Editing Warhammer 40,000/8th Edition Tactics/Tau (section)

====[[Farsight Enclaves]]====
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| In the grim darkness of the far future, freedom isn't free. <br>
Thematically, the Farsight Enclaves are patriot rebels, aspiring to the tenets of the T'au'va away from what they perceive to be the corrupt and tyrannical rule of the Ethereals. They are also highly aggressive, a trait born of necessity when the only support they have is each other and the few allies they have in the main Empire.

On the tabletop, they play as a highly aggressive mobile attack force not unlike Eldar, subverting the ranged stereotype of the Tau with plenty of close range shooting tricks and even some melee tools. Playing FSE means to always be on the offensive, potentially blindside an opponent expecting a static gunline.

''If you would do away with tau stereotypes and bring the fight to the enemy, then suit up with the Farsight Enclaves and redden the skies''.
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* '''Sept Tenets – Devastating Counter-Strike:''' When shooting enemies from a distance of 6" or less with someone using this Tenet, re-roll 1s to wound. Should also work on Overwatch if the enemy's charging from close enough. Overall a high-risk low reward version of the lieutenants everyone else has. ''Fortune favours the bold, and an army that would rather keep its distance would be better served by using a different tennet.''
**Succintly geared towards battlesuit use, which have the speed to get up close and the resilience to survive: their flamers (including the Y'varha's) and fusion blasters (especially fusion cascades) will thank you.
* '''Aggressive Footing:''' Gifted from Psychic awakening since the tenet can be underwhelming. When shooting an enemy within 12", they are treated as having +1 markerlights. ''AKA turns 0 to 1, and 4 to 5.''
**The first markerlight is the most important one for Commanders, what you’ll probably be taking a lot of if your force is Enclaves heavy. This lets you run lean on Markerlight platforms or devote more of them to the rest of your BS 4+ army that won’t be shooting at the same things your super special suits will. It's also the most important one for Overwatch.

*'''Matched play rule - Commanders:''' You can bring up to two {{W40kKeyword|Farsight Enclaves Commanders}}, as opposed to the codex' limit of one. Regarding whether or not this rules overrides the codex one, this rule says you can bring up to two...so you can. 
**A popular way to bring a lot of commanders is to bring multiple battalions, each with 2 commanders and 3 strike / breacher teams for roughly 450pts (depending on commander equipment).  
**Do note Shadowsun, who can now be used with any sept, is ''not'' a "Farsight Enclaves Commander", so you can have a Battalion with two FE Commanders and Shadowsun and still be legal. 
** When playing with the rule of 3 in a 2k game. you can bring 6 "Farsight Enclaves Commander" split over different types. exp 3 enforcers and 3 cold stars in 3 detachments to still comply with the entire rule of 3. 

=====Warlord Traits=====
#'''Hero of the Enclaves''': The Warlord can perform a Heroic Intervention if they're within 6" of enemy units after all enemy charge moves are made, and can move up to 6" when doing so as long as they end up closer to an enemy. Additionally, if the Warlord charged, was charged, or made a Heroic Intervention, it re-rolls all failed hits until the end of the turn. ''Note this would affect his overwatch, which happens during the charge phase.''
#*Farsight has this and it's ''extremely'' superfluous on Farsight himself. His "Way of the Short Blade" ability gives him the melee re-rolls anyway, and even buffs it to shooting against Orks. [[Fail|Never take Farsight as the warlord of the Farsight Enclaves]].
#'''Aggressive Tactician''': When the Warlord (Commander model only) declares Mont'ka, its range is extended to 12". The extended range can be used to bring more units in the ride, like accompanying Drones.
# '''Blooded Through War:''' Bonding knife units pass morale on a 4+ within 12" of the Warlord. Effectively makes you never lose more than 3 Fire Warriors to a bad morale phase. More useful than Ethereal support for large blobs of FW or against fear-based armies, but you have warlord traits with more general purposes.
#'''Master of the killing blow:''' Re-roll hits rolls against {{W40kKeyword|CHARACTER}} models for your Warlord. Thoroughly meh; your commander lacks both a sniper gun to hit characters from afar, or blades to strike them down up close. No, with only 2A the Fusion blades aren't reliable either.

