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If you don't mind could you look at my army list and tell me what you think...I posted it in the 40K Discussion subforum, in the Army List Posting/Review Thread...you seem like an experienced player and I'm new to the game...

I'm totally new to this...

Which is better, sniper drones or stealth suits?

...so please don't rip my head off.

Sniper drones, but only if backed up by support.

Snipers also have a stealth field generator, so they are also hard to hit. The thing about Stealths is that they are useful against attacking armor if equipped with fusion blaster, or weaker foes with burst cannons. What is nice about the Sniper Drones is that you can land 3 casualties or wounds, depending on the 50% chance they have of hitting. They also have a very nice range, allowing you to take more down before you have to start worrying about getting shot at.

Ok that ideal is going to get you killed.

Tau won't let ANYTHING get close if you play them right. Making kroot un-needed for most armies except hard hitters.

Static defense - Have a lot of broadsides and skyrays with a hammerhead and some firewarriors equipped for long range shooting. They hit hard, but don't plan on running if the going gets tough.

Hit and run - Most units will be set in Devilfish troop carriers. Have some crisis suits spearheading the army and set your hammerheads with Ion cannons. Stay on the move, and only stay long enough to drop one turn worth of shots. After that, bolt it and set up another attack.

Mechanized - basically like the above, but maximize your broadsides and skyrays.

Bait n' switch - I explained this before. Have 2, 6 man fire warrior squads set up with carbines, keep them way in the back. Charge your crisis suits forward, then pull them back. Lead the enemy down some kind of ally with little cover, and blast the s**t out of them with hammerheads, broadsides, piranhas with tank killer attachments, and those carbine fire warriors. Enemy will be torn to pieces. If its space marines, there may be a few survivors for a counter attack, but use some sniper drones (if you have any) to pick them off.

Hard hitters - Lots of kroot based units. Best if used in a woodland setting. Burst from the trees and get the enemy to close quarters. Rip them to shreds and then flee. Once the ground work has been laid out. Clear the path with your hammerheads and crash through the enemy with deep striking crisis suits (if allowed).

If you want to play a static line then get more Firewarriors, and equip them all with pulse rifles. If you want to make a mobile, I still say get more Firewarriors, but if you really want make one squad with carbines then do so. If you do that, then give them the devilfish, not the pulse rifle infantry, because you're going to need those guns leveling the treat that might make your carbines move.
I do not suggest you only get one Piranha, especially with a fusion blaster.
I do not suggest you get kroot if you want a static line, use the points for more Firewarriors.
I do not suggest Stingwings, they are quite a bit of points for not enough survivability or punch.
When equipping for long range, why did you give your crisis fusion blasters and flamers? This means that your Crisis suits will have to get really close to enemy armor in order to use them. A good combination is the missile pod and the plasma rifle, which gives you good strength shots capable of taking down more infantry. If you want to have anti-armor, you stick with your broadsides. If your getting close, that means you might be getting into close combat soon. What I suggest along with the plasma-missile combination is that you change the support systems to either multi-tracker or targeting array. Giving your flamer-fusion Crisis a multi-tracker means you could be shooting at a tank while trying to roast it too, which is not effective. Giving one a target lock is bad because you're already in really close to either one or two units, this is bad. Shield Generator I don't think should be handed out to ordinary units, so keep it if you want, but I don't advise it.

Consult Oryn for some really good advice.

They have totally different roles, so it's hard to compare. Stealth Suits provide mobile anti-infantry firepower that is nigh-invulnerable at long range. They are especially deadly when pitted against light infantry or vehicles, and can make great objective or quarter holders, as most weapons can't hit them outside of 36." However, their protection doesn't hold up so well against a lot of fire. The average spotting distance rolled for night fight is 21". In order for them to make use of their own guns, they have to be inside of this distance, putting them at much higher risk.

Sniper Teams on the other hand, are primarily static, can't hold quarters, and provide pinpoint, mid strength, high AP fire. Where Stealth Suits can take down Marines by weight of fire, Sniper Drones can do so with thier AP3. Part of the usefulness of Snipers lies in 3 for 1 slot choice. In addition, you get BS4 Markerlights, and a Stealth unit that actually operates on the edge of it's spotting distance. The maximum distance you could possibly roll for nightfight is 36", which coincidentally, is the range on rail-rifles and Markerlights.

The main difference is that while Stealth Suits compare favorably with Crisis Suits in terms of performance and points cost for the Elites slot. But taking any Sniper Teams means you're edging out fantastic units like Broadsides and Hammerheads. Sniper teams are good units, but in big games, you're going to want the beefier Heavy choices.


In the past, an Ethereal was extremely useful. Not necessary, but very useful. Now that they need LOS to use their Inspiring Presence, but Price of Failure remains board-wide, they're pretty useless. The only use I can see for them is to get a Squad of BS4 Fire Warriors. Frankly, for the 170+ points you'll be paying to have that unit on the field, there are other things I'd include in the list first. Especially as we can't cut out the Crisis Commander anymore. The Ethereal was nice as a budget HQ in addition to the morale abilities, but they can't even function in that role anymore.