Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Tau (section)

==Unit Analysis==
===HQ Units===
* '''[[Tau Commander]] in XV8 Armor:''' These are now one of the Tau Empire's most powerful models. Carrying an eye-watering four weapons at BS2+ with an incredibly cheap chassis, these are a major source of deep striking firepower. Note they can take up to two tactical drones if you wanted another way to get those onto the table. Not inept at close combat, though he's still not very good at it even with the Onager Gauntlet or Fusion Blades. If you do it right, you can Manta Strike your commander (take into account Homing Beacons if this is your plan), light up a heavy target with your weapons, and then charge to finish it off with an assault, although it's pretty difficult to pull this off, since Tau are not full of buffs to charge distance.
** The Codex limits you to taking only one Commander per detachment in Matched Play (as of The Greater Good, you can take 2 if using the Farsight Enclaves), as a relic of a time before the rule of 3 existed. This can make it hard on you if you want to mix septs in your army. On the bright side, they can upgrade to Iridium Armour without using a Signature System slot to do so, giving them a shiny 2+ armour save.
** Commander excels in two roles: Anti-armor with quad fusion blasters; anti-TEQ with triple cyclic blaster and ATS. Leave anti-infantry for other units and put your best guns to use with BS2+.
** They can't be spammed, but they usually run about 140 points, making their loss not as terrible as you would think.

* '''Commander in XV85 Enforcer Battlesuit:''' Same as the regular commander, but has 1 more wound instead of access to Iridium Armour. Only 4 points more than the standard Commander, so you may as well use him if you don't plan to give your Commander the Iridium Armour upgrade, saving you 6 points.

* '''Commander in XV81 Crisis Battlesuit (Forge World):''' commander in an XV85 Enforcer Battlesuit with a mandatory Smart Missile System weapon and only 2 remaining slots for Weapons/Support systems. A ok choice if you want a commander with a weapon that ignores cover and fine with him only to haveing fewer customization slots than usual.

* '''Commander in XV84 Crisis Battlesuit (Forge World):''' Another variant of the XV85 Enforcer Battlesuit. Automatically applies one Markerlight token per phase, as long as one of its shots hits the target; also has a built-in Target Lock System, although at 8 points more than a base Commander with Target Lock and can take two additional Weapons/systems, presumably the 8 points is paying for your auto-markerlight and extra wound. This is single-handedly the best unit in the codex to turn into a buffmander for markerlight drones. Use a missile pod for range (97.22% chance of a token at 36"), an airbursting fragmentation projector for applying markers to targets your buffmander can't see (99.73% at 18", vs 99.92% for a Burst Cannon), or a flamer to ''guarantee'' the first marker token (100% chance at 8"). Then use a drone controller on markerlight drones to markerlight up the same target at functionally BS 3.5+, racking up the markerlight hits to 5 (on average, you will need 8.57 drones to make this happen). Works absolutely great with a gunline as you can activate Kauyon and be effectively BS2.5+ on those markerlightss for when you desperately need them or just boost your gunline in general. If not taking drones, works great in a commander bomb to give your already BS2+ suits rerolls of ones. Hurt by the fact that it's now only 1 per army because FW isn't retarded enough to render all other Tau sources of marketlights useless.

* '''Commander in XV86 Coldstar Battlesuit:''' The Coldstar commander has Ludicrous Speed - Movement 20", and Advancing adds another 20" instead of D6" for a total of 40" movement. No longer restricted to specific loadouts (save for being unable to take a cyclic ion blaster, and can only take a high-output burst cannon in a pair with a missile pod), so feel free to use your four hardpoints however you want. GW for one suggests a quad-Fusion Blaster loadout for a super-speedy tank destroyer that can also be used to wipe out characters; it's fast enough to make sure a given character is targetable (provided they aren't bubble-wrapped too badly) and not very many things can take four Fusion Blaster shots and live. Alternatively, give him a drone controller and fly around with a squad of remoras; not super effective, but at least you will get to use those expensive FW models you bought.
** If you'd rather not use points for Target Lock, the Vior'la Sept Tenet is ideal for giving the Coldstar commander the ability to use his guns without any penalties from advancing.
** The note about close combat above also applies to the Coldstar, but more so, because the Coldstar can simply scoot into charge range of the enemy. Something to keep in mind for Enclave players, who can take advantage of the Fusion Blades to make the most of it.

* '''[[Ethereal]]:''' Two key abilities. First is a Leadership to Morale checks bubble (6") which applies to all {{W40kKeyword|TAU EMPIRE}} units. Second is a variable buff bubble selected once per player turn which only applies to {{W40kKeyword|TAU EMPIRE INFANTRY}} and {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUITS}}. Secondary ability Buffs include a re-roll of 1s for stationary units, a 6+ FNP, -1 morale check modifier, or re-advances. Neither ability is Sept Specific, and Leadership is downright mandatory for large units of both Drones and Kroot (which they work very well with) and is helpful for larger strike squads. Their only wargear are melee weapons, which is unfortunate as neither of them are good and melee is the last place you want an Ethereal to be (unless they're Aun'Shi).
** Consider taking Aun'Shi or Aun'Va instead of a regular Ethereal if you want one and the points allow it. Both named Ethereals can do a better job than the vanilla versions since all those have on them is their hover drones (which are of questionable utility since they only add 2" worth of movement).

* '''[[Cadre Fireblade]]:''' Gives your {{W40kKeyword|<SEPT>}} Pulse Pistols, Pulse Carbines, and Pulse Rifles an extra shot. Unfortunately, multiple Fireblades do not stack, but that doesn't matter because a horde of MV1 Gun Drones firing 6 shots each (It's one extra shot with each weapon, and gun drones carry 2 pulse carbines) at 9" is a lot of dakka. Handy if you are running a mobile gun line. The big change this edition is that the Fireblade's Volley Fire, and the Ethereal's Storm of Fire have swapped movement priorities. Storm of Fire can't be used if you move, and Volley Fire works even if you do which is the opposite of 7th, which is... interesting.
** He's one of the best markerlight users in your army. He hits on twos and is a very hide-able character. You could also put him on a Droneport hooked up with 4x marker drones and now you're firing 5 markerlights that hit on 2+.

====Special Characters====
{{W40kKeyword|KE'LSHAN}} Sept has no rules, but it ''has'' got at least one person in it.
* '''[[Shas'O R'alai]] (Forge World):''' Appears to be a ranged monster-killing Commander, that can also throw a SINGLE Mortal Wound onto vehicles at close range. Equipped with Photon casters and a drone controller he can do a decent amount of damage at close to mid-range while still being difficult to charge due to Photon Casters reducing enemy charge range by 2". His Markerlight drones, able to stay with him without taking hit penalty but are for some reason WS3+ While he can re-roll failed hit rolls against {{W40kKeyword|CHARACTERS}}, [[Fail|he has no special rules bypassing the Character targeting restrictions]].
** RAW, the EMP rounds roll to see if any Mortal Wounds are inflicted to a {{W40kKeyword|VEHICLE}} on target, rather than on hit. This means you effectively have to make a second to hit roll after all your normal ones, just this time for the Mortal Wound, and you can only inflict one Mortal Wound no matter how many times you successfully shoot the target.

