Editing Warhammer 40,000/5th Edition Tactics/Tau (section)

==Forgeworld==

*'''Manta:''' The bastard child of a Thunderhawk and a [[Titan_(Warhammer_40,000)|Titan]], this small spaceship is just as capable an attack craft as it is a heavy transport. This thing carries an absolutely goofy number of guns and can spew out [[Dakka|a retarded amount of dice.]] Sixteen Long-barreled Burst Cannons (twice as many shots since the update), Six Long-barreled Ion Cannons, a twin-linked Heavy Railgun (a pair of them as of the update) (destroyer weapon and AP1 like a standard railgun in slug-mode, so it auto-penetrates/wounds and destroys vehicles on 3+ [2+, it is a primary weapon, AP1 and destroyer (are you forgetting ordnance?)], not to mention the submunition mode that throws out large blasts with the strength and AP values of an Ion Cannon, ''and'' deviate less than usual by virtue of being drone-controlled), Missile Pods, a Seeker Missile Battery, and a Markerlight turret ensure that anything it's shooting at will not live to see the next turn. And there's the little benefit that for a [[Titan]] equivalent, it's damned fast. Oh, and it can carry a metric fuckton of Tau; 48 Fire Warriors, 8 battlesuits, 2 Devilfish, 2 Hammerheads, 6 Gun Drones, and 1 Ethereal (but who cares about him?).  Just one of these can damned near carry an entire normal 40k game's worth of Tau ground units! Unfortunately, for the price of the Manta model, you could just as easily buy a decent used car. (PROTIP: Buy a Smart Car, paint it ochre, and use it as both a vehicle and a [[proxy]]. Or proxy it with your converted army case.) If you can afford one and don't know how to use it, try asking either your butler or the two burly Armenians who just came over to break both your legs. One other drawback: unlike other flying vehicles in Apocalypse, ground attackers without AA or pintle mounts use their normal BS rather than needing a 6 to hit because of how fuck-huge it is (blasts and templates still can't fire at Manta, unless AA, and needless to say, all titan-weapons are blasts). Though it does have a 4+ invul save due to its energy shield, remember an enemy doesn't need to deplete its structure points to destroy it like a ground-based super-heavy vehicle. If its immobilized for any reason, it's automatically destroyed, like any other super-heavy flyer. 

*'''Tiger Shark:''' Your bomber equivalent. This thing can shit out fourteen gun drones and carries an impressive armament of two Ion Cannons, two Missile Pods, and two Burst Cannons, making it the death of anything without a 2+ armour save/a lucky invulnerable save/Land Raider-equivalent armour (especially since flyers always hit the side armour of ground vehicles!).  
**'''AX-1-0:''' A version of the Tiger Shark meant to really bring the hate to super-heavy vehicles, swapping out drone racks and ion cannons for twin-linked Heavy Railguns. Put on a trollface as your opponent realizes just how terrifying Railguns are on a flyer platform (answer? Very, especially since the ones on this Tiger Shark variant are just as capable as those on a Manta). 
*** As a [[fluff]] note, the AX-1-0 was originally made as a counter to Imperial Titans. Titans take decades and lots of resources to build, while the AX-1-0 uses existing parts from the Tiger Shark with weapons normally installed on Mantas, thereby minimizing fabrication time and material cost, giving the Tau an extremely cost-effective anti-titan punch. You know that the Earth Caste engineering team that came up with it said, "Problem, Magos?" Few things are more satisfying than watching the look on your enemy's face when you blow up his Reaver Titan or Heirophant with a fraction of its cost in AX-1-0s, that go on to tear his other super-heavies a new one.   
**'''AX-2-2:''' A rather weird unit that carries two Remora Stealth Drone fighters that have two long barrelled burst cannons and seeker missiles. 

*'''Barracuda:''' A pants-wettingly terrifying air superiority fighter that packs raw, balls-out, firepower in a maneuverable package. Armed with two Burst Cannons, an Ion Cannon, and Missile Pods, this thing is capable of taking down pretty much any flyer, and what's more? It can carry Seeker Missiles too.  

*'''Remora Drone Stealth Fighter:''' Essentially a souped-up, more accurate, flying Heavy Gun Drone with twin-linked Burst Cannons, stealth ability, networked Markerlight and two Seeker Missiles. While hard to spot and hit (by virtue of acting as a fast skimmer/flyer depending on your play mode and its stealth generator), its weaponry can be had elsewhere for much cheaper, and to make things worse, none of the Remora's weapons come with AA mounts, so it is more or less restricted to attacking ground targets. 

*'''Orca Dropship:''' If you have the money and points to afford a Manta (lucky you!), don't bother with this one. While still a super-heavy flyer, its transport capacity is only a quarter of the Manta's (it can't even carry vehicles), and it is only lightly armed with Seeker Missiles, a Missile Pod and a twin-linked Burst Cannon turret. Needless to say, the Orca dropship doesn't do any justice to its namesake (which is an apex marine predator in real life). On a side note, this dropship first appeared in the lackluster ''Fire Warrior'' 40k FPS.