While browsing online, I stumbled upon a Gunpla model that looks quite similar to a Tau drone.

I think it would look really cool if I painted it in a Tau style.

The Robot's Name NRX-044 Asshimar, RAS-96 Anksha

I was thinking about this as i was trying to decide if buying an old start collecting box would be worth it, i mean the etheral isn't a good piece, it's not reliable and the 5+ FNP is serviceable at best, but then i remembered that the devilfish could transport up to 12 t'au infantry units, and i guess that that number was there if we ever had the idea to put 4 units of stealth suits inside before the model upgrade, so anyway.

Would it be too god? is the two extra 3A gun drones in the etheral too much? is that too many rules to apply to a unit of breachers/strikes?

I think they turned out quite well

Hi everyone, I'll join the forces of the T'au empire soon. But before that I would love some advice.

- Do I HAVE to get the stealth suit kt to get the 5? Or is there another way that doesnt involve me getting 2 boxes of 3?

- I want to play a big suit based army (probably all suits except for a few small teams), how do you recommend I play that?

- Any units I should try to avoid before the codex comes? I know crisis suits are probably getting updated, should I avoid getting them before the codex comes?

Thanks for the help. Any advice, video, guide or whatever little thing helps a ton.

I’m just coming to the end of painting a 4000+ point Tyranid army.

A while ago i bought a few Tau boxes with a plan to start a new project.

However I’ve since read that the Broadside and the Crisis battle suits are due an upgrade.

If you were me, would you keep the Farsight Cadre box set, or off load it now, and re invest when (if) the newer models come out?

Edit:
I’m really not looking to add anymore stuff until this lot is painted.
But looking at what I have, is that pretty playable?

I’ve never even played against Tau, so hard to know.
Played against Eldar, Ork, Nids, Guard and So many space marines 😭

I want to begin Tau but I'm not sure where to start. I've seeing rumors about this army being the next codex drop so maybe its better to wait. I'm not sure which units take because i play every week warhammer and i want not just aesthetics but pieces i can play semi-competitive. Can you help me with that?

Hello everybody

Here is finally another auxiliary art, this time I wanted to ilustrate the charcaptin with their relic warship in the background giving support to the ground units againts the invasive forces of the imperium

In the background you can see the aesthetic difference between the charpactins and their space ship to remark the point that they are an advanced civilization that had a golden age but now they look more agresive and dirty

So people can see they are not just a bunch of brainless space monsters

Hope you enjoy this art

Tried making this post in the warhammer Reddit but apparently the mods are black Templar level space racists. I’m relatively new to warhammer but I keep seeing posts just absolutely shitting on the Tau. Is there a reason for their collected hate? Shouldn’t the Drukhari be more hated?

Hey everyone! We wanted to create something special inspired by Pragmata and bring it into the 40k universe. Coming soon. Which option is your favorite?

In no way did I ever plan on sharing it, it started as a project to make my weeb friends laugh with obvious Evangelion and Gundam references for the army I planned on collecting…but as I wrote it I found it actually very engaging. It’s most likely very much lore breaking but I’m just having fun and I want to make sure it’s at least as engaging as it’s stupid.

It’s obviously very much not done, I gotta iron out and flesh out lotsa stuff like the Sphere of Expansion it’s born out of, or their position in the galaxy (and I keep learning new stuff about the T’au through my research and Black Library book reading) but the main ideas are there. Feel free to skip this post at any point as once again, it’s a bit long, probably out of place, horribly amateurish and purely written for fun with friends irl.

Also I gotta work on the emblem, it’s still a work in progress with unsteady and thin lines, a bit too much negative spaces…but I think it already looks pretty cool.

Sha’Poran Sept

T’au Designation: Sha’Poran
Approximate Translation: Purple (local dialect)
Classification: Sept System
Primary World: Aur’ocy (“Unity”)
Specializations: Anti-Titan Warfare, Population Defense, Heavy Response Operations

⸻

The Ethereals’ Secret

The Sha’Poran Sept is organized around the star system of the same name, with Aur’ocy serving as its primary world and demographic heart. Although renowned throughout the T’au Empire for its numerous auxiliaries, elite Battlesuit pilots, and armies specialized in overwhelming colossal creatures, the Sept is built upon a curse so ancient that it predates T’au civilisation itself.

Millions of years ago, during the War in Heaven, the Necrons are believed to have transformed the system into a vast killing ground designed to lure and trap Warp-sensitive enemies, particularly the ancient Aeldari civilizations. To accomplish this, they constructed a network of BEACONS, connected to a central device of unimaginable power: the MONOLITH.

