If you told me even 10 years ago that the army distribution would look like this, I would've laughed in your face and peed on your shoes. And then shat in your bed.
Before all the secondaries start spewing Reddit memes, here’s your answer.>they have a distinctive aesthetic, smooth lines and such, most sci fi of the warhammer armies>their fluff is fun, placing them as the lesser-est evil, yet wholly naive and way in over their heads>good rules for a couple editions in a rowAnd most importantly>big robotsNo matter how much people seethe about the “40K aesthetic”, 40K is fundamentally a kitchen sink setting thrown into a grime pit.
>Why is the classic Ayy Lmao UFO Alien race one of the most popular factions in a setting about fighting aliens in space?Dunno man.
>>78547928Because 40k is a game, and an excuse to play with plastic/resin/metal toys. Big robots make for great toys and I guess the aesthetic and flat surfaces appeal to a subset of painters.
>>78547928>If you told me even 10 years ago that the army distribution would look like this, I would've laughed in your face and peed on your shoes. And then shat in your bed.Thank god I didn't talk to you, you fucking cretin.
>>78547928T'au have been popular since they came out. They haven't been space marine big but they've always had a following.
What's the image in the OP from?
>>78547928People often blame gundam/weebs and forget that grounded mech games like battletech&clones are relatively popular in burger land, and then here come the tau offering that gig in 28mm scale where as before everything was essentially epic scale if scaled at all.
>>78547984This. There's something to be said about about plucky robo boys scurrying around and getting shit done because they're on a mission.Look at this chonker, he's just happy to be there.
>>78547984>good rules for a couple editions in a rowThis hasn't been true in a while. Everything else you said is correct, though.
>ten years agoYou mean well after the "competitive" crowd latched onto them for JSJ and devilfishes? After the riptide came out?ten years ago is the tail end of fifth edition
>>78547928Big robotCool aesthetic I like them
>>78548279Not to mention ten years ago, T'au had been around for a decade. Anyway T'au are great. Hovering vehicles that punch above their weight and carry troops in a tactical manner, backed up by giant robots. It's a nice aesthetic and has a different feel of combined arms warfare than other armies.
>>78548279That almost killed their popularity since anyone jumping the rapetide/fish fury trend was considered a turbo asshole by the wider community.
>T"""""""""""""auSTOP IT
>>78548242It’s only been untrue for 9th and I think the tail end of 8th.
>>78547928I dig giant robots, you dig giant robots, chicks dig giant robots. It was nice, and you could have an army of them.
It's because they look cool and actually sci-fi. You get foot soldiers in complete armour and enclosed helmet, advanced electronics that aren't the Imperium's pseudo latin techno-jumbo, smooth and sharp design, actually sci-fi vehicle that aren't WW1 tanks but upscaled, drones as we think of them, stealth and robots.It's a sharp contrast to the space elves and medieval-but-in-space aesthetics.
>>78548206>e tau offering that gig in 28mm scale where as before everything was essentially epic scale if scaled at all.That's exactly the problem. Giant robot games shouldn't be in 28mm at all. At the absolute biggest they should be in 15mm, and 6mm is better for everybody. GW is offering something that is wrong, and everyone who buys into it is equally wrong.
>>78547928Big mechsBig suitsFish tatsSimple as
>>78548707>badwrongfun.jpg
>>78548931Your fun is wrong, yes. More importantly, it's spoiling everyone else's fun.
>>78548937Giant mechs go brrrrrrr
Make the Hammmerhead great again.
>>78549038Shame the combined arms got shafted for more mechs
>>78547928Back when I got into 40k as a kid Tau were still a pretty new thing and I almost immediately latched onto them, they were the first faction I collected. If I remember well, the reasons were basically that they have a cool aesthetic and that they're the least evil faction of the setting (at least for most people), so it was easier to identify with them for me as a child. I think even for adults and even in a setting like 40k majority of players want to be "the good guys", although now I honestly think it's a bit of a boring mindset
>>78548132>>78548351>T'AUCringe
>>78549206Why do you have an issue with people spelling the alien race from a fictional setting the way that it's written?
>>78548208i agree with you but please don't ever use the word "chonker" again
>>78547928These points might mostly be an argument for newcomers to the franchise, where veterans of the game might pick them for other reasons too:>Seemingly straightforward shooty playstyle>Weeb aesthetics>Mechs>Shit ton of Mechs>Only alien race that ain't too Whimpy-looking (Eldars) nor too brutish-looking (Nercons, 'nids, Orks)>Blocky armor and the huge flat surface makes for relatively easy paintingI personally think it is the super-specialized shooting focus that draws people into playing Tau, the most people who pick up a sci-fi war game will mostly be in for the shooting and the Tau delivers that in spades.
