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Hello, I'm sure many of you have been skimming the GW webstore and was greeted with the beautiful animation of the new KV128 Stormsurge.
(http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Home?mobile=false&_requestid=12375449)

I'm positive that many of you who collect Tau are scrambling to empty out their pockets for this literal walking tank (Or not, whatever floats your boat). Now I have seen many people claim that the Tau are behind the scenes when it comes to modern 40k, and how the advances of the other armies have outcasted them and see them as mere toddlers in the great WH40k family( I, however, see them as more advanced given their background and values). But with this new battlesuit (and what i assume is the start of more coming), do you think that the Tau is making their comeback as a great empire/superpower of the races? Or have they just been j sneaking to the back corner building battlesuits to reign supreme? ( > all?)

Tau becoming a massive empire? Heresy

Lets face it kids, Tau are stupid. They are the only "beacon of hope" in a Grimdark universe. They are out of place

Empty out your pockets is right. Have you seen the prices on this thing?

Did you miss the rules leak from Tuesday? I doubt a lot of people will be close to emptying their pockets for this particular model

 CrownAxe wrote:
Did you miss the rules leak from Tuesday? I doubt a lot of people will be close to emptying their pockets for this particular model

but did you see how cool it is?

 Tactical_Spam wrote:

 CrownAxe wrote:
Did you miss the rules leak from Tuesday? I doubt a lot of people will be close to emptying their pockets for this particular model

but did you see how cool it is?

Its just a bigger riptide that replaced its army with missile launchers. Its nothing new

 CrownAxe wrote:

 Tactical_Spam wrote:

 CrownAxe wrote:
Did you miss the rules leak from Tuesday? I doubt a lot of people will be close to emptying their pockets for this particular model

but did you see how cool it is?

Its just a bigger riptide that replaced its army with missile launchers. Its nothing new

The honourable michael bay was on the design team

 Tactical_Spam wrote:
Lets face it kids, Tau are stupid. They are the only "beacon of hope" in a Grimdark universe. They are out of place

They are a "beacon of hope" in the sense that anyone who deals with them has to submit fully to the Tau Empire and the ideals of the Greater Good. Fail to do that, and they'll resort to mass brainwashing or forced sterilization. And that's what they do to their own. When it comes to hostile aliens, the Tau are just as genocidal as the Imperium.

I will admit that the Tau Stormsurge looks goofy as all get out. The rules and points cost are decidedly balanced, which means that the most competitive players have decreed that it sucks. Until we get the full Tau codex, we won't know anything about army synergy that could boost the unit's potential.

 cman64 wrote:
But with this new battlesuit (and what i assume is the start of more coming), do you think that the Tau is making their comeback as a great empire/superpower of the races? Or have they just been j sneaking to the back corner building battlesuits to reign supreme? ( > all?)

You're reading too much into it. Tau are getting a new book, a new model is needed to stimulate sales of the new book. Special new rules and exceptions are par for the course with pretty much every release.

Great empire? Pls instead of new suits they need a proper warp drive or can stew in their puny dominium. Farsight > ethernals anytime

 Tactical_Spam wrote:
Lets face it kids, Tau are stupid. They are the only "beacon of hope" in a Grimdark universe. They are out of place

I prefer to look at them as both being a bit naive to the greater happenings of the 41st millennium but also incredibly sinister with how they treat the other races of the universe. Tau acts like they care about other races but inside their empire they will quietly eliminate most of the non Tau populations and replace them with more Tau. Within their own species they are controlled by the will of the Ethereal caste and dissenters are quickly and quietly removed. They fit the dystopian trope an oligarchy controlling the masses through thought control and propaganda. Being the "beacon of hope" is the facade that the Tau Empire puts forth to try and convert the enemy (to then eventually eliminate/exploit them after they are subjugated) as well as unify their race to continue their aggressive expansionism.

