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I'm making a Tau army in Warhammer 40k, is this a good idea?

HQ #1: Commander (Sha'el)
(Cyclic ion blaster, Airbursting fragmentation launcher, Multi-tracker)
&
XV8 'Crisis' Battlesuit Bodyguard
(XV8 shield generator, Plasma rifle, Missile pod)


HQ #2: Commander (Sha'el)
(Positional relay, Command & control node, Missile pod)
&
XV8 'Crisis' Battlesuit Bodyguard
(XV8 shield generator, Plasma rifle, Missile pod)


Elite #1: XV8 'Crisis' Battlesuit Team
1,2,3 - (Fusion blaster, Plasma rifle, Shield generator)


Elite #2: Stealth Team
1,2 - (Burst cannon)
3 - (Fusion blaster, Bonding knife, Drone Controller; Marker Drone, Hard-wired target lock)


Heavy Support #1: XV88 Broadside Battlesuit Team
1 - (Railgun, Smart missle system, Shield generator)
2 - (Railgun, Smart missle system)


Heavy Support #2: Hammerhead Gunship
(Railgun, Two burst cannons)


Fast Attack #1: Piranha Light Skimmer Team
1,2,3 - (Fusion blaster)


Troop #1,2: Fire Warrior Team
(Pulse rifle)

Welcome to Dakka!

Now for some criticism!

LordHamshire wrote:HQ #1: Commander (Sha'el)
(Cyclic ion blaster, Airbursting fragmentation launcher, Multi-tracker)

Both the Special Issue guns together are not good. The CiB and PR and good, or the AfP and MP are a good combo. A Crisis Suit should have guns focused purposes. Anti-T or anti-I. Add the Target Array for BS5.

LordHamshire wrote:XV8 'Crisis' Battlesuit Bodyguard
(XV8 shield generator, Plasma rifle, Missile pod)

See below about 'vres. Also, if he fails a ShieldGen save (Invuln) the odds are it's versus a LAsCan, ML, Pfist or other STR8, that is Instant Death wound. So, *always* use Shield Drones instead. Never Shield Gens.

Take both 'vres, and make them their own pair of suits, filling your 3rd elite slot. Only field 'vres after you have totally loaded up the elite slots with 9 XV8s. 'Vres cost over much for no gain.

LordHamshire wrote:HQ #2: Commander (Sha'el)
(Positional relay, Command & control node, Missile pod)

5th ed 40k doesn't have "Target Priority" as a rule so the C&CN is no longer relevant. Check the tau FAQ.

LordHamshire wrote:Elite #1: XV8 'Crisis' Battlesuit Team
1,2,3 - (Fusion blaster, Plasma rifle, Shield generator)

Without MultiTrackers, they can't fire two guns. And Shield Drones take care of the Shield Gens' role anyhow.

LordHamshire wrote:Elite #2: Stealth Team
1,2 - (Burst cannon)
3 - (Fusion blaster, Bonding knife, Drone Controller; Marker Drone, Hard-wired target lock)

Skip the FB, as you're paying 100+ points for *one* anti-tank shot. Stealths, if used should only be anti-Infantry, all BCs.

LordHamshire wrote:
Heavy Support #1: XV88 Broadside Battlesuit Team
1 - (Railgun, Smart missle system, Shield generator)
2 - (Railgun, Smart missle system)

Shield Gens out for Drones.

LordHamshire wrote:
Heavy Support #2: Hammerhead Gunship
(Railgun, Two burst cannons)

Add MT & Dispod. Possibly a Target Lock so the BCs shoot infantry and the RG bangs tanks.

LordHamshire wrote:Fast Attack #1: Piranha Light Skimmer Team
1,2,3 - (Fusion blaster)

Dispods
Overall, quite a nooB list. Your two naked FWs units, even if held in Reserve, will get eaten quickly, and then your objective based missions become fights for a Draw. Outing one for kroot is good, and a DevilFish is good for the other.

Read advancedtautactica.com. Good tau stuff.

LordHamshire wrote:I'm making a Tau army in Warhammer 40k, is this a good idea?

