Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hi, I've just been looking through the New tau codex and I'm looking at the Heavy support and 70" range with a 2+ save sounds AWESOME!
But are they to much of a hassle trying to defend!0? Or are the to expensive money wise for there own good?

Most people run them with the missle pods instead, which only has 36 inch range. They can be hard to defend. They're better off if they're at the center of your fire warrior or kroot gunline.

Hard to say. Call me a traditionalist, but I still have a soft spot for the railgun. I usually go 2 broadside squads (weapons dependent on tactics, or more accurately depending on how I'm feeling that day) and a railgun hammerhead with submuntions (and longstrike if I think I'll be running into a bunch of heavier vehicles).

Putting the broadsides mixed into the gunline is actually pretty smart. The missile option is surprisingly nice on overwatch since its twin linked and puts out lots of shots.

The lack of a gyrostabalizer hurts my soul though. We have no ability to move and shoot without making it a snapshot, right (I guess that's what markerlights are for)?

Missilesides havnt done any good for me yet, but then again ive only been able to play against CSM lately and he loves lascannons and hellchickens. Lascannons pick off my broadsides and i cant return fire due to the range, and my riptides are usually busy with the armor he brings (gun platforms with more lascannons and havoc launchers).

I know its not as effective against air (as in, not at all) but im about to dump them all together and get Ionheads so i can just wipe out the entirety of his infantry and say to hell with the hellchicken. With minimal marker support you can ignore cover easily and just annihilate everything on the ground. Missilesides are always out of range/cant get closer because of the AP2 weapons or i just bomb all the damage rolls.

Oh and with my broadsides.
Can I fire both the heavy rail rifle and the smart missile in the same turn?

Yes but you wont be in range 90% of the time. SMS has a range of 30, which is why i find it dumb its a Heavy weapon. Usually heavy weapons are 36" or further. I almost never get to fire them even if im running missilesides.

All suits can shoot 2 weapons in the shooting phase now. If its a suit, they can fire 2 weapons. Stealth suits have this rule too but they lack the 2nd weapon so its pointless (except for Shadowsun)

Oh my god awesome!
I suppose the SMS is more for self defence.
Ok scenario... I have one broadside battlesuit with my heavy rail rifle and SMS equipped and I'm being charged by a 3 man squad of mega armoured nobs with power klaws (which would insta kill in close combat and I have a looted wagon (battle tank) going to fire at me next turn.
The nobs are 10" away and the tank is 50" away...
I choose to fire at the tank and utterly destroy it.
But because I have aimed and engaged the tank can I still fire the SMS at the nobz or are they useless against a new target in the same turn... HELP!

That can be easily figured out by reading Multi-tracker and Target Lock rules in the codex.

Yes, they have mutitrackers like all suits do in the Tau book. It lets them fire two weapons.

I use 2 broadsides (HYMP + SMS and skyfire) with iridium commander as primary anti-air unit for my CSM. I put them behind ADL, Commander mans the Quadgun, tanks and gives tank-hunter / monster-hunter for the squad. I skip the drones...

Usually they are really brutal and range doesn't seem like a big issue, but you have to deploy kind of aggressively.

Missilesides have really performed well for me. in 1750 i take 2 with 4 missile drones. my liss are usualy very suit heavy with 2 Riptides, Crisis suits, a commander and XV9's all in 1750.

I ususally mix them missilsides into my gunline behind a ADL or in cover, they are excellent at overwatch due to being TL and S7. With EWO they have also taken out their fair share of flyers, deepstrikers and outflanking units. They are hard to defend but with the Crisis, Commander, XV9's and Riptides they are often not they highest priority. They are my go to suits for anti flyer, anti heavy infantry and anti light tank while i leave it upto the riptides and Crisis to deal with AV 13 and above. with the SMS upgrades they are also able to hit targets out of LOS which can be a bonus and carrying a Seeker is just gravy.

Its also worth a note that if they fire in the interceptor phase the drones can still fire in your shooting phase allowing for a psudo splitfire and with marker support this can be very effective. They have performed so well infact i havent used Railsides once in 6th with Missilesides truly earning their place in my TAC lists.

If you go broadsides then you need to go all in with 3 of them and drones. You need weight of fire to make the str7 ap4 stick on regular fire or to have any real effect when firing snapshots. I think Counter-fire Defense system is the best upgrade for them to take.

If you are worried about protection then stick them on a skyshield landing pad for a 4++ save that cannot be negated. There's enough room on the pad you can add more units for support fire like pathfinders or fire warriors as well (this actually gives pathfinders a decent save). And it protects you from cavalry charges.

Personally, my HS slots are taken with Skyrays and Ion Hammerheads all upgraded with cover saves and smart missiles (SMS is awesome vs. Guard blobs, Eldar guardians, Chaos cultists, Kroot etc.). The mobility, Av13 and the Ap3 on their weapons loadout makes a big difference for me and they are much cheaper than a unit of Broadsides in points and overall dollars in your list. They can get into position better/react to opponent's movement. Tank shocking units off of objectives is always a nice option to have too.