Advice on small Tau army.

[DFMalivek]

So friends and I are starting up small armies of 650pts for small rapid fire games.

I currently have a Deathwing army, a mech Khornate CSM army, and more guardsmen than i can possibly hope to put together.

Bearing in mind i don't have the codex atm(gonna borrow it tommorrow from a friend till i get my own), and only really want to play the tau for the painting opportunities what would you guys build? Winning isn't a priority, as even if i lose all 4 games that night, thats still 4 games of 40k i got to play that day imo. I also have no clue what armies my opponents are bringing altho i know it isn't eldar or space marines...

[Ironhide]

Commander is a must. Shas'O w/ shield generator, missile pod, and plasma is a good choice IMO. Commander runs you $20-30.

Troops choices are iffy. Good arguments for both the Fire Warriors and Kroot. I prefer Fire Warriors. FW or Kroot will run you $35 for a squad box. If you take kroot and want to add hounds or oxes to them that will cost $13.50 for 2 hounds, and $20 for the ox.

For Heavy support at 650 I'd get a couple of Sniper Drone Teams. They will cost you $30 each.

So you are looking at spending $90 just for the required HQ and Troops choices.

[Imaginos]

I'd recommend picking up the battleforce. It comes with 1 crisis suit, 1 fire warrior squad, 1 kroot squad, 3 stealth suits, 1 devilfish transport, and a total of 6 drones (2 with fire warriors, 2 with crisis suit, and 2 with devilfish). That will give you a good basis, esp if you just call that crisis suit your commander. If you take it all and count the crisis suit as your commander, that is 606 points.

[mrrshann618]

People seem to hate kroot, I'm not exactly sure why, they bolster your actual troops on the field, since you can easily max out your troops for minimal points by just going with FW.

I Love kroot for one simple reason, they easily hold a flank when they are in some sort of cover. They are good shots, equivalent to SM bolter guns, nice on the charge, and get the fieldcraft benefit. We still use forests and trees, though I know alot of other groups have simply abandoned them altogether and the worlds have magically all turned into cities overnight.

[MagickalMemories]

Tau have an edge at low points that bring them... about equal with other armies.
The higher your points go, the more the Tau bite it.

Eric

[Ironhide]

People seem to hate kroot, I'm not exactly sure why, they bolster your actual troops on the field, since you can easily max out your troops for minimal points by just going with FW.

I Love kroot for one simple reason, they easily hold a flank when they are in some sort of cover. They are good shots, equivalent to SM bolter guns, nice on the charge, and get the fieldcraft benefit. We still use forests and trees, though I know alot of other groups have simply abandoned them altogether and the worlds have magically all turned into cities overnight.

I think it is a matter of taste. FW got the ranged firepower while kroot got strength in numbers and fieldcraft, plus semi-decent CC ability.

[mrrshann618]

I used to take 4 FW squads to 2 Kroot squads. Most armies did not want to head towards my Kroot flank as they really did not want to deal with 40 kroot. Add in a 3 man suit team to take care of the transports and such that try to rush the side "haha you only have S4 weapons".

I used to have people cursing at me because of my kroot. No other Tau player in my area played kroot and they simply did not know how to deal with someone who did use kroot as something other than a meat shield. It is a matter of taste, however do not discount kroot. They, like most things in a Tau army, have a place and work well in some instance and not in others. They are not marine killers, unless you are the charger and have already depeleted their numberes. That is what the battlesuits popping out RFing plasma is for.

[HarlequinZero]

Kroot are great if you bring them on mid-game on a flank. Usually about that point your opponent is pretty committed as to where their troops are going so that squad or two of Kroot can really mess with their day.

[getupandgo]

Tau work best under a combined arms tactic... every unit has to cover and work with every other unit, and to win any serious games, you have to know how each unit works with each other, and why.

At 650 though, this doesn't really apply so much. Because you say you're focused on painting, I'd go with some forgeworld suits. They're by far the nicest tau models. Take some time and convert poses so that each firewarrior looks unique, get at least 2 squads of them. Marker drones, which I'd normally avoid for firewarrior teams might be more suitable for such a small points game.The firewarriors will be far more efficient.

Stealth suits can have a surprising amount of survivability, can flank, and can pump out a lot of shots. I go counter to most people's advice and throw a fusion blaster in with them, and it's done me wonderfully. With only burst cannons, tanks and TEq can just ignore them and roll right up on them, with a FB in the mix, they won't take that chance. They're great for using as mobile fire-lane blockers, much in the same way that broadsides are at longer range.

Unless you have rules against 2+ saves like combat patrol, I'd definitely get a squad of broadsides. at 650 points there should be no reason you can't dominate with superior firepower, which is something that tau lack at higher points currently. It's unfortunate, but really true.