7th Edition Tau Codex Predictions and Wish-listing

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**Co'tor Shas**

They nerfed him and then made him LOW? That's stupid.

**DanielBeaver**

Giving rail weapons the Lance rule does seem like a good idea - it's kind of silly that Tau's super-duper armor penetrating rail rifles are so lame against AV13-14.

Where Tau have the worst internal balance is with their weapons options. There are a lot of weapon options that just never see competitive play because they're not priced well.

I'm curious as to what they'll do with Stealth Teams. I've always thought that just giving them more flexibility with their weapon and equipment choices would make them attractive enough to see competitive play. Some special formations or detachments to free them from competition within the Elite slot would be nice.

**Messy0**

I really just think the only thing steath teams need is to be made a troop choice.

90 points for 10 fire warriors with 10 S5 AP 5 shots at 30" and 20 shots at 15" or 3 stealth battle suits with 12 shots at 18" but much more durable and some fantastic USR's is a decent choice for all Tau players and i think it would mean you see a lot more Stealth Suits

**Savageconvoy**

HRR goes to Rapid Fire 48", HYMP becomes slightly more expensive.

Ion Accelerator and Ion Cannon get swapped

Bring back moving and shooting for vehicles

Pathfinders get something like combat squads and a price decrease on their special weapons. That way you have an actual reason to purchase them.

Firewarriors get to purchase one Sniper Drone Team that's deployed and acts seperately from the squad, removed from HS entirely

Devilfish gets a drop in points or upgraded to being able to carry even Broadsides

Personally I'd like to see Markerlights changed entirely, but I don't want to get into that right now.

The bomber and fighter need a lot of reworking. The bomber worked better as a fighter due to it's drones, markerlight, and missile pod. The fighter had a better bomb due to it's lower AP and higher S, and the bomber had gets hot that stopped it from dropping bombs.

**Co'tor Shas**

For the HRR to go rapid-fire 48" would be a nerf to an already under-preforming weapon.

**Savageconvoy**

Lets it move and shoot while not really hindering it's range at all and lets it be somewhat useful at taking down MC and heavy infantry. 2 shots at 24" isn't that bad.

**Co'tor Shas**

2 shots at 24" and BS 3 is not good at all for them. Especially since they are made for anti-vehicle. That's still worse than lascannons, considering how bloody common they are.

**Savageconvoy**

It'd still be twin-linked so BS3 and mobile wouldn't be that bad compared to BS3 and stationary. Agree that the S8 is a major drawback against most heavily armored vehicles, but it's supposed to be for lighter vehicles now for some reason.

At 48" it still has plenty of range to targets and volume of fire increases as targets move in and lets you reposition Broadsides with out having a drawback. Over all I'd consider it a buff.

**Co'tor Shas**

Different play styles I guess.

**TranSpyre**

I want to see T5 Broadsides.

My idea for them is 80 points base cost, but make HRR S8/AP2/Heavy 2, Twin-Linked, Lance/Armorbane. Give them the SnP USR, then make HYMPs cost 15 pts.

I think Stealth Suits should come with a ML, and should have a 2+ cover save until they fire a weapon with a strength value, dropping to 5+ after. Then give each of them the option to take a FB for 10, and they'd be worth the point cost they have now. Limit the size to 3 suits, though.

Another option is to give them a rule like this:

Active Camouflage - Any model with this rule gains a 3+ cover save from any piece of terrain. This save cannot be improved by the Stealth and Shrouded USRs.

Then still give them Stealth as well as built in markerlights.

**Jancoran**

that makes the stealthsuits less awesome though.

**Co'tor Shas**

Yeah, stealth suits are actually well designed, just too expensive, and the other options in their slot make it hard to take them. Moving them to FA or troops, coupled with a price drop, should fix them.

Also, I will point out, from a fluff perspective, they don't actually have active camo. The stealth field bend light around them, turning them into a blur in the air, instead of a see-through person. Although that's just a name-change.

**The Shrike**

Definitely the FA slot is where they belong.

**Co'tor Shas**

It's my feeling too, but their is a good amount of fighting for that slot as well. We have patfinders for those who use them, pirhanhas are great, and if we include FW, but barracudas and remoras are great options. Although S&S troops might be a bit cruel.

