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Okay so there are these amazing sculpts from Forgeworld that don't seem to have official rules (if they had IA rules, please redirect me). I always liked the long and slender look they had, making them look more like real aliens than their stocky Fire Caste cousins.



So I decided to come up with my own.

This is the Profile for a Fire Warrior and Pathfinder

WS 2
BS 3
S 3
T 3
W 1
I 2
A 1
LD 7
Sv: 4+*, 5+**

* = Firewarrior
** = Pathfinder

Based on this profile reflecting Tau Fire Caste physiology, I have come up with one reflecting Air Caste physiology:

WS 2
BS 3
S 2
T 2
W 1
I 1
A 1
LD 7
Sv: 6+

As you can see, the Air Caste member far worse than a Fire Caste warrior. Due to spending most of his life in low gravity environments, the Air Caste are more slender and have lost much of their bone density and also lack proper muscles due to lack of military training. This means they can throw weaker punches (lower S) and take less physical punishment (lower T). Furthermore, because most 40k battles are fought on land, these beings are fighting on normal gravity, making them more sluggish than their Fire Caste cousins who are used to 1G environments and thus their limbs dont feel as heavy as the air caste members', thus the lower Initiative as well. Lastly, Air Caste pilots lack proper armor and thus only have a 6+ armor save.

I'd say the standard issue wargear is a pulse pistol. Furthermore, the cost of each Air Caste member should be 12 points. Squad size: 5.

Force Org slot: HQ

Note that the Tau Air Caste Ground Crew are listed in the HQ section, but do not occupy an HQ slot.


wargear: pulse pistols, photon grenades, emp grenades, positional relay, homing beacon, Fuel Charges, Orbital Fleet Link

Fuel Charges: While on the ground, Tau Air Caste Ground Crew members often serve as refuelers for Tau aircraft and gunships and are usually seen around them.

If all members of the Air Caste Ground Crew unit are killed in close combat, place the large blast marker so that its central hole is over any of the slain Air Caste Ground Crew members before you remove the models as casualties. Then remove the Air Caste Ground Crew models. All models under the large blast marker (which does not scatter) suffer hits from a weapon with the following profile:

S5
AP 4
large blast

Orbital Fleet Link: Tau Air Caste crew members have sensitive and well shielded tightband communications gear built into their suits, allowing a Tau Cadre leader clear communication with the orbital fleet at any time.

While at least one member of the Tau Air Caste squad is alive, and within 12" of another Tau HQ unit, the squad has the orbital fleet link special rule, which confers two abilities:

- Once per game, you may re-roll a single passed or failed deep strike reserve roll.

- Once per game, the squad may elect to not fire any of their ranged weapons to make the following ranged shooting attack:

Range: Infinite
S 7
AP 3
large blast, haywire

Nice and fluffy, but I'm not sure what the benefit of deploying these guys would be. Maybe if they crewed some big guns or something, they would be worthwhile...?

Heir of the Void wrote:
Nice and fluffy, but I'm not sure what the benefit of deploying these guys would be. Maybe if they crewed some big guns or something, they would be worthwhile...?

The benefit is, for 60 points you get a unit that comes with a homing beacon (so units DSing near it dont scatter), comes with pos relay, so if it is near a table edge it gives your outflankers a bonus, and if near a commander or ethereal, allows you to pass or fail a DS reserve roll once per game and also fire a large blast S7 AP3 haywire at infinite range once per game. Also if they get nommed in close combat they go out with a bang. Finally they got photon and emp nades to make things a tad harder for enemies.