Cato - 1st Place Franklin, WI

I agree with your assessment that now is the time to rethink the usual 3x Rifle, 3 x Promotion model for Cato, and I also think you're very sensible pushing it up to 33 units, as Eager Recruit "doesn't count" as a Unit in any game terms that matter.

 

Thoughts though re: tuning.

 

First, Earth Caste Technician is now down to a 49% hit chance. That makes it less worthy of inclusion then say, Rogue Trader. Also, of course, the Marksman is near worthless without the Ion Rifle combo. I see that you don't use Bork'an Recruits either, and I think that or Trailblazer is one of those tough questions that could go either way: with your lower command presence you may have gone the right way.

 

Big question, however, is that if the ECT hit rate is lower, and if the Marksman is worth less (not worthless, but worth less), and if you're not using Bork'an Recruits... then why play Tau allies at all? I'd be strongly inclined to switch to AM with this deck shape!

I agree with your assessment that now is the time to rethink the usual 3x Rifle, 3 x Promotion model for Cato, and I also think you're very sensible pushing it up to 33 units, as Eager Recruit "doesn't count" as a Unit in any game terms that matter.

 

Thoughts though re: tuning.

 

First, Earth Caste Technician is now down to a 49% hit chance. That makes it less worthy of inclusion then say, Rogue Trader. Also, of course, the Marksman is near worthless without the Ion Rifle combo. I see that you don't use Bork'an Recruits either, and I think that or Trailblazer is one of those tough questions that could go either way: with your lower command presence you may have gone the right way.

 

Big question, however, is that if the ECT hit rate is lower, and if the Marksman is worth less (not worthless, but worth less), and if you're not using Bork'an Recruits... then why play Tau allies at all? I'd be strongly inclined to switch to AM with this deck shape!

 

Interesting perspective. What would you take from AM?

I think for me it comes down to having an elite fighting force with the Marines and what is best to help them out.

Earth Caste Technician and Vior'la Marksman are both one drops at are able to fight and in the Marksman case, have a little more survivability compared to the Ratling Sniper. Combined with 10th company, I'm able to have more guys across all the planets which a lot of decks struggle to keep up with. Trailblazer I like better than the two Imperial Guard 2 drops because the Mobile helps him stay alive and gives me more options over all.

 

I tired Imperial Guard as an ally for a bit and the avg cost does go up a bit. That's why I like Tau a little bit better.

 

Even though Earth Caste Technician will be missing more often, I think I still like him more than the Rouge trader. Being able to attack back and sometimes find me my Tempest Blade is better than maybe getting an extra resource. Plus Cato is already earning me extra money anyway.

Thats fair enough - there's a lot to be said for digging closer to Tempest Blade, even if the effect doesn't connect.

 

Mostly just speculating - so far my Cato build remains the traditional 3 Ion Rifle, 3 Promotion, 3 Halo build, but I'm concerned it doesn't hold up in the current meta.

In my Cato-Tau I ditched the 10th Company Scouts in favor of Bork'an Recruits. Little more expensive, but more durable and significantly more punch.

That said, Tau and AM are closer now as ally choices. Marksman edges out Ratling, Outpost is more expensive but more flexible than Ion Rifle. Trailblazer and Mordian Recruits are comparable. Borkan and Desert Raiders are both great warlord groupies that just function differently. AM give you access to a second 2-for-2 command unit in the psyker. Tau have Earth Caste with no such comparable card in AM.

The thing that will really make Tau stand out again for me is Tense Negotiations.

Im really liking the Crushing Blow combo here! Altough I do have to say that because of it ECT seems less than optimal. 

 

Nontheless cool deck and congrats on the win!