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Given it some more thought after reading more posts here and talking the list & the new 'dex through with a trusted buddy. Here's what I'm thinking now, and it makes me pretty happy:

Tau Army 1850

HQ:
Fireknife'el w/Targetting Array, HWMT, Stims
Ethereal
This is probably the most controversial part of the list. He'll be hanging out with the broadsides to benefit from their armor save and shield drones, and since I don't face a lot of deep-strikers, I'm not especially worried about assasination. Nevertheless, I imagine I'll get a lot of grief over this guy.

Elite:
4 Stealths
4 Stealths
2 Fireknives

Troops:
10 FCW w/Shasu'i, markerlight
10 FCW w/Shasu'i, markerlight
10 Kroot
10 Kroot

Fast Attack:
8 Gundrones
6 Pathfinders w/Shasu'i, bonding; 'fish w/decoy, sms
2 Piranhas w/fusion, 1 seeker each

Heavy Support:
2 Broadsides w/A.S.S.; Team leader w/2 shield drones
Rail'head w/SMS, decoy, MT
Ion'head w/SMS, decoy, MT

Comes to 1849. As I said before, The Ethereal will probably draw the most criticism, and I'm debating dropping the SMS off the devilfish to give the ethereal at least one shield drone of his own (might drop the stims off the 'el to give him two).

Having said all that, I'm really happy with this list. It feels pretty strong, with a decent diversity of units and a fairly full FOC.

Thoughts? Comments? Thanks in advance!

IMHO: I would suggest dropping a BS and making that Ion head a rail head. And dropping a couple of gun drones and maxing out your pathfinders to 8

In the new codex, I'm not a fan of the FA gun drone choice anymore. I believe they lost the Ld 4 reduction when the unit is under 4 models, so they are no longer guaranteed to run after losing cc. The chance of pinning is slim-to-none with most armies and at 96 points, there are better options for speedbump / DS-harrassment units.

You already have 2 squads of Kroot, so the speedbump spots are filled. All of your Elites choices could be DS-ed in a pinch, and the stealth squads throw out 4 more S5 shots (at the same range) for about 25 more points. I haven't played with any fusion blaster upgrades on the stealth, so I unfortunately can't comment on their effectiveness.

I would consider the some of following (points probably don't match up):
- drop the gundrones
- add a 6 man squad of vespids are only
- bump up the pathfinders to 8 models and get 2 gun drones to further increase unit size
- lose bonding on the pathfinders

One final note on the Etherial. I'm not sure that attaching him to the Broadside squad is a good idea. It's only a five-man squad. Do the math on a squad of terminators firing only their dual donkey cannons and let me know their chances of insta-killing the Etherial...

Happy: considered going to a second rail'head, but if I do that, it'll be by losing something else, not a broadside

Thrillio: I hear ya on the gundrones, but I have to say that I'm not thrilled with your alternatives. 'finders at 8 maybe (though that's an awfully large footprint that's not easy to hide), but definitely not vespids. Wrong weapon, wrong speed, wrong everything--they'll be a sacrificial unit, and the 'drones do a find job of that already.

Bonding is on the PF after following some of the tactics threads, as one more way to try and keep them in position. Having said that, I'm still not 100% on that unit. I feel like they're just too fragile, and any effort to make them more resiliant just makes them more expensive.

Ethereal: Yeah, attaching him to the 'sides is almost certainly a bad idea, though if I'm losing my 'sides, I'm probably dead anyway. I'm more inclined to either lose him to bump my ion 'head to a rail'head, or lose the sms from the fish and the seekers go give him two shield drones, at least giving him 2 extra wounds and a 4+ inv. save.

Posted By syr8766 on 04/28/2006 10:37 AM
Thrillio: I hear ya on the gundrones, but I have to say that I'm not thrilled with your alternatives. 'finders at 8 maybe (though that's an awfully large footprint that's not easy to hide), but definitely not vespids. Wrong weapon, wrong speed, wrong everything--they'll be a sacrificial unit, and the 'drones do a find job of that already.

Bonding is on the PF after following some of the tactics threads, as one more way to try and keep them in position. Having said that, I'm still not 100% on that unit. I feel like they're just too fragile, and any effort to make them more resiliant just makes them more expensive.