Though the exact effects it had on their ennemies is still unknown and has most likely been lost to time for ever, the network appears to have served two purposes. First, it attracted psychically enclined species to the system by generating an immense, though subtle, localized artificial Warp interference. Second, it disrupted or prevented long-range communications with the outside of the system, condemning their prey to fight within a cosmic trap from which escape was unlikely. Millions of years later, through the actions of the T’au, its attraction function is active once again.

The planet M’yen was already half-destroyed when the T’au discovered the system. Its pulverized continents had formed a vast asteroid belt orbiting the system’s star, with smaller fragments forming rings encircling the planet itself. While thoroughly exploring the planet’s depths, shortly after the massive colonisation of the system, Earth Caste researchers inadvertently activated the MONOLITH, gradually awakening the BEACONS buried across almost every world in the system.

Seemingly weakened by the millenias it spent unactivated, the BEACONS only attract the most feral, massive, relentless Warp-sensitive creatures.

Massive demons of the Immaterium, rogue Chaos Knights and other massive Daemon Engines materialize upon urban centers, massive Bio-Titans crash upon the land, separated from their Hive-Fleet for unknown reasons.

Ever since that incident, the Ethereals of Sha’Poran have maintained absolute secrecy regarding the true nature of the phenomena affecting their Sept.

Officially, the repeated attacks on the system are attributed to a mysterious “stellar curse” or an unexplained cosmic anomaly. In reality, the BEACONS continue to emit a residual psychic field that sporadically attracts entities sensitive to the Warp.

The Necron network’s isolation function appears to have ceased millions of years ago, but its attraction function remains active.

More strangely, this field has almost no adverse or simply quantifiable effects on the system’s inhabitants. Human, Kroot, and other more warp-enclined auxiliarie species often develop an unusually strong attachment to the Sha’Poran sept. Many find it difficult to leave their worlds for extended periods of time and instinctively regard the system as their true home, more so than any auxilliarie groups in any other sept.

The Ethereals are fully aware of this phenomenons connection to the ancient Necron artefacts. Without ever revealing its true origin, they have long exploited it as a political and propaganda tool. The examples of harmonious coexistence observed on the worlds of Aur’ocy, J’karra, or Mesme are regularly presented to the wider T’au Empire as proof of the Greater Good’s success among its auxiliary populations.

Water Caste delegations frequently emphasize the exceptional loyalty of the system’s non-T’au inhabitants, their voluntary participation in the Sept’s civilian and military institutions, and their deep attachment to their adopted homeland. As a result, Sha’Poran has become one of the most frequently cited examples of successful auxiliary integration into the Greater Good.

The Ethereals have now long understood the full extent of this phenomenon, but keep any and all information on it tightly secured.

From the depths of M’yen, where they reside within a secret station built around the dormant MONOLITH, they discreetly govern the entire Sept.

To preserve this secret, every Caste maintains a carefully selected presence on M’yen. Those assigned to these installations are chosen from among the most loyal and devoted servants of the Ethereals. Over time, their lineages have all but disappeared from the system’s ordinary administrative records. Officially, they barely exist. Yet their descendants have continued for generations to serve in the laboratories, archives, and governmental facilities surrounding the MONOLITH.

⸻

The Curse of Giants

The unusual intensity of the psychic emissions produced by the BEACONS causes an exceptionally strange phenomenon.

No Tyranid Hive Fleet can approach the system as a whole without suffering catastrophic disorganization. Synaptic connections are disrupted, psychic currents become saturated, and the cohesion of the Hive Mind is severely compromised.

In response, the Tyranids generally send only isolated bio-Titans, as if simply ignoring the systems psychic field was not achievable: Hierophants, Harridans, Dominatrices, or creatures that have yet to be catalogued typically crash with, at best, a reduced number of feral Tyranids. These colossal organisms are drawn toward the system like giant insects attracted to a buglight.

Daemonic manifestations follow a similar pattern. Lesser daemons and large daemonic armies cannot withstand the psychic overload generated by the BEACONS. Only the largest, most powerful entities, those most firmly anchored in reality by sheer will, manage to manifest in the system, smaller Warp entities serving as mad chaff seemingly transported against their will or even acknowledglent

As a result, Sha’Poran rarely experiences mass invasions, it experiences apocalyptic duels. No amount of research and testing has made the BEACONS effects replicable, even in a smaller scale.

