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I have been wanting to start a 2nd Army for awhile now, and decided that i would like to try out the Tau Empire.
I was thinking of getting the:
Index x1
Starter Set x2
Devilfish x1
Broadside x3
Commander x1
Pathfinders x2
Riptide x1
Is this a good way to start off?

Broadsides and Riptides are really in a tough place right now, I wouldn't bother investing any time or money into them. Commanders are very good right now, as are Ghostkeels, so my advice would be multiple of them, plus lots of Gun Drones.

Ghostkeels in a good place?
You're joking right?

They are rather though to crack, but they produce minimal threat, and outright demand being fed with markerlights to function (and currently, spending effort on markerlights is questionable)


Now, going back to starting off.
first, that a LOT of stuff in your list. far too much for "starting off"
You are also getting many things I can't really recommend as 8th stands right now.

Crisis are, medicore.
Devilfish, questionable.
Broadside, riptide-I'd avoid. they are just bad now.

Honestly, I'd avoid the index too and settle for a web copy for now. rumors are the tau codex is third on the list (marines first, then death guard then tau)

Grab one starter set, a commander and a hammerhed (to be longstrike, as he's amazing even if other hammers are not)
If you can get yourself a healthy pile of gun drones for a decent price, go for it. they are awesome.

 BoomWolf wrote:
Ghostkeels in a good place?
You're joking right?

They are rather though to crack, but they produce minimal threat, and outright demand being fed with markerlights to function (and currently, spending effort on markerlights is questionable)


Now, going back to starting off.
first, that a LOT of stuff in your list. far too much for "starting off"
You are also getting many things I can't really recommend as 8th stands right now.

Crisis are, medicore.
Devilfish, questionable.
Broadside, riptide-I'd avoid. they are just bad now.

Honestly, I'd avoid the index too and settle for a web copy for now. rumors are the tau codex is third on the list (marines first, then death guard then tau)

Grab one starter set, a commander and a hammerhed (to be longstrike, as he's amazing even if other hammers are not)
If you can get yourself a healthy pile of gun drones for a decent price, go for it. they are awesome.

I thought that they did away with the Codexes? What is the point of the Indexes then if we are just going to get Codexes again?

The indcies are a temporary stopgag AFAIK, and actual codcies will start popping out within the next month.

That's at least with my limited knowledge, I can be wrong.

SubCommander wrote:
I thought that they did away with the Codexes? What is the point of the Indexes then if we are just going to get Codexes again?

In third, there were interim codex-es in the rulebook. It was because the game changed between second and third. With the removal of Vehicle Armor Values and introduction of mortal wounds, the indexes are an interim stopgap until the next crop of codex-es are re-released. It isn't meant to be a solution, but a stopgap.

To the OP, get the index, a hammerhead box for longstrike and one or two start collecting boxes, then build from there.

Welcome to the greater good! As for what to start with, I'd recommend going for the models that you really like, at the end of the day, rules change and everything is viable depending on how and who you play.

Broadsides and Riptide are far from being "bad" perhaps a little too many points at the moment, however, the idea that they are hot steaming piles of garbage is just your typical ridiculous OTT internet knee-jerk reaction to be taken with a dump-truck load of salt.

In terms of giving options, you have a decent spread of units on that list although I think you need to consider what kind of play-style appeals to you the most. They work from there.

Well, my recommendation to start with would be:

Commander
Cadre Fireblade
Start Collecting x3 (Makes 3-7 Strike Teams, 3 Ethereals, 9 Crisis Suits - but importantly, you'll have enough weapon options to do things l like 3 Crisis Suits with 3 Flamers each - and 24 drones!)
Optimized Pathfinder Team (Devilfish are meh, but you save money on the combo)

This should get you to 1000 points (possibly up to 1500 if you go crisis heavy) and serve as a good core for the army.

Edit: Also hearing good things about the Sunshark Bomber.

Not sure how other people play it, but there seems little reason to buy the commander box when you can just use some of the suits from Start Collecting as commanders. The rules don't state that the commander has a special kind of battlesuit so it's perfectly reasonable to represent him with an XV8. That might save you a fair bit of money in the short run to focus on units rather than characters.

