Editing Tau (section)

==Skub, controversy and hurt-butts==

Twelve year old [[fluff]] (from ''[[Dawn of War]]'', supported by [[Deathwatch]] supplements) has them controlling population growth and habitation of the rebelling humans on Kronus once they come under the rule of the Tau Empire. To be fair though, had it been anyone else they were revolting against, including the Imperials, those humans would just be dead.

The Tau have a few hundred planets after a handful were eaten by Tyranids (discounting allied held worlds and worlds with a minor presence). This used to be two dozen. Despite this, GW writers and fanfiction nerds alike have this strange habit of treating them like a major faction. Most writers don't seem to realize the Tau are one of the smallest, most insignificant minor species in the galaxy. This isn't to insult them, they can always get stronger; it's just the plain truth, given the Tau Empire's current situation. Hopefully the Tau Empire will grow as time goes on, assuming the setting doesn't fall into constant grind never proceeding to the next year for decades ''again''.

One of the more controversial aspects of the Tau is that Games Workshop feels the need to make them seem viable as an army by having their power fluctuate wildly. For example, the Tau can easily subjugate Imperial Hive Worlds and deport its population so easily that it doesn't even get a footnote. You know, those planets in which the population of a single city shocked an Tau ambassador because the city's population was greater than the entirety of the Tau species? Imagine entire planets of those cities, cities in which everyone is an experienced killer (which is why Space Marines love recruiting from Hive Worlds), armed and ready to fling themselves at any invading xenos to purge them with extreme prejudice. These are the same worlds where the PDF alone would be large enough to give the entire Fire Caste a serious headache.

As an example of this, take the Battle of Mu'gulath Bay, known as the Battle of Agrellan to the Imperium. This was a fight over a Hive World which the Tau won, how? Using Riptide Battlesuits. According to GW, the Riptide's armor was impervious to nearly all anti-armor weaponry. The kicker though, is that '''''Deathstrike Missiles''''' ''did nothing'' when its shields were active. You know, the missiles '''''Titans are afraid of''''' and can vaporize armies? And can use Titan-killer warheads? '''Those Missiles'''. Such bullshit. There were like three or four of these suits, by the way.

Another example goes back to the Taros campaign in which a Tau stronghold was mysteriously unable to be blown to hell by sustained bombardment from Colossus mortars and then the Tau ''sallied out'' to engage the Imperial forces and won. In addition, a lot of fights are won by their opponents being uncharacteristically stupid. For example in both the Taros Campaign and the Battle of Agrellan the Imperium suddenly forgets how to defend itself and its supply lines during the second [[Damocles Crusade]] and engages the Tau using formations and tactics that cater to the Tau in the extreme (this is especially egregious in the finale). [[wat|There is even an instance in which an assassin forgets to use her gun to instantly kill her target]]. Even the Marines aren't immune to this sudden stupefying aura. Space Marine Terminators wielding storm shields are seen shot and killed because they were too busy telling each other to raise their shields up to block the Tau's shots [[derp|instead of ''just raising their shields up to block the fucking shots''.]]

There are numerous other things too. The Farsight Enclaves defending ''conquered'' worlds instead of just defending actual Tau worlds. Farsight being spared by a Bloodthirster for no reason. Not being wiped out by the Skitarii's radium weapons. The special ammo Space Marines can use that ignores armor or goes through shields and armor not even being mentioned or used. Invisible Shadowsun ambushing and killing a Raven Guard Chapter Master. Bravestorm somehow intercepting a Vindicare's bullet to save Farsight, and Darkstrider and his Pathfinders somehow finding and killing said assassin because he had a hunch that something was amiss (seriously). The list goes on and on, it's like Games Workshop made an entire faction for us to hate for being Noblebright, which pissed everyone off, so they changed the faction into ''Mary Sues'' instead (so basically the exact same shit Dan Abnett did with an Imperial Guard regiment, except nobody whines constantly about them managing to kill a squad of Chaos Marines without taking casualties or just one of them managing to take out deadly Drukhari assassinz [the First and Only are manly men! And manly women! With realistic lasguns!]) That's because a regiment is not an entire freaking faction.

Heck, they even [[Bullshit|cracked the Codex Astartes]] so they're familiar, in theory, with any tactic that an adherent to that text might use. Something no enemy has been able to do. Not Eldar, not Necrons, not Chaos, no one. Not even Primarchs.