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So, Tau are now in 6th Edition! We've got a LOT of great stuff, plenty of options, and some really competitive builds.

So what's the deal?

Well, ForgeWorld updated the Taros campaign, and there's still some minor issues to work out. In no particular order:

Vespid are still underperforming
Some options do not fit their points costs (over or under-costed)
Other issues as they arise



For Vespid, I was thinking: some form of turboboost, and some form of harrying attack during such. They're 17 point models with a 4+ save, they need to find cover somehow and ruins are not always available.

For the options that are overcosted:

Devilfish
Disruption Pods in general
Burst Cannons of all kinds
Stealth Suits
EMP Grenades
Ion Rifles
Rail Rifles

For Devilfish: base cost of 65. SMS stays at 10 points.

DisPods - 10 points. 15 points is preposterous now that vehicles have to stand still in order to fire.

Burst Cannons - 5 points normal, TL for 10 in Weapon Systems. Otherwise, the Riptide should be -10 points and have to pay 20 points for Ion.

Stealth Suits - at 25 points after the Burst Cannon reduction, they're now almost decent. No further changes pending playtesting.

EMPS could be 1PPM and still not be taken a majority of the time.

Rail and Ion Rifles could go down to 5PPM each and be fine.


Undercosted options:

Kroot with Snipers constantly overperform. 2PPM would be advisable.

Piranhas: Piranha squadrons get 2 drones per. At 12 PPM, they're putting out a 4-6 drone squadron and coming off at 16 ppm, or 26 points for a fast skimmer with a fusion gun.

Skyrays: At 115 points, these are a steal.

SMS: Same cost as Burst Cannon; with BC change, they can go up to a point upgrade.

I am impressed. A fan update that increases the cost of undercosted units.

Great stuff, though I would argue that the riptide belongs on the undercosted list.

The riptide is its own beast of a problem. If it's any weaker, it doesn't compete against Crisis Suits. Any stronger, and it gets HelTurkey syndrome.

There's 3 parts to the Riptide problem:

1) It's good in CC (For Tau). It has no incentive not to charge back into its own lines in order to stop a jump squad or some deepstrike stragglers from assaulting you.

2) Its guns are oddly costed. You can have 3 hits at S6 AP4 for 180 points, or the choice of 1.5 hits at S7 AP2 or a large blast S8 AP2 for 185.

and finally,

3) It doesn't suffer from any glass-cannon drawbacks.


Now, I'm actually going to say that it's fairly well-costed. It competes, pointswise, against 3 Suits with 6 Plasmaguns (~150).

What I would do:

BASE: Attacks -1, Points 160, -1Ld
Heavy Burst Cannon Base, same stats. Instead of Nova Charge for double shots, it becomes "Template, Torrent 3", to represent sheer weight of fire tearing through cover and splattering units.

Ion Cannon is now a 30 point upgrade, to 190; same stats.

Can be +1A, +1Ld for another 10 points - like all the other Tau units

Secondary System is a TL Burst Cannon, upgrade to TL SMS for 5 or TL Plasma/Fusion for 10.

What this does: Lowers the versatility, makes it pay for CC ability, and increases its vulnerability to Leadership. It also means a tau player has to actually want one for his playstyle, rather than just grabbing it because it's an obvious best choice. At 200+ points just for Ion + SMS, it'll still be great in armies that can make use of it. But for 160 points, the Heavy Burst Cannon and its Nova version isn't that bad.

Quite frankly I have only played Tau once with the new codex, so I'll take your word for it that things need to change, but one thing I do agree on is that having all 3 alternate weapons on the riptide cost the same thing is just pants on head.

I also think having the hammerhead options of 2 gun drones, twin linked burst cannon, or twin linked SMS all be the same points cost is pretty derpy too. Who will EVER take the burst cannon? Maybe make it 2 individual cannons again?

 chrisrawr wrote:
So, Tau are now in 6th Edition! We've got a LOT of great stuff, plenty of options, and some really competitive builds.

