Have Forgeworld must Play

I have had it with GW and Forgeworld. My beef this time around is not with the models or even the rules produced by either. The problem is nothing meshes together. FW makes models and rules, GW makes models and rules, they are both under the same umbrella as a company but you can't really use the FW stuff in a GW game. The reason normally given for this is, 'The Forgeworld books are not widely available, so we can't include them in the regular game.' and 'The Forgeworld rules are not as well tested as the regular GW rules so they will upset the balance of the game.' What a pair of BS answers. The one that makes my head want to explode is this one, 'Work it out with your opponent before the game.' So lets get this right, I give my opponent the ability to veto my list because he doesn't like FW stuff. Can I do this in the next game where I am facing 3 Landraider or the latest leaf blower IG list? Of course not, it would be silly to even ask. Something has to change. Forgeworld should be allowed in any game.

So why the push to get it in? For starters the models are cool. Most gamers are impulsive and buy models based on their look more than their tactical ability. Being a Tau player I have a set of heavy marker/gun drones. Are they any good, not really, they are somewhat of a waste of a heavy slot but they look cool and dwarf the regular drones. By the same token the new XV9 suites and commander are down right deadly and a much needed boost to and out of date codex. Looks at the Chaos Drop Pod. What Chaos player would not want to place one of those on the table. Sorry, its rules are slightly different than the normal ones so you can't use it.

Next up the rules availability. I can here the whining now, the books are too expensive. Right, and how much did you spend amassing the 5000 point army you are running now or the third army you have started this year, not played but started. You bought that crappy Planetstrike book, you subscribe to the 50+ page add book know as White Dwarf and some of you actually bought the collectors edition 40K rule book. The Apoc 1 & 2 books, stick them in your bag, take it with you to the game store and start playing. Even better most of the new stuff gets released as experimental PDF rules before the book comes out. Use it until the book is finally released.

I have the rules and they are bad, the point balances are off and the force organizing is useless. Bad rules are what makes 40K, well 40K. The rules have always been bad, full of wholes and designed to sell models instead of play the game. This is the GW way. With the spotty, staggered release dates, army of the week mentality and needing to sell stuff this is never going to change but we still play the game. At least this way you can keep the number of units growing somewhat to open up new tactics and ways of play. Sure there are a few out there that are royally scary like the dreadnought assault drop pod but still that is no reason to make a blanket statement that all FW stuff is bad.

Bottom line is this, it is a game. Why limit the fun by kicking out a whole segment of figs because of a few bad units. Let them in and expand on the gaming universe. Raise the game play bar a little and see what happens.

Threat Range

We hear about it all the time in 40K, threat range. This is the thing that makes so many assault units insanely powerful. Things like Knob Bikerz, Thunderwolf Calvery and Bloodclaws being able to assault from over 12" away and in some cases ignore soft terrain ranged shooting has essentially been nerfed out of existence. IG is really the only shooty army that stands a chance of surviving thanks to insane unit sizes. After all throw enough dice at anything and it will die. Orks have the same setup as well and can even back it up in close combat after all a mob of 30 Shoota Boyz is still allot of dice rolling. But want about the other groups like Necrons or Tau, they are stuck. Small unit size and only 1 horrible option for a rapid fire weapon is a disaster waiting to happen. I know what people will say, 'Well just stick the troops inside a transport, that will protect them.' The problem is then they can't do what they are designed to do, shoot things. In a game that is about cinematic events and heroic deeds you never are going to hear something like, The brave men of company B held up inside of there transport hoping to not be assaulted but the enemy. Also trading 12+ dice for 4 to 6 and the ability to only target 1 unit doesn't get you very far or help you with the threat range problem. With the amount of power weapons floating around in every other army hiding in a transport does no good.

So how to correct this.

Free defensive weaponry. Grenades are nice but for some reason Tau has to pay for them separately while everyone else gets them free. Even when taking carbines that have grenade launchers on them they still have to pay for regular ones. Talk about an early date with the foam box. They should be passing these things out like beads at Marti Gras.

New units that add protection. For a group that is supposed to rely on technology so much the Tau need to actually start doing it. They have stealth fields and disruption pods why not put them into a drone. A disruption drone that shields troops like a disruption pod does for ships. This was the intent of the shield drone but really it isn't doing its job. That 12" buffer no target zone would actually mean that they could get a shot off now and then.

Extended rapid fire range. This is a big one. Pulse Carbines need to be able to rapid fire at longer ranges. These guys are the best of the best shooters. They should be able to write 'For the Greater Good' across a space marines chest at any range like some '20s gangster with a Tommy gun. Ideally give them it at 18" instead of 12". The fluff behind it is pretty simple too, if the 'we can't change a light bulb without saying a 30 minute prayer' marines can have weapons that are smart enough to tell friend from foe why not let the Tau have tech that improves their shooting other than marker lights.

Mine layers or drop barriers. This is one that I just don't get. Tau are masters of the air on par with the Eldar. They have airdropped gun emplacements that while limited, make since. Why not expand on this and give them a drop minefield or barricade like a bastion defense walls. Both are perfect ways of not totally stopping a charge but taking some of the bite out of it.

Drone sacrifice. Give Them the option of sacrificing their drones and allow them to move d6 inches away. This is the classic war movie tactic and would fit the Tau better than standing there and getting punched in the face. They see that charge coming and setup a couple of drones as the first line so they can still return fire. The d6 distance doesn't put you way out of range but at least stops the assault and since it is a one time thing it allows you to hopefully avoid the inevitable.

So there you have it, any one of those gives a needed boost and make threat range less of a problem without breaking the Tau feel like most fixes that basically beef them up to Marine numbers.

Papercuts - The minor changes to make Tau match their fluff match the tabletop.

Tau needs something to get back into the game. The problem is what do you do without being too unbalanced. So I am not going to go down the rabbit hole of they should all be snipers and battle suits need a 4th hard point etc. No I am going to go for some of the fringe units that could use a little touching up. First up, drones.

Drones 

1. Reclassify them as jet pack infantry like battle suits. JSJ is a trademark Tau tactic and it is puzzling that it only exist for battle suits. Drones seem to be a perfect fit for that tactic. They get it when they are teamed with battle suits anyway so why not give it to them outright. It would have no effect on placing them with troops or vehicles thanks to unit cohesion. This simple change makes drone squad somewhat usable.
2. Give them without number when used in squadrons. This is straight out of "Courage and Honor", hundreds of drones were dropped from the skies to harass the enemy. They are the Tau version of gaunts, small, squishy and really annoying. Sure they wont hold an objective or actually kill anything in close combat, or pin anything, or do anything other that die but that is enough. They need to be that speed bump that matches their shape. Kroot can't be the only one.
3. Go big or go home. Heavy gun drones are dangerous. Twin linked burst cannons are nothing to sneeze at. Sadly you will never see them on the battle field because they are Forgeworld and totally broken as a heavy choice, so I can get a battle suite style unit that is only good against infantry or a Hammerhead, tough call. Team them with all drones or make them a heavy weapons option for firewarriors. Now you have a unit that can put down enough firepower make marines think twice before charging in, if only for a second.
4. It is still odd to me that drones are not fearless or even higher leadership or at least have an easy way to boost their leadership besides putting them next to an Ethereal or Shadowsun. They need an boost of some sort, say a +1 for each drone left in the unit. They just shouldn't run from combat as easily as they do.