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So i have scrapped my idea for a necron army(everyone at my club plays them) because i would like to run Allies.
But i love the fact thaat Tau are battle brothers with marines.
So i was wondering what are the best unites to get for a tau army playable at 1500-1850.
So i have a few questions.
1: how many points is the battleforce.
2: If i get that, what HQ do i need. I hear ethereals are not very good
3: How many crisis suits/broadsides do i need and what is the best way to get them
4: Are stealth suits good?
Also im not good with discounts, Can someone recommend discount sites(preferably ones that have free shipping with big orders)
Please and thank you.

Get some suits for an HQ (with retinue) and probably some more to pack in elite choices. A couple of railgun broadsides with shield drones is more or less mandatory, and include at least three units of firewarriors.

By the time you get this done, tau might have a new codex, and you can figure out what to do then.

Shas'Vre bodyguards aren't worth the points upgrade. Just buy Shas'Ui's and plasma/melta bitz.

Battleforce is solid a start at about 400-500 points. Grab to more XV8s and the Broadside and Commander upgrades will give you the core you need. Also a cheap Hammer Head can common from the battleforce with purchase of the Hammerhead weapon sprue.

I think Tau may have actually gotten a bit cheaper to field with th Finecast converson. Units that used to be only availabe as singles are now in sets for about the same price.

www.MiniatureMarket.com


25% Discount on 40K stuff. Free Shipping on $99+

They even have White Dwarf Subscriptions for $50

Oh wow, Most place do like, over 150$ for shipping, this is great, i can get a codex and battleforce cheap(or aanother model, i might get the codex of ebay)

The battle force is an amazing start even thought Kroot are sort of a joke

ALT.

I would get up to 3 squads of Crisis suits going I wish I had the link but theirs a great weapons break down on this web sight

Also despite what most people think full units of Fire Warriors camped in the rite spots are kick ass!!! So I would take 2-3 Squads of the full 12 I don't know how 6th effected their Marker Drones, and ignore what people say Marker Drones are worth it.

Finally one squad of Broadsides and 2 Hammer Heads rockin the Rail gun. Once again I will get crap for saying this but the option of having a fast attack tank that can fire a large blast is always useful, and the mobility is only to your advantage.

Stealth Suits can be effective is used correctly (mostly for slowly withering down scary units)

Kroot are good for a laugh

Pathfinders die fast but I was able to use them to some effect.

I have no exp. withand of the FA choices and same with Sniper Drones and Sky Ray.

Also if anyone wants to dispute my claims.... My record with Tau was 58-23-27

If you're buying Hammerheads, buy Skyrays instead. They're the same price, and include the Hammerhead sprue. Just in case they give Skyrays Skyfire in an update...

AmmishJohn wrote:If you're buying Hammerheads, buy Skyrays instead. They're the same price, and include the Hammerhead sprue. Just in case they give Skyrays Skyfire in an update...

^ This is the truth. There is zero value in buying a hammerhead when you have more versatility in the skyray kit. The next step, if you're willing to take it, is to go and magnetize the hull so you have three vehicles options from the one kit all ready to go (Devilfish, Hammerhead with both guns and skyray) I would use this as a guide to that: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/322219.page

If you get the battleforce, go ahead and get another stealth unit to make a full team. That way you have a solid harrass unit until you can get more crisis suits. I would recommend that your first crisis unit be fireknives (very flexible) then make your future ones more specialized.

Also, if you have questions on tactics, stop by here: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/458910.page Great discussions have been happening lately and that would be the best place to ask for advice on loadouts and configs.

Um, what does fireknives mean?

Suits with Plasma & Missilepods. It's one of the most versatile configurations you can get.

Unfortunately, fireknives are no longer the most powerful with the resurgence in 2+ Save saturation, at least in my local meta. I've been forced into Plasma+Fusion - if you find yourself fighting a lot of 2+ saves or heavy vehicles, these might be your better bet.

While im building up my army i can use my SM allies for back filler, any ideas on what models to use?

Well since Tau lack in CC I would use a good powerhouse unit. Field the needed Troop and HQ I would think a assault squad or even Term assault squad would be a great addition. Given Bikes now get impact hits a bike squad may also be good.

Honestly, I'd rather take something like tac terminators with an assault cannon. You're looking for CC, sure, but I think it might be better to give you some relatively good CC power, while still fitting with your overall theme. Power fists and assault cannons fit that rather well.

Of course, you'd be selling out the greater good to filthy barbarians, you gutless heathen. I'll leave your conscience to decide if it's the right choice for you.

Ailaros wrote:Honestly, I'd rather take something like tac terminators with an assault cannon. You're looking for CC, sure, but I think it might be better to give you some relatively good CC power, while still fitting with your overall theme. Power fists and assault cannons fit that rather well.

I agree, tactical termies give you a good shooty line and great CC potential (compared to your tau) so you can easily use them as a screen for your troops.

