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I was looking at my options for starting a Tau army and was wondering if the following plan is solid for a good start to a 5th edition Tau army. I have been considering 2 battleforces, an XV8, and then building from there. Having a large number of models all at once doesn't scare me and I love painting side of things too. My primary opponent will be my friend's Eldar force. I will be going up against SMs too. Thanks in advance. I welcome all Tau player opinions.

I think if you buy 2 battle forces you'll end up with a lot of stealth suits, and most Tau players don't like stealth suits all that much. (though, you can use them as a marker team)

The way I would do it, is buy the battlesuit first and see if you like painting it, and get it assembled. Decide on the colors of your army, or if you even like painting tau, THEN buy the battleforce.

That plan (in the OP) does not contain any heavy support, but just tons of troops.
I would suggest at least a hammerhead (if you do, get a skyray box, since it contains all the hammerhead parts, plus the skyray part for the same price as the hammerhead box. you can magnetize for interchangeability, or just use the skyray stuff for conversions).

for a more "effective" army, you might want to read up a bit about the tau, and certain strategies. Railguns and markerlights are great assets in a tau army.

I beg to differ.

If you got the cash to start a Tau army, do it. I started out with buying the Battleforce. For Tau, I think it starts yer force out nicely. 2 is ok, it'll fill your ranks out nice. I did exactly this, and its ok for now. Once you start playin, you better get some Broadsides and some Hammerheads.

Main thing is to expand. I know lots of peeps who prefer stealthsuits over crisis....and vice versa. If you got the funds, experiment.

Here's what I recommend for a good start:

1. Battleforce
2. (2) Broadsides
3. (1) Hammerhead
4. At least 5 more crisis suits as they are the true backbone of your army.
5. 6 pathfinders and 2 pathfinders w/ rail rifles.

Hit e-bay because you're looking at spending at last $250-$300.

The Battleforce is a great deal and I use every piece in it (even the stealth suits occasionally.) Two of them is great, but their cost effectiveness really sinks after that unless you plan on selling your stealth suits on eBay.

Buy one Skyray box and use it to make a Hammerhead (it has all the pieces for the same price and you get more bits) as soon as you possibly can. Eventually you'll want at least one more and probably three XV-88s as well.

Pathfinders are useful, but easy to convert from fire Warriors (just use pulse carbines and nix the shoulder pads.)

Crisis suits will be the staple of any 5th edition tau. Whether hybrid or mechanized, you will need a lot. I usually bring a full three squads of three for a 2k point game. If you can snag the old Apocalypse box ("Rapid Insertion Force") That is your best way to get a lot of suits for cheap. GW doesn't list them, but many stores still have them in inventory. If you live in MD, I can point you in the right direction.

I know most people knock them, but a squad of Kroot can be an amazing addition to your force. 3 S4 attacks on the charge is incredible for how cheap they are. Many opponents are surprised when I outflank and wreck their 10-man tactical squad alone on an objective.

Oh, and magnetize your crisis suits!

*sigh* all the stealth suit hate ):

I actualy field a sqaud of stealth suits most of the time. They are great anti-infantry troops that are pretty much immune to long range (beyond 30") fire. Artillery fire... bah.. even IF template fire can see you, it scatters a extra die. Any fool who comes too close to the stealth suits, 2 markerlight drones for a BS 5 burst cannon spam Works wonders against orks and nids i tell ya ;p

And i recommend a battleforce. Really good set of troops imo. Lots of types, compaired to the really plain ones (SMs and SW's come to mind). Just note you DO lack heavy support choices with your idea of 2 battleforces and a single XV8 (in which heavy support is the tau's strong point in the whole army).

Great info, folks! I'm checking into the Skyray idea, as I use rare earth magnets to keep my options open. Money is not a problem, but I want to make sure I don't end up with a bunch of stuff I won't be using. I've seen some pretty good deals on the Skyrays on eBay and even full squad NIB sets. I'll have to proxy in some to see how they work for me. I see what most of you are saying about Heavies, how the heck did that slip by me?

I've been seeing quite a few articles that talk about the Stealth Suits usefulness when used as a full squad to flank and harass most forces. I'll be giving them a try.

Difference between Sky Ray and Hammerhead is just a turret. It takes all of 2 seconds to switch from Sky Ray to Hammerhead, and less than a minute to make it a Devilfish...

Should I be looking for the Hammerhead parts to convert the Devilfish in the Battleforce box?

Nope, you'll need a 'fish too unless you're planning a static gunline (which doesn't work against every opponent).

