Tau combination help

[Koyori]

Ok so I got a small tau force for cheat.. I mean cheap.. Now I would like a bit of help from you guys to decide what is good ways to run it.
Now I'm not a beginner so I know the basics I'm more looking at help with advanced unit combinations and such.
With the introduction of 7th edition we have started to run 2k lists where max 25% of the list is allowed to be "allied/unbound"


Q1: Crisis HQ with drone controller, worth it to join to a squad of missile sides?
Q2: Etherals? which one? what squad best for him to join up with?
Q3: Is it worth taking guards as troops? (yes they are troops for Tau as per the FW rules)
Q4: Pathfinders, how big squads are worth taking?
Q5: Piranhas should I go for the regular ones? or should I go for the FW ones with alt weapons?
Q6: Is it worth taking a Hammerhead over broadsides? what weapon load out? regular or Fw?

Sorry for a bunch of questions right away but meh, any other suggestions for unusual but "good" combinations are welcome.

[Hive Bahamut]

Crisis HQ: Puretide Engram, Multi-Sensor Spectrum, Targeting? Array (the twin linked one) are all gravy upgrades. It depends on their function. A Broadside team with Tank or Monster Hunter/Ignore Cover isn't shabby if support is the HQ's role anyways.

Ethereals: plain is fine, Aun'va can have some tricks with the Paradox, but his extra elemental invocation isn't worth the gimmicks. FNP6 or stubborn or zephyrs grace (if shooting a target you have to snapshot at anyways,) can't be bad options. The extra shot for pulse weapons can be useful too. Keeping in mind that pulse rifles extended rapid fire range can make a world of difference. Still not amazing but a decent cheap buff.

3. No idea

Pathfinders: these guys are cheap as chips in a 3 man squad. If you need marker lights on infantry this is it. Otherwise Tetras are better in most cases.

Pirhanhas are an odd unit. Tau has a gravy 18" fusion but BS seems better suited for the Burst Cannon. AV11 gives basic immunity to the puds the Burst Cannon shoots at. But do you really need more infantry killing in an army of S5 30" troops?

Hammerheads are the only source of S10 now. Worthy contender on a AV13 Skimmer. And with a maybe overpriced but still valuable BS5 option, that can help mitigate the single shot. Also one of the better Large Blast platforms. Can't comment on FW.

Hopefully some useful info. Tau do bring some nice options and honestly with allies I would keep the Broadsides with Heavy Rail. S8 AP1 is something Nids can't bring to the table. With the previous mentioned Monster/Tank hunter and Ignore Cover added of course.

[Draezymous]

Jul 13, 2014 7:57:28 GMT Koyori said:

Ok so I got a small tau force for cheat.. I mean cheap.. Now I would like a bit of help from you guys to decide what is good ways to run it.
Now I'm not a beginner so I know the basics I'm more looking at help with advanced unit combinations and such.
With the introduction of 7th edition we have started to run 2k lists where max 25% of the list is allowed to be "allied/unbound"


