Suits can tank high AP shots better due to their invulnerable saves, but have a much bigger issue when dealing with Plasma weaponry or things like Autocannons and Heavy Bolters, due to their lower toughness. The Riptide is strong now that it is so cheap(compared to when 10th was just out), but it does not have any heavy hitting anti-tank weaponry(no Seekers), so it relies more on chip damage when you want/need to target a vehicle. And it does not get the +1 to hit vs vehicles and monsters either, so you will generally hit on a 3+, not 2+ against such targets(when guided).
I honestly think that one of the best anti-tank weapon platforms for Tau are the Piranhas. 110 pts for 2 models(basically cant be battleshocked the normal way), each having 7 Toughness, 7 Wounds, a 4+ save, and a total of 4 Seekers and 2 Piranha Fusion Blaster(melta 4 instead of 2). They have Scout 9" and a movement of 14", giving them a melta threat range(if they start on the board) of 29"(otherwise it is still 20" melta threat range). They are just durable enough to absorb a lot of small arms fire, with just enough wounds to tank 2-3 anti-tank weapons each(typically getting wounded on 3+, and then it depends on the damage roll). The Piranha Fusion Blaster does have difficulties wounding high toughness targets, but when it does wound, it really hurts if you are within 6"(d6+4 damage with -4 AP). It is, however, the high amount of Seekers for the price point that is the goal. Most armies only bring a couple of heavy tanks/monsters with high toughness, so a plethora of one-shot Seekers can knock most of them out and then your other weapons can deal with "the rest". The Piranha Fusion Blaster is a pretty big threat to transports and support vehicles, as well as elite heavy infantry and smaller monsters. And the 2 Twin-linked Pulse Carbines are just potent enough to occassionally wound and damage even T9 targets. Once the Seekers are fired, they can be used to distract or intercept enemy units, screen the board for deep strikes and reinforcements, or make space for your own reserves. Their ability to potentially Battleshock units during movement phase can also set up a kill(no Armour of Contempt etc.). In short, it is a unit that can be a serious threat to various targets for various reasons. It is fast with a good special ability, and just durable enough that it takes some effort to remove. All at a fairly low price.
Best thing about the one box of hammerhead - you can use it as; - Commander Longstrike (10pts extra hitting most the time on 2's without being guided) - Hammerhead - Skyray if you prefer - Devilfish Dont bother buying a devilish its only like £5 cheaper and doesn't come with the 2 hammerhead guns and skyray turret
I still say that our railguns should ignore invual saves entirely. In general bring ion cannons to deal with anything with an incurable saves since in my experience anyone who has that 4+ save is normally going to reroll that dice.
Same man. Their damage consistency would be greatly improved and would definitely validate their inclusion in more lists. Devastating wounds is good but often not enough.
@@CommanderNearsight Fought a match a couple of months ago agianst a demon player with belecor leading the charge have to say i let the crisis suit teams deal with him and had the broadsides kill other targets. No point in wasting a shot when i know its going to get blocked anyway
Railguns are swingy(especially on the Hammerhead as it has 1 Attack), but when it goes through, it hurts. A lot. Even more so if you critical hit during Kauyon. Forcing "do or die" command rerolls on your opponent from a 130 pts unit is not a bad thing. The good thing about the Hammerhead Railgun, is that it is a fairly cheap and mobile platform, with a lot of alpha damage potential(Railgun + 2 seekers). You can pop out from terrain and destroy a heavy target in a single activation(11-26 damage from the heavy weapons). If a target has no Invul, it will be easily hunted and killed(AP 5 often means no save). If the target does have an invul, it is typically way more expensive than your Hammerhead, and you still have a decent chance of knocking it out early if they fail their Invul saves(or if you critical wound). I can tell you it is very frustrating to lose a 200+ pts model to a 130 pts model on turn 1. If the Railgun just ignored Invul all the time, that would happen a lot more often. At best, I could see the weapon getting a 5+ Anti-vehicle and Anti-monster. That way you get Devastating on such targets twice as often. The Ion Cannon option is not bad if you can give it Lethal(Longstrike or an Observer character with "Through Unity, Devastation"). Otherwise, it will have a hard time dealing enough damage to most T9+ targets. It is pretty good as a "versatile" piece. It will be better vs infantry than the Sky Ray and Railgun Hammerhead, but a bit worse against the heavier stuff. It can be a great reserve unit to pop in at turn 3(with Kauyon). By then, most infantry are out in the open and your Seekers(with Kauyon) can be used against the remaining vehicles or elite infantry to good effect. The Sky Ray is less swingy in performance overall, and a bit more versatile when dealing with elite infantry when compared to the Railgun Hammerhead. It will always deal "decent" damage in every turn. On the other hand, it does not have the same amount of alpha damage potentiel. There is also a "degration" when targeting non-fliers(no bonus to hit), T8-T10 models(3+ to wound rather than 2+) as well as when dealing with 2+ save targets(as it "only" has AP 3, while the Railgun is AP 5).
