Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Tau (section)

===Sept Units===
====Drone Profiles====
Basically every non-Auxiliary unit has access to drones. Even some flyers and forts have them. Drones are now part of the unit that bought them, meaning you can allocate wounds on them as normal, without having to roll or anything. Being mixed units, they have some rules that detail how they interact with their host squad:
*'''Valued Sacrifice:''' Drones are meant to be expendable even if they do have self-preservation routines. In mixed units, non-Drone models ignore destroyed {{W40kKeyword|Drone}} models for morale purposes. The opposite is not true, so don't hesitate to put them in harm's way to keep other Tau safe.
*'''Artificial helpers:''' {{W40kKeyword|Drone}} models are ignored for Look Out Sir, determining a unit's starting or half strength, or determining a unit's average toughness if the unit has non-Drone models. Thus a 6-tau Crisis squad w/12 drones has a starting strength of 6, and is wounded by bolter shots on a 5+, while Fire Warriors are wounded on a 3+.
*'''Limited parameters''': Drones are never ObSec, and can't do any actions on their own other than Fire Markerlights.
Characters, infantry units and battlesuits can often bring at least up to 2 drones, of either the Markerlight, Gun or Shield varieties. These three are collectively referred to as "Tactical drones". Vehicles often have '''Docked Drone'''s, mostly of the Gun variety. This means the drone's weapons are used directly by the vehicle as a single model (and can't take wounds on the vehicle's stead), and thus aren't really on the tabletop until undocked via the '''Designated Tasking''' stratagem, if at all.
*There are many different types of drones, all detailed on their respective entries, but almost all drones use the basic statline of M10” WS5+ BS5+ S3 T4 W1 A1 Ld6 Sv4+.  "Almost all" means:
**Advanced Guardian Drone (Commander Shadowsun)
**Command-Link Drone (Commander Shadowsun)
**Grav-Inhibitor Drone (Pathfinders)
**Guardian Drone (Strike Teams and Breacher Teams)
**Gun Drone
**Marker Drone
**Missile Drone (Broadsides)
**Pulse Accelerator Drone (Pathfinders)
**Sniper Drone (Firesight Marksmen)
**Stealth Drone (Ghostkeels)
*Shield Drones and Shielded Missile Drones (Riptides) are M10” WS5+ BS5+ S3 T4 W2 A1 Ld6 Sv4+, i.e. they have +1W relative to baseline.
*Recon Drones (Pathfinders) are M10” WS5+ BS5+ S3 T4 W3 A1 Ld6 Sv4+, i.e. they have +2W relative to baseline.
*Interceptor Drones (Sun Sharks) are M20” WS5+ BS5+ S3 T4 W1 A1 Ld6 Sv4+, i.e. they have +10M relative to baseline.

====HQ====
* '''[[Tau Commander]]:''' Your captain figure. Unlike the other Tau HQs, Commanders are heroic models, built for jumping into the thick of it with half a dozen wounds and up to four BS2+ guns blazing. '''Master of War''' is now an Aura of re-roll 1s to hit for {{W40kKeyword|<sept> core}} units though, with their bulk and speed, "{{W40Kkeyword|CORE}}" often translates to "{{W40Kkeyword|CRISIS}} teams" who can keep up with them. There are three Commander versions (and two FW Legends), each with the ability to give a special rule to a {{W40kKeyword|<sept> Crisis core}} unit within 9" that changes how they play, but they all have in common that they are shooty, hardy, and mobile. Even in melee their A4 WS3+ S5 can be helped by a close-combat-oriented Onager Fist signature and/or Thermoneutronic Projector prototype system (and the battlesuit's ability to shoot whilst engaged), but it's best not to expose them to any unnecessary roughness, if mostly for their squad's sake.
**Want to '''Manta Strike''' them alongside a Crisis bomb? Wait until turn 2 (''or fake it with a Coldstar''): A homing beacon only works on {{W40kKeyword|core}} units, which Commanders are ''not''.
**BS2+ means the high Damage guns go here: as many anti-armor Fusion blasters and anti-everything Cyclic Ion Blasters as you can afford, with a plasma rifle potentially thrown in. Relic and Prototype stuff also goes here, including the Prototype flamer. '''S5 stuff can be wielded by literally anything else'''. Even a shield generator ought to be reconsidered, as changes to Drone rules mean you can have them be the Commander unit's 4++ while the Commander focuses on shooting stuff. ''Miniguns do be looking cool though, not gonna lie''.
***Despite the escalating costs of guns, the best loadout you can take against almost anything is quadruple CIBs, unless you can reliably get into melta range with your Fusion blasters. If you do equip a commander with 4 CIB do consider buying 2 Shield drones, to absorb the self-inflicted mortal wounds.
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<tab name="XV8 Armor">
*Not "the standard" anymore. They have the fewest wounds, with "only" 6, but can get Iridium to get a 2+, which Coldstars can't. Their main protection, however, is their smaller size, which can be hidden easier unlike the other Commanders, whose truescale size is almost twice of their fellow Crisis (you can always kitbash them a bigger base). Unlike other Commanders, XV8 have access to a Counterfire defence system, Early warning override, Multi-tracker, and (unlike the Enforcer) Target lock. You will likely be stuffing them full of guns instead of systems anyway, but they are there if you need them. In return, they're the one commander that lacks access to a Positional Relay, which is fine.
**Comes with '''Tactical Acumen''', giving a Crisis team in the Command Phase the ability to shoot and charge after falling back, as well as having their ranged attacks ignore any or all hit modifiers, meaning the enemy can neither tie them up nor foul their aim.
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<tab name="XV81 Crisis Battlesuit (Legends FW)">
*Commander in an XV8 Battlesuit with a mandatory Smart Missile System weapon and only 2 remaining slots for Weapons/Support systems. Kitbash model.
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<tab name="XV84 Crisis Battlesuit (Legends FW)">
*Commander in an XV8 Battlesuit with a mandatory markerlight, target lock, and still has two more customization slots left. Kitbash model.
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<tab name="XV85 Enforcer Battlesuit">
*The mighty glacier and most expensive one, built for jumping onto a point and then hold onto it instead of dashing somewhere else. For this their chassis is equipped with beyond-Iridium '''Hardened Armor''', dragging their movement down to 8" (M10" is the norm) in return for Sv2+ and a Disgustingly Resilient -1D to incoming damage (to a minumum of 1) on their W7. Same lessened access to Support Systems as the Coldstar, but you want four guns anyways.
**'''Resolute Firebase''' gives ObjSec to the accompanying Crisis squad in the Command Phase, giving you a fast, tough ObSec unit with which to contest enemy-held objectives. Or outright ''steal'' them when combined with the '''Multi-Sensory Discouragement Array''''s ability to delete the enemy's own ObSec rule.
**Alternatively, -1D allows this commander to survive close combat, should the enemy reach it. And battlesuits are deceptively capable of stomping someone, should they need to.
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<tab name="XV86 Coldstar Battlesuit">
*No longer with ludicrous speed, but M14" is still faster than any enemy jump packs, gives those Fusion Blasters a 23" melta radius, lets you use fusion or flamers turn 1, and it even has an easier time using CC systems, should you want to (<s>don't</s> ''you do''). It's the only commander without access to a 2+ save (does have W7, though), but has '''High-Altitude Maneuvers''', a one-use jump at the start of ''any'' movement phase to either escape into strategic reserves (Kauyon!) or drop back down at the reinforcements step of the same turn, re-deploying anywhere the usual 9" away from enemies (Mont'Ka!). Thus [[Noice|'''they're the only commanders who can actually deepstrike turn 1''']] alongside a Homing Beaconed Crisis team. See? ''Fast!''
**With access to a special burst cannon, ''a lack of CIBs'' but the speed necessary to use melee and short ranged weaponry, their wargear loadout can be different from what other commanders use.
***They're armed with ''one'' Coldstar-exclusive Assault ''10'' AP-1 'High-output Burst cannon' (HOBC), giving you something better than two of the normal version on a single hardpoint. It is also legally ''not'' a "Burst cannon", meaning the first of those is paid for at no overcost. Which you can then turn into the DW-02 Advanced Burst Cannon and have two special gatling guns! Which they can use masterfully, as Coldstars come with a hardwired Target Lock, enabling them to ignore cover naturally. That's if you want to use gatling guns, though, because...
***...a Coldstar's speed makes them your best choice for using flamers or melee relics, and the Thermoneutronic Projector is both, so it's ''really'' hard to top that, the HOBC, and 2 Fusion Blasters on one of these.  There are niche uses for swapping the HOBC out for a Plasma Rifle or third Fusion, but ''against MEQ, TEQ, or a Knight, you do want the HOBC''.
**As to not leave their squad behind, their '''Aggressive Tactics''' turboboosts a Crisis squad into advancing 8" automatically (better and cheaper than the stratagem), meaning they can either:
***Dash forward while the commander high-altitude jumps to meet another Crisis team arriving through a Homing Beacon Manta Strike, giving them a ''guaranteed 27" Melta threat radius'', or...
***Keep up with a Devilfish armored spearhead, which would otherwise be faster under Mont'Ka and end up outrunning the Crisis team's special weapon fire support.
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*'''[[Ethereal]]:''' The support HQ, with the ability to buff nearby squads whilst mostly just standing around. A regular ethereal knows 2 invocations of the elements, and can successfully intone one on a 3+. Named ethereals (or one with a relic) intone two elements on a 2+, so those are to be prioritized when considering Ethereal support. Still, their mere presence is already beneficial to your units. '''Inspired to Greatness''' allows one unit to keep on shooting without failing an action, and '''Failure Is Not An Option<sup>Aura</sup>''' lets non-{{W40kKeyword|auxiliary}} Tau use their resolute Leadership 10. As expected, these guys do not interact with {{W40kKeyword|farsight enclaves}} units, and cannot be from that sept.
**Ethereals do have an A3 WS4+ S+2(5) AP-1 D2 Honour Stave to bonk people in melee, but this is mostly an auxiliary weapon to have something to do while waiting for your turn to fall back. If you want to use them on the front lines but are worried about their ''relative'' frailty (T3 Sv5+ W4 means they're a Fireblade in Pathfinder armor and hardier than a Shaper), simply adding drones allows them to use their superior 4+ save.
**Ethereals are customizable and flexible, owing to their invocations, being able to interact with Strike Teams, Crisis Teams, and even Kroot and Vespid too - '''the only model capable of doing so in general''', and can mount on an exclusive Hover Drone to gain M10", {{W40Kkeyword|FLY}}, and zip around yelling invocations at Crisis speed instead of being confined inside a Devilfish in the Command phase.

