From Under Dog to Top Dog... and back again?

Several months ago the Tau Empire (as well as the Eldar allies) received a much needed update.  Within weeks, it had become obvious to me while browsing through the 2 new codices that, "My advice will no longer be needed as Tau and Eldar have become rediculously powerful".  My thoughts came to fruition as Grand Tournament after Grand tournament posted results where the majority of the top 10 armies were Tau, Tau/Eldar, or Tau/random ally.  My favorite local gaming store went from having 2-3 hardcore Tau players (each week you will easily see over 50 different armies) to over a dozen riptide and Missileside heavy Tau players.  I have to admit that with the mixture of real life (wife is pregnant again in addition to me taking over a small business) and the over saturation of Tau cheese, I have been putting my Tau on the back burner.  Lately I have felt that skill and narrative gaming have both been lost on playing Tau.  For the meantime I decided to apply my skills into other armies that are underdogs and require odd strategies to win (i.e. Wood elves and Beastmen in Fantasy).  For nostalgic purposes I would occasionaly play a game with Tau or visit different Tau forums and blogs.  But the other day I saw something that lifted my spirits like none other.

Dual Con

Now why am I excited?  How can I possibly be excited when Tau are losing, more so when Taudar players are providing joy to other players when they are complaining about losing? 
1.  Like many other players I enjoy winning, but I enjoy having fun and making "you remember that one time" moments more than anything.
2.  When people throw things like "cheese", "terrain", or "unbeatable army lists" onto the table I don't see a pointless battle, I see an enjoyable challenge.
3.  People always gravitate towards the path of least resistance, it's why 6th edition Tau is much more popular than 5th edition Tau, you don't get a real feel for how good an army does in the tournament scene when half of the players at the same tournament play the same army.
4.  Tau have always been a popular army to hate.  There has never been anything more satisfying than an opponent challenging you to a competitive game expecting an easy win, just to have to work at trying not to be beaten by a large margin.

Although I was looking forward to "The glorious rise of the Tau in the Third sphere expansion" and an increase in Tau players, I wasn't expecting a change in fluff (Barracudas taking the back seat, experimental heavy suits going from unreasonable to a staple in every army, Kroot becoming horrible in CC, and Broadsides struggling to do anything to Imperial Tanks).  Narrative gaming has been pushed behind over competitive spamming and death stars. 

Tau have always been about options, and tactical flexibility, perhaps with the terrain taking on a greater level of importance, players that have already purchased Tau armies will learn to play to have fun rather than play to win.  Either way I look forward to the next couple of months within the Tau community, and I will try to post some reviews, history lessons, and tactics that you will enjoy.