'Ard Boyz List

First off, 'Ard Boyz is stupid. For two reasons. Firstly, there is no need for craftsmanship. Customization beyond GW-parts is verboten, and painting is an unnecessary effort. Which means if you want to use models that GW hasn't provided you with a model for, you're out of luck. Secondly, the points are too high. At 2500 points, you can take anything your heart desires. There is no need to decide between taking unit A or B, or maximizing the effect of a particular FoC slot at the expense of the others. With most armies, your only remaining limitation is the number of slots. Problems aside, it does allow for something that "real" 40k battles don't: total firepower optimization. By bringing everything you could ever want, and equipping it the way you want, you can either (a) wipe your enemy out in a truly brutal manner, or (b) rent the earth in twain.

Tau aren't quite on the level of Imperial Guard at high point levels. With Tau, 1750 is the sweet spot. At this point, by maxing out your Elite and Heavy Support slots you bring enough firepower for a 2k game to a smaller one. By having the bigger stick, you stand a much greater chance of thrashing your opponent. At 2k points, you expand by adding in some diversionary units. Your firepower does not increase significantly, but your survivability and ability to bubble-wrap is much greater. At some point even this increase ends, namely at the 2k point range. At the 2.5k range, the law of diminishing returns strikes with a vengeance. At this point, you are out of Elite, Fast Attack, and Heavy slots. Troop slots do not increase anything beyond the ability to make sure your objectives stay claimed. So that only leaves HQ slots to increase offensive potential.

I propose that the HQ slots be entirely filled by deathrain suits.  The first reason I would propose such a thing is the likelihood of enemy mechanization. Most enemy armies will have extreme armor saturation at 2.5k points, whether it be rhino/razor-spam, or tons of squadrons IG-style. Or, in the case of Tyranids, lots of t6 baddies. Against all the above scenarios, loads and loads of s7 missiles are a good idea. The second reason is points allocation. Assuming you add an extra warfish and minimum-sized Fire Warrior squad for scoring redudancy, you can either take two commanders and two bodyguards as fireknives, or you can take two commanders and four bodyguards as deathrains. While the extra points from the fireknife setup could allow your piranhas to live longer and add a couple shield drones here and there, it doesnt significantly increase your offensive punch. The list is as follows:


shas'el: x2 mp, tl, bonding knife: 78
x2 bodyguards: x2mp, ta, bsf: 122

shas'el: x2 mp, tl, bonding knife: 78
x2 bodyguards: x2mp, ta, bsf: 122


x3 crisis: mp, pr, mt: 186

x3 crisis: mp, pr, mt: 186

x3 crisis: mp, pr, mt: 186


x6 fire warriors: 60

devilfish: mt, ta, sms, dp: 120

x6 fire warriors: 60

x10 kroot carnivores / x7 kroot hounds: 112

x10 kroot carnivores / x7 kroot hounds: 112


x2 Piranhas: fb, ta, dp: 150

x2 Piranhas: fb, ta, dp: 150

x9 Pathfinders: leader: bonding knife: 118

Devilfish: mt, ta, sms, dp: 120


Hammerhead: railgun, sms, mt, dp: 175

Hammerhead: railgun, sms, mt, dp: 175

x3 Broadsides: x3ass, leader: target lock, bonding knife, shield drone: 190