Giving Pathfinders another chance

Last Friday, Old Shatter Hands discussed how to fit markerlights into his current army list, inspired by a run of horrible luck. I can sympathize; lately, my dice have been betraying me at key moments. It's also one of the weaknesses of the Tau; sure, we have fantastic guns, but we just don't seem to have the ballistic skill to utilize them effectively. The solution for this is to add markerlights to our armies, allowing us to do things like raise our BS and drop those pesky cover saves. It's not a perfect solution, though - they're expensive and slow (thanks to being heavy weapons), and there's only a few ways to fit them into an army. I've discussed the two primary ones - Pathfinders and Stealth Suits - and it's no secret that I'm not fond of Pathfinders. However, one of the hallmarks of the Tau army is fluidity and adaptability, so it's no good to be stuck in my ways. If I want to fit in markerlights, Pathfinders are the least-expensive solution.

With that in mind, I re-examined my current Tau list, and discovered that I can fit in a unit of 5 Pathfinders if I drop my commander's bodyguards:

HQ: Commander Shas'el (130 pts)
1 Commander Shas'el (Cyclic Ion Blaster; Hard-wired Drone Controller; Hard-wired Multi-tracker; Plasma Rifle; Targeting Array)
2 Shield Drones (Shield Generator)

Elite: Crisis Battlesuit (186 pts)
3 Crisis Battlesuits (Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker)

Elite: Crisis Battlesuit (94 pts)
2 Crisis Battlesuits (Flamer; Twin Linked Missile Pod)

Troops: Fire Warrior (155 pts)
6 Fire Warriors (Pulse Rifle x6)
1 Devilfish (Gun Drones; Disruption Pod; Multi-Tracker)

Troops: Fire Warrior (155 pts)
6 Fire Warriors (Pulse Rifle x6)
1 Devilfish (Gun Drones; Disruption Pod; Multi-Tracker)

Troops: Fire Warrior (155 pts)
6 Fire Warriors (Pulse Rifle x6)
1 Devilfish (Gun Drones; Disruption Pod; Multi-Tracker)

Fast Attack: Pathfinder (145 pts)
5 Pathfinders (Pulse Carbine x5)
1 Devilfish (Gun Drones; Marker Beacon; Disruption Pod)

Fast Attack: Piranha Light Skimmer (150 pts)
2 Piranha Light Skimmers (Fusion Blaster x2; Disruption Pod x2; Targeting Array x2)

Heavy Support: Hammerhead Gunship (165 pts)
1 Hammerhead Gunship (Railgun; Two Burst Cannons; Targeting Array; Disruption Pod; Multi-Tracker)

Heavy Support: Hammerhead Gunship (165 pts)
1 Hammerhead Gunship (Railgun; Two Burst Cannons; Targeting Array; Disruption Pod; Multi-Tracker)

Total Roster Cost: 1500 points

It's a simple change, accomplishes what I want, and doesn't hurt my killing ability - in fact, it probably enhances it greatly. It also gives me a great bait unit; people seem to hate Pathfinders with a passion. My one concern is that it adds three killpoints to the army ('finders, their Devilfish, and the drones). I could drop the Devilfish from one of the Fire Warrior teams, which would free up some points for smart missiles, seeker missiles, or the like, but I dislike using the Pathfinder 'fish as a taxi. It slows down the momentum of the game more than I like, and leaves a small unit of FWs out in the open for a turn or two.

I think I'll give this list a try on my next game; we'll see if I spoke too soon on the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of Pathfinders. I have a feeling that I may be eating some crow soon...