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Lazy Painter’s Army List: T’au

Posted by johnnya10 on 29/01/2022
Posted in: Lists and Tactics. Tagged: . Leave a comment

Hello, hobby pals! It’s time for another Lazy Painter’s Army List and this time we’re taking a look at those blue fish folk that are the T’au and their frankly mental guns. GW were good enough to send me the new book for this review and I would also like to thank them for making the T’au’s arsenal ungodly and amazing. I think it’s only right that Rail Guns and Missile Pods do a huge amount of damage – that’s the T’au’s whole schtick – but, well, wow. These guns are extra spicy now.

codex tau

Overall, it’s an excellent book, and having spoken to some T’au players over the last couple of years who have been lamenting their lot in the game of late, I’m pretty certain they’ll be grinning with some of the options they get in this book. I also like that the book designers at GW really seem to have fun when it comes to the T’au and they get to use all these cool fonts, textures and graphics. You can really sense the enjoyment when you read this one. But that’s enough of all that – let’s make a lazy painter’s list (minimum models, fun to play with, and with a bit of tactical fun in there too).

Leaders

Shadowsun

We’re starting out with Shadowsun because she’s points pricy, she’s super spicy and she’s one of the coolest looking miniatures in the T’au ranks and that’s saying something. She’s also got some fun rules we’ll get back to later, though she also has the ‘Commander’ keyword, and so we’re only allowed one of those in this single detachment list. Thankfully, Longstrike does not have that keyword and so we’re taking him in his Ion Cannon-equipped Hammerhead Gunship. He’s particularly good at taking on enemy monsters and vehicles too, getting +1 to his wound rolls when targeting these big’uns, but that Ion Cannon will help deal with anyone foolish enough to stand in his way.

Heavy Support

broadside

Yes, you guessed it, we’re making this a Spearhead detachment as we want as many of this army’s massive guns as possible. Let’s start with a couple of Rail Gun wielding Hammerheads. I don’t think I need to say any more about this weapon as Warhammer Community have already done this, but combined with the 12″ move, you have a monster of a weapon that is very manoeuvrable. And speaking of Manoeuvrable, we’re going to be taking a pair of Riptides too. Rocking a pair of Smart Missile Systems, Heavy Burst Cannon and a pair of Shielded Missile Drones, this is a huge amount of firepower to deal with almost anything really. Our last pick in the Heavy Support section are a couple more Broadsides with loads of extras, and, of course, two more Rail Guns.

Elites

To help distract our enemies and capture some objectives, we’re going to take a pair of 3 person Stealth Suit Teams, who are going to bring some Marker Light drones to the party. Their Infiltrators rule can help them deploy on objectives or in cover where they can frustrate your enemy, while their Camo Fields rule will keep them alive a little longer.

Fast Attack

Don’t laugh at this – there is a reason. We are taking 5 Vespid Stingwings. I know this may seem like a weird choice but, well, they cost 60 points, their guns aren’t bad, and once your big guns have cleared an objective, you can just drop these guys down on it to keep it for a turn or two. If they’re in cover, they might even last long enough to take some enemies with them.

Lord of War

stormsurge

Ok, so I lied. As well as our Spearhead, we are taking a Super-Heavy Auxiliary Detachment, because once you see what sort of Damage a Stormsurge can do, well, if you’re anything like me, your jaw will drop. It is the shootiest monster ever in 40k and while it’s very, very pricy, its 2+/4++ saves, its huge number of wounds, and the sheer number of shots it can put out, it’s almost a must have for me, and anyone who likes to cackle maniacally as this thing just deletes multiple enemies from the table every turn.

