Part of our T'au Empire hub: every T'au Empire guide, lore page and painting tutorial in one place. Browse all 1000-point army lists.
Looking for a T’au Empire 1000 point army list? At 1,000 points the T’au are a joy to learn. You have enough points for a solid Fire Warrior core, a few battlesuits and a big gun or two, but the board is small enough that your firing lanes really matter and your opponent can’t simply bury you in bodies. Below are three complete lists built for 11th Edition, each with a different flavour, plus tactics, a buying order and the mistakes that trip up most new Shas’o.
New to the faction? Start with our T’au Empire army guide for the background and unit overview, then come back here to build your first list.
Why play T’au at 1000 points?
The T’au Empire is the best shooting army in the game, and it doesn’t pretend otherwise. Fire Warriors outgun most basic infantry, battlesuits bring flexible heavy weapons wherever you need them, and the Hammerhead and Riptide can trade shots with almost anything. The trade-off is melee: T’au infantry are poor in close combat, so the whole army is built around keeping enemies at arm’s length.
The faction’s army rule, For the Greater Good, pairs an observing unit with a firing unit so that the shooter becomes more accurate against the spotted target. Learning to set up those pairings each turn is the core skill of playing T’au, and 1,000 points is the perfect size to learn it because you have just enough spotters and guns to make it work without tracking dozens of units.
Most of the lists below field 25 to 45 models, with a nice mix of infantry and big centrepiece suits. If you’re still choosing a sept, our T’au colour schemes guide shows the classic options, and how to paint T’au Empire walks through the techniques.
A quick note on points and rules
Every points value in this guide is approximate. Games Workshop adjusts points through Munitorum Field Manual and balance updates, and 11th Edition has already seen changes since launch, so check the current values in the Warhammer 40,000 app before you play. The T’au don’t have an 11th Edition codex yet; they use their existing codex rules and detachments alongside the 11th Edition core rules until a new book arrives. Our 11th Edition rules changes guide covers what’s different at the table.
At 1,000 points you have 2 Detachment Points to spend on detachments. Each list below names the detachment we’d build around; check its Detachment Point cost in the app, and see our Detachment Points explained guide if you’re new to the system.
List 1: Hunter Cadre Gunline (Beginner-Friendly)
This list grows naturally out of the Combat Patrol box. It’s a classic T’au gunline: Fire Warriors and Pathfinders hold the line and spot targets, battlesuits add flexible firepower, and a Hammerhead deals with enemy armour. It plays defensively, letting the enemy come to you and punishing them at every step.
Army composition
- Cadre Fireblade — ~50 pts
- Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit (high-output burst cannon, missile pod) — ~95 pts
- 10x Strike Team (pulse rifles) — ~75 pts
- 10x Breacher Team (pulse blasters) — ~100 pts
- 10x Pathfinders — ~90 pts
- 3x Stealth Battlesuits (burst cannons) — ~60 pts
- 3x Crisis Fireknife Battlesuits (plasma rifles, missile pods) — ~130 pts
- Ghostkeel Battlesuit — ~160 pts
- Hammerhead Gunship (railgun) — ~145 pts
- Devilfish — ~85 pts
Detachment: Kauyon — the patient, ambush-style detachment that rewards holding your fire position and striking later in the game.
Approximate total: ~990 pts
Unit roles
Cadre Fireblade: Leads the Strike Team and makes their pulse rifle volleys much more dangerous. A cheap and efficient way to boost your backbone infantry.
Commander in Coldstar: A fast, flexible leader who can hop between firing positions. Attach him to the Crisis suits or let him roam to deal with light vehicles and elite infantry.
Strike Team: Your long-range objective holders. Park them on your home objective with the Fireblade and keep them shooting all game.
Breacher Team: Short-range firepower. Pulse blasters are vicious up close, so carry them in the Devilfish and drop them onto a midfield objective that the enemy is contesting.
Pathfinders: Spotters and backfield scorers. They’re your best observing unit for For the Greater Good, guiding the Hammerhead or Crisis suits onto key targets.
Stealth Battlesuits: Hard-to-hit infiltrators who are excellent spotters and good at holding awkward objectives.
Crisis Fireknife Battlesuits: Mobile heavy firepower. Plasma rifles and missile pods give them a useful answer to elite infantry and lighter vehicles.
