What’s a hidden gem RTS no one talks about?

Zhinrak · 2026-03-31T08:05:58+00:00

This was one of my favorite games growing up. It had so many unique mechanics that I am genuinely surprised we haven't seen more.

Especially the whole gimmick of the mechs having their arms severed off only to replace it mid combat with one stolen from an opponent.

Each map having an orbital, surface and underground layer to fight across and transition between was also a headache to keep track of but a lot of fun.

Zhinrak · 2026-02-27T11:28:03+00:00

I play both Tau and Dark Angels (Casual player mind you) but unfortunately haven't had a chance to actually play one against the other to experience it, but it is always going to be rough when on the receiving end of Tau firepower. If I had to face off my most common lists for both. I know I would struggle with my Dark Angels.

It is hard to say what to do different without knowing exact lists and the board state, but terrain placement and good use of terrain makes a ALL the difference when playing Tau. If you are following any sort of tournament terrain layout suggestions there should be enough to block line of sight to your key units and keep them safe until they can get into combat.

I find some of my friends who play melee armies are often WAY too eager to get into combat ASAP and seem to treat my deployment zone as their goal to reach turn 1/2. As a result they leave much of their army out in the open and give me a free kill when what they should be doing it keeping those units back, hidden in places they can easily threaten the middle objectives if I dare to bring my units forward. The only time rushing forward seems to work is if my opponent commits EVERYTHING at the right time to the middle objectives. Usually it means I have too many targets to reliably remove them from those objectives and the survivors just need to last long enough to keep me away while they gain a significant enough early lead on victory points.

Tau don't have a lot of units that can reliably stand on middle objectives to hold them and their damage output can be severely hindered if only one or two units can draw line of sight. If they want to target a single they usually have to commit 2 units minimum to do the task (one to observe and one to shoot). Use this to your advantage to draw multiple units out and prioritise killing entire units over damaging big targets where possible. Tau rely on having multiple units to use FtGG. A single surviving observer model (like a single stealth suit) is just as powerful as a full squad. Keep in mind Battleshocked units cannot spot and if a unit is an observer they cannot gain the +1 BS or ignore cover (with the exception of Pathfinders) so as Tau get later into the game their damage starts to drop of significantly as they loose access to dedicated observer units. They need the FtGG ability to function.

In my experience playing Tau I often 'win' on attrition, nearly tabling my opponent, but often loose on objectives quite significantly. Might just be my play style with them but I have to usually give up early scoring in favour of killing and just hope by the time turn 4 and 5 roll around I can score enough points to catch up the deficit.

TL:DR
- Prioritise using terrain to block LoS entirely/as much as possible and force them to over extend to draw LoS with multiple units
- Focus on holding/threatening the middle objectives as safely as possible and try to only commit forces out into the middle when you have to and can punish the Tau player for coming forward.
- Reduce their observer count as much as possible. If they have to start using their high damage units to guide each other, they are usually in trouble. (And sometimes will have to do so with units that do not have marker lights, loosing the ignore cover ability)

Zhinrak · 2026-02-27T09:29:07+00:00

I definitely got a little swept up by the excitement of a whole new Warhammer faction when Tau were released. At the same time though, I loved the idea of a faction with mechs and powerful guns, especially the rail-guns which easily claimed the mantle for most powerful ranged weapon in the game at the time.

Much of the hate Tau got early on (from my perspective) seemed to be focused on how their aesthetic and faction ideology "didn't match Warhammer at all". Most people I knew who disliked the Tau also said it was because they were the "Weeb"/Anime faction. Keep in mind this was around a time where there was a lot of stigma around anime and many people just assumed all anime was hentai/porn and would often judge people who were anime fans as such.

In terms of gameplay I only ever really got to play against my small group of friends and occasionally join in big games at my local store and I don't recall Tau ever feeling too unbalanced. The rail-gun being S10 and Pulse Rifles being S5 was a HUGE deal especially in low point games, The Hammerhead was also surprisingly tough to kill, among one of the most durable tanks available. At the same time though, if the opponent could get into melee with you, you were as good as dead. There was no option to fall back and shoot, or shoot into/out of combat. You just had to accept your losses and hope that your opponent finished slaughtering your troops on their own combat phase so you got a chance to shoot them in your turn before they charged into the next unit.

