Venom Spam and Tau

I have been getting in some games against Tau. They seem to be everywhere these days  . My original theory was that I can't outshoot them, so I have to find a way into close combat... I have found that there is no way into close combat ~ at least no alpha strike way. Fortress Tau is impregnable. The most my close combat units do is distract the Tau and stop them shooting at my venoms.

What I did notice is that the night shields are the Tau's worst enemy. There are few Tau weapons that fire beyond 36". With the night shields you can sit at 36" and blaze away. I use poison to kill those drones and use the ravagers to double tap suits. Marker lights are useless at that range. So I am going to bring back my venom and ravager spam. I will include wyches or wracks with liquifyer guns to take objectives late game.

Do folks think this a viable counter to Tau? and if yes, what else should I bring to deal with other parts of the meta. RB

You can assault Tau, but it's all about timing.

Night shields can be handy against them, though most of their units can move 6" and shout their weapons meaning if whatever you shot is still alive it should be able to shoot you back. Riptides, hammer heads an skyrays are also unaffected by night shields (and are popular choices). Tau can also be highly mobile depending on how you build them invalidating the night shield. The effectiveness of night shields really depends on the tau list.

Here are a bunch of reports (with pictures) against the new Tau, that might be helpful. They cover a variety of Tau armies and styles.

BR21: The Black Buzzards VS New Tau
BR22: The Black Buzzards VS Tau (Rematch)
BR23: The Black Buzzards VS Tau Mech/Riptide
BR25: The Black Buzzards VS Tau Mass Broadsides
BR28: Kabal of the Bitter Envy VS Tau Mobile

Hope that helps.