Pathfinders are very important, those marker lights make you a lot stronger. If your opponents are amiable to it, get some Tetra's from Forgeworld, they work out a lot better in the games I've played so far, being significantly cheaper and putting out more marker light hits.
Hammerheads I think are sketchy, Broadsides with stabilization things and marker light saturation are going to be slightly less mobile but hit a lot more often.
Stealth Suits I have found to be terrible, more crisis suits end up being better.
Check out http://advancedtautactica.com/ for a crash course in Tau terminology, They go over the strengths and weknesses and the names of things like Fireknife, Helios, Deathrain, and Bladestorm suits. I really haven't spent a ton of time seeing if they have updated their tactics for 6th edition or not, YMMV as far as tactics goes.

The bare minimal is 4 Crisis suits and 2 Broadsides

You then want to move upto 7 Crisis Suits and 4-6 Broadsides


Generally a Tau army is a Suit Army, Fire Warriors are essentially supplementary necessities and our vehicles are merely distractions

I would recommend Tau Gue'la (IG) for your army as well, for a cheap screen for troops as well as fluff reasons.

Lol, I was just about to post something similar. I still love my necrons, but like you said, they are becoming a little bit of a flavor of the month, so might take a little bit of a break. And since I enjoy mecha anime, I started looking at Tau. Glad I looked to see if anyone had posted something like this before I posted.

Terminators look a little similar to Tau suits, so its fun to pretend that they are a different model

XV64 - Terminator Heavy Support Suit

Ok i think i got some idea. Now i just need to buckle down and atcually start it
But i think i will still get stealth suits. I enjoy running units others down like.

hotsauceman1 wrote:Ok i think i got some idea. Now i just need to buckle down and atcually start it
But i think i will still get stealth suits. I enjoy running units others down like.

Stealth Suits are great in this edition because they get +2 cover saves

Each Stealth Suit is basically carrying a half range heavy bolter

...with ap5 which makes it even less useful than a bolter, and t3 which means flamers are wounding it on 3+ and at much more expense than it should be which means that they're not giving you their worth...

But hey, I made a fandex for a reason.

Well with my limited funds my tau will start as allie for my SM. So i have a question, will my marker lightes work with SM?
Because fireing at Ballistic skill five for marines at important targets will be fun.
it will also give my snipers a boost

hotsauceman1 wrote:Well with my limited funds my tau will start as allie for my SM. So i have a question, will my marker lightes work with SM?
Because fireing at Ballistic skill five for marines at important targets will be fun.
it will also give my snipers a boost

No.

Well thats lame.

Talamare wrote:The bare minimal is 4 Crisis suits and 2 Broadsides

You then want to move upto 7 Crisis Suits and 4-6 Broadsides


Generally a Tau army is a Suit Army, Fire Warriors are essentially supplementary necessities and our vehicles are merely distractions

This a bit dated now, with how troop centric the new missions are. It is looking like 6e Tau armies are going to be using a lot more firewarriors both becuase of the small durability boost from rules changes and the need for more troops to handle missions.

hotsauceman1 wrote:So i have scrapped my idea for a necron army(everyone at my club plays them) because i would like to run Allies.
But i love the fact thaat Tau are battle brothers with marines.
So i was wondering what are the best unites to get for a tau army playable at 1500-1850.
So i have a few questions.
1: how many points is the battleforce.
2: If i get that, what HQ do i need. I hear ethereals are not very good
3: How many crisis suits/broadsides do i need and what is the best way to get them
4: Are stealth suits good?
Also im not good with discounts, Can someone recommend discount sites(preferably ones that have free shipping with big orders)
Please and thank you.

1.Roughly 500-600pts I reckon.
2.Ideally a Crisis commander, kitted out as you see best (my brother uses holes and little bits of wire so he can swap out weapons as he wants).
3.I can't say I have I have much experience with Crisis and Broadsides, as my brother only fields 3 Crisis at most, but from what I've heard they're quite in fashion with many Tau players, due to them being adaptable to any situation, mobile and tough.
4. Up until 6th edition, I'd say Stealth suits have been an alright choice, although they really tend to be overshadowed by Crisis, which are Tougher and more adaptable. Now I'd say they're contenders on par with Crisis arguably, due to them being shrouded, which gives them 4+ cover in the open field, making them much more durable. From the Tau I've played, I'd say they're most effective as a tankbuster unit, due to them having a smaller Deep Strike footprint than Crisis suits. They are also good for city fights or fighting in buildings in general, as their burst cannons can send a GEQ squad packing, while a fusion gun will keep tanks away, limiting where they can move (one can effectively lock down an area of city like this, trapping tanks such that they can't move past buildings without being destroyed, or just blasting infantry away). For this I think 3-4 3 man teams are good.

barnowl wrote:

Talamare wrote:The bare minimal is 4 Crisis suits and 2 Broadsides

You then want to move upto 7 Crisis Suits and 4-6 Broadsides


Generally a Tau army is a Suit Army, Fire Warriors are essentially supplementary necessities and our vehicles are merely distractions

This a bit dated now, with how troop centric the new missions are. It is looking like 6e Tau armies are going to be using a lot more firewarriors both becuase of the small durability boost from rules changes and the need for more troops to handle missions.

I bring 32-48 Fire Warriors in addition to what I recommended, (squads of 8, no upgrades) at 1000-1500 points. Troops are always important <3