Tau Fire Warriors and the Pathfinder's Devilfish

In my previous reflection on Tau experiences, Stelek commented that the default use of the Pathfinder's Devilfish is as a ride for the Fire Warriors. In general, I agree, though I have found a few potential exceptions for this rule.

1) Dawn of War
This one is terrain-dependent, but it may be advantageous to start your Pathfinders in the Fish just to get them into a good position. That 36" range on markerlights means you will want to get upfield, and the Fish can do so, and still potentially fill its job as mobile terrain.

2) Kill Point Missions
If killing is the goal, then I'm less inclined to put Fire Warriors in the Devilfish. While the Fish is not exactly lethal, Fire Warriors are potentially courting trouble if they're in an exploding/dying fish. The enemy gets a chance to kill them before you can hide them.

Additionally, if KP/VP are the only objective, then I might as well just toss the Fire Warriors into reserves. The only mission a 6-tau Fire Warrior squad fulfills is objective-claiming, preferably close to home. Barring that, you load them into the Devilfish just to make it claiming.

3) If You can hide the Fire Warriors out of LOS
Sometimes, you may be lucky enough to have terrain on your side. If you can put the Fire Warriors out of LOS (or leave them in reserves AND have them enter into an out-of-LOS position) and the enemy isn't looking to cross the board against you, then you might be able to shield them from the risk of the Devilfish's death.

Note that you do have to play an enemy that just isn't interested in getting that close to you, or that you're hoping the other guy won't try to cross the board JUST to crater the Fire Warriors.

On the other hand, you can try to use them as bait, since it is a chance for the other guy to kill one of your few, precious scoring units.

This also assumes there are not multiple objectives, or that you might be able to put Kroot on/near objectives. Multiple objective missions are kind of 'eh' for Tau, just because our troops are not exactly durable.

Concluding Notes
I think there are some situations where the Pathfinder Devilfish isn't the go-to destination for Fire Warriors. Worst comes to worst, a Devilfish can be a decent contesting unit, provided you think ahead (while you can move 6" and fire everything with the right wargear, you STILL can only get 12" of movement in a turn) a turn or two.

The other point I have to stress is that with the Tau, our troops are kind of crap, so we do have to keep an eye towards preserving them. We dilute our firepower if we bring lots of troops, as they're not durable and not going to do anything past shoot up or punch infantry, and they don't last long punching it. (And, kroot do not last in the open). Always preserve the Fire Warriors. Sometimes, I think putting them in the Pathfinder Devilfish puts them at unnecessary risk. Sometimes, though, I think it's worth it.

Reflections on Tau experience in Dawn of War vs Guard

Having secured employment, I finally got the models (and foam trays) necessary to field the army. I got a game in against a buddy's IG; Dawn of War with 5 Objectives. The end result was a draw on objectives and a moral victory for Tau.

Here's some unit-by-unit reflection, per Dawn of War and hybrid Tau.

Broadsides
Oh, there's some difficulty to be had in getting mileage out of these guys in DoW. You have range, but since you're moving in from the board edge, field position is more of an issue. I had some trouble getting use out of them because of their deployment; I went for a central position on the board but compromised fire lanes becuase it was an either/or proposition, and I got stuck going first.

On the other hand, they nailed a Vendetta on turn two, then spent the next three turns of the game shaking up a Russ. Talk about comically inept shooting; a Russ absorbed 6 railgun slugs and never got worse than Stunned. (Note this is with Markerlight support, for a good chunk of the time).

Hammerheads
All-star performance. They did a number on enemy army; the pair of them stopped Hellhounds early on, and with their mobility, well, it's hard NOT to get use out of them. I do need to watch their positioning when it comes to enemy meltaguns, as I got lucky when he immobilized a melta-laden chimera.

And, there's nothing like markerlighting a squad of Guard heading for an objective, then obliterating them with a precise submunition shot.

Crisis Suits
They did only ok this game, in large part due to the sheer amount of AV12 I was facing. They did get a chance to shoot up some sisters of battle, as he'd allied some in and slapped them into the Vendetta. They did halt the other menacing-looking Hellhound.

Still, I am impressed with them; the plasma is totally worth it for the utility and for the ability to nuke infantry. Power armor to cover saves IS a big deal, considering the usual premium you pay for power armor. (...then again, A Sister of Battle is 11 points, and a Fire Warrior is 10 points. Yeah. Tell me the Fire Warrior's worth it.)

