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I was thinking more along the lines of:

Buffmander (CCN, MSSS, PEN)

3 min Breacher squads
3 min pathfinder squads
A solitary weapon-less crisis suit

3 missilesides

Stealth cadre

3 ghostkeels (ion raker/burst cannon; 2 w/velocity trackers, early warning override)

3 stealth suits w/1 fusion blaster, target lock
3 stealth suits w/1 fusion blaster, target lock

Stealth cadre

3 ghostkeels (2 with double fusion and 1 with ion raker/burst cannon)

3 stealth suits w/1 fusion blaster, target lock
3 stealth suits w/1 fusion blaster, target lock

Still tweaking to see if I can't get that crisis suit some guns haha. But honestly I think it's a fine objective capper

I screencapped those from the digital previews

So what's the story with this?

Purely aesthetic?

 Medium of Death wrote:
So what's the story with this?

Purely aesthetic?

Pre-existing relic.

+1 T, 2+ save.

You'd probably want to take it on a commander though, so it being a kit option for regular crisis suits is a little weird.

Istn that a Tau relic? One per army?

 Medium of Death wrote:
So what's the story with this?

Purely aesthetic?

All boxes of 3 crisis suits contain the parts for one iridium armor suit (it looks "thicker"). But still one iridium armor per army, which is kind of dumb when you think about it because the only person you would spend 25 points to put the Iridium armor on is the commander... who has his own model.

Would make a decent Shas'vre model if used in every unit.

On it's first inclusion in a codex, I thought that they just went and chose a name for the Irridium Armor based on "sounds cool", but after learning a bit more about the element, alloys using it, and the applications they are put to, I began to wonder if the design team deserved a touch more credit than I was giving them.

shade1313 wrote:
On it's first inclusion in a codex, I thought that they just went and chose a name for the Irridium Armor based on "sounds cool", but after learning a bit more about the element, alloys using it, and the applications they are put to, I began to wonder if the design team deserved a touch more credit than I was giving them.

But remember, the GW design team come up with all of their ideas in a total vacuum, hence their complete uniqueness.

So any similarity must be pure coincidence

It'll certainly be interesting if it becomes some kind of Shas'vre upgrade in the Mont'ka book. Perhaps even an option for a Commander's crisis suit team.

Lexicanum wrote:The XV8-02 Crisis 'Iridium' Battlesuit is a rare XV8 Bodyguard suit variant made of iridium, distinguishable by its heavier armor. After the death of Commander Pridestar to a sniper's bullet and the subsequent Tau defeat during the Klodate Worlds Suppression, the Earth Caste developed an experimental iridium alloy and produced only enough for a small series of Battlesuits. While it offers Tau Commanders and their Bodyguards optimal protection, it is a luxury that few can afford, though Commander Dawnstar of the Dal'yth Sept is known to call upon them.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Crisis_Battlesuit

Warhams-77 wrote:
I screencapped those from the digital previews

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

So, if not for the Tyranids, the Tau would be lost....blah blah blah, unstoppable military blah blah blah route blah blah blah sudden plot armor pulling the attacking force away.

This just made me remember why I can't stand GW writers, they're mind-achingly boring. Somehow the embattled but unstoppable might of the human armies is always somehow pulled back at the last instant before destroying whatever xenos they're up against. So unstoppable that they have to pull back, yeah.

 agnosto wrote:

Warhams-77 wrote:
I screencapped those from the digital previews

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

So, if not for the Tyranids, the Tau would be lost....blah blah blah, unstoppable military blah blah blah route blah blah blah sudden plot armor pulling the attacking force away.

This just made me remember why I can't stand GW writers, they're mind-achingly boring. Somehow the embattled but unstoppable might of the human armies is always somehow pulled back at the last instant before destroying whatever xenos they're up against. So unstoppable that they have to pull back, yeah.

This has been the part of the background for the Tau since their inception.

You obviously don't pay much attention to the fluff if you don't understand why the Imperium is constantly flitting from one threat to the other.

It's a bit different to the older fluff though. From what I recal it had the imperium's power weakening, with their control of orbital space wavering before they finally retreated. As a sort of "the tau could have done a final push and perhaps destroyed the assault entirely, but let them go because they are diplomatic and all that." thing.

 Medium of Death wrote:

 agnosto wrote:

Warhams-77 wrote:
I screencapped those from the digital previews

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

So, if not for the Tyranids, the Tau would be lost....blah blah blah, unstoppable military blah blah blah route blah blah blah sudden plot armor pulling the attacking force away.

This just made me remember why I can't stand GW writers, they're mind-achingly boring. Somehow the embattled but unstoppable might of the human armies is always somehow pulled back at the last instant before destroying whatever xenos they're up against. So unstoppable that they have to pull back, yeah.

This has been the part of the background for the Tau since their inception.

You obviously don't pay much attention to the fluff if you don't understand why the Imperium is constantly flitting from one threat to the other.

