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I've been contemplating getting forgeworld stuff beyond proxying various suits as my commanders instead of the normal commander model (varied model types plus i HATE the normal commander model) but ive heard sooooo many bad things about tau forgeworld. Except the Barracuda of course.

That being said i dont do tournaments. I dont play the most optimum lists because i have more fun playing the oddball lists. Im that weirdo that uses a 5man squad of Piranhas, occational Sniper Drone teams, and Stealth Suits because theyre fun to use. And the response i get for using them is always priceless lol.

Are the larger crisis suits (the large base guys) even worth getting in a for the heck of it list? From what i hear they dont do anything special outside being T5.

Not to mention im skeptical about getting it because the rulebook is so old and i cant help but think they may finally update it.
I mean, i love just about all the models, but if theyre bad enough to where i cant even use them for the heck of it like Vespid are then whats the point

EDIT: And yes i know about the Tuna Supreme. And yes i intend to get one for the once in a blue moon i do apoc games, but more because i just want the damn model lol.

The only decent unit for tau from forgeworld at the moment is the tetra, everything else is over priced for what they do. However, gw tau will be updated next month (along with a new commander model), and the fw tau is rumored to be the next army they update.

Hazard Suits are kinda overpriced. Remoras and Barracudas are awesome flyers. The R'Varna is still decent even with the massive nerf. The Y'Vahra is insanely powerful depending on how literally you interpret its rules. The Tau'nar is super-powered, but the other Tau Super Heavies range from "meh" to awful for their points. Tetras are very good. O'Ralai and O'Rymr are cute but nothing special.

Get Tetras, Remoras, Barracudas, Y'Vahras and a Tau'nar if you want the really competitive stuff but be wary that all Tau Forge World stuff is getting updated soon with the Admech V Tau Imperial Armour.

R'Varna was nerfed? The rules on the website dont look like they changed to me and still have experimental slapped on it. Still looks ridiculous to me.

I was actually intending to avoid those two anyway because BOTH of them just scream bs to me. I actually play tested the Y'Vahra by proxying one of my normal riptides and that thing is absolute bull lol. It reliably one-shots Monoliths and did insane damage to an Imperial Knight with one volley. I stopped using it because i felt dirty with it in a nonapoc game lol. Never messed with the R'Varna though.
Y'Vahra doesnt seem to be nerfed either, as i have those rules printed and its the same as the one i printed. OP as gak lol

But, if Tau are that close to an update i really should hold off. wasnt planning on making a purchase until tax returns anyway, since thats the only way i can justify dumping $380 bucks on the Ta'unar lol. I knew the GW Codex was due an update (though i thought that was in April) but i didnt know FW Tau was getting revamped too.

You should've seen it when it first came out. The R'Varna's guns used to be AP3 and could benefit from an Ethereals' Storm of Fire (meaning it would shoot eight total shots if it Volley Fired at half range), it had a 4+ invulnerable save and I believe the Cluster Fire rules were slightly changed. It is still good but at 260 points it is much fairer than it used to be, especially now that armies have more answers to 2+ armored monstrous creatures in 7th Edition.

Forge World confirmed at their recent open day that Tau VS Mechanicum are next either before or after Mymaera gets updated.

AP3? Benefit from Ethereal's Storm of Fire? OK yea that sounds like bullcrap lol that needed a nerf for sure. 4+ invul isnt that big of a deal honestly since its significantly less mobile and still sucks in melee.

As a frequent tau FW user:

-Tetras are great. a well-fitting replacement to pathfinders for a more suit-oriented list over "castle" types.

-Barracuda is a decent jet. not amazing, but playable.

-Remoras only really function in large numbers due to their exponential nature (each members makes every member shoot as +0.5BS effectively)

-XV9s in general are not functional. they cost too much base, and the weapons "upgrades" (more like sidegrades) cost even more.

-That said, Ralai is semi-functional, and a barrel of fun. sort of like a MC type HQ, he's a distraction "minitide" rather than a leader.

