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OK, played before...but many moons ago. I currently read these boards and see the same thing over and over and really have no clue what is being said!

All the talk of "stars", what exactly constitutes a "star"? i assume by the usage that it refers to some deadly unit that can roam the battlefield killing anything in it's path. Is that pretty accurate?

dataslates....what the heck are these?

Taudar...got that figured..Tau with Eldar allies, does it work both ways or does it have to be Eldau if Primary is eldar?

Small units galore...I keep seeing people mention taking small "late scoring units", since I have yet to play or see a game in this edition, what exactly are we referring to here. Has 40K basically fallen to kill-kill-kill, then rush an objective on final turn of game?

This will probably do for now...

Dataslates are best described as DLC i think. You buy the profile of a unit if I recall.

You seem to have the same impression of stars as me.

A star is a Deathstar, a Star Wars reference. Huge, expensive, planet-killing units. Of course they all have their weaknesses but it will take a huge group just to bring it down.

"Late scoring units" You got it right. small units that can hide in the back or come on from reserve and sit on an objective. 50 pts here or 80 pts there and you can get yourself 3 VPs. I would say that I have only seen a few people really run with a dedicated unit like this. But with Mysterious objectives and some of the warlord traits in the BRB, there can sometimes be a good benefit to sitting a unit on an objective the entire game.

Dataslates are downloadable rules you can get from GW with specific rules for characters or factions. Cypher, Be'lakor, stuff like that.

bullyboy wrote:
OK, played before...but many moons ago. I currently read these boards and see the same thing over and over and really have no clue what is being said!

All the talk of "stars", what exactly constitutes a "star"? i assume by the usage that it refers to some deadly unit that can roam the battlefield killing anything in it's path. Is that pretty accurate?

dataslates....what the heck are these?

Taudar...got that figured..Tau with Eldar allies, does it work both ways or does it have to be Eldau if Primary is eldar?

Small units galore...I keep seeing people mention taking small "late scoring units", since I have yet to play or see a game in this edition, what exactly are we referring to here. Has 40K basically fallen to kill-kill-kill, then rush an objective on final turn of game?

This will probably do for now...

All the *blank* stars are all your eggs in one killy, unstoppable unit. Often utilizing layered special rules or buffs. The name of the star is a key to what makes it tick. Generically deathstars as a class.

Dataslates are DLC-esque. Extra rules for units or groups of units you can add to your army.

Taudar is basically a tau gunline with eldar support. Not sure how well it works the other way, but it might.

With the amount of shooting and death being meted out these days it’s hard to keep scoring units alive on objectives. So the practice of keeping some in reserve, out of the line of fire until late game has a lot of merit. Particularly when you have things like eldar jetbikes, which are very fast and can zoom across the table in one move. Not everyone does this, but it’s a nice strategy.

bullyboy wrote:
OK, played before...but many moons ago. I currently read these boards and see the same thing over and over and really have no clue what is being said!

All the talk of "stars", what exactly constitutes a "star"? i assume by the usage that it refers to some deadly unit that can roam the battlefield killing anything in it's path. Is that pretty accurate?

dataslates....what the heck are these?

Taudar...got that figured..Tau with Eldar allies, does it work both ways or does it have to be Eldau if Primary is eldar?

Small units galore...I keep seeing people mention taking small "late scoring units", since I have yet to play or see a game in this edition, what exactly are we referring to here. Has 40K basically fallen to kill-kill-kill, then rush an objective on final turn of game?

This will probably do for now...

1. Star refers to Death Star, a pricy hard to kill unit that goes around swatting things like a wrecking ball. Currently people customize the name to reflect what the unit is made of (gravstar = SM Centurions, O'vesastar relies on a unit with two Riptides in it, one of whom is a character named O'vesa, etc).

2. Dataslates are DLC from Black Library that contain rules for a model (such as Bel'akor) or a formation (example would be the Stormwing which allows armies that can ally with Space Marines to take a Stormraven and two Stormtalons) you can use in some armies.

3. I've seen it used both ways, though a lot of people just refer to it as Taudar.

4. Pretty much.

OK, just checked out dataslates and downloaded the Ghost Warrior one (since I picked up that particular boxset cheap). If I use that formation as part of my Eldar army, I assume it is a separate entity and I would still need an HQ and 2 other troop types (not the wraithguard in this formation)? To that point, can this dataslate even be used with the Iyanden codex which I currently have and been building my force from?
My plan is to avoid Wave serpents so the 4+ cover save for wraithbone wall would be really good, I'm just not sure how I include this list in my force!

GW got really confusing since I last played (pre allies, fortifications, fliers, etc)

Yes, if you use the formation, you will still need to fill the compulsory 1 HQ 2 Troops. I don't have the wording for the Formation but I'd assume you can use it with the Iyanden supplement?

bullyboy wrote:

Small units galore...I keep seeing people mention taking small "late scoring units", since I have yet to play or see a game in this edition, what exactly are we referring to here. Has 40K basically fallen to kill-kill-kill, then rush an objective on final turn of game?

This will probably do for now...

As everyone else have said.

Generally it refers to people dropping in scoring units on T5-7 using fast mobility or transports (Generally necron flying croissants, or eldar jetbike trickery) they are generally difficult to kill outright.