You're right, I don't, because I think it's terrible writing and I don't like reading novels/material that assumes I'm stupid. Dumb stories can be fun, heck, I love the Stainless Steel Rat stories, but those are funny. GW writing seems to take itself really seriously AND is moronic to boot. /rant

Sorry, off topic but that blurp just reminded me of my opinion on GW writing/fluff.

I've got the codex. Iuchibans leaks are accurate.

Oh, btw - crisis teams and crisis bodyguards come in units of 1-9 now. 9 MAN XV8 TEAMS

 agnosto wrote:
You're right, I don't, because I think it's terrible writing and I don't like reading novels/material that assumes I'm stupid. Dumb stories can be fun, heck, I love the Stainless Steel Rat stories, but those are funny. GW writing seems to take itself really seriously AND is moronic to boot. /rant

Sorry, off topic but that blurp just reminded me of my opinion on GW writing/fluff.

I'm not particularly sure what's moronic about that Tau background. I think you might just have a chip on your shoulder against GW.

Certainly some of their more recent fluff pieces have been questionable but the idea that if the Imperium of Man brought its full power against the Tau they would be extinguished is hardly moronic. Tau started as an anomaly, a chance warp storm blocking the passage of the fleet that would have otherwise relegated them to the long list of alien species exterminated by the IoM. Damocles being a victory for the Tau would have brought further Imperial retribution had it not been for other more pressing threats.

You can either take this as just being from the mouth of a typical IoM propagandist, as a lot of the older fluff pieces were, or it can be take at face value that the IoM is still powerful even when decrepit.

The Tau represent optimism, the glimmer of hope in the otherwise grim darkness of the 41st millennium.

It's hardly ground braking science fiction, but it isn't meant to be.

 tetrisphreak wrote:
I've got the codex. Iuchibans leaks are accurate.

Oh, btw - crisis teams and crisis bodyguards come in units of 1-9 now. 9 MAN XV8 TEAMS

... Your kidding right? Right?

 Co'tor Shas wrote:

 tetrisphreak wrote:
I've got the codex. Iuchibans leaks are accurate.

Oh, btw - crisis teams and crisis bodyguards come in units of 1-9 now. 9 MAN XV8 TEAMS

... Your kidding right? Right?

I swear it on my children's health

Edit - peek into the Tau Empire group on Facebook. There are some screencaps there to prove my validity.

 Medium of Death wrote:
The Tau represent optimism, the glimmer of hope in the otherwise grim darkness of the 41st millennium.

No, the Tau represent grimdark. The fact that the Generic Evil Empire of pretty much any other scifi story is the only possible hope for even the slightest reduction in the unimaginable suffering of the galaxy is one of the most grimdark things about 40k. The Tau are not good. They're just slightly less awful than everyone else.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Medium of Death wrote:
The Tau represent optimism, the glimmer of hope in the otherwise grim darkness of the 41st millennium.

No, the Tau represent grimdark. The fact that the Generic Evil Empire of pretty much any other scifi story is the only possible hope for even the slightest reduction in the unimaginable suffering of the galaxy is one of the most grimdark things about 40k. The Tau are not good. They're just slightly less awful than everyone else.

I'm not sure whether you are being sarcastic or whether you are actually treading the well worn path of "Tau are just as edgy as everybody else, nothin personnel kid..."

 Peregrine wrote:

 Medium of Death wrote:
The Tau represent optimism, the glimmer of hope in the otherwise grim darkness of the 41st millennium.

No, the Tau represent grimdark. The fact that the Generic Evil Empire of pretty much any other scifi story is the only possible hope for even the slightest reduction in the unimaginable suffering of the galaxy is one of the most grimdark things about 40k. The Tau are not good. They're just slightly less awful than everyone else.

The Tau aren't grimdark, just imperialistic.

Their the British empire in space.

Yep, the Tau are only cheery and happy in that they have won the victory against themselves: they love the greater good.

edit: missing word needed to complete the Orwell remark.

 agnosto wrote:

Warhams-77 wrote:
I screencapped those from the digital previews

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

So, if not for the Tyranids, the Tau would be lost....blah blah blah, unstoppable military blah blah blah route blah blah blah sudden plot armor pulling the attacking force away.

This just made me remember why I can't stand GW writers, they're mind-achingly boring. Somehow the embattled but unstoppable might of the human armies is always somehow pulled back at the last instant before destroying whatever xenos they're up against. So unstoppable that they have to pull back, yeah.

