Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I've been playing Tau for a few years now. I started because I liked the back story and most of the models. They were crap in 5th but 6th has given them a big boost. I play in a very competitive club full of a lot of WAAC players, and Tau have a rough go with that crowd right now, but the new Codex is supposedly right around the corner. The biggest boost given to
Tau has been the allies system imo. The two places Tau are weak is psy defense and CC. One or both of these can be compensated for with Allies. Everyone else here has already explained the strong units Tau have (Suits, Railguns, FW's) so let me tell you about allies. If you want cheap psy defense then Eldar are great Allies. For about 200 points you can take a cheap Farseer and have board wide psy defense with Runes of Warding, and a small unit of Jet Bikes to hide until late game then grab objectives from 48" away. If you want to fix both psy defense and CC then SW allies are solid, but will run you a few extra points.

Welcome to the greater good. If you want fun then Tau are a great time. And low model count (because of suits) can make them easier on the wallet. You might not win a lot of games, but you certainly won't lose all the time or anything.

Good I like the shooting and the tactic to split the enemie forces, and you can paint them anyway and ideas are flying through my head

They are a Fun army. If you are a anime fan or a Anime fan. Its your army hands down.

Or love to snipe.

Otherwise the entire codex other then Broadside and hammerhead is complete and utter trash. Every model needs a +1 in BS to make it playable and the entire codex in addition to that needs to be overhauled in rules and statelines and more added to it....like 8-10 new units in order for the codex for 6th edition to be tournament worthy.

I never won a game with them and I never known anyone who ever has. I known 4 other Tau players and few of them have been playing for years and I never recall them ever saying they have ever actually won a game before.

yeah...tau codex is THAT bad. Its been the weakest codex since if first came out...I should know lulz.

Uh oh

 Noob9405 wrote:
Sorry I want info from people who have played my bad, do you always have to say the same thing on my threads it gets to the point that anyone else would stop replying!

at the start, i didnt do that, now, yes i do.

Look at the threads you've started...

"whats up with tau"
"what to play"
"chaos space marine tactics"
"advice on dwarves"
"thinking of starting a hordes army"
"whats orks play styles"
"starting orks"
"space wolves list"
"making space marine chapter"
"i want to know grey knight tactics"
"what are good or the best cc armies"

Seriously... People need to stop giving you advice till you actually make a decision, as many of us have wasted our time in your previous threads, only for you to start another one on a totally different army.

We cannot help you choose an army, or even a game, only you can do that because its personal choice.

 Noob9405 wrote:
Uh oh

Don't read to much into what Vasarto is saying. Tau are by no means a Top Tier army. They are not bottom tier either. The best units in the Tau army are the Hammerhead, Broadside AND Crisis suits. Tau will never win in a super competitive area or in a WAAC area. If your gaming group is more chill then they can win.

Tau are only as good as the player/how terrible your opponent is.

they suffer from units being overpriced and some being totally useless.

they only thing that is going to really change for the new tau codex is new units, weapons, and squad options. hopefully the new hammerhead railgun makes it into the book.

There's a reason I blocked you and I'm not gonna look at anymore of ur replys because all you are is a complainer and trying to turn everybody on me but its not working. Lol for every good post about tau there's a bad one right after lol

 Ovion wrote:
So negative Peregrine.

I say screw em and play Tau if you want to.
The rumour mill says a new book in 2-6 months, but you can start buying stuff up now, and you can get the codex on ebay for very little (mine cost me £4 and was in basically brand-new condition.)

But frankly, people gave me the same advice 'don't start Tau now, they'll be updated soon' and that was a year and a half or more ago now.

Also neither of the first two codecies for 6th edition have nullified any existing units in either of the armies presented. I expect that anything bought today will still be usable when the new book comes out. I really hope the Tau get a big list buff, though. Currently there just aren't enough options in some slots. With only one or two options in a given slot most Tau armies look way too identical to me. Heck the CSM list for heavies has Havocs, Land raiders, defilers, maulerfiends, forgefiends, preadators, vindicators, etc, while the Tau codex list for heavies has Broadside suits and Hammerheads.

I don't play tau, but I really think the crisis suits need a serious overhaul. They are easier to kill than a single tactical marine. At least let their armor work more similarly to terminator armor. Maybe a 3+ with a 5+ inv or something. As long as they keep out the way they are good, but as soon as anyone has a clear shot on them they drop in an instant. If they don't improve the armor, then at least decrease the price. They are way overpriced for the fragility. We found out just how fragile they are when we played the old broken alliance scenario which starts with the unit commanders in the middle of the table and the tau commander in crisis suit would get one shoted on the first turn EVERY time. Meanwhile even the IG commander in carapace armor could take multiple hits before dying. Just made no sense.

