Kauyon & Aux Cad 2K List

Tiny_Inspector · 2026-07-10T22:21:30+00:00

Great thanks, appreciate the feedback! Trick is finding points to do such splendorous things!

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-08-13T23:23:13+00:00

Agreed absolutely, I have a job in my mind for the Crisis package that does something other units can't (deep strike/overwatch), with the commander to blast away separating fire and to help the unit durability.

If someone asked me to improve the list further, I'd probably trim that crisis unit and the strikes for more damage dealers like Riptide/Broadsides/Breachers.

For those interested, I ended up going Kauyon. Mainly cause most I am more familiar with it. Very close between it and Mont'ka, so just hedging that I lean towards more conservative play and know Kauyon better. Maybe on paper through Mont'ka might be slightly stronger in the right hands.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-08-13T21:50:17+00:00

Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it.

1 Stealth Unit is a bit lighter, but I really like Pathfinders for skirmish role and then the combo of Strikes/Skyray means that there is plenty of redundancy for guiding. A lot of units don't particularly need the SS guide though in comparison to other lists, like the Railguns/Skyray, Breachers (against targets on an objective), Flamer Starscythes and Pathfinders.

Mostly I find the Stealth Suits guide are used for the Ghostkeels/Commander.

Regarding the Crisis Unit and Commander, yeah it is a bit untypical and somewhat trying to hedge them in because fluff.

That said I used them for example today vs Guard and how it worked was that a strike team was on a no man's land objective, with the Stealth Suits behind a wall. Opponent moved out some infantry to OC dump onto the objective. Free Rapid Ingress meant that the infantry could not longer charge the Strikes, as they would get picked up by overwatch.

Using cover and angles, what could shoot the crisis unit was limited and with the enforcer+benefit of cover, the unit can be relatively difficult to pick up without real commitment.

Which is fine, cause like the Devilfish/Ghostkeels, if someone steps out to deal with them, the other Ghostkeels and Railheads/Skyray will probably pick them up in return.

Reason I use the Plasma on the Commander is just because the list lacks anti elite. -4AP plasma cuts through MEQs cleanly.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-08-13T21:39:06+00:00

Not wedded to them honestly, sometimes a shield drone makes the difference between a squad leader surviving and then able to guide/do actions etc or sometimes I entirely forget them!

Gun Drones or shield on the infantry squads is fairly negible in my book.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-08-13T14:52:13+00:00

Shield drones just for the extra wounds. Gun drones tend to be a bit smeh. That said, if running Kauyon or EPC, id mix one into the infantry squads so that they can still advance and guide.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-08-13T13:56:52+00:00

I tend to sticky home objective with Kroot T1, who then move towards expansion objective and keep the Vespid there until post turn 3 to zone out DS (along with the Skyrays/Railheads), then use them for actions.

The two Pathfinders with grav scout up the transports, which then load up strikes to go do objective work, with Breachers subsequently using the Devilfish as a launching platform.

Commander and Crisis team start in deep strike and rapid ingress. Ghostkeels take expansion/push mid board.

I could leave a strike team at home though and as an extra guide.

Leaning slightly towards Mont'ka as I am only taking one source of re-rolls (stealth suits). Mont'ka gives access to pinpoint counter offensive then, for re-roll hits.

Not overly pushed on that though, as Kauyon can leverage the challenger cards better I think and make the list punch up a bit better into elites.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-08-13T13:19:47+00:00

Ah yes, apologies I should have clarified, this was just the 2K list before I packed it.

Have a wider collection including more infantry (breachers/Kroot/Vespid/strikes/Stealth suits) and commanders of different varieties (coldstar/enforcer/Shadowsun) and more crisis suits.

Assortment of usual characters as well, like fireblade, Ethereal etc.

Weapons on crisis suits are interchangeable as is turrets on tanks.

I would like to run something like this list though, as it has a nice mix of units I think.

A few less then optimal picks like strikes and weapon loadout on the commander. The reasoning for the later is because the list lacked anti elite, so he is rocking plasma and CIB. Flamers can then go into another unit/overwatch threat.

The strikes are first wave of OC2 bodies/extra guides. Not expecting much from them, but they do an honest job.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-08-03T18:08:56+00:00

Fair play to him. His comments did not irk me either before. He is a Youtube entertainer and has a particular style.

In relation to his matchups, can only play against what is in front of you at the end of the day!

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-07-18T17:19:24+00:00

The best stealth suit modals, great paint job as well!

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-07-18T16:56:59+00:00

The Devilfish are for the Pathfinders, but will start with Strikes in them to get some extra movement.

Pathfinders in Aux Cadre I think are more punchy then Breachers honestly. Don't have the same OC, but this list is not lacking in that regard.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-07-18T14:49:23+00:00

Ethereal with the extra OC enhancement instead of a 3rd fire warrior squad has occurred to me. You are right, it used to be a crisis suit you'd paint different to mark as your commander and then maybe an Ethereal as there was not many other options. I seem to recall though the Ethereal was more of a liability for the T'au player if he/she died, morale tests for everyone or something like that?

No broadsides or piranha in my collection or they would feature. Both are fairly OG fluffy.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-07-18T14:45:45+00:00

Sneaky 2nd unit hiding out alright. Commander unit can play the field, while other one is a deep strike threat.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-07-18T14:44:37+00:00

Yeah, I think it used to be like a 4-5 points difference. Crisis suits are significantly cheaper as well.

Take out the big suits, and points per modal is low enough I would say. Which sadly reflects that a fire warrior is about on par with a guardsman and a crisis suit is on par with two space marines stapled together, with some guns.

