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Finally, a codex cover that isn't a retooling/recolor of the 6th ed codex art.

Darkstrider's new model looks a lot better than the old one.

Looking forward to seeing how they handled it this time since it looks like they restrained themselves this time and didn't add any new units to clutter the roster.

 Valkyrie wrote:
Everyone seems to be moaning about the codex art, I don't see why. Looks nice, not over the top crap where you can't make anything out.

Darkstrider is nice but pretty annoyed that this is our only release. Compared to all the stuff BT recently got, wouldn't have killed GW to put a bit more effort into Tau.

There's not a whole lot of stuff missing for Tau.

Also, there have long been rumors of a big "Kroot Wave" coming. There's new Kroot art in the KT books and I wouldn't be shocked to see Kroot get a big update via KT and a follow-on filler wave/themed box.

 ImAGeek wrote:

Some of the 9th covers are pretty meh but they’re all better than the 7th single character ones which were soooo uninspiring, and a couple (AdMech, Genestealer Cults) are some of the best they’ve done, in my opinion.

Thousand Sons, Ad Mech, and GSC codex covers are all beautiful pieces of art in their own right imo. The rest are fairly perfunctory done in their clean new style. I'd rate this one as one of the better ones in that style, quite inspiring and with a nice colour palette. Custodes is the worst and blandest regular one, although the absolute worst has to be the limited edition 'squighog' Ork one

Dudeface wrote:

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:
T'au just need durable, melee infantry with ObSec to compete, no way around it.

Disagree, that's the one intentional gap in their range, they compensate using tactics and science. That's what needs to be better represented, not just shoehorn in some borderline compulsory unit whilst stripping some of their identity as a faction

Aren't they supposed to have their Auxilliaries filling the gaps in their range? GW just seems to have totally forgot T'au Empire is not just the T'au themselves.

The issue I have with that codex art is the soft color sky and lack of crisp edges, like it's a relaxing late afternoon activity than an intense fight for your life situation.

The Darkstrider sculpt looks nice, I thought the wall was going to be a cloak.
Now I'm just waiting for the inevitable jokes about reading a units power level or "is this ____" memes...

 PondaNagura wrote:
The issue I have with that codex art is the soft color sky and lack of crisp edges, like it's a relaxing late afternoon activity than an intense fight for your life situation.

The Darkstrider sculpt looks nice, I thought the wall was going to be a cloak.
Now I'm just waiting for the inevitable jokes about reading a units power level or "is this ____" memes...

The sky's literally red and dense with gunfire

 Grimskul wrote:

 Ordana wrote:

 Grimskul wrote:
They've been doing really solid work for their cover art so far for the codices. I think the only underwhelming one so far was the Custodes one, other than that, glad to hear that its coming soon! Tau have languished near the the bottom for the 40k meta for a while, so it'll be interesting to see how they let them compete for midfield objectives. Also, pretty sure the silhouette is Darkstrider.

I don't see how they could possible get Tau to compete for midfield objectives without new units to fill that role and we're not getting those.

And yes Darkstrider looks nice but I worry about those drones snapping off way to easily.

I feel like they're doing something more with Kroot (at the very least some type of Kommando style pre-game deployment ability to squat on objectives) or maybe with battlesuits that let's them move in the assault phase so they can move onto objectives after blasting people in the face. It's also possible that they basically let battlesuits shoot into combat similar to vehicles.

Getting to the objective isn't much of an issue imo. Suits are M 8 or more, Kroots pre-move, Stealthsuits infiltrate. Mont'ka to advance everything and still shoot.

The problem is surviving and functioning once your there.
Kroot die to a stiff breeze and their combat is utterly laughable. No one is going to be scared to charge into 10 kroot sitting on an objective and anyone interested in charging them will likely wipe them without breaking a sweat.
A riptide is nice with a 3++ (god if we lose that...) but then you get charged, do nothing in combat and need another Mont'ka to extract a 300 point model from combat.

It might just be his base, but wow Darkstider looks huge compared to regular Pathfinders...

If this is what sort of effort passes for "new releases" for 9th, I'm glad I didn't bother moving on to the new edition.