So what's the deal?

Well, ForgeWorld updated the Taros campaign, and there's still some minor issues to work out. In no particular order:

Vespid are still underperforming
Some options do not fit their points costs (over or under-costed)
Other issues as they arise

For Vespid, I was thinking: some form of turboboost, and some form of harrying attack during such. They're 17 point models with a 4+ save, they need to find cover somehow and ruins are not always available.

Changing them to Stealth and Move Through Cover would do it.

For the options that are overcosted:
For Devilfish: base cost of 65. SMS stays at 10 points.

Devilfish are costed well against other transports. They have high armor, skimmer, and an excellent weapon set. There's no need to change them.

DisPods - 10 points. 15 points is preposterous now that vehicles have to stand still in order to fire.

15 points is ALREADY an amazing deal for +1 to cover saves. It increases Tau survivability in most situations, makes them horrifying during night fighting, and any almost all vehicles carry TL weapons to soften snapfire penalties.

Burst Cannons - 5 points normal, TL for 10 in Weapon Systems. Otherwise, the Riptide should be -10 points and have to pay 20 points for Ion.

The only place burst cannons fail is placed against SMS for the same price point. Aside form that they're competitively priced against Mutlilasers and Heavy Bolters (and Scatter Lasers, if the rumors are to be believed.)

Stealth Suits - at 25 points after the Burst Cannon reduction, they're now almost decent. No further changes pending playtesting.

How even can you justify a +3 coversave unit with wargear slots and the ability to infiltrate as 25 points per? Stealths make excellent harassers, can threaten tanks, make wonderful character bunkers for allies and unlock all kinds of outflank shenanigans with bacons.

EMPS could be 1PPM and still not be taken a majority of the time.

EMPs as-is are a viable gunline response to LR and other heavy vehicles. They are well-priced compared to melta-bombs when you consider availiability. No change is needed.

Rail and Ion Rifles could go down to 5PPM each and be fine.

Rails and Ions perform well when taken in minimum-size harrying units. Ions in particular are excellent when outflanking, landing S7 or S8 shots on vehicle rear armor.

Kroot with Snipers constantly overperform. 2PPM would be advisable.

Kroot with Snipers give Tau a response to heavy units that isn't suicide Crisis suits. They might be better as a separate unit from carnivores to keep them from infiltrating or scoring, but they are well-priced otherwise.

Piranhas: Piranha squadrons get 2 drones per. At 12 PPM, they're putting out a 4-6 drone squadron and coming off at 16 ppm, or 26 points for a fast skimmer with a fusion gun.

Drones are overpriced as a unit, and the drone teams they put out are of limited usefulness. As-is they offer an interesting flanking unit that is limited by reliance on markerlights. They are solid.

Skyrays: At 115 points, these are a steal.

Yes and no. At 67 points with no Seekers they are very cheap, but they compete for a very valuable slot and probably won't be spammed like, say, Annihilation Barges.

SMS: Same cost as Burst Cannon; with BC change, they can go up to a point upgrade.

raverrn wrote:

 chrisrawr wrote:
So, Tau are now in 6th Edition! We've got a LOT of great stuff, plenty of options, and some really competitive builds.

So what's the deal?

Well, ForgeWorld updated the Taros campaign, and there's still some minor issues to work out. In no particular order:

Vespid are still underperforming
Some options do not fit their points costs (over or under-costed)
Other issues as they arise

For Vespid, I was thinking: some form of turboboost, and some form of harrying attack during such. They're 17 point models with a 4+ save, they need to find cover somehow and ruins are not always available.

Changing them to Stealth and Move Through Cover would do it.

They're still not viable in comparison to PF's or even Piranhas. At least with Drone Squads, you can hook them up to a Commander and do neat things.

For the options that are overcosted:
For Devilfish: base cost of 65. SMS stays at 10 points.