>>78549206YOU HAVE TO GO BACK
>>78548937>spoiling everyone else's fun.Lmao, exceeding sneed levels beyond the charts.
>>78549240>>78549294I will NOT drink the søy
>>78548461>>78549206It's T'au
>>78549377just eat the beans raw then, stop being a bitch
>>78549199You'll swing back to it as you get even older.
>>78549391based
>>78549248Heckin chonker it is then.
>>78548208SS82 inspired paint scheme? I've tried to paint exactly that scheme but the whites and orange is a pain to do.
>>78547928I remember when they came out. They basically took everything about the Eldar and removed the Space Elves aspect. All the kids who wanted to sit around and shoot without playing the full game chose Tau.
>>78549621>SS82 inspired paint scheme?Looks like it.
>>78549675>All the kids who wanted to sit around and shoot without playing the full gameThe rest of the game is stupid. Warfare is about shooting. Tau shoot and don't bother with the rest of the retarded shit. Tau are therefore the only faction that plays correctly.
>>78549792Typical Tau player.
>>78549807>chad-yes.png
>>78549816>Tau player thinks he's a chad.Typical.
>>78549792Honestly, I think they should be on par with the Imperial guard. Otherwise hat's a problem with the Tau: It's an all or nothing. Either they are overpowered an can ignore an entire phase or they are y underpowered and cant even compete. Give them specialized assault units, such as melee Vespids or something, and electri/molecular katanas/bayonets or something so they at least can compete in close combat.
>>78550035>I think they should be on par with the Imperial guard.Nobody should be able to shoot better than the IG. That was the entire fucking point of the IG in the first place.
>>78548105They give you an excuse to go more buck wild than usual with colours and techniques that really don't fit in with 40k in general.
>>78549792>Warfare is about shooting
>>78550035That's something that's honestly confused the fuck out of me. So they're stick is that they're good at shooting, but they have nigh universal +4 shooting and need markerlights to just be average with everyone else. There is nothing they have to shore up this obvious weakness, no real melee beat sticks to counter charge or be reliable road blocks to keep the gunline safe. No psychic alien auxiliaries to give some presence in that phase either. They're barred from 2 out of 4 phases of a turn and it's all so they can be okay at the one thing that is their stick but can be done better elsewhere.If it's the TAU EMPIRE, where the fuck are all the subjugated races to fill in the blank spots the regular Tau don't bother to fill?
>>78550092>+4Originally, it's because you could easily make it +2 by abusing markerlights. This hasnt been the case for 2 editions.
>>78549871
>>78550092You mean, like the Kroot and the Vespid?
>>78550073I think they should be on par, just a matter of quality vs quantity.
>>78547928They're a straight rip off of the trade federation from the star wars prequels. Bugmen love star wars.
>>78550118I was around for that period, I hated being subject to it because one guy only played Farsight Enclaves. And also Taudar, and Necron flyer spam, and almost anything else that was if not blatantly broken, borderline. Nobody liked him.But yeah, I know WHY they put a hard cap on it, I just don't like the markerlights doesn't really add much to the Tau except the one thing anyone ever uses markerlights for and that's the +1 to hit. All the other buffs aren't quite as substantial in comparison.
>>78550078Modern warfare is. Nobody cares what some chink general had to say about it 5000 years ago. Fuck off before your social credit score dips even further.
>>78547928>I would've laughed in your face and peed on your shoes. And then shat in your bed.And this is why you have no friends and thus have no way to judge or predict social trends.
>>78550167Don't stop waving that pride flag anon or yours might too.
>>78548461>>78549206Aeiouand sometimes yldaarii
>>78550077Aren't those just nid/slannytranny colors?
>>78550196All color is tranny colors. Real men don't need colors in their world.
>>78547928>witch hunters and demon hunters are more popular than the inquisition DLC codex
>>78550092I think that the story is that, long ago, they introduced the 2nd auxiliary race (Vespids) which became a running multi-edition joke until fairly recently for being like...a bug: >hits once, relatively hard.>gets squashed in the next turn.
>>78550130Nobody loves the trade federation you gonad.
>>78550216Wow, so masculine, can I suck your dick?
>>78550151Personally, I'd rework Markerlights into the psych phase and just say it is tech-like with EMP pulses, hacking, overheat/disrupt enemy targeting system, EW, Missile strikes from outside the map, that sort of stuff. Otherwise, you'd need to introduce psyker Tau auxiliaries (Nicassar or Humans).
