Individual power of 40k races

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**TheCustomLime**

Gamgee wrote:
Pound for pound the Tau hit harder than most thing in fluff and on tabletop. In the fluff the Tau are capable of geoengineering projects that are starting to close in on Eldar level of technology minus the wraithbone aspect.

In the FSE book (6th) you can see the insane level and details they go into when terraforming a planet. They're able to construct city sized orbital defense platforms in days at most weeks. These are large enough to rival Imperial styled defense platforms as well.

They just happen to be a small Empire. If they were to ever get bigger the Imperium... nay... the entire galaxy would be in trouble.

In a matter of weeks/months they are already creating new shielding technology for their ships to pass through what might be warp related (damocles gulf inferno).

The only thing that stops them from being a big player is their lack of numbers.

They defeated a hive fleet with a virus that even the Tyranids couldn't adapt to. And this was the FSE with its limited resources and not even the full TE.

Edit
They are so feared the Imperium employed Super Experminatus on an entire region of Space. The first time I've ever heard of that happening.

Edit
In fluff that I've read one on one the Tau are fairly weak. The whole point is they work together and don't play to the whole machismo rules of the 40k universe. By working together better than any other faction they are able to punch far above their weight.

Edit
One on one firewarriors basic pulse rifle has been shown to punch through power armor quite reliably. Their breacher pulse guns eviscerate power armor.

Source on pulse rifles being able to reliably punch through power armor? Same for pulse blasters.

**SHUPPET**

meh too vague, have no idea what you are actually asking

**Robin5t**

At a basic level, and assuming we're only talking about pure physical ability:

1. Space Marines
2. Dark Eldar
3. Eldar
4. Necrons
5. Orks
6. Humans
7. Tau

Would be my scale for the major races and factions. Tyranids are essentially impossible to rank in this way as they have no 'base'.

**Ashiraya**

Dark Eldar have been implied to be faster than normal Eldar but honestly, I think they are similar enough in this context to be considered equal.

**Selym**

Robin5t wrote:
At a basic level, and assuming we're only talking about pure physical ability:

1. Space Marines
2. Dark Eldar
3. Eldar
4. Necrons
5. Orks
6. Humans
7. Tau

Would be my scale for the major races and factions. Tyranids are essentially impossible to rank in this way as they have no 'base'.

Makes sense to me.

I'd add Chaos Marines as 5.5 though.

Though, having said that, I'm currently reading the Word Bearers Omnibus, and it's the first piece of fluff I've seen that makes CSM not just "Cannon Fodder +1".
Seriously though, lots of 40k publications treat CSM like a redshirt army. Even the CSM codex.