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So I was think of starting a tau army, but should I wait for the new codex to come out.

Wait for it. You may regret what upgrades/units you take in the new codex. I personally stopped making my army when I heard about the new dex

Generally, you want to grab the units that are always going to been seen now. They will appear in the new dex of course, but the comming of the new dex means that prices will go up quite a bit for that faction. Its better to get stuff sooner so you save more money really.

Troops and vehicles are almost 100% likely to stay the same, while battlesuits are rumored to be changing. You might still be able to pick Fire Warriors, Kroot, and Devilfish/Hammerheads up for cheap on eBay and the Swap Shop here.

Rarely, something will be dropped entirely. (I have a friend who occasionally still man-weeps over his case full of Pariahs.)

Get the basics, stuff that will always be good or you will always need, a squad or two of fire warriors, maybe some transports, some battlesuits, and that is it. Everything else could get much better or worse, and it would suck to spend money on something like a hammerhead just to find out that they nerf hammerheads and buff sniper drones.

Jimsolo wrote:Rarely, something will be dropped entirely. (I have a friend who occasionally still man-weeps over his case full of Pariahs.)

Even so, Lychguard are almost a 1:1 replacement, so it can't be that bad. The Tau range is so small I doubt there's room to drop anything.

You can wait or get started. Getting ahold of kroot and firewarriors, plus some stealth suits and hammerheads means that you won't have to replace any models, and when the new codex comes out you will probably just be painting battlesuits. An army of the 4 mentioned units, plus some pathfinders, is quite deadly. Look for an old ethereal if you really want to, but otherwise at high point values use shadowsun for extra anti tank.

Don't forget to buy the skyray box when buying hammerheads, it comes with all the hammerhead pieces plus the skyray parts!

I'm also starting Tau and don't know where to really start. I hate wasting money, but I have a feeling it's going to take playing games with the codex before I really know what I want, and then it all changes. Here's what I was thinking:

Tau Battleforce
an extra Crisis Suit
3x XV-88s

but what then? (btw I already have the Crisis Suit and 3x XV-88s)

Oh, I'm a big fan of Mechs, which is why I want to start Tau in the first place. That and they stink right now which is another incentive for me personally.

Lotus wrote:I'm also starting Tau and don't know where to really start. I hate wasting money, but I have a feeling it's going to take playing games with the codex before I really know what I want, and then it all changes. Here's what I was thinking:

Tau Battleforce
an extra Crisis Suit
3x XV-88s

but what then? (btw I already have the Crisis Suit and 3x XV-88s)

Oh, I'm a big fan of Mechs, which is why I want to start Tau in the first place. That and they stink right now which is another incentive for me personally.

If you have some buddies who play, try starting with a proxy army to work out the kinks before you start purchasing models. That way you ant end up getting a whole bunch of units that after a few games you find don't mesh with your play style or the rest of your army.

Magnetize your suits. I cannot stress this enough. Magnetize the crap out of them and you'll be alot better off. I have to invest in 10-15 Crisis Suits to replace those I could not re-jigger with glue...

Lotus wrote:I'm also starting Tau and don't know where to really start. I hate wasting money, but I have a feeling it's going to take playing games with the codex before I really know what I want, and then it all changes. Here's what I was thinking:

Tau Battleforce
an extra Crisis Suit
3x XV-88s

but what then? (btw I already have the Crisis Suit and 3x XV-88s)

Oh, I'm a big fan of Mechs, which is why I want to start Tau in the first place. That and they stink right now which is another incentive for me personally.

Well the units which are probably safest (not going to undergo a massive change and become useless in the process) are gonna be Crisis Suits and Broadsides, so I would buy them with confidence that they aren't going to be a waste of money. If you magnetize the weapon systems on them then you'll be able to switch weapons if some set ups get better in the new book.

The Battleforce is a good deal. Buying everything in it individually is around a 50% increase on the cost of the Battleforce box, so even if you end up not using one of the units (like I never use Kroot) it still works out cheaper than buying the units you do use separately.

Lotus wrote:I'm also starting Tau and don't know where to really start. I hate wasting money, but I have a feeling it's going to take playing games with the codex before I really know what I want, and then it all changes. Here's what I was thinking:

Tau Battleforce
an extra Crisis Suit
3x XV-88s

but what then? (btw I already have the Crisis Suit and 3x XV-88s)

Oh, I'm a big fan of Mechs, which is why I want to start Tau in the first place. That and they stink right now which is another incentive for me personally.

