# Tau gun drone squad - any good?



## Varakir (Sep 2, 2009)

Whilst i'm mostly a painter and modeller, i'm planning to make my Tau into a decent, playable army.

So far I have the battleforce, and i'm looking to expand this to a 750 -1k sized force. I've made a list from the battleforce with a minimum sized gun drone squad, and whilst it seems like a great unit, I haven't play tested it so i'm unsure whether it's worth keeping in the army.

Thoughts? I really like the idea of lots of drones zipping around popping things off, so if it's remotely feasible i'd like to use them.


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## MetalHandkerchief (Aug 3, 2009)

Tau Gun Drone squadrons are a great unit for hunting lightly armored transports, or for deep striking behind tanks and getting their rear armor. They are also a great shield wall to join your Shas'El in if he doesn't have a retinue to give him some resilience.

All in all they're a great throw-away unit you can use to bog down your opponent's CC units in too, and they'll often put up a good fight, much better than Fire Warriors due to their high initiative.

I like fielding a full Piranha squadron with all Fusion Blasters, and disembarking their 10 Gun Drones on turn one, allowing the commander and 2 drones to join into a 12 drone unit. This way you don't need Target Locks on your Piranhas either.


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## Varakir (Sep 2, 2009)

MetalHandkerchief said:


> Tau Gun Drone squadrons are a great unit for hunting lightly armored transports, or for deep striking behind tanks and getting their rear armor. They are also a great shield wall to join your Shas'El in if he doesn't have a retinue to give him some resilience.


I like the sound of this, thanks for the tau advice (again) :victory:


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## MaidenManiac (Oct 2, 2008)

One thing worth remembering is that the goon drones dont have the fucked up Jet Pack rules from the XV8s and XV25s when operating alone.
They follow the normal Jet Pack rules and can thus move after DSing which is kind of neat


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## aboytervigon (Jul 6, 2010)

Well actually battle suits are jetpacks and have all the jetpacks rules from the BRB so they use the normal rules and are relentless.


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## MetalHandkerchief (Aug 3, 2009)

aboytervigon said:


> Well actually battle suits are jetpacks and have all the jetpacks rules from the BRB so they use the normal rules and are relentless.


If you're playing by RAI, but any rules lawyer will claim that the XV8 can't because it's specified in the Tau Codex that they can not. The codex always takes precedence over the BRB until a FAQ happens, unfortunately even when the rule book is newer.

Codex says they can't, BRB says they can = they can't


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## gally912 (Jan 31, 2009)

MetalHandkerchief said:


> If you're playing by RAI, but any rules lawyer will claim that the XV8 can't because it's specified in the Tau Codex that they can not. The codex always takes precedence over the BRB until a FAQ happens, unfortunately even when the rule book is newer.
> 
> Codex says they can't, BRB says they can = they can't


My contention would then be to show me a unit from another codex that had jetpacks, and then tell me the 5th Edition BRB Jetpack rule wasn't specifically designed for Tau. 

Then I'll eat my hat.


As to the OP, I rarely use drones myself, because if I'm using Fast Attack beyond my initial pathfinder squad, then I've already reached my fill of XV8, Broadsides, Hammerhead, and Kroot, which puts it into a points level I rarely play at. 

Even then, I'd be hard pressed not to go for maybe another pathfinder squad or some piranhas.

Which means the gun drones get left at home.


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## Tao-of-war (Oct 2, 2011)

I think gun drones are very under-rated. Whilst they are expensive in points, they can be a very useful fast attack option. 
I have today used 3 units of 4 gun drones to confuse an advancing Tyranid attack, using one unit as bait, and deep striking 1 unit infront and one unit behind enimy lines. this created a fiering triangle and they killed his commander (toughness 5, 3 wounds). They are jump infantry (nice and mobile), twin linked strength 5 wepon (re-roll those misses), and from an enemy's point of view.....very annoying. If you use them correctly they are a good asset and cheaper option (in smaller units) for fast attack (comparitave to other choices). They draw away enemy fire and assults from other more important units, and if left alone still pick away at the enemy causing casualties. I love my drones and, use them tacticly to force my enemy to re-direct, or think twice about his next move........
Worst case.....I move, shoot and ASSULT with them.....bold words indeed from a Tau player!!


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

I think Gun Drones were cool in 4th but now that glancing hits are so much less effective I'd hesitate to include a unit in my army, especially when there are more pressing things to buy with points (Crisis Suits, Broadsides, Pathfinders, Kroot). A minimum sized gun drone squad is what, 48 points? Not too bad when you look at it from a "Hey that's very cheap for a squad!" point of view but not so hot when you look at it from a "That's 50 less points I have to put toward stuff that can cause real damage," viewpoint.

