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Skyray Written by T0nkaTruckDriver, Edited by T0nkaTruckDriver Often dismissed as too much of a "one shot weapon" on account of its heavy Seeker loadout, the Skyray instead offers much to the Tau Commander willing to exploit its true potential. Admittedly, the Skyray doesn't fit well in every Tau army; however, if your army normally features 3-6 Seekers, a Skyray will likely fit well with your playstyle. Let's take a closer look. What the Skyray Has to Offer Boasting 6 Seekers, 2 Networked Markerlights and a secondary weapon of your choice, the Skyray has very diverse weaponry. While each of these assets can be gotten elsewhere in the armylist, the Skyray puts a unique twist on each of them. The Skyray's Markerlights offer something that the Tau can't get anyhere else in their list... mobility and durability. Even once the Skyray's primary armament is exhausted, having a pair of BS4 move and fire Markerlights mounted on an AV13 fast moving skimmer is a Tau Commander's dream come true. The Skyray itself won't be percieved as much of a threat (after all, it's already expended all its ammunition) and even if it does see some fire, it's got AV13 and Decoy Launchers to protect it. Furthermore, don't forget that Markerlights cannot be removed by "Weapon Destroyed" results since they don't have a Strength characteristic. While the Skyray may at first glance appear to be just a Hammerhead without a main gun and a lot of Seekers, it really does offer some fun tactical options unavailable anywhere else. But isn't 165 Odd Points a Bit Pricey for All That? If you discount the cost of the Skyray by the cost of its Seekers and it's Secondary Weapon, you essentially end up with an 85 point vehicle with Multitracker, Decoy Launchers, Target Array and Target Lock. Used purly as a Markerlight platform, this equates to 63.8 pts per Markerlight hit. While not the cheapest source of Markerlights in the list, it's certainly not the most expensive either, and is still the only Markerlight that can move and fire and is mounted on an AV13 decoy launcher-equipped skimmer. So What's not to Like? The biggest downside to the Skyray is that it occupies a Heavy Support slot. For all its nifty features, the fact remains that Markerlights and Seekers can be brought elsewhere in the list. Railguns can't. So if you're playing a smaller game and can fit all your necessary Railguns in 1 or 2 Heavy slots, feel free to include a Skyray. However, in larger games it's going to be awfully hard to justify using such a valuable force org slot for something other than a Railgun. Furthermore, after a few games with the Skyray you'll quickly realise its other major flaw. If the Skyray carries the only Markerlights in your list, it will take on average, 4.5 turns to fire off all your Seekers. Assuming you'll spend 1 turn stunned or shaken, that leaves all of 0.5 turns for supporting other units with your amazingly useful mobile Markerlight platform. In essence, you're forced to choose between using your Markerlights to support other units (and wasting the Seekers) or using your Markerlights to fire Seekers (and wasting the wonderful utility of move-and-fire Markerlights). The obvious way to reconcile this conflict is to include enough other Markerlights in your list to fire off the Skyray's Seekers thereby freeing up the Skyray to mark for other units. Although this is an effective solution to our problem, the (substantial) point cost may be prohibative for some players. Vehicle Upgrades The Skyray comes with 6 Seekers and a Target Lock. You must choose either a Pair of Gun Drones, 2 Burst Cannons or an SMS as a secondary weapon. Since the Skyray will often find itself far from the action on account of it's 36" Markerlight range (and unlimited range on its Seekers), the Burst Cannons make good sense simply on account of their low cost. If you intend to use your Skyray as a support platform lending Markerlights to a flanking force, consider bringing the SMS instead. Here's a list of the other available upgrades in order of generally accepted utility:
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