Tau Commander

The Tau Commander known as a Shas'o or Shas'el is one of the most potent assets in the Tau arsenal. Equipped with a XV8 battle suit and three battle suit weapons or support systems a commander can bring a large amount of fire power to the table. The commander can also take up to two body guards known as Shas'vre. Body guards can carry as much fire power as the commander, making a command squad something the Tau player should not leave home without.

Each XV8 suit (or crisis suit) gives the owner a jet pack making them jump infantry (see special jump pack rules WH40k rule book). In addition Tau jet packs are relentless allowing the user to move and use all weapons as normal. This coupled with a T4, 3+ save, and a BS of 5 make a commander easily worth the 75 baseline points (cost does not include weapon load out).

The above picture is a modified Tau Shadowsun model (wearing an XV22 battle suit) used as a commander for my army. She is equipped with an Airbursting Fragmentation Projector (right hand) and a Missile Pod (left hand). The added space marine lets the Tau's most common enemy know what they can expect during the battle.