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Hey folks,

I'm looking for a bit of collective advice. I haven't played 40k in about... 6-7 years now I guess, but I have found a group of people at work who play and have the same days off as I do, so I'm quite tempted to get back into it. The idea of picking up a few models and painting them has been with me on and off for the last year, so that helped prod me too.

Basically what I'm wondering though is what I should be looking at purchasing for a decently able to take on any army (so nothing highly specialised) 1750 point tau army, as this is the point value they play at. I'm not looking for an army list, as I can sort that out when I have more of a feel for it, but what I'm looking for is general puchasing advice, stuff like You will need at least X of Y, so buy Z. Dont bother buying say.. devilship, as you could buy hammerhead and keep the weapon system un-attached and use it as a transport of tank etc. Avoid buying stealth suits as you wont end up really fielding them. Stuff like that, that someone who has been in the hobby recently will know, but me as someone stepping back into it after a long long absence has no clue about.

Thanks for any advice etc. you may give. I've been spending some time over at the advanced tau tactica (i think it was called) looking up their writeups on each unit, very interesting reads

-GiR

Lots of devilfish squads with kroot to screen. If you are like me and hate the goofy XV8 suits then invest in some BAMF forge world XV9s and some broadsides or hammerheads.

The battleforce is really good for us, so consider that.

You'll need a lot of marker lights for your Fire Warriors to be effective. Fire Warriors aren't great, and you'll often hear people whining about them and to just take Kroot instead, but I think they look cool and can be used fairly effectively. Railguns are also your friend. Never get within 6" of anything more dangerous than a stiff breeze.

Best advice for starting Tau is doing it after they get a new codex

Yeah, but there's not even rumors for a new Tau codex. I'd rather start them now and get a nice boost in power in 3 years rather than play an army with an aesthetic I didn't enjoy as much.

Then again, that's if I was in this situation.

In general? Grab a few Crisis Suits (No less than 3, I would say 6), a few broadsides (3 is a good start), PATHFINDERS (For markerlights), and finally, firewarriors and devilfish. I would say 3 of each would suffice.

As for an HQ, I would go with a Crisis Commander, they're pretty good. Just don't get an Ethereal.

Im in the same situation as you mate! Just got back into the hobby after 7 years out. I also started with Tau.
I happen to love the XV8's (though I know many people dont). I intend to have 2 teams of 3 XV'8's, and I already have a team of 6 XV25's. I still need 3 more 8's.

Dont use too many firewarriors, they tend to die. Despite having decent saves, you WILL end up in close combat unless you are careful/clever. If you do use them (and you'll need to, for objective taking, and we have to have one unit minimum says the rules), for the love of god keep them in Devilfish unless is it absolutely necessary to have them on foot (i.e. for nabbing objectives).

Markerlights (Pathfinders are good, but Marker drones with 3 man stealth teams can work too) are your friends, its a great way to make your heavy units (Broadsides, Hammerheads, Skyrays) even more effective. If you want a Hammerhead, buy the Skyray kit. It comes with all the stuff a hammerhead kit comes with, as well as the skyray kits parts, and is the same price (in my store its even cheaper for some ridiculous reason).

Kroot are brilliant as a screen or ambush infantry. Keep them in cover or at least give them a Shaper for the 6+ saves.

All in all, fast mobile units are what we have best, so keep everything moving, unless its in a support role (i.e. RR Pathfinders, XV88's, HHeads/Skyrays etc)

Gavo already said it, but it needs saying again. DO NOT GET AN ETHEREAL. You need to be in line of sight to get the morale re-roll, and they die insanely easily, meaning your whole army needs to take a leadership test.
Crisis Commanders are good, as a Shas'O or Shas'El. Kit them out good, but dont spend too many points on him, unless you plan on using him very offensively.


Welcome back to the hobby! Its good to greet another follower of the Tau'va!

For your commander just take a shas'el and give him a targetting array, much more cost effective than shas'o.

Also on xv8 teams I find that a team of 3, bonded, 2 shield drones, Multi Tracker, Missile Pod & Plasma Rifle works best.

Are the Shield Drones really worth it though? The saves arent that needed, plus they count toward the unit size for morale checks.

Keep in mind that broadsides and to a lesser extent hammerheads are a very important part of an effective tau army. Hammerheads are able to stick around a bit longer because you can give them disruption pods, hammerheads can take more advantage of cover and are more likely to hit.

