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Tau Vehicle Armoury
Siege Plates - 15 pts. Can only be taken if the vehicle has the landing gear upgrade.
Advanced Targeting Matrix: 10 pts. Hammerhead with Railgun only.

Siege Plates: Special plating is added to the outside of the tank. These plates create an energy disturbance around the tank which greatly reduces the potency of small-arms fire against it. However, the power requirements and the effects that it has on the tanks grav-plating requires that the tank have landed in order to be used.

As long as the tank is landed, whenever a tank equipped with Siege Plates would lose a hull point, roll a d6. If the hit was a glancing hit, the tank does not lose the hull point on a role of 4+. If the hit was a penetrating hit, the tank does not lose the hull point on a role of 6+ (however, you still role on the damage table).

Advanced Targeting Matrix: An advanced AI within the Hammerhead tank provides precision calculations for the submunition round fired, ensuring accuracy.

A Hammerhead tank equipped with an Advanced Targeting Matrix will only scatter 1d6 when firing the submunition round.


Given the increased presence of fast aircraft in Tau Space, the Ethereals tasked the Earth Caste to create an effective ground-based counter that still was able to play a role on the battlefield after all aircraft were downed. The Earth Caste engineers delivered the Mako. Using a modified Hammerhead Hull, the engineers mounted a plasma battery onto the tank, allowing it to deliver precision shots into the air above the battlefield. They also designed the gun so that it could be converted into the equivalent of a plasma cannon when targeting ground units. However, due to the weapon system being designed to target flying units, initial tests of the ground-targeting system had disastrous results. A change in the firing angle as significant as the one being used often offset the balance of the grav-engines, causing the tanks to crash into the ground or into other tanks around it. In addition to the damage this caused, it also greatly reduced the weapons ability to fire accurately. To compensate, the engineers designed the weapon to only be able to fire at ground targets when firmly anchored using landing gear. They also used repurposed siege plates to in increase the stability. They also reduced the strength and energy of the plasma field launched, slightly reducing it's firepower, but completely eliminating the stability problem.

Tau Mako Tank
280 pts

BS3(4) F13 S11 R10 HP3

Weapons: Mako Multi-Role Plasma Battery (Turret Mount), 2 Burst Cannons (Drone Mounts)

Wargear: Landing Gear, Targeting Array (Bonus included in profile), Siege Plate
May take any wargear available from the Tau Armoury
May Replace both Burst Cannons with 2 Gun Drones for free, with a network markerlight for 10 points, or with 2 Twin-Linked Plasma Rifles for 20 points.

Mako Multi-Role Plasma Battery: A highly adaptable plasma weapon which is capable of providing both potent anti-aircraft fire and devastating supression fire against ground-locked forces. In it's default mode it's 2 sets of twin-linked plasma canons are set in a way to give them optimal firing potency against fast moving targets. Then, once all air targets are destroyed, the tank switches the gun to an anti-infantry mode, using the plasma cannons to send out multiple blasts over the course of a very short time. However, this mode of fire creates a significant amount of recoil and instability, requiring the Mako to engage it's landing gear and siege plates to fire.

Anti-Air Mode:
R 36" S7 AP2 Heavy 2 Rules: Skyfire, Twin-Linked

Anti-Ground Mode:
R 36" S6 AP3 Heavy 2 Rules: Small Blast, Siege Mode Only

EDIT #1:
Siege Plates requires now only removes the roll on the damage chart on a roll of 4+, so if the vehicle receives a penetrating hit, it will always loose a hullpoint, but on a 4+ you won't roll on the damage chart. Glancing hits are unchanged.
New Text: "Whenever you suffer a glancing hit, roll a D6. On a 4+, you do not loose a hull point as a result of the hit. Whenever you suffer a penetrating hit, roll a D6. On the roll of a 4+, your opponent does not roll on the damage chart. You still loose a hull point."

Changes to the cost, armour, and weaponry of the Mako:
Cost is now 210
Armour is is now F13 S12 R11
Anti Air now has a range of 48

New Weapons upgrades for the Hammerhead with Railgun. See below.

Minor changes to formatting.

Definitely not worth 280 points;

My suggestions for this -

Side Armour 12. Rear armour 11. Keep the Siege Plates at 4+ for the Hull Point for Penetrating hits, as when not moving, Skimmers lose Jink; alternatively, make Penetrating hits lose a hullpoint, but negate the damage roll on a 4+. The inability to move is worth a lot more in 6e.

Anti-Air Mode: At least 48" range.

With all that, you're looking at about 200 points.

Siege Plates sound like too much, a hammerhead is already pretty well armour, is a skimmer, and can take disruption pods. Adding the ability to ignore a special rule designed to nerf tanks (TBH transports are buffed if anything because glancing hits don't roll on the damage chart and need 3 glancing or penetrating hits to die) for just 10 points is too much. If you do want it I suggest you double the price and make it so penetrating hits still take a hull point.

Also TBH I would like to see hammerheads be able to take an upgrade that gives them the interceptor special rule since shooting a plane out of the sky with a single railgun hit sounds awesome.

chrisrawr wrote:Definitely not worth 280 points;

My suggestions for this -

Side Armour 12. Rear armour 11. Keep the Siege Plates at 4+ for the Hull Point for Penetrating hits, as when not moving, Skimmers lose Jink; alternatively, make Penetrating hits lose a hullpoint, but negate the damage roll on a 4+. The inability to move is worth a lot more in 6e.

