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Hello dakka. A good friend of mine wants to get into the hobby, and has decided on Tau, since he likes the fluff as well as the look of the models for that army. As such, he has written a first list....it's pretty big at 2k points, but he's played along side me and my IG before, so he knows the basic rules of the game. Since he's going for a fluffy army, he's committing the cardinal sin of a Tau player and focusing on (gasp) Firee Warriors!! I'm assuming he'll be doing lots of Fish of Fury, but here's his list as it stands.

He's also lacking an HQ, and I'm turning to dakka to ask what they would recommend as an HQ for this force. He has 133 points left to spend on an HQ.

HQ

Fast Attack
Pathfinders: 7 Pathfinders w/ Shas'ui. 3x Railrifles, EMP Grenades, Photon Grenades, Target Lock, Bonding Knife, Black Sun Filter
Devilifish: Targetting Array, Distruption Pods, Multi Tracker, Smart Missile System

Pathfinders: 7 Pathfinders w/ Shas'ui. 3x Railrifles, EMP Grenades, Photon Grenades, Target Lock, Bonding Knife, Black Sun Filter
Devilifish: Targetting Array, Distruption Pods, Multi Tracker, Smart Missile System

3x Pirahna: Targetting Array, Target Lock, Distruption Pod, Flechettes.

Troops
Fire Warrior Squad: 11 Fire Warriors w/ Shas'ui. Photon Grenades, Bonding Knife, Drone Controller, Markerlight
Devilifish: Targetting Array, Distruption Pods, Multi Tracker, Smart Missile System

Fire Warrior Squad: 11 Fire Warriors w/ Shas'ui. Photon Grenades, Bonding Knife, Drone Controller, Markerlight
Devilifish: Targetting Array, Distruption Pods, Multi Tracker, Smart Missile System

Heavy Support
Hammerhead Gunship: Railgun, Burst cannons, Distruption Pods, Targetting Array, Multi Tracker, Decoy Launchers

Hammerhead Gunship: Railgun, Burst cannons, Distruption Pods, Targetting Array, Multi Tracker, Decoy Launchers

Broadside Team: 1x Broadside w/ Autostablization System, Drone Controller & 2x Shield Drones, 1x Shas'ui w/ Autostablizations System,


My own thoughts, having never played Tau before, are that he's got too few troops choices for such a large points value, and he's spending a LOT on upgrades. Of course, that's just my opinion. I'll let the Tau players of dakka have a rip into this....remember, this is a fluffy list that wants to avoid the use of auxillaries, and focus on fully meched out Tau proper.

For the HQ, this is what I would recommend:
-Shas'El - AFP, Missile Pod, Targeting Array, HW Multi-Tracker, HW Drone Controller, 2 Shield Drones
That's what I run in all my Tau lists and he works pretty efficiently. I'm not sure about how many points this is, but I think it's somewhere slightly under 130.

As for the rest of the list, no crisis suits? Those are a MUST and can do SO many different things. I would definitely add some in. Unfortunately the Tau don't have too many really good vehicles to go totally mech, but the crisis suits can definitely compensate.

Fast Attack:
The Pathfinders need some down-grading. I've only used them for markerlights to assist other units, not improve Pathfinders with rail rifles. Plus the 3 rail rifles means you're firing with 3 less markerlights. I would get rid of the target lock, too, to keep your firing more concentrated. BS3 isn't that great. Also drop the grenades. While they may seem useful, the points can be better spent elsewhere (i.e. Crisis Suits). I would drop the Blacksun Filter and put it on something else like the Broadside or Hammerhead, something with a little bit more fire power than Pathfinders.
The Devilfish look good. Warfish are the way to go, hahaha. However, I wouldn't buy the extra for the FWs. Just have the Pathfinders start on the table and have the FWs jump in. Markerlights have a 36" range, which will get you to a unit 95% of the time.
Personally, I hate Piranhas. They have never done anything good for me. If they work for you, though, keep them, they're awesome for anti-tank, but I'd rather use HHs, Broadsides, or crisis suits to pop heavy armor.

Troops:
You're right, he does need at least another squad of FWs and a Warfish for them. Once again, I would drop all the upgrades from the Shas'ui in each squad except the bonding knife. That will definitely come in handy. If you have to reduce the number of FWs in each squad down to 9-10, that's fine, and you could even knock the Pathfinders down to 6 in each squad.
Some people may say use Kroot for "bubble-wrap" for your other units, but I don't really care for them. FWs can be incredibly efficient in squads of 10-12. It's more personal taste, though, so Kroot are an option.

Heavy:
Personally, I find Decoy Launchers to be a waste of points. The Disruption Pod is usually enough defense that the Decoy Launchers are unnecessary. If anything maybe add Flechette Dischargers for orks/nids or a Blacksun Filter.

Make the one broadside a team leader and HW the Drone Controller and maybe, if the points are there, give him a HW target lock.

Elite:
Like I said, crisis suits are practically mandatory for Tau players. You can kit them out to fill any purpose. In this case, I would kit them out for MEQs. It seems like you have enough anti-horde between the FWs and the pie plates and enough anti-tank with the Broadsides and the HHs when they aren't firing pie plates. The best MEQ configuration for Crisis Suits is:
-Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Multi-Tracker
If you have extra points maybe add a bonding knife and a couple shield drones, too. But I would definitely find room for some Crisis Suits.

Let me see if I can summarize all that:
-trim down the upgrades on the Pathfinders
-trim down the upgrades on the FWs
-add another Troops selection
-maybe eliminate the Piranhas?
-modify the HHs and Broadsides a little
-add crisis suits

Hope that was helpful! If your friend has any questions or comments let me know!

Poster firemind's Afp/MP HQ is okay.

ChrisWWII wrote:Pathfinders: 7 Pathfinders w/ Shas'ui. 3x Railrifles, EMP Grenades, Photon Grenades, Target Lock, Bonding Knife, Black Sun Filter

Strip 'em down:
8 PFs, no railrifles, bonded

ChrisWWII wrote:
Fire Warrior Squad: 11 Fire Warriors w/ Shas'ui. Photon Grenades,

Same here. No grenades.

ChrisWWII wrote:Hammerhead Gunship: Decoy Launchers

These were good in 4e, but not 5e. Like firemind said, skip the Decoy Launchers.

ChrisWWII wrote:My own thoughts, having never played Tau before, are that he's got too few troops choices for such a large points value, and he's spending a LOT on upgrades.

Yer right. Go with what firemind said.