1000pts needs help against tau

[Deleted]

Both me and my mate are pretty new to 40k. I am collecting an imperial guard army and he is going with tau. We normally play 1000pt games and no matter what i do, he outshoots me and i lose pretty quickly.

The list i am using is:

Command Squad
-Heroic Senior Officer
-Medic
-Standard Bearer
-Vox Caster

Infantry Platoon
Command Squad
-Junior Officer
-4 guard /w cc weapons

Squad 1
-Grenade Launcher
-Heavy Bolter
-Vox Caster

Squad 2
-Grenade Launcher
-Missle Launcher
-Vox Caster

Squad 3
-Grenade Launcher
-Las Cannon
-Vox Caster

Armored Fist Squadron
-Meltagun
-Vox Caster

2 x Leman Russ Battle Tanks
-Lascannon
-2x Heavy Bolters

Basalisk
-Indirect Fire

My friend uses something like 2 hammer heads. 2 Squads of fire warriors. Broadsides. Commander dude (one that can move again in his assault phase). A pirahna.

Now pretty much in every game my platoon is getting shot from near the start by his fire warriors. By the time they are in range to use thier weapons they are either too few, or all dead. There is something he puts on his hammerheads so i can only cause glancing hits on em at the most. So they destroy my leman russ's before i can destroy them. His pirhana just from cover to cover and gets behind my basalisk n destroys it early in the game. The armored fist squad will normally get wiped out the second they unload close enough to use the multimelta.

It just seems the same every game. I get destroyed before i can use most of my weapons. I'm assuming there is something wrong with the army that i am using. Or maybe i'm just playing completely wrong.

Any help would be great.


*edit*
On a side note i dont own the 3 heavy support tanks(3 small novels seem to work fine). So they can be changed easily.

[mccaptain]

Try using a copy of Sun Tzu's Art of War instead of whatever novel you're currently using.

[mccaptain]

Seriously though, if he's lettin' ya proxie stuff. Take three Basilisks with indirect and use the extra points to buy carapace armor for the infantry. I believe the basic Tau rifle doesn't not have AP on carapace. Also, I don't know what kind of missions you run, but if you ever play objective taking missions, a JO command squad with four flame throwers is a god send for counter attacks. Even Tau have to get close if they want to take the radio station (or whatever you're using). One good blast from 4 flame throwers will drop nearly the entire squad almost every time. See if any of that works and let me know. My brother plays Tau, I know how you feel and I want to get you that win!

[mccaptain]

P.S. Drop that double negative in the third sentence....