New Tau Special Characters?

Rumours about future GW releases are always a fickle thing. This one, however, excites me.

If the rumour-mongers are correct, the new Codex for Tau Empires will break with one of the most lamentable trends in Warhammer 40K 6th Edition: the lack of new Special Characters iconic to a Warhammer 40K faction or army.

It appears the new Tau release will not only bring a re-done sculpt for Farsight (which isn’t entirely a first… Dark Angels for one got a new Asmodai sculpt), but also at least two entirely new Special Characters – dubbed Long Strike and Dark Strider – along with Finecast minis for them!

#1 – Warhammer 40K and 6th Edition

Warhammer 40K 6th Edition broke with Warhammer 5th Edition in a major way by stopping the release of new Special Characters.

The trend stuck for Dark Angels and (I think) Chaos Daemons.

It would have hit the Tau particularly hard, as they only ever had 4 Special Characters in their Codex-publication history.

• Codex Tau Empires 3rd Edition had Commander Farsight and Aun’shi
• Codex Tau Empires 4th Edition had Commander Farsight, Commander Shadowsun and Aun’Va (I wonder if he’ll make it to 6th).

#2 – Tau Special Character Rumours!

The lean years might be at an end. If rumours are true (though I am not one who can judge their veracity), there will be two more.

And not only that, the Tau Codex apparently will also bring back one of the best and “fluffiest” mechanics from 5th Edition, originally pioneered by the 2008 Space Marines Codex: the unit/vehicle-upgrade character!

Rumour via Warseer’s The Dude (emphasis mine)

The release will include two Finecast boxes, one for Farsight and one for a generic XV8 Commander.

Also Two Finecast blisters for Special Characters; Dark Strider and Long Strike.

Plus there is a plastic blister for the Cadre Fireblade.

Just to be clear, the existing Kroot Carnivore squad will stay unchanged.

Rumour supposedly from 3++ (though I couldn’t find the original, only the Dakkadakka copy)

*Skyray can shoot and ground and air targets (one assumes at full BS)

*Special character is “like” Chronus for tanks. Tank Hunters. Potential cover boost. Tank can overwatch.

*Hammerhead roughly 160-170 WITH character.

*Special Pathfinder – Nightstrider.

*Shadowsun has split fire. Maybe.

#3 – Let’s Hope So

Warhammer 40K Special Characters aren’t loved by everyone, I know.

I do like them, both for bringing the Warhammer 40K universe alive (I don’t want to fight with generic Tanks, but with Land Raiders) and making a battle personal and relateable.

More importantly, however, they tend to give me a good “feeling” for the vision and idea a writer has for an army and Codex.

1. The new, more customizable and less monotone Necrons couldn’t have been conveyed so well without new characters such as Trazyn the Infinite or Zahndrek and Obyron.
2. The addition of Astorath the Grim and the Sanguinor really helped nail the twin-theme of the Blood Angels between curse and angelic nobility (and Gabriel Seth encouraged successor chapter armies in a way the 6th Edition Dark Angels Codex fails to do).

For lack of a better word, these additions always help me see what the Codex writer(s) “had in mind” as they tackle the task of refreshing and re-interpreting a new army.

The prospect of new Special Characters certainly raised my anticipation for the new Tau Codex.

I hope it delivers!

Z.