My starting disclaimer:
I will not be using MEQ's as a standard. In the large scheme of things I see the guardsmen as the best standard, they're 3 across the board with a basic armor save of 5+. Granted there are tons MEQ's, there are also Eldar/Deldar/Militarum/Tyranids/Kroot/Cultists/Orks and more that do make regular appearances out there in the meta. If you disagree then that's no taco off my truck but please do feel free to comment for the greater good.
The Unit
For this article I'll be focusing on the marginalized Vespid Stingwings and before we get to the nitty gritty, lets get an overview of the unit.
-MEQ toughness, middling save, High initiative and basic guard stats otherwise.
-Fleet, Hit and Run, Move through cover, Jump infantry & Stealth (ruins).
-AP3, S5 18" range Assault weapon.
The Perception
At first glance these guys are clearly MEQ killers that can harass and break away from combat. Their 4+ save and T4 makes them vulnerable to the S7 Ap4 that seems to be prevalent now and their Assault 1 and 18" gun necessitates them getting too close for comfort. They're pretty costly when filled out, and Aun'Va help you if you lose the Strain Leader.
With proper marker-light back up they excel at taking chunks out of MSU armies if they can survive to get there mayhaps? A suicide squad could have the potential to wipe a troublesome long-fang squad or equivalent but that's about it right? Glance at almost every other tactica article online and this is the proposed use for Vespid that's why they're often set aside in leu of the expansive list of fast attack choices.
What if there was another way?
There are multiple uses for our funky misfit flying friends (say that 5 times quickly). The key is to build them into the list. In my opinion nothing in a tau list should be suicide units, everything relies on its counterpart unit to reach the end goal of winning.
The Ropadope:
This tactic is for playing aggressively. Gunline Tau need not apply.
You're playing Tau. You're taking Crisis suits. Duh. How about a unit of Helios. You know them, you love them. They kill tanks and TEQ's easily. The very nature of Helios Suits is however up close and personal. With that dangerous proximity comes the very real threat of massed infantry shooting, close combat situations and even monstrous creature/walker spam.
Enter the Vespid. By working in unison, the two can mitigate each other's weaknesses. A decent sized unit of Stingwings (6 to 12) paired with Suits leapfrogging around the table, the Suits popping tanks and TEQ's, the Vespid with supporting fire and close combat tie ups. Using this formation as a spearhead can be a tricky gamble but in my experience so far it has payed off.
12" movement with a re-rollable charge can stop an intervening GE blob from assaulting/shooting up your Suits and then hit and run away. The T4 and middling save can help against S3 attacks, also don't forget that HOW attack. Against vanilla MEQ's they're sort of a speed-bump in combat but an 18" range on the blasters whittle them down just fine with a larger squad of Vespid, with a combined charge of Suits and Stingwings finishing them off or stripping them of effectiveness.
The Backfield Sweepers:
The quirky kind of fun.
Stealth Suits and Vespid Deepstriking shenannigans. With equal range both unit's guns and the ability to take Fusion Blasters. This relies on a little luck as well but the payoff is tremendous if done well. Be careful to place the suits a bit more conservatively as they don't have move through cover. If they happen to arrive first then a homing beacon can be of great use as well.
The two units land within close vicinity to one another and move up the field. The Suit's ability to mulch blobs and backs of vehicles, coupled with the anti-MEQ/MC ability of the Vespid can punch a pretty large hole in the plan of a gun-line army and shift focus away from our squishier fire-warriors.
Gunline Security:
Supporting your static forces.
There's nothing quite like a deep-strike shooting/assault on a tau gun-line. I personally refuse to use them as it's not a characterful way to play Tau Empire. That being said, it is a very popular play-style and must be addressed if I can win you to the Vespidae cause.
So, you're set to go with some nice squads of Fire warriors screening some Broadsides, possibly even a Fireblade for some extra pew-pew. All of a sudden you've got a Sternguard/dreadnought/Deldar Hq plopping down right in front of you. Be prepared to watch your Fire Warriors crumble to combined fire and you're not going to be getting any broadsides away from that fallout either. Stingwings' effective threat range of 26" means that they can make it to hotspots in your line and deal with serious threats, with the additional ability to tie up the troublemakers in combat until you want to shoot them.
Ancillary Uses: Maelstrom Takers and Beast-hunters:
Guaranteed 12" movement is nothing to be scoffed at in an army that relies so heavily on jet-pack movement. This is a great way to get some extra Tactical Objective points, or be prepared to do so in a following turn. Don't forget that stealth (ruins). Going to ground in ruins after clearing an area late in the game is a great way of swaying things your way.
MC's can be a pain for Tau. Multiple high toughness wounds with a 3+ save have become the scarier nuts to crack. Now with Tyranids getting their Spores back we're probably going to see even more popping up to give us a big ol' hug. Obviously the best against these are going to be railguns, followed by Fusion, Plasma and then Missiles. In addition to these, Vespid can usually bypass MC armor saves, and though their strength means it's usually going to mean 5s and 6s, that could be the one that makes it through in a pinch. Using them in concert with one of the above pairs can mean the difference between a fried beasty and a compromised shooting phase.
