Tau Pathfinder

Tau Pathfinders sneak in ahead of a Cadre to relay strategic information and guide armies in battle. They use their markerlights to assist Fire Warriors on the ground and to call in seeker missile strikes. They are often deployed in a Devilfish for mobility and assisted by Remoras and Piranhas for protection. They can often be found using Rail Rifles and Ion Rifles, but their most prominent weapon is the trusty markerlight.

All considered, they are annoying runts who are simply weak and wimpish- almost as bad as the inbred space hobbits. They have a sole function in the uncaring universe, which is to point their laser pointers at nearby troops who then either are blown into chunks or butcher them like fish in a barrel. No, carrots in a barrel. For once the imperial infantryman's primer actually says something true: they are 'Runtish and Dimunitive' and have a 'very low survival rate'. Nuff' said. That said, they are some of the more devoted Tau, who would gladly sit tight while Tyranids advance on their location, just so their little laser lights can support someone else in the Cadre.

On the Tabletop

Some cool-looking Pathfinders... Shame you'll never see them like this, because they are covering in the back with a laser pointer, doing the equevilent of what cat-owners does when bored, just with Plasma-sniper-wielding soldiers instead of cats.

The Pathfinders have the exact same statline as the standard Guardsman, baring a Ld of 8, and are outfitted with the standard Pulse Carbine, which is a simple S 5 AP 5 Assault 2 18" weapon, but what most will notice right away is the point cost: 11 points. That is a lot for a model who are significantly weaker than the Fire Warrior, a Troop choice that's 2 points cheaper with better armour and the ability to swap to the Pulse Rifle, everybody's favorite plasma sniper rifle. So what is the deal with these blue dudes?

Well first of all, Pathfinders are not here to deal damage or weather attacks, and if you use them as such you will be gravely disappointed. They are here to use their Markerlights. Each Pathfinder not outfitted with a Rail Rifle or Ion Rifle has a Markerlight fitted on their Carbines, who they can opt to use to light up other units for the Tau Cadre they work with, and as a unit of Pathfinders can have as much as 10 Pathfinders, this amounts to a relatively high amount of Markerlights. This comes at the expense of durability, as the Pathfinders are ridiculously easy to wipe out, because the tend to be placed in areas where they can see the entire battlefield, and of mobility, because the unit must snap fire if they want to use the Markerlights during movement. That said, they are still one of the most universal units of the Tau Empire, simply because of the amount of other units who can use their support. They also have the Scouts rule, which might help out with those mobility problems.

When fielding them, consider how much you need their abilities. Though Markerlights are very important to most Tau forces, you can get them in a various ways, like Marker Drones, who can be added to Crisis Suits and has increased toughness and armour save, or the Tetra, a small vehicle with an extra powerful Markerlight. If you value versatility over volume of markerlights, you can use the Skyray, which, though a bit maligned by the community, can support troops and blow up someone else with missiles while it is at it. Also consider if you can keep the alive - if not, then you might want to pick something else, as most players know to target and cripple the Markerlights of the opposing Tau, as it can often jeopardize the entire battle for the Tau player.