# The Heresy of Tau: Stealth Suits



## Underground Heretic (Aug 9, 2008)

Hello, Heretics! Here's an article I've been working on for The Heretic E-Zine. If you have any interest in getting the Heretic rolling, or think you can contribute at all, contact Djinn24. Here's my rundown of the Stealth Suits.

Overview:
Often overlooked cousins of the Crisis Suit, Stealth suits are able to fulfill a number tactical roles including infantry suppression, tank hunting and markerlight support.

USR: Infiltrate, Deep Strike, Acute Senses

Equipment:
Each suit comes equipped with a burst cannon, stealth field generator and the option for one support system. However if any suits take a support system, all suits from that squad must take a system. These do not have to be the same system. Remember, Hard-wired systems on a team leader do not count as support systems. One suit in three may take a fusion blaster for a couple of points. For a handful of points, one suit may become the team leader, another handful and the team leader may become a Shas’vre with enhanced stats. For two handfuls the leader or ‘Vre may take a marker light.

Stealth Field Generator:
The item that makes the Stealth team unique. When targeting a unit “wholly equipped with stealth field generators” enemy models are subject to Night Fighting. If they fail this they may not try to target another unit that phase. Equipped models count as being in cover when assaulted, Barrage weapons must a D6 to their scatter. The generator protects drones owned by equipped models.

Essentially forcing a night fight roll, how can this be used advantageously? Well the most common numbers on 2D6 are 6-8, seven being the most common, so the most common distances rolled for Night Fighting are 18-24 inches. The maximum distance that can be rolled is 36 inches. The infamous Tau tactic of JSJ (Jump-Shoot-Jump) is available to stealth suits, essentially adding up to six inches to the range of a weapon and possibly allowing terrain protection after shooting.

How to get to the Target:
The stealth squad has three options to reach its target without having to cross the field under fire: Infiltrate, Deep Strike and Outflank. Infiltrating is the simplest and surest way to get your suits close to your opponent. The risks associated with this method are also simple. If you do not have first turn you run the risk of your opponent killing your suits before they can attack. The opportunity that infiltrating offers is to take a flank with the ability to nip at a unit as it moves. Outflanking similarly offers the ability to attack a flank. The difference is that there is no minimum distance from the enemy an no risk of not getting the first shot. The trade off is that an outflanking unit may not arrive until turn five or may come in on an undesired side. The option that has the most serious risk, but the highest reward is Deep Striking. Standard risks with deep striking include mishaps and scattering out or range for fusion blasters. The most dangerous risk with Deep Striking is the choice to spread out or to shoot. If the option to shoot is taken, you run the risk of large blast templates wiping out the team. If you run, you risk the target getting out of range. But do not expect that the team will survive, they are landing in the middle of the enemy. If they do survive use them, but before all else have them kill their target.

Support Systems
Note: Special Issue (SI) systems may only be taken by a Shas’vre.
ASS: Allows the suits to choose to move as Slow and Purposeful. This would be disadvantageous as they are already more mobile than a S&P unit.
Black Sun Filter: I would classify this as redundant as the Acute Senses USR already allows the suits to double their night fighting rolls.
Command and Control Node (SI): Useless in 5th edition as target priority no longer exists.
Drone Controller: Can be used to add even more teeth to the unit with Gun Drones, make the unit more survivable with shield drones, or provide markerlight shots with the marker drones. If you take any support system, I would recommend this.
Multi-Tracker: I see this as useless as no stealth suit can take a second weapon
Positional Relay (SI): Allows you more control over when reserves enter play. Could be useful on an infiltrating unit, but is generally given to a commander.
Shield Generator: More expensive than a shield drone, but allows the model itself to have an invulnerable save. If looking for protection against AP 3 fire, I would recommend shield drones.
Target Lock: Allows any fusion blasters the option to fire at separate targets from the burst cannons or each other.
Targeting Array: Add one to BS up to 5. Helps the suits work without markerlight support.

