Warhammer 40K: This Week’s Meta Hotness – Commander Shadowsun
Let’s take a look at a unit that is throwing some shade, Commander Shadowsun.
In the ever-shifting meta of 40K, armies rise and fall. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about armies that are hot or not, but a lot less time looking at units that are running the show. Today let’s start by taking a look at one of the hottest units currently running around the tabletop.
The Unit
Shadowsun is the Supreme Commander of the T’au Empire. Wearing a light battle suit and armed with top-of-the-line equipment she is a top shelf T’au HQ unit. She combines close range with support with strong buffs for the army.
Why Is Shadowsun Good?
Shadowsun starts out with stats on par or stronger than your base T’au commander. T’au Commanders are already a very strong units and her improved stats are icing on the cake there. Her weapon loadout gives her a lot of flexiblity, with some weapons being good for taking down hordes others MEQs and still others tanks. She can put out some major damage when needed. Her drones not only give her extra wounds but up her 5++ by having one with a 4++ and making her a lot harder to target. She can jump around knocking down targets and being very hard to hit in return. -1 to range attacks that target her doesn’t hurt either.
On top of all the firepower, she also acts as a strong force multiplier. In particular, a powerful re-roll 1s aura coupled with a pick a core unit to reroll all hits is really strong. Thanks to being a supreme commander, these abilities are not locked into a Sept and can affect any T’au subfaction. Infiltrator lets her set up in a better position as well. This is a unit you can slot into any T’au army and get some buffs.
A Sample List
Saying a unit is hot is all well and good, but let’s take a look at how players are using it. Shadowsun hasbeen in a number of lists that have done well at recent tournaments. One list that uses heris the following: run by Jack Harpster for a top place finish at the 2022 Cherokee Open.
++ Farsight Allies Patrol Detachment ++
+ Stratagems +
Stratagem: Emergency Dispensation [-2CP]: 2x Additional Relics
+ No Force Org Slot +
Crisis Bodyguards x3 each w/ ion and double plasma, 1 iridium battlesuit and 1 shield drone.
+ HQ +
Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit w/ Burst Cannon, DW-02 Advanced Burst Cannon, High-output Burst Cannon, 2x Plasma, Solid-image Projection Unit, Stratagem: Promising Pupil for Exemplar of the Mont’ka & 1 Marker Drone, 1 Shield Drone
Ethereal w/ 2x Marker drones, Hover drone, Humble stave, Sense of Stone, Wisdom of the Guides
+ Troops +
Kroot Carnivores x10
+ Elites +
Crisis Battlesuits x5 each with Ion, 2x Plasma & shield generator, one w/ Stimm Injectors & Iridium battlesuit. 3 shield drones , 1 marker drone
Stealth Battlesuits x4 w/ burst cannons, Homing Beacon, 1 marker drone, 1 shield drone
+ Fast Attack +
Kroot Hounds x4
Kroot Hounds x4
++ Farsight Allies Patrol Detachment ++
+ No Force Org Slot +
Crisis Bodyguards x3 each w/ ion and double plasma, 1 iridium battlesuit and 1 shield drone.
+ HQ +
Commander in Crisis Battlesuit [9 PL, 202pts, -1CP]: 1. Precision of the Hunter, Cyclic Ion Blaster, Cyclic Ion Blaster, Cyclic Ion Blaster, Iridium battlesuit, Stratagem: Promising Pupil, T’au Flamer, The Be’gel Hunter’s Plate, Thermoneutronic Projector & 1 Marker Drone, 1 Shield Drone
+ Troops +
Kroot Carnivores x10
+ Elites +
Crisis Battlesuits x5 each w/ 2x Frag, Flamer, Target Lock, 1 w/ Iridium battlesuit & 3x shield generator Drones, 1x Marker Drone
+ Fast Attack +
Kroot Hounds x4
++ T’au Sept Supreme Command Detachment ++
Commander Shadowsun [8 PL, 150pts]: 2x High-energy Fusion Blaster, Warlord
Using Shadowsun
At the end of the day, there isn’t a huge trick to using Shadowsun. She’s a powerful unit with strong buffs. Jack’s army has included her and thanks to her abilities she can buff the rest of the army, even though it is Farsight Enclave. On the tabletop, her guns are best pointed at enemy tanks. Other than that, you just want to keep her near your large Crisis Suit units for some sweet re-rolls. Then profit. 
Let us know what units you think are hot right now, down in the comments!