Devilfish are costed well against other transports. They have high armor, skimmer, and an excellent weapon set. There's no need to change them.

Similar transports across dex's:

Chimera (Front Armour 12, BS3) -- 55 points, Multilaser and HBolter. Differences: Not a skimmer, less side AV. Cost: 20 points to gain 2 S5 shots. Lose 1str on 3 shots, lose 18" on all shots. Gain skimmer and +1 side armour. Not worth it.
-- Chimera can have Autocannon turret and Heavy Flamers if it wants. Just sayin.

Wave Serpent (FA 12, Skimmer) -- Now 115 points, comes standard with 2 TL weapons with decent special rules. For 120 points, you get a Scatterlaser. Differences: Sides +1 AV, better weapons, better choices, better defensive wargears/rules.
Cost: -40 points; lose +~3 shots, lose 1 str on 7 shots and 2str on ~4. Also lose a bunch of Range. Lose +1 side av, and special rules to front and side re: pens. The WS is a vastly superior vehicle, with vastly superior weapons choices. Oh, also, it's Fast. It would never be advisable to downgrade it.

Raider and Venom (Skimmers) -- For 65 and 55 points respectively, the Raider and Venom give you what you pay for, and nothing more. Fast, powerful weapons platforms that can coincidentally carry troops (who can fire whilst inside). They have a tonne of relevant and interesting upgrades that can make them surprisingly annoying and survivable. The Venom, in particular, puts out a whopping 12 BS4 poisoned shots at 36", for a mere 65 points. The Raider is one of the best sources of Lance weaponry in the game, point for point. Both can have a protective item that's 10 points, and is better than the Disruption pod. The difference: Raider and Venom gain +2/+1 AV and lose 1 BS. They lose fast and open topped. They sacrifice their superior weaponry and survivability wargears for this. Cost: 15-25 points, slightly less depending on wargears. Recap: Similar survivability, lose a bunch of tricksiness and firepower. Why would you ever?

DisPods - 10 points. 15 points is preposterous now that vehicles have to stand still in order to fire.

15 points is ALREADY an amazing deal for +1 to cover saves. It increases Tau survivability in most situations, makes them horrifying during night fighting, and any almost all vehicles carry TL weapons to soften snapfire penalties.
Uh.. what? It MIGHT be worth 15 points on a Hammerhead or Skyray. It's 10 points on a Devilfish. We may just have to beg to differ here, but looking again at camo netting and nightshields... well...

Burst Cannons - 5 points normal, TL for 10 in Weapon Systems. Otherwise, the Riptide should be -10 points and have to pay 20 points for Ion.

The only place burst cannons fail is placed against SMS for the same price point. Aside form that they're competitively priced against Mutlilasers and Heavy Bolters (and Scatter Lasers, if the rumors are to be believed.)
Multilasers and Scatter Lasers can fight AV12. Key point here. Burst cannon is great anti-infantry and DE. It does nothing against AV12+, or particularly well against Sv4- or T5+. Heavy Bolters are overpriced in every form in every codex; the closest I've seen them come is on SoB heavy support, where they're basically 3 points. Appropriately sprinkled (i.e. only available on units that should have them), this is the true-ish cost of a HBolter, or ANY OTHER WEAPON that could compete for a slot against better weapons, similarly available (in the case of Tau, Vehicles and Elites are the "appropriate" slot for Burst Cannons. In the case of Tau, 5 points is about what I'd pay for a 4-shot heavy bolter).

Stealth Suits - at 25 points after the Burst Cannon reduction, they're now almost decent. No further changes pending playtesting.

How even can you justify a +3 coversave unit with wargear slots and the ability to infiltrate as 25 points per? Stealths make excellent harassers, can threaten tanks, make wonderful character bunkers for allies and unlock all kinds of outflank shenanigans with beacons.
Err, have you ever fielded them this edition? For 30 points, you lose out on your real elites slots. They do not make excellent harassers as they lack AP2 en-mass, or range en-mass. If you want a Character bunker, grab Shadowsun. If you want Outflank, grab kroot. If you want Beacons, you are going to lose a lot of games.

