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

===Lords of War===
* '''[[Battlesuit#KV128_Stormsurge_Ballistic_Suit|KV-128 Stormsurge]]''': In some ways, the Stormsurge is a better option than the Riptide. For weapons get the Pulse Blastcannon for more average wounds at a lower cost or the Pulse Driver Cannon for a vastly increased range and points cost. Practically mandatory upgrades are trading out the Flamers for Burst Cannons and taking a shield generator and ATS to improve both durability and destructive power. Can no longer double shoot by anchoring down, now it improves its to-hit roll by 1. As standard for {{W40kKeyword|TITANIC}} units, it takes extra damage from some particularly massive weapons but suffers no penalty for moving and shooting and can Fall Back and still shoot. It ends up being about 30% more expensive than the Riptide once equipped but with more Wounds, better base invuln save (only if equipped with shield generator), and more firepower. Note that it is not a {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUIT}}, so cannot take advantage of drone sacrifices via '''Saviour Protocols''' or certain stratagems.
** If going up against a deep strike heavy opponent, consider taking a Stormsurge with a Blastcannon, and Early Warning Override, in order to [[Meme|fire all the things]]. If going this route, the Airbursting Fragmentation Projectors can actually become a viable option, depending on how much terrain is on the board. They can admittedly just deep strike more than 12" away to bypass this, but it will still help protect against / deter charges. For only the low cost of a single Fire Warrior in points to do it.
*** The Bork'an Sept tenet goes quite well with Stormsurges as almost all of their weapons are heavy anyway, but the best bit is it keeps it out of charge range when using the Pulse Blastcannon at that sweet, sweet 6D profile.
*** The cruelest reality of this unit is that it looks ugly as sin, find shapeways options to make it look like it's not taking a dump on the battlefield. Markerlight support is a must, and Tetra's are truly the best possible option to make it's Destroyer Missiles viable. Do not underestimate the power of Destroyer Missiles, they can and will ruin a chosen target's day. Overall they are the best anti-armour weapon on the unit, even outstripping the effectiveness of the Blastcannon and Driver simply due to their mortal wound output. Be very selective with where they are being dropped however, you only get four of them. (Get marker support and drop your stabilizers to get a 2+ to hit, reroll 1's)

* '''[[Battlesuit#KX139_Ta.27Unar_Supremacy_Armour|KX139 Ta'unar Supremacy Armour]] (Forge World)''': 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.
** Has the {{W40kKeyword|BATTLESUIT}} keyword, so can be healed by Technical Drones and benefit from '''Saviour Protocols''' (don't worry, that Gun Drone can totally block a Volcano Cannon shot for you). Even better, it can be buffed by an Ethereal. Bring along your holographic Aun'va and enjoy your Ta'unar that re-rolls 1's and has a 6+ FNP. Unfortunately, CA 2017 was not kind to the Ta'unar, making it so costly that you can get an entire army for the price of fielding one, and right now it doesn't justify that cost.
*** With the 2018 update the points cost of this unit dropped by a whopping 750+ points, making it viable in even 2000 point games. You'll get the most mileage out of the big boi by giving him the generic loadout of ion and pulse. The railgun is worthless in normal games as the Tigershark gets two for cheaper at the same BS. The Missiles are alright but the possibility for getting fewer hits, their lower strength and the minimum range really hurt them, especially since things want to be close to your Ta'unar. Pulse is a guaranteed six dead infantry or a confirmed kill on anything without an invuln, and you have a decent chance of putting eight to sixteen wounds on a buffed castellan with it. Arm guns are an even easier argument. 18 slaughtered infantry or a good handful of wounds vs bigger targets. It would have been better if it were 3d6 shots to match the codex ion buff. Viable Ta'unar play is risky, as you will lose the game if it dies (hard if you have at least 12 drones) or even if it gets charged (easy without screening) meaning you have to make the most optimized list that 800 will allow. Do keep in mind that it is around the same price (Real dollars) as three tides and a y'vahra and that if it gets nerfed you'd have lost a good deal of your army, so it's only advisable if you play in a knight heavy meta or already have three riptides. Tl;Dr: Don't let it get charged, give it a reroll 1, Command and Control and drones, and you'll win if you picked good secondary objectives.

* '''[[Manta|Manta Super-Heavy Dropship]] (Forge World)''': 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.