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Hello and thank you for looking at this post. I do not get to play many games in Sandusky, Ohio because the hobby is not very big here. So I have to ask people who have played games these questions. Thank you for taking your time to look here.

Support Fire - Is this really effective or is it random with needing 6's to hit?

Exemplar of the Selfless Cause - Are people going to ground with every unit in one turn and then popping this trait or is it just something to do when needed? I think it's a pretty powerful trait if you use it during one turn.

Ethereals - Are they getting more play with their new powers?

Cagre Fireblades - His power, matched with (can't find the name of the power/ability) but it allows one extra shot up to 1/2 the weapons range. This would give the unit 4 shots for firewarriors within 15 inches? With the pulse accelerator does this make the half range 18 inches?

Crisis Team leaders - losing 1 additional item seems to really hurt them.

Broadsides - wow, are these being used at all? It seems to me that making their weapons Str8 AP1 make them very week. The missile version isn't any better. Lascannons are more effective vs armour. Yes the AP1 is nice but with armour 14 the best you can do is glance and who ever made the decision to make these weapons Str 8 needs to be stoned.

Stealth Teams - With 4 shots now do they really put a hurt on units?

Riptide - Seems really tough with taking the shielded missile drones but is expensive. Is it a game changer?

Sniper Drone Teams - Seems nice that you can add another controller and some more guns.

Fliers - I have no experience with these but from what I have read they are more troop killers than dog fighters.

Hammer/Sky Ray - Seem to both be very good at what they do.

Kroot - Adding the sniper round is nice. Stealth gives them a +1 cover bonus in forests so they still get the 4+ save. With ignore cover weapons these may not be as good as it seems.

Vespid - Seems like a big jump from last codex. They can move through cover, get a 3+ cover save in ruins and have Str 5 AP3 weapons. They are a bit expensive.

Drones - Leadership jump is nice. I have used them in the past to pin down units but they are never reliable.

Farsight - Looks just as good as before. I did not see a restriction on what he can have in his army, which makes him even better.

Shadowsun - Looks really good.

Aun'va - I've never thought he was very good and I'm sure he will not be used again. Anyone have any idea what tactic to use with him?

LongStrike - Seems like a no brainer.

Darkstrider - Looks like a pretty good choice.

Aun'shi - When he first came out I killed a Deamon Prince with him. He may have to make a return. The only issue I have is that Tau have no HtH units (Kroot loosely) that are worth taking for him.

Support Fire - Is this really effective or is it random with needing 6's to hit?

Its actually pretty effective.

Exemplar of the Selfless Cause - Are people going to ground with every unit in one turn and then popping this trait or is it just something to do when needed? I think it's a pretty powerful trait if you use it during one turn.

Cant say ive used this yet.

Ethereals - Are they getting more play with their new powers?

I find them pretty decent actually, and yes, the new powers really do factore alot in this.

Cagre Fireblades - His power, matched with (can't find the name of the power/ability) but it allows one extra shot up to 1/2 the weapons range. This would give the unit 4 shots for firewarriors within 15 inches? With the pulse accelerator does this make the half range 18 inches?

4 shots at 15" is nice.
You cant get a pule accelerator for FW's though, PF's only.
But keep in mind, adding extra shots is nice, but you only have 2 HQ's, so ethereals and fireblades chew these up.

Crisis Team leaders - losing 1 additional item seems to really hurt them.

True, but the ability to run things like 2 plasma rifles instead of having to take them as TL really is a nice extra.
I usually run 2 weapons and an upgrade.

Broadsides - wow, are these being used at all? It seems to me that making their weapons Str8 AP1 make them very week. The missile version isn't any better. Lascannons are more effective vs armour. Yes the AP1 is nice but with armour 14 the best you can do is glance and who ever made the decision to make these weapons Str 8 needs to be stoned.

Actually, alot of people use them.
Standard broadsides are nice, missilesides are just evil.
Missilesides can pop armour at a far higher rate due to the sheer quantity of shots they can fire.

Stealth Teams - With 4 shots now do they really put a hurt on units?

They lay down some fire, but points wise, they arent so good.

Riptide - Seems really tough with taking the shielded missile drones but is expensive. Is it a game changer?

