Editing Warhammer 40,000/7th Edition Tactics/Tau (section)

===Farsight Enclaves===

Farsight's retinue is not enough for you? You want to fill the table with Battlesuits, because screw those puny Fire Warriors. Most importantly, you ''want to have an answer to melee'' besides him and Aun'Shi (who gives a VP when killed). This is the army for you, if you're hot-blooded enough to step away from the usual ways of Tau.

====Farsight Enclaves' Special Rules====

*'''Battlesuit Spearhead:''' The big draw of Farsight Enclaves, they treat Crisis Suits as Troops instead of Elites.
** This is an awesome bonus, but don't be so quick to put all your points in Crisis - they still need markerlight support, and their antitank options expose them too much. What this rule really does is that it enables you to take Crisis without needing to buy chaff troops first, and allows you to better contest far away objectives, that's it. Oh, and it frees slots to better spam a ton of Riptides, Stealth teams and whatnot.
*'''Ork Hunters:''' Every model in a Farsight Enclaves detachment has Preferred Enemy (Orks), but '''only''' in close combat, because Farsight hates them that much. It's nice in case you ''do'' end up in close combat, but don't go rushing there: you're still Tau and you still suck at melee, and these are ''Orks'' we're talking about. Choppa is their specialty.
*'''Ta'lissera Bond:''' Remember the often-pointless Bonding Knife Ritual mentioned above? Yeah, every unit that can take it '''must''' take it. As discussed above, it's not all that useful (and is, in fact, absolutely pointless for three-man Crisis suit teams), but that's the price you must pay for Battlesuits in Troops.
*'''Signature Systems:''' Farsight Enclave detachments can take signature systems from both the normal Tau list, as well as the Farsight Enclaves list. The Tau Empire signature systems are ''excellent'', whereas the Farsight Enclaves systems are...significantly less so.
*'''Farsight's Commander Team (The Eight):''' Instead of taking his regular 6th edition seven-man Crisis bodyguard team, you can take Farsight's Commander Team, made up of seven Unique Special Characters. The unit doesn't take up an HQ slot (which is nice, and regular Bodyguards now DO take an Elites slot) and each model has the Independent Character special rule, meaning they can join other units, lessening the advantage MSUs have over Deathstars. However, you '''must''' use their wargear as listed, but you don't have to take all of them (which would get as expensive as an army of its own (''which they kinda are'')). They'll be discussed in more detail below. It has since been FAQ'd so that you must have Farsight as your warlord if you want to take any of the remaining Seven.  They're purchased as a single unit but all have Independent Character, so it's not clear whether they ''must'' be deployed together as a unit or if they can be deployed separately.
*'''Allies:''' Farsight Enclaves and Tau Empire are Battle Brothers. Yep, that's A LOT of Riptides.

====Farsight Enclaves' Warlord Traits====

Believe it or not, you have lots of options with this army besides "Farsight Bomb Erryday" (and more with its upcoming formations), although Crisis suits will remain a staple of your army regardless of strategy, and taking Farsight is ''always recommended'', if not for his bomb then for his mate's Signature systems. Yes, you could get resourceful and get No-scatter from other sources (beacons) and have a warlord other than Farsight in order to get an even better bomb (leaving behind some of the Eight if you need to make ends meet), because ALL these traits work nice on such his squad. ''Thus, comments like "this would be great for a Bomb" should be placed [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Tau(7E)#Helpful_Hints_and_Fun_Strategies|in its section]]; this one is for general Enclave strategies''.