===Troops===

* '''[[Fire_Warrior|Strike Team]]:''' Your main gunline infantry. In the past, you may have been hard-pressed to find the compulsory 2 5-man units lurking in cover somewhere while large bots dominated the board. Now, you're encouraged to take them for the extra CP and firepower they offer to your army. If you want to spam them, make sure you also get a Pulse Accelerator drone from the Pathfinders, a Fireblade to increase their volume of shots, and an Ethereal to buff their leadership and give them FNP, and markerlights for re-rolls and +1 to hit. High strength keeps them capable of wounding more easily, but low BS and higher cost compared to other armies' infantry hold them back, though even a single marker light on their target helps compensate. Still very effective in numbers - go MSU with them, which maximizes the benefit of their free turret (in power level games), among other benefits. They also have Photon Grenades that do no damage, but any hit {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} unit suffers a -1 To Hit until the end of the turn (why these things don't work on bikers, cavalry, etc is a mystery best left to GW). Toss one during Overwatch and hope you get lucky. Also, ''literally'' turn the worst possible morale test result into an auto-pass with their Bonding Knife Ritual rule, which acts just like +1LD outside of interacting with re-roll buffs more strangely. Treat this unit as not having the option for the carbine; it is a) worse than the rifles and b) if you want the carbines you have better options in pathfinders or drones. (NOTE: the last two aren't troops, so keep that in mind for your detachments.)
** If you're facing an enemy that's going to charge your Fire Warriors consider having pulse pistols to give that melee unit an emergency punch if they can't disengage.
** A unit of 12 is surprisingly sturdy thanks to the 4+ save. If you put them in cover they can weather a lot of firepower before going down. By comparison, a Strike Team can be affected by a Pulse Accelerator drone and a Fireblade, to give them 3 shots at 18" (or 1 at 36"), as opposed to the 3 shots at 12" that the Pathfinders would get, or the 6 that the Gun Drones get at 9". Gun drones cannot be affected by Pulse Accelerator drones, suffer more from morale losses (taking tests after a single loss, compared with the 3 of Fire Warriors), Drones can only shoot at the closest target, and Pathfinders have 1 worse armour save. Units of 5 are also perfect for filling troop choices: 5 man is 35 points (or 38 with a markerlight on the Sergeant), which is cheaper than a Guard infantry squad. Two 5-man teams, a Fireblade, and a Pulse Accelerator drone exactly fill a Devilfish, which is no coincidence and a great way to pay Troops taxes.
** Bork'an Sept: Our 30" guns buff out to 36" due to the Sept tenet. With a Pulse Accelerator drone that range goes out to 42", rapid-firing at 21"! Alternatively, you can use the Sept Trait as an excuse not to buy a Pathfinder team, if you're looking to avoid them.
** Vior'la Sept: Perhaps the only exception to Pulse rifles being superior to pulse carbines. Vior'la allows you to fire your weapons after advancing without penalty. The downside is that it turns your pulse rifles from rapid fire 1 to assault 1. The pulse rifles still have range but the pulse carbines will be getting more shots off. Even with a Fireblade, the rifles will only be firing 2 shots at 15", a dangerous distance and the pulse carbines will be firing 3 shots at 9", which I would still be hard-pressed to do but you're more likely to eliminate the unit. And with a PAC drone, your carbines are now doing 2 shots at 24" and 3 at 12", after advancing without penalty. Now obviously you don't have to advance every turn, and pulse rifles maintain a lot of flexibility with Vior'la, but if you want to take the movement phase away from a very mobile opponent like assault-heavy blood angels, consider pulse carbines.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Tactical_Support_Turret|DS8 Tactical Support Turret]]''': Can no longer be picked up and moved, and gets destroyed if you lose coherency, but can be re-deployed via Stratagem if you swim in CP. Costs 0 points itself, but you still have to pay for its gun. In points matches it's better to pay for more fire warriors than take turrets if you expect to be in rapid fire range. The missile pod is lackluster but performs adequately against light vehicles. Maybe a more viable choice now, given that most everything for our army has dropped in points cost.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Guardian_Drone|MV-36 Guardian Drone]]''': Gives any Strike Team units in range an invulnerable save, and a better one to any nearby Breacher Teams. Drones can be targeted by fire, so keep them out of the line of sight or in bigger packs. The save on strike teams only helps against AP-3 or better (AP-4 or better in cover), soo... DON'T. If your opponent is stupid enough to shoot melta and lascannons at your troops, you don't want him to get discouraged.

* '''Breacher Team:''' The budget Vespids. They put out good firepower, as long as you are close enough to count their nose hairs. Don't expect them to live past their first shot unless you can tie down any potential threat with a Devilfish. Speaking of, Breachers are likely the best filling you can put into them and they synergize with each other big time. Move the Devilfish 12", charge a unit and tie it down and force it to waste a turn, then unload the Breachers and retreat the Devilfish from combat (thanks to {{W40kKeyword|FLY}} it can still shoot afterward too). The changes to disembarking ''before'' the transport moves make attempting a Breacher charge across open terrain extremely risky. It can still work, but careful positioning to utilize cover or breaking LoS is critical. Try for a flank instead of the bold center attack or prioritize enemy units that will get that one crucial turn of shooting before the Breachers close the gap; that or stay in your fish longer and hope they can survive the attention they will undoubtedly draw. Alternatively, you can simply move the Devilfish as close to the enemy as you need, disembark the Breachers 3" away, move them for another 6", and as long as you manage to put 4 Markerlights on the target unit, you can even Advance for another D6" and shoot your blasters without penalty, very likely putting the unit within their ideal 5" range. You can also do this with footslogging Breachers, which make quite a good screening unit, as they are something your opponent does not want to get close to on their way to your Pathfinders, Strike Teams, and other backfield units, though it is harder to pull off and lacks the synergy with the Devilfish.
** Given their boosted profile, you might think Breachers are great for throwing a wrench between the legs of any opponent who thought they were going to face a static gunline they could easily squash in close combat if they just make it across the field, but the enemy can just charge you outside the 5" super-effective range and if they hit your breachers with a fast-moving close-combat oriented unit, they're effectively dead.
** Breachers are pretty much the best unit to accompany with Darkstrider, as they will wound T4 (in other words: MEQ) units within 10" on a 2+ with Darkstrider's debuff, or wound T5 targets such as bikes (or squishy Eldar/Dark Eldar skimmers, making Breachers surprisingly good tank killers against them) within 10" on a 3+. And it goes without saying that Breachers are the best unit to utilize Darkstrider's "fall back and still shoot" rule, which seriously hurts when you hit the guys that just charged you with S6 AP-2 blasts. Devilfish has 12 seats, so just toss Darkstrider in there with two 5-man units of Breachers.
** Breachers do still get their improved invulnerable save from the Guardian drone, which can be shared between units for cost savings. They also have Photon Grenades that do no damage, but any Hit {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} unit suffers a -1 To Hit until the end of turn. Toss one during Overwatch and hope you get lucky. Do note though that if they're in a Devilfish with Darkstrider, they're going to be a large fire magnet and can easily be stopped outside of their effective range.
** Alternate take: Consider taking the flying bugs instead of Breachers w/Devilfish, for more range, movement, and deep striking, at the cost of 1 gun strength.
** Farsight Enclaves boost these guys immensely. With rerollable 1's to wound you'll have a field day killing anything lower than toughness 6.
** '''[[Tau Drones#Tactical_Support_Turret|DS8 Tactical Support Turret]]:''' Same as the Strike team version. An extremely bad investment as the unit will likely either be constantly moving or die shortly after placing it.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Guardian_Drone|MV-36 Guardian Drone]]:''' Gives any Breacher team units in range an invulnerable save and an inferior one to any nearby Strike Teams. While cheap for what you get it's still a questionable investment, as your opponent is unlikely to shoot the Breachers with anything stronger than a Heavy Bolter and will just murder them with small arms and high volume/low AP weapons instead. Also, a free kill point if you already take Darkstrider and a Devilfish.
** Speaking of different game types, Breachers are pretty handy in Cities of Death and should also find a place in Zone Mortalis (when GW pulls their finger out and update that ruleset for 8th), what with Breachers being designed for indoor/CQB an' all.

* '''[[Kroot|Kroot Carnivores]]:''' Slightly cheaper bubble wrap than Fire Warriors, their 7" movement and initial <strike>infiltrate</strike> scout might allow them to be more usefully positioned to protect more valuable units. Not very good at either shooting or close combat, but what really kills them is their crappy morale (they are half as hard to kill as GUARDSMEN, yet are more expensive, and if you lose 5 of them, then you will lose another 1-5 Kroot on a 2+ without your opponent ever having to lift a finger). Kroot Shapers are a terrible choice themselves that utterly fail to address the morale issue, and getting an Ethereal just for babysitting Carnivores is a waste of points that yet again goes against the only reason why you would use them over Strike Teams or Breachers in the first place. with Ambushing Predators, they can counter-counter your Tau getting charged while they hide out of sight, other wise Look to their devolved hound kin, for a cheaper and much better option.

===Dedicated Transport===
* '''[[Devilfish|TY7 Devilfish]]:''' Fish of Fury returns! Just kidding. They can mercilessly charge enemy units, tie them down and force them to waste turns not using their dakka or slowly killing that fish instead of getting closer and killing the backfield targets that they actually want to murder. If they don't want that then your opponent will either be forced to fall-back, which for most units means not being able to do anything at all for an entire turn, or if the enemy unit stays in combat you can simply fall-back without penalty thanks to FLY and blast the stranded assault unit with your de-facto burst-cannon drones and the rest of your army, and ideally the Breachers you just unloaded. Also can fly over enemy units and snipe support characters behind them or tie-down backline support units with strong firepower. Benefits from the same durability increase all vehicles received, however, it can still be relatively easily popped on the first turn, though much less so than a Rhino or even Chimera thanks to the rather generous amount of wounds you have (12 instead of 10). Cannot transport Kroot or Vespid, so ideally put Breachers into them. Thanks to the 12 seats you can toss in Darkstrider or accompanying drones as well. Devilfish is flexible but still quite pricy, so keep them as cheap as possible, save the upgrades for actual tanks such a Longstrike or Hammerheads.
** Remember that you can detach the gun drones if you use the Devilfish for late game objective grabbing, which increases the number of models holding it from 1 to 3 and makes it much harder for the other player to contest it. Keep the drones attached otherwise as you can't re-attach them and the Devilfish gets to shoot their guns at BS 4+ and ignores the 'only allowed to shoot the closest target' rule, effectively turning them into Burst cannons.

===Elites===

===={{W40kKeyword|Kroot}}====
All of the new updates and codices/psychic awakening have attempted to improve the space chickens, though they will typically find few roles other than meat shields. 

* '''Dahyak Grekh:''' For 20 points you get a deepstriking character with a 24" S4 sniper rifle. He's underwhelming at first glance with his low strength and toughness, but he's surprisingly tough and versatile, boasting three wounds, three attacks, and the {{W40kKeyword|CHARACTER}} keyword, meaning he can hide behind a Pathfinder screen while picking off your opponents special snowflake Captains and Chaos Lords. He also has a special booby trap ability that enables him to deal D3 mortal wounds on a roll of 4+ on a D6 +1, or D6 mortal wounds on a 7+, giving him an effective way to clear out pesky Assault Marines or Berzerkers who might be walking in the wrong direction.

