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I think the current crisis and broadside suits look way better than the comparable forgeworld models. the FW ones look like they can't decide how they want to look. The current suits may be a little boxy when compared to the vehicles, and stealthsuits, but the FW XV-8X variants are just all over the place. Ugly.

now give me the option to take some of those beautiful XV-9's and that baby is sold.

all of these rumors sound silly and undesirable. I would be money that there is a grand miscommunication in regards to the battlesuit weapon one in particular. it's not beyond the realm of possibility that the Tau could invent something akin to digital weapons, heck with hard-wired systems there's already a precedent for them to have this tech, but I really don't see that happening with weapons. (the monkey by the way has his weapons built into his rings before the battle starts.)

what I would like more than anything else would be to have a choice of armour for my commander. I'd love to be able to use a commander with no suit, crisis suit, stealth suit or (in an ideal world) XV-9.

Interesting rumors, but this all seems more like speculation than info.

Honestly, the buying HQ option = unlock this troop makes a LOT of sense, fluffwise, for Tau.

Think about it; Tau is just a conglomeration of a ton of different races allied to survive. So, if you wanna play an "allied" army, the best way would be to make basic troops, well, a troop. Meaning you can buy a Shaper and a Commander and have an allied suit/kroot army, or buy a demiurg/etheral and get an allied firewarrior/demi army. Thinking about it makes me all giddy; Tau will have soooo many different configurations! That means I won't always be facing crisis suit spam with a few firewarriors, which will be nice.

If the rumors true, I think its a great new mechanic that fits the fluff of tau. Crisis suits I don't see having EVERY gun, but perhaps 2-3 guns. I agree, T4 w/ 3 wounds is kinda meh, but 3 wound T5 troops for 60 points that can get drones to soak up invun wounds would be borderline broken. Maybe an elite or something, but troops? Of course, I think a xenos race really needs to be in the spotlight, too much focus of SW, IG, BA, and GK's... DE was an awesome book, sad to see so few on the table (which is why I started em)

What I think would be cool is a Target drone, where a vehicle can use the drones line of sight instead of their own, Hammerheads firing around corners anyone? But the victims should get a decent cover save.

This is a thread for rumors, not wishlisting. Please keep all proposed rules to the 40k Proposed Rules forum.

If the rumour about Demiurg getting a HQ and troop choice is accurate, you can sign me up to the Greater Good, no doubts.

It'd be the final straw, I've been resisiting Tau for ages.

All the rumors really make this sound less like "Codex: Tau" and more like "Codex: Aliens with Tau dudes, really!"

OnDebit wrote:I think the current crisis and broadside suits look way better than the comparable forgeworld models. the FW ones look like they can't decide how they want to look. The current suits may be a little boxy when compared to the vehicles, and stealthsuits, but the FW XV-8X variants are just all over the place. Ugly.

wow, you're definitely the first person that i've seen express that viewpoint. everyone else i've met who cared to comment likes the FW designs better because the curves and overall shape better match the other tau stuff in the army (the vehicles, firewarrior armor, etc). that doesn't make your opinion wrong as it is simply a style choice with no right answer but just in the minority.

I like the current ones. They're the reason I picked up Tau. If they switch to the FW ones, I'll be buyin up all the current style I can.
But it's neither here, nor there. There are no indications what ones will be used and it doesn't pertain to this rumor at all. I'm curious to see if the ethereals will be useful at all.

Therion wrote:

I will be very sad if Crisis suits are T4 with 3 wounds.

For 60 points a pop they better be T5. It's a strange thing though: If they're T4 W3 they're absolutely awful. If they're T5 W3 SV3+ with shield drones and jet packs and all weapons they're very good. The instant death mechanic just isn't very good for balance.

Yep. Default instant death needs to be GONE. Instant death needs to be a USR and possible event that triggers from specific wargear. Currently, it makes multi-wound models impossible to balance, embarrassingly terrible if T3, still nearly unplayable at T4, suddenly excellent if T5?