#'''The Way of the Short Blade:''' Schooled in Farsight's [https://youtu.be/ggAxjfkW4eM?t=259 Battlesuit-fu], the warlord has WS5 unless you're BALD AND FOOLISH and he isn't equipped with a battlesuit, in which case this gets rerolled. ''What's better than Farsight? TWO Far sights! You bought Fusion Blades, didn't you? Add the gun of your choice and you can [[A_Game_of_Pretend|pretend]] he is a slower-but-shootier Farsight. Have him lead another front or add to the deathstar. You didn't bring Fusion blades? Then reroll it - that's why you should always be Battleforged''.
#'''Echoes of the Grand Master:''' A discount Puretide Engram, your warlord can pick ONE of the following: Counter-attack, Furious charge, Monster hunter, Tank hunter or Stubborn. ''As with the original Puretide Engram, the last three rules are better than the first two, especially Monster and Tank Hunters. While getting a true Engram isn't too difficult (Sha'vastos or Tau allies) it wont do you wrong to have it repeated.(just reroll it, you can now get the signature system and get all of them)''
#'''The Way of the Broken Sword:''' For one turn only your enemy has -1 to his reserve rolls. ''Not bad per se, but "Divide to Conquer" from the BRB's Strategic Table does the same thing all game long. That's a rather good table for Tau, actually, so if you really wanted to affect his reserves you'd be rolling for that instead''.
#'''The Fire Unquenchable:''' The warlord is Fearless and has a 6" Stubborn aura. You could combine this with the Ethereal bubble for [[Commissar|Stubborn Ld 10]] while freeing up his other powers.<-TRAITOR THE GREATER GOOD IS A LIE Or it could turn your Coldstar into a sort of 'morale dispenser', his 24" move letting him get to squads in need in short time.
#'''Countercrisis:''' Crisis teams get +1 to their reserve rolls. ''Similar to #3, "Strategic Genius" provides not only  a reserves reroll for your entire army (instead of only for Crisis), but also a +1 to Seize, stackable with the Mirrorcodex, so you'd rather be using that table.''
#'''Through Surety, Destruction:''' Your warlord and his unit gain Shred during one shooting phase. ''Combine it with Volley fire for true Destruction®. Using this with a Crisis team loaded up on Burst cannons and Gun drones will leave the enemy crying (as usual), and plasma rifles become TEQ woodchippers.''

====Farsight Enclaves' Signature Systems====

*'''Earth Caste Pilot Array:''' Let the engineers have some action. Drops WS of the wielder to 1 (but what are you doing in close combat anyway? Oh right, Farsight list) but you get to re-roll ones for shooting (works with Gets Hot) and failed Nova charges, which is utterly confusing, since Riptides can't take this anymore and GW never answers emails (newest batch of FAQs have reinstated the ability for Riptides to take this item)([[skub]]. It's not a FAQ, but a draft).
** The other way to use this, although not nearly as awesome as on a Riptide, is to combine it with multiple Cyclic Ion Blasters. Double the Templates, half the risk, and meaner still if you add a Target Lock or Early Warning Override to flash-burn some Reinforcements, especially Daemons or Dropping Tempestus.