=====Relics=====
It is a good thing that GW released Prototype Weapons and that the Enclaves are no longer restricted from taking Tau Empire Signature Systems (back in the day...), because these relics are...underwhelming, to say the least.
* '''Fusion Blades''': They give a character with at least two fusion blasters TWO (and only two) melee attacks at S8 AP-4 D1d6, the remaining attacks will be S5 AP0 punches. Not melta in melee so if you roll a 1 for damage, that's what you get.
**Where marines get Thunder Hammers, you have to use a relic to get two S8 armour-ignoring attacks. They are '''obsolete reminders of a previous age''', when meltas could one-shot tanks by causing an Explode result and S8 meant Instant Death; a high risk - high reward gamble. They are cool, but <u>they shouldn't be the sole reason why you paint your suits red</u>.
**<u>Do not also take the Onager Gauntlet</u>. That thing is only one attack, this one is two. You should NOT be spending a CP for 3A with power weapons.
* '''The Mirrorcodex''': The wielder re-rolls all hits (not just failed ones) against enemies within 18". Should have been an aura because that's kinda how it worked last edition, but no. It <s>does work</s> pretty much ''only works'' in melee, since your Commanders are BS2+ and get +1 markerlight when within 12". And you're not giving it to a single-gun Fireblade. Pass.
* '''Talisman of Arthas Moloch''': Gives the user a 5++, and allows one DTW against enemy psykers within 24" per opponent's psychic phase. Use it to deny psychic powers that boost enemy units or debuff your own; you have sacrificial drones to eat Smites.
* '''Seismic Fibrillation Node''': Once per battle, you can activate this relic at the start of your opponent's turn. For the rest of the turn, if an enemy model starts or ends their move within 6" of the relic bearer, roll a d6, on a roll of a 1 that enemy model's unit suffers 1 mortal wound. Has been nerfed with the 03/12/20 Errata to ignore Pile-Ins or Consolidation movement, so it can't be used to support other combats. ''The enemy will totally end their move at 6.1" away, HARD PASS''.

=====Stratagems=====
* '''Drop Zone Clear (2 CP)''': Select a {{W40kKeyword|battlesuit}} unit that was set up using a manta strike ability this turn and add +1 to hit rolls for that unit. Will protect Battlesuits dropping in with Overcharged Cyclic Ion Blasters to clear out hot spots.
** Note that this Stratagem cannot be used with Homing Beacons or the Positional Relay Stratagem as these lead to the unit performing a "low-altitude drop" instead of a "Manta strike".
* '''Danger Close (1 CP)''': In the shooting phase, pick a Breacher Team or Strike Team. When performing ranged attacks against enemies within 12", they can re-roll all wound rolls (and not just failed ones). Compared to the universal '''Breach and Clear!''', this doesn't need the enemy to be in cover, which would cost you 2 markerlights to ignore. It does need close range, but that's a given for Breachers, and it can also be used by the more common Strike Teams.
**Simply put, this increases a troop's dakka when close to the enemy. So, not only you could spend points on a Devilfish and ferry your Breachers to the meatgrinder of the front lines, but you could also use it defensively. It is your enemy who will try to reach you in melee; many times they will succeed. Either keep some Pulse Rifle squads further back, or a few Breacher MSU inside Devilfish, or use the transports themselves (or drones) as a front line, but the point is to have squads who can respond to an enemy who has reached your lines. Then you teach the fools what "Danger Close" means by rerolling all wound rolls on S5-S6.
* '''Veteran Cadre (1/2 CP, Single Use):''' Costs 2CP for units with more than 3 models. A Crisis Suits or Crisis Bodyguard unit (but not their drones) gain WS4+ BS3+. ''Better than Drop Zone clear, which only works on a Manta strike and doesn't affect melee''.
**This is perhaps the better way to get re-rollable BS2+ Crisis suits, especially since the Enclaves need only 4 markerlights at close range. The other two "+1 to hit" options ('''Drop Zone Clear''' & '''Coordinated Engagement''') cost 2CP per use. This one may be single use, but it lasts all match long and can even be combined with '''Sworn Bodyguards''' or Farsight's own '''Way of the Short Blade''' to get a unit with decent melee in addition to awesome dakka.
* '''Defense in Numbers (2cp):''' When a Crisis Suits or Crisis Bodyguard unit is targeted for an attack during the fight or opponent shooting phase, they gain 5+ FNP. ''Useful for the shots you'd try to save with the suits' armour instead of passing on to nearby drones''.
* '''Furious Assault (1cp):''' When a jet pack finishes a charge move, for each model, one nearby enemy takes an MW for each 3+, aka 2 MW for each Crisis trio that charges. Neat.
* '''Focused Fury (1CP):''' When a character is used during the Shooting phase, he can re-roll the wound roll for the phase. On top of the Commander being BS2+ re-rollable at close range. Use it on a Coldstar for ''[[Shas'O Kais|REAL MONAT TIME]]''.
* '''Firestorm (1CP+ each affected unit):''' ''AKA 2CP-4CP''. At end of the movement phase, a pick up to 3 T'au empire Flyers. Each enemy within 3" takes D3 MW on a 4+. Can stack to nasty levels with bombers, as both effects happen at the end of the movement phase. ''One of the few stratagems that can be used with FW options, since it doesn't specify which flyer to use''.