The List:

Spearhead Detachment –

HQ – Commander Shadowson

HQ – Longstrike (Ion Cannon, 2x Seeker Missiles, 2x Gun Drones)

Heavy Support – Hammerhead Gunship

Heavy Support – Hammerhead Gunship

Heavy Support – Riptide (2x Shielded Missile Drones, 2x Smart Missile Systems)

Heavy Support – Riptide (2x Shielded Missile Drones, 2x Smart Missile Systems)

Heavy Support – 2x Broadside Battlesuits (2x Shield Drones, 2x Marker Drones, 2x Smart Missile Systems)

Elites – 3x Stealth Battlesuits (Target Lock, Marker Drone)

Elites – 3x Stealth Battlesuits (Target Lock, Marker Drone)

Fast Attack – 5x Vespid Stingwings

Super-Heavy Auxiliary Detachment –

Lord of War – Stormsurge (Pulse Blastcannon)

Points: 1989

Models: 20 (plus 18 drones but they don’t count towards our total)

Name: The Greater Good of Massive Guns

Additional Stuff:

This is one of those “If everything goes well, I’ll have won by the end of turn 2” sort of lists. With these guns, you can deploy wherever you want because your opponent would have to be nuts to put anything decent from their army out in the open – you can just delete it if you get 1st turn. But if you are worried, you can use Shadowsun’s Exemplar of Kauyon warlord Trait, in conjunction with the Kauyon Tactical Philosophy to redeploy 3 units before the first turn.

You’re also going to be playing as the T’au Sept because you brought Shadowsun along, and that comes with some fun rules too.

tau sept rules

And yeah, just shoot stuff. If you hit, you’ll probably delete it, if you miss, you have lots of other options. Use those Stealth Suits to capture objectives and drop the Stingwings down later in the game to capture another one. Also, if you beat someone while taking Stingwings in your army, that will be especially funny.

With that being said, T’au have almost certainly just leapt into tier 1, so maybe this is one of those lists you don’t take against new players. I’m no master tactician – far, far from it – but even I can see the amount of hurt you can unleash with this one. Veterans can laugh off demoralising experiences when among friends, but remember that new players won’t be able to have as much fun. I don’t try to make these lists like this, but with the T’au book, it’s honestly hard to do anything else. It’s fun, but this book is almost certainly going to get a wee tap from the nerf-hammer in a couple of weeks. If not, T’au players could be nearly impossible to take off the table.

Onwards (for the Greater Good)!

Tau-velution – Where The Tau Have Come From, And Where They’re Going?

Posted by johnnya10 on 02/10/2015
Posted in: Thoughts and Comment. Tagged: . Leave a comment

I am absolutely thrilled that this weekend sees a return to 40k releases from GW. Not that I haven’t enjoyed seeing Age of Sigmar grow, but my heart belongs to Warhammer 40,000 and so seeing the Tau Empire stomping about on the cover of White Dwarf this Saturday will be like a sight for sore eyes.

stormsurge

To celebrate the coming influx of fish/water-movement-themed names that the Tau update will no doubt bring, I thought I’d spend a bit of time looking at the evolution of the 41st Millennium’s youngest, and arguably most pleasant race. Let’s go back in time to 2001…

*Insert Wavey Flashback Animation Here*

Warhammer 40,000 needed something new. Something needed to set it apart from WFB and bring it into modern times. Other than the Tyranids, all the races in 40k had a twin in the fantasy game, and what’s more, the Squats were now dead – devoured by those aforementioned Nids. GW needed to find inspiration from somewhere new. So they looked East.

gundam tau

Many people have noted the obvious similarities between the Tau battle suits and Manga/Anime mechs such as Gundam, but the comparisons didn’t end there. The caste system, the idea of the Greater Good, and the Tau language all exhibit an Asian theme. Though a little derivative, this was a master stroke from Games Workshop’s designers as it allowed them to create a mechanised enemy with a completely unique (to the 41st Millennium) set of aesthetics and values. The Greater Good ideal also afforded GW the ability to add races, such as the Kroot and Vespid without needing to flesh out an entire army. I still to this day believe that the addition of the Tau was one of the smartest things GW ever did for 40k, and that they have continuously improved this army over every edition.