Actually, you should never take missile drones.
He is not fearless, so killing 1 forces for tests and he will run.
But as a whole, riptides are pretty damn solid.

Sniper Drone Teams - Seems nice that you can add another controller and some more guns.

These are pretty solid, more so for removing threats in units.

Fliers - I have no experience with these but from what I have read they are more troop killers than dog fighters.

They really arent all that great sadly.

Hammer/Sky Ray - Seem to both be very good at what they do.

They arent too bad, but ionheads seem pretty damn good.

Kroot - Adding the sniper round is nice. Stealth gives them a +1 cover bonus in forests so they still get the 4+ save. With ignore cover weapons these may not be as good as it seems.

They really are only bubblewrap units still.

Vespid - Seems like a big jump from last codex. They can move through cover, get a 3+ cover save in ruins and have Str 5 AP3 weapons. They are a bit expensive.

Expensive, short ranged and easy to kill.

Drones - Leadership jump is nice. I have used them in the past to pin down units but they are never reliable.

Throw in a commander with drone controller and you have alot of BS5 drones.

Farsight - Looks just as good as before. I did not see a restriction on what he can have in his army, which makes him even better.

No drawbacks, and the ability to take 7 body guards is very nice, if a bit overkill.

Shadowsun - Looks really good.

Is very good.

Aun'va - I've never thought he was very good and I'm sure he will not be used again. Anyone have any idea what tactic to use with him?

Twice the price of a normal ethereal, but can use 2 powers.
Nice way to get the effects of 2, without using up both slots.

LongStrike - Seems like a no brainer.

Worth the points all day long.

Darkstrider - Looks like a pretty good choice.

He is pretty decent, sometimes its worth using a kitted out PF squad with him for armies like nids.

Aun'shi - When he first came out I killed a Deamon Prince with him. He may have to make a return. The only issue I have is that Tau have no HtH units (Kroot loosely) that are worth taking for him.

I wouldnt expect him to kill even a basic daemon now, avoid him.

Support Fire - Is this really effective or is it random with needing 6's to hit?

Pretty damn good if you put your army up correctly, you can shoot first with markerlight pathfinders/drones and then improve the overwatch BS of the rest of the overwatchers.

Exemplar of the Selfless Cause - Are people going to ground with every unit in one turn and then popping this trait or is it just something to do when needed? I think it's a pretty powerful trait if you use it during one turn.

I guess its good for Turn 2-3 when you rush your gunline up after a round or two of shooting to get linebreaker and capture objectives and yet hold your troops somewhat alive with GTG.

Ethereals - Are they getting more play with their new powers?

They are almost...( note almost ) a auto-take due to their 12" leadership bubble and their set of "free buffs" ( no testing required ) that can be used depending on your situation. The extra VP they give up is kinda a drag-down and your limited HQ is kinda why you dont auto-take him in all lists, you should have him in troop heavy lists tho.

Cadre Fireblades - His power, matched with (can't find the name of the power/ability) but it allows one extra shot up to 1/2 the weapons range. This would give the unit 4 shots for firewarriors within 15 inches? With the pulse accelerator does this make the half range 18 inches?

Besides the mix with Ethereal with 4 shots from a single firewarrior squad, its not worth 2 HQ slots.

Crisis Team leaders - losing 1 additional item seems to really hurt them.

Crisis leaders can take signature systems tho, but Dual weapon + upgrade is quite good if supplied with markerlights, tho i personally run a team of TL Missile pods and dual Fusions teams.

Broadsides - wow, are these being used at all? It seems to me that making their weapons Str8 AP1 make them very week. The missile version isn't any better. Lascannons are more effective vs armour. Yes the AP1 is nice but with armour 14 the best you can do is glance and who ever made the decision to make these weapons Str 8 needs to be stoned.

Despite being nerfed down to str 8, there is several players that still swear by their Railsides, and missile sides wreck havoc you would have problems of believing, Railsides might only glance the damn AV14, but you could use a Commander with puretide to give em tankhunters.
Also, the only unit that can take missile drones, 12 TL str 7 shots, 12 str 7 shots and 12 TL str 5 shots from a single unit is quite effective despite them being AP4 and AP5, can also be given skyfire.

