Those new 40k Tau rumors may be more than wish listing judging by this mysterious new Pathfinder model that could be Darkstrider!
In a recent article just released on how to better pilot the new pathfinders in Kill Team. It’s a good read if you like to up your Tau Kill Team game. But the most exciting bit of info is at the end of the article from Warhammer Community, with a new T’au model teased!
Before we go over that let’s recap some of the new Pathfinder stuff and the latest new Tau rumors in general below. Plus now that we know what’s coming for sure, the credibility of the recent new Tau rumors predicting a similar release, and date, seems to have gone up for sure…
New 40k Tau Pathfinder Darkstrider Model Revealed!
Pathfinders make sense for Kill Team and they are coming alongside new sisters minis. Some people were upset that the Sisters were the ones who grabbed brand new minis, but this is better than nothing for the Xenos faction we supposed.
The T’au Pathfinders are already incredibly versatile, but the Earth caste has outfitted them with a ton of new gear. Kill Team Chalnath comes with a comprehensive new upgrade sprue for the existing Pathfinder kit, meaning new heads, new gadgets, new guns, and even a few new poses – all you need to bring the Greater Good to the recalcitrant Imperial citizens of the Chalnath Expanse.
We were really, really hoping for a fully new Tau set in the box, but an upgrade sprue is better than nothing. Well, in a way however it could mean the cost of the Pathfinders box will go up, most likely to $50 similar to what we saw with the new Cadian release.
So getting new bits is cool, but paying more really isn’t.
However, this could mean new more new hybrid ‘upgrade’ old sprue kits in the future though, as it seems to be happening with Imperial Guard Cadians and just whole new kits like the Death Korps of Krieg.
GW Confirms New Tau 40k Codex First in 2022
We had already suspected the rumors were true based on the correct predictions of new Tau and Sisters in the Chalnath box, and also the exact contents of the Black Templars release as well.
Here’s what Warhammer Community had to say:
On the T’au side, the snazzy upgraded Pathfinders can be used as a normal unit in your T’au army. Their kit won’t remain ornamental for long, though – brand new options for Pathfinders will be arriving in an upcoming codex. In fact, Fire Caste commanders among you will be excited to discover that it’s one of the first new codexes coming in 2022.
These rumors are compiled from two different sets with some promising news for all Tau players. First off, it doesn’t seem like the Pathfinders will be the only kit, but it doesn’t seem like this won’t be a full release either like the one we are seeing for the Black Templars.
Most of their model in the Tau line are fairly old (about 10 years or so) but the miniatures themselves all still look pretty good (okay- except maybe the Vespid). So we personally expect GW to focus more on the rules than the models when it comes to updating Tau.
Why? Well if GW just gives the current models better rules, then we think that will just lead to more sales overall, which is what GW seems to want when they update an army.
First up, according to rumors, it looks like January is the release date for the 9th Edition Tau 40k codex, but if there are any big delays, it might get pushed to February. Still, that’s really not too far off either way.
Next, it’s rumored they will receive a few other models other than just the Pathfinders with one being a plastic Darkstrider model. We’re not sure if these will also be upgrade sprues or brand new kits. However as we said before though, GW probably doesn’t need to give them a huge model update to get people to buy them.
They simply need rules that make them more fun not only to field but also play against and people will buy them. Right now they basically aren’t selling. Since the minis are so cool, it just comes down to rules to get them moving off store shelves. So hopefully in the update, they give them some fun mechanics.
New Tau 9th Edition Codex Cover
It’s about to get even better with Codex: T’au Empire on the way early next year. How early? We’ll get to that, but it’s close enough that we’ve been able to get some markerlights trained on the cover so you can see the beautiful art right now. Codex: T’au Empire will arrive in early 2022, and with the Genestealer Cults and Adeptus Custodes codexes also landing in the same period.
We’ll see how they do the release, but we expect those other two codex books (Custodes & GSC)will come out a little early and then the Tau stuff with the Darkstrider. Still, with how strange the releases have been, we’ll have to see.
Either way, it’s good to have this confirmed for all Tau players out there! As of right now, it looks like the Darkstrider is going to be the only mini they get, but we’re sure we’ll see some rules soon and what to expect with the new book.
New Tau Pathfinders & Darkstrider
The new Tau codex and Darkstrider miniature have been revealed by Games Workshop!
As you know the community had whispered that the Darkstrider would be the new character update. Since he is still Finecast it’s one of the only logical choices. Named characters are the most popular when GW decides on reworking a model.
Take a look at the preview image previously spoiled by Warhammer Community.
Before we go, we’ve seen one more Pathfinder sneaking around the edge of our vision, and we managed to catch a quick snap of them. Who could this be?
We all figured that was the new Tau Darkstrider model. Looking at the stat card you can make sense of some of the shapes of this outline image. For instance, he appears the have the same hair, and either of those drones could count as his ‘Structural Anaylizer’, or some new piece of wargear the ‘ghost who walks amongst us’ may be getting.
The outline could be either a terrain feature, as his base looks to once again be textured, or perhaps a cape, although our money is on the latter.
New Tau Darkstrider Mini
Pre-Order Your Jetbike Three Pack Now!
Did you wonder who the mysterious silhouetted figure was in our Kill Team article on the T’au Empire? It was none other than Sub-commander El’Myamoto, better known as Darkstrider.
The model is actually pretty interesting with him and the drones. Obviously, it’s much better than the old Finecast one and hey, it’s not Finecast! So that right there makes this way better. They also showed a couple of rules for the new mini.
The new miniature sees Darkstrider carefully releasing one of his drone familiars, with his trusty pulse carbine, Shade, tucked under his right arm.
This is a serious increase of both damage and AP from the last version, so nothing wrong with more firepower!
Darkstrider’s optical scanner incorporates a highly advanced structural analyser, enabling him to direct the fire of his kin at the weak points of their targets with ruthless precision.
This is very similar to his old ability. So not much changed here, we’ll just have to wait and see what else they give him in the new Tau Codex book!
All the Newest GW Model & Rules Previews
Are you excited about a new Tau 40k codex and the possibility of a new Darkstrider model?
Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group, or our new Discord server, and make sure you enter the latest monthly giveaway for FREE today!
Get ad-free access to the site, a monthly crate of miniatures, and support some of the best creators out there for as little as $6 a month on Patreon!