 Hollow wrote:

Broadsides and Riptide are far from being "bad" perhaps a little too many points at the moment, however, the idea that they are hot steaming piles of garbage is just your typical ridiculous OTT internet knee-jerk reaction to be taken with a dump-truck load of salt.

No, its a deep mathematical analysis made by Tau veterans that reveals that these units, along with the ghost, many crisis setups, non-longstrike hammers, etc are just really bad at killing anything at all compared to how much they cost.

Sure, they might be hard to kill, but you are just turning it into a slap fight shooting, and then the inevitable assault comes and you get wiped out.

We tau need decisive shooting, and these units will not provide it-they provide high endurance platforms, who are not what we need at all.

Asura Varuna wrote:
Not sure how other people play it, but there seems little reason to buy the commander box when you can just use some of the suits from Start Collecting as commanders. The rules don't state that the commander has a special kind of battlesuit so it's perfectly reasonable to represent him with an XV8. That might save you a fair bit of money in the short run to focus on units rather than characters.

+1. you can do the same with space marines. . . if you really wanted to. And if you paint them the same, then your opponent may lose track of who is an elite and who is your commander.

Asura Varuna wrote:
Not sure how other people play it, but there seems little reason to buy the commander box when you can just use some of the suits from Start Collecting as commanders. The rules don't state that the commander has a special kind of battlesuit so it's perfectly reasonable to represent him with an XV8. That might save you a fair bit of money in the short run to focus on units rather than characters.

Maybe, but the Commander model looks awesome, which counts for a lot.

 BoomWolf wrote:

 Hollow wrote:

Broadsides and Riptide are far from being "bad" perhaps a little too many points at the moment, however, the idea that they are hot steaming piles of garbage is just your typical ridiculous OTT internet knee-jerk reaction to be taken with a dump-truck load of salt.

No, its a deep mathematical analysis made by Tau veterans that reveals that these units, along with the ghost, many crisis setups, non-longstrike hammers, etc are just really bad at killing anything at all compared to how much they cost.

Sure, they might be hard to kill, but you are just turning it into a slap fight shooting, and then the inevitable assault comes and you get wiped out.

We tau need decisive shooting, and these units will not provide it-they provide high endurance platforms, who are not what we need at all.

No to you too. I am a T'au veteran having played T'au since they were very first released and have a massive collection. I have read the 'Deep mathematical analysis' across the interwebs as well as having watched and participated in numerous games. Math-hammering is interesting, but it only provides part of a larger picture, the simple fact is that the average gamer will not play anywhere near enough games for the statistical inevitability of the aforementioned 'Deep mathematical analysis' to actually play out. Never mind the vast range of circumstance, luck, terrain, strategy, tactics, opponents etc that Mathammering doesn't take into account.

HYMP Broadsides are GARBAGE
Don't take them

Railsides, especially with Plasma Guns and EWO are still decent.

Ghostkeels are... okay
Riptides are GARBAGE

Devilfish are pretty bad, but still has some uses.

1 Hammerhead with Railgun (Longstrike) is amazing, additional Hammerheads are a little questionable, but leaning towards okay.

If you want a good railgun platform bring 1-2 hammerheads and make sure one of them is Longstrike. He is a beast in 8th and basically with a drone giving his target rerolling 1's he basically has 99% accuracy and almost nothing will get an armour save. With the faq he even benefits from his own aura now so if an enemy has a -1 BS he will still be 2+ to hit.

 Gamgee wrote:
If you want a good railgun platform bring 1-2 hammerheads and make sure one of them is Longstrike. He is a beast in 8th and basically with a drone giving his target rerolling 1's he basically has 99% accuracy and almost nothing will get an armour save. With the faq he even benefits from his own aura now so if an enemy has a -1 BS he will still be 2+ to hit.

Aye, Longstrike is insane

Enemy is stealthy?!
+2 to hit!

Moved using a heavy weapon?!
+2 to hit!

You're at half health?!
+2 to hit!

All 3 things are happening?!
Well... He's amazing, but he's not a God...
YET

That's why you bring the rest of the army lol. Truth be told I have always loved Tau tanks and wanted to bring more of them but also sometimes a Riptide. So at least I get so buy some cool tanks this year.

The pulse bombs on the sunshark look INSANE if the meta is horde, as predicted...