Today we’re doing an in-depth dive of the Tau stratagems, category by category. Click to read on, or check out the Tactics Corner for more reviews and strategies.
Like all of the new codices, the Tau stratagems have gotten a complete overhaul from their previous versions; although some of the old standards still remain, for the most part they have been upgraded, updated, or replaced entirely to be more in line with the new design philosophy for that sort of thing. And this is, broadly, a very good thing- stratagem costs are mostly down (the majority of them are just 1CP) and the effects are usually less swingy overall; the bonuses they offer are good and useful, but aren’t typically game-changers.
I’ve broken up the stratagems below into their four categories; these categories mostly don’t have any mechanical effect, but do matter for certain pieces of wargear or other special rules and it makes them easier to talk about as a whole.
Battle Tactics
Strats in this category are pretty much exclusively used to buff on of your units, generally a troop or Crisis unit. Most all of them are quite cheap as well, and while the bonuses they give may not be incredible, they definitely will make a difference if you are stacking them up with other stuff- which is very possible to do. You can refund CP from these strats using the Puretide Chip, and since they are going to be a mainstay of many armies you should strongly think about investing in the Chip if you have a place to put it.
First on the list are Breach and Clear and Relentless Fusillade, both of which are 1CP and which I am going to talk about together because they are so similar. The former is exclusively for Breacher Teams, the latter for Strike Teams, and both of them give a one-phase buff to their basic weapons. Breachers get to ignore cover and reroll all wounds, while Strikes get max shots regardless of range and improve AP by one. Both of these are very solid buffs that will help your troops do their job, so don’t forget you have them around when going after harder targets- you will be surprised at how much damage your basic troops can do to things, especially Breachers- it’s very plausible for a squad to finish off a Raider with no help from any other units.
On-Board Sensors (1CP) lives in a very similar place, giving one Devilfish a reroll 1s aura for troop squads against one target within 24″. Since you’re usually going to be using this right after said troops disembark, the range limitation won’t typically matter; it’s a nice little bonus to help ensure that hits go through if your Commander is busy elsewhere and you don’t have a Cadre Fireblade. Not exciting, but perfectly functional.
Dynamic Offensive (1CP) is also a bit niche, but useful to have around. It lets one Crisis unit auto-advance 6″ and ignore the penalty for advancing; this is definitely a good thing to have access to, but you can also get a better version of it from the Coldstar Commander and/or Mont’ka, so probably it’s not going to see a ton of use. However, guaranteeing an advance roll is nothing to sneeze about- it can ensure you get into a firing position you need or onto an objective, so always remember you’ve got this in your back pocket if you need it.
Pulse Onslaught (1CP) is another “duplicate” stratagem in that it does something you can get elsewhere, but is arguably more useful. It makes your Pulse weapons on a troop unit autowound on 6s to hit, which may not feel like it’s doing a lot but is actually pretty big, especially when shooting at higher-toughness targets (e.g. anything you wound on a 4+ or worse.) Remember it’s there as part of your suite of effects for buffing your troop squads, because if you’re willing to blow 2-4CP you can absolutely push a squad of Fire Warriors through the roof for a turn and sometimes that’s just what you need.
Speaking of, Point-Blank Volley (1CP) doesn’t actually buff your shooting much, but it turns your guns into Pistol weapons for a turn, so if someone tags you in combat (or you get lucky with saves after they charge you) you can really punish them for it. Remember that your troops come with Pulse Pistols by default, so if you pop this it’s three shots per dude.
Drop Threat Acquisition (2/3CP) is the last entry in the category, and easily the most expensive. It works on any Battlesuit unit arriving from Manta Strike, which basically means Crisis units, and gives them full rerolls to hit for that turn. You pay the higher cost if it’s four or more battlesuits in the unit, otherwise it’s the lower one. Farsight Enclaves obviously has an upgraded version of this, but this is perfectly fine on its own and it can really let a smaller unit of suits come in and punch well above their weight class. If you’re putting guys in reserve, you’re probably gonna want to use this.