* '''[[Cadre Fireblade]]:''' The infantry support guy, chiefly Strike Teams. Cheap and support-oriented, they do alright embedded among ''several'' squads (or leading a trio of Devilfish), as their '''Volley Fire''' aura gives {{W40kKeyword|<SEPT> CORE}} units within 6” exploding 6s to hit with pulse weapons. Additionally they can give one {{W40kKeyword|FIRE WARRIOR TEAM}} re-rolls of 1s to hit with their ranged attacks until their next command phase; that means their aura is better (*1.33 without a markerlight token, *1.25 with) than their single-target buff (*1.17), and strapping one to even 1 Strike Team means they're earning their points back. Also has a 36" Rapid Fire 1 S5 AP-2 D2 Fireblade pulse rifle, to contribute to the shooting. They also have a markerlight, but that needs them to stay still so they'll only get to use it when defending an objective.

=====Special Characters=====
These are listed here because, while they do belong to specific septs, they can still be included without disrupting army rules; they simply won't gain theirs whilst in a foreign army. As such, they are accessible to any sept.
*'''[[Aun'Shi|Aun'shi]]<sup>{{W40Kkeyword|Vior'la Sept}}</sup>''': Unlike the other Ethereals, he really did [[meme|study the blade]]. Good in melee for the points even compared to the melee characters of other factions, especially before considering that you are playing Tau and literally ''every single other unit you can pick besides Farsight, Kroot Hounds, and Krootox absolutely suck in combat and are better off trying to shoot things if at all possible''.  His special rule '''Leadership Caste''' lets him be in any non-{{W40Kkeyword|farsight enclaves}} {{W40Kkeyword|TAU EMPIRE}} detachment without interfering with {{W40Kkeyword|<SEPT>}} rules, but he will only gain {{W40Kkeyword|<SEPT>}} traits if in a {{W40Kkeyword|Vior'la}} army.  <s>Unfortunately, his rule ''doesn't'' let him avoid disabling your Tactical Philosophy, so it's up to you if he's worth it.</s> As a named Ethereal he knows a third invocation has a built-in Humble Stave, meaning he  can attempt a second invocation and succeeds on a 2+.  His other benefits include a 4++ and the fact that he's a melee powerhouse: his staff is A5 WS2+ S+2(5) AP-2 D2, exploding 6s to hit means he usually makes 5 attacks and then lands 5 hits, which is more than triple the amount a normal Ethereal lands even before you notice his AP-2.  His final benefit isn't cross-faction, though; '''Inspirational Defiance<sup>Aura</sup>''': Friendly {{W40Kkeyword|VIOR’LA CORE}} units within 6” that are not engaged in melee can hold steady or set to defend when charged (effectively, they always count as being in Defensible Terrain).
*'''[[Aun'Va|Aun'va]]<sup>{{W40Kkeyword|T'au Sept}}</sup>''': Dead, but apparently that doesn't stop him from spreading the good word. Despite being {{W40Kkeyword|T'au Sept}}, his special rule '''Leadership Caste''' lets him be in any non-{{W40Kkeyword|farsight enclaves}} {{W40Kkeyword|TAU EMPIRE}} detachment without interfering with {{W40Kkeyword|<SEPT>}} rules, but he will only gain {{W40Kkeyword|<SEPT>}} traits if in a {{W40Kkeyword|T'AU SEPT}} army.  <s>Unfortunately, his rule ''doesn't'' let him avoid disabling your Tactical Philosophy, so it's up to you if he's worth it.</s>  As a named Ethereal he knows a third invocation and has a built-in Humble Stave, meaning he can attempt a second invocation and succeeds on a 2+.  His other benefits are that he replaces '''Failure Is Not An Option''' with '''Supreme Loyalty''', which is the exact same thing except it's 9" instead of 6", and although he's a 3-model unit and hence is more difficult to transport, he's significantly nastier in melee and tougher than a standard Ethereal, partially because he's a 3-person unit.  Compared to a standard Ethereal you get twice as many Honour Staff attacks without the -1 to hit penalty from his two bodyguards, and he himself contributes 1 laughably worthless WS6+ S2 slap.  On the durability side, aside from being 8 wounds to a normal Ethereal's 3 (and that's spread across multiple models, letting you dissipate high-D attacks), he continues to commit to basically having Shield Drones But Better by having the entire unit have a 5++ ''and'' all attacks against it suffer -1 to wound.  
*'''[[Shadowsun|Commander Shadowsun]]<sup>{{W40Kkeyword|T'au Sept}}</sup>''': Ever wished your Stealth Suit squad could carry more Fusion Blasters? Well, now one can.  Statwise she's a Crisis Commander with W7, but [[Schlicktau|everyone's favorite Tau waifu]] has {{W40Kkeyword|supreme commander}}, so you can take her in any detachment without shutting off Sept rules ''or'' your Tactical Philosophy, meaning she's even easier to take than either named Ethereal, and accompanying that is her special rule '''Hero of the Empire''', stating that if you take her, she has to be your Warlord.  She comes with a pair of fusion blasters which come in one of two flavors you can pick from when putting her in your list:  "Dispersed" (18" Assault 2 S7 AP-4 D2, +1D at half range) or "High-Energy" (24" Assault 1 S8 AP-4 D1d6, +2D at half range).  She also has a Flechette Launcher she appears to have stolen from the Adeptus Mechanicus: 18" Assault 5 S3 AP0 D1 and a Light Missile Pod: 24" Assault 2 S7 AP-1 D2.  For some reason she also has a Pulse Pistol you'll literally never fire.  She has the standard re-roll 1s aura, only hers works on all {{W40Kkeyword|Tau Empire Core}} (i.e. she can buff across Septs), and her single-target buff lets her pick a {{W40Kkeyword|Tau Empire Core}}/{{W40Kkeyword|Tau Empire character}} unit within 6" (so she can pick herself) to re-roll ''all'' hit rolls.  She also has a permanent -1 to be hit and a 5++.  Rather than Manta Strike, she infiltrates like a Stealth Suit.  She also has 2 bespoke drones no-one else can take: an "Advanced Guardian Drone" which [[derp|is a special stealth drone, not a special guardian drone]]: it has a 4++ and while the drone lives Shadowsun can't be targeted with ranged attacks unless she's the closest eligible unit.  Her other bespoke drone is a Command-Link Drone, and while it lives, she gets +3" to her auras and Command Phase abilities, so the aforementioned re-roll 1s aura is actually 9" on her and 9" is the range of her full re-rolls buff.

