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Looking for constructive critiques!

I will be facing all race types, as well as playing in local tournies! My primary concerns at the moment are Nids, Necron, Black Templar (?)

Here is my current army build and thanks in advance!

Would like to go in the direction of Battle suites being the theme

HQ (i know tons of drones until i buy more models but want opinions first) (885pts)


Farsight
Crisis Body guard
Airbursting frag projector, plasma rifle, Targeting Array
Crisis body guard x 6
Twinlinked Plasma Rifle, target array
Shield drone x12

-=more effective load out?=-

Fire warrior x6 (60)
Fire warrior x6 (60)

-= :( have to have 2 troop choices=-

Crisis Battlesuit (73)
TL, Burst cannon, HW Multi tracker, Plasma Rifle, Targ Array

-=needed to fulfill farsight army reqs, better load out? add more and reduce SDs on HQ squad?=-

Hammer Head (165)
Railgun, 2x burst cannons, Targetting Array, Disruption pod, Multi tracker

-=know i already have alot of rail guns, so main purpose was cover as well as Large blast=-

Broadside TL Team(225)
Twin Rail gun, Smart missles, HW Multi tracker, HW Target lock, Targ array
Broadside x2
Rail gun, Smart missle, Targ array

-=Should i take multi tracker over targ array?=-


Total: 1498



Also, a correct ruling and perhaps even a page reference to movement/firing of plasma rifles would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Couple of things

1 drop the bodyguards for regular suits thats 10 points per suit that you get right there.
2 put in some pathfinders or stealth suits marker teams for marklights
3 on your broadsides give them the advanced stabilizer system as once they are in close combat thats almost it for them. Thats pretty much the whole army. I personally am a 3 hammerhead guy, but understand every vehicle in your army needs to have a disruption pod at the list and at the best Disruption pod,multitracker, SMS on hammerheads, and flechette disharger.
4 This just asuggestion but throw in some piranhas with flechett dischargers drop the drones and use them to prevent assaults into your suits and FW. I would also give the firewarrors a devilfish with a disruption pod and flechette disharger as you get the 2 drones each one.
5 Best set up on suits I have found is traditional fireknife set up. Thats plasma rifle,misslepod, and multitracker. They destroy just about everything.
Trust me the piranhas are very valuable for blocking opponents advance and harassing them. If you have points to spare give them a fusion blaster and targeting array, and flechette disharger. IF you move 12 inches and you get assaulted, your opponent takes a 4+ to wound on each model that assaulted, and they hit on 6 and a lot of them wound on 6s. Its really low chance of losing it, but if you use them right you will tear of a squad and stop them from assaulting your suits or FW.

If you have any more questions just PM. I'll try to steer ya striaght.

Thanks for the advice! but i was under impression that with commander farsight there was a 0-1 selection limitation on several unit choices?

OH yeah didn't see farsight on there, I skip over HQ just cause there are so many different schools of thought on how to equip. Yeah you can only have 1 of each. The best IMo for a max heavy support is the hammerhead or 3 man broadsides with ASS and 3 squad team of sniper drones.

I don't play farsight because it really predetermines what your list will be. If you are going to run him you need to have almost all crisis suits on body guards that 7 guys that can take war gear and 3 systems. Further more if you get some pathfinders the devilfish that come with them lets you reroll scatter dice so, conceivably you can deepstrike them in and drop tl flamers all over there, rerolling wounds. or stay from a far and do twinlink missle pods. Also, dont forget you can get at least 14 shield drones which make them so tough its not even funny. There are a lot of different configuration on farsight body guard suits, but like i said i dont use him, because i feel like you are risking way to much to achieve a little. I would much rather have 3 hammerheads and 3 piranhas to kill hords and prevent assault than have 1 huge squad of very power ful suits, that, while slim, have a chance to be killed deep striking. Also, you need to understand farsight is the only guy in that body guard set that is good at melee. Everyone else is not that good.

Most tau players just use a HQ with basic equipment or little changes here and there. Like a shas'el HQ with firenife set up and maybe a shield generator or targeting array. I personally like misslepod multitracker Air fragmentaion projector and 2 shield drones. Thats it. Trust me you want your HQS cheap and for a specific job.

I like to make my opponent take a lot of pinning test, and drop a lot of large blast templates on them.

Tau Special Hq are really situational and in some cases detrimental to your army. I think it will change, but your best bet is to go with a cheap shas'el and put your points on more firepower else where

Agreed.

Tau Special Hq are really situational and in some cases detrimental to your army.

Or just plain rubbish. Va is a 205 point liability. Sadowsun is a waste of space. Whilst Faresight is geared towards CC but you firstly you'd have nothing to support him if used in this way and secondly he's not a match for other armies HQ in CC anyway. So either send him in against infantry unsupported which is suicide or send him in against other HQs were he'll be outmatched.

It is bizarre how none of the Tau Spec Characters are any good at ranged combat when the rest of the army is totally geared towards that.

I'd avoid them all like the plague, Faresight used to be good in 4th ed as all crisis armies were frighteningly effective but not anymore as you'll never hold objectives. The other two have always been completely useless.

