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I'm up for modifying this list with any input I receive; initially, I don't know what to think of this list, if its casual or semi-competitive. Probably Casual.

Total Points: 1499

HQ - 68 pts
Crisis Shas'el
-TL Fusion Blaster
-Shield Generator


Elites - 106 pts

Crisis Shas'ui - 53 pts
-TL Fusion Blaster
-Targeting Array

Crisis Shas'ui - 53 pts
-TL Fusion Blaster
-Targeting Array


Troops - 400 pts

Fire Warrior Team - 80 pts
-5x Fire Warriors
-1x Fire Warrior Leader
-Markerlight

Fire Warrior Team - 80 pts
-5x Fire Warriors
-1x Fire Warrior Leader
-Markerlight

Fire Warrior Team - 80 pts
-5x Fire Warriors
-1x Fire Warrior Leader
-Markerlight

Fire Warrior Team - 80 pts
-5x Fire Warriors
-1x Fire Warrior Leader
-Markerlight

Fire Warrior Team - 80 pts
-5x Fire Warriors
-1x Fire Warrior Leader
-Markerlight


Fast Attack - 320 pts
Pathfinder Team - 160 pts
-5x Pathfinders
-Devilfish
-2x Seeker Missiles

Pathfinder Team - 160 pts
-5x Pathfinders
-Devilfish
-2x Seeker Missiles


Heavy Support - 585 pts

Hammerhead - 190 pts
-Railgun
-Smart Missile System
-2x Seeker Missiles
-Multi-Tracker

Skyray - 155 pts
-Smart Missile System
-Multi-Tracker

Broadside Team - 240 pts
-3x Broadsides
-3x Targeting Arrays

Well I had 3 thoughts on seeing this... you've got a total of 3 battlesuits, easily the best Tau unit, and all of them look designed for anti-tank suicide runs. Shas'el included. You'd be much better off beefing up your elites, and possibly changing the 'el to a more... multi-purpose role, to better utilise his higher BS.

That said, this is a very unusual list and I honestly couldn't tell if it would work or not although I'm inclined to say probably not.

I tried to cover bases; yknow, anti-horde, anti-AV12 Spam, Anti-AV14, etc. I liked the idea of markerlight missiles given to mostly immobile Firewarriors, popping shots off like missile launcher krak heads (pun intended).

Also, admittedly, these were the models I had on hand; except the skyray.

1. Downgrade your Fire Warrior squads - the team leader isn't worth the extra points and neither is the single markerlight. Really, Fire Warriors aren't very good without a Devilfish to hide in. But you do have a lot of them to provide saturation fire, so it might work.

2. Drop all the extra seeker missiles. You'll never use all 6 from the Sky Ray anyway.

3. If you have the alternate turret, turn the Sky Ray into a second Hammerhead. 2 Hammerheads with burst cannons is a really strong tank in a 1500 point environment.

I'd definitely recommend a squad of 10 Kroot, if not two. They almost never survive the game, but they will slow down the enemy's CC line for a turn or two. Don't get a bigger squad, because they will always take heavy casualties in CC, and most likely get caught in a sweeping advance no matter how big your blob is.

I'd also recommend upgrading your Broadside squad. Make one a team leader, and give him a HW drone controller, 2 shield drones, and a HW lock. For how much a Broadside team costs, the extra 2+/4++ wounds are definitely worth it to survive heavy weapons fire.

Shadelkan wrote:
HQ - 68 pts
Crisis Shas'el
-TL Fusion Blaster
-Shield Generator

First off, he would cost 88 points with that equipment.
I would suggest giving him a shield drone instead of a shield gen. because it is cheaper, and if the shield drone fails a save to a ID weapon, your drone dies. If you commander fails a save to an ID weapon, he will die instead.
I'd also make your commander a fireknife.

Shadelkan wrote:
Elites - 106 pts

Crisis Shas'ui - 53 pts
-TL Fusion Blaster
-Targeting Array

Crisis Shas'ui - 53 pts
-TL Fusion Blaster
-Targeting Array

TL FB is not a good configuration. I'd make your crisis suits one of the following configurations:
Fireknife (PR/MP/MT)
Firestorm (BC/MP/MT)
Bladestorm (PR/BC/MT)
Deathrain (TL MP/Flamer)

Shadelkan wrote:
Troops - 400 pts

6x Fire Warrior Team - 80 pts
-5x Fire Warriors
-1x Fire Warrior Leader
-Markerlight

Gun-lining Tau is, imho, not a viable strategy.
I would change your troops to this:

Fire Warriors (12)
Warfish (SMS/MT/DPs/TA)
240 Pts.

Fire Warriors (12)
120 Pts.

Fire Warriors (12)
120 Pts.

You'd need to get points from elsewhere in your list for this to work.