Not right now. Tau struggle against most armies in 5th. They do however do well against Grey Knights, which is a large portion of the meta atm. So if you know you will play lots of gk then Tau might be an ok choice. I'm not saying you can't win with Tau, it is just very difficult. You may want to wait until they get a new codex.

Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm new to this game. This is my first army. Thanks a lot for the help though... I'll probably reply to this yet again with some questions I have.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ok I think I get what you are saying, is this any good?

HQ #1: Commander (Sha'el)
(Cyclic ion blaster, Positional relay, Drone controller; Shield Drone)


HQ #2: Commander (Sha'el)
(Airbursting fragmentation launcher, Missile pod, Drone controller; Shield Drone)

[Not sure if I should give the Commander above Shield Drones, and only use the missiles at longer ranges or a Multi-tracker]


Elite #1: XV8 'Crisis' Battlesuit Team
1,2,3 - (Twin-linked plasma rifles, Drone controller; Shield Drone)


Elite #2: Stealth Team
1,2 - (Burst cannon)
3 - (Burst cannon, Bonding knife, Drone Controller; Marker Drone)


Heavy Support #1: XV88 Broadside Battlesuit Team
1 - (Railgun, Smart missle system, Drone controller; Shield Drone)
2 - (Railgun, Smart missle system)


Heavy Support #2: Hammerhead Gunship
(Railgun, Two burst cannons, Target lock, Multi-tracker)

[Whats a dispod? Do these Target locks/Multi-tracker have to be hard wired? Or can I just glue them on?]

Fast Attack #1: Piranha Light Skimmer Team
1,2,3 - (Fusion blaster)

[Whats a dispod?]


Troop #1,2, 3: Fire Warrior Team
(Pulse rifle)

LordHamshire wrote:HQ #1: Commander (Sha'el) - (Cyclic ion blaster, Positional relay, Drone controller; Shield Drone)
HQ #2: Commander (Sha'el) (Airbursting fragmentation launcher, Missile pod, Drone controller; Shield Drone)
[Not sure if I should give the Commander above Shield Drones, and only use the missiles at longer ranges or a Multi-tracker]

Try this instead:
Shas'el #1 - CiB, PR, Target Array, hwMT, hwDC, Shield Drone.
Shas'el #2 - AfP, MP, Target Array, 'hard-wired' MultiTracker, 'hard-wired' Drone Controler, Shield Drone.

'Hard-wired' items are in the 'wargear' column (3rd one page 25) and accessible by HQs and Team Leaders.

How do you plan to use the Positional Relay? I would advise dropping it, as it goes with a strategy called "Ninja Tau" and is difficult to pull off, and as poster Shu said, tau is already behind the 8-ball as the weakest codex in the game. And you're new to 40k.

LordHamshire wrote:Elite #1: XV8 'Crisis' Battlesuit Team
1,2,3 - (Twin-linked plasma rifles, Drone controller; Shield Drone)

Nope, nope. One gun on a Crisis Suit makes the 40k gods cry. TL guns on suits count as one. Do read up on 'crisis suit load-outs' on AdvancedTauTactica.com. Spend lotsa time lurking and asking Qs there. 'Tis the mecca for tau players.

Try this instead:
Elite Unit #1
Suit 1 - PR, MP, MT
Suit 2 - PR, MP, MT

Elite #2
PR, MP, MT

Making your Stealths Elite #3 -

LordHamshire wrote:Elite #2: Stealth Team
1,2 - (Burst cannon)
3 - (Burst cannon, Bonding knife, Drone Controller; Marker Drone)

Small hitch. #3 needs to be made a Team Leader, to have access to the wargear that is the BK and hw DC.

LordHamshire wrote:Heavy Support #1: XV88 Broadside Battlesuit Team
1 - (Railgun, Smart missle system, Drone controller; Shield Drone)
2 - (Railgun, Smart missle system)

You've got to list them as having a "Support System", best one being Advanced Stabilization System.

LordHamshire wrote:
Heavy Support #2: Hammerhead Gunship
(Railgun, Two burst cannons, Target lock, Multi-tracker)

Add the MultiTracker. It allows the tank to Move and Shoot like a Fast Vehicle, meaning Move up to 6" and shoot the BCs and the RG, or Move up to 12" and shoot the RG.

