tau seeking advice

i am in need of guidance, from more experienced players(i have only played one or two games) ,i do not know what my army needs to incorporate next my list is small (no more than 1000 points) and consists roughly of:

x1 devil fish(has never seen action)

x12 fire warriors

x12 fire warriors

x24 kroot (have never seen action)

x1 v88 battlesuit

Well, where you go next depends on what kind of an army you're looking to build. Unfortunately, Tau are one of the weakest races in the new edition, so you're going to need a strong army composition to even out with most other races. The "Mechanized Tau" army is perhaps the strongest right now: Battlesuits and Fire Warriors mounted in Devilfishes. It's good that you have a devilfish, because it allows your fire warriors to spend several turns shooting and still be able to make it to the other table edge and claim an objective.

As for what to get next, I'd suggest first things first: you need an HQ choice. I'd go with a Shas'o in a battlesuit - he gives you some powerful, accurate, mobile firepower. The next thing I'd get would be some Crisis battlesuits. They're really indispensible for most Tau armies. If you'd like to take your army in a mechanized direction, I'd suggest perhaps a hammerhead next, followed by some more battlesuits and another devilfish down the line.

Definitely more Fire Warriors and Devilfish!

Kroot and their infiltrate are useful!

And definitely a hammer head or 2.

I don't think Tau are so bad in this edition.

Their vehicles got a nice boost in that they always get their 4+ cover save if the enemy is more than 12" away due to disruption pods

The end of consolidation means that you can't just leapfrog from unit to unit anymore.

Devilfish can give their firewarriors cover if parked in front of them.

Markerlights reduce the enemy's cover saves, including vehicle cover saves.

Talk to Marc, he's putting together a Tau army again.

But I also concur that the strength of Tau is in vehicles like the Hammerhead, get 3.

The days of 10+ Crisis Suit armies is gone. No more JSJ behind area terrain. Tau can still be relied on for kill point conservation but just in a different light.

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x1 devil fish(has never seen action)
x12 fire warriors

Not a fan of Fire Warriors before as XV8s performed the role, but now with the new scoring ruleset and the Fish becoming incredibly hard to kill under 12 inches, you cant go wrong with a few of these.

Quote :

x12 fire warriors

Gunline Tau will not work. Needs an APC

Quote :

x24 kroot (have never seen action)

Top 3 unit in the game point for point.
. Their cover saves have improved to 3+ if hiding in woods
. They can now flank, and always have the ability to infiltrate
. They are dirt cheap and pack a fantastic gun.
. The new sweeping advance rules prevent you losing all of them to a rampaging assault unit. Back one squad up with another and make sure any assaulting unit gets rapid fired if he wins an assault.
. One of your few scoring units!

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x1 v88 battlesuit

Back them up in cover with a squad of Kroot and the enemy will have to think carefully as to wether they are worth assaulting. That said, the Hammerhead is a better selection. Since you have the model, one wouldn't go to waste. Try this:

Broadside Battlesuit
[TLdr; HW Drone Controller; Shield Drone; Adv Stabilisation System]
100pts

Quote :

Tau are one of the weakest races in the new edition

I think they got a little better actually.

As has been said, devilfish fire warrior teams are a must have in 5th. Kroot are also solid, just make sure to back them up!

Matt wrote:

Kroot are also solid, just make sure to back them up!

Thats a blanket statement for squads in general. Better in pairs nowadys.

Its like playing CoD4 with Sean.
Whenerver he drops the others paste the campers. Sean respawns and off we go..

After watching you play on Saturday, one of your biggest things is going to be moving. Firing lines aren't all that great and so you need to stay mobile. Fish of Fury is not as great as it once was but still effective enough to allow you to be nasty. Lots Of Fire Warriors, Devilfish, atleast 2 hammerheads, kroot is a flavor that some people like, they only get the extra cover if they are in the woods, but they get normal cover saves for everything else. Drones however may become very useful for the Tau vehicles to stop assaults and save the vehicle.