Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Tau (section)

===Flyers===

* '''[[Razorshark_Strike_Fighter|AX3 Razorshark Strike Fighter]]''': Cheaper than the Sunshark but fewer Ion shots in 15" (Assault rather than Rapid Fire, though) and has a choice between a Burst Cannon and Missile Pod. It also loses the Pulse Bomb, Markerlight, and a potential second Missile Pod. It does get +1 to hit ground targets with the Ion Turret so as long as you pick your targets properly you shouldn't blow yourself up. It could be worth it, as it is substantially cheaper than a Sun Shark.

* '''[[Sun_Shark_Bomber|AX39 Sun Shark Bomber]]''': 8th ed bomb rules mean that after moving choose one unit this model has flown over, and roll a dice for every model(up to a maximum of ten), inflict a mortal wound on a 5+ (4+ against {{W40kKeyword|INFANTRY}}). This is a solid buff, that could be amazing against large hordes like Orks, Tyranids, or IG, simply for the number of dice rolled. It's also a markerlight wielder that can't be charged by non-flying units. Might also be useful in low point games against Custodes, due to the heavy Dakka and free mortal wounds.
** '''[[Tau_Drones#Interceptor_Drone|MV-17 Interceptor Drone]]''': Two rapid fire ~Autocannons, on a drone chassis. As long as you keep them attached to the Sun Shark, they will use its BS instead of theirs; within 15", the pair has double the firepower as the Razorshark's main gun. A bad overcharge while attached will actually kill the drone itself, rather than damage the plane, so both riskier and safer at the same time. Once they disembark, they cannot be re-attached. Interceptor Drones also sports a 20" move value, making them good Coldstar Commander Escorts.

* '''[[Tiger_Shark#Tiger_Shark_AX-1-0|AX-1-0 Tiger Shark]] (Forge World)''': A flyer (not a LoW which is weird) with a Heavy Rail Cannon (x2), an impressive Macro weapon that deals double damage to {{W40kKeyword|TITANIC}} units, along with two burst cannons that can be swapped for cyclic ion blasters and two missile pods, not to mention a battery of 6 seeker missiles to one-up that pesky skyray. 3+/5++, '''Hard to Hit''', along with T8 and 16 Wounds make it very durable, especially for a Flying unit, did we mention it has a 5+ invuln?. It should be mostly used for killing Lords of War, and secondarily for vehicles. Despite being a non-titanic flyer it has an ability to let it destroy everything without worrying about those pesky macro weapons not working. This horrendous monster will set you back 629 fully kitted and $217 (250 with the darn taxes and shipping) in real-life points, ouch. Did I mention this is superior to the Barracuda in all aspects?
** Also worth noting, it no longer has a submunitions mode, so can no longer help with hordes.
** This is a good Titan hunter, not a great one. Simply put, the Heavy Rail Cannons are a very low volume weapon with only 2 shots. Chances are high that one of those shots (perhaps both) will fail to hit, wound, and/or will get saved somewhere. That leaves you with essentially 6 x 2 for 12 damage on average, and a 1/6th chance for additional DD3 mortal wounds (which can also be saved by void shields). For the cost, lascannon equivalents and regular rail cannons can fill the same role with added consistency. When making the comparison between the Imperial Volcano Cannon, it's the higher volume of shots (3 x DD3, as opposed to 2) that give it an advantage. Frankly, a flat 10 or 12 damage is warranted for a weapon that hurls human-sized projectiles at 5 kilometers per second (depending on atmospheric conditions).

* '''[[Barracuda|AX-5-2 Barracuda]] (Forge World)''': The default Heavy Burst Cannon, two Long Barrelled Burst Cannons, and two Missile Pods mean it can put a lot of S5 shots out at a decent range, while still being able to injure light vehicles. Can also swap in an Ion Cannon or Swiftstrike Railgun for the HBC, or CIB for the LBBC, to improve its anti-vehicle ability. '''Hard to Hit''', 3+/5++, and T7 make it decently durable. About twice as expensive as a Razorshark, with Heavy weapons, and without any bonus to hit still leaves us without a viable anti-Flying unit. Changes to primary weapons mean this thing is fucking worthless compared to the riptide, which is the role it fulfills anyway, with the branching nova charge stratagem you have even less reason to ever touch this thing.

