OK the latest approved version of the Tau Third Phase Expansion Army list is attached below.

Changes carried forward from 6.7.2:

Crisis formation includes free Shas'el
Shas'el no longer has an extra AP5+ shot
Shas'o upgrade reduced to 75
Bonded team is now a formation-wide ability (like spirit stones)
Ethereal death results in D3 BMs rather than auto-break
Krootox upgrade down from 75 to 50 points but FF down from 4+ to 5+
Broadsides railgun range reduced to 60cm
Broadsides reduced to 300 points
Railheads gain Lance on their AT shot
Railheads now cost 225 for 4 (other types still 200), Hammerhead formation structure changed to handle different prices
Ionhead upgrade now 2 for 75
Manta down to 650 points
Tigershark AX-1-0 down to 350 points
Custodian down to 225

Changes that didn't make approval so aren't in the list:

Gun drones added to stealth formation gain Teleport
Stealthsuits and attached gun drones can re-roll failed teleport tests
Crisis suits gain AT6+ on their plasma rifles
Aircraft burst cannons gain AA5+ from AA6+
Extra seeker missiles on aircraft

nicely done Joe

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Always fun to see a new version of the approved list.

Could you please comment on the differences following on from the 6.72 Developmental List.

What I noticed included:
Lance as the rule, but only on an AT fire weapon. [Easy work around to avoid Penetrator Rule]
Twin Burst Cannons on aircraft all moved back down to AA6+. [Avoid power creep on aircraft?]
No extra Guided Missiles on the Tiger Sharks or Manta but cost still reduced. [Keep costs down?]
No re-roll for the Stealth Suits, and not possible to teleport in attached Gun Drones. [Setting too much of a president?]
No AT6+ on the Crisis Suit Plasma Rifle. [Very sad about this one. Crisis suits are expensive, fragile and lack AT fire in an AP heavy army]

Does this still keep the list aligned to the Epic UK versions?

Thanks Joe, some great work here.

EUK will play catch up, but not for the Euros as lists are locked down now.

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Basically you are correct on all these.

The Crisis suit change was probably a step too far and made them a bit good especially when it was proposed in conjunction with the free Shas'el. It would require too much testing to make it into this version.

Good to see these changes

Shame about the Stealth Suits not being able to add teleporting drones, why the change of opinion on these? They can have drones with them in 40k and it helps make the formation a bit more survivable. I did feel re-roll all 1s was too much, but that the formation being able to re-roll a single 1 could perhaps have been a good compromise position.

Hi Joe
Nice work. I was just working through the latest PDF to bring the Vior'la list options and formatting closer to this one, and found what might be a mistake:

Hammerheads Add two Hammerhead (Ionhead) Gunships 75pts
or Add one or two Hammerhead (Railhead) Gunships or Hammerhead (Fusionhead) Gunships 50pts each

Should that actually be as follows?
Hammerheads Add two Hammerhead (Railhead) Gunships 75pts
or Add one or two Hammerhead (Ionhead) Gunships or Hammerhead (Fusionhead) Gunships 50pts each

Also would you like the Gun drones added to a Stealth Suit formation as an upgrade to also have the Teleport rule? In the Vior'la list the Stealth Group upgrade entry reads 'Gun Drones (Added Gun Drone units gain Teleport)'.

Was that found sufficiently problematic that I should remove it?

I found the hammerhead setup very clunky but I don't think it's a mistake, at least not in the way you describe Matt. I doubt the intention is for railheads to be the cheapest (at 37.5 points each) like you suggest, though I thought it odd that fusion heads are deemed to be equivalent price to railheads in the upgrade but to ionheads in the main formation.

By the way, Dave changed the wording of the hammerhead formation when he put the changes into the TP (to allow any mix of 4 so long as you pay the 25 point surcharge). You should probably decide between you which wording you want and update one or the other to match.

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It was voted down by the ERC, you could include it in the Vior'la list if you want with enough testing it might be approved but might not.

It's two Ionheads for 75pts - as in they are the cheapest per unit, just less flexible.

Will look into it, thanks.

Got it, that makes sense. I'd read it as the ions being more expensive rather than cheaper.


Thanks for the heads up. TBH I'd rather remove the option entirely then. Gundrones without teleport don't make a lot of sense in a Stealth formation (does anyone use them without intending to teleport them?) but I don't want to add a rule that already failed approval.
I'd like to get the Vior'la signed off

Hey guys here is a list I have designed

Can you guys give me any pointers as if I should swap or change anything? would be greatly appreciated it

Crisis Battlesuit Cadre 375
Shas'o
4xCrisis Battlesuits
2xGun Drones

Crisis Battlesuit Cadre 300
Shas'el
4xCrisis Battlesuits
2xGun Drones

Mounted Fire Warrior Cadre 275
6xFire Warriors & 3xDevilfish
Bonded Team
2xGun Drones

Armour Support Group 300
6xHammerhead (4 rail 2 ion)

Armour Support Group 300
6xHammerhead (4rail 2 ion)

Armour Support Group 200
4xHammerhead (4 rail)

Recon Skimmer Group 175
3xPathfinder Tetra
3xPiranha

Recon Skimmer Group 175
3xPathfinder Tetra
3xPiranha

Skysweep Support Group 250
3xSkyray

Tiger Shark Squadron 275
2xTigershark
6xGun Drones

Tiger Shark AX-1-0 Squadron 350
2xTigershark AX-1-0


Cheers Caz

The armour formation in the Third phase list is definitely meant to fill more of a support role. I would probably limit myself to two formations and it is probably better to specialise them so 4 Railheads are a very good choice if you expect to see armour. Or an Ionhead formation if you expect to see more infantry.

You are lacking in air cover with just one fragile Skysweep formation, I used to run 3 embedded Skyrays and a squadron of Barracudas at 3000pts but I find even that a little low and have moved to 5 or even 6 Skyrays recently.

Your supreme commander and BTS are in the same formation and it´s a formation that needs to get close to the enemy to do work which is very risky and means you will probably always give BTS to your opponent. I personally prefer a beefed up Fire Warrior formation as BTS.

You are also possibly a little light on markerlights.