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Quick question. I've watched a few battle reports on the Tau. I haven't been able to see a common tactic with them except to keep at range and shoot. I've yet to see anyone use the Kroot or any of their other units besides scouts, fire warriors, the battle suits, and vehicles.

Is there a commonly accepted tactic for the Tau that keeps people from using these other units? Are they just not worth it?

I've read up on the codex but this army seems to confuse me. Not really a swarm army like Tyranids or Orks, but not really big hitters like Marines or Chaos?

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

Widj

Widjit wrote:
I've yet to see anyone use the Kroot or any of their other units besides scouts, fire warriors, the battle suits, and vehicles.

That's because the other units are garbage. Tau suffer from having one of the oldest codices, from way back in 4th edition. As a result of how the game has changed since then Tau are stuck with a few good units that can still win games, but a very steep drop in power if you bring anything other than those few units. Likewise for the strategy: sit back and shoot and you'll win games. Do anything other than stay at a safe distance and shoot and you'll get tabled.

In competitive play, I completely agree. The general go-to units are Crisis suits ( twin missiles or missile and plasma), no-upgrade fire warrior teams in Devilfish, Pathfinders (though the Forgeworld Tetra is vastly superior), and Broadsides.

In friendlier, low-stake games however, some of the other units that are sub-par for tournaments can find their way into lists. Such units are Farsight, Stealth Suits, Kroot, Piranhas, and Hammerheads

For any other units, I would steer clear unless you are a full-on fluff gamer or just really like the model. . Particularly terrible units include Ethereals and Aun'va. The remainder are simply poor at what they do, or are very overpriced.

MiniWarGaming has some good Tau Tactica video's try check those out.

With Tau, your standard go to unit is going to be your firewarriors with Pulse Rifles. their 30inch range Str 5 AP 5 shots will do well against hordes, and can put out enough shots to even take out some tougher units.

Tau Actually have some of the best vehicles right now, Take Disruption pods and always move them so they get a 3+ cover save from having shrouded + Jink,

Hammerheads are actually a better unit then broadsides at the moment, simply because they can fire the sub-munition shot for a small blast in addition to the str 10 ap 1 railgun single shot.

Pathfinders, with marker lights make up for you only being BS 3 on your fire warriors. so take a unit to beef up your BS.

Where Crisis suits fit in, is they are going to be your "can openers" using plasma and missile to crack open transports and counter other big nasty units your fire warriors won't be able to hurt.

Tau also suffer from being misused and misinterpreted rather frequently; most analyses try to calculate the value of their units in a vacuum, ignoring the rest of the list. The one great unifying thing to pay attention to when building a Tau strategy is Markerlights; they will make you hit and bring down a rain of S8 Seeker Missiles on the enemy. My theory about how to use Tau (this may be bs, I have little to no practical experience) is to take a couple of small Pathfinder units, sit back, mark a unit or two every turn, and wipe them from the board with the fury of every other unit in your army.

 AnomanderRake wrote:
Tau also suffer from being misused and misinterpreted rather frequently; most analyses try to calculate the value of their units in a vacuum, ignoring the rest of the list. The one great unifying thing to pay attention to when building a Tau strategy is Markerlights; they will make you hit and bring down a rain of S8 Seeker Missiles on the enemy. My theory about how to use Tau (this may be bs, I have little to no practical experience) is to take a couple of small Pathfinder units, sit back, mark a unit or two every turn, and wipe them from the board with the fury of every other unit in your army.

Reasonably close, but the Seeker Missile is a very inefficient part of the situation. Using Markerlights to buff the effectiveness of your other units is a far more effective approach.

Straight codex units, Pathfinders are definitely the most efficient choice for this, though Forgeworld has provided the far more cost effective Tetra for this same role. In addition to being far cheaper per markerlight hit, the Tetra is harder to kill, being able to maneuver and possessing a 3+ cover save in any turn it moves or happens to hide behind an obscuring object.

After that Markerlights, it's all about bringing the right type of guns and in the appropriate quantity. Railguns and Fusion Blasters for killing heavy vehicles, Missile Pods for killing light vehicles, Burst Cannons and Pulse Rifles for killing infantry and Plasma Rifles for killing all of the above. Find the platforms that let you take those in the mixture you feel is right for the enemy you typically face and gives you the combination of survivability and mobility to make them useful and you are good to go. Most focus on battlesuits these days because they let you bring more firepower. Tau tanks are very mobile and very survivable however, so shouldn't be ignored. I tend towards a mix that is battlesuit heavy.

