T'au Beginner Questions

[HighMarshalAmp]

First off, I've heard that you have a limit on one Commander per Detachment. I haven't been able to find anything to substantiate that in the Errata or FAQs, but... is that rule still a thing? [Oh, hey, it is, it's in the Codex!]

 

Also, Sept colors. The Sept colors only show up in the fancy little stripe markings on any armor (be it foot soldier or battlesuit) while all the rest is painted in camouflage colors suitable to the current theater of battle, do I have that right?

 

Also also, if I just kept to those camouflage colors 'cause I hate decals and I suck at freehand BUT played all my army as one Sept, would anyone get their knickers in a twist about that?

And if so, would it help to have the Shas'uis' shoulder pads and vanes in the Sept color to un-twist those knickers?

[Panzer]

First off, I've heard that you have a limit on one Commander per Detachment. I haven't been able to find anything to substantiate that in the Errata or FAQs, but... is that rule still a thing?

Unfortunately yes. It's in the Codex as the issue of Commander spam already occured with the Index and the decision to restrict non-Troop units to 3 in general for tournaments came only way later.

 

 

Also, Sept colors. The Sept colors only show up in the fancy little stripe markings on any armor (be it foot soldier or battlesuit) while all the rest is painted in camouflage colors suitable to the current theater of battle, do I have that right?

Not completely right. The Sept colour also appears as the rank markings. You can find everything you need here: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/353611-tau-rank-markings/?p=5248424

 

 

Also also, if I just kept to those camouflage colors 'cause I hate decals and I suck at freehand BUT played all my army as one Sept, would anyone get their knickers in a twist about that?

You can easily do without decals as you can see with my answer above. ;)

 

And if so, would it help to have the Shas'uis' shoulder pads and vanes in the Sept color to un-twist those knickers?

 

Well that's how it officially is, so yes of course! :D

[Bryan Blaire]

Also, Sept colors. The Sept colors only show up in the fancy little stripe markings on any armor (be it foot soldier or battlesuit) while all the rest is painted in camouflage colors suitable to the current theater of battle, do I have that right?

Partially - yes, the sept colors show up in markings, however, the rest doesn't have to be painted in camouflage. GW has shown us plenty of Tau in a "parade/dress uniform" coloration on their armor - T'au Sept in their ochre and brown, Vior'la in their white with red. Farsight Enclave are generally depicted in dark red and grey, but they could also use camouflage and don't truly have a sept marking because they don't belong to a sept (although best indications are they use the dark grey in the same fashion).

 

Also also, if I just kept to those camouflage colors 'cause I hate decals and I suck at freehand BUT played all my army as one Sept, would anyone get their knickers in a twist about that? And if so, would it help to have the Shas'uis' shoulder pads and vanes in the Sept color to un-twist those knickers?

Honestly, if someone is going to get upset over a paint scheme, you'll have to decide if it's worth playing them (or I it's LGS house rules, if it's worth playing there - also, do they use the same rules for everyone regarding paint schemes) - make things very clear and don't try and change your selections while playing and it should be fine (you also have to abide by the restrictions on the datasheets, certain characters can only be used by specific septs). If you are thinking about tournaments, then you would have to ask the TOs what they require and make sure those same rules are used for every faction for the tournaments, but the TOs are going to be the only people that can tell you what will be required. There aren't really hard and fast rules to paint schemes and what you must and must not use.

[Marshlands]

As long is it isn't confusing it should be fine. It's only really confusing if you mix septs but paint them the same. It can be a little confusing if you paint them a real Sept scheme but use them as another i guess

 

Even then in friendly circles if you have different units in each Sept it shouldn't be a big issue.

[Happy-inquisitor]

If you want to go your own route with this then you are 100% free to do so - this applies at Nottingham so why would anyone else have any issue with it at all. If you go to an event at Warhammer World with your T'au painted as a particular sept then they expect you to play it as that sept - if it is not particularly distinct as a sept then you declare them to be whatever sept you like and put on your army list. e.g. If they are all red and white then you will be expected to play them as Vior'la but if they are full camo you can declare them as whatever sept you like because all the septs use camo when appropriate.

 

T'au paint schemes are not defined by 10,000 years of tradition and T'au are not guilty of heresy if they paint their armour in a different colour to tradition.

 

So if you want to go full camo-dress on your whole army do it. Some form of rank marking is good for both you and your opponent to be able to pick out the Shas'ui or Shas'vre in a team but it can be anything you like. A larger more prominent antenna on the helmet of the team leader would do just as well as a painted marking. 

 

Just to jump ahead to the next common question - nobody you play against really knows which support system is which and they have changed over editions anyway. Just pick something which makes sense to you and be consistent across your army. There are some images floating around of suggestions, feel free to use those but be aware that they are older than some of the models and the current rules so a bit of interpretation will be needed anyway.

 

The limit of one commander per detachment is correct and is in the codex. It is pretty restrictive, especially for Farsight Enclaves, but was a fairly predictable reaction to the overpowered commander spam of the index era.