TACTICA: Tau Empire (Part 1)
When BoLS asked me to write a Tau article, I started reviewing what was already out there. For those that don’t know, Advanced Tau Tactica has a wealth of information out there for both beginning and expert Tau Empire players. Instead of starting at the beginning and going through the codex, I’m going to assume you’ve already done that. Instead, I’m going to cover some of the most overlooked Tau Empire units, and show how you can use them to create a fun and competitive army.
Ethereal
Our first often overlooked unit is the Ethereal. Most people focus solely on the negatives of this unit, and it’s hard to blame them. If your Ethereal dies, all Tau units must take a Morale test or fall back. Seems pretty bad, right? It doesn’t have to be though, and it can be easily mitigated. The benefits of the Ethereal far outweigh the drawbacks. He gives you a reroll to Morale tests on any Tau unit with a line of sight to him, and that can be valuable game winning ability. Note: you are allowed to re-roll any Morale tests, even successful ones.
Also the Ethereal makes any Tau unit he joins Fearless, so you don’t have to worry about them running away! As an added bonus, the squad that he joins can be cheaply upgraded to an Honor Guard, giving them +1BS. Firewarriors with BS4? I’ll take it! Now, how can you mitigate the nasty Price of Failure drawback? My favorite way is to use Shas’O Shaserra (Commander Shadowsun). She’s a great commander and her Command-link Drone which allows any Tau unit within 18” test on her hefty Ld10.
Editor’s Note: Since you don’t take the Morale test until the beginning of your next turn, and you can usually predict when you are going to lose your Ethereal (thanks to the Fearless Honor Guard). Use this time to get your Tau units into area terrain (halves your Fall Back distance) or mounted.
An Ethereal works wonders in a gun line Tau army. Drop him in the center of your line as a solid anchor, and you can better control your flank movements when the fighting gets thick. Surprisingly, he also works well in a Mech Tau list. Your Honor Guard is taken just as a normal infantry unit, with all the same options, which means they get that nice little Devilfish. “Fish of Fury” with a BS4 Honor Guards is brutal!
Kroot
Although decent combatants, few players found Kroot viable choices under the 3E rules. Kroot Hounds and Oxen took up valuable Fast Attack and Heavy Support options and provided little in return. The changes to the structure of a Kroot unit opened up some interesting possibilities. The Kroot are the most vicious close combat squads in the Tau Empire. With up to 20 warriors, Infiltrate, 3 WS4 S4 attacks on the charge, and Fieldcraft make this squad a must have.
They do have a few drawbacks. With no armor save (or a minimal 6+), they can’t stand up to much abuse. But with some planning, this is easy to minimize. Just put them in woods. Instantly, you go from no save to a 4+ invulnerable save! All for only 8 points a model make that a steal. Another way to deal with the lack of an armor save is to force your enemy to put his big, bad Power Weapons and Force Weapons up against them. You won’t get an armor save against those weapons anyway, so his points are wasted, and you’ll get a decent number of S4 attacks back. Kroot may loose the fight, but they’ve tied up a squad and allowed you to deal with other threats, redeploy, and prepare for the oncoming bad guys.
Editor’s Note: Don’t underestimate the lethality of the Kroot Rifles either. They don’t have the same targeting restrictions as other units in woods. This allows them to shoot through 6.1” of wooded terrain while remaining out of your enemy’s line of sight. In our neck of the woods, we call these pieces of area terrain where Kroot can fire out but can’t be see “Forests of Fury”.
They are obvious choices for gun line Tau, but they also work well in a Mech Tau army. They Infiltrate (as long as you don’t take a Krootox), and can hold a flank using Fieldcraft and require only a little support from other parts of your army.
Editor’s Note: Kroot are amazing at denying Infiltration locations to your enemy thanks to the Fieldcraft ability. Since they can be deployed deep into wooded terrain, they can be placed 12” away your opponent’s army but their ability to see through woods prevent enemy models from being placed with 18” of them.
Vespid Stingwings
Vespid Stingwings are one of the new entries for the fourth edition. These guys are usually hit or miss, but depending on your play style they can really work for you. Their high price allows only a few of them. It’s best to keep them in cover or out of line of sight until you get a nice juicy squad close by. Then pop out, use your Neutron Blasters to soften them up, support them in the shooting phase with Firewarriors and then mop them up on the charge. Next turn, get back into cover, rinse and repeat. You’re not going to want to just throw these guys out there without support or they’ll get eaten up. It might be a good idea to pair this squad up with a Kroot squad. Working together these two units can take on just about any enemy unit.
Editor’s Note: Vespids are surprising fast and agile thanks to the Fleet of Wing and Skilled Flyer abilities. They should always be in area terrain. Don’t be shy using their 12”+6” of movement to jump from area terrain to area terrain. If you can’t find a unit to shoot, they are excellent for mopping up an existing combat in area terrain (i.e., so they benefit from their Initiative 5).
Sniper Drones
The last unit I’m going to go over is the Sniper Drones. This is another new unit for the codex, and another one that I love. At 80 points per team, and up to three teams take up a single Heavy Support choice. I’ll be honest, it’s hard to place them into a mech tau army, but they fit beautifully into the gunline. These guys are probably best in a hybrid tau army, when you want a nice firebase to strike out from. The railrifles are probably the best new weapon in the codex, and are perfect to take down marines with. Combined with the firepower from the rest of your army, these drones will make a name for themselves by the end of the game.
Editor’s Note: Sniper Drones are fantastic pinning units in the Tau Empire Codex. Since each team will cause a Pinning check with a wound (relatively easy with 3 BS4 S6 AP3 shots). Used with a few Markerlights, these 36” weapons can keep just about any unit in place.
That’s all for this time. I hope that my thoughts on a few of the lesser used items in the Tau book give you a few new ideas of your own. The Tau list is a versatile and powerful one, no matter what items you take. Stay tuned for the next installment, I’ll go over the special characters, and how they can work for you.
Author: Until recently Surgency was serving the Emperor as a member of the elite Tallarn Desert Fighters. Correction, he served the Emperor as a member of the US Army in Baghdad. Same thing. We’re happy to announce that he’s home just in time to enjoy the heat of summer in Houston, Texas. Now that he’s done playing with real guns, he’s back to playing his Tau Empire army which he refers to as the “best thing since sliced bread”. Look for Surgency on the Warseer tactics and general forums!