Now some players like to deploy some kind of screen (typically Kroot, sometimes Gundrones, Piranhas or Devilfish) to make it harder for the enemy to get into close combat with our more offensively oriented units. How effective this is varies individual to individual. I tend to rely on positioning, volume of fire and mobility to keep out of assault, with the occasional well placed Devilfish to bail me out at times of dire emergency.

Widjit wrote:
Quick question. I've watched a few battle reports on the Tau. I haven't been able to see a common tactic with them except to keep at range and shoot. I've yet to see anyone use the Kroot or any of their other units besides scouts, fire warriors, the battle suits, and vehicles.

Is there a commonly accepted tactic for the Tau that keeps people from using these other units? Are they just not worth it?

I've read up on the codex but this army seems to confuse me. Not really a swarm army like Tyranids or Orks, but not really big hitters like Marines or Chaos?

Widj

Well using tau is much more diffcult than most of the other codexes, mostly for one reason, the entire army supports itself.

Tau are about applying overwhelming firepower to a target and destroying it, then preparing to hit the next target. Markerlights are key to getting your killing power.

Pathfinders, Battlesuits, Broadsides, and Firewarriors tend to be the best things to take. Beyond that, stealthsuits are excellent harrassment units,
Kroot in small numbers are great outflankers or speedbumps for enemy assault armies while in large numbers can bring massive amounts of firepower to the field, while your army requires less markerlights,
Devilfishes can be upgraded to carry excellent firepower, though while expensive are hard to kill at range,
Vespid are tough to use, but their ability to down MEQ is second to none in the codex for their points, they can even down a MC without too much trouble,
Hammerheads are good support units, able to railgun or large blast from a long way's away,
Of note, ethereals. Tau have crap leadership, so being able to give a unit fearless (broadsides) and have the rest of your army re-roll failed or passed moral tests is an excellent thing, for cheap might I add!

As far as tactics go, the general strategy is to blast things apart with battlesuits, kill tanks with broadsides and let the firewarriors mop up. There's other tricks too, such as horde kroot with railgun support, because infiltrating 80+ models is always fun, and mech tau, where everything is either a battlesuit, in a devilfish or a hammerhead, which makes your army nearly impossible to kill at range.

Please keep in mind there are 2 kinds of tau players, those that play a single army list, and those that know the codex. You will get much farther listening to the latter.

Well I have heard from reading other posts that Tau might be getting a new codex (probably not that soon) but they are a pretty interesting army I have been interested in maybe starting a small force but im not sure if that's the play style I want.

If I do go with tau it would have to be when the new codex comes out which may just be a rumor but I think that would make it a more popular army and might balance out the whole codex and allow more of a variety in army structures

Widjit,

having read your other thread:

Buy your 4 to 5 Crisis suits. Play simpler book missions: Purge (Kill Points), Emperor's Will (only two home base objectives) and Scrounge or Scourer, the d3+2 objectives.

Learn to JSJ, use Focus Fire and stay the hell back from the enemy. Stick with 500 point games, until you've 10 or so under your belt.

Good enough to go on for a weeks.

 Peregrine wrote:
Tau suffer from having one of the oldest codices, from way back in 4th edition.

The TAU EMPIRE Codex is actually 5th Ed not 4th, it came out just as 5th was released and they got a FAQ to bring them up to date.

Also, I run Kroot, Vespids, Knarloc Riders, Piranhas and Sniper Drone Teams and they have never let me down. My Kroot have consitently done what I needed them too if that be shredding an enemy unit or simply holding one up for a few turns.

As of 5th Edition but even more in 6th, Troops are needed to get Objectives which has forced Tau Players to break the boring and stagnant shoot or be killed regime. I've seen my Fire Warriors kill Chaos Terminators were my Shas'O failed and seen them see off a Wytch Elf ambush. My kroot have shredded Mandrakes, gunned down Astares and went toe-to-toe with Necrons and came off victorious. People get scared of using them in case they fail but I say, I like them, i'm using them and with a little faith they will shine.

It's not just my Aliens either, virtually my entire army is mobile during again save for my Pulse Rifle FWs and the Gunships.

