The T’au Empire is a beacon of innovation in the otherwise luddite 41st Millennium, constantly developing new and tremendously powerful weapons, evolving its tactics, and bringing new worlds under its sway.
Though united by the Greater Good, each T’au sept world has a distinct cultural identity which influences all aspects of life – including its approach to war. The Empire’s many septs fight in markedly different ways, and the upcoming Codex: T’au Empire gives you a toolbox of options for how your army approaches the business of battle.
There are six major septs in codex T’au, from the ubiquitous T’au and Vior’la to the more specialised Dal’yth and Bork’an. Each gains a sept tenet, a Warlord Trait, a Signature System Relic, and an exclusive Stratagem, representing the character of the worlds they live on.Dal’yth, for instance, is a bustling trade hub renowned for its Water Caste diplomats, given T’au are one of the few factions in Warhammer 40,000 to entertain the idea of diplomacy. This lends its armies a greater appreciation for the auxiliaries that supplement their ranks, and they excel in training Kroot and Vespid forces to use the Fire Caste’s powerful Tactical Philosophies. In turn, their Hunter Cadres pick up expert fieldcraft skills from alien comrades.
Commanders from Sa’cea are meanwhile used to fighting hard-won campaigns in difficult conditions. They know better than any other the value of key strategic terrain and their commanders can delegate control of objectives to units that wouldn’t normally be expected to hold them.
Your chosen sept also gives you a unique Relic. The T’au Sept is well known for its efficiency in battle, and its Vectored Manoeuvring Thrusters give your (already upgraded) battlesuits even more mobility. Should your enemy try to catch you on the charge, you can perform an elegant feint and leave them in prime position for punishment.
Then there are the stratagems. Bork’an reminds its sister septs that time spent in the laboratory can bear bountiful fruit on the battlefield, and it live-tests powerful Experimental Weaponry on the battlefield.
Of course, if your T’au don’t come from one of the six main septs, you’ll also have the option of playing a minor sept, such as the rustic and stubborn colony of D’yanoi, or creating your own.
The different cultures and technological specialities within the T’au Empire can provide a huge variety of benefits to a custom sept – ranging from missile expertise and pinpoint marksmanship to die-hard loyalty and special defensive doctrines.
While the T’au are rightly infamous for the speed of their progress, the lack of warp travel – and the careful guidance of the Ethereals – often hampers the spread of new ideas to more remote corners of the Empire.
When creating your own Sept Tenet, you must therefore pick two tenets from neighbouring sectors on the map below, representing the limited range of influence your army can draw from.
This in no way means your sept is bereft of choice. Each sector contains four different tenets to choose from, meaning there are a total of almost 100 different combinations on offer.
An army heavy with Crisis battlesuits can have them Play Their Part to bully lesser foes off critical objectives, using their speed and durability to employ Blocking Tactics and wrest control of the battlefield towards the side of reason and progress.*
If the Kauyon Tactical Philosophy is your kind of style, Reinforced Armour will keep your big guns safe until you hit that vital late-game surge, while Fire Warriors can bait their targets into charging before beating a Rapid Retreat and gunning them down.
Join one of the T’au Empire’s septs or create your own with the upcoming Codex: T’au Empire, coming soon alongside the ridiculously cool new Darkstrider model.
* That’s you.