My one true hope is that these rumors about crisis suit troops with three wounds and a cost increase are true... as GW will hear the muted trumpet fail-song play when people just don't run the tyranid warriors AGAIN in a new dex.

Then 6th edition will see multi-wound T4 models not be a terrible joke, and then maybe *gasp* people will take a plasma gun here and there.


In regards to the discussion of the other rumors. It sounds nuts at first, to not have an always available troop, and that might end up changing. But if the ethereal ended up being priced in the haemonculus/sanguinary priest range, and had similar abilities, then it wouldn't be too crazy to see a 2 HQ army, rocking one expensive shooty 'lord' and the supportive wizard-esque ethereal as a 'hero'.

I find the believability scale on all of these rumors to be very high. Obliterator/jokearo style weapons systems on crisis suits is pretty damn elegant, crisis suit troops with a sacrifice seem just fine to me, the distribution of drones seems very cool, and another smart way to streamline unit upgrades.

But until they "fix" double toughness instant death, this army will have nearly zero impact on the metagame. Oh no, they have jet pack infantry troops! Oh, but I can still fire my three vendettas at them to devastating effect, just like razorback spam? Ok, nevermind, I'll just run my same IG list I've been running for 18 months.

I wonder what packages GW will be changing when the Tau are released? This has been a trend for better or worse from what I have been seeing.

TheTrueProtoman wrote: I wonder what packages GW will be changing when the Tau are released? This has been a trend for better or worse from what I have been seeing.

Yeah, i wonder quite a bit on that too.

It seems like for the most part they are eliminating the half-box. I can't think of anything recent that has come out in that sized box. So does that mean 3 crisis suits in the fat standard box for 50 dollars? Does that mean one recut crisis suit model with more options in the thin standard box for 22 dollars?

outside of broadsides and crisis suit, most of the stuff fits the current box strategy... kroot are weird in their 16 man per big box, but they'd likely get recut... maybe or maybe not included new plastic hounds and/or oxen

I do agree this doesn't sound like Codex: Tau, it does sound like tau, on the the level with several other allied races.

Does anyone have an actual guess as to when tau are coming out? Necrons are rumored in july/august so then itll be another imperial codex, possibly a big book combining the updates and points cost of out of date SM chapters (like the old Armageddon codex) or witch hunters new codex around december/january, then maybe Tau around february/march? This is not even considering Fantasy releases so may be shorter/longer wait.

My guess is that they will come with a lot of stuff as "Standard" instead of having to buy a bunch of upgrades. (look at the way tyranids were re-done, you can buy certain upgrades, but mostly you get weapons or USR's and not statline changes or special rules.)

My guess is that BS 4 is standard on Most Suits, maybe even the ability to shoot two guns. (like an MC not at two targets).


The thing is, if different HQ's unlock different things as troops, they are going to have to work VERY hard to get the balance just right.
Otherwise, [A] HQ unlocks [B] as troops, which is clearly the best option. If you take [C] as troops instead I hope you like loosing...

If Fire Warriors are not awesome, and ethereals are not great either, You will probably never see another Fire Warrior on the table. (maybe the same for crisis suits if they end up not being good, but a lot of people like how they look)

svendrex wrote:look at the way tyranids were re-done

No! Don't look! They're hideous! *sob*

Shep wrote:

Therion wrote:

I will be very sad if Crisis suits are T4 with 3 wounds.

For 60 points a pop they better be T5. It's a strange thing though: If they're T4 W3 they're absolutely awful. If they're T5 W3 SV3+ with shield drones and jet packs and all weapons they're very good. The instant death mechanic just isn't very good for balance.

Yep. Default instant death needs to be GONE. Instant death needs to be a USR and possible event that triggers from specific wargear. Currently, it makes multi-wound models impossible to balance, embarrassingly terrible if T3, still nearly unplayable at T4, suddenly excellent if T5?

My one true hope is that these rumors about crisis suit troops with three wounds and a cost increase are true... as GW will hear the muted trumpet fail-song play when people just don't run the tyranid warriors AGAIN in a new dex.

