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Looking at finally adding flyers to my Tau and I'm at an impass. For my money would I get more long term value from buying sharks or a single barracuda? Forgeworld is not cheap and before I throw money at it I would like some Tau opinions.

The Barracuda is the clear best unit here.

Agreed, i think you'll get more mileage and bang for your buck with a single barracuda than a brace of fliers from the codex (in any configuration either, mind you).

The Tau fliers in the codex are generally considered fairly terrible in relation to other fliers out in the game (Helldrake, Vendetta, even the stormraven).

What about aesthetic value? Barracuda wins by rather large margin....

Can you up your expense a little more and afford a tiger shark from forgeworld? It's double the size of a barracuda and not THAT much more expensive.

I dont know how it stacks up in gameplay terms but that's a lot more model for your money
Edit.
Neeeeeevermind I don't know what I was thinking, the tiger shark is double the cost.

Yeah, I looked at a tigershark just for how awesome it is and it would be a 1 and done flyer that j would never replace.
You'll have to forgive me, I'm not to sure on my forgeworld rules and what I can and can't use in regular tourneys. Are barracudas useable?

 Titanbeard wrote:
Yeah, I looked at a tigershark just for how awesome it is and it would be a 1 and done flyer that j would never replace.
You'll have to forgive me, I'm not to sure on my forgeworld rules and what I can and can't use in regular tourneys. Are barracudas useable?

Really depends on the TO for your local tournaments, and so not a question that we can answer here. Ask at the store where you usually play/where the tournaments usually take place, and you'll get an answer.

My shop owner is cool enough to let us use most stuff. Told me I could use a Manta if my wife wouldn't divorce me over buying one. But on a serious note, for things like Nova and other larger events are 'cudas okay and where would I look at to see that kind of info?

My buddy plays a Barracuda, and that thing is devastating and survivable. Definitely get one if you're looking for a Tau flyer.

 Titanbeard wrote:
You'll have to forgive me, I'm not to sure on my forgeworld rules and what I can and can't use in regular tourneys. Are barracudas useable?

According to the standard rules of the game as published by GW the Barracuda, like all "40k approved" FW units is allowed just like either of the codex flyers. Likewise for all the other "normal" units, the XV9s/Tetras/etc, they're just extra options added to the Tau army list. The Tigershark/Manta/etc, on the other hand, are NOT legal because they are Apocalypse-only superheavy vehicles that are much bigger and more powerful than anything in standard 40k. This makes them a pretty bad investment if your main goal is having a model you can use in games, unless you and your friends play a lot of Apocalypse.

However, GW does not run tournaments so what is legal in a tournament can change if the person running it adds house rules to do so. Some people ban FW, some people ban or limit flyers in general, etc. The only way to get an answer is to ask the person running the specific event(s) you are interested in.

Thank you very much for that explanation. That helps a lot. That also explains why the Apocalypse book has some units marked as 40k and others as super heavy. So barracuda it is!