* '''Kroot Shaper:''' A support hero for Kroot, buffing leadership of {{W40kKeyword|Kroot}} units within 6" to his ld7, and in the improbable occasion he kills with his knife, they also don't have to test morale. He is more usefully also re-rolling wound rolls of 1 and a Pack Alpha Stratagem improving charge rolls. He makes Hounds and Krootox Riders Dangerous while keeping pace. You always want to upgrade his rifle to Pulse, since both are free.

* '''[[Krootox]] Riders:''' A relatively cheap unit, they have become cheap Space Marine bikers, a fast unit with relatively strong shooting and melee, and able to quickly advance at the defect of not doing anything else that turn. they each have a pseudo-Autocannon (48" Rapid Fire1 S7 Ap-1 D3d). They do need stratagems to do their best, with Hidden Hunter for their low defense,  Raging Beasts so they make 4 S6 Ap-1 D2 punches each, then throw in an advancing Shaper using Pack Alpha to go further beyond.  They are cheap enough that you could throw a couple in your army if you wish tau had Melee calvary. another minor benefit is that you can field them as one model for complete moral immunity assuming you don't plan on buying anything else for the Elites slot (The second biggest benefit is that the model is sculpted with a menacing, don't-mess-with-it expression on its face).

===={{W40kKeyword|<Sept>}}====
* '''[[Stealthsuit_Team|XV-25 Stealth Battlesuits]]:''' Your infiltrators, able to be set up anywhere besides the opponent's deployment zone and within 12" of enemies. They no longer have any special interaction with cover, but their stats increased to T4 W2 while actually ''decreasing'' in price, and their Stealth rules now apply a -1 to hit modifier to any units attacking the Stealth Suits in both shooting AND close combat, lessening their dependence on terrain and giving them more autonomy. Unlike other battlesuit units they also have the {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} keyword, with all the benefits and vulnerabilities it entails. They also con take only 2 drones per squad, one model every three can swap their Burst cannon for a Fusion blaster, and the Shas'vre can buy a markerlight w/target lock on top of his normal gear, which makes for a good argument to get MSU if you want more than three Stealth suit models.
**Not useless at direct combat in any way, but three Stealth suits with Burst cannons cost you 66 pts where single Crisis suit with the same firepower costs 18 pts less. Their utility lies not on their raw power but on their <u>tactical mobility</u>, setting up where you want them right from the start while being difficult to remove. They even infiltrate a pair of drones, since they deploy together. Their homing beacons are one of the only ways to set up reinforcements ''closer than 9"'' from the enemy which matters to Flamers and Fusion gun (& Fusion Cascade) battlesuits, but since it works at the ''start'' of your movement phase it's rather niche. But they might need that help, since they cannot Manta Strike - the only other unit they can deploy alongside with is the <u>Ghostkeel</u>, with whom they work well:
***Ghostkeels have lots of 18" guns but also want to keep their distance from the enemy; bodyblock them with Stealth suits, which get -1 to be hit even in melee. Ghostkeels can't bring regular drones; Stealth suits bring two, and their Shas'vre can get a target locked markerlight. And when a Ghostkeel loads up on fusion weapons and can no longer defend itself from the small guys, the Stealth suits help it with their burst cannons, maybe gun drones and even fusion guns of their own. Teamwork!
** Stealth suits are in the enviable position of being able to take battlesuit support systems without actually needing them to be efficient, and since they're relatively hard to shoot away they can survive for when you Manta Strike all your stuff next turn. Give one a drone controller and that's a Crisis suit that doesn't need to give up a gun to support the incoming drones. A shield generator is relatively cheap and gives the unit a 50/50 chance of ignoring any rogue heavy weapon hits, such as a lascannon's. You can give the fusion gun suits a target lock so they can advance to melta range. The other systems affect their shooting, which may be a job best left to the real combat units: What would an enemy flyer care about being shot at with a gun that wounds it on 5's, has no AP and deals single damage, even if you do hit it on a 4+ with a velocity tracker? That's what Broadsides are for.

* '''[[XV-8_Crisis_Battlesuit|XV-8 Crisis Battlesuits]]:''' GW has given them plenty of points drops to make them useable, and Psychic Awakening has done even more to make Crisis Suits appealing by giving you lots of relics and stratagems. Crisis teams are the surgical strike of the Tau military, deployed to counter the enemy elite and destroy their vulnerable points, but those costs add up. The only weapon they're more cost effective than a Commander is Flamers, as they are not affected by their questionable BS4+. The Commander is just more effective, but the limit on Commanders makes Crisis suits a viable alternative for when you can't bring as many as you'd want. They deep strike through a ''Manta Strike'', a distinction which matters in 8E for stratagem use. Unlike other suits, Crisis suits put weapons and support systems in the same slots, and 8E's simplification of the rules has made it so that <u>bringing three guns is better than two guns with a support system</u> most of the time. On the plus side, they can take 2 drones per ''model'', and deploy with them in the same Manta Strike, as well as support them with a drone controller. This means they can bring their own drone support without using up Fast Attack slots, and you can keep shielding your Riptide with like thirty drones and such. Fag.
**They are very versatile, but so is the rest of your army and some models have the same battleroles, so you have to decide what you get from which unit. Not saying "don't take this and go WAAC", you WAACfag, just saying some loadouts overlap in function. For example, you can bring trios of '''Burst cannons''' and pairs of Gun Drones for a bazillion S5 shots...but since you get S5 from literally every other place in your army, is anti-infantry something your Crisis should really be doing? They can get a ton of '''Fusion Blasters''' up the enemy's face, but do you need to, when you also have railguns? The same thing happens with other guns. '''Missile pods''' are for long range light antitank & heavy infantry, and so are Broadsides. '''Airburst projectors'''' ignore LoS, but so do Smart missile units, and you can also FLY over obstacles. Even '''flamers''', your best anti-infantry weapon, are hampered by the fact that you absolutely need to low-altitude drop near another unit with a Homing Beacon/Positional Relay (+2CP!) or else your flamers will spend a turn doing nothing, and thus automatic S4 hits at 8" at turn three are outclassed by S5 shots from like 30" away and since turn 1, despite their BS4+.
***Crisis suits are your most efficient source of '''plasma rifles''', which are your <u>most efficient anti-MEQ</u>, even after the nerf 8E was for them. '''Cyclic ion blasters''' look like a very complete weapon by being like a combination of a burst cannon and a missile pod...but burst cannons kill marines more efficiently ''even when you overcharge the ion blaster'', by virtue of it costing more than twice what a burst cannon costs. Plus they're scalped to hell...but they are <u>your only gun with guaranteed D2</u>, which makes it an invaluable tool at killing those Primaris Gue'ron'sha.

* '''XV-8 Crisis Bodyguards:''' +3 pts per suit to give them Shas'Vre stats (Ld8 3A), with the ability to take wounds for your {{W40kKeyword|CHARACTERS}}. For the same price as a single Crisis Bodyguard you can take nearly 6 Gun Drones which have double the wounds, intercept the wound on a 2+, and mitigate multi-damage weapons more effectively. The difference is, Bodyguards can absorb shots for any {{W40kKeyword| <SEPT> CHARACTER}} instead of only {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} and {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUIT}}s, the disjoint of which only Longstrike belongs to. Still, the ranges at which flamers and fusion guns operate are short enough that close combat is a real possibility and an extra attack is worth considering. If you are already bringing a Crisis bomb, make them Bodyguards.

* '''[[Battlesuit#XV9_Hazard_Battlesuit|XV-9 Hazard Support Team]] (Forge World):''' A <s>Crisis</s> heavier Battlesuit that gets a variety of advanced weapon choices. 50% more expensive than a Crisis Suit before weapons for the privilege. Having 2 extra wounds, +1 attack (beh), -2" to hostile chargers and a free Support System per suit adds to that somewhat. Can take two weapons in any combination of: Double-barrelled Burst Cannon (which is two Burst Cannons at 80% the price), Phased Ion Gun (roughly a 20% more expensive Burst Cannon but with slightly lower strength and better AP), Fusion Cascade (basically 2 Fusion Blasters at 83% the price, but they drop down to standard melta range), or Pulse Submunitions Rifle for when you want to hit targets 30" away and wound pesky T5s on a 3+ and T3s on 2+. At a glance, seems to be most cost effective if you need a single suit to perform a task. Past that it may be more effective/reliable to look towards normal Crisis suits. For comparison, a 2xDBBC+ATS w/4 Gun Drones will average you the same number of wounds as a 3xBC+ATS w/2 Gun Drones Commander, while being a few points cheaper and a little less durable. Finally an actual tactical choice!
** RAW, you do not have to pay for the single support system choice the suit can take, as you are taking its ability, not an item.
** Chapter Approved 2018 gives these bad boys a point drop. Now a unit of 3 with dual double barrelled burst cannons costs 216, while unloading 48 shots at the enemy. Give them ATS, and you give that downpour of fire a sexy AP-1 for just 18 points more. This setup leaves them with just their armour save, but it poses a risk to anything on the board. It is fully capable of exterminating entire squads of infantry, execute monstrous creatures and light vehicles, and shave wounds off of larger monsters and heavy vehicles. They are the single most effective battlesuit option in the entire army, and a must-have for those who are willing to pay for them.
** Protip: Take the team above and a team of dual Fusion cascades with shield generators. Use the farsight enclaves ability for +1 bs on deep strike, and get some markerlight support. 48 shots shooting on a 2+ with re-rolling 1's? Yes please!

