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Actually looking closer at the image you can see lines on her chest and legs where the lightening claw has slashed across it. I also think its cut across her face as well. Maybe the artist is trying to imply that fight is lasting very long and is obviously majorly exaggerating how much protection that armor would offer against lightening claws wielded by a space marine captain. Odd, because normally I feel like armor don't count for anything in black library publications. So maybe the artist is trying to make this a more even fight than it appears at first glance. Although the Imperium is still in the ascendant. Maybe that blow isn't meant to be fatal because its not meant to go through her armor by the artists logic?

Another thing...

Shadowsun is a master of Kauyon. If those two marine captains got to her then that's because that is exactly where she wants them to be...

It's art. It's not supposed to mimic or represent the table-top crunch.

The Imperium isn't winning that battle, if you look at the background. Those Marines are in a crossfire and getting shot the gak out of, and there's a pile of dead Space Marines under Shadowsun's feet there. The Marines are losing this battle, and losing it badly.

 Psienesis wrote:

 Totalwar1402 wrote:

 Psienesis wrote:
Don't know if this has been mentioned before in response to the OP.... but there are 2 Crisis Suits right there. The Tau may not be very good in CC, but it doesn't take Bruce Lee to punt a one-half-ton Space Marine out of the way with a multi-ton walking tank.

Actually I myself said the crisis suit could Bruce Lee (those exact words) Shrike out of the way. But hes not in a position to do that as the lightening claw is about to go through Sahdowsuns chest and kill her. Nowhere near that quick and his "look" indicates surprise rather than action. It could just be a spacing issue and really shrike should be further away than he is. The artist couldn't fit everything in or wanted it to be more close quarters than was necessary.

Hard to read emotion from a thing who's face is a black box with a single blue eye-light. Looks to me like it's looking at Mr. Lightning Claw like "What is this bit of fluff here?" and is just going to punt the dude for a 500-yard field goal, and is going to deliver a backhanded pimp-slap to the side of Whitey's dome there.

That and SS has a integral shield generator in her armour that would protect her from the claws.

My serious answer: the art represents the campaign results. The Tau bloodied the imperium's nose (all the dead marines) but it is only a matter of time before the imperium's warmachine turns it's full attention to the tau for retribution (the captains about to smash up Shadowsun).

 Totalwar1402 wrote:
http://majesticchicken.deviantart.com/art/The-Scythes-264327202

Here it is. This is a piece of artwork where the tau are shown in the ascendance and winning. Tau are still being killed, but the marines are obviously reeling and losing. It tells me that even the Emperors Space Marines could not save the Damocles Gulf Crusade; which is the purpose of the image. So just because a few marines are dead in the Shadowsun image means little. They've won. They've killed Shadowsun and driven them off Agrellan. Thats what the image tells me.

Why does the image tell you that, when the image shows Marines utterly surrounded and frantically shooting in all directions?

The image tells me that they've been horribly outmaneuvered by a far more mobile army.

I think Shadowsun's waiting for exactly the right moment to fire her jetpack and scoot out of the way at the last moment. That's not a scream of pain, it's a scream of defiance.

That, or she's mid-swing. Last of Kiru's Line did show that she's not shy about smacking things with her fusion blasters when things get dicey.

nareik wrote:
My serious answer: the art represents the campaign results. The Tau bloodied the imperium's nose (all the dead marines) but it is only a matter of time before the imperium's warmachine turns it's full attention to the tau for retribution (the captains about to smash up Shadowsun).

Well not really. If you read the Tau codex it is a total victory for the Tau. The Imperium does counter attack with the Ultramarines leading the forefront in the Zeist sector. But the losses they suffer here are only a necessary sacrifice and the tau just make greater gains elsewhere. Again, the battle was a clear set up to establish the tau as a huge challenge to the Imperium.

 BlaxicanX wrote:

 Totalwar1402 wrote:
http://majesticchicken.deviantart.com/art/The-Scythes-264327202

Here it is. This is a piece of artwork where the tau are shown in the ascendance and winning. Tau are still being killed, but the marines are obviously reeling and losing. It tells me that even the Emperors Space Marines could not save the Damocles Gulf Crusade; which is the purpose of the image. So just because a few marines are dead in the Shadowsun image means little. They've won. They've killed Shadowsun and driven them off Agrellan. Thats what the image tells me.

Why does the image tell you that, when the image shows Marines utterly surrounded and frantically shooting in all directions?

The image tells me that they've been horribly outmaneuvered by a far more mobile army.

There's also a White Scar marine next to that forward-most Raven Guard, who has been knocked down on his butt and blazing away with a bolter in one hand and trying to push himself up with the other.

Suffice to say, marines aren't doing too well.