=====Units=====
======HQ======
*[[Farsight|'''Commander Farsight''']]: The rebel melee commander got better with the codex, and now Psychic Awakening gives you the tools to solve the old problem of him being the only melee model in your army. Now that reserves and deepstrike scatter no longer exist, Farsight's focused on his one true calling: Close. Quarters. Combat. His '''Way of the Short Blade''' is a 6" aura for any {{W40kKeyword|Farsight enclaves}} to re-roll 1s to hit...in the Fight phase, upgraded to any phase vs Orks because fuck Be'gel. His S+3 AP-4 D1d3 Dawn Blade effectively strikes like a power fist, but with only 4A he still has to pick his battles: finish infantry shot half to death alongside your trusty S5 3A Crisis Bodyguards, or put a dent in a tank. He's got no drones of his own, so buy some separately.
**Naturally he goes well with Crisis units. He's got a relic-tier S6 AP-4 D2 plasma rifle good for killing TEQ, but he's still the least shooty commander you'll see because that's his only gun. As such, he's perhaps the best candidate to use the '''Command and Control Node''' stratagem, and sacrifice only two shots for half a dozen battlesuits to re-roll wounds for shooting the turn they arrive. Next turn you can get closer to 6" of the enemy and get the wounds re-rolls of 1 from the tenet, and you can use Farsight's '''Genius of Mont'Ka''' extra activation to get those Fusion Blasters in position.

