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Out of curiosity do people think we will see more named commanders added? Especially given Tau lifespans, the time jump for the story and given that (only example I can think of, sorry) the Farsight enclave feature 8 known named commanders each with their own specialised suits and tactical preferences.

People have been asking for Shas'O Kais (from Dawn of War) for a looong time.

 Vector Strike wrote:
People have been asking for Shas'O Kais (from Dawn of War) for a looong time.

He was trained by puretde along with Shadowsun and farsight
He killed a fething lord of change in single combat
He’s in dawn of war

Can we please give this guy a model?

I'd like to see a Tau redeployment option somewhere between a Devilfish (expensive but durable and shooty skimmer transport) and Tidewall (slow open topped transport), that could enable truly 'mobile' warfare.

I'm hoping the Devilfish becomes more viable. It's always been a nice little tank, with a great place in basically any army that isn't Tau.

I'm hoping Tidewall becomes viable. Allowing embarked units top shoot ml without heavy penalty would be very nice. Shield wall getting an invuln so it can use it's reflection ability too.

Tau need something. I've played my best friend's Tau with my Imperial Guard many times and even with Index it was GG at list building. I haven't played him post guard codex, but I would suspect its far worse for him now.

Seems like their codex is not far over the horizon so I hope they manage to find a way to make them fun, fluffy, and balanced. Both my best friend and I hated Riptide spam. He only JUST bought a Stormsurge finally.

I frequently take large amounts of Firewarriors (60/100) in a 2k list. I'm not a fan of small suit lists that became all the rage with Riptides in 7th. T'au may not have as many models as the true horde armies of Guard/Nids/Orks but they should significantly outnumber the small elite forces. I've also won a good 60/70% of the games I have played in 8th and while I look forward to some adjustments in their new codex I really don't understand the continual "T'au are terrible in 8th" stuff I read on Dakka all the time.

Honestly, they need to rework markerlights. Also, battlesuits could remain the same points as of right now - if they increased their ballistic skill. For example, Crisis Suits should be BS 3+, Broadsides BS 3+, and Riptides should be a B.S. 2+ for their existing points. Aside from the flavor of having markerlights to shoot better, it makes no sense to have these advanced suits, piloted by supposedly better soldiers, shoot no better than Firewarriors or Kroot.

 Galas wrote:
I have never been a fan of time traveling, to be honest, but the way Warhammer does it is my favourite one.

I love the Ork Warboss that traveled to the past and killed himsellf so he could have two copies of his favourite shoota.

Doble suppa shoota is best!

I feel like there is plenty of room in the tau fluff for both horde and elite armies, since the current Tau offering are like Xenos AM and Xenos SM smooshed into a single army. The battle suit offerings have gotten a lot more attention in prior editions, and I love the fact that fire warriors and auxiliaries might get some time in the sun in this edition. if balance changes need to be made to make both play styles viable I think they should be made.

As for the fluff future of the Tau, I actually think they are getting close to their peak, their increasing reliance on AI is setting them up for a men of Iron style fall. We already have mentions of rogue drone networks. There is also lots of talk about how ambitious the Tau are, and how that has made them reckless in their use and advancement of technology. So I think they are on the bubble, and if they have a major problem (like an AI uprising) they will be crushed under the weight of an uncaring (if not actively malignant) universe.

Tau markerlights (and the whole army in fact) are currently clearly meant to emphasize the tactic of concentrated fire on a single target, as opposed to the previous paradigm of piecemeal application of markerlights on this and that. That's why for instance one of the effects is "remove penalty for moving and shooting heavy weapons" -- it allows you to get over to the target that has been designated for concentrated fire and shoot at it.

Whether GW has implemented this successfully is a matter to be debated, but it's not at all a case of a simple markerlight nerf. They do something quite different now.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Incidentally, even "Reroll 1's" is a 1/6 increase in damage output, and to get a Hammerhead or Stormsurge or Razorshark to a 97% chance to hit with no cover now takes 5 markerlights rather than 10.

(MOAR GUE'VESA )

M.

 Infantryman wrote:
(MOAR GUE'VESA )

M.

The thought of filling up a xenos army with human representatives gives me the same sick feeling as the rumors of loyalist Thousand Sons in the upcoming Prospero book...

Tau are pretty strong right now if your not doing mechanized. This list works very well againgst everything except for flyer spam or Toughness 8 4+ invun spam.


