Custom 5th Edition Tau Codex Errata

[Leudast1215]

I plan on proposing ideas for the Tyranid codex like this too. I've actually already done Imperial Guard, but they're getting redone pretty soon so it's not worth posting I felt.

Anyways, just throwing this up because with a lot of redundancy in the codex due to 5th (and lack of sufficient GW errata/FAQ) and all of the detrimental and very recent house rulings on the forum against Tau, I propose what Tau should be in 5th Edition using the Space Marine and Ork codex as inspiration (because it's clearly the direction GW is going).

This is obviously by player-consent only.

Tau 5th Edition Supplementary Errata

1.Stealth Suits come with BS4 (they're over-priced with BS3).

2.ALL Stealth Fields are (2D6 x 2), not (3D6 x 2), thus making them USEFUL.

3.Crisis Suits come with BS4 (best of the best of Tau are in suits, read up on the fluff). Shas'Vre Crisis Suits have BS4. Shas'Vre Bodyguards and squad upgrades are +5 points.

4.The 1+ Crisis Suit Commander is no longer 1+.

5.Any Crisis Suit or Stealth Suit squad within 6” of a Shas'O may use his leadership for any morale and leadership checks. This rule also applies to O'Shova and Shadowsun. This represents advanced communication systems found only in Crisis Suits that cannot fit into a Fire Warrior's helmet, for example.

6.O'Shova is 150 points. He counts as 1 HQ choice. He makes all Crisis Suits and Stealth Suits Troop choices. If taken, the current Farsight Enclave restrictions apply.

7.The Ethereal's re-roll leadership/morale ability does not require line of sight, but he makes any Tau unit within line of sight Stubborn as well as choosing to re-roll any leadership or morale check.

8.Aun'Va is 100 points. His abilities are the same as the errata Ethereal, but if within line of sight any Tau unit becomes Fearless.

9.For +2 points per Fire Warrior any and all Fire Warrior squads can obtain BS4, but only if an Ethereal is bought as a HQ choice (including Aun'Va). This represents body guards.

10.Vespid Stingwing's weapon is Assault 1 18” and they have a 4+ armor save. They may Deep Strike.

11.Kroot are now 6 points. Kroot Hounds are +5 points. A Shaper is +12 points. A Krootox is +15 points each. These costs may not be combined with the Kroot Mercenary Codices because they represent Kroot assimilated into the Tau Army. If you desire the abilities in the Kroot Codices, you must choose to use either of those codices entirely or opt to use the point costs and restrictions found in the errata and Tau Codex.

12.Gue'Vesa (Human Auxiliaries) are 5 points each. They may be equipped with assault and special weapons, but no heavy weapons. They are a Troops choice per squad. They may upgrade to a Pulse rifle or Carbine at +3 points each. For Chimera and Special/Assault weaponry costs, see the Imperial Guard Codex.

13.The Carbine is Assault 2, Pinning (to create a viable alternative to the Pulse Rifle; otherwise the choice is a no-brainer originally).

14.All Forge World vehicle turrets are encouraged.

15.The Skyray has unlimited Seeker Missiles (because it was stupid in its original incarnation, and with marker lights now getting cover saves, it's even stupider in its original form. Plus, other armies get artillery, a Skyray deserves to be a missile platform launched via marker lights to be fair).

16.The Sniper Team is 70 points. It has Infiltrate (slightly over-priced before).

17.Pathfinders may upgrade to a rail rife at +5 points. They do not require a Devilfish transport. They have Infiltrate and Scout (reduce rail rilfe cost to encourage its use and to compensate for reduced sniper team).

18.Photon Grenades come automatically with every Tau infantry squad (based off of all the newer codices).

19.Smart Missile Systems on vehicles are +12 points (gay over-priced originally).

20.Gun Drones on a Hammerhead are free (because their original cost was the same as an original smart missile system).

21.Extra Armor can be purchased on vehicles for +10 points (because every other army has something like it).

22.The Kroot Mercenary Codex, official or the awesome player made version, can be used to supplement the Tau codex (treat all units being from the same organization chart). It must be used by itself, or use the 'vanilla' Kroot mentioned here and in the Tau Codex. (I recommend the player-made Kroot Merenaries).

23.Shadowsun is 130 points. Instead of the retarded two fusion blasters she never uses, she is equipped with a Twin-Linked Plasma Rifle until I figure out a different weapon layout.

24.Crisis Suit Shield Generators are +15 points (again, slightly over-priced before, also adds alternative to shield drone).

25.All Special Equipment is purchasable for every individual Crisis Suit (to encourage more flexibility).

26.Any individual Crisis Suit may purchase a Stealth Field at +20 points each. It, like any and all equipment or weapons, takes up a hard point slot. This may not be hard-wired. It also grants Infiltrate. (the system is expensive to discourage excessive use because it's almost as much as a Stealth Suit).

27.Marker light Drones are +15 points each (original cost was retarded... a Pathfinder is even less than the revised cost).

28.Pathfinders may be purchased as either Fast Attack or Elite (flexibility as found in the Tyranid and Space Marine codices).