One $30 retooled character kit and a new book (that's probably 90% recycled) isn't worth the effort.

 Stormonu wrote:
If this is what sort of effort passes for "new releases" for 9th, I'm glad I didn't bother moving on to the new edition.

One $30 retooled character kit and a new book (that's probably 90% recycled) isn't worth the effort.

Oh bless your little cotton socks.

Guess you missed that Tau have a very up to date line as it is, and that so far Necrons and Orks got pretty extensive range refreshes.

There there, dumpling, there there.

Necrons, Orks, and Sisters of Battle.

Tau could have used more plastic, even without dipping into auxiliaries (Farsight, Ethereal on foot, Sniper Drones+Firesight Marksman all immediately spring to mind) ...but knocking a character that exemplifies the concept of the army is way better IMO.

Oh! And we can kinda/sorta count Black Templars? They got a good chunk o' stuff.

Excluding Space Marines, a lot of the armies thus far have got a bunch of stuff for updates (Necrons, Orks), are already very recent ranges (SoB, GSC, Custodes, DG, Tsons, Admech), or have fairly solid cores with only some outliers needing to be updated(Druhkari, T'au), the latter two do seem to get a little bit screwed over but overall it's not a huge issue IMO. GK are the one exception thus far because while some of the kits are pretty good (Terminators) and they got a chunk of the regular Marine armoury added this edition, quite a few of their kits are still a blegh.
We know both Craftworlds and CSM are coming next year, with both supposedly getting big releases even though CSM got a big one recently and have been consistently updated since the big 6th revamp. Note this last bit isn't a complaint just something that I found interesting as a CSM player.
We've got Astra Militarum, Tyranids, Daemons, Harlequins, and Chaos/Imperial Knights left unconfirmed. Hopefully, that means that by year 2 of 9th Ed we've got nearly all the Codexes done, which with Covid and Brexit complications is pretty good going IMO.

I'd have liked new Vespid, but I'm okay with what I currently have access to. Torn about picking up another SC before they're gone though.

 Gert wrote:
Excluding Space Marines, a lot of the armies thus far have got a bunch of stuff for updates (Necrons, Orks), are already very recent ranges (SoB, GSC, Custodes, DG, Tsons, Admech), or have fairly solid cores with only some outliers needing to be updated(Druhkari, T'au), the latter two do seem to get a little bit screwed over but overall it's not a huge issue IMO. GK are the one exception thus far because while some of the kits are pretty good (Terminators) and they got a chunk of the regular Marine armoury added this edition, quite a few of their kits are still a blegh.
We know both Craftworlds and CSM are coming next year, with both supposedly getting big releases even though CSM got a big one recently and have been consistently updated since the big 6th revamp. Note this last bit isn't a complaint just something that I found interesting as a CSM player.
We've got Astra Militarum, Tyranids, Daemons, Harlequins, and Chaos/Imperial Knights left unconfirmed. Hopefully, that means that by year 2 of 9th Ed we've got nearly all the Codexes done, which with Covid and Brexit complications is pretty good going IMO.

T'au don't have a fairly solid core.
They're missing a lot of unit archetypes other factions have, and their current setup works both against their lore (where are the Auxilliaries?) and against them on the tabletop, because they can only really participate in two phases out of the entire round, making them either blatantly OP or blatantly awful.

Voss wrote:

 Tarara wrote:
An absolutely uninspiring cover art if there ever was one.

That's pretty on point for 9th. All the codex covers so far have been mediocre to poor to wretched (BT).
Dudeman standing forth surrounded by vague cronies and increasingly blurry background.


So this is concerning:

Codex: T’au Empire will arrive in early 2022, and with the Genestealer Cults and Adeptus Custodes codexes also landing in the same period, it’s going to be an exciting few months for Warhammer 40,000.

With GSC and Custodes delayed from this year and Tau 'early,' the idea that this is going to keep 40k exciting for 'months' is really ominous. There's a grand total of three models between these three books, unless I missed something, and two are stuck in their versus box for the foreseeable future.

3 out of the 4 Sisters codex arts have been fire ngl.

