Coming Back from the Brink, pt. 16: The Other HQ

Credit to Adam Smith

Greetings Gentlereaders,

It's been quite a while since I touched this series, primarily because of the losing streak I'd been on, but also because I really didn't want to touch this unit.  I need to finish this review series before the new codex creeps up on us.  Whether or not the codex will actually drop this time as it didn't when it was rumored as the last codex of 2011 or not won't be sure until we get some pictures of the book, but I'm hoping it won't be too long until I have to relearn my favorite army and re-start this series.  Hopefully it will be more illuminating then.

I finally saw an ethereal fielded a couple weeks ago and thought this would be the perfect time to try to tackle a unit that I can only say is akin to the lone wolf, important in life and death.  Let's take a look at the ethereals and Aun'va.

Coming Back from the Brink, pt. 15: The True Believer

Greetings Gentlereaders,

Do you know who your commander is?

First off I wanted to apologize for the unexpected downtime in writing last week, but my finals took priority no matter how much I love writing for you all.   Today we're going to be looking at one of the characters whose identity solidified through the changes of sixth edition.  While I haven't had the chance to run her, I believe she was the best character in fifth edition and is in competition with O'Shovah for that title with respect to sixth.  Yes, you read that correctly: "she."  We're talking about one of two female characters outside of the Sisters of Battle codex in the whole of Warhammer 40k, the other being Inquisitor Valeria.  So if that, or a genuine daredevil character, tickles your fancy keep reading.

Coming Back From the Brink pt. 14: The Renegade

I needed an excuse to post this.

Greetings Gentlereaders,

We're going to be talking about the stars of the Tau Empire, the named characters who are meant to bring some diversity to your Tau armies.  There are hundreds of fire caste commanders and ethereals, but the named characters are the equivalent of celebrities in the empire.  I can't say I've been running any of these characters as they do suffer from being as expensive than most space marine characters while being much more vulnerable and questionably less effective.  To be fair, these are some of the more interesting unique characters in 40k, as they have good sides and bad sides.  I'm going to go into each character's background, try to find a tactical use for them, and try to see the good and bad in each of them.  Unfortunately, in order to cover each in appropriate detail I'm going to separate this into three posts.  More after the break.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Pew-Pew

Greetings Gentlereaders,

If there's any army in 40k that I love I've got to say that it's the Tau.  They're sleek, orderly and have gundams.  For someone who grew up on the Power Rangers, with their zords and emphasis on teamwork there's a bit of nostalgia when I play the army.  I love how they've got a story that is deeper than it appears if you read between the lines and I'm really excited for where the story of The Young will go when they get a new codex.

The philosophy of the greater good permeates their society, but they view themselves as primus inter pares, the first among equals with the ethereals being the first among the Tau.  I'm a social scientist in training and would love to see more on the dynamics of their society, but until Games Workshop, Black Library or Fantasy Flight decide to delve into  that more, all we have is the codices and Fire Warrior.  As I've not yet completed my Coming Back from the Brink series and given serious thought to each unit, I really can't say whether there is as much depth in the viable units in the Tau codex as there is in the story of the Tau.  Here's why...

Coming Back from the Brink, pt.12: In Plain Sight

Greetings Gentlereaders!

From Epic Duck Studios

Today we're going to try to look at one of the sneakiest units in the Tau Empire and one that got a stealth buff.  That's right we're talking about stealth suits, also known as the other elites choice.  This team is rather versatile for it's limited options of weapons and high points cost.  If for no other reason, stealth suits deserve a once-over because of how badly they performed in fifth edition and the changes they've received.  Personally, I owe you all an unveiling of this topic that snuck by me when I said I would discuss battlesuits.  As I'm sure you are all tiring of my puns, let's dive into this topic.

Coming Back From the Brink, pt.11: Devilishly Fishy

Greetings Gentlereaders!

Today we're going to discuss the only transport vehicle available to the Tau Empire.  I've been on both sides of using this unit at different times and am still unsure about whether to use it my army.  It's been the key to one of Tau's classic tactics and its most sure way to bring fire warriors to an objective, but the changes to vehicles, scoring and rapid fire weapons have changed how fire warriors interact with their transport.  Have they left the devilfish high and dry?

Coming Back from the Brink, pt.10: Shoot Tau Thrill

Play to Kill

Greetings Gentlereaders!

Today, we're going to talk about the main battle  tank of the Tau army, the Hammerhead gunship.  Specifically, I'll be breaking down the ion cannon vs. the railgun option  I have never run an ionhead, but sixth edition has inspired me to look into more options.  Let's take a look at this awe-inspiring tank and how it may find a new niche in Tau.