Avoid gun drones when possible, they're pretty bad. Never take them in a squadron.

Shield drones are very useful to help out battlesuits.

Pathfinders are a great force multiplyer but can get expensive very quickly. Because you have to take a devilfish with them, always try and swap in a firewarrior squad in the first turn and just let the pathfinders do their job.

Kroot are very useful but have a limited ability to deal with armor, they're great on the flanks provided they're in range to assault in infantry squad. Kroot hounds are a must, I suggest using chaos hound models, it will keep your wallet in check.

Consider the ninja'o list. Crysis suits are one of the most versatile units out there, and If I had 200 points to spend on a unit to get any job done, itd be commander O'Shovah and 7 crysis suits of win....or do i need more than 200 points?


Anyway, Id go with a Hammerhead/skyray/sniper drone heavy list with fire warrior, crysis suit and broadside support. Kroot are a nice screen, but 7 points isnt really worth it, id rather an imperial guardsmen anyday...sometimes...

And O'shovah lets crysis suits cap objectives amiright?

I would not reccomend sniper drones at all. Skyrays are also not worth it in my opinion, they take away valuable heavy support slots from other stuff.

Jaon wrote:Consider the ninja'o list. Crysis suits are one of the most versatile units out there, and If I had 200 points to spend on a unit to get any job done, itd be commander O'Shovah and 7 crysis suits of win....or do i need more than 200 points?


Anyway, Id go with a Hammerhead/skyray/sniper drone heavy list with fire warrior, crysis suit and broadside support. Kroot are a nice screen, but 7 points isnt really worth it, id rather an imperial guardsmen anyday...sometimes...

And O'shovah lets crysis suits cap objectives amiright?

No, O'Shovah + 7 suits is not 200 points. At base (with no weapons) itll be over 400, and adding 21+ weapons and/or support systems will increase that price by a LOT.

First of all, if you have a hammerhead, a skyray and a sniper drone team, then you cant possibly fit broadsides in, because thats 4 heavy support slots. Second of all, skyrays and sniper drones arent very good. Also, crisis is not spelled with a y. Kroot I wont comment on, because they depend on how you use them and personal preference as well (some bad experiences with kroot has sort of put me off them, but that doesnt mean they cant be used well).

and finally,
No, O'Shovah does NOT let crisis suits capture objectives.


Now, I also want to add (but this is purely my opinion, though not mine alone) that firewarriors shouldnt really be supporting anything. I rarely let them out of my transports voluntarily, unless I can be assured I wont lose anything by doing it, or I am very desperate. They are fragile and usually important (whether to capture objectives or to preserve kill points), and must be kept alive and in their devilfish. taking too many also takes away from your firepower. Then again, I am someone who takes ridiculously small amounts of troops into games, so its up to your discretion to decide if thats a good idea or not.

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

To get to your magic 1750, Its really up to you. This is the area where stuff begins to diverge from the "needs" to the "wants" I would suggest one of the following items

3 Piranhas 75$

8(9) Pathfinders 45$

10 Kroots hounds and 16 Carnivores 95$

3 Crisis Suits 60$

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 you up to speed and should be consulted early and often. This is not meant to be discouraging, far from it. However, when you do start Tau, realize what you are getting into.

A little more about playing Tau at this level.

Once you reach this level and above, the great Pathfinder v No Pathfinder debate starts. Pathfinders are increadibly useful units, that can cover a number of flaws in the Tau list. IMO however, I can't justify the 200+ points it costs to field a full Pathfinder squad and their Warfish until I reach 2000 pts. YMMV and certainly others will tell you that they are a mandatory unit and they may not be wrong. My advice is to try them for yourself.

Kroot are another major bone of contention with Tau players. Many people use them as "bubblewrap" to protect high point crisis and broadside teams. Other people despise them and will never field them. The two major unit sizes are the basic 10 carnivores and the 5 hound 10-12 carnivore groupings. The first is a ultra basic cannon fodder troop. Because I can't ever seem to find the 60$ for kroot hounds, this is my preferred size. I always outflank with them to keep them alive. In this role, they serve to chew up small board hugging squads and vehicles. If used in this role remember one rule, Double Tap Marines, never assault them. Marines will slaughter your carnivores before they can swing and you will do less damage overall. This initiative deficiency is why you have hounds. With hounds, you can assault marines, just remember to put the wounds from the marines on the hounds, so your carnivores survive to swing. The shaper and the armor upgrade are worthless. For the cost, you can get more carnivores and do more damage.