Then 6th edition will see multi-wound T4 models not be a terrible joke, and then maybe *gasp* people will take a plasma gun here and there.


In regards to the discussion of the other rumors. It sounds nuts at first, to not have an always available troop, and that might end up changing. But if the ethereal ended up being priced in the haemonculus/sanguinary priest range, and had similar abilities, then it wouldn't be too crazy to see a 2 HQ army, rocking one expensive shooty 'lord' and the supportive wizard-esque ethereal as a 'hero'.

I find the believability scale on all of these rumors to be very high. Obliterator/jokearo style weapons systems on crisis suits is pretty damn elegant, crisis suit troops with a sacrifice seem just fine to me, the distribution of drones seems very cool, and another smart way to streamline unit upgrades.

But until they "fix" double toughness instant death, this army will have nearly zero impact on the metagame. Oh no, they have jet pack infantry troops! Oh, but I can still fire my three vendettas at them to devastating effect, just like razorback spam? Ok, nevermind, I'll just run my same IG list I've been running for 18 months.

Man that post is so good it should be bookmarked. Double toughness ID makes units on the edge----become trash.

GW wake up---Str. 8 weapons abound---and aren't going anywhere. Hopefully 6th will see that mechanic removed.

I think Instant Death is a critical part of the game. If they made it so it had to be double toughness +1 (IE: strength 7 to ID T3, strength 9 to ID T4, etc) might work, and make Tyranid Warriors, crisis suits, and so on far more viable.

I like the idea of Tau being a coalition force. It seems like a theme they've always had but never fully fleshed out due to resources. I'm all for this codex being Codex: Tau and Friends.

agreed. instant death is needed in this game and the problem lies elsewhere... specifically in that GW prices those multiwound yet insta-killable creatures as if the rule didn't exist. add me to the list of players that would prefer 2 wound crisis suits with a bs of 4 instead of 3 wound point sinks. how the hell is a tau professional soldier with at least 8 years of combat experience and advanced technology equal in marksmanship to a guardsmen who just finished basic training and is armed with an iron sight???

Perhaps it's because it soon won't. Maybe these codices are being written with the next rulebook in mind. A few USR's change and suddenly SW's aren't as scary.

streamdragon wrote:All the rumors really make this sound less like "Codex: Tau" and more like "Codex: Aliens with Tau dudes, really!"

Yeah, they should seriously think about renaming it "Codex: Tau Empire"
I still have my doubts about this set of rumours, but having Tau/Kroot/Demiurg generals leading Tau/Kroot/Demiurg armies would be a serious blow for all "Tau see all other races as inferior and love genociding them" threads

AgeOfEgos wrote:I wonder if they fixed their fluff----or if Tau will continue to be the most naive/dull race in the galaxy. Hopefully for Tau players they're getting the Kelly treatment.

Is that an office reference or do I watch too much office?

GMMStudios wrote:

AgeOfEgos wrote:I wonder if they fixed their fluff----or if Tau will continue to be the most naive/dull race in the galaxy. Hopefully for Tau players they're getting the Kelly treatment.

Is that an office reference or do I watch too much office?

Too much of the Office I'm afraid - he's referring to Phil Kelly, and how he writes really solid codices.

Kroothawk wrote:

streamdragon wrote:All the rumors really make this sound less like "Codex: Tau" and more like "Codex: Aliens with Tau dudes, really!"

Yeah, they should seriously think about renaming it "Codex: Tau Empire"
I still have my doubts about this set of rumours, but having Tau/Kroot/Demiurg generals leading Tau/Kroot/Demiurg armies would be a serious blow for all "Tau see all other races as inferior and love genociding them" threads

There is no part of a demiurg list, with demiurg HQ and Troops that says "Tau". There is only an associative relationship between a Kroot HQ and all Kroot troops that makes it a "Tau" army. Forgive me if I expect a "Codex: Tau" army to actually have... ya know, Tau!

