Tau vs. Space Marines 1000pts

February 25th 2006

Tau Forces Shas Mes'shi (PDF)	Space Marine Forces Golden Eagles
Mike	Matthew
HQ Commander (Crisis suit) Troops 12 Fire Warriors 14 Kroot Elites 2 XV8 Crisis Battlesuit Team Fast Attack 7 Pathfinders, 3 Rail Rifles Devilfish, 3 Seeker Missiles Heavy Support XV88 Broadside XV88 Broadside	HQ Commander (jump pack, lightning claws) Troops Tactical Squad, Drop Pod Scout Squad, Sniper Rifles Elites <none> Fast Attack Assault Squad 3 Land Speeder Tornados Heavy Support Dreadnought

Battlefield & Mission

This was a fairly unplanned 'pick up' game, so we just slogged it out. The battlefield was made from whatever terrain I had available on the day, in this case a green cloth with some terrain elements superimposed on it: Games Workshop hills and walls, some of my home-made jungle trees and a Tau landing pad which I made with Matthew one day (from a cereal box, a pizza base and a toilet roll!) when he was much younger.

The Golden Eagles

The Golden Eagles Space Marines Chapter

This photo shows the Space Marine force, prior to deployment. They are from the Golden Eagles Chapter, famous for a mobile style of warfare, a very compact and deadly 1000 points army.

Tau Deployment

Shas Mes'shi Deployment

Mike´s Kroot occupy the jungle vegetation, as usual. One of his Broadside Battlesuits occupies the hill in a commanding position in the centre of the battlefield, along with a squad of Fire Warriors. The Broadside doesn´t need any cover, but the Fire Warriors can get some benefit from the rocks. Out front is the Commander, a little exposed but centrally placed so he can move to any quarter of the battlefield to provide assistance as needed, using his jetpack. To some extent his function is to draw fire away from other units (yes, unrealistic I know, but this is W40K!). Not visible out of the picture to the left is the other Broadside and the Pathfinders, who are occupying the farther side of the deployment zone. The Devilfish is hanging back, intending to fire off its Seeker Missiles before moving in with its Burst Cannon. It is never used to move troops around the battlefield, there simply isn´t time in brutal W40K.

View from behind the Tau lines

Another view of the Tau infantry on the hill. The Space Marines deploy on the opposite corner (in the direction all the guns are pointing!), except…