29.Forge World variants of the Piranha are encouraged.

30.A Crisis Suit and/or Stealth Suit may purchase a Net-Worked Marker Light equipment at +15 points. It takes up the normal 1 slot and cannot be Hard-Wired. It is not a Drone.

31.REMINDER: Crisis Suits retain 3 equipment slots and Stealth Suits retain 1 equipment slot (in case the wider access to already legal equipment in the Codex was mis-leading; thusly why most equipment referenced here cannot be hard-wired).

32.A Smart Missile System may be purchased by a Crisis Suit. It takes up 2 hard points for +15 points.


I'm still working out how to create a more characterful and different option for Farsight Enclave enthusiasts.

Very few items have been reduced in cost, only a weapon upgrade for a vehicle, (seldom used) rail rifles and the Gun Drones on a Hammerhead (nobody should or would take them anyway, even if free).

Ethereals are now worth a second look and worth taking.

I focused a lot on Crisis Suits and Stealth Suits because I believe they're what makes Tau different than any other army in this game. It's the opportunity to configure and customize a Gundam-esque (GW's inspiration) style force that many Tau players find appealing and no other army has it. It wasn't fully realized in the original codex, so I expanded their options to give the player the option of creating an elite, hard-core tiny mobile suit army (Farsight), a ethereal/shadowsun led gun line, a mech force or hybrid force. Till this errata, only the mech build was truly competitive. I still think gun lines will lose hard, but i would never use em' anyway.

Fire Warriors getting BS4 is priced appropriately to the body guard upgrade for a normal Ethereal. This is why it can only be upgraded IF a Ethereal is taken. I've simply removed the 0-1 restriction.

Over-all, I think this errata will actually make Tau armies smaller (unless you go for the awesome auxiliary army with chicken dinosaurs ^_^). The good stuff didn't get cheaper (NOT like GW's trend lately), but just got more options and are now more desirable to take. I now have to choose between a Stealth Suit and a Crisis Suit. I now have to choose between a worthwhile Ethereal or a Crisis commander. I now have to choose whether or not to indulge in the extremely useful Kroot options, or go hard-core with Farsight. Choices choices choices ^_^...

Kais will also be returning with his own rules as an HQ choice; still working on him. The same goes for Aun'Shi.

Also, Stingwings deserved to be tweaked and frankly I still wont take them even at that reasonable tweaking lol.

I'd welcome any feedback, but with that said, please don't bash these player-made errata if you haven't read the current 4th edition Tau Codex. Some people seem to have this irrational hate for Tau based off GW tournament settings where only mech Tau is taken (which I find amusing because Mech Eldar or Mech Sisters of Battle or even Mech Chaos Space Marines are more competitive than Mech Tau...). This errata tries to kill Mech Tau by creating viable, interesting and fun alternatives for everyone involved.

I will also not rule in this errata on vehicle gun drones or wargear shield drones because it's an on-going debate having to deal with new core rules vs. vague codex unit entries.

[RARE CHOICE GAMES]

Man I dont mind some custom rules and all but changing units to BS4 cause you dont feel they are priced right is just wrong (Just using that as an example other things in here dont fly with me either). I would love to make house rules saying that all my IMP Guard are BS4 or that my empire swordsmen should be strength 4 cause they work out more but that doesnt make it right.

I would go over this and maybe tweek so only things like the aforementioned shield drones and gun drones (even though this is being debated just an example again) things that need an FAQ to be explained are changed.

A wish list is not a fair rule change...its just a wish list. Also before you say I dont know what I am talking about, I have played this game (40K) for 5+ years the other system for close to a decade and also I play Tau so lets not go down that road.

[Leudast1215]

Yeah I had a feeling the BS4 Crisis Suits/SS would get a negative response. It's just that in the current codex, given the new 5th edition codices, there's a serious lack of fire power and flexibility within the current Tau codex (the new Ork codex screwed up a lot of the balance between armies... even if it was iffy to begin with). This list is more to be used for fun games, not tournaments.

BS4 Fire Warriors are fair though; it's in the current codex as a point upgrade.

Since it's for said fun games, I'd be more than willing to help develop or take a look at someone's 5th edition errata for their own codex that has not been upgraded to 5th edition (like SOB, DH, Necrons, Tyranids, etc...) because their new codex isn't even on the horizon, while something like Imperial Guard is and we have lots of rumors to work off of.

But back to BS4 Crisis Suits/SS (SS really are currently over-priced...) It's written in the fluff that they're the hard-core best of the best guys. Not to mention you'd think with a giant robot they could aim a little better... Imperial Guard even has this because Storm Troopers get BS4 (I think), while Tau currently do not.

It's also a response to the recent rulings that nerf marker lights. It's a stop gap measure until I can think of something better to do with Marker Lights other than saying "no cover saves may be taken."

Btw I wouldn't say you don't know what you're talking about I welcome feedback and debates; I just wanted such feedback to be from people who've read the Tau codex first. Just as I cannot criticize someone's own wishlist/errata unless I've read their original codex first to see where they're coming from.

