Editing Warhammer 40,000/7th Edition Tactics/Tau (section)

==Unit Analysis==

===HQ===
*'''Ethereal:''' Ethereals used to be a bad joke for the Tau army along with Vespids (the Fast Attack bad joke). They provided marginal benefit coupled with a serious drawback leading to much regicidal humor. So it came upon the Hamster to improve this rather terrible selection and so he made an attempt: instead of a meager benefit, all friendly units from this codex with a model within a foot of an Ethereal must use his sweet Leadership 10 for Fear, Morale, Pinning and Regroup checks; in addition to this the Ethereal can grant all friendly non-vehicle Tau units one of four abilities at the start of each movement phase: Stubborn, FnP 6+, Snap Shots after running or a bonus shot for Pulse weapons against anything less than half-range away (except for Pulse bombs, Drivers, Blastcannons and Submunitions). The only downside for Ethereals now is that killing the Ethereal awards an extra Victory point and undoes whatever power was being used at the time. Can also take a beacon for fairly cheap, presumably so you can launch [[Boreale|Multiple Simultaneous Devastating Defensive Deep Strikes]] to rescue him. If you fear for his mobility, you can also purchase a Hover Drone, letting them ignore Difficult and Dangerous Terrain while remaining Infantry.
** To summarize, they became '''Badass'''. Not only is the Ethereal a force multiplier of the first order with his Storm of Fire Invocation, but he bestows a 12" [[Commissar|Ld 10 Stubborn bubble]], excellent for when you want your thin Orange Line to hold rather than break, effectively turning the Tau into one of the bravest armies in 40k.
** The real selling point of Ethereals however is precisely that - their selling point. At 50 points, unless you're running an almost completely Battlesuited army you should be seriously asking yourself why you shouldn't be taking an Ethereal, and even in those armies, the FnP and ability to fire Snapshots while running (which of course can be augmented by markerlights) is well worth it. 
** Needless to say with a glorious W2, T3 and a 5+ for 50 points, you can expect your Ethereal to be the prime target of the Marbos, snipers, CC infantry and units with "Precision" anything in their description. Place at the back of large Fire warrior squads, amongst large numbers of similarly large squads for maximum survivability and boosting, while your faster dudes pop that nasty artillery. 

*'''Battlesuit Commander:''' An excellent unit if kitted out properly. The versatility of the battle suit chassis means you can equip him however you need to be most effective, and being the Commander, all special issue equipment is available to him (see Armoury for setup tips). The Generic Commander is however the most expensive generic HQ Choice in the Codex, clocking in at 85 points before wargear. He is equipped with XV-8-05 Enforcer Armor, the "Standard" Commander armor (the one with fingers), and comes with a total of 4 hardpoints for your mounting pleasure (and Signature systems don't count!). You could try and put all the Support and Signature systems you can think of (he IS your most durable model, after all) and surround it with Bodyguard ablative wounds, who autopass LOS rolls, but you'd be losing on his sweet BS5. Then again, if the unit is taking Gun or Marker drones, he should be the one with the Drone Controller to give them BS5.
**'''XV86 Coldstar Armor:''' A hefty points upgrade, it leaves your Commander in the middle of the road between a Jump unit and a FMC. Flying Monstrous Creature type (thus vulnerable to those Monster Hunter formations) but without the best stuff like Smash, Fear or Vector Strike, and gets a Missile pod and the exclusive High-output Burst cannon (Assault 6 Twin-linked). Best of all, he can still buy two Support systems and drones, but his weapons are restricted to the ones mentioned and he can't get Signature systems, so no Iridium for him. But the suit's best boons are all the advantages Swooping brings with it, meaning he can't be tied up in melee and they'll need Skyfire to shoot him down. That's right, you now have a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yocBQlw_mCA jinking commander]; he's nigh untouchable now. The opponent brought melee squads and plasma guns hoping to catch your Commander? ''They'll never hit him''. Pesky flyers bothering your dudes? ''Sweep and get on their level, you have enough dakka on your own''. And you ''will'' be on your own; swooping means leaving everyone behind, even his drones (but they catch up with him when gliding). Take all the measures you need to avoid being hit when swooping, because getting wounded while enjoying the cloud's-eye-view means he takes a Ground test, which has ~28% chance of inflicting '''Instant Death''' to your T4 frame, so a Shield generator is almost mandatory, although considering most AA fire is S7 AP4 a Stim injector could prevent the wound to begin with. The second most common anti-air, however, is S8-9 AP3-1. So bring <i>both</i> shield and stims.

*'''[[Cadre Fireblade]]:''' At first glance, the Cadre Fireblade looks pretty crappy, especially compared to everything else. He's 10 points more than an Ethereal but can only really buff a single Fire Warrior squad (or Pathfinder squad, if you're so inclined), with a markerlight, Split Fire, and Volley Fire (which grants an extra shot to everybody with Pulse Rifles and Carbines so long as they stand still). A little disappointing, right? Actually, not really, at least in an allied detachment. Although the Ethereal is much improved, he's still somewhat of a risk if you field him, ''especially'' in an allied detachment, as you give up an extra Victory Point if he's killed (and, given how weedy the Tau are, that's not very hard). Also, his abilities ''only'' affect Tau, which isn't very useful in an allied detachment. The Fireblade, on the other hand, will almost always be useful (at least for your one compulsory unit of Troops) and will never be a liability. Also, Volley Fire is up to the ''entire'' range of the guns, not just half range like the Ethereal, so it's perfect to use with a castled up army and with your new forts, especially when combined with his Split fire - his Fire Warriors can defend that Tidewall with Volley fire while he shoots the Railgun at some valuable targets with his sweet BS5. Or he could throw a Photon grenade at another unit. Lastly, he comes with a Markerlight to support two squads at once, so you can chain markerlights. All in all, you'll probably usually want an Ethereal in your main detachment, but in an allied detachment, a Fireblade is probably the better choice for a "cheap" HQ. This might be an edge case, but hey, at least he has ''some'' use, unlike [[Pyrovore|certain]] [[Counts As#Mandrakes|other]] [[Mutilator|units]]. 
** Since nothing prevents you from adding more Fireblades to a Fire warrior team (specially in 7th Unbound lists) for each Fireblade you add, there is one more shot for the ENTIRE team (and to the other Fireblades too!). 10 fireblades with 10 Fire warriors throw 11 shots each at 30 inches (total 220 shots, with half at BS 5). [[Dakka|MORE DAKKA]] for the greater good. This isn't very useful for normal games, but in Apocalypse you can have a squad of 12 Fire Warriors and 10 Fireblades are putting out 11 shots EACH at max range, 12 at half, for a total of 242 shots at max range, of which 110 are at BS5. In Apocalypse games 600 points worth of HQ is small change. The amount of fire out of the squad is normally only seen from massed Guard firing lines, but is coming from a total of 22 models that is only 708 points (which is one Titan or a couple Baneblades). You can live the dream of all 40k players and erase a squad of Ultramarines every turn. In normal games, the best use of a combined Fireblade squad is to have a surviving Fireblade join another squad after his first is wiped out, making it as if you still have the same amount of dakka as before.

====Special Characters====
*'''Aun'Va, Master of the Undying Spirit:''' The popestick got a huge buff! Roll equal to or over a weapon's AP to ignore wounds? That is an auto-pass against AP1,  so enemy railguns/death rays/tachyon arrows/meltas can eat shit and die. And since it technically doesn't count as a save, even ''fucking Destroyer weapons'' are ignored!  However, you can't roll against AP- so Tesla will still ruin your day (You only have a 5+ normal armour save) and it has no effect on models that ignore armour but have no AP value (leaving him entirely without a save), a Culexus Assassin for example will fuck him up royally (just like in the fluff). Only 100pts? Vetock, you are a god. OK, so the bodyguards are still meh but they're better than they used to be. 5+ saves combined with the Paradox's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Newtonian_fluid harder-you-hit-it-harder-it-is] "fuck you save" gives the whole unit a variable amount of protection. He also gets 2 Ethereal bubble abilities per turn, which either give Stubborn, FnP(6+), +1 pulse weapon shot in half range or snap shots after running. His massive, multiple buffs are just awesome. He also provides a table wide re-roll for any morale checks, anything in Tau codex. That shit is money. Unfortunately, he is ridiculously vulnerable, not being able to join a unit because of his lack of IC, not to mention the fact that he can't get a transport. The best he can do is cower behind a building or a METAL BOX to block LOS and pray to Tau'va nobody gets around the corner.

*'''Aun'Shi:''' Brought back from 3rd edition into 6th. Shi is essentially a close combat HQ, albeit a modest one, in an otherwise shooty army (i.e.: he's a blue Kroot-pope). Costs twice as much than a regular Honor Blade Ethereal, but at least he comes with a better saving throw: a 4+ invul save to boot. Always use Patient hunter in CC, because re-rollable 4++ is hilarious. Being WS5 I5 he could do alright dueling sgts, but the fact that he can melee doesn't mean he should - he still gives a VP by getting killed, he just dies a little slower. He is basically an Ethereal with the weaknesses removed for the price of yet another one - so make good use of those elemental invocations - but beware of anyone with strength 6 or over, because you'll be insta-killed if you botch it.

*'''Aun'Do (Burning Dawn):''' Ethereal with Honour Blade, Homing Beacon, and a Hover Drone. Although it isn't listed in his wargear, the 5+ armor save in his statline indicates he comes with Recon Armor as well. He costs 5 points more than a similarly equipped generic Ethereal. For that 5 points, you lose the ability to purchase drones or a blacksun filter, gain an extra wound, gain Fearless in place of Stubborn, and should you choose to make him your warlord you gain a guaranteed Exemplar of the Selfless Cause warlord trait. He's also only able to slot into one [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Tau(7E)#Dataslate_Formations|formation]], Infiltration Cadre Burning Dawn. Since a purchased drone would give you an extra wound anyway, you get to decide if Fearless and a guaranteed warlord trait beat an Etheral with two pieces of wargear and a drone that could be taken in another formation.

*'''O'Shovah ([[Farsight|Commander Farsight]]):''' The l33t renegade commander of the Fire Caste, Farsight is odd in the fact that he's specced for assault in an army meant for shooting. His Dawn Blade is very nice and got one hell of an upgrade to what is essentially a Necron Warscythe (AP2 Armourbane). Due to changes to Crisis teams, his bodyguard is no longer exclusive to him and they are forced to take a slot, but it is still a devastating tactic to deepstrike with up to NINE bodyguards, especially with his "no scatter" WT, negating one of the difficulties of deepstriking such a large unit. Preferred enemy is quite useful against Orks, although given Tau are near top-tier and Orks are somewhere slightly above unplayable, it's pretty much kicking a dead horse.
**He has lost some of his appeal, now that "Farsight bombs" aren't exclusive to him - arguably a normal Commander could do it better because Signature systems can be placed on him to make them immune to precision fire, and you can reroll undesirable traits/get beacons for no scatter. Still, you could take him for what he is: your ''WS5 <b>AP2</b> '''I5''''' melee response against anyone expecting easy melee from the Tau...lol JK, you still need to bring Battlesuits because he can't do it alone and Farsight bomb is pretty much the only viable tactic with him - that's not a bad thing by all means, that is one hell of a tactic and no-scatter is glorious, so it has its own section [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Tau(7E)#The_Farsight_Bomb|HERE]].
**''But I can't field that many Crisis suits''. Good grief, he has an army of his own, so go read [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Tau(7E)#Farsight_Enclaves|Farsight Enclaves]] and see if it *puts on Blacksun filter* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR3jnW2kcUs ''suits''] your style.