On a side note, Beacon availability is another issue. Tau could do some neat Deepstrike things that they simply failed to work into the codex. This is something I've attempted to fix before, and will attempt to fix again. Any and all ideas should be built around using Beacons for precision strikes of various kinds. This could, as you point out, be a legitimate use for Stealth Suits. As-is, Pathfinders are better holders for beacons.

EMPS could be 1PPM and still not be taken a majority of the time.

EMPs as-is are a viable gunline response to LR and other heavy vehicles. They are well-priced compared to melta-bombs when you consider availiability. No change is needed.
Again, playtesting has shown that this is definitely not 'a thing'. The only real 'availability' of EMP is on units that will never survive to use them where intended. Examples of this are Pathfinders and Fire Warriors. In either case, getting close enough to use EMPs results in squad (or even multi-squad) wipeout. Wargear and Special Rules should NEVER be designed around the off-chance that your opponent is for some reason below average intelligence.

Rail and Ion Rifles could go down to 5PPM each and be fine.

Rails and Ions perform well when taken in minimum-size harrying units. Ions in particular are excellent when outflanking, landing S7 or S8 shots on vehicle rear armor.
You use the word Harrying here, but I do not think you know what it means. 1) Ion rifles come into play on Pathfinders, who are your only decent source of Markerlights. Taking 3 Ion rifles is equivalent to taking 3 Pathfinders. Which is more advisable. Rail rifles are horrifically overcosted for their usability; 15 points for something that might get to fire once, MAYBE twice (if snapfired). Factoring in the fact that S6 AP1 is the same as S6 AP2 in 99% of cases, and we get what looks like a weapon thrown in for the sake of "lolRail."

Kroot with Snipers constantly overperform. 2PPM would be advisable.

Kroot with Snipers give Tau a response to heavy units that isn't suicide Crisis suits. They might be better as a separate unit from carnivores to keep them from infiltrating or scoring, but they are well-priced otherwise.
Tau as a codex and an army on the table have to have more of a downside than "Well I can win but I have to actually use my units in ways where they might die", unfortunately. Taking 1 less unit of Sniper Kroot in your 60-Sniper-Kroot list is not going to hurt anyone. -- I've been playing with this rule for the past week, and it hasn't affected my games considerably. It has made me more conscious of what I do with my kroot, however.

Piranhas: Piranha squadrons get 2 drones per. At 12 PPM, they're putting out a 4-6 drone squadron and coming off at 16 ppm, or 26 points for a fast skimmer with a fusion gun.

Drones are overpriced as a unit, and the drone teams they put out are of limited usefulness. As-is they offer an interesting flanking unit that is limited by reliance on markerlights. They are solid.

12 points for an Ork Stormboy with a better weapon, a better jetpack, a better save is "overcosted"? I missed the memo, I suppose. Again we might have to disagree on this point, but Target Saturation, S5 AP5 Pinning, and weight of S5 or even S8 AP1 shots from the combination of Piranhas and Drones is very potent on the battlefield, both in math hammer and in practice. Piranhas were good from the 4e codex for a variety of tactical reason; in the 6e codex, they're a free 20 points better, for 10 points less. You do the math.

Skyrays: At 115 points, these are a steal.

Yes and no. At 67 points with no Seekers they are very cheap, but they compete for a very valuable slot and probably won't be spammed like, say, Annihilation Barges.

At 115 points, or 131 points with BSF and DPod, they fill 2 of my slots in every game, with the third being HYMP Broadies. This is because 2 Skyrays can take out their points, each, on turn 1, regardless of scenario, army, or deployment. They then become practically free SMS + Markerlights with Skyfire for the rest of the game, as well as AV13 front blocking with 4+ Jink. They are the best Heavy slot in the Tau codex, and if the current meta had more than 2-3 vehicles per list, I'd be taking 3 of them.

