Stratagems are often what makes or breaks a codex. We have seen Blood Angels get very few changes but a series of key stratagems (and combinations with Relics) have turned them into a very strong option in the current environment (still waiting for that March FAQ…). Tau are in a unique place akin to Imperial Guard where it is very easy to get lots of CP – a Brigade can cost as little as ~640 points (Fireblades, Hounds, Marksmen, Fire Warriors, Sniper Drones) with actual useful units. Seeing Tau lists with 10+ CP should be common sight.

With that in mind, let’s have a squiz at what those CP are bringing to the table (keeping in mind we have already looked at the Sept specific stratagems):

Multi-spectrum Sensor Suite (1CP) – The ability to ignore cover is certainly not a bad one, particularly on the big expensive Battlesuit options that Tau are likely to field (Riptides, Y’vahras, Ghostkeels, Broadsides, etc.) though this is something that is done by level 3 on the Markerlight table. At 1CP it is great to have in a pinch, particularly against armies that get free cover, units that get double benefits from cover or if you do not land enough ML hits.

Fail-safe Detonator (1CP) – Another very situational stratagem, this one provides mortal wounds to units within 3″ as the model dies. This is great to use if there are a bunch of units surrounding a single battlesuit, particularly one with a big footprint (i.e. Riptide chassis, Ghostkeels, etc.). Insult to injury if they do mortal wounds in their own death throes… It’s not a lot of damage but a couple of Mortal Wounds can add up.

Auotmated Repair System (2CP) – Standard repair option though given the breadth of Battlesuit options that are solid choices, it can certainly be used in a pinch to gain a couple of wounds back. Stimunlant Injectors does exist though…

Neuroweb System Jammer (2CP) – Similar to Eldar’s Lightning Reflexes, this is limited to being within 18″ of a Commander model but can be applied to anything (honestly though, what competitive choice in Eldar cannot use Lightning Reflexes?). A neg 1 to hit on any unit is a great option as a defensive measure though it does not have the stacking joy that Eldar’s Lightning Reflexes uses and is limited by range. Still, you’re likely going to have three Commanders across the battlefield so your coverage should be pretty good.

Repulsor Impact Field (1CP) – One of those defensive stratagems that really hurts big horde units if they all get within 3″. Opponent’s can minimise this by having one line of bases within 1″ and then models within 1″ of that being just outside 3″ for horde units as honestly, most Tau units will fold in combat pretty quickly. Tau generally do not need help with anti-infantry, even in the combat phase their standard Overwatch is likely to do more damage. Still, extra Mortal Wounds can sometimes swing the combat (though dropping an extra 3-4 Genestealers out of 20 isn’t really going to change the outcome for Tau…).

Command and Control Node (1CP) – Sacrifice your Commander’s shooting to re-roll all wounds for a battlesuit unit within 6″ of that Commander. A whole post could (and will) be dedicated to where and when this is useful because Commanders still remain one of the most cost efficient options for Tau and losing 1/3rd of their shooting in a given turn is a steep ask. A close-ranged Commander option like Fusion Blasters / CIBs and not on a Coldstar (or moving the Coldstar would expose the Commander) may have this option early turns without issue but as the game wears on or for other builds (if they remain relevant), losing lots of BS2+ shots is a huge opportunity cost. Off the top of my head and without running the math, you need big units like a Y’vahra or a Farsight bomb like Crisis Squad to gain enough here to make this worth the lost shooting. You could also look to make the classic O’Mortal type Commander which regularly sacrifices it’s shooting to hand out buffs like CnC Node but, the new Tau book does not have multiple “sacrifice shooting” options like the 6th and 7th edition books did. You could take a Drone Controller on the same Commander as you’re already sacrificing shooting but it still leaves an unpleasant taste in your moth. In the end, once the math backs this up, this is a fantastic tool at the right times but not something that you will reach for each turn unless you sacrifice a Commander slot to be less useful.

EMP Grenade (1CP) – Turns photon grenades into something useful against vehicles and if it hits, does D3 mortal wounds. Most units with photon grenades are hitting on a 4+ so you really need those markerlights to make this worthwhile though, like all single roll stratagems to get D3 mortal wounds, it is really only used in a pinch when you need to finish off those vehicles without using another unit.