I have binged nearly all of your videos this evening. Im so glad we finally have a consistent Tau content creator. I hope you hit the likes of mordian glory 💪💪
I really appreciate it. He is my inspiration for the channel I must admit. Long term I'd love to fight his pure infantry guard with my pure infantry T'au. I'll keep pumping stuff out for you.
jump scared me, but this is nice advice. Just learning T'au, so this helps a lot, especially coming from Grey Knights, I don't know what anti-tank guns and anti-elite guns really look like, or the differences between them.
You're telling me! If I hit an infantry blob with a rail gun only one guy dies!? That's just not right. We need to force battle shock or something more.
I think that they would be a good addition to a healthy T'au force but for starting I would say watch my video about that. In it I say for starting mostly stay with value boxes and then move to fill in your gaps. If you need more anti-tank and heavier fire power I would absolutely encourage getting some Broadside Battle Suits.
I'm surprised you didnt include the skyrays in this video, or maybe youre saving that for the next? Nice little strategy for you: Before ive done exactly what you said about using hammerheads to make an opponent take a longer slower (and less dangerous to me) route, then turn two surprised him with a barrage of seekers from an air wing that turned up to take it down. Absolutely spot on with the lore and hilariously effective!
Two sunsharks and a barracuda = 8 seeker missiles, some bombs, a rail gun & a skyray for backup...very quick and near certain way to ruin anythings day in one round of shooting 😝 and then continue to cause mayhem for each subsequent turn 😆
Your videos are actually really useful, I tried the strike team strat today and it worked out great ! Now, what about so fun tau lists for 1000 and 2000 pts ?
I've got an all infantry T'au list that I'd love to tell everyone about. I'll come out with it soon. And there are some others I've got cooking too. Don't you worry. You won't have to wait long.
Hey, new to Tau and 40k. You mentioned that the hammerhead gets a +1 to hit from the armour hunter and +1 from being guided. I know you can only have a +1/-1 to hit after all modifiers, so does that mean the army rule is different because it modifies the ballistic skill?
Pack them with a coldstar. Destroy the xv-88s slow movement and lack of assault. Coldstar defends the 88s in close combat, 88s provide long range punch. Pretty close unit size allowing them to take cover around similar terrain. And yes, shield and missile drones on the broadsides.
I think it's a shame that somehow they got the ionic weaponry capped at Strength 8. Doesn't make sense on the Riptide. Such a big model and so weak, no wonder people play the Ghostkeel instead... With proper rules it should work as anti tank
Great video really enjoyed it I have one question for you because you mentioned the riptide I never had one but think about getting one because of that I wondered if you have any opinion or experience with the riptide with its heavy burst canon Other people’s experiences or opinions are also really welcome and appreciated
Yes! I have had experience with it! But only when the heavy burst cannon is being shot at me. It is great at clearing away infantry and even marines. I have always had a preference for the ion accelerator though. The Riptide is the most iconic T'au battle suit and I would highly encourage getting it. Though magnetizing it would be wise so you can switch between different main weapons.
Riptides are amazing, they were better in 9th but I've yet to be disappointed, I played custodes a week ago and Riptide with Ion, and Ghostkeel with Cyclic raker (shooting 36 and can't be shot back unless within 12) were over charging and slaughtering them
Riptide are more tempting now due to points drop (and crisis up to 200). Ion is your best weapon atm. Dont forget its 72inch. Use that to your advantage and make sure its guided.