* '''[[Battlesuit#XV95_Ghostkeel_Battlesuit|XV-95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit]]:''' Not as heavily armoured as the Riptide, but with two different systems (its onboard countermeasures and its stealth drones) that each give opponents -1 to hit it (for a cumulative -2). It might actually be more survivable against heavy weapons, but it needs cover badly and fears close combat. What makes it stand out however is its DISTRACTION applications. Giant Mecha are bound to draw enemy fire away from the more important target (Stealth Suits in this case) and with a cheap shield generator it can survive a lot of punishment.
** Can be a great late game objective grabber if you position it right. Use the wall of mirrors stratagem as it pretty much means you can move a stealth team 18 inches, '''right on to that objective tucked around the corner...'''
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Stealth_Drone|MV-5 Stealth Drones]]''': Lowers the to-hit rolls when anyone shoots at these drones or a Ghostkeel within 3". Try to keep them out of line of sight, so they can't be picked off. Remember, they are a separate unit from the Ghostkeel now after they deploy.

* '''[[XV104_Riptide_Battlesuit|XV-104 Riptide Battlesuit]]:''' These are now considered one of the most dangerous units in the Codex, bringing an eye watering amount of firepower and being nearly impossible to remove if you bring enough drones. '''Nova Reactor''' confers an automatic mortal wound, but it grants a useful effect (a 3++ invulnerable save, move 2d6 in the Charge phase even if you don't declare a charge, or improve the Heavy Burst Cannon and Ion Accelerator to Heavy 18 and Heavy 6, respectively). The mortal wound sucks, but there's now a cheap Stratagem that lets you get two effects at once and another one that can heal the wounds you receive. Also don't forget that Sense of Stone gives you that 16% chance to not get DERP'd by reactor. All of its weapon options are Heavy, so take Target Lock or prepare to use Mont'ka to position them. The Heavy Burst Cannon outperforms the Ion Accelerator in most situations, but don't ignore the value of the 72" range. ATS is almost mandatory as it's a huge increase in damage, turning the HBC into a Heavy 18 S6 AP-2 D2 monster (with nova reactor).
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Missile_Drone|MV-84 Shielded Missile Drone]]:''' A missile pod, with an invuln save, for slightly more points than a missile pod. For some reason it has a better base invulnerable save than the Riptide. Also a separate unit from the Riptide after deployment so you can have these bugger off to support another unit now. Still kind of expensive given the drone's low BS unless you have both controller and marksman nearby. Still, with a movement of 12" it's probably the best drone to keep up with a Riptide on the move, to absorb hits directed at it.

* '''Firesight Marksman:''' Because he's a special snowflake his Stealth Field works differently from everyone else's, and he gains +2 to his saves for being in cover, rather than imposing a -1 to-hit on any shooting attacks made against him - if your opponent is allowed to shoot him at all, as he is a character and even a single model in between him and the shooter prevents him from being targeted. Slightly better BS than normal, and has a Markerlight. Unfortunately, he is 3x the cost of a Pathfinder for the privilege, though he is much, much harder to kill and ideal to start markerlight chains together with Fireblades (allowing any subsequent markerlight shots against the target to re-roll 1s to hit as well). If you bring sniper drones this is a mandatory take, since he provides them with a +1 to hit. Combine that with a drone controller on a nearby commander and they'll be hitting on a not-terrible 3+.
** Note that 3 of these and an ethereal are perfect for a Sa'cea sept vanguard detachment. The ethereal takes the +1 Ld and turns your entire army into Ld 10, and with the free re-roll your Firesight Marksmen will have an 89% chance to hit.

* '''[[Tau_Drones#Technical_Drone|DX-4 Technical Drones]] (Forge World):''' Same stat profile as a Tactical Drone, with an 8", Assault 1, S5 shot. Once per shooting phase the unit can choose to either attempt to repair D3 wounds on a single {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUIT}} model within 3", or select an enemy unit within 12" to not receive cover saves until your next turn. Adding additional drones gives no benefit towards number of attempts or the success chances of any repairs. Expect these guys to draw a colossal amount of fire, and probably die immediately as a result. Make sure to hide them out of sight behind buildings if you want them to live long enough to actually fix something. You can also stack repairs between different units (don't ever increase their unit size, just get a new one).
** RAW, you can use the ability in every player's shooting phase, not just your own, but good luck with trying that! If you use this to try and heal the Ta'unar in the enemy's phase then you can expect to be immediately punched in the face.

===Fast Attack===

===={{W40kKeyword|Kroot}}====
* '''[[Kroot_Hound|Kroot Hounds]]''': Cheap bubblewrap at 4 points each (minimum 16 per unit) for more valuable units. They have two attacks in close combat and can re-roll charges if the charged unit got wounded this turn. Try to stick to MSU if you can, to circumvent their low morale of 5. You can also use them to squeak an extra Commander in or to cover the Fast Attack portion of a brigade.

* '''Knarloc Riders (Open and Narrative Play only)''': Added to Index: Xenos via the v1.1 FAQ from Forge World, these rare {{W40kKeyword|CAVALRY}} have no points listing; if you have a cool group you can agree on points for them, then test & adjust until balanced, if your group is an uptight bag o' dicks then you're stuck with Open & Narrative Play only (upgrade your group, escape the bag). They're PL5 for a unit of three so should <i>roughly</i> clock in at around 20-23 points per model. Basically 3-6 Kroot rifle-wielding hooligans lumbering about on a low, fat, beaky K-Rex each, Knarloc Riders fill an odd niche where they've got a similar stat-line to Krootox Riders (inc a flat +6" Adv move); two less Strength & one less Toughness, but with a 4+ save and more melee attacks so are kind-of focused towards assaulting infantry. The Knarloc itself, like all 8th edition Cavalry gets to have a go at the target at pulse weapon strength but slightly better AP after the rider's had his two standard Carnivore swings. Thunderous Pounce gives the Knarlocs (not the riders, though!) +1 To Wound on the charge so they'll wound T3 models on 2s...if they survive to get into combat and hit with their WS3+. A minimum unit of 3 will rapid-fire 6 shots then hit with 8 attacks on average (4 at S3 & 4 at S5/6 -1AP) so they're not amazing at killing much but should take a big chunk out of an equal-value unit of Gaunts or other T3 crappy-save death-fodder before getting hit back. Three of these vs 12 Hormagaunts (60pts) will kill off 7 standard Gaunts with rapid-fire and then on the charge, taking a wound back on average. Vs GEq that's 5.8 Guardsmen and for MEq it's 2.5 dead Marines. Double that up for a full unit of six Knarlocs and you end up with 14 dead Gaunts (obviously), a wiped unit of 10 Guardsmen or one dead Marine combat squad, on average. On terrain-heavy tables they may be useful but you've still gotta get them onto target first so...rare models, questionable value. Plenty of character for rounding out a Kroot fanatic's list but beyond that...?

===={{W40kKeyword|<SEPT>}}====
* '''[[Pathfinder_Team|Pathfinders]]''': Now cost considerably less than what they used to, you're going be getting a lot more use out of these guys. Not only are they a cheap source of Markerlights, their special weapons are actually great now. The Ion Rifle being very cost-efficient (and almost impossible to overheat, with a single Markerlight hit on your target granting re-rolls on 1s), while only having AP 1, is still a Plasma gun that will hurt like hell when it successfully wounds. The Rail Rifle packs a real punch, at the more expensive price granting S6 and rending for D3 damage, and the cheapest source of mortal wounds for your army()effectively sniper rifles but unable to target characters. Regardless, both will profit from their own unit's Markerlights, but you can also shoot them at another target if you so desire. Also, their armour now actually works against small arms fire, despite their lack of even one manly [[pauldron|pauldron]], so they won't instantly melt when caught out of cover. Markerlights are still Heavy weapons, so movement remains a concern. They also have Photon Grenades that do no damage, but any Hit {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} unit suffers a -1 To Hit until the end of turn. Toss one during Overwatch and hope you get lucky.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Pulse_Accelerator_Drone|MV-31 Pulse Accelerator Drone]]''': Increases the max range of your pulse rifle/carbine/pistols. No longer attached to the Pathfinder squad, so you can take and then leave behind with your gunline. Can take 2 per unit, and an auto include if you are running a gunline. Only affects {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}}, so won't help gun drones.
*** Consider throwing in a Recon drone as it forms one unit with the PA-drones and provides cheap ablative wounds for the vital buff for your Fire Warriors, as they can easily be singled out otherwise.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Grav-Inhibitor_Drone|MV-33 Grav-inhibitor Drone]]''': Makes it more difficult to charge your guys. Cheap, but random effectiveness and competes with slots with the Pulse Accelerator drone. They can also just shoot the drone before the charge phase, so hide it behind terrain (which is highly effective as the charge hindering effect still works even behind LoS blocking terrain) or throw in a recon drone for cheap ablative wounds. It goes without saying that a 1d3 reduction to charge range is massive when it comes to preventing first turn charges, which several armies such as Tyranids can effectively spam and many scout move units can pull off as well, as they often have to be placed more than 9" away from you and results in a high likelihood of the charge failing, which becomes almost certainty with a grav-inhibitor drone.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Recon_Drone|MB3 Recon Drone]]''': A burst cannon on a drone chassis, that lets nearby Pathfinders ignore cover saves, for slightly more points than a burst cannon. If you have any rail rifle or ion gun pathfinders, keep this near them. Doesn't suffer the targeting limitations of gun drones. Consider taking it if you have the points. Does not conflict with the other two drones slots and has two wounds while costing 4 points less than two regular drones with the same toughness and number of wounds, so great for adding extra ablative wounds to the strong but squishy grav-inhibitor and PA-drones which form a unit with the recon drone after deployment. The recon drone also has 2 wounds and savior protocols, so it can tank 2 shots for your battlesuits.
** The datasheet indicates the unit can take two tactical drones along with the three special drones; remember that in case you want more ablative wounds on your buffs. You can have up to five drones in that unit: two tactical, two in any combination of grav/PAC, and one recon.