The Forge World characters hail from a time back before septs had their own subfaction rules. While technically they do belong to a specific sept, those septs don't have rules themselves...''meaning you can use any rules you want''.
* '''[[Shas'O R'alai]]<sup>Forge World,{{W40kKeyword|KE'LSHAN}}</sup>:''' {{W40kKeyword|KE'LSHAN}} Sept has no rules, but it ''has'' got at least one person in it.  Appears to be a ranged monster-killing Commander, that can also throw a SINGLE Mortal Wound onto vehicles at close range. Equipped with Photon casters and a drone controller he can do a decent amount of damage at close to mid-range while still being difficult to charge due to Photon Casters reducing enemy charge range by 2". His Markerlight drones are a bit better, being that they can mark units within 48" rather than the stock 36". While he can re-roll failed hit rolls against {{W40kKeyword|CHARACTERS}}, [[Fail|he has no special rules bypassing the Character targeting restrictions]].
** RAW, the EMP rounds roll to see if any Mortal Wounds are inflicted to a {{W40kKeyword|VEHICLE}} on target, rather than on hit. This means you effectively have to make a second to hit roll after all your normal ones, just this time for the Mortal Wound, and you can only inflict one Mortal Wound no matter how many times you successfully shoot the target.
* '''[[Shas'O R'myr]]<sup>Forge World,Legends</sup>:''' Commander equipped with a Twin Plasma Rifle and a 4 shot autopistol. Re-rolls 1s to hit against [[Imperial Guard]], which makes his weapon loadout an odd choice. He [[Fail|can't take any drones]]. Overall, not great.

==== Troops ====
The Tau {{W40kKeyword|[[Fire_Warrior|Fire Warriors]]}} are okay at shooting, with BS4+ but very good guns, and bad at melee with S3 WS5+ 1A. Their Shas'Ui sarge can get a markerlight, and the squad can get up to two drones, but besides the Tactical ones they also have two exclusive options:
*'''Guardian drone''': Tactical drone stats with a 4++ (but only 1W). This drone no longer shares its invuln with the warriors themselves, but it saves the unit it is attached to from being wounded on a 2 by ranged attacks. This helps against those pesky S6 shots.
**For a bit more, a shield drone has twice the wounds and takes wounds instead of the warriors. It doesn't help against S6 shots, though the guardian drone's effect dissapears if it is sacrificed for a warrior. However say you had three units of Fire Warriors with two shield drones each. That's 12W 4++ to hide your warrior behind... but for just a bit more points ''you would have a fourth fire warrior squad''. Boys over toys?
*'''[[Tau_Drones#Tactical_Support_Turret|DS8 Tactical Support Turret]]''', which can be deployed as an action started in the command phase and completed at the end of that turn's movement phase, meaning the unit has to begin the turn on the table and remain stationary if they want to use the turret, which can be equipped with either a smart missile system for indirect fire (to offset its static nature) or a proper missile pod for direct fire. It also means the unit can't use a Markerlight that turn. Useless with Mont'Ka as you should be pushing up, but for a static gunline it's a good choice.
Now they come on units of 10, but at least now they are the same Ld as marines: Ld7 w/Ld8 Shas'ui. They are also well armored, with a 4+ that becomes 4+/4++ with shield drones. The two troops choice versions of fire warriors (the third option is Fast Pathfinders) are:

* '''Strike Team:''' Your main gunline infantry, now '''Pulse Rifles''' are ''36"'' RF1 S5 AP-1 D1, making them among the best Troop's rapid fire guns in the game. 18" RF range makes it easy to double shoot whilst still benefitting from cover, where their 3+ may require the enemy to shoot at them with high AP shots that would normally be wasted on T3 models.
**Pulse rifle 18" rapid fire range goes nicely with Mont'Ka's 18" range.
**They can also swap their rifles for Pulse Carbines. Those lack the AP, but allow the squad to advance & shoot if they are using Kauyon. Compared to pulse rifles, pulse carbines shine from 18" to 24" range, where their ''two AP-0 shots outdamage the rifle's single AP-1 shot''. For the squads that aren't using the '''Relentless Fusillade''' strat, that is.

* '''Breacher Team:''' Danger close. They put out nice firepower, as long as you are close enough to count their nose hairs:  '''Pulse blasters''' are 8” Assault 2 S6 AP-2 D1 or 14” Assault 2 S5 AP-1 D1. This second profile is inferior to the pulse rifle's 0-18" two S5 AP-1 shots, so <u>shoot from within 8" or you're doing it wrong</u>, so make sure you have a plan for getting them incredibly close if you're going to field them. Be it as a response team to counterattack wherever enemy forces reach your lines, or Combat Debarked right on top of the enemy they'll attract a ton of firepower, so protect them with drones. They go great with Devilfish, where "great" means "it's the only way to get them close enough quickly". And if the enemy doesn't die, charge them with the transport.
**They do fine in Mont'Ka, where they can advance and still count as stationary when shooting <s>their now AP-3 guns</s>, but even in turn one they still ought to close in to 8" (wasting 10" of the 18" <s>increased-AP range</s>), else you'd be better off with Pulse Rifles. They may be the better Fire Warriors for Kauyon, however, where the 12" exploding hits range is not too different from their optimal 8" range (yet it would waste pulse rifle/carbine range), and a shotgun is an okay gun to fall back with.

====Dedicated Transport====
* '''[[Devilfish|TY7 Devilfish]]:''' Fish of Fury returns! Its transport capacity is 12 {{W40Kkeyword|<sept> infantry}} or {{W40Kkeyword|<sept> drone}} models + 1 {{W40Kkeyword|<sept> recon drone}} and it can't transport {{W40Kkeyword|battlesuit}}s (and the sept requirement bans it from carrying Kroot or Vespid, even if you're Dal'yth), so ideally put a Strike Team into them.  It has {{W40Kkeyword|fly}}, so it can do the usual transport tricks of being aggravating in melee even better because it can scoot over enemies and terrain, and it's reasonably durable for its cost at T7 Sv3+ W13. It also comes with a pair of docked Gun Drones, so the stock version simply has 4 Pulse Carbines.  You can upgrade the guns - the Accelerated Burst Cannon is legitimately strictly better than the Pulse Carbines in terms of murder-efficiency - but it costs points you could be putting into something worthwhile, like Broadsides, and doesn't let you pop the '''Designated Tasking''' strat to turn 1 model into 3 for cheeky capping, so you generally shouldn't bother. Thanks to the 12 seats you can toss in Darkstrider, a Fireblade, or accompanying drones, as well as the fire warrior team inside. It's nice that a Pathfinder team will fit inside with a third drone, but the Fish slows them down a lot ''and'' cuts the number of drones they can take, so it's of dubious utility there. The Devilfish is flexible but still quite pricey, so keep them as cheap as possible, save the upgrades for actual tanks like Longstrike or Hammerheads.
**The generally best way to use these is with the '''Combat Debarkation''' strat <s>(or, as of current wording, just using the Mont'Ka Philosophy, which lets the Devilfish count as Remaining Stationary even if it moves)</s>, so the Devilfish can carry its team into position and they can just get out, shoot what they need to shoot, and get to capping like a good ObjSec unit.  <s>Bear in mind that the current wording is clearly broken, because it renders the strat's interaction with Mont'Ka useless - you'd never spend a CP to do what the rules let you do without spending a CP - so expect a FAQ soon changing Mont'Ka's wording so Transports don't count as Remaining Stationary for their contents to disembark.</s> Fixed, see below.
**You can do some clever tricks with a Breacher Team if you're using a kamikaze Devilfish, since if the Fish is charged and survives, on your turn you can do the standard Transport trick of disembarking the innards (in this case Breachers), Fall Back with the transport, and have the erstwhile riders unload into your target.
**Points 7 & 8 of the core rulebook faq regarding rules that count as remaining stationary clears this up, unless the transport in question has a rule that explicitly states a unit can disembark after moving which the devilfish doesn’t, the only way to disembark a unit is using the '''Combat Debarkation''' strat, also, a unit that disembarks from a transport is not considered to be under the effects of the counts as stationary ability for whatever that may be worth.