SMS: Same cost as Burst Cannon; with BC change, they can go up to a point upgrade.

This I probably agree with. SMS are very, very, very good.

So: Round 1


Wargears:
--Ranged Weapons
Burst Cannon - Points Cost decrease of 5 points, from 10/15 to 5/10.

--Support Systems
Advanced Targeting System - Points Cost decrease of 1 point, from 3 to 2.
Shield Generator - Points Cost decrease of 10 points, from 25 to 15.

--Vehicle Battle Systems
Flechette Discharger - Points Cost decrease of 5 points, from 10 to 5.
Advanced Targeting System - Points Cost decrease pf 5 points, from 10 to 5.
Disruption Pod - Points Cost decrease of 5 points, from 15 to 10, on Vehicles that aren't Flyers or Heavy Support selections.
Multitracker - Re-added, Points Cost increase of 10, from non-existent to 10. (Points cost may go up; Vehicles with a Multitracker may fire (but not move) as if they were Fast Vehicles).


HQ's:
Aun'Va - Ethereal Guards should have Pulse Rifles standard.

Aun'Shi - Points total decreased by 10, from 110 to 100.

Darkstrider (And Cadre Fireblades) - Gain the Splitfire special rule.
-- Longshot Pulse Rifle included in Cadre Fireblade's list of improved weapons.

Bodyguards (And Shas'Vre) - WS3, I3 -- up from WS2, I2.


Troops:
Fire Warriors - EMP Grenades point cost decrease of 1, from 2 to 1.
-- Fire Warrior Shas'Ui point cost decrease of 5, from 10 to 5.
----Markerlight point cost decrease of 5, from 15 to 10.

Kroot - Sniper Rifles increase in cost by 1 point, from 1 to 2.
-- Krootox Points per model decrease of 5 points, from 25 to 20. (Seriously, these things are not good, despite S6 and a Rapidfire S7 gun).

Dedicated Transport:
Devilfish - Points total decreased by 15 points, from 85 to 70. (Might go up to 75, but I can't see it being higher).


Elites:
Stealth Team - Points cost decrease due to Burst Cannon; Total points cost decrease of 15, from 90 to 75. Points per model decrease of 5, from 30 to 25.
--Any member of the unit may purchase drones
--Any member of the unit may purchase a single non-weapon Support System; Shas'vre may purchase 2

XV104 Riptide - Points Cost decrease of 10, from 180 to 170. -- Note: I'm playtesting a bunch of configurations for the Riptide right now; it might get Missile Pods and the Ion//Rail Rifle added to its list of weapons upgrades. Its points costs might also jump around. What I've got now is a slight increase in price for the 'standard' configuration, but a slight decrease for alternate ones.
-- Attacks decreased by 1, from 3 to 2
-- Leadership decreased by 1, form 9 to 8
--Base Weaponry: Heavy Burst Cannon, TL Burst Cannon
--Options: TL BC for TL (SMS, PR, or FB) for 10 points.
--HBC for Ion Accelerator for 15 points


Fast Attack:
Pathfinder Team - Recon Drone points cost decrease of 13, from 28 to 15. (Might go back up to 20, but not really a useful piece of wargear).
-- Pulse Accelerator Drone points cost decrease of 5, from 15 to 10. (Again, might go back up, but not really useful overall).
-- Rail Rifle points cost decrease of 5, from 15 to 10.
-- EMP points cost decrease of 1, from 2 to 1.
-- Shas'Ui upgrade points cost decrease of 5, from 10 to 5

Vespid Stingwings - Points total decrease of 8, from 72 to 64.
-- Points per model decrease of 2, from 18 to 16.

