Looking Forward

I had wanted to bring you guys another article by now, but I've been having quite a bit of difficulty putting it to paper, so to speak. At first, it was my intention to do another rumor breakdown, but with all the Necron buzz, my attention was hooked elsewhere. However, after several attempts, even that proved difficult to form into an article I was happy with, that was until I realized I was approaching it from the wrong angle. I wasn't trying to write an article about the Necrons, though they might have been the catalyst – I was trying to write an article about 6^th Edition.

Let me explain my train of thought, in sort of a literal autopsy on the article I was trying to write. It was all going to be about timing, when things were hitting the market, or at least in what order, and the impact that was going to have on our Tau. The rumor mill for the Necrons has spun into overdrive this month, and a lot of people are saying, that combined with retailers being unable to order replacement product for the existing line, they've been all but confirmed as the next codex. Now I'm not saying that it's a sure shot they're next, but there is a convincing amount of chatter going on, and before we get past this point, I think it's important to say that I feel the Necrons need it most. They were absolutely  butchered by the 5^th Edition release, and have been limping along in obscurity ever since, so it'd be great to see them get an update. While this is a blog about the Tau and not Necrons, I have to say, if even half the rumors are true, it's going to be a fantastic new codex, maybe one that doesn't stay close to home with their fluff, but from a new model and rules perspective I'm really liking what I see.

So after talking about the Necrons, I wanted to bring up the Sisters of Battle. The ladies of the Adepta Sororitas seem to be on the to-do-list of GW as well, and have themselves been the topic of some recent rumors. While I'm not of the opinion that they'll be out before the Tau, I was going to talk about the implications it would have if they were. That's when my article really shifted in focus – see, beyond the Necrons and SoB setting an expected standard for the level of work invested into upcoming books and models (presuming they both come out before the Tau), they can't really tell us anything about our new codex. What they can do, however, is continue to push our codex back – enter 6^th Edition.

This is where the topic of timing really comes into play. 6^th Edition is coming, and the trend we've seen over the last three editions has been one, roughly every 4 years. With 5^th Ed. having come out in July of 2008, we're looking not much further than a year from now. We likely only have one release left in 2011, and if the trend holds, two releases before the next edition. So depending on how the next three codexes fall, and they seem to be a toss up between the SoB, Tau, and Necrons, it could put us on a collision course with 6^th Edition.

4^th Edition was released 

in August of 2004

But why is any of this important? Well, depending on what side of the razor we Tau fall on, be it pre or post 6^th Ed., and how far away from that razor we fall (with respect to how many codexes come before or after us in relation to the new edition), there could be some serious ramifications. To help explain my point, I'm going to pull three examples from past codexes.

Lets talk about the Orks. One of the last of the 4^th Edition codexes, the Orks had a significant advantage that led to their trans-edition endurance – they were written as the final touches were being put on the 5^th Edition rule book. We've still seen the effects age have had on them, codex creep and all that, but their army was able to take into account many of the changes that were being put into the next edition, ensuring that as an army they wouldn't be left by the wayside. In the end, while the sweeping changes made by edition updates will invariably damage older armies like the Necrons, the last few armies will always get a better shake, their authors having the advantage of foresight.

5^th Edition was released 

in July of 2008

Then we have the Space Marines, the first of the 5^th Edition codexes. They were the first to be able to take advantage of the virgin rules, their codex completely designed for them, with no considerations given to an antiquated system. Where other armies struggled to adapt time honored tactics, the Space Marines were free to explore their options, but while this might sound like the golden gift, in a lot of ways it was also their greatest adversary. They were the forerunners, with a codex written to ensure the bar wouldn't be set too high. Where they explored new avenues of approach to the battlefield, now made possible by 5^th Ed. rules, others would eventually employ them to greater effect and flourish as a result. The Space Marines were able to divorce many of the throwbacks that the armies of late 4^th Edition were still slaves too, but were none the less not so far removed from their Ork predecessors, in a position of advantage, but only for a time.

The Imperial Guard remain to this day, five codexes later, and two years after their release, one of the most dominating armies in the game. The rules of 5^th Edition had been laid out and carefully considered, and with their codex came those game changing conclusions immortalized in print. Where the Space Marines set the bar, the Imperial Guard set the curve, and in many ways have continued to define, or at least epitomize, the game ever since. The advantage of a codex in this position is simple, they are able to apply every rule, capitalize on every advantage, and effectively define the meta-game as a result. They become the strategy, to beat, to play, and to be balanced around thereafter. It should be noted, that while this may seem like the most coveted position for your codex of choice to end up in, it stands very easily to end up trading in it's crown for a paupers hat, when it suddenly finds the next editions rulings less favorable than the one it just thrived in.

At this point, unless Games Workshop has completely diverted from the predicted time table, the effects of 6^th Edition will be inescapable. Codexes that come out before it's release will be treated to an authors hand tempered by whats to come, while codexes that come after will enjoy a long standing in a fresh edition. Even if the Tau (or whichever codex you are most anticipating) find themselves one or two codexes removed from one of the example positions discussed above, it can at this point only change the degree to which we feel these effects. It's like gravity in a way, no matter how far from the source you are, it's always tugging on you – but the closer you get, the more pronounced it's effects become.

So how direct a relationship will the Tau codex have to the new edition's rule set? Will we be treated to only a handful of 6^th Edition concepts? Or will we have access to all the goodies, for better or worse? Likely, no matter what we believe, 6^th Ed. and our own codex are still a ways off, and details on both are vaporous at best. My own opinion is a mixed bag, on one hand, I feel that with the consistent level of rumor mongering we've seen, the Tau, Necron, and SoB codexes are all likely to emerge before 6^th Edition – something that could be made possible by recent rumors citing a White Dwarf based SoB codex. On the other hand, rumors discussing 6^th Edition's Boxed Starter Set (think: 5^th Edition's Assault on Black Reach) are saying that it'll be neither Xenos nor traditional Space Marines that form the contents, heavily implying the SoB's involvement, but necessitating a proper release. Discussion of a non-codex release for the Tau has also briefly appeared, and while I'll endeavor to speak more in depth on this subject another time, it stands as a potential outcome that might firmly entrench our codex in a well established 6^th Ed. environment. 

In closing, I can't help but come back to 6^th Editions effects on the Tau – as an army with a somewhat unique approach to the game, we stand to eschew as many of a new editions themes as we embrace, certainly that's been the case of this past edition. Is it so far fetched to wonder then, that with the Necrons, the Sisters of Battle, and the Tau, (none of which are known for their close combat prowess) being the last or potentially first of the 6^th Ed. codexes, that we might be seeing the emergence of the new edition's battlefield – one that encourages, or is at least more forgiving to ranged combat. As always folks, only time will tell. Thanks for reading!