Even though I consider it less than fair, perhaps BS4 Crisis suits should be a +5 point upgrade (no hard-point slot taken)? I really couldn't do that for SS though; they're so over-priced as it is, I wouldn't take a squad of 3 of em' for 115 points even with said BS4 and in spite of the fact it's cheaper than the current way to get BS4 SS. 40 points?! Just give me a Terminator.

[RARE CHOICE GAMES]

Believe me, Tom, I am not disagreeing with you that fluff is completely off when it comes to how the Tau actually play. I have been saying that since I started playing them. That I agree with you 100% on.

I am just not a big fan of custom rules especially that extensive. Game play things that need to be looked at such as the kill point thing I am all for. Since these types of things need to be resolved so bickering doesnt ensue. The rest though like I said is more of a wish list. I wish those things too but I can wish in one hand and shit in the other and we all know which one will fill up first.

If you come across an opponent who is willing to play you with the changes by all means try it. But as a standard rule set for friendly play in club it becomes a little much.

[Leudast1215]

Oh yeah like I'm aware; just like with my custom Genestealer cult list, it's not something I'd say "I'm playing this if you don't like it too bad for you" It's for people who are ok with it or want to try fighting something new other than the same Tau list I keep using (gets repetitive for me and other people I imagine... because it's the only competitive build I can make in the current codex).

As long as rule changes are discussed, I feel they're fine as long as the two players involved are cool with them. Like I'm fine with demons from the demon codex being used in a Chaos Space Marine army, but let me switch out something in turn. So if I were to use this errata in a fun game with someone ok with it, I'd ask if they have a qualm with their codex and if they want to change anything and go play with that.

I've actually done that a lot with Carl, but he's probably gone over winter break .

There's also been complaints lately of lack of board activity, so at least brainstorming these kind of posts can stir debates and offer something to mull over and hopefully encourage other unofficial errata/wish lists. That's because minis are expensive, and for friendly and consensual 1 on 1 play, switching things up within reason (though my changes are ultimately a fan-boy wish list, they're pretty reasonable over-all) can be offer up something different until an official codex is re-written.

[Andrew]

Also all for personal projects, but a wishlist doesn't make a better codex. I'll go through why most things shouldn't happen and what might be agreeable.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.Stealth Suits come with BS4 (they're over-priced with BS3).

2.ALL Stealth Fields are (2D6 x 2), not (3D6 x 2), thus making them USEFUL.

Guardsmen are overpriced. Arbitrarily making your units better at shooting while being simultaneously much harder to hit for no price increase? Let me know how that makes sense.

3.Crisis Suits come with BS4 (best of the best of Tau are in suits, read up on the fluff). Shas'Vre Crisis Suits have BS4. Shas'Vre Bodyguards and squad upgrades are +5 points.

Commanders have BS 4 and 5. If everyone else is 4, what makes the lesser one so special? One wound? Just pay the +10 points as normal for a BS boost, not like it's much different than your proposal. Also, I've noticed you want all of your units to be better at shooting. Despite having nice guns, they aren't as well trained as you'd think. However, if the system were different, say characteristics of 1-20 you'd see the difference between a guardsman, a firewarrior, a suit, and a space marine, etc.

4.The 1+ Crisis Suit Commander is no longer 1+.

Why? Tau at war are led by these kindly creatures.

5.Any Crisis Suit or Stealth Suit squad within 6” of a Shas'O may use his leadership for any morale and leadership checks. This rule also applies to O'Shova and Shadowsun. This represents advanced communication systems found only in Crisis Suits that cannot fit into a Fire Warrior's helmet, for example.

Or a complete knock-off of IG Officers rules without consistent or sensical fluff reasoning.

6.O'Shova is 150 points. He counts as 1 HQ choice. He makes all Crisis Suits and Stealth Suits Troop choices. If taken, the current Farsight Enclave restrictions apply.

Interesting idea. Implemented correctly...

7.The Ethereal's re-roll leadership/morale ability does not require line of sight, but he makes any Tau unit within line of sight Stubborn as well as choosing to re-roll any leadership or morale check.

I'd have to disagree with LOS. He isn't shouting. If you can't see your "religious" leaders to be inspired...how will you? Stubborn works well though. Die to defend him!

8.Aun'Va is 100 points. His abilities are the same as the errata Ethereal, but if within line of sight any Tau unit becomes Fearless.

9.For +2 points per Fire Warrior any and all Fire Warrior squads can obtain BS4, but only if an Ethereal is bought as a HQ choice (including Aun'Va). This represents body guards.

A whole army of bodyguards? The only reason some become bodyguards is because they choose not to go along the warrior path to the crisis suit training. Again, smacks of "I wanna hit on 3's all the time!" whining.

10.Vespid Stingwing's weapon is Assault 1 18” and they have a 4+ armor save. They may Deep Strike.

As a jump unit yes they should be able to deepstrike. Again, better shooting, less dying, no points change?