====Elites====

* '''Firesight Marksman:''' BS3+ and a Pulse Pistol, but you don't take one to shoot with.  Instead, you take this dude because it comes with 3 Sniper Drones and in your Command Phase can select any one {{W40Kkeyword|sniper drone}} unit within 6" (so you'll always have the unit target itself unless something really weird happens) to have on all of its {{W40Kkeyword|sniper drone}} models BS3+, ignore Look Out Sir, and deal 1 mortal on unmodified 6s to wound on all attacks (including melee attacks, if it comes up). His new stealth rule prevents him from being targeted by ranged attacks unless he is the closest model; or he is within 12" range. If he moves during his turn though, the rule effects are deactivated till his next movement phase. Finally he also comes with the MARKERLIGHT keyword. For its price and elite slot it's not very good unless you're fighting a army that loves it's support characters (and ones made of paper at that).
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Sniper_Drone|MV-71 Sniper Drones]]''': Each comes with a Longshot Pulse Rifle: 48” Rapid Fire 1 S5 AP-2 D1.
* '''[[XV-25 Stealth Battlesuit]]s:''' Your infiltrators, able to be set up anywhere besides the opponent's deployment zone and within 12" of enemies. They no longer have any special interaction with cover, but their stats increased to T4 W2 while actually ''decreasing'' in price, and their Stealth rules now apply a -1 to hit modifier to any units attacking the Stealth Suits in both shooting AND melee, lessening their dependence on terrain and giving them more autonomy. Like some other battlesuit units they also have the {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} keyword, with all the benefits and vulnerabilities it entails. They also can take only 2 drones per squad, one model every three can swap their Burst Cannon for a Fusion Blaster, and 1 in 3 models can buy a drone controller or target lock.  The unit can also take a homing beacon, but is kind of pointless without one.
**Homing Beacon (Action): In your command phase, any number of units with homing beacons can begin this action, completes at the start of your next reinforcements step. When completed, the unit loses its homing beacon and one friendly {{W40kKeyword|<SEPT> CRISIS CORE}} (so it won't work on Commanders or Hazards) unit in manta strike can be deployed within 3” of this unit and more than 9” away from enemy models, even if it is the first battle round.
**Not useless at direct combat in any way, but their utility lies not on their raw power but on their ''tactical mobility'', setting up where you want them right from the start while being difficult to remove. They even infiltrate a pair of drones. Their homing beacons are one of the only ways to set up reinforcements ''on turn 1''. But they might need that help, since they cannot Manta Strike - the only other unit they can deploy alongside with is the '''Ghostkeel''', with whom they work well:
***Ghostkeels have lots of 18" guns but also want to keep their distance from the enemy; bodyblock them with Stealth suits, which get -1 to be hit even in melee. Ghostkeels can't bring regular drones; Stealth suits bring two. When a Ghostkeel loads up on fusion weapons and can no longer defend itself from the small guys, the Stealth suits help it with their burst cannons, maybe gun drones and even fusion guns of their own. Teamwork!
**Beware that with all marines having W2, anti-MEQ is becoming even more popular in the meta and these dudes are MEQ, so make sure you know where your suits will go and don't overly rely on their durability.
**Combine with Hardened Armour for a unit that against a boltgun in cover has -1 to hit, 5+ to wound and a 2+ save. Also always funny when your opponent realizes a Volley of lasguns only wound on 6s.
*'''[[XV-8 Crisis Battlesuit]]s:''' Same number of hardpoints as a Crisis Commander (4) but one of them can only be a support system, only 1 in 3 can wear Iridium, 66% of the wounds (W4), and 60% of the accuracy (BS4+) for 2/5 the points while naked and discounts on many but not all of their gun choices, the best general offensive loadout for them is a Cyclic Ion Blaster, a Plasma Rifle, and a Fusion Blaster - don't forget to fire the CIB third, so there's no chance of dying before you can shoot your other guns.  For support systems, take 1 Early Warning Override for the entire unit and put Multi-trackers/ Target Lock on everyone else, so if you're charged by a unit of 6+ models you're functionally your original BS4+ (BS5+ for the EWO bearer, so if you want a triple-flamer bearer for murdering GEQ, this is the dude to do it), or ignore the +1 to Sv from light cover, which most opponents will try to take advantage of or have abilities to have outside of cover. Pretty good for any army, even a gunline could use missiles for indirect fire before using that speed to cap objectives.
**In case you missed how the rules work out, '''you can take 2 shield drones per Crisis Suit and then take mortal wounds from your CIBs on your Shield Drones'''.  That doesn't make the CIBs suddenly cost-effective, but it does mean if you're afraid of Overcharging you're doing it wrong. We're not asking the shields drones to live, just take the overcharge MWs instead of the suits. CIB overcharge MWs are taken by the '''unit''', including the drones.
*'''[[XV-8 Crisis Battlesuit|XV-8 Crisis Bodyguard]]s:''' Now the same cost as a standard Crisis but they have a bodyguard aura - {{W40kKeyword|<sept> CHARACTER}} units within 3" can't be targeted by ranged attacks, period (though not including Longstrike due to being a {{W40kKeyword|Vehicle}}) - and the ability to take 1 unit slotlessly per {{W40kKeyword|<sept> commander}} (so max 1 if not FSE, 2 if FSE per Detachment).  Also, the minimum size of the unit drops from 3 to 2, which leans effectively into their bodyguard role. For minimum points investments a 2-suit Bodyguard unit will protect your Characters far more cost effectively than a minimum 3-suit crisis unit. Enemy shooting only has to drop one crisis suit in a minimum crisis unit, before concentrating all their firepower onto your precious Character units. Whereas a Crisis Bodyguard unit of only 2 still has to be completely destroyed before the enemy can begin to aim their sights on your Character(s). 
**'''Warning''': Bodyguards have ''crippled'' access to support systems compared to standard Crisis.  Where standard units have ''4'' hardpoints, 1 of which can only be chosen from a limited list of support systems.  Bodyguards simply don't have this last slot - they only have the 3 hardpoints that can mount guns or support systems.  This renders the unit ''disappointing'' in comparison, try to avoid taking it.
**'''Alternate take''': You take bodyguards to effectively protect your important Characters/Commanders, that will inevitably be positioned around the table throughout the battle. Their primary purpose ISN'T supposed to be damaged output but - hint; it's in their name. Alternatively, allows a Crisis unit to be taken when you have no Elite slots left (a niche use but might help in tight list building).
*'''[[XV-9 Hazard Battlesuit]]s<sup>Forge World</sup>:''' A heavier Battlesuit that gets a variety of advanced weapon choices and a slightly worse statline (the unit has no A4 Ld9 model in it), for a cost: being twice as much as a standard Crisis at 60 points, but that's deceptive because they have to take two weapons with an optional support system which can't be a weapon, and their weapon choices are distinct, with distinct costs. Thanks to rules updates in the FAQ, it can deepstrike and take a support system on each model for the same cost as a Crisis Battlesuit would pay, so a multi-tracker is often going to be your best bet.
**Twin Hazard Burst Cannons are just Burst Cannons with 2 more shots (i.e. 33% more shots), so never take them.  An XV-9 with 2 of this is 16 shots for 60 points.  A standard Crisis with 3 Burst Cannons is 18 shots for 65 points, which is ''better''.  Stick to Fusion Cascades.
**Phased Ion Guns are Burst Cannons with +1S and -1AP, meaning there's absolutely no point - against absolutely all possible targets, THBCs are better.  Stick to Fusion Cascades.
**Fusion Cascades are where things get serious.  Each one is a 12" Assault 1d3 Fusion Blaster with Blast, i.e. each one is ''two'' Fusion Blasters at shorter range, and they're only 10 points each without scaling costs.  That means a double Cascade (i.e. ''quadruple'' Blaster(hextuple if lucky)) Hazard is 80 points, while a triple-Fusion standard Crisis is ''also'' 80, for 1 less shot on average.  That means Hazards are your ''premier'' source of Fusion dakka - they do it better than anything else you can field, and that becomes ''even more true'' within melta range. They also have the {{W40kKeyword|Infantry}} keyword thanks to the FAQ, with all the bad and good that entails with it.
*'''[[XV-95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit]]:''' Not as heavily armored as the Riptide or as last edition due to the loss of the shield generator, but makes up for it by [[Bullshit|only being shootable if the shooter is within 18" or the Ghostkeel is the closest unit of yours to it]] - in other words, everything in your army can bodyguard for it. The Cyclic Ion Raker is now 36", so you can shoot enemy units while a single Kroot screens you from being shot yourself by that Imperial Knight. The Fusion Collider is actually good now that it is an automatic 3 shots instead of D3. However, note that Ghostkeels aren't efficient at murder by Tau standards - what they're very good at is durability, which their Prototype only leans into by making nearby enemy stratagems more expensive. They're -1 to be hit T7 Sv3+ W12, and have support systems to get even more durable.  You take one of these to infiltrate onto the battlefield and be aggravatingly difficult to remove, i.e. territory denial.
**For support systems, it has a mandatory drone controller and a choice to make between an Early Warning Override or a Flare Launcher, which is unique to the Ghostkeel and gives it a 5+++ against S7+ shooting, but since it's T7, that's genuinely useful.  
**For weapons, your sidearms can be Fusion Blasters, Burst Cannons, or Flamers, so you shouldn't need to be told to take double Fusions.  For your main weapon, what you really want is the Ion Raker, because you don't want to be compelled to get close to your targets and give up the utility of your Stealth Drones.
**Wall of mirrors makes it a great late game flanker, allowing it to jump off the battlefield and appear near any table edge you want it to. Hello Raven Guard Devastators. Nice Lascannons. It'd be a shame if someone pumped you full of Ion.
** '''[[MV-5 Stealth Drone]]s''': Do not lose the drones. They are what primarily provide the ability to not be shot outside of 18".
* '''[[DX-4 Technical Drone]]s<sup>Legends,Forge World</sup>:''' Similar stat profile as a Tactical Drone except for -2" movement (M8"), +1 wound (W2), with a 12" Assault 1 S5 shot. Once per command phase the unit can choose to either repair D3 wounds on a single {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUIT}} model within 3", or select an enemy unit within 12" to not receive light cover until your next turn. Expect these guys to draw a colossal amount of fire, and probably die immediately as a result.  If you want them to live long enough to actually fix something, make sure to hide them out of sight behind buildings - and/or increase the number of drones per unit. You can only repair the same model once per Command phase.