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:

T'au don't have a fairly solid core.
They're missing a lot of unit archetypes other factions have, and their current setup works both against their lore (where are the Auxilliaries?) and against them on the tabletop, because they can only really participate in two phases out of the entire round, making them either blatantly OP or blatantly awful.

The vast majority of the T'au range is not only plastic but very recent kits or kits that hold up well despite being old. They have minimal Finecast left over, split between Named Characters and Auxiliaries. It's the exact same with Drukhari. Auxiliaries and the various Named Characters are not the core of the T'au, Fire Warriors, Battlesuits, and skimmers are, all of which are good kits.

The plastic kits are all nice. I'd have preferred plastic vespid to the plastic character though, those finecast are both expensive and fugly.

What’s really needed is a new Suit kit. Like, completely new. Something infantry sized like the old Stealth suits, that use, I dunno, rail rifles as their standard armament but lack the jet pack. Or have jet packs but are equipped with melta, flamer, or twin pulse shotgun. No stealth though.

Basically show them experimenting with the power armour/super-heavy infantry paradigm, after much exposure to it via the imperium/chaos, but still having nothing to do with anything as uncouth as dedicated close combat weapons.

 Gert wrote:

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:

T'au don't have a fairly solid core.
They're missing a lot of unit archetypes other factions have, and their current setup works both against their lore (where are the Auxilliaries?) and against them on the tabletop, because they can only really participate in two phases out of the entire round, making them either blatantly OP or blatantly awful.

The vast majority of the T'au range is not only plastic but very recent kits or kits that hold up well despite being old. They have minimal Finecast left over, split between Named Characters and Auxiliaries. It's the exact same with Drukhari. Auxiliaries and the various Named Characters are not the core of the T'au, Fire Warriors, Battlesuits, and skimmers are, all of which are good kits.

Doesn't change the fact they have very obvious holes that need plugging badly if they're ever supposed to be a normal army.

Like durable melee or anything capable of securing an objectives.

 Lord Damocles wrote:
It might just be his base, but wow Darkstider looks huge compared to regular Pathfinders...

Aren't pathfinders young tau from the fire caste? He's a lot older than those he leads so could be the reason he's taller.

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:

 Gert wrote:

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:

T'au don't have a fairly solid core.
They're missing a lot of unit archetypes other factions have, and their current setup works both against their lore (where are the Auxilliaries?) and against them on the tabletop, because they can only really participate in two phases out of the entire round, making them either blatantly OP or blatantly awful.

The vast majority of the T'au range is not only plastic but very recent kits or kits that hold up well despite being old. They have minimal Finecast left over, split between Named Characters and Auxiliaries. It's the exact same with Drukhari. Auxiliaries and the various Named Characters are not the core of the T'au, Fire Warriors, Battlesuits, and skimmers are, all of which are good kits.

Doesn't change the fact they have very obvious holes that need plugging badly if they're ever supposed to be a normal army.

Like durable melee or anything capable of securing an objectives.

Auxillaries are nice, but if they find a suitable alien species that: 1)fits the role 2)has not been wiped out by the Imperium 3)exist in numbers large enough to be used in large scale conflicts across the Tau Empire 4)gives a gak about the greater good. In the lore there just are not too many xenos that fit all those niches. Tau have that big disadvantage to overcome. That's why they are an upstart race, and are becoming a big concern. They are starting to overcome these obstacles, but they still have a big whole to fill. What you are asking for is a balanced army.....That doesn't exist in 40K

Can Tau get an infantry character that's actually aiming their rifle?

 Mantle wrote:

 Lord Damocles wrote:
It might just be his base, but wow Darkstider looks huge compared to regular Pathfinders...

Aren't pathfinders young tau from the fire caste? He's a lot older than those he leads so could be the reason he's taller.

I don't think I've seen that as a bit of Pathfinder lore.

Battlesuit pilots are older, as they need to prove themselves as fire warriors first. But not all fire warriors can get promoted to battlesuit pilot just due to logistics.

The great thing about Tau is that basically all of their finecast models both look great and are extremely easy to find in metal.

The only exception used to be Darkstrider, but now that that issue's been taken care of, the only Tau sculpts which really need upgrades are the horrifyingly ugly ones (looking at you, Vespids).

