The Idoneth Deepkin are a mysterious race of aelves who dwell within the oceans of the Mortal Realms, emerging from their watery seclusion to plunder the souls of land-dwellers – a grim harvest upon which their very survival depends.
Strange and fey are the Sylvaneth, children of the life goddess Alarielle. These forest spirits have long dwelt in the woods of the Mortal Realms, protecting places of power from malign trespassers and the warping touch of Chaos. As the effects of the Everqueen’s Rite of Life are felt across the cosmos, the Sylvaneth find themselves once more on the offensive. With vital sorcery, enchanted blade, and oaken talon, they will ensure that the power of their goddess’s great ritual takes hold across all lands.
The T'au Empire is amongst the most dynamic and determined powers in the 41st Millenium. Their technology is advanced and ever-improving, from grav-skimming gunships and artificial intelligence, to potent energy weapons and formidable battlesuits. Their territories expand with every victory, be it military or diplomatic. Yet the T'au Empire's greatest strength is its unifying philosophy – they believe it is their duty to spread the doctrine of the Greater Good to every corner and culture of this dark galaxy, and will let none stop them from bringing enlightenment to the stars.
The T'au Empire employs advanced firepower and complex metastrategies in its quest to enlighten the galaxy, each suited to different environments, objectives, and enemies. The Sudden Dawn Cadre specialise in the philosophy known as Mont'ka – the Killing Blow. Skilled Pathfinder scouts mark vital targets, Breachers mobilise with swift grav-transport technology, and Commander Cloudspear uses her powerful Enforcer Battlesuit to lead high-risk, high-reward tactical raids deep into hostile heartlands.
Aggressive and rebellious, Commander O'Shovah is an undisputed master of Mont'ka, the T'au metastrategy of the Killing Blow. Piloting his crimson battlesuit, he carves a bloody path into the enemy, leading his separatist Fire Caste forces from the front as he wields the enigmatic Dawn Blade with such strength and skill that no foe can stand against him.
When the T'au Empire goes to war, they bring advanced battlesuits, faithful drones, potent energy weapons, and a host of allied races to shore up their weak spots, making their armies some of the toughest to tackle.
Belthanos, the First Thorn of Kurnoth, leads the eternal hunt that keeps his master’s spirit in bloom. Cloaked in evergreen and riding atop a Carnelian Greatspite made of pure life magic, he chases down those who would harm Ghyran so that his howling Revenant Seeker and Kurnoth Hunter followers might rip them apart.
A breed of forest spirit only recently-emerged into the ranks of the Sylvaneth, the Gossamid Archers are afforded the power of flight by the zephyrwing spites that clasp their torsos. With impressive speed and mobility, the Archers fly to wherever they're needed on the battlefield, swooping low to shoot at the enemy and evading counter-assaults with a swarm of insectile distractions. A gruesome fate awaits any struck by the shafts fired by these symbiotic skirmishers – the arrowheads contain voracious grubs that devour the target from within.
At first they appear as spectral blurs in the ethersea, distant streamlined shapes that seem to materialise from nowhere. With powerful thrusts of their sickle-finned tails, the forms grow all too quickly as they launch their attack
No troops exemplify the Idoneth Deepkin way of life more than the Akhelian Guard. Mounted atop Fangmora Eels, they fight in a loose formation ideal for rapid assaults and sudden retreats, typifying the hit-and-run style of war common amongst the aelves of the depths.
Shrugging off enemy missiles, the Akhelian Leviadon plunges into the fray. Scythed fins dismember foes while the beast’s powerful jaws clamp down with enough force to crush tempered steel.
Idolised echoes of a bygone era, the Eidolons of Mathlann are summoned to life in times of dire need. These are no divine avatars, however, but collective manifestations of the ancestral souls of the Idoneth Deepkin, spirits of vengeance wrapped in the image of a lost aelven god.