What's with GW's continuing insistence of making perfectly viable units redundant? The Tau codex now mirrors my Nid, CSM and Imperial Guard Codex. With a detritus of murdered models surrounding a last stand of 'must-have' units.
Arguably, only Imperial Guard (and Smurfs, of course) have a multifaceted approach nailed down.
It boggles my mind thatGW can be so bad (so good?) at not balancing their codici. When I compare my flames lists, it's laughable. In the russian armada, I have different tools for different goals. Infantry balance tanks, balance artillery, balance anti-tank, balance aircraft. You can strive for an specialist list, but advantages are automatically curtailed by your lack of tanks (for a scouting unit) etc etc.
The problem I find is this. Why include Kroot or Stealth Teams in the codex at all?
Stealth Teams
30 points for a stealth dude is an ok price. Stealth and shrouded combined with jetpacks give you a fantastic (almosted guaranteed) 2+ cover save unit. Add in the increase in firepower with 5 stealth dudes firing off a wicked 20 S5 shots, plus the fusion blaster and WOOP, infilitrating motherfucking scouting motherfuckers who can gun run the enemy. Nice.
Except, Crisis suits are 22pts. WTF? Crisis Suit with a burst Cannon, 32 points. You lose the great 4+ cover save, but you gain a wound, toughness 4 and a weapons platform that CAN ACTUALLY ENGAGE FROM RANGE!
Bong - death knell to the Stealth Suit.
Most importantly of all, ANY crisis suit (shas'ui or shas'vre) can take 2 drones each. 3 Crisis suits with 6 jumping out and marking marker drones - nice. 6 missile drones nice, 6 gundrones ... ummm why? But Stealth teams get a maximum of 2 gundrones and only if you upgrade a Shas'Ui. Shit.
And this despite having a backstory including 'markerdrones' pwning Ork horde. Argggghhhh! Fucking GW.
Anyone with half a brain can see that Stealth teams are high risk, as such they should be cheaper not more expensive than Crisis teams. If Space MArines at 3+, T4 are 15-18pts. Shouldn't T3 stealth teams be less. Even taking into consideration the gun at Assault 4 and the Stealth - they can be caught by any number of beasts, cavalry or bikes and they squish pretty quick in close combat and they have to engage at 18-24"... poor bastards.
20pts tops. Easily. Add in gundrones (2 each motherfucker) and you've got a viable, useful and high risk unit. You are still sacrificing a Elites slot for them, but at 100pts for 5, its worth a gamble.
Otherwise, why bother.
Kroot
Boohohohoho. I mean what did the kroot ever do to GW? They are a great nation with a fantastic backstory and they get a big chunk of the 'fluff' part of the book. But they've been nerfed to S3, instead of S4. Their weapons are now AP5 in close combat, but killing guard was easy anyhow. They get a mighty 6+ saving throw. Feck. They can't take any upgrades worth mentioning. And they are 3 points cheaper than a Tau. Even with Kroot Hounds, and don't get me started I own 12. They are 110 points for a 20 body unit. Which is ok. The guns are good... but they are now even squishier. It's like GW decided that the ONLY job kroot can do is as a disposable deployment inhibitor.
I am tempted to take 20 kroot and arm them with sniper rifles and then see how things go. 4 markerlight hits would make 20 kroot score 2.7 rending shots and 5.6 wounds. That would almost be worth it...
The good news is that they are troops and that they do get stealth in woods. But compared to 9 point each firewarrior, with one of the best rifle weapons in the game?
Why bother.