 BlaxicanX wrote:

 Totalwar1402 wrote:
http://majesticchicken.deviantart.com/art/The-Scythes-264327202

Here it is. This is a piece of artwork where the tau are shown in the ascendance and winning. Tau are still being killed, but the marines are obviously reeling and losing. It tells me that even the Emperors Space Marines could not save the Damocles Gulf Crusade; which is the purpose of the image. So just because a few marines are dead in the Shadowsun image means little. They've won. They've killed Shadowsun and driven them off Agrellan. Thats what the image tells me.

Why does the image tell you that, when the image shows Marines utterly surrounded and frantically shooting in all directions?

The image tells me that they've been horribly outmaneuvered by a far more mobile army.

Because Shadowsun and her bodyguards are fighting back to back and clearly the ones surrounded. The only other tau in view are the drones. The large explosions probably represent submunitions but past that there is no indication of a larger tau force in the area. There are a lot more imperials in that image and if you compare it to the other image I linked the numbers are roughly even.

Tau have replicated the clone fields that Dark Eldar archons use.

The rules for Tau clone fields will be available in the limited edition release of this ebook!

 Totalwar1402 wrote:

 BlaxicanX wrote:

 Totalwar1402 wrote:
http://majesticchicken.deviantart.com/art/The-Scythes-264327202

Here it is. This is a piece of artwork where the tau are shown in the ascendance and winning. Tau are still being killed, but the marines are obviously reeling and losing. It tells me that even the Emperors Space Marines could not save the Damocles Gulf Crusade; which is the purpose of the image. So just because a few marines are dead in the Shadowsun image means little. They've won. They've killed Shadowsun and driven them off Agrellan. Thats what the image tells me.

Why does the image tell you that, when the image shows Marines utterly surrounded and frantically shooting in all directions?

The image tells me that they've been horribly outmaneuvered by a far more mobile army.

Because Shadowsun and her bodyguards are fighting back to back and clearly the ones surrounded. The only other tau in view are the drones. The large explosions probably represent submunitions but past that there is no indication of a larger tau force in the area. There are a lot more imperials in that image and if you compare it to the other image I linked the numbers are roughly even.

Uh, except for that absolute torrent of cross-fire that is tearing the Marines in the open in the background of the picture a new a-hole.

 Totalwar1402 wrote:

nareik wrote:
My serious answer: the art represents the campaign results. The Tau bloodied the imperium's nose (all the dead marines) but it is only a matter of time before the imperium's warmachine turns it's full attention to the tau for retribution (the captains about to smash up Shadowsun).

Well not really. If you read the Tau codex it is a total victory for the Tau. The Imperium does counter attack with the Ultramarines leading the forefront in the Zeist sector. But the losses they suffer here are only a necessary sacrifice and the tau just make greater gains elsewhere. Again, the battle was a clear set up to establish the tau as a huge challenge to the Imperium.

This is what I meant by the Tau Empire has bloodied the Imperium's nose.

This campaign victory proves the tau a more credible threat than what they were previously considered and as such are attracting future attention from the Imperiums full might, from which the tau would be lucky to survive.

 Psienesis wrote:

 Totalwar1402 wrote:

 BlaxicanX wrote:

 Totalwar1402 wrote:
http://majesticchicken.deviantart.com/art/The-Scythes-264327202

Here it is. This is a piece of artwork where the tau are shown in the ascendance and winning. Tau are still being killed, but the marines are obviously reeling and losing. It tells me that even the Emperors Space Marines could not save the Damocles Gulf Crusade; which is the purpose of the image. So just because a few marines are dead in the Shadowsun image means little. They've won. They've killed Shadowsun and driven them off Agrellan. Thats what the image tells me.

Why does the image tell you that, when the image shows Marines utterly surrounded and frantically shooting in all directions?

The image tells me that they've been horribly outmaneuvered by a far more mobile army.

Because Shadowsun and her bodyguards are fighting back to back and clearly the ones surrounded. The only other tau in view are the drones. The large explosions probably represent submunitions but past that there is no indication of a larger tau force in the area. There are a lot more imperials in that image and if you compare it to the other image I linked the numbers are roughly even.

Uh, except for that absolute torrent of cross-fire that is tearing the Marines in the open in the background of the picture a new a-hole.

Perhaps. But the main focus as the artist says is Shadowsun. Which means the focus is these two space marines pawning Shadowsun; if not killing her. Which really detracts from a few grunts being killed. The focus is these two taking down the tau leader in close combat.

Shadowsun survives because the image is in-universe propaganda. Shadowsun has a jetpack and could just hover out of sword range and fusion gun the space marines, and that's probably what happened in the "real" fight. But the Imperium can never admit that kind of defeat, so their propaganda will portray the fight as a heroic duel where the space marines cut down the foul xenos leader, even if they can't deny the loss of the planet. And who will risk being executed for heresy to challenge the claim?

I like to remember that history is often written from a very biased view. This picture is clearly designed to make the Space Marine look like they are not getting their butts kicked. (As cannon would say they did)

Pictures and just that. Someone interpretation of events, and I'm sure that trend continued on into 41st millennium.

