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So I cracked open my Tau Empire Codex today and found a nice little nugget that has me very intrigued. It's a list of the types of Cadres for the Tau Empire, and I just can't help but wonder what each of them mean, and how it could possibly be applied to army building. So I was wondering what everyone's interpretations of this list are, here's the list:
Hunter
Mobilized Hunter
Firebase Support
Advanced Insertion
Rapid Insertion
Optimized Stealth
Crisis Dropstrike
Auxiliary Reserve
Armored Interdiction
Ranged Support
Retaliation
Skysweep Defense Shield
Counterstrike
Kroot Hunting Pack

The answers lie in the Apocalypse supplements as some of these appear there as formations.

Armored Interdiction Cadre
-3+ of either Hammerhead or Sky Ray. Example given of 1 Sky Ray + 2 Hammerheads + 1 Hammerhead as command vehicle. Another example given of 2 Sky Rays + 2 Hammerheads

Rapid Insertion Force
-1 Stealth Team + 3-5 Crisis Teams of 3 suits each. Example given of 3 stealth suits, and 3 groups of 3 Crisis suits.

Skysweep Missile Defense Wing
-2-4 Sky Rays and 1 Devilfish as command vehicle. Example given of 3 Sky Rays and 1 Devilfish.

Mobilised Hunter Cadre
-3 Fire Warrior teams + 2 Piranha teams + Pathfinder team + Devilfish

Optimized Stealth group
-4 Stealth teams

Rapid Insertion Force
-1 Stealth team + 4 Crisis teams

My interpretations of the list:

- Standard balanced cadre, designed to be flexible, covered in the codex.
- As above but more emphasis on rapid movement, so more devilfish and piranhas and fewer broadsides and hammerheads.
- Designed to defend positions while still maintaining mobility, id assume lots of mechanised firewarriors and shooty suits, but few "recon" units.
- Id assume a deep striking unit but with emphasis on overwhelming firepower at close range, so lots of fusion/plasma suits.
- As above but a higher focus on mobility/hit and run, more missiles and pulse weapons.
- Lots of pathfinders and stealth suits.
- Like the insertion cadres but almost entirely made up of suits with very little in the way of infantry/vehicle support.
- Almost entirely made up of Tau ally races (humans, kroot, vespids, niccasar ect).
- Lots of heavy tanks.
- Total focus on longrange firepower, very few stealth/auxiliary elements.
- Very similar to a normal hunter cadre but more emphasis on heavy units.
- Lots of skyrays and markerlights.
- A hit and run cadre, lots of light infantry and fast vehicles, less heavy support.
- Kroot