As you all may well know i have been considering whether to collect Sisters of Battle or the Tau empire. Well like the title suggests i am gonna be collecting the Tau (Duh! :rolleyes: ).

Heres some err...'things' that i would like a second opinion on.

Fluff:
My character is gonna be an etheral (not in a battlesuit until bigger games, but then still same person). Name is not decided yet so some suggestions would be nice. He is from the fire caste and since birth his parents raised him to feel no pain to feel no fear and show no mercy. They taught him the value of alliances and the power of words alone. They taught him discipline and skills of warfare. Everything from firing a pulse carbine to fighting many foes with only an honour blade. The parents were extremely harsh punishing him greatly for the smallest reason. He grew up knowing only combat and self improvement for the greater good. And was he good at it. He quickly became commander passing all 3 trial by fires. Now he focuses on testing himself and his forces against any foe that would present itself. He would break off from Tau space to invade without orders just to test the enemy and his own ability. A wildcard but a good one. His methods have been compared to Farsight, obviously not as effective but good enough. His forces would occasionally ally with the imperium for a short while for a crucial battle but 9/10 he would attempt to destroy the imperial forces afterwards if he thought their numbers were small enough. A powerful but risky ally indeed.

Colour scheme:
Black and silver are the main two colours with small details being colours like very dark red or dark brown. They like to fight either at night or on ships if the time does not allow this then its shadows and ambushes.

Tactics:
My main idea (though untested and still new to 40k) is using lots of devilfish with fire warriors upgraded to pack alot of pain (being many high BS + high strength attacks). Skimmers (pirahnas(sp?)) control the flanks or be reserves. Kroot take the middle supported by cover fire from battlesuits and fire warriors. High mobility and fire power is what i am aiming for.

Any ideas on how to improve? I mean i don't know how Etherals are born as the book just says about they appeared. Though the concept is the same either way (think spartans). Anything to look out for in other armies? especially Eldar.

Edit: Stay tuned for the first army list! comming up in forums near you!

Thanks.

SDETT

If you're worried about Eldar, then look out for Warp spiders. Those guys pack a punch, and quickly, and if they manage to get to your fire warriors, you're boned.

The 'fish of fury' tactic- which seems to be what you're going for- is a pretty good one against modt enemies. Fly the devilfish in close, disembark on the side opposite to the enemy and rapid fire. As the enemy can't move under your skimmer they're unlikley to be able to assault you back. If they assault the skimmer they need 6's to hit. If they destroy the skimmer you've got some cover to use as you move back and continue to shoot.
Obviously don't try this against guard, or some other army where you won't win the shooting match. Tau don't have the toughness and numbers to outshoot guard, so against them you need to be able to wipe out one piece of their line at a time, while avoiding counter-fire. Fortunately Tau are pretty good at that.

Kroot are ok IMO, but a lot of Tau players don't seem to like them.
I'd also suggest adding a few broadsides. I hate those damn things...

Right been pondering over the Tau for abit. Now i have a general idea of what i will buy.

I got a good chance of getting the battalion box set for christmas. So units i will buy before are: Fire warriors, Hammerhead, Etheral character, maybe a Devilfish and some Vespoid stingwings.

I have also had some more thought about colour and heres another idea. Ceremonial golden warriors! Shining gold with Mithril silver and black ink (little amount), black for cloth with red and green for things like blinky lights and stuff. Maybe try to paint/carve some patterns on the armor.

I am not worried too much with Eldar i should be able to outshoot his stuff easy and first targets will be fast attacks like those grav bikes. My longer range and stuff like markerlight should really help.

SDETT

One problem I'd just like to point out there is that the Ethereal Caste is a different race of Tau to the Fire Caste. However, you could do a really cool conversion and make a Fire Warrior equipped with an honour blade, and call him an unbattlesuited Commander. That would be very cool.

Though Fire Warriors generally advance up the ranks as: Fire Warrior - Pathfinder - Stealthsuit - Crisis Suit (or Ethereal Bodyguard) - Crisis Bodyguard - Commander. You could very easily make him the main guy in his Ethereal's bodyguard, and then the Ethereal dies and he takes over.

I think Ethereals have some kind of hive mind, and all work together, so it wouldn't be an ethereal leading them. A 'counts as' would work though.

I have Tau and Eldar army books (Though I only collect Eldar) so here are some tips when fighting Eldar with Tau.