Anti-Air Mode: At least 48" range.

With all that, you're looking at about 200 points.

You're probably right about it being overcosted. I was being extremely conservative with pricing it. Improving the armour seems reasonable, as does upping the AA range. I'll try your change of making it so that glancing hits still negate the hull point on a 4+, and pen it cancels the damage roll on 4+. I'll also drop the points.

Buttons wrote:Siege Plates sound like too much, a hammerhead is already pretty well armour, is a skimmer, and can take disruption pods. Adding the ability to ignore a special rule designed to nerf tanks (TBH transports are buffed if anything because glancing hits don't roll on the damage chart and need 3 glancing or penetrating hits to die) for just 10 points is too much. If you do want it I suggest you double the price and make it so penetrating hits still take a hull point.

Also TBH I would like to see hammerheads be able to take an upgrade that gives them the interceptor special rule since shooting a plane out of the sky with a single railgun hit sounds awesome.

Just in case you didn't notice, in order to use Siege Plates, you have to not only take landing gear (I don't have my codex on me, but I think its an additional 10 points) but you have to be using them, which means remaining stationary and not counting as a skimmer (meaning you don't get your jink save). I'm also not sold on giving Hammerheads interceptor through an upgrade, but I can think of a couple of possible AA munitions.

Lamprey Airmines- 15 pts. Hammerhead with Railgun only.

S- AP- Range 108" Rules: Lamprey Airmines

The Hammerhead has been upgraded to be able to fire Lamprey Airmines, special microdrones which hover in place and serve as deterents for aircraft passing through an area on the battlefield, in addition to solid-state and submunition rounds. Place the Large Blast Template anywhere within range that the Hammerhead has a line of sight to, then roll to scatter. Leave a marker in place representing this position. It is now a minefield, and any flier passing through it must roll a d6. On the roll of a 2+, the flier takes an automatic glancing hit with no saves allowed of any type. On the roll of a 6. The flier suffers a penetrating hit with no saves allowed, as the microdrones get into a crucial system. Additionally, any non-vehicle unit deepstriking within 6" of the center of the blast template automatically take D6 S5 AP5 hits with no cover saves allowed, and any vehicle deepstriking within 6" of the center of the blast template receives an automatic glancing hit. This represents the difficulty avoiding the mines as you make entry from orbit. The Lamprey Airmines have no effect on non-flying, non-deepstriking units.

White Shark Air Superiority Drones - 25 points per drone. Up to 6 Drones. Hammerhead with Railgun only.

Before the Hammerhead moves during the movement phase, you may elect to have the Hammerhead deploy one White Shark Air Superiority Drone. If you do, the Hammerhead can not move or fire weapons that turn. The drone immediately makes a full speed move from the hammerheads turret as if it were a fast flier. It uses the following profile

White Shark Drone
WS2 BS2 S4 T4 I2 W1 A1 Ld 8 Sv 4+
Wargear: Airfighter Cannon
Special Rules: Supersonic Drone, Air Only, Small Target, Limited Fuel, Explosive Detonation, Fearless

Airfighter Cannon: Range 24" S6 AP5 Assault 5
Supersonic Drone: This drone is designed for supersonic speed combat. It moves as a Flyer with the Supersonic rule.
Air Only: The drone is designed specifically to target air units, and thus has no algorithms for ground based attacks. The drone can not fire upon non-flyer units.
Small Target: Due to the drones small size compared to other aircraft, whenever a enemy firing at it from the ground would hit it, roll a d6 for each hit. On a roll of a 4+, ignore the hit.
Limited Fuel: At the start of each movement phase that the Drone has been on the board, roll a D6, on a roll of a 4+, the drone continues to function. If you rolled less than a 4, the drone runs out of fuel and crashes. Remove the drone as a casualty.
Explosive Detonation: The drone may not assault. However, if it would come into contact with an enemy flier, or whenever it would be removed as a casualty, it does a suicide attack. Immediately remove the drone as a casualty and replace it with the small blast template. Each flyer hit by the blast template takes a S8 AP1 hit.

I'm not sure how good or balanced the second drone is, but I think it's a neat little concept.

The lamprey airmines seems a bit complex. I'd almost make it "Nominate an enemy flier on the field when the Hammerhead fires its weapon. On a 3+, it must make a dangerous terrain test at the beginning of its movement." - This has a 1/12 chance of destroying a flier with each shot, which isn't that bad to be honest. It's also a lot less awkward-feeling than random hits from an unrelated shot.

Drones; I love the idea, but make them like bastions/buildings/other things you can buy and set up during deployment - a drone interceptor system.

1) Airfighter cannon is ridiculous, even with air only. S5 AP5 Asault 4 Skyfire to bring it in line with how burst cannons should be. With only skyfire, I believe it cannot fire upon ground units except as snapfire, which is also fine. The big thing is;

Limited fuel should limit its movement unless an enemy flier's movement passes within 6", when the drone can cause an S8 AP1 hit. and the drone is destroyed; like a land-mine/seeker.