 Tactical_Spam wrote:
Lets face it kids, Tau are stupid. They are the only "beacon of hope" in a Grimdark universe. They are out of place

TheNewBlood wrote:They are a "beacon of hope" in the sense that anyone who deals with them has to submit fully to the Tau Empire and the ideals of the Greater Good. Fail to do that, and they'll resort to mass brainwashing or forced sterilization. And that's what they do to their own. When it comes to hostile aliens, the Tau are just as genocidal as the Imperium.

I will admit that the Tau Stormsurge looks goofy as all get out. The rules and points cost are decidedly balanced, which means that the most competitive players have decreed that it sucks. Until we get the full Tau codex, we won't know anything about army synergy that could boost the unit's potential.

Vankraken wrote:I prefer to look at them as both being a bit naive to the greater happenings of the 41st millennium but also incredibly sinister with how they treat the other races of the universe. Tau acts like they care about other races but inside their empire they will quietly eliminate most of the non Tau populations and replace them with more Tau. Within their own species they are controlled by the will of the Ethereal caste and dissenters are quickly and quietly removed. They fit the dystopian trope an oligarchy controlling the masses through thought control and propaganda. Being the "beacon of hope" is the facade that the Tau Empire puts forth to try and convert the enemy (to then eventually eliminate/exploit them after they are subjugated) as well as unify their race to continue their aggressive expansionism.

I'd love a source for either of these that isn't Dawn of War: Dark Crusade (or Soulstorm). Because I feel like you guys are remembering the propagandist speculations of an Imperial-biased narrator for an ending to DC that as-of-soulstorm didn't happen from a game whose storyline is non-canon to the greater lore. From almost a decade ago during Warhammer 4th edition.

Tau have genocides declared for Orks and Tyranids, who are beyond hope of adopting the Greater Good. And they do perform alien genocides against alien populations.... When those populations have denied the offer to join, been smacked with a bit of Tau military might, and then still denied the offer to join. Each new world gets two chances to join up, usually after lots of negotiation and trade.

There isn't a single source to point out, but there are hints scattered around in the tau empire and FSE codcies that things are not quite right under the surface, and things are not as nice and good as they appear to be.


They don't outright kill aliens, but for an "all is equal" socitey, you sure don't see the high-tech gear in the hands of kroot/gue/tallaran/etc all that often.

SinisterSamurai wrote:


Tau have genocides declared for Orks and Tyranids, who are beyond hope of adopting the Greater Good. And they do perform alien genocides against alien populations.... When those populations have denied the offer to join, been smacked with a bit of Tau military might, and then still denied the offer to join. Each new world gets two chances to join up, usually after lots of negotiation and trade.

Tau also basically mind controlled the leadership of the Vespids to add them into their fold. Tau use diplomacy because they understand that warfare is taxing on resources and its easier to annex world through manipulation and trade than shooting first. Doesn't exactly make you the good guy when your options are "join or die". Tau seem to only care about conquest of the universe and the proliferation of the Tau race. In the Tau codex there is mention of some of the third sphere septs that had human populations being "removed deeper into the Tau Empire to assure their safety and their proper assimilation into the Empire". Removing entire human populations for "assimilation" sounds a bit like code for purging the worlds for Tau inhabitants.

 Tactical_Spam wrote:

 CrownAxe wrote:
Did you miss the rules leak from Tuesday? I doubt a lot of people will be close to emptying their pockets for this particular model

but did you see how cool it is?

I don't really think it's that Cool. Something is just not right about it. I love the open cockpit idea, almost has a D.U.S.T. feel to it, but something just seems wrong. It almost in my eyes looks like the bad 80's Battletech artwork.

I like the legs, but don't like where the positions of the missile launchers are and the weapons underneath it.

I would love to try and convert it, but at a price tag of $180, I don't think I should have to try and convert a mini at that cost.

Davor wrote:

 Tactical_Spam wrote:

 CrownAxe wrote:
Did you miss the rules leak from Tuesday? I doubt a lot of people will be close to emptying their pockets for this particular model

but did you see how cool it is?

