The promise of progress, understanding, and goodwill for all doesn’t sound very Warhammer 40,000, but one group of plucky underdogs is trying to make it happen far to the galactic east. We might be selling them a little short – they’re actually a quickly-expanding confederation of alien species, armed with rapid technological and tactical innovation, an ironclad devotion to the Greater Good, and some of the biggest guns in the galaxy.
Yes, it’s the T’au Empire, and today we’re looking at how the most fluid and flexible faction of the far future – except perhaps the Tyranids – is adapting to the new edition of Warhammer 40,000.
Overview
Working together towards a common goal is more than just a good idea in T’au society – it’s the founding pillar of their entire philosophy. Accordingly, their new army rule incentivises cooperation between squads, building a cohesive firing line that blows enemy armies apart with guided fusillades of firepower, while patiently waiting for the opportune moment to surge forwards.
Faction Rules
Markerlights have been a signature tool of T’au Empire armies since their earliest days, allowing your units to support each other by tagging and tracing priority targets. This dynamic is back in the new edition, with a new twist – it’s now an army rule that allows almost any T’au Empire unit to pair up with an ally and guide their aim, all For the Greater Good.
It’s an elegant system – you select an Observer unit to support a Guided unit in targeting a single enemy unit. The Guided unit gets +1 to their Ballistic Skill when shooting the target, while the Observer shoots as normal that phase. Even if the enemy knocks out your precious Markerlights, you can still keep highlighting targets for destruction – but you’ll want to bring a few along anyway, as Observers with Markerlights also help their comrades Ignore Cover when shooting.
For the first T’au Empire Detachment, we follow the way of the Patient Hunter – the favoured martial philosophy of Commander Shadowsun. Kauyon rewards cunning commanders who can keep their army safe for as long as possible, baiting the opponent into a compromising position before hammering them with a furious barrage in the latter half of the game.*
Unit Spotlight
Dedicated spotters have a new lease on life. Not only do Pathfinders all come with Markerlights to aid Guided units in blasting through cover, they can also act as an Observer twice per turn with their Target Uploaded ability.
Even a minimally-equipped squad of Pathfinders can dramatically increase the efficiency of your bigger guns with a bit of careful positioning – but if you like to pack yours with all of the fanciest toys, you’re also well-catered for.
Eagle-eyed Earth Caste engineers will notice that the special Grav-inhibitor Drones, Pulse Accelerator Drones, and Recon Drones are listed as wargear abilities, rather than models in their own right. That’s due to a new approach to Drones across the board – instead of individual models, all Drones are treated as equipment on a model’s datasheet, granting new weapons or abilities directly to their unit.
Gone are the days of trying to fit a swarm of Shield Drones behind limited cover, or stringing a line across the battlefield for some range-enhancing shenanigans. Now your Drone models are just helpful tokens, and the dutiful kor’vesa aid their masters without obstructing them.
Weapon Spotlight
We’ve talked about it already, but the Hammerhead’s railgun truly is the yardstick against which all other T’au weapons are measured. The overall lethality of the game has been brought down, but this is still a monstrous anti-tank weapon that puts the fear of the God-Emperor** into anything with tracks, tyres, or Tyrannic hooves.
But if even that isn’t enough bang for your buck, the walking god of war that is the Stormsurge has put some extra pep in its pulse blast cannon to deal with tougher vehicles.
Stratagem Spotlight
Fluid movement is a hallmark of T’au military strategy, which prizes survival and initiative over holding useless ground. Infantry units are trained to retreat in the face of an overwhelming assault, and will frequently embark upon a waiting transport to escape the threat of an incoming charge.
As your average Fire Warrior is less than impressive in close combat, a hasty Combat Embarkation is an ideal way to keep them safe from harm while enemy blows bounce harmlessly off your Devilfish hulls. With this, a reckless foe can be forced to over-extend into a killing field, where they’ll be met with a wall of firepower in perfect Kauyon style.
The Word from the Studio
“The T'au believe in the Greater Good, supporting each other where warriors of less enlightened factions might compete for glory,” says David from the Warhammer Design Studio. “We reflected this in their army rule – For the Greater Good – which, when you select a unit to shoot, lets you choose another Observer unit to guide them, improving the Ballistic Skill of the attacking unit.
“This rule rewards you for setting up overlapping fields of fire, drawing your enemies into carefully prepared kill-boxes and launching perfectly timed attacks to obliterate your targets in a storm of solid shot, plasma, and many, many missiles.
“The Kauyon Detachment allows you to really lean into this aspect of T'au military doctrine, equipping you with ways to leave enemy units exposed and hit with devastating force later in the battle. Guided units become even stronger in this Detachment, gaining Sustained Hits 2 from the third battle round onwards!”
Black Library
The T’au Empire features in a number of Black Library stories, both as protagonists and antagonists. The renegade icon of the Farsight Enclaves wages his own personal war against enemies both without and within in Farsight, Farsight: Empire of Lies, and Farsight: Crisis of Faith by Phil Kelly.
From the Imperial perspective, the brutal campaigns of the Damocles Crusade pit Space Marines against T’au elites across Damocles, a compilation of four short stories, as well as the novels Blades of Damocles by Phil Kelly and Sword of Damocles by Justin D Hill.
Want to see how the other factions of Warhammer 40,000 are doing in the new edition? Monday we’ll be seeing how the Chaos Knights fare.
* Ever wanted to see a Hammerhead triple its railgun shots by rolling a Critical Hit? Now you can!
** Or, er, the fear of enlightened and rational diplomatic discussion?