Tau Empire Battlefield Strategies

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Those of you who wish to try for squad leader please read this through. It will help with the test undeniably. - Ed.

Tau have a whole range of strategies they employ on the battlefield, much like the Imperium. Trying to list all of these would be a long-winded process indeed. Better yet to instead tell of the two most common strategies in their pure forms, Mont'ka and Kauyon.

Mont'ka (Trans: Killing Blow)
Mont'ka is the art of identifying a target of opportunity and attacking it swiftly with a Hunter Cadre, often deployed from a Manta missile destroyer. A Cadre pursuing the Mont'ka may stand in readiness for several days awaiting the command to strike. During this time they will plan the exact movements they will perform when the call comes. Often the decision to strike will come from a Shas'el or Shas'o with a good view of the enemy or the input of a well-sited Pathfinder team.

It is firmly believed that the bond of trust between the Cadre that conducts the Mont'ka and the Commander who orders it brings honour to both. The attack will be immediately called off if the prey remains resilient or evasive.

Kauyon (Trans: Patient Hunter)
In the Tau language the words for hunter and patience are derived from the same root. This technique is the oldest of the Tau techniques and has the most variations. Essentially the technique relies on the interaction of the hunter and the lure. In recent times, auxiliary troops such as Kroot are used are used as the lure, although some septs still regard the role as one that honours both hunter and prey and allow only bonded Fire Warrior teams to undertake it.

The lure's role is to expose itself to the prey and draw it into a position where it can be killed by the hunter. The more subtle Commanders have been known to use the absence of troops as a lure. Once the prey is in position, the lure is free to escape or help the hunter as the situation dictates. Hunters are frequently equipped with Crisis, Stealth or Broadside armour with weapons carefully selected for the particular prey.

Tau Phrases
Hunter Cadre - The Tau Empire's rough equivalent of an Imperial Guard Company.
Shas'el - A Tau Commander of twelve years active service.
Shas'o - A Tau Commander of sixteen years active service.
Sept - A world colonised by the Tau Empire.