T'au Empire Experimental Prototype Cadre Detachment Guide (11th Edition)

The Experimental Prototype Cadre extends the reach and firepower of Battlesuit Character units. Its core rule, as reported, increases the range of Battlesuit Character ranged weapons (coverage cites a boost on the order of +6 inches), letting your Commanders and character suits open fire from farther out and stay outside the enemy's effective range. Layered on top is a risk-reward experimental ammunition theme: enhancements and stratagems that push extra damage, often tied to Hazardous weapons that can hurt the firing unit if you roll badly. The doctrine is the long-range assassin: use markerlights to Guide your character suits, then delete priority targets from a distance that many opponents cannot answer. The trade-off is the gamble - leaning on hazardous experimental weapons for that extra output means occasionally taking self-inflicted damage. Because these are exactly the numbers errata adjusts, treat the +6-inch figure and any hazardous interaction as indicative and confirm the current rule wording in the Faction Pack.

The Experimental Prototype Cadre's stratagems lean into damage amplification and the risk-reward theme - expect tools that boost a character suit's output, unlock or supercharge experimental ammunition, or squeeze extra range and lethality out of a key shot. The general playbook is to pick the decisive target, Guide it with markerlights, and then spend a stratagem to guarantee the kill from range while your suits are safely outside the enemy's reach. The discipline is managing the gamble: the hazardous/experimental tools can hurt your own unit, so use them when the payoff (removing a genuinely dangerous target) justifies the risk, not on chip damage. Bank Command Points for the turn where extended range plus a damage stratagem removes something game-defining. Specific stratagem names, CP costs and the exact hazardous rules change with dataslates, so verify the current stratagems in the Faction Pack before relying on any single combo.

This detachment's enhancements are built to weaponise your Battlesuit Characters - buffs to their ranged output, range, or their experimental ammunition, plus tools to mitigate or exploit the hazardous risk. Evaluate them by which one most reliably turns your Commander into the long-range threat the detachment wants: an enhancement that adds damage or range to your primary character-suit shooter is usually the pick, though one that offsets the self-damage risk can be worth it if you are leaning hard on hazardous weapons. Put the enhancement on the Commander or character suit you intend to use as your main assassin, not a support piece. As always, enhancement names, point costs and effects are updated by errata and balance dataslates, so choose from the live list in the current Faction Pack rather than assuming the previous digital-detachment options carried over unchanged.

The Experimental Prototype Cadre is all about Commanders and other Battlesuit Character units - they are the ones that gain the extended range and experimental weaponry, so you want several of them as your damage core. Support them with Pathfinders and drones for markerlights, since Guided fire plus extended range is the combo that makes the detachment lethal. Non-character suits like Crisis teams, Broadsides and a Riptide round out the firepower and give the enemy more threats to worry about than just your characters. As ever, keep a Kroot or Fire Warrior screen to hold objectives and protect your valuable characters from being rushed. The list-building logic is a cluster of long-range character suits, well-supported by markerlights, doing the heavy killing from a distance. Confirm current datasheets and points, since Commander and battlesuit profiles and costs are periodically revised by dataslates.

Take the Experimental Prototype Cadre when your army is built around Commanders and battlesuit characters and you want to lean into a long-range, out-range-the-enemy playstyle with a gambler's edge. As a 1-DP specialist it is designed as a bolt-on: pair it with a codex anchor (points and Unique Tags permitting) to add a character-suit assassin package to a bigger plan, or with something like the Retaliation Cadre if your whole list is suit-forward. It rewards players who enjoy squeezing maximum damage out of a few elite pieces and are comfortable managing the hazardous risk. It is less useful if your list has few character suits to benefit. Because it is a 1-DP detachment it fits neatly under 11th edition's DP budget - verify its current DP cost and stacking rules in the Faction Pack. For the markerlight and target-priority fundamentals it builds on, read the T'au Empire army guide.