Let's talk TAU

[JxKxR]

I love Tau! They were my first army when I got into the hobby at the tail end of 4th edition. I picked Tau because I liked how they looked and I loved what I heard about the Rail gun, strongest gun in the game with the best range, Yes please. When I went to my first GW store to get the codex and a battle force I told the clerks there I was starting 40k without any prior war gaming experience. They tried to talk me into getting Space Marines since it was an easier army to learn. I didn’t care I had my heart set on Tau and I would not be deterred. I’ve played Tau faithfully all through 5th edition and while it hasn’t been an easy road it has been a lot of fun. So if you like the Tau look, like the weapons, or want a challenge then this one’s for you.

Let me start off by saying I believe the Tau can beat any codex out there. If you know what codex your opponent is going to use you can make a list that can handle anything it can dish out. What Tau has a big problem with, and why you don’t see them in many tournaments, is making an all comers list. Now I’m not saying it’s impossible but I haven’t been able to do it. I can make a list that can take on any army but that list can’t deal with hordes, and I can make a list that can deal with hordes but space marines eat it for lunch.

HQ’s and who to use?

First off we have the XV8 Commander and he comes in ‘O or ‘El, pick your flavor they’re both good choices. This is going to be your go to guy that fills in the gaps in your army. You can kit him out HOWEVER you want! You can make him a really tough unit with Iridium armor that gives him a 2+ save and shield generator for a 4++ and 2 shield drones that also have a 4++ and they take the toughness and save of the individual they accompany. This guy can sit out and soak up shots that would otherwise cripple your army.
Or you could make one that sits back and provides support with long range fire power. You can also give him a positional relay that allows you to bring one unit you have in reserve in on a roll of 2+ and makes it to where nothing else can come in that turn. Think about it, almost complete control over your reserves. I like to use this guy with the pathfinders special devil fish and deep striking XV8s to bring in what I need when I need it where I need it. It also allows you to keep some squishy troops in reserve where they are safe for some late turn objective grabbing.

Honestly I like to take both of these guys for my army. The Shas’O with positional relay, and the Shas’El with iridium armor.

Bodyguards

Now that you have your Commander kitted out how you want you’re going to want to keep him alive for as long as you can. So toss on an XV8 bodyguard and drones how you see fit. One thing though your battle suits aren’t doing anyone any good if they are in close combat so might I suggest the Failsafe Detonator since they can take special issue war gear. If something goes terrible wrong and your commander gets caught in a losing fight this allows him to escape a sweeping advance. I’ll go more into this when I get to Farsight.

Ethreals??? Nah let’s move on.

XV8 Crisis Battle suits
Here is your work horse of the army. Plasma Rifle+ Missile Pod+ Multi tracker= good times. Really you can kit them out however you want my only advice here is just don’t go overboard with it.

Stealth suits
The stealth suit is good my only problem with it is that it’s expensive. However you can get in some very survivable marker lights with this unit. If I take the stealth suits I take a small squad of 3 with a shas’vre with marker light and marker drone.

Fire Warriors
Most people like to take the bare minimum and run them around in a devil fish, but I don’t since then they become a bigger target than they should be. I like to take 4 squads of around 7 or 8 fire warriors with a shas’ui and marker light and keep the devilfish empty and ready to scoop them up when the enemy closes in. I’ve found if the transport is empty then the opponent sort of wrights them off and don’t pay them much mind. I will give you some caution when using fire warriors stay away from photon grenades they sound great but just don’t hold up.

Devilfish
Expensive transport so don’t cheap out now buy it that disruption pod!

Wow I’ve been typing forever seems like. I let you all think about what I have so far and get to the rest of the codex later.

[Slug]

Biggest trouble I see with Tau now is that there are too many armies that can easily get into combat. GW forgot that there were meant to be disadvantages with deep striking and getting right into the enemy lines and so now it's all to easy to land a few units that can assault from reserves or even just whip across the table on turn one. Tau can shoot many of the transport heavy armies, namely Space Marine armies, however a Storm Raven, anything Grey Knight, or Dark Eldar can to easily get into combat. So I don't think that tau can beat any list just in a tournament.
Gunline armies are very hard to play now as there are too many armies that can completely avoid the part where you are meant to be able to shoot some of them before they get into combat with your army. With tau it is very hard to play anything but a gunline army. The batrep was a good example of how transport heavy cc armies should work, they lose some men along the way but should be able to get enough of the army across the board, Bigred got lucky and so very little of the World Eaters army arrived on the other side. However too may armies have the ability to avoid that and woo to us who actually want to shoot.