Ghostkeel: Durable and hard to pin down. It holds the midfield, spots for your other guns and soaks fire that would otherwise flatten your infantry.
Hammerhead (railgun): Your main anti-tank gun. Keep it back, find a long sightline and pick off the biggest target each turn.
Devilfish: Transport for the Breachers, plus a durable body that can block enemy charge lanes.
List 2: Battlesuit Strike Force (Elite)
If you collect T’au for the battlesuits, this is your list. Almost every model is a suit, from fast Crisis teams to a Riptide and Broadsides. It’s an elite, low-model-count army that relies on mobility and firepower rather than bodies, so it’s less forgiving on objectives but brilliant at deleting key enemy units.
Army composition
- Commander in Coldstar Battlesuit — ~95 pts
- Commander in Enforcer Battlesuit — ~90 pts
- 3x Crisis Sunforge Battlesuits (fusion blasters) — ~140 pts
- 3x Crisis Fireknife Battlesuits (plasma rifles, missile pods) — ~130 pts
- Riptide Battlesuit (heavy burst cannon) — ~190 pts
- 2x Broadside Battlesuits (heavy rail rifles) — ~160 pts
- 3x Stealth Battlesuits — ~60 pts
- 10x Strike Team — ~75 pts
Detachment: Retaliation Cadre — the battlesuit-focused detachment built for fast, aggressive suit play.
Approximate total: ~940 pts
Unit roles
Commander in Coldstar: Your fast responder. Use him to reach exposed targets or to contest a far objective late in the game.
Commander in Enforcer: A tougher Commander who pairs well with a Crisis team that needs to survive return fire.
Crisis Sunforge Battlesuits: Fusion blasters make them your close-range tank hunters. Keep them out of sight, then move in and fire at short range when a vehicle or monster presents itself.
Crisis Fireknife Battlesuits: Your all-rounders, good against elite infantry and light vehicles at mid range.
Riptide: The centrepiece. It’s tough, mobile and hits hard. Use it to hold the centre of the board and soak up attention.
Broadsides: Long-range anti-tank. They’re slow, so deploy them where they can see as much of the board as possible and leave them there.
Stealth Battlesuits: Spotters and objective holders. Their stealth makes them hard to remove from cover.
Strike Team: Even in a battlesuit list you need someone cheap to sit on the home objective. Ten Fire Warriors do that job well.
List 3: Kroot Hunting Party (Themed)
The Kroot are the T’au Empire’s most famous auxiliaries, and their recent model range gives them a completely different feel from the rest of the army. This themed list is a fast, aggressive Kroot force with just enough T’au support to deal with armour. Unlike most T’au armies, it actually wants to fight in melee and take the midfield early.
Army composition
- Kroot Flesh Shaper — ~45 pts
- Kroot War Shaper — ~55 pts
- Kroot Trail Shaper — ~50 pts
- 10x Kroot Carnivores — ~65 pts
- 10x Kroot Carnivores — ~65 pts
- 10x Kroot Carnivores — ~65 pts
- Kroot Farstalkers — ~85 pts
- Krootox Rampagers — ~85 pts
- Kroot Hounds — ~40 pts
- Kroot Hounds — ~40 pts
- 10x Strike Team — ~75 pts
- Ghostkeel Battlesuit — ~160 pts
- Hammerhead Gunship (railgun) — ~145 pts
Detachment: Kroot Hunting Pack — the Kroot-focused detachment that rewards an aggressive, forward-deployed auxiliary army.
Approximate total: ~975 pts
Unit roles
Kroot Flesh Shaper, War Shaper and Trail Shaper: Your Kroot leaders. Each joins a Carnivore squad and makes it better at fighting, shooting or deploying forward. Spread them across the three Carnivore units.
3x 10 Kroot Carnivores: The backbone of the list. They’re cheap, numerous and good at holding objectives in cover. Push two units forward and keep one at home.
Kroot Farstalkers: Forward-deploying hunters who grab early objectives and harass the enemy’s backfield.
Krootox Rampagers: Your melee shock troops. They hit hard on the charge and give the list a proper counter-attack against units that reach your lines.
2x Kroot Hounds: Fast, cheap units for screening, actions and late-game objective grabs.
