What do corsair armies use?

[Elendor]

I'm curious, what ground troops do you think Eldar corsairs use in their armies? My army is corsair themed, but I'm not exactly sure what a corsair army would use. Also I am writing a corsair codex so this could help me with that, too. Thanks!

[Tyr]

Well, Id guess theyed be largely based on infantry and light (if any) tanks; things like Vypers, Jetbikes and Warwalkers come to mind. For basic infantry, Id use a stormguardian equivalent. Theyed have a few psykers (Warlocks), but not as many as their CW cousins (navigatiing, that kind of stuff). NO aspect warriors. No Falcon-chassis tanks. Lead by an Autarch (cf Yriel).
Uhhh... I guess thats about it, from my PoV. Hope this helps!

[Elendor]

Yeah that's generally along the lines of what I was thinking. Storm guardians with warlock officers, autarchs, Yriel equivalents, light vehicles, maybe some rangers/pathfinders, and jetbikes. Maybe some transports for the foot soldiers, too.

[rafis117]

Well, imagine what the main purpose of space-borne infantry is...in units that are even CALLED pirates and who BFG so much like sailing ships that it is extremely funny to watch your opponent try and maneuver to hit you... :P

Anyway...their main duty is probably boarding-action type combat; short-range, intense fights. They aren't going to be packing many rangers, although rangers would be a rather canon unit to go with. Anything that deepstrikes could be explained. Short range units make sense. Not too many psykers, as they would be present as navigators and thus not be expendable. Not too many tanks, as where would the Eldar put them? No Avatar. Period. Few or no wraith units. Phoenix Lords? I'd have to think about that. Autarch; very much so. Yriel, more so than autarchs. Tone down the aspect warriors, as they are a very craftworld unit. Except maybe scorpions. Those could be explained.


You could run this army. It would be hard, but possible.

[Deris87]

Phoenix Lords? I'd have to think about that. Autarch; very much so. Yriel, more so than autarchs. Tone down the aspect warriors, as they are a very craftworld unit. Except maybe scorpions. Those could be explained.

Definitely no Phoenix Lords, and no aspect warriors. These are Eldar who've left the Eldar Path. On a spiritual/philosophical level they don't adhere to the path of the Aspects anymore, and no self-respecting craftworld is going to let a bunch of rogues run off with with their most valued armor and technology.

As for tanks, there is corsair strike force formation in IA:A which has all the guardians mounted in wave serpents.

[rafis117]

Definitely no Phoenix Lords, and no aspect warriors. These are Eldar who've left the Eldar Path. On a spiritual/philosophical level they don't adhere to the path of the Aspects anymore, and no self-respecting craftworld is going to let a bunch of rogues run off with with their most valued armor and technology.

As for tanks, there is corsair strike force formation in IA:A which has all the guardians mounted in wave serpents.

Point taken.

However, consider Black Guardians (aka "Storm Guardians", but Black Guardians sounds SO much cooler). They are all civilians who at one point were on a melee-oriented warrior path. What if a Striking Scorpion were to go down the path of the wanderer, fall in with Corsairs, and lend his expertise? He would be happy to teach and the Corsairs would probably be able to fashion him a new set of armor. Or maybe the corsairs, I don't know, stole a set of armor. Or even, British-Navy style, dragooned some Craftworlders or Exodites into service. They could easily have rebelled against something that wasn't their martial aspect, but say, a Farseer that they particularly mistrusted.

So my stance is: limited or no aspect warriors. Striking Scorpions are okay. Rangers are okay. Fire dragons are okay because they would make a great raiding force, and could be explained as either Craftworld auxiliaries (does happen occasionally) or a Fire Dragon became a corsair and taught others how to shoot fusion guns. Howling Banshees are less likely. Dire avengers are virtually not workable as far as story is concerned. Warp Spiders are barely workable, because their Aspect is founded on the principle of aggressive defense of the Infinity Circuit, which could work as an auxiliary on loan to Corsairs for that purpose. Swooping Hawks might in fact work, as long as you convert them to look like they could fly through space. (Mini jets on their backs and/or a rebreather would suffice.)

Guardians, as far as Corsairs go, could be viewed as a crew-militia. I guess. Maybe. Short-range units and melee units fit both the theme and playstyle, (Space Hulk or Cities of Death or Planetstrike rules, whichever; ) but the story is the crux of the issue. It's a fairly out-there army but because of the fairly nebulous and interlocking relationship that Craftworlds, Exodites, and Corsairs all have, almost anything could be explained. I mean, I've written a story for a (questionably legal) army containing two avatars. They even had a thread here a while ago, that never really had a sufficient conclusion, about whether or not one could take two Avatars in a split-army scenario (1000 vs. 500 + 500 ). I justified it (as far as story is concerned) on the basis of salvage, in the manner of Soulstones.