[Multigeneral]

I played Tau back in third edition when they were actually fun!!! Semi-Mech and gunlines were both viable back then and building an all comers list wasn't impossible. Some of the wierder lists worked as well. (My first tourney list was 72 Firewarriors an ethreal and 3 Hammerheads. First opponent was a 'Nid player, he never made it into CC, the game wasn't fun but left the whole store cowering in awe from the sheer amount of fiepower)

Now in 5th edition the cover and transports are too good and close combat is too brutal. And the Tau just can't bring enough shooting to deal with a meched up list. It's some high quality shooting, there just isn't enough of it.Not to mention how over costed the vehicles are.


Gunlines don't work well anymore but I also see Tau players trying to get units to do things that they just weren't meant to do. Suiciding Stealth teams and Pirana squadrons, running Kroot across the table to assault, over optioning everybody, etc.

But I have secretly procured and stored a small Tau contingent. It sits soaking in the Simple green. Waiting for the day when the greater good calls once again. There will be shooting, oh yes, there will be shooting! And the Kroot will butcher the emenies of the Empire!! (Loves me some Krootses)

And what's wrong with ethreals?! They're cute, in a unarmored, blue skinned liability to the army kinda way.

[plasticaddict]

I'm in the process of updating my Tau with Forge World Battle Suits in anticipation of the New Codex. Here's hoping that they make Kroot not useless!

[Wildeybeast]

See, this why I hate what has been done to my beloved Tau. Etherals are central to the army fluff wise, yet a complete liability in the game. Why in god's name would you design a unit like that?
And ths issue of not being able to build an all comers list is a massive hamper. Any army should be able to build an all comers list and at least have a competitive game, not get butchered which is what happnes to Tau. And I don't wnat to have to build an army list in a ver specific way to have a chance of winning. I want to be bale to select the cool looking and thematic units and weld them into a decent force, which is what I do with my Raven Guard. They run scout and drop pod heavy, yet are able to face off against most armies. Try to build a thematic army with Tau and you will get utterly mashed at least 50% of the time.
Which is why my Tau will stay in the loft until GW sees fit to give us a new codex (and no WD two part nonsense thank you).

[Panxer]

1. Don't forget the heavies! I'm quickly learning the benefits points wise for fielding rail heads and ion heads rather than a beefed out squad of XV88's. One reason...Mobility.

88's, though awesome and terrifying to those that run mechanized lists, in my experience they are largely less effective against infantry based hordes and target rich environments that are lacking in high priority tango's worthy of the S10 AP1 death stick, or if there are enemies with multiple wounds that are immune to things like instant death. Not to mention, suits can't fire the submunition, and Tau lack templates.

One thing that I'm learning painfully these days is that most armies out there now are FAST, and have the ability to get to grips with me in CC sooner than I would like, and to the Tau that can be devastating; so to counter this, I would suggest an Ion or Rail head kitted out with Multi-Tracker, Disruption Pod, and Flechettes just as base, and all of the other accoutrements (Seeker Missiles, Sensor Spines Etc) be added as points allow, for this reason alone: with a multi-tracker, the tank can move 12" and still fire everything. 88's can't do that.

Even if you give the suits ASA's, the best you're going to be able to do is 6" on a 'move through cover' roll, and you're still stuck either in a building or on open ground with the enemy closing fast. Not the best scenario to have if you ask me. You can still run, but why take the suits in the first place if you can't use them on the go?

There are ways to mitigate this of course- screening troops to keep your would be attackers at bay for a turn or two while you either are still firing or making a quick relocation for a better shot, you're just prolonging the inevitable in my opinion. Better to be able to fire on the move, and ultimately, you're only as fast as your slowest unit, so best equip what you can to move, shoot, and redirect.

