1000pts Eldar Corsairs: Take a peek!

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**Hazardous Harry**

Normally I would never consider dirtying my hands with xenos filth, but after taking a look at the Imperial Armour: Doom of Mymeara book I might be in love with the Eldar Corsairs that are listed. I know most people won't be familiar with their particular rules so I'll explain them as best I can.

HQ
(1) Corsair Prince: Princess Yrathrael =+100 (Power weapon, Shadowfield) =+145pts

(2) Corsair Prince: Prince Elaseer =+100 (Void Sabre, Corsair Jet Pack, Shimmershield) =+140pts

Note: Corsair Princes have similar stats to a Craftworld Autarch, yet can utilise an orbital strike (of different sorts) in lieu of shooting once per game. A shadowfield gives the bearer a +2 invulnerable save, though if it is ever failed will disappear completely. A Void Sabre is rending and gives the bearer +1 strength.

Elites
(1) Howling Banshees (X5 Banshees, Exarch, Executioner, War Shout) =+107pts

Note: Corsairs are allowed to pick one Elite or Fast Attack choice from the Eldar Codex. I'll also be giving the Banshees a Wave Serpent for Transport. I'll attach the Shadowfield Prince to this squad.

Troops
1 Eldar Corsair Squad (X 5 Corsairs, Eldar Missile Launcher) =+60pts

2 Eldar Corsair Squad (X 5 Corsairs, Flamer, Shuriken Cannon, Corsair Jet Packs, Felarch, Power sword) =+106pts

3 Corsair Wasp Assault Walker Squadron (X1 Wasp, X2 Brightlances) =+115pts

4 Corsair Wasp Assault Walker Squadron (X1 Wasp, X2 Brightlances) =+115pts

5 Corsair Jetbike Squadron (X 3 Jetbikes, Felarch, Powersword) =+95pts

Note: Wasp Walkers resemble Craftworld War Walkers, with BS4. They also move like Jet Pack Infantry rather than walkers, meaning they can move that Jet Pack special move to pop them behind cover after shooting, and yes they are troops. Corsairs resemble guardians with better BS and the same with the jetbike squad, the Felarch being the sergeant.
My plan for the Wasps is to have them hide out in cover, moving out to shoot down vehichles (not much stands up to two BS4 Brightlance shots) and then jetpacking back into cover.
The Corsairs will be there to support the walkers, defending them against infantry or swarms. The Jet Pack Prince will be with the Jet Pack corsairs.
As for the Jetbikes, I honestly didn't know where to throw those extra points and they'd be a good support for the Wave Serpent Banshees.

Dedicated Transport
1Wave Serpent (Twin-linked Shuriken Cannons, Star Engines) =+115pts

Total = +998pts

My basic plan is to have the Wasps as the core of my anti-armour, with the rest of my force either waiting to counter-attack any advance by the enemy or make a play at the objectives once the foes armour is dealt with.

**A-Hivemind**

You just want to simulate crazy space elf sex don't you Harry?

Anyway onto the list:

Once your Banshees get torn to pieces, you havn't much CC.
You have little by the means of troops, 20 men?
4 bright lances in a thousand points?

I know what Senior Cheng would say about this list

**Hazardous Harry**

A-Hivemind wrote:You just want to simulate crazy space elf sex don't you Harry?

All the freaking time.

Anyway onto the list:

Once your Banshees get torn to pieces, you havn't much CC.

Which is why I'd be keeping them back, rather than zerg rushing them forward like you seem to be so fond of.

4 bright lances in a thousand points?

Hell yeah.

I know what Senior Cheng would say about this list

Leave Senor Cheng out of this!

**A-Hivemind**

Zerg rush is the only way to play ANYTHING.

Marines? ZERG RUSH!

You may not have the chance to keep them back. Wave Serpent gets turned into a shrapnel bomb? Extra iron supplement any one? You may have to walk them across the board, and like anything that walks across any board, it will get shot at.