Stealth Teams - With 4 shots now do they really put a hurt on units?

2 firewarriors for like a 3rd of the points dish out the same amount of fire at 15" a team with a fusion might get a tank by infiltrate, but they are pretty meh i am afraid.

Riptide - Seems really tough with taking the shielded missile drones but is expensive. Is it a game changer?

Shielded missile drones are to Riptides such as Pyrovores are to Tyranids: a waste of points, not due to their lack of survival, or their lack of fire, but due to riptide not being fearless and a loss of a drone can make your 5-6W big robot run away.

Sniper Drone Teams - Seems nice that you can add another controller and some more guns.

BS5 snipers at 40" and they have rapid fire? sign me up!

Fliers - I have no experience with these but from what I have read they are more troop killers than dog fighters.

Ugly models, at best half decent, taking fast attacks you might rather want for markerlights... meh

Hammer/Sky Ray - Seem to both be very good at what they do.

Hammerhead got the only str 10 ap 1 shot now, but the ion is pretty good, and sky ray is basically a anti-air platform, but limited ammo makes it situational at best.

Kroot - Adding the sniper round is nice. Stealth gives them a +1 cover bonus in forests so they still get the 4+ save. With ignore cover weapons these may not be as good as it seems.

Not a fan of kroot, but you can tongaline them around your army, and when they get charged you get a army-wide overwatch, fun times!

Vespid - Seems like a big jump from last codex. They can move through cover, get a 3+ cover save in ruins and have Str 5 AP3 weapons. They are a bit expensive.

Being a semi-cool model is the only redeeming factor with theese.

Drones - Leadership jump is nice. I have used them in the past to pin down units but they are never reliable.

They have gotten a bit more reliable, and they can JSJ and the TL carbines arent that bad, some use squads of markerlight drones with a drone controller commander to dish out BS5 markerlights.

Farsight - Looks just as good as before. I did not see a restriction on what he can have in his army, which makes him even better.

Only good melee model in the entire Tau army, and he can bring a army with him.... they dont call it the Farsight bomb for nothing

Shadowsun - Looks really good.

Farsights bitter girlfriend, bring the booty to the Tau and the anger to your enemies.

Aun'va - I've never thought he was very good and I'm sure he will not be used again. Anyone have any idea what tactic to use with him?

Double price, Double power, immune to AP 1 saves ap 2 on a 2+ and takes only 1 HQ slot, well he is pretty decent, also he gives a army wide reroll on failed leadership which can be appealing, its worth considering i guess.

LongStrike - Seems like a no brainer.

Imperial tanks have nightmares of this guy.

Darkstrider - Looks like a pretty good choice.

Put him in a pathfinder squad, add a repulser drone, your assault phase will get quite hilarious.

Aun'shi - When he first came out I killed a Deamon Prince with him. He may have to make a return. The only issue I have is that Tau have no HtH units (Kroot loosely) that are worth taking for him.

If you want melee, pick farsight instead, this guy is just a wannabe ninja turtle at best.

Thank you for your replies. They will help.

Kroot are pretty good now. 145 points for a unit of 20 sniper rifles with Acute Senses and Outflank. Using a Devilfish with Recon drone and pathfinder you can manage to get the hull within 6" of the back table edge turn 1, letting Kroot walk in from backfield turn 2. You get to choose between rapid fire S4 weapons or Sniper rounds at will, making them versatile against a fair range of units. They're actually pretty good at putting a few wounds on MC or getting precision shots for a fairly cheap unit. They are weak. I'll never deny that. But they're actually pretty good.

Flyers are kind of unforgettable. There is no real guidance on how to use the drone turrets on the bomber, but it seems to be better at anti air than the fighter thanks to the network markerlight, drones with twin-linked rapid fire turrets, and turret mounted missiles. The Fighter actually has a better blast than the bomber, which is less disadvantaged by a roll of a 1 for gets hot compared to bomb generation.

The Riptide and Ion Hammerhead are both amazing really. Being able to drop so many S8 Ap2-3 large blasts is something that works against a large number of targets. Riptides with Interceptor are hilariously good. So many opponents I've gone against have tried to deep strike a unit in, only to have them all blasted off the board before doing any damage.