Combat Patrol: The Woods of Thoth

Shas'ui Rymo walked down the line of the assembled Fire Warriors, who stood before him. Eight across and two ranks deep, the Warriors of T'aun stood at attention, their arms clutching long pulse rifles at their side. One of their number stood out to the naked eye. His body armor had been heavily augmented and a variety of digital displays glowed on forearms. As a sniper drone controller, he had spent much of his training alone in the hills, with Kor'Vesa as his only company. His attachment to the small patrol had warmed him inside, though he made no outward display of it. 

A stoic team of Shas'Ui, veterans of  Cadre, also accompanied the small regiment. They stood nearly 7 feet tall in their battle armor, but were not lanky like the Kroot that were about to join them in the woods. They were bulky and heavy but had not lost the natural agility of their race. 

"Shas'Lai, the greater good calls us on this night. We have orders to patrol Sector V86, a mountainous ridge along the River Naomasa. Mantas in orbit have detected what is believed to be small pockets of the enemy. We are to conduct a Ta'Yon and eliminate the enemy from the hills. We'll link up with a small gaggle of Kroot who claim they've located the enemy along the ridges of Naomasa. We move out in 2 milidecs. Hai!" 

The riches of Thoth, lay not in its great stores of petroleum, the essence of ancient forests, nor in its rich deposits of iridium, but in its clean air and water. Thoth was an unspoiled planet, a shimmering blue oasis in the abyss of space. It lay in the path of the great thoroughfares of the galaxy, not far from the two major warp gates of the Damocles Gulf. The Great Spacefaring races had all used Thoth as a watery and warm planet to gather food and water for the long months of warp travel ahead. Their space-weary crews had bathed in its lakes and rested in its great forests, until this paradise was enveloped by the Third Phase Expansion.

The Tau selfishly guarded their newly acquired world. Only citizens of the Empire could visit its shores. Yet the frequent visitors from other planets never ceased. The Tau relentlessly patrolled the planet and rooted out foreign settlements. Their diligence knew no fatigue. 

On this night, Manta's in orbit had let a small fleet of ship land on the lush aqua-green surface of Thoth. From their great hulls, leaped thirsty enemies, crazed from the long months of warp travel. Old Shatter Hands had rightly called for a Ta'Yon, literally translated to 'Sword-Hunt.' 


The Ta'Yon calls for the Cadre to be split into smaller teams, who then patrol the parameter in stealth, hunting down their enemies. It's used when enemy forces are scattered and in disarray. Little known to most Shas'la, its origins hark back to the days of the Mont'au. 


On the this night, Old Shatter Hands had called for stealth among the teams over brute force. He wanted no casualties and no loss of kit. Only his Water-Caste advisors knew too, that he had also agreed to let Kills-In-Water's Kroot Warriors to lead the hunt.     

That's right, another Combat Patrol Tournament is coming up next Tuesday. I love these little tournaments as you get three games in in about 3 hours. Perfect!

The parameters of this tournament are even more restrictive than before. They have banned all units with an armor value, that means no vehicles. For the first time in a really long time, I've going to have field my fire warriors on foot. When building my list I knew I wanted Kroot and Stealth Suits. These two units could work together as an infiltrating force or outflank together for devastating results. With the board filled with only infantry, those burst cannons are going to be brutal. I also decided that Sniper Drones were definitely in. Not only did they compliment the stealthy nature of this force, but they added some much needed long range and AP3 fire. 


My patrol consists of 2 teams of 8 Fire Warriors with Shas'Ui and Markerlight, 10 Kroot, Sniper Drones and 5 Stealth Suits. The shooting phase will have to be very controlled. I want my Stealth Team to be in position to fire with at least 1 markerlight in support, ideally 2. Getting volume of fire is always preferable against infantry so the Stealth Team is probably going to be using up the markerlights rather than the Sniper Drones. 


It should be a fun little tournament and a welcome change of pace for the big tournaments I've been playing.