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My brother's just started Tau & received the beginnings of a Tau army for xmas. He was unsure what loadout to assemble his suit commander with, & I've never used tau myself, so I'm unable to help him. I said I'd ask around on here though, so any pointers?

I would suggest Multi-Tracker, Plasma Rifle and Missile pod. It gives a lot of versatility and a hefty amount of firepower.

Your brother should keep in mind that a new Tau codex might be in the works for next year. Learning the fine art of magnetizing might be a good priority. While Plasma and Missile Pods are good now, they may not be as good in the next edition.

I typically run my leader as a Shas'El with Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, Targeting Array, Hardwired Mult-Tracker and Hardwired Drone Controller (1 shield drone unless I have the points for 2).

I also run 2 squads of suits kitted the same (minus the targeting array of course). 1 is a 2 man squad (HQ goes here) and the other is a 3 man squad (team leader upgrade and a shield drone for the leader).

I tend to use these guys in the same list with 2 pathfinder squads (8 strong w/ carbines and markerlights). An average round of markerlight shooting from 1 squad is enough to give me 4 hits (out of 8). With them I can strip cover and give +1 ballistics skill. The stripped cover saves will make your shots count.

Thaylen wrote:I typically run my leader as a Shas'El with Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, Targeting Array, Hardwired Mult-Tracker and Hardwired Drone Controller (1 shield drone unless I have the points for 2).

This.

Both great weapons, higher BS with the Targeting Array, and a 4++ with the Shield Drones. This is be your bread-n-butter HQ until the new codex comes out.

I agree with the above - every time i field a shas'el with Missile Pods, Plasma Rifle, Targetting array, hard wired multi-tracker, hard wired drone controller, and 2x gun drones or 1x shield drone (gun drones are cheaper but do not have an invuln save).

Gun drones are also toughness 3 and don't have the same save as the unit they are attached to.

I run mine like this:
Shas'el
+Twin-Linked Missile Pod
+Targeting Array
+Hard-Wired Drone Controller
+1 Shield Drone
+Bonding Knife
+Hard-Wired Target Lock

I like Deathrains, Str 7, 36" range and low cost.

The weapons give you multiple strengths but don't coincide with each other. One is 24 the other 36.

For an infantry killer try a cib, and a afp. 5 shots and a large blast. With a multi tracker and a shield done you have the ability to cause lots of chaos. I've ran it forever with great luck and it is cheap.

^ i agree. Cib also goes well with alot, thanks to its wanna-be rending. (not vehicles, but well)