The new Tau Empire 11th Edition detachment rules turn hidden Pathfinders, Deep Striking Kroot, and +6″ range Battlesuit Commanders into top-table problems.
T’au were already the army that didn’t want to be shot at (but definitely wanted to shoot), but now it’s even easier to accomplish. Games Workshop just released three fresh T’au Empire detachments built around stacking as much detection-evasion as the list will let you get away with!
So, whether you play classic Sept-themed T’au Cadres, Kauyon Hunter Cadre lists, or anything else in the T’au Empire codex, these detachments flip the army from “shoots well at 30 inches” to “shoots well at 30 inches… AND your opponent can’t see you doing it.”
Advanced Acquisition Cadre Makes Pathfinders Untouchable
- Advanced Acquisition Cadre: lets Pathfinders and Stealth Battlesuits fire without breaking hidden.
- Auxiliary Cadre: stacks with another detachment and gives Kroot and Vespid real jobs for the first time in years.
- Experimental Prototype Cadre: hands Battlesuit Characters +6″ range on every ranged weapon.
- 1 Detachment Point each: you can pair two of them inside a 2,000-point list.
- Autoreactive Camouflage: pushes hidden Stealth Battlesuits to a 2+ Save.
The stealth detachment was always coming, and it’s the one that breaks the new hidden rules wide open for T’au. Expert Fieldcraft is the detachment rule, and it’s exactly what Pathfinder players have been waiting for. Fire from outside the standard 15″ detection bubble, stay invisible, and repeat.
- Expert Fieldcraft (detachment rule): Pathfinder Team and Stealth Battlesuits’ ranged attacks no longer prevent your unit from being hidden.
- Unmasking Suite (enhancement): A Ghostkeel, Stealth Suit, or Pathfinder Team carrying it can mark one enemy unit within 24″ with +9″ detection range until your unit is done shooting.
- Autoreactive Camouflage (1 CP stratagem): A hidden Pathfinder Team or Stealth Battlesuit unit gets +1 Save when targeted in your opponent’s Shooting phase.
If you ask us, two Pathfinder Teams parked at 30″ with a Ghostkeel handing out Unmasking Suite targets is the kind of gunline that makes a melee army ask what it’s even doing on the table. And once your opponent’s Heavy Bolter player works out the math on a hidden 2+ Save Stealth Battlesuit unit, they’re going to ask the same question.
Auxiliary Cadre Lets Kroot and Vespid Pull Real Weight
This mix-and-match detachment carries the AUXILIARIES tag, so you bring it alongside your main detachment instead of replacing it. It pairs well with the Advanced Acquisition Cadre, too!
- Integrated Command Structure (detachment rule): Kroot and Vespid Stingwings can prey-mark an enemy unit within 12″ for +3″ detection range, while Ghostkeels and Stealth Battlesuits project a 6″ aura that lets nearby Kroot and Vespid keep shooting without breaking hidden.
- Student of Kauyon (enhancement): A Kroot Shaper can declare up to three Kroot Carnivore or Farstalker units as Deep Strike in the Declare Battle Formations step.
- Guided by Unity (1 CP stratagem): A T’au Empire unit shooting at a target within 9″ of a friendly Kroot or Vespid unit gets [LETHAL HITS] (Kroot and Vespid units themselves excluded).
Put it all together, and you’ve got twenty hidden Kroot Carnivores screening your gunline, three more units of 20 Carnivores Deep Striking onto objectives turn one, and a Kroot or Vespid babysitter for every Stealth Battlesuit handing out free Lethal Hits.
Experimental Prototype Cadre Stretches Battlesuit Commanders +6″
Their third detachment is built around BATTLESUIT CHARACTER units. It carries the RETALIATION tag, so it sits in a different slot from AUXILIARIES and stacks with the Auxiliary Cadre cleanly.
- Superior Craftsmanship (detachment rule): Friendly BATTLESUIT CHARACTER units’ ranged attacks have +6″ Range.
- Supernova Launcher (enhancement): Converts an Airbursting Fragmentation Projector into a plasma bomb: +3 Strength, +1 AP, +1 Damage.
- Experimental Ammunition (1 CP stratagem): Battlesuit Character’s ranged attacks get +1 Strength. Or +1 Strength, +1 AP, and [HAZARDOUS] if you want the spicy version.
A Sunforge Commander dropping inside Melta range turn two with Experimental Ammunition pumping hazardous fusion is the kind of opening volley that just deletes an enemy Knight before lunch. Battlesuits have plenty of wounds for the hazardous trade, and your opponent’s Knight pilot probably won’t be around to complain about the math anyway.
One Detachment Point Each, So Mix Them
Each of the three new detachments costs 1 Detachment Point, whereas most existing codex detachments cost 2.
So, at 2,000 points, you can run two of the new detachments, with budget left over for a codex pick. Advanced Acquisition Cadre plus Auxiliary Cadre is the obvious one. Experimental Prototype Cadre plus Auxiliary Cadre is the battlesuit-heavy variant. Stacking a 1-DP new detachment with Kauyon from the codex is a third path, and the design space gets wide fast.
Final Thoughts on the New Tau Empire 11th Edition Detachment Rules
Maybe the bigger story here is the standards GW is setting up for the rest of 11th edition. A one Detachment-Point that stacks on top of the codex ones is a different design philosophy than the all-or-nothing detachments that defined 10th. If every faction continues to get this treatment in their own Faction Focus, list-building for the new edition is going to look very different from anything we’ve had in a long time.
Expect the early competitive consensus to land on the Advanced Acquisition Cadre paired with the Auxiliary Cadre. That combination punishes shooting armies that lean on Bracket Profiles, locks midfield against melee armies that need charges, and forces opponents to redesign their target-priorities against a list they can’t reliably see.
🔗 Related Reads:
- T’au Empire Faction Hub
- T’au Empire Codex Review: Army Guide & Rules
- 40k T’au Empire Army Guide: The Greater Good Explained
- Latest 40k Releases & Roadmap
- Top 40k Army Lists at the Sheffield Super Major