The main trick in using them is to use your tanks as walls, terrain as walls, walls as walls, and try to set up multiple fire angles. Shoot the guys that can only shoot one thing first.

Commander
He...sat with the Broadsides for a bit 'til I realized they weren't going to get shot at. Not the best use of the commander in this case, but so it goes.

Pathfinders
I deployed them in their Devilfish this time around. I had intended for it to get them into a decent position on turn one. On the other hand, deploying out of a transport and risking a run move may or may not leave you in the position you want.

Anyone have any ideas for Pathfinders and Dawn of War? I think the Devilfish is worth it some times, and I'm going to lose turn one of shooting with them, but past that?

Pathfinder Devilfish
...ate a LR Demolisher cannon round on turn 2, exploded violently, and ceased to even be cover.

Kroot
Mmm, kroot screens. With 17 Kroot, coherency, and first turn in DOW you can press a couple of them up to the middle-of-the-field line, and force enemy deployment back. Note that this is only really annoying when the other guy wants to deploy troops or an HQ on the field.

As my opponent had a large combined squad of guard with autocannons, well, I considered it worthwhile. Of course ,that also put the Kroot that much closer to guns, so they had to beat a hasty retreat.

Fire Warriors
Sat in reserve. Came in on turn two anyway, to claim an objective and allow the Kroot on that flank to advance. Did their job, at least. Not that I ever get Fire Warriors to DO much...

Piranhas
These guys get the Expendable All-Star cookie. Turn 1, I pushed them far up the field. Make the enemy sweat, because there are two squads of two with meltaguns running upfield. Ok, I lost three of them on the other guy's first turn, but it kept him from shooting other stuff.

The survivor managed to KO a Hellhound, though, and dictate his deployment.

Caveats
I lucked out a bit with the dice in that terrain immobilized one of his meltavet teams. He also managed to let me log-jam him with popping/immobilizing vehicles here and there, but when your army has 8-10 vehicles, well, you're short on space for deployment.

Body Count
Me:
Several Kroot
1 Crisis Suit
1 Devilfish
2x2 Piranhas

Him:
1 Meltavet squad
1 Vendetta
10 SoB
1 Hellhound dead
1 Hellhound damaged
1 LR Demolisher damaged
2 Chimera immobilized
[Maybe more; it was last Saturday...]

Conclusion
Tau players? Seriously, consider Piranhas. Between Disruption pods and/or turbo-boosting, you should be able to make a nuisance out of yourself. Be where the enemy wants to be. Oh, and there's a BS4 meltagun you should worry about, guys.

Past that, your Crisis Suits should pretty much always have missile pods, just for the range value and utility.

Rail guns kill armor. Surprise, isn't it?

It's annoying as hell to kind of surrender deployment initiative by going first in DoW. A highly mech'ed-up enemy can react to your deployment well. I seriously think that the Piranhas helped me counteract this, as a highly mech-edup enemy has to worry about Piranhas in the middle of the table.

Objectives are still a challenge, though he denied me the tie by playing for the objectives at the end. I just was not able to kill enough of his stuff in time to make the difference. I blame it in part on my inability to actually KILL a Russ with a Broadside team in 3 turns. Then I could've deployed my firepower in a different way.

Hard-won lesson

The important lesson? Always plan on that 'other guy seizes initiative' thing. I'm cursing myself a little for forgetting the basic, but I got a case of the dumb that cost me a Hammerhead off the bat, and learned more about kroot capabilities.

Bottom line? Practice and exposure to a variety of lists makes perfect.

I took the Hybridized Tau (build pretty much courtesy of Stelek) at 1500. They looked like:

Shas'o w/ Missile/Plasma/Multi-tracker
Two 3-man Missile/Plasma/Multi-tracker Crisis Teams
Two 10 Kroot/6 Hound Kroot teams
6-man Fire Warrior Team
8-man Pathfinder Team w/ Devilfish (SMS, Multi-Tracker, Target Lock)
2 Hammerheads (SMS, Multi-tracker, Railgun)

Basically, I cut a Crisis Team, the Piranhas, and the Suits. Why? Well, I was about to work out (...I am meat head? Maybe.), got a game request, figured 'what the hell.' For reference, this is one of the guys I've 'adopted' as a sort of pupil. I've done this a couple times before, with resources like YTTH, and directed them to From The Warp for more reading. If I ever got a freaking Eldar trainee, I could probably do much worse than direct them to Elessar and Dverning as well. I mean, the web's about resources, right? Right.