11.Kroot are now 6 points. Kroot Hounds are +5 points. A Shaper is +12 points. A Krootox is +15 points each. These costs may not be combined with the Kroot Mercenary Codices because they represent Kroot assimilated into the Tau Army. If you desire the abilities in the Kroot Codices, you must choose to use either of those codices entirely or opt to use the point costs and restrictions found in the errata and Tau Codex.

12.Gue'Vesa (Human Auxiliaries) are 5 points each. They may be equipped with assault and special weapons, but no heavy weapons. They are a Troops choice per squad. They may upgrade to a Pulse rifle or Carbine at +3 points each. For Chimera and Special/Assault weaponry costs, see the Imperial Guard Codex.

13.The Carbine is Assault 2, Pinning (to create a viable alternative to the Pulse Rifle; otherwise the choice is a no-brainer originally).

Combined with the proposed BS 4? Hell no. See everything you have to think of if you modify one little characteristic?

14.All Forge World vehicle turrets are encouraged.

15.The Skyray has unlimited Seeker Missiles (because it was stupid in its original incarnation, and with marker lights now getting cover saves, it's even stupider in its original form. Plus, other armies get artillery, a Skyray deserves to be a missile platform launched via marker lights to be fair).

Simply no. This issue was resolved recently; check the FAQ.

16.The Sniper Team is 70 points. It has Infiltrate (slightly over-priced before).

Leave it at the original cost and add infiltrate and we're talkin.

17.Pathfinders may upgrade to a rail rife at +5 points. They do not require a Devilfish transport. They have Infiltrate and Scout (reduce rail rilfe cost to encourage its use and to compensate for reduced sniper team).

18.Photon Grenades come automatically with every Tau infantry squad (based off of all the newer codices).

19.Smart Missile Systems on vehicles are +12 points (gay over-priced originally).

Overpriced for not needing LOS and ignoring Night Fight? Hardly.

20.Gun Drones on a Hammerhead are free (because their original cost was the same as an original smart missile system).

21.Extra Armor can be purchased on vehicles for +10 points (because every other army has something like it).

You already have something better. No extra armor, especially on a skimmer. No skimmers in the game can have it, so I think you're on crack.

22.The Kroot Mercenary Codex, official or the awesome player made version, can be used to supplement the Tau codex (treat all units being from the same organization chart). It must be used by itself, or use the 'vanilla' Kroot mentioned here and in the Tau Codex. (I recommend the player-made Kroot Merenaries).

23.Shadowsun is 130 points. Instead of the retarded two fusion blasters she never uses, she is equipped with a Twin-Linked Plasma Rifle until I figure out a different weapon layout.

Because you always send her against terminators instead of tanks. Change your tactics and she'll be just fine the way she is.

24.Crisis Suit Shield Generators are +15 points (again, slightly over-priced before, also adds alternative to shield drone).

Don't remember if this is hardwired or not...if it is, leave the cost unchanged.

25.All Special Equipment is purchasable for every individual Crisis Suit (to encourage more flexibility).

26.Any individual Crisis Suit may purchase a Stealth Field at +20 points each. It, like any and all equipment or weapons, takes up a hard point slot. This may not be hard-wired. It also grants Infiltrate. (the system is expensive to discourage excessive use because it's almost as much as a Stealth Suit).

27.Marker light Drones are +15 points each (original cost was retarded... a Pathfinder is even less than the revised cost).

28.Pathfinders may be purchased as either Fast Attack or Elite (flexibility as found in the Tyranid and Space Marine codices).

29.Forge World variants of the Piranha are encouraged.

30.A Crisis Suit and/or Stealth Suit may purchase a Net-Worked Marker Light equipment at +15 points. It takes up the normal 1 slot and cannot be Hard-Wired. It is not a Drone.

31.REMINDER: Crisis Suits retain 3 equipment slots and Stealth Suits retain 1 equipment slot (in case the wider access to already legal equipment in the Codex was mis-leading; thusly why most equipment referenced here cannot be hard-wired).

32.A Smart Missile System may be purchased by a Crisis Suit. It takes up 2 hard points for +15 points.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Green = Good Idea
Red = Bad Idea
Anything else = Meh


Things I didn't comment on I either thought were mostly fine or had no opinion.

[Leudast1215]

Thanks for the feed back first off.

SS, if not getting the perks I recommended, should at least drop in price to 25 points. They're horrendously over-priced because a Crisis Suit with a Twin-Linked Burst Canon and Flamer (an anti-personnel build, which is what a SS is) is 41 points. That's 11 points more for twin-linked, + T, + W, + 2S (good for tank punching) and a flamer to boot. Of course you can always argue, "but it has a stealth field!" that stealth field is not effective due to the close range a SS has to be in to shoot. Just give it the Stealth special rule or something and I think they'd be more fluffy and more effective.

I still seriously believe Crisis Suits should be BS4, or at least have the option of getting BS4 for less than 10 points because an extra Fire Warrior is a better trade off for a Crisis Suit with less fire power because the Targeting Array takes up a hard point. Perhaps a +5 point upgrade instead of +10? The current BS upgrade is just too high to take seriously.

