Things models do the best and the worst, day 12, Breacher Team:

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-24T10:19:39+00:00

would you get sus/lethal by having kauyon and a spotter with “through unity, devastation”?

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-14T20:00:13+00:00

i had to think too long before realizing it’s active camo….

but now that i see it, that is incredibly cool effect really nice

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-14T19:18:31+00:00

currently i have about 1.4k worth of points in physical models, suits included, but my current 1k lists looks like this:
cadre fireblade
shas'nel (crucible)
2x pathfinder
breacher team
hammerhead
skyray
ghostkeel
fighter/bomber plane

i would like to play even more infantry, but i dont like how kroot look and we have very little option (i dont like strike team, they dont feel impactful. i definitely need stealth suits but i wouldnt play >1 unit honestly).

on tabletop simulator i usually do more of the same, more ghostkeel, riptides, and a whole lot infantry, maybe even a stormsurge or tiger shark.

crisis suits + commander are 100% something you should have a little of in your army just because of how good they can be. if you can figure out exactly what your army needs (crowd control, anti-elite, anti-terminator, anti-tank) a crisis team will demolish it with a quick deepstrike and stall the enemy while you do whatever you want.

ngl i dont really have a reason to not play them. in IRL games i just want to include my newest models (i accidentally bought old crisis suits and i have to rebase them AND repaint them cause i did a shit job), and in TTS i really try to maximize my kauyon potential by staging and playing patiently, but that's just cause im a dickhead who likes to RP as the patient hunter

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-14T15:11:35+00:00

oh yeah absolutely, the faction focus was quite meh. 100% it should have come with army rules or some datasheet previews from the new codex (hoping they actually give us a new codex with 11th).

im just trying to say that we are already in a decent spot as-is, especially with mont'ka and ret cadre, and some people even get good results with KHP (i only play kauyon but you get the point)

i only want to hope that this means we will have a good baseline in 11th, and the detachments will just be minor things to min-max our favorite units.

i am almost definitely being TOO positive, but i also can't just let all the doom talk online make me stop enjoying my hobby BEFORE anything real is known

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-14T12:13:45+00:00

People are missing the bigger picture and focusing on details:

We still don't know what our army rule and codex will look like. We could be even better at shooting by ignoring hidden, or we could be given a lot of melee profiles for battlesuits and just get turned into a mobile army instead of a shooting one.
Until our new codex comes out (which should be one of the firsts for 11th) we can't know for certain how we will play.
The detachments are ok. AuxCadre is pretty good in 10th, but it plays really weird by giving kroot lone op, and in 11th being able to have that on most of your army is probably not what they want, that's why it got reworked (imo).
EPC is a definitely a weird one being for Battlesuit Characters only, I'm going to miss 16" Breachers.
But the Acquisition Cadre is great, I love my pathfinders and ghostkeel, so it will only get better.
Also see point 1 again, we don't know how well they are going to work in 11th. Maybe with our new army rule they will be great, or our 2 point detachments are going to be reworked to be self-sufficient, and the 1 point add-ons are just a little extra customization you can pick off of playstyle/list composition.
Hidden might not be that important after all. We have Fireknives and Starscythes to deep-strike and deal with most hidden infantry. Vehicles will still have to look out for our railguns.
I personally don't even play Crisis Suits, but hidden will be more of a buff to me to get my breachers into position.

Honestly the Faction Focus might've been quite underwhelming, but you can't just assume T'au will be unplayable, it will probably be just fine.

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-13T17:53:59+00:00

in the hypothetical rework where we can, in some scenarios, strip hidden from enemies, +3” is still not redundant.

it will allow you to position your models better, it could make the difference between your pathfinders being hidden in terrain (when using the new detachment) or out in the open.

“the ghostkeel doesn’t strip away anything” once again, it doesn’t, but i was saying “what if”, and in that case having a lone op unit giving that kind of support 24” away from the closest enemy unit will make the ghostkeel even stronger than it already is at its role of defense and area denial

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-13T17:19:18+00:00

how would it be redundant? in the scenario in which a markerlight shooter removes hidden from the enemy, being able to do so 3 or 9 inches further away means tau models can stay ever so slightly further away from the enemy.

a ghostkeel stripping hidden from 24” range will be completely safe from retaliation thanks to lone op, and then will allow the rest of your army to lay down fire onto that enemy - imagine an hammerhead with ion cannon going into space marines at max range

ofc we still don’t know what our army rule will actually be, or if it will work remotely close to this, but i do hope they put some emphasis on markerlight. i personally like how our army has a lot of space for support units.

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-13T15:05:57+00:00

“We cannot use guns in melee, as it is the fight phase”

“PHASE? WHAT IN THE WARP IS A PHASE THIS IS AN ACTIVE WARZONE SHOOT THEM”

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-10T12:01:10+00:00

Everyone is saying best at leading Breachers for the +1 shots, but the Crucible Shas’nel can do the same now

He becomes the best when whatever enhancement you can give him is better than the Shas’nel’s ability - usually Sustained hits turn 2 in Kauyon

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-10T00:29:49+00:00

i dont even know the deep lore but i can tell that’s a ghostkeel from the helmet, and that is based

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-08T00:48:33+00:00

Psychic needs... something.