Epic Deeds
This category is similar to the first in general scope, but applies to single models rather than whole units- and as a result is generally going to apply to either characters or vehicles, though there are some exceptions. Puretide Chip also allows you to refund on Epic Deed stratagems, and while you may not be using them quite as consistently as Battle Tactics it is still probably going to come up a lot.
Savior Protocols (1CP) makes its return in stratagem form, much to the annoyance of all non-Tau players. The strat is used after failing a save for one of your units (of any type) while there is a Drone model within 3″ (or 6″ if you have a Drone Controller on them.) The Drone is removed as a casualty and the damage of the attack is reduced to zero; note that the Drone does not need to be in the same unit as the model it is protecting. This strat is huge for shutting down single, powerful hits (e.g. Lascannons, Melta) on our bigger suits, especially combined with other abilities in the book- but you will need to have some drones sprinkled around in order to make use of it.
Branched Nova Charge (2CP) is exclusively for the Riptide, and lets you turn a failed Nova Charge activation into a successful one instead, but only once per suit. The Reactor is pretty core to what the Riptide wants to be doing most turns, so this is a very useful (if pricey) way to ensure that it remains an option.
Combat Debarkation (1CP) lets you disembark with one unit from a Devilfish after it moves… unless it’s the “active” turn for your Tactical Philosophy, in which case you get to do it with up to three ‘Fish instead. They are prohibited from charging, but can otherwise act normally, allowing you to get some pretty incredible reach. This is going to be most appealing to aggressive Mont’ka starts in combination with the pregame move, but the ability to surge forward on a critical turn is always going to be useful.
Wisdom of the Many (2CP) lets you automatically intone one invocation with an Ethereal as long as it hasn’t been used by anyone else that turn, but only if they didn’t do their normal invocation this turn. There will be times when you really need to have a unit get -1 to hit or take an action while shooting and this will be needed then, but it’s gonna feel pretty pricey and I think won’t come up all that often.
Fail-Safe Detonator (1CP) is triggered when one of your suits dies, and you roll a d6 for each unit within 3″ (adding +1 if your model started with 12 or more wounds.) Every 3-5 nets you d3 mortals and every 6+ nets you a flat three mortals- it’s a decent punisher for someone who has wiped out a unit of suits, although generally not exciting unless the enemy has multicharged you. Good for chipping the last wound off of a character or whatnot, though.
Backup A.I. (1CP) lets one of your units with a degrading profile fake being at full until your next turn, and it works on both suits and vehicles. This is a fantastic tool to have, especially because there are no ways to heal units in the codex and because Tau suffer a lot when models start degrading past their starting BS4+. If you are using any of the qualifying targets this one will come up a lot, though that will vary significantly by army. Remember that it works on Devilfish as well, in case you need to go fast!
Strategic Ploys
These stratagems tend to create unique effects, especially ones based on position on the battlefield. The Vior’la sept unique trait Academy Luminary allows you to refund CP from Strategic Ploys, and while they are a bit more limited than the first two categories, you still will be using them often enough that it’s probably a good investment. Note that Aun’shi can be included in any army, regardless of sept, and has Academy Luminary as his fixed trait.
Orbital Ion Beam (2CP) is desperately in need of a FAQ right now- it puts down two markers 12″ apart and one turn later hits anything crossed by the line between the two markers with some mortal wounds. However, it unfortunately refers to units crossed by the line (rather than models), which has caused a lot of confusion on exactly how you determine if a “unit” is crossed by it. Hopefully we will get a clarification soon, but even the most generous interpretations of the rule leave it as a somewhat niche option because of how slow and awkward it is.
Wall of Mirrors (1CP) is completely rewritten from its older version- now you simply pick one Stealth or Ghostkeel unit within 9″ of a board edge and place them into reserves, to appear on the following turn anywhere within 9″ of a board edge. Being able to redeploy units can be handy and Stealth Suits in particular are an attractive target here because they can perform actions, allowing you to sneak into the enemy deployment zone or other awkward places in order to complete a secondary objective.
