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Hello! I'm getting into the game and I've just bought the Tau codex and new rulebook. I'm now trying to come up with an army before I buy the models. One of the biggest questions I'm asking myself is which weapons should I choose for each unit? I'll be almost exclusively be going against Space Marines (probably Ultramarines). If anyone could point me in the right direction on what weapons to get on which units that would be great.

The biggest thing that comes up is Burst Cannon vs Fusion Blaster. It seems the Fusion Blaster would probably be better but I'd like to hear from someone with experience if possible.

Also, things like the XV8 suits get to pick from the ranged weapons and support systems lists. Any suggestions on what to pick here against marines? There seems to be a lot of choices... Thanks in advance!

For killing marines, most people use the Cyclic Ion Blaster (or the larger Cyclic Ion Raker) or the Riptide's super burst cannon. Having multiple damage like the ion blaster is more important than having a ton of armor piercing like the plasma gun, because many marine units have multiple wounds.

For anti-vehicles, fusion blasters are usually pretty good against marines because most marine vehicles do not have invulnerable saves, so you can just hit them with the most AP, the most damage, the most whatever.

If you're just starting and you're playing T'au, the most important thing you can do to save yourself struggle and hardship later on is magnetize all your weapons options.

Stealth suits, Crisis suits, Ghostkeels, Riptides, and Broadsides at least can all be magnetized so that you can swap out any weapon system for another. It costs a little bit extra up front (you'll need to buy some hobby magnets from somewhere and a pin vise, which is a hand-held drill, basically) but if you use those tools, then you future-proof all your models.

It's not hard at all. I hope you have a great time with the game and look forward to hearing about how you thrash the ridiculous Imperials!

 dadx6 wrote:
If you're just starting and you're playing T'au, the most important thing you can do to save yourself struggle and hardship later on is magnetize all your weapons options.

Stealth suits, Crisis suits, Ghostkeels, Riptides, and Broadsides at least can all be magnetized so that you can swap out any weapon system for another. It costs a little bit extra up front (you'll need to buy some hobby magnets from somewhere and a pin vise, which is a hand-held drill, basically) but if you use those tools, then you future-proof all your models.

It's not hard at all. I hope you have a great time with the game and look forward to hearing about how you thrash the ridiculous Imperials!

This actually is a very fun thing to do with Tau, since most of their weapons attach to designated spots on the arms of the model, so if you make them swappable using magnets it feels like you're outfitting gundam mechas when you set them up for battle.

Thanks for the advice! I certainly intend to look into magnetizing my models but it does look a little daunting.

So the Cyclic Ion Blaster is good. And the Fusion Blaster for vehicles.

Is a Burst Cannon useless against Marines?

Broadsides with missiles and Advanced Targeting System are good against them. You can split their fire and take out multiple small squads. Using the improved missile sept tactic in Psychic Awakening would be even better altho I admit I have not yet tried this (and have no idea what I'm going to do with my Tau for 9E, for that matter).

I don't care much for Burst Cannons personally. Nothing is useless but they really won't do much to marines (about 18 shots to kill one Primaris). They are a lot better against lighter troops, but your infantry has similar firepower with better range.

Having said that, it seems like the future is very unclear at this point and what is good/not good isn't really known yet. If someone gets a 9E Tau box out of the "gumball machine" and suddenly the plasma gun does 2 damage, that would change things. So, dadx6's point about magnetizing stuff is that much more of a safety valve.

Medievalriot wrote:
Thanks for the advice! I certainly intend to look into magnetizing my models but it does look a little daunting.

So the Cyclic Ion Blaster is good. And the Fusion Blaster for vehicles.

Is a Burst Cannon useless against Marines?

I mean I wouldn't use it against them if you had a choice, it comes as the basic weapon on a lot of units though, like stealth suits. So its not like it doesn't work vs marines but it is more for killing lighter units.

Consider getting the Psychic Awakening: Greater Good as well. It opens up several custom Sept traits that you can use on your army overall.
Do you like flamers but hate that Wall of Death(assaulters have to pass through your flames when assaulting even if they start out of range) isn't a thing? Take the Sept trait that increases the range on all your Assault weapons by 4 inches.
Do you like missiles? Take the Sept trait that improves missiles by -1 AP.
Do you like dakka suits? Increase the AP of your burst cannons by -1.

And I believe that you can take 2 sept traits per detachment, so mix and match to your preferred playstyle.