-R'myr is effective, but hard to use. he's a jack-of-all-trades sort of guy and requires finesse to use him to the max, and a list that allows him to switch roles on the fly.

-The supersuits are good. but experimental and WILL change coming IA14. (its pretty much assured to be tau VS admech or darkmech)

-Avoid the kroot, they are unplayable.

-Drone turrent are bad. sensor towers seems like they want to go with aegis, but takes the fortification slot.

-Orca is nice with its latest version (the 300 point one), its practically 4 devifishes at once.

-Tigersharks are both bad.

-Manta, no idea. never tried.

 BoomWolf wrote:
As a frequent tau FW user:

-Tetras are great. a well-fitting replacement to pathfinders for a more suit-oriented list over "castle" types.

-Barracuda is a decent jet. not amazing, but playable.

-Remoras only really function in large numbers due to their exponential nature (each members makes every member shoot as +0.5BS effectively)

-XV9s in general are not functional. they cost too much base, and the weapons "upgrades" (more like sidegrades) cost even more.

-That said, Ralai is semi-functional, and a barrel of fun. sort of like a MC type HQ, he's a distraction "minitide" rather than a leader.

-R'myr is effective, but hard to use. he's a jack-of-all-trades sort of guy and requires finesse to use him to the max, and a list that allows him to switch roles on the fly.

-The supersuits are good. but experimental and WILL change coming IA14. (its pretty much assured to be tau VS admech or darkmech)

-Avoid the kroot, they are unplayable.

-Drone turrent are bad. sensor towers seems like they want to go with aegis, but takes the fortification slot.

-Orca is nice with its latest version (the 300 point one), its practically 4 devifishes at once.

-Tigersharks are both bad.

-Manta, no idea. never tried.

the manta's biggest issue is that it consumes a massive chunk of your table edge making deployment of anything else in your deployment zone a chore. so the biggest issue is the physical model size means your basically placing things on the edge of your zone which is where you normally dont even want to think about putting them. thats why the manta is bad, its got okay weapons i guess, and it certainly has a statline thats sharp but the physical model was built for apocalypse tables with 4 times the room where the manta is ya know 3/5's of your deployment zone, in addition if your opponent places any terrain that blocks its placement your probably never going to get the thing on the table due to its bulk meaning your paying essentially an armies worth of points for a model you might never even actually put on that table, at best pretend its there.

There is plenty that is worth it, but I would also wait till the new release and then figure out what you could use.

The manta is just all around bad but i have 0 intention of dumping 1500 bucks on a single damn model, even if it'd be hilarious to field something that big.
Its armaments isnt that amazing for the cost, its not that durable, it has flier rules but lacks Hard To Hit, and its just overly clunky. There really is no point to it other than to dump like 16 units of firewarriors in the middle of the field...which could probably be done easier with 16 devilfish and cheaper at that lol. Yea i'd lose the dual Str D rail guns but i'd be surprised if i get to use it more than once anyway due to this things giant bullseye painted on its forehead.

That manta is worth just about as much as i have invested in Tau right now lol

I'd never buy one, unless I won the lottery but I want to see a Manta used in real life some day. I've seen a thunderhawk and it was pretty legit.

FW models are pretty much always worth it. They are very high quality, and if something is miscast, their support is excellent.

Unless this is a "I heard FW is brokkenopwinbutton I want some" then, well, can't really tell you without the new codex, as a lot of FW items rely on the codex gear. For now, Barracudas, Tetras, Remoras, all awesome. The drone towers and turrets can be useful, but are tricky to run right.

The thing to remember is that most FW Tau gear is meant for actual Tau players: you HAVE to synergize with it. NOTHING works without the proper support. This has lead most of the newer Tau players that jumped on the band wagon to spam Riptides and Missilesides thinking that FW Tau gear isn't good. It is, you just have to be competent to use it.

Except the Kroot stuff. Seriously, it's almost non functional.

