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Here's a couple of lists that I'm considering for a tournament I've got coming up in a couple of weeks. One is a Dawn Blade Contingent, the other is a Hunter Contingent. They both use mostly the same models, but play quite differently. Here they are:
LIST 1
Tau Empire Dawn Blade Contingent
Core: Hunter Cadre
Command:
Commander: 2x Missile Pod, Drone Controller, Target Lock, Iridium Suit, Onager Gauntlet, 1x Marker Drone
Elites:
XV8 Crisis Team: 3 suits, each with 2x Plasma Rifle and Early Warning Override
XV95 Ghostkeel: 1 suit, Cyclic Ion Raker, TL Fusion Blaster, Early Warning Override
Fast Attack:
TX4 Piranha: 1 vehicle, Fusion Blaster
Heavy Support:
KV128 Stormsurge: 1 model, Pulse Driver Cannon, TL Airbursting Fragmentation Projector, Early Warning Override, Advanced Targeting System, Shield Generator
Troops:
Kroot Carnivore Squad: 10 men, Sniper Rounds
Strike Team: 5 men, DS8 turret w/Missile Pod
Strike Team: 5 men, DS8 turret w/Missile Pod
Auxiliary: Rapid Insertion Force
XV25 Stealth Team: 3 suits, 1 has Fusion Blaster and Target Lock, others have Burst Cannon
XV104 Riptide: 1 suit, Ion Accelerator, TL Smart Missile System, Early Warning Override, Stim Injector
XV8 Crisis Team: 1 suit, 2x Fusion Blaster
XV8 Crisis Team: 1 suit, 2x Fusion Blaster
XV8 Crisis Team: 1 suit, 2x Burst Cannon
Auxiliary: Drone-Net VX1-0
4 Marker Drones
4 Marker Drones
4 Marker Drones
4 Marker Drones
Total 1849 points
My biggest concern with this list is leaving the Riptide in reserves (Rapid Insertion Force must start in DS reserve except for Stealth suits), although when it arrives it does get to twin-link its guns and doesn't have to worry about scatter (unless the Stealth suits are already dead). The three single Crisis suits can deal with certain problem units, and if they can do so while dropping in near the Stealth suits, so much the better. Onager Gauntlet is on the Commander because I wasn't sure what else to do with the points, plus I've been in a couple of situations where the Gauntlet would have come in handy. Otherwise, the list is a fairly straightforward Tau list. I have little experience with the Dawn Blade, so I'm not sure if this is a good list or not.

LIST 2
Tau Empire Hunter Contingent
Core: Hunter Cadre
Command:
Commander: 2x Missile Pod, Drone Controller, Target Lock, Iridium Suit, 1x Marker Drone
Elite:
XV104 Riptide: 1 suit, Ion Accelerator, TL Smart Missile System, Early Warning Override, Stim Injector
XV8 Crisis Team: 3 suits, each with 2x Plasma Rifle, Early Warning Override
Fast Attack:
TX4 Piranha: 1 vehicle, Fusion Blaster
Heavy Support:
KV128 Stormsurge: 1 model, Pulse Driver Cannon, TL Airbursting Fragmentation Projector, Early Warning Override, Advanced Targeting System, Shield Generator
Troops:
Kroot Carnivore Squad: 12 men, Sniper Rounds
Strike Team: 6 men, DS8 turret w/Missile Pod
Strike Team: 6 men, DS8 turret w/Missile Pod
Auxiliary: Optimized Stealth Cadre
XV95 Ghostkeel: 1 suit, Cyclic Ion Raker, TL Fusion Blaster, Early Warning Override, Velocity Tracker
XV25 Stealth Team: 3 suits, 1 has Fusion Blaster and Target Lock, others have Burst Cannon
XV25 Stealth Team: 3 suits, 1 has Fusion Blaster and Target Lock, others have Burst Cannon
Detachment 2: Drone-Net VX1-0
4 Marker Drones
4 Marker Drones
4 Marker Drones
4 Marker Drones
Total 1850 points
Not having the Marker Drones as part of the main detachment doesn't hurt since they would not benefit from it much anyway. I feel like this is the stronger of my two lists. It lacks the nice Deep Striking Fusion suits, but gains all the nice benefits of the Hunter Contingent, including shared markerlights.

Overall, as I said, I'm leaning toward list 2, but maybe I shouldn't use either of these and just go with a variation of my usual Tau list with a CAD, Drone Net, and OSC. Any advice is appreciated!