[Groo The Wanderer]

Hi folks

I have been wondering this for some time now, are Ethereals a valid, contributing part of a current Tau army?

I know the fluff reasons why, but if you want performance out of your Tau, could the HQ slot been better filled by a crisis commander or even a gerbil...

What are the pros and cons of this most perplexing of choices...

Cheers!

[khanaris]

Welcome to the forums!

No. I would say they aren't. Not any more. They are a little better in 5th Edition because it is easier for your own units to draw LOS to them, and other changes have made Static Tau armies a little more useful than they used to be.

Since the update, they have not been very useful for giving Crisis and Stealth Teams a chance to reroll leadership. Most of the time forward units won't be able to see the Ethereal. So they are only useful if you have a lot of units in the back where they can easily see the Ethereal.

But they are much easier to kill with IC protection removed, and they still have no offensive abilities to make up for the loss of an HQ slot. Since the Commander became mandatory, they can't be used as a cheap HQ alternative.

I think they are one of the most broken parts of the Tau codex (in a negative way) and I hope they get a lot of attention whenever the update rolls around.

[Groo The Wanderer]

Ahhhhh....

I thought I was missing some hidden use for them. I agree they are only useful for maybe drawing fire from more viatl units... It's sad when a unit is more useful when it dies...

Thanks

[I am Legion]

actually I don't leave home without them. Only for one reason. +1 BS firewarriors. They are not scoring, but they do so much damage. my friends have learned to aim at this squad as soon as it's in range.

As for the actual Ethereal, he stands behind the rest of the honour guard which in turn hides behind 2 other firewarrior teams.

They arn't bad, but only if you use a firewarrior army. I only bought one because I thought it'd fit the fluff of having one. Kinda has a chaplain feeling, but is obviously more.

just as a fun side note - I had my Ethereal take down a chaplain in close combat without the blades. You should have seen the look on my friends face. Priceless. actually that was the same game where a squad of firewarriors killed a 5xtactical squad. my friend was so mad. Awesome. ;D

Back in 3rd edition I would always use Aun'Shi, or use him as an Ethereal.

In 4th edition on, I haven't bothered with an Ethereal, although it may make a nice addition to my army...

I play a mainly mechanized strike force that you have to be extremely careful with, because if you make a wrong move chances are rather large that you will not be making much of a move past that.

Although, a BS4 Fire Warrior squad does sound nice, but for 182 points plus the Devilfish and not scoring on top of that? I'd rather pass, thank you.

[Vyrion]

I find the lure of a BS4 FW squad very appealing. However, I think the points could be better spent in any game on suits. They're more mobile and you can tool them up to specifically beat whatever you're taking.

[Gearhead]

I almost always brought one under third, in fourth he saw less use and I haven't used him in fifth at all. In third he was great, you didn't need LOS(and we had a cool ethereal SC). Now, not so much, not with my hybrid army.

Although, stop 'n pop at BS 4 is appealing. I'd do it for fun if I had any more room in my case for Honour guard models(Which I do not, the new Piranha barely fits).

Originally Posted by NottheAverageJoe

I find the lure of a BS4 FW squad very appealing. However, I think the points could be better spent in any game on suits. They're more mobile and you can tool them up to specifically beat whatever you're taking.

The mobility bit is a tad questionable though, considering that if you put them in a Devilfish (which you will always do if you take a full Mechanized army), then you will have a lot more maneuverability, however it will cost a lot of points to do this.

On the note of Ethereals though...

I've always wondered why do you have to be able to see them to make it matter? I mean the IG have the Vox system and the Master Vox system, but the Tau are supposed to have more sophisticated equipment in their suits, meaning that they'd all have a comms network of some sort, right? If you can hear the Ethereal, that should be enough, and given the devotion of the Tau to the Ethereals, them simply being on the battlefield should be more than enough to give them the fanatical devotion to carry out their will...

[Boneguard]

Originally Posted by Lonely Tau

On the note of Ethereals though...

I've always wondered why do you have to be able to see them to make it matter? I mean the IG have the Vox system and the Master Vox system, but the Tau are supposed to have more sophisticated equipment in their suits, meaning that they'd all have a comms network of some sort, right? If you can hear the Ethereal, that should be enough, and given the devotion of the Tau to the Ethereals, them simply being on the battlefield should be more than enough to give them the fanatical devotion to carry out their will...

It's because of the Socio-religious connotation the Ethereal have.

Unlike the IG with their Vox caster and their commanding officier (a mere man); the Ethereal represent an important and toan extenent venerated social caste...it's not enough to know that he is there, you need to see him.

A Real World parallel that can be made was in the Crusade or any procession in which a Holy Relic is present...it isnot sufficent for it to be in the processing/army...it needs to be there in the Front line in view of everyone. Same goes for the Ethereal.

I still don't really like that explanation though.

I mean, say one minute you can perfectly see the Ethereal, then you go off into a Trench and you can't see him anymore. Does that mean he's gone? Does it automatically mean that every bit of devotion and will towards the Ethereal is instantly vaporized because you lost sight of him?

And knowing that he's there on the battlefield with you should be enough to convince yourself that you need to win the battle, need to stand your ground at every opportunity, fight the enemy back from to the depths from whence it came!

And I fail to see how you could possibly be discouraged because he's hidden behind a tree or a big rock...


And another example: In mechanized Cadres. With the Ethereal's Honor Guard I bet that a particularly Gung Ho Ethereal would simply jump into a Devilfish with the other Fire Warriors and form the spearhead of the assault, but when they jump out of the Devilfish, if they can't see the Ethereal they instantly lose sight of their goal?

Simply said, the whole "Seeing is believing, Not Seeing is not believing" doesn't work because it doesn't take into account some really stupid things, like seeing then being out of view.