For my recent 1000-point Tau v. Eldar fight, I decided to do something a bit different. My typical Tau list tends to be very standardized – a Centurion/Aurora pattern HQ crisis suit, a trio of Fireknives, a couple of Deathrains, three or four units of Fire Warriors, some Pathfinders, and then fill in the extra points with Hammerheads as needed. I’m comfortable with it, and it does decently well (although as I’ve mentioned, I need more Devilfish for my FWs).  However, it’s predictable, and if I play the same thing over and over again, I won’t get a good feel for what the other options in my army can do. Stagnation is not a good thing, for either tactical understanding or entertainment value. To mix things up, I tossed out the Pathfinders and Hammerheads and replaced them with a Stealth Team and Piranhas.

Here’s the list:

• HQ: Shas’el Commander w/Plasma Rifle, Cyclic Ion Blaster, Targeting Array, Hardwired Multi-Tracker, Hardwired Target Lock (105 points)
• Elite: Crisis Suit Team Leader w/ Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Multi-Tracker, Hardwired Target Lock; 2x Crisis Suit w/ Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Multi-Tracker (196 points)
• Elite: 2x Crisis Suit w/ Twin-Linked Missile Pods, Flamer (94 points)
• Elite: Stealth Suit Team Leader w/ Burst Cannon, Hardwired Drone Controller, 2x Gun Drones; 4x Stealth Suits w/ Burst Cannon (175 points)
• Troops: 6x Fire Warriors w/ Pulse Rifle (60 points)
• Troops: 6x Fire Warriors w/ Pulse Rifle (60 points)
• Troops: 6x Fire Warriors w/ Pulse Rifle (60 points)
• Troops: 6x Fire Warriors w/ Pulse Rifle (60 points)
• Fast Attack: Piranha w/ Fusion Blaster, Disruption Pod, Flechette Discharger, Sensor Spines, Targeting Array (95 points)
• Fast Attack: Piranha w/ Fusion Blaster, Disruption Pod, Flechette Discharger, Sensor Spines, Targeting Array (95 points)

Final tally: 1000 points even.

The crisis suits are still using my standard setup. Why? Because game after game, they’ve worked consistently. I still have 6 spare suits to put together, so I have some ideas for other variants (possibly more Fusion/Plasma “Helios” suits), but the Fireknives and Deathstorms are the workhorses of my army. The Stealth Suits were an unknown quantity for me – and they still are. In my most recent game, I used them to outflank my opponent – but there were no good targets near the flanks, and the best they could do was contest (but not claim) an objective. For a comparable price, I could get 6 Pathfinders in a tricked-out Devilfish, which is rarely a bad alternative. The jury is still out there.

The Piranhas, on the other hand, did wonderfully on their first foray onto the battlefield. Their speed was a huge boon, able to keep up even with the Eldar’s fast skimmer tanks, and the fusion blasters made them excellent vehicle killers. Being able to split my anti-vehicle capabilities for the same price as a single Hammerhead made them a very viable choice for me. A Hammerhead with a railgun is still better at dropping vehicles, and it can also serve as a solid anti-infantry platform afterwards, but in a higher point-value game, I can easily see taking both.