Also, another thing people say about the Tau is that you do not let them get into Close Combat. Not me, my Battlesuits have proved Monsters in CC. In the 40 games I have played with this Army in different Stages through 4th and 5th, at least 50% of the time my Suits have ended up in CC for some reason (mostly in 5th due to not really taking into account the RUN rule when positioning my units oops) but they give as good as they get, as do the Kroot and FWs as previously stated.

Don't be afraid to use a unit just because others say its not worth it, find out for yourself. You don't even need to have the models, use stand ins while you try them out and if you think they work you get the models and if not you haven't wasted any money but at least you know yourself what they are like.

It also depends of course on how you want to play your army, your particular style of Battle coupled with the army you pick.

Cheers

Well its hardly changed from when i played it back in 3rd, a couple of forge world bits two new units and some wargear thats your lot.

In fact according to the ever reliable wikipedia codex tau empire came out two years before 5th making it the oldest codex bar templars.

 Dakarillion wrote:
The TAU EMPIRE Codex is actually 5th Ed not 4th, it came out just as 5th was released and they got a FAQ to bring them up to date.

No. Codex: Tau Empire was released in march 2006, and 5th edition was released in july 2008.

And besides the release dates just look at the rules. The codex is full of stuff that is either broken in 5th (anything involving a target priority test) or worthless in 5th (decoy launchers do almost nothing under the 5th edition skimmer rules), and it's not even close to plausible that it was written with 5th in mind.

Also, I run Kroot, Vespids, Knarloc Riders, Piranhas and Sniper Drone Teams and they have never let me down.

That's nice. You're probably playing against opponents with similarly un-optimized lists.

Not me, my Battlesuits have proved Monsters in CC.

Then you're playing with loaded dice. At best battlesuits are adequate in close combat, they are never going to be "monsters" except maybe compared to fire warriors.

The tau suffer from a overpriced codex and units with 3rd/4th edition rules in mind. While it is not a terrible codex some units have become better than others, and some units are just plain horrible, (every codex has them it's just when you have few selections like tau it starts to hurt) .

Mainly run the 3 base suit configs
Helios (fb,pr,mt)
Deathrain(TLML, flamer/bsf/tl)
Fireknife(pr,mp,mt)

The Deathrains are probably the most used suits now.

Dpods on all your vehicles is required, when you run a hammerhead always run 2 with rail guns.

If you want marker lights you need tetras as they are amazing.

More to come.

The Tau are an army of synergy. Sure, every army needs it, but the Tau truly need it because without it everything sucks. Almost all of the Tau units suck on their own, but when paired with the right unit both become better (Markerlights and anything really comes to mind).

Tau suffers really from being overpriced and old. A lot of units in the Tau codex have rules that have no use anymore (hint, it still talks about strategy rating and target priority tests), and most units cost more than they should now-a-days.

Most units will work, they just need a right pairing. Others, are just BAD. And I mean BAD. Like, Vespids. Vespids are supposed to be the "Anti-MeQ" but....they just don't do that well...they aren't even OK....they're just bad. And seeing as most Tau armies bring minimum FW's and max out on Suits, I wouldn't be surprised if they just make suits troop choices...

This is all my opinion:

FireWarriors... don't bring the min, unless using them as a secondary attachment to get broadsides and suits. You honestly need to play these guys a bit like a horde army. Think boys before toys as with orks. Pure volume of fire often wins me my games, especially against low model count armies.

I'll say that again, play (pure) Tau as a horde army, with firewarriors. Don't bring kroot-- stealthsuits or allies are 1000x 1000x 100x better.

Crisis suits should all have Misslepods. Twin Link them or add in plasma, doesn't matter, 2-3 squads very helpful.

Stealthsuits... yes and no... x4 burst cannons and x8 gun drones protecting a commander with a AFP and CiB is very very Lolzy and can serve as a bullet magnet for several rounds. great outflanker and better than kroot (more expensive yes)

Pathfinders are a must starting at 1500 point games and going higher, at 1250 and below... not so much.

Broadsides vs hammerheads... I personally like to mix 2:1 either way. A fun tactic with x2 hammerheads and one broadside squad is to stick the broadsides inside a bastion. more often against flyers I will take x2 broadside squads for SOME KIND of anti air hope.

other bits:
Special characters = no (farsight has some uses as an ally)
Ethereal = no, untill you understand how tau work, even then you are gambling big time.
piranhas = never lost me games, never really won me any either, Disruption pods a must
Disruption pods on all vehicles = must

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakarillion wrote:
The TAU EMPIRE Codex is actually 5th Ed not 4th, it came out just as 5th was released and they got a FAQ to bring them up to date.