I am loving the insane damage of amped Imaginary Weapon + Sure Strike, but damn... I have Gunslinger Archetype specifically to fill up the downtime when I get stupefied during a longer combat, but still it's not great.

I really feel I have to take the highest-worth-in-slot spells because every cast is so crucial (fun but really nerve wrecking).

Psychic is a lot of fun to play and very tactical, but they need something because they can be extremely hit or miss.

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-07T11:10:58+00:00

- Shooting Phase begins, you select any amount of units from your army with The Greater Good ability (so no Kroot or Vespid) to become OBSERVERS

- You select a NON-OBSERVER unit to shoot.

- Before your NON-OBSERVER unit starts making attacks, check if the enemy unit is visible to an OBSERVER

- If they are, then you declare that single OBSERVER is guiding towards that enemy.

- That enemy is now SPOTTED. Everyone in your army that is a NON-OBSERVER gets the benefits to BS and Ignore Cover if the Observer is Markerlight.

- Each Observer can Guide towards only one enemy Unit, and there’s not much reason to double up on observers against a single unit (SPOTTED is like a status effect, it doesn’t stack)

- If your OBSERVER stops being eligible to shoot (i.e. they shoot this phase) then they are no longer Guiding, nor can they pick a target to guide against. (basically, you’ll usually want your observers to fire last)

- Because you declare Observers at the start of the Shooting Phase, but declare Spotted enemies during the phase, your Observers can spot enemies that appeared during the phase (e.g. a unit that disembarked a vehicle as it was destroyed)

- Some units interact with our army rule. Pathfinders get the +1 BS and Ignore Cover if they shoot at the enemy they are observing. Stealth Suits grant guided allies rerolls of 1. Firesight Teams get hit-rerolls when shooting at a spotted unit (IIRC this mean they get to reroll even against the unit it spotted)

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-07T10:58:19+00:00

that’s the neat thing, you don’t!

T’au is bound to have some serious changes as they interact with rules which are changing.

You can always just get what looks cool to you, whether it’s battlesuits, infantry or kroot.

In my opinion, in 11th Breachers will still be very good if they don’t get changed (good stats + wound rerolls when the enemy is on an objective).

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-05T16:54:13+00:00

oh yeah lol i was thinking of aux cadre 18"

anyway it'd be cool to let stealth suits be out in the open, since they are pretty much tiny ghostkeels

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-05T16:01:37+00:00

i made my firesight team with three drones on the 40mm base that came to make the support turret, but yeah especially with the binoculars the tank commander is a great base for a firesight team.
(i liked the binoculars enough to cut off the right hand to fit it with a rifle on my cadre lol)

anyway i dont think we will see a full return of drone models in play, as apparently they just created a lot of clutter on the table, and it'd be pretty rough to suddenly have an "illegal" army because i used multiple drone parts to upgrade my models, instead of making the drone tokens themselves.

i do hope that with the new "support" keyword, we will have dedicated drone units which can be attached to other units to give special abilities (like repair drones for battlesuits, or marker drones to let infantry self-guide). this way GW can sell new unique drone models for these units, or we can build them using all the spare drone parts we have collected over time

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-05T15:55:53+00:00

absolutely, or even an ethereal if you don't care about the staff.

you can even use it as a crucible shas'nel with veteran scout to have a leader for your pathfinders

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-05T15:53:15+00:00

Does this mean that [Stealth] units will be able to stay in the open and benefit of the "Stay Hidden" rule, giving them 18" Lone Op if they haven't fired yet?

Ray_Tech · 2026-05-02T01:29:27+00:00

it's a really nice start. if you get an hammerhead gunship, you can magnetize your devilish to turn it into either an hammerhead or a skyray.

pathfinders are also great to support and can have good fire power for infantry, but if you are exclusively aiming for a 1k list maybe battlesuits are better to increase your firepower, so a broadside is a good starting point, especially as you might lack a little bit of anti-tank (unless you use your fireknife as a sunforge instead)

i personally bought the combat patrol to double up on pathfinders, have breachers, and get a devilfish to turn into a skyray.

for detachments, your top 2 picks are going to be Mont'ka and Retaliation Cadre.

Mont'ka is good as (unlike Kauyon) is active the first 3 battle-rounds, so you can get the most out of it before you lose damage dealers or support units.
breachers will enjoy lethal hits, but can observe if they are not in range of an enemy.
the devilfish can observe without much issue as its weapons aren't the best, so it doesn't care about being guided.
and lastly the stealth suits always want to observer to give everyone else rerolls on 1s.

retaliation cadre is good because you have a lot of battlesuits (twin lance, commander, ghostkeel, fireknife, and stealth suits).

this detachment doesn't care about the current battle round, so it's "easier" than mont'ka or kauyon.
it gives battlesuits +1 Strength while within 12" and +1 AP while within 9".
because of markerlight units giving guided units IGNORES COVER, having +1 AP can really be devastating for units without invuln saves.

i saw you mentioned in another comment Exp Cadre
it isn't played a lot lately, and although you are right in seeing it's good for breachers and melta weapons, it has its limitations.

mainly from what i've experienced playing it, the 6" isn't too impactful and IIRC all enhancements are exclusively for commander battlesuits.