Shadelkan wrote:
Fast Attack - 320 pts
Pathfinder Team - 160 pts
-5x Pathfinders
-Devilfish
-2x Seeker Missiles

Pathfinder Team - 160 pts
-5x Pathfinders
-Devilfish
-2x Seeker Missiles

I'd get rid of the seeker missiles (to clear up points). Upgrade the devilfish to warfish, and then let your two fire warrior units without fish use them, so now all your troops are in D-fish.

Shadelkan wrote:
Heavy Support - 585 pts

Hammerhead - 190 pts
-Railgun
-Smart Missile System
-2x Seeker Missiles
-Multi-Tracker

Seeker missiles are not very good, I'd change your HH to:
Hammerhead
Railgun/Burst Cannons/Multi-Tracker/Disruption Pods

Disruption pods are a MUST on every Tau vehicle.
I prefer burst cannons to SMS because they are cheaper and pump out more shots, but ymmv.

Shadelkan wrote:
Skyray - 155 pts
-Smart Missile System
-Multi-Tracker

In the context of this list, I don't think a skyray would be a good idea. I see that you are trying to spam seeker missiles, but they really aren't worth it. Pathfinders are weak and will die quickly, and then you would have wasted a bunch of points on seeker missiles.

Shadelkan wrote:
Broadside Team - 240 pts
-3x Broadsides
-3x Targeting Arrays

Looks good, perhaps you could give them a team leader with a target lock, and possibly some shield drones?

Aye, changing suit configurations is a good idea, Fireknives preferably for best all-around usefulness. More suits in place of Fire Warriors is also a good idea. Dropping all those seekers is also probably a good idea. Disruption pods on every vehicle are, as stated, essential as well.

And I'd go on to disagree with him ^ strongly about troops and, apparently, most other things XD

In my experience the second a Fire Warrior shows his head, something kills him XD best to just take 6 in a fish and just use the fish as a scoring unit where necessary. If you cut down to 2 squads of 6 you can jack both the pathfinders 'fish at the start. Changing the fish as he suggested might work though.

Kroot are also very useful, as anti-outflankers, to take that objective hidden in the patch of woodland, as anti-deep strike, screening broadsides, so on and so forth. Very useful unit.

Broadsides - they honestly don't need targeting arrays. Best off just giving 2 of them target locks, and a drone controller on the TL for some shield drones.

And finally, yeah the skyray probably wont pull its weight here, especially not compared to what you can get instead in a heavy support slot

Duuude!!!

FoF is the bomb.

3 devilfish zoom over an enemy unit, fire warriors pour at the back and rapid fire the enemy unit, and the devilfish are shielding them from all fire from an external source.

That is 93 S5 AP5 shots from your d-fish and firewarriors. They rip apart whatever unit they were shooting at (and possibly more than one unit) - and they remain in cover (which is provided by your d-fish) - and their d-fish are tough crackers with disruption pods.

Next turn put them in your d-fish and zoom up to another unit, doing the same thing.

The Bringer wrote:Duuude!!!

FoF is the bomb.

3 devilfish zoom over an enemy unit, fire warriors pour at the back and rapid fire the enemy unit, and the devilfish are shielding them from all fire from an external source.

That is 93 S5 AP5 shots from your d-fish and firewarriors. They rip apart whatever unit they were shooting at (and possibly more than one unit) - and they remain in cover (which is provided by your d-fish) - and their d-fish are tough crackers with disruption pods.

Next turn put them in your d-fish and zoom up to another unit, doing the same thing.

Fish of Fury was a fine tactic in the days of target priority tests and cover blocking LOS, not to much these days where vehicles are everywhere, assault moves ignoring intervening models and the sweeping advance rule.

What he said ^

Don't get me wrong, I liked using the FoF back in the days of 4th, just nowadays all it seems to achieve is losing the scoring troops in the army

not to mention even with rapid fire you on average will only kill if your lucky 3 marines with one squad its just not very effecient these days with how fast many armies have become

It would actually be 3.7 with the devilfish... but still, if that were three units of fire warriors, the marine unit is gone. It would take only 1 or 2 units of fire warriors with ML support.

And really, this tactic would work the least against marines. It would do its best against eldar... and then if you were good enough, isolated ork and nid units. (Which are pretty much the only armies I play against these days.)

Therein lies the problem. Two Devilfish plus two full squads of Fire Warriors plus Markerlight support costs around 500 points. You might kill 10 Marines out in the open (only if your markerlights hit, and then only if you roll well, and then only if you pop the Rhino first), but then what happens? A full 12 man Fire Warrior squad can get routed by a couple of marines in CC thanks to the sweeping advance rule, and I hear disruption pods don't work too well within 12".

Like the guy above me said, armies these days are faster and more mechanised.