Skriker


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Dragonzord wrote:


at the start, i didnt do that, now, yes i do.

Look at the threads you've started...
*SNIP*
Seriously... People need to stop giving you advice till you actually make a decision, as many of us have wasted our time in your previous threads, only for you to start another one on a totally different army.

We cannot help you choose an army, or even a game, only you can do that because its personal choice.

And when did you become the thread police? Who cares if he has asked about so many different armies? Well, other than you that is...Obiviously others don't feel they are wasting time answering his questions. So why not just stay away from his threads if you have no interest in taking part? If he bothers you that much you can also always put him on ignore too. This isn't rocket science. There are plenty of posts here I don't have an interest in reading or responding to so I just don't. It is really that simple.

Skriker

Skriker wrote:

 Ovion wrote:
So negative Peregrine.

I say screw em and play Tau if you want to.
The rumour mill says a new book in 2-6 months, but you can start buying stuff up now, and you can get the codex on ebay for very little (mine cost me £4 and was in basically brand-new condition.)

But frankly, people gave me the same advice 'don't start Tau now, they'll be updated soon' and that was a year and a half or more ago now.

Also neither of the first two codecies for 6th edition have nullified any existing units in either of the armies presented. I expect that anything bought today will still be usable when the new book comes out. I really hope the Tau get a big list buff, though. Currently there just aren't enough options in some slots. With only one or two options in a given slot most Tau armies look way too identical to me. Heck the CSM list for heavies has Havocs, Land raiders, defilers, maulerfiends, forgefiends, preadators, vindicators, etc, while the Tau codex list for heavies has Broadside suits and Hammerheads.

I don't play tau, but I really think the crisis suits need a serious overhaul. They are easier to kill than a single tactical marine. At least let their armor work more similarly to terminator armor. Maybe a 3+ with a 5+ inv or something. As long as they keep out the way they are good, but as soon as anyone has a clear shot on them they drop in an instant. If they don't improve the armor, then at least decrease the price. They are way overpriced for the fragility. We found out just how fragile they are when we played the old broken alliance scenario which starts with the unit commanders in the middle of the table and the tau commander in crisis suit would get one shoted on the first turn EVERY time. Meanwhile even the IG commander in carapace armor could take multiple hits before dying. Just made no sense.

Skriker

For the record, the Tau Heavy Support section consists of:
Broadsides - Heavy Battlesuits with Railguns
Sniper Drone Teams - 1-3 squads of 3 Drones per HS slot.
Hammerhead Gunships - Flying Tank with big gun.
Skyray Gunship - Flying Tank with Markerlights and Seeker Missiles.

You are also capable of kitting out a commander with a 2+ save / 4+ invun save + 2 2+/4+* Drones. So it getting one shotted repeatedly should have told the player to kit it differently.

But yeah - like a lot of older books, there are limited options overall, even including the Forgeworld stuff.
And yes, very few books invalidate units - at worst generally turning them into another unit.

That said - I've won all but 1-2 games I've played with my Tau, and my list is 6 suits including the commander, 36 Firewarriors, 3 Broadsides and 2 Hammerheads. (So hardly the most optimised Tau list ever). (Also working towards an 84 Firewarrior list for shiggles.)

Tetsubo wrote:I've been playing Tau for a few years now. I started because I liked the back story and most of the models. They were crap in 5th but 6th has given them a big boost. I play in a very competitive club full of a lot of WAAC players, and Tau have a rough go with that crowd right now, but the new Codex is supposedly right around the corner. .

until they start winning tournaments though...

tau might have gotten a boost with sixth ed, but as the old saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. tau werent the only ones who got a boost.

Tetsubo wrote:I. The biggest boost given to Tau has been the allies system imo. The two places Tau are weak is psy defense and CC. One or both of these can be compensated for with Allies. Everyone else here has already explained the strong units Tau have (Suits, Railguns, FW's) so let me tell you about allies. If you want cheap psy defense then Eldar are great Allies. For about 200 points you can take a cheap Farseer and have board wide psy defense with Runes of Warding, and a small unit of Jet Bikes to hide until late game then grab objectives from 48" away. If you want to fix both psy defense and CC then SW allies are solid, but will run you a few extra points.
.

