Shadowsun: Leader of The Third Phase Expansion

Shadowsun is one of the often over-looked gems of the Tau Empire. Her stealth field, two fusion guns and command-link drone make her a very capable commander if you're leading a force with lots of infantry (and that includes battlesuits). Crisis suits have leadership 8 and have to take leadership tests when their drones die, as per codex rules pg. 31. Plus, battlesuits fall back 3d6" and generally hug table edges so failing leadership test can be a huge loss. Shadowsun's Command link Drone confers her leadership of 10 to any infantry within 18 inches.

Contrary to popular belief, Shadowsun is not a tank-hunter, even with her two fusion blaster. So don't go deep striking her behind enemy lines alone. She should hold back, taking advantage of her stealth field and preventing your troops from fleeing off the table. The fusion blasters are a last defense against attacking forces.

Think of her as an ethereal with some extra kit that actually makes her worth taking.

Commander Shadowsun

I took my army out to the Baltimore Battle Bunker today and my friends Mech Eldar Army. It was a seize ground, spearhead game. Another win for Old Shatter Hands. Actually, Old Shatter threw his back out so I brought Shadowsun out for the first time.

I have to say that I was really impressed by her performance, not so much for her two fusion guns but for the way she can hold the line together with her command-link drone. I had often had morale problems with my army and I was really pleased that I was able to keep my units from running off the board. Typically I lurk my unit as far back as possible to keep out of assault and use my range to my advantage. That means that if a unit falls back, it's probably going to be running off the board. Shadowsun prevented that from happening in this game.

Aside from that, Shadowsun did manage to defend herself and take out some targets of her own. She took out a Howling Banshee Exarch, damaged some Eldar skimmers and ended the game without taking any damage. I never split her fire in this game. I decided early on that I wouldn't bother trying to fire at two different targets. Eldar skimmers are really difficult to damage anyway, might as well use both shots and make sure the thing is dead before taking a risk on two different targets.

If you're reading this and you're a Tau player and you haven't tried Shadowsun-take her out for a spin. I think you'll like her.