Fighting Tau with the Witch Hunters

[Midge913]

Greetings brothers,

 

I am seeking advice. I have been a SoB player since I first started 40k about 3 years ago, and under fourth edition I loved playing them. However, due to the new rules revamp, new codex releases, and various sundry other events, I feel that my ladies in power armor have gotten the short end of the stick. One of the guys that I play on a regular basis plays the Tau. Over the course of several games I have found that due to the new cover save rules, new line of sight rules, and what not I am having a lot of difficulty getting my Sisters into that key 18"-12" range that the Sisters love to live in. The bevy of strength 5, and above, weapons that the Tau can put on the table are able to annihilate a good chunk of my force, even inside transports, before I am able to get close enough to do what I need to do, assault, flame template, and bolter double tap with Divine Guidance. I am looking to other Sister players to give me their take on these issues, and to provide some possible strategies to help me out if you play the Tau on a regular basis. Below is the most recent list I put on the table against my Tau opponent.

 

HQ:

Canoness- Blessed weapon, Inferno pistol, cloak of st. aspira, Litanies of Faith, Rosarius,

- Celestian Retinue:

- 8 Celestians- Melta gun, heavy bolter, Imagifier, Sacred standard, Frag and Krak,

- Veteran Sister- plasma pistol, power weapon

- all mounted in a rhino

 

Palatine- Jump pack, power weapon, inferno pistol, rosarius, purity seals- attached to Seraphim

 

Elite:

Celestian Squad

- 8 Celestians- Flamer, Heavy flamer, frag and krak

- Veteran Sister Superior- power weapon, plasma pistol, purity seals

 

Troops:

Sisters Squad

- 9 Sisters- Flamer, Heavy Flamer, Frag and Krak

- Veteran Sister Superior- Power weapon, Plasma Pistol, purity seals

 

Sisters Squad

- 9 Sisters- Melta-gun, Heavy Flamer, Frag and Krak

- Veteran Sister Superior- Power weapon, Plasma Pistol, Purity Seals

- Rhino

 

Fast Attack:

Seraphim

- 6 Seraphim- twin-inferno pistol, twin-hand flamer, frag and krak, melta bombs

- Veteran Sister Superior- Plasma Pistol, Power weapon, Purity seals

 

Dominion Squad

- 5 Dominions- 2 melta guns, 2 flamers, melta bombs

- Veteran Sister Superior- ccw, plasma pistol

- Immolator- extra armor, hunter killer missile, twin-linked multi-melta

 

Heavy:

Exorcist

 

Faith Points: 9

Points 1998

 

Comments, suggestions, and tips welcome

[jeffersonian000]

Sisters either need to be mechanized so that they can dash into range, or footslogging so that they have the numbers to weather out heavy fire. You can't do both and expect to do well. Versus an army like Tau, either all vehicles or huge squad sizes is about the only thing you can really do to win a game. Exorcists are excellent, but only if you have more than one. Immolators are functionally useless you have 3+ and use them aggressively. Rhinos need to be in numbers and none at all.

 

Tau is an army that Sisters should be shredding to ribbons in every game, but only if if you move fast and hit hard.

 

SJ

[SJumppanen]

More Seraphims, maybe Retributors or HB servitors and if possible then Callidus assasin.

Second Exorchist might be fun too.

 

Are you seriously paying points for grenades... ...there seems to be quite a bit of things that need optimising.

 

I'll be back to this later.

[ArmouredWing]

Ah, Tau, one of my favourite opponents!

 

Right, before I get into it the first thing I have to say is that sisters are in great shape for 5th ed and I’ve never had so much success with them as I have now, especially against Tau.

As has been mentioned already speed is the key to getting to grips with the greater good. Tau want to maintain a good distance so that they can get some decent firing rounds in your counter to this should be to dash headlong towards their lines to get into firing/assault range ASAP, but to do this you’ve got to build a list that has the ability to survive the incoming fire en route to the target.