Hunting Grounds (1CP) – Unfortunately Kroot and their Hounds have two uses in 8th edition thanks to the changes in cover and neither of these are exemplified by Hunting Grounds. Re-rolling charges is great but not worth the CP for units that are that terrible in combat and will likely take more damage in return.

Uplinked Markerlight (1CP) – Use this nearly every turn. Next.

But seriously, an extra 2-4 Markerlight hits ensures you can maximise the damage Tau can do. We have not updated the weapons table (this is coming next) but we know from the previous table that you could expect increases of 55% with a full 5 hits. If you can maixmise markerlights for two or even three targets without reducing your firepower, your army becomes more effective. With solid ML choices now in Firesight Marksman to fill out Brigades and combined with the Sa’cea Sept Trait, this can also minimise the need for Target Locks on moving units with heavy weapons (Riptides, Y’vahras, Broadsides, Ghostkeels, etc.). Use this after your first markerlight hit to know exactly if you need to throw anything else at the unit and then move your markerlight chain on.

Branched Nova Charge (1CP) – This is money for Riptides and along with their vastly improved Heavy Burst Cannon and allows them to NOVA charge their weapons and obtain a 3++ for a single Mortal Wound (or JSJ for important movement options if you have plenty of Drones). With decreased points costs, this makes Riptides a potentially viable target though Y’vahra’s still outstrip everything in pure raw damage. It remains to be seen if this can be used for the Y’vahra or R’varna (whose damage output for one gun is surprisingly similar to the Riptide’s Ion Accelerator though expensive at 429 points base) given the Stratagem specifically references the XV104 Riptide Battlesuit but I would not count on it unfortunately. Regardless, still a great way to maximise the Mortal Wound each Riptide takes when NOVA charging.

Support Turret Replacement (1CP) – I complained for years that Fire Warriors needed a special weapon through a drone to allow them to actually be somewhat useful when Troops were mandatory ala Tactical Marines with a special / heavy weapon option. Games Workshop delivered and then laughed and said it cannot move. 8th edition rolled around and not having a special / heavy weapon is far less an issue as everything can wound everything and Tau are finally in an advantageous place where that S5 weapon really comes into its own. While taking a SMS or Missile Pod turret is not a terrible option, it can add nearly 40-63% to a Fire Warrior units cost. Games Workshop obviously recognised that was silly so rather than fix the problem, gave us a stratagem to buy it again if you move too far away from your turret.

Point Defence Targeting Relay (1CP) – Improved Overwatch for Tau vehicles can be a mixed bag – the Stormsurge in a Bork’an detachment would love it for example, but vehicles do not have For the Greater Good and thereby need to be declared as charge targets for this to be effective. Furthermore, T’au Sept vehicles would already be hitting on 5s where Hammerheads are most likely to be seen. It’s not bad in a pinch if you are taking Stormsurges or Hammerheads but given they are just a little below the battlesuit options, this is not going to see a lot of use I feel. Again though, for the right unit like the Stormsurge (or even the Fire Support Hammerhead when it gains the Hammerhead discounts and heavy Burst Cannon upgrades) can turn charging units into a hot mess.

Emergency Dispensation (1CP/3CP) – You start with the Puretide Chip and then you decide if you want to spend 0, 1 or 3 CP for extra stuff. All of the relic weapons are strong options (yes, even the Plasma Rifle; okay maybe not the Gauntlet) and the Seismic Destabiliser is also an okay option against buildings / hordes. The standard load out will be I think the Puretide and then 1 CP to access one of the weapons (Fusion Blades if one has Farsight) but we will review this more in the Relics section.

Orbital Ion Beam (3CP) – This is one of the “please stay still for a medicore effect” abilities that you could stack for a Commander along with its Master of War ability (you could also use CNC Node for a short ranged Commander who has not moved in range). You get to draw a 2D6″ line and each unit beneath it suffers D3 Mortal Wounds on a 4+. Slightly better than the Marine Orbital Bombardment in terms of distance covered though still very situational if the enemy has bunched up only (the average of 7″ does get you a pretty decent coverage for some castle builds).

