Under Cover of Fish

One of the interesting things that the Tau are capable of to great effect is using their Devilfish APCs as mobile cover. This is thanks to a few things, but the core mechanic is available to every army: Flat Out Move.

The basic strategy, assuming you have your 'fish in front of your fire team, is to move the 'fish off to one side. You then move your fire team (or don't, as you like). Shooting phase you shoot with your fire team, Flat Out Move your 'fish back in front of the team.

Now, as stated, any army can do this. What makes the Tau good at it is a combination of factors. First, the 'fish is a Skimmer and so has the Jink special rule which gives it a 5+ cover save. Tau have access to a piece of vehicle wargear called Disruption Pods which increase a vehicle's cover save to be one better. A 'fish with this has an unmodified 4+ cover save out in the open. When moving flat out, Jink's cover save goes down to 4+, which gives the Distortion Pod 'fish a 3+ cover save. A tank with what amounts to Space Marine armor save is nice.

Add to this some nice defensive gear such as a Flechette Discharger (a number of S4 AP- hits against an assaulting unit equal to the number of models in base to base contact) and a Point Defense Targeting System (allows it to Overwatch with weapons of S5 or less) and you have what amounts to a mobile bunker.

Now, while this is an effective tactic it can be considered an extremely cheesy tactic analogous to the old Rhino slide. I do not recommend using this tactic in friendly games and use discretion when using it in pickup games. Competitive play - have at!


I cannot take credit for this, as I first came across it thanks to this article at Advanced Tau Tactica (includes pictures): http://www.advancedtautactica.com/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=18706