 Peregrine wrote:

No. Codex: Tau Empire was released in march 2006, and 5th edition was released in july 2008.

Dakarillion, check wikipedia's listing on 40k for release dates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tau_(Warhammer_40,000)

I pretty much second everything Peregrine states. If your kroot, bugs and suits, etc are doing what you say they're doing, then congrats on playing in a kidde pool fulla baby seals.

 Peregrine wrote:
[And besides the release dates just look at the rules. The codex is full of stuff that is either broken in 5th (anything involving a target priority test) or worthless in 5th (decoy launchers do almost nothing under the 5th edition skimmer rules), and it's not even close to plausible that it was written with 5th in mind.

Also, I run Kroot, Vespids, Knarloc Riders, Piranhas and Sniper Drone Teams and they have never let me down.

That's nice. You're probably playing against opponents with similarly un-optimized lists.

Not me, my Battlesuits have proved Monsters in CC.

Then you're playing with loaded dice. At best battlesuits are adequate in close combat, they are never going to be "monsters" except maybe compared to fire warriors.

Rawrgyle wrote:
Stealthsuits... yes and no... x4 burst cannons and x8 gun drones protecting a commander with a AFP and CiB is very very Lolzy and can serve as a bullet magnet for several rounds. great outflanker and better than kroot (more expensive yes)

And Before someone says "but your stealthsuits can't score! kroot are better!"

you are now isolating tau units in a vaccum, like someone else said above. The stealthteam clears a point of infantry and a devilfish full of firewarriors takes it, kroot don't tend to hold things against any opposition.

Synergy, or tactics, you have to use them with tau.

Rawrgyle wrote:
Stealthsuits... yes and no... x4 burst cannons and x8 gun drones protecting a commander with a AFP and CiB is very very Lolzy and can serve as a bullet magnet for several rounds. great outflanker and better than kroot (more expensive yes)

Except it isn't a bullet magnet because it has a terrible firepower to durability ratio. A good opponent will just ignore the unit and focus on killing squishier targets with better shooting, or scoring units.

Rawrgyle wrote:
you are now isolating tau units in a vaccum, like someone else said above. The stealthteam clears a point of infantry and a devilfish full of firewarriors takes it, kroot don't tend to hold things against any opposition.

But stealth suits don't hold things against any opposition either (you know, since they're not scoring). Even your own example has the stealth suits leaving the "hold things" role to fire warriors.

Rawrgyle wrote:

Rawrgyle wrote:
Stealthsuits... yes and no... x4 burst cannons and x8 gun drones protecting a commander with a AFP and CiB is very very Lolzy and can serve as a bullet magnet for several rounds. great outflanker and better than kroot (more expensive yes)

And Before someone says "but your stealthsuits can't score! kroot are better!"

you are now isolating tau units in a vaccum, like someone else said above. The stealthteam clears a point of infantry and a devilfish full of firewarriors takes it, kroot don't tend to hold things against any opposition.

Synergy, or tactics, you have to use them with tau.

"but your stealthsuits can't score! firewarriors are better!"

Attaching an hq to them does change things a bit as it can force your opponent to try and shoot at them, especially in low objective games.
Otherwise in this instance i agree with peregrine. Stick to the tried and tested basics, once you have them down sure have a play around with vespid or some other such weirdness but if you are starting out stick to the accepted core units imo.

For BFG, concentrate on ordnance (Torpedoes - Tau have the best - and Attack Craft); Tau suck at broadsides and will get torn to shreds in a line battle. Do not let an enemy initiate boarding action either, or they will overrun your ships more often than not. Bring Messenger-class ships to augment your turrets, especially against Eldar (who have the best Attack Craft) and the Imperial Navy (who can and will make use of Torpedo spam). Avoid fighting the Eldar/Dark Eldar as much as you can, as their Holo-fields/Shadow Fields will render most of your ordnance useless, and Tau Railguns simply lack the punch of standard Weapon Batteries to counter said Holo-fields/Shadow Fields.