He rolled with:
Vulkan
Shrike
5-man TH/SS Squad
Drop-pod (w/ Locator Beacon) MM/HF/EA Dreadnought
10-man tac w/ some stuff
5-man tac
7-8 Scout Squad w/ Cloaks, Telion
10-man Assault Squad, Sarge w/ Hammer/Shield

This is a short batrep, more of a "I made a dumb mistake and it cost me." He is somewhat fearful of Pathfinders and my firepower, so stuff hides. I roll off to go first in spearhead/capture the flag, slap my objective in the back, and deploy the Warriors on it, give folks cover. He has nil long-range firepower.

I fail to use my Kroot effectively as screens. I figure with first turn, I can use one infiltrated squad to try to threaten his objective, but he's a bit cannier than that. Vulkan > squad of Kroot (that love getting pinned by snipers. Stupid Snipers. No, Telion missed 3 out of the 4 shots he took at them. Amazing, yes?)

So, my stupidity? He manages to get Shrike and co within 12" of one of my Hammerheads. Ok, fine, I have first turn. I'll light those guys up, and move the Hammerhead 12" as bait to try to pull them away.

BZZT! WRONG! DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200! WATCH HIM SEIZE THE INITIATIVE!

So, he pops the Hammerhead. His Dread comes in and torches half the Pathfinders. I retaliate by shooting the crap out of that squad (Shrike and 10 Assault Marines with him turn into...wounded Shrike and...a couple guys).

Broadsides: Hey! Hey Mr. Dreadnought! Do you like Rail Guns?
Dreadnought: Man, I wish I had a Rail Gun! You got spares?
Broadsides: Do you like hypersonic metal slugs?
Dreadnought: Why?
Dreadnought: !EXPLODES!
...I needed the comic relief.

Yeah. So then his TH/SS Termies come in via the locator beacon on turn 2, and Shrike and company eat a Crisis Suit team. It was that, or potentially let him hit up my claiming Fire Warriors. I shoot down more of his guys, nail Shrike and the Hammer guy luckily, and then assault them down over the course of two turns. My Kroot decline to move out of assault range, thanks to a craptastic run roll.

Turn 3, I lose the kroot without them being so kind as to drag down a single terminator. I manage to kill four out of the five, and mercifully the last one breaks. By this time, Vulkan has wandered over to the pinned kroot, BBQed several of them, broke them in combat, and meandered on over to say 'hi' to my Pathfinders. His lone Rhino has moved out, but with his TH/SS termie within 6" of my Pathfinders, he's pretty much out of the game.

Sadly, at this point (the bloke's 16, so the parents got to control him some) we call it, but it's safe to say it's a draw.

I will lose the Pathfinders without question, but I doubt either of us will be able to get the other guy off the objective. I can probably splat that Rhino (still have Broadsides and a Hammerhead) and murder its occupants pretty readily. If time permits, I might shell the guys on his objective, but then it's a morale crapshoot, and marines are in good shape on that.

Bottom line? More practice for me. Kroot are screens first and foremost, and I got greedy thinking I could march them up and grab an objective. And ALWAYS plan on having the initiative seized from you.

1850 Tau vs. Mech Chaos, Picture Lovin'

Today's treat? Picture-heavy batrep. I was playing my (AKA Stelek brand) Hybrid Tau. My opponent was good ol' Boc, one of my original Disciples of Spite. Boc happens to fail at blogging, though, since he doesn't update. I managed to hand him a moral defeat today, one of his first in a few months.


Boc's List
Kharn
2 Khorne-Tacs in Rhinos (Mark of Khorne, 2x Meltagun, POwerfist Champ)
1 Berserker Squad w/ Skull Champ (and Kharn) in Rhino
5 Plague Marines w/ 2 plasma guns
8-manish Raptor Squad w/ Khorne Mark, Lightning Claw Champ, 2x Flamers
3 Oblits
Defiler
Vindicator


Scenario: 5 Objectives
Deployment: Pitched Battle
This shot is from the Chaos DZ; the Pepsi machine filled with Coke is hogging my angle. I camera-failed and forgot to take a picture at deployment, so you see Chaos' first move. The red boxes are taken around objectives. Boc had first turn, and I failed to seize the initiative (amazingly. Somewhere Jon is cursing and wondering why it only happens to him). One Rhino of his promptly immobilized itself in terrain, while another one and the Vindicator moved up. He spent the Defiler shot on Pathfinders, killed two, and failed to cause a morale check. He spent a Vindicator shot on Kroot rather than grab a 12" move and smoke.


