Warhammer 40,000/10th Edition Tactics/Tau
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This is the current 10th Edition's Tau Empire tactics. 9th Edition Tactics are here.
Why Play Tau Empire
Pros
Cons
Faction Rules
- For the Greater Good: IT'S BACK!!! Whenever a unit shoots, you can have a second unit that is also eligible to shoot act as a Observer and mark an enemy that both of your units can see. The shooter gains +1 to BS and if the observer has the Markerlight keyword, the shooter also gains Ignores Cover on their attacks. This creates an interesting dynamic between less important shooting and more crucial stuff, with anyone being able to pitch in and help their budy get their rounds on target. Essentially you're setting up a modern target acquisition kill chain, so T'au continue the tradition of being the closest to modern real world tactics.
- Note that this has no restrictions on how often this can be used, meaning it can be used at any time so long as each unit only acts as an observer or shooter once. While it's not giving two walls of pulse rifles firing overwatch, the one unit that does shoot can do so much more reliably.
Detachments
Kauyon
The patient hunter is back and perhaps better than before, since you don't have to wait until turn 5 for a truly awesome damage buff that you might not even need at that point.
Special Rules
- Kauyon: From turn 3 and later, your units all get [Sustained Hits 1], giving them a bit more edge on unleashing their firepower later on. If you use FtGG's spotting abilities, then the unit getting spotted gains [Sustained Hits 2].
- Aside from some (sometimes significant) interactions with other special rules, Sustained Hits acts like a positive BS modifier that has superior scaling to actual BS modifiers. So a BS 4+ shooter is mathematically BS 3+ while Guided or under Kauyon and BS1+ while under both (on average, all shots hit); meanwhile, a BS 2+ shooter is mathematically BS 2+ while Guided, BS 1+ while under Kauyon, and BS 0+ (on average, 7 shots hit for every 6 shots fired) while under both.
- Restrictions: Farsight and Ethereal units remain mutually exclusive to each other. You can't field Ethereals while Farsight is in the detachment and vice versa.
Stratagems
- Combat Embarkation (1 CP): If an enemy tries to charge one of your Infantry units while they're within 3" of a Transport, the troops can immediately flee into their transport and force the enemy to target someone else. Once again, the Tau has learned a lesson that no one else has; to take your ball and go home when the neighborhood bully comes around with a chainaxe and a raging stiffy.
Enhancements
- Exemplar of the Kauyon: Available on any character that isn't a Kroot Shaper. Allows the bearer's unit to benefit from Kauyon on turn 2 rather than turn 3.
- Precision of the Patient Hunter: Bearer gains +1 to hit on their guns. After turn 3 (when Kauyon kicks in), there's also a +1 to wound too.
- Puretide Engram Chip: Availale on any character that isn't a Kroot Shaper. Lets the bearer's unit use a stratagem despite it having been used on another unit.
- Through Unity, Devastation: Whenever the bearer's unit acts as an observer for FtGG, the Guided unit gains [Lethal Hits] on their guns.
Equipment
Drones
What is a Tau army without drones? Notably, they're now busted back to being merely special rules linked to wargear rather than being full models with statlines. The more unique drones like the Pathfinders' special drones or the Shielded Missile Drones stuck to a Riptide are now stuck on their respective units' statlines.
- Guardian Drone: Ranged attacks against this unit take -1 to wound.
- Gun Drone: Gives a Twin Pulse Rifle with two shots and Assault and Twin-Linked for a bit of extra firepower on the move.
- Marker Drone: Gives the Markerlight keyword and lets the unit be an observer for FtGG even after advancing.
- Missile Drone: Gives a 30" A2 BS5+ S7 AP-2 D2 missile pod to blow up MEQ foes.
- Shield Drone: Gone are the improved saves, now all this gives is an ablative wound.