It strange but Tau does have an issue with anti tank with so few weapons being str10+ as all the ion weapons did not get any str increase with thr transition from 9th edition. For thst reason I always have 2 broadsides and 2 hammerheads in my list. I compliment the 6 seeker missilds they jave with the seeker missiles on 3 piranha and a devilfish to have a nice alpha strike of up to 14 seekers missile buffing my early anti tank. Skyrays are popular as anti tank, but I prefer the hammerhead. It may be more swingy being a single shot but it does more damage over time against vehicles helped by the +1 to hit vehicles and its 2 seeker missiles.
So quick question: You mention how the only viable AT for the Tau in your experience is the hammerhead or the Broadside. And I can say that the broadside is fantastic, though personally I spam shield drones to help them soak 6 more wounds in a pinch versus the missiles. But what about the Skyray? Its seeker rack is less damage per hit but personally the hammerhead just losing any possible damage to one 50/50 invulnerable save deals me D6+6 psychic damage whenever I think about it. So I picked the skyray to have more shots against an invulnerable save. But Im curious as to your thoughts.
You've got good points and in all honesty I forgot about the skyray. I'll have to make a video showing how it is good anti-tank too and works well against invulns too. I actually like it better than hammerheads. It was just someone asked for a broadside and hammerhead video so I only included those two.
@@CommanderNearsightThe skyray is very popular and is more consistent but against vehicles with the +1 to hit and 2 seeker missiles the hammerhead gets it beats the skyray over the course of a battle even against inv saves.
There's definently pros and cons to both. I have had times where I had someone pass all their invul saves, and times where none were saved but I only did 6 damage since I rolled snake eyes for damage and had to CP reroll. Even the worst hammerhead roll would grant me a kill on a decent amount of medium sized units. But against something with a worse invuln save or no save and high toughness, like a Tyrannofex, Leman Russ tank, etc, I imagine the Hammerhead would reign supreme, especially if you get lucky while Kayoun is active.
Bring longstrike over hammerhead fyi. Hes only +10 points but better stats. Hits on 3s but against tanks/monster armorhunter ability means he now shoots on 2s. He doesnt need to be guided. So far hes been doing a good job for me. Yes railgun is only 1 shot but d6+6. Ive gotten a 6+6 bringing down leman russ tanks to 1 wound.
Or you bring Longstrike with the Railgun and Smart missiles(to keep as far away as possible), and also a regular Hammerhead, but with the Ion Cannon and Accelerator Burst Cannons as a "bodyguard" for him. Longstrike hangs back, targets big threats and give Lethal to the other Hammerhead, which can either barrage whatever survives with high amount of shots, or focus on infantry/elites. The thing is, the Hammerhead is only 130 pts. Compare that to any platform with access to a big Plasma Cannon with tank durability and mobility. Armoured Sentinels are cheaper, but far less durable and with a much weaker Plasma Cannon(only d3+blast shots, and at best damage 2). The Riptide might get 6 guaranteed shots, and better potential damage and AP per wound, but it does not have the Blast keyword. The Ion Cannon on the Hammerhead is D6+3+Blast, so against a squad of 10 Terminators, you could potentially shoot 11 times(which means great chance for sustained hits if that is relevant at that point). And if you also have Lethal, that means chances for guaranteed wounds, even against high toughness targets. Again, it is only 130 pts for the tank. If it gets perceived as a threat, it can tank some damage before going down and you have only lost 130 pts worth. Still cheaper than if the same weapons had targeted 2-3 Broadsides or a Crisis Team. If ignored, it can potentially deal massive damage to enemy elites and even vehicles(it does have 2 Seekers).
I like the skyray personally. I should have included it but I was on a rail gun mindset. It's like an interesting midway between the railgun and the ion cannon
As probably a nice mid point between the two hammerhead options. I honestly prefer it over both. Because they are good anti-tank and good against units with fly. Should have discussed it here in hindsight.
You might be sleeping on the gun drones. I haven’t played much but everyone raves about them because they have assault so your broadside can perform actions even after advancing. Granted if you’re using it for spotting or actions you’re using it wrong, but is the indirect from missiles worth the loss in flexibility? (I’m new here and am not trying to start beef. I hope this comment doesn’t come off that way.)