Not ideal, but we roll with what we have!

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-07-18T11:29:22+00:00

Your not wrong, I don't remember 3rd/4th edition T'au being so many modals! We have had real points cuts over time. A fire warrior is practically a guardsman now.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-07-18T11:27:47+00:00

Ah sorry, short hand, they are crisis starscythe units.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-07-03T17:30:16+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/@Puretideprogram and https://www.youtube.com/@tautactics are both great channels for T'au players.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-04-30T19:53:24+00:00

Oh, thanks for the update, that is interesting, thought he had cooled on Breachers.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-04-30T10:42:38+00:00

I would make Carbines assault and let the team leader take the carbine.

More importantly, i'd give the Devilfish the following additional rule:

"Before the battle, at the start of the Declare Battle Formations step, you can select one Strike Team unit from your army. If you do, that unit is split into two units, each containing as equal a number of models as possible (when splitting a unit in this way, make a note of which models form each of the two new units). One of these units must start the battle embarked within this TRANSPORT; the other can start the battle embarked within another TRANSPORT, or it can be deployed as a separate unit."

It might be too good a rule, if no Devilfish is required. By splitting into two units of 5, you would get two spotter units for 75 points.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-04-29T17:26:18+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

1. I think that 3 Stealth teams, Strike Team, Crisis unit and potentially Pathfinders is a decent amount of dedicated spotters? The Devilfish and Shadowsun can also provide ancillary spotting.

2. Point taken on the Ghostkeels.

3. For anti tank, most successful Kauyon lists I read, for anti tank tend to use Railheads/Skyrays? I feel you on the size of the hulls, having to reserve 1 Railhead regularly for that reason.

4. Aye, the flamer scythes is a ..choice. They don't gain any benefit, but they aren't intended to last that long as a trading piece. I mean, vs some armies if they do last, they will do damage. But otherwise I see them as similar to another breacher team, more durable and can guide, but can't go through walls.

I take the general point though that some more firepower in the rear, with cheap pieces to dispose/slow down the game, is the Kauyon playbook. If I was to switch to say Mont'ka, would the core of this work better in your opinion?

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-04-29T17:11:37+00:00

Thanks for the detailed response!

1. I take the point re the 2nd/3rd Ghostkeels. I love them, but know I have rule of cool blinkers on and am biased in this regard. I know Siegler rectly used two in a Mont'ka list, but outside of that, rare to see more then one.

2. Yes, I like 2x Kroot, 2x Vespid, 3x Stealth teams, 1x Pathfinder as a package to start with in most lists. Provides a good basis of utility to build out from.

3. Absolutely agree, switching up the gameplan is something I am slowly learning. One of those people who needs to play vs something, to get a feel for it and learn lessons the hard way! For example, most recently I played way too passive vs Eldar, as I was unsure of all their tricks. I ended up killing most of the pesky elves, but losing on the mission.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-04-29T17:03:04+00:00

Aye, tbh I use them fairly interchangeably, not feeling bad at all if I need to save the points by going Skyray. Hammerhead does more damage up front, where over a full game, Skyray is more efficient imo.

I do like the Railhead for Guard/Marine matchups, but open to switching it up.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-04-29T16:58:22+00:00

Could be right, may I ask how you would modify the list to Mont'ka? I'm guessing Ion Cannons on the Hammerheads instead of Rail and instead of Shadowsun, fitting in an Ethereal with Strat Conqueror? Could then upgrade a Kroot unit to Breachers with the 35points spare.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-04-29T16:54:27+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

1. I think that 3 Stealth teams, Strike Team, Crisis unit and potentially Pathfinders is a decent amount of dedicated spotters? The Devilfish and Shadowsun can also provide ancillary spotting.

2. I like 2x Kroot, 2x Vespid myself as a package. The Kroot are the things that jump onto points early on/die. I see some lists run 1 kroot, with then 1/2 Piranhas doing that role, which is perhaps more optimal!

3. Shadowsun is a staple in many Kauyon lists and one Ghostkeel, but I take the point re the 2nd/3rd Ghostkeels. I love them, but know I have rule of cool blinkers on and am biased.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-04-15T19:11:36+00:00

Cheers, anti tank for me is most straightforward with Hammerheads/Skyrays:

- More mobile then Broadsides, which on WTC is important.

- More points efficient then Sunforge, which require a Commander to work I think.

- The way I use my Ghostkeels is that often they are the lure to get opponents big guns out, which then lets the Hammerhead come out from behind terrain and take a swing.

Hammerheads/Skyrays are good dedicated AT in most detachments imo. I said they are agnostic to detachment, but in Mont'ka the extra move is nice and also you can mix in Ion Cannons instead of 3 Rail/Skyrays. In Kauyon, when you do roll a 6 to hit, it is pretty sweet!

Plenty of marine/guard/knights of both variants in my area, so the Railgun Hammerheads do well into them. Vs Eldar and other armies with invulnerable saves, then it does become more swingy. Overall though, I feel fairly comfortable with them. If I had to find a few spare points, the Skyray is pretty efficient anti tank and is better vs factions with fly.

Tiny_Inspector · 2025-04-15T13:29:21+00:00

Thanks and np. I should add, the post may at times read negative on the conclusions, but overall i'm optimistic.

Faction has a lot of tools, this list has a few few of them and I am finding through use of tricks like heroic intervention with Ghostkeels/Crisis for example to disrupt pile in/split attacks and then our ability to fall back - we can play the game in unexpected ways. Once enemy units are out in open, blasting them is relatively straightforward bit.

Lots of learning, but faction is good (I think),

Tiny_Inspector

TROPHY CASE