Also, Senior Cheng never gets left out of anything.

**Hazardous Harry**

This is why you always lose.

Howling Banshees would be far too fragile to rush across the board, so don't think I would try.

As a (incompetent) Tyranid player, what would you take to counter this list? And use models that I know you have, btw.

**A-Hivemind**

If the Wave Serpent blew up, you would just leave the Banshees just sitting back?

And Incompetent?
I remember winning against you more often than you winning against me.

**Hazardous Harry**

A-Hivemind wrote:If the Wave Serpent blew up, you would just leave the Banshees just sitting back?

Magically making that Wave Serpent disappear is quite the feat, I mean I can only imagine that the Hive Guard would be the one responsible? Brightlances can be B.E.A.utiful things.

Oh, and with Corsair Princes I can select three units and give them the ability to deepstrike. So one way or another the Banshees and/or their transport will get where they need to go.

And Incompetent?
I remember winning against you more often than you winning against me.

Bollocks, the most you can get is a draw. The only time you consistently won was when I was playing with that disastrous experiment that was Vostroyan Infantry based army.

**tedurur**

Dont have the IA book with me right now but will do my best anyway.

28,5% of your army is spent on subpar HQs (well the prince is the best corsair HQ but the equipment you have given them is meh at best.)

Drop one of the princes and just take the night fighting missile on the last one. Eldar do not belong in CC so simply skip that. For that reason you should drop the Banshees aswell. They are pretty bad in a Craftworld list but they are much worse in a corsair list due to the lack of doom.

Also drop all the PWs and felarch upgrades. Its a waste of points.

Just take a 5 man Fire dragon squad instead. 5 Deep striking melta guns for 80pts is quite neat.

Drop the wasps, for 125 pts you can get a Hornet with dual pulse lasers which will then pump out 4 str 8 shots. Or you can get cheap Hornets to do some str 6 spam.

2 Warp hunters will allow you to deal with any TEQ/parking lots as well.

**Hazardous Harry**

Okay, so dropping the Jet pack prince and felarch upgrades. Now that I look at them those Hornets are looking really attractive, though they lack the ability to evade enemy fire like the Wasps would. Those pulse lasers will be fantastic for popping light-to-medium armour vehichles, but it's going to be a real struggle to take down anything with AV14.

I'd like you to elaborate on your criticism on the Howling Banshees. Those ladies might be fragile, but if I can get the charge (especially with that lovely Shadowfield Prince) they pack quite a punch. If I drop them, I have absolutely no CC whatsoever.

Also, would you recommend dropping the bikes for another Corsair squad with Missile launcher?

EDIT: You're skills of recollection are amazing by the way!

**Hazardous Harry**

Okay, so I've revisited the list and gotten rid of the fairly useless second HQ choice.
My plan is to attach my Corsair Prince to the Jet-pack Corsair Squad and have them deep strike to get the chance at some juicy rear armour. The Prince will ensure they don't get instantly torn apart, as well as giving him a perfect vantage for calling down a bombardment. I'll be able to deep strike one other unit, so I might get a Hornet to try the same. 4 str 8 shots against rear armour is going to wreck anyone's day, and with Aerial Assault they can still shoot all weapons at cruising speed.
As for the Banshees, I'm planning to get them to board the venom at the beginning of the game, the open-topped rule will give me an assault range of anywhere up to 21-26" depending on fleet. Depending on whether I figure I can outshoot my opponent or not, the banshees will hang back as support and jump in when the enemy has been sufficiently whittled down.
I still have a Felarch or two because I really couldn't do much else with the spare points. I might be able to get holofields on the venom, but that would nearly double the cost of a vehicle I plan to keep hidden most of the game anyway. With these at least the two squads I've given them too aren't going to collapse immediately in a CC situation.

