As I argued extensively in the
previous thread, the notion that Tau Drones should be disposable is a misnomer and oddity of past epic lists and
not anything reflective of how they function in W40k or the background.
To go over it briefly again here; yes, Drones are non-sentient, and less important than living Tau troops from a manufacturing / logistical perspective (
less though - not of
no import to a small Empire without that bigger resources in the scheme of things yet). However, Fire Warriors that see the 20 gun drones with their unit blown apart around them shouldn't just say
"Hey, we've come under very heavy fire that's just taken apart 20 members of our unit - should we be concerned or retreat to somewhere less dangerous? - Nah! It's ok; we shouldn't feel at all threatened here - they're only drones!" That would give them unrealistic un-Tau like morale effects and circumvent the basic game mechanic of blast markers when it's not appropriate here (Orks laugh when Grots die - Tau are a realistic tactical military force and have no attitude that justifies disposable here). This is a big enough issue for me that I flat out will not play with them as disposable in my games even if it were to be re-adopted in future (which I feel strongly should not be the case).
However, Gun Drones are also
incorrectly armed in Epic at the moment - each individual drone has
Twin-linked Pulse Carbines (see the W40k codex or the models - each has two guns!). The text for the gun should be changed to reflect that and if the normal epic convention is to be followed they should get 15cm AP4+ Disrupt - which would both be correct to how they are actually armed and should also in a stroke make them more playable and distinctive.
Hopefully I can actually get some Tau games in in the not too distant future
And then be able to comment on other aspects too
