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My boy plays Kill Team with me and is very interested in stepping into 40K as well. We're hoping to get into an escalation style league shortly after the new year, and he's got a bit of work to do to get up to 1,000 points (tentatively the league's starting point). The league will use both CA and Vigilus. And from what I've seen, our store's meta seems to be extremely heavily focused on power armor (certainly in KT), for what that's worth.

I know very little about T'au and would love to get some input on what I need to get him, and a few other questions. Here's what he has:

Start Collecting Box
- 5 of the Fire Warriors are assembled with pulse rifles, the others are on the sprue.
- None of the suits are assembled (we've been Kill Team focused, as I said). I'll help him magnetize the weapons. Thoughts on optimal loadouts are appreciated.

Pathfinders box
- All are assembled, with 2 ion rifles and 1 rail rifle (I gather that's not optimal).

Stealth suit box
- One is magnetized so that model can take either the fusion gun or the regular one.

So, for next steps, I guess you can't go wrong with a Commander, right? Beyond that, what would you prioritize?

I hope this doesn't come across as if I'm asking for the net to write his list. Really what I'd love to hear is stuff along the lines of "If I were starting T'au in a 2019 escalation league, here's the approach I'd take to build out my forces."

Thanks very much for any input.

If it were me, I'd probably want another 20-30 fire warriors with pulse rifles so I can make 6 squads of 5 for 2 battalions, a few commanders because yea, you need more HQ's, and the Stormsurge looks like a lot of fun for a Super Heavy.

You can use a Crisis suit from the SC box as a Commander. Those are good. But with CA, crisis suits did get a lot better so you might want to use them as a crisis team and get a real Commander box for the Coldstar.

The Riptide with the Heavy Burst Cannon is just going to be good and useful in just about any army.

You definitely need one more box of firewarriors. You can field at least one battalion that way (3x5 squads).
Firewarriors want pulse rifles, the carbines just aren't a good option. Breachers (FWs with the pulse blaster) aren't very useful except in pretty specialized ways either.\

For other stuff:
Gotta get something for markerlights. Firesight Marksman are good at that especially in a Sa'cae detachment.
Pathfinders are also a decent source (Pathfinders with special weapons are mostly not great in the big game)
Cadre Fireblades are great both for the buff and the accurate markerlight.

After that there's a lot of preference. Personally I like the medium/small mechs and I'd want to bring in some Broadside suits and maybe a Ghostkeel. But infantry (firewarrior) heavy is good too. As are additional riptides.

Thanks for your comments guys.

For people starting out, go by the rule of cool. why did your son pick tau, why was he drawn to this particular army? (for most people its the suits) that way (hopefully) they are more invested to be involved in the hobbying aspect of the game . There is also a fine line where people can be discouraged when they feel like their army isn't strong enough to compete so you want to get strong units. Tau's strength come from its Hqs and its Troops.

Suggestions
more firewarriors- cant go wrong
fireblades/darkstrider- accurate markerlights and buff the infantry
Shadowsun/commanders- customizable, very fun! now an accurate point cost
Broadsides- great for escalation- allows for scaleing into bigger games fills roles that you struggle with (anti armor)

+1 for the rule of cool.

Does your son like the painting aspect? It's easy to say 'get more fire warriors' but if he's not massive on painting he may lose interest painting squad after squad of same/similar models between pathfinders and fore warriors (I know that was a problem I had when I realised my orks needed heaps of boys to compete, I'd always loved the Kans etc).


If he's not a big painter might be be better off getting some bigger models (tanks/riptide) But I guess that depends his age and how competitive he is. I'm happy to have lists I like more than lists that win, makes those wins all the sweeter!

Thanks for the comments.

My kid, by the way, is 13. This is is first foray into miniature painting, but I've been gaming with him since he was about 5. He's competitive, for sure. He wants to win, but I tell him every time we go to the store that the most important thing to me is for him to be a gentleman. He's yet to let me down on that.

As a general matter, I'm completely down on Rule of Cool, but I have to be careful in guiding him because he is more about the game than the hobby aspect--at least right now. He's proud of his painted Kill Team models, but he's prouder of the fact that he's done really well with them in our league. In stepping into the full game, I don't want to set him up for disappointment--hence my request for advice. After the first 1,000 points or so, he'll be making the decisions. I just don't want to start him off with an unduly uphill battle due to my lack of understanding of the faction.

