So, just after I got my copy of this week's WD (and a quick reading of it) and review of what I had already read all over the net (special thanks to BOLS), I decided to write here someting about the new Strike/Breacher Teams...
Today on the menu... the new fire warriors set!
Strike fast, strike hard...
Fire Warriors are the newest recruits to the Hunter Cadres, members of the Fire caste eager to prove their mettle in battle. Though young, they are extensively trained in the art of war and carry the best weapons and equipment the Earth caste can provide. As the backbone of the Hunter Cadre, it is the duty of the ire warrior strike teams to engage the enemy at extreme range and provide a solid firebase into which the enemy will be carefully guided, there to die in droves beneath a torrent of pulse rifle fire.
Not only is the path ahead illuminated by the light of the Greater Good, but also the glow of pulse rifles.
- Strike Teams are traditionally armed with either pulse carbines or pulse rifles, just like the old set... These long-ranged weapons fire intense blasts of plasma energy, the bane of countless foes.
- The kit comes with loads of options for the shas'ui (or team leader), including a markerlight, scanner, bonding knife, three bare heads with braids, a pulse pistol and the obligatory pointing hand to direct his unit's fire (nice!).
- There are 13 sets of legs in the kit, enabling you to build warriors running, standing or kneeling, while the arms are posed aiming, firing from the hip or at ease (as shown here). The combination of parts makes for a dynamic unit that looks like its in the thick of the action.
13 sets of legs?! In a kit wich includes only 10 torsos? Well, you will find a lot of guys fishing for extras torsos in the ebay, amazon, etc... But now seriously, lets compare the old set and this new one: Look at this 2 images and, discounting the colour scheme and the extras such the drones and the turret, can you tell me what are the major differences between these two squads?
Spot the differences...the prize is a greater good cookie...
My suggestion: If you dont have any fire warriors in your army, by the old ones and just add a few new bits from the new kit. There should be some left in the stores and they will be, most certainly, cheaper than this new set... If you already have these, just use them as strike teams...
Once more unto the breach...
Trenches, bunkers, fortifications, even the cramped confines of starship corridors: these are the battlegrounds of the Fire Warrior Breacher Teams. Armed with close-range pulse blasters, these young and aggressive Fire Warriors are hand-picked by their commanders for their ruthlessness and courage – attributes that will stand them in good stead when storming the barricades of an enemy emplacement... aggressive fire warriors? Wow...
And a new unit of Tau infantry who are not afraid of “close encounters”...
The Fire Warrior Breacher Team is a new unit for the Tau Empire and just one of two ways to build this new plastic kit, the other being the classic Fire Warrior Strike Team (as discussed above). The kit enables you to build 10 Fire Warriors, plus a couple of Drones and even a tactical support turret for additional firepower. Here are just a few of the kit's great features:
- Fire Warrior Breacher teams carry hefty pulse blasters. They use the same aggressive reaction charge technology (A.R.C) as the Stormsurge's pulse blastcannon, making them extremely dangerous at short range.
- This plastic kit comes with loads of extra components, including scanners, grenade-throwing arms, six bare heads, kneeling legs, pulse pistols and plenty more besides.
- The MV36 Guardian Drone is unique to the Fire Warriors boxed set. Hovering alongside the Breachers, it projects a force field that's directly linked to the field amplifiers worn by the Fire Warriors, offering them much needed protection in battle.
Now this is the mais reason to buy this new box... Personally I love the new helmet option, and I'm even considering to apply it the all kinds of fire warriors teams... although it seems to me a much more expensive option, wich also removes some of the prestige that this new unit has, as elite troops ...
Some addicional fire power...
Stand by for titan fall... oh wait...
Based on a 40 mm round base (yeah, it's going to be quite a big model for a infantry extra) this new addition gives extra fire support to your squads, both in the shooting and in the overwatch phase! But let's leave that in the discussion of the rules ahead ...
Meanwhile on the tabletop...
We’re already seen the new Tau Fire Strikers/Breachers... But what can they DO on the tabletop? Find out for yourself:
Some initial thoughts:
- OK, while the old Pulse Carbine was pretty much ignored by Tau players anyway, but the Pulse Blaster may be here to stay! If you can get into 5″ (and you BETTER), a solid volley of S:6 AP3 file will ruin a lot of heavy armoured infantry/monsters’s days. You should expect to see the return of an offensive version of Fish of Fury!
- Put a breacher team in a Devilfish: 6" Move, 6" Disembark, 5" short range AP3 goodness. You now have a decent shooty unit with a 17" threat range for countering advancing Marines/Carnifexes/anything with a 3+ Save, really. What's worse is if they didn't kill their target, you will still use these weapons in the overwatch... though only with BS1;
- I wonder if the Ethereal could still give them an extra pulse shot...a team of 10 of these guys, under the effect of the ethereal's Storm of Fire, getting out of a devilfish and pumping out 30 S6AP3 shots! Even at their BS3 it's impressive, but if you have 1 or 2 markerlights on the target you can push it up to BS5!;
- No rules for the strike teams in this WD... until the release of the new codex I will assume that everything keeps unchanged for these guys;
- There is still supporting fire! Wonder if it changed...(hope not);
- The DS8 turret is really interesting, with both missile pod and smart missile system options. I think this will give the Tau infantry a multi-purpose role similar to eldar guardians and their support platform – if a little more static (if you're holding an objective then this is not a problem)… but a question remains: Does the turret benefit from markerlights?
- Finally the MV36 Guardian drone (the defensive drone) is a cheap way to get a 5+ invulnerable for the unit (note: only if the models in the same unit are equiped with a field amplifier relay, otherwise is just a 6+ invulnerable). Probably 12 pts well spent!
No comments:
Post a Comment