We saw rumors for these, but now Games Workshop has revealed a bunch of the new Tau Sept rules and how to make your own Septs.
We’ll take a look at the rumors we saw as well, that way we’ll know how true the rest of the rumors they leaked are. But how could they lie? They posted a picture of their cat with the new codex! Let’s first check out the rumors, then jump into the confirmed rules from GW.
Warhammer Community unveiled the new rules, so let’s get into it!
New Tau Codex Septs 9th Edition 40k Rules Spotted!
Spotted on a wild thread over on Reddit, we have what may be a ton of new Tau 40k rules “rumors”.
Hi there. Picture should prove my credentials. I promised not to give out more pictures, so I won’t. On the same front, I promise not to lie or embellish anything and to keep my personal commentary to an absolute minimum on any information I pass along.
Dal’yth is the only Sept that buffs Aux units. No build-a-Sept traits modify them.
A Bork’an Sept trait is “Ranged Attacks of S7 or less made against VEHICLES and BATTLESUITS are -1 strength” Like Ramshackle, but worse. Sleep in fear, Ork players.
Tau – reroll 1 hit or 1 wound when a unit attacks, +3″ to Auras, Litanies, Targeted buffs
Vior’la – +2″ mv when wholly in your deployment zone on your first turn. Reroll Advance and Charge rolls.
Sa’cea – Ranged Attacks targeting VEHICLES get Dense Cover if the attacker is more than 18″ away. Ranged Attacks targeting INFANTRY (and everything smaller than a Ghostkeel is INFANTRY) get Dense Cover if the attacker is more than 12″ away. VEHICLES and BATTLESUITS do not suffer the penalty for firing Heavy weapons at targets within Engagement Range of them.
Dal’yth – Ranged Attacks against Infantry have Light Cover unless they are within Engagement Range of the Attacker (so… fear the Dark Angels, I guess?). Aux units get your selected Montka or Kauyon.
Bork’an – +4″ range to all guns. Ranged Attacks against Battlesuits and Vehicles of S7 or lower get -1S.
Farsight Enclaves – Always have Markerlight if making attacks within 12″ Seems to be the only time to get marker benefits in the charge phase. Reroll 1 Wound when a unit is chosen to shoot or fight.
Now, let’s see the confirmed rules from GW and how they compare.
GW Reveals New Tau Sept Rules
Dal’yth, for instance, is a bustling trade hub renowned for its Water Caste diplomats, given T’au are one of the few factions in Warhammer 40,000 to entertain the idea of diplomacy. This lends its armies a greater appreciation for the auxiliaries that supplement their ranks, and they excel in training Kroot and Vespid forces to use the Fire Caste’s powerful Tactical Philosophies. In turn, their Hunter Cadres pick up expert fieldcraft skills from alien comrades.
You get light cover against all shooting attacks (more or less) and your auxiliary units actually benefit from your Philosophy, which is just pretty strong. This lines up perfectly with the rumor above that this is the only Sept to buff those units!
Commanders from Sa’cea are meanwhile used to fighting hard-won campaigns in difficult conditions. They know better than any other the value of key strategic terrain and their commanders can delegate control of objectives to units that wouldn’t normally be expected to hold them.
This is a great way to secure objectives. However, we don’t think this is the only rule they will get, so there’s a chance the rumor above is true where you get dense cover and can fire heavy weapons without penalty.
Your chosen sept also gives you a unique Relic. The T’au Sept is well known for its efficiency in battle, and its Vectored Manoeuvring Thrusters give your (already upgraded) battlesuits even more mobility.
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This is a cool way to get your Warlord out of being charged and killed. This will be super annoying for certain armies, as getting to your warlord will just feel super hard. This is all GW revealed for the Septs, but they do line up with the rumors. so this gives them more credibility and lets you theory craft a little early!
New Stratagem
Then there are the stratagems. Bork’an reminds its sister septs that time spent in the laboratory can bear bountiful fruit on the battlefield, and it live-tests powerful Experimental Weaponry on the battlefield.
When they said the Railgun was the only weapon that could innately get rid of invulns, they weren’t lying. However, just use this instead and take away their saves! This combined with the Stormsurge is going to be insane, as it does all the damage of the Railgun, and for 2 CP gets the ignore Invulnerable saves.
Creating Your Own Tau Sept Rules
When creating your own Sept Tenet, you must therefore pick two tenets from neighbouring sectors on the map above, representing the limited range of influence your army can draw from. This in no way means your sept is bereft of choice. Each sector contains four different tenets to choose from, meaning there are a total of almost 100 different combinations on offer.
This is a little confusing for new players but shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.
An army heavy with Crisis battlesuits can have them Play Their Part to bully lesser foes off critical objectives, using their speed and durability to employ Blocking Tactics and wrest control of the battlefield towards the side of reason and progress.
They are adding a lot of mechanics to give your more ObSec, which is nice, but with how the rules look, we’re not sure how much charging any Tau army will be doing.
If the Kauyon Tactical Philosophy is your kind of style, Reinforced Armour will keep your big guns safe until you hit that vital late-game surge, while Fire Warriors can bait their targets into charging before beating a Rapid Retreat and gunning them down.
Sector D is pretty easy to use at it just makes your Battlesuits and Vehicles tougher. Then, falling back further is never a bad thing!
Here’s all the latest on the upcoming Tau rules updates and points changes for Warhammer 40k.
- All The Tau 40k Rules So Far
- Tau Stratagems Rules
- New Markerlight Rules for Tau
- Tau HQ & Unit Rules Rumors
- Farsight & Tau Sept Rules
- New Tau Codex Wargear & Weapon Rules
All the Newest GW Model & Rules Previews
Are you excited about the new Tau codex Sept 40k rules? What rules changes would you like to see?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