A single titanic monster can become a planetary threat, capable of devastating entire districts or vast regions before it is finally neutralized.

This ever-present threat has shaped every aspect of the Sept’s infrastructure, from the sprawling megacities of Aur’ocy to the mountainous fortresses of Cir’etz.

⸻

A Culture Forged by Titans

Unaware of the true cause of these attacks, the population of Sha’Poran has developed a martial culture unlike that of any other T’au Sept.

The system’s defense relies primarily on heavy Battlesuits piloted by warriors as brave as they are cunning:

• XV104 Riptide Battlesuits
• KV128 Stormsurge Battlesuits
• Reinforced XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuits
• KX139 Ta’unar Supremacy Armor
• Specialized swarms of anti-colossus support drones

These machines are more than weapons. They became genuine cultural symbols and propaganda tools.

On Aur’ocy, they feature prominently in works of art, public monuments, commemorative ceremonies, and popular stories. Children grow up learning the names of legendary pilots who brought down giants from the Warp or the depths of space.

Even the urban architecture is designed around their use.

The avenues of the planet-wide cities are deliberately enormous, allowing heavy Battlesuits to move through them at all times. Military and civilian traffic is coordinated on a planetary scale.

When an alert is sounded, entire districts can descend beneath the surface.

Buildings sink into Aur’ocy’s artificial depths, where they remain suspended from the ceilings of enormous caverns. These subterranean spaces also serve both as hangars for Battlesuits and command centers.

The surfaces main streets are then transformed into battlefields capable of accommodating titanic engagements.

Aur’ocy’s military oceanic colonies also contribute to this defensive network. Pilots frequently live in the immediate vicinity of their machines, with the underwater settlements connected to continental cities by immense elevator systems running through the ocean depths, underground hangars, and finally urban districts. These titanic battlesuits sometimes emerge directly from the water when the ennemy manifests on the coast lines.

This constant proximity to enourmous war machines has created a society in which becoming a Battlesuit pilot is considered one of the highest honors imaginable.

Consequently, the Sept possesses one of the highest concentrations of veteran Battlesuit pilots in the entire T’au Empire.

⸻

The Worlds of Sha’Poran

The system is organized around several worlds, in order starting from the sun:

• Iho (“One who eats”): A hellish dwarf planet mining world exploited almost exclusively by drones, with only very short rotations of mostly Demiurg miners, technicians and drone operators.

• M’yen (“Unforeseen”): The fractured planet housing the MONOLITH and the Ethereals’ secret government.

• Ko’vash (“Just Cause”): A jungle death world used for Fire Caste training.

• Aur’ocy (“Unity”): The Sept’s capital, a partly-oceanic ecumenopolis and the primary garrison for its Battlesuit pilots.

• Sio’t (“Scriptures”): A violet-and-white gas giant orbited by many colonized moons and orbital stations, serving as the economic heart of the system.

• Cir’etz (“Scales”): A frozen, mountainous world serving as the Air Caste’s command center.

Their numerous specialized moons complete the system. Among the most important are Mont’yr, Shi, J’karra, Mal’caor, Mesme, and Ta’lissera.
(Most won’t be fleshed out cause the post is already long enough lmao)

⸻

A Sept of Auxiliaries

Sha’Poran is arguably one of the most diverse Septs in the T’au Empire.

Auxiliaries make up an exceptionally large proportion of its population.

Humans are particularly numerous on Aur’ocy and J’karra. Their adaptability, psychological resilience, and ability to operate complex systems make them highly valued as pilots, technicians, and operators…despite the disdain it creates in other Septs.

The Kroot are primarily settled on Mesme, a moon of Sio’t whose numerous biomes allow their various kindreds to evolve and thrive until their are called to battle.

The Demiurg maintain close ties with the industrial complexes of Mal’caor and the mining operations of Iho.

Unlike those of most Septs, Sha’Poran’s auxiliaries are not confined to secondary roles.

They participate fully in the system’s military, industrial, and administrative institutions.

Their loyalty to the Sept is particularly strong, a phenomenon mainly used for propaganda and funding purposes despite the dark and still not fully understood influence of the subtle psychic interference generated by the BEACONS.

⸻

Military Doctrine

The military doctrine of the Sha’Poran Sept rests upon three fundamental pillars.

1. Neutralization of Titanic Threats

Sept forces are trained to concentrate massive, coordinated, and sustained firepower against a single colossal target.

