Back on subject; As I've been reading through the codex and analyzing all the different units for different roles and combat situations, I've started to notice some pretty interesting things that a lot of Tau players will glance over as they drool over the Suits. Let me start with a list and some further explanations as we continue on:
- Vespids
- Pathfinders (NOT for markerlights)
- Piranhas
- Stealthsuits
- Sniper Drone Teams
A lot of these units aren't really used by most Tau players and yes, they do bring up some good points as to why not (darn those limited Force Organization slots!), but Tau players should really consider them.
Vespids
I already wrote up a whole article (click the word! It's imbued with the Earth Caste's latest "Page Transfer-er for the Greater Good") on this subject, so I won't do it again. However, I will say these guys really do impress me every time I look at their unit profile and I do mean every time. They are some truly useful fellas, unless you're fighting an army that capitalizes on heavy assault weapons that punch through Sv 4+, then they kind of lose their effectiveness a bit.
Pathfinders
They aren't only good for Markerlights! These guys can really pack a punch with their heavy weapon choices and can be even more obnoxious when you throw in a Pulse Accelerator drone. Let's say you have a squad of 7 Shas'la and a Shas'ui leading stalwartly from the front; toss in 3 rail rifles with the Pulse Accelerator and you have a pretty nasty little mobile squad of death.
Of course, one problem with this is the fact that they have the armor value of a small infant, so they can't really lead the charge. If you really wanted to, though, pair them up with a squad of Kroot and send them both Outflanking! Two lightly armored squads of doom come pouring off the edge of the table and your opponent is now somewhat confused on the current events of things, especially when you eliminate key targets with the nasty rail rifles.
Or, even better yet, just hide them in cover or with your regular gun line (if that's how you play) and you have a truly nasty surprise awaiting the foe as they ever encroach so slightly on the turf of the Empire.
Piranhas
These light skimmers are a force to be reckoned with, as long as they move first. Pimp them out with fusion blasters, along with seekers missiles and before long your opponent will learn why exactly they were deemed as such.
They're quick, terrifying and eager to blow stuff up. Toss in disruption pods and watch out for cover reducing mechanics or interceptors, but other than that these notorious skimmers will ruin any Tank Commanders mechanized line.
If you don't have any desire to blow up tanks, but have a plethora of little guys mauling apart your Fire Warriors, then just take the base chassis and charge it through the lines of the ignorant hordes! With it's burst cannon, gun drones and fellow members of the squad, it'll rip to shreds any oncoming lightly armored foes (perfect for the upcoming Tyranid Codex update).
Stealthsuis
So many great choices for the Elites slot, it's almost hard to find room for these guys, but I promise you if you ever have the need to pull off some really dirty shenanigans that makes your opponent want to rage quit (NOT because you cheat, but because these guys are the master of ambushes) then pull these fellows out of your "Tau I never plan on using" box and get ready for some fun! Since I already wrote an article on this, so I'll just leave you with that.
But seriously, if you're more of the crafty type (I'm watching you for any signs of allegiance to the Craftworlds) or just like abusing cover saves, then these sneaky fellows are the units for you.
Sniper Drone Team
Whoever said that Tau don't have enough anti-horde obviously can't read their codexes! Arguably, why would you take a squad of these guys when you can just take Skyrays, Skyray-sides or Hammerheads, well I'll tell you why.
This rather small squad is perfect for rounding out your Ethereal Firestorm barrage, or even just for hiding in cover and sniper enemy officers as they walk by. If you've got a problem with horde armies, then I advice you to consider this option before any other. They have a ridiculous range, they're snipers (automatically 10x cooler!) and they're rapid fire as well. Add in 6 more drones (for a total of 9) and two more spotters (for a total of 3) and you've got one beast of anti-horde right there! Even better, they're all BS 5 thanks to the spotters, thanks spotters!
Due to them being snipers, they're also somewhat good at killing more than lightly armored targets, but they're not the most reliable at it. I can just see it now, a Space Marine Chapter Master comes bolting at your gunline with his squad of OP-ness, yelling something about, "Purge the Xeno scum," and midway through the word, "xeno," he's met with a terrible fate due to a well placed sniper round.
Toss in a few markerlights as well and these guys can really "outshine" (pun totally intentional) the other members of that static gunline.