>>78550073>Nobody should be able to shoot better than the IG. That was the entire fucking point of the IG in the first place.rubbish. the IG were just supposed to be a regular combined force modern army-equivalent
>>78550494I disagree with your unsupported opinion
>>78550073>Nobody should be able to shoot better than the IG.Except the Tau, I agree.
>>78548382i had two 3e armieskroot mercs3 railheads supporting grav mechinfantry with minimum battlesuitskroot mercs got merked in change to 3e (rip vultures) and weren't brilliant anyway, neither would anyone play against my devilfish list because they assumed it was going to be "fish of fury" retardation when in reality it was my old comfy 1500pt 3e list
>>78547928They're a long-time favourite of Star Wars fans who took a wrong turn and ended up in 40k.
>>78550130Where's General Grievous then?
>>78550880That is the CIS, you fucking secondary.
>>78547928I want auxiliaries so bad
>>78547928Fire Warriors with the long rifle are an absolutely top-tier space soldier design.All the mecha and hovertanks look varying degrees dumb and/or ugly to me, though.
>>78550925Unlike the XV-8 it does withstand the pass of time.
>>78547928So, I'm assuming this is some sort of popularity of army list, if so;>Dark Eldar>#10We did it boys, we finally did it, we got popular!>Admech>#22Okay, that's actually just kind of sad to see.
>>78550318Star Wars is Star Wars is Star Wars.
>>78548208>robo boys>Look at this chonker>Reddit spacingThis has to be bait
>>78551303>Admechnever should have been their own faction. But then, there really should only be one giant imperium faction in the first place.
>>78551421I kinda agree, Admech would best be served as being part of a Heroes of the Imperium type deal along with Inquisition as optional auxiluaries to any Marine or Guard armies. Same deal with Harlequins and Eldar/Deldar.
As a Tau player back in 4th, I wish they hadn't just become the big robot faction
>>78551368Look at this heckin' chonker.
>>78552182Peep this honkin' checker
>>78547928Cool robots, futuristic army that remembers gun > sword.
>>78551368Why are you mad that slang that was invented here is being used here?
>>78552373Except for this dummy.
>>78552403Only one tau makes sword cool, and he does it in a big red robot.
>>78551476Halo isn't popular any more, mechs still are.Tau have always been about following trends.
>>78552412>This is Dawn Blade, she's got my back. She can cut all of you in half with one sword stroke, just like mowing the lawn. I would advise not getting killed by her. Her blade leeches the life force of its victims.
>>78551368found the zoomer
>>78547928Firstly, they basically represent your typical sci-fi human faction, but as xenos this time. By values, they're more human than actual humans in 40k.Secondly, they have amazing tech. And I'm not talking about battlesuits, I'm talking about drones.1. Having controlled disposable units is cool, although other factions also have some sort of these2. But other factions don't have the variety that Tau have with drones. Gun drone, sniper drone, shield drone, marker drone, mine drone, fighter drone, etc.3. I also love how drones are attached to almost anything, astromech droid style. See those side turrets on a tank/aircraft with frisbees on them? Those are actually drones that work individually and can even detach from a unit.TL,DR drones are awesome
>>78552460Capeshit is popular though.Which is why there's mechsuits out the arse because of Iron Man. That said it would be cool for the Tau or one of their vassals to have a chitauri glider thing.
>>78552846Dark eldar already have those
>>78552877>>78552877Eldar already had gliding tanks. Now everybody does.Imperium already had mechs. Now Tau do.
>>78547928because the game is filled with gay retards
>>78552922For once the thread isn't about marines, anon.
>>78547928whatever happened to Tau & Kroot being a synergistic thing? That was at least different to BIGGER GUNZ
>>78553058GW went hard on Battlesuits because they were more then likely selling better and forgot that the Tau liked using aliens as filler in their armies for things they couldn't or just wouldn't do. If things had been different, Tau could've played like a grimdark version of the Covenant with different alien species working in tandem towards the greater good.
>>78547928they are Frank Grimes faction of 40k and suprisingly a lot of people want to be Frank Grimes
>>78547928They are the good guys so of course they will be popular.
>>78553058Auxiliaries had more appeal in fluff than in practice. If you're drawn to the Tau as this hi-tech shooty army with mechs and railguns then primitive looking cannibals are only going to clash with that theme.
>>78550124This. When T'au first came out they where unbeatable. They could outshoot all the other armies with their longer ranged S5 basic rifle (most armies only had S3 or 4 at the time), while their Kroot where better at hand to hand than orks, tyranids or assault marines. Later editions toned them down to sell the next big releases.