@Admiral Valerian: This is the 40k Discussion Forum not BFG, that's covered under the Specialist Games section here http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/forums/show/57.page

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakarillion wrote:
The TAU EMPIRE Codex is actually 5th Ed not 4th, it came out just as 5th was released and they got a FAQ to bring them up to date.

No. Codex: Tau Empire was released in march 2006, and 5th edition was released in july 2008.

Apologies, no real Time Sense if you know what I mean but they did get an Eretara(Spelling?).

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakarillion wrote:
Also, I run Kroot, Vespids, Knarloc Riders, Piranhas and Sniper Drone Teams and they have never let me down.

That's nice. You're probably playing against opponents with similarly un-optimized lists.

The Dundee store is not full of un-optomised lists at all. Last game I played was against the new Dark Angels, very Raven/Deathwing Heavy (It seems the only way people play them now) and we managed a draw on an Objective mission as he couldn't shift my Kroot off one objective and I couldn't shift his Bike Squad off another, and the middle one was contested heavily by both sides.

I play units I like, I don't play ALMIGHTY WINNER LISTS and I still have won or drawn double the times I have lost.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakarillion wrote:
Not me, my Battlesuits have proved Monsters in CC.

Then you're playing with loaded dice. At best battlesuits are adequate in close combat, they are never going to be "monsters" except maybe compared to fire warriors.

I do not cheat and ok, MONSTER maybe a little bit of an exageration but overall they fair a lot better than people say they do, especially my 2 commanders.

Rawrgyle wrote:
Pathfinders are a must starting at 1500 point games and going higher, at 1250 and below... not so much.

I really don't get Pathfinders, yes they are a decent unit, one of few I admit, but it really sucks that you MUST take a Devilfish with them. Its like 'Hey were these really cool scouts who are suppoed to be unseen and stealthy so just ignore the OBVIOUS tank above us!'. That's the only reason I don't use them.

Brothererekose wrote:
I pretty much second everything Peregrine states. If your kroot, bugs and suits, etc are doing what you say they're doing, then congrats on playing in a kidde pool fulla baby seals.

As previously mentioned, the armies at my local store are not exactly friendly match material, people there build armies that win and mine can hold its own against them so that says it all.

I DO AGREE that we need a new Codex with a lot of reworking especially cost wise, drop certain units, buff others (Kroot with Fleet and at least Basic armour, even that would be a massive improvement) and fix 'broken stuff'.
But hey, we all know SMs + Sub Chapters, CSM, Nids and Orks get priority after all they are the supposed 'Best Out There'. Even Eldar and Imperial Guard get more updates.

My Opinion of Units:
Shas'O/El - Take as you HAVE to and they are Badass
Auns - I think they shouldn't be a Unit at all, they seem more like they would be spectators, watching the Battle from on high and giving advise. Only Auns like Aun'Shi do I see actually getting stuck in and they seem rare
SCs - No As They SUCK!)
--
Crisis - Take
Stealth - Take If They Appeal
--
FWs - Take, At Least 8 To A Unit
Kroot - Taken In Large Numbers, Say 15+, They Are Good
--
Pathfinders - Only if they get rid of the mandatory DF!
Remoras - WTF?
Gun Drone Squadrons - Should never have been given their own unit, I think they were a Codex Filler
Tetras - Give them the option to replace the PR with a Rail Rifle then maybe I would
Knarloc Riders - Maybe not a great unit but just love the idea
Barracuda - Only in larger games
Piranha - At least 2
Vespids - Work well for me
XV9s - As I have not play tested them I have no opinion on them other than that I think they should be Elites
--
Broadsides - Not worth their points when compared to Hammerheads
Great Knarlocs - Yeah, going just a tad far with the Kroot Mutations
Heavy Gun Drones - Same as the smaller version
Hammerhead - RG and BCs, not too fussed about the FWorld Turrets
Sky Ray - Especially against Tank Heavy armies
Sniper Drone Teams - Costly but good Long Range Support
--
Tiger Sharks/Orcas/Mantas - More Display Pieces Than Playable

Two other notes:

1) As everyone has mentioned, Markerlights are a definate were ever you can take them accept on FWs costs 10 just to get the option to take the ML and then another 10 for the ML and FW Shas'Ui are not worth it

2) Whoever said they should make Suits Troops, HELL NO! They'd have to come up with some way of filling the Elites with new and probaly not as good units. They did that with Tyranid Warriors and left nothing really but the Lictor and Zonathrope as viable Elite choices and also cut down Troops space for Gants/Gaunts and Stealers.

