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Well with the rumoured Tau coming out soon, I would like to know why people play Tau? I almost got into them in 4th edition with the 3rd edition codex, but then when I was about to start buying a new codex came out, and got turned off. Didn't want to buy a new book again, so never bothered with them. So I can't remember why I liked Tau back then.

So I would like to know why you guys play Tau? What do you like? What is appealing to them for you? I am thinking of getting the codex just to read since I still have to complete my Tyranids and Dark Angles witch is still a 10 year project for me lol.

Just interested in what is so good about them, that I have missed and see maybe I will get them, at least just for collection sakes.

I started with Tau late 5th edition. Mostly just liked the flexibility of loading out suits with equipment for specific tasks and the generally high mobility. Broadsides with the mobile cannon support was what finally sold me on them.

Got started in Tau at 3rd ed or so when they were first released, I was really burned out with all the CC based armies and wanted a change, and found the Tau actually fight in a more modern style, with combined arms , shooting and less chainsaw weilding weirdos

What got me to stick around with them is equal parts fluff, models, and playstyle, I am sick to death of the overarching grimdarkness pushed in all the armies, so I was happy to have a change from that, models were cool, and when I started painting them in a less colorful , more modern military camo style, I really started enjoying them.

Plus they are without a doubt one of the hardest armies to scratchbuild stuff for, and I enjoyed that challenge as well.

And they are kinda a underdog race..always was a sucker for the little guy in a fight.

so thats why I "play" Tau.

im a sucker for mech suits..... i want one irl and if i cant have that i want a little plastic model that i can make airplane noises with

The first time I got into warhammer 40K was back in 3rd when Tau were brand new. I got out of the game for awhile, but now that I've gotten back into 40k I'm building up my Tau once again.

Still enjoy my Dark Angels but Tau were what first got me into the game.

Hammerhead is real cool looking tank. That's really it.

Also, I wanted an army which was not popular, and I thought Tau were not popular, in fact it turned out that when I started they were one of the most popular armies around.

The models look nice and are easy to assemble and paint.

Most people started tau because they liked the gundam style of the army. Or else, wanted to play an entirely shooty army.

As long as they don't change those two things in the new book, they should pick right back up in popularity, because they are really cool, but their current rules make them a bit of an inside joke among many gamers.

Edited By Manchu

Big guns and space b****s

but really I like them for their more modern style of combat/combat support.

I think it was because of their long range and the fact that they looked cool.

Oh, I played that Fire Warrior game...... if a game got me into Tau, it probably got others into Tau.... GW should totally try to incorperate a next race into their next console video game! Necrons all around!

I like telling people they don't get armor saves.

Don't play them (yet? Maybe, maybe), but their shootiness and modern tactics always appealed me.

I do like the suits, versatility is good.

Firewarriors just look awesome and it's probably the army that fits my play style the most.

I got Tau when they were newly introduced. The Firewarrior models were awesome and so very dynamic in their posture compaired to anything GW had previously released (along the lines of rank and file guys). However, the true icing on the cake was the tanks. The hammerhead with Rail gun is just the sexiest thing on the table. It is still my favorite tank of all time.

So yeah, I came for the models, stayed because I liked the play style.

 Ailaros wrote:
Edited By Manchu

Awh, you don't let us have any fun Manchu.

 Evileyes wrote:
Most people started tau because they liked the gundam style of the army. Or else, wanted to play an entirely shooty army.

As long as they don't change those two things in the new book, they should pick right back up in popularity, because they are really cool, but their current rules make them a bit of an inside joke among many gamers.

Hit the nail on the head.

Gundam style mech army.... 'nough said.

I really dont go for the gundam silliness myself, I even try to tone down the overtly anime-ish aspects of many of my models, guess I am just old.

I got into tau initially because i wanted a shooty army after playing DE in 3rd but i also loved the models, since the tau put the "future" in a futuristic setting. Also, they were a hard army to play even back then and i thought it would be a nice challenge since i already handicapped myself by playing DE for so many years.

Also, i got a bunch of models from a guy for super cheap as a nice starter.

Why DO people play Tau? You deploy on table edge, sit back and shoot for five turns. If you roll well, you win. If you roll poorly, you die.

Is that fun?

Asmodai Asmodean wrote:
Why DO people play Tau? You deploy on table edge, sit back and shoot for five turns. If you roll well, you win. If you roll poorly, you die.

Is that fun?

That's how you lose playing Tau, very common misconception.

I had Blood Angels and 'Nids when the Tau were introduced back in 3rd. I'd been looking at getting a shootier army and I loved the totally out of place style of the Tau.

I shoot manuver and displace like crazy , overlap fire and try to lure enemies into kill boxes, throw some vertical insertion units for reaction forces and such, but we do play on nice big boards with plenty of terrain...not flat tables just for shooting exercises, Boring!

Asmodai Asmodean wrote:
Why DO people play Tau? You deploy on table edge, sit back and shoot for five turns. If you roll well, you win. If you roll poorly, you die.

Is that fun?

