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Well, it is actually quite an honor to be able to participate.
I am a firm believer in seeing evidence of imbalance through playtesting and yes, I did read the thread about the relative value of battle reports. The Tau community has had many examples of people picking up the ball and demonstrating a viewpoint in the game, but I still come back to the "Five Aces" playtesting that TRC performed to demonstrate an extremely valid point that went against conventional wisdom. He "walked the talk" and I think the Tau list was improved because of his efforts. The point here is that you don't get something for nothing. Producing a list is work. Yes, there is a lot of fun and play involved, but what really moves the list ahead is work. I would also like to point out Chroma as someone who playtests to prove points. There are several others as well. That has to be our working model for improvements.
That is part of what I am here to do, which is ensure that our efforts are focused and productive. In case you are wondering, one of the things I do in the Real World is IT project management, with an emphasis on Change management. I don't say that to puff me up, only to let you know that I have some experience with this type of activity.
So, the way I see us moving forward is to put on the final touches to the most current list and then we'll play test it...for a minimum of 4-5 months, though that period could shorten or lengthen depending on the level of involvement. High participation, especially towards efforts geared to stress test the list will be important, but also reports that run common builds to see what core lists are actually capable of doing. High participation also allows us to move faster than low participation.
I intend to participate in the testing process as well. Where we eventually end up will be dependent on the test results.
I think we have a bounty of interested, intelligent, and motivated people in this Tau community of ours. I would also like our community to grow and bring in new blood as I think that is very healthy for our hobby. I want to see us turn all of our creativity towards producing a list that, not only we are proud of, but that the general community does not roll their eyes at. There has been a perception for quite awhile (since the v2.0+ lists) that the Tau are unbalanced to the extreme and I want us to get to the point where tourney organizers look forward to anyone playing the Tau because of the additional flavor it brings to the pool of players.
So to summarize, I think we are close to delivering a solid playtest list. I also think that we aren't that far away from getting to a "final" release version, though we have a fair bit of work ahead of us.
I'm actually so excited about this opportunity to the point where I am going to invest in some more FW Tau.
Cheers,
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Honda
"Remember Taros? We do"
- 23rd Elysian Drop Regiment
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