http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/69.page JForum - http://www.jforum.net HQ choices for Tau: Just a Commander, just an Ethereal, or both a Commander or an Ethereal?

Thanks in advance

SG]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307515.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307515.page GMT http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307542.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307542.page GMT
That said, they, like the other Tau HQs have a very situational usefullness, while the commander you can kit out to serve a number of useful roles. ]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307565.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307565.page GMT
The Commander is often times arriving in from deep strike with my Crisis Suits to amplify their shooting. Standard buffmander setup can turn a unit of dual plasma XV-8s into a face melting machine with his twin linked, ignore cover, and selectable USR buffs. Most often operating behind enemy lines attempting to strike at critical elements of the enemy force and acting (with other crisis suits) as the Hammer portion of my army.

Now to say which is better is difficult because both are serving an important role in the army but neither can do what the other does. Some lists will have the Ethereal to focus on the gunline but forgo a Commander while others focus more on the mobile elements and don't need an Ethereal for any focused strong point. With the new Taucurions Detachments your going to be seeing a lot of Commander Suits as they are a requirement for things like the Hunter Cadre and the Retaliation Cadre. If you want an Ethereal in a Taucurion then your most likely going to need to take an extra CAD with just an Ethereal and 2 minimum size troops (they can be the Ethereal's personal bodyguard Fire Warriors if you want to be fluffy about it).]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307592.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307592.page GMT raw Benefits. ]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307731.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307731.page GMT
This all comes down to how your army is. If the Ethereal's buffs far outweigh the responsibility of babysitting him for your army then he was better than the commander. If you need raw firepower, the commander was way better. In addition, both act as fire magnets, but the Ethereal's squishy-ness compared to the commander makes him a far more pleasing target, so your opponent was more likely to go after him.

If you planned this out ahead you can use the ethereal as bait much more effectively. On the other hand, while a Commander is powerful, a Riptide is usually a bigger threat, so the commander can "sneak in" damage while the enemy is distracted by a riptide, since while he can't do as much damage as a riptide, he can still crush a lot of things if not kept in check. ]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307749.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307749.page GMT http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307757.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307757.page GMT
Commanders are the typical choice, but there's no particular reason not to run both.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307762.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8307762.page GMT http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8308109.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8308109.page GMT
Ethereals aren't bad, it's just the 1 victory point is kind of a bummer, and they force you into more of a troop based army. However, if you like the idea of going with Ethereals, take the Ethereal formation with Aun'Va and some Shield drones. All of a sudden the squishy Ethereals have 4++/6+++/Aun'Va++++ saves, which makes them rather resilient, in addition to the two guards. You also make your buffs that much stronger, so if you take a ton of troops you all of a sudden create a lot of awkwardness for your opponent.

You still risk three victory points, which kind of sucks, which makes me wish the formation made it so you only lose one, or one per a certain number of them, but hey, can't have everything I guess. ]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8308185.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8308185.page GMT HQ and usually only if I have a lot of Fire Warriors on the table.]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8308277.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/672740/8308277.page GMT