Warhammer 40K: T’au Bursting Onto the Competitive Scene
Adam here to take a look at some of the competitive T’au rules and what it means when you go see them at a tournament.
Although we had a good idea, we are finally seeing some of the rules and models for the T’au Empire. We still don’t know when we will be getting the exact date for the release of the codex. However, Games Workshop has shown us a few things for the army that gives us a taste of what to expect. I know it is hard to really know what the army can do with just these little tidbits. But it is always fun to speculate and see how these new rules would affect your army until we get our hands on the actual codex. So this week we’ll look at a couple of the previews we have just seen. Let’s see how they affect both the army and the meta.
Darkstrider
With a new codex it seems like we will be getting a new Darkstrider model. I must admit that I found the model to be a bit underwhelming. That that could be the point as Darkstrider isn’t supposed to stand out and announce his location for all the universe to see. The little drones seem like small pets that circle around their master and do their bidding. The model doesn’t excite me but I am not a T’au player so you don’t need to care what I think of the model.
In any case, we are supposed to be talking about the rules so here we go. The gun is ok as it has a good strength of 5, -2 AP and does 2 damage. Currently there is a lot of -1 damage going around so the gun may not be as useful as some would seem. It just seems ok with no “wow” factor but you won’t take the model for that. You take the Darkstrider for his ability. The structural Analyser is pretty useful and can really add a punch to your gunline. Adding 1 to the wound roll could allow you to save on command points that many armies spend to get that benefit and it usually affects only one unit. Being able to give multiple units this ability is pretty good. It will be really helpful against some of the tougher targets in the game.
Mont’ka and Kauyon
These two abilities have returned as a new army wide set of rules. Depending on your opponent you get to choose which Tactical Philosophy to use. Mont’ka is for the early game and is interesting. It allows you to count as remaining stationary. This is helpful if you have a lot of battlesuits in your army as they will not suffer the penalty for moving when firing a heavy weapon. The added benefit of additional AP and to wound, at a certain range, is also a very good ability. Many of your opponents will try to get into close combat with you and you will be better able to deal a good amount of damage with this ability.
Kauyon is made for the late game, assuming you survive until then. This is a good ability for when your units are in the thick of close combat and it looks like you won’t be able to get out of it. It allows you to fall back from combat and still shoot, although at a penalty of -1. Hopefully there will be a way to mitigate the penalty in the codex. In addition, depending on the turn, you can get additional hits and it gets better as the game progresses. In the right hands and with the right build I can see something like this being pretty powerful. It might even turn the tide of the game at a key moment.
Will it Matter?
The big question is whether these rules help the army at all? Unfortunately, I can’t say for sure as there are too many variables in order to come to a definitive conclusion. There is still a lot of information that we are missing in regards to other army and sept rules, datasheets, stratagems and a whole host of other stuff. At the very least, it seems to me the army is a bit more powerful and should be much more feared. Once the rules we have seen are put into practice and combined with the rest of the codex it should prove to be good for the army. I still don’t think it will over the top good because hopefully Games Workshop learned their lesson. But it should make Ta’u Empire a contender in any tournament they are a part in. About Time!
~That’s all for this week. I hope you enjoyed the article. Let me know what you think, and your opinion on what you have seen so far for the T’au, in the comments section below.
