New Tau Army

[Deretal]

Hey i am planning on starting a new tau army and i cant really figure out what i should do... can anyone help?

[dagonis]

Wait until they get a new codex.

[Drew da Destroya]

Talk about shot down in flames...

Are you looking to play competetively, or for fun with a group of friends? And are these friends also new to their armies?

I can't really help with competition armies, but for fun armies, I'd say just look through the book, and pick some units that sound cool to you. In order for your army to be legal, you need 1 Battlesuit Commander, and 1 squad of Fire Warriors, as well as a second troops choice (more Fire Warriors, or some Kroot)... personally, I like the fire warriors, so I'd bring a second squad of them. Maybe grab some more suits to hang out with your Commander, and you've got the start of your army.

[eagleboy7259]

Wait until they get a new codex.

Or play the army you want to play because high level tournament scene competition doesn't even comprise 5% of what this hobby has to offer.

Tau still work just fine in normal, competitive gaming groups. They might show their age a bit at higher level competitions, but the same statement can be made for just about any 4th edition army. So long as you stay away from Kill Points, which is a broken system anyway, you'll be good. Playing Tau isn't an instant lose button by any means. They offer some of the best anti-tank guns in the game, some hard as nails tanks, tons of high strength shots although on the downside they don't have access to cheap transports, and even with skimmers they aren't necessarily a quick army.

Tau tactics have taken an aburbt shift in 5th edition due to the advent of running, you can't just spam a gun line of fire warriors and suits, you actually have to use tactics. The core of most Tau armies is built around the Heavy Support section and units of 6-8 Fire Warriors in Devilfish. Most players run 2-3 Hammerheads with Disruption Pods and/or a squad of Broadsides w/ Target Locks and A.S.S. Don't bother Bonding your fire warriors, you can save points there. The Smart Missile system has become the sleeper choice of 5th edition for Devilfish because of it's rules, although I know many people like giving them those Skyray missile things for anti-mech.

Elites and Fast Attack basically fill themselves out with Battlesuits, Pathfinders, and Piranhas. Stay away from Vespid, Gun Drones, and that other stuff that looks bad on paper and is actually bad. Some people like Kroot, it really depends on the player. Most of the special characters are c.rap, except for Farsight who offers a 'lil Tau CC. Usually you're better off taking a regular commander anyway.

The Tau Battleforce is still a great deal as far as the Battleforces are concerned. I think you get this most from that Tau price wise than you do out of any other army. Get two for around $200 and then drop in some Hammerheads and you'll have a pretty decent 1500pt starter tau army that you can add units to as you feel them out.

[Rusty Nail]

What Eagleboy said, although Gun Drones can be usefull as a speed bump/misdirection unit and if you will be playing a lot of Marines on foot, (unlikely I know) Sniper Drones will surprise a lot of people.

[DrLove42]

Stay the heck away from Ethereals! Especially the special character one.Little benefit, massive downside if they die.

Pathfinders, broadsides, lots of suits (mmmm Forgeworld).

[DarkLink]

Pathfinders, broadsides, lots of suits (mmmm Forgeworld).

Forgeworld suit rules... really aren't very good. The models are nice.

[Tynskel]

I am a huge fan of the super technical Tau Army.

I like a Suit Commander with all sorts of Advanced Systems--- I usually use the Imperial Armor 3: Taros Campaign, and select a commander suit from there.

Then I'll upgrade with Drone Controller, and take some drones. The Weapons I will take will be a mixture of indirect fire and direct fire weapons--- usually stuff that has ~18" range. Take other upgrades that just sound fun. (especially target lock and multi-tracker.) For example, I'll take the Smart Missile System Commander and the Fragmentation Launcher. This way the commander can shoot targets that he cannot even see.

Then I'll take a Fast Attack full squad of Gun Drones. This will be my 'Body Guard' for the Suit Commander. I'll attach the Commander to the squad.

At this point the unit is a Harassment Squad--- pinning gun drones, and a commander who can choose to shoot anyone.

[dagonis]

I suppose my answer was a bit short.

The reason that I recommend that you wait until a new Dex is that we have had two Tau players in my gaming circle and no matter how hard the rest of us gimp our own list Tau always get dominated. We are not particularly competitive, but we are all of decent skill levels.

I have seen many a Tau player give up on the hobby because the army they invested so much time in just can't stand up to most other armies.

[eagleboy7259]

I suppose my answer was a bit short.

The reason that I recommend that you wait until a new Dex is that we have had two Tau players in my gaming circle and no matter how hard the rest of us gimp our own list Tau always get dominated. We are not particularly competitive, but we are all of decent skill levels.

I have seen many a Tau player give up on the hobby because the army they invested so much time in just can't stand up to most other armies.

Well I guess I just have to ask: what points level do you play? what were their compositions? opponent army types? missions being played? yadda yadda...

Even though they are a 4th ed book playing in a 5th ed world I find it hard to believe that just by choosing the Tau book determines that you will lose, especially in such a large margin. Even playing the worst book in the game, DA, as a straight up Greenwing doesn't equal an auto loss by any means, the same is true for Tau. It's just what used to work in 4th edition for the Tau really really doesn't work at all in 5th

[Unlighted]

Tau in our gaming group do quite well. One player who uses them exclusively often tables opponents by Turn 4 or so. He uses a lot of Railguns and missiles and just buries armies under massive firepower. I would say that Tau might not be the most updated army, but they still pack a punch.

[BuFFo]

HQ - Commander

Elite - 1 - 3 Stealth Suit teams.

Troops - 4 - 6 Squads of Fire Warriors.

Give the Pathfinder's Devilfish to the Warriors in turn one.