Unit Analysis
Characters
- Cadre Fireblade:
- Commander in Crisis Battsuit:
- Commander in Enforcer Battsuit:
- Commander Coldstar Battsuit:
- Ethereal:
- Kroot Shaper:
- Firesight Team:
Epic Heroes
- Aun'Va: While he has those two buff guys as bodyguards, he remains just as unfit for melee as any other ethereal with the added malus of being unable to join anyone else. That said, he's got plenty of defenses between a 4++ invuln, Lone Operative and an innate -1 penalty to hit and wound him with a single-use 2++ save to hold off a single-use kill-strike. His one benefit is a 6" bubble that lets friendly units add +1 to Leadership and battle-shock rolls.
- Aun'Shi: The only Ethereal who can fight worth a damn with his S5 AP-1 D2 stave with [Sustained Hits 1], gaining either [Precision], [Devastating Wounds] or improving to [Sustained Wounds 2]. This gives him some ability to fight enough to compensate for any squad of fire warriors being pansies and threaten things the Kroot can't. On top of this, he gives his squad +1 to OC, making the fire warriors excellent for capping.
- Commander Shadowsun:
- Longstrike: Surprisingly has a full statline for his Hammerhead instead of how Chronus or Pask merely commandeer a tank and boosts its stats. That said, all he does is give one other Hammerhead within 12" [Lethal Hits] on its guns each turn.
- Commander Farsight:
Infantry
Fire Warrior
Battleline
- Breacher Team:
- Strike Team:
other
- Pathfinder Team: Remain reliably mobile with Scouts 7" and are the shining example of the value of FtGG, not only natively getting the Markerlight keyword but also being able to mark two enemies if they're the observer. The Ion Rifle got a bit of a buff with its overcharge profile maintaining its AP-2 while the basic profile is stuck to AP-1, but it's now under the risk of Hazardous. The Rail Rifle got a Strength buff as well as Devastating Wounds for extra power.
- The Drones are back to just being rules as well. The Grav-Inhibitor Drone makes enemies suffer -2 to charge rolls against the pathfinders like before, the Pulse Accelerator Drone adds +6" to the Pulse Carbines' range, the Recon Drone gives both a Burst Cannon to add to the firing line but also provides Infiltrators so you can set the team up wherever you need them.
Other
- Stealth Battlesuits:
- Kroot Carnivores
- Vespid Stingwings:
- Kroot Farstalkers:
Beasts
- Kroot hounds:
Drone
- Tactical Drones: Flimsy drones, but they're very nimble and carry [Twin-Linked] pulse carbines with [Assault] so they're always firing on the move.
Mounted
- Krootox Riders
Vehicles
- Hammerhead Gunship: We don't have the stats for the machine itself yet, but we do have the stats for the Railgun - A good 20 Strength, -5 AP with D6+6 Damage will mess up most things it looks at, and with Devastating Wounds, it has a chance of doing all that damage as Mortal Wounds instead. The only other gun we've seen that has close to that damage is the Hekaton Land Fortress with the Strength 18 Heavy Magna-rail Cannon, which also has less AP and range than the Railgun. I guess the Squats can pack up again with all that "we kept our best technology to ourselves" nonsense.
- Consider this; with the Kauyon Detachment, all ranged weapons gain Sustained Fire 1 after the third turn, and when Guided, it becomes Sustained Fire 2 - including this one.
- Skyray Gunship
- devilfish:
- Piranha:
Walker
- Crisis Battlesuits
- Ghostkeel Battlesuit
- Broadside Battlesuits:
- Riptide Battlesuits:
- Stormsurge:
Aircraft
- Razorshark Strike Fighter:
- Sun Shark Bomber:
Titanic
- Manta: The giant plane, capable of carrying close to an entire army all on its own (200 Infantry or Tactical Drone models, 4 Devilfishes, Skyrays or Hammerheads, and 8 Battlesuit models with 8 or fewer wounds). That giant plane, however, is a very CP-hungry beast as any stratagems used on it cost triple the listed amount. Of course, it's loaded to bear, with standouts being the monstrous STRENGTH 32 Heavy Rail Cannon that brings titans to their knees and the Long-Barreled Burst Cannon Array, which can easily eradicate squads all on its own before it can let any units that disembark benefit from re-rolling to wound on a single unit it shot at.
Fortification
- Tidewall Shieldline:
- Tidewall Droneport:
- Tidewall Gunrig:
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