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HQ:
Shas'o: Airbursting, Cyclic Ion Blaster, C&C Node, H/W Drone Controller, 2 Gun Drones, H/W Multi-Tracker, H/W Target Lock
2 Body Guard: Burst Cannon, Missile Pod, Targetting Array, H/W Drone Controller, 2 Gun Drones, H/W Multi-Tracker, H/W Target Lock
305pts
ELITE:
Crisis Suits x3: Twin Plasma Rlfe, Targetting Array, Team Leader: Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Targetting Array, H/W Multi-Tracker
207pts
Crisis Suits x3: Twin Plasma Rlfe, Targetting Array, Team Leader: Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Targetting Array, H/W Multi-Tracker
207pts
Stealth Suits x6: 2 Fusion Blasters
184pts
TROOPS:
Fire Warriors x12: Shas'ui: Markerlight
140pts
Fire Warriors x12: Shas'ui: Markerlight
140pts
FAST ATTACK:
Gun Drones x6
72pts
HEAVY SUPPORT:
Hammerhead: Railgun, Gun Drones, Disruption Pods
165pts
Hammerhead: Railgun, Gun Drones, Disruption Pods
165pts
Hammerhead: Railgun, Gun Drones, Disruption Pods
165pts
TOTAL: 1750

So I think this list should be able to cover most of everything. For anti-horde, the HQ is completely set for it, with as many good shots as it can get, including a pie plate that ignores cover saves (which will be abundant in 5e). The suits can split their fire to one unit, while the unit itself (at this point the drones) fires at something else, hoping to pin them. The railguns can shoot submunition if needed. The fire warriors can double dap. The stealth suits have burst cannons (except for the 2). The drone squad can pin. For anti-heavy-infantry, there are plenty of high-strength and/or low AP weapons. For anti-armor, there are railguns and fusion blasters to deal with AV14, missile pods for AV13 and lots of everything else for what's below.

First turn I will disembark the gun drones from the hammerheads and move the hammerheads into a better position to shoot. I will keep them landed as often as possible. I will use the many gun drones I will have floating about to pin enemy units and cause distractions. If they enemy doesn't shoot them, they can be pinned at a crucial moment. If the enemy does shoot them, that's additional shooting not going into my units that could save the game for me. With the new Infiltrate rules allowing units to come on from the edges of tables, the stealth suits will be able to pop enemy tanks from behind out of nowhere when they come in, or come in and drop loads of fire onto an enemy unit. HQ will work on big enemy infantry units, while the the Crisis teams will take out heavier, tougher infantry. The FWs will lay down support fire to help loosen up the enemy and at the end can run up to claim objectives. Gun drones will also be able to quickly move at the end to contest objectives, as will the hammerheads.

What do you guys think?

In 1750, you don't have alot of stuff.

No sniper drones? I consider them required/best of for Tau, besides Crisis Suits.

Gun drones? To tickle the enemy?

I really don't think much of stealth suits, I think if you could bring them as fast attack you'd have something but Crisis Suits are better.

i like what you've come up with its really good and the guns drones do work if you know how to use them proply but thats not hard and steath suits do die easily i found that out the hard way and you should probly have 1 more squad of fire worrior and have a few kroot to even though they die like flies even with a shaper, they can work brilliently otherwise well done

After working on it, I'm now at this:

HQ:
Shas’o
Airbursting Fragmentation Projector, Cyclic Ion Blaster, Command & Control Node, H/W Multi-Tracker
Shas’vre Bodyguard x 2: Burst Cannon, Missile Pod, Targetting Array, H/W Multi-Tracker
265pts
ELITES:
Crisis Suits x3
Plasma Rifle, Missile Pods, Multi-Tracker
186pts
Crisis Suits x3
Plasma Rifle, Missile Pods, Multi-Tracker
186pts
TROOPS:
Fire Warriors x6
Shas’ui: Markerlight
80pts
Fire Warriors x6
Shas’ui: Markerlight
80pts
Fire Warriors x6
Shas’ui: Markerlight
80pts
Fire Warriors x6
Shas’ui: Markerlight
80pts
Fire Warriors x6
Shas’ui: Markerlight
80pts
Fire Warriors x6
Shas’ui: Markerlight
80pts
FAST ATTACK:
Piranha
Fusion Blaster, Targetting Array, Disruption Pod
75pts
Piranha
Fusion Blaster, Targetting Array, Disruption Pod
75pts
HEAVY SUPPORT:
Broadsides x2
Advanced Stabilsation System
160pts
Broadsides x2
Advanced Stabilsation System
160pts
Broadsides x2
Advanced Stabilsation System
160pts
TOTAL:
1747pts

thats really good id say with that 6 squods of fire warriors it should blast alot of fir power but it would be better to make them 3 squads of 12 so there not spread so thinly and with 6 broadsides and lots of suits it should pack a bad punch at the enemy good job mate

BloodDeathAssault

In 5th Open Topped Skimmers wont last long, those Pirhanna are going to have a tough time.

I would get rid of them and throw some shield drones on those broadsides. remember, with TLOS there will be very few places to hide and a LOT of fire coming thier way. Better would be to go back to the railheads.