 Vineheart01 wrote:
The manta is just all around bad but i have 0 intention of dumping 1500 bucks on a single damn model, even if it'd be hilarious to field something that big.
Its armaments isnt that amazing for the cost, its not that durable, it has flier rules but lacks Hard To Hit, and its just overly clunky. There really is no point to it other than to dump like 16 units of firewarriors in the middle of the field...which could probably be done easier with 16 devilfish and cheaper at that lol. Yea i'd lose the dual Str D rail guns but i'd be surprised if i get to use it more than once anyway due to this things giant bullseye painted on its forehead.

That manta is worth just about as much as i have invested in Tau right now lol

I thought that most Manta owners (DIYers) mounted them on custom stands to avoid this problem, and because, it should fly.

R'varna, even after the nerf, is still good.
Y'vahra is very good, but don't stop using it just because it's strong - only if your meta is very casual-friendly.
Barracuda is the best flyer Tau have, but the enxt codex could bring news regarding the Razorshark and Sunshark, so I'd wait.
Tetras, on the other hand, are excellent. Too useful to not use, too flimsy the enemy rarely bothers killing them.
Ta'unar is godly, but impratical with small points.

Sadly, all of these won't have space in the new Decurion-like organization in the new codex. You'll need to use a CAD for them.

A note on the Y'vahra, you can activate the Nova ability escape velocity and choose not to use it on your turn, since it remains active until the start of your next turn, and instead activate it at the start of your opponent's movement phase. It will then immediately come back on from ongoing reserves to repeat.

With this, you will always get a round of shooting with the Y'vahra and it will never be on the board to be counter attacked unless it fails its Nova charge.

Hence why it is broken!

 Nilok wrote:
A note on the Y'vahra, you can activate the Nova ability escape velocity and choose not to use it on your turn, since it remains active until the start of your next turn, and instead activate it at the start of your opponent's movement phase. It will then immediately come back on from ongoing reserves to repeat.

With this, you will always get a round of shooting with the Y'vahra and it will never be on the board to be counter attacked unless it fails its Nova charge.

How can you choose to use an ability outside your turn?

Because by strict RAW, it can be argued to be possible, just as you can GtG and overwatch during the enemy turn.

But that's a slowed and obviously cheat-worthy interpretation by any standard, and I'll straight out refuse to play anyone trying to pull that off.

MC's cant GtG though, or be pinned since thats considered involuntarily going to ground.

I still think Hazard Suits, while very expensive, are excellent thanks to that delicious T5. It makes them so harder to kill.

You'd think so, but you'd be wrong.

They are EASIER to kill, once points are brought into the equation.

Crisis suits are superior to hazard suits in ever way. nothing the hazard does, the crisis can't do better for cheaper, be it anti-infantry, anti-elite, anti-tank, ranged support, taking hits, etc.

The XV9 is horribly overcosted, the only one you need to even consider taking is Ralai, as he is the only one not directly matched by a crisis suit with his dynamic weapon choices.

 BoomWolf wrote:
Because by strict RAW, it can be argued to be possible, just as you can GtG and overwatch during the enemy turn.

But that's a slowed and obviously cheat-worthy interpretation by any standard, and I'll straight out refuse to play anyone trying to pull that off.

Actually, RAW, the only time you can use it is in your opponent's movement phase.

Nova Reactor – Y’vahra Class wrote:Declare an attempt to use the Nova reactor if desired at the start of the model’s Movement phase.

Nova Reactor – Y’vahra Class wrote:On a 3+, one of the following abilities may be used, its effects lasting until the start of the owning player’s next Movement phase:

Escape Thrust wrote:At the start of the Movement phase, the model may be removed from play and placed in Ongoing Reserves

Basically, you miss the timing to actually use the Escape Thrust in your Movement phase, since that happens before you can activate the Nova Reactor.

It's very poorly written.

Quite frankly WHY would you put it in ongoing reserves?

