New 40k Tau Rules Unleash the Battlesuits in 10th Edition

By Travis Pasch | March 12th, 2024 | Categories: 10th Edition 40k, 40k News & Articles, Games Workshop, Tabletop Gaming News & Rumors, Tau, Warhammer Community

The 10th Edition 40k Tau codex will have a brand-new Retaliation Cadre detachment with rules focused on battlesuits!

While Kroot are getting a lot of attention in this new Tau codex, GW isn’t forgetting about the core of the army! Sure the Kroot are awesome, but if you still want to spread the Greater Good with the more robot-focused lists, this new detachment should be right up your alley.

New 40k Tau Retaliation Cadre Detachment Rules Unleash the Battlesuits!

Here is the latest on the new Tau 40k detachment rules from Warhammer Community.

If you’re a fan of filling the battlefield with high-tech combat walkers – like a certain red renegade – the Retaliation Cadre is just what the Ethereals ordered. Its Detachment rule exemplifies the daring of these Bonded Heroes, delivering a high-stakes, close-range playstyle where battlesuits descend upon enemy units and blast them to pieces.

Have you ever wished your burst cannons could hit Strength 6, or even AP-1, to really mow down infantry? Consider those wishes answered, as BATTLESUIT guns get extra Strength and Armour Penetration depending on how close your pilots dare to advance.

Well, this really wants you to get up close and personal with your battlesuits! If you can get within 6″, you’ll get +1 strength and -1AP of all your weapons!

New 40k Tau Stratagems

The T’au Empire isn’t reckless or wasteful, though – they make use of canny Stratagems to keep their battlesuits out of harm’s way. The Shortened Blade allows close-ranged suits to stay safely in orbit before dropping down at near point-blank range

Are you wondering how to get your suits within 6″? Easy- just deep strike them 3″ away! While they can’t charge after this (oh nohs), it gives you a huge amount of flexibility and lets you take advantage of the detachment rule.

…then employ The Torchstar Gambit to jet away to safety once their shooting has resolved.

This lets you fire with all the buffs and then fly away! While using 3 CP for the combo with the shortened blade is quite heavy, it could be fun. However, having a fire and fade strat for 1 CP is really nice.

Battlesuit Variants

The new Codex: T’au Empire splits Crisis Battlesuits into three distinct datasheets based around classic configurations,* and veteran T’au commanders might recognise a few names from lore of yore…

The Sunforge configuration melts down heavy targets with twin fusion blasters, Fireknife battlesuits mix and match plasma rifles and missile pods to crack elite troops, and Starscythe teams choose from a buffet of burst cannons and flamers to wipe out massed hordes.

This should give you more flexibility, and GW has been doing it more lately. Instead of one giant datasheet with a bunch of options, you now make totally different styles of units. Let’s hope you have those suits magnetized! However, this also means that in one army, you can have three of each of these! So, theoretically, you can have nine units of Crisis Suits in your army.

They’re all still Crisis battlesuits, but now they get custom abilities that really help out their chosen roles. Take the Crisis Sunforge Battlesuits, for instance – their Sunforge ability helps to mitigate the low rate of fire on their fusion blasters by giving powerful re-rolls against their ideal targets. With the Retaliation Cadre Detachment rule in play, you’re firing Strength 10 shots at AP-5, each dealing D6+2 damage – with a re-roll on both Wound rolls and damage!

Talk about spicy! The rerolling wounds are quite strong. Then, when you add in the fact that you get to reroll the damage, this is honestly a wild rule!

New Tau Commander Rules

Commanders can join all three of these new units, and retain their own flexible weapon options – so you can outfit them according to their chosen bodyguard. Their own abilities focus on supporting the entire unit, with the Enforcer Commander lowering the Armour Penetration of incoming fire, while the Coldstar Commander turbo-boosts its allies so they can keep up with its incredible speed.

From the looks of it, both Tau commanders are excellent. You can either make your army far more aggressive or more defensive and help your suits live through more shooting.

In conclusion, the new Tau 40k Retaliation Cadre detachment rules are looking to be a game-changer for players who love to field battlesuits. With the ability to get up close and personal with your suits and unleash devastating firepower, along with the new stratagems and battlesuit variants, the Tau army is more versatile and deadly than ever before.