That aside, though, Boc opted for a more tactical objective-oriented game. He's played Tau a few times before, though I think I brought a nastier Tau build than he's seen before. At any rate, I can't disagree with the notion of 'that's a lotta rail guns.'

And you can see my Tau do the shuffle. Kroot deployed all around the back to kind of discourage Oblit-striking, since he held those in reserve. I maneuver, kick off some missile shots, and send railguns out. Missiles knock the cannon off the Vindicator (as a rail gun from the hammerhead without a complete turret managed to roll a '2' to hit the front armor...go figure). Broadsides light his Defiler up and pop it. So long, big guns.

Turn 2, he...hides things. Can't say as I blame him. He does manage to pop the Piranhas I moved up to threaten him, as he pulled the troops out of his immobilized Rhino. His Raptors only took a few casualties from the sporadic missile pod shots. They assault my Kroot; I kill a few with hounds, pull them as casualties to maximize my return attacks...then promptly make the leadership check.

The next turn? Unspectacular, as his Vindi is promoted to 'mobile cover for Rhino' and he's planning on preserving troops and grabbing objectives. Raptors and Kroot go at it during my turn, and...I pass a ld4 check.

I pass a ld6 check. Kroot hold.

Turn 4. I've kept my suits and such shuffling around, making it hard to deep strike. More, it's been a game of 'man, I don't want to lose the kroot holding my home objective.' Boc decides 'no guts, no glory' for the deepstrike.

Boc proceeds to roll a 5, 5, and...a HIT on the deep strike. Boc proceeds to forget to shoot them that turn, rather than BBQ the kroot. A critical error, but then again, that Deep Strike had a 66% chance of going to hell in a handbasket.

Kroot FOR THE FREAKIN' WIN. Only took them...3 full turns? They beat down the Raptors. I shed a tear for my namesake unit, and the kroot enjoy fast food on the stick.

Turn four rolls around; time for that claiming roll. Berserkers get out, his remaining tac squad breaks out of cover. Recall there's an objective in the middle (next to the big blue turn dice) and in the upper right corner where the Kroot are hiding. I...decide I should do something, since I really only have two troops choices left. Oh, and that little crater? That used to be the Piranhas. Their gun drones ran away to annoy someone else.

I move the Devilfish up to claim with its Warriors, and...nuke his guys off the objective. His guys on the objective to my far side have lost their rhino and taken some casualties to submunition shots.

Pistols prepare to go into the kroot...

But Kroot just want to hold that objective against...um....way too many Berserkers and Kharn who have come uncomfortably close.

Slightly out-of-order picture, showing the Plague Marines and his push towards the central objective.

Berserkers pistol down the Kroot...and lose the assault. Well, turn 5. If there's a turn 6, maybe.

Kharn does the happy dance because he cooked Kroot. Kharn will then promptly be placed back with his boys. You see the front of my Hammerhead in a position to move 12" and contest.

Ignore the Eldar Jetbikes; those are CRISIS SUITS. Hammerhead moves up to ensure I'm contesting and force them to hit me on a 6+ in assault. All for naught, as the Berserkers get nuked to a last man, and Kharn flubs all three saves he's called on to make. Boc is a sad panda.

Endgame. Game terminates at turn 6. Fire Warriors on the central objective; Kroot on my 'home' objective. He has a tattered Khorne-Tac on the far left objective (relative to my side) and Plague Marine Campers on his home objective. Objectives are color-coded; Green for him and Blue for me. As we have tied, it goes to the carnage.

Objectives: 2 to 2 Tie

KP

Chaos: 3 (Piranhas, Gun Drone Squad, Kroot Squad)

Tau: 9 (2 Rhinos, Raptors, Vindicator, Defiler, Kharn, Berzerker Squad, Tactical Squad, Obliterators)

I believe if we'd totalled it in VP, I would've been well ahead. I lost about...300 points. I believe I killed approximately 1,100 or so.

Closing Thoughts

Tau Troops are Crunchy

Buncha T3 4+ Ld7 guys, or T3, Sv-, ld7 guys whose durability is numbers. I think I've hit on this before, but it's a change from Eldar, where I roll with either bikers/cover/fortune, snipers with Stealth, or guns in Wave Serpents/Falcons.

