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

====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.