Farsight Enclaves Codex Supplement Thoughts

I have spent the last few days reading through the Farsight Enclaves supplement for the Tau Codex. I have the iOS version and am very happy with how the functionality works with my iPad. I still would have preferred a hardcover book but I could not wait to see what GW had in store for their second codex supplement release. More after the jump.

I was always a fan of Commander Farsight's fluff and rules. I made my own conversion a while ago with a Forge World battlesuit and a Eldar Wraithlord sword. The new official Finecast model looks cool and much better than the original model from the 4th edition codex, however I am still partial to my version.

The background fluff covers Farsight's rise from a regular firewarrior to leading Tau forces against Orks and the Imperium during the 2nd sphere expansion.   The fluff is really detailed and very well written.   I particularly liked the strategy he employed against the Waaagh! Dok Orks on the planet Arkunasha.

There is some new artwork but mostly it is recycled from other material.   Several pages are dedicated to showing off Tau models painted up in the Enclave color scheme.

As much as I have been enjoying the expanded fluff, I will admit the first pages I turned to was the rules section.    Some of the early rumors about the rules turned out to false, but the big rule I wanted to know was true: XV8 Battle suits are troops choices in a Farsight Enclave army.

A pleasant surprise for me was that there were no unit restrictions except for two named characters (no Shadowsun and/or Aun'va).   There's even a fluff explanation for being able to take Ethereals if you wanted to play pre-rebellion Farsight (Tau's version of pre-heresy I guess).

The rules for his named bodyguard/commanders are ok.    However, part of the joy of playing Tau is configuring battle suit load outs for different roles.   Unfortunately, some of the pre-built named commanders have odd mixes of weapons and wargear.   The only benefit I can see to taking them is that they are all Independent characters.   There's even an IC Riptide character.

The new signature system wargear are somewhat disappointing in comparison to the really good options in the Tau Codex.   There are ways around the limitations though, as Tau and Farsight Enclaves can be combined as battle brother allies.   My biggest concern is a needed FAQ with regards to how markerlights work between the allied units.   By RAW, only in Codex units can benefit from markerlights so I would need two separate sources from each codex (confusing).

My army will eventually be a mix of my Vior'la Sept Tau with Farsight Enclave allies

I am not sure how competitive a Farsight Enclave only army will be, but I plan on putting a few lists together to try it out soon.   The long term plan is probably going to be an allied group working with my primary Tau Codex so I can use the cool war gear AND bring some scoring battle suit units from Farsight Enclaves.

There is additional material for Cities of Death which is cool because I always liked that expansion.  Finally, there are six missions included that represent key battles in the Enclave's history.

Look for more updates soon.   For the Greater Good!