HQ
-Corsair Prince (Void Sabre, Shadowfield, Jet-pack) =+170

Elites
-Howling Banshee (5x Banshees, Exarch, Executioner, War Shout) =+107

Troops
-Eldar Corsair Squad (5x Corsairs, Jet-pack, Fusion gun, Eldar Missile Launcher, Felarch, Powersword) =+120

-Eldar Corsair Squad (5x Corsairs, Eldar Missile Launcher) =+60

-Corsair Wasp Walker (1x Wasp, 2x Scatter Lasers) =+85

-Corsair Jetbike Squadron (3x Bikes, Felarch, Powersword) =+95

Fast Attack
-Corsair Hornet Squadron (1x Hornet, 2x Pulse Lasers, Holofields) =+160

-Corsair Hornet Squadron (1x Hornet, 2x Pulse Lasers, Holofields) =+160

Dedicated Transport
-Corsair Venom (Dedicated to the non jet-pack corsair squad) =+45

Total = +1002pts.

**Avatar 720**

The Hornets don't really need holofields, especially at 1k; Pulse Hornets are expensive enough as it is, and with only AV11, they're going to be shot down quickly if the pulse lasers manage to whiff (which they will, far more often than you'd think).

The most i'd take vehicle upgrades-wise is Spirit Stones, but only because you want the thing able to move at least so that it can flat-out and use star engines for escaping and last-turn contesting.

As for your plan of targeting rear armour, even with two Hornets i've rarely managed to get a rear shot; tanks that need taking out ASAP can usually survive with their backs against the board edge, or not enough space for you to land behind them and clip rear armour; things like dreadnoughts can go back to back too. Never assume rear armour, even with Hornets, always assume side.

I don't think the Prince needs a shadowfield; he'll be with a squad, so protected from shooting, and shouldn't find his way to CC, so he doesn't really need the 2+ Invul. He's only S4 and T3 in CC, and Rending won't help much, plus the Corsairs aren't that great either. Princes are really only there for the deep striking and missiles, they suck at everything else.

What i'd personally try and find room for is a Warp Hunter, for they are excellent, but you might not have the points unless you drop something like the wasp or jetbikes + the hornet holofields and shadowfield, so that's up to you.

I'd honestly drop the last Wasp for a Scatter Hornet; they're the same points, but the Hornet has Scout and is more durable, if only a little; giving him Stones makes him 10pts more expensive than the Wasp, but keep him moving.

Disclaimer: I may be slightly biased, since I love my Hornets and Warp Hunter in my Craftworld list

**Hazardous Harry**

Thanks for the advice.

Avatar 720 wrote:The Hornets don't really need holofields, especially at 1k; Pulse Hornets are expensive enough as it is, and with only AV11, they're going to be shot down quickly if the pulse lasers manage to whiff (which they will, far more often than you'd think).

The most i'd take vehicle upgrades-wise is Spirit Stones, but only because you want the thing able to move at least so that it can flat-out and use star engines for escaping and last-turn contesting.

You might be on something with the Spirit Stones there, but why are holofields a bad choice? For 35pts I can double the survivability of the vehicle, which seems a decent bargain.

As for your plan of targeting rear armour, even with two Hornets i've rarely managed to get a rear shot; tanks that need taking out ASAP can usually survive with their backs against the board edge, or not enough space for you to land behind them and clip rear armour; things like dreadnoughts can go back to back too. Never assume rear armour, even with Hornets, always assume side.

You're right, should I take Brightlances instead? That would save me about 10pts for each Hornet, and I won't have to really worry about struggling to get a weakened side on heavy vehicles. Plus it would be handy for Land Raiders, which I know a few fellows at our FLGS tend to field.

I don't think the Prince needs a shadowfield; he'll be with a squad, so protected from shooting, and shouldn't find his way to CC, so he doesn't really need the 2+ Invul. He's only S4 and T3 in CC, and Rending won't help much, plus the Corsairs aren't that great either. Princes are really only there for the deep striking and missiles, they suck at everything else.

