So, just after a quick reading of this week's WD and a careful review of the previous codex, I decided to write here someting about the new crisis suits and both commander suits...
Today on the menu... the new crisis and commander battlesuits!
We have a crisis on our hands!
The iridium armour guy is like: Guys... here's the commander?!
Crisis Battlesuits are the iconic unit of the Tau Empire and this new plastic kit contains three of them, plus six Drones to accompany them into battle. They may look similar to their predecessors, but the models in this kit are brand new designs with a host of new assembly options, enabling you to build them in dynamic, mid-action poses. The kit also includes an arsenal of weapons and wargear, from fusion blasters and flamers to target locks, Drone controllers and shield generators... Here are just a few of the kit's great features:
- Each Crisis Battlesuit can be posed at the ankles, hips, waist, shoulders and neck for a huge range of movement. There are also weapon and support system sockets on their arms and jet packs giving you even more variety when constructing your miniatures.
- From the back you can see the XV8's jet pack and power core. There's a small hole underneath the power core for a flying stand so you can build your battlesuits in mid-leap, as if they've just engaged their jet packs.
- There are six Drones in the kit, which can be built as Gun Drones, Marker Drones or Shield Drones. You can build up to three of each type, which can join your Crisis Team in battle or even form a unit of their own.
- For the first time you can now build a suit of iridium armour, one of the upgrades in the Codex. This suit features a larger torso with raised gorget, extra armour around the waist and additional armour on the knees (you know, for those damn arrows in the knee...).
Arrows? Where??
So, buy or not to buy... for me yes! But if you already have a collection of these and you're happy with them then maybe it will not be worth ... except to arrange the pieces to build Iridium armour perhaps... Don't forget that these miniatures now come with 50 mm bases!
Paragons of war
Tau Commanders are the most battle-hardened of all Fire Warriors, having endured at least 20 years of continuous warfare in the service of the Tau Empire. Over that time they will fight many foes and face multiple Trials by Fire, only the strongest emerging to command their own Hunter Cadre. Some are thoughtful tacticians, commanding their troops from the rear, while others are headstrong (some may even say reckless) individuals who lead by example, racing across the battlefield to engage the enemy – an act of true selflessness for the Greater Good.
Leading fearlessly from the front, this commander bounds into combat... because that always works out great for the Tau...
Tau Commanders wear some of the most advanced battlesuits available, and this new plastic kit enables you to build two different types – the XV85 Enforcer Armour and the XV86 Coldstar Armour (shown above). Here are the main points about the new commander suits:
- Coldstar armour is designed for rapid battlefield redeployment, enabling the Commander to rocket skyward before plunging to earth where they are most required. It comes equipped with a high output burst cannon and a missile pod, with options for additional support systems.
- From the back you can see the jump jets unique to the Coldstar Battlesuit and the aerodynamic fins (yes fins and not wings... because Tau don't have enough fish/ocean references in their army...)that enable the wearer to engage and outmanoeuvre enemy aircraft in mid-flight.
- The Tau Commander kit can also be built wearing the XV85 Enforcer Battlesuit. Larger than a regular Crisis Battlesuit, it can carry significantly more weapon and support systems, plenty of which come in the kit. This example has been equipped with a plasma rifle and an airbursting fragmentation projector.
- The Commander kit has been designed with modelling flexibility in mind and features joints at its ankles, knees, hips, waist, head, shoulders and elbows that enable you to build it in countless different ways. Its weapons and support systems (including its drone... yeah, the commander may take up to 2 drones but the box brings only one... thanks GW!) are all compatible with the parts in the Crisis Battlesuits kit, too.
So, what about this one? In the case of the enforcer armour, just like the crisis above, if you already have the finecast one from the previous codex in your collection and you're happy with it, then keep it! If you don't have one but found one in your local store cheaper than this new one remember that finecast has his issues and might not be worth the extra work...
