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So, I already have a Tau army and haven't really touched them for almost five years. I am going through them, reminding myself of what I have and began wondering "What is worth it?"

Which units are more useful in your experience? I have pretty much everything and not being at home at them moment I can't really say what I have. I just know I don't have some of the new ICs and new vehicles.

What I am looking for, incase I didn't make myself clear enough (which is possible ) is some strategy advice on units you have found very useful in your Tau army, or even going up against them. Or, if you want, what units you found to be useless no matter how hard you tried (remember, opinions expressed are those of the individual whether they are right or wrong).

i find vespid almost never regain their points. in 4th i would use their speed to take objective at the end of the game but in 5th they arn't troops. i run a fairly static army and i find sniper drones always kill marines but if you run a mech they arn't as good.

leemie wrote:i find vespid almost never regain their points. in 4th i would use their speed to take objective at the end of the game but in 5th they arn't troops. i run a fairly static army and i find sniper drones always kill marines but if you run a mech they arn't as good.

I have thought about investing into Sniper drones, I know I don't have those, but I wasn't sure about the usefulness. Do the sniper drones make up for point cost?

On the plus side all non-troops are non-scoring so their 4th edition limit is gone. On the other hand, a failed save on the controller will remove the entire unit.

I think GW just doesn't want to sell this model.

You may want to look into the skyray. With the way the seekers are fired, one can still move and fire the burst cannons without the issue of not firing the main weapon.

I tend to play Farsight so I can't comment on vespid or kroot, although the latter seem to be popular.

Dal'yth Dude wrote:On the plus side all non-troops are non-scoring so their 4th edition limit is gone. On the other hand, a failed save on the controller will remove the entire unit.

I think GW just doesn't want to sell this model.

You may want to look into the skyray. With the way the seekers are fired, one can still move and fire the burst cannons without the issue of not firing the main weapon.

I tend to play Farsight so I can't comment on vespid or kroot, although the latter seem to be popular.

I have enjoyed Kroot when I field them.

I have thought of Skyray, definately seems interesting.

The Hammerhead has gotten MUCH better. The Disruption Pod means you get a 4+ cover save from EVERYthing firing at you from more than a foot away, and the new true line-of-sight means that it's hard to hide from that railgun.

Markerlights are terrific at removing the ever-present cover saves.

Skyrays are NOT worth the points. You don't need S8 weapons when you have Railguns, and there are better ways (Pathfinders, Stealth Teams) to get Markerlights.

Sniper Drones are much worse than they were. AP3, meet 4+ cover save.

Crisis suits give you missile pods. Lots of missile pods. Plus you still need a few low-AP weapons (plasma are great), fusion blasters if you're feeling lucky, flamers for the countercharge (you shoot instead of actually charging). Forget the burst cannons; you have LOTS of S5 shooting elsewhere. Crisis suits are the only way to get some of the best weapons that the Tau have, though.

Kroot + some Kroot Hounds are good for one or maybe two BIG squads. Leave the Krootox at home.

Firewarriors are decent vs. hordes, but overall aren't a wonderful troop choice. Be sure to take a Shas'ui with Bonding Knife so that they can rally below half strength (all it takes is one model to control an objective).

Stealth Suits are good anti-horde or simply anti-personnel with their high volume of shots, and rather survivable. Leave the fusion blasters out. They can also jump-shoot-jump with Markerlight Drones, but this is a pricey solution.

Piranhas - Forget 'em.

Drone Squadron - Not worth it.

Broadsides - Lots of Railgun fun. Much debate about whether or not ASS is still necessary because you can now see pretty much the whole board. You need drones to soak hits and a bonding knife to keep them around.

Good luck!

I'd play a mech Tau army. Fire Warriors in Devilfishs with fish of fury tactics, three HS tanks (personal preference here), and some Crisis. This army is quite resilient and can dish out serious damage.

I'm going to disagree with Iorec on the Piranha's. They are a specilist unit but more than make up for their ability to get into the enemies backfield and drop off some gundrones. Also wonderful for getting side armor hits using seeker missiles when combined with a pathfinder squad or Sniper Drone squad.

I wouldn't use the Skyray for anti-vehicle, but rather anti-heavy infantry. A strike on a MEq unit holding an objective with 3-4 seekers is probably going to be more effective than a single solid shot from a hammerhead. Also, one doesn't use the network markerlights on a Skyray for other units unless all seekers are gone. One still needs markerlights from other units.

I also don't know if seekers allow a cover save for intervening units. The markerlight description says launching a seeker is "resolved normally in all regards", but the seeker missile entry says to use the model carrying the seeker for the purpose of whether the shot strikes the front, side or rear, but it also says line of sight is not needed. Would be another candidate for the FAQ to me.

Fire Warriors are a good start. A 5/5 rapid fire gun with 30" range on a 4+ armor scoring unit. The gun can wound any non-vehicle out there. I've played against 72... not pretty if you have to go to them.

I will also disagree with Iorek on the Ps. Give them all FDs and run in there. Probably the only light vehicle in fifth I would WANT to run in squads.