*'''O'Shaserra ([[Shadowsun|Commander Shadowsun]]):''' Commander Tsundere herself, she wears an experimental next-gen XV-22 stealth Battlesuit, which gives her a 3+/5++ save, and she has Shrouded and Stealth (duh) as well as two non-TL Fusion Blasters that can fire at different targets, great for cover-camping and jump-shoot-jump close-range tank killing, which in turn makes her much better on dense battlefields than in open ones (like Cities of Death), where she can put some hate on vehicles while being all but invulnerable to return fire...if they ever get line of sight on her because of her 3D6" Jump move (when she's the warlord). If she joins a Stealth suit squad they'll act as bodyguards, auto-passing Look Out, Sir! rolls, great for preventing instant-death (which is pretty common when you are T3). And on top of that she can buy buffed shield drones (3++) and a Command-link drone to let a unit within 12" re-roll to hit rolls of 1.
**Let us reiterate what her Command-link drone does: ''Any one unit within 12" of the drone gets to re-roll any 1s on its to-hit roll''. And she can do this ''every'' turn. Hilarious when [[Derp|a drone does it as well as a Warlord]] Trait, right? [[Games_Workshop|ALWAYS BUY IT]]. You know how that Riptide's Nova-charged Heavy burst cannon is almost as dangerous to itself as the enemy? Not anymore under Shadowsun's drone gaze. Just think about how much [[dakka]] you can (relatively) safely put out from the two of them on a continual basis...
**Attaching Mrs. Tsundere to a Stealth team may be everybody's first thought, but she does damn fine with just any kind of Battlesuit squad. Because Stealth and Shrouded is conferred to the entire unit by her presence, Shield generators and Shield drones become sort of redundant due to 4+ cover save in the open and [[Troll|2+ in any terrain]] (unless facing artillery), so that's some (hard)points you can use for other things. ''But Stealth teams are her bodyguards''. Crisis teams are better damage sponges thanks to their T4 and 2W, never mind they have more hardpoints and dakka. You could take proper Bodyguards, but you'd be taking them because Signature systems are a great addition to a [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Tau(7E)#The_Farsight_Bomb|Shadowbomb]]. After all, isn't passing Look Out Sir! rolls on a 2+ good enough already? And with her 3D6" move, where Farsight makes CC more manageable, she outright makes it ''never'' happen. Note that she cannot join Riptides and share the hax. Yeah, that would've been too cheap.
**In fact, the Stealth + Shroud + Command drone combo is great for almost any of your squads (Sniper Kroots now don't need any cover, Pathfinders reroll some markerlights, etc.)...but not placing her in a Jetpack squad is kind of a waste.

*'''[[El'Myamoto (Sub-commander Darkstrider)]]:''' The second Tau commander to piss off the Ethereal elites, Darkstrider is a powered up Pathfinder - he fights on foot, so he can only join Firewarriors and Pathfinders. His selling point is his Structural Analyzer, which lowers the Toughness his target for him and his unit (and it counts for Instant Death) which works best with Railrifle equipped Pathfinders. Can be very troll-y. See that crazy powerful Paladin or Meganob? A single Pathfinder in this guy's squad just sniped him. Also works on T5 (Nob bikers, Ogryns, Thunderwolf, Harpies, Daemon Prince, etc.) with Ion Rifles in overcharge. Furthermore, he allows his unit to consolidate D6" in any direction immediately after firing their overwatch and BEFORE the charging unit rolls for charge distance. Stick him in a Pathfinder squad with a Grav Inhibitor drone and they become one slippery unit.
**Because he has Scout and Outflank he does great with Breachers in a Devilfish, easily getting them into range to wreak havoc, while he gets a 6++ (you ARE taking the drone right?), meaning those point blank Pulse blasters now ID those pesky Nids and Astartes characters, all at sweet AP3. U MAD? Just be prepared for the assault, cause their weapons are so short ranged that his consolidation move will not get you out of charge range.

*'''O'R'myr (Commander Longknife) (FW - IA3, 2°E):''' Dread Pirate R'myr, who inherited the name from four previous commanders, is a decent suit that seems to want to be charged. With a Double-barreled Plasma rifle (Assault 2 Twin-linked with 24" range) and a Target Lock, he looks built to take down heavy infantry / monstrous creatures without needing to get into Rapid fire range like others (so his squad should have missiles). His Signature Wargear is the XV89-02 Battlesuit, which contains a Flechette launcher that nicks the attacker for a S3 hit at I10. Depending on how you interpret the word 'any,' the flechette launcher may not be one use anymore. His enhanced shield generator has a 4++ against shooting attacks and a 3++ against close combat. His flechette discharger is a nasty surprise for swarm armies thinking they have just trapped the expensive tau HQ unit in CC...and they kinda have, because even guardsmen have a decent chance to survive [[Fail|S3 AP-]] flechettes, so put him in a squad that also has a Repulsor Impact field and other assault trinkets so their effects stack. A good choice, especially against Imperial Guard due to Preferred Enemy against them. If you want a Commander with double plasma, you'd be out of your mind not to take him: R'myr is cheaper than a similar Commander by 20 pts, but is using the equivalent of 5 hardpoints, his shield is better, allows for Repulsor Field stacking and thus can do his job both at close and long range.
 
*'''O'Ra'lai (Commander O'Rly) (FW - IA3, 2°E):''' O'Rly is a monster of a unit; he is your [[Commissar Yarrick]], your [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]], your [[Mephiston]], your [[Swarmlord]], your [[Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka|Ghazghkull]], with BS5, T5, I4, and the power of the XV-9 Battlesuit. The main difference he has compared with the above heroes is that he is primarily a ranged fighter whereas most uber-HQ characters tend to be close combat oriented. O'Rly's main strength is his versatility, allowing him to be effective against almost everything in the game because of his access to four different ammo types for his Experimental Pulse Sub-Munitions Rifle, though every munition except for his default has Gets Hot!. Keep him away from TEQs though, as none of his shots get better than AP3. Against MEQ's, blobs, cover-campers and Tank armies, however, you've got yourself a certifiable nightmare of a tau, with access to Ignore Cover, Haywire or huge-area Rending on one weapon depending on the specific ammo used. Of note is O'Rly's ability to make vehicles melt, with the choice of BS5 Haywire shots at 24", or 36" S9 AP3 shots, allowing him to decimate anything with an AV (although he can't make anything explode). Oh, and all of his weapon profiles are Assault 2, thus going from ''"Baby's First Lascannon"'' to ''"What the fuck, he has an assault 2 Lascannon?!"''. A real nightmare to just about any army, he's now the best HQ unit the Tau have.
**His marker drones are T4, which means you're losing that awesome T5 bonus until one of them dies. He USED to be able to join guys, but the special rule 'Lone Warrior' prevents him from joining units, despite being an IC. However, he can leave his drone unit and let him be majority toughness 5 while you get 2 markerlight drones for free, though they drop from BS 5 to BS 2 without his drone controller, but at least they have blacksun filters of their own.
**He can take as much pain as he can dish out, as his shield upgrades to a 3+ invuln save if shot at from farther away than 12". Having four T5 wounds, 3+/3-4++ saves, defensive grenades, I4, Hit & Run, and JSJ, he is an absolute bastard to kill without S10 or Instant death weapons. 
**His Warlord Trait, '''The Assassin''',  gives him Preferred Enemy (Independent Characters). This does translate into Preferred Enemy against the unit an Independent Character is attached to.

===Troops===
*'''[[Fire Warrior|Fire Warrior Strike Squad]]:''' Yes, they have the best basic infantry gun in the game. Yes, they will go down like a tower made of tissue paper if properly targeted or assaulted. For the new book, their price gets dropped to a much more workable 9 pts/model, so it just got a lot easier to buy a squad with a [[Devilfish]]; however, larger squads are going to be more difficult to squeeze into cover, but if they fit in a fish, you got it made. The price break does let you spend a little more on the Tau's new toys elsewhere though. Devilfish give Fire Warriors much needed mobility, and safety from assault. After all, the second ANYTHING gets into close combat with a Fire Warrior squad, the Fire Warriors will lose. Even if it's other Fire Warriors or even fucking Grots and Rippers. With abysmal WS and mediocre BS, if these guys are firing, use markerlights to up their hit chances, although other units may make better use of the markerlight tokens. Speaking of their weapons, their pulse rifles rapid fire on 15" and can glance light vehicles to death, or blast them to oblivion with EMP-grenades, and photon grenades allows them to blind enemies so they actually stand half a chance in combat. They also have Supporting Fire, they're quite the bargain now. Please note that only one model can ''throw'' an EMP-grenade and only one can use their grenade in melee(thanks to new FAQ rules). You can blind and EMP bitch-slap walkers to death, or murder enemy vehicles.
**When Shas'Ui takes markerlight for his rifle, he also gets a free Target lock. This allows you to chain markerlights between fire warrior squads by using the markerlight on the target of the next fire warrior unit. This may also be useful to man fortification gun emplacements without forcing all his squad wasting their shots on something they can't hurt, which is very useful.

*'''Fire Warrior Breacher Squad:''' A squad of Fire Warriors specialized for close-quarters firing with their new Pulse Blasters (Which sadly don't benefit from the Fireblade, but fortunately they still benefit from an Ethereal). Their guns are just the thing to break marines up-close, and they do so for cheaper than a Fire Warrior squad! Vespids would do the same job better and safer, being faster, tougher and having MUCH more comfortable range, but they cost twice as much, for eventually half the firepower. Also important to remember the entire squad can get a 5++ Invulnerable save for 22 Points (Shas'Ui (10) + the new MV36 Guardian Drone (12), and all models in the squad have the new Field Amplifier Relay) allowing them a measure of survivability against anything, so it could be possible (with some lucky rolling) for this squad to survive far longer than normal against the normal anti-Tau weapons.
**Lacking assault transports (or decent range in their shotguns), this squad WILL be on the receiving end of a charge if you're careless with them. Moreso than other Tau units, you want them to have a Devilfish, with Disruption Pods at a premium for superior Jink saves. Depending on the rest of your army, you can either use them for area denial or backfield disruption; in this second role, they combo remarkably well with Darkstrider, who gets them in, helps them kill, then bails them out of being charged.
**One thing to remember is that the strength of the Pulse Breacher depends on how far away the target '''unit''' is away from the Tau with said Pulse Breachers, and how this interacts with 7th ed. The weapon still maintains a maximum range of 15", but the end result is that unlike a flamer, you could theoretically flank an enemy unit, and reap the benefit of the maximized profile inflicting casualties up to the maximum range. You still have to check on a 'per-model' basis which Breachers are within 5" of the enemy unit despite firing the weapon 'in the same batch'.

*'''[[Kroot|Kroot Carnivores]]:''' Disregard what fluff says - Kroot are NOT assault infantry. Yes, they have WS4, so what? They can not assault after shooting, their saves are weak and they lost their S4 and extra attack from the rifle for no fucking reason (while remaining super-strong in fluff), and AP5 melee looks like a fucking joke in all-marine metagame. Instead look at their gun. It's a fucking bolter just with AP6, which don't matter a lot, cause most of the infantry in the game is either Sv4+ or better, or constantly in cover. Spend the extra point per model (for a total of 7 each) for Sniper Rounds, and you get the cheapest sniper squad in the game. A 20 strong squad hidden in a forest taking out Characters hidden in squad. This is more deadly against certain armies than other, but it's rather troll worthy at any rate. The only downside is the shortish range of the Kroot Rifle. Still, 140pts for 20 Sniper shots it's not that much of downside. And speaking about cover, these guys have Stealth (Forest) for 4+ save (even better if they're Ironbark). What you get is a fairly cheap, hard to shoot down from cover and hard to kill in CC area denial unit that shoot bolters or even sniper rifles, and can deploy anywhere on the field, messing with opponents pathing and deepstriking and keeping his forces away from your fragile gunline until they all die. In addition to regular Kroot, you can field the following Kroot subspecies:
**Kroot Hounds: Space Chickens in a dog form. Because the Kroot lost much of their close combat power and became infiltrating snipers, the I5 and extra attacks on these doggies won't help you much. If you plan to outflank instead of infiltrate, take one for acute senses.
**Krootox Riders: At 25 pts, you get a space chicken Silverback with a big Kroot Gun on its back with the rider. Having an S7 rapid fire gun that can shoot up to 48" is nice to have, along with two S6 melee attacks up close and two wounds. For the new book, Krootox riders no longer prevent your squad from infiltrating, which means you can now have an absurdly strong gun line infiltrating right where your opponent doesn't want it that can actually hold out in combat!
**Shaper: The boss of the Carnivore Squad. These Kroot have three wounds, +2A and +1LD. Oh, and he costs three times more than a Kroot for the upgrade. It's worth taking if you want the six extra S3 hits, which can help a bit. Still not great to take on anything except for Orks, Tyranids, and Daemons, so only take him if you plan on going up against other horde armies.
**An alternative look on these green lizard/chicken mercs is to dish em' out in front of a Firewarrior dakka line so your fragile little Fire Warriors won't die when the Kroot are getting the objectives (which is helped by them having infiltrate) . Even though on paper the idea seems flimsy you don't want to know how many games I've won because of my Kroot holding objectives and the Fire Warriors behind them peppering anything that comes near them to molten mush. Enemy claims cover from intervening models? Markerlight them.