* '''[[Piranha|TX4 Piranhas]]''': Zippy, decently priced, can be armed for anti infantry or vehicle, and the drones use the model's BS while attached. Fills the same harassment role it always has, but is no longer the essentially "free drones" platform it was in 7th. Basically shoves a 3 man stealth suit team, into a vehicle chassis for increased movement at lowered durability, at a lower cost. Only consider putting the Burst Cannon on if you're really short on points or facing a particularly horde heavy opposition. True, you may have better anti-tank options in your arsenal, but remember; A Piranha is a harasser first and foremost, your job is to ''weaken'' tanks, not destroy them. And while you might have some better anti-tank you have a '''lot''' more better anti-infantry options. The Seeker missiles are often a good investment too.
** Pro-tip: If you are against Custodes, use these as skirmishers. You can use them to mess with their jetbikes, and possibly charge them to give your suits more time to tear them apart.

* '''[[Tetra]] Scout Speeder Team (Forge World)''': Has a High Intensity Markerlight, that grants 3 Markerlight counters on a hit. Still suffers a -1 to hit when it moves. As is, faster but less efficient Markerlight application than Pathfinders. An odd rules choice, as you want 3 Markerlight tokens already on the target to fire without penalty which then wastes a Markerlight token by taking you to 6. Should have been 2 MLs from the HIM, and then a secondary Markerlight weapon.
** Alternate Take: These little bastards are infinitely better at the singular task of efficient markerlight delivery. While a Pathfinder squad has the multi-role of being a heavy weapons squad and support unit for other units, these guys are designed to a) Deliver markerlights and b) Survive. They are cheap, fast and can deep strike. They have a low profile allowing for easy cover, and their marker lights seem inefficient at first, but a single hit will deliver re-rolls on 1's, cover negation and seeker/destroyer accuracy.  If you need the final two, spend a CP and get d3+1 to finish the job. Suggested that you take between 2 and 4 of these guys, and keep them in cover!

* '''[[Piranha#Piranha_TX-42|TX-42 Piranha Light Skimmer]] (Forge World)''': Comes with your choice of two of: Fusion Blasters, Missile Pods, Plasma Rifles, or Rail Rifles. The guns are quasi-twin-linked, forcing you to fire them both at the same target. Due to the cost of the unit, at first glance the best option seems to be the Rail Rifles, giving you a 16" movement and 30" range, with two Rapid Fire 2, S6 AP-4 D1d3 guns that deal a mortal wound on a wound roll of 6+. Yet another unit that is a better sniper than our Sniper Drones!

* '''[[Tau_Drones|Tactical Drones]]''': Note this is also the datacard used for all other drones that deploy with, and then separate from, other Tau units. All drones can be allocated wounds that would otherwise hit any {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} or {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUIT}} within 3" thanks to '''Saviour Protocols'''. Note they cannot soak wounds for vehicles, even if they come with drones.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Gun_Drone|MV-1 Gun Drones]]''': At 10 points, this is the Tau Empire's somewhat more efficient source of [[Dakka|dakka]] after the change to Volly Fire. These synergise extremely well with a drone controller and Cadre Fireblade, resulting in 6 shots at 9" at BS4+. Even with the reduced ballistics skill compared to Fire Warriors and Pathfinders, they still do more wounds per point to most targets, with the only real disadvantage being they're [[Ork|dumb as a bag of rocks]], and can only fire at the closest enemy unit.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Shield_Drone|MV-4 Shield Drones]]''': These drones have a 4++/5+++, making them incredibly good at soaking damage. With the way saviour protocol functions you want a bunch of these around to absorb any high strength, high damage weapons aimed at your battlesuits. Lascannons will be completely useless against your army until these are dead, since they turn that D6 damage into a single Mortal Wound, then have a 33% chance to ignore it. Some lists are running 30-40 of these guys to do nothing but keep your army alive. Extremely frustrating to play against, so don't do that if you want to keep your friends.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Marker_Drone|MV-7 Marker Drones]]''': A bit more expensive than a Pathfinder, with a worse BS, but no penalty for moving and firing. Does not suffer the aiming restriction of the gun drones. Basically requires a drone-controller to be effective, which puts into question why you wouldn't just take cheaper pathfinders for markerlight duty and gun drones which massively benefit from drone controllers, resulting in disgusting amounts of firepower if you spam them.

* '''[[Battlesuit#XV109_Y.27Vahra_Battlesuit|XV-109 Y'vahra Battlesuit]] (Forge World)''': The '''Nova Reactor''' nerf the Riptide got still applies, but at least it doesn't have the same competition in the Elites slot as the Riptide. Also per FAQ it can take one of the rare magical Shield Drones in the army that can survive Saviour Protocols (in 1/3 cases). '''Escape Thrust''' allows it to remove itself from the battlefield and enter reserves at the start of you Movement phase, re-deploying anywhere more than 9" from an enemy at the end of your next Movement phase, so it misses an entire turn and one extra phase of movement which sucks ass. Give it ATS and target lock and go to town on any unit in the game. Infantry? 2d6 S6 Ap-2 (-3 with ATS) DAMAGE 3!! FUCK THOSE TERMINATORS AND THOSE CENTURIONS! Flamer that can overcharge to 3d6, which lasts into your opponents phase, 3d6 overwatch will fuck anything that's T6 or less, and will still threaten heavier units. Monsters/vehicles? Heavy 3 S8 Ap-3 D1 isn't the most glamorous thing but this is where nova reactor gets the most value. Heavy 3d3 S10 Ap-3 (-4 with ATS) D3 with mortal wounds on a 6 to wound will average 6 shots and will fuck up something badly. This is the Riptide variant with the best reactor buffs for guns, you already get a 4++ from 12" or less/melee so that reactor for 3++ in melee is pretty shit, so basically it's a choice of murder small targets or murder large targets. Dump this and keep in supporting fire range of stealthsuits/ghostkeels or give it a coldstar (Y'vahra is M18 and coldstar is M20) as a partner and enjoy your god tier  Sanic fast tag team. If you're feeling extra cunty take three and keep them in 6" range of each other, enjoy having literally nothing less than a knight charge you and survive, as your overwatch phase becomes 6d6 to 9d6 flamers on steroids.
** Bor'kan adds 6" to all heavy and rapid fire weapons, this model's weapons are all heavy oddly enough. Very Nice. Combine that with Target Lock and Multi Tracker and perhaps some marker lights and the Ion Discharge cannon becomes far more accurate. The investment is worth it considering how much more firepower you're unleashing, this is a model you want to at maximum possible efficiency. So get some technical drones to fix it when it no doubt gets shot at.
** Farsight Enclaves synergises pretty well with it too. Rerollable 1's to wound with the flamer really boost its killing potential since most of the threats you'll use it on will be wounded on a 2 or 3+ roll. Sure you have to be within 6" to actually get the benefits, but that's a situation you'll likely end up in given the range of the weapon.
** Note: While certainly powerful, Y'vahra are unfortunately a bit of a death star unit. True, it hits really hard but most savvy players will be aware of this and target it first. It's too big to hide from most unit's line of sight, and a good deal of artillery units can bypass that anyways. Toughness 7 can be overcome by a good amount of weaponry and a 5+ invuln save isn't going to help you very much. Once it's down you basically end up with a 400 odd point void in your army. Be cautious when you field this, and do your best to keep it in range of some kind of drones, or use technical drones in tandem with it. Use terrain to try and keep the LoS blocked and do try to go first. A good tactic is to use a Coldstar and declare Mont'ka to get it in range.
** A better tactic would be to surrounded the Y'Vahra with shield drones and use them to tank wounds for it. You'll shrug of all anti-tank weapons as on a 2+ that D 10 Valient Harpoon translates to a single mortal wound. 20 of these things and suddenly you have a 34 wound suit whose first 20 wounds can only be taken one at a time. Even if your opponent does the smart thing and targets the drones first they'll have to chew through a bunch of T4 4++ models which isn't as easy at it seems. Have the drones in a few small groups and this combo becomes even harder to deal with.

