Thoughts on the new Tau

On a 14 hour bus ride, what else should one do but analyze the crap out of one's army. As mentioned earlier I have been creating a dangerously fiendish Tau army. The recent addition of the Tau Riptide has reinforced the true fiendish nature of my force. At first I was skeptical of the Riptide being a monstrous creature and still relatively poor in close combat (albeit Smash special rule definitely helps out). BUT, 5 wounds, a potential 3++, and the new AWESOME missile pod shield drones truly make the Riptide a mobile Great Wall of Tau'n (not quite as big as the great wall of China but can probably still be seen from space). With statistics on the Tau player side for a S9 AP2 large blast (a very versatile weapon) the Riptide does bring firepower to the table but on a more near-and-dear to my heart role, it is a fire magnet brute. By no means can it be ignored on the table and I LOVE the Riptide in the spotlight while my Hammerhead with Longstrike wreaks total Havoc on the enemy.

Longstrike: Smashing the Imperium one tank at a time

On a bit sadder note, I have lost some faith in my battle suit HQ units. I am having a harder time justifying their points when there are other (cheaper) HQs that help beef up the army, such as the Fireblade Cadre. Thus far I have never regretted taking one in a large Fire Warrior squad. Good Leadership, solid BS with markerlight and allows an additional S5 shot from the Fire Warriors if they didn't move and all for the bargain price of 60 points; what's not to love? NOTHING! I will probably always have one. I give the Fireblade Cadre the coveted Auto-Take Unit Badge (oh and also Longstrike in a Hammerhead... I mean DUH! need I say more).

The Tau army is truly a machine of 6th Edition 40k. Cheaper units, HQ's that modify the function of the army, and meaner shooting abilities. It is an exciting to be an addicted nerd in the 40k realm.