**kambien**

1. Move pathfinders to troop choice.
They are neither fast nor attacking . This would also help using other FA choices such as vespid , flyers, piranhas . It would also warrant non used pathfinders equipment such as ion rifles and rail rifles
2. Revert markerlight tokens to 5th edition rules
Biggest offenders are 2 tokens to remove all cover saves and the nerf of seeker missile usage. Add seeker missles fire by vehicles this way do not have to fire on their target and keep the can increase overwatch/bs past 5
3. Broadsides
T5 , armorbane/fleshbane/lance ( grasping at straws to make it not suck here) . Increase price of HYMP
4. Drones
Remove from 25% leadership check on mixed units. FA drone squads/detached vehicle drones still leadership check. Networked markerlight returns to marker drones.
5. Return multi-tracker,taget lock to vehicles
6. Reduce price of devil fish .
80 points for a transport with poor guns and no fire ports is to much
7. Riptide
Increase price of IA
8. Crisis suits
Reduce price of shield generator 20 points and a slot is very expensive
9. Hammerhead
reduce in price or give the railgun more shots

New unit wishlisting
1 Human axili units
2 another Vespid unit ( what can i saw i like the models )
3. Crisis suit model revamp ( fix the ankles omg )
4. Some anti psyker defense , nissicar prehaps ( tau empire pysker race )
5. Non FW transport for suits , prefer with fire ports
6. Close combat kroot ( that owuld inculde kroot hound useage )

**Iapedus**

Quick stab at a new FOC organization chart - loosely based around two detachments (Kauyon and Mon'ka)

TAU EMPIRE FOC

Spoiler:

I have not checked it for cheese-and-spam-ability yet (you can probably get 8 riptides or something) but as a starting point, what do you think? Probably too many options in each Cadre, might need to be whittled down to one of two in each (a la Decurion).

**Vector Strike**

You got the names inverted. Mont'ka is the Killing Blow.

**DanielBeaver**

Customized detachments like that would be cool and fluffy. Now that GW is finally taking advantage of non-CAD detachment types for their codexes, maybe we'll see something like that. I would rather that then see lots of random formations - Tau seem more about combined-arms and promoting synergy than about running lots of little specialized formations

**gmaleron**

What I think/wish will happen:

-Marker lights will go back to -1 cover per Marker Light.

-Price decrease for Devilfish.

-Farsight & Shadowsun LOW

-Introduce Kais the 3rd of Puretides Students who specialized in "Monat" or to be the perfect Lone Warrior. Basically an upgrade to either a Custom Crisis Suit or Riptide giving it BS & WS 5 on top of other skills.

-Hammerhead gets Rail Rifle fixed, personally make them TL to compensate for the single shot.

-Pathfinders come with Stealth, have access to entire squads of Rail Rifles.

-Riptide Ion Accelerator will be increased in points, nothing else needs to change but GW will probably over react.

-Broadsides will get either S10 Heavy Rail Rifles or S8 Ordnance or Armorbane (like a Leman Russ Vanquisher). Should be T5, HYMP increased to a 5-10 point upgrade and get slow and purposeful.

-Stealth Suits get big points decrease, come with invisibility.

-LOW Tau choices including Tiger Shark variants and new Super Battlesuit (fingers crossed).

-Fighters fixed

FORMATIONS:

-Fish of Fury: Mechanized Fire Warriors list in Devilfish, get either TL or an additional shot the turn they disembark from their Devilfish.

Fire Support Cadre: The current Data Slate just put into the Tau Codex.

-Riptide Formation: Something along the lines of the Imperial Knights formation, combined Nova Shield ability or with their weapons.

-Reserves Formation: ALL Skimmers and Suit variants can either Deep Strike or outflank turn 1. Half auto come in, roll for the rest.

-Gue'vesa Force: Allows you to take Astra Militarium as Battle Brothers. Limited FOC (2 HQ, x4 Troop, x1 Elite, Fast & Heavy Slots). All have BS3, not allowed certain units like Storm Troopers, Commissars, ect. All have preferred enemy IoM, infantry have access to Pulse Rifles & Carbines.

Now I wanted to ask this, what are your people's thoughts about the Farsight Enclaves if the Tau get redone? Me and a few friends at my FLGS were talking about it and one option is that they may get rid of the book entirely based on past editions and just make them a Formation in the Tau book. Do you guys think that will happen or just an FAQ for the current Supplement?

**Vector Strike**

gmaleron wrote:
-Introduce Kais the 3rd of Puretides Students who specialized in "Monat" or to be the perfect Lone Warrior. Basically an upgrade to either a Custom Crisis Suit or Riptide giving it BS & WS 5 on top of other skills.

-Broadsides will get either S10 Heavy Rail Rifles or S8 Ordnance or Armorbane (like a Leman Russ Vanquisher). Should be T5, HYMP increased to a 5-10 point upgrade and get slow and purposeful.

FORMATIONS:

-Gue'vesa Force: Allows you to take Astra Militarium as Battle Brothers. Limited FOC (2 HQ, x4 Troop, x1 Elite, Fast & Heavy Slots). All have BS3, not allowed certain units like Storm Troopers, Commissars, ect. All have preferred enemy IoM, infantry have access to Pulse Rifles & Carbines.

