I was looking through Forgeworld and I saw the Piranha TX-42 and instantly fell in love. I downloaded the stats from Forgeworld and found that it not only looks great but can also pack some heavy firepower such as Twin Linked Plasma Rifles or Twin Linked Rail Rifles. However it does seem a bit costly and I don't know if they can do anything that a normal piranha can't already do.

So before I go and spend my lifes savings on Forgeworld plastic could someone please tell me if the TX-42 is worth it. Thanks

The longer range of the plasma rifles, rail rifles, or missle pod would add to the survivability (sp?) of it greatly. And in fact, having a very mobile rail rifle platform is kind of an interesting concept. Being able to zoom that thing just under 12" then blast with a TL rail rifle is one helluva bang. The missle pods would be good too, but I think going for the double tap on the plasma rifles would be great! Too bad its twin linked instead of just two, but you take what you get I suppose.

It cuts the squad size down to three maximum for these ones, so typicaly I would want to field them in units of two for survivability/points denial. Thats said, paying 200 points roughly for a pair of skimmer-bikers is kinda a lot, so I would want to field them with missle pods or plasma for those extra shots. As cool as having that zippy rail team would be, its just not realy worth the cost for the limited output in my opinion.

The only down side is the FW bit but you can always use them as counts as for normal piranas.

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head. It's a lot of points to pay for a twinlinked Rail Rifle (or any of the weapon options for that matter). And at the end of the day, it's still an AV11 open topped skimmer. Why don't you proxy one for a few games and let us know how it goes?

Already got one proxied (Sp?), thats what i was doing while I was waiting for replies. And if only I'd have found out about this yesterday. I played a few games yesterday against enemies that would have been perfect test subjects, Space Marines for one. Oh well i guess i'll wait until the next game

I still think the best weapon for it is the FB, the FW variant is worth the extra 10pts on top of the standard because its weapon is t-l and its AV11, which means its a lot more survivable against S4/5.
The only downside is that you lose the drones, however I think thats a fair exchange for a really good FB carrier.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the Piranha also has a front Av11. However the XV-42 has a closed top so it doesn't suffer the open topped rule I'm not sure how much this improves the survivability or points efficiency, but it's a minor improvement on the standard Piranha which may explain any additional expense.

I'd also like to point out that in it's description on the FW website they state that it was designed as a support unit for other 'armoured units'. This suggests that the original intention of the designer was that the TX-42 be used in support of Hammerhead Gunships in a fast moving Mechanised force (which frankly makes me more interested in buying them). As opposed to the Piranha light skimmer which appears to have been designed as a support unit for a mainly Static/Hybrid force. IMO as a fast moving, rapid response heavy weapons platform used to provide special weapons response for FCWs. Presumably to alleviate some of the pressure from Crisis Battlesuit teams and/or provide a faster response mid to late game.

My point is a TX-42 might be better placed to support a fully Mech non-crisis force than a Piranha and they would appear to be a 'fluffier' or at least a better fit for a themed Mech force... Damn those boys at ForgeWorld. Damn them all to hell!!! Why do they need to keep making such good sshhhh... stuff?

As for the 'best weapon' I personally fancy the Missile Pods. I could see two of these and an Ionhead supporting two Railheads in a Mech themed force very well, but that's just me... muhaha!

The experimental rules for the TX-42 have it as open-topped unfortunately, but the armour is better on the sides; it is basically a flying Rhino. Plus it has TA as standard. It also costs 33% more than a normal Piranha but when you consider the points value for TA/FB on the regular unit, you're paying +5pts for an extra point of AV side armour and a twin-linking of the FB. That isn't bad.

As for the weapons options, my jury is out on those. 27pts more that an XV8 Deathrain+ for the same weaponry/BS, with the same effective movement:shooting ability? Ok, so it can move Fast, but can be killed on 5/6 Glancing, with an obligatory Decoys to avoid the Glancing 4 result (it's open-topped, don't forget)....that's 50% chance of dying even with a re-roll for Decoys.

Not sure on this one. I'll be interested to hear about any results from Proxy Play.

E.

First thing that comes to my mind on how to use them would be a squad of 2-3 with either Rail or Plasma and I would buff em with ML so they can shoot into cover and ignore cover saves and if rail flavored pin by lowering LD on top of the cover.

The unit is mobile enough to see action the whole game. With 3 it is durable enough to take punishement and deny a good portion of VP.
Worst case scenario loosing 2 out of 3 and being non scoring the last one will remain a threat and worth half the squad value.

My problem with them is the squadron size. Personally I enjoy the benefit of having 5 piranhas in 1 squad all armed with FB and 2 drones.

In a farsight enclave where there are the 0-1 limitations I could see them being used to great effect.