You might also want to check out some of the guides on www.tauonline.org. Especially this one is nice: http://forums.tauonline.org/index.php/topic,12647.0.html

GET the 3 freakin broadsides and at least a hammerhead...trust me, there worth it....and stealth suits are ammazing....i'd use them more than crisis suits if i had the money....all those markerlights, and they're versitale too...stick and move baby, stick and move

I found Advanced Tau Tactica and it's been an invaluable source of the information I was looking for, beyond what you kind folks had told me on here. I also found some great podcasts that had episodes focused on the Tau in 5th edition.

I ended up getting 2 Battleforces, an extra Crisis Suit, and a Crisis Suit Commander. This should hold me for a bit and keep me pretty busy painting and modeling. I'm going to be playing against my buddy for the next few weeks. Once I've got a bunch of games in, I'll decide where to go from there. I see the Tau are very Mechanized, which I love. I'll be looking into Broadsides and Hammerheads soon. I've already received a load of rare earth magnets for use in keeping my force modular. Advanced Tau Tactica had some really great articles on magnetizing the entire force.

Thanks for all your help, folks, I really appreciate it.

You got a good start but you are going to find very quickly that you are going to need the heavy support to take down enemy heavies. My preference is one unit of 3 Broadsides with Advanced Stabliztion Systems and a Hammerhead with a Railgun and smart missles. This gives me constant firepower with the needed mobility needed on 40K battlefields. So good luck.

sinfreealex wrote:I found Advanced Tau Tactica and it's been an invaluable source of the information I was looking for, beyond what you kind folks had told me on here. I also found some great podcasts that had episodes focused on the Tau in 5th edition.

I ended up getting 2 Battleforces, an extra Crisis Suit, and a Crisis Suit Commander. This should hold me for a bit and keep me pretty busy painting and modeling. I'm going to be playing against my buddy for the next few weeks. Once I've got a bunch of games in, I'll decide where to go from there. I see the Tau are very Mechanized, which I love. I'll be looking into Broadsides and Hammerheads soon. I've already received a load of rare earth magnets for use in keeping my force modular. Advanced Tau Tactica had some really great articles on magnetizing the entire force.

Thanks for all your help, folks, I really appreciate it.

Congrats!

This is an excellent start. You have...

24 Firewarriors
24 Kroot
6 Stealthsuits
4 Crisis Suits (including the Commander)
2 Devilfish
12 Gun Drones (16 including the ones for the Devilfish)

That about right? You fill out all the slots except Heavy Support. You can either start off with the Hammerhead (PLEASE!!! Get the skyray box if you can, it includes the Hammerhead sprue...its a 2 for 1 deal!) or Broadsides. I started off getting Broadsides, but its your preference.

Looking at what you have, you can go either Mech or Gunline (I don't do Ninja Tau and don't get it). I think you have a really good core force right here. Gun Drones can go into the fast attack slot, you got the transports, the Kroot and the suits. Nice.

If you REALLY are pressed for cash after these purchases, I'd say go for the Skyray (*ahem* Hammerhead) first. 3 Broadsides can get expensive, but 2 should hold you down for a while. The only thing is that they're going to be a big target for your opponent so watch out.

Good luck!


...and thank you for embracing the Greater Good.

My buddy has a pretty light Eldar force. I'm excited to see what the outcome will be this Sunday. I've got some good priced BUY IT NOW items bookmarked on eBay, depending on what the outcome is. I'll be building models like a madman for the next few days, thinking of assembling more Crisis Suits and tanks on top of that gives me a headache right now. In a few weeks I'll be in a different headspace. The holidays kill my free time, that is for sure. Finals coming up in a few weeks will toast a lot of time too. At least I'll have a bunch of painting on my plate in order to unwind; it's a close 2nd to my favorite part of the entire hobby, playing the game itself being the 1st.

id recoment having 9 crisis suits..because even at 1,500pts your probably going to fill your elite slots w/ them or be very close..unless you happen to like stealth teams.. they do have their purpose..but depending on army size i feel they can be a bit pricey

Different approach: You might not need to get everything painted right away. Many times, if you're just playing casually, you can get away with not having a painted army. That's not to say don't work on it (I think painting is hella fun) but don't work yourself into a frenzy because your crisis suits aren't fully painted yet.

My LGS people don't really care at all. Half the armies are still unpainted and rocking out the 'Primer' paint scheme. There's usually some oohing and ahhing when someone comes in saying 'I finished painting...!'