So yeah, their playstyle would be short-range firefights and/or melee. Great for raids, CoD, and Planetstrike. Not so great in formation on a massive plain. Just be sure to justify whatever you do with your story.


Edit: Dark Reapers would be the story anti-thesis of the playstyle of Corsairs. I advise against them. Tanks could be taken, but avoid Fire Prisms. Say no to blast templates. In that vein, no D-cannons. The other support platforms maybe, but nothing that could accidentally open a hole in the outer armor and suck the Corsair force into open space. No Wraithguard, in that manner. Jetbikes, Shining Spears, and Vipers are all possibilities.

[Elendor]

I wrote up a potential 1500 point corsair themed list. It can be found in this (http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/eldar-army-lists/179089-1500-corsair-list.html#post1557615) thread. Yes it uses blast templates, but I don't think you would be using war walkers in a boarding mission anyway, just for a planetary raid.

Also, do corsairs use bonesingers as engineers on their ships? It seems to me like they would.

[nakaruru]

One of the better corsair armies I have seen actually has a super council in it. The story is that they go around collecting relics and artifacts. The Yriel counts as spear is replaced by a demon possessed weapon they have recovered (to explain its power and the wound yriel might take ). Eldrad counts as uses alot of the artifacts that the group as recovered to augment his abilities ( one of the reason he is with the group ) and acts as the main navigator. The troops are guardians in transports ( crew now fighting on land )and a 5 man ( elite troops ) dire avenger squad in a falcon. two fireprisms are the mobile support to travel with the rest of the corsairs when they are attacking on the ground.

As rafis117 says it is all about story. There are some corsair fleets that actually get support from craftworld forces, others will carry out missions for craftworlds so even aspect warriors can make sense. Really the only ones I don't see fitting well is the avatar and maybe the phoenix lords.

[rafis117]

That's a pretty cool, well though out story, Nakaruru. Props in absentee for whoever wrote that.

Elendor, I think that a bonesinger would make sense. War Walkers? Knew that I'd forgot something. Darn.

[john13]

http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/eldar/178471-bone-singer.html

i am going to be making a bone singer model at some points for my CW army, but heres the link^^

[Alex2284]

I'm not sure the Phoenix Lords are as unusable as seems to be suggested. They are often seen in important situations for the Eldar. Not just the Craftworlds, but all Eldar. Though it might seem weird to have a Phoenix Lord hangig out with them regularly, it could be very benefitial overall for them to be involved against certain ships, perhaps containing important Imperial officers, or captured allies important to the Eldar as a whole.

[Kevin_allen40]

I am putting together a small corsair force based on Forgeworlds 'imperial armour apocalyse' Skyreaver Corsair Raiding Force. The rules given in IAA don't really work as written but here's my take on them without pointing anything up etc.
1 Vampire Raider (probably with 2 void dragon phoenix as wingmen),
HQ: is a Corsair princess (Autarch with powersword + maniblaster ability , not actual mandiblasters though) I'm using the Necromunda Clan Eshin leader for this converting the pistol to shuriken form. 90pts
Troops: 2 units of 11 Storm guardians incl 2 with fusion pistols (yes I did mean pistols) & supporting warlock 'enhance' 140pts each (11+warlock as they also fit in a Waveserpent if I don't field the army this way). Am planning on an all female crew so will cut heads off of old Banshee figures and replace with bare female heads & convert pistols to shuriken or fusion as necessary.
Troops: 5 Rangers (to fill up the transport capacity).

No support weapon batteries as not certain how they are supposed to fit in the Vampire Raider & the force is supposed to start fully mounted & in reserve.
So what should a corsir force include:
HQ: 1 Autarch (Corsair prince), 0-1 Farseer (Navigator) no warlock retinue, instead perhaps include a Dire avenger like honour guard (max 1 per HQ choice) with pistols, just an idea to be fleshed out later.
Elites: 0+ Nomadic Harlequin troops. Body guard moved from here to HQ retinue option on first modify.
Troops: 2+ Storm guardians & 0+ Rangers.
Fast attack: 0+ Spiderlike jumptroops whose teleport ability is reliant on a navigator in play and whose profile is otherwise based on the 'avenger template'.
Heavy support: 0+ Support weapon batteries (because they are included in the forgeworld unit; don't really understand this one, perhaps it is based on the idea of old style pirates using portable ships guns, which they didn't?), 0+ Phoenix's & 0+ Nightwings.
Warmachine detachment: 1-3 Vampires

Food for thought?