2. I don't like Sky Rays. They're bullet magnets; and for the points, I can put the same amount of seekers on other vehicles around the board and not have to worry about your eggs being all in one basket if it gets taken down. 'But they bring markerlights! Again, for the points, you can give two or more markers to FW units or give someone a drone and be done with it. Use them if you like, but for what they do, I don't think they're worth the points.

3. Sniper Drone Teams. Two words 'Friggen Awesome'. The cheapest, (and in my mind), most effective heavy choice for suppression and fire support. you can take three teams as one heavy support slot for 240pts, have 9 S6 AP3 Pinning shots, your enemies, have to roll to be able to see them before they fire, and you have 3 marker lights that hit on 3+. It sucks you can't equip them with any other war gear, they're a static unit, and they're fragile at armor save 4+, but for the points it's totally worth it, and with some marker support, you can halt a speedy unit from coming anywhere near you before you have a chance to make them a smoking crater. Screw you Marbo.

[Fishboy]

I'm about a 1.5 year veteran of 40K. I started with Tau, and at times, I've felt like I had a fighting chance, and at others, I've felt like packing them up until either a new codex or 6th edition comes along. I'm not about to argue that it's even an average codex, but at least you know you're earning your wins.

I tried out IG a little while back against a seasoned SW player. Granted, I got first turn, but the amount of devastation IG can dish out was such that we stopped the game halfway through my second turn because the tabling was already a clear inevitability. Granted, my dice were decent, and my opponent's awful, but given similar dice in other games, I've never once felt that I had a Tau victory so locked up.

So on one hand, I hope GW irons out some serious issues with the army, but on the other, I don't want to be handed the next game-breaker. I feel like through playing Tau, you really have to sharpen your play, and learn to milk every last bit of advantage out of list building and game-play. So when you move on to play other forces, you're that much better.

I've been assembling a Tyranid army to play next, because why make playing the game easy on myself? But while everyone else is complaining about how much weaker they are than they should be, I see options I can work with.

[Multigeneral]

I've been assembling a Tyranid army to play next, because why make playing the game easy on myself? But while everyone else is complaining about how much weaker they are than they should be, I see options I can work with.

That is an awesome attitude! I really don't think any Xenos Codex will ever be an auto win button. GW seems to reserve that honor for Space Marines. Personnaly I would be happy with something like the DE Codex, with half a dozen descent builds hidden away in its pages.

[JxKxR]

Come on guys you sound like you are content with letting them sit on the shelf until we get a new codex but you can still have fun with this one I promise.

Pathfinders
First off with these you have the common complaint that they have to take the devilfish but it doesn’t cost any more than a normal one and it comes with the marker beacon that allows you reroll scatter dice. I like to take two units so I have two important devilfish that can help me bring in what I need where I need. Possibly the best thing tau have going for them nowadays is the reserve game and there incredible ability to deep strike in battle suits in all around your enemy so he has some serious target priority issues.
The pathfinders are important to your army because they bring the marker lights, not that they are the only ones that can bring the marker lights but it is there job and they do a fine job of it since they bring them in mass. Whatever these guys light up should be dead after that shooting phase. I like to put them where I want my enemy to move to, out in a carefully selected killing field since they are a big juicy target for the enemy. I also like to put a small gun drone squad in front of them to block assaults for a turn and give them a cover save and since the marker lights don’t allow cover saves, or any saves for that matter, you don’t have to worry about shooting through them.
These guys are going to die so make them count while they are alive and pick your targets carefully.

Gun Drones
Like I said I like to bring a small squad of 4 so I can sit them in front of my pathfinders. I like to reserve them and bring them in on turn two with the help of my positional relay so I can keep my more important units in the safety of reserve. I’m going to need those battle suits and piranha late in the game to contest objectives. I like to take turn 1 and 2 to try and better understand my opponents game plan and see what kind of tricks he’s setting up. This gives me time to set up traps and pick what I want to come in next.

Piranha
I really wish the piranha wasn’t so expensive but even with its 60 point price tag it can be a helpful unit. I like to use the piranha for late turn objective contesting. I’ll usually give this guy a disruption pod for survivability and a seeker missile or two if I have the points. You can also use the piranha to block units from assault and if you move it fast enough it takes 6’s to hit. if I’m using it for this than I’ll take 2 and also give them the flechette discharges. You can also use them to deploy there gun drones to block other units from assault.

