Tau Empire Pathfinder Team

This multi-part plastic kit contains 137 components with which to make 10 T'au Pathfinders, a Pulse Accelerator Drone, a Grav-Inhibitor Drone and a Recon Drone.

These kits are supplied unpainted and require assembly - we recommend using Citadel Plastic Glue and Citadel Paints.

Tau Pathfinders are Tau infantry teams with long-range reconnaissance capabilities that deploy specially modified anti-grav Devilfish Troop Carriers.

Pathfinder teams are far ahead of Hunter Cadres in search of enemy forces. They keep an eye on the enemy while remaining hidden, reporting details of the enemy's nature and disposition via encrypted and undetectable communications systems. Pathfinder teams are also deployed in the role of aggressive patrol squads, maintaining dominance over a wide area around a stationary Hunter Cadre and tracking down any enemy forces attempting to approach. Occasionally an entire Hunter Cadre will be tasked by Pathfinders with a mission, such as: B. exploring a newly discovered planet and determining whether it is suitable for colonization.

Pathfinders are equipped with a variety of special Equipment to aid in their mission. Each member of the team wears Recon Armor and carries a Markerlight, a laser designation device attached to their firearm that projects an almost invisible, highly focused beam of light at a potential target. Linked to a support weapon platform such as a Hammerhead gunship, the Markerlight transmits precise targeting information to direct the fire of such units. When used to guide the armor-piercing seeker missiles carried as additional weapons on many Tau tanks, Pathfinders can remain hidden while calling in devastatingly powerful and accurate fire directly at the target. Many Imperial troops fear the small, red dot of light that appears on the bodies of those about to be assassinated, and some refer to it as the "Mark of the Valkyrie." Pathfinders are called to sacrifice themselves more frequently than their simple Fire Warrior counterparts, though reckless wasting of life is always anathema to the Tau. However, in the early days of the Great Confederacy War, Pathfinder teams suffered casualty rates of 84% or more. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, the Fire Caste academies are overflowing with volunteers who want to become Boy Scouts.

The Devilfish Troop Carriers used by Pathfinder teams are equipped with a larger variant of Markerlight technology called the Marker Beacon. This is used to designate a position to which Jump Squads and Orbital Response Vehicles can be directed, allowing units such as battlesuit-equipped Crisis Teams to drop straight onto their target. Every single Pathfinder is equipped with an impulse carbine equipped with a submerged photon grenade launcher. The grenades are used by the Pathfinders when responding to sudden and unforeseen contact with their enemies, and they are adept at rapid deployment with their anti-grav launchers. Some Pathfinders are replacing their carbines with rail rifles, sniper weapons as accurate and deadly as any similar weapon the Empire can wield. Others use experimental ion rifles.

On several occasions, Pathfinder teams have held back while observing an infiltrating force, only calling in fire when their enemy was too far ahead to break free safely. When facing Tau forces, likely accompanied by Pathfinder teams, the Deathwatch takes extra care to ensure mission security by arming kill teams with all manner of sensors and countermeasures.