 

Looking at your list there’s a major factor that jumps right out at me…way too many toys & gadgets which makes your units expensive without enhancing their overall performance on the table. I’ve found for 5th ed sisters lists less is definitely more and when I say less I mean less toys which saves points which can be ploughed back into more bodies on the ground.

 

So lets look at the list.

 

HQ:

Canoness- Blessed weapon, Inferno pistol, cloak of st. aspira, Litanies of Faith, Rosarius,

- Celestian Retinue:

- 8 Celestians- Melta gun, heavy bolter, Imagifier, Sacred standard, Frag and Krak,

- Veteran Sister- plasma pistol, power weapon

- all mounted in a rhino

 

Palatine- Jump pack, power weapon, inferno pistol, rosarius, purity seals- attached to Seraphim

 

Ok, your canoness & retinue as a start.

For a start ditch the inferno pistol, range is way too short for a mounted canoness, instead go for a combi melta. That way you’ve got a decent ranged weapon that can be used as a bolter when not in 6” range.

Ditch Litanies of Faith. Too expensive for what it does with a unit of this size.

Ditch the Imagifier and sacred standard. Again too expensive and the imgaifier is never really that useful considering the size of the unit and the type of AoF that you’ll be using.

Ditch the PP on the vet and consider a combi weapon or an eviscerator with BP.

If you go for a eviscerator ditch the krak grenades. Remember, in CC you’ll be hitting the rear armour and with HotE you’ll be able to do damage against AV10 with some decent rolling (and hitting more often than with kraks).

Ditch the HB. The key to success with this squad is speed & movement. With that being the case you’ll not be wanting to stand around to get those 3 HB shots off. Save the pts to spend elsewhere.

Consider dropping the squad size and going with an immolator + smoke. If you don’t you still need smoke on the rhino to get the coversave in the first turn of movement.

 

And finally give the Palatine some ability to hit enemy armour in CC, e.g. eviscerator.

 

Elite:

Celestian Squad

- 8 Celestians- Flamer, Heavy flamer, frag and krak

- Veteran Sister Superior- power weapon, plasma pistol, purity seals

 

Right, this squad needs to be mounted. Consider dropping the squad size to get them in an immolator or give them a rhino but either way you’ll again need smoke to give them a coversave.

Also look again at the vet’s loadout. A PP is not the best option; the range is too short for this unit. Think about a combi weapon. And lose the purity seals, this unit shouldn’t run from Tau (firewarrior/suit) CC and running further away will only give them more chance to get shot.

 

Troops:

Sisters Squad

- 9 Sisters- Flamer, Heavy Flamer, Frag and Krak

- Veteran Sister Superior- Power weapon, Plasma Pistol, purity seals

 

Sisters Squad

- 9 Sisters- Melta-gun, Heavy Flamer, Frag and Krak

- Veteran Sister Superior- Power weapon, Plasma Pistol, Purity Seals

- Rhino

 

Rhino’s need smoke. Same comments as above regarding PP’s & seals on vets. Krak isn’t necessarily the best option as an eviscerator is only 5pts more cost and you’ll still be hitting rear armour on enemy vehicles.

 

Fast Attack:

Seraphim

- 6 Seraphim- twin-inferno pistol, twin-hand flamer, frag and krak, melta bombs

- Veteran Sister Superior- Plasma Pistol, Power weapon, Purity seals

 

For Seraphim you need to go either both hand flamers or both IP’s. Personally I always go for IP’s as these girls are best suited for anti tank/anti character. Melta bombs are an expensive option and there’s nothing in a tau list that can’t be busted with kraks.

For the Vet, again, drop the PP and look at the other options available. You’ve always got to consider the possibility of your vets killing themselves with PPs and for the pts sink it’s not a good choice. Also, again, the purity seals should go.

 

Dominion Squad

- 5 Dominions- 2 melta guns, 2 flamers, melta bombs

- Veteran Sister Superior- ccw, plasma pistol

- Immolator- extra armor, hunter killer missile, twin-linked multi-melta

 

Drop the meltabombs & PP on the squad. Drop the xtra armour, TL MM (speed is the key for this unit, force yourself to go fast!).

