HQ:
Shas'el (CIB, Plasma, MT) - 90
Elites:
4 x XV25 - 120
4 x XV25 - 120
4 x XV25 - 120
Troops:
8 FCW w/Devilfish (SMS, MT, TA, Decoys) - 200
8 FCW w/Devilfish (SMS, MT, TA, Decoys) - 200
8 FCW w/Devilfish (SMS, MT, TA, Decoys) - 200
8 FCW w/Devilfish (SMS, MT, TA, Decoys) - 200
FA:
Piranha (Fusion, TA) - 70
Piranha (Fusion, TA) - 70
Piranha (Fusion, TA) - 70
Heavy Support:
Hammerhead (Railgun, SMS, MT, TL, TA1, Decoys) - 180
Hammerhead (Railgun, SMS, MT, TL, TA1, Decoys) - 180
Hammerhead (Railgun, SMS, MT, TL, TA1, Decoys) - 180
1Hammerhead receive this upgrade at no cost.
Total: 2000pts
For the 1850 point army I remove 1 piranha and 2 FCW per squad.
Some of the inspiration for this army came from one of mughi's posts and how he referred to FCWs in his devilfish as crash survivors... I originally snickered at the idea thinking it was foolish, but after trying it out in a friendly game I was amazed at how well it worked. Now, over 50 games ( >75% wins) and two tournament top 3 finishes (Over 40 competitors in each) I realize that it is competitive in the local tournament scene and in pickup games at the FLGS.
After discovering this target-denial and VP-preservation approach to playing Tau I have become much more satisfied with the new codex, and I urge any beginning Tau players having problems with Mech Tau to give it a try... simply put it's emphasizing the S5 AP5 saturation fire that Tau are good at, while moving your tanks in tight groups where possible to use the amazing power of the SMS to full advantage (e.g. Hammerheads being able to focus their SMS fire in direct support of the DFs and infantry using their free targetlock while being able to punish the enemy's MCs/vehicles with railgun fire.)
I hope this list may help inspire some other Tau players the way I was inspired!