No I understand what you're saying. No beef here. That would be an interesting way to play them. I'd have to try it out to see if that makes them as versatile as you say.
@@CommanderNearsight Again, I haven’t tested them, but it’s just a bit of tech I picked up from other channels. It’s even easier to fit them in to units of broadsides as only one of their drones needs to be assault in order to get the keyword. Another bit of tech I learned (which is SUPER situational) is taking a single Airburst Fragmentation Projector in each of your crisis units so if they find themselves out of range of an enemy, you can still move-shoot-move. Idk if I’ll ever find myself in that position, but I thought it was interesting, regardless.
I'm liking the tactical options though I find them a little obscure and situational. I was thinking something similar to the airburst for move shoot move but giving one battle suit the support system for fallback and shoot so that they can shoot, spend the strat, and launch themselves far away from that danger they got tied up with.
The issue with "assault" keyword on the Broadsides is that they are slow(Movement 5") and you typically want to stand still to benefit from the Heavy keyword(+1 to hit). Their job is to kill things at long range, and moving around to do secondaries, while situationally beneficial, is overall not their purpose. It is only the drone weapon itself that gets the benefit(you do not get to advance and then shoot your big guns). Extra firepower in the form of missile drones or increased survivability from shield drones(sometimes 1 extra wound can go a mile) just usually fits them better.
@@fendelphi I agree that they’re not the absolute best when it comes to firepower, and that broadsides aren’t great for objectives, but in my mind, it’s more of a rather “I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” In a full unit of broadsides you have six drones and only one of them needs to be a gun drone in order for the full unit to have eligibility to shoot (which would also include having the ability to guide if needed.)
But... what about tau "Best" and underrated anti tank there is ? I hereby present you The Tiger Shark (no, don't leave, hear me out) T 11, 3+ sv 5+ invuln 18 wounds 2x the hammer rail railgun 6x Seekers (because why not) 2x SkySpear missiles racks ( 2d6+2 shots) Hands out 1 battle shock test per turn Can be guided an Single handedly remove a titan (Monolith / Banebalde chassis / or any other problematic center piece) All that can be yours for a merely 275 pts (15 pts more than 2x hammerheads) Problem is it arrives T2, so hang tight and doesn't have the innate re-roll (arrives near shadow sun and thats fixed, and marks with stealth suits for the wound re-roll and you are sorted)
@@CommanderNearsight yes sadly indeed, I tend to stop myself when the price (in CAD) exceed the points cost. I do not own this model, but I REALLY like it...
you telling me you're not going to use a marker light on a 10 size Terminator unit that so course you are as well you put it on long strike so it 2 bs I'm not certain on space marines but you're telling me they got to get to use armour of contempt which is going to cp as well but they it maybe get it for free you are forgetting other units from other armies you not only going to be shooting Terminators with it you could be shooting tyranid Warriors or other stuff in the same vein not all of them get it for free so you're forcing them to get CP Point use not all of them get it for free don't get me wrong the Riptide is maybe another option good there is a bit of a price difference in the points you can put another hammerhead next to Long strike and then you have two hammerheads with one having lethal hits and one 2 bs turn it up with a Pathfinder and then you can spot for two units with a marker light but hey maybe I'm missing something
You've got a good point. I might have straw manned the Ion Cannon a bit to make a point about other units with similar options being better. Though I will still hold that the Riptide with Ion Accelerator is better.
when I was making my list I looked at the riptides and I was like all these are really good points with just a bit too much for my list already put two Ghost kills in my army list which will kind of doing their job as well trying to find a cheaper option which could still have the same or similar effect and that's when I realised about the combos with you know long strike next to another hammerhead avoiding the ballistic Skillet on one of them being a problem and then you know the combo right with the other one and I get a twisted I've also got another hammerhead in my list with a railgun I just realised I didn't really need the combo with the hammerhead railgun that's why I also put the Pathfinders in with the rail rifle with them as will darkstrider as well as Farsight so nothing gets near them @@CommanderNearsight
@@CommanderNearsight well in my 2000 point Army list the tank busters that I have is a hammerhead railgun two broadsides and 3 Pathfinders with rail rifles as will as 14 seeker missiles you think that's enough