Use 1: Infantry suppression
Equipment: Burst cannons, optional gun drones.
The most obvious use of stealth suits, infantry hunting is what the burst cannon was built for. Stealth suits pack the burst cannon allowing them to down up to eighteen GEQ models if all of their shots hit. Since this will rarely happen, Stealth suits can bring more firepower with up to twelve gun drones. Adds up to an incredible thirty shots at eighteen inches with full JSJ mobility.
For some builds of Tau, oncoming troops are an unavoidable threat. Horde armies pose a very real threat to a gun line army as they lack the mobility to avoid the hordes and must attempt to kill the hordes before they can reach the line. Mechanized armies usually lack the firepower that a gun line can bring in exchange for mobility.
Looking at the burst cannon and pulse carbines, it may seem that this load out would only be effective against GEQ units that will die without a chance to save. Against units that do get a save (4+ or better) this type of unit can still shine. Units that are in 4+ armor are usually smaller in number, ‘Ard Boyz and Chaos cults being the exception. Most of these squads can only reach around twelve to fourteen models.
The way the stealth team can defeat these units lies in the fact that the burst cannon should still wound on two or three. This is the principle of saturation fire. Any unit can fail any save, but the probability of failure increases as the number of saves it is forced to take increases. When a unit is firing thirty shots, hitting roughly sixteen and causing ten wounds, the number of saves can start to roll over such that a model is force to take multiple saves. This effect can be increased if the unit is first targeted and takes casualties from fire warrior teams.

Use 2: Tank Hunting
Equipment: Fusion Blasters, optional shield drones, target locks, shield generators or marker drones
Tank hunting by stealth suits is dependent on utilizing JSJ, the fusion blaster(s) and possibly the Infiltrate USR. The short range of the fusion blaster, essentially a melta gun, is its primary weakness. A strength eight weapon has the ability to damage any unit in the game, but due to its melta type being within six inches grants you an additional D6 to armor penetration.
To ensure damaging a target the armor arc and range are essential. For example take a Leman Russ (14/12/10). Against the front arc you need a six to glance, outside of six inches this is highly unlikely, inside six inches a six or higher is probable. Against the rear arc outside of six inches it is highly probable to damage with only a one not damaging. Within six inches there is only one roll that will not penetrate, snake eyes, which will only glance.
It is possible to kill tanks without fusion blasters, dependent on them not being AV 12 or higher in the target arc. The burst cannon can penetrate AV 10, which is most vehicles’ rear arc. Do not discount your burst cannon if you can out maneuver your opponent.

Use 3: Stealth Marker Team (SMT)
Equipment: Marker drones, Team leader Markerlight
Probably the most expensive and finesse oriented build for stealth suits, the stealth marker team is a non-combat build that maximizes the use of the Stealth Field Generator. Consider that the maximum range that can be rolled for Night fighting is the range of the markerlight before taking into the JSJ assault jump. This means that the team can be out of Night fighting range, jump into range, markerlight the target and jump away. Rapid fire or non-vehicular heavy weapons cannot reach the team if they pursue.
One impact of markerlights is hinted at in the fluff. The Imperium calls the markerlight “the Valkyrie’s mark.” Valkyrie was a character in Norse mythology that took the warrior dead to Valhalla. Markerlights tend to hit units that will soon be off the table. Your opponents know this and will try either eliminating them or avoiding them. This gives you the option of trying to force your opponent away from an area or draw them into a trap.
The points cost of the SMT is prohibitive, coming in at five hundred sixty points to field thirteen markerlights, twelve networked. They are by no means the least expensive markerlight outlet, but they are the most mobile. The cost of the team makes me wary of fielding them outside of apocalypse because there are less costly ways of fielding needed markerlights.


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## onlainari (May 10, 2008)

That post is far too big for people who want to learn something. You have about fifty useful words in there and I had to read the whole thing to find them. I cannot imagine everyone else doing the same.


Stealths "got hit in 5th edition".
They are brilliant against T4 3+ saves.
More specifically, they are brilliant shooting at units as long as there are only 10 models or less in the area.
This makes them generally extremely difficult to use against T3 5+, as there are usually more than 10 models surrounding the unit you are shooting at.
The main weakness of using stealths for offensive firepower over crisis is that they don't kill scary things. They can only kill things that really don't worry you in the first place.
A recommended stealth marker team only has one or two markerlights.