So what should I do with him then? I can't attach him with the banshees because the venom only carries 5. Should I swap the void sabre for a cheaper power weapon? Perhaps give him a fusion pistol?

What i'd personally try and find room for is a Warp Hunter, for they are excellent, but you might not have the points unless you drop something like the wasp or jetbikes + the hornet holofields and shadowfield, so that's up to you.

I'd honestly drop the last Wasp for a Scatter Hornet; they're the same points, but the Hornet has Scout and is more durable, if only a little; giving him Stones makes him 10pts more expensive than the Wasp, but keep him moving.

Disclaimer: I may be slightly biased, since I love my Hornets and Warp Hunter in my Craftworld list

I'm planning on expanding the Corsairs to 1500 with a Warp Hunter when I get the chance, but I don't think it's an option with only 1000 points to play with. Putting all of your eggs in one basket etc.

**Avatar 720**

Holofields on Hornets aren't 'bad' so much as pricey for 1k. A Hornet with dual PL, stones and fields costs the same as a Falcon with EML and fields, but I doubt it'd be as durable, especially if you manage to whiff your shots. I've had more than one occasion where my Hornets have been nothing but expensive target practice for my opponent, and when over 1/3 of your army is in 2 models, they're going to get quickly targeted and shot down.

The only other vehicles in your list are AV10, one is a lone walker, the other is a venom; what dedicated AV the enemy has will be pointed at the Hornets, and there's only so many shots they can take. Also bear in mind that Hornets aren't Tanks, and so cannot ram or tank shock, making holofields a lot less useful (since the lowest result still stops you shooting, and you can't suicide ram and use holofields to mitigate return damage).

As for BLs vs PLs, you're sacrificing 2 extra shots per Hornet, and you still need 4s to do anything after hitting. If you need to take down raiders, it might be better to use your elite slot for Fire Dragons; lord knows what your opponent's face will look like when you deep strike a wave serpent full of Fragons next to his raider. Aside from that and the Warp Hunter, there's not a whole lot you can do unless you're confident in your BLs, and it might just better to ignore the raider.

For the Prince, most people tend to stick with a naked one. Take him for the strikes and the deep strike rule, not because he's good at anything. If you do end up taking Fragons, give him some fusion and lump him in with them if you want.

For the Warp Hunter, it's only 160pts for a hunter with holos. The d-cannon is awesome and does every job very well. Because it's barrage, and you only need to touch a vehicle with the marker to deal damage, you can keep it out of LoS and bombard enemy vehicles with it; on a 2+ it's doing damage, so it's well worth it.

Besides, your Holohornets cost the same amount, so I don't see how you can play the eggs in a basket card here

**Hazardous Harry**

You make an excellent case. If I drop the Holofields and the Wasp Walker I'll only need to scrape in 5pts to afford a basic Warp Hunter. And now that I take a proper look it's looking pretty juicy. It works well with my second corsair squad. With them sitting there objective-camping, the banshees will make a great counter-attack for any enemy that manages to make it through the hail of fire.

I'll be honest, I'm taking the Howling Banshees because I love their models more than anything else. I desperately want them to work, even if that means snubbing more competitive choices like Fire Dragons. I guess the Corsair squad will be a half-hearted attempt to replicate that affect, but I'll be more interested in going after softer targets or snatching undefended objectives. It's also the same reason why I'm loathe to strip my Prince of everything, since I want him to actually achieve something in the game. I know it's not the mind-set of a tourney player, but...

Out of interest, can he call a bombardment immediately after deepstriking or does he have to remain stationary?

I'll probably drop the Jetbike power-weapon/felarch and spend those points on upgrades that will ensure my surviving Hornets can contest objectives last minute.

**Khurnakh**

I don't have my copy on hand, but if I remember right, you can not have a Corsair's IC in your DE/CE unit. Something about uncertain allies?

**Hazardous Harry**

Ah, true. Though in the new list the Prince will be deepstriking with the Corsair Squad.