Q1: Crisis HQ with drone controller, worth it to join to a squad of missile sides?
While there is nothing stopping you from joining him to the Broadsides, note that your Drone Controller doesn't work on Missile Drones. The wargear description mentions Gun and Marker Drones, but Missile Drones are excluded. Of course you could still use other wargear to buff the Missile Drones (like the Command and Control Node for example) and Broadsides, but I personally find a commander too valuable to join to a static unit; rather using his mobillity and utillity across the battlefield wherever they may be needed.
Q2: Etherals? which one? what squad best for him to join up with?
Keep him naked, or perhaps with a Homing Beacon if your strategy uses it, or a Shield Generator if you really fear giving up 2VP so easily. Most people either stuff them (along with some Fire Warriors) in a Devilfish and deploy them forward, or they simply skip the Devilfish entirely, and opt to deploy a static gunline with lots of Fire Warriors within range of (multiple) Ethereal for mass fire.
Q3: Is it worth taking guards as troops? (yes they are troops for Tau as per the FW rules)
I can't help you here, no experience with FW
Q4: Pathfinders, how big squads are worth taking?
varies on how much terrain you have, and how heavily your army will rely on them. I NEVER use pathfinders because they always get shot to bits way too fast since they're a high priority target, and very squishy at that. I rely on Marker Drones (with or without a Commander with Drone Controller) since they provide a more durable and maneuverable body, at the loss of poorer BS. My friends use pathfinders in groups varying between 4 to 8 members (excluding any possible drones).
Q5: Piranhas should I go for the regular ones? or should I go for the FW ones with alt weapons?
I can't help you here, no experience with FW
Q6: Is it worth taking a Hammerhead over broadsides? what weapon load out? regular or Fw?
depends on your playstyle, and in what configurations you will be running (for either unit). Missilesides will outshine any Hammerhead in nearly all aspects except durabillity vs certain weapons, and once again mobillity. While the Hammerhead has the option for pie plates either way, High-Yield Missile Pod Broadsides can effectively cause just as much damage as a pie plate by weight of numbers. The Broadsides pack a nice 2+ save, but are still only T4 compared to the Hammerhead chassis. If you favor a more gunline type of play, I'd say Broadsides all the way, but it's really dependant on what you want from the units for your army.

Sorry for a bunch of questions right away but meh, any other suggestions for unusual but "good" combinations are welcome.

Replies in bold, good luck!

[Koyori]

Thanks guys, the idea for the Broadsides atm is to place them in a bastion, with a escape hatch to get them forward very fast. Is this a viable idea?

[coredump]

Why do you want your broadsides to move forward? Usually they stay in the back, in some cover, and just shoot stuff dead....

[Koyori]

Jul 15, 2014 14:52:01 GMT coredump said:

Why do you want your broadsides to move forward? Usually they stay in the back, in some cover, and just shoot stuff dead....

Cause 36" means 75% of the board avoids them, with this I get a unit smack in the middle of the field which can hog cover/objectives very fast and will be such a huge treath that it will force enemies to focus on them. Thus leaving all my other evil units free to waltz across undisturbed.

[killme304]

Q1: Drone controller doesn't work on missle drones (thank god). They still benefit from the other buffmander upgrades. Put target locks on the misslesides and you can do a ton of damage to multiple targets with your buffmander chilling in relative safety.

Q2: Aun'va is hard to put down with his duality paradox, but the ability you really want is fire. Taking 2 ethereals for the same price risks handing free vp to the enemy, but if they get within 18" of your fire warriors, they are going to have a bad time. Only do it if taking a ton of fire warriors.

Q3: If you mean the ones from the campaign, then don't. They are a unit of 12 guardsmen max, with no heavy weapons and no supporting fire. They are strictly worse than fire warriors, and aren't even that cheap. Also, I think they can only be taken as part of the scenario too.

Q4: Depends on the points. I find max squad is overkill on single target marker lights unless the enemy has a deathstar eating most of his points. I like two units of 6 for 1500, and three for 2k+ if I can spare the points.

Q5: If you want anti-infantry, crisis suits do it better. If you want anti-armor, these guys aren't terrible, just not great. You have way better options. The FW variants aren't that good except the fusion blaster one, because its 20 points more than the regular version, but gets extra side armor and twin-linked.

Q6: Depends on the meta. Longstrike is amazing in a railgun hammerhead now that vehicles are back in style. Also gives you an answer to AV14, because nothing else besides fusion blasters in 9" is going to touch one. Sub-munition rounds make it not a total waste when they don't bring much armor, or your broadsides + hammerhead have done their thing.

I prefer buffmander to chill with the broadsides near the front and middle of my deployment area, so they can have range on most of the board. They give the enemy two options: put everything in range, and try to bum rush them dead, or hug their back edge and give me free range of the board. Both are bad deals for the enemy when I can protect my broadsides well. You don't want to move your broadsides if you can help it, since they don't have relentless and their weapons are all heavy.