Should We Really Be Encouraging Another T’au Army?
One innocent question, and suddenly we’re looking at T’au
Sometimes an army idea starts with deep lore research, careful list planning, and weeks of comparing model ranges.
And sometimes it starts with a very simple question from Staś:
“Have you thought about T’au?”
Well… yes. End3r had thought about them.
At first, T’au showed up on the radar as a classic shooting army option for Warhammer 40k. That part definitely made sense. The problem was never the battlefield role — it was the look. The standard vibe of white armour and blue faces just didn’t land.
Still, there was an important caveat: the battlesuits look cool, and the ship design also got a nod of approval. So this was not a full rejection. More like a hobby-side “I see the appeal, but not like this.”
The real question: what if they were green?
That was the turning point.
When Staś asked what version would actually look good, End3r’s answer was immediate:
“I’d probably paint them green.”
And honestly, that is the kind of hobby logic we fully respect. If the default studio scheme doesn’t work for us, then the answer is obviously to repaint the entire faction until it does.
Staś, being a responsible and supportive hobby enabler, immediately replied with the classic:
“Well then go for it :)”
Which, as we all know, is how many dangerous army projects begin.
Reference images: because temptation needs visual support
Naturally, the discussion did not stop at theory. A moment later, image references started flying in, including green T’au and other paint scheme inspiration.
There was also a link to a roundup of T’au paint schemes, and an important follow-up note from Staś:
“The red ones are great too.”
This is exactly how hobby escalation works. First it’s maybe green, then also red looks amazing, and before long we’re mentally assembling an entire collection around colour tests alone.
The problem: they sound a bit too familiar
And then came the moment of self-awareness.
After looking at the general description of the faction, End3r dropped the line that probably explains why this idea is both tempting and dangerous:
“You know what, better not encourage me to start T’au, for everyone’s good — because from the description it sounds like they’re the closest thing to KO (fragile units, but absurd amounts of shooting).”
And there it is.
Sometimes we don’t choose the army. Sometimes the army quietly reveals that it is, in fact, just our type again, wearing different armour.
If your hobby comfort zone already includes an army defined by fragile pieces and overwhelming ranged pressure, then discovering the 40k equivalent is not necessarily a healthy development for your project backlog.
So… are T’au happening?
For now, we’d call this one strong consideration, not commitment.
The appeal is clearly there:
- strong shooting identity,
- cool mechs,
- nice vehicle/ship designs,
- and a paint scheme that becomes much more interesting the moment we stop thinking in studio colours.
On the other hand, this may also be exactly the kind of army that accidentally jumps from “just browsing” to “why do we suddenly own a combat patrol?”
So at this stage, T’au remain in the very dangerous category of:
“We should probably not look at this too much.”
Which usually means we’re going to keep looking at it.
Final thought
This was a very relatable little army-building moment: not falling for a faction because of its official look, then immediately changing our minds once we imagine it in our colours.
Maybe that’s the real lesson here. A lot of armies only start making sense when we stop asking how they are supposed to look and start asking how we would paint them.
And yes, green T’au do look pretty great.