+++ Tautrue (Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition) [97 PL, 2000pts] +++

++ Spearhead Detachment +1CP (T'au Empire) ++

+ HQ +

Commander: 2x Fusion blaster, Multi-tracker, 2x MV4 Shield Drone, Velocity tracker

+ Heavy Support +

Heavy Gun Drone Squadron
. 6x Heavy Gun Drone w/ BC & Markerlight: 6x Burst cannon, 6x Markerlight

Heavy Gun Drone Squadron
. 6x Heavy Gun Drone w/ BC & Markerlight: 6x Burst cannon, 6x Markerlight

XV88 Broadside Battlesuits
. Broadside Shas'ui: 2x Smart missile system, Advanced targeting system, Early warning override, Heavy rail rifle
. Broadside Shas'ui: 2x Smart missile system, Advanced targeting system, Early warning override, Heavy rail rifle
. Broadside Shas'ui: 2x Smart missile system, Advanced targeting system, Early warning override, Heavy rail rifle

++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (T'au Empire) ++

+ HQ +

Commander: Advanced targeting system, 2x Missile pod, Multi-tracker

Commander: Advanced targeting system, 2x Missile pod, Multi-tracker

+ Troops +

Breacher Team: 9x Fire Warrior, Fire Warrior Shas'ui, MV36 Guardian Drone

Kroot Carnivores: 10x Kroot

Kroot Carnivores: 10x Kroot

++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (T'au Empire) ++

+ HQ +

Cadre Fireblade: Markerlight, 2x MV4 Shield Drone

Ethereal: Equalizers, Hover Drone, 2x MV4 Shield Drone

+ Troops +

Strike Team: DS8 Tactical Support Turret w/ Missile pod, MV36 Guardian Drone, MV4 Shield Drone
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Pulse rifle
. 9x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Rifle

Strike Team: MV36 Guardian Drone
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Pulse rifle
. 9x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Rifle

Strike Team: MV36 Guardian Drone
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Pulse rifle
. 9x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Rifle

 Arachnofiend wrote:

 Infantryman wrote:
(MOAR GUE'VESA )

M.

The thought of filling up a xenos army with human representatives gives me the same sick feeling as the rumors of loyalist Thousand Sons in the upcoming Prospero book...

What's wrong with Loyal 1k Sons?

Thousand sons were the legion that least wanted to join chaos out of the traiter legions (unless you count Alpharius and Omega, which we don't know who they are allied with).

pm713 wrote:

 Arachnofiend wrote:

 Infantryman wrote:
(MOAR GUE'VESA )

M.

The thought of filling up a xenos army with human representatives gives me the same sick feeling as the rumors of loyalist Thousand Sons in the upcoming Prospero book...

What's wrong with Loyal 1k Sons?

They do have the tendency for looting relics at a rate which would turn a deathskull green....er with envy.

As to the OP, I think Tau returning to their roots of being a combined arms focused faction is a good thing instead of being the 40k Mobile Suit Gundam faction. Fire Warriors can be fielded in large numbers along with pathfinders, drones, and their alien auxiliaries (although Kroot really struggle at having a viable place on the battlefield given their lackluster rule set currently). Tau aren't at blob guard or green tide model count sizes but having 70+ Fire Warriors in a list gives a ton of bodies while still having plenty of points for the Tau specialist units such as Hammerheads, Crisis Suits, Broadsides, etc. I have had great success with my Tau using such a setup in 7th edition and to a lesser extent in 8th (Tau's biggest issue right now is that the specialist units like Crisis Suits, Riptides, and Broadsides are woefully overcosted).

Kroot have a place...cheap area denial thanks to that scouting move of theirs. I miss dangerous in woods Kroot.

i dont think infantry spam is what will happend to tau in the new codex, cuz if that is gw`s goal, why is the new battleforce box nothing but mechsuits and drones?

 FrozenDwarf wrote:
i dont think infantry spam is what will happend to tau in the new codex, cuz if that is gw`s goal, why is the new battleforce box nothing but mechsuits and drones?

If there's a word that rarely enters the mind of GW, it's consistency

Naaris wrote:
Tau are a dogs breakfast now. for a 1 trick army they perform that trick poorly.
Tau are not a horde army. They are a tactical strikeforce that use intelligence and superior technology to defeat their foes that usually outnumber them greatly.

Spikeybits terrified me with this article - https://spikeybits.com/2017/12/5-reasons-why-gw-doesnt-read-their-own-lore.html

The reason it shook me was that I read this on WH community a few weeks ago - https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/11/19/coming-soon-new-battleforces-christmas-chapter-approved-new-varnish/
and I quote -

For Warhammer 40,000, there are battleforces for the Orks, Genestealer Cults, Astra Militarum and T’au Empire. Each of these armies is known for its high model-count, and these battleforces make collecting them that much simpler;

Tau....High Model Count????

Yikes.

Did anyone else notice this? I'm not religious but I'll pray to any god that will listen. Tau are not a horde army. Drone spam is byproduct of bad rules and design. We like our suits and tanks.

Tau Shoot and our shooting is bad now, Tau units across the board are too expensive and we're also not as mobile as we used to be. These 3 things need to be fixed.

Honestly I couldn't stand the Tau lists with only a few huge dudes, those armies were a mistake than needed to be fixed, regardless of the OPness of the suits.

A Tau army with a significant number of fire warriors, kroot, stealth, crisis, vehicles and eventually a few big guys looks amazing IMHO.

Out curiosity, can anyone tell me the point of the Skyray? I've looked at it compared to the Whirldwind (don't have the IG codex) and the Skyray just doesn't seem worthwhile at all.

