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I'm just curious, I don't have the codex yet but I really like Warbosses, cheap, and can wreck in CC, although C:SM Librarians are also pretty good.

What are your guys/girls opinions?

Define "best".

Some HQ units are extremely killy but aren't actually as good as others because the others support their armies better.

For example, it wouldn't be beyond the realm of reason to see a properly equipped Lord Commissar take on an entire Company Command Squad by himself, but the CCS is a better choice for the army because it's better at supporting the army.

It is a toss up between Ghazgkhull, Vect and Mephiston.

Having 7 Strength 10 attacks with a 2++ save is pretty scary, I must say.

IG company command squad.

Cheap as dirt, can enhance other units around it (or even itself) greatly, can interfere with enemies reserves, enhance your own, call down ordnance barrages, and can pack in 4 BS4 Special weapons like Meltaguns, and ride in a medium tanks that it can fire everything out of. It also has upgrade characters that can make it killier, enhancier, or both.

For 145pts you get 5 dudes with 4 BS4 meltaguns in a double heavy weapon light tank that can make infantry units near it run faster, fire more shots, TL their shots, reduce the viability of cover, etc. For 30pts more you can bunk an enemies battleplan by forcing reserves to come in slower and reroll outflank moves.

Awesome.

The Swarmlord with Tyant Guard with Lashwhips is way up there, both in power, utility and price, unfortunately. it's about 500 points for him with his guards.

But he's really dishing out the hurt with plenty of attacks. Every unsaved wound is an instant death, as a S6 monstrous creature, that's going to be a lot. 4 T6 wounds with a 4++ save make him pretty tough in assault, and shooting has to get through 9 other T6 wounds with 3+ saves before you can even touch his 4 T6 wounds and 3+ armour save. His guards make enemies in base to base contact I1 from their lashwhips.

On top of that, he can grant different bonuses to units within 6" like preferred enemy and furious charge. He gives +1 to reserve rolls. He has every Hive Tyrant psychic power and can use 2 per turn.

He really is a beast of a unit, but you certainly pay for him.

Melissia wrote:Define "best".

Some HQ units are extremely killy but aren't actually as good as others because the others support their armies better.

For example, it wouldn't be beyond the realm of reason to see a properly equipped Lord Commissar take on an entire Company Command Squad by himself, but the CCS is a better choice for the army because it's better at supporting the army.

Well, the best, the best cost, best rules, best synergy with the army, best wargear, this is like the " My dad's better than you dad" kinda thing except with HQs, I actually should of named this thread " What is the most useful HQ " instead.

Aun'va. For a mere 205 points (and you still need to buy a regular Tau commander or Shadowsun to legally run Tau.) you an Ethereal that makes all Tau that can see him stubborn( a must in any Tau list. Really helps when you are charging TH/SS Termis with your Fire Warriors) and if Aun'Va dies ( No one would ever shoot at him though because he gets a 4+ cover save), if you pass your leadership test ( which is very easy with Tau leadership), the Tau get preferred enemy AND Furious Charge! Just watch those TH/SS Termies drop like flies around your Fire Warriors in Close Combat. I'm really surpised more people do't run Aun'Va in Tau armies.

I'm gonna say Sanguinor.

Done nerdraging? hahaha ok!
There's something to be said about big ol' golden mary sue angel guy. model looks great too, but i don't like his hair stylist / helmet artificer. That said he's real purdy, and despite being a bit of a points dump, he's not bad on the table!

If you want to know best HQ's be a little more specific.

Assault HQ's
Mephiston and Ghaz

Shooty HQ's

(input)

Other
(input)

LordTyphus wrote:

Melissia wrote:Define "best".

Some HQ units are extremely killy but aren't actually as good as others because the others support their armies better.

For example, it wouldn't be beyond the realm of reason to see a properly equipped Lord Commissar take on an entire Company Command Squad by himself, but the CCS is a better choice for the army because it's better at supporting the army.

Well, the best, the best cost, best rules, best synergy with the army, best wargear, this is like the " My dad's better than you dad" kinda thing except with HQs, I actually should of named this thread " What is the most useful HQ " instead.

If you're taking cost and synergy into account, then no HQ choice can beat the Company Command Squad.

I gotta second (third?) the CCS. Dirt cheap, and provides all manner of handy special rules to enhance your army.

