Editing Warhammer 40,000/9th Edition Tactics/Tau (section)

====Fortifications====
Aka Tidewall forts, going with the fish theme, though they act more like T6 transports you can garrison your units in. Tidewalls do get {{W40kKeyword|<Sept>}} but can be embarked by any {{W40kKeyword|infantry}}, who can shoot from it. '''Firing Positions''' allows them to shoot even if the Tidewall is in melee "as if they had Big Guns Never Tire like a Vehicle". Unique to Tau, their forts can do an 8" Normal move (with {{W40kKeyword|FLY}}), as long as there's a unit embarked on it to do the '''Mobile Defenses''' action in the movement phase (even though embarked units normally can't do actions), meaning ''they're faster than walking'' and your models are protected by usually T6/Sv4+/W10 before they can be actually damaged, though at the cost of not being able to fire overwatch, advance, use auras (like a Fireblade's), abilities (like the Ethereal's), or actions (like Markerlights).
*''A charged tidewall can no longer fall back'' because that's different from a Normal Move. However, they can still be disembarked from the back, leaving the charging enemies tarpitted by an empty fort they can't use. Tide ''WALL''.
All forts have a transport capacity of 10 infantry, models with W3 ([[fail|only the Firesight Marksman]]) count as 2 transport spaces, and models with W4+ or more take up 3 transport spaces each. They cannot transport non-characters with W5+, meaning it's Fire Warriors, Stealth Suits, Crisis suits, Kroot Carnivores/Shapers, or Vespid (RIP Broadsides). No more than 2 units can be embarked within them at the same time, but it's not like they'd fit together anyway.
*Most destroyed forts can explode just like any other vehicle, but if it doesn't, then it remains on the field, wrecked, as difficult unstable exposed ground.

* '''Tidewall Shieldline''': Unlike other forts (and its Defence Platform, if you take one), they are the only ones that CAN'T fit models with more than W4, meaning '''they can't hold characters or battlesuits'''.  The Shieldline has a 5++ and ''doesn't'' explode or turn into terrain when it dies.
** '''Tidewall Defence Platform''': You can take one per shieldline. They have to deploy next to each other, but can move independently after that. Can be useful if you want to get another fortification on the field without using another detachment slot. The smaller model may be easier to surround in combat. No shield, but ''does'' wreck (explode or terrain) on death, and otherwise is a Shieldline, making it absolutely beyond pointless - taking one of these instead of a Droneport has absolutely no purpose.
* '''Tidewall Droneport''': You can take 4 Tactical Drones with it, and Docked rules mean the Droneport fires their guns with its BS4+ and lack of targeting restrictions and ability to fire while engaged. It is equipped with '''Drone Control Systems''', which is a drone controller by another name that only works while a unit is embarked inside, meaning it can use its docked gun drones and also support another nearby {{W40kKeyword|drone}} unit.
* '''Tidewall Gunrig''': The most powerful fort, albeit with an increased price tag. W16 instead of the usual 10, and it comes armed with a Supremacy Railgun, which is 72" Heavy 2 S12 AP-4 D3+1d3 and the target suffers additional 1d3 MW on a successful wound, which it gets to shoot at BS5+ and with a closest enemy unit/vehicle unit (choose either) restriction unless it's got something {{W40kKeyword|<Sept>}} embarked on it. It may not be a hammerhead's railgun, but it's still a gun worthy of being called a railgun, and it's the best gun any fort is equipped with.  This will actually out-shoot a Devilfish (not that that's a high bar to pass), unlike a Droneport, if you're looking for a transport with excellent guns.
**Line of sight for the embarked unit can be drawn from the tall tower of this unit, thus it is able to fire over things.

The forgeworld forts come from those Imperial Armor novel/expansions, and as such are static emplacements with rules more out of nostalgia than anything.
* '''Remote Sensor Tower (Legends Forge World)''': It has a '''Positional Relay (aura)''' ([Fail|not to be confused with the Battlesuit Positional relay system]) lets all Tau units within 6" to re-roll one hit roll and one wound roll. Meaning this can actually help Broadsides, which just lost CORE. [Wtf|The re-roll also works in melee]. It also has a High-Intensity Markerlight, which is basically a 3 shot BS4+ markerlight. Unlike the actual markerlight, this one's a gun (on a VEHICLE model), meaning it's ''not an action'' and can thus be fired in melee. Relatively frail at T6 W3 4+, though. Actually good for 40 points. Too bad it's legends, honestly.
* '''Drone Sentry Turret (Legends Forge World)''': Can only shoot at the closest target, meaning point for point regular Gun Drones will provide more firepower than the Burst Cannons with the same limitations. The Plasma and Fusion weapons could work out, but would require the enemy being stupid enough to stand the right targets closest to the sentry for you.