====Fast Attack====

* '''[[Pathfinder_Team|Pathfinders]]''': Now cost considerably less than what they used to, you're going be getting a lot more use out of these guys - in fact, they're hands down your best Fast Attack option. Not only are they a cheap source of Markerlights ''which they can use '''after moving''''' (just never Advance with them and you'll be fine. '''INCLUDING WITH MONT'KA!''' It does NOT let you do actions while moving!!! Don't misunderstand it like I did!), their special weapons are much better than last edition. The Rail Rifle is now a diet Lascannon with worse Strength but better AP. If you expect them to be on the move a lot, you'll want the Ion Rifles. They are Heavy 2 regardless of profile, but the lack of variable shots means they're far more reliable than before. These will profit from their own unit's Markerlights, and you genuinely want them shooting their special weapons if they brought them - they're ''very'' effective, and will reliably put out so many Markerlights you don't mind losing 1 to the unit's own shooting. Their armour is very bad, likely due to the lack of a manly [[pauldron|pauldron]], so they should stay in cover. 
**Don't forget to ''always'' take a Pulse Accelerator Drone for AP-1 Carbines and a Recon Drone for being a gun drone but better while also being a good damage sink.  2 shield drones and a grav-inhibitor drones are also great takes, just not as mandatory.
**They can and in practice always will take a grenade launcher, which has two profiles: 20" Assault 1 S6 AP-1 D3 or 20” Assault 1 S3 AP0 D1, if a non-{{W40kKeyword|TITANIC}} {{W40kKeyword|VEHICLE}} is hit, it halves its remaining wounds for degrading purposes until the start of your next shooting phase.  The degradation mode is surprisingly effective if there's a target you ''don't'' want to murder yet - this unit makes so many markerlight tokens it's not a big sacrifice to throw one away on supporting this grenade, and if it goes through you'll force the target down 1 degradation step while putting your actual murder elsewhere.  Nonetheless, a lot of the time you'll just use the murder mode to add more damage to whatever you wanted dead.
**Pathfinders can easily utilize a jump-shoot-jump with the Recon Sweep stratagem. Use it to put a markerlight on a big scary thing, then move behind LOS blocking terrain, and let the Railsides do the rest.
**'''[[Tau_Drones#Pulse_Accelerator_Drone|MV-31 Pulse Accelerator Drone]]''': Improves the AP of all Pulse weapons in the unit by 1.  Auto-include, as you're stuck with shitty Pulse Carbines instead of the Pulse Rifles you'd be radically better with.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Grav-Inhibitor_Drone|MV-33 Grav-inhibitor Drone]]''': -2 to charge rolls targeting this unit.  Pretty damn great.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Recon_Drone|MB3 Recon Drone]]''': W3 and equipped with a Burst Cannon (which, remember, means functionally 3 Pulse Carbines to a Gun Drone's 2), this lets the entire unit ignore Light Cover when it attacks a target within 18".  Absolutely clutch for the Wounds, because the Pulse Accelerator Drone and the Drone Controller the unit can take for free encourage you to take Gun Drones, so the Recon Drone is your most efficient way to pack more Wounds into the unit if you're not taking Shield Drones.  The gun usually makes the unit ''worse'' at murder per point, simply because if you remotely care about that you'll take options that make the Burst Cannon a comparative waste of points, like a Pulse Accelerator Drone or special weapons.
** You can have up to five drones in the unit: two tactical, one inhibitor, one accelerator, and one recon.
* '''[[Piranha|TX4 Piranhas]]''': Zippy, decently priced, can be armed for anti-horde or anti-heavy. Fills the same harassment role it always has, but is no longer the essentially "free drones" platform it was in previous editions.  Each one carries 2 gun drones, so that's 4 Pulse Carbines per Piranha, and a main gun. Both of its main gun options are bespoke versions that are better than the Crisis baseline versions.  The Piranha Burst Cannon is an automatic pass, as it's an S6 Burst Cannon - every other vehicle in your army, including a Devilfish, that can carry a Burst Cannon carries an Assault 8 AP-1 version of this, so it's more of an insult than anything else.  The Piranha Fusion Blaster is much more interesting, as it deals +2D relative to a normal one (so D1d6+2 at 18", D1d6+4 at half), but it's still genuinely pointless because both Pathfinders and Vespid (if you're keen on the Deep Strike) will outshoot it against everything in the game.
* '''[[Tetra]]s<sup>Forge World</sup>''': With the February 2022 Errata, the Tetra has made something of a comeback. Though it can't automatically hit with markerlights, it can roll 3d6 to determine if a token lands, making it considerably more reliable. With all the changes to how they work, you're going to want this to join with a unit that's going to make a lot of shooting so that they can benefit from these more frequent markerlights.
* '''[[Piranha#Piranha_TX-42|TX-42 Piranha]]<sup>Forge World,Legends</sup>''': Comes with your choice of two of: Fusion Blasters, Missile Pods, Plasma Rifles, or Rail Rifles. Due to the cost of the unit, at first glance the best option seems to be the Rail Rifles, giving you a 16" movement and 30" range, with two Rapid Fire 2, S6 AP-4 D1d3 guns that deal a mortal wound on a wound roll of 6+. Yet another unit that is a better sniper than our Sniper Drones!
* '''[[Tau_Drones|Tactical Drones]]''': Note this is also the Datacard used for all other drones that deploy with, and then separate from, other Tau units. All drones can be allocated wounds that would otherwise hit any {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}} or {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUIT}} within 3" thanks to '''Saviour Protocols'''. Note they cannot soak wounds for vehicles, even if they come with drones. All drones have separate point costs being 8 for gun, 10 for marker and 12 for shield.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Gun_Drone|MV-1 Gun Drones]]''': At 8 points, this is the Tau Empire's somewhat more efficient source of [[Dakka|dakka]] after the change to Volley Fire. These synergise extremely well with a drone controller and Cadre Fireblade, resulting in 6 shots at 9" at BS5+. Even with the reduced ballistics skill compared to Fire Warriors and Pathfinders, they still do more wounds per point to most targets with the only real disadvantage being they're [[Ork|dumb as a bag of rocks]], and can only fire at the closest enemy unit. Great meatshields for more important drones if you don't have the points for shield drones.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Shield_Drone|MV-4 Shield Drones]]''': 2 wounds with a 4++, GW has realized the utter Bullshit that these were and were bumped to a deserved 12 points. They can no longer serve as lascannon sponges like they did last edition, but now function much like storm shields for [[Space Marines|the special boys]]. No longer have the feel no pain though, so you won't be shrugging off mortals. They have no guns, but can hit on a 5+ in melee, though if you are in melee with them to begin with something has gone very wrong.
**Throw sense of stone on a crisis unit with added shield drones and gain some 4++/5+++ ablative wounds for the unit.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Marker_Drone|MV-7 Marker Drones]]''': Way more valuable given the new codex. They retain their awful BS, but now it doesn't even matter because they automatically hit with markerlights like vehicles, so they'll pair great with Broadsides and Fire Warrior squads. Combine them into Pathfinder squads with the recon sweep stratagem and watch your opponent's dumbfounded face as your unit of Pathfinders with Marker drones auto marks their Shield Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike.
**Drones and non drone models in a unit can’t act together, either move and fire the drones or use the strat and fire the pathfinders, better yet, don’t take marker drones with pathfinders.
*'''[[Battlesuit#XV107_R.27varna_Battlesuit|XV-107 R'Varna Battlesuit]]<sup>Forge World</sup>''': A badly overcosted long-range [[MEQ]] and light vehicle killer. Like the Broadside, it gives up {{W40kKeyword|FLY}} in exchange for its gun and increased durability. Said gun is 60" Heavy 3d3(6) S6 AP-2 D2, Blast. But you have two of these guns! In the Command Phase it can deal itself a mortal wound (it's W15 and cripples its M8, A4, and BS4+) to choose one of the options below, but its cost is ''absurd'' - there's literally no reason to ever take this over the Y'Vahra, let alone an actually good option from the codex.
**Increase its gun(s) from 3d3 Blast to 9(18), i.e. you can hit any target as hard as if it had 11+ models in it.  Also increases from S6 to S7, which is generally useless.  If you do field a R'varna, this is compulsory to even attempt to make it worth its points, as at only 6 average shots fired (3 of which hit, 4 with a markerlight token), you'll barely kill anything.
**Increase from 2+/5++ to 2+/4++.
**Until your next Command Phase, in each Fight Phase, roll 1d6 for each enemy unit within 6": on a 4+, that unit suffers 1d3 mortal wounds (so each nearby unit suffers, on average, 1 mortal wound, with a lot of swinginess).
*'''[[Battlesuit#XV109_Y.27Vahra_Battlesuit|XV-109 Y'vahra Battlesuit]]<sup>Forge World</sup>''': A bizarrely close-range kamikaze unit, each of the Y'Vahra's guns has a different optimal target, so overall you get a unit whose favorite target is T4-5 with plenty of wounds, like Space Marine Gravis units, although even then it can't compete with the rest of your army.  It has 3 guns, the least useful of which is the Flechette Pod it borrowed from Shadowsun: 12" Assault 5 S3 AP0 D1, only useful for murdering GEQ, although not having a penalty to hit in melee is nice.  Its other two guns are what you care about, with base profiles you won't ever fire (see below).  The Ionic Discharge Cannon is 24" Heavy 6 S8 AP-1 D2, but you can't Overcharge it without permission (again, see below).  The Phased Plasma-Flamer is 12" Heavy 2d6(7) S6 AP-2 D1, automatically hits (which is why you generally won't even remember you have a Flechette Pod, even in melee).  In the Command Phase it can deal itself a mortal wound (it's W14 and cripples its M18, A4, and BS4+) to choose one of the options below to last until your next Command Phase, but you'll always choose the gun option because its output is worthless if you don't:
**The Ionic Discharge Cannon gains its overcharge profile like an Ion weapon should: it goes to S9 D3, and deals the shooter a mortal wound on an unmodified 1 to hit.  The saving grace is that unlike standard Ion, you only take 1 mortal no matter how many 1s you roll, so you can't deal yourself more than 2 mortal wounds total (1 from enabling the profile, 1 from shooting), and your total expected mortal wounds suffered is 1.67, because the Cannon will deal you slightly less than 2/3 of a mortal wound, on average.  The Phased Plasma Flamer also jumps from 2d6(7) shots to 3d6(10.5).  This ''does'' give you credible Overwatch potential, but not nearly as much as triple-flamer Crisis Suits (which as a reminder are 1/5 the cost of a Y'Vahra for 3d6+6(16.5) S4 shots and don't need to cut themselves to shoot properly). '''Far too expensive for what it does compared to codex options, do not take.'''
**Increase from 2+/5++ to 2+/4++.
**Until the start of your next Command phase, gain +12M (so normally 18->30) and it is eligible to shoot in a turn in which it Falls Back.