>>78552403>stroke faceexplains why he's shooting dirt
“greater good” is the gayest thing I have ever heard of, I guess it appeals to basedjaks
>>78548242They ranged from ok to busted between 3rd and 7th, it's only recently that they've become dogshit.
>>78553733>serving the lesser badngmi
Because they are the single faction with the highest concentration of porn versus regular art.
>>78547928>how did the weeb faction get popularGee I dunno mate.
>>78549164My thoughts are more about, why not combine alien allies, with more tech and mechs! I want to see a Kroot war-rager suit! I want an airplane that launches vespids! I want a dozen new alien allies with funky Tau tech! That's how they lure them into the empire in the first place!
>>78552837Is he controlling it? Do all drones need a controller?
>>78554233>>78553971>>78553862>>78553058>>78552460>>78552354>>78552182>>78550880>>78550494>>78550427>>78550309>>78550151>>78550126>>78550124>>78550118>>78550035>>78549266>>78548687>>78548351>>78548279>>78548208>>78548058Why are tau threads filled with these creatures?
>Baww, 40K games are mostly armored Catholic Space Nazi civil wars!>Okay, have a Xenos faction with tons of unique tech whose philosophy is diametrically opposed to the Imperium's >Nooooooo not like thatGW's philosophy that gamers are spoiled children who don't know what they want and the grogs should just be ignored is proven right on a daily basis.
>>78554318
>>78550077cant you do that with space marines and chaos space marines? slaneesh exists you know or are people just no creative anymore
>>78553314Didn't they already get retconned because GW needed to make them grimderp?
>>78556109yes, it started to become obvious with 6th ed
>>78554655>space marines vs chaos space marines Yes yes we get it, you want your speshul boy's club to exclusively be big hunky lads vs evil big hunky lads.
>>78553314Necrons are the good guys.Tau are just uppity babby imperialists.
>>78547928They were my first army when I started 40k in 3rd edition.It was actually the Kroot that caught my eye first, aged 11 me thought the twin-bladed guns were the coolest shit and the quills were badass too. I saw some painted up in my local GW and bought them.After that, I built an army and Firewarriors looked like cool sci-fi soldiers to me and the Devilfish/Hammerhead platform is still one of the best vehicle designs in 40k imo.Their fluff was cool too. Young, idealistic, convinced they're the future of the galaxy but also dangerously naive, not even knowing things like the fact the Imperium wasn't of similar size/population to their own empire or that the Emperor was long dead. Let alone shit like Chaos.It was a good balance of a little spot of brightness coupled with the threat that this little flame would almost inevitably be snuffed out by the horrors of the 40k galaxy.
>>78554318I've never been to reddit.
>>78550627>>78556329Same, I started Tau just as an excuse to field Kroot. Shame they never got their own real codex, there was so much potential there. Now GW just ignores them and FW got rid of the Knarlocs long ago.
>>78547928Mechas are cool.
>>78547984Yep. I love clean sci-fi and mecha.Though I picked up Tau in 4E back in the day. Railguns are my jam and still are.
>>78547928Titanfall and titanfall 2 introduced new people to mecha and inspired new people to pick up suits
>>78556329>Kroot in fluff: Stealthy ambush Clever Girls>Kroot on table top: screen with a free move.
>>78547928WAAC players gotta WAAC
Fire Warriors described as weak. All the official art with no shirts or armour on has them being ripped as fuck.
>>78556329Ha I started the same time/age as you with the same army for the same reasons.
>>78549206You mean Golden Yellow, Ice Blue and Skull White?
>>78563712Muscle definition doesn't equate to raw strength if their muscles just aren't as good as other creatures'.
>>78547928What I love about the Tau is the clash of their grater good idealism vs the horrible realities of the universe they inhabit. The fact that Tau soldiers are starting to purge their non Tau allies for being impure.
>>78563712Same for your humble guardsman
I like tau, but I like the 4th edition tau.
>>78556329i love tau but this is so fucking edgy its funny.
>>78548707I just said mechs not "giant robots" for example Heavy gear is a 12mm (1/144) battletech clone thats been around long enough to get a early 2000's saturday morning CGI cartoon, and it assumes just 4-6m tall mecha. At that scale most suits aren't even as tall as fire warriors, and brought into 28mm they'd be as tall as the battlesuits the tau have now.
>>78563712They're the same strength as guardsmen. That really doesn't help when most of the other faction's soldiers are vastly superhuman.
Blueberry tiddies are a hell of a drug
>>78567333For the Greatest Good.
Probably is the cyberpunk post-rush, but would a rogue trader-like water-caste megacorp make sense?
>>78567405hot
>>78563183Never forget the fish