And reading between the lines, what you're saying here is the best thing the tau have is now the have the option to not take tau. So if the eldar additions are so good, then why aren't you playing eldar? Other armies can use the allies system too, and can get as much, if not more out of it too. eldar and jetbikes... space wolves in general... why not just play eldar and space wolves, and simply not be let down by the part of your army that is the tau part?

Tetsubo wrote:
Welcome to the greater good. If you want fun then Tau are a great time. And low model count (because of suits) can make them easier on the wallet. You might not win a lot of games, but you certainly won't lose all the time or anything.

"fun" is relative. Space Wolves are fun. Dark Eldar are fun. Imperial Guard are fun. Orks are gun. tau dont offer any greater a time as any other faction.

Ovion wrote:
For the record, the Tau Heavy Support section consists of:
Broadsides - Heavy Battlesuits with Railguns
Sniper Drone Teams - 1-3 squads of 3 Drones per HS slot.
Hammerhead Gunships - Flying Tank with big gun.
Skyray Gunship - Flying Tank with Markerlights and Seeker Missiles.
.)

Sniper Drone teams and Skyrays are terrible. Terrible options are terrible, and are essentially null, void and irrelevant to any discussion. if a choice is not worth taking, its not a choice.

Ovion wrote:
You are also capable of kitting out a commander with a 2+ save / 4+ invun save + 2 2+/4+* Drones. So it getting one shotted repeatedly should have told the player to kit it differently.

so he costs half your army and while he can take a punch, he cant punch back. score. again. not worth it. (on a sidenote, its one of the main failings of crisis suits, if you ask me-the fact you have to pick and mix. Its +1/-1 leaving you with a 0. I dont see sternguard having to choose which ammo types they get in the list building phase. i dont see obliterators choosing what guns they get in the list building phase. they get them all. and swap it out each turn as required. that level of versatility is what suits need, and is sorely lacking)

Ovion wrote:
But yeah - like a lot of older books, there are limited options overall, even including the Forgeworld stuff.
And yes, very few books invalidate units - at worst generally turning them into another unit.

to be fair, im wary about including forgeworld in discussions, as generally they're not 100% game-legal. unless its in the codex, its worth is arguable. sadly though, plenty books invalidate units - my mate had three 40k armies invalidated by GW edition changes.

Ovion wrote:
That said - I've won all but 1-2 games I've played with my Tau, and my list is 6 suits including the commander, 36 Firewarriors, 3 Broadsides and 2 Hammerheads. (So hardly the most optimised Tau list ever). (Also working towards an 84 Firewarrior list for shiggles.)

well done.

the 2+/4+* 2Drone Commander can still have 2 guns or 1 Twin Linked Weapon. It'd also cost 150pts with a TL Plasma Rifle. It's not the cheapest ever, but it's not the most expensive ever.
In my opinion, Shas'el aren't that badly costed compared to the rest of the book, and with the changes to the 2+ save, 50pts for 2 4+* wounds, and 5 2+ T4 Wounds isn't exactly terrible, and I don't think my Commander has died since I started using it.

Also - yes, the Skyray is dissapointing (sadly because I love the model)
BUT, Sniper Drones aren't.
with the 1-3 units in 1 slot for a low price, and every model in the unit being able to shoot a different target, aswell as stealth + shrouded, it means they can sit there with the spotter manning a gun at BS4, firing at 4 different targets a turn with a 2+ cover save, and with the changes to them, can hold objectives in Big Guns Never Tire, meaning they're pretty much the single best unit to man a gun emplacement in the Tau book.
At 2000pts, using 1 of the potential 6 slots for 1-3 squads of them means you can man both guns out of 1 slot.
(What with the cover save, BS and not sacrificing any firepower to shoot the gun).

 Ovion wrote:
For the record, the Tau Heavy Support section consists of:
Broadsides - Heavy Battlesuits with Railguns
Sniper Drone Teams - 1-3 squads of 3 Drones per HS slot.
Hammerhead Gunships - Flying Tank with big gun.
Skyray Gunship - Flying Tank with Markerlights and Seeker Missiles.

That said - I've won all but 1-2 games I've played with my Tau, and my list is 6 suits including the commander, 36 Firewarriors, 3 Broadsides and 2 Hammerheads. (So hardly the most optimised Tau list ever). (Also working towards an 84 Firewarrior list for shiggles.)