There's a reason killing them is a high priority for me when playing guard

Eldrad anyone?

I second a fully geared out swarmlord HQ. Swarmlord with 2-3 laswhip guards and a prime is a monster in CC. Enemies attack at Init 1 and have to reroll there made invunerable saves. He can give himself preferred enemy, and he can knock enemies down to WS BS 1 for a full turn. Add in S6 T6 and instant death attacks. Oh and the fact he cannot be targeted in hand to hand so you can't cherry pick him out of the squad.

Doomrider!
He runs on cocaine!

The swarmlord might be a powerful fighter, but I'd take a CCS instead simply because the points difference (including the guard) allows me to purchase two kitted out LRBTs.

CCS + two LRBTs w/Lascannon and plascan sponsons versus Swarmlord w/3 Tyrant Guard. Same cost.

I bet you I know who would win.

@ Melissia, yeah, I fully agree that CCS are most likely the best at everything and can specialize in stuff which makes them pretty good, although I would thing survivability ( unless in a tank ) would be a problem, then again, I don't have the guard codex

Put it in a chimera behind a wall of infantry or vehicles and it usually does just fine.

Too many choices of good HQ....and that is a relative term to the situation the character is in. My personal favs though are Mephiston and the Sanguinor....he is a straight up HQ killer!

Skulltaker-single handedly cutting up an entire tyranid army by himself...good times, good times

Eldrad is pretty nice too.

I was thinking we were going for individual models as HQ, not as a guy plus his command squad, like the swarmlord w/ guard. In that case, ignoring points...Marneus Calgar with 3 fully decked out units of honor guard. Whoops, that's my whole army

Iur_tae_mont wrote:Aun'va. For a mere 205 points (and you still need to buy a regular Tau commander or Shadowsun to legally run Tau.) you an Ethereal that makes all Tau that can see him stubborn( a must in any Tau list. Really helps when you are charging TH/SS Termis with your Fire Warriors) and if Aun'Va dies ( No one would ever shoot at him though because he gets a 4+ cover save), if you pass your leadership test ( which is very easy with Tau leadership), the Tau get preferred enemy AND Furious Charge! Just watch those TH/SS Termies drop like flies around your Fire Warriors in Close Combat. I'm really surpised more people do't run Aun'Va in Tau armies.

And people say that americans don't get sarcasm.


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And the best HQ. For me it's got to be the Wolf Lord. Damn well awesome IMO

purplefood wrote: And people say that americans don't get sarcasm.

Not 100% sure how to take that, so i'm going to assume it's a compliment.

Now For reals best HQ, I'd prolly say Necron Lord with Res. Orb/ Veil of Darkness/Warscythe.

Just add Flayed Ones for more choppy goodness.


Or drop the warscythe and take Immortals instead. Shooty Goodness.

Ahh, I remember the old Guard codex. I miss it sometimes; my Company Command Squad was good for nothing but holding on to another Auto-cannon. Good times! (until the Orks hit my lines)

I know all too well what itz like to lose to orks...(it's really sad when they can outshoot a tau army....I've had it happen to me before...) and on that note, I'll just say this:


man, itz not easy being green....(1 rare candy to all who get this)

krato123 wrote:I know all too well what itz like to lose to orks...(it's really sad when they can outshoot a tau army....I've had it happen to me before...) and on that note, I'll just say this:


man, itz not easy being green....(1 rare candy to all who get this)

It's not so easy being greeeen...


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Iur_tae_mont wrote:

purplefood wrote: And people say that americans don't get sarcasm.

Not 100% sure how to take that, so i'm going to assume it's a compliment.

Now For reals best HQ, I'd prolly say Necron Lord with Res. Orb/ Veil of Darkness/Warscythe.

Just add Flayed Ones for more choppy goodness.


Or drop the warscythe and take Immortals instead. Shooty Goodness.

It's more of a sarcastic/ironic compliment... it's good.

Iur_tae_mont wrote:Aun'va. For a mere 205 points (and you still need to buy a regular Tau commander or Shadowsun to legally run Tau.) you an Ethereal that makes all Tau that can see him stubborn( a must in any Tau list. Really helps when you are charging TH/SS Termis with your Fire Warriors) and if Aun'Va dies ( No one would ever shoot at him though because he gets a 4+ cover save), if you pass your leadership test ( which is very easy with Tau leadership), the Tau get preferred enemy AND Furious Charge! Just watch those TH/SS Termies drop like flies around your Fire Warriors in Close Combat. I'm really surpised more people do't run Aun'Va in Tau armies.