Yes, Gun Drones _can_ do some pretty hilarious stuff like blow up tanks by shooting their back armor, pin enemy units who roll poorly for saves and Pinning and run down vastly superior units in close combat but the number of times that these things happen are few and far between, especially when you realize that 50 points can buy you another Crisis Suit who can go on to win you a game.


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

I think it all depends on how they are used. If used really well then they are definitely worth their points, as they are pretty good with shooting and are a cheap way to get rid of weak but annoying squads, and also because they are better in combat than fire warriors are (Im pretty sure, dont have my codex). But if they are not used well and dont do enough damage before they are killed they are definitely not worth it. Think of it like Starcraft. If they are use cost-effectively they are amazing, and very good at harass and the like. But if they are not they are a point sink that could have won the game if it had been use elsewhere. Although, this fits with everything, it is much more prominent with units like this that are weak armored and fast.


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

JAMOB said:


> I think it all depends on how they are used. If used really well then they are definitely worth their points, as they are pretty good with shooting and are a cheap way to get rid of weak but annoying squads, and also because they are better in combat than fire warriors are (Im pretty sure, dont have my codex). But if they are not used well and dont do enough damage before they are killed they are definitely not worth it. Think of it like Starcraft. If they are use cost-effectively they are amazing, and very good at harass and the like. But if they are not they are a point sink that could have won the game if it had been use elsewhere. Although, this fits with everything, it is much more prominent with units like this that are weak armored and fast.


Thing is though (at least in Starcraft 2) Carriers for example are bad no matter what. Sometimes they can win you a game, but in the vast majority of cases the investment you need to make to get them (at least one Stargate, a Fleet Beacon) takes away from other far better units and tech that you could be investing in. Each Carrier is worth a Nexus in minerals alone, as well as a vast amount of vespene gas.


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

Yay starcraft Debate. Yes indeed they are outdated, and no one uses them anymore. In sc1 they were amazing the near unstoppable if not scouted. But that is an example of something costing a ridiculous amount and rarely being good (in sc2 of course), where as the gun drones are very cheap, so they are more like reapers than anything. Or maybe hellions, but I think reapers is more realistic. They arent good in mass but are good for harassment (in starcraft scouting, though that is useless in warhammer) and they have good guns that are short range, so while they wont stand up to most traditional troops they are good against vehicles and really, really slow enemies as well as combat only ones. The only difference is that reapers are more expensive for their use than drones are.
Basically back to what I said, if you have good enough micro (lol) with your gun drones then use them, or if you want to get them and practice. Otherwise dont bother.


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

JAMOB said:


> Yay starcraft Debate. Yes indeed they are outdated, and no one uses them anymore. In sc1 they were amazing the near unstoppable if not scouted. But that is an example of something costing a ridiculous amount and rarely being good (in sc2 of course), where as the gun drones are very cheap, so they are more like reapers than anything. Or maybe hellions, but I think reapers is more realistic. They arent good in mass but are good for harassment (in starcraft scouting, though that is useless in warhammer) and they have good guns that are short range, so while they wont stand up to most traditional troops they are good against vehicles and really, really slow enemies as well as combat only ones. The only difference is that reapers are more expensive for their use than drones are.
> Basically back to what I said, if you have good enough micro (lol) with your gun drones then use them, or if you want to get them and practice. Otherwise dont bother.


I agree that Reapers and Gun Drones are more similar as far as actual battlefield role, but the point I'm stressing is the resources that a player dumps into these inefficient units ends up hurting them elsewhere. You can't really ""micro" Gun Drones into being effective as 40K is so dice reliant. You can have the best positioning, use of cover and so on but if the dice say no you get fucked and can't do a thing about it. That's why I'd rather have another Crisis Suit (and fast attack slot) - while the Drones have some potential, in general they'll accomplish very little and will take away from other more vital parts of your army.


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## MaidenManiac (Oct 2, 2008)

Imwithstupid, err, sorry, Katie here
On both the gun drone and Carrier issue. Then again I would argue that the whole P air sucks in SC2 since there are so freaking many hard counters to both Void Rays + Carriers. Phoenix are a supply technical dead end which unlike Corruptors(lootlords) and Vikings(can land) run out of options a lot faster (once the enemy builds some turrets and no air units they are almost useless unless you have an APM of 300+ in battles and even if you do youre remaining army wont get attention and will suffer).


