[Vinnie]

hello oh wise forum members,

i am go in to start the tau in April, buying the codex on the 1st, (c'mon aussie, c'mon). i am defiantly looking at purchasing the battleforce for my birthday, its in April, just after the battleforce is released. i know it comes with a devilfish but I'm not sure if i would have much use for it. can anyone tell me if pathfinders are any good. do rail rifles and markerlights work well as well as having the supporting devilfish. i need help because otherwise i might deter from it and get a box of fire warriors, Kroot and commander or 2 battlesuits. I'm not sure. please re-instate my confidence in the devilfish. :-\

[Wargamer]

The Devilfish is a very useful vehicle. Tau are not a static army; they need to stay mobile to fight at maximum efficiency, and the Devilfish helps in that regard.

Pathfinders I have mixed views on. However, I generally find they are worth bringing, and Rail-rifles are a nice way to play "pop a cap" with high save enemies...

[Lanfeix]

this a link to the tau mech bible

http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/%7Eleebj/index.html

it is a very good guide to how to use a mechinised force. and that where the fish comes in

[DireStrike]

Rail rifles used to be a way to fill out a pathfinder unit, since a full unit of pathfinders was a waste in points games below, say... 2000 points.

But with the markerlight rules changing, pathfinders will be the core of many a Tau army. Rail rifles... none of us have enough experience with the new markerlights to say whether you'd want rail rifles. I suspect that more markerlights is a preferable thing to have.

[Tau Fanatic]

Essentially, since the MechTau Tactica is quite near the rules and regulations on how to properly play the Tau, the Devilfish is the centerpiece of the entire army; having the ability to move 11 1/2" and drop off a cadre of fire warriors, have them fire, move back into the vehicle and repeat makes them invaluable. This is the way to cure all of your non-battlesuit units' slowness.

[foxxpetronivs]

While not a big fan of devilfish or the troops they carry, I still own three of the things. You can't go wrong owning a couple of them. I might choose not to use them most of the time, but they give me options to play with occasionally, and firewarriors really need the devilfish to be most effective.

[Vinnie]

hey,

im no looking at starting a mch tau list. too expensive for me. i want a hybridlist as i feel it provides the most flexibility and is quite cool. *i love hammerheads and broadsides. well anyway, does the pathfinder unit provide any distincitive advantages because i like the rail rifles and a mobile attacking forward squad to go with the kroot
(the kroot hid ein the woods/terrain next to the pathfinder an protect them

[Rechar]

Can't go wrong with a devilfish if you use Lots of Firewarriors, but Pathfinders will come down the line after your main army is set up. They are just too expensive for small games and contain heavy weapons which require them to be virtually static.

Focus on your Firewarriors/Kroot and Battlesuits. Get used to playing with them, then branch out to Pathfinders later as an addition.

No point in buying them early on, but never getting (or wanting) to use them.

[Faolin]

ARRRGH! Mechtau people everywhere!

Remember, Mechtau is not the only way to play. I personally find Devilfishes take up far too many points, points that can easily be spent on firewarriors or sniper drones.

Experiment first. Try not to buy anything until you've playtested with them. Use counters or something. I won't force my opinions on you, but I will advise you to WORK OUT WHAT SUITS YOU! I tried Mechtau and got slaughtered. Badly. I'm not saying it's a bad tactic, I just wasn't good at it.

That said, I will suggest you buy lots of Fire Warriors. Don't get carried away buying huge numbers of battlesuits and giving them the toughest stuff available. Keep a solid core of troops. Fire Warriors or Kroot, it's up to you. Oh, and I find it better not to put shield generators on standard Battlesuits. Too expensive. But you can work that out yourself.

Welcome to the Forums! May you serve the Aun with skill and valour! ^-^

And may you have alot of fun doing it as well. ;D

[DireStrike]

Pathfinders are NOT a fast, forward attacking unit. They are described as that everywhere by GW fluff but it is ridiculous and untrue. They are basically a heavy weapons team. Although they have carbines for backup, the point of pathfinders is markerlights, so you wanna shoot those instead. They are fragile and have long range weapons. There is no reason to put them in front of your lines.

They are a great unit, but I wouldn't bother with them until at least around 1000 points, as they are a support unit.

A forward/flank attacking unit you may enjoy would be stealth suits.