XV-88 Broadside Battlesuit

XV-88 Broadside Battlesuit
No Tau army would be complete without the Railgun-toting XV-88 Broadside battlesuits. These heavy hitters form the core of the Tau firing line. Their standard equipment of a Twin-Linked Railgun and a Smart Missile System is a perfect fit for their mission: killing vehicles and large beasties. These targets have a hard time hiding. Hive Tyrants and Land Raiders do not sneak up on opponents. If they do succeed in hiding, then they will also succeed in limiting their effectiveness.

To protect these valuable battlesuits, I place a Human Auxiliary or Fire Warrior squad in front of them. This usually causes my opponent to direct his attention on other, more accessible targets.

The obvious sensor system for a Broadside team member is the Target Lock. This system prevents all the potential firepower from being wasted on a single target. Another good option is to upgrade one member to a team leader with Twin-Linked Plasma Rifles, a Multi-Tracker, a Hard-Wired Drone Controller, and two Gun Drones. I find this configuration to be very dangerous at short range, allowing me to finish off a wounded Carnifex or the remnants of a Terminator squad before it can assault my precious Broadsides.

Hammerhead Gunship
The Hammerhead Gunship can fly circles around a Broadside team, but it does not pack as much firepower. Besides being able to move and fire, it is able to kill great swathes of infantry with the much-feared Submunition Round. I like the Railgun and Smart Missile System combination for the Hammerhead. The Ion Cannon is useful against Plague Marines and Eldar Wraithguard, but not much else. By adding a Multi-Tracker and Target Lock to a Hammerhead with the multifunction Railgun, I have a truly mobile weapons platform able to engage multiple targets.

Now for a quick word on a support system that can make or break a Heavy Support unit: Black Sun Filters. The one thing that can really hurt a Tau army is the dreaded Night Fight scenario special rules. This can allow the enemy to creep in close with impunity and assault! So, if there is any chance that a scenario will use the special Night Fight rules, then be sure to use Black Sun filters. In a night fight, these filters are better than drones or target locks!