Daemon Tau and The Busiest Corner of the Galaxy

Oddly enough Warzone Damocles, about as far from Holy Terra as you can get, is probably the most hotly contested area of the galaxy. And that's not just because it used to be on fire.


A few days ago, Games Workshop released some information on this warzone, and it's future in the unfolding plot of the new Warp Rift divided Milky Way. It turns out the Cicatrix Maledictum doused the fires that the AdMech had started in a fine display of rage-quitting the fight for Mugalath Bay.


In case you're wondering which side I'm on in this contest:

Farsight Enclave Tau were my first army... before I realised how badly it curb stomped my student neophytes, prompting me to look for less awesome forces.


It looks like the Tau are back on the offensive, what with the Imperium needing to fight off Chaos, Tyranids, Necrons, and the good old Orks who Commander Farsight made his name clearing off of Tau worlds.


This makes the Damocles Gulf the busiest part of the Milky Way, with all the factions present and scrapping over... something. It's less of an objective driven conflict and more one caused by everyone being there at the same time, and not knowing how to share.


What's more interesting is that the Tau appear to have lost an entire invasion fleet. The post on Warhammer Community suggests that they were lost in the warp.


Whilst a very cool outcome would be Chaos Tau, not even Farsight could break the racial character long enough to do that. Whilst a human could rationalise away the tentacles and extra spiky bits as a means to over throw oppression and destructive order, a Tau mind would balk at the idea of self-aggrandisement in the name of accruing more power.


So whilst Daemon Tau may not be a thing, we sort of need a reason for the Tau to have suddenly lost a fleet. he hint as to why is as follows:


Maybe they will yet be found, or emerge somewhere unexpected in the galaxy, a lost portion of this optimistic new empire ever intent on conquest…


Perhaps what GW has in mind is for the Tau to pop up somewhere else in the galaxy, or perhaps even two places. Right now the nest bet for them to emerge would be in Imperium Nhilus or next to Terra. As I said earlier, the reason why Damocles is the busiest place is because everyone is there. The Tau haven't got the technology nor the fluff transport to get across the galaxy to appear in other warzones, limiting their overall participation in galactic events.


This whole missing 4th Sphere expansion is just a way to get them to where they need to be.


Or is it?


There is a precedent in Age of Sigmar for a lesser known faction to bounce around the galaxy fighting the forces of Chaos wherever they appear. The Lizardmen/Seraphon have been doing that, despite initially being tied to their home lands well away from the political shenanigans of the other factions. Could the same thing be done to the Tau?


Point of fact, Tau adherence to the Greater Good and ability to ignore themselves to work together towards a goal is well known. What would happen to a race like that after being exposed to the Warp? Would that belief in order and law translate to a belief in Order?


Could we be seeing the first hints of Daemon Tau, like the Seraphon are Daemon Lizardmen?


We'll see...


Until next time!



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