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## Wraithian (Jul 23, 2008)

13 markerlights in one squad??? Yes, I know it's legal, but...ugh, no. Footprint is prohibitively large at 18 models (12 marker drones and 6 suits), and all of your points are wrapped up in things that can mark targets--with very little points left over for the stuff that can actually *kill* those targets. Though, that many markerlights coming out of one unit in apoc might be amusing.

3 stealth suits is all you need for an SMT. You get 7 markerlights (6 of them networked) for a tad more than an 8 strong pathfinder squad with a tricked out 'fish.

For the record, though, I've found stealth marker teams more useful, and versitile, than pathfinders and have been running them since 5th came out--they've yet to let me down.


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## Underground Heretic (Aug 9, 2008)

True enough onlainari, I do tend to be wordy. This was meant to throw out ideas of how to use stealth suits that people may not have thought of. Admittedly I haven't tested them all, but I can see some of these being useful. Depending on what you consider "scary," Stealth suits can be very good against it.

Wraithan, you are absolutely right about the SMT. It's a concept I've only heard about on the web and the squad you described is very useful. I'm just not sure how points efficient the would be in a gun line army.

Thank you both for your comments. The main point of this article was to get conversation started on topics and get more people's experiences out. Apologies for being wordy, just wanted to cover all the bases.


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## Wraithian (Jul 23, 2008)

No worries, UH, it was a good article IMHO. SMT unit's are still quite viable in gunline armies, due to their own mobile nature, they can be called upon on different areas of your line where (and usually when) needed, plus their own infiltration during deployment allows for optimal placement for immediate use, or when mobilizing your force in more of a hammer/anvil style tactic.


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## Might of the Emperor (Feb 1, 2009)

I thought that was a terrific article, Heretic. Long, but I enjoyed that, as you fit in a vast amount of knowledge and information. Thank you!


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## Asmodeun (Apr 26, 2009)

mmm. . . I sense agreement coming from me.
I think the shooty one looks nice, pin down guard hordes. Also their movement is very versatile.


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## Culler (Dec 27, 2007)

A few things: 
You say a lot in the article but fail to give evaluative opinions of the roles and equipment for these guys. Things like "these guys suck for tank hunting, for 95 points you could have a broadside with a bunch of goodies."

Targeting arrays are usually a bad idea for stealth suits. You get the same number of average hits for the same cost by adding another suit and get another wound out of the deal.

The benefit of adding more wounds and pinning to the squad by picking up gun drones is very important to think about, not just the extra shots (though each gun drone costs 1/3 of a suit and has 1/3 of the shots that are slightly more accurate, on average).

Using stealth suits in melee is also an oft-overlooked but fairly effective role. After gunning down a squad the stealth team (especially with ablative gun drones to kill off) can usually finish them off in melee. They are str 4 with 2 attacks each. I find them often finishing off jump pack assault squads in melee.

Other than that it was a little verbose but interesting. I like the fact that the fluff is in there.


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## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

Culler said:


> Targeting arrays are usually a bad idea for stealth suits. You get the same number of average hits for the same cost by adding another suit and get another wound out of the deal.


I'd have to disagree with this, but only when talking about a full unit of Stealth Suits. Six Stealth Suits with TAs can blow the living hell out of any swarmy infantry and will make even MEQs want to keep their heads down. About the only thing that Stealth Suits can't effectively deal with are Terminators, their ilk and Monstrous Creatures with good saves (all of them bar Greater Daemons, really).

And of course, in regard to the article, excellent work! As others have said, it was a bit wordy, but that should be an easy thing to fix up in time for publication.

Katie D


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## Phrazer (Oct 14, 2008)

Ive always been quite a fan of SSs tbh, i usually run two squads of three as a way of keeping an enemy army off balance, harrasing where i can, and occasionally popping tanks if my opponant gets to close/careless.

Nice article


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