===={{W40kKeyword|Vespid}}====
* '''[[Vespid|Vespid Stingwings]]''': They're cheap at 11ppm and they chug out a fair volume of S5 AP-2 shots, and they move like greased lightning. Point for point they can ruin overpriced heavy infantry, can get in close for the kill with excellent mobility, all the while staying at comfortable 18" assault 2 range. These are phenomenal flankers/harassers. Unfortunately, these crazy bugs will become Ld 5 if the strain leader is slain, so don't be stupid. They can also deep strike, meaning they are really good at killing other harassing units. Use them to take care of the random supporting units or anything that try to buff your enemy.
** Unfortunately, at T4 1W Sv 4+ these are going to die very easily. Get them cover or have something more threatening on the board for your enemy to worry about.

===Heavy Support===

===={{W40kKeyword|<SEPT>}}====
* '''[[Tau_Drones#Sniper_Drone|MV-71 Sniper Drones]]''': Without support these are terrible, they have BS 5+, a 48" Rapid Fire 1 S5 AP0 D1 gun that can target characters. If you have a Firesight Marksman who can see the target and have another unit with drone controller nearby they gain +2 to hit, then add Deadly Aim for 2 CP for -2Ap at 24", going from below to above average for snipers. As with all drones, their LD is garbage, so keep an ethereal nearby if they start to get shot at. Another important to make most out of the deadly aim you real need fill to upper limits  to about 12 drones Ethereal will help but so will the Stratagem - Strike and Fade for one command point you can move it into behind line of sight. If get opponent real angry you might want to do same after doing this for two or three turns
** Note that Cadre Fireblades don't work on these guys - The FAQ specifically says Longshot Pulse Rifles are not a Pulse Rifle for the purposes of volley Fire.

* '''[[Tau_Drones#Heavy_Gun_Drone|Heavy Gun Drone Squadron]] (Forge World)''': Gun Drones packing double the usual firepower with two Burst Cannons for 34 points ''each''; alternatively, you can swap one Cannon for a Markerlight to get a combination Gun and Marker drone (the downside being that they don't have a way around the -1 to hit for moving and firing a Markerlight and that they still cost a ''colossal'' 29 points each). They can fire guns and Markerlights at the same time thanks to '''Automated Targeting Protocols''', but if any of them do, the whole unit gets no benefit from Markerlights at all that turn. So they're hideously expensive compared to an equal weapon loadout in standard drones, and they take up a Heavy Support slot to boot. All of those extra points buy you 3W per drone instead of 1 and removes '''Threat Identification Protocols''', so they don't have to shoot the closest unit. If that sounds like a good deal to you, then, by all means, knock yourself out.
** If you're buying these just for the guns, remember that 76 points for a minimum size unit of these with two cannons each (6 wounds, 16 shots) would have bought you nine Gun drones (9 wounds and 36 shots) or eight Gun Drones and a Shield Drone (9 wounds, 32 shots and a 4++ until you take your first wound) with four points left over for a Kroot Hound too. The Burst Cannon/Markerlight Heavy Gun Drones are marginally more efficient, but still stupidly overpriced for what they do compared to regular drones.
*** FAQ gave them the codex Tau Drone Saviour Protocols and these are 3 wound models, so rather than dying when they save people, these can save up to 3 models before being destroyed.
**** These drones also don't require any extra space in transport, so you could put 12x of these in a devilfish. The point cost is insane, but they bring 108 shots.

* '''[[Skyray_Missile_Gunship|TX78 Skyray Gunship]]''': Two markerlights, six seeker missiles, same drones/burst cannons as before. Seeker missiles only hit on 6+ unless the target has 2+ Markerlight Tokens, and deliver an S8 AP-2 D1d6 hit apiece. In other words, six hunter-killer missiles. These have amazing alpha strike capability, delivering a huge amount of firepower turn 1. After that, they really don't do much besides provide some markerlights and S5 shots.

* '''[[Hammerhead_Gunship|TX7 Hammerhead Gunship]]''': Railguns are kinda questionable without Longstrike. However, Solid Shot can now deliver D3 Mortal Wounds on a to-wound roll of 6+, making them useful against Vehicles and smaller Squads (remember Mortal Wounds ''always'' rollover within a unit - if you add 3 extra mortal wounds onto 1-wound infantry model, you'll kill three of his mates with a quadruple-collateral railgun shot). Ion Cannons are only 5 points more, but now rolling a one to-hit when they're overcharged will slightly damage the Hammerhead. Try to always keep them buddied up to Longstrike, for that sweet, sweet +1 to hit (which will stop you hurting yourself with Ion Cannons). Frankly, take Ion if you are only running one Hammerhead, and take Rail if you brought Longstrike.
** Crunch-wise, Hammerhead-borne railgun is actually buffed up due to new vehicle rules. It is Strength 10 and AP-4, that ensures that the vehicles with Sv 3+ or lower (and Sv 3+ is what most tanks or even such mighty war engines like Reaver battle titans have) get NO armour save at all. Many targets will have an invulnerable save anyway, and if Longstrike's around you should just go for that Ion Cannon, you'll get a better return on investment.

* '''TX7 Heavy Bombardment Hammerhead Gunship (Forge World)''': Initially massively overcosted and lacking the right keywords. The new FAQ lowers the cost of the base tank down to index level (so 17 points ''above'' Codex level), and gives it the {{W40kKeyword|HAMMERHEAD}} keyword so it can be buffed by Longstrike. Unfortunately, the big seller on this is replacing the turret with a pair of high yield missile pods, whose cost is also substantially above Codex levels - 82 points for the pair, rather than the 50 the Codex would charge. The net effect is that you'd be much, much better off just taking a Broadside with the same HYMP pair and a support system that's appropriate (target lock or ATS).

* '''TX7 Fire Support Hammerhead Gunship (Forge World)''': Initially massively overcosted and lacking the right keywords. The new FAQ lowers the cost of the base tank down to index level (so 17 points ''above'' Codex level), and gives it the {{W40kKeyword|HAMMERHEAD}} keyword so it can be buffed by Longstrike. Has a choice of three main guns: a Twin Plasma Cannon, which will behave like a badly overcosted Ion Cannon, a Twin Fusion Cannon, which will behave like a moderately overcosted Railgun, or a Twin Heavy Burst Cannon, which hasn't got a ''dreadful'' cost for its profile until you remember the 17 point surcharge you paid for the chassis. Avoid this; you're better off, depending on the profile you like, fielding more standard Hammerheads for cheaper.

* '''[[XV88_Broadside_Battlesuit|XV-88 Broadside Battlesuits]]''': Their ''Heavy Rail Rifle'' has long-range and fires two S8 AP-4 D1d6 shots, as well as an extra Mortal Wound from rolling a 6+ to-wound. The HRR can be exchanged for two High-Yield Missile Pods, which can allow you to do far more damage, especially when targetting anything with an invulnerable save. Broadsides still have the (practically mandatory) option to take their one Seeker Missile for that nasty potshot. It can take up to 2 drones, in any combination of tactical or missile, per '''model'''. These suits are getting damn cheap, at 76 points with dual plasma rifle and rail weaponry. Three of them with Shas'vre nets you 228 points and the Magna-rifle upgrade can be had free of points cost. 
** A large squad of these can be buffed with Kayuon and Command and Control node, giving them full rerolls on both to hit and to wound. This is an excellent tactic to take out a large threat, but be aware that they aren't very mobile at all and lack fly. If they get engaged in close combat you can say goodbye to any use they have. Keep them screened.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Missile_Drone|MV-8 Missile Drone]]''': A mobile Missile Pod for fewer points than two Missile Pods. Low BS hinders it, though. As with all drones this edition, is not attached to the Broadside unit after deployment, so it can be moved where it is needed (but is also independently targetable, so be wary of getting them shot).
** A note on cost: With the Chapter Approved 2018 the chassis for the Broadside has gone down significantly to 35! Now a Broadside with an HRR and 2 Smart Missile Systems is a 100 points. Combine it with the point decrease for Attack Targeting Systems and 2xHYMP, 2xSMS and ATS are just 121 points. At that point range, you can get 2 of them for 252 points, rivaling the Riptide's 280 points while also competing it in firepower. ATS Riptide's Heavy Burst Cannon offering 12/18 S6 -2AP 2 damage shots vs the two ATS Broadside's 16 S7 -2AP D3 damage shots. A Hammerhead with an Ion Cannon and 2x smart missile systems will run you 165 while being tougher and more mobile (and more accurate while holding still). Both can be cheaper with different choices (plasma rifles and burst cannons, respectively, will bring the costs down to 113 and 151, respectively).
*** If you prefer to keep them close to their missile bubblewrap, consider taking heavy Rail rifle broadsides, two with shield generators/velocity trackers and the Shas'Vre taking a drone controller. Suddenly your unit is a blob of rail-and-missile death that can cause problems for almost everything.