 Dakarillion wrote:

Stealth - Take
Kroot - Take In Large Numbers
Tetras - Give them the option to replace the PR with a Rail Rifle then maybe
Knarloc Riders - Maybe not a great unit but just love the idea
Vespids - Work well for me
Broadsides - Not worth their points when compared to Hammerheads
Sky Ray - Especially against Tank Heavy armies
Sniper Drone Teams - Costly but good Long Range Support

Please tell me you aren't serious about these. These are all terribly wrong. You just picked the worst units in the book and then just dissed the best units.

Remember that scene in Kung-Pow! where they taught that guy how to fight wrong because they thought it was funny? That's what this reminds me of.

Each to their own =)

Oh and I've never heard of Kung-Pow!

 Dakarillion wrote:
Kroot - Taken In Large Numbers, Say 15+, They Are Good

Never take more than a minimum-size squad. Two small squads is always better than one large one. Also, Kroot in general are pretty bad now that you have access to IG platoons and Ork boyz for your meatshield troops.

Pathfinders - Only if they get rid of the mandatory DF!

No. The Devilfish can be hijacked by a fire warrior squad, and even without anything inside it the Devilfish is still a mobile terrain piece with a 2+ cover save. Learn to use flat out moves and "JSJ" the vehicle in front of Broadsides/FWs/etc.

Tetras - Give them the option to replace the PR with a Rail Rifle then maybe I would

Err, lol? You do realize that Tetras are there for the markerlights, right? And that the pulse rifle is just a fluff weapon? Tetras are the most efficient source of markerlights in the army, they've completely replaced pathfinders and are an amazing unit.

Barracuda - Only in larger games

Or in any game where you want AA.

Piranha - At least 2

Though they should be the TX-42 version.

Vespids - Work well for me

Garbage unit. Way too expensive, way too fragile, and competes with the far superior Tetras and Barracudas.

Broadsides - Not worth their points when compared to Hammerheads

Lol? You do realize that Broadsides give you two TL railguns for the same price of a one-railgun Hammerhead, right?

Sky Ray - Especially against Tank Heavy armies

WTF no. Seeker missiles are garbage against tanks, if you want to deal with tank-heavy armies then take Broadsides.

Sniper Drone Teams - Costly but good Long Range Support

You mean expensive garbage that barely shoots better than your basic troops and wastes an FOC slot that is used by far superior units.

Tiger Sharks/Orcas/Mantas - More Display Pieces Than Playable

No. Obviously they're Apocalypse-only, but they're very good units.

1) As everyone has mentioned, Markerlights are a definate were ever you can take them accept on FWs costs 10 just to get the option to take the ML and then another 10 for the ML and FW Shas'Ui are not worth it

Then why do you advise against taking the only units that are cost-effective markerlight sources (Tetras and pathfinders)?



TL,DR: ALL YOUR TAU ADVICE IS TERRIBLE.

Edit: nvm

Just to add to peregrines tirade, why take firewarriors in 8s?
arent 6,9,12 the most efficient options.

There is a little update in one of the latest FAQ's that make Etheral's almost worth taking. When your Etheral dies, your whole army bar Kroot and Vespids get Preferred Enemy 'X'. This works in shooting now, not just CC. So, take your bog standard Etheral and run him as fast as you can towards the enemy. He will die and the rest of your Tau get preferred enemy. Thats basically a, what?, 50pt tax on preferred enemy across the board and the ability to re-roll misses in the shooting phase. I have not tried this personally because I don't play Tau, but theoretically it works. If your enemy gets wise and just ignores your suicidal Etheral, just take a Fortress Of Redemption and swan dive the little bugger off the top! Taking a Fortress Of Redemption also means that any Tau inside it count as being in a vehicle and so pass the leadership test required for the death of your Etheral automatically.

 sarpedons-right-hand wrote:
There is a little update in one of the latest FAQ's that make Etheral's almost worth taking. When your Etheral dies, your whole army bar Kroot and Vespids get Preferred Enemy 'X'. This works in shooting now, not just CC. So, take your bog standard Etheral and run him as fast as you can towards the enemy. He will die and the rest of your Tau get preferred enemy. Thats basically a, what?, 50pt tax on preferred enemy across the board and the ability to re-roll misses in the shooting phase. I have not tried this personally because I don't play Tau, but theoretically it works. If your enemy gets wise and just ignores your suicidal Etheral, just take a Fortress Of Redemption and swan dive the little bugger off the top! Taking a Fortress Of Redemption also means that any Tau inside it count as being in a vehicle and so pass the leadership test required for the death of your Etheral automatically.

