Starting a Tau army

[jackdarin]

Alright, so I just inherited a tiny Tau force from my brother, and I am planning on expanding it a bit. I was wondering what would be some good things to add? The current force is:

1 crisis battle suit
15 fire warriors
2 devilfish
6 drones (I guess these are sort of part of the other units, but just thought I would go ahead and list them)

I have done a little research, and it seems getting some more crisis suits is a must, and broadsides are good anti-tank, and hammerheads are better anti-infantry with there submunition, and of course a crisis suit commander.

So, what are a couple of things that I should get to round out a small force and make it a viable army? (and I do know that Tau aren't amazing right now, but I also have seen them win and know they can be good if used correctly).

[Empirespy]

What did you play before, it may help to understand your play style.
I would recommend getting some kroot, battlesuits and a hammer head this will allow you some flexibility.

[guardsman83]

depends on who you play the most against..... kroot are good if you play against guard a lot
helps offset the fact that the tau are the only race the guard can beat in CC

[jackdarin]

Well my main army is Imperial Guard, but I also play Space Marines (its my brothers army but he doesn't use it much any more). I mainly play against SM, CSM, and Nids.

I was thinking a hammer head would be a better option then a broadside to start with, since it can take out tanks, but can also take out infantry with the submunition. Versatility is good for smaller point armies, which is what I am going for.

[Empirespy]

Yes, I would say that the hammer head is a must in every army, it's very survivable, especially if you give it Disruption pods, for only a 5 point upgrade you get a 4+ cover save from over 12" away, then a multi tracker allows you to fire as thou you were fast, it makes it very hard to get.

[Beav]

I know no-one takes it but an eradicator would have your kroot for breakfast

[Empirespy]

yes, but the supporting role of a hammerhead/broadsides would eradicate the eradicator

[jackdarin]

So, a hammer head is a good buy, and how many crisis suits would be a good starting number?

Also, are piranhas any good?

[tiberius183]

Tau was my first army. Had a lot of good times with them. However, the more competitive of a player I became, the more Tau just weren't doing it for me, so my entire 3000+ pt Tau army is mothballed until the new codex.

I rarely field hammerheads. For heavy support, I go broadside spam w/ target locks and use them like long fangs. Expensive? Yes. Look on a fellow Guard player's face when you've just killed 6 tanks on turn 1? Priceless.

Crisis suits. I typically took two squads of 3 in my lists. Favorite combo: plasma/flamer w/ multi-tracker.

Stealth suits are just about worthless. No point in the whole SFG if their weapons only have an 18 inch range (which someone shooting at them can easily accomplish on a 2d6x3 roll). They also cost more than regular crisis suits, and can take less.

Pathfinders are a MUST. I never go into battle without at least 2 squads. And yes, expect them to die quick as most seasoned players know to take them out ASAP. Their devilfish come in handy in conjunction with crisis suits for deepstriking goodness since they allow you to re-roll the scatter.

Crisis commander, I always went against standard doctrine with him. Yes, I would take him as a shas'o, yes I would take bodyguards, yes I would trick the guy out with iridium armor, a shield gen, a CIB, and a plasma rifle, and plasm/fusion w/ targeting arrays on the bodyguards, and no less than 4 shield drones in the squad. I had LOTS of fun with him as my death star unit, killing Trygons left and right.

As for piranhas, I know a lot of Tau players who swear by them, but I've never used them. They get expensive quick, and as such too expensive for what they're used for.

And as for kroot, I rarely would field them. When I did, they were used as meat shields. If you do decide to take them, screw the shaper, he's a waste of points; for the same price as the upgrade, you can get three more kroot, and come on, BUY a 6+ armor save? Ha! Might as well not be rolling at all... Kroot hounds are definitely a must, that Init 5 really comes in handy. But, like I said, I have reservations about them. I've had too many occurrences where due to their nutsty leadership, I've had entire kroot blobs run off the table after only taking a handful of casualties.

[The Envoy (AWOL)]

I've played Tau for a few years now, and there are a few things that I find that some people either seem to disregard or don't take due to being considered "less effective."

I love my triple Hammerheads, I really do. I tend to run two with Railguns and Burst Cannons, and one with Ion Cannon/SMS. The Ion Cannon is dirt cheap points wise, and can tear up small squads of heavy armored troops, or pop light vehicles, and generally be ignored as your opponent tries to kill your Railguns.

I like Crisis teams in pairs, the standard plasma/missile pod is a pretty solid build, though I like twin missile pods to support my advance.

I also take Bodyguards, see no reason not to. Gave them Burst Cannon, Plasma Rifle, Targetting Array, and hardwired multi-tracker, and my Commander a Cyclic Ion Blaster, Plasma Rifle, and Shield Generator, and that squad was pumping out 20ish shots a turn. And it did quite a job in CC too. Remember, you can charge with your suits, they hit Marines just as much as Guardsmen, but with S5 T4 and 2W and a 3+ save they have some solid staying power.

But it really all comes down to what you find works best for your play style.

[Empirespy]

Crisis suits in pairs, it means you don't need to buy a bonding knife.
Stealth suits are great, give them a marker drone and for about 120 you've got 9 potentially bS4 shots all 2+ wounds for GEQ, keep at they max firing range and they will be unseen for almost half the time, they can come in via DS, Infiltrate, outflank, reserve or be placed normally. S you have many deployment methods so they can be where you need them. Also they could be good home objective holders, although I've never played them this way.