* '''[[Battlesuit#XV107_R.27varna_Battlesuit|XV-107 R'Varna Battlesuit]] (Forge World)''': Heavy support version of the Riptide, a long-range [[TEQ]] and light vehicle killer. Like the Broadside, it gives up {{W40kKeyword|FLY}} in exchange for its heavier weaponry and increased durability. Use the nova reactor to Reroll those 6d3 shots, get the godlike 3++ or blast some MW into the units tying you up. It has value that exceeds 1 MW no matter what you do with it.
** While the R'varna remains a very powerful choice, it is a much more specialized unit than it was in previous editions: it no longer gains weapon strength or additional hits against larger targets, and the removal of blast weapons has reduced its efficiency against hordes. Keep it pointed at its favorite targets, and it'll never disappoint.

====Kroot====
* '''[[Great_Knarloc|Great Knarloc]] (Open and Narrative Play only)''': GMO space chickens have taken to the extreme. Their big melee brutes equipped a big gun or Gattler, and can either inflict MW on attack or be a large standard to keep your Kroot chaff in line.

===Flyers===

* '''[[Razorshark_Strike_Fighter|AX3 Razorshark Strike Fighter]]''': Cheaper than the Sunshark but fewer Ion shots in 15" (Assault rather than Rapid Fire, though) and has a choice between a Burst Cannon and Missile Pod. It also loses the Pulse Bomb, Markerlight, and a potential second Missile Pod. It does get +1 to hit ground targets with the Ion Turret so as long as you pick your targets properly you shouldn't blow yourself up. It could be worth it, as it is substantially cheaper than a Sun Shark.

* '''[[Sun_Shark_Bomber|AX39 Sun Shark Bomber]]''': 8th ed bomb rules mean that after moving choose one unit this model has flown over, and roll a dice for every model(up to a maximum of ten), inflict a mortal wound on a 5+ (4+ against {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}}). This is a solid buff, that could be amazing against large hordes like Orks, Tyranids, or IG, simply for the number of dice rolled. It's also a markerlight wielder that can't be charged by non-flying units. Might also be useful in low point games against Custodes, due to the heavy Dakka and free mortal wounds.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Interceptor_Drone|MV-17 Interceptor Drone]]''': Two rapid fire ~Autocannons, on a drone chassis. As long as you keep them attached to the Sun Shark, they will use its BS instead of theirs; within 15", the pair has double the firepower as the Razorshark's main gun. A bad overcharge while attached will actually kill the drone itself, rather than damage the plane, so both riskier and safer at the same time. Once they disembark, they cannot be re-attached. Interceptor Drones also sports a 20" move value, making them good Coldstar Commander Escorts.

* '''[[Tiger_Shark#Tiger_Shark_AX-1-0|AX-1-0 Tiger Shark]] (Forge World)''': A flyer (not a LoW which is weird) with a Heavy Rail Cannon (x2), an impressive Macro weapon that deals double damage to {{W40kKeyword|TITANIC}} units, along with two burst cannons that can be swapped for cyclic ion blasters and two missile pods, not to mention a battery of 6 seeker missiles to one-up that pesky skyray. 3+/5++, '''Hard to Hit''', along with T8 and 16 Wounds make it very durable, especially for a Flying unit, did we mention it has a 5+ invuln?. It should be mostly used for killing Lords of War, and secondarily for vehicles. Despite being a non-titanic flyer it has an ability to let it destroy everything without worrying about those pesky macro weapons not working. This horrendous monster will set you back 629 fully kitted and $217 (250 with the darn taxes and shipping) in real-life points, ouch. Did I mention this is superior to the Barracuda in all aspects?
** Also worth noting, it no longer has a submunitions mode, so can no longer help with hordes.
** This is a good Titan hunter, not a great one. Simply put, the Heavy Rail Cannons are a very low volume weapon with only 2 shots. Chances are high that one of those shots (perhaps both) will fail to hit, wound, and/or will get saved somewhere. That leaves you with essentially 6 x 2 for 12 damage on average, and a 1/6th chance for additional DD3 mortal wounds (which can also be saved by void shields). For the cost, lascannon equivalents and regular rail cannons can fill the same role with added consistency. When making the comparison between the Imperial Volcano Cannon, it's the higher volume of shots (3 x DD3, as opposed to 2) that give it an advantage. Frankly, a flat 10 or 12 damage is warranted for a weapon that hurls human-sized projectiles at 5 kilometers per second (depending on atmospheric conditions).

* '''[[Barracuda|AX-5-2 Barracuda]] (Forge World)''': The default Heavy Burst Cannon, two Long Barrelled Burst Cannons, and two Missile Pods mean it can put a lot of S5 shots out at a decent range, while still being able to injure light vehicles. Can also swap in an Ion Cannon or Swiftstrike Railgun for the HBC, or CIB for the LBBC, to improve its anti-vehicle ability. '''Hard to Hit''', 3+/5++, and T7 make it decently durable. About twice as expensive as a Razorshark, with Heavy weapons, and without any bonus to hit still leaves us without a viable anti-Flying unit. Changes to primary weapons mean this thing is fucking worthless compared to the riptide, which is the role it fulfills anyway, with the branching nova charge stratagem you have even less reason to ever touch this thing.

* '''[[Tiger_Shark|Tiger Shark Fighter Bomber]] (Forge World)''': 2 Barracuda AX-5-2 primary weapons, 2 burst cannons and 2 missile pods on a T8 chassis with 16 wounds and BS2+ for a bit over 400 points is a great value. Can swap out its drone carrying ability for Heavy 2D6 S6 Ap-2 D2 which means that giving this bad boy two ion cannons can make him an ungodly [[Rape|rape machine]] against heavy infantry, or slap on 2 railguns and go to town with 4 railgun shots per shooting phase. If you're not dealing with enemy LOW this will probably be a better choice over the AX-1-0, as it can dish out more dice against a larger variety of targets. This is our best air superiority fighter with effectively BS2+ (all main weapons are Heavy type) against "hard to hit" meaning you will hit at least 2 of those railguns, add in the rest of the dakka and you deal out some serious anti-air pain with this thing while still having great anti-ground capability to boot. Take seekers and use "refuel, rearm, repair" to add 6 seekers back after you unload them for extra value, beating skyrays at their own game. If loaded up with 2 heavy burst cannons and 6 seekers, this thing can dish out [[Dakka|26+2d6 shots]] per turn, giving you on average over 40 dice to throw around raping infantry.
** Changes to Barracuda primaries have made this thing absolutely worthless, either take the ax-1-0 or pay a little more for a pair of riptides/y'vahras instead, it was good while it lasted.
** The 2nd big FAQ changed a few things for the Tigershark. Ion cannon and HBC are now swiftstrike versions. Both prices went up by 20 points for each weapon and HBC/new swiftstrike HBC use the old crappy stats. Potential dmg went down on the HBC to only 33.3% of its former stats (shots: before 12, now 8 / dmg: before 2, now 1).

* '''[[Tau_Drones#Remora_Drone_Fighter|DX-6 Remora Stealth Drone Squadron]] (Forge World)''': Losing the stealth part of its namesake, only getting the generic -1 to hit for being a Flyer, and gaining Infiltrate instead. This results in a rather generic light fighter which will easily be shot down by enemy AA. The utility side has also gone as they have also lost their Markerlights. Overall a pretty weak unit that will probably get shot down before it can earn back its points and should best be avoided. On a side-note, these are still drones and can still be affected by drone controllers. They are also fast enough to accompany a coldstar commander and protect it with the character rule while being hard enough to shoot down that your coldstar might just survive while monster hunting. Not great but not bad either at a comfortable 54 points apiece.
** Coldstar with drone controller seems like a niche and useful combo. These are base BS4+ meaning you can boost them to BS3+ with drone controller. They can also deep strike and can move without taking any shooting penalties with 36" burst cannons.
** Also bodyguards the Yvahra battle suit well and clears out the hordes which may attempt to shield precious units from the Y'vahra's weaponry. R'vahra also has the option for a drone controller, just like other riptides!
** You are no longer able to shove them in a Devilfish per the latest FAQ.

* '''[[Orca|Orca Dropship]] (Forge World)''': Once considered so useless and over-costed that Forge World removed it from the sale, the Orca makes its glorious return... remaining over-costed and pretty useless. Well, better luck next time guys. It's simply not a good idea to use it to its full potential, that of flying practically your entire army around in a transport that isn't even all that hard to shoot down, especially since there's not too much else on the board to shoot at. It also still has the same old problem of not being able to deploy everyone at once, leaving some of the units stuck until later in the game when they could've been helping immediately.
** Since in 8th Edition you only have to set up within 3" when disembarking from a transport this issue is somewhat downplayed. You can have everyone in the Orca fan out around it now instead of being limited to the rear ramp.

