The Question:
The question I have for people is what you preference is for the composition of your heavies and why. I am debating between 2x3 BASS with Shield Drones with either 1x3 Sniper Drone Teams or 1 Hammerhead. Both of these are to address creating a higher saturation of fire. One way is nine pinning shots and three Networked Markerlights the other is a Railgun which can give a big template. Can anyone think of things which may be worth considering?

3x3 BASS is alright but I desire more hits (granted switching up to SMS would give 12+1 shots since I MT the Leader) but larger range seems necessary considering the preference to hug the back table edge.

Snipers of course can provide great covering fire for the 2x3BASS or try to pin units while the hammerhead chucks pie-plates at the enemy hoping to knock them down. I am torn between these and am curious if maybe others have a different outlook.

I typically run 2 teams of broadsides with the following config plus a hammerhead:

Team Leader: TA + HWTL
'ui: TL
'ui: TA

The teams allow me to hit up to 6 targets if needed (such as many AV10/11 and/or open topped targets) or focus fire with accurate shots against heavier or more important targets.

Don't put the multi-tracker on your team leader unless you plan on giving him the plasma rifles as well. There is not a single target in the game where you would *want* to shoot the SMS and railgun at and the points can be better spent on something else.

I only take 1 broadside team of two in the following configuration,''
'ui - shield generator
team leader - shield generator, hwmt

This is quite pointy (but a nice round figure ) but it makes them hard to take out even from lascanons.

For my second option I take a hammerhead as all though it quite often misses solid shot it's submunition is invaluable.

Thirdly I take either another hammerhead, for IG, Orks, 'Nids or Eldar and If I'm facing SM, Chaos, Necron or Inquisitorial forces (including GK) I would take 3 teams of Snipers (I only have two teams but will get a third to bolster my forces).

Hope this has helped

Ta'al Kas

First, never, under any circumstances, use sniper drones. They're a terrible unit, between the low volume of fire, abundance of cover saves, and ease of killing the drones (one wound on the spotter is all you need), you're not going to do enough damage with them to justify the loss of a priceless railgun slot. Stopping the transports is your first priority, once they're dead you can just kill the contents with your Broadsides/fireknives/etc.


That said, your heavy support choices are either Broadsides or (railgun) Hammerheads. Which of them you pick is probably going to depend on the point level you play at. In a lower-point game, the durability and submuntion option of the Hammerhead can be awesome, but in a larger game you'll probably find that you just don't have enough railguns to stop all the vehicle threats unless you take 3x Broadside squads.

I tend to run a Railhead and a unit of 2 XV88 *plus running O'Shovah I do no get much more Options*

The Hammerhead is a Rail Gun and Burst Cannon with Dpod and Multi tracker depending on how I feel it will sometimes get Flechette discharges And using this set up has been the New Bane of our tabletop for it has Passed 95% of its Dpod saves and survived more than it really should *Sure one time it survived was a iffy term Imob and had one Burst Cannon left* But yeah it earns it's keep and Makes More than its Points Back.

Broadsides normally run with a Vre with Multi tracker and 2 shield Drones with Bass on its 3rd hard point and his buddy just has Bass

Not a Huge amount of Long range anti Tank BUT my group still thinks Transports are pointless or only take one or 2 tops and then they are normally Raiders so I just Melta them into the warp.

I have tried the other Heavy choices but those were Made of Fail with my Play style.

That is my exact concern. The other being that since Markerlights affect a unit, and three units make up the FOC slot it is far more markerlight needy.


I tend to play a lot of 2000-2500 point games so what I am finding is once I crack open transports/tanks (turn two at most) I am stuck with a round pumping Railguns into troops which are overkill. Thus the tendency toward wanting a hammerhead or snipers.

I also have found that I am constantly sinking my hardpoints into broadsides as BASS due to stupid Dawn of War. If you get second turn and Dawn of War it just blows. That does lead me to doing the HWDC with 2 shields to give me some 4+ invuls.



In some ways I envy you. You could probably get away with two Hammerheads and just pie plate them in the face all day.

Heh I would if I could but due to Farsights restrictions I cannot which is lame.

One thing I don't get about sniper drones.
'Fluff wise' shouldn't drones be better shots then standard fire warriors, being that they are they are super fast AI with mechanical precision no chance for twitching and with their targeting systems surely they can lock on to a target and fire with pin point accuracy. Now we're not talking about drones but special snipper drones, which have an advanced targeting array and of cause have been modified and programed with targeting subroutines that track trajectories and all that. So why if this is the case are they no better shots than guardsmen ? I'm not complaining but doesn't it seam odd?