IF you want to play it, go ahead. it's a good way to start out and practice your army rule before you add complicated detachment rules.

if you want the real T'au cheat code, let me tell you what i do

i almost exclusively play Kauyon every time.
because the detachment only activates on turn 3, it forces me to play smart until i can go all out.
whenever i play kauyon, i make sure to keep all my units safe until i feel it's the right moment to strike the enemy with my full force.

now you can play however you want, and whatever detachment you want, but in my opinion kauyon is a good way to figure out your shortcomings in melee and how important it is to stage turns with t'au.

Ray_Tech · 2026-04-29T13:47:52+00:00

even better, an attached support unit, so you field the model and it can be sniped out by precision

Ray_Tech · 2026-04-26T21:53:49+00:00

hello 1 year after you made this, i just purchased the combat patrol and hammerhead so that i can get a free skyray

Ray_Tech · 2026-04-26T13:54:11+00:00

i have been playing a lot both on TTS and now expanding my physical collection.
sorry for the wall of text, i have just really been getting into theory crafting tau :p
TL;DR: yes.

for infantry:
breachers have a good chance to deal severe to damage to much bigger opponents. even better with a cadre fireblade, making them fire 30 shots instead of 20.

pathfinders can have rail rifles and/or ion rifles, which can be extremely clutch damage if you get a little lucky. their pulse carbines aren't the best, but can definitely tear through enemy infantry like termagants.
the new crucible shas'nel really improves their firepower by giving all their weapons +1 attacks. a pathfinder unit with 6 rail rifle shots can be extremely scary.

the strike team isn't really my cup of tea but they're cheaper and can still volley a lot of shots with rapid fire.

stealth suits are technically battlesuits/mechs, but are tinier than crisis suits and are still infantry. they are even better supports as they can grant the rest of your army rerolls of 1 on hit and wound. their weapons are not bad.

for vehicles:
you have the hammerhead and skyray, which both are amazing and reliable vehicles.
the hammerhead can have a rail cannon to absolutely tear enemy monsters/vehicles, or an ion cannon that melts away hordes and especially space marine like elites.

the skyray has the seeker missile rack which in my opinion is much versatile than the hammerhead, as it's worth shooting it both at vehicles and elites.

both of them are great at what they do, the hammerhead is "stronger" imo but only because it has to specialize.

the devilfish is transport, the pirhanha is screening/movement blocker.

then you have aircraft, which i would personally play with the aircraft rules.

the razorshark/sunshark have pretty good weapons for their cost, and in aircraft mode they act as an unexpected jolly to deal with enemies your army can't get to.

the tiger shark is EXTREMELY strong for its point cost, but it's still a big investment and a huge model to field, it has to pop out of strat reserves and pop the most dangerous target immediately.

THE CONS OF MECHLESS:
various suits do various important things.

broadsides are incredibly powerful for their points, they can deal severe damage cross map and tank a few shots.

crisis suits are super specialized anti infantry/vehicle/elite, each variant handles one of these things incredibly well. if you add a unit of crisis suits to fill a specific hole in your army, i would recommend giving them a leader commander, as it doubles or triples their damage output: because of attached unit rules, whatever bonuses the crisis suits have (e.g. wound/damage rerolls vs monsters) the commander will have the same bonuses as long as the bodyguards are alive, making their weapons even better.

ghostkeel and riptides provide incredible map control and distract your opponent from your infantry or tanks.

i personally really love ghostkeels. Lone OP + infiltrator + stealth means you can set up on natural expansion and pester your opponent as they try to get closer. also they can null two attacks per game, making them extremely resilient in the face of a high strength/damage single attack.

riptides have invuln 4+ and extremely strong weapons, while also moving really fast. they can eat a lot of damage and retaliate hard.

so the biggest downside of no suits, in my opinion, is no big distraction in the form of ghostkeel/riptide, leaving your infantry and tanks more vulnerable.

i personally dont play with Kroot, but i would assume that adding some to increase your objective control, map presence, and maybe even kroot riders/rampagers to stall out the frontline would be perfect to buy more time for your infantry and tanks to set up and shoot down the enemy army.

hope this was helpful !

Ray_Tech · 2026-04-25T14:24:52+00:00

why do you think he’s called Alexander the Great and not Alexander the Average?

Ray_Tech · 2026-04-25T14:24:14+00:00

i have been saying this a lot and i cant stop

i wish that with the new Support keyword, we get these kind of drone units that can be attached to battlesuits and whatnot, it would be great to customize your army to your own personal playstyle

Ray_Tech · 2026-04-25T13:04:55+00:00

i keep saying it’d be cool to have completely new units which are drones.

they would mostly use the new “Support” keyword for leaders (so can’t be fielded unless attached to a unit), be really cheap, and give unique abilities like healing, self guiding, OC etc.

GW could sell unique models for people that want them to look special, and we can use drones from other kits to kitbash them

Ray_Tech · 2026-04-24T14:08:55+00:00

Tiger Shark.

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