====Heavy Support====
* '''[[XV88_Broadside_Battlesuit|XV-88 Broadside Battlesuits]]''': Now this is the real deal, right here.  Their ''Heavy Rail Rifle'' is 60" Heavy 2 S9 AP-4 Dd3+3 and deals a mortal wound when they successfully roll to wound. Paired with a Twin Plasma Rifle, which is 30" Assault 2 S8 AP-4 D3, nothing else in your Heavy slots - or the rest of your army, to be frank - can generally outshoot this unit when it fires at anything T5+.  Note that you get 1 main gun and 2 optional support systems, but up to 1 support system can be a second gun, which is where the Twin Plasma Rifle comes from.  Both support systems can also be Seeker Missiles, but that costs too many points for what you get.  You can also take up to 2 drones per Broadside model in the unit, consisting of the regular 3 tactical drone options or a missile drone.
** No longer core. 
**''Never'' take the Twin Smart Missile System - your main gun is why you took a Broadside and it hasn't got indirect fire, and if you can see your target, a Twin Plasma Rifle is strictly better against everything.
**The High Yield Missile Pod is almost always worse than than the Heavy Rail Rifle - and the things it's better against, the rest of your army can readily cleanse from the tabletop.
**Seeker Missiles belong on non-{{W40Kkeyword|infantry}}.
**Missile Drones have Missile Pods - 30” Assault 2 S7 AP-2 D2 - and ''don't'' have the Gun Drone targeting nerf, but you can't carry a Drone Controller or anything, so you're best off with marker drones, or if your army has plenty of markerlights already, shield drones.
**Your other support systems are as follows:
***Advanced Targeting System (ATS): Now Broadside only, this lets you automatically wound on 6s to hit.  <s>This ''reduces'' your railgun's output against everything in the game, since you can't cause a mortal wound unless you roll to wound, so take this if and only if you took a Twin Plasma Rifle as well - the buff to it will exceed the nerf to the railgun.</s> Autowounds explicitly say they count as a successful wound rolls in the glossary, so ATS now synchronizes with the Heavy Rail Rifle instead of nerfs it.
***Early warning override.
***Multi-tracker.
***Stabilised optics: Broadside only, ignore the hit penalty for shooting heavy weapons after moving and firing them in combat.  The only really serious contender with the ATS, this lets you maximize your shabby M5 to deal with LOS blockers and spikes your performance if you get charged and don't want to Fall Back, although Broadsides are built to murder heavies - hordes engaging you in melee will ruin your day.  Your best solution to Broadsides in melee is bubblewrap. Just remember Mont'Ka let's you do this already.
***Velocity tracker.
**Remember you're {{W40Kkeyword|infantry}} now, which makes you more vulnerable to certain rules and stratagems.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Missile_Drone|MV-8 Missile Drone]]''': A mobile Missile Pod.
* '''[[Hammerhead_Gunship|TX7 Hammerhead Gunship]]''': Railguns are not what they used to be, oh no. Their statline is as follows: 72" Heavy 1 S14 AP-6 Dd6+3. That's really good, but there's more: if the weapon wounds its target, 3 mortal wounds are dealt and invulnerable saves cannot be taken against this weapon... ''and yet railgun Broadsides still deal more damage to all possible targets per point''. However, the psychological effect of having a Railgun on the field will be felt ([[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX]]?). Not even the Telemon is safe. Submunitions is now a strat which deals mortal wounds to a unit on a 4+ to up to 8 models, or on a 3+ if the unit contains 11 or more models, so you'll rarely use it. 
**Ion Cannons exist, but rolling an unmodified one to-hit when they're overcharged will slightly damage the Hammerhead, and even overcharged the Rail is usually better.
**'''Legends:''' Can replace the railgun with 2 high-yield missile pods, twin swiftstrike burst cannon, twin heavy fusion cannon, or twin T’au plasma cannon.
* '''[[XV-104 Riptide Battlesuit]]:''' In contrast to last edition, the Riptide is in a weird spot as being a tank instead of being an obnoxious glass cannon - the Ion Accelerator is the only main gun that does enough damage to be worth discussing the Riptide's sheer cost, but the mortals it causes the Riptide are a real problem, especially given how fucked you are if it fails a Nova Reactor test (detailed below).  The good news is we now have a 4++ native, as it always should have been, and can even overcharge to get a 5+++, while retaining the 2+ save and W14. Throw in some shielded missile drones for extra lulz (remember, the unit has to be wounded on T7 even if the drones make the subsequent saves). 
**'''Nova Reactor''' activates in your Command phase - roll 2d6, if the result is greater than the riptide’s remaining wounds (you start with 14) the nova reactor burns out and cannot be used for the rest of the game. Otherwise, gain your choice of:
***5+++ until your next command phase. Helps against overcharged 1s but best to used when on the cusp of going down on the damage table.
***In your next charge phase, this unit can make a 2d6” normal move then cannot declare a charge. Move shoot move, if you can find terrain large enough to hide behind. Remember you got fly to help here.
***Heavy burst cannon becomes heavy 16 or ion accelerator becomes heavy 8 until your next command phase. Probably what you'll pick by default, but might want to swap to the other two as the suit takes damage.
** '''[[MV-84 Shielded Missile Drone]]:''' A missile pod, with an invuln save. No longer has a worse invuln save, and can act as a unit with the Riptide for some extra missile firepower. Still kind of expensive given the drone's low BS unless you have a drone controller nearby. Take anyway as it's the only drones you got and they take your Ion Cannon's overcharged 1s.
* '''[[Skyray_Missile_Gunship|TX78 Sky Ray Gunship]]''':  Having grown past the previous edition, the Sky Ray is one of our best units, though not the damage dealing Harbingers of death that our other units are. Comes with 2 markerlights, a Seeker Missile Rack at 72” Heavy D3+1 S9 AP-3 D2d3, and the same sponson weapon options as a Hammerhead. Really you're taking this for the jump shoot jump markerlights and the +1 to hit annoyingly tough units that fly, like Imperial Grav Tanks.
* '''[[Tau_Drones#Heavy_Gun_Drone|Heavy Gun Drone Squadron]]<sup>Forge World,Legends</sup>''': Gun Drones packing double the usual firepower with two Burst Cannons for 28 points ''each''; alternatively, you can swap one Cannon for a Markerlight to get a combination Gun and Marker drone. So they're hideously expensive compared to an equal weapon loadout in standard drones, and they take up a Heavy Support slot to boot. All of those extra points buy you 2W per drone instead of 1.
** If you're buying these just for the guns, remember that 76 points for a minimum size unit of these with two cannons each (6 wounds, 16 shots) would have bought you nine Gun drones (9 wounds and 36 shots) or eight Gun Drones and a Shield Drone (9 wounds, 32 shots and a 4++ until you take your first wound) with four points left over for a Kroot Hound too. The Burst Cannon/Markerlight Heavy Gun Drones are marginally more efficient, but still stupidly overpriced for what they do compared to regular drones.

