Good evening everybody! I’ve got the latest tau rumours for you all today and I’ve got leaked images from next months white dwarf of new tau models. I am as excited as a motherfucker! April here we come!
This is a compendium of rumours from warseer (be warned there is a huge wall of text):
via Tastyfish on Warseer
Tau rumours Tau are going to be released in April with the following kits, information is mostly compiled from Kirby on 3++, Nafka on Faeit212 and Neko here on warseer: The new cover is of a Crisis suit. The suit is posed with one leg on a boulder, whilst shooting a target to the suit’s right with a fusion blaster
New Battleforce – £80 3 Crisis suits, 12 Firewarriors, Piranha, 3 Stealthsuits with marker drones, 8 gun drones
XV104 Riptide battlesuit – £50/US$85 Plastic kit sculpted by Matt Holland, Dale Stringer and Tom Walten
Elite choice Monstrous creature with T6 W4 2+ save, 5+ invulnerable save and a jump/jetpack of some kind Primary Weapon options are upgraded versions of the Ion cannon and burst cannon, Railcannon may also be an option It also mounts “Crisis level” weapons (missiles/SMS and plasma rifles in pictures) on it’s shoulders and underslung beneath the primary weapon Comes with two shielded missile drones (a new type) Equipped with a Nova reactor, which it can activate to boost weapon power (changing the Ion cannon from S7 AP 2 3shots to a large blast, possibly at S8 AP2), increase it’s invulnerable save to 3++ or to do other things (increase stats and maybe required in order to jump). Can buy an option granting Skyfire Is poseable enough that weapon arms can be switched around and can be assembled in a kneeling position, similar to that of the Firewarriors Around 7-8″ tall, comes with multiple ‘FW style’ heads that look compatible with current crisis suits
Sunshark Bomber/Razorshark fighter – £40/US$65 Plastic kit sculpted by Colin Grayson
Fast Attack choices Fighter/gunship is armed with nose mounted burstcannons, and an array of ion weapons mounted in a turret underneath the fuselage. It also has two “pop up” seeker missiles. Bomber is armed with a plasma generator which it uses to launch balls of plasma instead of having conventional bombs and a bomb bay. Bomber also has two drone fighters, armed with railrifles, that can be launched to defend itself.
Pathfinders (10+ 3 drones) – £20/$US35 Plastic kit sculpted by Ed Cottreil and Matt Holland
Still a Fast Attack choice Markerlights work more or less the same as they do now (boost BS, reduce cover etc) Have access to more experimental weapons, as well as Railrifles and pulse carbines. Pulse carbines are assault 2 The 3 drones in the kit are Grav inhibitor, pulse accelerator and recon drone (which can fit in the turret cupola of a devilfish and provide communication relays and fire support). It’s unknown as to whether other units can take these or if drones are now specific options for each unit Special character Pathfinder called Nightstrider
XV88 Broadside Battlesuit – £30/US$50 Plastic kit with two drones (box art appears to show shield/missile pods), sculpted by Samir Battistotti and Matt Holland
Sniper pose New drone options Carry the mid range rail weapon – S8 AP1 (looks to be Heavy 1, no rumours of Salvo 2/1) Slow and Purposeful, 2+ and T4 now. Can take plasma or missiles as well. They have a suit upgrade that let’s them at the start of a shooting phase have skyfire (with it, they are 85 points). They don’t have interceptor, nor do they snap fire ground targets. Also appears to be a missile pod variant, with a suit mounted seeker missile 60mm base
XV8 Crisis suit team – £45/US$75 Plastic set of 3 models, current models
Just a rebox, no new sprue Almost certainly can’t be taken as troops Lots of new bits of wargear, but it’s currently how much standard suits can take and how much is special issue wargear. Information about this has been put at the bottom under “Miscellaneous rumours”
Commander Farsight – unknown Finecast Might have rejoined the returned to the Tau’va, Dawn Blade is now a Power Glavie with Tau symbols and designs on it Looks almost exactly like the test model Matt Holland did that appeared at GD 2009
Comander in Crisis Enforcer Armour – unknown Finecast (presumably)
Very little information, mentioned in Riptide design article Apparently has hands extended out for some reason.
Cadre Fireblade – unknown (probably £9) Just visible in leaked WD pages with the other kits, opposite the three finecast sets so probably a plastic character
Firewarrior upgrade called Cadre Fireblade (maybe be SC or just ‘unique’) IC with split fire, markerlight, supporting fire, volley fire (+1 shot for Pulse Rifles/Carbines if unit and IC do not move).
Other units Special character is “like” Chronus for tanks. Tank Hunters. Potential cover boost. Tank can overwatch. Hammerhead roughly 160-170 WITH character.
Firewarriors are 9 points Stealthsuits can overwatch at BS2 Skyray can shoot and ground and air targets (one assumes at full BS). Piranhas get cheaper Shadowsun may get split fire Kroot and Vespid are in, but no new units*
Miscellaneous rumours There is something called…. Puretide engram neurochip probably a reserve modifier, Steal the Initiative boost – Tastyfish Supporting fire allows other Tau units within 6″ to overwatch a charging unit as well. Not sure if this is all Tau units or just specific types. Repulsor field. D6 s4 ap- hits to attacking units at I10 All Ion weapons have a ‘supercharge’ option but at a risk (gets hot?). Drones can have Ion weapons. Disruption pod gives a boost to cover saves
*The Future The Kroot rules (headhunters, kroothawks, giant beasts) that have been rattling around for a while might turn up in the near future in an Allies supplement, similar to the monsters and magic supplement WFB had with the Storm of Magic.
via The Dude over on Warseer
*The release will include two Finecast boxes, one for Farsight and one for a generic XV8 Commander. *Also Two Finecast blisters for Special Characters; Dark Strider and Long Strike. *Plus there is a plastic blister for the Cadre Fireblade. *Just to be clear, the existing Kroot Carnivore squad will stay unchanged.via neko over on Warseer
UThe “Cadre Fireblades” codex entry is pluralised, so they won’t be a specific character. They are independant characters, which to me implies HQ. They wear carapace armour and have barely any more EQ than a Fire Warrior (as standard at least) so I am thinking it would be a budget HQ option.via The Dude over on Warseer
When the Fireblade was first described to me it was as being like a Wolfguard battle leader. Low level HQ choice.Tank Commander I was told that he allows the tank to Overwatch, which may not be too handy for the tank itself, but adds more firepower to the 6″ support Overwatch if true.
So there we are. Huge wall of text and the latest rumours regarding everyones favourite blue skins (no not andorians).
Next up its the pics. The flyers are ok looking but I love the riptides, judging by the scale they look like mini titans and I’m already planning on getting 2!
p.s. New farsight model!