* '''[[Tiger_Shark|Tiger Shark Fighter Bomber]] (Forge World)''': 2 Barracuda AX-5-2 primary weapons, 2 burst cannons and 2 missile pods on a T8 chassis with 16 wounds and BS2+ for a bit over 400 points is a great value. Can swap out its drone carrying ability for Heavy 2D6 S6 Ap-2 D2 which means that giving this bad boy two ion cannons can make him an ungodly [[Rape|rape machine]] against heavy infantry, or slap on 2 railguns and go to town with 4 railgun shots per shooting phase. If you're not dealing with enemy LOW this will probably be a better choice over the AX-1-0, as it can dish out more dice against a larger variety of targets. This is our best air superiority fighter with effectively BS2+ (all main weapons are Heavy type) against "hard to hit" meaning you will hit at least 2 of those railguns, add in the rest of the dakka and you deal out some serious anti-air pain with this thing while still having great anti-ground capability to boot. Take seekers and use "refuel, rearm, repair" to add 6 seekers back after you unload them for extra value, beating skyrays at their own game. If loaded up with 2 heavy burst cannons and 6 seekers, this thing can dish out [[Dakka|26+2d6 shots]] per turn, giving you on average over 40 dice to throw around raping infantry.
** Changes to Barracuda primaries have made this thing absolutely worthless, either take the ax-1-0 or pay a little more for a pair of riptides/y'vahras instead, it was good while it lasted.
** The 2nd big FAQ changed a few things for the Tigershark. Ion cannon and HBC are now swiftstrike versions. Both prices went up by 20 points for each weapon and HBC/new swiftstrike HBC use the old crappy stats. Potential dmg went down on the HBC to only 33.3% of its former stats (shots: before 12, now 8 / dmg: before 2, now 1).

* '''[[Tau_Drones#Remora_Drone_Fighter|DX-6 Remora Stealth Drone Squadron]] (Forge World)''': Losing the stealth part of its namesake, only getting the generic -1 to hit for being a Flyer, and gaining Infiltrate instead. This results in a rather generic light fighter which will easily be shot down by enemy AA. The utility side has also gone as they have also lost their Markerlights. Overall a pretty weak unit that will probably get shot down before it can earn back its points and should best be avoided. On a side-note, these are still drones and can still be affected by drone controllers. They are also fast enough to accompany a coldstar commander and protect it with the character rule while being hard enough to shoot down that your coldstar might just survive while monster hunting. Not great but not bad either at a comfortable 54 points apiece.
** Coldstar with drone controller seems like a niche and useful combo. These are base BS4+ meaning you can boost them to BS3+ with drone controller. They can also deep strike and can move without taking any shooting penalties with 36" burst cannons.
** Also bodyguards the Yvahra battle suit well and clears out the hordes which may attempt to shield precious units from the Y'vahra's weaponry. R'vahra also has the option for a drone controller, just like other riptides!
** You are no longer able to shove them in a Devilfish per the latest FAQ.

* '''[[Orca|Orca Dropship]] (Forge World)''': Once considered so useless and over-costed that Forge World removed it from the sale, the Orca makes its glorious return... remaining over-costed and pretty useless. Well, better luck next time guys. It's simply not a good idea to use it to its full potential, that of flying practically your entire army around in a transport that isn't even all that hard to shoot down, especially since there's not too much else on the board to shoot at. It also still has the same old problem of not being able to deploy everyone at once, leaving some of the units stuck until later in the game when they could've been helping immediately.
** Since in 8th Edition you only have to set up within 3" when disembarking from a transport this issue is somewhat downplayed. You can have everyone in the Orca fan out around it now instead of being limited to the rear ramp.