Fast Attack - 3 Squads of Pathfinders.

Heavy Support - 9 Broadsides.

You win the game.

Oh yeah, paint the figures too. This is a hobby for fun, right?

[Fizyx]

Tau can still do incredibly well if a decent list is played by someone who has experience playing them.

While there is no 100% right-or-wrong list with Tau, there are certainly some key components that you must bring.

-Broadsides
-Deathrain (TL Missile Pods w/ Targetting Array) suits
-one or two squads of Kroot.

I shy away from hammerheads lately. Broadsides just have that extra little chance to hit, and you can usually get two shots for the price of one Hammerhead. They aren't as mobile, but if you use your Deathrains effectively, is should not matter as all the transports will be popped open by turn 2, allowing you to continue your rain of fire. Yeah, gun-lines will not work, but Crisis suits are mobile enough to stay away from most CC monsters.

Keep the Fire Warriors in Devilfish and move those suckers at least 12" every turn. 4+ cover save to shooting and a 6+ to hit in CC is a monster of a scoring beast.

Flavor as you see fit, I'm liking Piranhas more and more every time I play with them.

Stay away from:
-Vespids
-Skyray
-Sniper
-Pathfinders

Of course you can bring those to friendly games, I'm speaking mostly on the competitive side.

[ZenPaladin]

Im pretty fond of my Sniper teams. They bring a BS4 markerlight to the party and three AP3 S6 pinning weapons. They have a bit more survive ability because of their stealth fields and generaly for markerlights i'd rather have them at 80 points than the pathfinders.

Also? Three of them for one HS choice. I know that it means I don't get three Hammer heads and 9 Broadsides but the Tau don't really work best at overwelming the enemy with fire.

The Tau need to have the right gun at the right place at the right time. A spread of units properly applied and supported with markerlights applied to just the right targets. Though that could just be how I like to play them.

Piranna are awesom for physicaly blocking moving enemy vehicles and can also crack them open and with flechetes on them make the enemy pay for assulting them.

The disruption pod is the best vehicle upgrade for the Tau.

Always kill the enemy's transports before going after their firepower. The tank blasting you from the other side of the field is going to be easier to deal with then the standard line troopers assaulting you from 6 inches away.

but that's jut been my experiance.

[Commander Vimes]

Tau are a difficult army to win with these days, especially if you are playing against competitive people. They are a tough army to learn. As a new player it is very likely that you will lose a LOT with them playing against people of roughly even skill.

That said, I manage a winning record with Tau in a quite competitive environment. Tau can be a quite nasty if played well.

Units to use:
Commander with Positional Relay
Kroot Hounds
Broadsides
Pathfinders

Units to stay away from:
Fire Warriors
Sniper Drones
Vespid
Sky Ray
Ethereal

Using the Positional Relay to strategically hold units in reserve to take objectives late in the game, protect fragile units in Kill Point matches, counter charging units in your deployment zone, and many other things. It is probably the single greatest strength the Tau have.

Fire Warriors look good on paper, but are far to fragile and flee at the drop of a hat.

[house_cawdor]

Personally, I would stay away from Tau untill the next codex just from the sheer fact that they will get an overhaul in the wargear they use since they are ever expanding. For now though, you should be safe working on troops and Heavy Support.

PK

[DarkLink]

Im pretty fond of my Sniper teams. They bring a BS4 markerlight to the party and three AP3 S6 pinning weapons. They have a bit more survive ability because of their stealth fields and generaly for markerlights i'd rather have them at 80 points than the pathfinders.

Also? Three of them for one HS choice. I know that it means I don't get three Hammer heads and 9 Broadsides but the Tau don't really work best at overwelming the enemy with fire.


And they're really easy to convert. I just took some gun drones and chopped up a carbine to make the fins, and stuck a pulse rifle on the bottom for the railgun. I then took the tau tank commander and stuck him on a large base. Instant spotter and sniper drones, without the need to buy a single extra thing.

[Lerra]

Tau is a finesse army, and it's strong in the hands of a good general, but the learning curve is pretty steep. It's one of the least forgiving armies in 40k, so early in your playing career, expect some hard knocks. Once you learn the army, you'll be able to hold your own much better, and probably be a better general in the end for it.

At the 2nd round of 'ard Boyz, there were 4 Tau players out of 36. All of them finished in the top half, although none of them qualified for the next round. At the extreme high levels of play, Tau struggle, but they can definitely still win local-level tournaments, and they can beat top-level tournament armies (just not consistently enough to be common in the highest levels of play).

For a beginning Tau player, I'd recommend taking more Kroot and less Fire Warriors. Kroot are a bit more forgiving because of their combat ability. Something like this is a pretty balanced core, but tweak it to your own style and add whatever you think sounds cool to get to the right points value:

HQ - Shas’o with Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Multitracker, Positional Relay, 2 Shield Drones

Elite – Shas’ui with Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Multitracker (one or two of these suits join the HQ)

Elite – Shas’ui with Twin Fusion Blasters and Target Array (this fella deep strikes alone next to a tank and blows it up. It's a suicide unit, basically. You can give him shield drones if you want him to last a bit longer.)

Troops – 6 Firewarriors in a Devilfish with Smart Missile System, Disruption Pod and Multitracker (these fellas sit in their protective metal box and go for objectives)

Troops – 10 Kroot with 4-12 Hounds (troop choice with good close combat ability)

Troops - 20 Kroot (especially useful for rapid-firing. Keep in mind that when in forests, they can go to ground for a 2+ cover save).

Heavy – 2 Broadsides, one with Targetting Array, other with Target Lock. 2 Shield drones.

Heavy – Hammerhead with Railgun or Ion Cannon, Disruption Pod, Multitracker