*'''Gue'Vesa (FW - IA3, 2nd E):''' Shooty [[Gue'vesa]] troops, so far the only human auxiliaries you can field in 6th ed. They cost the same as Conscripts and 6 guys, with potential upgrades for another 5 guys, a sarge, and grenades (12 total). They are equipped with Lasguns and Flak, and get their shit kicked in by any Imperial army because of "[[Blam|Death To Traitors]]". Best used to garrison things. They are only allowed in specified Taros Campaign missions, but don't fret: they suck anyway. Take Fire warriors instead, especially since these guys have no Supporting Fire.

*'''Drone Sentry Turret (FW - IA3, 2nd):''' A group of up to four 11/11/11 immobile vehicles with TL burst cannons that can be upgraded to TL missile pods, TL fusion blasters, or TL plasma rifles. They have access to the vehicle battle systems and can be upgraded to have deep strike for 10 points each. Not an exceptional unit, but not a bad choice by any standard (they are cheap and immune to bolters). They do not count as a compulsory troop choice, but can still score and even ''secure'' objectives, and if placed in heavy cover with Disruption pods, they're going to hold that point like forever. If you keep the Burst cannons consider giving them Point defense targeting relay because TL and 4 shots is going to hit stuff.

===Dedicated Transports===
*'''TY7 [[Devilfish]] Troop Carrier:''' These allow your Fire Warriors to be exactly where you need them to be. With AV12 in the front, the ability to gain a 3+ cover save with ease through the Disruption Pod wargear, think of this as the iron-clad, greased up eggshell that you need to crack to get to the delicious omelette inside. With the new codex, drones that detach from vehicles never count as a kill point.  For ten points, you can replace the gun drones with a twin-linked smart missile system (although good luck finding the model parts for it), which got a serious buff in 6th Edition from its previous stats, allowing the Devilfish to add some cost-effective (line-of-sight ignoring / cover negating!) fire support. These are almost necessary for a good army although they do cost 80 fucking points!. With 7th edition, the viability compared to the SMS does get a boost though, in the form of the Coordinated Firepower special rule from the hunter contingent. A single devilfish, with gun drones and a fire warrior/pathfinder squad inside, is 3 units for the purposes of Coordinated Firepower, giving you an effective fire-team without dipping into other sources. This can be useful when your list is hungry for marker-lights, as it gives them a bit of independence. (note: Devilfish are not allowed to carry models with the bulky special rule, so stealth suits en route to a dispute must shoot-and-scoot and can't commute.)

===Elite===
*'''[[Battlesuit#XV8_Crisis_Battlesuit|XV8 Crisis Battlesuit]]:'''God's First Gift To Tau. Your mainstay, these guys will fill up your elites slots. Crisis suits are famous for the Jump-Shoot-Jump tactic - moving out of cover, shooting, and jumping back into cover, denying return fire and annoying the enemy, an excellent tactic. They have 3 hardpoints which they can fill with any combination of weapons or systems you want, but filling all 3 isn't mandatory. Typically a Crisis suit will have two weapons and a support system, but the occasional third weapon to be competent against a variety of targets isn't unheard of. Or you could twin-link a weapon, there's your third slot (it may be a good idea to mount TL pair on one hardpoint to make it more WYSIWYG). It only helps that Crisis suits (and other large suits) come with Multitracker and Blacksun filters pre-installed so you can choose that extra system you've always wanted.  Probably one of the most passed-by improvements, yet comforting additions to 6th; Shas'Vre come in at Leadership 9, meaning if you lose a couple of expendable wounds (for instance in the form of bin lids) you don't panic, forget you're in a huge powered gundam wing and run off the board! However, you should be painfully aware that Crisis suits are T4, which means they suffer heavily from rocket sniping. If you value your suits, take at least two drones to absorb the inevitable S8 AP3 shot. Everything in the damn game has some version of a "fuck your Crisis suit" weapon. As all drones have the same price, consider carefully what type you want for your Crisis suits:
**'''Shield drones''' are just ablative wounds, that are slightly better at being ablative wounds. 4++ could help them to survive twice as long against heavy fire, but against AP5 or higher they would go down as fast as other drone type, as they lost their 3+/2+ mimicked armor save from previous codex, and you cannot allocate only those wounds you want on them. Take them if you expect the enemy to pack a lot of S8 and/or low AP weaponry.
**'''Gun drones''' are not only T4 Sv4+ cold expendable wounds for your Crisis suits, but also TL pulse carbines, which pack considerable firepower in 7e, and may even pin shit if you get lucky (don't count on it, though). BS2 is not a big problem, as with twinlink they have 55% chance of hitting something (think of it as BS 3.5) without markerlight support.  With a suit equipped with a drone controller, they become BS3, and with a Commander with drone controller, [[Troll|BS5]]. Being twin-linked, they tend to deal more hits on overwatch or when snapfiring at flyers/fmc's. Definitely worth it when combined with infantry hunting Crisis teams (flamers, burstcannons), and even on more heavily armed teams could be fine if combined with target locks (they are fairly cheap after all).  Group of 3-5 gun drones on targetlocked team could reliably blow [[Dark Eldar|AV10 vehicles]], or those with AV10 on the rear (read: almost all of them) with some smart maneuvering, and with some luck could even glance to death [[METAL BOXES|AV11]]. If you're planning to jump around heavy cover or include Shassera to your Crisis team, Gun drones would benefit from 4+ cover (or up to 2+ with Shassera in cover), becoming as survivable as Shield drones, while retaining their firepower. Overall the best option.
**'''Marker drones''' are tricky ones. BS2 with no twinlink or networking seems useless, but they are designed to CHAIN markerlights when focus firing a target - you're spending 2 markerlight tokens to give your Crisis team awesome BS5, and 2-3 marker drones at BS4 could reliably regain those tokens to be used on the next Crisis team and so on. Or you could use Target locks like with Gun drones - They're longer-lasting, faster Pathfinders that can keep up with your Crisis suits for just 1 more point, plus the very convenient Drone controller (a serious consideration for the Enclaves, actually). Aside from it, they could be used as emergency markerlight source if your main markers was destroyed or tied, and of course, as ablative wounds, like all other drones.
**One unexpected result of 6th ed was the Rambo Crisis Squads (aka Monats). With Crisis suits now costing 22 points, it's now a perfectly viable option to take your Cheap as Chips naked Crisis squad (or naked plus flamer) and use them for GLORIOUS COMBAT. ''Why?'' Because 3 Crisis suits naked costs 66 points! If one was to compare them with Assault Marines, you're looking at higher Str, [[What|''more'' base attacks]], double wounds for about the same price, at the expense of lower In, WS, and lack of Hammer of Wrath. Still, unless you have the misfortune of fighting Grey Knights or Daemons you're going to hit most things on a 4+ anyway. In effect you have a unreasonably durable tarpit unit on a super budget, best used against assault threats to your fire warriors (needless to say, anything with a large quantity of power weapons is to be avoided, but that marine squad? Fuck yeah). Of course, given the fact that you're expending an entire precious elite choice won't sit well with many. Unless you play Enclaves, where you won't care. You might be tempted to whack a Shas'vre in there and add lots of CC items, but the main value of this squad is exactly how cheap it is. Do not forget, your Crisis suits have 2 base attacks and S5 - charging AV-10 rear tanks with your Crises could be a good move. Tying up shooty squads with poor melee (Centurions, Devastators, Fire Dragons, etc.) is also an option if you have retro thrusters, as it ties them up AND allows your Crisis suits to escape enemy fire and then jump right out melee at the end of his turn and then vaporize the poor fuckers. Just make sure their characters have no power weapons. Use careful positioning to allocate the few wounds you're taking to the drones. 
**Another fun tactic for crisis suits. Take 3 in a squad, give them all 2 fusion blasters (156 pts). 6 melta shots is completely overkill for removing a tank squadron from the table, especially at AP1! So why not give one vectored retro thrusters to avoid being locked in combat for too long. This platform is perfect for turning super heavies into swiss cheese and entire tank formations into tatters. Oh and if you have the spare points target lock wouldn't go amiss on the other 2 suits.
*'''Crisis Bodyguard:''' Crisis Suits that can auto-pass Look Out Sir! for their Commander. Now they're forced to eat a FOC slot, but you can have up to 9 per squad. They have Shas'vre stats and cost: Ld9 and an extra attack (although they shouldn't be in melee to begin with), at the price of being 10 points more expensive than the regular Crisis Team. But their best characteristic is that Signature Systems don't use a hardpoint. Take them if you want, but their place is alongside a Commander.
*'''[[Battlesuit#XV25_Stealthsuit|XV25 Stealth Suits]]:''' First, the good bits: they have [[Pauldrons|3+ armour saves]], a burst cannon, stealth, shrouded ''and'' they can infiltrate. Now the bad: their BS is average to the rest of the army but their biggest weakness comes in comparison to other entries in the Elites section - they're not as tough or versatile as Crisis or Riptide Suits. Arguably, Kroot do the whole infiltration/sniper thingie better now but Stealth Suits have an ace in the hole: they can take a homing beacon. You're taking a shitload of suits, right? You know they deepstrike, right? Oh sure, Pathfinders can take beacons, but they need several turns to get in position, by which time it's already too late and you've lost the advantage. With their myriad of deployment options (Infiltrate, Outflank or Deepstrike themselves), you can get your deepstrikers striking deep (''see what I did there'') into enemy territory, safely and FAST. Everything else is just icing on top of the cake, from their fusion blaster per every three models to the marker light/target lock the Shas'vre can take (worthwhile to take because, unlike other Battlesuit teams, you only get up to 2 Drones per squad, and you'd end up with a very fragile Shas'vre if you try to use a Drone Controller instead of Stims or the Shield). Build this squad in a way it can survive long enough to guide your deep-strikers to their destiny. Just don't overspend on upgrades, though. Stealths are T3 so a lot of things deny FNP, and have a 4+ cover save on the open, making the shield generator a redundancy (letting power swords reach them is Failing, don't [[Fail]]). They can play jump-shoot-jump shenanigans even better than Crisis Suits, courtesy of their smaller model bases and 2+ cover save in, y'know, cover.
**'''Stealth Team Shadowtide (Burning Dawn):''' Three Stealth suits, one with Fusion Blaster, and a Marker Drone.  They benefit from Supporting Fire, Infiltrate, and Precision Shots, plus the Bonding Knife Ritual.
*'''[[Battlesuit#XV104_Riptide_Battlesuit|XV104 Riptide]]:''' [[Asmodeus|Devil's]] gift to Tau. Designed to troll. It's a Jetpack monstrous creature with a big statline (S/T6, 5 wounds, 2+/5++) to accompany its big guns: the mother of all Gatlings, the Heavy Burst Cannon (eight S6 shots) or the anti-everything Ion Accelerator (S7 Heavy 3 or S8 large blast overcharge, all that at [[Rape|AP2]]). Because that's not enough dakka, it also has a secondary twin-linked gun. It's also one of the few sources of Shielded Missile Drones, which are awesome. Even with terrible, Tau trademark WS/I2 it still can, and will, smash tanks in close combat if needed. Then there's its Nova Reactor, which can give it a special power at the beginning of movement on a 3+, but on 1 or 2 you lose a wound with no saves allowed (you can still FNP). Nova reactor bonuses are nice and sexy and they are:
**A 3++ save: Ideal when you're in the sight of multiple anti-tank guns with no cover or BLOS to jump behind.
**A 4D6" thrust move: Grants you a mobility only matched by flyers, FMCs and teleporting Dreadknights, great for jumping out of melee range. Invaluable for scoring or denying key objectives early in the game. 
**Firing its secondary weapons twice, without sacrificing main gun shooting: This isn't mere additional same-type dakka (e.g.: SMS complementing HBC), but allows a Riptide with different kinds of guns to be competent against anything. Eg: normally it'd make no sense to grab a Fusion blaster alongside a HBC, 1 shot never being enough to reliably take on tanks. But 2 shots are worth considering.
**Unlocking alternate main weapon profile:
***Heavy Burst Cannon becomes Heavy 12 with Rending: Great for annihilating infantry without power armor or medium vehicles. Gets hot may seem dangerous, but it isn't -  you have 2+ armor to save against it.
***Ion Accelerator overcharge becomes S9 Ordnance: Your response against heavy armour, it has a chance to pop that Land Raider open from safe distance like a railgun, although with only a +1 for damage results compared to the railgun's +2.
**While cool and deadly, remember they rely heavily on markerlight support - Heavy Burst Cannon really shines when most of its dakka actually hits the target, and ion blasts are much more effective when they ignore cover and don't scatter much. You'd think Riptides melt with poisoned shots, but thanks to its 2+ save it takes 90 BS4 poison shots to take down one Riptide, even more if it has FnP. In that time, the rest of your army can work unhindered. What we're saying is, don't worry about it, 4+ poison ain't all that hot shit. However, anything that can fight back in melee is going to either tarpit the Riptide till the end of the game or rip it to shreds, and you cannot take VRTs to jump out of melee. Speaking of Support systems, they can take two. Stims for that Nova charge abuse, Advanced targeting to snipe low special weapons with a huge Gatling gun, EWO to punish deepstrikers with AP2 large blasts, etc., you name it.
**Do note, as awesome as Riptides are, they are a bit too powerful for their cost. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRvmjS06yKE Take one, they'll get mad. Take two, how could you. Take three, you're officially] [[That Guy]]. Consider yourself warned. This includes FW Riptide variants! With the new codex, Riptides can be taken in squads of 3 and they now have the Fire Team rule, making them BS 4 when taken in 3s, because GW wants all your monies. Have they gone too far? Is this madness? And then there's the Riptide wing formation...I guess 2015 was the Year of [[That Guy]].
*'''[[Battlesuit#XV95|XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuits]]:''' What a Riptide is to a Crisis suit, the Ghostkeel is to Stealth suits - a durable and shooty jet pack monster. Much like the Stealth team it's evolved from it has Stealth and Shrouded, but the way it gains these rules is a bit schizophrenic. You see, the Ghostkeel Suit only has Stealth by default, but its drones grant stealth to all models in their squad, and Shrouded to all that already have Stealth. While technically only the suits gain Shrouded, that rule affects all models in a squad, so the drones too gain 4+ cover in the open. The obvious downside of this convoluted web of rules is that a Ghostkeel that loses all of its drones would lose a good chunk of its survivability as well, making it the odd Battlesuit that wants to tank shots for its drones. Unlike its smaller brethren, it can't infiltrate (you'd need some sort of tactical genius for that), but instead gets the Fire Team rule, which grants it BS 4 when there are 3 '''suits''' in the squad.
**The Electrowarfare suite that the XV-95 carries in the left hand further adds to its stealthiness, doubling cover bonuses from Stealth/Shrouded for pretty much guaranteed 2+ cover against all dakka ''from outside 12" range'', but the way it's worded makes only the suits to get this bonus. Furthermore, once per game the Ghostkeel can pretty much auto-blind one enemy unit that fires at it, forcing it to only fire snap-shots, so launching an alpha-strike against it isn't an option, especially with Blast & Template weapons which won't get to fire at all. To further this squad's survivability, the drones lower their average save to 4+, meaning the grav-weapons those marine players tend to spam out of their asses nowadays aren't nearly as effective against it. It's not like the XV95 is particularly squishy that it needs all those defensive measures so desperately, with four T5 Sv3+ wounds and two T5 Sv4+ drones it's more than capable of taking the fire even from cover-ignoring weapons. On the offense in packs a set of twin-linked flamers, burst cannons or fusion blasters on it's shoulders and either a Fusion Collider (fusion gun with small blast) or an Ion Raker (24" 6-shot Ion Rifle with a large blast overcharge). Seeing as both main guns are either anti-tank or anti-light vehicle/medium infantry, blasters are the preferable shoulder weapons, although if you find yourself constantly fighting Orks and DE, flamers would ruin their day. Not enough stuff? Good, because they can take up to 2 Support systems. EWO to double fuck deep strikers (both primaries are blast), Advanced targeting coupled with Burst cannons and Ion Rakers to snipe special weapons, or Stims so it truly never, ''ever'' dies. Never give it a Shield, it's too expensive.
**Durability-wise, the Ghostkeel is even more resistant to long-range shooting with big anti-tank guns than the Riptide (with the slight exception of suffering ID from S10 or Destroyer shots) thanks to its ridiculous cover save shenanigans, however it's four times more vulnerable than a Riptide against bolters and gauss flayers up close, and considerably easier to kill in assault. Accordingly, when combined with its short weapons range, it tends to attract rather less rage than the Riptide does, while still scratching that "big durable robot" itch. Watch out, though, these guys graduate to full-on cheesy BS when taken on formations, especially the Optimized Stealth cadre.

