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I plan on getting some broadsides soon but I want to know what you would recommend, the smart missile system or the twin linked plasma cannons?
Thanks for the help.

I would go with the smart missile system. It's free. If you're close enough to something to make the TL Plasma pay for itself, you're in trouble. And...two shield drones per unit of three - a drone controller can only take two drones.

Also worth taking is a target lock on your team leader, so that you can split fire.

Magnetize if you can so you can switch back and forth between SMS and plasma.

I love plasma on my 'sides, with Multitrackers, getting 2 AP 1/2 shots per suit at 24 inches, or 3 within 12 inches, is great. No, you don't always rapidfire, but at least they have a job once all the tanks are dead after the first few turns. SMS are good too though, don't limit yourself with one varient.

And 12 inches is plenty of space and doesn't always mean you're in trouble, you can easily fit 2-3 buffer lines of Drones/Kroot in that space, which means said hypothetical suits are getting 2-3 turns of rapidfire+rails in on the enemy. At least thats the way it works in the majority of the games I play.

Creeping Dementia wrote:Magnetize if you can so you can switch back and forth between SMS and plasma.

I love plasma on my 'sides, with Multitrackers, getting 2 AP 1/2 shots per suit at 24 inches, or 3 within 12 inches, is great. No, you don't always rapidfire, but at least they have a job once all the tanks are dead after the first few turns. SMS are good too though, don't limit yourself with one varient.

Tanks are only dead after the first few turns if you're playing a light to medium mechanized army and you're packing a lot of markerlights.

In my experience, this is a HEAVILY mechanized world.

Never take PRs on Broadsides; as Dash said, if they're close enough for you to use plasma rifles more effectively than your railguns, then your broadsides are already as good as dead.

In the distance of 24" to 13", your railguns are of similar effectiveness or are more effective than your plasma rifles, both hitting on 4s with re-rolls and wounding (generally) on 2s + ignoring armour saves. In the space of 12" or less, your plasma rifles will be more effective against anything T4 or less, with diminishing effectiveness against T5 and greater, but by that point, nothing your broadsides can do will really change the outcome.

But the suits have the relentless special rule so I can move and still fire them at 24". But I cannot do this with the SMS and they are only Str5 AP5. But I think I will magnetize them as I play against Space Marines the most. But I also play against Chaos daemons, Chaos SM, Orks and IG. So I go up against power amor the most but the missle pods will be good for the horde armies. Also the SM army I play against only has 1 vindicator and a rhino but he protects the vindicator, with the rhino so it doesn't get blown up early.

Problem with Plasma rifles is that if you take them, you want to have Multi-tracker too; and that opens up a can of worms as you can only have one Support system, and there are better options than Multi-tracker; unless you upgrade one to Team Leader, in which case your Broadside will soon become pretty expensive. And most of the time, you wouldn't need the Plasma rifles anyway.

Maybe only way I'd use Plasma Broadsides was if I was fielding several teams, of which one would be all Plasma Rifle-Multitracker, to act as a deterrant against nasty stuff coming too close.

Backfire makes an excellent point, the multitracker has too high an opportunity cost. I consider Advanced Stabilization Systems a requirement for my Broadsides. Close range killing power is really not a weakness of the Tau list anyway.

redkeyboard wrote:But the suits have the relentless special rule so I can move and still fire them at 24". But I cannot do this with the SMS and they are only Str5 AP5. But I think I will magnetize them as I play against Space Marines the most. But I also play against Chaos daemons, Chaos SM, Orks and IG. So I go up against power amor the most but the missle pods will be good for the horde armies. Also the SM army I play against only has 1 vindicator and a rhino but he protects the vindicator, with the rhino so it doesn't get blown up early.

They don't have relentless unless you give them the ASS and then they're the same as terminators (slow and careful or whatever the rule is). I never put ASS on my 'sides; my 3-man units usually are equipped with a team leader drone controller and two shield drones and the squadies have target lock so I can shoot 3 targets/turn with the unit. No to plasma rifle; I've taken them before but they were never worth the expense.

two broad sides with target arrays. team leader with larget lock will run you around 170.... i wouldn't take shield drones... just 1 gun drone for an even 180

frgsinwntr's got a good point, but I would tool it up with enough equip to make it and even 200 if you're going that route. You'll have to scale back your gun lines by a few FW's, but it'd be worth it in the end.

I'd also suggest giving your Broadsuits Stabalizers instead of Arrays for simple plan of LET'S GET OUTTA HERE! I've been stuck so many times out in the lurch because my bubble wrap got popped or I parked up high in a building. The stabilizers allow you to move down or up terrain and still allow you to fire. Marker lights can take care of your BS for you so you can hit on a 2+

Me personally, I field 2 teams of 2 with drones and stabilizers. Bubble wrap w kroots and I've got a unit that is almost guaranteed to last until turn 4

I like SMS and ASS.

If you are shooting at MEq you have your railguns which are of course twin-linked.

If you are shooting at a horde the SMS has four shots at BS3 and it's free.

ASS gives you that little bit of mobility to shuffle and shoot when you need to because you are evading or to move into a sightly better shooting position.

But the suits have the relentless special rule so I can move and still fire them at 24".

They don't have 'Relentless', they're noted as being able to move and fire Rapid Fire weapons as if they hadn't, but the only times your plasma rifles will be better than your railguns is at 12", at which point you're looking at being charged next turn.

Hitting Power Armour with your TL railguns is exactly the same as your plasma rifles up until 12" and toughness 5+, or against multiple wound T4-5. Both hit on 4s with re-rolls, both kill on 2s. You're paying 10pts per model to get a possible second shot when it's already too late.

Again, you will gain nothing from shelling out for plasma rifles, especially when you're going to be charged the next turn. Agaianst T5, your railguns will be better, hitting the same, but wounding on 2s whereas the rifles wound on 3s; the railguns will also insta-gib models that take wounds from it at this point.

Vs T6, your rifles need 4s to wound, 5s against T7, and 6s against T8 and T9, being unable to wound T10. The railgun, however, only starts to wane in effectiveness at T9, but still wounds T10 on 4s. Whilst it's unlikely you'll ever face something the plasma rifle can't wound, it's not so unlikely to face something it'll have trouble wounding.

Railguns are better than plasma rifles when fired. The only time where plasma rifles are better is when rapid-fired, and only up until T7, with effectiveness against T6 still only marginally better than the railguns. Against any multi-wound models T4 or T5, the railguns will always be better.

Ok I have decided on what I am going to do know so I am going with the SMS.

Of course, it is always best to find out yourself which works and which doesn't. Proxy few games with Plasma rifles, see how it goes, then give them up

redkeyboard wrote:But the suits have the relentless special rule so I can move and still fire them at 24". But I cannot do this with the SMS and they are only Str5 AP5. But I think I will magnetize them as I play against Space Marines the most. But I also play against Chaos daemons, Chaos SM, Orks and IG. So I go up against power amor the most but the missle pods will be good for the horde armies. Also the SM army I play against only has 1 vindicator and a rhino but he protects the vindicator, with the rhino so it doesn't get blown up early.

it its str5 its going to make every plague thing worry against it (wounding on 4+ against T 5 can be advantagous to you).