Editing Hammerhead Gunship (section)

==On the Tabletop==
The Hammerhead carries a decent profile: T7 W13 3+ means it can take a beating, while its BS3+ lets it fire its weapons reliably even when utilizing its 12" Fly movement. It does degrade over time at 6 and 3 wounds: each time its movement halves and its BS becomes 1 worse, and its attacks degrade like every other tank. A basic Hammerhead clocks in at 133 with two drones. You then have to pick either a Railgun(Railhead) or an Ion Cannon(Ionhead):

* The Railgun is the default option of the two and nets you either a 72" Heavy 1 S10 AP-4 DD6 shot that deals an additional D3 Mortal Wounds on a 6 To Wound, or a 72" Heavy D6 S6 AP-1 D1 shot that can put a dent in hordes. This really exists in case you somehow get charged, but if you are getting charged then you are doing something wrong.
* The Ion Cannon is cheaper and gives you a choice as well: either a 60" Heavy 3 S7 AP-2 D2 shot or a 60" Heavy D6 S8 AP-2 D3 shot, the latter of the two which will wound you on unmodified rolls of one. This is the better option, as the range really isn't that big of an issue most of the time. Unless you take [[Longstrike]] as then can put out more reliable damage than a Railhead and buff them. But even then its better to give him an Ion Cannon as well.

Then there are the support weapons. Two gun drones at 12 points is a nice deal, granting you 8 extra shots at close range to deal with light infantry. Not only that you can detach them near an Infantry or Battlesuit unit to give them two extra wounds, which is immensely helpful with your more expensive units. For 16 points you can instead take two Burst Cannons, but those have the same firepower as the drones do and can't detach. The Smart Missile Systems are middling at 15 ''each'', but ignore cover bonuses and can be fired blind at the cost of being Heavy weapons, but this is offset by the Hammerhead's BS3+ and high rate of fire. Finally it can take up to two Seeker Missiles at 5 points each, which are always welcome.

The Forge World versions suffer from being massively [[overpriced]]. Their primary problem is that the hull itself already clocks in at 161 points, and it doesn't even have guns at that point. If you want to make a powerful missile boat out of the Heavy Bombardment Hammerhead with its standard High Yield Missile Pods, two Smart Missile Systems and two Seeker Missiles you're looking at almost 300 points. And the 8 S7 AP-1 DD3 and 8 S5 AP0 D1 shots just are not worth it. Even going with the cheapest option you're looking at a tank that's 100 points more expensive than the Railgun Hammerhead. The Fire Support Hammerhead is 171 bare and requires some very expensive weapons:

* The Twin Fusion Cannon is the ''cheapest'' at 54 points. They're a pair of Fusion Blasters with 24" range delivering a Heavy 2 shot and nets a reroll of the damage within half range. On paper it's better at popping tanks than the Railgun and utilizes the tank's speed and Fly ability to get close, but afterwards you'll be a sitting duck, which is pricy for a model that's almost 250 points.
* The Twin T'au Plasma Cannon is a pair of souped-up Plasma Rifles, shooting 4 shots at 48" S7 AP-3 D2. This makes the gun surprisingly effective at taking down [[TEQ]]s from a distance, but its 60 point price tag makes it five and a half times as expensive as a regular Plasma Rifle.
* The Twin Heavy Burst Cannon is the closest the Tau have to a Leman Russ Punisher. A whopping '''16''' shots at 36" dealing S6 AP-1 D1 damage, it can tear through entire infantry squads in one turn. The downside is, once again, its cost: 70 points. While it's tempting to give your Hammerhead this weapon and two regular Burst Cannons for some delicious [[dakka]] goodness, remember that this will set you back 261 points, which is way too expensive for what it does.

Finally there's the option of taking [[Longstrike]]. At the low cost of only 20 points, you'll get BS2+, +1 to wound against Vehicles and Monsters, +1 To Hit for other Hammerheads within 6" and has For the Greater Good, netting you some extra shots in case of a charge. To get the most out of him you'll need at least one additional Hammerhead, but it's worth it for the improved performance.

The Hammerhead's signature railgun <s>is</s> was also carried by the [[XV88 Broadside Battlesuit]], before it was downgraded to a lighter but faster firing Heavy Rail Rifle. If you want pure Rail goodness the Hammerhead is currently the superior option: the Hammerhead is slightly cheaper but far sturdier and can lay down more reliable damage, even when counting the fact it fires more slowly. Overall the Hammerhead is an excellent tank and a mainstay of Tau armies for a good reason.

Alternate Take: Hammerheads generally struggle in T'au armies due to lack of support. Their weapons are fine and all, but most of the fancy support systems and strategems are going to battlesuits. So building around them is a waste of points that could be used on better options.
===9th Edition===
[[Image:FunnyGun.jpg|thumb|500px|center|[[Cheese|:)]]]]

=== Power Ratings ===

With Power Ratings the Hammerheads are slightly behind the 20-points-per-power curve, but still make for excellent tank hunters. Longstrike is still worth it as well, costing 11 power. The real stars are the Forge World configurations: costing the same 10 points as the regular Hammerheads they suddenly become viable. The missile hell of the Heavy Bombardment Hammerhead is suddenly a lot more viable and outclasses the similarly-armed Broadside greatly, while Fire Support Hammerheads become usable as well. The Twin Fusion Cannons might still not be entirely worth it, but the Twin T'au Plasma Cannons become an option and the concentrated fire of the Twin Heavy Burst Cannons let you concentrate your firepower on a single unit.


[[Category: Warhammer 40,000]]

[[Category: Xenos]]

[[Category: Tau]]

[[Category: Vehicles]]

[[Category: Skimmers]]

{{Tau}}