Ask your son why he chose tau?

if he likes suits... riptides, crisis suits, a commander is a no brainer, and of course the broadside! maybe ghostkeel? haven't seen them used yet in 8th in my meta, so can't comment on their effectiveness...

if its hover tanks and drones, pirhanas, a railhead, maybe a devilfish?

can't be too uncompetitive to drop a stormsurge? It'll anchor the line and draw fire

-full disclosure, not a tau player since 6th-
GamerGuy

Depends what sept he is going, I would buy Commander Shadowsun (if going T'au sept). Awesome now for the points rules wise and is a great incentive. If he finishes all his other models can paint up that model (that or a broadside). These models are easier to paint than tanks if free hand for a beginner over a tank etc as well. I would also buy him Darkstrider just cause he is good (if T'au) and gives more incentive to build fire warriors etc.

Practical would be some more fire warriors (but mass infantry can get boring quick, especially for a younger person, need incentives and small lots)


Automatically Appended Next Post:
So long as you are not catering to much to his want of competition (competition is good but to much will turn him into one of them guys, that over compensate, like roid body builders or people you find like "I tolerate you, but fuk me it's hard') nurture the competitive side but always pull the everyone is awesome it is just fun card. He will find his own path (don't project).

Only reason saying is cause he 13-16 (the fuked age). At that age...omg if all have to worry about is him not liking or playing an army you are golden (peer pressure/pregnancy/drugs/rebellion from society/ etc) look forward to that...it's how you raise you kid now (and the last 13 years) will form a barrier against those negatives.

Farsight is bae so i always recommend getting him XD

in all seriousness though, check if he'd be interested in painting squads or if he really likes the battlesuits. He's young; he can make competitive lists with 1,000,000 command points when he's older, the goal for now is to keep him interested in the hobby.

I 100% agree with the rule of cool, but you almost can't go wrong with another Start collecting box. Just because this will allow him to form a battalion using the extra FW and converting/using one of the crisis suits as a commander.

So just a sample list using what he'd have with the extra start collecting:


It's not 100% optimal and you can switch weapons around, add support systems etc. but it's a reasonable spread of units to play; allowing him to find his own favorite. From here I'd fill the last ~300pts going by what catches his eye.
Does he like Farsight and Crisis Suits? Just get Farsight and run all 6 Crisis suits as a big group. Does he like big suits? Can't go wrong with a Riptide, in smaller games its a real piece of work. Like sitting back and shelling the opponent? Grab a pair of Broadsides to round out your gunline. Like the stealth suits? Shadowsun and another pack or two of suits can do some work at 1000pts but might not scale as well. Alternatively toss in a Ghostkeel or two to support the smaller stealth suits. Like tanks? Longstrike and a friend can do some work.

Tau has a decent selection of units in the codex that function well for games at your FLGS, some a little better than others but it just kind of comes down to how he likes to play.

If you got him another getting started box he'd have another unit of fire warriors which is always good.
And you could help him convert the crisis Suits into broadsides.
If you're in states I'm a sure a company called red dog does parts?

With the unbuilt ones you could do 2 crisis, 2 crisis and 2 broad.
With 20 fire warriors you could do 7,7,6 and grab the fire warrior HQ. Name escapes me. Or convert the second Ethereal

You can't go wrong with:

- More Firewarriors
- Cadre Fireblade
- Ethereal
- Firesight Marksmen
- Tau Commander
- Riptide
- Drones


Fireblade and Ethereal work greatly with multiple Fire Warrior Squads within aura range. Fireblades will increase their offensive output at half range and the Ethereal can provide one out of four different bonuses each turn (you'll mostly use the 6+ FNP on your Firewarriors).

One Ethereal + 3 Firesight Marksmen make for a complete Vanguard detachment (usually Sa'cea sept for the rerolls) with just 4 miniatures. Marksmen are our best source of markerlights and can't be targeted seperately, if another unit is closer, since they count as characters. If your son likes Kroot, you could consider swapping one of the Firesight Marksmen for the Kroot Character from Blackstone Fortress (you can get this guy on eBay).

Tau Commanders and Riptides are the guys that make things happen in your list. Both can pack a decent punch with the Riptide being a rather durable centerpiece and the Commander being a swiss army knife with various weapon loadouts and support systems to fit numerous niches. Magnetizing is pretty much mandatory for both, so you can experiment with loadouts.


Drones are a great supplement for any list really, since they improve the durability of your important units, such as the Riptide and Commander, because they can soak up wounds directed towards units in their vicinity. They are not sold seperately, however (not at a reasonable price point anyway), so you probably want to check eBay for those as well. You should be able to find some new on sprue.

Thanks very much to all of you who have posted your advice. I genuinely appreciate each of you taking the time to share your thoughts.