Now I wanted to ask this, what are your people's thoughts about the Farsight Enclaves if the Tau get redone? Me and a few friends at my FLGS were talking about it and one option is that they may get rid of the book entirely based on past editions and just make them a Formation in the Tau book. Do you guys think that will happen or just an FAQ for the current Supplement?

1. There is already one guy doing that: O'R'alai, from IA3.

2. I don't understand people wanting to give Broadies S&P. Do you guys know it will remove their ability to overwatch - the second most defining rule of Tau? Give Relentless or create a new special rule for that, but god forbid S&P.

3. Gue'vesa shouldn't have PE: IoM. Tau don't field Gue'vesa against IoM, as they noticed the IoM forces will fight even better. It should be the other way around (IoM detachments receive Hatred: (Gue'vesa Force))

4. There's no need to change Farsight book - only that pesky alliance line. The books would still work fine as it is.

**Martel732**

Why the call for marker lights to go back to -1 cover per light? I have no problem with Tau being able to defeat cover-based schemes. It's just when they are using it on immortal IA accelerators.

**Co'tor Shas**

It's one of the things people complain about. Most tau players are fine with it changing, so there isn't much contention over it. Although I would like to bring back their ability to lower Ld for that shooting phase, allowing them to break units easily (think, your allies falling around you to creepily accurate fire by some unknown enemy).

**Martel732**

I personally think that if you make Tau weapon choices and platforms more balanced, the ignore cover problem will go away. HYMP broadsides can usually spam through cover if necessary; it's giving ignore cover to a large AP 2 blast that also blows through most FNP.

**Thokt**

Co'tor Shas wrote:
It's one of the things people complain about. Most tau players are fine with it changing, so there isn't much contention over it. Although I would like to bring back their ability to lower Ld for that shooting phase, allowing them to break units easily (think, your allies falling around you to creepily accurate fire by some unknown enemy).

That LD mechanic would be really interesting, although it would have a pretty marginalized effect on marines.

**Co'tor Shas**

It was a lot of fun, I loved breaking my brother's expensive eldar units with a single FW barrage.

**Boniface**

I agree, bring back the old markerlight system it would be very interesting for the game and could be a counter for necrons unless they're fearless.

**Phanixis**

Some things I would like to see in the next codex:

Decent flyers. Both the razorshark and sunshark need serious help and I would really like to see a way to hunt heavy armor from the skies. Give use something better than missile pod equivalents. Other armies get to bring their A game to the skies, let the Tau do the same.

Bring back the vehicle multitrackers and target locks. These were horrible omissions.

Fix the Devilfish, it is too pricey for what it does.

Completely overhaul markerlights, they have never worked well as a shooting attack and are far too much of a linchpin. Either bring back targeting arrays and allow for more flexible no marketlight builds, or enable markerlights to be spread over a large number of units rather than be consolidated in one or two units that operate in a volley fire type manner.

Reserves control. Give Tau a way to modify reserves so they can better make deepstriking and flanking type armies.

Improve the hammerhead railgun solid shot, it simply doesn't measure up any more.

Get rid of supporting fire. Its a horrible rule that is loathed by both Tau players and Tau opponents alike. The Tau army already has an excellent army wide special rule, it is called markelights. Fix those, ditch supporting fire.

Fix the Broadside HRR. It must be able to pen AV14 or it will remain useless to the army as a whole.

Shift the Tau army design philosophy from a long distance stand and shoot army back to a mid distance shoot and scoot army. Nobody likes playing or playing against a static gunline.

**LordBlades**

Co'tor Shas wrote:
It's one of the things people complain about. Most tau players are fine with it changing, so there isn't much contention over it. Although I would like to bring back their ability to lower Ld for that shooting phase, allowing them to break units easily (think, your allies falling around you to creepily accurate fire by some unknown enemy).

The problem with this idea is itsside effects IMO. It would help mitigate people's complaints about IA erasing foot troops in cover,but it wouod also nerf Tau's ability to fight jinking skimmers and bikes. Grav bikers are already a tough battle for Tau (and most other armies too for that matter), what makes you think it needs to be even more difficult?

**NauticalKendall**

I'm really scared for my 10k of Tau. I hope the only things changed are the riptide to 200pts base to stop the spam, special weapons for FW's, marker lights -1 cover save instead, and one relic per commander, or two. To make you think if you really want that Swiss Army knife.

**LordBlades**

On a somewhat related note, I feel whatever GW does this year, game balance will be fethed (more fethed than currently that is).

Say the rumors are true, and SM, Eldar (2 top tier armies) and Tau (above average army) get redone this year. If they get redone to the level of most other 7th ed. codexes, the competitive side of 40k will likely be reduced to play Daemons, play Necrons or go home. If they redo them to Necrons power level, a huge gap will be created between the good codexes and everyone else.