Fire Warriors have so much potential, but often fall short of what you expect of them. Always set you expectations low for FW, any damage they do is a bonus. Their main duty is to ride in their transport and make it scoring. Sure they can pop out and rapid fire something (Land speeders come to mind) but their main role is to sit pretty. You will never need more than 12 FW. The only time I have needed more is for kill team. (where they are awesome) Put a squad of 6 in a devilfish and drive them around. I have two in my lists. That said, a FW squad sitting innocuously in cover in a corner can cover a surprising amount of the table with strength 5 shots. Against light vehicles like Land speeders and vypers this is a potent threat and one you opponent will often overlook.

Devilfish are the unit that keep Tau competitive in 5th edition. These should always have a Disruption pod. 5 points for a 4 up cover yes please. I always make my Devilfish a Warfish by addition a targeting array, multi tracker and Smart missile system. This makes up for the lack of shooting from the FW team inside. It also replaces the drones that count as an extra kill point. It does add about 40 points onto the cost of an already expensive transport however, so YMMV

Steath Suits are just not very good unfortunatly. They are simply too expensive and take an elite slot away from crisis teams. If they were cheaper or could take more special weapons they would be more useful. Right now they are an over priced torrent of fire unit that lacks definition.

Crisis suits are the backbone of most any tau army and are a topic of much contention between Tau players. There are many opinions on the subject, many of which have merit. I will present mine here and hopefully others (if Focusedfire hasn't ninja'd me already ) will chime in with their ideas so you can get a broader picture. IMO, and I stress, IMO anything that gets in the way of providing the maximum number of shots is a bad thing. I would prefer to the maximum number of crisis suits on the table, then to have fewer, more efficient, and to an extent more survivable suits. Call it quantity over quality, but IMO suits aren't tremendously survivable anyway and I would like to get more of them on the table so if I lose a few, I have more to fall back on. A Soviet Army ideal for the Space Commies (ooh the irony) With the philosophy out of the way, lets get to the configurations.

I run 4 (configurations) in my lists

My commander is a Shas'el with a Targeting Array, Missile Pod, Hard Wired Multi-tracker, and Fusion Blaster. (Modified FireForge) This is a multi role suit, who can attach to one of my other squads and support their fire, or can be deep struck to hunt armor with the melta.

I always run at least one, and usually two squads of (Fireknives) This is the most common suit configuration, and is a true multirole suit. Simply a Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, and Multi tracker this suit covers most all of your bases and is a must include in all of my lists. Its an expensive suit (a squad of three runs just shy of 190 pts) but the utility, is invaluable.

My other must include unit is a unit of (Deathrain-F) This suit is designed to be cheap, but it does its job reliably and cover's some bases that I find lacking in my lists. With a Twin Linked Missile Pod and a Flamer, this squad will drop a chimera or a rhino every turn or can reliable put wounds on high toughness creatures and HQ's. If necessary, it can close and use the flamers for anti-horde. Note this configuration has no multi tracker, so its an either/or situation with the weapons.

The last configuration is a response to the large numbers of FNP Blood angels and Loganwing armies I have started to see much more regularly. The (Sunforge) is a major sacrifice to the ideal of ignoring armor and FNP. Using a Plasma Rifle, Fusion Blaster, and a Multi tracker this unit will utterly decimate most units not in cover. However, the extremely short range makes this a one way mission if you can't totally wipe the squad in question. Costing equal to the Fireknives, its an expensive suicide unit, but its very effective vs low model count elite armies. It also smokes Carnifexes. This squad more than any other benefits from markerlight support to make sure that those shots count.

Vespids are unfortunately made of fail. While its occasionally satisfying to drop the bug bomb on the local marine player, they are far too fragile and expensive to be used competitively.

