40K: Forgeworld Tau and the New Codex
Forgeworld has a bunch of Tau units out there, lets take a look at what you should know in the new codex era.
by Electric Paladin
Tetra Scout Speeders
At 50 points a pop, each with a Heavy 4 markerlight and a disruption pod – which got better, by the way – standard, these guys are still a great deal. The fact that targeting arrays no longer exist, so you can’t boost their BS to 4, is disappointing, but not critical. With four markerlights apiece, each of these is still roughly as good as a minimum squad of pathfinders, except more mobile.
Without the option to boost their BS, it might be worth skipping on the target lock. With BS 3, four markerlights means, on average, two hits. Since you usually want to put three or four marker tokens on a unit to blow it away (one or two to boost BS, two to Ignore Cover), there isn’t much point in splitting fire anymore. Of course, if you field a squad of three or more, it might still be worth it.
Remote Sensor Tower
These guys were never that great, and the new codex hasn’t done them any favors. All battlesuits come with blacksun filters standard now. Furthermore, access to easy twin-linking of almost any unit’s weapons (through the new effects of the command and control node) makes this a lot less valuable for most of our heavy-hitters, like crisis teams.
That said, they are still worthwhile for static gunline type lists. Park one of these behind a squad of fire warriors with a cadre fireblade for the extra shots and they will do terrible things.
Hammerhead Options
Forgeworld gave us a variety of new Hammerhead turrets.
Long-Barreled burst cannons got worse, comparatively speaking, because they are basically little baby heavy burst cannons, which we can get on riptides, who are awesome.
Twin-linked missile pods on hammerheads got worse because we now have so many sources of long and medium range 7/4 shooting that its a waste of a potential railgun or ion cannon.
Twin-linked fusion cannons got worse because with the range extension granted to fusion blasters, it’s only 6” better than a fusion blaster, which is cheaper. If you want a low AP blast, you want an ion cannon or ion accelerator anyway.
Twin-linked plasma cannon got worse because it’s like an ion cannon’s primary mode, only slightly better, but without the option for the secondary mode.
XV8 Commander Variants
XV81 got better because smart missile systems got better.
XV84 is… well, more markerlights are always great. This one would probably work nicely on a marker’el (XV8 commander with drone controller who hangs out with a squad of gun-drones-turned-marker-drones). More markerlights are always a good thing. Outside of a marker’el, you can probably do better.
XV89 is now rendered completely obsolete. The iridium armor upgrade has all the advantages and none of the disadvantages.
Drone Sentry Turrets
These guys have always been highly weird. The new Tau codex didn’t make them any less weird. I have no idea how to use them. That doesn’t mean they’re bad, just… odd.
Heavy Gun Drones
On the one hand, they still compete with hammerheads and broadsides for space among our codices already crowded Heavy Support slots… and that competition got even fiercer with improvements to units like the sniper drone team and Skyray missile defense gunship. On the other hand, consider making these bad boys the escort for an XV8 commander. With the improvement to burst cannons, six of these little guys with an XV8 commander equipped with a drone controller are putting out 24 5/5 twin-linked BS5 shots at 18”. Give the XV8 commander something that has a little more bite – the helios configuration (plasma rifle and fusion blaster) springs to mind, and you have an extremely tasty unit. Switch it up and give the drones one burst cannon and one markerlight, and you have a variant of the marker’el strategy described above that can mix it up in close-range shooting when it has to. After all, with BS 5, who really needs twin-linking, and you can give your XV8 a command and control node if you really, desperately want twin-linked markerlights and burst cannons.
Goaded Graet Knarloc
My impression is that this has always been a weird, hard to use unit. It’s a Kroot… giant monster… that might run off the board if its handlers are killed… and you have to roll dice to determine if wounds are randomly allocated to those handlers whenever the unit is shot at.
I’d leave this one at home until Forgeworld updates it, at the very least to improve that weird “Herd” rule.
Mounted Great Knarloc Herd
This is still basically a neat unit. It’s like taking a bunch of tastier, tougher krootox. The new codex doesn’t change it much. Of the options available, upgrading them to twin-linked kroot guns is probably best, though the explosive bolts aren’t bad. The basic bolt thrower is ultimately forgettable.
Knarloc Rider Herd
Still a pretty tasty unit. Not bad as a counter-charger or an expendable disruption unit. The new codex doesn’t change them much.
Remora Drones
The drones became a little bit better. 1 more shot on the burst cannon. Also, they can fire their seeker without the markerlight hit, although the markerlight is networked. Since targeting array is gone, the Remora would go to BS2. so, it really needs its marker.
~Go forth for the Great Good!