I wanted Crisis Suit commanders to no longer be 1+ because in my wish list/errata I made Ethereals actually worth taking. The whole point was to increase and encourage flexibility in army types and list building. Unfortunately, everything you poo-poo'd if taken all together would mean I'd build the same list as I do now . I mean the Space Marine and Ork codices have several different army builds encouraged within the codex and there's only 1 real competitive version available in a Tau codex despite the fact all the pieces are there; it just slaps you in the face for using them.

Carbines being Assault 2 was to make them worthwhile. No competitive build has Carbines because Fire Warriors running around in the open = dead and Pulse Rifles are better due to range/rapid fire and pinning almost never works.

The Infiltrate option alone for a Sniper Team is a reasonable compromise; but it's still very pricey and I would never take it.

O'Shova and the Troops idea needs to be properly implemented? It's exactly the same as the Space Marine special character HQ's work and it's clearly the direction 40K and Fantasy are heading in.

The 6" leadership thing for a Shas'O to influence other Crisis Suit teams was to encourage the use of a Crisis Suit HQ because as of now I only take him because I'm obligated to; otherwise he's over-priced because the special equipment he was supposed to use to help the army has mostly been neutered or rendered non-existent by 5th edition.

I might bump the Smart Missile System to +15 as being reasonable, but saying it ignores line of sight and Night Fight is a weak argument because Night Fight rarely comes up and ignoring TLOS in modern 40K also rarely comes up. It WOULD be useful if it ignored cover saves, but it does not sadly.

I still don't know what to do about Shadowsun because she's a horribly broken and ill-conceived special character from her rules, to her weapons and her stats. Personally, I'd rather just slash her out all together.

Shield Generators take up a hard point slot and cannot be hard-wired, so +15 is justified. The current point cost of a Shield Generator is why Shield Drones are taken instead.

Vespid Stingwings currently cost 6 points more than a Fire Warrior (excluding the mandatory squad leader cost). They're broken and ill-conceived in their current iteration and very over-priced for what they're capable of doing. So the 4+ armor save and 18" range weapon was to make them worth their current cost and make them worthwhile taking.

Btw what do you mean the issue regarding Skyrays have been resolved? There was no issue as far as I'm aware I know how they operate Seeker Missiles need Marker Light hits to fire (odd, because all other Hunter-Killer missiles can fire autonomously...), be they from elsewhere or from the Skyray. A Skyray is not even mentioned in 5th edition Tau FAQ. MY issue was that shelling out the price of a Hammerhead for 6 seeker missiles is... yeah... enough said.

I also just realized you meant the club FAQ hehe, not GW's ^_^.

Other issues you brought up that I haven't commented on specifically means I'm cool with them btw.

On another note, If you had a wish list/unofficial errata for Chaos Space Marines that you wanted to put out into the open Andrew I'd be happy to take a look and offer my $0.02. I've read the codex myself, and several of the unit entries are just as debunk/odd as found in the Tau codex. The fact that there are GENERIC demons for starters... they just printed a DEMON codex!

Wow I type a lot. History essays must be wearing off on me.

[Leudast1215]

This is more for my personal reference to update my ideas. The tweaks are subtle, but I incorporated most of the reccomendations. A few things, however, I couldn't slash because it leave me building the same Tau army I do now... Which not even GW would do; they'd re-write to encourage multiple builds like in Orks and Space Marines to make me buy more models .

Tau 5th Edition Supplementary Errata

1.Crisis Suit Body Guards are 30 points.

2.Crisis Suits may upgrade to BS4 for +8 points each. They may upgrade to BS4 for +8 points; no hard point is taken up.

3.Stealth Suits are 25 points. SS may upgrade to BS4 as per the normal Targeting Array rules.

4.The 1+ Crisis Suit Commander is no longer 1+.

5.Any Crisis Suit or Stealth Suit squad within 6” of a Shas'O may use his leadership for any morale and leadership checks. This rule also applies to O'Shova and Shadowsun.

6.O'Shova is 150 points. He counts as 1 HQ choice. He makes all Crisis Suits and Stealth Suits Troop choices and Crisis Suits are 1+. Fire Warrior's are not 1+ and both Fire Warriors and Human Auxiliaries count as Elite. If taken, the current Farsight Enclave restrictions apply. However, Kroot Mercenaries may be used as per mercenary rules; not the (cheaper) errata Kroot. Taking O'Shova grants the Preferred Enemy special rule to any Tau non-Jump Infantry model for +2 points per model and +3 points for each Stealth Suit or Crisis Suit model (since this is what he granted in the previous codex as far as I'm aware). This upgrade is optional, but an entire squad must buy Preferred enemy for the cost given in order for the ability to take effect. No buying for 1 guy in a squad; it's all or nothing. Aun'Shi also cannot be used in a Farsight army. Kais can because he fits the 'commando' style fluff of O'shova.

7.The Ethereal's ability makes any unit within line of sight Stubborn as well as choosing to re-roll any leadership or morale check.

8.Aun'Va is 120 points. His abilities are the same as the errata Ethereal, but if within line of sight any Tau unit becomes Fearless.

