April 2005 – An Army is Born.

Ok, this is the start of a new hobby project. I’m to collect and paint a 2000 point Tau army and I’ve got twelve months to do it. Easy enough I hear you say. It could be, but for the goals I have set myself. Actually, let me start at the real start. You see, there’s more to the story.

I was lucky enough to gain an invitation to a tournament in Melbourne this year called “Liber Animus”. It is an invitation only tournament. It gathers together some of the most talented tournament hobbyists in Australia and New Zealand, who are also a top bunch to play (luckily I know people, so I got to go to ?). I took along my Ultramarine 2nd Company army and won (just) four out of my five games and also received the “Harlequin” award for the best painted army. This was enough to win me the tournament and the coveted title of “Warmaster”, which both humbled and surprised me. More than this, I had a bonza time as the tournament was everything I enjoy about the hobby. Well crafted armies in tough, thinking games played in good “cheer”.

So, back to the Tau. I have decided that the youngest race in the 40K universe will be my army with which to defend my “Warmaster” title next year. The only thing is that my Ultramarines that served me so well took me two and a half years to complete and I played a lot of games with them (and with Space Marine armies in general) in this time. At this point in time I have never used a Tau army in battle and I have two Tau painted in colour schemes that I don’t like! Righto, time to get busy.

So why Tau? Good question Bruce. A few reasons actually. Firstly, I’ve got half an army sitting in my cupboard in unopened boxes that I bought when the army came out five years ago (c’mon, you all know what I’m talking about, every hobbyist has their to do stash). Secondly, I have a good idea of what I want the army to be theme wise. It will be a Water Caste envoy insertion and extraction force. It will be operating on the edge of the Tau Empire, contacting new worlds, showing off the Tau way of life, or blowing the hell out of them and getting the envoy out of trouble if negotiations turn sour. Thirdly, they will be a good challenge in game terms, as I have not seen them played much in tournaments. They have some really interesting units and I’m keen to try them out.

Righto then, the first thing I did this month was write an army list. Then I re-wrote it. Then I scribbled on it a bit and stuck together a Hammerhead Gunship instead. Then I re-wrote it again (I catching four trains a day for a week from Parramatta to Hornsby so I had a lot of reading time to go through the codex). Finally, I have settled on an army to aim for. I’m sure I’ll change it over the next few months but at least I’ve got a goal for now…

Next Month: A Colour Scheme