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

===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.