Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Just expanded my Tau army YAY! Almost doubled in size, should be close to as you would say 1300 points. Got what I wanted in it for the home world theme. It's meant to be from Ksi'myen. And as I was looking through the Codex I came across the example of a 'Hunter Cadre'. Based on it, My 'cadre' if you will should be about complete already! Which will be kinda important to know as I continue to collect for them and paint them for what I want to do. So I was wondering just how big or small a cadre is in some of the other fluff? Are there even any examples at all, exempting the codex?

The exact size of a Cadre is never really spelled out, it would likely be simular to a company formation, but varies greatly based on what units it composes, the Tau assemble Cadres on a per need basis for the task at hand, so make it however you want.

Good luck out there.

A cadre is (conveniently) roughly the size of a 1000-2000 point 40k army, though exact numbers would depend on the specific role (a dedicated tank cadre will have fewer members than a dedicated infantry cadre). For a standard multi-purpose cadre you can get a pretty good idea from the transport capacity of a Manta (Tau policy is to deploy an entire cadre aboard one):

* One ethereal (or, presumably, an infantry commander) on the top deck command platform.
* 48 infantry and six drones on the top troop deck.
* Four Devilfish hulls in the lower transport bay (transports can be carried loaded).
* Eight battlesuits in the lower bay.

And note that these are the actual models that a Manta holds, not just approximations for rule purposes. From that you can probably figure out some equivalent substitutions. For example you might take three Hammerheads and replace the fourth with a pair of Piranhas. And of course you can then add Kroot and other auxiliaries which are attached units and not part of the cadre, other units "on loan" from another cadre in the same contingent (which can have the same paint scheme), or air caste support participating in the same battle.

Was kinda going off the Manta scheme, seemed to fit y'know? Thanks!

This old graph from the Apocalypse Rulebook summarizes different Cadre sizes:



Lexicanum is fun like that.

Wow...What!? You cant even field some of these in a standard games FOC, which I guess must be different for Apocalypse. And dag nab some of those are tiny and/or incomplete seeming. What was up with that? I know I'm going to use those little 'logos' to the left of their names. Time to update the Tau BARCODES! YAY!

As I mentioned before, a Tau Cadre is formed for a specific purpose from building blocks of units, when no longer needed the units then are placed in other formations, everything about the Tau military is based on a fluid response mechanic.

So no real set structure to units, just to your squad/team/squadron, I guess its to show how the Tau are more commited to a greater good doctrine, instead of being locked into a specific unit role.

Its kinda cool, and yes those formations are for Apoc, but would likely reflect the Tau way of organization more than some silly tabletop points convention.

 Soo'Vah'Cha wrote:
As I mentioned before, a Tau Cadre is formed for a specific purpose from building blocks of units, when no longer needed the units then are placed in other formations, everything about the Tau military is based on a fluid response mechanic.

You're thinking of the wrong level. A cadre is the largest permanent formation the Tau use.

I was also going largely off the fact that the codex says each cadre maintains a fair sized personal armory that allowed them to field as any of the above units as situation called. So like they have a garage with like 4 or more Devilfish, max four Hammerheads, some Skyray turrets to swap on, a Manta, two Orca, a battlesuit hangar that's in constant inventory flux blahblahblah, so on and so on. I was more curious of like a number of actual dudes, never mind their qualification.

Like is there an average of say 75 Firewarrior caste members to a core cadre? Including support/logistics/'background' personnel? Then depending on what was going on those each might be qualified on say a Piranha or Hammerhead. I could write up how I see the personnel roster and equipment inventory fit in my mind but wondered if there was a canon example.

And aren't cadres even not truly 'permanent'? Like don't they reorganize from time to time?

Well the Manta and the Orca would belong to the Air Caste. So would the spacecraft carryign the Cadre around.

Part of the way the Tau work, by dividing the Castes they can prevent a rebellion by 1 caste on 1 world from taking hold and spreading.

OK yeah semantics, the Air/space vessels are Air caste, built by the Earth caste, commissioned by the Ethereals blahblahblah says the Water caste guy. The unification government essentially puts the 'command' of troop transports like the Orca and Manta directly into Fire caste hands in a roundabout way. Even though they still are operated/maintained by Air caste, all cooperation made possible by the Ethereals leadership. Out of curiosity, where did you get this rebellion reference? So far there was only the Farsight Enclave rebellion, which seems to have been talked about all over their empire. So in at least the ideological sense it's spread. They are not the Imperium afterall.

I'd have to pull page numbers, but its mentioned on the pages of the 4th ed codex that describe the actual organization of the Tau military. The connection between Fire Caste elements and Air Caste elements happens at an extremely high level in the system.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Soo'Vah'Cha wrote:
As I mentioned before, a Tau Cadre is formed for a specific purpose from building blocks of units, when no longer needed the units then are placed in other formations, everything about the Tau military is based on a fluid response mechanic.

You're thinking of the wrong level. A cadre is the largest permanent formation the Tau use.

Not true. Cadres make up contingents which make up a battle which make up a command which make up a coalition. You could claim these aren't "permanent" formations, but de facto they are given the constant state of war the Tau are now in.

 Harriticus wrote:
Not true. Cadres make up contingents which make up a battle which make up a command which make up a coalition. You could claim these aren't "permanent" formations, but de facto they are given the constant state of war the Tau are now in.

Read the codex again. All of the formations above the cadre level are temporary. They are assembled for a specific reason, and then once the battle/campaign/whatever is over they are disbanded and their component cadres are re-assigned elsewhere as needed.