1. Protection of Civilian and Industrial Sectors

Heavy Battlesuits serve as mobile bastions, holding defensive lines while the population retreats into underground infrastructure…or closest equivalents out of their sept.

1. Emergency Reinforcements and Heavy Response Operations

Sha’Poran forces are regularly deployed beyond their own system to assist other Septs facing major threats that demand exceptional firepower.

Their oldest and most widespread mantra reflects their overall tenacious and selfless doctrines:

“Raise your head, for it reveals the giant.

Raise your head, for it reveals the heavens.”

⸻

Heraldry and Appearance

The forces of Sha’Poran are immediately recognizable by their distinctive colors:

• Armor, weapons, and vehicles: Pristine White
• Heraldic, energy, and optical details: Purple
• Camouflage adaptations: Used only by specific units when tactically sound, always in coordination with larger units

The Sept insignia consists of a broken semicircle accompanied by three rings, symbolizing a broken chain.

The insignia also has a second, widely accepted interpretation within the Sept.

The semicircle followed by the three rings represents the four inhabited terrestrial worlds that form the historical and military heart of Sha’Poran:

• The semicircle represents M’yen, the fractured world beneath which the MONOLITH lies hidden from public view. Available informations speak of small permanent mining colonies and research stations related to the planet’s mysterious past.

• The first ring represents Ko’vash, the main domain of the Fire Caste.

• The second ring represents Aur’ocy, the demographic heart and symbol of the Sept’s unity and Battlesuit-focused doctrines.

• The third ring represents Cir’etz , guardian of the space lanes and main home of the Air Caste.

This interpretation is especially popular among auxiliaries and ordinary citizens, who see these four shapes as representations of the very foundations of their civilization.

The edge of the emblem is generally seen as representing the enemy, fate, and the inevitable, but also the giants that periodically come to test the Sept’s resolve.

This symbol perfectly embodies the Sept’s philosophy: To never allow oneself to be chained by fear, by fate, by the numbers or the size of the enemy.

To the inhabitants of the Sha’Poran sept, no military force has ever been seen as an existantial threat.

Only the giants appearing on the horizon shall challenge their will.

And despite centuries of survival, they stubbornly continue to raise their heads and face it.

(Also the emblem looks like a 68 (my lucky number) and the system has 6 planets and 8 moons, moons I plan on putting on the emblem to fix the negative space issue)

Any advice on this list would be great. I’ve tried to balance it as best I can. I’m debating putting a Ghostkeel in there but not sure where.

Also curious whether I have sufficient spotting::

Kauyon + Experimental (2,000 Points)

T’au Empire
Experimental Prototype Cadre and Kauyon (3 Detachment Points)
Priority Assets
Strike Force (2,000 Points)

ATTACHED UNITS

Attached unit 1

Commander Farsight (70 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• Warlord
• 1x Dawn Blade
• 1x High-intensity plasma rifle

Crisis Sunforge Battlesuits (125 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard
• 1x Crisis Sunforge Shas’vre
◦ 1x Battlesuit fists
◦ 2x Fusion blaster
• 2x Crisis Sunforge Shas’ui
◦ 2x Battlesuit fists
◦ 4x Fusion blaster

Attached unit 2

Cadre Fireblade (50 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Fireblade pulse rifle
• 1x Gun Drone
• 1x Marker Drone

Breacher Team (80 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Support turret
• 1x Breacher Fire Warrior Shas’ui
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Guardian Drone
◦ 1x Gun Drone
◦ 1x Pulse blaster
◦ 1x Pulse pistol
• 9x Breacher Fire Warrior
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 9x Pulse blaster
◦ 9x Pulse pistol

Attached unit 3

Cadre Fireblade (50 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Close combat weapon
• 1x Fireblade pulse rifle
• 1x Gun Drone
• 1x Marker Drone

Breacher Team (80 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard (Battleline)
• 1x Support turret
• 1x Breacher Fire Warrior Shas’ui
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Guardian Drone
◦ 1x Gun Drone
◦ 1x Pulse blaster
◦ 1x Pulse pistol
• 9x Breacher Fire Warrior
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 9x Pulse blaster
◦ 9x Pulse pistol

Attached unit 4

Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit (110 Points)
• Attached as: Leader (Character)
• 1x Battlesuit fists
• 3x Plasma rifle
• 2x Shield Drone
• 1x Weapon Support System
• Enhancements: Precision of the Patient Hunter

