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Hi i have a friend who wants to start 40k and he has chosen tau as his race. We were wondering what he should purchase first Thx.

Unlike most races, the Tau battleforce is actually worth getting and provides a playable force directly out of the box.

This set contains
1 xv-8 Battlesuit
3 Stealth Suits
12 Fire Warriors
12 Kroot
1 Devilfish
90$

I would then add
2 xv-8 suits
1 xv-8 Commander
1 Hammerhead
1 Devilfish
145$

This addition will make a competitive 1000 pt list or a stretched out 1500 list

1 Hammerhead
3 Broadsides
3 Crisis Suits
205$

This will make a competitive 1500 list in the basic semi mech build that Tau must run to be effective in this edition

Tau are certainly not the easiest army to start with. They are very unforgiving and require a lot of games to get used to. Speaking from experience, it takes about 20 games to find your feet and more after that to become really proficient. Tau require constant attention to detail because the smallest mistakes in movement or target priority can be fatal. Websites like dakka as well as Advanced Tau Tactica, and Yes The Truth Hurts can get your friend up to speed and should be consulted early and often.

Vyse wrote:Hi i have a friend who wants to start 40k and he has chosen tau as his race. We were wondering what he should purchase first Thx.

If I lost my army and had to rebuild, this is the order that I'd do it in:
1. The Battle Force box is pretty good (use the 3 Stealth suits for Marker Drone support, *not* the single Fusion Blaster --- you'll see when your buddy gets the codex)
2. Then 3 to 4 Crisis Suit boxes. **
3. Then the SkyRay/Hammerhead box (use the Railhead config), two to three of them. -- option on this is buying 3 Broadsides instead of a Hammerhead tank. And, pay the extra $10 for ForgeWorld's b-sides. The regular models blow because of the long metal Railgun pieces not fitting/adhering to the plastic model very well. The resin FW b-side looks better and doesn't have the assembly issues.

Find a few of my posts on here and get your buddy to read Advancedtautactica.com, not post anything, but read the articles.
**On ATT, you'll find an article on how to use RareEarthMagnets to allow the Crisis Suits to use different guns in different games.

--------
razorlead's recommendations are close to mine, but I'll add this:
Don't *buy* a Devilfish box; Buy the SkyRay box, which has parts for all three tanks. This way, if you guys ever play Apoc, then you've loads of Railheads. I use a spare Railhead as a D'fish all the time, simply not putting the turret on the top ... only the hatched ... coppola?

I thought a squad pathfinders were a must have for most tau armies?

Sgt.Sunshine wrote:I thought a squad pathfinders were a must have for most tau armies?

Good point. At 1500+, many players will agree, is the best level for having PFs, not at lower levels, but I would not tell someone *not* to use them at 1k.


I didn't buy PFs. I simply had a unit of Fire Warriors, that I put carbines on, and then did a little converting; cut the barrels of pulserifles, and glued them on top of the carbines to signify the MarkerLight. I liked the results and did a second unit like that, saving a lot of cash for one box of FWs over several blisters of PFs.

Thx for the help Good to see the battleforce is useful. Currently we are worried about mostly getting him an army for about 1k point games

Look around Ebay and the Dakka Swap Shop. Your friend should be able to pick up 1500 points for under $200. Sometimes you get lucky and it is only a $100 because of a crap paintjob or someone desperate for money.

Advise your friend that if he buys new or what he should buy new are:

SkyRays, they have all of the Tau Tank variations and cost the same or sometimes less than the Hammerhead.

Look around and you may find a rapid deployment force box set that had 9 Crisis suits and 6 Stealthsuits for dirt cheap.

You can convert/make your own Pathfinders out of the Fire warriors by arming them with carbines that you glua a square bit of platic on top of the barrel.

Buy only one commander box, enough bits in the one box for your army.


Hope this helps