[shas ek denekai eart]

Well I want to start tau but I have nothing (apart from half a sprue containing 4 bodys heads and legs) And I want it to be Mech (All my other armys were either footsloggers or just mounted for assault).

So for basics what should I get? (I was thinking that £30 set with devilfish and 8 warriors, maybe two then I will add my extra men to make 2 10 man squads monted)

[tycoon]

It would be a good start, but remember, you need a Battlesuit HQ when playing over 400 points (as is mentioned in the armybook).

[shas ek denekai eart]

I know but I was thinking as basics, I know a bit about the dex so how about this for 750 point:

HQ:
Shas (the cheaper one) : Fusion blaster, Missile pods, Shield generator and Hard wired multi tracker 105 points I think

Elites:
3 battle suits all with shield generator missile pods fusion blaster and hard wired multi tracker* 240.

Troops:
10 Fire warriors with devilfish shas ui and bonding knife* 185
10 Fire warriors with devilfish shas ui and bonding knife* 185

25 extra points as well (I think I will upgrade fishes)

Would that work as mech tau?

EDIT: Its has come to my attention that hard wired things are shas'vre+ only so the last 25-30 points will make that battlesuit squad the generals bodyguard.

[Kiznti]

Two points: Firstly, if you've only got three suits, you can use them "monat" style- each one would be in it's own little unit, and you could make them all Shas'vre. It works better than Losing IC with your commander

Secondly, you're about 10 points off per FW squad. You might want to look that one up.

[bratbag]

The fusion blaster/missile pod combo may not be the most effective.

Missile pod is for long range light tank/transport and medium infantry popping

Fusion blaster is for short range tank popping.

Its a bad combo.

With your commander consider dropping the fusion blaster for a plasma rifle. This will give you a good generic suit that can dance around the 12-24" range and engage most threatening units with a good degree of accuracy.

With the elite suits, consider turning one into a deathrain (twinlinked missile pods+ either a flamer for points saving or a targeting array for better accuracy) in order to pop enemy light tanks at range.

I personally would equip the next one with twinlinked plasma rifles and a targeting array, to give you something for engaging heavy infantry.

The last one is up to you. You could make him a generic suit like the commander, or a suicide deep-striking twin-linked fusion blaster tank hunter.

Don't bother with the sha'vre upgrade. Its Klkn. Most good suit combos don't need hardwiring to be effective. The cost of the vre plus extra upgrades is usually just a nasty points sink.DO however run them as three individual units. This adds a good deal extra flexibility and as your army expands you can give each of your solo monat suits a buddy.

Shield gens are a waste of points on XV8's as you should be using their JSJ ability alongside cover to make incoming fire almost a non-issue.

Hope that helps

[Tyr]

I personally never leave home without decoy launchers on my tanks.

I have to agree with bratbag in terms of splitting your suits.
3 1 man teams gives you more scoring units and allows you to 'split' your fire.
I am also a bit of a convert to the twinlinked suits. I always take at least 1 deathrain (twin pods) in an army to task against light vechiles. The twinlinked suits are cheaper and reliable.

Also I love th IC rules with my commander suit. It allows you to play him quite agressively, moving up with the tanks and providing the special weapons that the fire warrior teams lack.

[shas ek denekai eart]

Please note I don't have codex so don't know everything I will take deathrains now and individualise my men
New Elites:
1 Deathrain: Targeting array
1 Deathrain: Targeting array

I think that that is about 65 points each. So add this to the current list Shas O has TL missile pods targetting array HWMT and Plasma rifle

I think I can fit an extra squad of FWs in and give it a shas ui

[Shas vre Tau kais]

Originally Posted by bratbag

Shield gens are a waste of points on XV8's as you should be using their JSJ ability alongside cover to make incoming fire almost a non-issue.

If you use an XV8 with a twin linked fusion blaster for taking out tanks then a shield generator can easily mean the difference between life and death.

[Floobosaurus]

Hi Sniperking,

Just to answer your question about what to buy, it'd probably be worthwhile for you to invest in a Tau megaforce. Since you're already setting your mind onto making a fairly substantial sized list, it'll save you a bit of cash and will provide you with a few extra units that are useful in a mech list, like a few piranhas, stealth suits and a Hammerhead turret sprue. The megaforce will give you most of what you'll need to make that list you posted earlier, minus 1 HQ suit and 1 Crisis. Best part is, it'll give you some good options for expanding past 750 pts.

Onto your list itself, I would also recommend that you not use the FB/MP combo. Since you've got no Hammerhead yet, you're gonna need some really specialized, really accurate crisis suits to get you by. For the time being, I'd suggest you just go with 1 Helios/Fireknife (FB/PR,MP/PR), 1 Deathrain (TL MP) and one Sunforge (TL FB) - just because you probably won't have enough weapons to make multiple specialist suits, and this trio will probably make the best use of what you'll have in the beginning. These would be all monats, of course, and will each cover a specific need that can't be fulfilled anywhere else in your list. Ultimately, you'd probably want to get a Railhead and change the sunforge into another deathrain though, since it's really not the best source of (reusable) anti-tank.

Finally, when buying tau models, always try to find the best packages available, eg: never buy a Devilfish kit - buy a Skyray kit instead. It costs more or less the same, but includes the parts to make a Devilfish, Hammerhead or Skyray.

Hope this helps!

[DELPHEUS]

And something to add, that's been brought up before is...GET THE TAU EMPIRE CODEX.