If I'm remembering correctly, they did flesh the end of the Damocles Gulf arc out beyond the basic "Oh no, we need to go do something else now before we finish what we're already doing." When the Imperium hit Dal'yth, the Ethereals sent their best and brightest as mentioned in the above screen cap. What should have been a quick victory similar to the rest of the Gulf Crusade ended up turning into an unexpected war of attrition. While that sort of conflict is pretty much the Imperium's bread and butter, it was at the time unexpected enough to result in a resource sink, especially considering that the Imperium didn't actually know how advanced the Tau Empire's technology was and hadn't allocated enough forces to the conflict. They were taking more casualties than expected during the conflict on Dal'yth, and with the then-new threat of Hive Fleet Behemoth making a beeline towards Macragge, the Ordo Xenos sent recall orders to the head Inquisitor of the Imperial forces. The threat against the Ultramar sector outweighed the threat from a relatively minor xenos empire, so resources were reallocated based on priority. The Water Caste took advantage of the withdrawl to negotiate a cease-fire, but with the new campaign book, I think it's a safe bet to say the cease-fire is over.

While it's still not the most original storyline out there, I don't think it's as bad as you're making it out to be. No comment on the volumeof deus ex machina in GW writing, though.

On topic, has any more been leaked about the fluff behind the new campaign? I'm interested in seeing how they fit it in to the overall storyline in the Gulf.

 Medium of Death wrote:

 agnosto wrote:
You're right, I don't, because I think it's terrible writing and I don't like reading novels/material that assumes I'm stupid. Dumb stories can be fun, heck, I love the Stainless Steel Rat stories, but those are funny. GW writing seems to take itself really seriously AND is moronic to boot. /rant

Sorry, off topic but that blurp just reminded me of my opinion on GW writing/fluff.

I'm not particularly sure what's moronic about that Tau background. I think you might just have a chip on your shoulder against GW.

Certainly some of their more recent fluff pieces have been questionable but the idea that if the Imperium of Man brought its full power against the Tau they would be extinguished is hardly moronic. Tau started as an anomaly, a chance warp storm blocking the passage of the fleet that would have otherwise relegated them to the long list of alien species exterminated by the IoM. Damocles being a victory for the Tau would have brought further Imperial retribution had it not been for other more pressing threats.

You can either take this as just being from the mouth of a typical IoM propagandist, as a lot of the older fluff pieces were, or it can be take at face value that the IoM is still powerful even when decrepit.

The Tau represent optimism, the glimmer of hope in the otherwise grim darkness of the 41st millennium.

It's hardly ground braking science fiction, but it isn't meant to be.

I don't have a chip on my should about GW, hell, I own stock, that doesn't mean that their writers are worth a damn. Fluff writing has gotten to the point where I just ignore it and play the game....and sometimes I have to ignore unit entries like the SW murderbot.

I chose Tau because of the optimism and how different they were from the other factions.


Anywho.

1-9? That would be interesting for crisis squads but would make for an point expensive squad.

 Tinkrr wrote:
The Tau aren't grimdark, just imperialistic.

No, the Tau themselves aren't. But the fact that the one tiny little scrap of hope in the entire setting is a race whose primary virtue is being pragmatic enough to build a better gun and then offer you a chance to submit to slavery before killing you. That's way more grimdark than LOLOLOL MORE SKULLS PER SQUARE INCH ON EVERYTHING!!!

The ability to combine fire with a hunter contingent makes 9 suit squads kinda unnecessary....but in a CAD for Farsight (he's in the book but not any of the formations) or using forgeworld goodies you can make a unit that packs a hell of a punch.

I see 4-5 suit crisis teams being vey popular however.

Speaking from a financial standpoint, 9-man Crisis teams were likely intended to boost sales of a model that basically every Tau player has several of.

Speaking from a gameplay standpoint, I see a couple of things here. First is the continued "bigger is better" trend from Games Workshop, pushing bigger models and higher-point games. From a tactics standpoint, it does open up some interesting possibilities, although players will have to decide on their own personal sweet spot based on individual play style.

It also might be a troubling sign as to the fate of the FE book, depending on your interpretation. 9 man bodyguard? Sound familiar to anyone?

Tetrisphreak, is any of the FE stuff in the new(-ish) codex?

1-3 Riptides means they needed to buff up the numbers of a Crisis squad, basically. It's just a proportionate thing.

 Mr. Oddity wrote:
Speaking from a financial standpoint, 9-man Crisis teams were likely intended to boost sales of a model that basically every Tau player has several of.

Speaking from a gameplay standpoint, I see a couple of things here. First is the continued "bigger is better" trend from Games Workshop, pushing bigger models and higher-point games. From a tactics standpoint, it does open up some interesting possibilities, although players will have to decide on their own personal sweet spot based on individual play style.

It also might be a troubling sign as to the fate of the FE book, depending on your interpretation. 9 man bodyguard? Sound familiar to anyone?

Tetrisphreak, is any of the FE stuff in the new(-ish) codex?

No and farsight himself is in it but it makes no mention of his special bodyguard. However the codex is still the same name so just like the space marine supplements, if you want to use FE with a CAD it's still viable. I feel like right now the hunter contingent is going to take over the majority of tau lists though. Maybe we will see a mont'ka campaign book with more formations in it soon.