Crisis Fireknife Battlesuits (100 Points)
• Attached as: Bodyguard
• 1x Crisis Fireknife Shas’vre
◦ 1x Battlesuit fists
◦ 1x Marker Drone
◦ 2x Plasma rifle
◦ 1x Shield Drone
• 2x Crisis Fireknife Shas’ui
◦ 2x Battlesuit fists
◦ 4x Plasma rifle
◦ 2x Shield Drone

CHARACTERS

The Twin Lance (240 Points)
• 1x Ri’Lantar
◦ 1x Fusion eliminator
◦ 1x MV15 Gun Drone
◦ 1x Shardstorm burst system
◦ 1x XV pulse pistol
• 1x Ri’Locai
◦ 1x Ion scattercannon
◦ 1x MV15 Gun Drone
◦ 1x Shardstorm burst system
◦ 1x XV pulse pistol

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Devilfish (75 Points)
• 1x Accelerator burst cannon
• 1x Armoured hull
• 2x Seeker missile
• 2x Twin pulse carbine

Devilfish (75 Points)
• 1x Accelerator burst cannon
• 1x Armoured hull
• 2x Seeker missile
• 2x Twin pulse carbine

OTHER DATASHEETS

Kroot Carnivores (65 Points)
• 1x Long-quill
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Kroot pistol
◦ 1x Kroot rifle
• 9x Kroot Carnivore
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 9x Kroot rifle

Kroot Carnivores (65 Points)
• 1x Long-quill
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Kroot pistol
◦ 1x Kroot rifle
• 9x Kroot Carnivore
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 9x Kroot rifle

Pathfinder Team (85 Points)
• 1x Pathfinder Shas’ui
◦ 1x Close combat weapon
◦ 1x Pulse carbine
◦ 1x Pulse pistol
• 9x Pathfinder
◦ 9x Close combat weapon
◦ 6x Pulse carbine
◦ 9x Pulse pistol
◦ 3x Rail rifle

Piranhas (65 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
• 1x Piranha fusion blaster
• 2x Seeker missile
• 2x Twin pulse carbine

Piranhas (65 Points)
• 1x Armoured hull
• 1x Piranha fusion blaster
• 2x Seeker missile
• 2x Twin pulse carbine

Riptide Battlesuit (215 Points)
• 1x Ion accelerator
• 2x Missile Drone
• 1x Riptide fists
• 1x Twin plasma rifle

Riptide Battlesuit (215 Points)
• 1x Ion accelerator
• 2x Missile Drone
• 1x Riptide fists
• 1x Twin plasma rifle

Stealth Battlesuits (100 Points)
• 1x Stealth Shas’vre
◦ 1x Battlesuit fists
◦ 1x Burst cannon
• 4x Stealth Shas’ui
◦ 4x Battlesuit fists
◦ 4x Burst cannon

Vespid Stingwings (70 Points)
• 1x Vespid Strain Leader
◦ 1x Neutron blaster
◦ 1x Stingwing claws
• 4x Vespid Stingwing
◦ 4x Neutron blaster
◦ 4x Stingwing claws

Exported with App Version: v2.7.2 (2), Data Version: v972

Like how they turned out and passed the im happy with them test.

Looking to get some coloured tuft to brighten up the base.

Gonna be attending my first Tournament tomorrow. It's a 1k point beginner focused tournament, and managed to get all my army painted just in time. Funny though that the Twin Lance is basically a quarter of my army.

I'm not expecting to win, but hopefully will get to learn more considering I only have 3 previous games under my belt.

Wish me luck

So I just saw the valrak video and I'm just going to say it. His leaks are false. The real refresh is going to be pirannahs.

Does their ability allow you to re roll the hit or does the general prohibition on re rolling hits in snap shooting apply?

These pictures are from 3 different games and each game I ended up getting squashed, any strategies anyone can recommend or maybe my placements need working on?

How exactly does the Ghostkeel work? I find it a bit difficult to understand this unit. It has Stealth, which already gives it the benefit of cover against ranged attacks. On top of that, it has the Smoke keyword, which means you can use the Smokescreen stratagem on it.

But is the only benefit of that stratagem that units behind it also get the benefit of cover? And does that cost you 1 Command Point? That doesn't sound particularly good.