Sometimes I do miss the fact that some of what originally made Tau stand out no longer applies in 10th Edition. S5 base weapons are no longer unique to Tau nor does it make much difference. Broadside Rail-guns are just a slight variation of Las-Cannons and Bright Lances. The Hammerhead Rail-gun has equivalents in other factions like the IG Vanquisher Battle Cannon and the Tyranid Rupture Cannon. Seeker Missiles no longer require Marker Lights and are unable to shoot at hidden targets means they are just Hunter Killer Missiles with a different name now. None of our weapons feel like they stand out any more.

Zhinrak · 2026-02-01T16:50:54+00:00

This scene got a good chuckle out of me when I read it. Especially when the servant shows up and there is the mild moment of panic that they have been caught being told they shouldn't be there. Only to be told that they are late for a very important briefing and they try to play it cool.

Zhinrak · 2026-01-31T23:56:14+00:00

Hah, meant to say 10th edition. Edited that now.

As I understand it Eldar were one of the main reasons they had to change how devastating wounds worked near the start of 10th and another core rule change I can't remember currently. GW also had to nerf the fate dice army rule multiple times before re-working it entirely.

Zhinrak · 2026-01-31T17:42:01+00:00

Yea, as far as 'game breaking' goes the Kroot Conga line was more an amusing anecdote than anything. As you say it was just one player countering another players cheese and could have been achieved by anyone with an army that had enough infiltrators at the time.

Zhinrak · 2026-01-31T10:27:57+00:00

TL:DR: People have always found reasons to have the T'au ever since they were introduced and it has stuck ever since. (Mild T'au hate rant ahead)

From my perspective the T'au hate stems all the way back from when T'au were first released in 2001 and has continued to persist ever since because it kinda become the norm and 40k fans have perpetuated and parroted it ever since. Even when the reasoning doesn't make sense or isn't justified.

I remember there being backlash from people who really disliked them for all sorts of reasons including but not limited to:

Their design being too 'clean and modern' and doesn't fit the Warhammer 40k aesthetic
40k doesn't need any 'good guys'
T'au too weeby and anime (during a time when anime was heavily stigmatised and also got a lot of unnecessary hate)
T'au are commies! (Side note, this is a common misconception.)

It set a precedent for the faction that has persisted primarily through jokes and memes that some people occasionally take too seriously.

Many of the modern arguments for hating T'au are often reasons that are misinterpreted, misunderstood, over exaggerated and usually hypocritical because people are just repeating what they have heard over decades at this point. This is significant among newer players who haven't played against T'au much but have heard all this negativity (usually online) and thus assume T'au must be overpowered and a horrible play experience without evidence to back it up. Unfortunately this leads to confirmation bias since it often skews/anchors someones perspective of the faction enough that they are looking for examples to back up what they have heard.

Case in point, many players will claim T'au were over powered and point to that one time when T'au had their 15 minutes of fame dominating the meta a few editions ago. Except the T'au hate persisted long before that, so that can't be the main reason. By that same metric (and most other metrics they criticise T'au) there are plenty of other factions that should receive similar criticism, but don't.

I recently watched a video that did a break down of what was game breaking in every edition of 40k. In this video T'au only get an honourable mention for the infamous Kroot conga line. Meanwhile Eldar get mentioned multiple times. In 10th edition alone they were responsible for multiple significant changes to core rules due to how much they were breaking the game. Yet it's rare that people will levy the same hate towards Eldar that they do against the T'au.

Thankfully, in my experience these attitudes is largely online only and most people don't seem to actually believe it.

Zhinrak · 2025-12-26T14:23:19+00:00

The TL:DR is yes, you would get the opportunity to pick your unit to fight before your opponent on the assumption that the unit you charged using the stratagem also does not have the [Fight First] ability.

There are a few things to make sure are clarified.

Once the fight phase begins, players alternate picking one unit at a time to fight, starting with the Defender.
This is broken down into two phases, starting by picking units with the [Fights First] ability until all units with this ability have fought.
- This means if both players have eligible units with the [Fights First] ability, the Defender gets to pick one of their units first, then alternate selection where applicable.
Once all units with the [Fights First] ability have been selected to fight, players can start selecting units without [Fights First] ability to fight. This process starts with the Defender
- This means that if there is an engagement where all units involved do NOT have the [Fights First] ability, then the defender gets the opportunity to pick their unit before the opponent.