The Grisly Feast (1CP) is GW’s insistence that no really, you guys, Kroot are actually a real melee unit. You use it when you kill an enemy unit in close combat and the Kroot that did it get 5+ ability to shrug wounds for the rest of the game, but considering how comically-fragile they are to start with and how unlikely it is that they will actually kill something in combat, it’s probably never going to matter.
Coordinated Engagement (1CP) is certainly one of the all-stars of the category, and of the codex. You pick two of your units within 18″ and visible to an enemy unit, and both of those friendlies get +1AP on their attacks against that target. There is a ton of synergy for improving the AP of attacks in this book, from Mont’ka to the troop stratagems to warlord traits, which can make a lot of the “weaker” weapons such as Burst Cannons and Flamers a lot more attractive as a general-use gun. This is going to be a key stratagem for a ton of Tau armies, but do remember that you need two units in range and LoS to use it- no SMS or AFP shenanigans here, folks.
A Trap Well Laid (1CP) is another Kroot stratagem, although a little bit more useful of one. It gives one Kroot unit the ability to heroically intervene, and also gives them +1 attack for that turn; it’s probably not going to tip the balance of anything, but it could be useful for pouncing onto an objective or advancing up next to a unit and then tying it in combat or the like. Movement strats are always valuable to have and this one is no different, even if it’s probably towards the bottom of the pile.
Recon Sweep (1CP) has gotten a lot of attention, although personally I am somewhat mixed on it. It allows a unit of Pathfinders to hit on 2s with their Markerlights and immediately make a normal move after they finish activating them, allowing them to withdraw behind cover or hop into a transport. This is great for protecting a single unit of Pathfinders from the enemy and can also be used to do some wacky stuff, but it does mean you aren’t going to be able to use any of your weapons (most relevant if you bought Ion/Rail Rifles) and commits you to a nontrivial expenditure of CP over the course of a game. It does, however, allow you to keep the unit alive against most foes, so it ends up being pretty valuable if it’s a thing that is applicable to your army.
Shocking Firestorm (1CP) is your standard morale strat- pick one of your units when they shoot and any casualties they cause count double for the morale check. You will occasionally be able to do some comical stuff by combining this and the Dominator prototype system against a unit of something expensive (e.g. Deathwing, Custodes, Talos, etc) but for the most part it’s just not going to be effective enough to be worth the cost.
Counterfire Defense System (1CP) feels like it should be in the Wargear section, but apparently not? In any case, you spend 1CP when you allocate an attack to a model with a Counterfire system (before rolling the save) and it reduces the damage of the attack to 1. It’s a nice trick, even if the timing is a little annoying, and combined with Savior Protocols it can make one of your big suits extremely resilient, but having to give up a support system to get access to it is slightly annoying. Still, it will generally be worthwhile on Riptides and Stormsurges, and occasionally useful on Crisis.
Designated Tasking (1CP) is the way that you can split off Drones from units now; it works on both vehicles with docked Drones and other units, sending off all of the Drones to go do their own thing from that point forward. It mostly is going to be extremely lackluster, but once in a long while you might need to make an extra unit to jump onto an objective or to block the enemy’s movement, so remember that you have access to it.
Strike and Fade (1/2CP) is the last strat in the category, and another big hit. It’s used at the beginning of shooting and one Jet Pack unit can shoot, then immediately move 6″. This can be a great way for a Crisis unit to get a hit in before disappearing behind some terrain- or can let them make an extra move to get onto an objective or even to get into charge range, as it doesn’t prohibit that. It’s an incredibly valuable tool and one that you will be using at least once or twice in nearly every game; like some of the others, you pay 2CP for a max unit of six suits, or 1CP otherwise.
Wargear
Wargear stratagems end up being something of a catch-all category; there isn’t a lot of unifying elements here, and even the nominal organizer (requiring a specific keyword from a piece of gear) isn’t really even true. Most of them are somewhat more narrow in their application, but there are a few very important hits here that you will probably use regularly.
