My tournament experience.

I recently played with my Tau at one of the largest 40k tournaments in Australia, CANCON. Seventy four players attended for the three day event. Eight games were to be played, at 1750pts.

This is the list I used:

Shas'el - twinlinked missils pod, plasma rifle, hardwired multitracker, hardwired blacksun filter
Shas'el - twinlinked missils pod, plasma rifle, hardwired multitracker, hardwired blacksun filter

6 Stealths
6 Stealths
4 Stealths

12 Fire Warriors in Devilfish - decoys, multi, array
12 Fire Warriors in Devilfish - decoys, multi, array
10 Kroot
10 Kroot

Hammerhead - ioncannon, burst cannons, decoys, multi
Hammerhead - railgun, burst cannons, decoys, multi
Hammerhead - railgun, smart missiles, decoys, multi, target lock

Here's a couple of pics:



Painting and composition are worth 10% each, sports is worth 30%, and generalship is worth 50%. I received 16/32 for painting. I received 26/32 for comp. You get a score out 12 each game for sports, I totalled 94. Finally, you get up to 20 battle points each game.

A major loss, minor loss, draw, minor win, and major win respectively give 5, 7, 10, 12, and 14. The following are worth an extra battle point each: Enemy commander dead or fleeing, most expensive enemy unit dead or fleeing, scoring unit in opponent's deployment zone, no enemy scoring units in your deployment zone, more scoring units than your opponent, more than half your original scoring units alive.

The tournament ran a swiss system, players of roughly equal battle points played each other. The higher your battle points, in theory, the harder your opponents will be.
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Game one was a cleanse alpha mission. I played against a poorly done Ulthwe Strike Force. It included a 2 farseer 8 warlock seer council, 2 units of 3 dark reapers with missile launcher, unit of banshees, 2 starcannon vypers, and storm guardians. It only had 1 webway portal. My units hovered around the portal and killed everything that came out of it. I lost a unit of fire warriors and my kroot, I killed his whole army. 20 battle points.
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Game Two was night fight. For those that don't have a rulebook handy, it's like cleanse gamma, but night fight for all 6 turns. I played against a top blood angels player. He had no chaplain, just an honour guard with a captain in jump packs. He had a unit of scouts, unit in rhino, another 2 units with plasma cannon and gun each, unit of 2 AC/HB LST's, unit of 2 MM/HF LST's, 2 baal preds, and the compulsory death company, 6 men in this case.

I lost first turn, and it didn't get much better from there. I was able to take out his preds and most of his army actually, but it was a bitter blood bath, I only had a unit of stealths and a commander at the end of the game. His death company scored my deployment zone, a single LST with no weapons also survived. My stealths were stuck in combat with scouts in the last few turns and couldn't make his deployment zone. Deployment zones are worth 875vps, other quarters are worth 438vps, so he won this one solidly with that 437pts head start. 6 Battle points, I killed his most expensive unit.
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Game Three was again against blood angels, this time it was take and hold gamma. I had played this player many times before, last time we played, it was coincidentely take and hold gamma, and he got a victorious slaughter against me. He changed his army slightly this time, I'd thrown in railguns this time, so I was hoping I wouldn't get the same result.

His army consisted of a chaplain with death company, unit in rhino, unit with missile launcher, 7 man scout squad with vet serg no wargear, furioso dread, another dread with AC, another tac squad with a meltagun which was in a land raider, and a unit of assault marines.

I chose to go first, and was able to kill his furioso dread, also his scouts which were sitting on the objective. He came forward with everything, his land raider was doing a good job of keeping my railheads occupied. I was able to unload both units of fire warriors, 16 stealths, both commanders, and the ionhead into death company turn three, with some units able to go after the assault marines if I got lucky. Rolls were average, death company disappeared, and I couldn't target the chaplain because the assault marines were closer, I was able to make them run back a little before ATSKNF rallied them.

Chaplain went for the kroot, and would have been able to run into the fire warriors for safety, but the kroot passed the moral check. Apart from that, the only choppy action was from the rhino unit and dread into fire warriors, it was a mainly a shooty match, and a draw. I got 2 hammerheads onto the objective, while his land raider also made it after not even being glanced from 6 railgun shots at it. 12 battle points, I killed the chaplain (he charged 6 stealths and was taken down before attacking) and had more scoring units than my opponent.
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Game four was like secure and control omega. We picked sides, and then our opponent would place our objectives. Primary objectives were worth 500vps, secondary were worth 200vps. My opponent played black legion. He had three squads of footslog CSM, unit of CSM in rhino, 8 furies, land raider, WS6 S6 T5(6) W4 3+/5++ daemon prince with daemonic flight, 2 obliterators, and twinlas dread.

Everything but the dreadnought came on the board turn two, I got everything but stealths and a unit of fire warriors. My opponent and I were both too afraid to go passed the halfway mark. Our objectives were just outside our opponent's deployment zones.

The daemon prince went for my stealths later in the game, after the railguns were destroyed. I ended up taking it down in one turn of my army's firepower. I won by a few victory points, both of us had our opponent's objectives well guarded, I'd just loss less than he did. 15 battle points, I got his commander, more scoring units than him, and no enemy scoring units in my deployment zone.
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Game Five was against papa smurf and his smurfettes. It was a recon alpha mission, and he had Marneus Calgar and honour guard, 2 units of termies with 2 AC each, 3 6 man Tac Sqads, 8 assault marines, and 3 dev squads.