Crunchy Troops Make For More Tactical Play

I pulled a draw in objectives. It's just a change in armies: I must hammer the enemy into death/immobility, and make sure I hold more objectives that way. This game was a sample of it.

Smart Missiles are Fun

The Devilfish with Smart Missiles (I suppose they're called 'Warfish' in other parlance) did a decent job keeping pressure on stuff that ducked out of LOS. I think I'm sold on these for more than their 'oh, Gun Drones give up a KP'.

Kill those S8, AP3 Guns

Big guns are a priority for their ability to ruin my suits, and generate penetrating hits on my vehicles. I'd rather they die, and there's a reason I've prioritized the battle cannons/artillery whenever it's on the table. I admit I'm a bit worried about facing Guard just for the sheer quantity of this stuff they can send off.

Hiding is a Legitimate Strategy

Considering there were a couple Rhinos and light armor for the most part? I'm not surprised most of the stuff went down in a hurry. Rail Guns and missile pods can mince up light armor, and then it's crossing the open to the Tau. Not a place you want to be.

WTF, Kroot?

I have no idea how they held that long. I would've been fine had they folded that turn, since I was looking at a Ld4 check on that first turn. I would've just nuked his Raptors then. Still, it worked out.

Deep Strike Shields

Kroot were deployed better as both claimers and as 'DO NOT DEEP STRIKE HERE' screens. Which my opponent promptly ignored, and landed his Oblits anyway. Thank the False Emperor he forgot to shoot them. Still, had he scattered, he probably would have mis-happed.

Plasma Rifles Rock

Again, this lesson. Missile pods are mandatory Crisis Suit gear, and plasma rifles? Best point-defense weapon ever. If something's in plasma rifle range, it needs to be dead now. With plasma rifles, I can pretty much make sure it's dead. Beyond that, it reduces you to a cover save, or burns monstrous creatures pretty hard.

For the Greater Good

Well, I finally fielded my Tau, against Xardian's mech chaos.

My list is something like:

Hybrid Tau v1

HQ

Shas'el w/ Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Multi-tracker.

87 points.

Elite

3 Crisis Suit Teams, consisting of:

3x Crisis Suits w/ Missile Pod, Plasma Rifle, Multi-tracker

186 per team (558 total)

Troops

6 Fire Warriors

60 points

10 Kroot, 7 Kroot Hounds

112

10 Kroot, 7 Kroot Hounds

112

Fast Attack

Piranha Squad

2 Piranhas; Fusion Blasters, Target Lock, Targeting Arrays, Disruption Pods

160

8 Pathfinders

96

Devilfish w/ Smart Missile System, Disruption Pod, Multi-Tracker

115

Heavy Support

Hammerhead w/ Rail Gun, Smart Missile System, Disruption Pod, Multi-Tracker

175

Hammerhead w/ Rail Gun, Smart Missile System, Disruption Pod, Multi-Tracker
175

Broadside Team

2 Suits; both w/ Advanced Stabilization Systems. One upgraded to Team Leader w/ Drone Controller, 2 Shield Drones

200

Total: 1850

Xardian's list was something like:

Nurgle Lord w/ Daemon Weapon

2 Dreadnoughts w/ Missile Launchers, CCWs

2x Plague Marine Squads w/ Rhinos (7 strong, powerfist champs, personal icons; one had double-flamers, one w/ double plasma guns)

CSM Squad w/ Rhino (Powerfist champ, icon of chaos glory, double flamers)

~8 Summoned Daemons

Defiler

2 3-man Oblit Squads

I don't think I'm leaving anything out.

Scenario was Seize Ground, Table Quarters. Three objectives. I won the role to go first, slapped the Hammerheads in a corner, and then had the Fire Warriors near the Devilfish. Kroot formed a screen around my objective and the Broadsides hid behind them. Crisis Suits grabbed some cover and deployed around that objective. The other objectives were off the quarters. Pathfinders grabbed high ground in a building near the middle with a pretty commanding view.

The battle, in short, involved Xardian playing a more tactical game while I was all MWAHAHAHAA! GUNS! GUNS! KILL! He did manage to Seize the Initiative, which was karma considering how often I go first and/or seize the initative. His Rhinos moved out and popped smoke. His Defiler popped a shot at my Suits, and managed to scatter it off the table.

