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I just got a tau army and I've been putting a list together. It seems from the other lists I've seen that fire knife is the most popular battlesuit configuration. However, I did some math hammer, and it looks like it makes more sense to run more specialized battle suits, with twin linked plasma rifles for meq's and deathrain suits for lighter armored creatures. Also, if you go for twin linked suits and you go for targeting arrays it pretty much eliminates the need for markerlights, which is a major save on points. Is there some practical reason people don't like twin linked suits as much as multitracker suits that I'm missing?

The problem is that the Plasma rifles are very limited in what they can do and very expensive. Factor in that it's going to cost you 65 points for a single suit with Targetting array and twin-linked PR and you're list gets filled pretty quickly.

Most lists that I see leave the Multi-tracker suits to the HQ slot and twin-linked missile pods for the elites. Twin-linked missile pods are a great all purpose weapon because they're very cost effective and still have a decent range and strength. I personally love them as an anti-infantry unit too because they treat expensive bikes just like a standard marine.

I also bring very little in the way of markerlights since I generally have low amounts of low ap weapons. I'll bring a tetra or two just for Broadside use and that's about it.

Versatility. Two squads of MP/PR ensures that both squads always have a decent target, while one each of TL MP and TL PR means that you risk having a situation where one of your specialists is unable to shoot at anything effectively.

My experience runs like this.

Make sure your suits are BS 4 or Twin Linked, ideally both.

So if you are going with 2 weapons a suit, you'll want a targeting aray with a Hard Wired Multi-Tracker. Unfortunately you can't do both on the regular Crisis Shas'uis. You'll need the HQs and the Team Leaders for that.

 Peregrine wrote:
Versatility. Two squads of MP/PR ensures that both squads always have a decent target, while one each of TL MP and TL PR means that you risk having a situation where one of your specialists is unable to shoot at anything effectively.

This. As Heinlein says, specialization is for insects. I always like multi weapon loadouts in a take all comers build. For the suits the can, I use HW multi trackers and target arrays, but otherwise I rely on weight of dice.

I have never been a fan of TL anything. A Tl plasma suit going against tac termies might kill one, or two in double tap range, but could just as easily be brought down by bolter fire. Deathrains pop light armor and MC's just fine, but they are near worthless against everything else.

My go to suit loadouts are fireknives, firestormes, and bladestorms(one of each when points allow) With an 'el to match one of the squads.