Faction Guide
T'au Empire
The most technologically advanced active civilization in the galaxy, united under a philosophy of collective purpose — the Greater Good. They shoot things from very far away with extreme efficiency, pilot giant battlesuits, and are genuinely the closest thing to "good guys" in 40k.
Playstyle
Pure Shooting
Painting
Easy ✓
Rules
Medium
Starter Cost
~$160–$230
Who are the T'au?
In a setting defined by ancient evils, dying empires, and ten-thousand-year-old grudges, the T'au are startlingly young. Six thousand years ago they were primitive. Now they have faster-than-light travel, plasma weapons, and giant walking battlesuits piloted by warrior monks. The speed of their development is, to every other faction, deeply suspicious.
Their society is built around the philosophy of the Greater Good — Tau'va in their language. The idea that every individual exists to serve the collective, that cooperation achieves more than competition, and that the universe is better when more beings join the cause. It sounds noble. In practice it means: join us willingly, or be absorbed anyway.
The T'au are divided into castes determined at birth. The Fire caste are the warriors — disciplined soldiers and battlesuit pilots. The Earth caste are engineers who build everything. The Water caste are diplomats. The Air caste pilot the ships. Above all of them sit the Ethereals — mysterious leaders who command absolute loyalty through means nobody fully understands.
The strangest thing about the T'au: they have almost no presence in the Warp. They can't use psychic powers. Chaos cannot corrupt them. In a galaxy where everything is touched by the immaterium, the T'au exist largely outside it — which makes them unique, and makes the older, darker powers deeply uncomfortable.
Choose your Sept
Septs are the T'au equivalent of Space Marine Chapters — different homeworlds with different colors and special rules.
T'au Sept
Bone White & BluePainting: EasyThe home sept — the original T'au world. Clean white/bone armor with blue markings. The default scheme and the most tutorials exist for it. Elegant, clinical, immediately recognizable.
Sa'cea Sept
Red & WhitePainting: EasyA disciplined, traditional sept known for producing exceptional Fire Warriors. Bold red and white scheme that's easy to execute and looks striking on the table.
Dal'yth Sept
Blue-Green CamoPainting: MediumSpecialists in stealth operations. Blue-green urban camouflage with a more muted, tactical look. Slightly more complex to execute but very distinctive.
Vior'la Sept
Dark Red & BlackPainting: EasyAggressive, hot-headed warriors — the most combat-focused sept. Dark red armor with black panels. Rules-wise they favor the aggressive Mont'ka doctrine. Easy and fast to paint.
How they play on the table
T'au are the premier shooting army in 40k. Their weapons have longer range and better accuracy than almost any equivalent in the game. Their goal every turn is simple: stay at distance, shoot everything, don't let anything reach close combat.
The army's core mechanic is Markerlights. Pathfinders and drones illuminate targets with Markerlights — marked units can be targeted with improved effectiveness by the rest of your army that turn. A well-markerlit target tends not to survive.
Battlesuits are the army's centerpiece.XV8 Crisis Suits are versatile, loadable with different weapons for different roles. The Riptide is a towering walking fortress that dominates the battlefield. The Ghostkeelis a stealth battlesuit that appears behind enemy lines. All of them are incredible models and the main reason people pick the faction.
One unique rule: T'au units can Fall Back and Fire. If something charges you and gets into melee, you can retreat next turn and still shoot. For an army this bad at close combat, that's a lifeline.
T'au are for you if...
- ✓ You want to win through precision firepower
- ✓ You love giant mech suit models
- ✓ You prefer clean sci-fi aesthetics over grimdark
- ✓ You want the "least evil" faction in the game
- ✓ You want a focused playstyle with one phase to master
Maybe look elsewhere if...
- ✗ You want a melee army — T'au in melee is a death sentence
- ✗ You want grim, gothic, or horror aesthetics
- ✗ You want psychic powers
- ✗ You want to overwhelm with hordes
How to paint T'au
Using T'au Sept (bone white + blue). The clean, flat armor panels are genuinely beginner-friendly.
T'au armor is the opposite of Orks and Guard — it's smooth, geometric, and clean. That means no hiding mistakes behind "battle damage." But it also means the techniques are simple: flat color, wash into recesses, highlight edges. Each step is quick and the results are satisfying.
Spray Wraithbone
The warm cream base gives the bone-white armor a natural tint — better than pure white. Covers everything evenly.
Skeleton Horde Contrast on armor panels
A thin, warm beige contrast paint that shades into the recesses between armor plates. One coat gives you instant depth on the flat surfaces.
Talassar Blue Contrast on the accent panels
The blue sept markings — shoulder accents, helmet stripes, knee pads. Pick two or three areas per model and stay consistent. Less is more.
Leadbelcher on all weapons and tech
Pulse rifles, fusion blasters, battlesuit arms. Metallic on everything mechanical. Follow with Nuln Oil for instant shadow.
Moot Green on sensor lenses and eye slits
Every T'au helmet has a visor slit or lens array. A tiny stripe of bright green makes the model look alive and finished. One of the best payoff details in the game.
Drybrush Wraithbone on armor edges, base the model
A light edge drybrush restores brightness to the armor rims and panel edges. Clean, crisp highlight with minimal effort. Then a grey-blue base texture to match the T'au aesthetic.
Battlesuits paint differently than infantry
Crisis Suits and Riptides have large, flat armor panels — more like painting a vehicle than a soldier. They go faster than infantry but require neater work since the smooth surfaces show mistakes more than textured Ork or Tyranid skin would. Start with infantry to get the colors right, then tackle a battlesuit as your first "hero" model. The payoff is significant.
What to buy first
One box, paint it, then decide if you want more infantry or your first battlesuit.
Combat Patrol: T'au Empire
Includes a Commander in Enforcer Battlesuit (buildable as a Coldstar Battlesuit), a Devilfish transport, 10 Fire Warriors (Breacher or Strike Team build), 10 Pathfinders (your Markerlight unit), and 7 Drone models. A mobile combined-arms force that teaches the army's core loop: mark targets, shoot efficiently, stay mobile.
See price on Amazon →XV8 Crisis Battlesuits
Three customizable battlesuits, each loadable with different weapon combinations. The iconic T'au unit. Versatile, powerful, and genuinely stunning models — this is the box that makes people fall in love with the faction. Don't buy them until you've painted the patrol, but do budget for them.
Search Amazon →Paints you need (T'au Sept scheme)
~$38 total. The same paints cover infantry and battlesuits — the sept color is the only decision.
Honest cost breakdown
Combat Patrol: T'au Empire
Commander, Devilfish, Fire Warriors, Pathfinders, Drones
Essential paints (6)
Spray + 2 contrast + metal + wash + green
Basing supplies
Grey-blue texture paint + tufts
Clippers + hobby knife
One-time purchase
Superglue
Battlesuits and multi-part kits
All-in starter total
~$235Budget for Crisis Battlesuits (~$65) as your second purchase — they're the reason most people choose T'au and the models that make the army feel complete.
For the Greater Good.
Pick your Sept, grab the Combat Patrol, and learn your Markerlights. Then buy Crisis Suits and never look back.