I do take take them when facing marines and necron because although it's 50/50 on hitting them they get rid of those pesky 3+ armour saves .

Ta'al Kas

This does depend on who you are playing. If your foe is consistently playing Foot, which is less effective than Mech, then have Sniper drones works well.
However, against Mech, Sniper drones are inferior to Broadsides. It is not that Sniper drones are terrible per se, it is more that RG are essential if you want to stop APCs, and Preds and Land Raiders. RG do for Tau what Multi meltas do for Imperials. Sure the MM is more ferocious, but then the RG is in the game from T1 and the Broadside is not in harms way. A MM Speeder a] has to get there and b] not get shot down to be effective.

Now onto your question.
The Hammerhead allows a third unit RG shot, and then a submunition if that is not needed. The Sniper drones are waiting for the RG to allow them to start working.
The Railhead has a] high manoeuvrability [with MT] b] high range c] hard to assault d] hard to shoot at greater than 12" [with Dpod] and can hide Suits behind it e] can get side shots on AV f] can contest Objectives
The Sniper drones don't really offer that, besides 'd'

If however, you deploy the Sniper drones off to the side, but within range of where your foe will be travelling to get to your main force, they can be effective.

But I prefer the Railhead

Edit: I confused my letters.

My preference for heavy is to have a static Broadside team, a BASS team, and a Hammerhead to threaten hordes/absorb fire. The BASS and Hammerhead help tremendously in Dawn of War (especially when backed by Markerlights) and the Broadside team helps to really put out pinpoint accurate fire down-range. Sprinkle in some more markerlights for them and they become a beast in taking out scary units in cover.



Drones, in general, have a lower BS and higher Initiative. This represents that Drones, while faster than the average Tau, lack certain capabilities that sentient Firewarriors have. Target Arrays are given to the Drones that are considered to benefit most from it. However, Target Arrays are expensive, and are only put on Drones that are deemed non-expendable. To compensate for the expensiveness of Target Arrays, Gun Drone's weapons are typically twin-linked, giving them about the same level of accuracy as a Target Array enhanced drone.

The relative inaccuracy of Drones may possibly be attributed to the fact that they float. They have nothing concrete against which to stabilize their weapon, and so, more often than not the drones will miss their target. A simple, but expensive, upgrade will help them to stabilize their targetting subroutines.


Not entirely true. Yes, the Railgun is much more effective against vehicle armor, but the Rail Rifle isn't exactly impotent. While rare, it is still capable of penetrating Rhino armor, and even if all you do is manage to glance a vehicle, there is still the possibility to stun/immobilize the enemy (assuming no extra armor).


The Rail Rifle's range is matched by very few weapons of our arsenal, and I would hardly exclude it from the "long range" category. With good placement, unless an enemy unit is backed up against the enemy table edge, odds are that the SDT will have something to shoot at. I also have to disagree with point D. Coming equipped with a Stealth Field Generator, the SDTs have the potential to be invulnerable to incoming fire at long to medium ranges.

Point E, anything can get side shots. Most everything in our arsenal is capable of penetrating AV10, and if you present the enemy with multiple threats from multiple angles, odds are he will choose the lesser evil and opt to face the SDT with his side armor.

And point F, anything can contest objectives. Where the objective is placed is what matters. Now, if you meant that the Hammerhead can offensively contest objectives, and the SDT cannot, then I would be hard pressed to disagree with you.

What the SDTs have that the Railguns do not is volume of fire at a fairly cost effective price (3 Rifles and a Networked Markerlight for about the same price as a Broadside). While geared more towards heavy infantry killing, and fire suppression, the SDT are somewhat of a low-level multi-role unit. Unfortunately, they are stationary, but I can live with that.

I tend to stick with Hammerheads and Broadsides. I own sniper drones, but they suck IMO. If you find that you're typically not having issues with armor by turn 2, then I'd go with Hammerheads personally - they bring the best of both worlds with submunitions. Add in burst cannons (note that they are not twin-linked) and you can pump some serious dakka,

Obviously it's not as low AP, but it's not a total loss if you drift off-center when you fire. Also, the increased BS of the HH means that you don't have to burn valuable markerlight hits to bring the shots home whereas sniper drones require them to be reliable in my experience.