9.Vespid Stingwing's weapon is Assault 1 18” and they have a 4+ armor save.

10.Kroot are now 6 points. Kroot Hounds are +5 points. A Shaper is +12 points. A Krootox is +15 points each. These costs may not be combined with the Kroot Mercenary Codices because they represent Kroot assimilated into the Tau Army. If you desire the abilities in the Kroot Codices, you must choose to use either of those codices entirely or opt to use the point costs and restrictions found in the errata and Tau Codex.

11.Gue'Vesa (Human Auxiliaries) are 5 points each. They may be equipped with assault and special weapons, but no heavy weapons. They are a Troops choice per squad. For Chimera and Special/Assault weaponry costs, see the Imperial Guard Codex.

12.The Carbine is Assault 2; Fire Warriors may equip it for +2 points each.

13.All Forge World vehicle turrets and Crisis Suit variants are encouraged.

14.The Skyray has 12 Seeker Missiles.

15.The Sniper Team is 70 points. It has Infiltrate.

16.Pathfinders may upgrade to a rail rife at +5 points. They do not require a Devilfish transport. They have Infiltrate and Scout.

17.Photon Grenades come automatically with every Tau infantry squad.

18.Smart Missile Systems on vehicles are +15 points.

19.Gun Drones on a Hammerhead are free.

20.The Kroot Mercenary Codex, official or the awesome player made version, can be used to supplement the Tau codex (treat all units being from the same organization chart). It must be used by itself, or use the 'vanilla' Kroot mentioned here and in the Tau Codex.

21.Crisis Suit Shield Generators are +15 points.

22.All Special Equipment is purchasable for every individual Crisis Suit.

23.Any individual Crisis Suit may purchase a Stealth Field at +20 points each. It, like any and all equipment or weapons, takes up a hard point slot. This may not be hard-wired. It also grants Infiltrate.

24.Net-Worked Markerlight Drones are +15 points each.

25.Pathfinders may be purchased as either Fast Attack or Elite.

26.Forge World variants of the Piranha are encouraged.

27.A Crisis Suit and/or Stealth Suit may purchase a Net-Worked Marker Light equipment at +20 points. It takes up the normal 1 slot and cannot be Hard-Wired. It's not a Drone.

28.A Crisis Suit may purchase a Smart Missile System for +15 points for 2 hard point slots.

29: Aun'Shi is 80 points. He takes up an HQ slot. He is an Independent Character. He has the stats of an Ethereal with an Honor Blade and in every other way unless specifically mentioned here. He has +1 W. He is Ld 10. He grants the Preferred Enemy special rule to himself and to any Tau squad he joins. He has 3 base attacks. Any Tau unit he joints is Fearless. He is WS4 I3. (WORK IN PROGRESS).

30. Kais is a 0-1 special character choice that does not appear in the FOC for +30 points. He is not an Independent Character. A Fire Warrior's squad Shas'ui may be upgraded to Kais for +30 points. He has the stats of a Fire Warrior unless mentioned otherwise here. He is Ld 10. He has a Bonding Knife. He comes with Photon and EMP grenades and a Carbine. He grants infiltrate to himself and the squad belonging to the original Shas'ui. He does not grant a KP for himself because he's a squad upgrade like a Shas'ui; just a better one. (WORK IN PROGRESS).

I reduced the cost of the current BS4 by 2 points and made it not take up a hard point. This way the Gundams ^_^ ironically get more expensive, cause the hard point slot was a deal breaker originally.

Sniper Teams drop to 70 because they're just not worth their original cost, really. Even at this price, I'd shell out for a naked Broadside any day.

Vespid Stingwings stick with my original idea for similar reasoning; originally over-priced plus bad execution of a good concept.

The 6" Shas'O thing is to basically add a tier level of HQ choices found in Fantasy. There are at least half a dozen Vampires, several different Ogres, etc... for (essentially) HQ choices. The Tau player now has the option of a cheap HQ filler that wont die instantly and it's the Shas'el so it fulfills the same role as now. The Shas'O adds the extra ability because Shas'O does nothing a Shas'el cannot currently do and his new ability ONLY affects suits. The step up from his is obviously O'Shova. The Ethereals are there to beef up Tau infantry in terms of leadership.

SS took a points drop due to the Stealth Field remaining the same... cause it's weak. Seriously.

Pathfinders should now be slightly more desirable to take because they can have their place in an infantry army and a suit army given the flexibility in the FOC.

Shadowsun remains an enigma that wont go away.

Aun'Shi is a tough special character to bring back/figure out, but in all honesty I think I nailed Kais. Kais strikes me as the 'commando' type of figure, therefore he's equipped for close(r) ranged combat. The idea is to buy him for a pseudo commando squad with the rest of the squad kitted out with EMP grenades and Carbines. It's pricey, but with Infiltrate they can deploy well or out-flank to hit tanks and other targets of opportunity. For example, with the proposed errata here, one squad of 12 Fire Warriors with Carbines, EMP grenades (Photon are free) and Kais is 217 points. OUCH.