 Theophony wrote:

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:

 Gert wrote:

 Wha-Mu-077 wrote:

T'au don't have a fairly solid core.
They're missing a lot of unit archetypes other factions have, and their current setup works both against their lore (where are the Auxilliaries?) and against them on the tabletop, because they can only really participate in two phases out of the entire round, making them either blatantly OP or blatantly awful.

The vast majority of the T'au range is not only plastic but very recent kits or kits that hold up well despite being old. They have minimal Finecast left over, split between Named Characters and Auxiliaries. It's the exact same with Drukhari. Auxiliaries and the various Named Characters are not the core of the T'au, Fire Warriors, Battlesuits, and skimmers are, all of which are good kits.

Doesn't change the fact they have very obvious holes that need plugging badly if they're ever supposed to be a normal army.

Like durable melee or anything capable of securing an objectives.

Auxillaries are nice, but if they find a suitable alien species that: 1)fits the role 2)has not been wiped out by the Imperium 3)exist in numbers large enough to be used in large scale conflicts across the Tau Empire 4)gives a gak about the greater good. In the lore there just are not too many xenos that fit all those niches. Tau have that big disadvantage to overcome. That's why they are an upstart race, and are becoming a big concern. They are starting to overcome these obstacles, but they still have a big whole to fill. What you are asking for is a balanced army.....That doesn't exist in 40K

They can always get melee suits.
Or a particularly bulky derivative of the Kroot.

Or both, at the same time.

 Ordana wrote:

Kroot die to a stiff breeze and their combat is utterly laughable. No one is going to be scared to charge into 10 kroot sitting on an objective and anyone interested in charging them will likely wipe them without breaking a sweat.

Yeah, I've made it work with Etherals 6+ FNP and 9Ld aura (helps if there is nearby cover for Hidden Hunters too), but only one really specific built does not a good unit make. Also can't be used within a Farsight Enclaves detachment which is a big downside to that as most lists run Farsight currently. Though having a big blob of Kroot get FTGG from Gunship Diplomat does also help a bit with the charges against them, but yeah, I had two squads brawl it out with a single Malignant Plaguecaster (at 2 wounds left) and it took them two rounds to kill him, loosing 9 of the 20 Kroot in the process.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
How do!

So we’re officially into the run up to Tau getting their 9th Ed codex.

Couple of bits shown so far, such as improvements to the Pulse Rifle and Carbine.

Today, we’re shown the codex cover art



And we’re promised the mystery model’s full reveal later.

I really hope playing suits is doable this time around. I don't want infantry as they're a pain to build and transport. Just gimmie some Crisis Suits, Ghostkeels, and a riptide and I'll be happy as a clam!

 Tawnis wrote:

 Ordana wrote:

Kroot die to a stiff breeze and their combat is utterly laughable. No one is going to be scared to charge into 10 kroot sitting on an objective and anyone interested in charging them will likely wipe them without breaking a sweat.

Yeah, I've made it work with Etherals 6+ FNP and 9Ld aura (helps if there is nearby cover for Hidden Hunters too), but only one really specific built does not a good unit make. Also can't be used within a Farsight Enclaves detachment which is a big downside to that as most lists run Farsight currently. Though having a big blob of Kroot get FTGG from Gunship Diplomat does also help a bit with the charges against them, but yeah, I had two squads brawl it out with a single Malignant Plaguecaster (at 2 wounds left) and it took them two rounds to kill him, loosing 9 of the 20 Kroot in the process.

Back in the day I used to run a pretty decent Kroot heavy Tau army. Kroot need buffs, one thing that would really help is letting them have the +1 attack for their Kroot rifles back. If Ethereals don't help anymore then Kroot need an HQ. Angkor Prok used to be nifty, and he's in the lore. They should bring him back. I also would like to see a minor stat buff for them if they choose an evolutionary adaptation. Also, let them take kroothounds and krootox as squad upgrades again. A blob squad of 30 can be threatening.

Personally I don't hate Darkstrider's old model. The new one is cooler, yes, but I don't entirely get the hate for the Finecast one. I had fun painting it too.

Honestly, I think the old one is cooler...