Tau inside vehicles dont take the test so dont get the buff, they do if inside a building.
You also risk givign your opponent first blood and have to pay to take a shas'o unless you want an ethereal warlord.

Saying that it might be worth taking an ethereal warlord and reserving/hiding him all game. paying 50 points to deny a victory point may be worth it.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakarillion wrote:
Kroot - Taken In Large Numbers, Say 15+, They Are Good

Two small squads is always better than one large one.

I run two 15 Squads. We only have FWs and Kroot for troops and I don't want to take just FWs, how boring. I like Kroot, they do well for me, and I get 5 extra shots and 20 extra attacks for the smae price as 10 FWs. I make sure they get into CC quickly and as unharmed as possible, I keep them away from units they cannot hope to beat, and launch them upon those I know they can.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakarillion wrote:
Pathfinders - Only if they get rid of the mandatory DF!

No. The Devilfish can be hijacked by a fire warrior squad, and even without anything inside it the Devilfish is still a mobile terrain piece with a 2+ cover save. Learn to use flat out moves and "JSJ" the vehicle in front of Broadsides/FWs/etc.

I don't like troop transports. Period. For me, they prove only to be costly, under armed. The points are better used buying other units. 1 DF or 8 FWs? 1 DF or 2 Crisis? My FWs are static for the most part anyhow so for me I don't need DFs. I had 2 Devilfish. One is now scrap, the other my Sky Ray.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakarillion wrote:
Tetras - Give them the option to replace the PR with a Rail Rifle then maybe I would

You do realize that Tetras are there for the markerlights, right? ... they've completely replaced pathfinders ...

An expensive Markerlight at 50pts. Other units can take them for just 10pts and a minimum unit of Pathfinders gives you 4 for the price of 1.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakarillion wrote:
Vespids - Work well for me

Garbage unit. Way too expensive, way too fragile, and competes with the far superior Tetras and Barracudas.

I refer you to my earlier remark.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakarillion wrote:
Sky Ray - Especially against Tank Heavy armies

WTF no. Seeker missiles are garbage against tanks, if you want to deal with tank-heavy armies then take Broadsides.

I can't help it, Broadsides just look like Crisis that were retro fitted as heavy weapon suits for an emergency. The Forge World models at least look like they were designed for the job.
My Sky Ray has proven a capable Tank Hunter, mostly against TTs yes, but thats what my HH is for, the bigger Tanks and it works very well against them, even 14 armour.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakarillion wrote:
Tiger Sharks/Orcas/Mantas - More Display Pieces Than Playable

No. Obviously they're Apocalypse-only, but they're very good units.

We are talking BASICS, Apocalypse is not Basics and the Tiger Shark was originally designed for 40k.

 Peregrine wrote:
ALL YOUR TAU ADVICE IS TERRIBLE.

I am a Tau Player, I am simply saying what I have discovered and know from MY experience. That is not TERRIBLE just my opinion.

Ok, just saw something I had to comment on right away to clear things up. Tetras got an update in the FW FAQ. They no longer stink on ice. It's not a heavy 1 Markerlight, it's Heavy 4 now. On a fast skimmer with built in disruption pods, and a 5point upgrade for BS4. It's probably one of the best units Tau have if it wasn't for the simple fact that it's only role is just synergy.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
one other little issue with the above comment. It seems that some of your biggest issues with units seems to be how they look. Like you're setting up a parameter that the winner is fixed in your mind despite table top performance.

Kroot are taken because you don't like taking only FW. They get a lot of attacks in CC, but rarely survive to do so. The fact that they don't have armor and I3 blows in combat because they're always going to break against any unit.

Broadsides don't need defending. Yes the gun and model looks silly. Go to Paulson games and get some bits that make it look better. But it's kinda absurd to compare 1 railgun to three twinlinked railguns and say the one is better because it looks pretty.

But if you want to offer your opinion, just make sure to express it only as that. "This is just my personal opinion" or "I'd never suggest that anyone does it, but I can't help but like..."