Oops my bad on the heavy options. Always forget those Skyrays and sniper drones since I almost never see them in any armies.

84 fire warriors, eh? Hehehehe...would like to see the look on your opponent's face, unless of course they were playing a deep striking death wing or some type of assault pod force.

Skriker


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Deadnight wrote:
to be fair, im wary about including forgeworld in discussions, as generally they're not 100% game-legal. unless its in the codex, its worth is arguable. sadly though, plenty books invalidate units - my mate had three 40k armies invalidated by GW edition changes.

This is not as common as it used to be, though. In earlier edition shifts whole units would be removed, or the entire army would be changed dramatically and it caused a lot of anger among players who, instead of rushing out to buy the new models for the new version of their army rage quit instead and bought nothing. GW seems to have learned that completely invalidating people's existing armies causes more anger than sales, so now they add new stuff and tweak existing stuff to make it play differently instead of completely removing them. Only most recent exception to this is daemons in the CSM codex. Previous version daemons were turned into generic units. Current version has none, but that is because of codex daemons allies now. The rest of the unit listings in CSM were already there or were new, though, so none of the core forces of the units was gone in either newer version. They did, years ago, completely get rid of the official genestealer chaos cult force list, which I had been playing since Rogue Trader. :(

I ultimately got out of WFB because of GW invalidating armies. I had undead and chaos armies. Conveniently GW then switched the undead army in the Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings and that meant that some of my units, like units of mummies became useless, while the rest of my force was split into two smaller factions that I didn't have the time or money to increase both into full sized armies again at the time. So I stopped playing undead and kept playing chaos, that is until the split the chaos army into chaos warrior and chaos beastmen forces, which again screwed me over because I now had two small armies and neither the time nor money to update them to full size again based on the new forces. So that, combined with my general dislike of moving big blocks of troops had me sell of my final army, high elves, along with both halves of my chaos army and spend the money on 40k instead.

Skriker

From what it seems like on dakkadakka everyone and there mother plays tau. I know quite a few people who have won games with them even back in 5th edition.

If I was starting a tau army I would just get a bunch of fire warriors, like 60 or something. 5 5 guns are your bread and butter. hammer heads with ion cannons or rail guns are good. Never can go wrong with marine killing shots that also put the hurt on big tyranids.

Now reading through the tau codex, a lot of stuff is pretty over costed for what you get. Crisis suits and hqs I think are best left on the cheap not a point sink that gets assaulted by, in my experience, a single necron overlord with one wound left and the overlord goes to stomp 2 squads of them.

Firewarriors I think are under equipped for the role of holding objectives and putting out a strong amount of fire. LD8, small model count, and poor durability make them easy to break.

The other thing is that the firewarriors are limited to one build right now, due to the carbine being absolutely useless. These are the one model I'd go light on when starting off. Crisis suits come with so many bits, that no matter how the weapons change you'll be able to convert some of it's gear atleast. Firewarriors come with no equipment outside of the two guns and a knife. I'd really hope to see the kits gets something new, especially different weapon options. So personally I'd hold off buying them, because they might get different kits later on, or be surpassed by entirely superior troops. Same goes for Kroot.

So a lot of changes need to be made?

yeah unless youre dead set on tau I would pass on them or wait to pick them up until a rewrite. Which who knows when they might get that, they have claimed a tau update for the past two years probably more.

If he doesnt buy fire warrior squads how will he ever play a game with tau? They are your only decent troops. you kinda need those especially in 6th edition where 5/6 games are objective based.

Tau is certainly an old codex, but that doesn't mean it's a weak army. As a stand alone army, it certainly requires some skills to perform well in game. Tau is known for being one of the weaker armies when it comes to assault and they struggle against certain builds.

However, a strong ally such as Space Marines or Orks can cover Tau's weaknesses and balance the army's overall effectiveness in both shooting and assault. One example is Nobz Bikers and Railguns. Strong assault and one of the best long range shooting in the game combined into one list. Alternatively, a strong shooty army can enhance Tau's fire power. Imperial Guard or Eldar adds a huge boost and synergies well with Tau's long range weaponry. For an example, Eldrad is a Battle Brother of Tau. Eldrad can use Prescience from the Divination table and allow two Tau units to re-roll to hit.

Whichever route you take being a purist or mix allies, playing Tau is very rewarding.

 SabrX wrote:
One example is Nobz Bikers and Railguns. Strong assault and one of the best long range shooting in the game combined into one list.