Piranhas are a matter of personal taste. I really enjoy taking them, and I find they provide a useful function for me. However, they do give up a lot of kill points if they aren't squadroned. I always field mine with a Fusion Blaster, a Targeting Array, and a Disruption Pod. This provides maximum utility, but makes them a little expensive. Their use it very situational, but boils down to either Tank hunting or being a speed bump. The tank hunter is self explanatory. Being a speed bumb means turbo boosting directly in front of a fast moving assault unit to slow them down or directly in the path of a vehicle to force them to move around the piranha (or risk dangerous going through the piranha's wreckage ) This "Stiff arm" can buy you critical early turns where Tau can win or lose the game. ( a note about the drones, don't forget the piranha is a open topped vehicle and the drones can assault out of it. Use this to contest late objective or to keep a fleeing squad from regrouping. Also despite their crappy BS, the drones can occasionally pop rear armor with S5 Shots, so sometimes its worth ejecting them to go for the twofer when behind the enemy. Their shots are also pinning FWIW)

Sniper Drones have never been a favorite of mine. This is simply a recognition that field sniper drones means less railguns. In lower point games (1000 or less or in team tournaments) they can be very effective. The combination of dropping marines on two's w/ no armor save and the BS4 networked markerlights are nice and they would be used much more if they occupied a different FOC slot, but they don't and I can't recommend them. Slipping a rail rifle or two into your pathfinder squad is a better way to get rail rifles onto the battlefield.

Skyrays are also something that is probably in the wrong FOC. The combination of limited ammuntion and weak (and expensive) secondary armament makes it a no go for me. Great in Apoc though.

Broadsides are simple the final answer in Anti-anything really. If its a single target that resides on the table and can be seen, broadsides can kill it in at most two turns. Broadsides are pretty simple to deploy. Always give them the unfortunately named Advanced Stabilization system, so they have limited mobility. (and so Dawn of War doesn't screw you for a turn) Also near mandatory are two shield drones. These provide the protection from all of the scary weapons that will come their way. Broadsides nearly always should find a elevated position (cover is really nice too) and simple dominate the battlefield. I always give the team leader a target lock so that he can independently target from the squad. (Always check to see how your gaming group deals with this piece of wargear, which rides the ragged edge of legality due to an outdated codex) Don't forget that despite their tank killing prowess, that Broadsides do have a Smart Missile System as well which is much more effective vs hordes than turning one or two termagaunts into component atoms with the railguns. Broadsides should always have priority for markerlights. Reducing cover against the railguns is invaluable.

Hammerheads are the opposite side of the coin, trading concentrated firepower for mobility and the almighty large blast template. Never forget that Hammerhead have an integrated targeting array and are always BS4. Hammerhead should ALWAYS have a Disruption pod and should most of the time have a multi tracker so that you can fire like a fast vehicle. Target locks are also nice so that you can shoot two separate targets. I find that I primarily use the large blast with the hammerhead, not that the hammerhead isn't a capable anti tank platform, I just find that I have an overwhelming tendancy to roll ones and twos when I really need them. The blast template is the really the only one the tau have available, so I really try to let the broadsides and crisis suits deal with the tanks and use the Hammerhead for anti infantry.

I find that for the point levels that you are talking about, that a 1 to 2 Broadside to Hammerhead ratio is ideal. Its really fun to "bring the rain" with multiple Broadside teams, but you risk being too static to survive.


I will copy in another post on playstyle after this but I want to mention one thing.

Target priority is where Tau win and lose the game. Certain things must die for tau to have a chance. Wasted shots are the worst sin a tau player can commit.(followed closely by being so excited about the shooting phase that you skip the movement phase) To prevent wasted shots, carefully consider line of fire to the targets and what abilities your units have (anti tank, anti MEQ, anti horde) and then fire the units with the most restricted target selection first, so that you have redundancy if a units fails to destroy a target.

ie My hammerhead can only shoot the Rhino, so I will shoot it first. Followed by the Deathrain team who can target the rhino if the hammerhead misses or take out the land speeder in the open. Finally, the Broadsides will target, the Land Raider if everything has been destroyed or cover one of the other teams surviving targets. This way you never waste shots because you always have targets of opportunity available. Enemy mobility should always be targeted first. Tau can outshoot almost anyone from across the board.