===Fast Attack===
*'''Pathfinders:''' A unit of Pathfinders can't go wrong. One of two good sources for markerlights, and very cost-effective for the number of markerlights you get. These guys put out a large amount of markerlight support every turn, useful for everyone else. They are also Scouts, quite useful to outflank or get into position. Beware though, their armor save is only 5+ (made for recon rather than gun lines) which means that they are particularly vulnerable to things like bolters if caught in the open, so camp these guys in cover while shooting markerlights so the enemies can't do the same. They can optionally take Devilfish, but those are no longer compulsory to take with them like they were in earlier editions. Up to three models can take Ion and Rail rifles, but only do this if you have an additional markerlight source. Don't be faked out by the special weapons - the Rail rifle is for busting heavy infantry and MCs (S6 is marginal on vehicles even with AP1), while the Ion rifle is for bunging holes in light to medium armor (think of it as baby's first autocannon, but you can have three). They have several options:
** '''Special Drones:''' These drones can only be taken by Pathfinder squads, and only one of each can be taken but they don't count against the two drone limit for the leader's drones.
*** '''MB3 Recon Drone:''' Expensive, but it gives the unit a burst cannon which is always nice, and, more importantly, incorporates both a Homing beacon and Positional relay, so worth taking if you have deep-striking reserves. As a bonus, it does not take up any extra space when being transported by a Devilfish, and can employ its reserve-guiding equipment while embarked.  
*** '''MV33 Grav-inhibitor Drone:''' Slows down any charging foe, reducing assault moves by D3. Great for giving the unit a little more time to get the hell out of dodge if your enemy really wants to commit to eliminating them (and let's face it, if they do you have successfully trolled them into doing so from markerlight-related [[rage]].) While it's good on smaller maps and games, anything past 1250 pts and they will probably be shot to pieces with large blast templates and cover ignoring weapons to kill them ASAP, making this drone a less than stellar selection.
*** '''MV31 Pulse Accelerator Drone:''' This boosts all pulse weapon fire from the unit to extend its range by 6". This effectively means that those pulse carbines your Pathfinders are carrying go from 18" Assault 2 weapons to 24" Assault 2 weapons, potentially out [[dakka]]ing line Fire Warriors. Unfortunately, burst cannons are not classified as pulse weapons any longer, so the range on the Recon Drone is not increased. While your Pathfinders should be more about dropping marker tokens than shooting up the enemy, you can really make the enemy pay for trying to take them down with this.
** '''Team Leader:''' For another 10 points you can upgrade one member to a Shas'ui. The primary benefit of this is to provide better Ld so your spotters don't run away, add a few more equipment options such as a blacksun filter for one more point that the whole unit can use (which is not as essential as it used to be as Markerlights only have a range of 36" and ignore all saves and hence don't care about Night Fighting), and bring along two extra drones from the standard drone list. Be aware that filling up the entire squad with pathfinders, special drones, and two regular drones will put them above capacity for riding in a Devilfish.  
** '''Pathfinder Team Aurora (Burning Dawn):''' 10 Pathfinders with the three pathfinder-exclusive drones.  The sarge and 6 others own Carbines, one gets an Ion Rifle and the last two get a Rail Rifle. The Shas'Ui Ignores cover and gets Relentless while the team benefits from the Bonding Knife Ritual.

*'''TX4 [[Piranha]]:''' Extremely light and cheap Open-topped Fast Skimmers. They come with two attached Gun drones and a Burst cannon, which can be swapped for a Fusion gun for anti-armour harassment. They're so cheap and pack so much dakka that they're your '''best source of S5 fire''', costing 8.29 points per hit as opposed to Carbine Fire Warrior's 9, while being more resilient (T7 2W equivalent, plus two T4 wounds from the drones when detached) and much more maneuverable (up to 30"). Front AV11 and a squad size of up to 5 (the biggest vehicle squad in the codex) renders them immune to bolters and they'd serve as a rather nice wall to block LOS and assaults, being as disposable as a Rhino (but being cheap dakka you'd be better off protecting them instead). Oh, and they can carry two seeker missiles - hunting TEQs is the only thing they don't excel at.
**'''Fun fact:'''  The majority of the cost of a Piranha is made up by Drones, with the actual skimmer costing a mere 12 pts (that's 6pts per S5 shot). Thus, for 200 points you can get five Piranhas in a squadron and detach a squad of 10 gun drones.  This gives you a 140 point Gun Drone Squad (that doesn't take up a Fast Attack slot or count for kill points) and a 60 point squad of 5 11AV Front skimmers with Burst Cannons. There are many reasons to detach the drones: place the drones in front of Piranhas with Disruption pods for 4+++ without needing to Jink, and the drones are vulnerable to template weapons because the Piranha is open-topped anyway. Also you could attach a Drone Controller Commander to the Gun drones to maximize the point return, equip the Piranhas with Fusion blasters and go separate ways to fulfill different roles. That's maybe the best use ever for a Fast Attack slot.
**'''Tireless Hunter (Burning Dawn):''' Fusion Blaster Piranha that gets Supporting Fire (but that doesn't pass to the Drones) and +1 BS.  For five more points, that's neat.



*'''Drone Squad:''' Up to 12 drones in any combination you want of Shield, Marker or Gun drones. What's the deal with them? A few Shield drones could protect the rest of the squad, but keep in mind all drones die the same to bolters while costing the same - maybe you'd want more shooting drones instead. Marker/Gun drones are more combat capable versions of Pathfinders/Strike teams: they have +1T (and better save compared to Pathfinders), +2I, can move and fire markerlights/have TL carbines which patches their BS2, and are Jetpack infantry (Deepstrike & JSJ), their enhanced mobility kinda patching their lack of special toys those squads can bring. Now add a Drone controller BS5 Commander and they'll be worth being 3-5 pts more expensive than Pathfinders/Strike teams. Consider attaching a Buffmander, 12 BS5 TL JSJ Markerlights [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|will be noticed]], the same as Cover-ignoring Pinning S5 against GEQs. Or you could use marker tokens from other sources to boost their BS. Be warned, though, a unit composed entirely of drones cannot score, not to mention their higher cost will be felt.
**If you want no more than 10 Gun drones and you have the points to spare, better take them from a Piranha squad.



*'''AX3 Razorshark Strike Fighter:''' (Attack Flyer) One of two new aircraft for Tau, sporting average aircraft stats (11/10/10 3HP) a quad ion gun. Normally, it shoots at S7 AP4 at 30" and is assault 4, but because it's an ion weapon, it can be overcharged (for the price of Gets Hot) turning it into an S8 AP4 Large Blast! Even funnier, the gun is mounted on a turret to the rear, meaning that any deep-striking aircraft that thought they could get the jump on it will be thoroughly surprised, - upgrade the burst cannon to a missile pod for even more 360 degree fire arc fun.

*'''AX39 Sunshark Bomber:''' (Bomber) The other new aircraft with similar stats to the above, but trades the quad cannon for blowing pulse bubbles (S5 AP5 Large Blast) onto unsuspecting targets below every turn unless you roll a 1, in which case your bomber can no longer produce bombs. It also comes with the networked markerlight for lasing targets and a pair of interceptor drones to fuck up enemy aircraft.
**Comparing the Sunshark to the Razorshark, the Interceptor drones are <s>arguably better</s> completely worthless and here's why: the drones' Ion Rifles are Rapid Fire, meaning that you have to choose between having half the range or shots of the quad gun. Their Twin-Linked is offset by the drones only being BS2. They have the turbo-boost rule but '''they're not Flyers''', meaning a single bolter drill will make short work of them if you detatch them. "But what about the blast mode," I hear you ask? 7th Ed changed the Skyfire rule so that Interceptor no longer lets them target ground units normally. Now, recall that you can't fire Blast weapons as Snap Shots. Now recall that Blasts can't target flying units- [[FAIL|so you can't use the blast mode at all.]] Add the facts that the Razorshark's ground attack weapon is better and it's actually cheaper and the Sunshark becomes truly pointless.
**Being a bomber hurts with Death From the Skies.  Overall, you're better off with a Forge World flier for air superiority or... any of a number of choices for anti-flier, anti-tank, or anti-infantry rolls.

*'''Vespid Stingwings:''' Once the other bad joke of the codex, Vespids have been buffed.  As with the fusion blaster, 6 extra inches on their Neutron blaster will put you at a much more comfortable distance, namely out of assault distance.  With a new 4+ Sv on top of T4, they've become on par with Space Marine scouts for survivability.  As they now have Move Through Cover, Stealth in ruins, and Hit & Run at I6, they can jump out, kill MEQs, and escape in the assault, pretty much becoming the nightmare bugs of anything without terminator armour. Vespids jump around in groups of four to twelve, but they're only Ld6 so a Strain Leader (Ld''9'') is almost mandatory. Overall, a dedicated MEQ killer - do notice they're cheaper than Crisis suits (18 pts vs 35), if a little less resilient, less flexible and with less dakka. Could be seen as "made in china" Crisis suits, they still get the job done. No effect vs. TEQs, though, so watch out.

