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Since all of the choices are looking pretty juicy from the new codex, I thought it might be helpful to break up the per/slot value and per/point value of each unit available.

-I've determined value here based solely on the ability to score wounds on T4, and armor penetration on AV12,13, and 14.  Survivability, speed, range, etc... are not accounted for.

-Markerlights are treated as a seeker missile in terms of effectiveness, this is not at all accurate but gives you at least some guestimation on their value.

-All tank models used burst cannons, as these are ideal for this sort of simulation.

-Railgun submunition was given 4 hits per template on infantry.

-The test subjects were outfitted as follows:

Railhead: Multitrack, Targetlock, Burst Cannons, Decoy Launcher

Ionhead: Multitrack, Burst Cannons, Decoy Launcher

Skyray: Multitrack, Targetting Array, Burst Cannons, Decoy Launcher

3 x Sniper team

2 XV88 team: Team leader, A.S.S x 2, HW Drone Controller, 2 Shield drones

3 XV88 team: Drone controller x 3, 6 Shield Drones

 

So, damage caused per force org chart slot taken from best to worst: Best > worse > worse = equal > worst

Wounds on T4: Sniper teams > Railhead > Ionhead > 3 XV88 > Skyray > 2 XV88

Result on AV12: 3 XV88 > Sniper Teams > 2 XV88 > Ionhead = Skyray > Railhead

Result on AV13: 3 XV88 > 2 XV88 > Sniper Teams (seekers) > Railhead > Ionhead > Skyray

Result on AV14: 3 XV88 > 2 XV88 > Railhead > Sniper Teams (seekers) > Skyray

 

Now for damage caused per cost of the unit (both XV88 teams tied here, interestingly):

Wounds on T4: Ionhead > Railhead (shocker) > Skyray > Sniper Teams > XV88s (smart missiling)

Results on AV12: Sniper Teams > XV88s > Ionhead > Skyray > Railhead

Results on AV13: XV88s > Skyray > Sniper teams (seekers) > Railhead = Ionhead (iiinteresting)

Results on AV14: XV88s > Railhead > Skyray = Sniper teams (seekers)

So there you have it.  Sniper teams performs quite well with a supply of seeker missiles, XV88s are the kings of vehicle destruction in all categories, Ionheads are very economical, and overall there's a lot of swapping back and forth which means no single choice is really going to become 100% dominant.  The numbers are a big mess of Excel spreadsheet code, so don't ask.

 

 

 

What this boils down to is that if you're in the process of building your army and you find yourself running short on points: choose the area you feel your army needs help in, and look at the bottom list for a best killing power per point comparison.

If you've got points to spare, but only 1 Heavy support slot left: look at the top list for the best killing power per force org selection.

 

A general summary per unit:

Ionhead for points outperforms the railhead against all categories until Armor 14.  Also the best per/point option for anti-infantry duty.

XV88's are the best buy for all anti-vehicle duty for the points and slots taken.  They are decidedly poor at anti-infantry of course.  The 3 squad with all shield drones, and the 2 squad with A.S.S and 2 shield drones perform equally in damage per point value.

Sniper teams are not very point efficient, but are amazing for the single slot taken.  Best for infantry duty per slot taken.

The Skyray matches the other hammerheads for performance per point, while firing seeker missiles.  Depending on the other components of your list this value may increase (lots of full squads) or decrease (very few seekers).

The railhead is the poorest choice for Armor 12, but sits in the middle of every other category.  Able to handle any job, it seems to sit just between being efficient point-wise and being efficient force org slot wise.  It still performs suprisingly well per point vs. infantry.

 

TY - really helpes for choosing my first tau army!

Great info.

I'm not sure I understand everything - How can the Ionhead be the same as the railhead against armor 13 when the ionhead can only glance the target? That seems like a huge shortcoming.

Also, since this is just for one turn of shooting, how many seeker missiles did you assume the skyray is firing? One for each ML hit? Thats what I assume but it isn't entirely clear.

How do seekers beat out the railhead against any armor? S8 is seriously worse than S10 Ap1, at least in terms of damage per force org chart. And given that the markerlights have to hit first, then the seeker may or may not hit, the seeker would technically hit less often than the railgun solid shot.

Wow seriously...3 years old? New thread please. You can still link to this one though.

This is serious thread necronisation, so bad that adjacent threads are likely to be necronised on a 5+

Before I lock it, I must point out that the info above, although useful when it was published, is out of date in view of the change to 5th edition rules.

Dang it KK blocked it before I could post my new pic. Now I feel better.