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So, Piranhas are pretty interesting now.
at 40pts a pop, they carry 2 gun drones and a burst cannon.
Thats equivalent to BS3 S5AP5 shots on a fast vehicle. Thats about the same points per shot ratio as carbine warriors. Though truthfully the're not that much more survivable than firewarriors . Taking 3 piranhas instead of 12 firewarriors gets you about the same firepower, faster on the move, can split into 2 units, and has easier access to upgrades like Blacksun Filters, cover saves, skyfire, anti-assault defense, move through cover... they're also fearless, so don't worry about those bonding knives.

If you think about it, the Piranha is only costing you 16 points, given the cost of the drones. What other codex gives you a vehicle for 16 points?
Alternatively, if you upgrade to Fusion Blaster you can go hunting vehicles or terminators thanks to their new extended range. That's only 26pts each for a fusion blaster that's easier to get into position than any deep-striking crisis suit, which will run you at least 37pts each. Drop the drones off along the way to act as tiny nuisance units to defend your crisis/firewarriors.


The only issue is that they're competing against markerlights, which is very stiff competition in the new codex.
What do you guys think? Could piranha squadrons be a legitimate threat in the Tau army?

I tried to use Fusion Piranha for tank hunting nearly entire 5th edition, it didn't work that great. True that FB was only 12" then, but it was also BS4 and Disruption pod made the Piranha more survivable.

Problem with using Piranha in tank hunting is that you can't rely on it. It doesn't have Deep strike or Outflank, so it can't perform surprise attack. You have to start from your deployment area and when enemy notices "oh, that little bugger has a melta which can kill my tanks, I better take care of it." And even with DP, li'l fish is pretty squishy.

Now when Piranha is actually very cheap, it makes a great "oh, I have these few dozen points left, what do I use them for" -unit. Dakka Piranha is dirt cheap, if it's not KP mission, drop the drones and move up to the flanks to annoy the enemy. Fusion Piranha will work as a reserve "fire brigade" unit, or just trying to use terrain as a cover and attempt to get a sneak shot, who knows you might get lucky and enemy may have to use valuable shooting attack to take care of the threat. But I don't think it's a wise choice to invest heavily points on.

I think Piranhas are a great unit. Taking them as a larger squadron now is more critical than ever, given that they'll compete with pathfinders and tetras. I think what people are really missing is that their front AV is 11 which means an opponent will have to work harder at taking them down. Small arms fire won't cut it. Thus they'll have to dedicate fire power that would otherwise go into your other units. That takes the pressure off your money units. Squadrons are more durable now as well. The other advantage they have is that they can literally create a giant mobile wall to block your opponents army from advancing towards your gun line. They are wide enough that when placed lined up..that is a rather sizable block. Their footprint is notable. With a longer reach, they can also reach out an touch an enemy unit on the first turn unless the opponent deploys further back...which plays into your hands anyways. They also are great because you essentially are getting 2 units for the price of 1(Great for when you are playing the book mission where your fast attack units are scoring.)Those drones can join up with a commander with a drone controller and you now have a buffed fire power unit that your commander can hide in. All in all, I really think that people should really test their lists using them. I think they are one of the best units in the book IMHO.

Remember most armies are bringing lots of anti-horde these days. A wall of AV 11 is more durable than people might think -- especially when they are getting a 5+ jink save.

Edit : And for the cost, who cares if one dies. Its expendable.

I am bringing 3 with fusion blasters and dpods in one squad. And 2 teams of 7 man pathfinders. As well as 3 squads of fire warriors in devilfish, 2 hammerheads +longstrike, and a team of 2 broadsides.

Remember most armies are bringing lots of anti-horde these days. A wall of AV 11 is more durable than people might think -- especially when they are getting a 5+ jink save.

Edit : And for the cost, who cares if one dies. Its expendable.

This +1. Exalted.

I think the bigger issue is the reliance on marker lights, and the Fast Attack slot having the only reliable source for markers in bulk quantity. Really it's more of a matter of expendable points and an empty FA slot after you've already filled up on marker lights.

One other issue is that it still just packs the same weaponry at the same BS score as a suit. For 47 points you can get a suit, which is also a denial unit that can deepstrike, with Burst Cannon and Fusion Blaster. It may not be able to move 12", but it can jump back after shooting. I really think the biggest problem with most Tau vehicles is they have the same weapon options as the lesser suit weapons, but at a higher cost and actually less maneuverable.

Except it's rapidly becoming clear that Elites are a great source of markerlights also. Crisis suits with Target Locks and Marker drones can let their drones fire at one target and send their own fire at a different target. If one suit has a Drone Controller, so much the better.


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Also, maybe I'm too hung up on seeker missiles, but since you can take them on these guys in a squadron, you can get a pretty huge alpha strike off with minimal Markerlight expenditure.

Drone controller just boosts it up to BS3 for 8 points, which isn't bad. If you're using target lock then you'll have to have one suit fire at the markerdrones target, so you'd be splitting fire of 1-2 suits away from the suit and the 2 drones. Unless you're only bringing one non-twinlinked weapon on a suit and want to bring a target lock and drone controller. In that case if the drone controller shoots at a different unit, his BS is only increased against that unit so the drones wouldn't be affected if they fired at a different unit.

Personally I only think this works on the HQ where you have room for target lock and drone controller while giving the drones at BS5 for any unit and leaving enough room for weapons so you're not hindering the suit. Throw in either body guards with drones or a marker drone squad and it's a better deal.