Drone Squadron - Points total decrease of 8, from 56 to 48.
-- Points per model decrease of 2, from 14 to 12. (Might go back up, or stop at 13; it's 16 points difference when used by a Mark'o right now, but if you wanted a LOT of drones, you'd save a bit and it'd be fun for everyone )

Sun Shark Bomber - Pulse Bomb Generator now works (i.e. the Bomber begins play with Pulse Bombs). -- Note, the fliers were hard to do, as the Barracuda is the cake taker. I'm not sure how to balance these against their points.
-- Begins play with 2 Pulse Bombs.
-- Base Missile Pod becomes TL Missile Pod.
-- Options: Missile Pod upgrade replaced with option to buy 2 more Seeker Missiles.
-- Points cost increase of 10 points, from 160 to 170.

Razorshark Strike Fighter - Base Burst Cannon becomes Missile Pod. -- Note, the fliers were hard to do, as the Barracuda is the cake taker. I'm not sure how to balance these against their points.
-- Quad Ion Turret has following Overcharge change: Heavy 1 becomes Heavy 2.
-- Options: May upgrade Missile Pod to TL Missile Pod for 5 points.
-- May purchase an additional 2 Seeker Missiles.
-- Points total increase of 20 points, from 145 to 165.


Heavy Support:
XV88 Broadside Team - Points Total (and per model) decrease of 5, from 65 to 60. -- (Basically, you have to actually pay for the better weapon if you want it, now. Has equalized distribution of TLHRR vs TL HYMP in local games, unsure about global ramifications)
-- Options: Exchange of TL Heavy Rail Rifle for TL HYMP points cost increase of 10, from 0 to 10.
-- Exchange of TL SMS for TL Plasma points cost decrease of 5, from 5 to 0.

Hammerhead Gunship - Base Wargear includes Burst Cannon.
-- Options: Submunition Rounds points cost decrease of 5, from 5 to 0.
-- Both Gun Drones may be exchanged for: 2 Burst Cannons - 10 Points
-- Both Gun Drones may be exchanged for: 1 TL SMS - 10 Points
-- Ion Cannon - Points cost increase of 5, from 0 to 5.
-- Longstrike - Points Cost increase of 5, from 45 to 50.

Sky Ray Missile Defense Gunship - Points Total increase of 15 points, from 115 to 130
-- Base Wargear includes Multitracker
-- Both Gun Drones may be exchanged for: 2 Burst Cannons - 10 Points
-- Both Gun Drones may be exchanged for: 1 TL SMS - 10 Points

Honestly I think we Tau players have nothing to complain about. Sure there's a couple of units or upgrades that are too expensive points wise, but we got a really good book and all of our forge world stuff updated. Not only that, but our army list is really powerful and is for sure a top tier army for a long time to come. As far as army lists go, there will always be a mixture of overpriced and under priced units in every army for every edition. I am for one happy with the turn out of every unit. When things like choice selection for fast attack, elite and heavy support units is an issue because you're limited to 3 choices each.....I think that's a pretty good sign.

I also have a small contingency of Eldar for allies with my Tau. I'm not sure if you've looked at the new codex yet, but it's significantly weaker than the Tau book in my opinion. There's lots of really good things, but overall Tau are still much more OP than Eldar. Nevertheless, I look forward to allying for Eldrad, who doesn't have restrictive powers to Eldar units anymore, and a wraithknight to add with my 3 riptides or the classic 3 scatter walkers which are cheaper and now have BS4, or perhaps a squad of reapers on a quad gun

Just because it's good "For a Games Workshop Codex" with a supplement that's "Alright by ForgeWorld standards" doesn't mean that you should settle for mediocrity, especially when a lot of the interesting things (Vespid and Drones, rail weapons, Stealth suits)... are what keep Tau players interested in trying new tactics and armies.