I wonder what the Tau version of the image would look like?

Smoking heaps of bike and dead marine laying astride the ground, Thunderhawks in the background in full retreat. The Tau happy to let them go, the battle had been won.

(Something marine would not do. Marine would chase them down and kill them. For a group that mentions honor so often, they don't always show it.)

 Totalwar1402 wrote:

Boniface wrote:
I think the crisis suit does a sudden jetpack blast, grabs her and flies to safety.

Shrikes blades are almost touching her armor...

The blast is so sudden I happens before shrike stabs her?

I'm not sure if any of you played against a crisis commander wielding fusion blades, with shield generator, and stims(SS has no stims but whatever) but he is a absolute monster that can stand up to even the biggest CC monsters provided they cannot easily ID him. In shadowsuns book she uses her fusion blasters the same way as the fusion blades. If that's what she's doing here, Khan and Shrike are as good as dead, 'nuff said.

 Totalwar1402 wrote:
http://majesticchicken.deviantart.com/art/The-Scythes-264327202

Here it is. This is a piece of artwork where the tau are shown in the ascendance and winning. Tau are still being killed, but the marines are obviously reeling and losing. It tells me that even the Emperors Space Marines could not save the Damocles Gulf Crusade; which is the purpose of the image. So just because a few marines are dead in the Shadowsun image means little. They've won. They've killed Shadowsun and driven them off Agrellan. Thats what the image tells me.

That pic is out of the 3rd edition Tau codex.

Every codex depicts its "home" side as winning.

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Totalwar1402 wrote:
http://majesticchicken.deviantart.com/art/The-Scythes-264327202

Here it is. This is a piece of artwork where the tau are shown in the ascendance and winning. Tau are still being killed, but the marines are obviously reeling and losing. It tells me that even the Emperors Space Marines could not save the Damocles Gulf Crusade; which is the purpose of the image. So just because a few marines are dead in the Shadowsun image means little. They've won. They've killed Shadowsun and driven them off Agrellan. Thats what the image tells me.

That pic is out of the 3rd edition Tau codex.

Every codex depicts its "home" side as winning.

Well, other than the eldar one!

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Totalwar1402 wrote:
http://majesticchicken.deviantart.com/art/The-Scythes-264327202

Here it is. This is a piece of artwork where the tau are shown in the ascendance and winning. Tau are still being killed, but the marines are obviously reeling and losing. It tells me that even the Emperors Space Marines could not save the Damocles Gulf Crusade; which is the purpose of the image. So just because a few marines are dead in the Shadowsun image means little. They've won. They've killed Shadowsun and driven them off Agrellan. Thats what the image tells me.

That pic is out of the 3rd edition Tau codex.

Every codex depicts its "home" side as winning.

This is the front cover of a book which is meant to be about how the Tau conquer the Agrellan system.

It should show the home side as winning just as much as a codex image should.

If you zoom in at her armor the shrike already missed. There are 4 very shallow marks across her chest and the tau symbol that line up perfectly. Not saying that's it but it could be.

 Rotary wrote:
If you zoom in at her armor the shrike already missed. There are 4 very shallow marks across her chest and the tau symbol that line up perfectly. Not saying that's it but it could be.

Hes lunging down as hes falling from the sky having used his jet pack. That was probably a previous glancing strike. Theres a similar mark on her leg and probably the cause of the blood on her face; which may or may not have taken her helmet off.

Actully that makes sense. And shrikes position might be him pulling the claws back for another blow, meaning enough time for her to dodge/jetpack away.

If that was actually a scene played out in fluff shadowsun would be mincemeat, so obviously its just a cool picture, so all you Tau fanboys can calm down.

 Peregrine wrote:
Shadowsun has a jetpack

Mind you, Shrike does not give a feth about jetpacks.

 EmilCrane wrote:
If that was actually a scene played out in fluff shadowsun would be mincemeat, so obviously its just a cool picture, so all you Tau fanboys can calm down.

Nah, she would be protected by the power of named. That and GWs inability to advance the plot.

Jump packs are quite academic at that point, I don't think people realize how fast a space marine captain actually is in melee. People see the marines as big slow armored hulks but that's not the case at all. Initiative 5 is faster than any human can ever be, except Marbo because he's marbo. Shadowsun is Initiative 4, probably by virtue of her suit but that wouldn't save her, just means that she might actually see it coming.

And Death Cult Assassins and Assassinorum people, but hey, they are barely human at all.

... and? The Marines are busy dying in the background, and these two dudes are about to get kicked and/or slapped by a walking tank.

Dude in the back there might get a face full of jet-pack thrust into his unarmored face. Might not kill him, him being a Space Marine and all... but will burn the flesh from his face and literally fry his eyeballs like eggs.

Dude in the front hit a "glancing blow" at best against her, and now it looks like it might be her turn, so he takes some fusion blasters to the grill, which might just vaporize his head.