About the new coldstar armour I have some mixed feelings: On the one hand it looks cool but, as we will discuss the rules ahead, I can't find a good reason to put one in the table... Don't forget that this new commander now comes in a 60 mm (montrous creature) base!
Meanwhile on the tabletop...
That's all nice but...what can they DO on the tabletop? Find out for yourself:
Please click on them for a better view...
Some initial thoughts:
- First the crisis: Both crisis and bodyguard battlesuits haven't change much from the priveous codex. The points cost is the same, same rules and options as well, with one exception... Now you can bring a unit of up to 9 battlesuits!! And for some reason this is true to the bodyguards to... imagine playing with the Farsight Enclaves supplement with this new rule... I know that to sell as much as they can is the sole porpuse of GW... but Daaamn man!;
- About the "Enforcer" commander: No rules for this guy in this WD... until the release of the new codex I will assume that everything keeps unchanged ...and that's nice;
- The non-shooting commander is still a good way to go: Equip him with multi-sepectrum sensor suite + command and control node and as long as he doesn't shoot all the shooting from his unit (you can now have up to 9 crisis in a single unit remember!) ignores cover and gets to re-roll all failed to hit rolls... and since he's not supposed to shoot I'd equip him with drone controler as well: now all the drones in the unit have his BS5! Bring some missile drones for a real punch...;
This is how the battlesuits should be in the game: hitting targets while airborne...
- Now the "Coldstar" commander: For 60 points more, you replace the "enforcer" with this brand-new model, and turn him into a Flying Monstrous Creature... without Smash, Fear, or Vector Strike, and automatically buy a high-yield burst cannon and missile pod;
- My problem with with this new suit is: What is he supposed to do? In this week's WD it's said: "Equipped with one of these, your Commander can fly across the battlefield, covering huge distances more quickly than ever before (...), you'll have to decide whether you want him to fight alongside the other Fire Warriors in your army, duel enemy flyers across the skies, or a little of both"...so, lets break it down a little:
- To support/help other units in your army the "enforcer" described above is still a better option... and cheaper too;
- To "duel" with enemy flyers be minded that he is still WS4 and I3... hand to hand combat with the real monstrous flying creatures such as winged hive tyrants and winged daemon princes is still going to be a nightmare for your commander. He might survive for 1-2 turns of combat thanks to his armour save, but don't expect any miracles... And if he's going to assault flying vehicles remember he is S5: against low rear armor flyers like Valkyries and Stormtalons (rear armour 10-11) you're still praying for 5-6's to glance them.
And remenber: be careful about getting hit while swooping. Each time you get wounded while airborne, you have a 1/3 chance of crashing to the ground resulting in a hit that causes Instant Death to your T4 frame.
Shooting enemy flyers will be a better strategy, specially thanks to the missile pod, but you have to be really carefull in the movement phase, in order to positioning this guy facing rear/side armour. Against nasty vehicle flyers like the stormraven gunship (armour 12) you're relying on the missile pod alone, and you can't glance this one in combat... If you're concerned about enemy flyers you can allways upgrade some of your battlesuits with velocity trackers. For the same points cost of the "coldstar" upgrade you can give skyfire to a unit of 3 broadsides with twin-linked heavy rail rifles or to a riptide (for just 20 points) and use a nova-charged heavy burst cannon (12 S6 shots with rending). Think about it...
Personally I don't know If he's worthwhile or not. If I really had to bring him to a game, and since he has free space for two more upgrades I'd give him a fusion blaster, a high strenght shooting weapon, and vectored retro-thrusters to give him hit and run, to escape serious combats and instead shot down his foes...
Thanks to a comment in a group in Facebook about the Tau Empire (see here) I've only noticed now that the Coldstar Commander can only take up to 2 items from the Support Systems list, and up to 2 drones... so no more weapons for this guy... damn, is even worse than I thought...
- Post Publication Note -
If you have other opinions/suggestions for this new battlesuits please share them in the comment section! Thank you for your time and until the next publication
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