/2 cents.

This is actually not true, the generic "drone" stat line was set to I4 because drones were used as sentries (where initiative mattered for more than just assaults) in an old 4th edition mission.

Anyway, there's no reason to think that drones should have lower BS than Tau, since a drone (or other automated weapon, such as IG sentry guns) will always have perfect physics calculations for every shot, and precise control way beyond what any living being can do. Realistically, drones should be BS 5+, always choose whether to pass or fail leadership tests (the idea of a automated weapon platform being afraid and running away is just plain stupid), and benefit from improved cover saves (not only are drone smaller, they can calculate their shot while behind cover, and only duck out for the absolute minimum time required to fire, unlike living beings which actually have to aim).

Of course the reason why drones aren't this awesome and 90% of the Tau army is because it creates "boring" fluff. The brave Fire Warriors struggling to defend their home just makes a much more interesting story than a cold-blooded calculation of how many gun drones and seeker missiles must be expended to accomplish the mission without the Tau ever leaving the orbiting fleet.



It might not be strictly true, but hoping for good luck to damage even the weakest transports is so laughably ineffective that we can safely approximate it as "sitting around doing nothing until the transports are dead". And since by that point the game is usually already decided, why would you want to waste a railgun slot on such an ineffective weapon?



Except that most, if not all, armies will want to get up close against the Tau, and will have the vehicles (or other fast movement options) to get there very quickly. A static unit just can not count on staying out of spotting distance for more than one turn, and the extreme fragility of sniper drone squads makes even moderate spotting chances deadly.



Ok, sure, they can provide some mediocre anti-MEQ fire (not very cost-effective, but decent range). Would I take them if they didn't use up an FOC slot? Maybe. But the problem is they DO use up an FOC slot, and it's the most valuable one we have. You can't just look at them in isolation, you have to account for the fact that taking sniper drones means sacrificing railguns, and you never have enough railguns in a list.

I would take broadsides and a sky ray. I have never had any luck with hammerheads, other then taking out infantry (which I have enough guys to do already). I face lots of light vehicles, such as walkers, and heavy Tyranids, such as hive tyrants and carnifexes. I don't like ion cannons for some reason, and I have had wonderful success with a sky ray when I give marker lights to my FW to call in seeker missile strikes.

Against mech armies this may not be effective, but I have found it works for me against my typical opponents.

I completely agree on the situational stance however I am trying not to get into a list discussion (because that would make me a very very bad man lol). I am often dealing with a 300-600pt nob mob and KFF abuse either with kan wall or in battlewagons. So I like having at least 6 railguns for getting to that creamy ork nugat inside the battlewagons or behind the kans.

Seems so far that the consensus is BASS, BASS, Hammerhead. Sadly I won't be getting to field my hammerhead I bought a few days ago for about three weeks due to a fantasy tournament and then a week of vacation.

I am one of those that prefers Target Arrays over ASS. Sure, ASS definitely has it's uses, but early in my fledgling carreer my BASS failed to deliver on those very important targets. I roll enough 1s on the rolls to penetrate, so BS3 twin-linked just isn't good enough for me.

Targeting arrays increase your BS to 4, which will improve accuracy of fire, but being twin-linked, you already have 2 chances to hit...

In either case, there is no wargear that will help you if you're rolling 1's on the damage table... or am I misunderstanding your point?

His point is, as I might guess, that TL-BS3 generates less hits then TL-BS4 (a novel concept) and therefore each time you "fail" to do damage hurts more in terms of the overall effectiveness of your army.

Consider having 100 shots and one of them fails to do anything, not such a big deal. Now consider having 5 shots and one of them doing nothing, slightly more of a big deal. Same logic, less extreme difference in numbers.

That was precisely my point, thank you STS17. Although, I suddenly have the urge to field 100 Fire Warriors now.

Okay, I get that. I don't tend to "whiff" very often with Broadsides, but it does happen. Of course, more often than not, when it does, a TA wouldn't have helped me anyway.

I tend to run 2 Railheads and one 3 man unit of Broadsides, as I don't often have problems with armour past turn 2. I usually face Tyranids and Necrons, so im rather biased towards my delicious pie plates.

Also, when I face space marines, the maneuverability of the Hammerhead tends to help me more than the TL Railguns of the broadsides, but I suppose its personal preferance.