I don't really think it's that Cool. Something is just not right about it. I love the open cockpit idea, almost has a D.U.S.T. feel to it, but something just seems wrong. It almost in my eyes looks like the bad 80's Battletech artwork.

I like the legs, but don't like where the positions of the missile launchers are and the weapons underneath it.

I would love to try and convert it, but at a price tag of $180, I don't think I should have to try and convert a mini at that cost.

Totally worth the buy -Every GW store employee ever

Farsight is the Tau's only hope! And that model is overpriced and not cool for me at all. Also, it's discussed since days in the Tau leak topic!

cheers
Kahnawake

The Farsight Enclaves make it pretty clear that the Ethereals are controlling the Tau population through more than sweet reason, angel kisses, and puppy farts. There's some truly sinister level of manipulation going on there, and the Tau codex makes it very clear that the same was repeated with the Vespid.

After reading the Tau background material, you have to work really hard at ignoring the subtext in order to come to the conclusion that the Tau are 'good' or 'beacons of hope.' They're as evil as everyone else: just a subtler, more insidious form of evil than the grimdark universe of tank surfing is used to.

 Tactical_Spam wrote:
Lets face it kids, Tau are stupid. They are the only "beacon of hope" in a Grimdark universe. They are out of place

Oh so when Imperial Knights and other war machines come out it's fine but when the Tau get some heavy gear it's "Damn those beacon-of-hope Gundam weeaboos with their suits!!!1"

 Tactical_Spam wrote:
Lets face it kids, Tau are stupid. They are the only "beacon of hope" in a Grimdark universe. They are out of place

They have a place because they are stupid and also happen to be the only good guys. This just adds to the hopelessness: you know you are screwed when you best option is a silly collection of idiots.

 Jimsolo wrote:
After reading the Tau background material, you have to work really hard at ignoring the subtext in order to come to the conclusion that the Tau are 'good' or 'beacons of hope.' They're as evil as everyone else: just a subtler, more insidious form of evil than the grimdark universe of tank surfing is used to.

The Tau are good, they are just rather moronic and narrow-minded, and let the Ethereals control them because of some vague reasons. The Ethereals also mean good to a certain extent, but deep down, they are also a bunch of deeply flawed idiots, so they often tread questionable territories. This was actually played rather straight (IMHO) in the Democles Warzone novels with Shadowsun and Aun'va, and is heavily implied in the Farsight Enclaves supplement.

I see it as "hey remember those interesting and clever ways the Tau decided to deal with things before? lol who cares, giant robots".

I just think it's the typical way GW answers their fan's requests.

Fans: We want a larger sized battle suit, smaller than a titan, but with lots of railguns on it!

GW: Okay. Here are titan sized GMC suits with lots of ion weapons on them.

 Jimsolo wrote:
The Farsight Enclaves make it pretty clear that the Ethereals are controlling the Tau population through more than sweet reason, angel kisses, and puppy farts. There's some truly sinister level of manipulation going on there, and the Tau codex makes it very clear that the same was repeated with the Vespid.

After reading the Tau background material, you have to work really hard at ignoring the subtext in order to come to the conclusion that the Tau are 'good' or 'beacons of hope.' They're as evil as everyone else: just a subtler, more insidious form of evil than the grimdark universe of tank surfing is used to.

Exactly this. Farsight got it right, he is the only hope
Cheers
Kahnawake

 Savageconvoy wrote:
I just think it's the typical way GW answers their fan's requests.

Fans: We want a larger sized battle suit, smaller than a titan, but with lots of railguns on it!

GW: Okay. Here are titan sized GMC suits with lots of ion weapons on them.

Sometimes its more like this

Fans: We want plastic Sisters of Battle, Tau Auxiliary Forces, Genestealer Cult, Deathwatch, etc

GW: Here is a giant $100+ model, you can take 3 of them in a unit. Give us your money.

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.
-C.S. Lewis

Tau simplified

 n0t_u wrote:
I see it as "hey remember those interesting and clever ways the Tau decided to deal with things before? lol who cares, giant robots".