I’ll be skipping the stingwings because I can’t wait to get the heavy support.

XV88 Broadside
Quite possible the most fun unit to use in the whole freaking codex. I love me some twin linked railgun. You should be giving them the target lock so they can split there fire and take out transports and important heavy support enemy units, also should give them gun drones and or shield drones to help there survivability.
If you are playing the reserve game I’d take two units of broadsides the first with the target lock to slow the initial enemy advancement and then a second smaller unit with the advanced stabilization system so they can come in off the table edge and fire that turn.
Now this next setup is not the best choice but I include it just for the sheer fun factor that it brings. Take a squad of 3 with the twin linked plasma rifle and multi tracker. It definitely gives the enemy something to think about and makes sure that terminators don’t deep strike in their line of sight.

Sniper Drones
This unit has never panned out for me and I wouldn’t use it since it takes up a heavy support slot.

Hammerhead Gunship
What can I say about the hammerhead, it’s a beast. The railgun can shoot a submunition shot of Str 6 AP 4 large blast that is great for taking out hordes and it can also shoot the straight shot if it needs to. While the railgun is a solid choice the Ion Cannon is a cheaper alternative with a range of 60” Str 7 AP 3 Heavy 3. If I take the Ion Cannon I’ll also through in a smart missile system, multi tracker, and of course disruption pod, which makes it quite the offensive weapon.

Sky Ray
Why this thing is so expensive, I have no idea. There are cheaper ways to get both marker lights and seeker missiles. I hope it gets more useful in the next codex.

Aun’Va
Nice model but whatever you do don’t take this guy! Any Tau unit with a line of sight is counted as stubborn. Why the hell would you want your Tau to be stubborn???

Commander Shadowsun
Another great model and unlike Aun’Va you can use her although you can make a more useful generic commander. I do have her model but I haven’t played with her much and so I don’t really have much to say about her. Maybe some other Tau general could fill us in on her usefulness.

Commander Farsight
First off let’s talk about the biggest drawbacks to using him, Breakaway Faction. This cuts down your options considerable since you can’t take any kroot or vespids, and you can only take 1 unit of the following, Stealth suits, Pathfinders, Hammerhead, Broadside Battlesuits, Sky Ray gunship, and Piranhas. I usually take only one of each any way but I like to take either 2 hammerheads or two units of broadsides to max out the heavy support.
Now that said he does give every model in the army a bonding knife at no additional cost and that’s pretty cool. He also gives the army preferred enemy against orks and if you whittle them down enough then maybe just maybe you might have a slim chance of beating them in close combat and no matter if you win or lose that game if you kill anything in close combat with Tau that’s a win. He can also have a MASSIVE bodyguard unit of 1-7 battlesuits. Now of course you’re not going to max this out and I never go over two but hey you have the option.
How I like to use Farsight is to intercept units before they get into assault with my squishier units. He may not be able to take out many units in assault but he can take out some like a regular marine unit without powerfist. I like to give him a bodyguard of 2 battlesuits with twinlinked flamers and on one a failsafe detonator and maybe on another the stimulant injector. He’s been a better blocking unit than you would expect for me, and with the Dawn blade rolling 2D6+5 for armour penetration he can effectively take out armour.

[Panxer]

Commander Shadowsun
Another great model and unlike Aun’Va you can use her although you can make a more useful generic commander. I do have her model but I haven’t played with her much and so I don’t really have much to say about her. Maybe some other Tau general could fill us in on her usefulness.

Too expensive, I agree, but if you take the online GW rules for fielding an XV22 HQ, She's pretty cool given that you can field x3 XV25 bodyguards and give them all plasma or meltas, and hop around the board with your stealth field equipped plasma shooty death squad.

Otherwise, If I ever did take her, I'd use her as a close support unit for my broadsides. Keep her close with two flamers and singe the eyebrows off of everything that comes close, like Necron Scarabs that like to drop in or tubo boost to tie up my XV88's so they can't shoot.