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I'm kinda curious about the New C'than model lore.

The last Warcom article imply it's the Void Dragon itself so if that's true what's really in Mars just another shard of him?

 Lord Perversor wrote:
I'm kinda curious about the New C'than model lore.

The last Warcom article imply it's the Void Dragon itself so if that's true what's really in Mars just another shard of him?

They didn't just imply that it was the Void Dragon, they directly said it was the Void Dragon at the Warhammer 40,000 Preview.

 Ghaz wrote:

 Lord Perversor wrote:
I'm kinda curious about the New C'than model lore.

The last Warcom article imply it's the Void Dragon itself so if that's true what's really in Mars just another shard of him?

They didn't just imply that it was the Void Dragon, they directly said it was the Void Dragon at the Warhammer 40,000 Preview.

They very clearly have written the word Shard there in that article.

Lore wise I'm loving that the Necrons are a big villan of the setting but just happen to want to beat the tyranids and chaos. Humans, Orks, eldar, Tau are all beneath them already.

But if they win the horrors of the pariah nexus are likely for the whole human race which is such great lore growth.

I know that 40K has sort of, cycled in and out it's big bad. Chaos had the place for a good time, tyranids had it, orks even had it for a while and now it's crons. Will Tau eventually have a turn as the prominent enemy of the scene?

cody.d. wrote:
I know that 40K has sort of, cycled in and out it's big bad. Chaos had the place for a good time, tyranids had it, orks even had it for a while and now it's crons. Will Tau eventually have a turn as the prominent enemy of the scene?

Tau aren’t really powerful enough to be a ‘big bad’, or even really bad enough to be.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:
Sector Imperialis gameboard has vanished from the US webstore and is 'Last Chance to Buy' on the UK webstore.

You mean that gaudy, ghastly Realm of Battle thing?

Good.

I think it looks like an absolute treasure throve for cutting up and building awesome buildings with. I snagged one for that purpose

cody.d. wrote:
I know that 40K has sort of, cycled in and out it's big bad. Chaos had the place for a good time, tyranids had it, orks even had it for a while and now it's crons. Will Tau eventually have a turn as the prominent enemy of the scene?

Tau are, at present, largely contained due to them not having regular warp travel capability.

However, the more Imperial Worlds they capture? The greater the chance of them converting Navigators. They may convert another warp capable species. If that happens? All bets are off.

The Tau are the nicest faction anyway, they can't be the big bad. They could be the big Good, I guess.

They become big bad when gw decides to put them to starter set

tneva82 wrote:
They become big bad when gw decides to put them to starter set

Pretty much, the Tau could hold a cluster of strategical vital plants that hold the answer to fending off all other threats blah blah blah.

 buddha wrote:
Lore wise I'm loving that the Necrons are a big villan of the setting but just happen to want to beat the tyranids and chaos. Humans, Orks, eldar, Tau are all beneath them already.

But if they win the horrors of the pariah nexus are likely for the whole human race which is such great lore growth.

Ugh. I'd rather the game didn't become an extended metaphor for crippling depression, thanks.

Orks, Tyranids Necrons and Chaos are the only factions that can currently rise to be the big bad of the galaxy. Eldar might if the Yinnari brings around a revival of their race and puts them back on the map. Dark Eldar and Tau are the two who are both just too small to make it big on the major scene. Though both Eldar and Dark Eldar might twist another faction to do their bidding (without the faction realising).

Tau are out on their own and likely will remain so for a long time. At least until something major happens. Thing is even if they were to suddenly secure a few thousand worlds and become a major threat it would take time to breed up enough Tau so that it was Tau and not "Imperial Guard working for Tau" as the core of the army

Weren't Tau meant to be basically ''insert whatever small xenos race'' faction? Unless there will be a massive change in the fluff I cannot see them not only as the big bad but also as important galactic player.

The Tau will bring the greatest threat the Empire of Man has ever seen, Universal Healthcare.

 Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:
The Tau are the nicest faction anyway, they can't be the big bad. They could be the big Good, I guess.

There's good guys in 40k in a few different factions as like, individuals. Tau are one of them.

