Unit Rankings: Post CA 2018

[9x19 Parabellum]

Hello!

 

I can't seem to find anything like this, so I'm going to attempt a unit ranking thread/post/encyclopedia for people's reference. I'm hardly a Veteran T'au player, so I absolutely welcome feedback/discussion, and will make changes to it as those with more knowledge and experience convince me of their arguments/opinions.

 

I'm hoping we can have an Admin sticky this for future T'au visitors!

 

Without further ado:

 

HQ's.

Unique HQ's notwithstanding, I broadly lump the HQs into 2 categories; the fighting HQs (Commanders in battlesuits), and the buffing HQs (Ethereal and Fireblade). 

 

Commander in XV8 Crisis Suit:  B

Commander in XV85 Enforcer: B+

Commander in XV86 Coldstar: A+

 

All 3 battlesuited commanders have a lot in common; the principle difference are the extra wounds on the Enforcer/Coldstar, and the massive speed difference for the Coldstar.  All 3 have 4 weapon/system slots available to them, and have a large degree of overlap in what weapons are allowed to them.  Thus, the 14 pt. upgrade to the Coldstar for the speed buff always seems worth it.

 

 

Ethereal:  B

Cadre Fireblade: A-

 

Both the Ethereal and Cadre Fireblade provide cheap buffs and auras to nearbye units, although they both tend towards buffing infantry.

 

 

Named HQ's (will reserve for later judgment)

Commander Shadowsun

Commander Farsight

Aun'Va

Aun'Shi

Darkstrider

Longstrike

 

TROOPS.

 

Breacher Team:  A-  Breachers put out amazing firepower for their cost, but have to be close to do it.  This means they are subject to all kinds of threat (melee or shooting), since the best way for T'au to stay alive is to not get shot at, and one of the best ways to not get shot at is be far enough away to be out of your opponent's range, and/or to be low threat on their threat radar. Breachers fail at both of these. I'll add that you probably will find Breachers need a devilfish to get around. In theory, another way to use them is as a backfield sweeper against anything that gets close enough for melee, and pile on that FtGG overwatch.

 

Strike Team: A   Fire Warriors put out lots of dakka at good range. Paired with a Fireblade and/or a Pulse Accelerator drone and they can really push their distance out and # shots. Deploy in an elevated and/or covered position and just leave them there. 

 

Kroot Carnivores: B-  While individually Kroot are cheap, the fact that you have to take a minimum unit of 10 means their cost effectiveness diminishes.  They don't do great damage nor are they particularly resilient with T3, 6+.  They give you board presence but a unit of 5 breachers or strike team still comes in 5 pts. cheaper, so if you're looking to bubble wrap, these guys still might not be the best ways to go.  They also don't enjoy any Sept bonuses/synergy.

ELITES:

 

(coming soon)

 

FAST ATTACK:

 

(coming soon, but not as soon as Elites)

 

HEAVY SUPPORT:

 

(Also coming, but not as soon as Elites or Fast Attack)

[Marshlands]

IMO:

 

Coldstar, commander, fire warriors, pathfinders, ethereal, fireblade, darkstrider, broadsides and drones in general all A

Kroot, shadowsun, aunva, aunshi, crisis, riptides, yhara, supremacy, sniper drones, tiger bomber B

[Panzer]

I honestly don't think giving units grades makes much sense. Many units are only in combination with another great or vary greatly in how useful they are based on loadout.

Also how do we compare? Do we have to re-evaluate every single unit whenever a new Codex drops? When a new beta rule arrives? When the CA changes point costs of units in other Codexes? Way too much work for something with little return value.

[Happy-inquisitor]

I think you may have taken on a task bigger than you think it is.

 

Let's start with the generic commanders.

 

An XV8/XV85 commander with 4 x CIB is an all-star choice. Stunning firepower. Has to be at least an A and probably an A+. The XV85 gets my vote for this particular weapon combo because it is a bit more resilient to overheating damage when the dice bite the hand that rolls them.

 

The biggest drawback to the Coldstar is the lack of ability to take the CIB. As such it is always using slightly inferior weapon combinations to the slower XV8/XV85 options and needs to use its mobillity to gain value in other ways. Probably also an A/A+ grade performer in either DakkaStar or Quad Fusion arrangements.

 

But if you take any of those and give them janky weapon/system loads without having a really good reason in mind they can easily end up as B or even C grade performers for the points.

 

Then all of that goes out the window when specific tournament circumstances arise. A Commander with 4xAFP was in the top T'au list at LVO because it filled a specific purpose and dealt with a FLG tournament specific issue (LOS blocking in general and magic boxes in particular).

 

Conclusion: Commanders continue to be one of the best and most flexible units in the game and can be built to A+ standard for the mission set although there is no one build that is always "best".

 

I am not saying not to try, just be aware how hard it is going to be.

[9x19 Parabellum]

After having played these guys the last 3 weeks in our local escalation league, I'm coming to the realization you guys are right.  There don't appear to be any BiS units here.