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Ok, so in the next few weeks I plan on going out and getting between 4 and 8 Crisis suits. I have been playing a fluffy footsloging army and have decided its time for more suits (to hopefully end my loosing ways).

I have been running 1 full crisis squad and a steath squad (along with the comander). Their set up:

3 Plas/Missle suits w/target array
Comander w/ CIB, Plas, Target lock, sheild generator.

I was wondering what I should equip my other suits with. I will be running another full squad and another comander (any suits after this I will be useing as a bodyguard).

Here are my questions
1) What wepon/wargear combo's seem to work
2) What are the tatics for said combo's
3) How effective is the Airbrush Fragmentation thingy. (Large blast, ignore cover wep)
4) are the body guards worth it or should i just run 2 squads and put the comander with them?

This is what I've found with Tau Battlesuits - Your mileage may vary.

First, with the new line-of-sight rules, Battlesuits get shot up more. It's harder to get them close and have them survive, so keep that in mind. I haven't added shield drones to my Crisis squad yet, but it's something I've been thinking about.

Second, as far as weapons go, never use the Burst Cannon. You have lots of other ways to get S5 AP5 shooting in a Tau army, and it's a waste on Crisis suits. Take things you can't get elsewhere.

Third, bodyguards are usually a waste of 10 points per model. That 10-point difference gets you 1 better WS and I, plus the ability to take wargear. Unless you really need to load out your suits, it's not really worth it.

My favored suit loadouts are:

1. Twin-linked Missile Pods and a Blacksun Filter. They don't need Markerlight support for additional BS, they're cheap, and they are effective at range. Missile Pods are one of the best options for Crisis Suits. Use them for flanking, as you have the volume of fire for cleaning up squad remnants, or you can get shots on side armor for vehicles.

2. Twin-linked Missile Pods and Flamer. Can do distance or close-up work. Good for Orks, and you can deep-strike them for backfield fun. If you're close enough to use the flamer, you're almost certainly close enough to be assaulted though. Good for alpha-strikes to whittle down Devastator/Loota-type squads. If they survive the return fire, you can also tie up those big shooty squads in melee for a turn or two.

3. Missile Pod, Plasma Gun and Multi-Tracker. Old school from 4th edition, but still effective in limited numbers (they're a bit pricey for what they do, but sometimes you need that AP2 shooting). Jump-shoot-jump!

I also use the Airbursting Fragmentation Projecter, and have had mixed results. It usually has the effect of making the other guy space out his squads a bit but isn't terribly effective. I like the psychological effect it has, but that's really about it (OK, I also really like the novelty of a move-and-fire barrage weapon).

Hope this helps.

Well, ideally you could fit your suits with some magnets. It's a lot of work, but worth it. I'd recommend Twin linked missile pods and flamer. You can keep your suits far back to avoid becoming obvious targets, yet they can deal with anything which gets too close. The AFP is great gun in the right circumstances. I play mostly against an Eldar player who loves to field rangers. No joke, I've killed two whole squads with one shot before. Against MEQs though, expect it to get much less useful. The Model I use my AFP on is a shas'vre with twin linked flamers. Basically I deepstrike him right next to what I need to die and pray everything goes according to plan.

Magnetizing the suit weapons is a great way of getting flexibility with Crisis suits.

It's not that hard to do and there is probably a tutorial in the Articles section.

Alternatively, put the suit weapons on with Blutack while you make up your mind about what to do.

I run these squads of suits -

Shas'o - TL PR - shield gen + 2 gun drones + stim injectors + iridium armour

Shas'ui team leader - TL PR + shield gen + 2 x gun drones
2 Shas'ui - TL PR + shield gen

Shas'ui team leader - TL MP + shield gen + 2 x gun drones
2 Shas'ui - TL MP + shield gen

Shas'ui team leader - FB + shield gen + 2 x gun drones
2 Shas'ui - FB + shield gen

So they are kinda pricey, but I take all S8+ hits on the drones (love the new wound allocation) and after the drones are gone, you still have an inv save. Also the twin linking helps the bad BS. The Shas'o is a force in CC and at range!

I'm using a list this weekend with the same Shas'o, Farsight and 7 TL PR + SG body guards and the MP guys too. That's most of the list, it will lose, but it will be so much fun to play!

I disagree that bodyguards are always a waste of ten points/model. Getting access to hard-wired multi-trackers mean that you free up a spot for other gear. For example, with a hard-wired multi-tracker you free up a slot for a flamer in addition to your core two weapons. This means that you can use them as an more aggressive counter-assault unit. A unit with Shas'o and bodyguards with flamers could conceivably wear down even an Ork Boyz horde with multiple template attacks. If the unit is weakened enough, they could even win the assault thanks to Invulnerable saves from the shield drones vs. power klaws and the suits' S5.

Other than that, I subscribe to the "missile pod plus ____" philosophy, as the pods are the most versatile weapon available. I sometimes like taking plasma rifle and fusion blaster to get as many armor-piercing shots as possible, but that's more of an exception than a rule.

Thanks so far guys...so far i gather

1) Burst Cannon - pointless (troops and steathsuits do same damage)
2) Flamer - has its uses
3) Missile Pod - +X seems to work best
4) Fusion Blaster - not quite sold on this myself but with the big guns is this even useful?
5)Plasma - MEq killer, but due to cover rules not as effective
6) CIB - anyone beside me use this?
7) AFP - variable effects, probably best used w/flamer

So besides guns, and sheild drones should I always take Multi Trackers? or Do Target Locks, and Target Array's have their rightfull place on Sergents perhaps?