LordHamshire wrote:Whats a dispod? Do these Target locks/Multi-tracker have to be hard wired? Or can I just glue them on?

The Dispod is in your codex in the vehicle wargear section. Read what it does there, and then check the Rule Book for what being "Obscured" means. It's a good thing for your tanks.

The MT is not actually modeled on the tanks. Also, there is a plastic bit that can be glued on to your Crisis Suit model, that is supposed to be the Multi-Tracker, but isn't totally necessary as pretty much every player has paid the points cost for it and every opponent will expect that you're using them.

LordHamshire wrote:Fast Attack #1: Piranha Light Skimmer Team
1,2,3 - (Fusion blaster)

Separate them out into each being its own unit. This splits your fire (good for you) and makes the opponent split his, bad for him.

LordHamshire wrote:

Troop #1,2, 3: Fire Warrior Team
(Pulse rifle)

How many FWs are in each unit? Either field the minimum 6. Or field 9 ... it has to do with Morale Checks, or field a full 12 each for offensive use, but without DevilFish, I'd advise just fielding the smallest possible.

You don't own a codex, do you?

I do own a codex, lol. I just don't understand a lot of these abbreviations. I didn't get a good look at your advice yet, let me check it out.

LordHamshire wrote:I do own a codex, lol. I just don't understand a lot of these abbreviations. I didn't get a good look at your advice yet, let me check it out.

I wrote out most of them first, in capital letters, just for that purpose.

There's lotsa 'load-out' advice on Crisis Suits. Favorites are:

Fire Knife: Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, MultiTracker
Deathrain: TL-Missile Pods, flamer
FireStorm: Burst Cannon, Missile Pod, MT

Any other advice I give, do spend time surfing Advanced TT. It totally pushed my game with tau to my most successful winning percentages of any other army ... in 4th edition.

Now its good?

HQ #1: Commander (Sha'el)
(Cyclic ion blaster, Positional relay, Target Array, hwDrone controller; Shield Drone, hwMulti-tracker)

[What do you suggest I switch the Positional relay with?]

HQ #2: Commander (Sha'el)
(Airbursting fragmentation launcher, Missile pod, Targeting array, hwDrone controller; Shield Drone, hwMulti-tracker)


Elite #1: XV8 'Crisis' Battlesuit Team
1,2 - (Plasma rifle, Missle pod, Multi-tracker)


Elite #2: XV8 'Crisis' Battlesuit Team
(Plasma rifle, Missle pod, Multi-tracker)


Elite #3: Stealth Team
1,2 - (Burst cannon)
3 - (Team leader, Burst cannon, Bonding knife, Drone Controller; Marker Drone)


Heavy Support #1: XV88 Broadside Battlesuit Team
1 - (Railgun, Smart missle system, Advanced Stabilization System)
2 - (Railgun, Smart missle system)




Heavy Support #2: Hammerhead Gunship
(Railgun, Two burst cannons, Target lock, Multi-tracker, Disruption pod)


Fast Attack #1: Piranha Light Skimmer Team
(Fusion blaster, Disruption pod)


Fast Attack #2: Piranha Light Skimmer Team
(Fusion blaster, Disruption pod)


Fast Attack #3: Piranha Light Skimmer Team
(Fusion blaster, Disruption pod)


Troop #1: Fire Warrior Team
1-6 - (Pulse rifle)

[Do you suggest bonding knifes?]

Troop #2: Fire Warrior Team
1-6 - (Pulse rifle)


Troop #3: Fire Warrior Team
1-6 - (Pulse rifle)

LordHamshire wrote:HQ #1: Commander (Sha'el) (Cyclic ion blaster, Positional relay, Target Array, hwDrone controller; Shield Drone, hwMulti-tracker)

[What do you suggest I switch the Positional relay with?]

Another gun, plasma rifle. *Always* put two guns on the suits and the MT, as that is their strong point, shooting TWO guns.

LordHamshire wrote:
Heavy Support #1: XV88 Broadside Battlesuit Team
1 - (Railgun, Smart missle system, Advanced Stabilization System)
2 - (Railgun, Smart missle system)

If you have points room for a Team Leader upgrade, a Bonding Knife and two Shield Drones, then you're in great shape.