Fire Warrior Pulse Rifles easily out range the basic Guardian Shuriken Catapult, as well as a lot of the other Eldar weaponry. Also, it is higher strength than most Eldar weapons, with enough AP to easily kill most of the basic Eldar, like Guardians, Dire Avengers, Rangers and more. And as a bonus, its x2 shots at short range, meaning if the Eldar try to close the distance they'll just get a face full of pulse laser. The only thing is that Fire Warriors have average BS...but they are relatively cheap, so I would take at LEAST 2 units of 10-12 Fire Warriors. They will be the mainstay of your firing line, just remember that they are not built for combat.

Eldar have plenty of mobile units, but Tau have a few: Battlesuits, Vespids and a Piranha or two will help you catch - or avoid - the Eldar threat.

Kroot will be useful to overwhelm the Eldar in combat. They don't have a great save, but once again their rifles out range basic Eldar weaponry, so you should get the first shot in.

Hope that helps you, Lynx

The fluff i am more thinking of now is a commander kinda like Farsight (but not himself). His a warrior picked by the Etherals to be in charge of the Royal Force of T'au (the main planet of the empire). That would be why they are gold (burnished gold now not shining and with flesh wash too) and not the yellowy looks of the common fire warriors, these would be hand picked warriors that have seen at least 5 battles and have shown not skill but resolve and commitment. They are more of a symbol to the Tau Empire than they are a military force. They guard Etherals or the Air caste as they make contact with other races (mainly the imperium).

The vehicles would be painted with the same gold and silver armor as the infantry. The only things that will be different will be Vespids (probably blue or red), Kroot (browny leather) and stealth suits (black). At battles less than 1000pts there will only be one battlesuit commander. Over this and i will include an Etheral and maybe 2000pts another commander. Actually can you have more than 1 HQ choice?

Main unit will be fire warriors in Devilfish troop carriers. Kroot to guard flanks and stealth suit to force changes in the enemy battle line/plans. Some crisis battle suits. Heavy support in the form of Hammerheads or if on a budget sniper drones. Fast Attack mostly Pirahnas.

I have seen some of the weapons the Eldar have and it surprised me that they such short ranges. But add the mobility and that quickly becomes less of a problem.

A converted Fire Warrior Etheral? Sounds great! I think i'll try it out!

Thanks for the help.

SDETT

The ones meeting other races would be the Water Caste (the negotiators and beaurocrats) rather than the Air Caste (pilots).

No i thought the water caste was for farming and such. Air is exploration and negotiation. Earth is for factory work and Fire is the Military. At least thats what i thought maybe i am wrong but you get the idea.

Painted all my Tyranids now and starting on my Tau. I'll post some pics after the first few are done. Promise.

SDETT

Air is pilots. Water is diplomacy. Earth is science and labor. Fire is military.

I've had a tau army for a few years. They can be fun. I like battlesuits because I'm a mech-head. (lol)

Tau nerd. Tau nerd. Red alert! Red alert! lol (I'm just kidding...) ;)

Nice info there... my thoughts were that of SDETT. Well.... his thoughts are a little more jumbled and... well SDETT like :p

T.W.

Why do I suddenly feel the need to defend against being a Tau Nerd? :huh: I'm just a fluff nerd, see!

Given we all obviously enjoy playing a game involving lots of dice and small plasic soldiers, I always find it funny when people 'insult' other people by calling them nerds due to army choice, etc. Isn't it really a moot point?

(I'm not trying to be negative to anyone here- I realise The Wanderer's comment is a joke, etc.- I just honestly find this amusing and it's hard to tell inflection over the internet)

I agree there... I will be a little more careful in the future. Starwolf: So am I. But just not about 40k. Fatasy is my area of expertize.


SDETT: My friend used to play Tau and if you want I can get him to help you a bit. He traded his Tau for Necrons though (only lost 3 battles in 1 year!).

T.W.

That would be great Wanderer. I'll make a 1000pts list and post it later so maybe he could comment on it and others can too obviously.

As for pictures well the Tau are gonna wait abit more as i just bought myself a broodlord and some more guants to paint. I will get round to it or do you want pics of my Nids first? They are mostly black (tell a lie they are all black) so i don't know how well the pictures will turn out.

*blows the dust off the digi cam and holds breath hoping for good pics*

SDETT

It helps if you take them outside in full daylight. A white background is good as well.