Soulstorm/XV15 Stealth Team

XV15 Stealth Team Infantry
	Faction	Tau Empire	Health	250		Buy	Reinf.
	Tier	1	Morale	300		85	65
	Built by	Cadre HQ	Sight radius	30
	Armor	infantry med	Detect radius	0		1
	Mass	10	Speed	16
			Model count	1/3	Build time	10	11
	Stealth unit able to attack and capture points while infiltrated. Equipped with jetpack to move across and over the battlefield. Can be upgraded with anti-vehicle weapons.						Data version: 1.2

The XV15 Stealth Team is the basic light infantry unit for the Tau Empire in Dawn of War: Soulstorm.

Description

• Infantry squad that can contain up to 3 XV15 Stealthsuits.
• Stealth unit able to attack and capture points while infiltrated.
• Equipped with jetpack to move across and over the battlefield.
• Can be upgraded with Fusion Blasters effective against vehicles.
• Can have a XV25 Shas'vre added to the squad to increase durability and allow the EMP Grenade ability.

Strategy

XV15 Stealth Teams are the scouts for the Tau. Unlike other scouts, they have infiltration enabled without research. Their best use initially is to keep the XV15 Stealth Teams at one unit per squad and capture Strategic Points with relative impunity. This "capture-duty" is often the only reason XV15 Stealth Teams are built; they are awful in both ranged and melee combat until upgraded and yet quite expensive. Reinforcing the squad early game can drain requisition quickly and is useless unless you plan on heavily upgrading the squad with researches.

Stealth Suits, when fully upgraded, are even capable of defeating most Tier 0 ranged infantry in melee combat, such as Scout Marine Squads, Guardian Squads, and Guardsmen Squads, although not Necron Warriors. However, this isn't cost-effective: 5 Guardsmen cost 160 requisition and 5 Stealth Suits cost 365 requisition (in 2 squads).

Because they are infiltrated, jumping Stealth Suits can be used as light harassment units to assist your main army when your opponent fails to bring detectors to the fight. Make sure to get Stealth Burst Cannon Enhancements if you want to use them for major combat before Tier 2. Avoid this strategy against Chaos, Necrons and Sisters of Battle because Cultist Squads, Builder Scarabs and Missionary, available from even the lowest tier, are detectors (Chaos requires Unholy Sight). Also watch out for Turrets which can detect infiltrated units. To counter, Vespid Stingwing Strains can use their destabilisation ability to quickly take them down, clearing a safe path for the fragile Stealth Suits.

Later in the game XV15 Stealth Teams can be customized for anti-vehicle duty with Fusion Blasters weapon upgrades and the EMP Grenade ability from the Shas'Vre. These blasters pack a surprisingly powerful punch, and deal more damage than most races' basic anti-vehicle units. The best use is to jump behind enemy battle lines, use the EMP Grenade to stun a vehicle, even Tier 4 uber vehicles, attack until a detector unit arrives, and then jump back to safety. Two squads of Stealth Suits will quickly down any vehicle, at least quicker than it will take for the enemy to respond with a detector.

Against races with effective detectors, such as Necrons or Chaos, using fragile and expensive Stealth Suits as main combat units can be a very poor investment. In these situations, try to use Fusion Blasters for a more anti-building role, away from the main fight, if they are built at all. Be sure to get Shas'Vre for his EMP Grenade to stun vehicles regardless, and Broadsides may help if you don't want to invest in Stealth Suits.

After all research has been finished, the Fusion Blasters are better than the standard Stealth Suit Burst Cannons, while also being far better at anti vehicular and building roles. The Fusion Blasters also do decent damage to commanders. If you can, always keep your Stealth Teams in pairs. They will destroy their target much quicker and can thus leave the scene even faster.

Gallery

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  An infiltrated Stealth Team.

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  A revealed Stealth Team with a Shas'vre.