I like the numerous small FW squads, good for objective claiming.

I am a fan of broadsides but in 5th I think the Railhead has an even greater advantage due to the TLOS issue.

Landed Railheads also give you something to hide your crisis suits behind during that crucial 1st turn.

For the submunition alone you'll want a Railhead or two. The Piranha's will die quickly in 5th, no more SMF really hurt them. My real concern is the lack of Kroot. With six teams of Fire Warriors your troops are maxed out. I'd drop two FW units and pick up two units of Kroot. With the new outflank rule having two units of Kroot should guarantee one of them coming in where you want it.

Kroot are fun. I run 4 squads of 6 fire warriors to hop in Devilfish to objective grab, 1 unit of 12 fire warriors to hold my quarter and cover broadsides, 1 unit of 10 kroot to hide in the trees and harass stuff. If you can I suggest giving something like that a try and see if you like it.

But besides that suggestion, I like the idea of freeing up space for some kroot. More options during a fight can be a real good thing.

If the burst cannon, missile pod doesn't turn out so well for you, I would suggest the burst cannon and fusion blaster layout. Stormsurge is pretty fun to run up the board to try to take out the indirect stuff, or sit back and wait for deepstrikers.

Like gojira said, submunitions should be fun to have. Instant hit+scatter is useful when there is just nothing sensible to shoot at with the S 10 shot.

I think most of what you have is solid. Hope you have fun with it.

Heh, the lists hardly resembled each other. I kinda like the idea of using 6x firewarriors as markerlight platforms. Though you almost have more markerlights than you have units to use them... Though I suppose that's ok, since 90% of them will miss, being Tau

The dakka oriented crisis team is unusual and innovative. The cyclic blaster and frag launcher sorta make it feasible, though it wasn't in the old codex.

The one thing I'd question is the stabilization systems on the broadsides. In 5th ed, it's practically impossible to hide, because only terrain which truly blocks LoS will hide you. So unless you play on a board with solid buildings, those Broadsides aren't going to be able to hide behind area terrain on turn 1, then march in and start blasting immediately. It kinda makes stabilization systems obsolete.

Also, I'd question how many broadsides you have... Maybe mix it up a little more, have some variety! You might have more fun with the list, and I don't think you'd need to sacrifice effectiveness.

I like this list.

I like the fact that you have 6 broadsides especially

A couple of things though. I would drop both prianhas. Giving you 150 points.

With these points I would invest in bonding knives for every unit. In 5E these are going to be invaluable, especially as you have such small squads. Then with the spare points I would look at either another broadside or some more crisis suits.

Like some people said too, it's a good idea taking at least one rail head. This will provide you first turn cover as well as a leet tank. Dropping 1 broadside and the piranhas should be enoguh to accomodate it and the bonding knives.

Just another option for you .

What's a "leet tank"?

The drawback I see to the Firewarrior setup is that the markerlight has to shoot at the same target that all the pulse rifles have to, often wasting the shots. Small squads like that will also evaporate quickly.

Iorek wrote:What's a "leet tank"?

you mean a 1337 7@nk? no idea what it is.

Railheads are better than broardsides. they provide cover to your suits, have better guns and are hard er to kill.

your piranha are only effective at short range, which makes your distruption pods pointless. they will get shot like fish in a barrel. you could pick up some more suits instead.

you have too many fire warriors, in to small squads. you will loose 3 of them, they will get scared and they will run away. 1 or 2 units of 12 is probably enough. 24 is too many. i hear kroot are good now, although i havent seen enough of this to say for myself.

your crisis suits are fine (much better than stealth suits). i particuarly like the dakka team, which i think we'll be seeing a lot more of in the comming years.

Iorek wrote:What's a "leet tank"?

The drawback I see to the Firewarrior setup is that the markerlight has to shoot at the same target that all the pulse rifles have to, often wasting the shots. Small squads like that will also evaporate quickly.

If he takes a shaeui (sgt) and gives him a hard-wired multi-tracker the marker lighted sgt can shoot at something else, while the squad uses its pulse rifles

Yes, you can do that, but then you're paying 35 points for one markerlight in a "less-than-durable" squad. That goes up to 40 if you add a bonding knife.

These small Fire Warrior squads are asking for trouble, and you shoot yourself in the foot as 5th Edition trends become more stable. Full units of Fire Warriors, one or two with a Devilfish, now that the Devilfish can transport any 12 models, you can move them where you need them, load them up, and redeploy as necessary.

I see many of the comments underestimating the Fire Warrior, given that you have 6 Troops choices, you could have 72 Fire Warriors. That is 72 Shots at 30" and 144 Shots within 12". Often times he who rolls the most dice wins, especially when those dice are behind a Strength 5 AP 5 weapon like our Pulse Rifles. Sure there will be times when you are up against someone with a lot of vehicles or high armor personel and that is where statistics comes into play. The more dice you roll, the more wounds you put out, the more likely you are to get a few through that really tough armor save, or special rule that keeps the enemy approaching you. 72 Shots, hit on 4s so that averages out at 36 hits, lets assume you need 3s or 4s to wound, and you're looking at between 18-24 wounds per turn, even with a 2 up save, you're going to kill 3+ models per Shooting Phase on those really hard to kill units, or tons if you're up against lightly armored swarm armies.