I have never used CIB, mainly because the results seem to be more Luck-Oriented than normal. You would want to pour those shots into A) something light that will get hurt by non-6 rolls. B) something Medium where the occasional 6-roll would really pay off (MEQ/TEQ) C) Anything you might be focusing volume of fire on (Carnifexes/Tyrants/WraithGuard) just so that you have more shots coming in...

Except for maybe shooting lighter units, like other Tau, or hordes, or GEQ, it seems like the Pulse Fire from your infantry and Vehicle secondary weapons would do just as good a job, allowing you to use Crisis weaponry for better purposes, like busting up light tanks, MCs, or Termis with low AP/High STR weapons.

As far as Flamers go, I have tried them and won't use them again, except for when I need the cheapest loadout possible, like maybe on a Positional Relay Commander, or a support-Commander to add Leadership/Shield Drone Support to other squads.

I will always advocate the Fireknife (Plasma/Missile/MT) configuration as my favorite, because 4 High Strength, Good AP shots on a unit when run with the right Markerlight support can be a game-winner. If Bruce Willis made a movie where he was Tau, he would hop in a Fireknife suit and charge directly into the closest Hive Tyrant while his smarmy sidekick cowered behind a squad of Pathfinders waiting to make his next joke.

AirBursting Frag Projector - This weapon has made my list as a useful tool. I like to kit out a suit with AFP, Flamer, Target Lock and stick him in a squad of some other type of suit. I'll Deep Strike them in the thick of things, ABF and Flame a group of puny fellas, and Fusion Blast/Missile some tanks in the rear. One huge suicide squad that either goes horribly wrong or fantastically right. In one go I killed 8 Pathfinders, a Falcon, and 2 WarWalkers in a squadron. The unit that got dislodged from the Falcon was pretty choppy and ended my suits really quick-like, but I feel like it was totally worth it for something like 175 points.

If you have two guns, Multi-trackers are a must. If you have a multi-purpose squad, Target Locks are crucial. If I take Fusion Blasters, I either twin link them or take Targetting Arrays. If I take a bodyguard unit, I almost always give them Targetting Arrays (I hate missing shots, this seems to help with my mental image of an Elite Crisis Bodyguard, maybe they spent a couple minutes at the firing range, something regular Tau can't be bothered with.)

Fireknife is a classic for a reason.

Does anyone else regularly take shield generators?? I'm a fan of really focusing a unit on it's purpose Twin linking means the BS isn't an issue and the shield gens mean the unit retains the 4+ Inv save. Taking drones for S5 shots, pinning and for taking insta death hits on.

For my Shas'o (and I always take a Shas'o) I go with iridium armour and stimulant injectors - so hard to remove. 2 x gun drones give the insta death help too.

Okay so if you were to remove the two gun drones, you'd loose 2 TL BS2 str 5 shots, pinning & two purely ablative wounds..

If you took those two shield drones you'd get protection from instant death via the T5 drones (they mirror his T & hes T5 right?) unless your being utterly gibbed (invariably by a blast.. so either way..), and retain 2 extra 2+ armor saves and gain 2 4+ inv's.. granted no shield gen but more points else-where in your army and for somthing to get shot at - a hq will be shot at. A firewarrior squad with a HW-drone controller & 2xgun drones does the job fine.. surely?

Basically you want that insanely point dense unit to survive by a: making it actually quite cheap and/or b: sticking him in a unit and/or c: giving him crazy ass saves.

My fav config is the marine slayer config

plasma rifle and fusion blaster!!!!

My HQ is a classic fireknife - Plasma, Missile, Shield, hardwired gubbins and 2x shield drones (LIVE DAMN YOU!!!!!)

My crisis team is unusual but I've found it works - two with flamer/burst cannon/MT and a pair of gun drones for anti-infantry work and one with T-L Fusion and a target lock. DS them in LOS to my Pathfinder's Devilfish between an enemy vehicle and a nearby infantry squad (where possible).
On the turn they land you stand a good chance of taking out a vehicle and half a squad of infantry which is almost always enough to make back the 162pt cost of the unit. If I get lucky they survive the return fire and wander round harrassing the enemy backfield with JSJ.

i did some math with CIB, comparing it to a burst cannon against weak units, T3 Sv5, Strong, T4 Sv3, and average T3 Sv4.

I found that over 4 or 5 turns, the CIB is very very slightly better than a burst cannon, so its nowhere near a good weapon for its points. given the fact that burst cannons on crisis suits arent good anyway, CIB is pretty useless, with it's short range, you would be better with a flamer. If you want some good anti infantry on a normal shas'ui, i would go for a squad with a Team Leader with TL plasma rifle, Flamer, HW multi tracker, 1x Gun Drone, 1x Shield Drone, and two Shas'ui's with flamer, plasma rifle, and multi tracker. you can move in closer, get rapid fire with the plasma rifle, flamer some stuff up, maybe pin something with the drone, then jet back 6", and have 2 Drones to help soak up the S8+ hits, and one to send AP 2- hits to.

I've found that for a standard, all around suit, I go with Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, and Multi Tracker.
That gives you anti light to medium vehicle, pretty decent anti infantry, anti Terminator. Plus, if you can get a good piece of terrain, its great for JSJ. 2 shots at 36" and 1more at 24"

It's always better to twin-link over a target array if you're just looking for accuracy. Mathematically speaking anyways.

My go to is Plasma/Fusion. Somedays AP4 doesn't cut it against Necrons....

Fireknife all the way.

The ones that scare me on the table are the plasma/fusion suits. A few squads of those deep striking and wrecking a unit or vehicle each really ruins one's day. They are a little expensive, but they nearly always will destroy or neuter a vehicle or unit, and then absolutely must be killed next turn by your opponant, or they get to kill something else.

Since they are the only units in the tau army that can not only pack a lot of hi Str, low AP weaponry and have the direct mobility to apply it, it seems like a waste not to take advantage of it.