======Lords of War======
* '''The Eight:''' As of The Greater Good, Commander Spam is back -- if you’re willing to pay for it.<br/>As a single Lord of War choice, you get Farsight, 5 Commanders (One in an XV85), a Missileside, a Riptide, and 14 Drones, at a discount of over 100 points than if you took them individually. In exchange, you must take all of them, and their loadouts are static (including their Drones), though they do come with some unique abilities in addition to their wargear.<br/>If you take this unit, you must make Farsight your Warlord. Of course, you may not take The Eight and a second Commander Farsight using the Codex Datasheet. Additionally, this unit must be taken alone in a Super-Heavy Auxiliary detachment, and actually ''costs'' 3 Command Points to take. The book justifies this as an automatic use of the extra relics stratagem, as 3 of the unit's models carry Signature Systems. The whole unit is set up at the same time, but they don’t have to set up in cohesion with one another (though Drones are set up in cohesion with the character that brings them). With the exception of O’vesa, any character may be set up in Reserve via Manta Strike. For what you're paying (1120 points) you're getting phenomenal discounts along with very potent special rules and what its essentially 6 drops and 2 anchors all in one unit. Following setup, each of the Eight is treated as its own unit. Farsight’s profile is identical to his HQ profile. The other seven are:
** '''Commander Brightsword:''' Fusion Blades (i.e., 2 Fusion Blasters), a Target Lock, a Counterfire Defense system, and 2 Shield Drones. His Drones (and only *his* Drones) have the nifty ability to slow down enemy charges, a la Grav Inhibitor Drones - helpful, as his primary weapons will frequently keep him within easy charge range. Do note his Fusion Blasters are two extra attacks on top of his regular melee ones, unlike the normal version.
** '''Commander Bravestorm:''' Plasma Rifle, Flamer, Advanced Targeting System, Shield Generator, the Onager Gauntlet, and 2 Gun Drones. Has a better Armour Save than Brightsword and an inherent 6+++. Unlike other users, his Onager Gauntlet is an extra attack on top of his regular melee. Still, it's a single punch.
** '''Shas’o Sha’vastos:''' Plasma Rifle, Flamer, Advanced Targeting System, Shield Generator, the Puretide Engram Neurochip, and 2 Gun Drones. He carries a loadout largely identical to Bravestorm’s, but he is not as durable while having the same effective range. Serves best as a backfield buff-Commander so that he can continue generating Command Points while being screened by more expendable units.  
** '''Shas’o Arra’kon:''' +1 Wound from his enforcer suit, plus a Cyclic Ion Blaster, Plasma Rifle, Airbursting Fragmentation Projector, Counterfire Defense System, and 2 Gun Drones. His Repulsor Impact Field ability is similar to the stratagem of the same name but goes off on a 2+. It's still just 1 Mortal Wound, but at least it's free.
** '''Sub-commander Torchstar:''' 2 Flamers, an Advanced Targeting System, a Drone Controller, and 2 Marker drones. Like Arra’kon, she has an ability named after an existing Stratagem (Neuroweb System Jammer). However, it functions differently: any shooting attacks that target her are penalized, and enemy units cannot arrive from Reserves within 12” of her. Her fluff paints her as a hot-blooded frontliner, but she may be tactically better on the backfield, buffing her Drones, denying deep-strikes, and assisting a gunline with her souped-up flamers in Overwatch.
** '''Ob’lotai 9-0:''' High-Yield Missile Pods, Smart Missile System. Seeker Missile, Velocity Tracker, and 2 Missile Drones. Takes no penalties to shooting after moving and reduces all incoming damage by 1 (min 1). Tougher to crack than a standard Broadside due to being a {{W40kKeyword|CHARACTER}}; Have him hang out with a couple of Strike Teams to keep him from being targeted.
** '''Honour-Shas’vre O’vesa''': A Riptide with an Ion Accelerator, Fusion Blasters, a Target Lock, an Early Warning Override, and 2 Shielded Missile Drones. Re-rolls 1s when shooting without the need for markerlight buffs, and doesn’t take Mortal Wounds from using the Nova Reactor on a 4+. Like the rest of The Eight, he is a {{W40kKeyword|Character}}, though his Riptide profile won't keep him safe from being shot at. Instead, it makes him eligible for (and vulnerable to) abilities, stratagems, and powers that would not affect a stock Riptide.
** Three of the individual units focus mainly on infantry (~GEQ): Torchstar, Sha'vastos, Bravestorm. Two focus mainly on heavier infantry (MEQ and TEQ): Ob'lotai, Arra'kon. Another two deal with high toughness/armour: O'vesa, Brightsword. Farsight is, of course, your warlord and can handle business on his own, but will work well when in CC with the onager gauntlet or the fusion blades and is best suited to attacking TEQ.
* The Eight are a very cinematic choice and can be effective when played to their strengths and properly supported. However, the unit will account for more than half of your army’s total points in most games it can be brought to. Furthermore, Battlesuit gameplay changed A LOT from 7E to 8E, and this guys didn't. <u>Any loadout that isn't 4x of the same gun is a waste of a Commander's BS2+</u>, and many of them are actually spaztic, combining anti-GEQ flamers with anti-MEQ plasma rifles. Yes they are stacked with relic gear, but if what you want is to merely spam Commanders, then bring the ones you want instead of the ones GW gives you: You can bring 3 Commanders (rule of three), Farsight and Shadowsun, with Commander flavours the Eight don't have (markerlight Commander, Smart missile commander, COLDSTAR MONAT). Hell, you could represent Torchstar with a Crisis Bodyguard Shas'vre (she's SUBcommander) with dual flamers and a drone controler, even give yours a 2+ save the real one doesn't have. You would miss out on Broadside Ob'lotai and Riptive O'vesa...were it not for the amazing Prototype Gear you can equip your versions with. All in all, [[your dudes]] can beat GW's 8 anytime.

=====Tactical Objectives=====
=====Tactics=====

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