Product Review – Codex Supplement: Farsight Enclaves

While it has always been my intent to spread out the content on my blog across the hobby, I’ve been sucked in while tweaking my presentations of battle reports and hobby progress. This week I decided to get back into some of the other intended articles, beginning with a product review of Codex Supplement: Farsight Enclaves.

This one is way overdue, but I’ve spread my hobby money too thin and I only recently purchased the book. When it came in the mail I was on a Dropzone Commander kick, and I wondered when I might have time to read it. I decided to crack it open on my lunch break at work one night, and from there I’d read a page or two when I could.

Instead I was grabbed from the very beginning, and I spent all of my free time the next day finishing the book. The story behind the Farsight Enclaves has always been a part of Tau fluff, but only now is it fleshed out and made real. The trials Farsight endured came from within the Tau Empire and from enemy races alike, and yet he endured them all. He seemed from start to finish a model soldier who occasionally let his pride get the better of him. Despite his all-too-“human” weakness, it is obvious he cares deeply for his people.

This is a big deal to me. When heroes (like those of the Ultramarines) have absolutely no flaws, then they are incredibly one-dimensional and unbelievable. Farsight’s weakness to hubris makes him a relatable leader, and his concern for his soldiers is touching in a galaxy where the life of a human being measures in at approximately five points. The scene where he blunders a command and walks into an Ork ambush is well-written, as it shows us his agony at abandoning so many dead comrades.

His inner circle was also a very interesting idea. Each of the commanders has their own personality and role to play, and when they pull the last stand against a horde of Tyranids in a valley to buy time for Earth Caste scientists to complete their biological weapon, you see the sacrifice he is willing to make for his people. As it ends he is further reminded that the Greater Good is about serving the Tau as a people, and not the whims of the Ethereals.

The book also contains some pretty useful changes to the structure of the Tau army. I’m looking forward to playing a force comprised solely of battlesuits and drones. The Earth Caste Pilot Array is also useful for making that Ion Accelerator shot go when you need it to go. Several of the other artifacts have unique niches they can fill in the Tau army, especially for campaign play that encourages you to build effective counters to a specific army each game.

It was very refreshing to see the addition of stratagems as well, hinting that maybe Games Workshop does remember those additions they made for different ways of war. With that said, these Stratagems mostly seem pretty powerful; I’m not sure there were many games played to test these rules!

I’m satisfied with this supplement just by the fluff; the excellent rules options and the stratagems are just icing on the cake. If you are a Tau player like me and you haven’t made time to budget for this excellent book, it is truly worth the purchase.