No, that's a list that can't make up its mind about what it wants to do, and is mediocre at both assault and shooting. You're right about orks being good allies, but the correct way to use them is cheap boyz squads to act as meatshields and hold objectives, and Tau units to kill stuff.

Imperial Guard or Eldar adds a huge boost and synergies well with Tau's long range weaponry.

No. If you feel that IG/Eldar shooting is better than Tau, play IG or Eldar and don't bother with Tau at all. If you feel that Tau shooting is better then why would you replace Tau shooting units with weaker IG/Eldar shooting units? The correct way to use IG allies is to bring infantry squad meatshields and Vendettas, not more of what Tau already do well.

Eldrad can use Prescience from the Divination table and allow two Tau units to re-roll to hit.

Prescience isn't worth it at that price. Just buy two units and get double the firepower. Eldar are only useful for scoring jetbikes and psychic defense. Eldrad is only "good" because he's so cheap compared to the farseer you're taking anyway as a mandatory HQ.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Dumah12 wrote:
If he doesnt buy fire warrior squads how will he ever play a game with tau?

That's why the advice was "go light on the FWs", not "don't buy any at all". Buy a single box (or, better, six cheap FWs on ebay) and wait for the new codex to bring new rules for Tau troops and, hopefully, a new model to replace the awful current FW kit.

Or, better, wait until the codex is released to buy anything for Tau.

As of now, Tau are kinda obsolete and are in dire need of an update....

However, in skilled hands, they can still wreck face.

 Peregrine wrote:

 SabrX wrote:
One example is Nobz Bikers and Railguns. Strong assault and one of the best long range shooting in the game combined into one list.

No, that's a list that can't make up its mind about what it wants to do, and is mediocre at both assault and shooting. You're right about orks being good allies, but the correct way to use them is cheap boyz squads to act as meatshields and hold objectives, and Tau units to kill stuff.

A conventional Tau list will struggle against horde armies. Tau with Ork allies won't. You really should try it sometime. Here's a battle report of me running this combo:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/500238.page

 Peregrine wrote:

Imperial Guard or Eldar adds a huge boost and synergies well with Tau's long range weaponry.

No. If you feel that IG/Eldar shooting is better than Tau, play IG or Eldar and don't bother with Tau at all. If you feel that Tau shooting is better then why would you replace Tau shooting units with weaker IG/Eldar shooting units? The correct way to use IG allies is to bring infantry squad meatshields and Vendettas, not more of what Tau already do well.

I found a rumor site that said there's gonna be a new Tau code in may. Seems a little soon to me but I wouldn't doubt them getting one by summer. Tau in a shooty leaning edition would be spooky. Same site also said eldar by november. That's gonna be the next op super dex.

 SabrX wrote:
A conventional Tau list will struggle against horde armies. Tau with Ork allies won't. You really should try it sometime. Here's a battle report of me running this combo:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/500238.page

I just said that Orks + Tau is good, I just disputed your claim that nob bikers are relevant. Nob bikers are terrible against hordes (say hi to my IG tarpit), if you're concerned about hordes you want shoota boyz and more FWs. Throwing on an expensive death star unit is just missing the point.

I didn't say IG/Eldar shooting is better than Tau. I said Tau + Eldar or Tau + IG is a strong combo and adds synergy to Tau's long range shooting.

You said that IG/Eldar help because they're a "strong shooty army". That's not true at all. Eldar help because they provide psychic defense and better scoring units, while IG help because they provide cheap meatshields and overpowered Vendettas. If you're taking those two armies for their "strong shooting" then you're missing the point and should be spending your points on more Tau.

It's much more reliable than Pathfinders.

That's not hard, because Pathfinders are mediocre at best. The only reason you'd ever even consider using them is if you're dealing with TFGs who insist on a "no FW" house rule and can't use Tetras. And even then it's still questionable whether you take the Pathfinders or just settle for no markerlights at all and buy more guns.

Eldrad is a force multiplier and can join Tau units. Check out this battle report of me running this combo:

He's also 200+ points. I fail to see how it's better to spend 200+ points casting prescience than to spend 200+ points on more guns. Yes, you obviously take prescience and abuse it if you're already taking the psyker in the first place, but taking allies just for prescience is insane.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/473217.page

So you beat a terrible IG list and that's supposed to be a compelling argument?

