[VectorPoints]

hey! I just started working on a tau army, and haven't gotten all my models yet, but here's what I thought I might use, if you could tell me what you think, that would be awesome.
for 1000 pts:
Shas'o 135
plasma
hw multi tracker
missle pod
shield

Crisis suit 74
twin plasma
shield

(gun drones x8) x2 192

(fw x12) x3 420
shas'ui
bonded

broadsides x2 175
target lock
2 shield drones

total: 996


I was figuring the crisis suits would follow the drones around, using them for cover if no cover is available, and working their way behind the other dudes. With the fws and broadsides as a firebase
For a 1,500pt army I was figuring on adding a hammer head, two transports and another squad of fire warriors
However, I'll be fighting alot of space marines and necrons, and I was wondering if I should ditch some of that pulse fire in favor of some guns with a better armor piercing value?

thanks for your time!

Oh! and should I replace one of those fw squads with a 20 model kroot squad?

[Yawgmoth1111]

While your independant character crisis suit (Shas'O) will be able to use the drones as "cover" I don't think the other crisis suit will have the same luxury. Rather than being independant, he counts as a unit with only one member. So, the enemy will be able to take leadership tests to shoot the poor guy.

A lot of space marines and necrons, eh? I'd suggest a hammerhead, and some mobility. The necrons can "out shoot" you in a straight slugging match, mostly because of their resilliance. And marines can just charge down your throat, and you won't be able to inflict enough casualties to save you before things get into assault.

I'd just leave it at one gun drone squadron, save about 60 points in seargents/bonding on the fire warriors, and drop the shield drones on the broadsides. (They don't work so well anymore in 4th edition, and there are more "tactical" ways to protect your broadsides, without having to spend points on THEM directly.)

I'm a Shas'o fan, but I'm in the minority here ^^; Still, you could save some points making that fellow a shas-el, and twin linking his missile pod. If you need to keep the shield generator to feel comfortable though, I don't blame you. Necrons and marines can do a pretty darned good job of negating his base save. Still, with good use of cover he'll be fine. I'll assume you drop the generator:

So, net result:
saving ~35 points on your HQ
saving ~96 points on drones
saving ~60 points on Fire Warriors
saving ~40 points on Broadsides
Total: 231 points

You can do a lot with 230 points ^^

That's a Rail-Head, PLUS with a bit more finnagling (Possibly droppiing the other drone squad, their use is limited in smaller games where they're less likely to be overlooked), another crisis suit, or a Devilfish to mount some warriors in.

forgive me if my point approximations are wrong, I'm doing it from memory.

[Shasel_Aunat]

Hello again! Time to see your list!
[hr]Shas'o
plasma
hw multi tracker
missle pod
shield
WWWAAAAYYYY too expensive...tone him down to: Shas'el with TL Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, HW Multi-Tracker. You'll be surprised to how effective that combo really is! The sheild gen is a waste of points for Tau's precious little commanders like to hide behind their independant character status!

Crisis suit
twin plasma
shield
Again, too expensive. Tone down to: Shas'ui with TL Missile Pod, Flamer. Cheaper, effective and more tactically useful.

(gun drones x8) x2
These are the Fast Attack Squadron, correct? Even though I like drones, 2 Squads is too much...drop one squad of Drones...

(fw x12) x3
shas'ui
bonded
Hhmmm...too static for my likings. Invest in a Devilfish and some upgrades for it with the points I saved you!

broadsides x2
target lock
2 shield drones
I perfer Hammerheads, but BS's are good too! Make the Broadsides into 2 seperate units of 1...and if you want to still give them protection, sheild Gens for each (you should be able to afford it with the points I saved you!

[VectorPoints]

hey! thanks for the help! I've been reading these forums and have seen tons of stuff about mech tau, so I figured I may want to switch over to that. I made the suits a bit less expensive, put everything in a devil fish, and ditched the gun drones. here's the new list, please feel free to gimme some more critique!

Shas'o 110
plasma
missle pod
multi tracker

Crisis suit 65
plasma
missle
multitracker

Firewarriors x12 215
devilfish
multi tracker
decoy

firewarriors (same) 215

firewariors (same) 215

Hammerhead 180
railgun
decoys
smart missles
target lock
mutitracker

total: 1000


I kinda like the gun drones though (they look so cool!). And was thinking I could have only 2 squads of firewarriors, drop one of the gun drone squads to get another crisis suit, and spend the spare 30-40 points on varios upgrades. I was worried, though, that if I did this, I wouldn't have enough shootieness, what with the loss of a full squad of firewarriors.

[Yawgmoth1111]

When using the hammerhead, chances are you're going to want to keep moving 6'' to take advantage of the skimmer "Only takes glancing hits" rule. And I don't think the smart missiles count as a defensive weapon. Translation: Even with the multi-target and such, you will rarely get to use both weapons systems. You could save some points by leaving those guns as burst cannons.

(If you can't tell already, most of the people on the forums are fans of minimalism ^-^)

With those points, you could dual link the missile pod on your crisis suit, and hardwire the tracker. You might have to cut a little more out somewhere, again, I'm doing most of this from memory. (I can't find my codex! >_&lt

[VectorPoints]

Awesome, thanks for the advice!