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Negotiate a ceasefire/military alliance with the Eldar and Tau and use the resulting breathing space/combined might to actually break the stalemate and make some headway in driving back the big bads of the galaxy (namely; Tyranids, Chaos, Orks, Necrons).

 dusara217 wrote:

 Orblivion wrote:
1. Slaughter the Tau, redirect those forces elsewhere afterwards.

2. Give the Necrons a wide berth. Szarekh is trying to gather all of the Necron forces specifically to fight the Tyranids. I say let him.

Wouldn't number 2 result in the Stormlord conquering half of the Ultima Segmentum, though?

Not only that, but number 1 would require the Imperium to turn their backs on closer, larger threats that would quickly descend on created gaps, resulting in a massive net loss for Imerium strength/territory vs. what they'd gain by sinking all those resources into their furthest frontier region. As for the Necrons, their scattered, piecemeal awakening is that only thing keeping them manageable. Allowing them to start uniting/pooling their forces is not something that will benefit the IoM in the long run.

 Traffic Conez wrote:
Gather up the men and supplies for a great crusade against the Tau. I doubt I could ever defeat or solve any of the Imperiums major problems, but at least I know I can defeat the Tau because they're significantly weaker than the Imperium.

 Orblivion wrote:
It isn't necessarily hate for the Tau, it's just recognition that they are the easiest target. Wiping them out would take significantly less resources than any of the other enemy factions, and then it frees up all those resources for bigger fish.

Except that this isn't a viable option for the IoM, as has been discussed and explained to death in the past. The Tau are simply too small, too far away from the IoM to be a cost-effective target for extermination. They tried a crusade once, when the Tau were smaller/weaker than they are now. The resources that were granted weren't enough, they barely touched to Tau Empire. That was before the Tyranids showed up, or the 13th Black Crusade, or a bunch of the Necron Dynasties, or the third sphere expansion. You walk into a room and there's two guys armed with shotguns ten paces away, with a third guy armed with a pistol twenty paces away... you don't turn your back on the first two in order to deal with the third because it's the smallest threat.