But try not to let the shiny battlesuits distract you from the nightmarish caste system. Heck: Consider that most fire warrior teams are 12 man, most battlesuit teams are 3 man, and that promotion to battlesuit pilot becomes available when you hit the age of 16.

That average lifespan of 40 years figure people throw around for Tau? Fire caste are pulling that average waaaay down.

In one story I saw that the tau had managed to reverse genestealer genetic corruption in humans.

Now genestealers are tyranid, and if the tau technology can undo genestealer genetic corruption in an alien species it makes me wonder of the tau's technology and science could create a genetic weapon against the tyranids that they could not overcome.

So yeah, tau could be a game changer if gw wants.

Tau have one main barrier which is population size. Next to the other great powers, even the fallen Eldar, the Tau are very numerically challenged. Heck if the Imperium really wanted they could likely crush the Tau under sheer weight of numbers.

The way I see it either tau will find a way to repopulate at a rapid rate or GW might fragment them into two armies. One being core tau with the pathfinders, warriors and battle suits; and another formed likely around a Kroot core, but essentially comprising of multiple Xenos races. Represenitng a larger allied force of Xenos on the fringe of the Imperium banding together to stand against them.

Which is basically what I believe the plan was for core Tau at launch; only the battlesuits really took off in a big way and GW ran with it, leaving the other xenos behind. Heck after Eldar, Kroot and Tau Xenos allied races are the next that should be in line for a major update.

Or Tau can embrace their precious, heretical AI technology and start producing robotic footsoldiers.

Sotahullu wrote:
Or Tau can embrace their precious, heretical AI technology and start producing robotic footsoldiers.

Excellent point...they start making modern Men of Iron...which become corrupted by Chaos (as per the Gaunt's Ghost novel) and become another faction...a machine intellect which drives a new schism in the Mechanicus AND the Dark Mechanicum.

Hmmm...A Ynnari for the Martian tribes...

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:

cody.d. wrote:
I know that 40K has sort of, cycled in and out it's big bad. Chaos had the place for a good time, tyranids had it, orks even had it for a while and now it's crons. Will Tau eventually have a turn as the prominent enemy of the scene?

Tau are, at present, largely contained due to them not having regular warp travel capability.

However, the more Imperial Worlds they capture? The greater the chance of them converting Navigators. They may convert another warp capable species. If that happens? All bets are off.

Tau have converted at least 4 Warp Capable species already(one of them an entirely psychic race). According to the Farsight novels, 3 of them(humanity, Nicassar, and Demiurg) have advisory seats on the Expansion Councils. Literally the only thing holding them back from using these species as more than allied agent species is the Ethereal Caste(in universe) and GW making it more a thing.

 Overread wrote:
Tau have one main barrier which is population size. Next to the other great powers, even the fallen Eldar, the Tau are very numerically challenged. Heck if the Imperium really wanted they could likely crush the Tau under sheer weight of numbers.

The way I see it either tau will find a way to repopulate at a rapid rate or GW might fragment them into two armies. One being core tau with the pathfinders, warriors and battle suits; and another formed likely around a Kroot core, but essentially comprising of multiple Xenos races. Represenitng a larger allied force of Xenos on the fringe of the Imperium banding together to stand against them.

Which is basically what I believe the plan was for core Tau at launch; only the battlesuits really took off in a big way and GW ran with it, leaving the other xenos behind. Heck after Eldar, Kroot and Tau Xenos allied races are the next that should be in line for a major update.

GW could/should follow the groundwork laid by Dawn of War. One warrior path with emphasis on suits, the other with emphasis on client races.

 Overread wrote:
Heck if the Imperium really wanted they could likely crush the Tau under sheer weight of numbers.

That's the traditional method. Tau severely struggle to fight guard due to the numerical disadvantage, but for marines they're pretty much the worst case scenario: Even a stealth suit is superior to standard power armour, a large Tau invasion should severely outnumber an entire chapter on crisis suits alone, they're well stocked on weapons that can punch clean through power armour, even their basic troop rifle is better than a bolter and their rapid hit and run hold no ground style of warfare is difficult to disrupt via standard marine tactics.