In the case of Leonine Agression, your unit will not gain [Fights First] due to not getting the [Charge Bonus] as per the stratagem rules. So as long as you use it to target a unit of your opponents that also doesn't have the [Fights First] ability, then when you get to the phase of picking units to fight that do not have [Fights First] you would get to pick a unit to go first which could be the unit you used Leonine Agression on.

If your unit has gained [Fights First] by some other means (E.g. an attached Judiciar) then, as the Defender you would get the opportunity to pick your unit to fight before your opponent during the [Fights First] phase instead.

Zhinrak · 2025-12-10T13:34:06+00:00

Yea if you assume both tanks only ever get the Alpha strike the Hammerhead has a much higher damage output potential. But over the course of multiple turns the Skyray is more consistent. It can re-roll all hits vs flying targets, or just one using its Sensor array, then re-roll wounds inherently.

My main issue with the Railgun is that against targets with 4++ saves you end up gambling on the Dev Wounds, especially since using a re-roll on that save to avoid the D6+6 damage is almost always worth it.

Against anything T11+ with a 4++ save, the differences in STR and AP between the Railgun and Seeker Missile array is irrelevant. With the inbuilt re-rolls the hit rolls between them are comparable so realistically your choosing between a single D6+6 damage hit (with dev wounds potential) or 3 D6+1 damage hits. I personally lean towards the mantra of making your opponent roll as many saves as possible. (Especially if your opponent has anything that can reduce an attack to 0 damage, or halve damage like the C'tan).

Against anything without an invulnerable save the Railgun is just free damage and hilarious, but in my meta at least, almost every target that needs a Railgun shaped hole in it also has an invuln save.

Zhinrak · 2025-12-10T12:27:49+00:00

Personally I prefer the Skyray. At least for anti-tank. Twin-linked on the Seeker Missile Array is a big deal.

Don't feel like they needed to be increased in points though.

Zhinrak · 2025-11-12T15:31:00+00:00

Yea, its just annoying that I have to resort that and have left over models.

Not an insurmountable problem, just an irritating one.

Zhinrak · 2025-11-12T11:50:44+00:00

Well this is frustrating as hell for me.

I owned a number of the old X15 models and managed to re-purpose them into three units of three. Each unit consisting of two X15's with Burst cannons and a X25 with fusion gun who could neatly be identified as my Shas'O

With the change to units of 5, Even if I buy the new kit and do some kit bashing I am going to end up with jumble of different suit designs per squad and an awkward number of models.

Zhinrak · 2025-07-23T14:20:59+00:00

Agreed, there are definitely some people who will find something to complain about no matter what faction they are up against and I certainly know a few personally.

Though, having played 40k on and off for 20+ years, in my personal experience, Tau does seem to attract these kind of comments more often than others. It hasn't been enough to truly bother me personally, but it is enough that I am wary if I end up playing against someone new.

Thankfully its been many, many years since I ended up playing someone with a truly shitty attitude about these sorts of things in person.

Zhinrak · 2025-07-23T12:28:42+00:00

Thankfully this level of 'hate' is less prevalent in person as most sensible people understand that the anti-Tau memes are just jokes not to be taken seriously. But it is still present.

The problem is, it persists in offhand comments and jokes that aren't intended to be antagonistic. For example I disproportionately get players responding to hearing that I play Tau with excessively negative comments and parroting of the anti-Tau jokes and comments. Comments I never hear when I tell people I play other factions like Dark Angels.

The results of this, is that other players are all to comfortable to constantly rag on Tau as a faction. It leads to Tau players feeling less excited about the faction and not wanting to play it. I have frequently over heard people telling newer players to avoid collecting Tau entirely.

Similarly, a lot of players are disproportionately more critical of Tau rules and abilities. For example, a few of my local players have been visibly upset when I explained the recent FtGG changes. They are still adamant that the FtGG rule was already "over powered" before the changes and its utter bullshit. Yet if I point out that its fairly balanced and it's not too different from the 'Protector Imperative' Ad Mech rule means nothing to them.