====Forge World====
*'''[[Battlesuit#XV9_Hazard_Battlesuit|XV-9 Hazard Team]] (FW - IA3, 2nd):''' God's Second Gift To Tau. [[Overcosted|Kinda]]. These tough-framed bruisers contain experimental weaponry meant to excel in close range, but their price is so high you could get similar results from simply buying 2 equivalent Crisis suits, especially when using other than the default weapons, and 7E favours MSU. What makes them stand out however is their defensive grenades, which may save their skin if you roll badly on the thrust move after closing in. T5 helps them survive in Rapid Fire range and prevents the usual missile sniping, as well as making Stims all the more useful, and their VRTs plus higher-than-Tau-average I3 will get them out of melee if the enemy manages to close in (but take drones for I4). Being veterans of close range they also come base with Bonding knife and WS3...hooray. Not to mention they'll free Elite choices to use for anything other than Crisis suits (unless you play Enclaves). No option for Team Leader Ld9 tho. The downside is that greatness is expensive and you will feel it, especially since buying a Support System is mandatory. They look really, really fucking awesome and they make vehicle light armies (Dark Eldar, Tyranids, Orks, and Chaos Daemons) weep. Their weapons include:
**'''Burst Cannons:''' The base loadout. Four on one suit means eight twin-linked shots, which lessens the need for markerlights. This is the only setup that is cheaper than 2 equivalent Crisis suits (if only due to the VRT). Two of them in a team will seriously mess up any ground unit out there, from Marines to Tyranids. Plus, Burst Cannons are fragging bad-ass, feel free to give into your gatling fetish, [[Heterosexual_Sex_in_the_Missionary_Position|you sick fuck]]. Grab one Drone Controller and go to town.
**'''Phased Ion Gun:''' Baby's First Assault Cannon but without the Gatling barrel arrangement, with S4 AP4 and Rending. Previously it was nearly the only way to get Rending as Tau, but with new codex you get Riptides and shitton of sniper rifles. Unlike must other Ion weapons this one lacks an overcharge profile, along with any reason to use them - Burst cannons are better for forcing tonns of saves, and if you're looking to get lucky and rend, better take Fusion Cascades.
**'''Fusion Cascade:''' The Fusion Cascade is the go-to weapon for heavy infantry hunting. Favouring rate of fire over raw strenght, this melta weapon is only S6 but it's Assault D3, which makes it behave more like a plasma rifle, as you'll need a bit of luck to penetrate high AV even with melta rules and AP1. Especially because Cascades didn't recieve the +6" range boost regular Fusion Blaster got, so those VRTs might be used more than what you are comfortable with. Still, they can decimate terminators and light vehicles alike. And best of all, it's not plasma, so you can tell [[Matt Ward]] and his [[Plasma Syphon]] to stuff it, which is great because it's one of your best ways to eliminate a threat that would otherwise render three quarters of your weaponry unable to shoot for shit. Because it ignores armour saves this is actually the weapon that ''synergyzes the most'' with Advanced Targeting or Counterfire. Generally your best bet as it's effective against everything. Then again, for the same price you could get 2 Crisis suits with dual Plasma guns, and remember only 1 suit needs the VRT.
**'''Pulse Submunition Rifle:''' With longer range and higher S but ultimately lower AP than an Airburst projector, the so called "shotgun" is also an excellent anti-horde weapon that ignores cover. A unit of 3 XV-9s equipped with 2 submunition rifles each can drop 6 pie-plates on the table every turn from 24" away (their longest ranged weapon), which will absolutely devastate Ork and Tyranid blobs. However, this setup is very expensive at 20 points per rifle (you could bring a team of 2 Crisis suits with an AFP each plus another one with a flamer for the price of one dual PSR XV9), and is not very reliable against MEQs (though you can still force them to throw tons of saves). Nowadays, with the sheer amount of templates available to the Tau army, PSRs are nearing obsolescence. However, they are more cost-efficient than twin-linked burst cannons if you can average 5 models under each template. The only exception is GEQs outside of cover (but seriously, when does that happen?), which require 7 models under each blast template (because even guardsmen get their saves).
:Consider what an Iridium Commander with a command and control node, a multi-spectrum sensor suit or both can do for a team of three XV9's.

*'''XV-109 Y'vahra Battlesuit (Forge World):''' Prepare.  For. Tears.  The Tau's second Riptide variant, this one rocking the fragile speedster trope; spotting one fewer Wound, and much less comfortable range for increased mobility and higher accuracy, it is the XV9 of the Riptide Trio. It is armed with a two-shot S6 AP2 flamer with half-torrent (6" instead of 12") and gets hot (never use the weakened one-shot AP3 variant; you have a 2+ save against gets hot), and a 12" S8 AP3 3-shot Ionic discharge cannon with blind and an extra haywire strike for each hit dealt. As you can see, it is designed to seriously wreck on the front lines. It is able to mulch any infantry up to and including terminators and one-shot land raiders, but only at close range. This means the risk of close combat. But, just like Hazard suits, it has built-in retro-thrusters, and can use its drone's initiative of 4 to reliably activate them. If you're afraid of rapid firing plasma or melta, don't be. It has a 4++ against shots from 12" or less. Ballistic skill 4 is essential given that so many other units are heavily markerlight reliant. Oh, and this thing can fly like a FMC, except without vector strikes and only once per two turns -  you can use it to gain better mobility, avoid close combat, or shoot the shit out of enemy flyers. When it flies or deep strikes it can also use flechette pods to kinda-bomb a unit in 6" with D6 shredding bolter shots - nothing great to talk about, but it doesn't take off your shooting attacks and doesn't affect your targeting. And of course it has its own version of Nova reactor results which are:
** 3++ ''in close combat only'', which is meh, since you're gonna avoid CC anyway and have a lot of tools tailored exactly for that purpose.
** Extra D3 shots for Ionic cannon, which is brutal against AV13-14 vehicles with your extra haywire strikes
** Escaping to reserves, which is mostly useful for escaping danger in turns you have no flying mode, or jumping out of assault in case you've failed Hit and Run test. 
** Jink while walking/4+ cover while flying - not really that useful, considering your 5++/4++, and the downsides of jinking.
::You can select any two support systems from the book (note how the FSE upgrades are specifically mentioned as a no-go, pretty much forcing FW to admit that FSE players will use this bad boy), but there really are only two choices that you should ever take: Stimulant injector and Velocity Tracker.  
::'''NOTE: Forge World has chimed in on the issue of drones and the FMC move. If you take the drones you CAN NOT make your 'swoop' move, you sacrifice mobility for durability.'''


*'''Mounted Great Knarloc Herd (FW - IA3, 2nd):''' If you have a fast attack slot open and need a massive distraction, take 3 of these. These are your new distraction Carnifex. For 85 points each, you have a WS4, S6, T5, W5, monstrous creature with Stealth (Forests) and fleet, but have the downsides of being only I3, Ld7, and a paltry Orkish save of 6+. Don't give them guns, they're not there to shoot, they're there to smash stuff.

*'''Goaded Great Knarloc (FW - IA3, 2nd):''' A singular version of the Knarloc Herd that has a chance of going crazy and killing its own units. Just skip it, and go for the Herd.

*'''Knarloc Riders (FW - IA3, 2nd):''' I want to like these guys, I really do, because come on, they're [[Awesome|freaking birdmen riding fucking dinosaurs!]] These guys beat Canoptek wraiths, when they charge.  They're also able to move 12, re-roll charge distance and then get hammer of wrath, something jump troops cannot do, and are 2 wounds now with T4. They're basically here for a distraction. Problem with Knarlok riders is not that they are bad, but almost any other FA choice is flat-out better. Anything that kills Orks (read: everything) will kill these faster, if only because there is less of them, somehow. Unfortunately, Forge World has stopped selling these Knarloc models as there was not enough demand for them, the only way to get them is from other retailers such as eBay.


*'''Barracuda Air Superiority Fighter (Forge World):''' (Strike-Fighter)([https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/resources/fw_site/fw_pdfs/Warhammer_40000/Death-from-the-Skies.pdf| FW Flyers]) A pants-wettingly terrifying air superiority fighter that packs raw, balls-out, firepower in a maneuverable package. It is the original Barracuda, relinquishing the customizations of its newer counter-part in exchange for 45 pts. Comes stock with two jink-ignoring Burst Cannons, an Ion Cannon, a TL Missile Pod and up to four Seeker Missiles. As it is the original configuration, it is still able to over-charge it's Ion Cannon and drop wonderful MEQ killing plates on all the good boys of the imperium. It is BS4 but lacks the strafing run rule. This flyer was a beast, but has given its throne to a new generation. Sadly, it's kinda fragile at AV 11|11|10 and 2HP, but its survivability is improved by Agile (3+ Jink save). Then, you give it a disruption pod for 15 pts, and chuckle at that 2+ jink. It's a great way to drop some nasty, high-strength dakka on ground and air targets. Was once a strong contender for best fighter in the game, but now leaves that title to the AX-5-2. It has absurd firepower that dwarfs the other Tau flyers (and indeed, most other races' flyers too) while remaining cheaper.

*'''[[Remora|DX-6 Remora Drone Fighters]] (FW - IA3, 2nd):''' These souped-up, more accurate, flying Heavy Gun Drones take on the battle roles of Skyrays, Heavy Gun Drones and Coldstars, all at the same time! Remoras come with Twin-linked Long-barrelled Burst Cannons (36" Heavy 6), two Seeker Missiles and a networked Markerlight. And to top it off they have Shrouded for a  permanent 5+ cover save with 2+ on Jink. It can't take Vehicle systems, but they can hover and also Deep strike. While individual Barracudas have undeniably better dakka, ''Remoras are versatile'', cheaper and can be taken as a squad of 1-5 (you'd need 3 of them to out dakka a Barracuda tho). Want to troll your enemy? 6's to hit and a 2+ cover save just to hit a light AV10 flyer that can take on bigger flyers should cause a lot of rage. Meanwhile, you can drop his flyers out of the sky with a punishing battery of seeker missiles and when he's out of flyers, start markerlighting ground targets to help out the rest of your army.

*'''Piranha TX-42 (FW - IA3, 2nd):''' Unlike the original Piranha, this is utter overcosted crap. It has an extra point of side armor but costs double than a regular Piranha. The price is supposedly balanced by having a TL Fusion blaster and access to weapon options like TL missile pods, TL plasma rifle or TL rail rifle, but it loses the Gun drones so it actually costs about [[Overcosted|3 times more than a regular Piranha]]. You'd think they can hunt different enemies depending on the loadout, but no, they're only ''decent'' at hunting TEQs and medium vehicles. 6th edition buffed Rail rifles and Fusion blasters a lot, but if you really want those weapons better bring Pathfinders, and everybody knows [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Tau(7E)#Farsight_Enclaves.27_Special_Rules Red Crisis suits] go faster.

*'''[[Tetra]]s (FW - IA3, 2nd):''' These light vehicles are to Piranhas what Pathfinders are to Fire warriors. They are Fast Skimmers with AV10 all around and 2HP, but Open-topped means every shot could be their last, and they only pack a TL Pulse rifle for self defense. Focused on scouting instead of main combat, their primary weapon is a Heavy 2 TL Markerlight and come with a Homing Beacon and Scout. Moving 42" first turn (Scout 12" + move 12" + Flat out 18") means that beacon is ''perfectly'' positioned for a Battlesuit drop on turn 2, who needs Farsight? You'd think Pathfinders are the best source of markerlight, right? WRONG. Tetras cost 23 pts per marker''hit'' while Pathfinders cost 22, but Tetras have a HUGE mobility advantage (their markerlights being effectively 48" range and can fire ono the move) as well as being effectively Toughness 6, albeit ultimately they're more fragile than Pathfinders by virtue of suffering more against low AP weapons. Pathfinders get more toys and pack more firepower, but it's not like Tetras don't get any: you can give them dispods and sensor spines for 3+ cover in ruins/jink (they're smaller than Piranhas), and zoom around hiding from enemy anti-tank fire LoS - just like any other marker unit it is a priority target for your enemy and will attract a lot of fire. Alternatively you can just leave them bare bones and add extra models into the squadron instead of spending extra points on upgrades (which are proportionally more expensive when compared to the Tetra's base cost).

