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So my Friends birthday soon and we all buy each other a 40k stuff, the problem is I have only managed to get one game of 6th in and I don't know what would be a powerful Tau unit that I could get him.

if any Tau players could tell me what would be good to get him weather its over powered or not because I don't want to get him something that is suddenly gimped in 6th.

thanks

It may help if you tell people what he already has for his army, as well as what kinds of tactics he uses.

Some general notes of what I have observed with Tau.

Fire Warriors are the best troop choice right now. If it were not for their lack of heavy weapons and the fact that they are costed for 4th, they would be one of the best troop choices in the game. Plus the Fire Warrior Kit can be easily converted into a Pathfinder Squad, which are still good at getting markerlight shots on board.
Suits. Tau players almost always have a need for more suits, particularly Crisis and Broadside Suits. Crisis suits are the multi-tool of the Tau and are how the army adapts to any situation, and Broadside Squads are the best Heavy Killers in the game (not much can survive 3 Twin Linked S10 AP1 shots).
With their updated errata and new 6th rules, there is some debate as to whether or not Stealth Suits are viable. They are definitely better than they were, but they are competing with Crisis Suits for slots. Remember that Markerlight Drones can move and fire their markerlight (they gain relentless from being attached to a squad of jetpack infantry). That being said, the models are quite good, so he might enjoy them either way.
Tau Tanks are always fun, although they are slightly nerfed (as are all vehicles). Hammerheads are a ton of fun, especially with the Submunition Round, and Skyrays are the most underrated unit in the Tau Codex. Plus he can always just make a Devilfish with the kit and use the Hammerhead/Sky Ray Sprue to convert something.

You could just buy him a box of fire warriors, few tau players have many and they can be converted to pathfinders, plus the kit includes drones if I remember correctly.

Pretty much what these guys said. Suits, Fire Warriors, or tanks are always good if they don't have enough already. If you're going to buy him a tank just buy the Sky Ray box since it has the parts for all of the tau tanks in it and he can choose which to build.

Forgot to mention, don't buy him battlesuits, the next tau codex will have new battlesuit models, so don't load him up on stuff that will go out of date within the next... 6-8 months.

Get him lots and lots of kroot!

Get him a squad of vespid
no one will see them coming

otherwise suits or firewarriors like everyone eles is saying

For a good prank before you give him the real present, get some frozen fish sticks and some tartar sauce and let him open that first. Then give him his real present.

A piranha. Relatively inexpensive, able to be fielded up to 15 in a list, and easy to fit into a list. Who doesn't love a fast-skimmer mounted, flanking BS4 meltagun (or 5? )

Question: Does he care about forge world? Because some of their battlesuits are nice. I've also heard good things about tetras too (free rules as well).

I would say broadside or firewarriors.

Not to be TFG, but how about a unit Eldar Rangers with a Farseer?
They're battle brothers, and from what I've heard, Divination+Tau=Amazing Shooting.

*Opens present, sees eldar as a Tau player.... WTF?*

-explains allies rule

"I love you man."

Fire Warriors are the best bet. They are rocking, you can make pathfinders out of them, and if you add IG heads and arms, Gue'vesa.

get him a manta. i'm sure he'll name his kid after you for that

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Tau/TAU-BATTLESUITS-AND-DRONES/XV9-HAZARD-CLOSE-SUPPORT-ARMOUR.html

Easily one of the coolest models available in 40k. I'd love it as a gift, and I play guard.

I played my first game of 6th last night with my Tau and I loaded my army with Firewarriors. The sheer number of powerful shots they can fire is awesome.

FW if he doesn't have many. If he does get a Crisis Suit instead.

1.) FW Crisis Suits or Broadsides, Tetras, IA3 book or Air Caste models.
2.) BL novels: For the Emperor, Fire Warrior (OOP), Kill Team.
3.) Female Tau heads and torsoes from Zealot Miniatures: http://www.zealotminiatures.co.uk/#!__zealot-store

TheAvengingKnee wrote:It may help if you tell people what he already has for his army, as well as what kinds of tactics he uses.

Sorry for not responding yesterday

I'm working off of memory so I am likely missing things but from what I remember he has a full squad of kroot and kroot hounds, a squad of fire warriors, hammerhead that he can also use as a sky ray, devil fish, 3 broad sides, 3 crisis suits, 5 piranha(b-day gift from last year and mean as hell), stealth suits, and vespid ( has only used them once)

from what I am seeing here it looks like the best choice would just be some fire warriors.

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Tau/TAU-AIRCRAFT/TAU-MANTA.html

Tau MANTA ALL THE WAY!

Depending on your budget - Firewarriors, OR Battleforce!

I love the battleforce..
You get a devilfish, firewarriors a battlesuit, kroot and a stealthteam, a great expansion to the army.

I would say either Firewarriors, Stealth Suits or Crisis Suits. If you want something that obviously will be helpful, crisis suits are your goal.

A Tau player can never have enough Firewarriors or Crisis Suits.