Final Thoughts
Always buy the Skyray box, it contains all parts for any tau tank
Keep your troops cheap
Deploy carefully

Have Fun with Tau



Razor

EPIC POST

Here's another post about playstyle that may be helpful

The topic was dealing with Fast assaulting armies which are a particular problem for tau

Its one of those playstyle questions that people get hung up on.
Some people prefer to castle up in a corner, destroy enemy mobility with long range fire and suicide deepstrikers and then hope they can mow them down before they can get into assault. Others prefer to play a highly mobile game preventing an assaulting army from gaining "mass" by spreading out into smaller units and constantly moving into open space. Still others use ablative throw-away or "bubble wrap" units to block assault lanes and clog the path with bodies while spraying and praying for the win. Finally using a fluid transition from one these states to another is possible and often used as well.

Tau players often get caught up in "holding that objective" They take it on turn 2 with their scorefish and it never leaves get blown up and the fw die. If they had kept it on the move behind their hammerheads and crisis teams and taken the objective at the last minute it will often live.

Another trap that I often see tau players in is the idea that things need to be close together to support each other. Using the longest range in the game tau can support each other from across the board. By spreading out and preventing multi assaults players will live much longer.

Finally when deploying I like to spread out as much a possible. All my vehicle take their cover with them and can often be left out in the open without major issues. This kind of open deployment often causes assaulting armies trouble because they need to clump together to generate enough combat power to quickly defeat the opponent. This can work to your advantage when the enemy decides to clump or not. If they clump you can quickly focus fire on the much weaker side and then use your mobility to move into the space you have created forcing the assaulters to move much further to reach you. If they don't clump then most of their heavy weapons will be out of range to about a third of your force allowing you to dictate their placement to you advantage.

The last problem is deep striking/drop pod lists. When facing these its always an uphill battle. Because they have great one turn maneuverability its almost impossible to dodge them in the early game. I would recommend placing everything in reserve and going second. Then come on a move to where they are not.


Finally, I will attach a few of my 1750 lists to get you started

The best advice I can give you is to come up with a rough list, post it in the Army List forum (PM me when you do, if you don't mind, I don't spend a whole lot of time there) and let us Tau players rip it to shreds and rework it for you.

Lots of Tau players are going to disagree on the usefulness and cost effectiveness of various units... for example, I despise Kroot and refuse to use them, I think Stealthsuits are too much of a niche unit to be useful and take up a valuable Elites slot that can take instead more Crisis suits, and I will never use sniper drones, as they're grossly overcosted for their killing potential. I do, however, like Skyrays, if you know how to run them, and I actually run one Railhead and one Ionhead, whereas most Tau players run two Railheads instead. Lots of Tau players disagree with these choices, so you've gotta kind of do your own thing.

It's highly subjective and highly contraversial, the Tau codex, but it's a great choice and one of the most rewarding armies if played well.

Great thread, I'm in a similar boat being away from the game about 7ish years.

I haven't heard much about piranha,(brought one because I thought it looked pretty lol) but do they work well? how many is a good number to work together? etc...

armouredBear wrote:Great thread, I'm in a similar boat being away from the game about 7ish years.

I haven't heard much about piranha,(brought one because I thought it looked pretty lol) but do they work well? how many is a good number to work together? etc...

They're effective, but only run a certain way.

They work best in squadrons of 3. You need more than one, but you really don't want them taking up multiple FA slots that could be given to squads of Pathfinders, so one squad of 3 with fusion blasters is your best bet. They're your fast-moving tank hunters. They're cheap enough that if one of them is immobilized you haven't lost much and they're fast vehicles so they can move 12" and still fire all their weapons (which is a whopping one weapon, the fusion blaster... the drones fire seperately). Targeting array and disruption pods are mandatory, and flechettes are a good idea, since their 12" weapon range puts them in assault range, and piranhas DO get assaulted.

That's how I run them.

armoured
well as a general rule you want to concentrate on the unique advantages of your race..... for tau that's marker lights and crisis suits. imo Pirannhas are strong because they're cheap, fast, and carry a good gun. Their main job is busting tanks (take the fusion gun, the burstcannon isnt very strong.) I'd run a squadron of 2 or 3, because 1 fusion gun isn't a gaurunteed kill; you want to know tha tthe thing your shooting at is going to die. The only other thing I'd advise is to mech up. Kroot can be ok but they're not fantastic. Stay away from vespid they're not good. Some people swear by the hammer head but to me 150 or whatever is too much for a tank that shoots 1 so-so gun 1 time per turn.
AF

Run 15 and laugh at Daemon Armies...not so much against AutoCannon spammers :-(

I think Tau work great at low points...1500 ish. When the points increase, they suffer from not having enough FoC slots in places they really need it to scale to higher points.