LordHamshire wrote:Troop #1: Fire Warrior Team 1-6 - (Pulse rifle) Do you suggest bonding knifes?

For 6 man teams? No. 9 to 12s, Yes.

With that minor tweak, you're good to go. Don't get discouraged and change up the list from here. You're simply going to need experience.

Just so you know no tau army is a good idea

Not funny. This is the sort of thing that makes people quit before they even fully get into the hobby. You may find it funny, but other people may take you seriously.

Don't worry I'm not THAT un-knowledgeable about the game yet.

Hmm.. Unless there is a FAQ that I'm unaware of, TL weapons on a Battlesuit still count as 2 weapons.. very clearly indicated in the info in the Battlesuit gear selection.

LordHamshire wrote:Don't worry I'm not THAT un-knowledgeable about the game yet.

Good for you. It's just a personal thing, when I get really peeved when a brand new player is told by people who don't know what they are talking about that "your army sucks royal" and "my army pwns everone elses". This happened when I picked my first army and I was told that I have no chance of winning. Demoralized for the whole game and nearly quit then and there. Glad I didn't as a few years later I am loving every second I play 40K.

Remember, advice is good, but winning isn't everything. I'm planning a Death Company army. Probably never going to win, but I love playing people with fun forces.

Of course, winning is fun too...

PoetNWar wrote:Hmm.. Unless there is a FAQ that I'm unaware of, TL weapons on a Battlesuit still count as 2 weapons.. very clearly indicated in the info in the Battlesuit gear selection.

You're correct. For Weapon & Support System selection, they count as two, as per page 25 in the Tau Codex.

When shooting, the TL guns count as one, page 31, 2nd paragraph, RH column, RuleBook. So, with a MultiTracker, you can shoot a TL-MP and a 2nd gun. Clearer?


@nurglerulesslaneshdrools:
Howdy, troll!

Heh.. I was referring to the one of the above posts, where it appeared he was telling the OP that TL weapons only counted as one weapon choice.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

LordHamshire wrote:Elite #1: XV8 'Crisis' Battlesuit Team
1,2,3 - (Twin-linked plasma rifles, Drone controller; Shield Drone)

Nope, nope. One gun on a Crisis Suit makes the 40k gods cry. TL guns on suits count as one. Do read up on 'crisis suit load-outs' on AdvancedTauTactica.com. Spend lotsa time lurking and asking Qs there. 'Tis the mecca for tau players.

PoetNWar wrote:Heh.. I was referring to the one of the above posts, where it appeared he was telling the OP that TL weapons only counted as one weapon choice.

Yeah, that was me, BrotherErekose.

PoetNWar wrote:
Automatically Appended Next Post:

LordHamshire wrote:Elite #1: XV8 'Crisis' Battlesuit Team
1,2,3 - (Twin-linked plasma rifles, Drone controller; Shield Drone)

BrotherErekose wrote:Nope, nope. One gun on a Crisis Suit makes the 40k gods cry. TL guns on suits count as one. Do read up on 'crisis suit load-outs' on AdvancedTauTactica.com. Spend lotsa time lurking and asking Qs there. 'Tis the mecca for tau players.

Argh.. worked 15 hours yesterday for Blk Friday so can't even quote properly today

Was referring to this statement..

I know. I got that. Your post Black-Friday overtime fatigue is understandable and forgiven.

I guess I'm going with that army I most recently posted... Thanks for all your help. This site is very helpful. Questions get responded to faster than most.

Good luck with your army list! I hope it pulls through for you!

Thanks.

Dear Sir/Madam who thinks Tau are a good idea in '5th',
No....,
Sincerely,
The guy how's words you should listen to.

Just let him try. Not everyone wants to WAAC. Some people (Like myself) are actually more interested in the fun of the game.

One example is when my GW was running a Kill Teams Tournament. I was put against a Tau Player with my Death-Ravenwing. He put up a good fight, but was finally smashed by my Termies. At the end, we both acknowledged how good a game it was and thanked each other for the game.

I think people who just want to win and tell other people what to do are simply annoying and most people would probably agree.

I am also as you would say... a just play games for fun man.