Fire Warrior
Not to be confused with the video game Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior.
The Fire Warrior (Shas'la) in a Strike Team is the Tau Empire's basic infantry unit. Armed with the mighty pulse rifle, a set of Combat Armour and a fuckload of other gadgets to help them survive the galaxy better than most other factions' unfortunate grunts, these Tau go out to claim territory and bring the galaxy into the fold of the Empire. These are basic infantry, and like certain other armies, the Tau Empire has a whole fuckload of them.
While comparable to Guardsmen in most respects, their equipment is far superior to what most other factions in the galaxy can muster — not just because it's objectively better (although it generally is), but because their tech synchronizes with other elements of the Tau military to turn a good weapon into a devastating weapon. For example, when used correctly as part of a combined-arms formation, (Something the Imperium in theory knows but can some times struggle to put in practice) Fire Warriors can dial their accuracy up to eleven and disintegrate anything caught in their weapons' range. Their primary means of doing this is by networking with Pathfinders (who are also Fire Warriors) of their cadre, who designate targets for them to shoot. This enhances the accuracy of each individual Strike Team member to a frightening level.
According to the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer (which, as you may know, is a wonderfully reliable source of objective truth), Fire Warriors are physically weak, have poor eyesight, and cannot hit the broad side of a space-barn. In reality, they are just fine at shooting, being somewhat hyperopic (farsighted) compared to humans. On the other hand, compared to humans they actually do have slightly inferior reflexes, and they are also slightly inferior to humans in terms of physical capability, which on top of doctrine means they are less capable in melee.
Training and Wargear
Every single Tau who is born into the Fire caste will be trained and raised to be a soldier. Fire Warrior training thus begins from an early age, and from that moment onwards, the Fire Warrior is put into a squad of soldiers who will fight together for the rest of their lives. Therefore, many of them perform the ritual of the Ta'lissera, which is like a Nordic blood bond and makes them all battle brothers. This bonding ritual is a widely accepted practice among the Fire Caste, as it strengthens the Warriors' morale greatly under fire.
The vast majority of Fire Warriors will die in some gruesome, nameless battle somewhere among the stars. A scant few inevitably manage to survive where all their fellows have fallen, and by dint of their skill such hardened warriors may eventually rise to the rank of Shas'o. If a warrior is truly lucky enough to survive many years of warfare and command, he or she may even be granted the option to retire.
Most notable among the Fire Warriors' wargear is the pulse rifle, a plasma-based battle rifle with terrifying range and damage. These are especially deadly when combined with targeting computers in the Warriors' helmets and the support of markerlights. When properly supported, Fire Warriors rarely miss and can mow down opposing troops with extreme efficiency. Warriors may also be seen carrying pulse carbines, a shorter-range, automatic version of the rifle, or a pulse blaster, the shotgun equivalent of the rifle that has better armor penetration at close range. For protection, the Fire Warrior is equipped with a set of Combat Armour, which is made of a combination of nano-mesh and other technobabble. This includes the iconic asymmetrical pauldron designed to face towards any enemy that would be firing at the Warrior as it takes aim. They are also equipped with photon grenades, which emit a blinding flash of multi-spectral light and a sonic burst that disorients any enemies that get too close to the squad (in other words, a fancy flashbang). For anti-tank purposes, some Warriors carry EMP grenades, though these are not standard equipment. Fire Warriors may also carry Pulse Pistols, which means that Fire Warriors not only get the second best standard rifle in the game, they also get the best standard pistol. This may be a consideration if you're concerned about close combat, as these S5 hand cannons kick just as hard as their two-handed analogues and are about the closest thing that Fire Warriors have to a melee enhancer.
Fire Warrior Combat Armor is made up of something called Fio'tak, apparently, with protection equivalent to or greater than Carapace Armor. It also features a wide suite of electronics, such as targeters, aim assisters, comm gear, and other tech that would make any Tech-Priest jealous. Combat armor is resistant to autoguns, largely immune to stubbers, and pretty good against lasguns. Given half a chance it might even deflect a Bolter shell, or at least prevent its user from being killed outright.
On the Tabletop (7th Edition and earlier)
Costing slightly more than two Guardsmen per model, Fire Warriors sport a 4+ Armour Save that makes them twice as survivable against basic (S4, AP5) guns compared to Guardsmen, and are outfitted with arguably the best basic infantry weapon in the game—the S5, AP5, Range 30", RAPID FIRE pulse rifle, which makes them two to five times killier depending on what they're shooting at. Mathammer-wise they trade evenly in a firefight with an equal points worth of tactical Marines when unsupported. But there is a LOT of support available for them—Buffmander can grant them twin-linked, Ignores Cover and Tank/Monster Hunter (and remember, S5 can glance METAL BOXES!), Ethereals and Fireblades grant extra shots, and markerlights can boost their accuracy to potentially goofy levels. With proper support, things within that ever-nifty 30" of your Fire Warriors are gonna die and die fast. So all in all, unless you have taken them only to fill your mandatory Troops slots (in which case you might consider taking some Kroot instead, or going Enclaves), it's highly advisable to actually support your Fire Warriors.