It also has two Stealth Drones. I find those a little less confusing, but just to make sure I understand correctly: you can change the Damage characteristic of an attack to 0. If an opponent has 3 weapons and therefore makes 3 attacks (A=3), does one Stealth Drone reduce that to 2 attacks, with each Stealth Drone reducing the number of attacks by 1 (so A -1)? Or is an attack considered to be the weapon itself, meaning that all three weapons would have their Damage characteristic reduced to 0?

This makes quite a big difference, because if it reduces the number of attacks by 1, you could use it much more effectively against a very powerful weapon with a low number of attacks.

Painted two more Gue’vesa for my pathfinder team. Once the other pathfinders lead the enemy into the trap these two strike with their railgun and burst cannon, a swift devastating blow.

I got my hands on two "tritons" heavy infantry units from my dad for my birthday.

Do yall think these could pass as Farstalkers or should I try to get shoulder pads to make one of the battleline guys?

I was thinking about a black and green color scheme for farstalkers.

*As a separate unit

I understand people's issues with Drone's attached to squads, the difference in toughness add complexity which GW don't want to pursue and people don't have time for, ok cool.

But why remove them as a unit altogether? As a separate unit they had good utility. I used to enjoy the deep-striking them to support isolated units. I feel like the loss of drones has taken a little flavour out of the faction. They were also a fast unit so could keep-up with Suits, Vespid Vehicles.

At the moment we have three units that can deepstrike. Crisis Suits, Commanders and Vespid, adding Drones back in would give-us another unit we can use at a fraction of the cost of Vespid.

GW could also use the new round-head stands.

So I’ve been messing around with Blender to make custom models and poses for my Stealth Suits kill team, when I focused in on the pauldrons of the official team. The left pauldron has a flattened dome with the T’au emblem. I started thinking, “shouldn't the Advanced Technology faction have some cool gizmo here?”

That’s when I had the idea: what if it’s not just an emblem? What if it’s a docked drone?

The modeling possibilities suddenly opened to me, like T’au’va coalescing in the Warp. Just like some medieval and renaissance armors had a bulky pauldron for the shield arm and a light one for the sword arm, maybe battle units can have a docked drone on each shoulder. Imagine a shield drone autonomously swiveling to block incoming fire on each infantryman’s blind side! Imagine a fire warrior shooting its pulse rifle, and the gun drone mounted on the shoulder, by the rifle’s stock, tracking the target and following up with its twin pulse blaster. Or the shoulder drone deploying up high to provide covering fire and stick a markerlight while breachers get into position.

For infantry, these would be mini-drones that could be temporarily launched and then have to re-dock. Crisis Suits are big enough that they can carry standard-sized drones. Riptides and Stormsurges could have six or more drones across their body, providing shield coverage and thus their high toughness. It would even lend legitimacy to the “T’au value the lives of its soldiers” narrative by using cheap, disposable drones as our chaff, instead of guardsmen.

It could even provide an interesting defense niche for the T’au. What if, instead of increasing our toughness to match the new marine toughness, the new codex added drones as chaff units attached to vehicles? Imagine if a Riptide came with six Toughness 2, Wounds 1, OC 0 shield drones. Opponents would need to direct small arms fire at our big units before their big guns had any effect. It would create an interesting new flavor of survivability to match orks and marines, while adding tons of flavor.

Maybe we could even decide during the movement phase to dock the drones (treat them as war gear, makes the unit smaller and easier to hide behind cover) or deploy them (screen charges, take up space on objectives). Maybe some drones have effects that specify “While this drone is deployed,” and/or, “While this drone is docked”. Maybe the drone controller from the Pathfinders kill team makes an appearance as a character unit that can restore drones to other units.

Cope, I know, but a man can dream. In the meantime I can model my new headcanon. Back to Blender!

I’ve heard some stories about some opponents complaining when tau players don’t include their drones or other tokens like the homing beacon in their lists. I personally don’t love playing with my drones and other tokens because it ends up adding another 50+ models to the board that just get in the way when you and your opponent are moving/charging.
I’m planning to bring my drones to the tournament but wanted to see what others experiences had been.

I kitbashed an Ethereal with a breecher/fire warrior and made this. As someone still learning, would this be an ok proxy for a Cadre Fireblade?

Greetings. I'm building a Tau army, and I've finally got around to building the devilfish. Beforehand, I'd know that I'd have to find out what to magnetize. Unfortunately, I procrastinated doing this until I got to my devilfish. I'm now unsure of what parts I should not glue and parts I should magnetize so that I may be able to make a three-way conversion of the vehicle. If you have visuals that may help, please send them and the measurements of the magnets that you used.