====Flyers====

* '''[[Barracuda|AX-5-2 Barracuda]]<sup>Forge World</sup>''': Comes with a mandatory 2 missile pods (summing up to 30" Assault 4 S7 AP-2 D2) and your choice of main gun and sponson guns, which you'll always choose to be an Ion Cannon and 2 Cyclic Ion Blasters (firing all 3 guns will usually inflict 2 mortal wounds on you - 1/2 from each CIB and 1 from the Cannon).  '''Hard to Hit''' for -1 to be hit in the shooting phase and T7 3+/5++ W14 make it decently durable.  Better than a Razorshark against everything, but Razorsharks suck, so that's not difficult.  Worse than a Sun Shark against pretty much everything, so skip this.
***'''Ion Cannon''': 60" Heavy 3d3(6/6/9) S7 AP-2 D2 with Blast and Overcharge for S8 D3 and unmodified 1s to hit inflict mortal wounds on the bearer.  The cheapest gun while also the most powerful one, you'll always choose this.
***'''Swiftstrike Burst Cannon''': 36" Heavy 12 S6 AP-1 D1.  Easily your worst of the three options even before you consider its pricetag.
***'''Swiftstrike Railgun''': 48" Heavy 2 S10 AP-4 Dd3+3 and deals +1 mortal wound for each successful wound roll.  Would be a contender with the Ion Cannon if it didn't cost so much.  Unless points costs change a lot, hard pass.
**Sponson Guns:
***'''Cyclic Ion Blaster''' x2: Summing up to 18" Assault 6 S7 AP-2 D1 with Overcharge for S8 D2 and unmodified 1s to hit inflict mortal wounds on the bearer, the clear choice.
***'''Long-Barrelled Burst Cannon''' x2: Summing up to 36" Assault 8 S5 AP0 D1, these are free but worthless.
* '''[[Razorshark_Strike_Fighter|AX3 Razorshark Strike Fighter]]''': Cheaper than the Sunshark but with ''much'' fewer Ion shots, this is utterly pointless with current costs - just take a Sun Shark and use it the same way you would a Razorshark and it'll do better.
* '''[[Tau_Drones#Remora_Drone_Fighter|DX-6 Remora Stealth Drone Squadron]]<sup>Forge World</sup>''': An {{W40Kkeyword|aircraft drone}} (it's ''not'' a vehicle, so without Mont'Ka you'll take penalties when moving and shooting), its Stealth Field gives it light cover in addition to the '''Hard to Hit''' -1 to be hit during Shooting and it can deepstrike. Otherwise has seen a reworking and is now T5 W5 Sv3+ light flyers with a fixed price and loadout at 60 points apiece. They do not have savior protocols, though they can hover (in the Command Phase they can give up Airborne and Hard to Hit and half their movement in exchange for not being forced to move) and gained markerlights. They kept the twin long barreled burst cannons and also sporting ''two'' Dd3 seeker missiles. Altogether, these are now quite sturdy and maneuverable units for their price and deliver potent dakka when delivered properly.  
**<s>The burst cannons alone make this behave like 4 gun drones (which cost 32 points)</s> Each gun drone has 2 carbines, shooting two shots each for 4 shots per drone, each Remora has 2 burst cannons, 4 shots each, for 8 total, this is the same as two gun drones (16 points) with a drone controller babysitter, and since they have markerlights, they're also each a marker drone, which means 42 points of their 60 point cost is intrinsically better than the equivalent Tactical Drones.  
**These are BS4+ base, so a drone controller will not affect them.
**A smart player can make these things seem absolutely broken. Think about it: They're 60 points for a T5 W5 model that permanently gets light cover, bringing its saves to a 2+, and has -1 to be hit due to being Hard to Hit. They are modeled low to the ground, so they can be easily hidden, granting you the most free Engage on All Fronts points you could imagine. In addition, they can't be charged by anything that can't {{W40Kkeyword|FLY}}, so if you time it correctly, you can park your Remoras in front of your vulnerable Crisis Suits to create an unchargeable wall, as even while airborne, you can't end within 1" of Remoras unless you charge them. If you're playing with obscuring terrain instead of solid walls, stick these guys in a Devilfish to stop them from getting shot at turn 1.
* '''[[Sun_Shark_Bomber|AX39 Sun Shark Bomber]]''': 9th ed bomb rules mean that after moving choose one unit this model has flown over, and roll a die for every model and ''six'' dice for every {{W40Kkeyword|vehicle}}/{{W40Kkeyword|monster}} (up to a maximum of ten dice total), inflicting a mortal wound on a 4+. It's also a vehicle markerlight wielder that can't be charged by non-flying units and is absolutely ''festooned'' with guns: 2 missile pods (the second one is optional but free, so you'll never not take it), ''four'' ion rifles mounted on its docked interceptor drones (coming to, when overcharged, 30" Heavy 12 S8 AP-2 D2, taking a mortal for each 1 to hit), and 2 seeker missiles. Just be aware it's a bit frail.
**You know what has the vehicle keyword? Myphitic Blight Haulers. You know what Disgustingly Resilient doesn't protect against with -1 damage? Direct mortal wounds from bombing runs or psychic powers. A unit of three will take about five wounds per bombing run.
*** '''[[Tau_Drones#Interceptor_Drone|MV-17 Interceptor Drone]]''': 30" Heavy 3 S8 AP-2 D2, taking a mortal for each 1 to hit) per gun, 2 guns per drone, 2 drones per Bomber make these fantastic.  Interceptor Drones also sport a 20" move value if you decide to spend a CP undocking them, but you probably won't.
* '''[[Tiger_Shark|Tiger Shark Fighter Bomber]]<sup>Forge World</sup>''': 2 Barracuda AX-5-2 primary weapons, 2 burst cannons and 2 missile pods on a T8 Sv3+/5++ W18 '''Hard to Hit''' chassis for 375 points (425 in practice, as the missile rack is an auto-include) is an ok value, but it's honestly pretty pointless. The aforementioned missile rack will sum up to 72" Heavy 2D6(7) S6 AP-2 D2, which is legit a good choice despite the cost relative to the plane itself, but you're better off with 2 Barracudas instead, which themselves are inferior to 2 Sun Sharks.
* '''[[Tiger_Shark#Tiger_Shark_AX-1-0|AX-1-0 Tiger Shark]]<sup>Forge World</sup>''': A flyer with 2 Heavy Rail Cannons summing up to 72" Heavy 4 S14 AP-5 Dd3+6, +1d3 mortals on a successful wound rolls, along with 2 cyclic ion blasters and 2 missile pods, not to mention a battery of up to 6 seeker missiles. The Tiger Shark standard profile of T8 Sv3+/5++ W18 '''Hard to Hit''' makes it reasonably durable, but as usual for Tau flyers, it's inferior to just taking a pair of Sun Sharks.

