How has Tau been doing in 9th Ed Warhammer 40k- well check out the top 40k army lists from August’s tournaments around the globe.
Tau was huge in the meta at the tail end of 8th with Riptides and Drones but how are they doing in 9th? Check out what these lists brought and how well they did as we go over some of August’s biggest tournaments.
Thanks to Best Coast Pairings we are able to look back at the event as if we were there ourselves.
5th Place: Vanguard Tactics- William Abilez
More coverage on Vanguard Tactics Tourney
A Battalion was lead by a Commander with quad Fusion and Aun’shi, a named Ethereal. It also brought with it one squad of Breachers melting face up close. While the Kroot were probably nothing more than objective holders. A Ghostkeel was taken with an interesting choice of wargear as well. Instead of the normal fusion platform, a cyclic ion raker and some flamers were loaded on.
Finally, the Tau list you know and love was packed into a Patrol detachment lead by Longstrike. Two Riptides hit the field with a swarm of Drones to cover them and a couple of Fire Warrior squads were there to help create space. Nice job. It looks like the Riptide/Drone tactic is still totally viable, but can also be supported with a variety of different suits and Kroot now too.
5th Place: Warzone Giga-Bites IV- Collin Watts
More coverage on Warzone Giga-Bites IV Tourney
This is a pretty neat list bringing Riptides and the Battalion of Fire Warriors to support them as always. However, this list took some smaller Stealth Battlesuits to create some space for the list and hold mid-board objectives. Two Y’vahras were also brought dealing out blistering auto-hitting 3-damage torrents.
In an Aggressor/Eradicator meta, these guys are really, really good. Having just a few points left over, some solid firing platforms with decent toughness were also brought as Devilfish. So while this list cut out all the Drones, it still had layers of models to get through before touching the Riptides while the Y’vahras could deep strike and hose any problem units that were making good progress.
22nd Place: Flying Monkey Con- Samuel Hank
More coverage from the Flying Monkey Con Tourney
This list is really off-the-wall compared to most Tau lists these days. Close quarter Breachers were loaded into some Devilfish for that old, old 8th Edition fish-fry tactic (you hop out up close and blast Troops away with High-strength guns and get back in the Transport). A Y’vahra was also there because 3-damage auto hits are pretty good these days. But most of the list was put into two Tigershark Fighter Bombers. Honestly, what don’t these guys have? These are the gunships that Space Marines wish they had. Coming with a huge array of 1-3 flat, and mortal wound damaging weapons, these units were just great all-around killers on the board.
The Hobby Products & Tools We Swear By
At the end of the day, it seems like most Tau lists are hovering toward the upper end of the leaderboards. However, we’re bound to see this change as factions get codexes and the meta settles a bit more. All in all, though, Tau definitely isn’t the worst faction out there these days.
What do you think about these lists that we’ve covered? Do you play something similar?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today! You can also support us on Patreon and get ad-free access to the site, plus a ton of minis that helps support some of the best creators out there!
About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