I respond by promptly immobilizing the Defiler, then remove its weapon. I ignore it, it potshots my Pathfinders slowly. He stays in cover, hides his Rhinos as well as he can, and threatens my objective with Dreadnoughts until I blow them up. I err and don't use the Piranhas to meltagun the things. The other problem is he manages to deep-strike the Oblits well, and I give up rear shots.

Bottom line? I make a few mistakes with movement and perhaps deployment. He strikes Oblits well when I should've screened them better, and I lose my hammerheads. Also, one squad promptly rampages through my lines, and proceeds to nuke a Hammerhead, then absorb a heap of gunfire and plasma, and then eat a Kroot assault. The Kroot promptly spend 3 phases fighting them, two of which are TIES. Then, the two Oblits pop them during my turn (win 3-0, Kroot can't seem to make a Ld4 check. Funny that) and then beat up my Broadsides as in 'beat to death.' Then I plasma them until they stop moving.

The game ends turn six with him having one objective cold, and me having one cold. He has a chunk of tactical marines on an objective in cover, and as my Pathfinders are whittled down, I probably wouldn't be able to gun them off the objective without another couple of shooting phases.

Fun Things I learned About Tau

Guns Are Cool

Tau have a crap-ton of firepower. There's something about having a heap of railguns, missile pods, and plasma rifles that makes a man feel mean and sadistic at the same time. At least, it works for me.

On Kroot and Troops

Tau troops are fairly crunchy. A Devilfish isn't bad, but it's not invulnerable to enemy shooting. Fire Warriors can do some decent shooting, but have Ld7 and tend to run away screaming.

Kroot are fine in cover, though enough of them got caught out in a vehicle explosion to run them off the table. They're cheap, though, and are more intended to act as screens. In a pinch, and given terrain, I might be able to work them onto on objective. Still, at 117 for 17 wounds, it's not a bad deal.

Crisis Suits

They should always leave the house with a missile pod, minimum. They're the one break between S5 and S10 in the army, outside of Piranhas. They're strong enough to menace rhinos and transports, and S7 will wound most anything with a toughness value pretty readily.

The secondary weapon is of concern. Honestly, I see the merits of plasma now that I've rolled with it. It's expensive, but it denies armor saves and is a truly nasty point-blank weapon. It also lets me standoff, and at 24", well...honestly, I don't think I'd ever roll with the Burst Cannon. Less strength, AP and range. Flamers? No. Far too short-ranged; if the enemy is that close I'm screwed and asking to lose the suits. 6" move + the jump pack move isn't enough to effectively use it, and I categorically refuse to suicide-drop suits. Fusion blasters? Range issues. Twin-linked missile pods? Maybe, but then you're committing to a support system in lieu of a complimentary shot, and losing on a weapon system.

Hammerheads

Hooray for versatility. I like them, though I'd have more of a feel for them if I hadn't given Xardian a great little pocket to drop oblits into. Then again, point-blank twin-linked BS4 meltaguns WILL kill a Hammerhead.

Broadsides

At 200 points, the team is a bit costly, but I can't see taking the team and not taking shield drones, the fire-splitter, and the Advanced Stabilization System. Why the Stabilizer? Don't lose a turn of shooting with the need to reposition.

The Target lock keeps me from overkilling an enemy unit. Against something like a Rhino, well? I think a single Rail Gun slug is probably going to be fine. Twin-linked BS3 is a 75% chance to hit anyway, so there's a pretty reasoanble chance of blowing up or otherwise harming light transports. And, the shield drones? It keeps someone from getting cute and firing stuff like Lascannons and other S8 stuff at the Broadsides.

Piranhas

It helps when I remember to move them and use them correctly. It's like having a Land Speeder that trades its heavy flamer for AV11 on the front, which requires heavy weapons to kill. The Gun Drones are 'eh', but can at least threaten to contest.

Still, while the squad is a bit costly, they can split fusion gun fire, and their gun drone shots as well. In general, I'm reasonably impressed with them.

Tau Thoughts In General

I think I'm going to like these guys. They'll take some getting used to, and they have some issues with keeping troops alive. They aren't necessarily forgiving, but there's something fun about carrying all that firepower.

There's a learning curve, but MAN it's fun having all these guns. Now I just need to get another Piranha, 5 more Crisis Suits, and figure out a better Kroot Hound conversion. Maybe ponder a way to get troops to work more, or commit to just killing more claiming units in lieu of trying as hard to score.

If nothing else, learning Tau should improve my game.