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Made in gb
Dakka Veteran




  • All units with Manta Strike, Plunge From The Sky, or Cloaked Insertion instead replace those abilities with High-Altitude Drop.
  • Pathfinders, Tetras, and Kroot Carnivores and Shapers gain the Forward Observers ability, replacing Stealthy Hunters or Vanguard.
  • Pathfinders, Tetras, Kroot Carnivores, Kroot Shapers, Stealth Battlesuits and Piranhas all gain the Outflank ability.
  • Stealth Battlesuits and Ghostkeel Battlesuits both gain the Infiltrators ability, replacing the existing Infiltrators ability.
  • The Positional Relay is added to the Support Systems list; it costs 10 points for Stealth Battlesuits, 15 points for Crisis, Hazard, and Ghostkeel Battlesuits, and 20 points for all others. The Pathfinder Recon Drone is automatically equipped with a Positional Relay.
  • The Homing Beacon available for Stealth Battlesuits is replaced with a Decoy Beacon.
  • Remove the Positional Relay Stratagem. Add the Locked Co-Ordinates, Fire Zone Hot, and Recon and Recall Stratagems.


  • Deployment Abilities
    High-Altitude Drop: During deployment, you can set up this unit high in the skies instead of setting it up on the battlefield. If you do, then in the Reinforcements step of one of your Movement phases you can set up this unit anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" away from any enemy models.

    Forward Observers: At the start of the first battle round, before the first turn begins, this unit, or the <SEPT> TY7 DEVILFISH it is embarked within, can make a Normal Move of up to 7” as if it were your Movement phase. The unit must end that move more than 9" away from any enemy models. If both players have units that can do this, the player who is taking the first turn moves their units first.

    Infiltrators: During deployment, when you set up this unit, it can be set up anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" away from the enemy deployment zone and any enemy models.

    Outflank: During deployment, you can set up this unit, or the <SEPT> TY7 DEVILFISH it is embarked within, in outflank instead of setting it up on the battlefield. If you do, then in the Reinforcements step of one of your Movement phases you can set up that unit wholly within 6" of any battlefield edge and more than 9" away from any enemy models.

    New Wargear
    Positional Relay:
  • The bearer has the POSITIONAL RELAY keyword.
  • Each time you set up a T’AU EMPIRE unit from your army as Reinforcements, that unit can immediately make a Normal Move of up to 6"; it must end that move wholly within 6” of the bearer and more than 5" away from any enemy models. This is an exception to the normal rules for repositioning units.

  • Decoy Beacon: During deployment, when you set up the bearer on the battlefield, also set up a friendly Decoy Beacon model anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9” from any enemy models or the enemy deployment zone. At the start of the first battle round, before the first turn begins, you can remove the bearer’s unit from the battlefield and set it back up anywhere on the battlefield that is wholly within 3" of this Decoy Beacon model and more than 5" from any enemy models. When the first turn begins, remove this model from the battlefield.

    New Stratagems
    Locked Co-Ordinates (1 CP)
    Tau Empire – Strategic Ploy
    Use this Stratagem at the start of the first battle round, before the first turn begins. Select one T’AU EMPIRE in your army that is not on the battlefield. Until the end of your next turn, treat the current battle round as being one higher than it actually is for the purposes of setting up that unit, and when you set up that unit, every model must be set up wholly within 6” of your deployment zone. All other rules for setting up the selected unit still apply.
    Recon and Recall (1 CP)
    T’au Empire – Strategic Ploy
    Use this Stratagem at the end of your turn. Select one TAU EMPIRE unit from your army with the Outflank ability, or a <SEPT> TY7 DEVILFISH that only has <SEPT> models with the Outflank ability embarked within it, that is within 3" of any battlefield edge and was not set up this turn. Remove that unit from the battlefield and place it into Strategic Reserves.
    Fire Zone Hot (1 CP)
    T’au Empire – Strategic Ploy
    Use this Stratagem in the Reinforcements step of your Movement phase, after a TRANSPORT unit from your army is set up on the battlefield. Any units embarked within that TRANSPORT unit can disembark after it is set up. If they do so, they are considered to have been set up as reinforcements, using the same rules as that TRANSPORT unit.

    This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/07/29 11:59:05


     
       
    Made in gb
    Battleship Captain





    Bristol (UK)

    Isn't a Devilfish more than 3" wide? Therefore it could never use Recon and Recall.

    Just in general a lot of these seem very minor and I'm not really sure what you're trying to achieve.
       
    Made in gb
    Dakka Veteran




     kirotheavenger wrote:
    Isn't a Devilfish more than 3" wide? Therefore it could never use Recon and Recall.
    That's a copy-paste error, thank you for the catch. Should just be within 3".

     kirotheavenger wrote:
    Just in general a lot of these seem very minor and I'm not really sure what you're trying to achieve.

    Well, for the design notes... basic housekeeping:
  • Standardising all deployment abilities of the same sort is useful for cross-referencing them – removing the name "Manta Strike" also removes potential confusion with the actual Manta unit.
  • Infiltrators has been changed to the same 9/9 distance as other abilities of its type, instead of its current 12/12.
  • Pathfinders can now move with the Devilfish they're clearly supposed to be mounted in, just like Dominions.
  • Pathfinders and Kroot (and Devilfishes with Pathfinders) also gain Outflank, because it fits their lore and isn't likely to break anything.

  • Actual substantial changes:
  • Positional Relay returns as wargear; it essentially allows you to set up reinforcements within 9-6" of the enemy (and up to 12" from a battlefield edge, if you're using Strategic Reserves/Outflank), but only if you're wholly within 6" of the bearer. Its precise phrasing is a little odd-looking, but allows it to assist Outflank/Strategic Reserves as well as Deep Strike – and the new Locked Co-Ordinates Stratagem.
  • With the Positional Relay now a Support System available to Stealth Suits, the Homing Beacon is redundant; I've therefore replaced it with the new Decoy Beacon, for a "switcheroo" redeployment ability that seems fun and potentially very useful for mind games. An alternative which keeps the Homing Beacon as-is can be found below, in spoilers.
  • New Stratagems! Locked Co-Ordinates allows you to offset the risk of going second; keep units in reserve, then spend 1CP each before the battle starts to deploy them on your first turn. You're limited to the immediate vicinity of your deployment zone, but that's what Positional Relay are for.
  • Recon and Recall allows you to redeploy scouting units with the Outflank ability, while Fire Zone Hot lets you shoot the turn you set up a Devilfish from Reserves/Outflank. These are both therefore mainly for Pathfinders, in that sense.
  • Spoiler:
    Homing Beacon: Once per battle, in your Movement phase, you can set up a friendly homing beacon model anywhere within 3” of the bearer. This model is an obstacle terrain feature with the Unstable Position trait, and the T’AU EMPIRE, <SEPT>, TERRAIN, OBSTACLE, POSITIONAL RELAY and HOMING BEACON keywords. Enemy units within 6" of a homing beacon model are ignored for the purposes of setting up friendly units as Reinforcements. If an enemy model ends a move within Engagement Range of a homing beacon model, remove it from the battlefield.


    Overall, this is just intended to make Tau deployment both simpler and a little more interesting. It turns Pathfinders and Stealth Suits into bubbles of flexible deployment, which in turn makes Strategic Reserves more attractive. It encourages you to hold back a CRISIS unit or two for the first turn, and deploy them in reaction to the opponent with relay-support from your scouts. That sort of thing.

    This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2021/07/29 12:01:29


     
       
     
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