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Hey all!

Wanting to get opinions on the new Tau Codex HQ options.

From what I see, they really did a number on increasing the effectiveness of Ethereals while introducing a new one(the Fireblade) for smaller engagements. Curious as to what the suggested HQ would be for a smallish ~1000-1250 pt army would be.

Ethereal: Cheapest, their powers are kinda cool thematically. Fairly effective, I think, embedded in a gun line!
Fireblade: Kinda a more fighty version of an Ethereal. Less support, more firepower, more wounds. NO GEAR OPTIONS!
Commander: Gets expensive FAST! But inarguably the best in terms of sheer firepower and sustainability.

I'm thinking a small force of Fire Warriors with Fireblade/Ethereal embedded, with support from Stealth Suits and maybe a Riptide. Also, for the cost of 1 commander, I could purchase 2x of the other options for a split army.

Has anyone looked over the codex and can share their more experienced thoughts?

AMENDMENT!

I guess my original question was a bit vague, here's the real issue;

For a small army, mainly focuses on Fire Warriors and Stealth Suits, will a Fireblade or Ethereal give me the most mileage?

If you are only using one HQ: Fireblade.

Ethereal still have one major issue as the sole HQ, It is worth 2-4 VP vs 1-3 of all other HQ. One for the unit kill in Purge, can give up first blood, gives slay the Warlord AND awards a bonus VP when killed. As second HQ it is a lot less painful to loss.

Ethereal is a Solid HQ, but the Fireblade is really good for mostly foot forces

VP issue aside, the Ethereal is the better choice. Primarily for the 12" Ld10 bubble and being able to affect more than just the squad he's in. In smaller games that can be critical.

^ Second this.

I, personally, have had many a Warrior turn tail and flee from the table in the previous codex. Usually one of my only 2 scoring units, so having an ethereal makes all the difference. IMO he would be worth it even without the auras.

And as for the free VP, well that is a decent drawback for sure, but you should always attack him to a unit, so the only real threats would be lucky, insta-kill precision shots.

Anyways. my vote goes to the Ethereal.

I'm a big fan of Darkstrider. He increases the effectiveness of Firewarrior units. And he mans my icarus lascannon my ADL, instant killing T5 priority targets.

Given the option in a 1250 force, would I be more benefited by having both the Fireblade(as Warlord to address the VP issues) and the Ethereal, or just use these points to invest in a Commander?

Thanks for the replies all!

The Ethereal will have to be the Warlord as he has a higher leadership than the Fireblade, but having both could be fairly nasty. Storm of Fire plus the Fireblade's Volley Fire will make one of your units Rapid Fire 4 shots! The others will fire 3. If you're picking one or the other though I'd go for the Ethereal.

 ZakFaire wrote:
Given the option in a 1250 force, would I be more benefited by having both the Fireblade(as Warlord to address the VP issues) and the Ethereal, or just use these points to invest in a Commander?

Thanks for the replies all!

If you can do both, that is best. Make the Blade the Warlord and then run the ethereal as a support multiplier

Cirronimbus, I'm confused. Do you not get to select which HQ to make your Warlord? Or did I miss something?

 ZakFaire wrote:
Cirronimbus, I'm confused. Do you not get to select which HQ to make your Warlord? Or did I miss something?

The one with the highest leadership value have to be your commander i believe.

Ethereal is best. Aside from boosting a single FW shots by 1 in return for not moving, the Fireblade is an extremely overcosted FW otherwise. Ethereal, on the other hand, can give multiple units leadership and thus shores up one of Tau's biggest weaknesses. He can also boost various units in a variety of situations which I find are more common in lower points games (fire warriors running to seize objectives getting to snap fire isn't bad, especially if you toss markerlights into the mix)

If you want to take another HQ, a regular Commander would be overpriced. I'd recommend Shadowsun, she really pulls her weight in bonuses for point value, and works well with Stealthsuits.

Xyrael wrote:
I'd recommend Shadowsun, she really pulls her weight in bonuses for point value, and works well with Stealthsuits.

IMO stealth suits are actually the worst place to put Shadowsun, since she's redundant there. You're much better off giving 2+ cover saves to crisis suits/allied terminators/etc.

Dracoknight wrote:

 ZakFaire wrote:
Cirronimbus, I'm confused. Do you not get to select which HQ to make your Warlord? Or did I miss something?

The one with the highest leadership value have to be your commander i believe.

You are correct, I just found on BRB Pg. 111. Sucks!

Now, I feel as if an Ethereal is a huge gamble. Effective, but when you lose you lose hard. 3-4 VP is, I'm not sure, worth it for such a squishy HQ. True, downgrading to a Fireblade increases livability and drops VPs from his death to 2-3.

Kinda hard to justify, unless you have a tougher HQ to go. Looking into Shadowsun, thanks for the suggestion

I've been using Ethereals in lists up to 1250.

Fireblade doesn't bring enough to the game and the Commander is really pricey in low to mid point games.

The SC are quite good. Farsight bomb at 1500-2000 is very effective and can erase nearly any unit in the game in a single round of shooting. Adding Shadowsun at higher points levels makes the unit a lot more survivable.

Space Pope is great for buffing your entire army, but he is vulnerable to low end weaponry.

 Peregrine wrote:

Xyrael wrote:
I'd recommend Shadowsun, she really pulls her weight in bonuses for point value, and works well with Stealthsuits.

IMO stealth suits are actually the worst place to put Shadowsun, since she's redundant there. You're much better off giving 2+ cover saves to crisis suits/allied terminators/etc.

That's not 100% accurate.

Sure shadowsun does not add much to the stealth team, but they are meant to protect her, not the other way around.

Also, infiltrate.


Also, you guys really have to stop thinking on ethereal as risking 3-4 victory points.
Its ONE point, just one.
All the "warlord", "first blood" and "killpoint" the enemy might nab would have still been there for the taking if it was someone else rather then the ethereal.

I'd always recommend one Ethereal. Super cheap and the versatility is nice to have. LD10 has also saved my bacon many times.

I like the Commander with Iridium and Drone Controller to make my Marker drones bs5. I give him 2x Burst Cannon for 8 Str 5 BS5 shots and low cost.