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Hi!

So, since we have 3 Tau players in our local gaming club (and I'm one of them), it was natural that shortly after the start of 6th ed, we had a big brainstorming about some flyer-love for the blue guys. We originally created 13 flyers, and playtested the hell out of them, scrapping 7 desings as they were rather... doozy (my favorite was the "clustercraft", a flyer that could fall apart into several smaller flyer or assemble into one big flyer... that thing was a riot ). So here are the 6 winning designs:


BARRACUDA FIGHTER 90 POINTS
The old-school Barracuda. Now as a cheap, versatile attack aircraft instead of that horrible original point-sink superiority variant.

Barracuda BS 3 | FA 10 | SA 10 | RA 10 | HP 3

Composition:
• 1 Barracuda

Unit Type:
• Flyer

Wargear:
• Hull mounted ion cannon
• Hull mounted twin-linked missile pod
• Two sponson mounted burst cannons

Special Rules:
• Strafing Run
• Vector Dancer

OPTIONS:
• May take any of the following:
- Blacksun Filter 5 points
- Decoy Launchers 5 points
- Target Lock 10 points
- Targeting Array 10 points
- Up to four Seeker missiles 10 points each


MAKO STRIKE GUNSHIP 220 POINTS
Because everyone loves gunships. Especially gunships with railguns. The Mako has the same base design as the Tiger Shark, but it is slightly stockier and it has railguns on the wing sponson mounts .

Mako BS 3 | FA 12 | SA 12 | RA 12 | HP 3

Composition:
• 1 Mako

Unit Type:
• Flyer

Wargear:
• Two turret mounted twin-linked long-barreled burst cannons
• Two turret mounted twin-linked railguns
• Target lock

Special Rules:
• Vector Dancer

OPTIONS:
• May take any of the following:
- Blacksun Filter 5 points
- Decoy Launchers 5 points
- Targeting Array 10 points


IGUANA MISSILE CRAFT 130 POINTS
This thing is the Tau version of the JES2 Missile Carrier from Battletech (both role and design wise). Please note that it can only fire its full arsenal if it goes down to Hover Mode.

Iguana BS3 | FA11 | SA 11 | RA10 | HP 3

Composition:
• 1 Iguana

Unit Type:
• Flyer (Hover)

Wargear:
• Six hull mounted photonic missile pods (R48”, S7, AP3, Heavy 2, Pinning)
• Four Seeker missiles

Special Rules:
• Vector Dancer

OPTIONS:
• May take any of the following:
- Blacksun Filter 5 points
- Decoy Launchers 5 points
- Target Lock 10 points
- Targeting Array 10 points


MASTODON ASSAULT CARRIER 150 POINTS
Because the Orca sucks. The Mastodon also looks like a "Tauised" Terran Dropship from Starcraft 2 and not like the Orca.

Mastodon BS 3 | FA 12 | SA 12 | RA 10 | HP 4

Composition:
• 1 Mastodon

Unit Type:
• Flyer (Hover)

Wargear:
• Four turret mounted twin-linked burst cannons

Special Rules:
• Death From Above (same as Grav-Chute Insertion)
• Scouts

Transport Capacity:
• 16 models

Fire Points:
• None

Access Hatches:
• 2 Side Hatches
• 1 Rear Ramp

OPTIONS:
• May exchange any of its twin-linked burst cannons for:
- Twin-linked missile pods or twin-linked smart missile systems 5 points each
- Twin-linked plasma rifles or twin-linked rail rifles 10 points each
• May take any of the following:
- Blacksun Filter 5 points
- Decoy Launchers 5 points
- Target Lock 10 points
- Targeting Array 10 points


STINGRAY BOMBER 110 POINTS
The bomber version of the Barracuda. Nuff' said.

Stingray BS 3 | FA 10 | SA 10 | RA 10 | HP 3

Composition:
• 1 Stingray

Unit Type:
• Flyer

Wargear:
• Two hull mounted plasma bomb pods (Bomb, S6, AP1, Heavy 1, Blast, Armourbane against targets under the central hole)
• Two sponson mounted burst cannons

Special Rules:
• Vector Dancer

OPTIONS:
• May take any of the following:
- Blacksun Filter 5 points
- Decoy Launchers 5 points
- Target Lock 10 points
- Targeting Array 10 points


KOI STEALTH INTERCEPTOR 200 POINTS
This thing can do so much trolling that it is unbelievable. Design is like the Light Dropship of the Post-Human Republic from Dropzone Commander.

Koi BS 3 | FA 11 | SA 11 | RA 10 | HP 3

Composition:
• 1 Koi

Unit Type:
• Flyer (Hover)

Wargear:
• Hull mounted twin-linked smart missile system
• Hull mounted fusion cannon

Special Rules:
• Interceptor
• Shrouded
• Stealth
• Vector Dancer

Transport Capacity:
• 6 models

Fire Points:
• None

Access Hatches:
• 2 Side Hatches
• 1 Rear Ramp

OPTIONS:
• May take any of the following:
- Blacksun Filter 5 points
- Decoy Launchers 5 points
- Target Lock 10 points
- Targeting Array 10 points
- Up to four Seeker missiles 10 points each


All transport flyers can transport Suits too (except Broadsides), but they take up two spaces each.
The Barracuda, Mastodon and Koi are Fast Attack choices. The Mako, Iguana and Stingray are Heavy Support.