Every other turn the Y'vahra can just pull a U-turn and jump ~30" (whatever the exact number was) and get the hell out of trouble/jump to more juicy targets.

Its either that jump or the Haywire Burst that makes it op as balls. Either one gets removed, or its a once per game jump, it wouldnt be anywhere near as broken. The Y'vahra isnt that hard to kill since it sits so close to the enemy, but it usually just jumps away from any threats by the time they can charge.
That, and oneshotting monoliths is kinda....bs lol

Actually, I'd say the Y'varahis the most balanced out of all the riptides. It's strong but certainly not "op as balls".

Ever used it?

I felt dirty using that thing because it just utterly crushes ANY vehicle. Its only slightly squishier than a riptide, but only because of 1 less wound not because of weaker armor or toughness.

Used it against necrons, ba, and sw. All 4 games (2 against necrons, different players) it turn 1 wrecked something important and got away scot free. It only even got noticably hurt one game and that was due to tachyon arrow spam. It just consistently every single turn did something devastating.

R'varna at least has some targets its not that awesome against. Theres nothing the Y'vahra doesnt wanna shoot at. Theres things it wants to stay away from but it can still kill them reliably, question is can it kill enough to avoid getting charged afterwords. And i never got charged, even with jumppack marines around because i was able to completely dodge them with that massive jump + jsj movement.

That being said, i'd field it against Eldar in a heartbeat. I hate eldar with a passion so i dont play nice against them lol. Im actually intending to buy a Ta'unar with the intention of facing a particular Eldar player just so i can spite him with it...i outta add a couple Y'vahras too.

I'm not saying that it's not OP, just not in the leuge of the other ones. Maybe it's just me?

Vineheart01 wrote:Every other turn the Y'vahra can just pull a U-turn and jump ~30" (whatever the exact number was) and get the hell out of trouble/jump to more juicy targets.

Its either that jump or the Haywire Burst that makes it op as balls. Either one gets removed, or its a once per game jump, it wouldnt be anywhere near as broken. The Y'vahra isnt that hard to kill since it sits so close to the enemy, but it usually just jumps away from any threats by the time they can charge.
That, and oneshotting monoliths is kinda....bs lol

24". And sorry, but it isn't broken. Tau is lacking in the AT field, and the Y'vahra does that marvelously. For more than 200p, it should. The Riptide is underpriced, though.
1/game jump is too few and haywire burst is one of the defining traits of it. Remove that, and all a Tau player would use it would be for Terminators.
Monoliths cost less than it, so killing one in 1 shooting phase isn't a problem. Killing a IK would be (and it can't).

Vineheart01 wrote:Ever used it?

Used it against necrons, ba, and sw. All 4 games (2 against necrons, different players) it turn 1 wrecked something important and got away scot free. It only even got noticably hurt one game and that was due to tachyon arrow spam. It just consistently every single turn did something devastating.

Sorry, but if a necron player finds problematic fighting a Y'vahra, he/she should step up his/her playing. Necrons have Gauss enough to deal with it. My De friend (a way weaker codex) had no problem dealing with it.

Looks like your meta is very casual and hardly competitive. Then yes, you could not use the Y'vahra. But in mine, it's almost a necessity. So no, it doesn't need to get nerfed. It needs a rules overhaul to fix stuff like the 4+ cover and Jink (wut?), or the Escape Thrust.

 Vineheart01 wrote:
Quite frankly WHY would you put it in ongoing reserves?

Because the Vector Thrust Array isn't a Nova power, you can use both Vector Thrust and Escape Thrust to move into close range of an enemy unit, bomb them with Flechette Dispersal Pods, hit them with your close range weapons, and leave without giving them a target to retaliate at. Due to being in Ongoing Reserves at the start of your turn, it immediately comes on.

The only question is if the Vector Thrust Array is able to be used the turn it comes on from Ongoing Reserves, which would greatly improve its performance doing so. Otherwise it is simply a great way to counter attack a flanking/deep striking enemy quickly.