Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I am starting an army of tau, i got 1 tau battlesuit, 1 devilfish tank, 3 stealth suits, 12 fire warriors, and 12 kroot carnivores, it probably needs working on what do you think should i buy a ton of tau, or go to other empires. The whole set

Whatever you do, don't play an army that you in any way enjoy painting or playing with. Never play an army just because you like the look of the models either. That will only lead to you having fun and becoming a better player.

Joking aside, play whatever race or army that you want. If you like the look of Tau then by all means collect Tau.

The tau is pretty good for me, my first ever wargame i played in it as tau and i won.the second ever game i was space marines, i lost

Tau are pretty weak at the moment, even in non-competitive games. Fire Warriors are overpriced, jump infantry and deep-striking units will ruin your day, and Kroot are crap compared to the CC units of other armies (like Ork Boyz).

What you should get next?
Try playing a few games then just get what you like. That way the army will fit your play style and be enjoyable to use. First armies are usually just what you think looks cool as you get used to the rules the army will become more specialised based on how you like to play the game.

Kroot are good cause they can outflank and come in from reserves from the side, usually to take out any enemy long ranged squads that are giving you trouble. If you get Fire Warriors, you always want a Devil Fish for them. But, always buy the Skyray model instead

Then I guess you want to get some Marker Lights to make the Fire Warriors work a bit better, they aren't a requirement, but their help is very useful. Then depending on what type of armies you face either the Hammer head tank or a squad of Broadsides for Railguns to deal with enemy tanks and transports. The Hammerhead can also deal with hoard armies, but if you're mostly fighting armies with few troops and many vehicles you want the Broadsides. Other than that read through the codex to see if you find anything cool there, write up a list and put it on the army list section to get some help. Then play a few games and think of what you could get that might help you in the next game.

Off topic; your army looks very pretty, nice work.

I beat orks using tau, that was my first game

SilverMK2 wrote:Off topic; your army looks very pretty, nice work.

It's the picture from the site. He hasn't painted anything yet. But, they're already painted.

I know cause he brought the army from me

Pft, thought I had vaguely seen them before

Get a Hammerhead tank (buy the Skyray model because it is the same cost and has more parts in) and some Crisis suits.

Tau are a weak army at the moment but fun to play and will hopefully improve when they get a fifth edition codex.

Yeh, i'll try to buy alot more fire warriors and tanks, and stealth suits, alot of stealth suits

Alfred McMango wrote:Yeh, i'll try to buy alot more fire warriors and tanks, and stealth suits, alot of stealth suits

errr, no. 6 will probably be enough, honestly. You'll want more crisis suits, a hammerhead or two, a unit of pathfinders and maybe a piranha.

Stealth suits and battle suits?

You'll probably never need more than 6 stealth suits; however, you will need at least 9 crisis suits.

you need broadsides. tau are a shooty army and the crisis suits you have don't provide a long range anti-tank deterent. i'd personally recommend adding two broadsides to the mix (they're one killpoint and you can split their fire with an upgrade if needed).

stealth suits, crisis suits, are recommended?

A squad of at least 3 broadsides, a crisis commander, at least 4 more crisis suits (for now), a hammerhead, a squad of pathfinders (eventually have two squads), another devilfish, another fire warrior team and that's all I can think of for now for a balanced force...

And pay no mind to the "Tau are weak" claims. The Tau are just one of the more advanced armies to play. You really, really, need to get the hang of them, and yes, they are harder to play than most armies, partly due to the fact that their codex is slightly outdated. If you know how to play them, though, you can dominate just as well as any SM or Ork player (I know I do...)

That sounds like a good squad/army, i might get them

Since they came out, I've never liked Tau. If I wanted to play the GEQ, I would play orks. Then as I got away from the game for a while, they just sort of grew on me.

I now have 2000+ points of Tau and I actually like the play style I've developed for them.

Still think the firewarrior fish heads are fugly, but the kroot (my ork equivalent I suppose), tanks, and battle suits are really top notch.

I run with min Firewarriors & Kroot mainly (debatable tactics), stealth suits, pirhanna's, Suits (of course), and mix my heavies pending on what I'm playing.

I really like the devilfish tank. Very versatile and you can make every tank variant on the same platform.

I don't realy like the kroot, don't know why, i like the stealth suits, crisis suits, and the devilfish.

Alfred, I can't look at your avatar without being a little creeped out. ><

Want me to change it?

I know a lot of Tau players who don't like Kroot and don't field them. Popular answer as to why: they're a pain in the ass to paint.

Kroot can come in handy, though. Pick up a couple of blisters of hounds, and they can be rather formidable. I won't lie to you, though, the purpose of Kroot is to be fodder. They're meant to be thrown (or outflank) to annoy the enemy. Rarely do I finish a game with my Kroot still on the table; but, they do their points worth in damage before they're taken out, though...

When i play with the kroot, they usually go first

Dashofpepper wrote:Alfred, I can't look at your avatar without being a little creeped out. ><

"Oh, oh, and I almost forgot. Ahh, I'm also gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday, too... "


@OP. Broadsides are your bread and butter for killing vehicles, suits are your specialists that can deep strike, pathfinders for the cheaper markerlights, firewarriors for shootiness, kroot for meat shields/flanking goodness.

If I were make a short-term shopping list for you, it would be:
2 crisis suits (you'll want more later, I have 12)
2 broadsides (same as above)
1 more unit of firewarriors (24 will do for a long time)
1 more unit of kroot (squads of up to 20!)
5 pathfinders (you need those marker lights)
1 hammerhead (pie plates and railgun goodness)
1 more devilfish (transport)
That's quite a bit of cash though so just focus

Buy another battleforce. It has lots of goodies in it you can use, and off hand I'd say that you're going to have firewarriors, devilfish, and crisis suits anyway.

Those things separately are: $85.00. For 5 more dollars you get three stealth suits and twelve kroot. Its actually a really good deal. Kroot are a great way to fill up those last few points, if for no other reason than to give your opponent something else to shoot at.

I suggest two hammerheads with railguns and all the goodies you want, and then a 3-man broadside team with team leader, drone controller, and some shield drones.

Oh, and another devilfish.

2 Broadsides and another battleforce, i still have alot of spare parts from the first battleforce

"And pay no mind to the "Tau are weak" claims. The Tau are just one of the more advanced armies to play. You really, really, need to get the hang of them, and yes, they are harder to play than most armies, partly due to the fact that their codex is slightly outdated. If you know how to play them, though, you can dominate just as well as any SM or Ork player (I know I do...) "

QFT!!

tiberius183 wrote:I know a lot of Tau players who don't like Kroot and don't field them. Popular answer as to why: they're a pain in the ass to paint.

Paint the basecolors (like, three or four) and wash the whole thing in GW's Devlan Mud Wash. You're done, and they look good.