I'm trying to restart my tau army and develop new tactics and I like the idea of a broadside barrage to (for lack of a better word) tank-snipe everything into oblivion while Fire Warriors keep them protected. I wanted to know what everybody thought before I commit to it. I'm a little worried that the broadsides would be ineffective like this in some scenarios.

what does everybody think?

Broadsides are the best overall choice for our heavy support. I'd run as many as you can and throw target locks on them. You might want to protect them with kroot and don't forget shield drones. They are highly effective against heavy armored armies. Throw in some pathfinders and or tetras and remove the cover save and your golden. Best of luck!!

Well it's kind of a basic question, mostly because I think half of the Tau armies out there already max out on 9 Broadsides. I think it is wise to do so, though, and I do it most of the time. I don't currently have a Hammerhead in the rotation at all. A quick piece of advice: By far the best upgrade you can buy them is Target Locks.

As per Fire Warriors - I like them a lot too but almost no one else does. It's a trick to make them work. If you really want them to be there to protect the Broadsides, you probably actually want them to be Kroot. I know, I know - aesthetics and whatnot. But gameplay-wise, Kroot are just much more suited to the protecting stuff role.

I suggest you check out the academy articles. They have everything and more that you'll need. Also if they prove insufficient you can utilize the search function to find more detailed discussions.

Something else to keep in mind is that your question is very general. Using broadsides to shoot tanks and protecting them is too broad. How will you use broadsides different from everyone else? How will the FWs protect them?

Point for point, broadsides are usually the most effective unit in most tau armies. Occasions when their less effective are when the opponent plays a pure hoard army (incredibly rare). So you cant go wrong spamming them for heavy. Hammerheads are more mobile and have some anti-hoard utility, but are pretty expensive compared to the broadside, so you gotta weigh the pros and cons according to how you play.

to aven: I have a hard time with the kroot though and I like the FW range capapilities.
to Vior'la Mont'yon: My thought was to use broadsides as artillery fire.. How i'll use FW to protect them is by using my crossfire method of my 3-6 12 man FW squads covering for each other from rushing and flanking (I like FW ). I would use vespid and/or crisis suits to stike with the 6-in attack 6-in cover hit and run attacks where needed and pick them off in multiple directions.

Broadsides are by far the best anti-tank unit available to the Tau (and possibly in the game). They are a better point spend than a hammerhead on the basis that they are better shots, have more of them, can split fire and are tougher to silence.

They are NOT, however, a be all and end all unit.

Integrate them in with your army, but do not expect to simply throw down 9 broadsides and call it a win.

I love Broadsides and always use them in my lists when I can as I find their long range abilities quite handy while my suits go hunting the rest. I like the idea of keeping fw near the broadsides to help keep them safer been surprised by an out-flanker once that taught me the importance of keeping backup near the big guns.

A refinement you may want to consider, depending on your local metagame is to give one of the 3 units of broadsides ASS instead of target locks, in order to give you a more mobile unit to go hunt that awkwardly placed Land raider. You'll probably need all three shooting at it anyway to improve your odds of a kill. XV8s of course give great mobility, but Land Raiders/Monoliths are challenging for them.

Yep, go Kroot. I love the look of firewarriors, but Kroot give you superior results. (Come to think of it, my firewarriors have only been out of their box once in almost 2 years. Are they still in one piece? ) If you don't like the look of Kroot, convert some IG (catachan are good) and use them as "counts as" kroot (Gue'vesa are fluffy).

hownowbrowntau:I never said I didn't like the kroot or how they look(because they look very cool ), all I said was that I have a hard time working with them as a defence against potential threats. The FW standard weapon gives a nice defensive advantage against the general infantry force by the 30in gun against the usual 24in(if they don't move) weaponry that are not the main concern of the Broadsides. but you're right about the ASS improvision, thanks .

oink: I understand that they are not the endgame piece and in fact, I ussually lose all of them before the end (depending on scenario) because they caused attention that eventually got them killed. But by then their forces were too weak trying to by-pass the FW crossfire and the Broadsides themselves and get picked off by the remaining crisis suits(or FW if lucky).

Another way to handle that is to field your Broadsides in groups of two, one of them a team leader with hardwired target lock, an ASS on both of them, and two shield drones. This is pretty pricey (upwards of 200 points) but it gives you a durable and unusually mobile little unit, easy to hide behind cover, and able to divide its fire if it wants to. Field four Broadsides in two groups of these. I think it gives you lot sof options. I'll let you know how it goes if I get my hands on more broadsides.