 

Heavy:

Exorcist

 

More Exorcists! You need at least 2 to make them work for you. This way you offset the risk of them rolling low and stand a decent chance of getting some good shots.

 

Apart from that, get more bodies on the ground. With the points saved in other areas you should be able to get at least another squad of troops in there, whether they be mounted or footslogging.

 

Remember, toys doesn’t equal performance, only more thing to lose when key squad members get nailed.

[panbient]

Retributors or HB servitors

 

absolutely 100% yes! i also started about 3 years ago and routinely played tau.

 

HBs demolish fire warriors without DG. if you're opponent normally plays a long range firing line load them up in a rhino, charge ahead, pop smoke, unload so the rhino provides flanking cover and start the slaughter on turn 2.

 

i remember having good fun with an eversor assassin vs. tau with 4th, the new CC rules don't really work so well for it now. there's really no need to get into CC with tau either so why bother with power weapons on the troop vets? i'd even consider storm bolters for more long range death.

 

wouldn't attaching the palatine to the seraphim negate 'hit and run'?

 

as was said earlier, the main tactic vs. tau is go big or go home.

[WarriorFish]

Yep, load up on Rhinos (as mentioned, go all out or not at all) and play extremely aggresively. It's the trick with SoB generally but especially so with the smelly Tau. Less trinkets and more bodies is a good idea also.

 

You'll soon find the most important question when facing Tau is no longer "how do I beat them?" but "how do I like my sushi?" :)

[Chengar Qordath]

I won't repeat what others have said, but I will echo that they're largely right.

 

First off, there's absolutely no reason to ever field a Palatine; the Cannoness is just 10 points more and the improvement for those points is massive (Better leadership, more wounds, more attacks, and an extra faith point).

 

Frags might be worth it since Tau are probably the only army that Sisters of Battle want to get into close combat with, but I still think there are better things to spend the points on. That definately applies to Krak grenades; there's a reason kraks got cut from 2 pts per model to .5 pts per model in the new IG Codex, and even then lots of people won't buy them. Kraks aren't worth their very inflated price for Sisters of Battle.

 

Depending on the Tau player's build it might be worth adding a Callidus Assassin to the army; I find them to be a great way to deal with Broadsides if your opponent fields many of them.

 

I'll echo that Exorcists are a must-have; the can rip up most Tau vehicles and also insta-kill crisis suits and HQs.

[Melissia]

My own reccomendation mirror what everyone else has said.

 

I'd attatch the second celestian squad to the palatine, and the palatine should, without a doubt, be upgraded to a canoness. Lose all plasma weapons, you don't really need them against Tau (if you need AP2 or better, you can do Divine Guidance or simple bolter shock to get results, as most of their saves aren't that good). A simple bolter would suffice. Drop all of your grenades. Drop the dominian squad and add another seraphim squad. Give them twin inferno pistols and drop the melta bombs. You don't need to pay for frag and krak nades on seraphim, and krak nades or HotE are more than enough against Tau armor. You haven't purchased a single BOok of St. Lucius, and thus you shoudl be ashamed of yourself.

 

The army list would end up being like so assuming no major changes (which I would suggest might be prudent):

 

 

HQ:

Canoness w/BoSL, CoSA, BW, Eviscerator, MoA, Bolt Pistol

--4 Celestian Retinue: Flamer / Heavy Flamer

--Veteran: BP+PW

-- Immolator: TL Heavy Flamers, Smoke

Canoness w/BoSL, CoSA, BW, Eviscerator, MoA

--4 Celestian Retinue: Flamer / Heavy Flamer

--Veteran: BP+PW

-- Immolator: TL Heavy Flamers, Smoke

 

Troops:

BSS: Flamer / Heavy Flamer

-- Veteran: BoSL, Bolter

-- Rhino: Smoke

BSS: Flamer / Heavy Flamer

-- Veteran: BoSL, Bolter

-- Rhino: Smoke

BSS: Flamer / Heavy Flamer

-- Veteran: BoSL, Bolter

-- Rhino: Smoke

BSS: Flamer / Heavy Flamer

-- Veteran: BoSL, Bolter

-- Rhino: Smoke

 

Fast Attack:

7 Seraphim: Inferno Pistols

--Veteran: BP+PW, BoSL

 

Heavy Support:

Exorcist

Exorcist

Exorcist

 

 

Yes, this is a 2000 point list. Seraphim and Exorcists for anti-tank, everything else for anti-infantry, except the canonesses can also be anti-tank in a pinch. If you're using Forgeworld prices for your Rhinos, that frees up 60 more points to spend, but I doubt you would be.