===Heavy Support===
*'''TX7 [[Hammerhead Gunship]]:''' God's Third Gift To Tau. The railgun is your best friend, and this one retains its 72" S10 AP1 goodness. It's mounted on a durable chassis (only a few standard skimmers with better armour) and comes with a higher BS than your average Tau (up to 5 if you take 3 due to Fire Team; you can do that now). Plus with disruption pods you get 4+/3+ cover (unless you're stupid enough to park it in the open) making the Hammerhead much more durable to dedicated anti-tank equipment. Take one. Hell, take three. With its ability to make vehicles its bitch with its bullet-mode, and its ability to mincemeat infantry with its large blast shotgun-mode, a hammerhead will RARELY disappoint...provided you take the railgun option. Its options are as follows:
**'''Railgun:''' Yes. Standard mode is a S10 AP1 (it will knock out vehicles on a 5+ if it penetrates, opened-topped go out on a 4+), and can be upgraded with a S6 AP4 blast template for just 5 pts. Powerful, versatile, and rightly referred to by a variety of profane monikers by non-Tau players, it is the most popular Hammerhead primary weapon choice with good reason.  
**'''Ion Cannon:''' An Autocannon with another shot and better AP. It's no railgun, but it does have some new tricks up its sleeve to make it worth it especially against [[MEQ]]s. Specifically, it's an ion weapon, which means it can be overcharged to an S8 AP3 Large Blast that gets hot; this effectively turns it into a discount Leman Russ, though Markerlight support lets it strip cover from targets.
**'''Secondary Weapons:''' Your choice of two gun drones, a twin-linked smart missile system or a twin-linked burst cannon, all free. Yes, you read that right, a TL burst cannon, ''not'' two burst cannons. So obviously, skip that one. Your choice on the other options, though - the gun drones can (being passengers) shoot at a different target or fire Overwatch, or get out to harass or foil a charge, while the SMS has superior range, superior accuracy and ignores cover.
***'''La'Sha'ng (Gunner Longstrike):''' Joining the burgeoning crowd of tank aces started by Antaro Chronus and Knight Commander Pask, and then trolling them silly because he's actually worth it! Shas'la T'au Sha'ng is a nifty upgrade for a Hammerhead gunship, blessing it with BS5 (up to 6 if in a Fire Team), preferred enemy IG, Tank Hunter, a blacksun filter and the ability to overwatch or deliver Supporting Fire. He can also overwatch multiple times per phase against different eligible charging enemies. Considering that he also has the Supporting Fire special rule like infantry and most Battlesuits, that can actually be a whole lot of potential targets, each of which he can Overwatch on behalf of as often as the enemy attacks them. Consider flanking his Hammerhead with infantry to better take advantage of this, offering the protection of his tank fire to them while they keep the melta-bomb bearing enemy troops off of him. Just remember that you cannot Snap Fire anything which has a blast template, so sadly no sub-munitions Overwatching for him. Stick to his secondary weapons for most Overwatch targets, or use the solid railgun shot against a charging monstrous creature (if it even lives long enough to get that close.) Also, consider using him with an ion cannon. He only needs one markerlight (or wing men) to avoid overheating when he overcharges, provides best output for overwatching with 3 S7 AP3 shots along with secondary weapons, and can still wreck the hell out of light armor. Oh, and did we mention he headshotted a titan?
**'''Forge World''' brings several new weapons options to the Hammerhead Gunship:
***'''2 Long-Barrelled Burst Cannons:''' Since the update hit, it's now become a full-blown flak cannon with 12 shots, but weaker strength, shorter range, and the possibility to clip flyers. Post codex, you have Broadsides to do this job now. However, this weapon beats rail sub and ion cannon when it comes to facing down hordes of light infantry; guardsmen, guardians, Kablite warriors and Ork boys get wounded on 2s and 3s with no armour saves. With the right support, 10-12 models can die in a single shooting phase. Throw in Longstrike for even more fun! Also consider the Point defense targeting relay. Anyone wishing to charge a unit with this monster nearby will have to suffer 16 shots of overwatch from just this tank. Markerlight the target beforehand to end the assault before it starts. Or just don't buy this at all.
****Please Note: as these are bought as a set of two, how one would fire the system is a matter of debate. Some would find it completely acceptable to count the two weapons as a single weapon system, thus being able to fire both as one weapon system after moving at combat speed, while others may punch the rules and declare they are two unrelated weapons and thus cannot be fired together. The latter will probably be common where your forces are wrecking the opponent and they need every out they can get, but as a general house rule it should be completely acceptable to count the two systems as a single system that just fires twice at the same unit.
***'''2 TL Missile Pods:''' Cheaper on Crisis Suits, but will come with a velocity tracker - basically turns your Hammerhead into very expensive and slightly more accurate Hydra flakk tank / Missileside. Just take a Missileside squad instead.
***'''2 Fusion Cannons:''' This option had a bad rap for a while. However, the proliferation of TEQs briefly gave this gun its time in the sun (a twin-linked blast S8 AP1 melta does have its place, especially when facing down lots of deep-striking TEQs, vehicles, etc.). Unfortunately, now you have the Riptide to deal with that kinda shit, so the Fusion Cannon is back to being dubious once again. Also, thanks to the fact that if you move your tank, you can only fire 1 blast weapon, so don't take this. At all.
***'''2 Plasma Cannons:''' A go-to gun for facing down TEQs/MEQs/Monstrous Creatures and flyers. Now that the new codex is out, you have other options for anti-MEQ and anti-aircraft. Ion Cannon is better against the former and Broadsides are better against the latter. Might still have some use against MCs, although... it does pump out 4 S7 AP2 at 48".

*'''XV107 R'Varna:''' [[Forge World]]'s most beautiful creation to date. A riptide which exchanges its Jet Pack status for a better statline (+1T +1W) and inbuilt flechette discharger (so it cannot be tarpitted).  It also comes equipped with two Pulse Submunitions Cannons. These guns are S6 AP4 Large Blast, with a Cluster Fire special rule.  Cluster Fire lets the weapons get a higher strength and inflict more hits when you fire at larger models.  This means it can potentially put out 6 (or 12 if you nova-charge) OC'd Ion rifle equivalent hits against an enemy MC per turn.  You'll no longer have to worry about fighting MCs and Artillery because of this beautiful son of a bitch (actually, not as effective as it was with the changes of 7E, AP4 renders it about as useful as two hammerheads with Pulse submunitions, albeit hitting more on the blasts... but still only AP4. Gotta love party fouls). Also has a different Nova Reactor with an ability to increase invuln save to 3++, detonate a haywire "bomb", fire the cannons twice(at the cost of not firing next turn!) or give the unit Fleet and a 2D6 run. Can equip with a Positional Relay and Stimulant Injector (which CANNOT be used in a failed Nova Charge), and can purchase Shielded Missile Drones to protect you. Being a FW model, they charge you more than is even remotely reasonable for it i.e. 'only' £70. 
**WARNING: Forge World has not released any sort of official document or FAQ stating that it cannot be used in the Farsight Enclaves army. Until they do, enjoy your Battlesuit extravaganza. However, Considering the old rules are still available online, and until they are published in a copy of IA, nothing is official, you could still potentially be a douche and run the old rules for this brute. If you really want to be that guy, though, never over-charge it. Ever. You prick. 
**Please note: Pulse Submunition Cannons are UNAFFECTED by the Ethereal ability Storm of Fire (so not stupidly broken).

*'''[[Battlesuit#XV88_Broadside_Battlesuit|XV88 Broadside Battlesuits]]:''' God's Fourth Gift To Tau.  Broadsides got taken down a peg in the new codex, with their railgun variant hitting at a decent S8 (still AP1, though; this still makes them mostly ineffective in their previous role of an AV14 killer, since they can only glance now, and that only on a 6) and only at 60". In addition to their old options, they get new options like the ability to skyfire or replace their downgraded railguns with a fucking ton of missiles (including a seeker missile). If you have target locks on the broadsides, you can fire at different targets, possibly giving two different vehicles a serious glance-to-death headache, and turn those scary monstrous creatures into pink (or green) mist. Along with the change in rules, broadsides have a new plastic kit that has them holding their twin-linked heavy railrifle like a rifle, as well as bits for their new twin-linked high-yield missile system (the one that replaces their twin-linked heavy railrifle). Arguably, Broadsides needed this nerfing in order to open up the board for the other options in Heavy Support. The main thing to consider when choosing missiles or rail rifles is range. 60" is still pretty much table wide while the missiles are only 36". Missilesides will need to either be deployed farther forward or wait in the rear, but which ever you choose remember that Broadsides are infantry and will only snap-fire if they move.
**'''Look to the skies!''' These guys are also excellent AA units and are great as an ally unit for armies that lack reliable AA. Misslesides with VT run through AV11 flyer's (with 1 broadside averaging 2 glancing hits per shooting phase) and they don't do too badly against the AV12's either taking 1 hull point per shooting phase per broadside. Railsides aren't bad against flyers either - AP1 means a decent chance of '''FOOM!'''. Although, if you take the command variant from the Farsight Enclaves and attach him to a Darkstrider unit, you suddenly have a nice amount of twinlinked insta-death at your disposal.
**'''Sniperside''' Alas, redundant in 7th. The Advanced Targeting System only grants regular Precision Shots, and proper positioning can help you kill the correct models.
*'''Drone Sniper Team:''' This entry has seriously been retooled in the latest Codex. They no longer have rail rifles, just beefed up pulse rifles, but these new Longshot Pulse Rifles get Sniper (which includes precision shots on to hit of 6) and a 48" range now. Also, their new gun is a pulse weapon so it's effected by Storm of Fire. If the spotter dies, the drones get reduced from BS 5 to BS 2, though in 7th edition you can hide him behind a drone line AND you can now take three spotters per squad! They used to take up a Heavy Support choice that was usually better filled with something else but now they can lay down a devastating salvo of accurate, potentially AP2 dakka with wounds that you may choose how to allocate. Though, despite being pulse weapon longshots still count as S4 against vehicles like any sniper rifle, so do not expect to threaten tanks with them. Note that the Firesight spotter is BS5 and comes with a markerlight. While they max out at three spotters per team, those three markerlights are nothing to sneer at, as each one of them is almost guaranteed several tokens per shooting phase. Keep in mind that while the spotter is standard infantry, the drones are called out specifically as jet pack infantry, which means that they can use the jump-shoot-jump trick to pop in and out of cover, so long as they end their move in unit cohesion with the spotter they should be fine. If your opponent protests, show them the unit description in the Codex saying that they do just that. That said, they will still be going at the speed of the spotter, so consider using a spare Devilfish to get them where they need to be. Drones do not have the bulky rule so a full team can fit in a fish. A neat little trick is to set a single spotter up on a ledge where he'd probably get insta-gibbed by the opponent and let your XV8-05 commander take over the drones when the spotter bites it, thereby giving your longshots the ability to JSJ while keeping BS5.
**''Another tactic:'' These guys weapons are pulse, meaning they are affected by the Ethereal's Storm of fire ability. 9 drones, 2 spotters and an Ethereal clock in at just over 200pts and they have a nasty bit of fire power backing them. Why an Ethereal? They're better suited to be in a spot where they can boost the most possible units, and they benefit from the unit's Stealth rule. While they'll have to move about a lot after the first few turns, position them right and you've got rapid fire plus SoF for a total of 27 shots at 24"; 27 absurdly accurate and potentially rending shots, or 9 shots to protect the Ethereal from Vasily Zaytsev-wannabe's. Remember: the Fireblade's Volley Fire rule doesn't affect them.

*'''[[Skyray Missile Gunship]]:''' At first glance it looks like a Hammerhead with its gun replaced with six seeker missiles. "Meh", you say, "I can bring my missiles on any vehicle". Point is that those six missiles don't matter. Sure, they are useful, but as I said, you can get them without the Skyray. The things that matter are two tiny gizmos on its hull - a set of two markerlights and velocity tracker. Think of it like a 67 point upgrade that could give any of your units skyfire on BS2 or hopefully BS3, that also have 6 seeker missiles attached to it. The moment you've landed at least one markerlight token on the enemy flyer/FMC in range of your pathfinders or marker drones it's pretty much dead - spotter units would turn those 1-2 markers into 4-7 and then you just finish the poor fucker with whatever seems more appropriate - from railgun slug to the face, to fusion guns on your Battlesuits or Piranhas, to just the hail of pulse shots in case it's an AV10 flyer. Against one of the AV10/11 flyers you can just boost the Skyray's own BS with his markerlights (they're networked BTW), and then swipe it with as many missiles as you feel appropriate - if you spend all six you are gonna blow the enemy unit out of the sky almost guaranteed. And since most flyers cost 100+ pts. your Skyray just paid for himself, and still can keep doing his air spotter duty. Hell, you can even land a few glances or force an FMC to crush with your SMSs. Unfortunately, Skyrays have to compete with almighty Broadsides, Hammerheads, and R'Varnas, which are much more point-efficient, but if you have a free HS slot and points taking one would  hardly hurt your army.  However, if you choose to run an unbound list, you can mix 'n match skyrays with everything else.  Have fun. '''Note:''' with the new codex, Skyrays can take squads of 3, and get the Fire Team rule, so more Seekers, more Markerlight hits, and more impact.
**'''Secondary Weapons:''' Same as the Hammerhead, and the same considerations apply - skip the weird TL burst cannon and go for the SMS or gun drones, depending on what you need.

