Editing Warhammer 40,000/6th Edition Tactics/Tau (section)

==Dataslate==

This is Games Workshops new rules supplement, which they've been supplying over Christmas 2013 (one a day as part of an Advent promotion).  

A Dataslate contains collections of one or more datasheets.  Each datasheet lists a Faction (such as Tau) and either an Army List Entry (rules and points value for a single mode, vehicle or unit) or a Formation (a specific group of models, vehicles or units that enable you to use special rules when you include them in your army).

The crazy thing here is that a Formation is taken as a completely separate Detachment and therefore doesn't take up a Force Organizational Slot, and doesn't stop you taking a Secondary Detachment or Allied Detachment.  So if you want to run Primary Tau Empire with a Space Marine Allied Detachment, a Secondary Detachment (because you're playing over 2000 pts) and also include a Tau Firebase Support Cadre and an Inquisitor Detachment... Feel free.  That's one hell of a lot of slots for Riptides.

===Tau Firebase Support Cadre===

The Tau Firebase Support Cadre is a Formation consisting of one Riptide and two COMPLETE units of Broadsides (3 models per unit).  Each member of the formation has the Tank Hunters and Preferred Enemy (Space Marines) special rules.  In return, your Space Marine enemies will get Hatred (Tau Firebase Support Cadre). This is fair enough really, and not much of a downside.... If you're stupid enough to let Space Marines get into CC with your units, you probably deserve to <s>die</s> lose.

Bear in mind you are free to build the configuration of the formation however you want.  You want all High-Yield Missile Pods and Interceptor on your Broadsides, and an Ion Cannon and Early Warning System on your Riptide.... You can.  You don't want to include Shas'vre in each Broadside team? No problem.  You want lashings of Drones with every model?  You do that!

At the end of the day, this separate detachment will end up costing however much you decide to spend, just as long as you spend the bare minimum of points (570 by my calculations) so it's not cheap.  But it's a  hell of a lot of potential firepower that your opponent has to face down the barrel of.  Flyer heavy opponents probably shit their pants just thinking about this formation.

Oh, and did we mention these babies don't take up a Force Org slot? And as long as you have the points, you can take as many of these formations as you want? Yeah, in a game using a single Force Org (such as 1999+1 Tournaments) you can take as many of these as you want (most likely 2) to add Broadside and Riptide fluffing to your army while leaving those slots open... for more Broadsides(or Skyrays for missile/markerlight fun) and Riptides, most likely. Only be that guy who bring sin 5 Riptides in a 2000 point single force-org tournament if you know how to party. Beware Insta-dead stuff (like Eldar) because your army is going to look tiny compared to even Gray Knights. Have fun.