I focused on the assault marines my first two turns, after that I used my superior mobility and range to outshoot and outmove my opponent. The terminators died to volume of fire, I got a unit of stealths and a unit of kroot - which both charged 3 marines in the 4th turn - into my opponent's deployment zone, and provided sufficient distractions so my opponent didn't get anything into my deployment zone. Papa Smurf and Honour guard were the only things left alive, I made that choice because they were the only thing non-shooty apart from the assault marines. I missed out on the enemy commander point, the most expensive unit point, and didn't have more than half my scoring units alive at the end of the game. I received 17 battle points.
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Game Six was against Ultramarines again. The time it was seek and destroy omega. My opponent had everything. Bottom up, he had a whirlwind, an annihilator with HB, devs, assault marines, land speeder typhoon, scouts, two tac squads, termies, and a librarian with fury.

I completely outplayed him. I got him to focus on the kroot, they were the only things on the board to start with. His pred came on and gunned them down, my railhead came on on the other side of the board and shot it in the side. I shot at the terminators, they fled, and my devilfish followed them until they were off the board. I didn't even need to shoot at the assault marines until turn 6 (killing them turn 7), my army had just run away from them. Two of my stealth units were out of the whirlwind range, until it was destroyed. My hammerheads stayed out of LOS of the devs.

I denied him victory points more than killed him, he ended up with a large chunk of scoring units left (tac squads and devs), meaning I missed out on a major win. I got his commander, most expensive scoring unit, more scoring units than him, scoring unit in deployment zone, and no scoring units in my deployment zone. I receive 17 battle points.
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Game seven was against Space Marines. An interesting drop pod army, for an interesting mission. It had 2 tac squads in pods, 2 dreads in pods, libby with fear with 4 termies with 2 AC, devs, scouts, and 2 LST's.

The mission was like secure and control alpha. You had your own objectives to captured like the previous battle. A primary objective is worth 2, two secondary objectives are worth 1 each. You could only capture objectives with infantry, not jump infantry, so kroot and fire warriors. You could contest with any scoring unit.

He made the mistake of shooting with his LST's first turn. He killed 2 stealths, but the LST's were not there next turn. I also killed his scouts with a submunition, and his devs ran off the board. His librarian and termies then scattered onto my stealths. Half his army was gone before my turn two, it was cleanup from here, although it should be noted one of his dreads survived 6 railgun shots, being shaken once (obscured), and hit twice (rolled a 1 the other time); this dread also proceeded to kill all my stealths (better letting stealths die than getting my devilfish shot at, because of the mission). 18 battle points, I again failed to have 6 scoring units left at the end of the game, and my opponent had a scoring unit in my deployment zone (on his primary objective, but it was contested with a hammerhead).
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Last game was against Space Marines again. This was the toughest game of the lot. I had moved my way up, I was now on table 3. And thank god I had gotten exactly the battle points I had, the black legion player I faced had one more point, and he was on table two against drop pod space wolves, the player that ended up with the highest battle points. The black legion player received 5 battle points.

This battle was close. I might have missed the best two players in the tourny, the other one playing an oblit heavy iron warrior list on table one this round, but it hasn't been easy at all (with the exception of my first game and the one before this one).

His army:

Chaplain in terminator armour, 4 terminators, 2 assault cannons, 2 chainfists
Prometheus Land Raider (two twinlinked heavy bolters on each side) - dozer, armour
Inquisitor with psycannon, sage (gives Inquisitor BS5), 2 mystics (used against enemy deep strikers)
Callidius Temple Assassin

5 Marines - 2 melta's, drop pod
5 Marines - 2 melta's, drop pod

3 Attack Bikes - heavy bolters
LST - HB/AC
LST - HB/AC

Pred Annihilator - HB spons, dozer, armour
Pred Annihilator - HB spons, dozer, armour

It was recon gamma.



I chose to go first. I take out the left pred with a side shot from a commander. I stun the right LST.

His turn, he knocks off the burst cannon and a gun drone from the left devilfish with his terminators after they jump out of the land raider that has parked in the forest. He makes the kroot run.

The 6 kroot rally. I then proceed to destroy the pred on the right with a railgun, but fail to glance or penetrate the LST with my commander. Fire warriors unload on the attack bikes, killing one and wounding another. The devilfish on the right is level with the forest near the preds. My hammerheads have their backs to the walls, I finish off the inquisitor and retinue.

The drop pod scatters onto the hill. The prometheus tank takes care of the fire warriors on the left, the attack bikes destroy their devilfish, the terminators destroy the other devilfish, 6 fire warriors survive. The assassin kills a commander, a unit of 4 stealths, shakes a hammerhead, and runs into the kroot for safety.

Stealths and kroot are moving up. The attack bikes are safe behind the wall, the other 6 stealths are doomed. The right LST is finished off.

The attack bikes shoot at and assault the stealths, 2 are left and they pass their moral check. The assassin stuns the hammerhead. The other drop pod lands to the right and tries to kill some stealths, only getting one. The land raider moves up and stays out of LOS of my railhead on the other side of the board.

I take care of the marines on the right, I wound the assassin with my commander. The stealths are finished off.

The terminators are just hiding behind my destroyed devilfish on the right, they are concerned about my tanks on the right flank. The land raider continues to move up the board, the other LST hiding behind it. The assassin has a go at my commander, fails, then the attack bikes, fail, but the land raider does 20 billion wounds and he dies.

I stay on the right, he stays on the left. My third hammerhead survives, and has a shot at an attack bike last turn, killing it meaning it was no longer a scoring unit.

I've lost 1010pts, I've killed a bit less, but I've gotted 575vps from the objective, he's gotten a bit less, because the terminators don't make my deployment zone. It was a draw. I killed the inquisitor, had a scoring unit in my opponent's deployment zone, and had more scoring units than him, I receive 13 battle points.
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Five wins, two draws, and a loss, I received 118 out of 160 battle points. My score totalled 254, I came 8th.