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I just made a 1000pt tau list for everyday usage and since I have no experience in making decent army lists I am just looking for any advice people are willing to give.

The list is as follows:
HQ: Crisis Shas'O
Plasma Rifle
Shield Generator
Missile Pod
Iridium Armour
HW multi-tracker
HW drone controller
2x Gun Drones

Troops: 12 Firewarriors, Devilfish
Shas'ui
Markerlight
Bonding Knife
Targetting Array(Devilfish)
Flechette Discharge (Devilfish)

Troops: 12 Firewarriors
Shas'ui
Markerlight
Bonding Knife

Troops: 12 Firewarriors
Shas'ui
Markerlight

Elites:6 Stealth Suits
Shas'vre
Drone Controller
Marker Drone

Elites: Crisis Suit
Shas'vre
Fusion Blaster
Missile Pod
Shield Generator
HW multi tracker

not bad at all, youve got all the basic stuff down

i would drop a fire warrior squad though, i've run into this problem when i played tau early on, at 1k points, that many fire warriors is a sink in power, especially with 6 stealthsuits.

youve got only 4 weapons that arent S5 AP5

i would drop a FW squad and about 2 stealthsuits, and definately the markers in your FW squads. also i would either drop the targetting array on the devilfish, or add a SMS, a TA doesnt affect its drones. I suggest the latter, SMS are great. I would also drop the Flechette for a DP

dropping the third FW squad, and the other stuff and adding SMS gives you 205

youre also dangerously low on reliable vehicle destruction. Youve got one fusion blaster, which is close range, and MP's which can only glance 13 armor and cant touch 14. plus, your FB suit being solo will get nailed by S8 hits

for those points you can add a hammerhead gunship with railgun SMS Target Lock, Multi Tracker, DP for 180 points

with your 25 remaining points, you can purchase a shield drone for your lone suit to help with strong hits, now 10 left. you can drop his shield gen and add another drone and get 5 more points. now you can use that slot for a TL MP instead of a single one for 6 more points, now you have 9 points

since this is a casual list, 1 point over wont matter much will it?, if not, drop the 2 gun drones on your hq for shield drones, for 10 more points. if youre going to take iridium armor, don't give him anything but shield drones. gun drones have 4+ Sv, but the shield drones will get his 2+ armor

now you have stronger suits, and a railgun

thanks for the advice, the problems are ALL my stuff put together is only 1580pts, also the devilfish is my ONLY tank and my parents don't give me much money (thankfully I am getting a job this year in about 2-3months when I turn 14).

I also have 2 unbuilt gun drone sprues that my friend (and my local GW staff) are going to help me convert into shield drones.

I am saving AUS$55 to get a Broadside which the store's casual keeps nagging me to get.

The BIGGEST problem though is that I am also starting WHFB with lizardmen (why did I have to pick the expensive one?) although all I need for a legal army is a box of skinks.

Hmm, I say nix the shas'o. He gives you no real benefits over the shas'el. Stay away from iridium armour. slows you down too much, and is a point sink. ditch the gun drones and shield generator on the 'el, replace them with shield drones. Oh, and the dudes that keep telling you to buy an xv-88... dont do it just yet. Ive only found them useful in bigger games where its Über handy to have 3TL shots for one heavy support choice. I suggest spend the extra 5-10$ on a hammerhead.
Hoped I helped, and good luck!

Oh, have you looked into lizardmen "southlands" style lists? Very skink heavy.

Oh, for stealth suits, I suggest a couple marker drones.(easily converted from normal drones)

Thanks

as for the southlands list, although cool i don't think you can have it in 7th ed

O RLY? I thought you could, though not as viable because of the changes to poison. Thats actually one of the main reasons my skaven plague army has seen little play as of late.

If you're limited on funds, I'd try the trading section here, or e-bay and try finding some cheap suits. =)

And then incorporate them into your army. =p

as far as the shas'o goes, you get 1 extra Wound and 10 Ld, if you have the points, IMO its prolly worth it, but if you find yourself short on points it's prolly the best thing to downgrade first, the extra wound is nice but sucks against 8+S

on the broadside, theyre really good, by far the best anti vehicle tau have to offer, but if your army is small and you dont have any heavy support, i agree with skaven, a hammerhead is a terrific option for your first heavy support, I field one every game I can, fully upgraded of course whenever possible.

Iridium armor is very good, the loss of 6" movement in assault to d6 doesnt weaken you too much unless you're tactics revolve a lot around JSJ in and around terrain, and the bonus of having 2+ armor on the suit AND both shield drones is a very big bonus, you can soak up a ton of fire with that. Iridium armor works best with medium range suits though. Short range suits w/ flamers and airburst frag launchers need that movement to keep out of melee, and long range suits tend to get the bigger guns at them, such as lascannons and other long range low ap weapons. med range though works great, you tend to draw the small arms fire, few of which will penetrate your armor and youre far enough away to avoid melee. A helios(PR and FB) suit, or a suit with PR and airburst frag launcher are good choices for iridium armor, 18-24 inch range will keep out melee with your limited mobility, and youre prepared for mobs and heavy armored infantry

unless you're tactics revolve a lot around JSJ

what can I say, I like suits!

You could always go ninja-o...

Does the Hammerhead sprue come with SMS, 2 burst cannons or both?

Edit: A common Tactic I have heard is give a hammerhead a railgun and SMS,
when the enemy destroys your railgun, park in a crater and fire the SMS as they do not need LOS

Its been a while, but I'm pretty sure that it comes with both.

thanks

Dashofpepper wrote:If you're limited on funds, I'd try the trading section here, or e-bay and try finding some cheap suits. =)

And then incorporate them into your army. =p

Suits are really expensive, but they are a must. I have four so far and I'm going to be getting three more soon, hopefully. I'm trying to get a job too, lol.

IMHO the suits are the best thing the Tau have, they can be used from tank hunters to troop killers (I prefer tank hunters)