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I just picked one up for dirt cheap, and now I'm not even sure if I'll use it. I mean, the seekers missiles are nice against unit hiding in cover, but is it really worth the points??? I could put three Broadsides with advanced stabilizers on the table for one of those...Plus, I haven't met someone that actually uses one.

Any thoughts/stories???

Hang onto it in the closet til the next codex. It's a cool concept, but it competes with hammerheads and broadsides, which are better. It's a scalpel in a army that needs hammers from its hs slots.

The Skyray is somewhat lackluster compared to other HS choices at the moment. A Hammerhead with a Railgun could beat the Skyray at killing MEQ out of cover in two turns of shooting --ignoring the 6 Markerlight hits the Skyray would need. Furthermore the Skyray's 6 seeker missile shots are worse than one turn of Hammerhead Railgun fire at AV 14, two at AV 13, 3 at AV 12, 3 at AV 11, 4 shots on AV 10 and worse than 4 shots on AV 10 open topped. Bear in mind this is on the Hammerheads base BS of 4, and Hammerheads are less than half the armor killing efficiency of Broadsides. This is also excluding the burst cannons in killing AV 10.

The Skyray also needs an average of 4.5 turns to fire all of it's seekers with it's own markerlights, which is more than the Hammerhead needs to eclipse it at killing any AV and even double it's average MEQ kills (if the Hammerhead is within burst cannon range for those turns which is not always likely) which is it's best overall target in terms of infantry. The Hammerhead is far superior in killing GEQ/TEQ, but the Skyray becomes twice as efficient as before when killing T4 Sv 3+ FNP but it still takes over 4 turns (on average) to get all it's shots off while the Hammerehead takes around 4 turns to kill the same number.

The Hammerhead is better at killing tanks, about the same at killing the Skyray's most ideal infantry target (T4 Sv 3+ FNP) and better at killing all other infantry. The Skyray can instant death T4 but so can the Hammerhead's solid shot although the Skyray could get more shots off in one turn to help force a wound on a multiwound model, but only two shots rather than the one from the Railgun. The Skyray is better at killing T6 Sv 3+ MCs but then again both the Ion Cannon Hammerhead and Broadsides are better at killing that and kill a variety of other targets more effectively as well.

Essentially, Railgun Hammerheads are more effective than Skyrays at virtually everything but ID T4 Sv 3+ and killing T6 Sv 3+,this essentially discounts it in comparison. While the other choices (Ion Cannon Hammerheads and Broadsides for the most part) have some areas in which the Skyray is better, the Railgun Hammerhead is better than that and if you are willing to make the trade from that to the other choice, than the Skyray is simply not an issue to concern yourself with.

I have not addressed the issue of mobile Markerlights on the Skyray simply because it is half the efficiency of Pathfinders for the Markerlights, and it is expected that the Skyray will be firing it's Marlerlights at something to fire it's seekers. It has the utility to do both, but in my opinion: firing the seekers is not as effecting as getting something else, and using the Markerlights for something else to utilize it is not as efficient as getting another source of Markerlights. The only real advantages here is choosing one of these options, survivability, and getting another armored hull. But you might be able to add seekers onto other vehicles for that same utility while getting Pathfinders leaving only the issues of survivability and the extra hull, but again, Pathfinders give you a hull (not as Survivable though).

It could be useful if you only have the points to get 4 Pathfinders and their fish, as then you are trading 2/3 of a Markerlight hit for durability, mobility, an extra hull for contesting and the 6 Seeker missiles which come essentially free, but if you can get an 8 man squad of Pathfinders I would suggest that instead for Markerlights and Seekers.

If your running heavy markerlights with your tank killy power in piranhas and crisis suits, then skyrays are an excellent addition, otherwise they compete for space that you would use for railguns. It is possible to make a good 3 skyray list and still kill vehicles, but you will need to play like eldar to pull it off.

Oh and if I remember correctly, seeker missiles don't actually ignore cover...

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440178a&prodId=prod1290027&rootCatGameStyle=

convert to a hammerhead with bitz

Can sky rays take the extra 2 seeker missiles?

Personaly in low points I go for hammerheads only due to av 13 and they help with troops 1500+ I go for 2 squads of 3 broadsides and 1 hammerhead but hammerheads are my fav tau unit

Skyrays come with the parts to make hammerheads and devilfish as well, so it is well worth getting them.

@Neroku, they can't go with 2 extra seeker missiles.

Skryays can be used competitively (somewhat). They come with 2 markerlights, so once they spend their missiles they can act as armored pathfinders.

Here is a competitive list spamming Markerlights and Seeker Missiles (Best against mech omnomnom)


HQ

Crisis Battlesuit Commander
Plasma Rifle/Missile Pod/Multi-Tracker
-87 Pts.

Troops

Fire Warriors (8)
-80 Pts.

Fire Warriors (8)
-80 Pts.

Fast Attack

Pathfinders 6
Warfish w/ 2 Seeker Missiles
-212 Pts.

Pathfinders 6
Warfish w/ 2 Seeker Missiles
-212 Pts.

Piranhas (4)
Disruption Pods/Seeker Missles/Fusion Blasters
-30 Pts

Heavy Support

Skyray
(BC/DP/TA/MT)
-155 Pts

Skyray
(BC/DP/TA/MT)
-155 Pts

Skyray
(BC/DP/TA/MT)
-155 Pts

1496 Pts

You have 30 seeker missiles and 18 markerlights.

Have your piranhas turbo-boost turn one, and use your markerlights to unload seekers into rear armour! At 1750, add crisis suits.

It can work... just not extremely well.

Right on, thanks for all the info!

I might try to sport it for fun and see how it works, but I'll probably keep it shelved for now