One Fire Warrior in a squad can and probably should be upgraded to Shas'ui, not only because it grants +1 Leadership, but also for the wargear, specifically the cheap blacksun filter (night vision) and markerlight/target lock combo. The last one allows your little blue sergeant not only to spot targets for other units, but also to man (Tau?) fortification gun emplacements without compromising the squad's targeting.
There is a common belief that Fire Warriors immediately disintegrate like wet newspaper the moment they come into base-to-base contact with the enemy, and like many common beliefs, this one is wrong, at least as far as combat with other basic infantry (they have been known to kill the likes of Necron Warriors in close combat). See, WS2 actually doesn't matter much against the common WS3 or 4 (they'll still need a 4+ to hit; the only difference is that enemies only need a 3+ to hit them), and they have average Strength (3) for basic infantry along with a solid 4+ Armor Save. Plus, with photon grenades, charging enemies will have to take an Initiative test or go Blind, reducing their WS to 1 and turning the 3+/4+ thing the other way around the first turn. The only effective disadvantage they're at is their piss-poor Initiative (2). Before the assault even starts, though, you can potentially get a ton of supporting fire that guarantees at least a few enemies won't make it to base-to-base contact due to a massive multiple-squad Overwatch. Don't get me wrong — they're eventually going to die in close combat with pretty much anything, but it could take a turn or two, or even three, and Fire Warriors have a decent chance to take at least a few enemy models with them. And hey, if they do break and flee, and they don't get run down by a Sweeping Advance (unlikely, unless they are fighting other low-inititive enemies, terminators, or slow and purposeful), you can just blast the shit out of the enemy squad next turn with all your other shootiness and save the survivors.
If equipped with EMP grenades Fire Warriors could actually be a scary force in melee, at least against vehicles, including walkers. A squad of Fire Warriors can wreck a Dreadnought in one turn of combat, losing only three or four members, and things like Killa Kans, Tomb Stalkers or Sentinels would go down even easier. Hell, they could have a fighting chance against Imperial Knights or even Titans. Unfortunately, as they lack any assault delivery system (unlike other haywire grenade users in the game), this upgrade is rarely taken, as it could only be useful if your opponent is stupid enough to move his mech units near your Fire Warriors. Then again, just knowing that your Fire Warriors have EMP grenades might be enough to suppress your opponent's walker or force them into a bad position.
- Alternate Assessment: Fire warriors trade evenly with marines if and only if the marines don't have ranged chapter tactics and it assumes that neither squad breaks, which Fire Warriors are more likely to do. In melee, against MEQs you're not just being hit on 3's but wounded on 3's, as well, and the enemy is generally likely to have a melee-weapon serge that will wound better and/or ignore your armour. Fire Warriors aren't stubborn and losing combat by even a small margin puts them at serious risk of being wiped out by sweeping advances. Moreover, you want to die in a single round against an enemy charge for the greater good. Holding up for one turn only allows the enemy to break you in your own melee phase, thus letting them charge again in theirs.
- Furthermore, their armour and toughness is precisely where heavy bolters and heavy flamers (and the guns of Necron Immortals, who refute your claim for strongest basic infantry gun) want it to be. Thus, you can get killed very quickly, even at range, if you choose their foes poorly.
- Stay in cover, keep your head down, choose your firefights well, get support, and never assume you can hold for a round in combat.
8th/9th Edition
8th
Now, EMP grenades are a stratagem-only weapon that replaces the Photon Grenade. They are still useful, minus the fact that you still have to get into 12" to use them, and they can only be used by 3 Infantry units in your army (these being Pathfinders and Fire Warriors, the latter of which are now subdivided into Strike Team and Breacher Team variants.) Additionally, Pulse Rifles maintain their stats for the most part, minus the AP.
Keep in mind that the Pulse Rifle is still better than the Bolter, and can even semi-reliably wound T8 targets if you shoot it enough. Strike Teams are tough buggers, and as a result tend to fare better in ranged combat than Pathfinders, if only because of their superior armor save (4+ instead of a 5+) and access to the MV36 shield drones, which grant 6+ invuln saves, which means you possibly can save a few guys in a squad if a thunderfire opens up on them. They also come with the option of taking a DS8 turret with either a Smart Missile System or Missile Pods. As a final note, there are a few points worth reiterating: stay in cover, choose your firefights well, and avoid close combat.
9th
As of 9th, the strike team has the best rifle in the game, with a whopping 36" S5 AP-1, In contrast to previous edition, Strike Teams taking MV36 Guardian Drones now cannot be wounded on twos, making assault cannons utterly useless in that regard, as well as shield drones for use as a flying storm shield.
Breachers have received a soft nerf, with the Pulse Blaster being far more difficult to use, though they now work brilliantly when given a Devilfish to jump out of turn one and liquefy a very important infantry unit/anything in range. Similarly, Breachers can take some drones to provide some light support firepower/damage reduction.
Gallery
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Small blue man and woman eating small-blue-men-rations...Which look kinda like tacos. Mmmm Space Tacos...
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No, they don't get Rail Rifles. No, their armour doesn't look that cool in official artwork. No, I'm not bitter.
No, they don't get them because those are actually Pathfinders