Back to Goon Drones:
Yes they can DS and shoot some nifty S5 shots at rear armours, thats nice. They can even jump 6 inches away after doing so. For 53 pts you get a TL BS4 Meltagun that also can DS and shoot at rear armours. He will hit 8/9 times and will even blow the shit he is shooting at sky high!

Tau is a very limited army right now. Almost all units are seriously out dated, so Im patiently looking forward to the rumoured new codex next year. To play a Tau army with some success you need to focus on useful units and even at 2k pts you will fill those points up with Crisis teams, Broadsides, Hammerheads, Pathfinders and some troops.
There is simply speaking not points "spare" for half arsed units in the Tau army.


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

On Topic
 maybe not, but they can still have their units. My point wasnt that gun drones are good, it was that they can be good in some situations if used really well. In general they are probably a point sink, but against very specific armies used very well they are good. Basically, only if you are amazing at using them are they good, they are otherwise a very poor choice. Sorry if I wasnt clear on that, and If i contradicted myself I am terribly sorry  But i will try to clarify.

Starcraft
Phoenix's are great for harass an picking up tanks and stuff. It gets sooo annoying lol  There are pretty much hard counters to everything, and toss are no different. There are also ways in which almost all units can become obsolete. Try to contradict me and Ill clarify, it always can work in some way. Or at least it can get killed with the same amount of resources and still have some less... There is a counter to everything. Toss air isnt as good as terran but then again void rays wreck battlecruisers. Everything is good and bad against other things, and there is always a way to beat another unit if its scouted.


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## SavageConvoy (Sep 21, 2011)

I don't have that much experience under my belt and only use Gun Drones before I was able to get Piranahs and Pathfinders. For some reason my G. Drones have always been an amazing unit to me. I've destroyed as many vehicles with G.Drones as I have with Broadsides. (first game got me 6 drones, 6 hits, 5 glances = the Gods side with me) 
But they just aren't that reliable. I'd put more faith in missile pods to pop armor than the drones. If I'm going to use them as a cheap block, I have better sources from the vehicles without taking a FA slot. 
In the end it's all preferance. I hear some people actually use the Vespid, but I assume they just use them to keep the table legs from wobbling.


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## MaidenManiac (Oct 2, 2008)

Goon drones of the best (but also worst) kind are those you get for free from a Devilfish/Pirahna. Yes as in when you dont pay points for a SMS on the fish. Utterly expendable in non KP games, great for blocking movement and annoy the pesk out of folks. In KP you need to hide them instead which sucks but hey, the whole game is a gamble


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## MetalHandkerchief (Aug 3, 2009)

SavageConvoy said:


> I hear some people actually use the Vespid, but I assume they just use them to keep the table legs from wobbling.


Hahaha! Indeed, that would be their only strength as a unit.

Anyway, I still use my gun drones, the big bonus to them is their ability to shoot then move after deep strike. Especially against IG, Gun Drones really come into their own, and IG is the most popular army where I play.

Gun Drones have S5 AP5 weapons meaning every shot that hits a Guardsman kills him on a 2+, and after shooting I can mop them up in CQC with superior initiative and their 4+ armor save.

If there are no soft targets, every unit of 8 drones will be able to destroy a chimera. Even better if it's the 12 drone + Shas'El squad.

They are throw away firewarriors that deep strike and shoot better.


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## gally912 (Jan 31, 2009)

MetalHandkerchief said:


> Hahaha! Indeed, that would be their only strength as a unit.
> 
> Anyway, I still use my gun drones, the big bonus to them is their ability to shoot then move after deep strike. Especially against IG, Gun Drones really come into their own, and IG is the most popular army where I play.
> 
> ...


I come from a MEQ heavy scene, so the S5AP5 isn't as shiny. For me, its opportunity cost, and generally I think we have enough S5AP5 weaponry from troops/transports alone to not need the extra shots.

And really, aren't they only better than firewarriors by about 5%? And given that FW can score and can take a warfish, I think they are worth about the same. 

And I dont think FW are worth didly! :grin:


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## MetalHandkerchief (Aug 3, 2009)

Gun Drones have twice the initiative of FW's, they have jet packs and can shoot for shit 

Hardly 5%...


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## moswantd407 (Jul 7, 2011)

I think gun droned are very difficult to use that is why most people frown upon them. I believe under a great general they can be used efficiently to complete a menial task, but nothing more. this can be said for any unit, however I say for the common player avoid them.


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