*'''Heavy Gun Drones (Forge World):''' They're Gun Drone Squads, if slightly more accurate - yet somehow made worse courtesy of them devouring a Heavy Support choice. You don't want to waste one of these all-too-valuable slots on twin-linked fucking burst cannons when your army has dozens of ways to get these onto the table. Their air mobility and markerlight options are still not worth it. Avoid.
**Although you could attach a commander with drone controller to a six drone squad with marker lights and a burst cannon. 6 marker lights at BS5 and 24 strength 5 burst cannon hits at BS5. Sadly, you can't do both in the same turn.
**''Also this limits your ability to split your marker light hits between various units. If you decide to take these guys at all go for the TL Burst cannon and make them a bubble wrap unit or a nuisance.''

*'''Barracuda AX-5-2 Multi-role Fighter (Forge World) (Experimental Rules):''' (Strike-Fighter)([https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/resources/fw_site/fw_pdfs/Warhammer_40000/Death-from-the-Skies.pdf| FW Flyers]) A pants-wettingly terrifying air superiority fighter that packs raw, balls-out, firepower in a maneuverable package. It has a ton of options now to let you kit it out for whatever role you want; thus the name. Comes stock with two jink-ignoring Long-Barrelled Burst Cannons, a Barracuda Heavy Burst Cannon, a TL Missile Pod and, up to four Seeker Missiles. It can swap the Heavy Burst Cannon for an Ion Cannon for free, which is a bit of a no-brainer. Sadly it can no longer overcharge, so no more throwing pie plates around. But to compensate for that, the two jink-ignoring Burst Cannons can be exchanged for jink-ignoring cyclic ion blasters! The main gun can also be upgraded to a swiftstrike railgun which is a short-range(36") railgun on a flyer platform so range shouldn't really be a problem. It is BS4 and has strafing run, so BS5 against ground units! This flyer is a beast. Sadly, it's kinda fragile at AV 11|11|10 and 3HP, but its survivability is improved by Agile (3+ Jink save). <s>Then, give it the dispersion pod upgrade for 15pts, and enjoy your 2+ jink save.</s> it specifically states it cant be improved past 3+. Additionally, it has a 6++ against penetrating hits, and a 5++ against glances. It's a great way to drop high-strength dakka on ground and air targets. Thanks to the experimental update by forgeworld, the Barracuda is STILL the best flier available to the Tau, and a strong contender for the deadliest flier in standard 40k. It has absurd firepower that dwarfs the other Tau flyers (and most other races' flyers too) while remaining cheaper for what it brings.

The best thing about this new Barracuda? it now takes up a heavy support slot and you are STILL ALLOWED TO USE THE OLD BARRACUDA so you can take up to SIX of these fuckers (3 old ones, 3 new ones), bring some markerlights to abuse the disgusting amount of seeker missiles you can bring with this

===Lords of War===
*'''KV128 Stormsurge:''' Or Kevin to his friends, the new bad-boy to advertise the new Tau Codex. You may as well just roll to hit and then not bother rolling to wound, the target will be deader than dead. Something of note is the fuckhuge Pulse Blastcannon which acts like an Imperium Conversion Beamer on Tau Hax, 2 shots whose strength depends on the range, 1-10" nets you two Destroyer shots (for a total of 4 per turn when anchored, before factoring in Markerlights), 11-20" is S10 AP3 Blasts, and 21-30" is S9 AP5 Large Blasts. [[Rape|Also comes with a missile pod which shoots 4D6 Smart Missile rockets per turn.]] Additionally, you get 4 Destroyer Missiles, which on paper are a little disappointing, in that they're 60" range, AP 1 Hunter-killer Missiles, but with the addition of Markerlights, they can live up to their name by graduating to Strength D on a 1:1 basis. It can take 3(?!?) support systems, albeit with a few upcharges (50 points for a Shield Generator, for example). <s>Target Lock</s> It's a gargantuan, why does it need Target Lock?, Velocity Tracker, and Early Warning Override could make a Stormsurge royally fuck shit up in the anti-air sector, given its Cluster Rockets. It can also deploy stabilizing anchors in the shooting phase, giving up the option to move in exchange for doubling its ability to shoot in the next shooting phase. Oh, also did we mention you can fucking squadron this shit? 3 Lords of War in 1 slot may not be the smartest idea, given how many points these bastards eat, but it's there. Anything that could potentially take these things down will obviously get shot to shit before coming close. This is not however the thing you should take countering the big cheesy Wraithknights and Imperial Knights, given D-shots are too short-ranged/limited and dependent on outside support to rely upon, but rather a centerpiece big artillery platform you arrange your gunline around. Also, Stormsurges are the only suit in the army vulnerable to Blind and affected by Night Fighting, due to not even having access to Blacksun Filters.
**A few notes: Although the KV128 is a GC, it cannot Stomp with its anchors deployed, and it's only T6/3+ - watch the fuck out for Tyranid or Daemon big melee monsters. Because of this, the Shield Generator, while expensive, is almost a must-buy. Weapon choice is largely dictated by how aggressive you want to play. A single storm surge might want a single S10 AP2 Ordnance pie-plate the Pulse Driver brings when parked in the back of your deployment zone. After turn 1 you could be putting out 2 pie-plates thanks to planting your anchors. A pair of storm surges will probably want to push forward dumping out multiple high strength pie plates or D shots from the pulse blast cannon and possibly even charging in assault.  Don't forget that since it's a GC, you don't have to fire each gun at the same target - pulse-shred whatever looks meanest, then fire the rack of missiles at those Assault Marines trying to knock out your suits!
***New FAQ [https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Errata/Warhammer_40000/Tau_Empire_EN.pdf here] confirms that if an anchored SS is tank shocked it is immediately destroyed outright, which is a bit rubbish as surely it would have a chance of inflicting some damage to the vehicle ramming into it. Except it can make a Death or Glory attack, allowing it to do just that.

*'''KX139 Ta'unar Supremacy Battlesuit (Forge World):''' Forge World cooked up a weird bit of fluff, and then rolled out with this behemoth idol to the Greater Good. It has the staples of a GC (S9, T9, 10 wounds, Ld9), and a middling BS of 4. To make it more awesome, it receives the Vigilance Defense System which allows it to overwatch with its 2 smart missile pods and twin-linked burst cannons at BS2. The cheese only goes up from here: A 2+ Armor and a 5+ Invuln (Which ups to 4+ against dakka) from a shield generator that can half the damage done on a 6 in the Destroyer Table (Though it has to shut down, and you lose the invuln save, till your next turn). It also has two arm cannons, each with a choice between a Heavy 5x Multi-Melta or an Ion Cannon that either fires Heavy 6 - S7 AP3 or Heavy 3 - S9 AP2. But all that is nothing compared to the massive guns that are hoisted onto its back. Currently, there are 3 back-guns available: 
# The Pulse Ordinance Multi-Driver either fires a S:D AP:2 Massive Blast or a S8 AP3 Apocalyptic Barrage that Pins and Ignores Cover, both with incredible range. This weapon is the middle-of-the-road choice, allowing for you to fight GC/SH and up to heavy infantry between its two profiles. Remember that D hits apply to models, not units, and you will be golden.  
# The Nexus Meteor Missile System fires an Apocalyptic Mega-blast, S10/7/5 , AP 1/4/5, with Ordinance and Blind. More focused on carving huge holes in your opponent’s gun lines and clearing out hordes, the N.M.M.S. is clearly superior for inflicting damage against high body counts and armies with low initiative scores. Infantry = liquid.
# The Heavy Rail Cannon Array is actually two weapons: one is a mega-railgun which fires D-strength AP1 small blasts up to 120" and, if fired at a superheavy or a gargantuan creature, rolls two dice for D-strength effect picking highest; the second is a multiple-launch mortar throwing 4 S:6 AP4 Pinning Apoc Barrages up to 36". The ideal choice for dealing with superheavies, and the mortar means it can still threaten infantry as well. As an added bonus, it can fire both of the array's weapons in a single turn.  
Anything it fights, it will find a way to break something, even if it's your army and bank, as it costs 600 Points and 250 Quid ($350 USD for those that use pounds solely to weigh things ($500 CAD for the U.S.'s upstairs MAPLES neighbour.))
*A few things of note: The Ta'unar competes with the Stormsurge for the slot of 'best suit-based lord of war' well, being cheaper than two Stormsurges but not having the same firepower. It is a balance between firepower and survivability. The Stormsurge having access to D missiles, double shooting phases and support systems while the Ta'unar actually has a respectable toughness, wound count and armor save. The final choice is yours but in most cases the Ta'unar is actually a better choice due to its mobility, survivability and flexibility. Be carefully in picking your arm weapons; against any tank, armor or titan using army the fusion eradicators are your best bet, while monstrous creatures, infantry armies and gargantuan creatures should be met with tri-axis ion. You will need anti-air support to deal with enemy fliers and flying monstrous/gargantuan creatures.
*First Rule of Supremacy: <u>If the enemy has a D causing LOW on the table, kill that first</u>. <u>If there is no D-strength attack, or, more specifically, nothing that is trying/able to contest/kill the Supremacy Armour, your duty is to liquefy infantry</u>. Kill the D any way you can, BUT DO NOT GET CAUGHT ON A DISTRACTION UNIT, HOPING FOR A D-STRENGTH SIX. There are many units that will require a 6 for you to deal with, and it can be better to play for the certainty of [murdering infantry rather than lucky rolls. Secondary weapons should be used carefully, you are quite limited in their use compared to other titans, and focused on things that can lock you up in CC, or killing other GCs. 

*'''[[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-barrelled Burst Cannons (who now fire 6 shots, meaning this thing fires ''96'' S5 AP5 36" shots), three Long-barrelled Ion Cannons, two Heavy Railgun (destroyer weapon and AP1 like a standard railgun in slug-mode, so it auto-penetrates/wounds and destroys vehicles 2+, 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), a Missile Pod, a Seeker Missile Battery (10 missiles), and a Networked 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 (and any models in them DON'T count towards total models in the Manta's cargo), 2 Hammerheads, 6 Gun Drones, and 1 Ethereal. 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). Though it does have a 4+ invul save due to its energy shield, remember an enemy still needs to deplete its structure points to destroy it like a ground-based super-heavy vehicle. In the most recent update the manta has BS4, 13/12/11 armor, 30HP, a transport capacity of '''200''' (up to 4 vehicles counting as 30 each, and bulky, very bulky, and extremely bulky as normal) and the ability to spew out more dakka at 2,000 points than most armies. 

*'''[[Tiger Shark]]:''' This thing can shit out fourteen gun drones and carries an impressive armament of a twin-linked Ion Cannon, TL Missile Pod, 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 [http://1d4chan.org/wiki/File:Techrage.jpg 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. An SHF with a D-strength weapon, the AX-1-0 is the ONLY (that made it down to scale, there's plenty of star-busters both in AE and BFG) D-weapon in the game (with AP1 no less) that can hit other flyers at full Ballistic Skill (the Wraithknight can snap-fire, but what's that for?). 660 pts. is a goddamn bargain for a thing with 6 hull points and a 110" range that can one-hit anything up to a Reaver Titan PLUS a networked markerlight (because TL BS5 is way better than TL BS4) and doesn't give a shit if its target is flying or not. This unit was once one of top ten apex predators of the whole game, and is still quite devastating though more obscure and costly than other contenders (there's lot of them, but the cake still goes to IG's fuck-you missile, with all bigger-than-monolith Necron units and Primarchs coming shortly after). However they're far from being anywhere near invulnerable as their players like to think, and even marines now got more unpleasant AA-tanks, not even mentioning the fighters that were around since before Tigersharks themselves, so you shouldn't be surprised when your precious rail-rape will be shot down like a fish in the barrel if your opponent brought delicious buffed-up heavy-AA or wanted to unleash skyrape too. Yet it is quite nice source of D-railguns, so bring some if you feeling titans or other superheavies approaching.
**'''AX-2-2:''' A rather weird unit that carries two Remora Stealth Drone fighters that have two long barreled burst cannons and seeker missiles. 