[Midge913]

Thanks for all the comments folks, I really appreciate the imput. I will definitely try some of the suggestions here. I look forward to crushing my Tau opponent the next game.

[SJumppanen]

It seems that i'm bit late now, but those above are good advices.

 

I just say that Melissia is correct. BoSL is must have in sister squads. So take it allways to every SoB unit you can.

[Melissia]

Just remember that Seraphim automatically get frag and krak nades, and so they are your primary assaulter units. Their jump packs, good shooting before the assault, and multiple attacks in close combat, all make them great counter-assault units along with being good anti-tank due to both their krak nades adn their numerous attacks, allowing them to perform anti-tank duties with Hand of the Emperor. Celestian retinue attatched to your canoness also make good assault units too, and so they're one fo the few units that are actually worth purchasing frag (But not krak) nades for. If you want to put nades on them, change their heavy flamers to regular flamers, which will free up six points apiece-- precisely enough for frag nades for the canonesses and celestian retinues.

[Chengar Qordath]

If you want to put nades on them, change their heavy flamers to regular flamers, which will free up six points apiece-- precisely enough for frag nades for the canonesses and celestian retinues.

I wouldn't neccessarily advise that, considering that AP 4 on a heavy flamer is very useful against a fair number of Tau units.

[SJumppanen]

If you want to put nades on them, change their heavy flamers to regular flamers, which will free up six points apiece-- precisely enough for frag nades for the canonesses and celestian retinues.

I wouldn't neccessarily advise that, considering that AP 4 on a heavy flamer is very useful against a fair number of Tau units.

 

Seconded.

 

BTW. It seems that not too many use Evicerators on their Seraphim. I would suggest everyone to at least try it.

[Melissia]

It's not a bad idea, but against tau having more attacks is more valuable.

[ArmouredWing]

It's not a bad idea, but against tau having more attacks is more valuable.

I'd have to go with majority here and say that against Tau heavy flamers are king.

 

The thing to remember is that your average tau troops selection (either FW's or kroot) will fall fast against the AP4 hvy flamer and doubly so because they can't claim their cover save (especially where kroot going to ground in woodland are concerned). The other thing to consider isthat to gear up sisters for CC means you are looking for a fight and if you're facing an experienced Tau general there's a pretty good chance that you'll be facing kroot in large numbers. If this is the case they will absolutely mince anything they get in CC with, so better hit them with a couple of flamer templates and even better if one s a hvy flamer....hmmmmm, crispy fried kroot!

[WallEye]

I wouldn't profess to be an expert as I haven't used my girls in the new ed, but would a complement of longer ranged inducted guard or stormtroopers help?

 

I've just got a chimera, with stormtroopers to give me something with a bit more shooty punch for my girls. Something i think they may need in this new edition.

[templargdt]

I'd also say that a Callidus assassain against Crisis suits is a lot of fun.

[jeffersonian000]

I'd recommend the Callidus, as well. I've been fielding her with my GK's versus Tau as a way to tie-up/eliminate annoying Tau infantry units once she appears, or the move certain units out of cover/into-LOS if I go first. She's worth it if you have a use for the Inquisitor it takes to unlock her.

 

SJ

[SJumppanen]

I'd recommend the Callidus, as well. I've been fielding her with my GK's versus Tau as a way to tie-up/eliminate annoying Tau infantry units once she appears, or the move certain units out of cover/into-LOS if I go first. She's worth it if you have a use for the Inquisitor it takes to unlock her.

 

HB servitors all the way!