Btw if all this "Preferred Enemy" stuff seems out of place, well they're already there: O'Shova grants Preferred Enemy to Orks, but single-army purpose abilities are fluffy, but entirely negligible for gaming and unfair to the ONE guy who plays that army. Besides, I just brought back his old ability. Aun'Shi is also a fighter, but also fought Orks, so he grants a tamer one-time use Preferred Enemy to whatever Tau unit he joins.

REMEMBER: all this Preferred Enemy stuff is very expensive and you're buying Preferred Enemy for things like Pathfinders, Fire Warriors, Stealth Suits, Crisis Suits... ooo scary CC units that are already pricey. I included it for fluff and so a Tau player can at least fantasize he's theoretically capable of melee ^_^ *cough*.

[Leudast1215]

www.mediafire.com/?zamidrxym5o

I literally just found this right now and figured I'd post it to see what you think of this guy's take on a Tau 5th edition update is compared to my views. This is in no way my work and I found it on the Tau Tactica website: www.advancedtautactica.com/viewtopic.php?p=146272#p146272.

Personally, I would play with this codex as it's easy to read, easy for my opponent to read and it incorporates a lot of the spiritual changes I made; even so far as Crisis Suits being scoring with O'Shova.

Wow I'm finding a lot of fan-made codices; this one in particular is top quality and has been revised twice. Good to know I'm not the only one noticing that Tau and Tyranids are going to be ignored for 3-4 years.

I wish I had found this codex sooner. This incorporates virtually all of the changes I had that I dreamed up. This is deja'vu to the extreme; even so far as assault 2 Carbines! It wasn't just me! Even the Skyray is the same!

[equinox]

Taking what you have posted, here is my wishlist/modifications.

A. O'Shova: He counts as 1 HQ choice. Crisis Suits can be taken as Troop/Elite/Fast Attack choices and Crisis Suits are 2+. Fire Warrior's are not 1+ and count as Elite. If taken, the current Farsight Enclave restrictions apply. If playing a Farsight Enclave, the following hardpoints become available for crisis suits.

Sonic Blades – Crisis suit is armed with a power weapon (+25 pts)
Close Quarter Engagement System - +1 WS (+10 pts)

In addition, the following hardwired option is available:
Realtime Tactical Processor - +1 A & +1 I, a model armed with this option may not have any additional hardwired options. (+30 pts)

B. All Forge World vehicle turrets and Crisis Suit variants are included.

C. They do not require a Devilfish transport. They have Infiltrate and Scout.

D.The Kroot Mercenary Codex, official or the awesome player made version, can be used to supplement the Tau codex (treat all units being from the same organization chart). It must be used by itself, or use the 'vanilla' Kroot mentioned here and in the Tau Codex.

E. Add a new crisis suit, HVA Suits. 1-3 models per unit. Counts as a 0-1 Fast Attack choice. Stats like a crisis suit. 2 hard points. 12” movement instead of the normal 6”. Cannot purchase drones, but can purchase a hardpoint marker light.


A. IMO, O'Shova is suppose to represent two things: tau attempting CC and a true crisis suit based army. To meet this end, give them the ability to buy a few unique HPs that are CC oriented. Don't allow them to purchase kroot, that is someone else doing CC for the tau. I am almost tempted to say the new Farsight restriction is all non suit units are 0-1 and the army cannot include kroot, vespid, or ethereals.

B.The Tau FW stuff needs to be included.
C.Forcing the devilfish has always been a bad requirement in my opinion.
D.GW will never do it, but Kroot should just be their own codex and have allied rules built into them. The current anti-allies/DoW mentality is moronic.

E. The fast attack slot is the last one that needs a unique crisis suit. The idea of the tau developing ones that are faster but less heavily armed doesn’t seem like a stretch. In game terms, this means giving them the 12” movement, but dropping the number of hard points available. I can imagine some really sweet models for these guys, I may need to convert a few.

If playing a Farsight Enclave, the 0-1 is dropped, but the restriction I mentioned above needs to enforced.

[equinox]

One more thing. No Human Auxiliaries. I mean it. No Human Auxiliaries
There are enough armies with humans in them. Tau should be non-humans joining other non-humans in an effort to stem the tide of humanity. I am fine with the casual references in the fluffy, but no rules. No RULES... (Can you tell how much I hate Human Auxiliaries).
Marines - Guys in armour
Chaos Marines - Guys with birth defects in armour
Imperial Guard - Guys not good enough to get armour
Daemonhunters - Bossy guys with fancy armour
Witchhunters - Bossy ladies with fancy armour

[Andrew]

Would the HVA be Jetpack equipped (like the rest) but have it boosted to 12"? That sounds right.

[Leudast1215]

I like my Human Auxiliaries

I think the upgrades for the CC ability for O'Shova's Crisis Suits need to be dropped because each Crisis Suit will be like 80-100 points and they're not worth 2 Terminators...