Breach and Clear (1CP) – If you are using Breacher teams, this is a great stratagem to pair with them to maximise their damage, particularly with the less forgiving 8th ed damage table (where S6 is far less useful) as re-rolls to wound are never a bad thing. Be careful though, the way it is worded currently means if you get Markerlights to up their To Hit (so level 5), you also do not get re-rolls to wound as they no longer gain the benefit of cover. Breacher teams are expensive to get working given they really need a Devilfish but this can ensure they pack a punch without the need for lots of Markerlight support.

Recon Sweep (1CP) – Movement is so important in this game so moving an extra 2D6″ if you know you are not shooting that turn with your Pathfinder unit regardless is not a bad thing. If you want to shoot with them though, well it is useless. A 7+3D6″ move though can get Pathfinders places quickly if you need to score an objective or hide out of LoS, etc.

Wall of Mirrors (1CP) – Another movement based stratagem for a single unit which requires another single unit to activate (I am never a fan of multiple hoops with which one needs to jump). It pairs nicely with the Homing Beacon in a Stealth Suit squad since both actions activate “at the start of your Movement phase” so you can slingshot a Stealth Suit team an effective 18″ plus bases (and squad size for the initial pull) to get the Stealth Suits into a position they would not normally be able to and to use a Homing Beacon for a Manta Strike (remember though that you cannot use Drop Zone Clear with the Homing Beacon). This is another hoop to jump through to get a slightly closer drop with the Homing Beacon so again, not a fan as the opponent could delete one of the links in the chain but as a simple movement option and if you’re running a Ghostkeel with your Stealth suits, it’s a solid repositioning option if not as flexible as most armies “pick up a unit and redeploy” stratagem.

Stimulant Injector (1CP) – While the silly flowchart still allows you to take the old Stimulant Injector if you like for 6+ FNP on key units (i.e. Riptides Mortal Wounding themselves), the stratagem version allows you to use the original damage row of the model. This can be very important for a Riptide / Y’vahra / etc. on the last damage row to avoid hitting things on 6’s and ensure full movement is available to them. If your enemy is just unable to remove a big model, for 1CP you can get your full model firepower.

Positional Relay (2CP) – Similar to the Homing Beacon but this requires 2CP and a Recon Drone. Given how easy it is to pick out pathfinder drones if you really put your mind to it (you can hide them but it’s not always possible, particularly given how much larger the Recon Drone is), this is a job generally done better by standard Stealth Suits without wasting CP or points on a Recon Drone.

Conclusion

There are a lot of good, situational stratagems for Tau with very few ones that you want to build around and most of these are Sept specific such as Sa’cea, T’au, Vior’la and Farsight Enclaves. Generic ones include Branched Nova Charge (taking Riptides are we?) and the Command and Control Node. Otherwise regular CP use would be applied to Uplinked Markerlight and Neuroweb Jammer to protect key units in your opponent’s shooting. Picking which stratagems or units you want to benefit the most from these stratagems is key as it will help with your army building and also how you approach the early turns of the game. Smart use of your CP in Turns 1 and 2 (3+ if you still have them) can really turn the tide of how a game goes.

Beyond these “key” stratagems, Tau have a lot of situational or “only useful in very specific circumstances” based stratagems and some of them are very useful in those cases. Stimulant Injector giving you a fully offensively functionally Riptidely (phew 4 adverbs, totally worked!) is amazing for 1CP. Likewise through a Mortal Wound line on a cramped parking lot could hand out… well handfuls of Mortal Wounds. These are not stratagems you should use every game but across a tournament setting, would likely come up. Combine this with the fact that Tau have access to some of the cheapest Brigades which are useful and not full of chaff (Commander, Ethereal, Fireblade, 3x Marksmen, 6x Fire warriors, 3x Pathfinders / Drones / Kroot Hounds and 3x Sniper Drones) and single CP detachments that are useful (Commander + 3 Firesight Marksman for example or go the super cheap route of 12 Kroot Hounds) and you can easily end up with 12+ CP plus whatever the Puretide hands out. This makes using the situational stratagems a much more likely affair as the game wears on or the opportunity cost of spending CPs that much less.

All in all, Tau have some good “key” stratagems to build around / use every game, have a bevy of decent situational stratagems and are not holding a candle to the powerful flame of top-tier stratagems like the ones of Eldar or Blood Angels.