I don't have a problem with extra sub-races being brought in, so long as the HQ all remain Tau - the Tau fluff does a reasonable job of justifying the 'we hire mercenaries for any specialist combat roles we can't do so well ourselves' concept. Plus it really amps up the modelling possibilities. (And Demiurgs will make all the Squat fans semi-happy )

An all battle suit army? - yay!

streamdragon wrote:There is no part of a demiurg list, with demiurg HQ and Troops that says "Tau". There is only an associative relationship between a Kroot HQ and all Kroot troops that makes it a "Tau" army. Forgive me if I expect a "Codex: Tau" army to actually have... ya know, Tau!

Who do you expect to steer the Crisis Suits, the Broadsides, the Stealth Suits, the tanks and other skimmers then
And are you aware of the 4th edition "Codex: Tau Empire"?

GMMStudios wrote:

AgeOfEgos wrote:I wonder if they fixed their fluff----or if Tau will continue to be the most naive/dull race in the galaxy. Hopefully for Tau players they're getting the Kelly treatment.

Is that an office reference or do I watch too much office?

Yeah, too much Office . I was talking about Phil Kelly.

streamdragon wrote:There is no part of a demiurg list, with demiurg HQ and Troops that says "Tau". There is only an associative relationship between a Kroot HQ and all Kroot troops that makes it a "Tau" army. Forgive me if I expect a "Codex: Tau" army to actually have... ya know, Tau!

The evolution/devolution, ret-con/furtherance of background in wargaming is as inevitable as the scores of grognards gnashing and wailing against change...

The secret to gaming happiness? Make room in your life for change... 40k backstory isn't the bible, nor is it world history. I think its fun when things change, or when we get a new perspective on an old story.

Brother SRM wrote:

GMMStudios wrote:

AgeOfEgos wrote:I wonder if they fixed their fluff----or if Tau will continue to be the most naive/dull race in the galaxy. Hopefully for Tau players they're getting the Kelly treatment.

Is that an office reference or do I watch too much office?

Too much of the Office I'm afraid - he's referring to Phil Kelly, and how he writes really solid codices.

AgeOfEgos wrote:

GMMStudios wrote:

AgeOfEgos wrote:I wonder if they fixed their fluff----or if Tau will continue to be the most naive/dull race in the galaxy. Hopefully for Tau players they're getting the Kelly treatment.

Is that an office reference or do I watch too much office?

Yeah, too much Office . I was talking about Phil Kelly.

Bahaha. Funny because if you think hard enough the reference still could work...

But now I am just trying to justify too much Office..

Croooow! wrote:There are so many things I want them to do with Tau. Make it so I don't have to castle up in a corner to win games. Make it so I don't have to sacrifice units to buy more turns of shooting. Make it so my Fire Warriors can take take a Fusion Blaster or two (won't happen, but a man can dream). For the love of all things holy, make everyone BS4. Give me unique HQ's that aren't god awful. Give my Pathfinders Stealth USR so they aren't blown to kingdom come Turn 1 (and while we're at it, they don't need that Devilfish). Make it like the Space Marine codex in that almost every unit is usable (maybe not tournament usable, but can make a decent list). Give me new Vespid models. Now. Make Tau the best shooting army there is (like they damn well should be).

But whatever they do, PLEASE don't take away my 5 point disruption pods. Please don't take away the frustration on my opponent's face when I brush off seemingly every single penetrating hit they can muster. Oh the fun I have with disruption pods!

While I won’t comment on these rumors validity, or lack there of, I will say a few things about the Tau in regards to this: If their rules stay even close to what they are now in testing, and since that’s nearly over I think they will, then they will be an incredibly versatile army. Their new allies, along with the expansion of the roles and units of current allies really give the tau a lot. The suits are also currently strong against pretty much everything except quick melee juggs like thunder wolf / noob biker squads and pretty freaking deadly almost to the point of being OP.

Though no, Fire warriors are not going BS 4.