====Lords of War====
* '''[[Battlesuit#KV128_Stormsurge_Ballistic_Suit|KV-128 Stormsurge]]''': Our overcosted superheavy from 8th, now returned...as marginally more useful but also not great. Your main weapon is either the Pulse Blastcannon for two profiles tailor made to obliterate superheavy units (one with an overwhelming 24" Heavy 2 S16 AP-4 D12 shots, the other a longer-range 48" Heavy 6 S12 AP-2 D4) or the Pulse Driver Cannon for a vastly increased range and reduced points cost (72" Heavy 3d3 S10 AP-4 D3, Blast).  Also sports a Cluster Rocket System at 48" Heavy 4d6 S5 AP-1 D1, Blast, 2 standard-issue smart missile systems, and 4 Destroyer Missiles (which are super-Seeker Missiles: 72" Heavy 1 S12 AP-5 D2d3, 1 use only, fire 2 maximum per time selected to shoot) for mandatory guns and for optional sidearms comes with 2 flamers, burst cannons, or airbursting projectors, but you'll always take the burst cannons over the flamers despite the slight cost uptick for reasons that will be explained below.  For support systems, comes with a drone controller, a target lock, your choice of Velocity Tracker or Counterfire Defence System (take the Velocity Tracker), and your choice of Early Warning Override or Multi-Tracker (take the Multi-Tracker).  Also has a mandatory T8 Sv2+/4++ W22.
**The reason you always take the Burst Cannons over the Flamers is your '''Stabilising Anchors''':  Deploy Anchors (Action): At the start of your movement phase, any number of {{W40Kkeyword|STORMSURGE}} units can begin this action, completes at the start of your next shooting phase. When completed, until the end of the phase, the model can re-roll all hit rolls with ranged attacks.  That means what you're going to do is bubblewrap this thing to hell and back to ensure it can take an action (and not move), then shoot absolutely everything.  
**As is standard for {{W40kKeyword|TITANIC}} units, it takes extra damage from some particularly massive weapons but can fall back and charge. During a normal move, advance, or fall back move, can move over other non-{{W40kKeyword|monster}} non-{{W40kKeyword|vehicle}} models.
**The Bork'an ignore invulns strat has some ''peculiar'' usage here.
* '''[[Battlesuit#KX139_Ta.27Unar_Supremacy_Armour|KX139 Ta'unar Supremacy Armour]] <sup>Forge World</sup>''': Comes with 4 Smart Missile Systems, 4 Burst Cannons, 1 Pulse Ordnance System (that can be swapped for a Nexus Meteor Missile System or a Heavy Rail Cannon with Cluster Shells ability), and 2 Tri-Axis Ion Cannons (that can be swapped for Fusion Eradicators). T8, 30W, 3+/5++ makes it a bit more durable than a Knight. It can fire its non-Macro weaponry while in melee and it may reroll 1's when firing the Burst Cannons and Smart Missile Systems in Overwatch. It can move through any unit without Fly or Titanic, however, it cannot Fall Back and still fire that turn.
**Still too expensive even in 9th, there isn't much priced 1000 points that is worth said cost.
* '''[[Manta|Manta Super-Heavy Dropship]] <sup>Forge World</sup>''': Sixteen Long-barrelled Burst Cannons, three Long-barrelled Ion Cannons, two Heavy Railguns, and 10 Seeker Missiles; the Manta spews out an ungodly number of shots a turn. Capable of removing multiple infantry squads and a few vehicles every turn, the Manta isn’t just a transport vehicle but also an insanely powerful attack craft. Not only is it powerful but it’s also durable, coming in at T8 with 60 wounds and a 3+ save and 4+ invuln, and as it is a Flyer it also imposes -1 to hit on shooting and on top of that you have to subtract 12″ from your range. It has a truly colossal transport capacity of 200, +8 {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUITS}} and 4 {{W40kKeyword|VEHICLES}} (who have their own separate transport capacity). This may lead you to believe that the Manta will be a slow lumbering beast, but with a movement range of 20″-60″ for the first 30 Wounds, this is far from the case. But there are some downsides: First is the points cost, 2K will get you the manta but you will need that again to fill it; second is the price of the Manta model, you could just as easily buy a decent used car. (PROTIP: Buy a Smart Car, paint it ochre, and use it as both a vehicle and a proxy). Still, on the bright side humans are born with two kidneys, and you only ''need'' one.
* '''[[Orca|Orca Dropship]] <sup>Forge World,Legends</sup>''': Massively changed in the Forgeworld Legends rules for 9th edition. Reduced in points cost from 364 points down to 300 points but has been moved to the lord of war slot unfortunately. In turn, it has doubled in wounds from 14 up to a whopping 28. It's armor save has improved from a 4+ to a 3+ save and it retains the normal -1 to hit for being an aircraft, despite that, its not all that durable. Additionally, the transport capacity has seen some changes that are more in line with the fluff. It now has a transport capacity of 24 infantry, 8 drones (yes this does include the sentry turrets), and a choice of one of the following selections. Either 6 battlesuit models with 9 or less wounds (broadsides take the space of two models) or 24 more infantry/drones. While still not entirely practical to throw an entire army into the lunchbox, it at least is now a much better investment if you decide to do so.

====Fortifications====
Aka Tidewall forts, going with the fish theme, though they act more like T6 transports you can garrison your units in. Tidewalls do get {{W40kKeyword|<Sept>}} but can be embarked by any {{W40kKeyword|infantry}}, who can shoot from it. '''Firing Positions''' allows them to shoot even if the Tidewall is in melee "as if they had Big Guns Never Tire like a Vehicle". Unique to Tau, their forts can do an 8" Normal move (with {{W40kKeyword|FLY}}), as long as there's a unit embarked on it to do the '''Mobile Defenses''' action in the movement phase (even though embarked units normally can't do actions), meaning ''they're faster than walking'' and your models are protected by usually T6/Sv4+/W10 before they can be actually damaged, though at the cost of not being able to fire overwatch, advance, use auras (like a Fireblade's), abilities (like the Ethereal's), or actions (like Markerlights).
*''A charged tidewall can no longer fall back'' because that's different from a Normal Move. However, they can still be disembarked from the back, leaving the charging enemies tarpitted by an empty fort they can't use. Tide ''WALL''.
All forts have a transport capacity of 10 infantry, models with W3 ([[fail|only the Firesight Marksman]]) count as 2 transport spaces, and models with W4+ or more take up 3 transport spaces each. They cannot transport non-characters with W5+, meaning it's Fire Warriors, Stealth Suits, Crisis suits, Kroot Carnivores/Shapers, or Vespid (RIP Broadsides). No more than 2 units can be embarked within them at the same time, but it's not like they'd fit together anyway.
*Most destroyed forts can explode just like any other vehicle, but if it doesn't, then it remains on the field, wrecked, as difficult unstable exposed ground.

* '''Tidewall Shieldline''': Unlike other forts (and its Defence Platform, if you take one), they are the only ones that CAN'T fit models with more than W4, meaning '''they can't hold characters or battlesuits'''.  The Shieldline has a 5++ and ''doesn't'' explode or turn into terrain when it dies.
** '''Tidewall Defence Platform''': You can take one per shieldline. They have to deploy next to each other, but can move independently after that. Can be useful if you want to get another fortification on the field without using another detachment slot. The smaller model may be easier to surround in combat. No shield, but ''does'' wreck (explode or terrain) on death, and otherwise is a Shieldline, making it absolutely beyond pointless - taking one of these instead of a Droneport has absolutely no purpose.
* '''Tidewall Droneport''': You can take 4 Tactical Drones with it, and Docked rules mean the Droneport fires their guns with its BS4+ and lack of targeting restrictions and ability to fire while engaged. It is equipped with '''Drone Control Systems''', which is a drone controller by another name that only works while a unit is embarked inside, meaning it can use its docked gun drones and also support another nearby {{W40kKeyword|drone}} unit.
* '''Tidewall Gunrig''': The most powerful fort, albeit with an increased price tag. W16 instead of the usual 10, and it comes armed with a Supremacy Railgun, which is 72" Heavy 2 S12 AP-4 D3+1d3 and the target suffers additional 1d3 MW on a successful wound, which it gets to shoot at BS5+ and with a closest enemy unit/vehicle unit (choose either) restriction unless it's got something {{W40kKeyword|<Sept>}} embarked on it. It may not be a hammerhead's railgun, but it's still a gun worthy of being called a railgun, and it's the best gun any fort is equipped with.  This will actually out-shoot a Devilfish (not that that's a high bar to pass), unlike a Droneport, if you're looking for a transport with excellent guns.
**Line of sight for the embarked unit can be drawn from the tall tower of this unit, thus it is able to fire over things.

The forgeworld forts come from those Imperial Armor novel/expansions, and as such are static emplacements with rules more out of nostalgia than anything.
* '''Remote Sensor Tower (Legends Forge World)''': It has a '''Positional Relay (aura)''' ([Fail|not to be confused with the Battlesuit Positional relay system]) lets all Tau units within 6" to re-roll one hit roll and one wound roll. Meaning this can actually help Broadsides, which just lost CORE. [Wtf|The re-roll also works in melee]. It also has a High-Intensity Markerlight, which is basically a 3 shot BS4+ markerlight. Unlike the actual markerlight, this one's a gun (on a VEHICLE model), meaning it's ''not an action'' and can thus be fired in melee. Relatively frail at T6 W3 4+, though. Actually good for 40 points. Too bad it's legends, honestly.
* '''Drone Sentry Turret (Legends Forge World)''': Can only shoot at the closest target, meaning point for point regular Gun Drones will provide more firepower than the Burst Cannons with the same limitations. The Plasma and Fusion weapons could work out, but would require the enemy being stupid enough to stand the right targets closest to the sentry for you.