6th edition: First Impressions

So, I got in a couple games of 6th this 4th of July weekend.
As a whole, it is definitely a good improvement on 5th. They give players much more reason to take troops, as well as to possibly eschew taking transports. The rulebook has a nice focus throughout on reminding the players that the game is about creating interesting scenarios and enjoying yourself, while adding flavorful rules (Look out Sir!, Challenges, a plethora of terrain options) to the game. In addition, we are provided with six standard mission types over the prior three, and the new allies system, which adds some interesting gameplay decisions.

Tau, it seems, will be an interesting army to play prior to their new codex. And by interesting, I mean a tad frustrating. Some of our better units took notable hits this edition; Cover was nerfed, hitting Kroot. Hammerheads and Devilfish (already pricey units) are far less durable, and in 5/6ths missions Fire Warriors can no longer score from inside a transport, nor can Piranhas contest objectives. In addition, Fast Attack units and Heavy Support units both have a mission where they count as scoring... but are some of the only things that give up Victory Points when they die. What this means is that the standard 5th edition list that maxes out on Piranha squadrons and Railguns is in fact incredibly dangerous to take, as they give up additional points (though something could be said for the scoring effectiveness of our Heavy Supports in the one mission they are allowed to score).

The new shooting allocation also doesn't help our Crisis Suits; no more wound allocation shenanigans to keep our guns alive, and our melta units are often the first to be targeted by the "closest model is hit" rule.

The random charge length is coupled with random Assault Jump length, which means that avoiding assault with suits is no longer a science but a gamble if we use rapid-fire or melta. This is a bit of a shame, as Crisis Suits are already terribly costly without losing them to bad dice.

Basically, we took hits all throughout the codex, which ends up hurting our gameplay even more than it already was. We need scoring units, but our defensive options (cover and transports) have been weakened. We need durable firepower, but Crisis Suits, Broadsides and Hammerheads die more easily. We need roadblocks, but Piranhas are not only less durable to Alpha strikes (reduced cover throughout, weaker vehicle durability), but also become more important to conserve in the mission in which they are conserved.

As of now, I can't see Tau seeing much time on the competitive table except for as opt-ins as allies for other armies; adding a Crisis team and some Kroot or Fire Warriors. Hopefully the new codex will have more options.

A final note; some of you may have noticed that Jet Pack infantry now have the bulky special rule, despite not being able to enter transports unless the rules specifically state they can. I believe this might be to open the way for a new Tau transport.