Saturday, November 27, 2010

ShadowSun Part 2

I really like ShadowSun as a commander.

However in army building she's a conflict.

Her Dual Fusion Blaster need her to be up close and personal with the melta. She can kill tanks, etc.

Her command and control node means she needs to be near (within 18 inches) other units to Inspire them. Tau have range. If my Crisis Suits are within 18 inches of a transport I've been struck in the head repeatedly. With 36 inches of firing arc, my suits should be far away. If my troops are within 18, they will all be dead soon.

Lets say ShadowSun is 5.9 inches away, at max Melta range. The Marines are getting out towards her. They'll fire, then assault in and then start moving towards the Troops.

Also, ShadowSun can't join another unit unless her Drones die.

An up close unit with a unit booster that can't join a unit unless her drones die. She's got a lot of good going on, but the grab bag of powers doesn't make a lot of sense.

Sigh. I really wanted her to be playable.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

HQ's and You: Shadowsun

There is a certain challenge in picking the right HQ. The right HQ can set the entire tone for an Army. The Tau are not overflowing with awe inspiring picks.
Space Pope has a horrible flaws. Farsight and his 7 Ronin give you a different and weird force Org Chart. An Ethereal is not that horrible if you field plenty of Fire Warriors and the Veteran Fire Warriors are surprisingly good. A Crisis Suit HQ is an expensive version of the Elite.
That leaves Shadowsun. But is she Worth the Points? Cost: 175
BS skill vs Wounds make Shadowsun equivalent to a Shas’el for 75 points
A single Fusion Blaster costs 12 and she gets two, non twinlinked Fusion Blasters worth 24 points. A multitracker sticks on an additionally 5 points Drone Controllers are free but the Drones cost with 2 Shield Drones clocking in at 30 and Bonding Knife for an additional 5. The Command Drone roughly costs 15. Making Shadowsun worth 154 points of gear. All in all, not that far off the mark for price for a solid Armor killer.