They also allowed GW to work on a younger race. Eldar, Necrons, Orks… these were ancient races whereas the Tau are the new guys on the scene with a far shorter and more recent history. This meant that they could go deeper into the fluff without making an enormous codex. What’s more, the Tau are kinda the good guys. Aside from a few mildly sinister mysteries about their origins, they are the Ordered Good of 40k. In most Sci-Fi, we tend to root for the human, but what with all the grimdarkness of the Inquisition and Ecclesiarchy and what have you, the Imperium is hardly squeaky clean. The Tau though seem like decent chaps who like to share and probably make sure they call their blue, fish-like mothers every Sunday for a chat.

If Looks Could Kill

Big robots in space! Kind of. Actually they’re battle suits, but of course they look like robots to the uninitiated. Regardless, they look awesome. Lots of guns, jumping around the place – who doesn’t love that idea? There is a certain blockiness to them, but this is offset with smooth lines and angles to take them away from the traditional big metal casket look. Even suits like the Riptide or soon-to-be-released Stormsurge have a genuine elegance to them, despite being massive weapons platforms. If you like, it takes the size and weight of the Imperium, and offsets it against the slender limbs and flowing lines of the Eldar. And because of their unique look, this becomes less of a middle-ground and more of a genuine identity.

old new broadsides

The models themselves have seen some excellent updates to reinforce this. If we take the Broadsides, we can see an evolution from boxy-big-guns, to a dynamic, massive weapon-wielding character. Rumours abound that a new Commander suit is on its way too, which will doubtlessly, given the skills that are prevalent in GW’s design team, carry on these traditions.

Go For Your Guns

The Tau also offered, and continue to do so, a different style of fighting which revolves almost exclusively around shooting. Aside from Commander Farsight and the Kroot, the Tau are as close to useless in close combat as it’s possible to be. They are a gun-line army almost without compare. I once witnessed a Tau vs IG game that I swear no model ever really moved. It was just constant artillery battery and the Tau smashed the Guard into the dust. This is a very appealing thing to some gamers who dread the idea of getting lost in CC, and who want to dominate with massive firepower.

Tau Firepower

Again, this is something that was pretty unique to the Tau. It gives them an edge and balances their useless hand-to-hand skill perfectly. If you go into playing Tau from any other race, you will have a whole heap of problems if you don’t change your game style to match this army. Yes, that is in some part true for any army switch, but Tau are particularly unforgiving, especially to those who do favour running forward.

Forge World (Fish N’) Chips In

fw tau

When Forge World got to work on the Tau, they went big. Really big. Never more so with the recently released KX139 Supremacy Armour. But long before that there was the enormous Manta that can carry an entire army inside it. These are some of the prettiest models that Forge World currently do and I am always tempted to pick one up whenever I’m looking for something new to paint. One day, I’ll get round to it. This also proves the scope within the aesthetic restraints of the design which is a great thing to have for future models and releases.

So Where Next For Tau?

New Commander and Stormsurge aside, there are rumours of new terrain coming too. But that’s not what people really want (though it would be cool). A lot of old-school Tau players feel that one of the biggest tricks GW have missed is the whole Greater Good aspect. They want more Kroot, more Vespids and lots more variety. For a start, Demiurg would give those old Squat players something to cling to, but there are a lot more races to explore as well. This is one of the core ideals of the Tau, yet the idea itself is hugely underdeveloped. I’m sure GW have their reasons, but people really want to see more of these single unit races under the fish-face banner.

codex 3rd

Aside from that, I’m sure the coming years will hold even bigger suits and rail-rifles from both GW and FW. With Tau, the only way is up, and the Riptide and Stormsurge are just the beginning of the upward expansion sphere.

I’m a real fan of the Tau, and it’s these big guys that really tempt me each time. They are a truly unique component of the game and of the galaxy and that makes them perpetually interesting. They make a great and challenging enemy too. One day, I’ll get round to working on some myself. Until then, onwards!