It's actually an inexcusable waste of resources to deploy marines against Tau most of the time.

changemod wrote:
But try not to let the shiny battlesuits distract you from the nightmarish caste system.

Less nightmarish than the government on most Imperium planets.
High-ranking Tau don't hunt other tau for sport.

changemod wrote:
Heck: Consider that most fire warrior teams are 12 man, most battlesuit teams are 3 man, and that promotion to battlesuit pilot becomes available when you hit the age of 16.

At 16 you can promote from a white shield to a full Imperial Guardsman! Much nicer than getting a silly battlesuit.

changemod wrote:

 Overread wrote:
Heck if the Imperium really wanted they could likely crush the Tau under sheer weight of numbers.

That's the traditional method. Tau severely struggle to fight guard due to the numerical disadvantage, but for marines they're pretty much the worst case scenario: Even a stealth suit is superior to standard power armour, a large Tau invasion should severely outnumber an entire chapter on crisis suits alone, they're well stocked on weapons that can punch clean through power armour, even their basic troop rifle is better than a bolter and their rapid hit and run hold no ground style of warfare is difficult to disrupt via standard marine tactics.

It's actually an inexcusable waste of resources to deploy marines against Tau most of the time.

hmm yes and no - a Tau suit is powerful and technologicaly advanced but designed around ranged combat, astartes excell in close combat - especially in cities etc where they can easily close in on enemies. Normal marines will and have destroy suits in close combat, Primaris just make it worse as they can enegage and survive more effectively at range.

Marines have been shown to be at disadvantage when fighting large Tau formations on their own, especially in open theatres.

But throw in support from Ad Mech or guard infantry and vehicles and the situation changes with the Astartes able to do what they do best - perform precise and devestating strikes.

The Tau hit and run only works if they do not have to protect ground/civilians/tech - take the war to them and the situation changes.

You'd just shrink the story.

Tbh this whole "the end of the world is coming" is pointless if GW never actually go anywhere with it. I mean 8th was meant to be putting Chaos back in the hot seat - as far as I can tell however their only meaningful gains (sorry planet red shirt) were in the closing days of 7th.

Tau may be a small race, and Eldar a dying race - but they still outnumber Marines many times over. So in terms of putting them in the plot, its really just a matter of imagination. Because you know Marines will be there.

Well in a Starter Set Imperium vs Tau it's pretty clear to me who would be the Big Bad - it's not the Tau

Seems that the new Tactical Terrain book does not contain any rules for the terrain.

So... yeah.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Seems that the new Tactical Terrain book does not contain any rules for the terrain.

So... yeah.

So what is in it?

 Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:
The Tau are the nicest faction anyway, they can't be the big bad. They could be the big Good, I guess.

Only someone who never read any Tau fluff can say that.

Especially recent one. Or FFG where Tau create organizations worse than ISIS.

changemod wrote:
That's the traditional method. Tau severely struggle to fight guard due to the numerical disadvantage, but for marines they're pretty much the worst case scenario: Even a stealth suit is superior to standard power armour, a large Tau invasion should severely outnumber an entire chapter on crisis suits alone, they're well stocked on weapons that can punch clean through power armour, even their basic troop rifle is better than a bolter and their rapid hit and run hold no ground style of warfare is difficult to disrupt via standard marine tactics.

Uh, what? Handguns don't win the wars. If they did, Soviet Union would rule the world, because AK-47 was vastly better gun than anything USA fielded until late 80s. In reality, single marine should easily slaughter whole Tau squads, because he is faster, thougher, and smarter to an absurd degree, has armour rivaling their battlesuits, and has more combat experience than the whole squad put together - his gun doing slightly smaller pew pew doesn't matter as long as it can reliably kill Tau (and it can). Alas, Tau books are written by people who think tabletop is holy and Tau are just as good as marines, instead of being slower, weaker, short-sighted human teenage conscripts. Add to that some GW writers forgetting Tau are supposed to be developing race and spanking them to above Necron levels and you have perfect blend resulting in Plot Sues.

Thankfully, the warp mess they made in their attempt of recreating Imperial FTL (instead of just making it 20x better as would be the case just edition ago) might indicate this is (slowly) starting to change.