New Tau Empire 10th Edition 40k Rules: Datasheets & Index Cards

By Andrew Schrank | February 19th, 2024 | Categories: 10th Edition 40k, Games Workshop, rules, Tabletop Gaming News & Rumors, Tau, Warhammer 40k News & Articles

Here are a ton of new 10th Edition Warhammer 40k Tau Empire rules, including For The Greater Good, Weapons, and index cards datasheets!

The new 10th Edition Warhammer 40k Tau Empire rules bring some exciting changes and additions to the faction. With new army-wide rules, datasheets, weapon profiles, and stratagems, Tau players can expect a fresh gameplay experience. The addition of Observer and Guided units also adds a new tactical dimension to the faction. Additionally, the treatment of Drones as equipment on a model’s datasheet simplifies list construction and execution.

Latest Updates & New Rules Articles For Warhammer 40k 10th Edition

Click the links below for the latest 10th Edition Warhammer 40k index card datasheet rules!

Now, let’s jump into the new rules!

More Unity Than Ever: New Tau Empire 10th Edition 40k Rules

The new rules come from Warhammer Community.

It’s an elegant system – you select an Observer unit to support a Guided unit in targeting a single enemy unit. The Guided unit gets +1 to their Ballistic Skill when shooting the target, while the Observer shoots as normal that phase. Even if the enemy knocks out your precious Markerlights, you can still keep highlighting targets for destruction – but you’ll want to bring a few along anyway, as Observers with Markerlights also help their comrades Ignore Cover when shooting.

In a thematic shift, this new set of spotters and shooters makes for an interesting system! Getting +1 to BS and Ignoring Cover are also great bonuses for nearly your entire army! That being said, straying from your target and getting -1 BS is an enough of a downside to creating tough decisions.

For the first T’au Empire Detachment, we follow the way of the Patient Hunter – the favoured martial philosophy of Commander Shadowsun. Kauyon rewards cunning commanders who can keep their army safe for as long as possible, baiting the opponent into a compromising position before hammering them with a furious barrage in the latter half of the game.

Sustained hits are bonus hits on 6s, meaning tons of Tau will get two extra hits on 6s after the third round, from the sounds of it. If their opponent is lucky, a lot of their army will hopefully be dead by then. Otherwise, things may escalate quickly from there…

New 10th Edition Warhammer 40k Tau Empire Datasheets

Dedicated spotters have a new lease on life. Not only do Pathfinders all come with Markerlights to aid Guided units in blasting through cover, they can also act as an Observer twice per turn with their Target Uploaded ability.

Even a minimally-equipped squad of Pathfinders can dramatically increase the efficiency of your bigger guns with a bit of careful positioning – but if you like to pack yours with all of the fanciest toys, you’re also well-catered for.

Pathfinders are a staple, and with these new rules will continue to be! Being an observer twice gives them bonus synergy with the faction rule, making them even better choices than before.

Eagle-eyed Earth Caste engineers will notice that the special Grav-inhibitor Drones, Pulse Accelerator Drones, and Recon Drones are listed as wargear abilities, rather than models in their own right. That’s due to a new approach to Drones across the board – instead of individual models, all Drones are treated as equipment on a model’s datasheet, granting new weapons or abilities directly to their unit.

Gone are the days of trying to fit a swarm of Shield Drones behind limited cover, or stringing a line across the battlefield for some range-enhancing shenanigans. Now your Drone models are just helpful tokens, and the dutiful kor’vesa aid their masters without obstructing them.

As an outsider looking in at the Tau faction… Thank the Emperor, lol. Simpler list construction and execution is always a good thing! The less we have to think about how many drones and where, the better. But this does raise the question, are the physical drone models now obsolete or a “required” token?

New Weapon Rules

We’ve talked about it already, but the Hammerhead’s railgun truly is the yardstick against which all other T’au weapons are measured. The overall lethality of the game has been brought down, but this is still a monstrous anti-tank weapon that puts the fear of the God-Emperor** into anything with tracks, tyres, or Tyrannic hooves.

As a popular armor choice, Hammerheads see a good amount of play, meaning this new buff (+6 S, now -5 AP instead of -6, and D6+6 instead of D3+6) will have a good impact on the faction!

But if even that isn’t enough bang for your buck, the walking god of war that is the Stormsurge has put some extra pep in its pulse blast cannon to deal with tougher vehicles.

The Stormsurge didn’t see too much play in 9th, but with buffs to Strength and AP, this might be enough to get people playing it again!

New Tau Empire Warhammer 40k Stratagems

As your average Fire Warrior is less than impressive in close combat, a hasty Combat Embarkation is an ideal way to keep them safe from harm while enemy blows bounce harmlessly off your Devilfish hulls. With this, a reckless foe can be forced to over-extend into a killing field, where they’ll be met with a wall of firepower in perfect Kauyon style.

A quick getaway might be annoying for opponents, but this will definitely help generals protect their precious ranged attacks!

Check out the latest Warhammer 40k rumors for the rest of the 9th and even 10th Edition, new releases, and more!

Click Gallery below for full-size images.

View Gallery: 52 Images

Here’s the most up-to-date list of new Games Workshop bits from preview models that we should watch out for. Click on the gallery above to see dozens of Rumor Engines with new models still to be revealed!