*'''Talisman of Arthas Moloch:''' Anti-daemonic Bling-Bling found in the same site as Dawn Blade, this makes stopping those warp-shenanigans much easier. The holder gets a 5++, and for all units within 12" the Deny the Witch roll <s>is passed on a 2+</s> its 4+ not 2+, which is frankly fucking-A as the Tau don't have anything to help them against psykers.
*'''Seismic Fibrillator Node:''' One use only and not a drone.  Roll at beginning of any player's turn, on 2+ open ground within 36" of the user (NOT his unit) becomes difficult terrain and difficult terrain becomes dangerous terrain for one turn, and continues at next turn in further rolls of 5+. Doesn't say your units aren't affected, so mind your steps too!
*'''Warscaper Drone:''' Counts as drone upgrade (retains any other gear and stats), grants Move Through Cover, Outflank and Acute Senses USR to attached unit, and enemy units within 12" of it who are also outside of their deployment zone treat Difficult terrain as Dangerous terrain. Combos well with Seismic Fibrillator.
*'''The Mirrorcodex:''' Farsight's torrented Codex Astartes copy, adds 1 to Seize the initiative, which is very convenient for your deepstrikers, Mr. Farsight Bomb. Also, at beginning of each turn, roll a D6 and you have the chance to win PE:SM, PE:SM&IG or PE:Everyone for bearer and any unit within 6". Sadly, it also has 50% chance of winning jack shit. 
*'''Fusion Blades:''' Upgrade for a Commander with TL Fusion only. Turns your blowtorch gun into a fucking lightsaber, with Armourbane, Blind, [[Melta|S8 and AP1]]. The best part? It's '''NOT UNWIELDY''', unlike similar weapons. Hidden Onager donkey punch? More like TAU MURDERSWORD. However, it can short out ''after'' the combat (meaning you have at least one guaranteed use), so a VRT is recommended and a second weapon almost mandatory (This signature system eats up two slots due to being an upgraded TL Weapon. Adding a second weapon eats up 3/4 of your commander's slots. Not recommended.) Don't be scared, the odds of that happening are the same of blinding the foe. The one who dares, wins, right? 
**Don't use it to merely "defend" yourself. Your Tau are as [https://youtu.be/1KvZI8BsSxw?t=10 mad as hell, and they aren't going to take shit in melee anymore!] Blow that Land Raider to pieces, jump away and ''slap-chop'' the poor fellers next turn. [https://youtu.be/Dt6iTwVIiMM?t=8 Challenge that Chapter Master], make him rue the day he thought he could let the Tau catch him up in melee. And the best thing is it works: Statistically your WS4 Commander, with 5 attacks on the charge, will land 1 wound on him even after his Iron Halo save, but S8 means that's all it takes to kiss his 4W goodbye. And he can't kill you because his four attacks translate into 0.66 wounds to you (you did bring a Shield generator, right?), and he'll be dead long before he can use his power fist. Not that it matters, because Fusion blades can blind and even with all his trinkets he just does 0.07 wounds more than you; he could be WS10 for all he want, it doesn't get better than 3+ in 7E baby.
***Let's not get to far ahead of ourselves here - This strategy boils down to 'powerfist him at initiative', but what about the rest of the squad? You'll look like an idiot if you throw a Crisis squad at a lot of pissed off Fearless guys with a ton of AP3 attacks and 2+ saves, especially with your I2 and sucktastic AP- hitting only a third of the time. When hunting such a squad, keep doing what you do best: blast them with lots of plasma/fusion fire, and only engage in melee when the enemy is almost dead...''if ever'' (eg: the Application of Force Tactical Objective). This gimmick merely allows you to powerfist a dude at initiative, not to outfight marines in CQC. Or just '''don't pick a fight with such a dangerous squad''' to begin with - regular tacticals or devastators are fine, with luck they die in your enemy's turn so you escaped shooting and are free to engage other things. Now that makes more sense doesn't it?
**Because Farsight Enclaves can now take Tau Empire Signature systems with no restrictions (where does it say that?([https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/PDF/Errata/Warhammer_40000/Farsight_Enclaves_EN.pdf Right here])) other than 1 per army, your Fusion Blade Commander can have Iridium Armor while sticking Repulsor Impact Field and Onegar Gauntlet on a buddy.
**You could do it like [http://www.warhammer-tau.com/2015/11/whenever-fusion-blades-conversion.html this guy] and model it in such a way everybody is scared of [[DISTRACTION_CARNIFEX|that Tau with the fucking flaming sword]].

====Farsight Enclaves' Tactical Objectives====

;'''11. Targets of Opportunity'''
:Pick up to 3 enemy units at the beginning of your turn and gain 1VP for each one completely destroyed by the end of your turn (any phase), but you only get the VPs it you destroyed ALL of them, so ''don't overextend''. Combines well with "Killing Blow".
;'''12. Rapid Strike'''
:1VP for completely destroying a enemy unit with something you just brought from reserve.
;'''13. Decisive Blow'''
:1VP if you control twice as many objective markers than your opponent (or 2 if he controls nothing). I hope you're not trying to outnumber IG or even regular Tau.
;'''14. Concentration of Fire'''
:1VP if the first enemy unit you shoot at is completely destroyed at the end of the phase. D3 for destroying the first two units, D3+3 for destroying the first 3 units, so focus fire until they are killed, and then move on to the next one.
;'''15. Application of Force'''
:1VP if two (or more) of your units charge the enemy. D3 VPs if you actually manage to destroy them at the end of the phase. ''Charge at weakened units, duh''.
;'''16. Avoid the Killing Strike'''
:1 VP at the end of any of your turns (except the first one) if none of your units were completely destroyed by the enemy in his previous turn.

