Tau Firebase Support Cadre and 40k's First True Formation

So today, GW's Digital folks released another dataslate. This one, unlike Be'Lakor yesterday, represents a formation and unlike the FW, Apocalypse and other Expansion formations, this one is meant for use in 40k. It is a detachment all to itself and has some potency that will likely see it used. I will include the details below and then pose the question of what this means for 40k and how we play our game:

Mechs and tons of Conversion Possibilities for YOUR Tau and AdMech! From Paulson Games!

TJ here to talk about a Miniature Company we here at DFG have been fans of for a very long time, Paulson Games, who recently have been hard at work building up an incredible selection of Mechs, weapons and accessory bits that not only look great on their own, but also in conversions with your favorite games system, whether you are looking to spruce up that Tau Commander, create some AdMech or add some big guns to your Infinity models. Let's take a look at what he has to offer (lots of pics):

Tau How to: Supporting Fire

Tau Supporting Fire

When an enemy unit declares a charge, all friendly models with this special rule in units within 6" of the charging unit's target can choose to fire overwatch as if they were also targets of the charge. 

By Chris Vinton

Support fire is a unique rule to the Tau Empire. This rule highlights the old saying "the best defense is a strong offense." If your list depends on this rule to win games your deployment is crucial. Layers of units and exact deployment both make and break this tactic. 

Tau vs Orks 1850 Battle Report

1850pt Tau vs Ork Battle Report

By Chris Vinton

This week I ran my tau against orks.  I'll admit the prospect of running against a close combat army seemed a sure bet for the tau, but with Matt's mech Orks I really had my doubts.  3 AV 14 battle wagons really pushed the weakness of my list.  The sept was really in for a rough match with the marked lack of armor punch; this was a true test to my theory that my Riptides are enough to handle AV 14...

Vinton's Tau: Fourth Sphere of Expansion

My Tau expansion has began to take shape.  After a solid call out by TJ I have elected to have another challenge army.  This time....white.

Tau Experiments Thus Far.

By Chris Vinton

This is just a quick heads up to what I've been working with for the tau and my thoughts. The codex presents on two levels; one very basic massed shooting and another in tricky play and what I can describe only as no gimmick tricks.

Riptide Review

By Chris Vinton

I bought two riptides when they first dropped and I have to say they are one of he coolest kits I've bought in a very long time. The price tag is a bit of a shock at 85$ but this model is totally worth it both on the game table and the hobby table.

Iron Man Themed Tau: The Last of Them ... Or Only the Beginning?!

TJ here with the last of the original Iron Man themed Tau commission I began painting January 6th. With nearly 150 models under my belt on this commission, I am happy to say that the owner got to have them in completion on the day the codex debuted. I know he may pass some work to me in the future, but for the moment, I am excited to see the project's completion. Let's take a quick look at the models and discuss the next route the hobby will take me down project wise ...

Iron Man Themed Tau: Spec Ops Cadre

TJ here with another update from the Iron Man Themed Tau Commission. Today we are looking at what I have dubbed "The Spec Op Cadre" which, as always are featured on my terrible range-top (for info on how to donate a better stove to me, use the "Contact Us" tab, haha). In all seriousness though, we are down to the nitty gritty on the Tau and these guys represent some of the last models in the commission as work comes to a close. This is bittersweet to me for two reasons: 1) I wanted to do this to make me not want to revisit my days as a Tau player ... and this commission has failed to make me hate them. 2) I know that with a new book, the client will be happy to play with his entire old collection fully painted ... and because of the update, I will likely have to paint more Tau, which is bittersweet for other reasons. Anyway, enough rambling from me, let's take a look at a few pics and get on with our Friday roll through the blog hay!

Iron Man Themed Tau: Stealth Teams and Thoughts on a New Camera

Alright, I am back with more Iron Man Themed Tau ... And I am in the market for an actual camera. Any way, here are the remaining stealth suits I made for the commission and I have to say that despite looking like ass in these pics, they are the best models I have painted yet for this project.

Iron Man Themed Tau Commission Update: Drone-a-palooza!

Old School here with another glorious update to the Iron Man Themed Tau Commission. This time I am going to drone on a bit (glorious pun) about Drones and Crisis Suits ... and two little seeker missiles. Let's take a look.

Iron Man Themed Tau Commission Update: I am Iron Van!

Old School here with an update to the Iron Man Tau Commission in which my client plans to have a full Tau army painted up in the famous Stark Industries color scheme. That being said, this totals his armory to seven fully painted vehicles and really clears my plate as it frees me up to finish the last of the suits and move into the final stages of the project.

Iron Man Themed Tau: The First 69 Models!

Old School here with some pics from the Iron Man themed Tau commission that I have been working on. This is pretty much the first half (or more) of the whole project. I know my camera hates reds and yellows, but I am going to put it out there anyway! There are tons of models here, so let's take a look.

Tau Broadsides and Fire Warriors: Stark Industries Style

Jarvis, AKA Old School Terminator, here with the latest production series of Iron Man Mark Tau goodies from my current Stark Industries-themed commission project! This is turning out to be a pretty fun paint scheme as it fluffs both my love of xenos and bright colors while also embracing one of my youth's favorite comic book heroes. Let's take a look:

Iron Man Themed Tau Stealth Suits! Old School Versions!

Old School here with the first update of my latest commission: Iron Man themed Tau Stealth Suits (old school style). A local gaming buddy asked me to take on a Tau commission and I kind of fussed, but then he said "Dude, Iron Man Tau" and at that point, I said "Call me Jarvis" and we rolled up our sleeves to look at his collection!

Tau Empire Suits, Tauros and Some Notes on Commission Paint

Old School here with some shots of a simple commission I completed for a client and some notes I have on commission painting. All of the models in the photo minus the one crisis suit without the white helmet were painted by me. Lately I have had a Tau bug and it doesn't seem to be going away. It's no mystery really, they were my first army and I really guess I never got over them. Let's take a look and take a little about commissions or at least my personal views on the basics of commission work.

Games Day 2012 UK Post 2: Chaos Pics & Info, Great Looking Armies!

Old School here still taking it all the great Heresy Era stuff from our last Games Day Post. With that out of the way, though, our good friend who attended Games Day sent us some more pics from the event along with some thoughts on the Chaos Space Marine codex after taking a look at it. First though, since we are all about great looking armies, let's take a look at a few of the things that caught his eye.

Sammy's kill point for the week

Samsquanch here with a quick kill point.

Tau 6th Edition: First Impressions

Sammy here and like all tau players I have been just praying that my favorite army would get something in the new rules to help them out. While indeed they did get some help, it was not in the way I expected. As follows I will detail a few of the bonuses that I think may bring back Tau as a playable and possibly more competitive army. I do recognize however that as no local tournaments have been run yet this all just on a observational basis.

Tau in the twilight of 5th edition

Sammy here with a little tactics post about tau.