TAU versus Chaos Space Marines

Game: Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition
Opponent: Hugh
Mission: Take and Hold
Campaign: Winter War
1st turn: Chaos Space Marines
Points: 1000

Tau

• Shas’O’Tau’Ko’Vash’Ch’ien’Shi Shas’O - plasma rifle, fusion blaster, shield generator
• Shas’Ui’Tau’Ho’Lu’Demlock - Crisis battle suit, Shas’ui with plasma rifle, missile pod and multitracker
• Shas’Ui’Tau’Ho’Lu’Hemlock - Crisis battle suit, Shas’ui with plasma rifle, missile pod and multitracker
• Shas’Ui’Tau’Ho’Lu’Vemlock - Crisis battle suit, Shas’ui with plasma rifle, missile pod and multitracker
• Shas’La’Tau’Han’Dan - 6 Fire warriors, 5 with pulse rifles, one with pulse carbine
• Shas’La’Tau’Mont’Yr - 6 Fire warriors, 5 with pulse rifles, one with pulse carbine
• Shas’La’Tau’Mull’Kin’Tyr - 6 Fire warriors, 5 with pulse rifles, one with pulse carbine
• Shas’La’Tau’Tan’Klyr - 6 Fire warriors, 5 with pulse rifles, one with pulse carbine
• Murabla - 10 Kroot
• Kor’Vesa - 7 Gun drones
• Shas’Ui’Tau’Yu’Rang - Shas’ui Broadside with twin linked railguns, smart missile system and shield generator
• Shas’La’Tau’Or’Es’Mont’Ka - Hammerhead Railgun, smart missile system, multitracker, decoy launchers, seeker missile

Chaos Space Marines

• 5 bikers
• 2 Squads with lascannons
• Close assault squad in rhino
• Lieutenant and squad in rhino
• Dread with twin linked lascannons

The game
Take and hold with Tau as the attacker – gulp!

The Kroot infiltrated on the left but were up against the dread and got wiped out. Fire Warriors and Crisis suits took out the squad holding the objective (a two storey ruined building) and raced toward it.

The Hammerhead zoomed up the right blowing up a rhino behind the objective, but was taken out by a lascannon.

On the fourth turn I had four suits on the objective but the game didn’t end and they were all killed in one turn.

My entire army was wiped out by turn six.

Result: Lost

Learning points

• No chance in the mission; objective tough for most Tau anyway but the building shielded most squads from fire.
• Clarify terrain before the game. In this one I didn’t and my opponent ‘changed’ interpretation halfway through the game.
• Even against a non-fearless army with no leadership re-rolls I didn’t get a single pin result. Drop this tactic.
• Dithered with the drones. Drop them and buy a stealth team instead.