XV9 Hazard Suits - Are they worth it in 8th?

[Commander Dawnstar]

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for XV9s. They have a very distinctive look, and it always seemed right to me that the Tau would field a wide range of differently equipped battlesuits around the scale of the XV8 rather than the series of bigger/massive suits we've seen since the Riptide. Even if they weren't exactly impressive on the battlefield, it was nice that they completed something of a long/mid/short range trifecta of the Broadside, Crisis and Hazard Suit respectively. They seemed like a missed opportunity waiting for some rules changes to put them in a better spot.

 

So Imperial Armour Index: Xenos ...

 

I'm really not sure what to make of the new Hazard Team. On the one hand they're substantially more resilient than Crisis Suits and their Photon Casters offer them that little bit more safety when operating around the edge of the enemy's charge range, but on the other they come at a rather sizeable points premium - easily 50% over a similarly equipped Crisis Suit with two guns and a Support System - and their best options by far are the Double-Barrelled Burst Cannon and Fusion Cascade. Naturally those weapons don't exactly help them establish an identity of their own beyond being an alternative platform for similar options to those we can get elsewhere. Their resiliency might help them tip the scales a bit in some of those areas though.

 

XV9s kinda feel like more elite XV8s. A Fusion Cascade XV9 might be about 30 points more expensive than a triple-Fusion XV8 but can drop it in 12" away rather than 9" (as you can't get the half-range bonus anyway), will get 4+ shots per suit two-thirds of the time, and they have a better chance of surviving the reprisal with an extra two wounds per head, reduced enemy charges and even the option for Drones and Shield Generators. They're an choice that allows you to invest into making a unit that can potentially make the Alpha Strike and live to see the next turn.

 

Being able to get 16 Burst Cannon shots out of a single suit feels nice too, although I'm not so sure how worthwhile the choice actually is given just how much access we have to Strength 5 shooting. I suppose it would be one way of having your firepower concentrated in one place for auras and other buffs, and there's always the option of just taking a single suit that can pose a vaguely meaningful threat to hordes all on its lonesome. A minigun Monat, if you will.

 

So what do you guys think? Is there a case for the XV9 in 8th Edition?

 

[depthcharge12]

I believe there's a case to be made!

 

In particular I'm looking solely at the fusion cascade option as the best right now (or at least for me army). Consider this, we already have a metric ton of S5 shooting in the army everywhere, and while you can take the ATS, you're really going to hamper your army's ability to take out monsters and vehicles that rule this edition. The fusion cascade option looks the best for these reasons:

 

1.) The output of one fusion XV9 is much more plenty than a regular suit and on average, does as much (if at a lower Bs) shots on average as the fusion commander. Even more if you're lucky. We lack a lot of AT this edition and mid strength shooting.

 

2.) 6" to get melta? Pssh, this edition? Armies are literally going to be on your doorstep turn 1...looking at you Tyranids and orks. 6" is going to be about the norm for most assaulty armies. Don't forget we have a ton of mobility now. Let them charge at your suit with the -2 to charge and eat the overwatch of it and the 6 other units behind it :devil: then jump out of combat on your turn and put on your best troll face when you do 4 fusion shots into them at 6" with higher damage.

 

3.) stealth suit beacons. If you're worried about range, infiltrate your stealth suits and drop the beacon so your XV9s can drop in danger close and get the most out of their weaponry.

 

4.) wargear. You can take interesting things like velocity trackers or multi trackers to improve your shooting, or take a target lock to move, advance, and fire assault weaponry. Jump around like it's Crouching Tiger, Hidden FUSION OVERKILL.

 

I think they have a place. The Tau have become the thinking man's army this edition...we are no longer point and click :P