As for your final words... In top level competition, Fast Attack has 1 really competitive option. Heavy Support has 2, in 1 configuration. Elites are wholly dominated by the Iontide. Troops might as well just say "10 sniper kroot and a hound". The only real changes are "Do half my points go into the FarShadow Bomb, or more Skyrays and another Riptide?" Just because the internal balance is 'good enough for beer and chips games' doesn't mean it can't be better, and it definitely doesn't mean we shouldn't try to strive towards building something that will improve fun and keep the codex interesting for longer.


Uh... Are we reading the same 6e Eldar book? It's an amazing update, and I'm already sweating in anticipation of having my Eldar opponents melt through my army. Have you seen the shooting capabilities on a Waveskimmer? Or the ridiculous troops choices they have (lolWraiths and Dscythes). Or how about Warwalkers getting cheaper and Scatterlasers getting better? Guardians buff and Dire Avengers buff and now Hawks are gonna poop on troops choices... But this isn't the place for this discussion.

 chrisrawr wrote:

DisPods - 10 points. 15 points is preposterous now that vehicles have to stand still in order to fire

Whoa whoa whoa hold the phone here: Tau vehicles cant shoot if they move? Can someone please explain this to me or am I simply misunderstanding the OP?

 Al2ies wrote:
Whoa whoa whoa hold the phone here: Tau vehicles cant shoot if they move? Can someone please explain this to me or am I simply misunderstanding the OP?

No more multitrackers (the thing that used to let them shoot as fast vehicles). So a Hammerhead can only move 6" and shoot, and only if it gives up shooting the secondary weapon. Meanwhile the poor Sky Ray can't move at all if it wants to shoot effectively, since it has nine different weapons (three once you fire all the seekers in a single turn). So the Sky Ray will pretty much never have a jink save, and the Hammerhead faces a difficult choice between firepower and defense.

In regards to the DPod. Eldar pay 15 points for a similar upgrade except that they have to move to even get the +1. The DPod still improves cover when stationary (ie hiding in something or night fighting). So 15 points is not unreasonable there.

Likewise the new Eldar codex points the way on pricing for skimmer transports and it appears the Devilfish got off cheaply. I expect the Dark Eldar players will be screaming when they are brought into line.

I do think that the Black Sun Filter should have been an auto include on the vehicles as it was on the battlesuits.

I am not sure that the existing Multi-Tracker mechanic should have been kept for vehicles. Maybe a drone system that provides the vehicle with the equivalent to Power of the Machine Spirit would have been fine. Not quite as much fly around the table as Tau used to get, but still an improved move and shoot capability.

My Broadsides do miss their Advanced Stabilization System.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Al2ies wrote:
Whoa whoa whoa hold the phone here: Tau vehicles cant shoot if they move? Can someone please explain this to me or am I simply misunderstanding the OP?

No more multitrackers (the thing that used to let them shoot as fast vehicles). So a Hammerhead can only move 6" and shoot, and only if it gives up shooting the secondary weapon. Meanwhile the poor Sky Ray can't move at all if it wants to shoot effectively, since it has nine different weapons (three once you fire all the seekers in a single turn). So the Sky Ray will pretty much never have a jink save, and the Hammerhead faces a difficult choice between firepower and defense.

Can anyone tell me in what page of the 6th Ed. Tau codex this is explained about the Hammerheads and SkyRay's?? I know generally heavy tanks can only go 6" and fire one weapon at full ballistic skill, but the part about them having to give up their secondary weapon I haven't heard of before.

can only fire one weapon if you move. Rest are snapshots.

@Jefffar: the Waveserpent has a D6+1 shot S7 weapon, 12/12 armor with an amazing defensive ability, is fast, has 2 other weapons, and can contain psyker powers. It's appropriately costed, for sure.

The Devilfish is a 12/11 skimmer with 2 mediocre weapons, with pretty fragile range. It can boost the Ethereal powers, but that's about it. It's overcosted because of (what I outlined above).


The DF can't kill a waveserpent. The waveserpent has a good chance of killing a DF each game turn.