Frequency Lock (1CP) is one of those- it lets a unit fire its Seeker Missiles (or equivalent) at a target without needing LoS and with +1 to wound. Either of those abilities would be useful on their own and having them packaged together is fantastic, especially for something like the Skyray where it will probably be wounding the target on 2s as a result. This is one of the few ways in the game to deliver heavy firepower against a target you can’t see, and it alone is arguably enough reason to consider a Skyray in your army.
Neuroweb System Jammer (1CP) returns from the previous book, in a fairly similar iteration. You pick an enemy within 18″ of one of your Neuroweb models (now keying off of Pathfinders rather than Commanders) and on a 3+, that enemy has -1 to hit with all attacks, shooting or melee. The big downside here is actually being in range and LOS of the enemy to trigger it, because Pathfinders really don’t like being that close to people- but when it’s applicable, it’s a great tool to blunt an enemy offense and help you survive mostly intact.
Repulsor Impact Field (1CP) also makes a return, albeit in a totally different form. It gives all enemies trying to charge one of your units of Battlesuits -2 to their charge rolls, which is fantastic as a way to ensure you aren’t as likely to get stuck in- it all but turns off charges from reserves and seriously tilts the math in many other situations. Just the existence of this strat will often discourage foes from making long-distance charges, as they potentially have to eat (free) Overwatch before failing a charge automatically. You’ll probably be popping this at least once most games.
Ionized Shockfield (2CP), on the other hand, is just… confusing. You use it when an enemy model is killed by an Ion weapon, and that unit can’t benefit from auras until your next turn. ….Okay, I guess?? Given the fairly steep cost and narrow requirement, this effect just doesn’t impress very much- you can turn off rerolls or morale bonuses, sure, but most of the time it just won’t matter that much and honestly you’re not going to have that many Ion weapons to even be able to trigger it. However, there are some armies who rely heavily on stacking auras to function, and occasionally it will be highly-beneficial to use this (for example, to turn off Azrael’s 4++ on a unit you’re shooting at.)
Submunitions (1CP) replaces the Railgun’s second profile; when you shoot at a unit with a Hammerhead, roll a d6 for every model in the unit (and add +1 if it has eleven or more models), with every 4+ being a mortal wound. It caps at eight mortal wounds but there’s no limit to the number of dice you can roll, so this is a reasonable way to tear away at hordes and the like if you’re fielding a tank.
Photon Grenades (1CP) is the final entry on our list, and it’s very similar to the Repulsor. When one of your Fire Warrior units is charged, you give that enemy unit -2 to its charge roll and -1 to hit in combat (though it notably doesn’t work on vehicles or monsters.) This is a little more limited than the suit version, since it only affects one unit and has some exceptions, but on the other hand it provides a two-layered protection as well, and a squad of Breachers surviving to fire off all of their pistols on your own turn can be surprisingly dangerous, so you will likely get some use out of this at least. It being a separate strat from the Repulsor is also very handy, since you can pop both the same turn.
Overall Thoughts
All in all, the stratagems in the Tau codex are quite good overall, with a lot of strong use cases for them. This does have a sort of backhanded downside in that you are going to want to be spending a lot of CP most games, but really most codices have that issue these days, so really what it means is that you are going to have to manage your CP wisely if you want to have enough to last you the game, something that should be on your list of skills to develop anyways.
In terms of functionality, the Tau strats have two main strengths- improving the AP and general shooting effectiveness of its guns, and shrugging off single bit enemy hits. There’s a lot more to them than that, of course, but I think the majority of your CP most games is going to be going towards those effects because they typically will give the best return on investment. Tau play a very offensively-oriented game in most situations, and their stratagems are a big part of that- used correctly, they can boost the output of your units in critical locations and help keep your key pieces on the table to shoot longer.
Next week we’ll be looking at the Tau warlord traits (including a consideration of the fixed traits for the various unique characters.) And as always, remember that you can get your wargaming supplies at great discounts from the Frontline Gaming Store, whether you’re looking to start a new army or expand an existing one.