The Ropadope:
This tactic is for playing aggressively. Gunline Tau need not apply.
You're playing Tau. You're taking Crisis suits. Duh. How about a unit of Helios. You know them, you love them. They kill tanks and TEQ's easily. The very nature of Helios Suits is however up close and personal. With that dangerous proximity comes the very real threat of massed infantry shooting, close combat situations and even monstrous creature/walker spam.
Enter the Vespid. By working in unison, the two can mitigate each other's weaknesses. A decent sized unit of Stingwings (6 to 12) paired with Suits leapfrogging around the table, the Suits popping tanks and TEQ's, the Vespid with supporting fire and close combat tie ups. Using this formation as a spearhead can be a tricky gamble but in my experience so far it has payed off.
12" movement with a re-rollable charge can stop an intervening GE blob from assaulting/shooting up your Suits and then hit and run away. The T4 and middling save can help against S3 attacks, also don't forget that HOW attack. Against vanilla MEQ's they're sort of a speed-bump in combat but an 18" range on the blasters whittle them down just fine with a larger squad of Vespid, with a combined charge of Suits and Stingwings finishing them off or stripping them of effectiveness.
The Backfield Sweepers:
The quirky kind of fun.
Stealth Suits and Vespid Deepstriking shenannigans. With equal range both unit's guns and the ability to take Fusion Blasters. This relies on a little luck as well but the payoff is tremendous if done well. Be careful to place the suits a bit more conservatively as they don't have move through cover. If they happen to arrive first then a homing beacon can be of great use as well.
The two units land within close vicinity to one another and move up the field. The Suit's ability to mulch blobs and backs of vehicles, coupled with the anti-MEQ/MC ability of the Vespid can punch a pretty large hole in the plan of a gun-line army and shift focus away from our squishier fire-warriors.
Gunline Security:
Supporting your static forces.
There's nothing quite like a deep-strike shooting/assault on a tau gun-line. I personally refuse to use them as it's not a characterful way to play Tau Empire. That being said, it is a very popular play-style and must be addressed if I can win you to the Vespidae cause.
So, you're set to go with some nice squads of Fire warriors screening some Broadsides, possibly even a Fireblade for some extra pew-pew. All of a sudden you've got a Sternguard/dreadnought/Deldar Hq plopping down right in front of you. Be prepared to watch your Fire Warriors crumble to combined fire and you're not going to be getting any broadsides away from that fallout either. Stingwings' effective threat range of 26" means that they can make it to hotspots in your line and deal with serious threats, with the additional ability to tie up the troublemakers in combat until you want to shoot them.
Ancillary Uses: Maelstrom Takers and Beast-hunters:
Guaranteed 12" movement is nothing to be scoffed at in an army that relies so heavily on jet-pack movement. This is a great way to get some extra Tactical Objective points, or be prepared to do so in a following turn. Don't forget that stealth (ruins). Going to ground in ruins after clearing an area late in the game is a great way of swaying things your way.
MC's can be a pain for Tau. Multiple high toughness wounds with a 3+ save have become the scarier nuts to crack. Now with Tyranids getting their Spores back we're probably going to see even more popping up to give us a big ol' hug. Obviously the best against these are going to be railguns, followed by Fusion, Plasma and then Missiles. In addition to these, Vespid can usually bypass MC armor saves, and though their strength means it's usually going to mean 5s and 6s, that could be the one that makes it through in a pinch. Using them in concert with one of the above pairs can mean the difference between a fried beasty and a compromised shooting phase.
The Conclusion
Tau Vespid are not seen much on the field and are usually seen as an ineffectual unit. MEQ players do know they have the ability to knock them down hard but generally don't have experience dealing with them. They have special rules that make them extremely useful for multiple situations if applied with foresight and in synergy with other units. They will be underestimated and they will make your opponent pay for that. Be prepared to learn a different style of play and they will reward you several times over.
Thanks for reading my rants and feel free to comment and critique below. Also, feel free to recommend units to me as I have a list but I'm sure there are others that may not be as obvious.
Cheers,
Derptau
Nice article! I had written them off, but you've got me considering them as a backfield harassment unit. The strain leader is MANDATORY though, as he takes the unit from ld6 to ld9. A min unit with Strain Leader is 100pts, which seems a little expensive for only 5 bs3 shots. But I guess their value comes in their utility to buzz around the table and score objectives. I just wish they were a bit cheaper and had ObSec.
ReplyDeleteYeah, It would be nice to see them cheaper but they're really paying for all the special rules. Landing in difficult terrain from a deepstrike is no joke and no movement penalties is a huge boon for an already mobile unit. Plus hammer of wrath. So when you're paying 100 for 5 guys you're really getting a deepstriking, 5 shot, 15 attacks on charge, fast unit that can gain some impressive cover saves. It definitely looks underwhelming on paper but if supported its a great scalpel to the traditional hammer-blow firepower of the tau.
ReplyDeleteTry them out! I'd love to catch someone else's experiences!
It's a