Topic: "Black Thorn" Hunter Cadre - fluff and army list

[Arkion]

I commissioned Blue Table Painting to help me with my Tau army.  Although I enjoy Tau's game mechanics, I wasn't too keen on painting them.  This army is purely tabletop and a lot of fun!

TAU "BLACK THORN" HUNTER CADRE

ORIGIN
The Black Thorn’s purpose is to serve the Ethereals of Fal’Shia.
 
The Cadre was created in the last decade of the 41st Millennium following the capture of T’ros from the Gue’la Empire.  It was one of sixteen such cadres to use T’ros’s barren deserts as a training camp; learning from the wisdom of veterans of the recent war, honing their skills in the unforgiving wastes.

COMPOSITION
Two Fal’shia officers were appointed to lead Black Thorn.   While Shas’El Boro wears the blue-and-orange suit of his former Cadre, Shas’El Va’Rii has modified his to yellow-and-crimson, purportedly to honor those who died at T’ros.  Va’Rii has also inducted several platoons of gue’vesa soldiers – a move unpopular with more conservative elements of the Fal’shia Sept – though their potential as warriors has yet to be tested.

OFFICERS AND UNITS



(all of the above painted by Blue Table)


Shas’El Va’Rii (painted by me)



Gue'vesa Auxiliaries (painted by me, sculpted by Excalibur)

ARMY LIST
This army is roughly 1000 points and intended for friendly games.  I've only played five or six games so far, but I have yet to lose.  A nice change from my 4th Ed. Space Marines! 

HQ
Shas'El - 100 pts
Cyclic Ion Blaster, Plasma Rifle, Hard-Wired Multi-Tracker, Targeting Array
-----Bodyguard Team – 156 pts
2 Crisis Suits w/Hard-wired Multi-Tracker, Twin-linked Plasma Rifle, Burst Cannon

Shas’El – 97 pts
Missile Launcher, Plasma Rifle, Targeting Array

ELITE
Stealth Team – 90
3 Stealth Suits

TROOPS
Fire Warriors - 125
9 Shas’la w/Pulse Rifle
1 Sha'ui w/Pulse Rifle, Bonding Knife, Markerlight

Fire Warriors - 115
9 Shas’la w/Pulse Rifle
1 Sha'ui w/Pulse Rifle, Bonding Knife

12 Kroot – 84

Gue’vesa Human Auxiliary – 56
5 Gue’vesa’la w/Lasguns
1 Gue’vesa’ui w/Lasgun, Markerlight

HEAVY SUPPORT
Hammerhead Gunship – 175
2 Burst Cannons, Railgun
Blacksun Filter, Multitracker, Target Lock, Disruption Pod

998 pts

...THE FUTURE...
In the future, I plan on getting two more Stealth Suits (making the unit more viable), dropping the Gue'vesa and dropping the Blacksun Filter on the Hammerhead (997 points).  For now, though, it works pretty well as-is.

[Derikari]

----Bodyguard Team – 156 pts
2 Crisis Suits w/Hard-wired Multi-Tracker, Twin-linked Plasma Rifle, Burst Cannon

Target array instead of twin-linking. Same cost, but it helps both weapons.

Shas’El – 97 pts
Missile Launcher, Plasma Rifle, Targeting Array

We don’t have missile launchers, and you forgot to list the multi-tracker

Stealth Team – 90
3 Stealth Suits

They’re a bit small to do much of anything, and I do recommend that you should get those extra Stealths when you expand.

Awesome Kroot, btw.

[Arkion]

Thanks D.  Good suggestions all 'round.  Really, it makes so much sense now that I see it, I wonder how I got along without.

I was really happy with those Kroot, too! =)

The Fire Warriors, eh... They're all right.  I'm too much of a perfectionist though, which is why I hired Blue Table in the first place - I knew if it were all up to me, I'd never get it done!  Besides, from three feet away, they look ace!