Get rid of farsight. He doesn't allow you to take Tau's best troops (kroot). Also, needs some pirahnas to block movement

Something like:

Fireknife (MP, Plasma, MT) Shas'o

3x Fireknives
2x Fireknives
2x Fireknives

6x firewarriors
10x Kroot, 7x hounds
10x Kroot, 7x hounds

6x pathfinders w/devilfish
1x Piranha w/fusion
1x Piranha w/fusion

2x broadsides w/ASS, shield drone
1x Hammerhead

Something like that will give you way more firepower and much better movement blocking.

I haven't played Farsight list, but I'd use either Fireknife or Helios suits (Missile+Plasma or Plasma+Fusion) for the Bodyguard. This is because such a large unit is really an ideal to combine with Markerlights. As they can take Multi-tracker as a Wargear, you can buy all them Targeting arrays. So a full suite of Helios bodyguards would give you seven Plasma rifles and seven Fusion blasters - all BS4. And it takes only ONE markerlight hit to upgrade that to BS5. That could easily come from, say, Sky Ray. Or just have Pathfinders.

Having said that, I probably wouldn't take a full suite w/ shield drones to 1500 point list. It's too much to spend ~900 points to ONE unit.

If you are playing Farsight abuse wound allocation. Set up every single suit differently. Add in a lot fo shield drones. This will make up the bulk of your army and be able to dish out enormous amounts of firepower.

For the broadsides take ASS. It will enable them to move and shoot at the same time. Drop the targetting arrays on anything that has twin-linked weaponry. You already have a 75% chance to hit something - adding a little more percentage on doesn't help much when there are other things that are much more useful.

Another option besides shield drones on the farsight bomb squad is to add one or two markerlight drones. This will enabel you to have +1BS. Add target locks to all of them and this might be useless. Take some missle pods on the suits to be able to crack open rhinos.

You need to mount up the firewarriors. You'll have trouble taking and holding objectives with foot slogging Firewarriors. This will be your number 1 problem since you will at most be able to tie in most objective based games if your troops get destroyed (which they will).

I'm open to dropping farsight, but id still like to focus around crisis suits, anyone happen to have a link avail to a good mech tau build?

If you want a Mech Tau build try this:

Shas'El

2X Crisis in Deathrain config
2X Crisis in Fireknife config
2X Crisis in Helios Config

6x FW in Devilfish with DP and Multitracker
6x FW in Devilfish with DP and Multitracker

Pirhanas w\ Fusion Blasters, DP, Flechettes

Hammerhead with Railgun, Burst Cannons, Target Lock, DP, Multitracker
Hammerhead with Railgun, Burst Cannons, Target Lock, DP, Multitracker
Hammerhead with Railgun, Burst Cannons, Target Lock, DP, Multitracker

Not sure the points offhand but something similar to this list will be higher up on the mechanized list for the Tau. If you want to go suit heavy you're not necessarily going to be mechnized.

Mechanized list key points:
Crisis Suits
Mounted Firewarriors
Hammerheads
Pirhanas

may i ask the math behind why 1 hammer head > a broadside team??

It can provide a large blast, and it costs less than a typical 180 point 3 broadside build. It is also able to move and still shoot.

TopC wrote:may i ask the math behind why 1 hammer head > a broadside team??

It's not, but it fits the mobile play style of his army better. Broadsides with ASS are mobile, but not as mobile as a Hammerhead. The Hammerhead can move 12 and shoot, get an automatic cover save, and drop a pie plate to boot. I've run the 3 Hammerhead list before, and when your army is geared for it, it can be a winner.

In reality, the Broadside is one of the most point efficient models we have, but you have to protect them. Even with ASS they will be operating within a 12 inch circle for most of the game, so plan for this. I run lists with 2 Hammerheads and 2-3 Broadsides in order to get the best of both worlds. Mobile, tough Railgun platforms are the way to go in this edition.

As for Suits, Farsight is far from optimizing your points. The Bodyguard Crisis suit is 10 points more expensive than a regular suit, and the only noticeable advantage it gains is the ability to buy a TA with a HWMT, or to twin-link a weapon along with a HWMT. A suit with a Twin-linked PR and TA is about the most expensive Bodyguard you can take.

If you want to do a very heavy Crisis suit warband at 1500 points you will have to sacrifice something. You just can not fill all three of your elite slots with Crisis suits and still bring 2+ Hammerheads, Pathfinders for the markerlights, troops, Devilfishies, Kroot for outflanking, etc.

I would definitely recommend, at the 1500 point level, to not bring a whole slug of suits. Definitely cut it to eitehr two squads of three or 3 squads of two. It really is up to you. My advice:

Shas'el Pr/CIB/HWMT/TA

2x Fireknives
2x Fireknives
2x Fireknives

6x Fire Warriors
Devilfish w/ DP
6x Fire Warriors
Devilfish w/ DP

2x Hammerheads
-Railheads
-MT/DP/BC

5x Pathfinders
5x Pathfinders

2x Broadsides
-ASS

10 Kroot
9Kroot hounds

comes to just under 1500.