====The Eight====
Tired of regular Bodyguards, Farsight got himself a squad of Commanders, who are all Independent Characters. So, you lose auto-pass LoS!, but you don't want to anymore, and the squad becomes decent in melee, each with 4 attacks and WS4. But most importantly, ''they brought regular Tau Signature systems'' before defecting to the Enclaves, and combine them with the your army's systems - Signature System palooza! They're a way to get more ICs than normal Tau, which you can (arguably) second to other squads instead of forming an XBOX HUEG deathstar. However, despite being named they aren't really unique

'''Note:''' The Signature Systems rule states that only one of each Signature System may be taken per army, and this rule '''does  apply''' to Eight (Tau FAQ specifically mentions that). Because ALL Eight are Independent Characters, it's not clear whether you have to start them as one unit or can second them during deployment to other units.
 
*'''Commander Farsight:''' As seen in Codex:Tau, the only difference being that in this army he can take some or all seven samurais, costing exactly 1494 points - an army on its own (''which actually happens in a mission''). ''Because his bonus to the unit are just the means of entry and his I5 melee prowess, you might want to put him in the front, just behind the drones.''
*'''Commander Brightsword:''' The seventh lunatic to bear this title (the first was killed by a squad from the 13th Penal Legion on an assassination mission). Has a Crisis suit with twin-linked fusion blasters (with ''fusion blades''), advanced targeting systems, and a shield drone you don't want to use as an ablative wound, because it comes with the ''Warscraper'' upgrade. ''This feller is made to ID characters and explode vehicles, but little else.''.
*'''Commander Bravestorm:''' A charred out husk kept alive by his crisis suit, sound familiar? In possession of the only surviving ''Onager gauntlet''. To have a better chance of using it he's also clad in ''Iridium armour'' with a stim injector and a shield generator, and for dakka he has a plasma rifle, flamer and two gun drones.
*'''Shas'o Arra'kon:''' Farsight's would-be-successor in his absence, canonically the only one in the tall fine cast Commander suit, equipped with a plasma rifle, cyclic ionic blaster, airbursting fragmentation projector (both not "one per detachment" anymore), a ''Repulsor impact field'', two gun drones, and counter fire defense systems. ''Adding dakka and overwatch to the team, you'd do best to keep him at the center of the formation, relatively unexposed''.
*'''Shas'o Sha'vastos:''' Had some slight problems adjusting to the prototype engram nanochip, is better now. Has a crisis suit with a plasma rifle, flamer, shield generator, vectored retro thrusters, two gun drones, and said ''Puretide engram chip''. ''Due to the chip he's the one who will dictate what the squad is going to do, instead of Farsight and Arra'kon. Try to be the one charging in order to provide O'vesa and Brightsword with Tank Hunters, instead of having to put Counter Strike on himself.''
*'''Sub-commander Torchstar:''' Vior'lan defector and youngest of the Eight, relieves her unrequited feelings for Farsight with her second love: {{BLAM|FIRE}}. Pilots a Crisis suit with two flamers, target lock, multi-spectrum sensor suite, a neuroweb system jammer, drone controller and two marker drones. ''You will move her back and forth, alternating between providing Ignores cover and torching stuff depending on the situation''.
*'''Broadside Shas'vre Ob'lotai 9-0:''' A Broadside piloted by an AI, nice. The only non-Commander model, he's an IC Missileside Shas'vre with twin-linked high yield missile pods, twin linked smart missile pods, a seeker missile, velocity tracker and two missile drones, somehow still has the bonding knife ritual despite being a machine. ''Lacking Relentless, he's the odd ranged character in a close ranged squad that has to keep on the move. Crisis with Missiles and VTs may give better anti-air support to the unit. Completely indistinguishable from a Broadside Shas'vre, you could attach him to a unit of Missilesides to achieve a ludicrous amount of dakka and use their markerlight tokens, or have him near Railsides, his VT screening the skies for them''.
*'''Honour-Shas'vre O'vesa:''' An earth-caste scientist in a Riptide. Comes with an Ion accelerator, twin-linked fusion blasters, shielded missile drones, an earth caste piloting array, early warning override, and stim injector. ''Fun fact: Unlike the other seven, he's actually cheaper than his equivalent''.


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