Ethereal Snipers - Des of Isha

Been updated sense Des of Isha is out now. 

Update: I just couldn't stand the Earth Cast Technician's drawing away the orbital cities, so I dropped a couple and balanced back in the the Eldar Survivalists. They just give the deck that extra draw power it needs. I'd run Void pirates if I didn't need the tau units so much. 

Theres also one random Carnivore pack for extra kick/money. It does just fine but not married to it. Hey its Tau!

This deck has won two straight League tournaments. Undefeated. The Gun Drones on a ranged unit (or even not if I have initiative) is just devastating. I always use Aunshi to kill off their supportive command units and triggle and extra battle at a planet with a helpful battle ability. 

Also first turn two orbital cities is just amazing....

Just out of interest, if you don't draw that orbital city....Is the deck completely screwed?

Re: the ECT and the Orbital Cities, I understand the feeling of frustration when you see them go, but its worth noting that rationally speaking, ECT doesn't on average make you any more or less likely to draw Orbital City.

Way to look at it is this:

The position of Orbital City is unknown. If N is the number of cards in the deck, then if its in your search you've moved it further down the deck by N-6 cards. However, if its not in the cards you search, you move it closer to your draw by 6 cards.

Given that the odds of you finding it in the search are 6/N, the maths works out that on average, you're not worsening or improving your chances of getting Orbital City at all.

What you're looking at here is in fact recall bias: you don't notice the times that Orbital City enters your hand 6 cards sooner, but you do notice the times when its moved back by N-6 cards.

In fact, if we're being absolutely rational, its actually beneficial to you in terms of searching for Orbital City, as you now have additional information about the position of Orbital City in your deck, and can adjust your card drawing emphasis accordingly. Also, of course, ECT has a good chance of fetching Recon Drone, and that improves your command game, and thus makes you more likely to draw quickly.  Also of course, ECT is a 1 command for 1 resource capper, and that helps win command in itself.

Thus, if your priority is to get Orbital City as quickly as possible, ECT will improve your chances.

Now if you're talking compared to other cards, there may be better options. You've mentioned Eldar Survivalist, but the problem here is that Survivalist is 1 command for 2 resources, so while it increases the rewards of command wins, it also decreases the likelihood of command wins. The maths here is incalculably complex, depending as it does on so many factors, but its safe to conclude that if your priority is getting Orbital City, the best occupant of that card slot is quite clearly Void Pirate.

Final comment, based on experience rather than math, is that Aun'ui Prelate is much much better than Vior'la Warrior Cadre. Also, Prelate and Carnivore is a natural combo, as Carnivore's ability will often give you the resources you need for a Prelate play.