Toys for Tau

New Commander Shas'o E'dem, my fluff hero from our last 40k campaign

By my guess, I am a new rules edition and at least 3 marine codexes away from getting a new Tau Codex. So as part of our last month's Forge World order for Contemptors, I snuck in a few Tau items I wanted. I picked up another Forge World battlesuit to add to my collection to model as my fluff hero from our last narrative campaign. I really like the look of the FW suits over the standard GW versions. Originally, I was just going to order a XV-89 battlesuit to model up as a new commander. However, Forge World at the time released updated rules for some of the 40k approved Imperial Armour vehicles. The rules (here) enticed me enough to pick up a Sensor Tower and Tetra Scout Speeders as well.

I magnetized the under slung mounts to swap out each weapon option available

Way back in my early hobby life (3 years ago), I bought a bunch of the GW XV-8 battlesuits and painstakingly magnetized their side arm weapons. I wish I had known about the Forge World version back then, because it is SO much easier to magnetize the under-slung weapon mounts. The arms have a nice flat, rectangular surface that allowed me to mount a thin strip of metal for each of the weapon options to fit.

Three Commanders - R'alai, E'dem, O'Shovah "Farsight"  (Converted from R'Myr Model)

So now I have three FW battlesuits including my favorite, Commander R'alai in his XV-9 battlesuit. I really hope the next Codex includes XV-9's as a option.

Voted least sexy Forge World model - ever

I also picked a Tau sensor tower. The rules are decent enough, though the model is a bit bland. The tower has a twin-linked markerlight and gives a buff to a nearby unit so that it gains twin-linked shooting for the turn. The best part is that it's a troop choice in the FOC (non-scoring).

Tetras - The best markerlight dispenser option now

The really exciting new option for me is the Tau Tetra speeders. These are a great option to bring markerlights over anything in the Codex. The models themselves are a bit odd looking, but at least fit the Tau aesthetic.

I got a chance to test out my new toys this week in a pick up game against a Tyranid list. I almost pulled off a turn 5 objective contest/grab victory, but unfortunately the game went to turn six. The new stuff performed well as most of my army was shooting at BS5 and reducing cover saves thanks to all the new markerlight options.