XV25 Stealthsuit - Known Formations: Infiltration Cadre - Infiltration Cadres are expected to advance into harm's way to locate high value strategic targets to attack -- they serve as the eyes and ears of the Fire Caste. Usually operating deep behind enemy lines, the warriors of an Infiltration Cadre are prepared to fight unsupported against superior foes, using every iota of their skills in stealth and evasion to stay alive while hammering the enemy with fire. However, a properly deployed Infiltration Cadre is never truly isolated, for by activating their intervention request beacons or concentrating their Marker Lights in a neutralisation lattice, the Cadre can call in massive reinforcements to screaming volleys of Seeker Missles to turn the tables upon their foe. Infiltration Cadres are usually made up of three Pathfinder teams, two teams of XV25 Stealthsuits, and a TX4 Piranha squadron.Optimised Stealth Cadre - Optimised Stealth Cadres consist entirely of elite stealth Battlesuits that, like malicious ghosts, haunt enemies' battle lines. When they strike, so sudden and overwhelming is their assault that enemy forces are usually thrown into complete disarray, warriors fleeing or firing wildly as the Tau seem to come from all directions at once. The Battlesuits of a Optimised Stealth Cadre are capable of networking their stealth fields in a mamoeuvre known as mesme'jkaara in the Tau Lexicon, which roughly translates into 'the wall of mirrors'. This allows them to generate holograms of each other and utterly confound their foes' senses and sensors alike, appearing to attack from one quarter while in truth moving in from the opposite direction altogether. By the time their prey has realised the nature of the trick, it is far too late as punishing rains down upon their unprotected flanks. Optimised Stealth Cadres usually consist of two teams of XV25 Stealthsuits working together with a single team of XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuits.Nighthunter Stealth Group - When required, Tau Stealth Teams will be grouped together into a formation known as a “Nighthunter Stealth Groups”, or as they are sometimes known, an “Optimised Stealth Group”. These teams primarily consist of warriors wearing the newer XV25 Stealthsuits, and they will infiltrate far behind enemy lines long before the opening stages of a battle. Once the main Tau force engages the enemy, the Nighthunter Stealth Group reveals itself. It sets about sowing confusion behind the enemy's lines, destroying ammunition dumps, cutting off communications, and even engaging enemy troops too busy holding off the main force to notice the Stealth Group's approach. Caught between the Nighthunters and the main Tau army, the enemy is faced with a stark choice -- surrender or be cut down in the deadly crossfire. The command and control teams of these formations, however, often opt to wear XV15 Stealthsuits instead of the now standard XV25 used by the Nighthunter line units. Whilst the XV15 is older and more lightly equipped, it has a smaller silhouette and superior signature shrouding, making it popular amongst experienced Tau warriors, especially when Nighthunter teams undertake close-in covert operations.Rapid Insertion Force - It is not the Tau way of war to fight protracted, static battles. Aggressive use of mobility and firepower are key to the success of Fire Warriors. A large part of this success is dependent upon the activities of a cadre's Stealthsuit Teams -- their role is to find the enemy, create diversions and launch surprise attacks, while acting as a rear guard should things go poorly. A Rapid Insertion Force is a specialised formation that strikes suddenly against key enemy units or establishes a perimeter to hold ground until other Fire Caste units arrive, delivering the Mont’ka, or the killing blow, to the foe. In this force, a single Stealth Team leads the way for a more heavily armed force of several Crisis Battlesuit teams (usually three to five). The entire force trains together before a battle, so that they can deliver a swift and effective attack that stuns the enemy, allowing further Tau forces to move forward unmolested. A Rapid Insertion Force will often await deployment in a sub-orbital Manta, whilst the Stealthsuit Team moves in and infiltrates the battlefield, selecting critical targets before triggering their homing beacon. Once the Stealthsuits are in position, the Battlesuits of the Rapid Insertion Force airdrop from altitude and use their Jetpacks to zone in on the Stealthsuit team’s coordinates. Marker Lights will stream around them from the streaking Tau air fleet above, lighting up targets even as the XV8 Crisis Battlesuits descend from the skies -- their impressive arsenal of weapons already blazing away in unison at the greatest threat. Once on the ground, the whole formation then works together with the element of surprise to pin the enemy down and secure the area. Occasionally, an XV104 Riptide Battlesuit is assigned to a Rapid Insertion Force, adding its own tremendous firepower to the sudden Battlesuit onslaught.