Indeed. I'm glad that the Tau are getting some competitive units like Riptides but IIRC Tau titans were one of those no-go areas of fluff which only misguided fanboys ventured into. Infact when I first saw the KX-139 titan I thought it was a fan creation with all those ion cannons strapped together. The new fluff tries to justify it by saying that it's built for a less mobile defence role, but I still think that the Tau's super-heavy vehicles should be in the air like the Manta.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Vankraken wrote:

 Savageconvoy wrote:
I just think it's the typical way GW answers their fan's requests.

Fans: We want a larger sized battle suit, smaller than a titan, but with lots of railguns on it!

GW: Okay. Here are titan sized GMC suits with lots of ion weapons on them.

Sometimes its more like this

Fans: We want plastic Sisters of Battle, Tau Auxiliary Forces, Genestealer Cult, Deathwatch, etc

I'd love the see the reaction if/when Tau Gue'vesa get their own codex. "Yes Imperial Guard fan, I do have humans in my army- Chaos you say? Nooo, these men are very loyal...loyal to the Empire.....The Tau Empire."

I tend to be a bit lenient when it comes to Tau fluff. But the giant suits still bother me.

The Manta and Tigersharks were used in response to their encounters with the Titans on open terrain.
From what I remember the Tau were actually confused someone would make such an engine or war before putting a railcannon shot through a Warhound.

The Riptide was supposed to be made as a mobile artillery platform for use in fighting against Hive and Forgeworlds, where urban terrain would favor a more dexterous weapon than what the Hammerheads could afford.

But now we get to pure defensive artillery suits. Now a mobile artillery battery that could plant itself for support is not something I'm opposed to.
But these are Tau suits. They balance on the tiniest of ankles on tiptoes. That has never looked stable to me. Even with the support anchor it doesn't look like it's actually braced well enough.
The Ta'unar and the Stormsurge look way too top heavy to be able to brace themselves for the weapons recoil.
If the weapons don't need that much bracing, then one would ask why a hover tank or large aircraft is not sufficient to carry such a weapon battery?

I know people will toss out, rule of cool. But these don't look cool to me. They don't look well proportioned and they are slapped with so many weapons in such awkward spots that would make an Ork blush.

 Savageconvoy wrote:
I tend to be a bit lenient when it comes to Tau fluff. But the giant suits still bother me.

The Manta and Tigersharks were used in response to their encounters with the Titans on open terrain.
From what I remember the Tau were actually confused someone would make such an engine or war before putting a railcannon shot through a Warhound.

The Riptide was supposed to be made as a mobile artillery platform for use in fighting against Hive and Forgeworlds, where urban terrain would favor a more dexterous weapon than what the Hammerheads could afford.

But now we get to pure defensive artillery suits. Now a mobile artillery battery that could plant itself for support is not something I'm opposed to.
But these are Tau suits. They balance on the tiniest of ankles on tiptoes. That has never looked stable to me. Even with the support anchor it doesn't look like it's actually braced well enough.
The Ta'unar and the Stormsurge look way too top heavy to be able to brace themselves for the weapons recoil.
If the weapons don't need that much bracing, then one would ask why a hover tank or large aircraft is not sufficient to carry such a weapon battery?

I know people will toss out, rule of cool. But these don't look cool to me. They don't look well proportioned and they are slapped with so many weapons in such awkward spots that would make an Ork blush.

The have learned the teachings of Aun'O Ker'be that the way to supremacy is to build big and expensive robots with lots of weapons and flashy equipment. You then take these big and expensive robots and run them in groups of 3s. This is the tactic known as the Prou'ft.

 Savageconvoy wrote:
The Ta'unar and the Stormsurge look way too top heavy to be able to brace themselves for the weapons recoil.

You're talking about a race which puts large railguns on the shoulders of relatively small battlesuits- being top heavy has always been a theme of the Tau! You could argue that the railguns don't produce recoil since they use electricity rather than chemical propellants, but those 4th edition Broadside suits still looked like they'd tip over as soon as they shot the first rounds.