Have a good times with these babies, we had a blast with them (especially with the Koi) !

The only concern that I have are the HP, Necron has Armour 11 and 3hp and Stormraven has armour 12 and 3hp the Storm talon is armour 10 and only 2 hp. I dont believe there going to a flyier more than 3hp and your armour 10 flyiers should be hp2 to balance it out.

mrblacksunshine_1978 wrote:The only concern that I have are the HP, Necron has Armour 11 and 3hp and Stormraven has armour 12 and 3hp the Storm talon is armour 10 and only 2 hp. I dont believe there going to a flyier more than 3hp and your armour 10 flyiers should be hp2 to balance it out.

Most of the AV10 flyers are HP3... And I think the Storm Talon is actually AV11 . And the mastodon was originally HP3, but we decided to increase it to HP4 because of the size (that thing is big!) and increased durability (as a trade-off against other, better amred transport flyers like the Vendetta or the Night Scythe).

I don't like how you have the battle field rolls layed out.

I'd go:
Barracuda (as is, maybe 10 to 20 points more expensive), without vectored dancer.

Barracuda Air Supression Fighter: Gains stealth, shrouded, interceptor and Vectored Dancer, at a cost of another 20 or so points over basic barracuda. Armed with Hull mounted Ion Cannon and Interception Burst Cannon (S6 Heavy 3, skyfire).

Mastadon sounds neat, but for 170 points, you get an awesome transport that throws out 8 S7 twin-linked shots. Rather than upgunning to missile pods, I'd let it swap out a burst cannon for 2-3 seeker missiles (each), or swap for a networked marker light. So you can provide with flak support for infantry, marker lights, or be the platform for the seeker missiles. Giving it missile pods, makes it far to shooty of a transport.

As for the stingray, I'd skip the center hole bit, and just make it S6 AP2 armor bane. You gain the whole blast effect, but give up one of the bonus points to damage rolls. And, lose vectored dancer.


Then I'd cut the Koi (does too much too well) and the Iguana (too much firepower I think, 6 weapon systems seems silly).

-Matt

Matt:
First: thanks for the reply!

HawaiiMatt wrote:Barracuda (as is, maybe 10 to 20 points more expensive), without vectored dancer.

In the costs, we already included the "extras" of the current Tau codex. So the flyers are somewhat (20/30%) undercosted because in order to take them, you must take the overcosted Commander, the overcosted Fire Warriors and their overcosted Devilfish . So the cheap flyers could balance out these things.

Vector Dancer should be totally a Tau Air Caste thing. The Mastodon don't get it only because it is supposed to be a big and rather cumbersome dropship.

HawaiiMatt wrote:Barracuda Air Supression Fighter: Gains stealth, shrouded, interceptor and Vectored Dancer, at a cost of another 20 or so points over basic barracuda. Armed with Hull mounted Ion Cannon and Interception Burst Cannon (S6 Heavy 3, skyfire).

In its role, the Barracuda is like the Star Wars Tie Fighter. It isn't really a player on the battlefield (the first Thunderbolt ripes it down from the sky without problem) but it is cheap and annoying. Putting more stuff on it would only reverse it to its current version what is essentially the Fire Warrior of the Flyers. Also, i don't know why it should have special Skyfire weapons. Flyers can choose to fire their weapons as Skyfire anyways (and yes, thats how the Mako is the new air superiority fighter)...

HawaiiMatt wrote:Mastadon sounds neat, but for 170 points, you get an awesome transport that throws out 8 S7 twin-linked shots. Rather than upgunning to missile pods, I'd let it swap out a burst cannon for 2-3 seeker missiles (each), or swap for a networked marker light. So you can provide with flak support for infantry, marker lights, or be the platform for the seeker missiles. Giving it missile pods, makes it far to shooty of a transport.

The Mastodon is not a transport but a gunship with transport capacity, just like the Valkyre/Vendetta. Its desing philosophy is not "deploy the guys and support them". It is "deploy the guys and blow sh*t up around them". Oh, and we thought about markerlights, originally the High-Intensity Markerlight was an option for every Flyer but we ultimately cut it out as it didn't have any synergy with the flyer's playstyle.

HawaiiMatt wrote:As for the stingray, I'd skip the center hole bit, and just make it S6 AP2 armor bane. You gain the whole blast effect, but give up one of the bonus points to damage rolls.

Originally it was just like that. It was horrifying .

HawaiiMatt wrote:Then I'd cut the Koi (does too much too well) and the Iguana (too much firepower I think, 6 weapon systems seems silly).

The Koi's job is to do everything. It is a Super Mario in an expensive and somewhat fragile package. And you don't say that it is a problem that a Tau vehicle has too much firepower . It is a natural (and currently painfully downplayed) merit of the codex!