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question #1 - In apocalipse( I know its spelled wrong) most of the filled is filled up so we tau can make use of moblity. So what to do?

question #2 - People say tau cant make competative builds for torny. WTF!!! We have units to handle just about anything. The great Baneblade can be molested by a mere broadside. Infantry will fall to the hammer head. Our crisis suits can fit any unit you need. So how can we not be competative?
( I must admit when I try to make list Im over a few hundred pts )

How many hammerheads does it take to kill 180 orks with a 4+ cover save?

1.) Play on bigger boards. Or...well, there isn't much of an answer. More points on the same board size means assaults are going to happen and you can't avoid it. I'd run a fully mech force, give everything flechette launchers, and run around like a crazy man.

2.) In 4th edition, since anything could contest/control objectives, tau would often play with minimal troops choices. In 5th edition you need troops to control objectives, and you need them to live. This has forced people to try to find ways to actually control these objectives, and it has changed at least some lists (I have two devilfish I never would have used before)

Two new codexes (orks and daemons) have come out which are pretty strong and have moved to the top or close to the top of the power scale for codexes. Daemons didnt exists before and orks were at the bottom, so they've moved tau down the list.

Kroot, the tau's other option for objective grabbing/holding, get absolutely screwed by the new close combat resolution rules (no outnumbering, victory goes by most casualties caused, etc, bad for large 0 save squads with no fearless, to say the least)

Crisis suits used to be able to JSJ behind cover more easily (lots of things were just declared "size 2"or "size 3" and things like forests were often safe to hide behind regardless of whether they were modeled with one small tree or a whole forest). Now, with true line of sight, that goes out the window, making crisis suits more vulnerable, forcing tau to change tactics or spend more points on things like shield drones.

Anyway, tau are still competitive but they're not as good as they used to be for those and other reasons (yes, people will argue with me, it's just a general list). They've improved for other reasons but in general they've fallen down below a lot of other codexes in terms of power. Tournament-competitive lists from Orks, Daemons, and Chaos are difficult for normal Tau builds to beat, much less 3 games in a tournament.

I agree with lambadomy. Tau Gun Lines are no longer able to hold ground.

1. Yes, you can have 30 inch range but when the marines can field infiltrating terminators with 18 inch assault and start the game 12 inches away, who cares about 30 inch range guns.

2. Ork hoard armies with all having cover saves and massive amount of of boyz. Bikers nob squad with multiple wounds and automatic 4+ cover saves. So gun line can't cut swaths through their line as they try to get across.

3. Most armies deep strike into close enough range that a gun line can not deal with and then

4. one deamon can kill troop choices in hand to hand. And they teleport with 20 or more. in a squad.

5. Drop pods that even if they scatter automatically land and dump stern guard right next to you, with there new bolters.

6. Marine armies that now fleet and infiltrate so you have first turn assault.

7. Only one man in the Tau army can figure out to use a power weapon and that armie limits you what you can do (Farsight)

Any other reasons you would like me to point out?

(Terminator infiltrate rules)
1. Shriek joins terminator squad with hammer and shields
a. 10 marine terminators with +2,+3 inv save even in hand to hand
b. infiltrating
c. and now with shriek they can fleet.

I am a very long time Tau player with about 6000pts of Tau. I remember when in 4th addition tau was a threat and was a fun army. When the lack of no hand to hand was a problem, but a problem we could hide or get around. Now, there is nothing we can do. cover saves killed tau gun lines and suit armies are to few wounds and are to slow now with fleeting marines and deep striking deamons and orc hordes with cover. Tau army still a fun army to paint and there are cool to look at, but in tournaments you might as well join the cheese bringers and put tau on the self

Do pathfinders help?

Tau are pretty much neutered by cover saves.

To an extent markerlights help, but unless you're dumping everything into a stealth team, markerlights for the most part are static, and anything static in a Tau army is going to end up dead.

AdeptSister wrote:Do pathfinders help?

Yes but not enough to make a huge difference in the long run. You either are striping a cover save (which is what they need to do in 5th) or your boosting you BS which will help but then again cover kills. You would need 2 squads to be really deadly.

I agree with everthing else stated. Tau are a great and fun army to play (my first army and i doubt I'll ever stop using them) but if i got to a FLGS tournament ill be brining my orks...