Coming Back from the Brink, pt.9: That's a Hull of a Trick

Greetings Gentlereaders!

Today we're talking about the most aptly named unit in the Tau Empire.  The piranha mimics its namesake in being a small, fast little blighter who will chew things to the bone.  These were some of my favorite units in the tail end of fifth edition and had amazing utility when they hit the field so I was less displeased with paying more for a less destructive landspeeder.  I am going to argue that the piranha has become less specialized in sixth edition, and has found a different niche to fill in the Tau army.

Coming Back From the Brink, pt.8: Tanks a Lot!

Greetings Gentlereaders!

Today we'll dive into the motor pool of the Tau Empire and see what gold we can separate from te dross.  I'm not sure how much comparison there can be between Tau vehicles and non-Tau vehicles as far as points-efficiency is concerned as I've not heard of a good way to understand GW's way of writing units, but I'll do the best I can.  This will end up another multiparter, but I try not to write anything not worth reading and hope we can all learn something from this series.  On with the show!

Coming Back From the Brink, pt.7: Where do We Go Now? (Sweet Child)

Where to fit in?

Greetings Gentlereaders!

The time has come to wrap up my essay on crisis suits.  I hope you've enjoyed the first two parts explaining what weapons the battlesuits of Tau can take and how they can combine their weapons an support systems to create different niches for crisis suits to fill.  Today, we'll look at the bigger picture and must ask if crisis suits still have a place in a competitive Tau army.

Coming Back From the Brink, pt. 6: Thinking Through the Crisis

Crisis: "A stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, especially for better or worse, is determined"
--Dictionary.com

Greetings Gentlereaders,

Today I invite you all to consider the usefulness and archetypes of the iconic crisis suits in the Tau army in 6th edition.  Last time I discussed all of the different weapons available to battlesuits besides the special issue weapons.  Today, I want to get into how these weapons can be combined to get you out of your own crisis.  All Tau jargon will be explained.

Coming Back From the Brink, pt. 5: OP Gundam Style!

Greetings Gentlereaders!

We've finally arrived at my favorite part of the Tau codex and arguably the units that make the Tau unique within the universe of 40k: the battlesuits.  Admittedly there are parallels in the dreadnought and dreadknight, but I accept no substitutes.  The crisis suits are the swiss army knives of an army of specialists while the broadsides and stealth suits excel in what they do. I'll be looking into the different weapons available to each unit and how each unit can be used in synergy with the rest of the Greater Good.  Because of the breadth of options available this article will be its own three part mini-series.  The first article will discuss what weapons are available to the suits, the second discusses the archetypes of crisis suits, and the third discusses what place crisis suits have in the current metagame.  I hope you will enjoy and we both will learn.

Coming Back from the Brink pt 4: Infantry Weapons

T'au in a nutshell

Greetings Gentlereaders!

Today we're going to talk about the one thing that makes the T'au anything but a laughing stock, their bullets guns.   Now I'm going to have to break these down into categories again because of the lack of universality of T'au weapons.  I'm going to be referring to the strength and armor pen values of weapons, but most are the same, so if I don't  say the strength or armor pen just assume it's a five.  Sadly, T'au don't have access to Atomic Annie (above) or much in the way of blast weapons, so unless I tell you otherwise it's a straight shot weapon.  I'll try to include the weapon's availability but I will probably miss some of them in this retrospective.  As always, feel free to reinforce or denounce what you read.  WARNING: this will be a multi-post article.

Coming Back From the Brink pt 3: Shiny Bits

Caveat Emptor

Greetings gentlereaders!

Today we're going to talk about the special issue wargear in the Tau codex.  I wanted to discuss the special characters also, but I don't think there will be time.  You can probably guess my opinion based on the caption, but I hope to give good reasons why you should be wary or why you should want to  take these options in the light of 6th edition.

Coming Back from the Brink pt. 2: S.W.A.G

Greetings Gentlereaders,

As was kindly pointed out to me in my last article the tau armories received an overhaul that made  the greatest least and some of the least some of the greatest.  I'll be discussing the infantry and battlesuit wargear armories separately from the vehicle armory as there are items with the same name that function differently between the two armories.  You may find some errors in this, if so please point them out, no matter whether they are objective errors (e.g. 2 + 2 = 5) or subjective errors you believe exist (i.e. you disagree with my conclusion and are willing to defend your opinion).  I will be discussing the Special Issue wargear later, as it is both able to offer new tricks and is limited in its availability.  So without further ado...

Coming Back from the Brink, pt. 1: The Fire Warrior

It's time for a retrospective and an early prospective on how the Greater W...Good is faring in the new edition of forty thousand shots.  So sit down and strap in because this will be a multi-parter.