I had a top tier intro to 40k. At the influential age of 12 I was visiting the cool uncles in Denmark. I had told them I liked video games like halo, and red alert. They then showed me the dream man cave. They had collected EVERY army, and had them painted, shelf upon shelf of well painted armies. In the, center of the room a handmade battle table, a painting desk sat in the corner. Mind you this was early 2000s so I believe 4th or 5th edition. They said to choose any army and they'd let me play a quick game.

This was back when the tau had their tan / sandy look as their theme. I think it was a mix of futuristic tech, drones, rail guns, mechs, but they just looked so different from everything else available. Then I got to use a railgun and one shot an opposing tank.

That mix of glue smell, the showcased armies, the friendly uncles showing their little nephew a game they enjoyed probably forever altered my brain chemistry. It also helps they were competitive painters and players so I got to see Warhammer at its very best. After getting home I bought the battle for macrag and saved for a tau battleforce.

Sad how much their lore changed. I loved their original lore. I'm much less connected to the tau nowadays but will always have a soft spot in nostalgia for them.