I love the idea of Fire Warriors, but I see many will take as little as possible and throw them into the Pathfinder Fish.
Pathfinders are near auto include.
Deathrains are awesome sauce in my experiences with them, esp. the twin-linked kind.

For railguns:
Broadsides for anti-tank.
Hammerhead for anti-infantry.

I like kroot for the utility, I'd run 14 ish, though anything between 10-16 would be fine enough.

If you go up against a lot of MEqs, ion cannons are a godsend. Like Sanctjud said, Hammerheads work best as large blast anti-infantry tanks, while Broadsides can take care of armored targets. If you're up against MEqs, though, swap that Hammerhead railgun for an ion cannon, or take a second Hammerhead with one.

Kroot can be ok but they're not fantastic.

This is a win for Dakka. AF has come a long way from:

AbaddonFidelis wrote:no they are not.
each army should play to its strengths. ie shooting for tau.
AF

From;
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/306706.page

Cheers for that, I think my best bet is to put up a list of the stuff I have and get some help to build a list/work out what I need to bolster it into something workable. (tomorrow)

Got into it back in the day for the artistic side of things so my purchases have been driven by what I liked the look of rather than thinking of playing, the guy at GW when I brought an ork army a few weeks ago thought it sounded like I had over 1200pt, so hopefully the base is there for something I can play against my orks and vice versa.

Cheers and hijack over

I know a friend who would reply by simply saying "don't".

Regardless, broadsides are a real pain for many (But not all) armies to deal with. Protect them with fire warriors and/or kroot, and you have a basic list.

It's an old codex. It has its charm, but it's kinda starting to be like DE. It's strong in the narrow application and banking more on opponent inexperience to get those crushing victories that the Edward and Jacob Marines are getting.

Pathfinders! you gotta have them!

What's nice with Tau is that there is generally little point building "spam unit X" army lists. Rounded, balanced, fluffy Tau army also usually works best on the table...pretty much all Tau army lists (other than Farsight lists perhaps) need same "core" units on which to expand. So you don't have to make critical choices right from the beginning. Try different stuff out and find out what works the best and is the most fun...

Good units to buy:

1. Crisis Suits: they are the tau's best unit, period. Fireknife (missilepod/plasma) or Deathrain (twinlink missilepod) are the most popular and most effective in an all comer army list

2. Kroot and Kroot hounds: I generally field these in units of 10 kroot and 5 hounds, no buffs

3. Pathfinders/Firewarriors: Firewarriors are expensive pointwise but you'll probably need a unit of 6-10. Pathfinders and markerlights are necessary. Usually run them in units of 5 and they HAVE to come with a devilfish so you'll need...

4. A few Devilfish: mandatory for protecting your Kroot/Firewarrior troops

5. Maybe 1 or 2 Piranha, they're great harrasment units especially with a fusion blaster on the nose

6. Hammerheads, one of the best Tau units and pretty much mandatory against all those heavy mech lists. Buy the Skyray kit though, because its the same price as the Hammerhead but you get those extra skyray bits as well.

enjoy.

Wow, this tread exploded with advice! Thanks to everyone so far

I think I will have a play around with some lists and see what I come up with. I think common themes so far are that I will (obviously due to FoC needs) need a unit of Firewarriors and a unit of pathfinders and their devilfish, which I then use for the firewarriors. I'll definitely want to pick up a hammerhead, and a couple of broadsides (plus I love the forgeworld models for these guys, so they may be the bits I go all out on ) and a few Crisis suits. Throw in a harassing unit of kroot and then build up from there.

Once more, you guys are awesome, and a special thanks to razorlead for the sheer wall of info, very interesting stuff!

I like the Tau list has a lot of flavor.

Other that Pathfinders I find the entire FA section lacking.

With the high S of the Pulse Rifle,with marker lights, you can force a reasoable number of saves on any target.

I find that missle pods deliver the most bang for the buck, I have 7 of them in my army 3 twin liked with flamers on one set of suits. Another 3 on my Fireknives. And one more on my commander.

I run one Railhead with SMS. One Ionhead with Burst, and 3 broadsides.

Shield drones are worth it to negate the krak missles and lascannon shots.