What changed for T’au Empire in 11th edition

11th edition brought the T'au Empire a broad points cut across its battlesuits and a new army-building layer to get your head around. If you played T'au in 10th, most of your collection still does what it did, but a lot of it now costs less, which usually means you can fit more of it.

Summary

• 25 units repriced, 3 new, 14 unchanged
• Biggest drop: Crisis Fireknife Battlesuits (-20)
• Biggest rise: The Twin Lance (+55)
• Detachment Points: 2 / 3 / 3 at Incursion / Strike Force / Onslaught

Detachments

The T'au gain one detachment this edition, the Advanced Acquisition Cadre, alongside returning options like Kauyon, Mont'ka, Retaliation Cadre and the Kroot Hunting Pack. The larger change is that running any of them is no longer free. Detachment Points are paid from the army total, and the game size sets the rate: Strike Force costs 3, Incursion 2, Onslaught 4. Kauyon and the new Cadre pay the same, so the fee has no say in which you pick; it is a line at the top of the list before the suits go in.

New in 11th: Advanced Acquisition Cadre. None removed.

Points changes

On the units themselves, the pattern is clear: the iconic battlesuits got cheaper. Crisis suits and the Riptide came down noticeably, making the classic wall-of-suits list easier to assemble, while a handful of specialist picks crept up. Three new Crucible characters join the roster that 10th never had. Some units are priced per squad size, and a few move differently at each size, so check the exact size you field.

Biggest increases

Are The Twin Lance still worth it?

The largest single rise in the faction, up 20 points. That is a real tax, but it is applied to one of the army's standout centrepiece profiles, the kind of unit you buy because you want it on the table, not for its efficiency. If it earned its place in your 10th-edition lists, the extra 20 will not change that. If you were only taking it to fill points, look elsewhere.

Are Stormsurge still worth it?

Up 15 points in 11th: 375 now, 360 in 10th.

Are Kroot War Shaper still worth it?

Up 10 points, which stings more on a cheap support character than the raw number suggests. Its value has always been as an enabler for a Kroot-heavy list rather than a standalone pick, so the answer depends on how committed you are to the birds. In a dedicated Kroot force it still pulls its weight. As a one-off splash into a suit army, it is easier to skip now.

Frequently asked questions

Did the T'au Empire get better in 11th edition?

For suit lists, yes. Three Crisis squads at 15 to 20 off each save 45 to 60 before the Riptide's cut is counted. The three increases fall on the Twin Lance and on Kroot, so a Kroot-led list gains less and pays 15 more across the War Shaper and Krootox Riders. Where a suit army lands in the meta is another question; on points it fields more than it did.

Are Crisis Suits cheaper in 11th edition?

Yes. All three Crisis variants, Fireknife, Starscythe and Sunforge, came down in points, by 15 to 20 each. Combined with cuts to the Riptide and other suits, the classic battlesuit-heavy T'au list is cheaper to assemble than it was in 10th. Pick the variant by role rather than by price, since the three cuts are within 5 points of one another.

What is the new T'au detachment in 11th edition?

The Advanced Acquisition Cadre is the T'au Empire's one new 11th-edition detachment. It costs the same Detachment Points to run as Kauyon, Mont'ka, Retaliation Cadre or the Kroot Hunting Pack, and nothing from the 10th-edition line-up was removed to make room for it.

Is now a good time to start a T'au army?

A good one. The signature units are cheaper, the range is stable, and the shooting-first playstyle is one of the most beginner-friendly in the game. Crisis Suits are the box most new T'au players buy first, and every variant is 15 to 20 cheaper than it was. The Starting a T'au Army guide has a buying order.