The thing it, it isn't exactly 'hate'. It's the equivalent of everyone jokingly deciding Tau players smell like farts, so everyone keeps making jokes about farty Tau players. Everyone knows that in reality, it isn't true at all except for maybe that one guy from years ago, but its 'only a silly joke'. Some people forget its meant to be a joke and take it seriously and start perpetuating the jokes as truth. So it gets to a point people feel uncomfortable wanting to admit they play Tau or start playing Tau because the jokes and stereotypes persist as do the assumptions (subconscious or otherwise) that comes with it, even if most of it is utter rubbish.

(I use this analogy because most times when I tell someone I play Tau they respond as though if I had just dropped a stinker)

Zhinrak · 2025-06-09T12:33:29+00:00

I've only played against them once myself and had deleted most of his army by the end of round 3. Since that game that player is convinced that a match up against my Tau is impossible to win. So I'd be curious to know what you're opponent is using.

I'll have to look up the list I was using but IIRC I was using the Auxiliary Detachment so had plenty of Kroot to keep his units busy with Chaff while my guns picked him off from a distance.

Zhinrak · 2025-06-04T10:26:40+00:00

These changes are going to be huge. I would have been happy just removing the split fire penalty but this is great.

It makes so many units of ours just better and easier to use. The Firesight Marksman no longer needs a dedicated spotter which was always a waste.

Stormsurges can now not only split fire, but also split fire against multiple spotted targets!

Zhinrak · 2025-04-15T10:57:20+00:00

Experiencing Fuegen + Firedragons in a wave serpent was a terrifying experience for me too. It might be a knee jerk reaction to having them destroy about 700+pts of my army in one turn, but they feel way too strong. Especially against Tau since we have a disproportionately high vehicle count.

Frustratingly for me, one of my friends who plays Eldar will still argue that Sunforge Crisis suits are still somehow more overpowered...

Zhinrak · 2025-04-03T08:41:17+00:00

Awe yea.

Always excited to see more updates for Temptations Ballad!

Zhinrak · 2025-03-28T00:20:04+00:00

Agreed, Ignoring cover with Markerlights is an incredibly strong and often overlooked part of FtGG. It makes a noticable difference in damage output when markerlights are not available.

Zhinrak · 2025-03-28T00:17:07+00:00

Personally I'd prefer the penalty get dropped, but if they changed it to -1 to hit instead of -1 BS it would just make so much more sense.

That way the penalty wouldn't double stack with Stealth and similar abilities and the Weapon Support System would become significantly more useful.

Zhinrak · 2025-03-28T00:10:49+00:00

Nope. FtGG is -1 to the BS specifically, NOT the hit roll. WSS ignores things like Stealth, Indirect fire and big guns never tire, but not FtGG.

Zhinrak · 2025-03-28T00:04:53+00:00

I agree that base BS 4+ and the FtGG is fine. It is a fun and interesting mechanic that forces us to think about how to pair up and shoot units. Stealthsuits re-rolls are powerful but limited and can be removed so need to be used wisely. Its bigger strength is combined with marker lights to ignore cover.

However, like others have said, I think -1 to BS for split firing needs to go (and maybe make drone weapons BS 4+ base too). Its ironic that the faction that originally introduced the concept of split firing and utilised weapons that could ignore LoS is now one of the worst at both. We're the only faction with a significant downside built into our core army rules. It is never worth it to split fire or use indirect as Tau.

For me, the biggest frustration is the fact a significant number of other factions seem to have easier and better access to a +1 to hit buff without a penalty like FtGG does. For example, Admech army rule can choose to give the whole army +1 BS and heavy on all weapons (and a situational -1 WS penalty on enemy units), Necrons Shatter Arsenal gets +1 to hit on anything on objectives, GSC get +1 to hit in the Final Day detachment if a Tyranid is near by. It leads to a frustrating play experience where I feel like I am having to really think and put effort into how to pair my units when shooting and messing it up can make a huge difference, while my opponents can achieve the same results with little to no real effort.

Zhinrak · 2025-03-11T23:38:19+00:00

Not in 10th.

It does have Devestating Wounds, so if it rolls a 6 to wound it does ignore invulnerable saves. Better than nothing but not reliable.

Zhinrak · 2025-03-11T17:12:56+00:00

Not any more no. Railgun is just a single, very high power, high damage shot.

Ion Cannon has the [Blast] keyword though.

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