# Who will Tau ally with?



## Insanity (Oct 25, 2011)

So with 6th edition just round the corner and all this discussion with allies going on, I thought I'd ask, Who will Tau be able to ally with?

Obviously their are the Imperial guard, but who else? will the rumours of Ultramarines being tasked to protect the tau come into play? What about Craftworld Eldar? They've taken interest in the Tau from time to time.

So what do you guys think?


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

Insanity72 said:


> Who will Tau be able to ally with?


Pretty much everyone apart from the Tyranids. 

There is a list of sorts here.


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## misfratz (Feb 9, 2012)

There's a scan of the allies chart in the 6th edition rumour thread - link to the precise post below:
http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showpost.php?p=1246379&postcount=258

The only people Tau can't ally with are Tyranids, but there are different levels of alliance, from best buddies (Eldar and Codex Space Marines) to you guys suck, but the other dudes are worse today (sisters of battle, chaos daemons, dark eldar) with everyone else being somewhere in between.

It's not entirely clear yet what effects the different types of allies have.


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

misfratz said:


> There's a scan of the allies chart in the 6th edition rumour thread - link to the precise post below:
> http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showpost.php?p=1246379&postcount=258
> 
> The only people Tau can't ally with are Tyranids, but there are different levels of alliance, from best buddies (Eldar and Codex Space Marines) to you guys suck, but the other dudes are worse today (sisters of battle, chaos daemons, dark eldar) with everyone else being somewhere in between.
> ...


Battle Brothers share rules and psychic powers and can use each other's leadership (and no, they don't share vehicles). Allies of Convienence have no bonuses or penalties besides that they can't share rules,ect like the Battle Brothers do. Desperate Allies have to roll if they're within 6" of each other and on a 1 they do nothing for the turn as they assume the other will stab them in the back.


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Poor 'ol Tyranids. Noone love's em.


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Shas said:


> Poor 'ol Tyranids. Noone love's em.


I think the bigger issue that Tyranids have this nasty habit of eating the other races. Infact their only driving force seems to be to feed, while the other armies at least have motivations and reasons why they'd ally against Nids/a greater threat.


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## Shas (May 6, 2012)

Zion said:


> I think the bigger issue that Tyranids have this nasty habit of eating the other races. Infact their only driving force seems to be to feed, while the other armies at least have motivations and reasons why they'd ally against Nids/a greater threat.


I'd quite like to see a Tau with a Nid on a lease, wearing a muzzle.


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## Voss (Jun 27, 2012)

I think it is somewhat of a shame that Tau and DE are desparate allies. Between the archon's court, the grotesques and the beastmasters it could be a very interesting 'ultimate alien' army, with a real variety in appearance and capabilities. 

Hopefully small groups of alien mercenaries is something GW will consider in the future.


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## Lone Pathfinder (Feb 22, 2011)

Without wanting to sound horribly naive, I think Tau and Eldar are pretty close to the 'ultimate alien' army. Attaching two farseers with the divination disciple to any tau force would allow for more accurate/successful shooting and free up markerlight hits to remove cover (if 'perfect timing' wasn't rolled that is).

Not a bad combination on paper...


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## Voss (Jun 27, 2012)

Lone Pathfinder said:


> Without wanting to sound horribly naive, I think Tau and Eldar are pretty close to the 'ultimate alien' army. Attaching two farseers with the divination disciple to any tau force would allow for more accurate/successful shooting and free up markerlight hits to remove cover (if 'perfect timing' wasn't rolled that is).
> 
> Not a bad combination on paper...


That wasn't what I meant. I was thinking more along the lines of as many alien models as possible, like the snake-guy in the court, and the weird beasts available to beastmasters, and the oddities of the grotesques or wracks as heavily cyberized aliens.


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## Insanity (Oct 25, 2011)

Voss said:


> I think it is somewhat of a shame that Tau and DE are desparate allies. Between the archon's court, the grotesques and the beastmasters it could be a very interesting 'ultimate alien' army, with a real variety in appearance and capabilities.
> 
> Hopefully small groups of alien mercenaries is something GW will consider in the future.


I don't think the Tau and DE would be on good terms after their "Cultural exchange" in which the tau thought the DE were just doing social and ethical research. But instead they were torturing them and turning them into Grotesques


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## Voss (Jun 27, 2012)

Insanity72 said:


> I don't think the Tau and DE would be on good terms after their "Cultural exchange" in which the tau thought the DE were just doing social and ethical research. But instead they were torturing them and turning them into Grotesques


I fail to see how that isn't cultural and ethical research. How they respond to the torture and how the changed respond when returned to society (and the society's response to the changed) tells you a great deal about their society and their ethics.


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Voss said:


> I fail to see how that isn't cultural and ethical research. How they respond to the torture and how the changed respond when returned to society (and the society's response to the changed) tells you a great deal about their society and their ethics.


It was more that the Tau were exchanged to protect the Ethereals, turned into Grotesques (the Tau thought they were another race or perhaps something like a Servitor) and the Tau found out about it when the Dark Eldar used their new Grotesques in combat against the Tyranids (blue Grotesques are canon thanks to this!). The Tau didn't like the horrible things the Dark Eldar did to other beings (being unnessicarily cruel, which makes sense considering they basically banished one guy for ambushing Orks in a box canyon. The Tau tend to still have morals.....when it suits them in the fluff). Things got worse from there.


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