KV128 Warhammer Tau Empire Stormsurge

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In place of their old elemental auras, Ethereals now get six Invocations to choose from that they can activate in your Command Phase. Basic Ethereals know two and can activate one on a roll of 3+, but both Named Characters know three and can chant two on rolls of 2+, and adding the Humble Stave to a basic Ethereal gets you the double chant and 2+ rolls. The investment to get to the better version is minimal either way, and if you’re making space for an Ethereal in your list you will almost always want to – especially because two of these really stand out. Next on the fancy toys list are some Commander upgrades, allowing you to boost the AP of their guns and add some mortals on 6s with the Seeker of Perfection trait and boost the wound rolls of two of their guns (as long as you’re within half range) via the Overdrive Power Systems Relic. Both of these look very usable – the trait is behind the generic Precision of the Hunter option for a murder Commander, but some lists absolutely want two, so go wild, while the relic can slot onto pretty much any build nicely thanks to the increased range. Crisis Teams: Good news Tau players – they rule. Faster, deadlier and tougher and with a whole host of support, Crisis teams should take their rightful place as a core part of Tau armies everywhere. Overall a very strong section – Skyrays kind of stand out for how much they do, but there’s a lot to like in all four datasheets, so big guns are very much on the menu. Dedicated Transport From: The sept that a unit belongs to is the sept they are from. A unit is from a certain sept if they have that sept’s name listed on its Faction keyword line.

The fact that this trait really rewards aggression and lets you boost up Vehicles and Drones much more easily than many other Septs can combine to make this look like one of the most promising choices here. If I (Wings) were a betting man I’d say it’s between Farsight and Tau Sept to create the first big breakout build here, and I’d lean maybe 60:40 towards the red ones. Custom Septs T’au Empire Detachment: A Detachment in a Battle-forged army where every model has the T’AU EMPIRE keyword (excluding models with the UNALIGNED keyword). I would also add that the riptide and stormsurge are very different points wise and power wise model per model. A kitted riptide may run you halfish what a kitted stormsurge will run you. So you may want to consider that in your calculations. Also consider the formations that each can be in too. I personally don’t use stormsurges. My main reason being I don’t like building a list around one model. Which in my mind you have to do a bit because it really defines your list to have one. I like the versatility of a riptide wing and multi riptide lists.Each sept has an associated Sept Signature System. If your army is led by a T’AU EMPIRE < SEPT> CHARACTER WARLORD, you can give the relevant Sept Signature System to a T’AU EMPIRE < SEPT> CHARACTER model in your army instead of giving them a Signature System Relic. Named characters (such as COMMANDER SHADOWSUN) cannot be given a Signature System Relic. You can only add KROOT units if your Boarding Patrol Detachment includes at least one KROOT CARNIVORES unit. If you do so, you can include one unit of KROOTOX RIDERS, even though it has the CAVALRY keyword, and it can contain up to 3 models. Your bog-standard deep strike option, with a few abilities keying off using it. Next. Ambushing Predators

Pretty much that – stealth suits are super cheap for what they do, running you only 25pts per model at base now, and you can get value both from small units for screening and larger units you want to dump buffs on – 150pts for a full squad is just not that much. 5pts for adding one fusion blaster is a far more appealing choice these days too. Finally, there’s The Be’gel Hunter’s Plate (I truly cannot tell if the pun here is meant to be “bagel hunter” – does anyone know if there’s a good bagel place near Warhammer World?), handing out a neat +1 to saving throws and a 5+ to ignore wounds. Need a guy to live a little longer? Then give him this, and he will. An Enforcer Commander with this is incredibly tough, starting from an effective 1+ save with damage reduction and a feel no pain, meaning they can tangle with almost anything and come out alive. Prototype Systems There are few more perilous and nightmarish battlefields than those created when a tangled cityscape is plunged into ruinous war. Yet it is amidst such conditions that the T’au of Sa’cea Sept excel. They make an art of fighting through half-collapsed cities, knowing just how to exploit this inimical environment to their advantage. Twelve relics here, a mix of returning favourites and new kit. These are now “Relics” too, rather than Signature Systems, in line with the drive to standardisation (which is good).Markerlights get a big overhaul in this edition of the Codex, making use of the Action rules for delivery in a way that brings some upsides, and some downsides. Those who will not accept the message of the T’au’va, and who cannot see the benefits of willing assimilation into the T’au Empire, must be rendered compliant through military force. They will still fall, of course, as battlesuit teams drop from the heavens with guns blazing and Hunter Cadres sweep unstoppably from one battlefront to the next. Regrettably, however, such conflicts may reduce the world’s infrastructure to ruins before they are done.If your Crusade force has a number of Military points equal to or higher than that planet’s Military Power, subtract that planet’s Military Power from your Crusade force’s Military points total and your Crusade force takes over that planet. Remember to apply that planet’s Assimilation Abilities when it is taken over. Assimilation Abilities: You will encounter many different types of planet over the course of your journey, so vast and diverse is the universe, and each will have Assimilation Abilities that trigger when you take over that planet. These can either help or hinder your progress in that star system, so plan your strategy carefully. Happily, that leaves me with the role of just slamming together something I think looks efficient and effective. I’ve generally gravitated towards either Tau Sept or Farsight Enclaves, so since we’ve already had the Outer Enclaves, let’s see what the Tau traditionalists can do.

Both of these are very good changes for the army – the former reduces the angles opponents have to completely shut your shooting down, while the latter means Tau now have some of the very nastiest units that can fully utilise the terrain available to them. Markerlights Ultimately, these pay off for you – it’s very likely that you’re only ever going to want to bring one Ethereal, and there are enough good choices here to fill out that Ethereal’s slots and have them add serious value. Good stuff. Secondary Objectives Like I said I prefer Multi-Tide lists to the Stormsurge (which you will likely not run in multiples) So I am a little biased. But that is my list of straight pros and cons. There are more I’m sure, but that’s what I think of right off. Some weapons have ‘Blast’ listed in their profile’s abilities. These are referred to as Blast weapons. In addition to the normal rules, the following rules apply to Blast weapons:Just as impactful, if not more so, is a keyword change – Crisis and Broadside Battlesuits plus all Commanders are now INFANTRY. For Crisis and Commanders that means they can claim Light Cover, a big survivability boost (especially on Enforcer Commanders, who can get pretty eye-wateringly tough now), while for Broadsides it provides the key ability to lurk just behind a wall till it’s time to strike, then burst through and hopefully keep one foot on the terrain’s base to augment their already juicy 2+ save (or alternatively, stand on some battlements blasting away). One other key impact this has on broadsides is that they are no longer limited to the ground floor of ruins or other terrain pieces, now being able to climb to firing positions that befit their heavy support status. This warlord is held in the highest favour by the alien auxiliaries serving alongside them.This WARLORD gains the following abilities: Essentially this is a list of the models I like, arranged in the best way I can find to have a decent chance at being fun to play with if not win every game. It hits very hard with the +1 Strength within 12” for all my assault weapons, something Tau are not low on by any measure. The list’s resilience is based on a not insignificant number of shield drones for the Crisis and Broadside units, shield generators on Crisis also. In combination with Reinforced Armour this can make Battlesuits pretty difficult to shift. S6 isn’t too common, but reducing S5 to 5+ wound against my Crisis and Broadsides, as well as 4+ to wound vs my Stealth. S3 shooting will have a tough time wounding on 6+ vs most of the list. It also makes S7 anti tank guns struggle vs my Gunships, forcing the commitment of proper anti tank with S8 and above to really dent them efficiently.