I currently run two broadside squads in 1500 and 1750, the third HS slot taken by a Railhead.

In both point values, one squad is a single suit with ASS, BS Filter, and Shield Drones.
The other squad has TA and leader with TL. (2 suits at 1500, 3 at 1750.)

I've found it works surprisingly well. The stationary broadsides don't draw near as much attention as the moving one, and anything in their field of fire just dies to the massive railgun barrage that the stationary ones put out. (I use Kroot as screens... Move them out of the line of fire in Movement, let the broadsides fire first, then Run the kroot back into the way.) The mobile broadside is capable of moving without having to stay in cover, and handles any problems that come up that the Crisis don't have the firepower to deal with. It's also useful that 1/3 time that DoW comes up.

I am currently using two Kroot squads of 12 for screening purposes. My Devilfish has a 60pt Scoring upgrade.

Thanks for the advice everyone , I shall test out these ideas myself to see how I can better utlize the technology of the Tau.

FOR THE GREATER GOOD!!!

I usually either take 2x2, 2x3 or 1x2 broadsides (depending on points level), but I always keep a slot open for my hammerhead, I feel it is basically necessary to have AT LEAST one, as they can hurt tanks, hordes...anything really.

I tend to give my XV88 ASS as I like to be able to move them around to target hidden units or fall back while shooting whatever is chasing them……. Not to mention if they run off then they can still shoot as well.
The squad leader I tend to give the hard-wired option to target other units and sometimes shield drones.

The ASS is also good if you want to move the XV88 up with the fire warriors to take objectives as they are rather nasty in close combat and can hold up a unit in combat for a long time so long as there is no power weapons about.

Fire warriors are a good bet for the XV88 as they grant them durable covers saves if placed in front of them but do not block line of sight. FW teams can also have marker lights that help the XV88 hit important targets.
Kroot can have krootox who give you some much needed punch at range and in combat but they need to hug a tree line.

I have been known to have 3 fire bases, each a squad of 3 XV88’s with two troop squads as escorts. As the game progresses they perform a sort of leap frog pattern that allows one to move up while the others give them covering fire.
The amount of fire each fire base can put out along with 3 SMS from the XV88’s means you can put a lot of hurt on incoming hordes as well. Just pick your targets well.

Mind you this might all be null and void in 6th ed lol

Another broadside debate? Seriously use the search function.
No-one has mentioned Plasma & Multi Tracker. 300 points = 9*high str ap1/2 shots. TWIN LINKED. Now nothing even close to being hard wants to come close. No-one ever advocates their use. quite frankly, and I mean no offence, if you aren't taking twin linked plasma for 10 points, are you mad? 90 points for a Broadside, 82 for a Helios (command one... no point in others). 66% chance to hit with helios, 75% with broadside.
I use 1*3 broadsides, 2*Ion tank (now plasma, thanks forgeworld) and 3* helios. Everything else is pulse fire for me. Not struggled in a long time. I need new opponents...

I have debated Plasma Rifles on my Broadsides in the past, but I almost always go with a Targeting Array on my suits so the Plasma Rifle would only pay off if I am getting flushed out of my hiding spot and want to lay down some fire to cover the retreat.

In those circumstances I may be better served by a run action and trying to get a bunch of Kroot between me and whoever flushed me out.

Now if the rumored 2 shots at full range if stationary for Rapid Fire in 6th edition turns out to be true, well then I won't take my Broadsides without it.

I like the idea of plasma on broadsides, but with the rule as it is and you have to fire your plasmas at the same enemy as your railguns. Which in most cases your firing them across the board and further away then 24". That's my only gripe. If it had the target lock like the hammerhead it would be a no brainer.

TA +8% accuracy. Plasma+ Tracker doubles/triples your low ap shots. Ever seen anyone post about taking more SMS? No? People always talk about where/how much plasma.
I can't be bothered to write more. Use the search function. LOADS of discussions on broadsides. We don't need more.
@Phat.
It is a no brainer. 6 twin linked 2+ to wound terminator killing shots at 24", then 9 shots if they get within 12". There shoul be no vehicles left on turn 2/3.
I often wonder if people play as Tau, or read these forums, or are just trolling. For pity's sake, USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION.

My Broadsides do most of their work against targets that are either further away than 24 or have greater than AV 12. Either of those makes it pointless to fire Railguns and Plasma at the same time.

I rely on plasma/fusion Crisis Suits and St 5 saturation to deal with MEQs and TEQs. Rarely has this been an issue for me.