I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic here or not, but I sure hope so.

Aun'va is NOT taken to die so you can get furious charge and preferred enemy. For Tau, both of those things really don't matter that much. He is actually a really good special character if you utilize him correctly. He may be a little expensive, but his contributions to gun line Tau are tremendous. [color=red]HE GIVES EVERY TAU MODEL STUBBORN. Think about this. He is obiously not for use in a mech army. He is supposed to be used in a TROOP heavy tau army. If you are facing an assaulty fast army, or just an assaulty army in general, having a lot of fire warriors with stubborn is priceless. Contrary to popular tau belief you don't want assault units to blow through a squad of fire warriors so that you can shoot the assaulting unit quicker. You want the fire warriors to hold them up as long as possible so that you can deal with other threats and not have to worry about an assault unit running free in your lines if you don't kill them right away. That is where having stubborn (and photon grenades) fire warriors really shine. It gives you TIME to assess and deal with different threat levels.

People who attest to to his crappiness no doubt have little experimentation experience with the Tau...and probably hate auxilliaries too.

New tau players!!!! >>>>> Don't be afraid to experiement with different builds. Mech Tau ARE NOT the only effective build. Be creative and think of unconventional ways to fight with "obsolete tau units" and you'll be better off. Most of them have a purpose but can be quite useful in many different situations.

**For Kroot try:

5 hounds
10 kroot + shaper upgrade (armour saves are up to you, they can be useful v.s. plague bearers for example)
1 Krootox

For holding objectives in terrain (woods are the best obviously). You won't be disappointed...[/color]


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krato123 wrote:I know all too well what itz like to lose to orks...(it's really sad when they can outshoot a tau army....I've had it happen to me before...) and on that note, I'll just say this:


man, itz not easy being green....(1 rare candy to all who get this)

Have you ever heard of marker lights??? A possible BS 5 Str 5 is hard to beat. If you are getting out shot by orks you have a problem. Get some marker lights and learn how to use them. Nobody will out shoot you.

Yeah, I'd say that the imperial guard company command squad is the best, along with very honorable mentions to the KFF ork HQ (big mek?), and eldrad.

The worst HQ choices are HQ choices that pretend like they're not HQ choices. Mephiston, for example, is a terrible HQ choice, because he gives nothing to the army except some beeftank close-combatness. That belongs in an elites choice, not an HQ.

A real HQ choice should do something to support the entire army, even if it's little things like allowing you to take bikes as a troops choice, or using the HQ's leadership instead of their own, or something.

Kff big mek!

Ailaros wrote:Yeah, I'd say that the imperial guard company command squad is the best, along with very honorable mentions to the KFF ork HQ (big mek?), and eldrad.

The worst HQ choices are HQ choices that pretend like they're not HQ choices. Mephiston, for example, is a terrible HQ choice, because he gives nothing to the army except some beeftank close-combatness. That belongs in an elites choice, not an HQ.

A real HQ choice should do something to support the entire army, even if it's little things like allowing you to take bikes as a troops choice, or using the HQ's leadership instead of their own, or something.

I understand what you are getting at but I disagree slightly in that he does do something for the army if he is utilized correctly. He can be a psychological weapon for sure, and if used correctly he can force the other army to react to him.

Sure he doesn't buff other troops, but he can provide a distraction and allow other things that look less threatening to become very threatening because they aren't paying enough attention to the whole board.

but so does ANY scary unit, regardless of what FOC slot they fill. a 30-boy sluggamob has a psychological effect, as does a deathstrike missile. Should they be included as HQ choices?

It's not to say that Mephiston is bad, it's just that he's a bad HQ choice.

Plus, I wasn't under the impression that a blood angels army had problems being choppy that only mephiston could solve...

I have to agree on CCS, they have turned battles for me with their orders, and can be an effective unit on their own with the proper equipment. They are usually a major target for my enemies, and they will shot tons of their squads at it; ignoring my tanks and other squads to try to stop me giving orders.