Strike Team: A reliable shooting unit on your home objective, and a good partner for For the Greater Good.
Ghostkeel and Hammerhead: The T’au support. Kroot struggle against heavy armour, so the Hammerhead and Ghostkeel cover that gap.
General tactics at 1000 points
Set up your Greater Good pairings every turn. Before you shoot, decide which unit is spotting and which unit is firing. Getting this right is the difference between average and devastating T’au shooting.
Pick firing lanes during deployment. On a 1,000-point board, a single ruin can block most of your army’s line of sight. Deploy your long-range units where they can see the enemy’s likely approach routes.
Screen your gunline. Enemy melee units will try to reach your Fire Warriors and Broadsides. Use cheap units like Kroot Hounds, Stealth suits or a Devilfish to block charge lanes and keep the enemy at range.
Respect the cover rules. In 11th Edition, cover makes incoming ranged attacks against infantry harder to land, which hurts a shooting army. Prioritise targets in the open, and use Pathfinders and spotters to make up the difference.
Don’t be afraid to move. T’au used to be a static gunline, but battlesuits are fast. Reposition Crisis suits each turn to find the best shots and grab objectives.
What to buy first
- T’au Empire Combat Patrol — the best starting point. It gives you Fire Warriors, battlesuits and support that slot straight into List 1.
- Crisis Battlesuits — one kit builds any of the Crisis variants, so you can try different loadouts.
- Hammerhead Gunship — dedicated anti-tank. The kit can also build a Sky Ray if you want variety later.
- Pathfinders — essential spotters and cheap objective holders.
- A big suit — a Riptide if you want to go battlesuit-heavy, or a box of Kroot Carnivores if the Kroot have caught your eye.
Common mistakes
- Getting caught in melee. T’au infantry fold quickly in close combat. Screen your gunline and fall back when you need to.
- Shooting without a spotter. Forgetting to set up For the Greater Good wastes a lot of your army’s potential.
- Spreading damage around. Focus fire on one target until it’s dead, then move to the next.
- Ignoring objectives. It’s easy to play for kills with T’au, but missions are won on objectives. Keep a cheap unit on each one you control.
- Deploying in the wrong place. If your Hammerhead or Broadsides can’t see the enemy on turn one, you’ve wasted a turn of your best guns.
If you want the bigger picture behind the army, our T’au caste system lore page explains how Fire, Water, Earth, Air and Ethereal castes shape the Empire, and T’au vs the Imperium explained covers the faction’s main rivalry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is T’au a good army for beginners?
Yes, with a caveat. The core idea (shoot the enemy before they reach you) is simple, but positioning and spotters take practice. List 1 is the most forgiving way to learn.
How many models do I need for a 1000 point T’au army?
Roughly 25 to 45 models. A battlesuit list can be as few as 20, while a Kroot-heavy list can push past 50.
Do T’au have an 11th Edition codex?
Not yet. The T’au use their existing codex rules with the 11th Edition core rules until a new book arrives.
Can T’au fight in melee?
Fire Warriors and battlesuits are poor in close combat. Kroot units, especially Krootox Rampagers and Carnivores, give the army a proper melee option, which is why List 3 plays so differently.
Which detachment should I use at 1000 points?
Kauyon is a good starting point for a patient gunline. Mont’ka suits a more aggressive, early-strike style, while Retaliation Cadre and Kroot Hunting Pack reward battlesuit-heavy and Kroot-heavy collections respectively.
Is the T’au Combat Patrol enough for 1000 points?
No. A Combat Patrol box is roughly half of a 1,000-point army, so you will need to add several kits. List 1 in this guide grows naturally out of the Combat Patrol: add a Crisis Battlesuit box, a Hammerhead, Pathfinders and a larger suit such as a Ghostkeel or Riptide to reach the full Incursion total.
How long does a 1000 point T’au game take?
Most 1,000-point Incursion games take around 90 minutes to two hours once you know the rules, and longer for your first few games. T’au can run a little slower than average because you set up For the Greater Good spotter and shooter pairings and check firing lanes every turn, so a smaller, simpler list like the Hunter Cadre Gunline keeps the pace up.
Related guides
T’au Empire army guide · T’au Empire Combat Patrol · Aeldari 1000 point army list