Our Tau player runs lists that are pretty standard, here is one of his lists:

1 Crisis Suit Shas’o – (TW Missle Pod/Plasma Rifle/2 Shield Drones/Iridium Armor)
10 Fire Warriors – (Bonding Knife)
10 Kroot – (Shaper)
3 Stealth Suits – (Fusion Blaster/2 Burst Cannons/4 Gun Drones)
1 Broadside – (Smart Missile System/2 Shield Drones)
1 Sky Ray – (Distortion Pod)
1 Hammerhead – (Railgun/Distortion Pod)

He doesn't do too bad, though I will say as of recently he has stopped bringing the Sky Ray and replace it with another Broadside or Hammerhead.

Diabolical13 wrote:Wait for it. You may regret what upgrades/units you take in the new codex. I personally stopped making my army when I heard about the new dex

On a related note this is why the GW style release schedule combined with an information black out is the dumbest marketing idea ever.

Haven't bought any tau since 5e hit since my mechanized tau army ceased to function (ironic in the mechanized edition) and I was waiting to see what would be good in my 5e dex...jokes on me I guess.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

A Town Called Malus wrote:

Well the units which are probably safest (not going to undergo a massive change and become useless in the process) are gonna be Crisis Suits and Broadsides, so I would buy them with confidence that they aren't going to be a waste of money. If you magnetize the weapon systems on them then you'll be able to switch weapons if some set ups get better in the new book.

Assuming they don't get a cool re-sculpt as the current ones look a bit dated.

CorvidMP wrote:

A Town Called Malus wrote:

Well the units which are probably safest (not going to undergo a massive change and become useless in the process) are gonna be Crisis Suits and Broadsides, so I would buy them with confidence that they aren't going to be a waste of money. If you magnetize the weapon systems on them then you'll be able to switch weapons if some set ups get better in the new book.

Assuming they don't get a cool re-sculpt as the current ones look a bit dated.

I like them. And I run a Farsight army so them looking dated will fit the theme

And just because they get a new look doesn't make the ones you already have useless so they still aren't a waste of money.

What should I buy first the battle force or just some fire warriors and a battle suit or two

A lot of rumors out there at this time, but no one really knows till they actually release a new codex....could be next month, could be 3 years.
I started with tau, and if I had to start over from the begining this is what I'd start with. Best advice I can give.

7 crisis suits and 1 box of Firewarriors. It gives a good base force and a great build for 500pts.

500pt army.
HQ:
Shas'el BC/MP/MT/BK 80pts
Elite:
Crisis x2 BC/MP/MT 100pts
Crisis X2 BC/MP/MT 100pts
Crisis x2 BC/MP/MT 100pts
Troop:
x6 FW 60pts
x6 FW 60pts

then as you build up:
750 add broadsides.
1000 add devilfish.

Magnetize your suits. I cannot stress this enough. Magnetize the crap out of them and you'll be alot better off. I have to invest in 10-15 Crisis Suits to replace those I could not re-jigger with glue...

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT ADVICE I WISH I HAD!!!!!!
You'll end up wanting to change the load out of your suits like a 100 times at least so just do it!

KplKeegan wrote:Magnetize your suits. I cannot stress this enough. Magnetize the crap out of them and you'll be alot better off. I have to invest in 10-15 Crisis Suits to replace those I could not re-jigger with glue...

Have to second this. Learning the relatively easy process of magnetizing your models can cut down on the problems of subtle Codex changes. Typically core units don't change much. Tactical Marines, Eldar everything, IGuardsmen, etc haven't changed much at all in the 20 years since 2nd Edition came out. Tau Fire Warriors are unlikely to fundamentally change, so if you magnetize your tanks and suits, you should be golden.

Thanks. I was already planning on magnetizing as I didn't know what layout I was going to use.

I think I'll just buy the battleforce and start going after Crisis Suits, then see what happens. I mean, except for the Stealth Suits I think I'll use everything in the battleforce.

There is a confirmed new Tau dex coming out?

Zalmout wrote:There is a confirmed new Tau dex coming out?

No, nothing is ever confirmed until it hits the shelves. There is a strong rumor of Tau within a year.

I highly doubt much of anything will really change a whole lot.

I know the Guard Codex didnt change a whole lot from 5th to 6th. I still as able to use ALL my models from 5th.

The Tau battleforce is probably the best out there, when you're starting out you can use pretty much everything in it. your next purchase should be some broadsides or crisis suits to replace the stealth.

What size magnets should I buy for the crisis suits

http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/p-6-nsn0566.aspx
Here is what I use

dont hold your breath on new tau....

but core stuff like firewarriors, and crisis suits or vehicles like the devilfish and hammerhead should be pretty much the same.

you can also probally find the tau codex in pdf form online from a bit torrent site you trust...