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Hello all, I've been away from the game for a long while. Can someone tell me exactly what these e-books are? Are these the "data-slates" that everyone keeps referring to? What function do they serve?

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Munitorum-Burst-Cannons-eBook-Edition
http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Munitorum-Rail-Rifles-eBook-Edition

Also, can someone tell me who the Tau are allowed to ally with? Is there a difference between taking allies and "battle brothers?"

I'm not sure what those ebooks are but my question to you would be do you own the current rule books? I'm not trying to be mean but these forums aren't a rules replacement.

Those Munitorum e-books are just fluff/background on some aspect of the game. They're under the "Fluff & Background" section of the GW bookstore for this reason.

There are "grades" to allies, and the better your relationship with your allied faction (as demonstrated on the Ally Matrix in the BRB) the more advantages you get between the units of your armies.

I'm not trying to use the forums as a rule replacement. I own the current codexes, but not the 7th edition rules. I am simply asking for the purposes of planning a force.

I'm planning on getting the army built and painted before I start playing, I was just looking for some insight so I can start thinking about what additional models to purchase.

I will purchase the rules at some point, but i'm still a ways off from playing and my focus is currently on building/painting/planning.

The ones at this link should be rules/supplements for all codexs, you can filter down farther by codex:

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Books-Digital?N=102356+4294967144+4294966528+4294966532&Nu=product.repositoryId&qty=12&sorting=phl&view=table

I think those books are just fictional articles about the weapons. Don't think they're game play related.

As for the allies thing if you google 7th ed allies chart you'll find it. Battle brother interact like they're in the same army, others must stay separate by different amount of distance depending on their relationship.