*'''[[Orca|Orca Dropship]]:''' Used to be that if you had the money and points to afford a Manta, you wouldn't bother with this one; with it out of production, now you have an excuse to just use a shoebox as a proxy. 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). It did get +1 front and side armour, +1 BS, a built in disruption pod and blacksun filter, an the ability that allows 4 units to disembark at the same time,  and long-barreled burst cannon's new buff to 6 shots greatly helps. Also in big apoc floor matches a very mobile flying cheap transport with a transport captivity of 57 is nothing to sneezed at. Also if you want to be an asshole, remember that you can transport up to 11 broadsides or (more usually) three teams of 3 with drones.
:On a side note, this dropship first appeared in the ''Fire Warrior'' 40k FPS and Tau vehicle units in Dark Crusade and Soulstorm arrive at vehicle production buildings via Orca.
:'''Another View''': The Orca and the Manta have two entirely different roles on the battlefield. Specifically, the Orca isn't a 2000 point army by itself.  The Orca is designed to support an army as a Lord of War, capable of surviving on the battle field while deploying it's cargo of suits/drones/troops. With the advantages of the flyer rules, it's +1 to cover saves and it's damn good armor and hull points, it is remarkably reliable as a transport.  The most important facet of this vehicle is that it can transport Battlesuits, and more importantly, jet pack infantry.  This includes Hazard suits.  
:I am sure you are wondering "what difference does that make? I can deep strike my jet pack infantry!"
:Consider this: The greatest weakness of drop-fusion squads is that they tend to get the shit shot out of them. A lot. They can't move after deep striking so you are sacrificing your units in hopes that they destroy their target.  You are also risking mishaps if you don't have a homing beacon.  With the Orca, you get to move, shoot and thrust move, which pretty much assures you can get your guys into cover before they get shot by the entire enemy army. 
:Consider also that the vehicle can move -and- deploy it's cargo without worrying about dangerous terrain checks for the guys inside, Unlike the Valkyrie. You can also load it with a metric fuckton of fire warriors, pathfinders, Kroot, broadsides and drones. 
:It is a 400 point mini, more if you take other upgrades, and looks a bit like a shoebox, but as things continue to grow in size and scope, this point cost (roughly the same as a knight titan with FAR more versatility and resilience), it becomes a dead-killy option.

* '''Area Denial Node (White Dwarf UK 336):''' Only technically a Super Heavy choice, this is the Big-Daddy version of the Drone Turret, coming in at 175 with a BS3, All AV 12, 2 Structure points, & A Twin-Linked Railgun (R 180", S:10, AP1, Heavy 1), Submunition Rounds (R 72", S:6, AP4, Heavy 1, Large Blast), and a Special Rule that means if 2 of these thing hit the same target with Solid-Shot Rounds they gain the Titan-Killer USR.

:*These are fairly old rules, so consider tripling the Hull Points, and altering Titan-Killer to increasing the Weapons Strength to '''D''', and giving it the option to take a Velocity Tracker or a Emergency Warning Override if actually using it in a game, but it is still fully legal, and offers a fun modeling opportunity.

===Fortifications===
More general tactics in using fortifications are [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Fortifications(7E)|here]]. These are notes specific to Tau common playstyles:  

* '''Aegis Defense Line:'''  Can be useful or useless, depending on how you plan to use it. The anti-air emplacements are much less useful to you than most other armies, since you have so much AA already, though it's your only viable anti-air interceptor. That being said, it's still a nice piece of cover for your Fire Warrior gunline and dispoded tanks to cower behind and because you control where it goes it is cover your fire warriors will always have. If you're running a highly-mobile force, you'll probably find an ADL less than useless. If you're going to commander-bomb the enemy, for 20 points more, the comms relay will allow you to reroll reserve results, which might save your entire game. Something else to consider - park you riptide on your fire warrior firing line next to an ammunition dump.  Have fun rerolling those ones that otherwise might kill you!

* '''Vengeance Weapon Battery:''' If you don't like taking a risk that might end up blowing your tank up with poor rolling, or you just like a sturdy Battle Cannon mounted on a reliable AV14 building chassis, then the Vengeance weapon battery is your go-to fortifications. It's cheap, it's hardy, and it can take either a Punisher Gatling Cannon (20 shots FTW) or it can be armed with a fearsome battle cannon for +10 points, adding another large blast ap3 weapon on your side that doesn't suffer much from the disappointing bs2 the Weapon battery is cursed with due to being a blast weapon. All in all, if you need a little extra kick, the VWB is hard to disappoint.

* '''Skyshield Landing Pad:''' Very big and you can probably fit your entire army on top of it. The 4++ it gives units on top (when the sides are up) means you can put your fire warriors and broadsides up there and not have to worry about things that ignore cover *cough*deathstrike missiles*cough*. When the sides are down, you can deep strike units onto it without them scattering - sort of useless given that if you are deep striking you are probably trying to insert a commander bomb behind an enemy tank, In which case you would have Farsight.

* '''Plasma Obliterator:''' Think of this as Ethereal-approved static artillery and being Massive Blast really useful for preventing overrun by hordes or MSUs. Expensive though.

* '''Imperial Bastion:''' It's big. It has 4 heavy bolters but you cannot really fit much at the top, and even less so when you add a gun emplacement. A decent crows nest for a sniper drone team or rail/ion rifle pathfinder team, but past that, it's an expensive piece of cover.

* '''Fortress of Redemption:''' Expensive, expensive, expensive. But like the rest of your army, the range of the weapons is crazy high. (96" missiles). You can also give it a gun with both skyfire and interceptor, but your Broadsides and Riptides should be taking care of that. The building only has one entrance, so be careful about getting it blown apart. On the other hand, it'll give some trouble to your enemies trying to pull you into an assault. You're also going to need about 300 points freed up just bring in a fully kitted out FoR. Imagine the Battle for Helm's Deep, and you're not too far off.

* '''Void Shield Generator:''' Let me break it down for you - you have broadsides. Wouldn't it be nice to stick them behind a nice, thick slab of AV12 from which they can still shoot out? 50pts. Scratch-build your own Tau-ish looking one. Troll the world, drink neckbeard tears.

* '''Vortex Missile Aquila Strongpoint:''' More useful in Farsight full-suit army as vortex blast is not really an issue with your mobility, and you're Tau, don't ever think about getting into melee/being less than 6" away from enemies.

* '''Macro-Cannon Aquila Strongpoint: ''' The almighty D although not as sorely needed for Tau is always welcome (especially being in blast form, luxury in Tau army), and perfect as Kauyon bait. Do consider if you're going against Wraithwall armies.

*'''Tidewall:''' Brand new cheese for 7E, Three Tau component fortifications of your very own. Mostly defence line, it mostly can't be exploded and gives 4+ cover. '''And it moves... ''' It can't move at all if an enemy (''read:'' any non-Tau model, so keep your Eldar buddies off) is within 1" and it can't cross terrain, so watch out for enemies that bring their own. Also, it only moves during the Movement Phase at a sluggish 6", preempting the movement of the units manning the walls. Tau Units on any Tidewall count as stationary for shooting, regardless of whether or not the goddamned floor underneath them advances, and also get to reroll 1s on to-hit. Tidewall segments can be taken separately, attached as-you-like, or in specific arrangements with extra benefits. The attached and arranged versions need to stay lockstepped and are moved all at once.  And because no Tau macroformations have a fortification slot, you need a detachment to take any Tidewalls. Also, surprise, some of the rules are standard Games fucking Workshop writing in that they leave some big fucking questions unanswered.
*'''Tidewall Shieldlines:''' Like an Aegis Line section, only better, in that any successful Cover save bounces back the shot on a 6, with an auto-wound/glance at the same AP. The whole "bounce back hits" is horribly worded, as if a Land Raider fires his heavy bolters and you roll a 6 THE LAND RAIDER TAKES A GLANCING HIT FROM A FUCKING HEAVY BOLTER. Because the Tidewall Field rule doesn't specify friendly or enemy models, shooting at an enemy within 1" risks bounce-back. A Shieldline is technically one shiny blue wall but it comes with a blank disc. Though maybe you don't have to use the blank disc, and the wall can apparently be legally attached to another shieldline's disc, attached to another Tidewall energy field with no discs involved, or a gunrig, or a drone port, or nothing. Ditch it and slim your mobile profile, or take it to stack more minis on free to-hit rerolls and stationary advancing.
*'''Tidewall Gunrigs:''' Come with a password-protected, twin-linked, Hammerhead-grade Railgun with all the fixins. The gun is technically an emplacement, which makes it the only destroyable part of the Tidewall. Only Tau models can shoot it, so even if the thing gets taken from you, they can't turn it against you. You could throw Darkstrider on, use his ability to lower T6 units to T5, and ID them with the S10 gun. 
*'''Tidewall Droneports:''' *A disc which gives you 4 drones of any combination that your basic infantry could take, for 60 points. Which is a damned fine deal. You just need one Tau model on it to activate the drones, which then behave like fucking drones.
*'''Tidewall Rampart:''' Consists of 2 (or more) Tidewall Shieldlines, 1-2 Tidewall Gunrigs, and 1-2 Tidewall Droneports. This arrangement comes with some nasty abilities and 2 serious drawbacks. 
**''First the good:'' All of the basic Tidewall shit stays in play. However, models on Droneports or Gunrigs benefit from (or are penalized by) a Shieldline's reflective field if a Shieldline is between the section and an attacker. With proper placement, a model can technically benefit from both bounceback rules, so a single saved shot from a hurricane bolter can potentially glance its own Land Raider twice. If any one model on the Droneport (I nominate a Shield Drone) forgoes shooting, you can give your Railgun emplacements (or bigger stuff if you have Missilesides or the Stormsurge, etc. parked on the Gunrig) +1 BS, Monster Hunter, and Tank Hunter for the Phase (slightly more reason not to charge this thing, especially with Fexes or Dreads). It only counts as a single terrain piece. 
**''Now the bad:'' Although they benefit from the special rules of the other Rampart sections, the Railguns and the Drones are vulnerable to enemy Shooting, particularly if the enemy has a lot of high strength (ideally 8+, but even a Heavy Flamer would cause problems), Ignore Cover weaponry, as would any unit camping out there. Also, if your opponent tasks a serious assault unit with taking it, you best float away, because those Tidewall Fields won't help much. 
**''Bottom Line:'' Like the Void Shield Generator, and its upgrade, the Void Relay Network, the Tidewall works best when properly deployed and kept as far away from the enemy as possible. 
*'''Tidewall Gunfort:''' Slap three Gunrigs together within 6" of each other.  If someone fires from one gunrig, he can make every railgun fire at the user's BS.  If they use Submunitions, the shot gains +1 Strength, and if there's Solid Ammo, it gains Armourbane. Again, Darkstrider.
*'''Tidwall Defense Network:''' 4 Gunlines form a square around either a Gunrig or a Droneport.  All Tau inside it gain Stubborn and can activate the Gunrig/Dronefort attached to it.  Bring this, and accept that nobody will ever kill you and thus hate you to death (except for Noise Marines, Vraksian Renegades, Hellhammers, LR Eradicators, etc.).

* '''Primus Redoubt:''' The hugest fortifications with AV15, however expensive as balls and may not suit your playstyle (especially crisiswing). Nobody sane will assault properly entrenched Tau army inside, what with supporting fire and spotter units you can put above.

* '''Remote Sensor Towers (Forge World):''' After being noticed for the bad-ass auto-take it was, Forge World majorly nerfed it. It's now 'Battlefield Debris' with BS2, T6, W2, and a 4+ save, it has a twin-linked markerlight, and allows '(...)a singe friendly unit selected from Codex: Tau Empire that is within 2" of any sensor tower in the unit may re-roll all failed To Hit rolls of a 1 and gain the Night Vision special rule...' Sadly, it's no longer an auto-take, but may get some use to help with a Riptide to stop it from killing itself. Then again any other fortification piece can take much cheaper ammunition dump upgrade which does exactly the same thing.(<i>They still offer some unique hilarity. Attach Shadowsun to them and have them go to ground every round for a 2+ cover save. Shadowsun being able to give stealth+shrouded to a sensor tower that is 20" away from her is amazing.</i>)