"Hey Kirby!
I’ve just recently started visiting your blog after constantly seeing references to it on Bell of Lost Souls and so far i have read a few pages worth of your articles on warhammer 40k and the competitive scene. I am originally a Tau player but since i constantly go to tournaments in my surrounding area, i have drifted away from Tau to Blood Angels. I have decided to play my Tau once again but being fully aware of their position in 5th edition i have hit a tough spot, especially after playing the new Blood Angels for quite some time. I think my main problem is a lack of opinion on Tau Empire play style, so i decided to email in a example army list of a Tau army I often find myself using as a plea for help. I plan on attending a tournament a few weeks in the future, and any criticism would be greatly appreciated
Hq
Shas’el fireknife with HW multi-tracker and targeting array – 97pts
Elites
3 fireknife Crisis suits with multi-tracker – 186pts
3 fireknife Crisis suits with multi-tracker – 186pts
Troops
6 fire warriors – 60pts
10 Kroot – 70pts
10 Kroot – 70pts
Fast
8 pathfinders + warfish with targeting array, multi-tracker, and disruption pod – 216pts
Heavy
3 Broadsides with team leader, HW targetlock, HW drone controller, 1 shield drone, Advanced.S.S, – 265pts
Railhead with SMS, multi tracker, distruption pod – 175pts
Railhead with SMS, multi tracker, distruption pod – 175pts
Thanks again for your help!
Chewy"
Glad you've enjoyed the site and come over from BoLS :). The list itself is pretty good with only tweaks recommended. You don't necessarily need that 3rd Broadside but it is of course valuable. You could change one of the Hammerheads into another Broadisde squad and thus run 2x2 instead. The Warfish can be chopped back to a barebones Devilfish with DPods thanks to the FAQ and those points can go into Kroot Hounds. You could also forego the Pathfinders entirely (buy a Devilfish for the FW) and use the points saved there and if you drop a broadside to get some Piranhas for blocking. Either PF or Piranhas work though.
The Crisis Suits are obviously fine and where the majority of your firepower is going to come from. You could run them as 3x2 instead of 2x3. This makes it harder for your opponent to kill them (more targets) but lessens the effect of the Markerlights from Pathfinders. If you did this I would probably recommend going with the Piranhas over Pathfinders as discussed above.
If you're still looking for Tau advice in 5th I'd look at the Armies in 5th posts on them and the How To for Tau. They give you some excellent insights into Tau play in 5th edition. You've got the basics of the list down pat, just need to make sure you are playing them right now and practice, practice, practice!