Ethereal: Yeah, attaching him to the 'sides is almost certainly a bad idea, though if I'm losing my 'sides, I'm probably dead anyway. I'm more inclined to either lose him to bump my ion 'head to a rail'head, or lose the sms from the fish and the seekers go give him two shield drones, at least giving him 2 extra wounds and a 4+ inv. save.

Hmmm, on drones vs. vespids I consider their effective range to be the same (24") and since they are both disposable, the vespid at least give you some MEQ power as opposed to another S5 AP5 gun.

As for bonding, has the rule changed from v3 (I'm so indoctrinated to the JTS school of "buy more shots", that I dismissed it out of habit)? If a 6-man squad is bonded you can try regroup after you're down to 2 men and have fallen back. Since the market lights are Heavy weapons, you won't get to use them until the following turn (after which they're already out of position) so the 10 points is mainly for VP denial.

As for the Etherial, I would agree with adding the shield drones just to add the bodies to take more wounds. In my example with the Etherial + 2 Broadsides + 2 shield drones unit, I meant that it's very possible to not lose a single 'side or drone yet still have your Etherial bite it.
8 AC shots
5.33 hits
4.44 wounds
If there are 5 wounds, the Etherial has to take one. If he's not in cover, he's insta-killed...

@syr

I was unsure about the PF too until I actually used the unit and everything they lit up died! Put them in 3+ or 4+ cover and they are pretty safe, they will also soak up a ton of fire because after you obliterate a unit with them in first turn they will become a priority for your opponent.

To get the full effect from them I would suggest going with a full 6 suit team of stealths though, and hey, dropping 2 stealths will give you the points for the second rail head.

Lots of responses here: sorry for the length:

Thrillho: agreed on the Ethereal.
Re/Bonding: it's 5 points now. Only reason I'd consider it, and ONLY for the 'finders, is the break in price. But you're right, perhaps that's 5 points better spent elsewhere.

Happy: That's great if there is 3+/4+ terrain available, but what if there isn't? Or what if it puts the unit in a position where it's in too many fire lanes? Sorry, but I've wiped out my buddy's 'finders by turn two (yes, a unit of 8) too many times. One 8-man dev or havoc squad (assuming either HBs or MLs), or a couple of tornados wipes that squad out in one turn, making their points back and then some. I consider pathfinders--or rather, markerlights-- (as someone said) like AOF for sisters: really nice to have, but not something to rely upon. If it helps, fine. If not, I've got plenty of shots...

Regarding gundrones: Here's a thought--what about breaking the unit up and giving 'em to the stealth teams? one drone per guy would be 40 points, saving me 16, which I can use to buy the ethereal one shield drone. Dropping the bonding and something else (maybe only 3 drones ber stealth team?) would give me the second and probably some points to play with. I'm going to post a revised list after this post that reflects that change, and see how it looks.   

Okay, revised list:

Tau 1850 Army List

HQ:

Shas'el: Plasma/MP, T.A., HWMT, Stims
Ethereal: 2 Shield Drones

Elites:

2x4 Stealths w/3 Gundrones
1x2 Fireknives

Troops:

2x10 FCW; 'ui, markerlight
2x10 Kroot

Fast Attack:
1x6 Pathfinders: 'ui; 'fish w/decoy, sms
Piranha w/fusion, seeker
Piranha w/fusion, seeker

Heavy Support:
2 Broadsides w/A.S.S.; team leader w/2 Shield Drones
Ion 'head w/SMS, decoy, MT
Rail 'head w/SMS, decoy, MT

That's 1828 points, leaving me 22 points. If I drop the seekers, that's enough to get another railgun. Or I can add one more drone to each stealth squad, or throw some drones in with the 'finders.

Thoughts?

@syr

you have to give the 4th stealh suit in each team a hardpoint (rules)

a problem with the drones is that you end up having to test for 25% casualties and the drones count, they also count for under 50% for VP's for your opponent and for running away so I really wouldn't suggest it.

re/the rules: Yep, missed that 'must' in the drone controller rules.

re/morale: Yeah, I was thinking about that too. That's why I wanted fewer drones. Hrmn.

I think I still like my first list better, but with some points shuckling to get the Ethereal a shield drone or two.

Not having a Devilfish for the Firewarriors... I don't know. I can't bring myself to do it.

What's your plan with them?

Ezz

Static defensive fireline with backup markerlights, with kroot service pillbox shooting/pushback/counterassault duties. Works nicely, actually, and I've got plenty of objective takers.