I think tau work well with Eldar, lol but both are really out of date codexes... Tau in 6ht edition pimp themselves out with anyone. They have more battle brothers than any other army.... cheers and good luck

 Eiluj The Farseer wrote:
They have more battle brothers than any other army.

Err, what? Since when is two is "more than anyone"?

Now, they have lots of allies of convenience, but that's very different.

 Peregrine wrote:

 SabrX wrote:
A conventional Tau list will struggle against horde armies. Tau with Ork allies won't. You really should try it sometime. Here's a battle report of me running this combo:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/500238.page

I just said that Orks + Tau is good, I just disputed your claim that nob bikers are relevant. Nob bikers are terrible against hordes (say hi to my IG tarpit), if you're concerned about hordes you want shoota boyz and more FWs. Throwing on an expensive death star unit is just missing the point.

And if you had read the battle report, you would notice 2 squads of 60 Shoota Boyz. Ork provides horde element to Tau.

But hey, if you think 60 Boyz isn't enough, then check this battle report out:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/464118.page

I didn't say IG/Eldar shooting is better than Tau. I said Tau + Eldar or Tau + IG is a strong combo and adds synergy to Tau's long range shooting.

You said that IG/Eldar help because they're a "strong shooty army". That's not true at all. Eldar help because they provide psychic defense and better scoring units, while IG help because they provide cheap meatshields and overpowered Vendettas. If you're taking those two armies for their "strong shooting" then you're missing the point and should be spending your points on more Tau.

Most of you are mensioning Eldar how are they?

 SabrX wrote:
And if you had read the battle report, you would notice 2 squads of 60 Shoota Boyz. Ork provides horde element to Tau.

Ok, let's review:

You: nob bikers are awesome.
Me: no, they suck, take more boyz.
You: you're wrong, boyz are awesome.
Me: that's what I said, you take lots of boyz.
You: you're wrong, look at this battle report where I used lots of boyz.

See the problem here yet?

No, I posted, "Alternatively, a strong shooty army can enhance Tau's fire power. Imperial Guard or Eldar adds a huge boost and synergies well with Tau's long range weaponry." Don't take my words out of context. Check out the definition of enhance and synergies:

Read your own sentence.

You said that a strong shooty army can enhance the Tau army. My point is that being a "strong shooty army" is worthless for Tau, you want allies that can provide meatshield hordes/AA/scoring units/etc, IOW things other than shooting. If all you want is allies that are a "strong shooty army" then just bring more Tau.

In the case of IG, they provide high strength low AP large blasts, which Tau lacks.

A single large blast is not worth screwing around with allies.

(And no, you can't take more, since you never squadron IG tanks.)

In the case of Eldar, Eldrad enhances Tau's shooting through prescience.

And prescience is not cost-effective compared to Tetras or buying more guns. Yes, you cast it to make your psychic defense carrier do something useful when he's not countering enemy psykers, but it's insane to take allies specifically to get prescience.

He provides psychic defense

I already said that this is the valid reason for taking Eldar.

he makes 2 Tau units' shooting much more effective,

And he costs as much as an entire unit. Think about it this way: prescience adds 50% more shooting, but only on a unit that doesn't have twin-linked weapons already. So you're pretty much limited to Fire Warriors and fireknife crisis suits. So, here are your choices:

2 units + Eldrad = 2 * 1.5 = 3 units worth of shooting.

3 units = 3 units worth of shooting.

Except the 3 units option doesn't depend on a psychic test, doesn't depend on keeping a character alive, doesn't depend on not having twin-linked weapons already, and probably doesn't cost as much as Eldrad so you're really talking about 3 units worth of shooting vs. more than 3 units worth of shooting.

Oh, and a Tetra squadron will make a fireknife unit BS 5 (better than the 50% increase from prescience) for a lot fewer points than Eldrad's weaker boost.

he can joins Tau units and soaks up wounds for the Tau squad he joined.

So you're using your prescience carrier and only psychic defense as a shield drone? How exactly is this a good idea?

He's decent in assault.

So what? Tau don't care about being good in assault, feed the assault unit a squad of Kroot and shoot it to death next turn.

If you want something more substantial, perhaps you could do your own battle reports and post it in Dakkadakka's battle report section.

Not likely, I'd rather play my IG than bring out my weak and shamefully-painted Tau when I get a chance to play.

Can't you solve that in pm

 Noob9405 wrote:
Can't you solve that in pm

No. TBH you should be glad we gave your thread a purpose besides increasing your post count.