I've got a 1000-point tournament on May 18th at our local store, so I think it'll be a good opportunity to take the new Tau codex out for a spin. I'm wanting to do something a bit different than my older Tau lists, so I'm thinking about going Crisis Suit-less. Fortunately, this is pretty easy to do with the new book. I also want to make sure I have plenty of Markerlight support and a fair amount of anti-infantry firepower while still being able to handle vehicles should they appear. Right now, this is what I'm toying around with:
HQ (110 pts)
- Cadre Fireblade (60 pts)
- Ethereal (50 pts)
Elites (380 pts)
- 3x Stealthsuits [2x Burst Cannon, Fusion Blaster] (95 pts)
- 3x Stealthsuits [2x Burst Cannon, Fusion Blaster] (95 pts)
- XV104 Riptide [Ion Accelerator, Twin-linked Smart Missile System, Early warning override] (190 pts)
Troops (255pts)
- 10x Fire Warriors with Pulse Rifles (90 pts)
- 10x Fire Warriors with Pulse Rifles (90 pts)
- Kroot Carnivore Squad [10x Kroot, 1 Kroot Hound, Sniper Rounds] (75 pts)
Fast Attack (110pts)
- 5x Pathfinders (55 pts)
- 5x Pathfinders (55 pts)
Heavy Support (145 pts)
- Hammerhead Gunship [Railgun, Submunition Rounds, Twin-linked Smart Missile System, Disruption pod] (145 pts)
Total: 1000 pts
The Fireblade and Ethereal support the Firewarrior gunline that's holding the backfield (or moving up, as necessary), the Pathfinders mark targets as needed and stay nearby as well, and the more mobile elements - the stealth teams, Riptide, and Hammerhead - go where needed and put as much fire out as necessary. The Kroot serve either as infiltrating snipers or outflanking objective grabbers, depending on the mission and board layout.
I'm still kicking around ideas and tweaks, though. I'm not sure about 2 HQs in a 1000-point game, but considering how inexpensive these are and how much they support the rest of the force, I think they're worthwhile. Still, I could maybe drop either the Fireblade or the Ethereal and use the points savings elsewhere. For example, I could a drop the Fireblade, a Pathfinder from each team, and one Stealthsuit (merging the two squads into one) and use the points to drop in a Skyray for some Skyfire capability. Or, even better, just drop the Fireblade and Stealthsuit and put in a single Broadside with Missile Pods, a Velocity Tracker, and a Seeker missile. I'd trade off the Fireblade's Volley Fire, but It'd trade it for much stronger, more versatile firepower overall.
Anyway, still tossing around ideas. Meanwhile, I have a halfway-built Riptide sitting on my hobby table (waiting for some magnets) and a couple of new Broadside boxes on my hobby shelves waiting to be assembled, along with some plastic Pathfinders. I just need to track down an Ethereal, and I should be golden. I've never actually owned one - there was no point before the new codex!