We have hit the last section of the army list – the Corsair Heavy Support. We get more craftworld style vehicles again with a few twists… lets take a look…
Corsair Balestrike Squad
The Corsair version of the Devastator Squad or the Dark Eldar Scourges, the Balestrikes are perhaps the best of both worlds. They start at 5 models and can be raised to 10. They can take transports with limits but more importantly – can be given Jet Packs. The gain of the relentless special rule makes them far more mobile than either the Scourge or the Space Marine devastators which is very important in a force as mobile as the corsairs.
They come stock with lasblasters like very corsair unit but every model can swap this for one of a few heavy weapons. 10 points gives you a shuriken cannon or dissonance cannon, while 15 buys you a dark lance or splinter cannon. 25 picks up an Eldar missile Launcher. My pick of the bunch is the Shuriken Cannon for a couple of reasons.
The missiles are quite simply too expensive (its 2.5 times the cost of the model carrying it!). The splinter cannon is solid but 5 points to expensive compared to the shuriken. The dissonance cannon lacks the volume of fire to reliably get the boost to strength and Ap. The dark lances are fantastic bang for buck and a viable option but I like the idea of 10 shuriken cannons, deep striking in, triggering reckless abandon after firing 30 pseudo rending shots and then using the jetpack move to out manoeuvre the remains of the enemy unit.
You can take a Felarch and he has all the options the Reaver Felarch has but being honest, most of the options are not worth it – take him for the LD boost and that’s it.
Even though this unit is pretty solid, the other Heavy Support choices are so good that I suspect that you won’t see them too often.
Corsair Lynx
Once a super heavy vehicle, the Lynx is now a normal vehicle that is a 0-1 choice for the corsairs. In terms of stats, BS4 is the usual, Av12/12/11 is now much more in line with the eldar tanks in the main codex. 5 hull points is fantastic and makes the tank super durable. It starts with the deep strike rule standard and packs a shuriken cannon and Lynx Pulsar.
Its actual vehicle type is – Vehicle (Flyer, Hover) which is a very interesting combo to say the least! It also packs a special rule called Sky hunter which makes this vehicle type far more clear. Sky Hunter means that while a zooming flyer, the Lynx cannot jink and may only fire snap shots. When it goes into hover mode, the lynx becomes a fast skimmer with the tank type. Unlike most flyers, the Lynx rule also allows it to be deployed on the table in hover mode at the start of the game though it may change to zooming until turn 2.
This gives you huge options to engage targets late game when they try and hide from the Lynx primary weapon – and regardless of which you pick – they will!
The Shuriken Cannon can be swapped for a scatter laser or splinter cannon for free or 5 points buys you a dark lance, star cannon or bright lance. My pick is the scatter laser – its great range, extra shot and free price tag makes it a no brainer.
The Lynx can take kinetic shrouds (a must in my mind) and has the option for star engines – which are completely worthless since it can become a zooming flyer.
Main weapon wise, the Lynx has a pair of doozy options! You can take either for free and both are fantastic options. The Pulsar is a destroyer weapon at Ap2 with 48” range and 2 fire modes. Saturation makes it ordinance 1 with 5” blast while Salvo makes it ordinance 3 and twin linked. This is a fantastic weapon and gives you options to engage large single models using salvo or larger units with Saturation. You also have the option to fire the salvo mode while zooming (it’s the only way the Lynx can fire its main weapon while zooming).
The second weapon is the Sonic Lance – a hellstorm template with Ap2, pinning and ordinance 1. It also has a special rule called sound quake. Sound quake gives the sonic lance a version of torrent – but its 18” rather than the usual 12”. Combined with the fast skimmer movement and the huge hellstorm template, there is little that can escape this weapon. Obviously it ignores cover as well thanks to the template itself. When attacking models with a toughness value – it always wounds on 3+… and I find this a mixed blessing. It is obviously this way to balance the huge benefits the hellstorm torrent has but its just a little underwhelming against hordes despite the size of the template. Against vehicles it rolls 3d6+1 vs the armour value. This leads to a weird rules question around how this works with ordinance – and it has no good answer. I suspect it’s a relic of the old version of the rules and one I think forgeworld will have to answer for us. That said, the model for the sonic lance is now out of production so we may never know!
I suspect the Lynx is almost always an auto take for the corsairs – usually with the Pulsar – since it gives them the punch they need to deal with heavy enemy vehicles and gargantuan creatures.
Corsair Warp Hunter
Another 0-1 choice for the Corsairs and another likely auto take for the list, the Warp Hunter is a standard eldar grav tank chassis found in the craftworld garage. It comes with a twin linked shuriken catapult which can be swapped for a splinter cannon or shuriken cannon and can select kinetic shrouds (a must have for this tank), void burners and star engines like other corsair vehicles. You can even run it as a squadron with up to 3 tanks.
That is all a side note though – you buy this tank for the D-flail.
The D-flail has 2 fire modes – Blast or Rift. Both modes are Destroyer profiles at Ap2. Both have the dispersed rule which means any rolls of 6 on the chart count as a 5 – which is different to the craftworld D-Scythe rules of a flat -1 to the roll. The main difference is the way the weapon is fired.
Rift is simple – it uses the flamer template. Ignores cover with destroyer? Yes please! Where tanks are usually very vulnerable to assault forces, most might think twice about closing on this weapon! Blast is even more dangerous – 36” barrage and using the small blast with D3+1 blasts is a death sentence to just about everything!
Use void burners (to deep strike) in a sky burner coterie (for 1d6 scatter) to be able to engage anywhere on the table with ease though the fast skimmer profile means deploying it and shooting from the get go is easy. It should always take the kinetic shrouds since jink means this tank cannot fire its main weapon at all. Large single models will quail in fear at these tanks and running 2 (or dare I say it 3) will spell a doom for just about any enemy they can target.
Corsair Night Spinner and Fire Prism
These 2 tanks are carbon copies of the craftworld vehicles with a couple of minor changes. Both can take splinter cannons on the underslung weapon and both can take Kinetic shrouds, void burners or star engines as upgrades.
Both can also be taken as squadrons of up to 3 tanks. Sadly, this is where the biggest difference is. Neither tank gets the benefits that the craftworld kin do when using these in squadrons – its not a huge issue in the context of the rest of the list – especially since I think these tanks abilities are replicated in the rest of the list (and especially in heavy support) but the change is there none the less.
Both are solid choices depending on the size of the force you are building and depending on what you have in the rest of the force.
Corsair Firestorm
While the model is out of print, the rules live on! Another grav tank chassis with exactly the same options as the nightspinner/fire prism/warp hunter, the fire storm fills a niche in the eldar arsenal by way of being a dedicated anti air vehicle. With up to 3 per squadron as an option, the fire storm will scare most flyers and monsters of the air thanks to its Fire Storm Scatter Laser Array.
The array as quite the profile – 60” range, S6, Ap6, heavy 6 and boasting skyfire, interceptor, rending, twin linked and a new rule – laser web – which gives it ignores cover against zooming flyers and fast skimmers.
This all means that any light or medium armoured skimmer or flyer is all but doomed when in line of sight and range of the Firestorm.
Sadly, the heavy support slots are hotly contested for the corsairs and the nightwing interceptor from the fast attack section is a worthy application of Anti Air properties. Combined with the Firestorms poor ground attack ability (its array can only snap fire against ground targets) and lack of a model these days means the chances of one being across from you on the table is pretty low. Me? I am going to use mine because they look ace!