Why no shield drones? Get in cover you fool. Just like 5th edition cover saves suck for shooty Tau, it can be great for negating the need for shield drones. It frees up a lot of points. You MIGHT want to consider shield drones for your Broadsides, but only if you really think it is necessary.

I didn't include Piranhas, but I don't own any and rarely use them. I just don't see the need for them unless you are someone comfortable with how they work and how you should use them.

Good luck!

After taking in all the info yall have dished out (quite a bit considering how much there is to learn in a short time )

here is a revised list.. and a few questions about it

Commander Shas'el (122)
Hw DroneCont, HW multi tracker, Stim injector, Missle pod, Plas Rifle, Targ Array
+1 shield drone

Firewarrior x6 (155)
-Devilfish
Burst Cannon, Disruption Pod, Fleghette Discharger, Gun Drones

Firewarrior x6 (155)
-Devilfish
Burst Cannon, Disruption Pod, Fleghette Discharger, Gun Drones

Hammer Head (163)
-2x burst cannon, Rail gun, Targ array, Disrupt Pod, Multi track

Hammer head (163)
-2x burst cannon, Rail gun, Targ array, Disrupt pod, Multi track

Broadside TL (205)
-TL Rail, SMS, HW Multi, HW Targ lock, ASS, HW Drone cont
Shield drone x2
Broadside
-TL Rail, SMS, ASS

Piranha Light Skimmer (75)
-Burst Can, 2x gun drones, Disrupt pod, flechette

Piranha Light skimmer (75)
-Burst can, 2x gun drones, dirsupt pod, flechette

Crisis Battle Suit (114)
-Missile pod, Plas rifle, Multi Track
Crisis suit
-missile pod, plasma rifle, multi track

Crisis Battle Suit (114)
-Missile pod, Plas rifle, Multi Track
Crisis suit
-missile pod, plasma rifle, multi track

Crisis Battle Suit (114)
-Missile pod, Plas rifle, Multi Track
Crisis suit
-missile pod, plasma rifle, multi track

total: 1470

1.Any small tweaks anyone can see??

2. Is upgrading a FW to have a marklight worth the points?

3. Also thoughts on dumping 1 shield drone, 1 team of crisis suites, 1 piranha in exchange for 12fw and a fish?

4. Tourny question, are you able to adjust load outs on units prior to battle based off only the knowledge of the race your up against?

Thanks to everyone for the help!

If you wanted to save some points, drop a suit from an Elite choice and join your commander to that group, since he's kitted out the same as the Elites. This will also make it more difficult for your opponent to grab the IC Kill Point. If you do this, possibly drop the Stims too, and maybe even the Shield Drone if you need the points.

If it were me, I would get rid of one or both Piranhas in favor of a bulked up Troops section. 2 minimum FW squads for 1500 points sounds dangerously low. 4 Railguns at this level will probably take care of your anti-armor needs.

I think you've calculated your Troops section wrong though. A Devilfish with DP and Flechettes is 95 pts, plus 60 for FW's is 155 for that unit. Then another 6 FW team is another 60 points, but that should equal 215 points for troops, not 235.

I would also replace the SMS on the Hammerheads with Burst Cannons. Save the more expensive SMS for Warfishes, you will most likely be moving the Hammerhead >6 in every turn anyway and firing the Railgun. When you need to, BC put out more firepower anyway.

As for your questions, no you may not change their weapons before playing your opponent. Don't bother with a Target Lock on Crisis teams unless they're running Fusion Blasters. Don't buy markerlights in your FW squads unless they will be sitting still the whole game.

lol thanks i just caught some of the math errors as well!

correcting it now..

kk that should take care of the math errors, as well as the changing of SMS to burst cannons on the *hammer heads*! leaving 30 points avail, if there is a way to squeeze out another 50 points, could run 2x10 FW squads in the fish?

I did think of one list that Might work but is untested.

Farsight

7 fireknives deployed as normal

3 fireknives
3 fireknives
3 fireknives



I dont know the points off top of my head, but you are going to destroy troops and light vehicles, where you are going to fail is heavy armor. Still at 12" thats 34 st6 ap 2, 32str 7 ap 4. Throw in a hammerhead or broadsides and a ton FWs. I also just reread breakaway faction and technically you can have, and I am guessing 6 3 man crisis suit teams and 3, 3 man crisis suits teams as elites.
I am pretty sure they dont count as troops but I think farsight would be worth a lot more if crisis suits could count as troops. At any rate you could fiend a ton. Who knows it it would work.

Yea that was the original appeal for me about farsight (unlimited crisis suites) but i guess it would really only shine in very large point battles?


Automatically Appended Next Post:


Thoughts on removing -+(150pts) 2x piranha + (30pts) already avail + (30pts) drop 2 shield drones, + (5pts) target array on HQ = 215pts

adding 1 devilfish + 6x fire warriors (155pts) (3 total now) then with the remaining 60 pts add SMS to all 3 fish? swap out flechette for multi tracking?