Kroot are another thing you overlooked. Not the Kroot themselves so much, as the Kroot Hounds. Initiative 5 with two attacks, three on the charge. If you max out a unit of Kroot Hounds, included with say, 10+ Kroot Carnivores, and a Shaper, you're looking at 36 Initiatve 5 attacks at Weapon Skill 3. Not even including your shaper or your Carnivores. You're going to wound a lot of your enemies soldiers before they get to attack back when their Initiative round comes up in Close Combat. A compromise here would be to take 4 squads of 12 Fire Warriors, Shas'ui with Markerlight and Multitracker, and two Kroot Carnivore groups with 10 Kroot, 1 Shaper, and 12 Hounds. Getting the Kroot up close, draws fire from your Railheads and if ignored, will cause a lot of pain to your opponent, and with their being a troop choice, should they survive (this is rare) they can claim objectives.

I agree with the Sniper, and the negative feelings on the Piranha. I like the idea of three Railheads but maybe consider making one or two of the three into the Ion Cannon variety, especially if you are up against many foes with 4+ saves as those will just be ignored.

Let your Crisis suits and heavy guns deal with the enemy vehicles, but don't skimp on your Troops choices, they are the life blood of Fifth Edition and will save you in the end. We are gifted as Tau with the strongest Infantry guns in the game, and only by rolling as many dice as we can against the enemy can we maximize that advantage. Under use will, statistically speaking, be insufficient to halt an enemy from getting to our kill zone, and with the addition of Running, that will come all the sooner.

i like the second list, but i think 2 or 3 squads of sniper drones (and they only count as one heavy support)

I really don't see the point in Gun Drones. BS2? That's helpful. And I personally don't feel like wasting a markerlight to bump it up to BS3, when I could use it on something more useful.

Shield Drones, great. Sniper Drones, awesome. Gun Drones, not so much.

I mean, I haven't exactly played Tau extensively (one game, I'm just starting them) but just looking at the Codex, I'm thinkin' Gun Drones aren't worth it.

The first list was exponentially better.

The second time looks like a slow wrote it. Where are the hammerheads?

Seriously, and I don't mean to be rude (well I do), if you play a game of 5th without 3 hammerheads, you are intentially trying to loose, or you are exceptionally dense. Those tanks could easily be the best vehicles in the game now.

Piranhas are cool, but they are for annoyance. At 1750 I think would focus more on kill power than annoyance.

Consider splitting the crisis suits up into 3x squads of 2? This is entirely personal, but I'd rather risk giving my opponent another kill point and have more contesting units, than fewer contesting units.

Also, stealth suits are pretty damn good. Don't listen to stelek.

Seriously.

Watch the commentary, Jhagadurn. That was close to a personal attack.

Seamus O'Shank, the Gun Drones have twin-linked weapons, so are effectively BS 3.5, better than your basic Firewarrior.

Sniper Drones are really downgraded in 5th Edition. I've played a few games with them, and there's just so many cover saves that they lose a great deal of effectiveness. I'd have to advocate against them.

Jhagadurn has a good point about Hammerheads; they're TERRIFIC tanks now. Be SURE to take Disruption Pods, Multi-Tracker and Target Lock on each one. I still think that one unit of Broadsides will be useful for when you really, absolutely have to kill a tank; you have three railgun shots benefiting from markerlight hits as opposed to one.

I also don't see a good role for Piranhas now. Too fragile.

I like the small FW squads, as opposed to some people, but I don't think you need all those markerlights, really. Maybe a few here and there, but otherwise, not one in each squad! The small squads give you more mobility to grab objectives, and you only lose 6 guns if your squad gets assaulted instead of 12, now that you can't consolidate into another combat.

The Piranhas should be dropped, as should 3 of the broadsides and all of the stabilization systems on the remaining ones. With the open slots and points, you could buy a few railheads.

what exactly is your " Command & Control Node" in 5th edition for? you know, "target priority" is gone the way of the dodo!?!

and do you plan to play any killpointmissions? that army
is 16KP worth and not too hard to harvest. (try to reduce those to 12-13!!!)

one more tip: if you have the "fragmentation projector" in a unit with more then one modell, give him "target lock" too.

greetings Badger

Looking at the lists I have a few thoughts.

While it's cool to have a bunch of smaller Markerlight toting FW units, they tend to die. A lot. This makes it damn hard to claim any objectives. It's also a whole raft of Kill points that any competent player will be grabbing easily.

V5 has made C&C nodes obsolete, as the Target Priority rules have gone the way of the Squats.

Not certain yet, but I think the new LOS rules have made Broadsides into a non-viable unit, it's certainly made ASSes on them 'questionable'. I'd much rather have a Railhead than a unit of Broadsides, and that Submunition round can't hurt now that Da Orks have gained popularity and traction.


And with all these Marker Lights why aren't you running at least a couple of seeker missiles? Those Piranhas are likely to die but they make great suicide Seeker platforms for striking at side armour.