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OK I just picked up the new codex and here's a list I'm working with so far. Thanks in advance for reviewing it.

HQ
Darkstrider - 100 points

troops
10x Firewarriors with Shas'ui with markerlight - 133
10x Firewarriors with Shas'ui with markerlight - 133

elites
3x crisis suits with plasma rifle, missile pods, and stimulant injectors- 201

fast attack
10x pathfinders with Shas'ui, shield drone, and 3x rail rifles 177

heavy support
hammerhead with submunitions and TL smart missles - 130
hammerhead with ion cannon and TL smart missles - 125

The total is 999.

Its good to have new stuff aint it!

Firstly the suits all come with MT as standard and this is why you don't see a value anywhere. Personally I think SD's on FW squads are overkill. Our troop choices are limited so wouldn't pump too many points into them.

At 1000pts I would say one hammerhead is enough, get some more suits in there or a riptide. Definitely take a new drone on the pathfinder unit. I would say the grav drone used in conjuction with darkstriders special not only will the enemy find it harder to assault but you get to move away from them before they do! I would also take MP on your crises suits for some higher strength shots!

Good luck, I can't wait to try out some of the new stuff!

ATO

Oh yes, the new Pathfinders look really fun. I was thinking about attaching Darkstrider to a FW squad so they could outflank in conjunction with the pathfinders. Since I'm putting rail rifles on my PFs, I guess I'll take the pulse accelerator so I can shoot my carbines from a longer range or the grav inhibitor so I can risk getting closer. If I take more suits, what would you recommend? I'm not too interested in the Riptide. Missile pods do look nice and I'm on the fence about them. If I'm taking a multi-tracker I'd like to be able to pump plasma into more elite targets while using the burst cannons on weaker targets. Or I could use both and try to drown the target in wounds with the extra shots on the burst cannons. I haven't thrown out missiles though. What do you think of the new flyers? The Sunshark looks lackluster but the Razorshark looks like it could put the hurt on infantry.
Good luck to you too!

Well I don't think the pulse drone affects the rail rifles so I think the grav drone would be better. Me personally am taking a cadre for my FWs for the extra shot. I always ran PR MP suits and they never disappointed. Since PR have gotten cheaper they are a must. My other suits are Fusion Blasters and MPs as the range on the fusion has increased. I like to take MPs due to the range. Means you can pepper the enemy from afar before running in with the plasma and fusion.

Well I bought a riptide just because its a big suit lol and I love transformers lol. I don't really like fliers and the tau fliers seem pretty poor in relation to other fliers. I would forget about them. The bomber looks ok but on the roll of a 1 it cant do a bombing run for the entire game which is a risk I don't think is worth taking. I only suggest more suits because of greater number of shots. Hammerheads are great but at 1000pts you probs won't come up against anything that one hammerhead and a squad of fusion blast suits cant deal with. Just light them up with the markers and make sure your suits are hitting on 2s lol!

ATO

I mentioned the pulse accelerator because it will allow me to fire my carbines at a longer range so I can make the best use of range for the unit. It would be great if they affected other guns haha. I'm new to Tau so I've been wondering: what's usually the best unit to light up an enemy unit with markerlights? I'm guessing pathfinders? Can a unit that has multiple markerlights stack them in one round of shooting, such as 3 pathfinders in the same unit shooting 3 markerlights at a unit?

So markerlights are you best friend. Unless markerlights are networked the unit that fires them cannot benefit from them. I use Forge world tetras so don't really use pathfinders. Unless I am wrong they will all have to shoot at the same target unless they got target lock which I think only the leader can get. This is why I take tetras so I can split up the markerlights so I can light up numerous targets. They will stack so you fire 5 markers at a target unit hit with 3. This gives you three markers to use how you like. The markers can be used by any other unit. So use two to completely remove cover saves and one to boost BS of one unit. Or use it to boost BS of three units etc. When you FWs start rapid firing and hitting on 2s your opponent will pay more attention to markerlights next game. Most players constantly complain about markerlights but it was the only thing Tau had to make them slightly competitive.

If you upgrade one FW to a team leader he can take a Target Lock and Markerlight. Meaning you can target a few units. I plan to run two tetras 4 markers each. Then two team leaders with a marker each. So I can target up to 4 units with markerlights. Bring your sunglasses!

ATO

Awesome. OK I got one more question for you that I can think of. If I were to take a second hammerhead like in my current list, do you think that would actually hinder me due to lack of other units or does it just seem like overkill? In my Imperial armies I'm used to having to have lots of redundancy, especially in heavy support.

It is totally up to you tbh mate, I think at 1000pts its a bit of overkill. For 165pts you can get 3 suits with MP and FB that have jump shoot jump. Honestly, it depends if your opponents favour mech lists or not. If you are facing lots of AV13/14 then take the second HH. If not go with the suits. If you are new to Tau try out different suit combos. TL MP and flamer was always a good cheap combo. See what works best for you. My bread and butter was always MP with PR.

ATO

Yeah a cheaper squad of suits does sound tempting. My reasoning for the HH is the ion cannon, which, when overcharged, can really wreck MEQs. I know I didn't mention that in my list, which I probably should have. I think I'd take one rail gun and one ion cannon HH.

The Stims injector are a bit overkill dont you think? its 45 pts wich arent going to be really usefull if those Crisis get wounded by Fusion its a bye bye anyway, the way i say it, go for the more usual two Shield Drones, they never fail, 24 pts for 2 more wounds with Inv 4+ its just too good to ignore, even 4 with the many points you have used on the Stims. Make sure anyway to Bond them, and upgrade to Shas`Vre for the LD and stops them from running away from the table from too many losses. The way i see it:

3x crisis suits with plasma rifle, missile pods, Shas`Vre, bonded, 2 Shield Drones - 195

The double HH seems a bit overkill but now that they`re dirty cheap, and thanks to their templates, are really usefull on this low pts game lists. Specially the Ionhead, its a marine killer and a really rare weapon with a brutal profile HP 4 S 8 AP3 Large blast template for 125 pts? Must have. No marine will stand against you with it You can also pick now The 4+ Invulnerable against Interceptor weapons on both HH for 3 pts each one, ADL with Icarus/Quad are really popular and they can hurt you if you dot bring it, but f you do, theyre not so fearsome anymore

Yeah I think you're right about those stims. Which support systems do you recommend? I don't have the points for a 3rd system and shield drones. If one suit takes the shield drones, the whole unit gets the 4+ invulnerable right?

 dario wrote:
Yeah I think you're right about those stims. Which support systems do you recommend? I don't have the points for a 3rd system and shield drones. If one suit takes the shield drones, the whole unit gets the 4+ invulnerable right?

I currently dont know what to pick for Support systems beyond the Velocity Tracker on my broadsides and the Advanced Targetting system for Characters so that i can snipe at 5-6 with them (Thats a 2/3 shoots i hit goes where i want them to go), since theres is no real need to pick them up, its on your choice to do so. For characteristic Systems im taking a liking to the Onager Gauntlet and the one wich makes the enemy weapons have gets hot! (Dont remember its name in english), but mainly becouse theyre cheap.

The Fireknife teams (MP+PR Crisis suits), dont really need support systems, since they stay way far from the enemy, and just needs the drones to stop the High power shoots from big weapons that might come from the distance. Thats why im hesitating on the support systems, and until i play them a real lot, idk what to pick D: its madenning me in a really wicked way.

About the Shield Drones, they act as a screen of models, just place them on the line so they take all the wounds first, the can also take LoS! rolls, but if you get caught from the rear or back, it will hurt, but its best than just being taken down by that nasty Lasscannon or flakk missiles