Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

A friend of mine wanted to get into 40k, in order to learn with me.
He likes Tau and I found a decent enough deal on a box of Fire Warriors. I thought he might want it, but looking up the points value showed me that it might not be the best investment. What do you guys recommend a new player gets first to begin a small Tau force? Is there any packs of models or combination of singles/packs that can add up to a decent enough points cost(around 400) for under 40 dollars?
I also found a pretty awesome deal on a bunch of still on sprue Crisis Suits. I am not sure how those work, but could a player just field like five of those and thats it? Do they work like dreadnoughts or are do they form squads? Thanks in advance for any help.

Tau are a really old army right now but may be getting an update in the not too distant future which may mean new models and new rules so i'd hold off on anything that isn't very 'standard'. The thing to bear in mind is that whatever you equip them with now may not be the best option down the road.

I got into 40K towards the end of Daemonhunters before they became Grey knights and was lucky that the way they were equipped then was, for the most part, the best way to equip them in the new codex. But I'm glad I didn't invest in many of the more unusual/exotic options in the old codex because they made so many changes. So, I would suggest basic firewarriors and broadsides because they are likely to survive to some extent the update they are likely to get in the not too distant future.

First off.... Tau REQUIRE 1 Crisis Suit as the HQ choice of the whole army... So this is non optional.

Then you are forced into 2 Troop choices of either Fire warriors or Kroot..

One box set of FW's = 12 figures... FW can be put into squads of 6, meaning your 12 pack will be your 2 mandatory troop choices.

This is the absolute minimum required to play his TAU army.

The backbone of the Tau army are the XV8 Suits... Buy at least 3 to start plus the HQ.

Suits are Elite slot items.. You can take 3 squads of 3 suits... So 9 Suits to max out your Elite Slots...

Broadsides and Hammerheads are your heavy support. Both are good . With 3 slots to fill... 2 to brodsides 1 to the hammer head is pretty standard.


That is about all you need to know to start buildng an army of Tau.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the input.

Tau are likely to be updated soon - which in and of itself is incentive to start now, cos the new-release stuff will be pricier.

The best way to start is by buying a Tau Battleforce and the Codex. Has the added bonus of being one of the few (only?) battleforces that technically includes a HQ option.

Gives you great base to work from with the Battlesuit, Firewarriors, Kroot and Devilfish being good, and Stealthsuits being fun.

3 Battleforces will give you all the Firewarriors and Kroot you'll need, 3 battlesuits and 3 devilfish. The 9 Stealthsuits are a nice bonus.

The 'standard' list used seems to be 4-6 Broadsides, 6-9 Battlesuits, 2-3 squads of 6 firewarriors, 2-3 squads of 6-8 pathfinders and mayhaps a Hammerhead.
The squads of firewarriors jump in the pathfinders devilfish turn 1.

Personally I'm currently running with 6 battlesuits, 2 squads of 6 firewarriors, 2 squads of 8 pathfinders, 2 hammerheads and a skyray.

I'm working towards a fun themed Firewarrior list of 3 suits, an Ethereal, 84 Firewarriors, 16-24 Pathfinders, 9 Sniper Drones and I'm undecided as to 2 hammerheads, or a pair of skyrays - but that's mostly for giggles.

What I feel is best advice is starting with the Codex and a Battleforce, give him some pointers then let him decide for himself what he wants.