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i am starting a Tau army (buying my first set next week) which i intend to be a slow burning - better painted army than i normally do.

I am aware that Tau are supposed to be getting an update at some point.

My question is: is it worth my buying a codex now? Or should i wait x months until the new book comes out.

I am going to be buying what i think should be a staple unit even after the new book, Fire Warriors, to nail down a colour scheme with.

I'd seriously hold off for right now. The key Tau units FW, Crisis suits, and Broadsides are supposedly getting reworked kits and probably rule shifts.

I'm guessing it'd be safer to buy from someone selling off their Tau before the new codex drops and could probably get a cheap codex thrown in. The rumor mill should be cranking out something by March-April if Tau are coming soon though, so it's still pretty far away.

Probably getting a flyer to. I bet everyone will who gets a new codex.

I honestly would wait, since there is no telling who is next. But, if you feel like you're missing out then go ahead.

If you want to play the army, don't wait.

We have no idea when they will be coming out.

Do the generic stuff that will never be useless. FW, DF,HH, CS, ect

To answer the question you asked, no the question everyone else thinks you asked: no, don't bother. If you aren't going to have a playable army by the time the new codex comes out there's no reason to spend money on the current codex. Just magnetize all of your weapons so that you don't have to worry about the rules for your models, and you can stick to painting for a while.

As an addition to what Perigrine said, for Crisis Suits you don't even need to magnetize. The little nubs used to stick the weapons to the suits are a tight enough fit that you can pop them on and have them hold in place. I would personally recommend removing your weapons after each game and keeping them in a separate bin so you don't loose them though.

All good advice. I am buying some FW on Saturday and just won another 12 on Ebay for £1.40 so i'm quite pleased.

That shoudl keep me painting for a while.

I want to take my time and make them really look good ( i normally speed paint and end up with model that are ok). Plus it's my first non-metallic army so it will be a challenge too.

RegalPhantom wrote:
As an addition to what Perigrine said, for Crisis Suits you don't even need to magnetize. The little nubs used to stick the weapons to the suits are a tight enough fit that you can pop them on and have them hold in place. I would personally recommend removing your weapons after each game and keeping them in a separate bin so you don't loose them though.

No, this do not work reliable sadly.

Firewarriors should be fine with Pulse rifles as those will most likely stay the same. So will the tank, hull but other than that it's hard to say as the weapon options will probably change to much especially on the suits and even the effectiveness of the single suits will be completely shuffled.

Think ill stick to Firewarriors and maybe some tetras for now then. A new codex doesn't normally affect FW units so they shoudl be safe, and if they change i can still use them as "count as" pirahnas or soemthing.

We're supposedly getting an update in May.

I decided to hold off on ordering 6 new battlesuits for then, just to see what happens. I'm budgetting part of my paycheck to a "Tau Fund" for when the release happens, then I can make sure what I build is codex compliant at the time.

 Shadowclaimer wrote:
We're supposedly getting an update in May.

I decided to hold off on ordering 6 new battlesuits for then, just to see what happens. I'm budgetting part of my paycheck to a "Tau Fund" for when the release happens, then I can make sure what I build is codex compliant at the time.

The problem, though is that Chaos Daemons and/or Eldar also supposedly are supposed to get an update around May. In other words, no one knows for sure.

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:

 Shadowclaimer wrote:
We're supposedly getting an update in May.

I decided to hold off on ordering 6 new battlesuits for then, just to see what happens. I'm budgetting part of my paycheck to a "Tau Fund" for when the release happens, then I can make sure what I build is codex compliant at the time.

The problem, though is that Chaos Daemons and/or Eldar also supposedly are supposed to get an update around May. In other words, no one knows for sure.

It'll be this year in the first half sometime, that's about all we know for sure.

I thought Eldar were after Tau?

And regardless, waiting 4-8 months for your new version is better than dumping $300 in Crisis Suits that might not be playable when the new system rolls out.

 Shadowclaimer wrote:

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:

 Shadowclaimer wrote:
We're supposedly getting an update in May.

I decided to hold off on ordering 6 new battlesuits for then, just to see what happens. I'm budgetting part of my paycheck to a "Tau Fund" for when the release happens, then I can make sure what I build is codex compliant at the time.

The problem, though is that Chaos Daemons and/or Eldar also supposedly are supposed to get an update around May. In other words, no one knows for sure.

It'll be this year in the first half sometime, that's about all we know for sure.

No, really, the point is that no one knows when the new Tau Codex will be around, or if there'll even be one (although there probably will).

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:

 Shadowclaimer wrote:

 AlmightyWalrus wrote:

 Shadowclaimer wrote:
We're supposedly getting an update in May.

I decided to hold off on ordering 6 new battlesuits for then, just to see what happens. I'm budgetting part of my paycheck to a "Tau Fund" for when the release happens, then I can make sure what I build is codex compliant at the time.

The problem, though is that Chaos Daemons and/or Eldar also supposedly are supposed to get an update around May. In other words, no one knows for sure.

It'll be this year in the first half sometime, that's about all we know for sure.

No, really, the point is that no one knows when the new Tau Codex will be around, or if there'll even be one (although there probably will).

Given the influx of information from multiple rumor sources so far, and the typical GW release schedule, you can almost bet we'll have it in the first half, at latest July, and it has to be a codex (playtesters keep reporting entire Crisis Suit restructuring, model list that spoiled a bunch of new models has been on track so far with Chaos/Dark Angels, and it shows a bunch of new Tau toys, so it'd be odd if we didn't get a new codex to go with them).

Maybe I'm just hopeful, but regardless, I think its safer here given the nature of how Crisis Suits are built to wait out the storm and see what happens before making a large investment. I can understand skepticism though, its still all rumors.

Edit: I will note, OP is right in just going with Firewarriors, I doubt they'll get many new options so at worst they may get some new equipment/weapon choices if/when we get a new codex.

Honestly, you don't really need to buy a codex at this point, as there are some pretty good .pdf files you can put on your phone or tablet. Personally, and note that I am particularly stingy with money, I find it to be better to wait and buy the new version of a codex instead of spending $40 now and then another $60 when/if the new codex comes out. I mean, just think about it. Hold off on the codex and you can buy a full squad of Firewarriors, two Battlesuits, or a vehicle.

I am currently reading a codex i borrowed from a fellow gamer.

I've made myself a little excel sheet with the points and stuff so i can play around with lists etc.
Some of the rules dont really seem to match up/seem OP with 6th ed rules but i'm sure that will change...


example: Shield generator gives the model Stealth + Shrouded (for +3 to any cover save).

The rulebook states that as long as the unit contains a single model with Stealth and/or Shrouded, the entire unit benefits...so if i give a single suit a shield pod, the entire squad gets a massive cover save boost. Nice!