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.

 BoomWolf wrote:

And tau, the crsis suits are just not something you can have as a core of your army any more. they are too "big" per model to make multiple squads a real option, making the value drop fast after the first, and a third is completely out of the question. a team of 3 crisis easily clocks at over 250 points.
You probably don't want more than a single kit these days.

I have 3 start collecting Tau boxes for the simple reason that you need that number of crisis suits to get enough weapons for some of the better load-outs (like a squad of 3 with 3 flamers each). Even if you magnetize them, you need enough guns to do it!

It may be unnecessary if you bought enough Commanders and larger suits to get extra weapons, but I'd be hard pressed to call having 9 Crisis Suits 'too many' Crisis Suits to find a use for them (even if you don't field all of them all the time).

Saying that the Tau one is a bad starter just because in the present moment Crisis Suits aren't very good is misleading.

I can agree in the fact that you don't need many Ethereals, but you can make them into Cadre Fireblades without a problem. Is one os the strongest SC overall.

I have 11 crisis suits (just basic crisis)
In 7th, I'd agree 9 crisis is reasonable. heck at times I used all 11. (in addition to commanders and such)

But in 8th, they got scaled up, and maintaining that many is just not really practical.

Craftworlds. No Troops, generally mediocre to bad contents, and generally a symptom of one of the biggest issues with the Eldar (the vast majority of the non-Wraith models are Finecast, twenty years old, or both), so they couldn't have put any effective units in the Start Collecting box because the models aren't recent plastics.

 AnomanderRake wrote:
Craftworlds. No Troops, generally mediocre to bad contents, and generally a symptom of one of the biggest issues with the Eldar (the vast majority of the non-Wraith models are Finecast, twenty years old, or both), so they couldn't have put any effective units in the Start Collecting box because the models aren't recent plastics.

But everything in CWE is good tho, we dont need troops anymore IMO, due to the Detachments in the rules book.

Honestly any new Eldar player going to a Local asking about Eldar are going ot be told to buy a WS, Farseer, some Bikes and one of the troops.

 AnomanderRake wrote:
Craftworlds. No Troops, generally mediocre to bad contents, and generally a symptom of one of the biggest issues with the Eldar (the vast majority of the non-Wraith models are Finecast, twenty years old, or both), so they couldn't have put any effective units in the Start Collecting box because the models aren't recent plastics.

The sad part is they could have, at the time, made a decent comparable Start Collecting! set by putting in a Farseer on foot, a box of guardians, a Wave Serpent and the Jetbikes (or maybe sub out the jetbikes for a War Walker). This would make it comparable to the Dark Eldar one (one foot HQ, one squad of basic troops, one transport, and one support unit). There is absolutely no reason why they couldn't do this other than the Jetbike and Farseer on Jetbike were the new hotness at the time.

EDIT: Yeah I just did the math.

A set of 1 Foot Farseer (plastic) + 1 Guardian Squad + 1 Wave Serpent + 1 Box of Jetbikes = 171 CAD
A set of 1 Foot Farseer (plastic) + 1 Guardian Squad + 1 Wave Serpent + 1 Warwalker = 158 CAD
A set of 1 Archon + 1 Kabalite Squad + 1 Raider + 1 box of Reavers = 155 CAD

Not only would the items be comparable, the price would be roughly the same as well.

 Amishprn86 wrote:

 AnomanderRake wrote:
Craftworlds. No Troops, generally mediocre to bad contents, and generally a symptom of one of the biggest issues with the Eldar (the vast majority of the non-Wraith models are Finecast, twenty years old, or both), so they couldn't have put any effective units in the Start Collecting box because the models aren't recent plastics.

But everything in CWE is good tho, we dont need troops anymore IMO, due to the Detachments in the rules book.

Honestly any new Eldar player going to a Local asking about Eldar are going ot be told to buy a WS, Farseer, some Bikes and one of the troops.

That set doesn't make any detachment on its own. at all.

The reason troops in the starter are important is that troops is the only unit type you can get a detachment with just 1 squad and an HQ, vanguard/spearhead/outrider requires 3 elite/HS/FA.

Erga, its the only "start collecting" that isn't really playable stand-alone.

 BoomWolf wrote:

 Amishprn86 wrote:

 AnomanderRake wrote:
Craftworlds. No Troops, generally mediocre to bad contents, and generally a symptom of one of the biggest issues with the Eldar (the vast majority of the non-Wraith models are Finecast, twenty years old, or both), so they couldn't have put any effective units in the Start Collecting box because the models aren't recent plastics.

But everything in CWE is good tho, we dont need troops anymore IMO, due to the Detachments in the rules book.

Honestly any new Eldar player going to a Local asking about Eldar are going ot be told to buy a WS, Farseer, some Bikes and one of the troops.

That set doesn't make any detachment on its own. at all.

The reason troops in the starter are important is that troops is the only unit type you can get a detachment with just 1 squad and an HQ, vanguard/spearhead/outrider requires 3 elite/HS/FA.

Erga, its the only "start collecting" that isn't really playable stand-alone.

You are correct, I was thinking patrol didnt need a troop for some reason, i take back what i said, tho the Eldar box is still VERY GOOD it should be change.

 BoomWolf wrote:
I have 11 crisis suits (just basic crisis)
In 7th, I'd agree 9 crisis is reasonable. heck at times I used all 11. (in addition to commanders and such)

But in 8th, they got scaled up, and maintaining that many is just not really practical.

I agree, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want 9-12 in different load outs, because I don't like magnetizing Crisis Suits. Hopefully the Tau codex will improve the situation, and I'm sort of holding out building new Crisis Suits until it drops and I can depend on it not changing for a while. If I was starting fresh, I'd still buy 3 Start Collecting, and just make Commanders out of 2-3 of the Crisis Suits. 36 Strike Team, 24 Drones, 6 Crisis, 3 'Commanders' and 3 'Ethereal/Fireblades' for $300 CAN is a solid start to Tau army.

Skitarii.

Swap out the Dominus for Electropriests....

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Skitarii.

Swap out the Dominus for Electropriests....

But then you can't run a Patrol detachment, which kind of defeats the purpose of a start collecting box

 Amishprn86 wrote:

 AnomanderRake wrote:
Craftworlds. No Troops, generally mediocre to bad contents, and generally a symptom of one of the biggest issues with the Eldar (the vast majority of the non-Wraith models are Finecast, twenty years old, or both), so they couldn't have put any effective units in the Start Collecting box because the models aren't recent plastics.

But everything in CWE is good tho, we dont need troops anymore IMO, due to the Detachments in the rules book.

Honestly any new Eldar player going to a Local asking about Eldar are going ot be told to buy a WS, Farseer, some Bikes and one of the troops.

The SC's fire prism cannot be assembled as a wave serpent: same chassis, but different upgrade sprue.
Bikes are pretty meh in 8th. Not unplayable, and they're iconic to many Eldar armies, but you can definitely do without.
So apart from the "not playable" issue, the models in that box aren't very attractive on their own either.