That's not how you play Tau at all. Tau are a very mobile shooting army, Tau rely heavily on moving fast out of kill-zones, using Battlesuits to harass/kill enemy units while jumping in and out of firing lines, and overall flanking. The core unit in most Tau armies (Battlesuits) are Jump Infantry for a reason, use that mobility to your advantage. Broadsides and Fire-Warriors can hold areas and secure lines of fire, Battlesuits draw the enemy into places where the rail-guns and plasma can slaughter them.

Tau is actually a pretty tactically advanced army, if you want them to win

Got started late 3rd/early 4th ed. Still have my 3rd ed codex.

When choosing my first army, I sat down with veteran players and discussed my desire for a ranged counter punching army of mercenaries. The veteran players suggested Tau but cautioned that they had a steep learning curve. I played a game with a borrowed Tau Force and won my very first game against a CSM army. The guys were really happy that I beat the CSM player for some reason, all I know is that it was fun and that the play style felt natural.

I think the biggest things for me were the inclusion of alien allies and the high-tech shooty/mobile nature of the Tau.
Matter of fact, the shooty/mobility style of play is what lead to my second army, the Saim Hann list from the Craftworld Eldar book.

Still, the aliens/mercenaries are a key element to why I like the Tau.

A legit reason to buy Gundam MG kits and field them on a 40K table.


I'm being legit and serious.

I love shooty armies. I am close to getting a SoB army. If that falls through... I'll save my pennies after a new fantasy army to get Tau. I love the looks and I want guns, guns, guns! That's why my two main 40k armies are Space Wolves (Long Fangs) and Necrons (TESLA!!!)/

I thought i was going to start an eldar army before Tau existed because i liked the rangers. Then the Tau Codex came out and i fell in love with everything. The fluff, the playstyle and most of the models. Most particularly Broadsides and their range AND strength. Ive always been the sniper/support role playing video games and things so Tau were right up my alley. I was disappointed in the loss of Aun'Shi when we became an empire and Im even more disappointed in a nerf to broadsides.....

BUT!!! Im still stupidly excited for the new release and will have one at midnight if i can get it lol

Tau got my attention, because they are the only faction not having the "arrrgh must kill everything in sight" mentality, but care for the survival of their troops. Eastern flair helped of couse. Tipping point for starting the army was the Tetra model and FW Crisis Suit models.

Many reasons - some are:

-I LOVE the model style. Now that they are redoing the codex, they lok even better.

-I love shooting the bajeezus out of people before they can do anything. Assault was/is very dangerous for most units and being able to be completely wiped by one bad die roll makes me want to avoid it.

-Markerlight were (are) AMAZING! Pinning your opponents assault units every round makes me giggle.

-The possible strategies are always fun. And JSJ may seem like a b*tch - but it is completely different from how most other armies run so people need to figure out how to deal with it.

-More pewpew less QQ

-I am a anime fan at heart (lol)

-The customizations!!! How you can set up the suits to all be basically exactly what you want without having to buy tons of different squads.

Now, I have been out of the hobby for some time and now that I am getting back in (and repuchasing all the minis I sold) I am noticing that there are a few people who are going to pick up Tau because they are going to be the Flavor soon. It makes me sad...but hey - every army gets that treatment eventually ... about time for the Tau

First and foremost the models - The firewarriors are just beautiful in my mind. The suits look really powerful aswell (to me anyway), and the hammerhead/broadsides were just fantastic. The entire army was just beautiful.

Their basis in shooting is how I like my lists anyway, high str guns with long range is my thing.
Their fluff was pretty good when I first read it, they almost came off as nice.


After a while I got bored with the lack of tactical options in the book. The fluff got old and stale, and the models never changed. A small Kroot army last spring revived my interest for a while but then I moved onto nids for better options/lots of shots


With the new models looking awesome, more shooting, more options, more fluff the only thing I could want is more kroot. But I will overlook that because all I want is that codex for the foreseeable future.

The styling of the models. The suits, warriors and tanks are fabulous to build, look at and paint IMO including the FW ones. Their shooty play style was/is a blessed relief from the onslaught of CC armies and they're very flexible on the table top. The pleasure of smashing apart key units with precise, coordinated pulse fire and battle suit ambushes is fantastic.

Fluff-wise they're easy to identify with. The Tau fight in a manner that approximates to a modern war and give a damn about their warriors, even the alien and human auxiliaries. They are a believable and realistic (hur hur) faction that steps away from the "We hate everyone! DIE!!!!!1' attitude that permeates the setting, plus NO SKULLS!

I also like the fact that they are a coalition of aliens (including humans) that work towards a common goal, sort of like Mass Effect. That sort of interaction between disparate races has always appealed to me, not just unending violence.

They are also grimdark in a rather unique way, at least to me. Because they are more believable as a faction their plight is far more desperate. Their realistic and logical approach to war helps solidify the fact that the threats they face are extremely dangerous; simply adding noughts onto a set number and say that many people were killed/slaughtered/eaten/vapourised/burned/flayed etc is not grimdark to me, not while that air of believability is missing.