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I really like the idea of building a Tau Spec Ops Kill Team but I'm unsure what units would be best for the job...

Fire Warriors - Solid choice

Breachers - take 5 and keep moving them up and they'll act as a good threatening bullet magnet.

Vespid - Not really sure about this guys however their agility would be a good asset.

Crisis Suits - Might take 1 with Plasma Rifles for the team leaders but the low model count of a full crisis team is a bit risky.

Stealthsuits - These were my original choice but with the new rules not allowing Split fire (as standard) their firepower is limited.

Piranha - Not sure about this choice?

So I'd be grateful for any suggestions or advice on a list for my Tau Spec Ops team?

Lets get the ball rolling with this list....

52 - Crisis Suit: 2 Plasma Rifles
100 - 10 Fire Warriors with Missile Pod Turret
45 - 5 Breachers

Not sure about what to do regarding Leader and Specialist with this one, I can drop a Fire Warrior and upgrade one of them to make him the leader allowing my Crisis Suit to take 'Ignore Cover' (outside of Leader Traits). Could go with infiltrate on a Breacher?
Tempted to drop a few fire warriors and take vespid (Jump back fire warriors) instead of Breachers?

So what do you think, feel free to suggest some Tau Kill Team lists (no Kroot though).

I'd say if you are gonna take breachers - you have to take them in a devilfish. The Devilfish is dang nasty in killteam too.

Piranha aren't bad at all in KT - a lot of str5 for 40 points. For suits I like missle pods - threatens everything in KT. Can't go wrong with fire-warrior.

 Xenomancers wrote:
Piranha aren't bad at all in KT - a lot of str5 for 40 points.

That brings up an interesting question; does the Gun Drones created from a Piranha or Devilfish count towards the max model count for break tests?

2 Piranhas, 1 fusion, both with sensor spines for moves through cover, 100 points, counts as 1 fast attack, brings 4 drones, armor 11 front with jink is effective, semi-reliable way to pop counter-armor, the heavy terrain no longer matters

6 man strike team -54 points
5 man breacher team 45 points

so a total of 11 footmen, 4 drones, and 2 vehicles bringing s5 or better to field. and something good at popping armor.

I applaud you trying to use vespids. to 1 degree they don't suck as hard. but they are still woefully points inefficient

So here's the list I'm thinking....

42 - Crisis Suit with Twin-Linked Plasma
100 - 10 Fire Warriors with Missile Pod Turret
45 - Piranha with sensor spines

Total Pts: 187
Total Number: 14

Leader will be a Fire Warrior that I'll do my best to keep out of danger.
Specialists
Crisis suit: Ignore Cover
Fire Warrior: Stealth
3rd: Unknown (suggestions?)

Now I have 10pts to spend and it's all about 2 options Fusion Blaster for the Piranha or a Squad Leader for the Ld:8 bubble in case of a break test? Course I could drop the 10th Fire Warrior to get both but that reduces the numbers down though my opponent will still need to kill 7 models to cause break tests.

What do you think?

Your crisis suit is already LD 8, if you're going for a sergeant upgrade, why not him for LD 9? 10 points either way. possibly use TL missile pods to give him 36" range and survivability.

Or use the points to stay ld 8 and get 2 missile pods for up to 4 s7 ap4 hits, and get quality though quantity, and potentially pen every armor in the [kill team] game.

Also, if you have it, Kroot are surprisingly good in kill team, at 6pts a model, and infiltrate.

 pumaman1 wrote:
Your crisis suit is already LD 8, if you're going for a sergeant upgrade, why not him for LD 9? 10 points either way. possibly use TL missile pods to give him 36" range and survivability.

Or use the points to stay ld 8 and get 2 missile pods for up to 4 s7 ap4 hits, and get quality though quantity, and potentially pen every armor in the [kill team] game.

Also, if you have it, Kroot are surprisingly good in kill team, at 6pts a model, and infiltrate.

I did think of that but i'd have to rely on getting the "Been there done that" Leader trait to make the plasma rifles extra nasty with ignore cover. On top of that he'll be a huge bullet magnet with the threat and "kill the Leader" pts.
Missile pods I'll be getting from the turret and that's not going anywhere.

They're good but no Kroot, Tau Spec Ops team is the theme. (Rhyme unintentional)

So this is the list I'm thinking about...

43 – Crisis Suit with Twin Linked Plasma Rifle
101 - 9 - Tau Fire Warriors with Shas'ui and Tactical Support Turret with Missile Pod.
55 - Piranha with Fusion Blaster and Sensor Spines.

Total Pts: 199
Total No: 13


Kill Team Leader – The Fire Warrior Shas'ui
I choose him over the suit for the following reasons; the suit will benefit greatly from a specialist trait, the suit is a threatening target and will draw a lot of fire. Having my leader easily hidden from sight or kept at a safe distance will make all the difference with that 1 point for killing the leader.
On top of that there is the leadership bubble to consider and I don't want to tie my crisis suit down.

Specialist 1: Crisis Suit with Ignore Cover Plasma Rifle
Specialist 2: Fire Warrior with Stealth
Specialist 3: Fire Warrior with Feel No Pain

Now for a question that has been bugging me; Breachers or no Breachers?
Ditching the Pirhana's Fusion Blaster would allow me to replace 4 Fire Warriors and replace them with 5 Breachers. On paper it's make sense as Kill Team is very close quarters and having AP3 guns running about can make a player think twice about leaping his Raven Guard assault marines into that Tau Occupied Building. But I'm just not sure and I'm eager to hear your thoughts?

Breachers are amazing in kill team. Funny enough, but I recently made a list similar to yours with a few changes, it was :

1 crisis TL plasma + plasma / Preferred enemy 57pts

10 breachers + shas'ui to make a leader. 100
FNP
Rending

Piranha 40 pts

197pts total.

This list was savage against marines, including assault marines.
But maybe too specialized.

With my experience with breachers, they excel in heavy terrain against tough foes. The lack of range is the only drawback. Against guardsman strikers are better suited. Especially if you dont have a transport. This is because with breachers you may not be shooting until the 2nd or 3rd turn due to range issues. Assault 2 is nice to have though.

Maybe a 50/50 split would be good. Keep the longer range strikers back to harass while breachers bring the pain.

I was considering going with a full team of breachers with a Devilfish for my 2nd list, cause apparently giving a specialist infiltrate and putting him in the dedicated transport gives it that ablity too. It's stated in the rulebook so it a nasty trick for a breacher squad to have.

I can see that being a deadly strategy. I just hate how the devilfish is so point expensive. For 80 points your almost have a stealthsuit team or another squad of FW.