I want to see a FA Crisis Suit; making it Jetpack AND 12" movement would be cool... unfortunately, I personally believe Stealth Suits should fit this profile and simply be moved to Fast Attack because Crisis Suits vs. Stealth Suits in the vanilla Tau Codex = instant Crisis Suit because SS cannot compete for the limited Elite slots. Either that, or let me take more Crisis Suits than 3! What is GW's fascination with the #3??! For some frickin' reason even military leaders have deployed units in #'s of 3 (like aircraft) before they figured out it was stupid and bumped it up to 4 (WWII). I say Crisis Suits should be 1-4.

[equinox]

Dec 24, 2008 18:40:07 GMT -6 Leudast1215 said:

I like my Human Auxiliaries

Well no accounting for taste.

Dec 24, 2008 18:40:07 GMT -6 Leudast1215 said:

I think the upgrades for the CC ability for O'Shova's Crisis Suits need to be dropped because each Crisis Suit will be like 80-100 points and they're not worth 2 Terminators...

The thing is that you are not going to purchase alot of them and they are worth 2 terminators when you account for the movement ability. Still, reduce the point values if you think they are too costly. The core idea still holds though that Farsight Enclave is about tau doing CC.

Dec 24, 2008 18:40:07 GMT -6 Leudast1215 said:

I want to see a FA Crisis Suit; making it Jetpack AND 12" movement would be cool... unfortunately, I personally believe Stealth Suits should fit this profile and simply be moved to Fast Attack because Crisis Suits vs. Stealth Suits in the vanilla Tau Codex = instant Crisis Suit because SS cannot compete for the limited Elite slots. Either that, or let me take more Crisis Suits than 3! What is GW's fascination with the #3??! For some frickin' reason even military leaders have deployed units in #'s of 3 (like aircraft) before they figured out it was stupid and bumped it up to 4 (WWII). I say Crisis Suits should be 1-4.

Are you nutz? ;D I don't use crisis suits, only stealth suits, and they are very effective. You need to consider that the HVA (High Velocity Assault) suits are designed to replace pathfinders in an all suit army. Stealth should stay as elites and a new suit introduced for the FA slot. Crisis can be purchased as elite and bodyguard. (Also as troop if the Farsight Enclave changes are implemented)

[equinox]

Vespid Stingwings currently cost 6 points more than a Fire Warrior (excluding the mandatory squad leader cost). They're broken and ill-conceived in their current iteration and very over-priced for what they're capable of doing. So the 4+ armor save and 18" range weapon was to make them worth their current cost and make them worthwhile taking.

How are you trying to use vespid? I would not call them the most effective unit, but I always use them in my army. If I were to suggest a modification, it would be making their weapon assault 2 and evaluate the points with the modification. These guys are suppose to be a clean-up unit, not frontal assault.

[Leudast1215]

You don't see them in tournament lists because they're just... odd. Fire Warriors are cheaper and more survivable with their 4+ armor save and more mobile with their (near-mandatory) Devilfish transport. Vespids get 1 shot at 12" (not 2-3 like almost every other Tau weapon) by comparison. They're also not capable of mopping up when facing a competitive army and opponent because with their 5+ armor save and current combat resolution rules they'll lose melee thus making their assault weapon and fleet not as useful as it could've been and with said armor save they'll die to return fire if they manage to win melee; if not they'll die slowly in melee due to bad armor and low unit size. Their BS can be upped by marker lights, but only if the leader doesn't dies and that's likely given their small unit size for mobility and 5th's wound allocation rules.

So overall: Fire Warriors are cheaper, they just pump more fire power onto a target within 12" and are as mobile (with a transport) with better armor and leadership (if a Vespid leader dies).

I've also decided to use the Tau Tactica fandex for friendly games if anyone ever wanted to help me test it out sometime because it incorporates virtually all my changes.

I'd only tweak it in that:

O'Shova makes all Crisis Suits, not 1, Troops cause it'll be hard to remember which one it is with multiple teams (and more fluffy).

Make Multi-Trackers on Crisis Suits their original cost... they doubled in price and the over-all cost of Crisis teams went up a lot already.

Toss in the rules for my fictional Kais special character because he's cool ^_^.

[equinox]

You are correct, the typical tournament list does not use them. My tournament list does, and trust me when I say that they have mopped up space marine/chaos marine/necron units after I hit them with other things or pin their sorry butts. I haven't given them a spin in 5th edition, so maybe that has changed somewhat, but I still stand by them if the army is designed to support them. The typical tau army, FW in d-fish, 2 hammerheads, broadsides, fill with suits and kroot does not support what they can do. If they are being thrown into CC, they are not being used right.

Anyways, its all just fun conversation.

[Leudast1215]

It might also be that I find the models rather not to my liking. If they were, I'd be more amiable towards then .

I could see them being useful if an army list is designed around em' and that's the subtle, but primary kicker. They can work, but everything needs to support them. I happen to run a (single) Hammerhead, 2 'Fish and a couple Broadsides in 1500 games with Kroot so my favorite army type doesn't jive with em'. Maybe if they just came with a 4+ armor save I'd give them a serious look; I mean what good is having Fleet if you're a unit incapable of melee? (another example of how the unit was mis-conceived in the design of the codex)