===Lords of War===
* '''[[Battlesuit#KV128_Stormsurge_Ballistic_Suit|KV-128 Stormsurge]]''': In some ways, the Stormsurge is a better option than the Riptide. For weapons get the Pulse Blastcannon for more average wounds at a lower cost or the Pulse Driver Cannon for a vastly increased range and points cost. Practically mandatory upgrades are trading out the Flamers for Burst Cannons and taking a shield generator and ATS to improve both durability and destructive power. Can no longer double shoot by anchoring down, now it improves its to-hit roll by 1. As standard for {{W40kKeyword|TITANIC}} units, it takes extra damage from some particularly massive weapons but suffers no penalty for moving and shooting and can Fall Back and still shoot. It ends up being about 30% more expensive than the Riptide once equipped but with more Wounds, better base invuln save (only if equipped with shield generator), and more firepower. Note that it is not a {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUIT}}, so cannot take advantage of drone sacrifices via '''Saviour Protocols''' or certain stratagems.
** If going up against a deep strike heavy opponent, consider taking a Stormsurge with a Blastcannon, and Early Warning Override, in order to [[Meme|fire all the things]]. If going this route, the Airbursting Fragmentation Projectors can actually become a viable option, depending on how much terrain is on the board. They can admittedly just deep strike more than 12" away to bypass this, but it will still help protect against / deter charges. For only the low cost of a single Fire Warrior in points to do it.
*** The Bork'an Sept tenet goes quite well with Stormsurges as almost all of their weapons are heavy anyway, but the best bit is it keeps it out of charge range when using the Pulse Blastcannon at that sweet, sweet 6D profile.
*** The cruelest reality of this unit is that it looks ugly as sin, find shapeways options to make it look like it's not taking a dump on the battlefield. Markerlight support is a must, and Tetra's are truly the best possible option to make it's Destroyer Missiles viable. Do not underestimate the power of Destroyer Missiles, they can and will ruin a chosen target's day. Overall they are the best anti-armour weapon on the unit, even outstripping the effectiveness of the Blastcannon and Driver simply due to their mortal wound output. Be very selective with where they are being dropped however, you only get four of them. (Get marker support and drop your stabilizers to get a 2+ to hit, reroll 1's)

* '''[[Battlesuit#KX139_Ta.27Unar_Supremacy_Armour|KX139 Ta'unar Supremacy Armour]] (Forge World)''': Comes with 4 Smart Missile Systems, 4 Burst Cannons, 1 Pulse Ordnance System (that can be swapped for a Nexus Meteor Missile System or a Heavy Rail Cannon with Cluster Shells ability), and 2 Tri-Axis Ion Cannons (that can be swapped for Fusion Eradicators). T8, 30W, 3+/5++ makes it a bit more durable than a Knight. It can fire its non-Macro weaponry while in melee and it may reroll 1's when firing the Burst Cannons and Smart Missile Systems in Overwatch. It can move through any unit without Fly or Titanic, however, it cannot Fall Back and still fire that turn.
** Has the {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUIT}} keyword, so can be healed by Technical Drones and benefit from '''Saviour Protocols''' (don't worry, that Gun Drone can totally block a Volcano Cannon shot for you). Even better, it can be buffed by an Ethereal. Bring along your holographic Aun'va and enjoy your Ta'unar that re-rolls 1's and has a 6+ FNP. Unfortunately, CA 2017 was not kind to the Ta'unar, making it so costly that you can get an entire army for the price of fielding one, and right now it doesn't justify that cost.
*** With the 2018 update the points cost of this unit dropped by a whopping 750+ points, making it viable in even 2000 point games. You'll get the most mileage out of the big boi by giving him the generic loadout of ion and pulse. The railgun is worthless in normal games as the Tigershark gets two for cheaper at the same BS. The Missiles are alright but the possibility for getting fewer hits, their lower strength and the minimum range really hurt them, especially since things want to be close to your Ta'unar. Pulse is a guaranteed six dead infantry or a confirmed kill on anything without an invuln, and you have a decent chance of putting eight to sixteen wounds on a buffed castellan with it. Arm guns are an even easier argument. 18 slaughtered infantry or a good handful of wounds vs bigger targets. It would have been better if it were 3d6 shots to match the codex ion buff. Viable Ta'unar play is risky, as you will lose the game if it dies (hard if you have at least 12 drones) or even if it gets charged (easy without screening) meaning you have to make the most optimized list that 800 will allow. Do keep in mind that it is around the same price (Real dollars) as three tides and a y'vahra and that if it gets nerfed you'd have lost a good deal of your army, so it's only advisable if you play in a knight heavy meta or already have three riptides. Tl;Dr: Don't let it get charged, give it a reroll 1, Command and Control and drones, and you'll win if you picked good secondary objectives.

* '''[[Manta|Manta Super-Heavy Dropship]] (Forge World)''': Sixteen Long-barrelled Burst Cannons, three Long-barrelled Ion Cannons, two Heavy Railguns, and 10 Seeker Missiles; the Manta spews out an ungodly number of shots a turn. Capable of removing multiple infantry squads and a few vehicles every turn, the Manta isn’t just a transport vehicle but also an insanely powerful attack craft. Not only is it powerful but it’s also durable, coming in at T8 with 60 wounds and a 3+ save and 4+ invuln, and as it is a Flyer it also imposes -1 to hit on shooting and on top of that you have to subtract 12″ from your range. It has a truly colossal transport capacity of 200, +8 {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUITS}} and 4 {{W40kKeyword|VEHICLES}} (who have their own separate transport capacity). This may lead you to believe that the Manta will be a slow lumbering beast, but with a movement range of 20″-60″ for the first 30 Wounds, this is far from the case. But there are some downsides: First is the points cost, 2K will get you the manta but you will need that again to fill it; second is 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). Still, on the bright side humans are born with two kidneys, and you only ''need'' one.

===Fortifications===
* '''Tidewall General Info''': Gives your embarked unit/characters a Wounds buffer and higher Toughness, which also doesn't affect their morale when lost. At the cost of not being able to fire Overwatch (even with '''For the Greater Good'''), Advance, and use abilities of any kind (including auras). There's also nothing (expect markerlights) to mitigate the penalty for firing Heavy weapons after the platform moves. If the platform gets Charged, however, you can (unless the platform is completely surrounded leaving you no room to do so) disembark the unit inside out of the back, leaving them able to shoot at something else while the enemy is tarpitted by the platform. Remember that these fortifications can hold any combination of Infantry Characters and one Infantry unit. In the previous example, you can have the unit disembark then fall back with the fortification using the character left inside to let the unit that was previously inside unload on the unit, great tactic for Breacher squads who use this tactic with Devilfish.
** All Tau Fortifications retain the Sept rule, so they benefit from their Sept Tenets. Not all of them have any application, but the Dal'yth Tenet is especially useful for unmoving Fortifications.
** '''Tidewall Droneport''': You can take 4 Tactical Drones with it, and use the embarked unit's BS for firing. Best use seems to be one with 4 Markerlight Drones, and throw a Darkstrider into it, to have them all shooting at BS2+. Probably our most reliable way to get 1 Markerlight token on a few units, for the re-rolls. Although you give up access to his two abilities for the boost.
*** ALTERNATIVELY: Put a 24 point Firesight Marksman into one of these and give those 4 Marker Drones BS 3+ (buffable to 2+ via Drone Controller). Since it's also "open topped" the Marksmen himself will be able to add a Markerlight shot as well. Easily capable of racking up the required 5 Markerlight Hits for +1 to hit. For 134 points (70 Dronering + 40 4x Marker Drones + 24 Marksmen points) that has enough room to hold 9 other guys, Breacher Teams recommended.
** '''Tidewall Shieldline''': The reflect field now works again (even when the enemy fire weapons with negative AP) as it causes a mortal wound to the firing enemy unit on an unmodified save of 6. Worth noting that this is our only fortification that doesn't explode when it is destroyed! Best use currently is to throw some Pathfinders on it, although as mentioned, they still get a -1 to hit if the Shieldline moves.
*** '''Tidewall Defence Platform''': You can take one per shieldline. They have to deploy next to each other, but can move independently after that. It packs +1T compared to the shieldline, but it ''can'' explode when destroyed. Can be useful if you want to get another fortification on the field without using another detachment slot, but if you ''haven't'' maxed out your fortification slots then it's shit.
** '''Tidewall Gunrig''': You get 2 railgun shots for less than a Hammerhead! Unfortunately, you need to keep a unit embarked or it can only target the closest enemy unit, and even then it still only hits on 5+ (or BS4+ if the target has 5+ markerlight hits).
*** Perfect unit to embark pathfinders on. It provides durability to the pathfinders, and they provided the needed ballistic skill improvements to the gunrig. And with 5x marker hits, the gunrig should hit at least half the time, which with 2 shots, will make it as useful as a hammerhead would be.
**** Notable that line of sight for the embarked unit can be drawn from the tall tower of this unit. Can be used to fire over things.

* '''Remote Sensor Tower (Forge World)''': One High-Intensity Markerlight at BS4+, and allows one Tau unit within 3" to re-roll ones to hit. Pretty good for 40 points, but the all-or-nothing 50% shot at 3 tokens or none for the High-intensity Markerlight means Pathfinders should still be the main choice for Markerlight application. This might help you bump someone up to that lovely 5+ tokens for +1 to hit part of the Markerlight table though, using the reroll ones from an existing couple of tokens to make the HIM hit more likely (Perhaps thanks to some Pathfinders within 3" of the tower, using its reroll 1s ability to apply their own Markers more reliably. Teamwork!).

* '''Drone Sentry Turret (Forge World)''': Can only shoot at the closest target, meaning point for point regular Gun Drones will provide more firepower than the Burst Cannons with the same limitations. The Plasma and Fusion weapons could work out, but would require the enemy being stupid enough to stand the right targets closest to the sentry for you.