It costs almost twice the PL (sorry, I don't play points anymore) and the big selling point is incredibly limited usage with a shocking hit roll requirement.

I only ask as Tau will be my next force and when it now comes to my heavies I'm looking at either broadsides or maybe a hammerhead or two.

I've posted this here given the discussion relates to improving Tau and the Skyray just seems like a complete waste of points and money.

 Blackie wrote:


Honestly I couldn't stand the Tau lists with only a few huge dudes, those armies were a mistake than needed to be fixed, regardless of the OPness of the suits.

A Tau army with a significant number of fire warriors, kroot, stealth, crisis, vehicles and eventually a few big guys looks amazing IMHO.

The same can be said about 4 nights or 3 baneblade lists that is still around.

 FreeFrag.UK wrote:
Out curiosity, can anyone tell me the point of the Skyray?

Front yard ornament!
6 missiles only doing 1 mortal wound that are 1 time use....... even whit 2 markerlight buff it is junk as it is not guaranteed hit/wounds.

removing the 1 use limitation on the missiles is a must to make it atleast usable whit point cost increase ofc.

 FreeFrag.UK wrote:
Out curiosity, can anyone tell me the point of the Skyray? I've looked at it compared to the Whirldwind (don't have the IG codex) and the Skyray just doesn't seem worthwhile at all.

It costs almost twice the PL (sorry, I don't play points anymore) and the big selling point is incredibly limited usage with a shocking hit roll requirement.

I only ask as Tau will be my next force and when it now comes to my heavies I'm looking at either broadsides or maybe a hammerhead or two.

I've posted this here given the discussion relates to improving Tau and the Skyray just seems like a complete waste of points and money.

The most expensive markerlight platform.

I'd actually say the quote is fairly accurate. If you go with a mix of unit types Tau model count will be around where GSC or even orks are.

Keep in mind that Tau basic infantry are extremely unlikely to stay at 8ppm when their codex drops, admech rangers have gone from 10ppm all the way down to 7ppm, and trade the lower strength on their gun for an invulnerable save, better ws/bs, and the occasional -1 AP. Basic Tau infantry could easily be 6/7 ppm when the codex rolls around. Meaning an infantry focused Tau will have a similar model count to an ork horde. Then again, they've managed to cut the price of plague marines three times without realizing how close they are getting to the price of normal CSMs, so who knows.

Now, fewer people run fire warrior heavy, just by virtue of Tau battlesuits having been very good for quite a while, but again ork armies have historically also used more than just boyz, that's a byproduct of the edition favoring hordes and the other options for orkz being particularly poor. Given how infantry heavy the game is, I imagine we will be seeing Tau "hordes" at some point post codex as well.

 FrozenDwarf wrote:


The same can be said about 4 nights or 3 baneblade lists that is still around.

Of course, those are mistakes that should be fixed. IMHO one single LoW should be allowed in 3000+ points games, having 3 in smaller formats is silly. But as long as this built is legal I can only complain about that.

 FreeFrag.UK wrote:
Out curiosity, can anyone tell me the point of the Skyray?

Conversions, mostly. I've seen people do some neat conversions with the Sky Ray parts, like making Remora drones out of the turret and some spare burst cannons. But rules-wise it's a pointless unit, and will continue to be one as long as seeker missiles are trash. Represent the Sky Ray accurately according to the fluff, where its load of six seeker missiles likely results in at least 4-5 dead aircraft attempting to enter its no-fly zone, and it will be relevant again.

SilverAlien wrote:
I'd actually say the quote is fairly accurate. If you go with a mix of unit types Tau model count will be around where GSC or even orks are.

Keep in mind that Tau basic infantry are extremely unlikely to stay at 8ppm when their codex drops, admech rangers have gone from 10ppm all the way down to 7ppm, and trade the lower strength on their gun for an invulnerable save, better ws/bs, and the occasional -1 AP. Basic Tau infantry could easily be 6/7 ppm when the codex rolls around. Meaning an infantry focused Tau will have a similar model count to an ork horde. Then again, they've managed to cut the price of plague marines three times without realizing how close they are getting to the price of normal CSMs, so who knows.

Now, fewer people run fire warrior heavy, just by virtue of Tau battlesuits having been very good for quite a while, but again ork armies have historically also used more than just boyz, that's a byproduct of the edition favoring hordes and the other options for orkz being particularly poor. Given how infantry heavy the game is, I imagine we will be seeing Tau "hordes" at some point post codex as well.

Hmm, 6ppm Firewarriors would be neat. For now Drones are simply better

I think Tau Firewarriors for 6ppm are too good. I put Firewarriors in the opposite balance plate than Ork Boyz . Ones are the cheap ultra-shooting unit, the other the cheap ultra-meele unit.

Mathematically, Ork Boyz have better stats at everything than Tau Firewarriors, but I believe Shooting has many, many advantages over meele, and they have two key advantages over boyz: A 4+ save, and a pretty good gun. So for me at least Tau Firewarriors should be 7ppm. But to be honest I don't see a problem with them being 8ppm.