Like any army, Corsair Troops form the back bone of the force on the table. They claim objectives, provide the mass of the army and fill gaps in the rest of the army specialists… let’s look at them in more depth.
Reaver Band
If Corsair troops have ‘standard’ units – Reavers are them. With a statline comparable to Dark Eldar Kabalites or Eldar Guardians and only a point or 2 more per model (to account for the extra rules) you could be forgiven to think these are little more than cannon fodder. There are several notable differences which elevate these from above the common herd!
First off – they come with Las blasters as standard. These are the same weapons the Eldar Swooping hawks carry – S3, Ap6, 24” and 3 shots each. They can be swapped for free to a shuriken catapult, splinter rifle or a brace of pistols and close combat weapon for free. I think the best bet for the unit is either the las blaster or the brace of pistols and combat blade. To understand why this might be – I should explain the brace of pistols!
The brace of pistols is a wargear item that is unique to the Corsairs. A model with this wargear item counts as being armed with 2 shuriken pistols and 2 splinter pistols which may be used in any combination in the shooting or assault phases and do not need to be modelled on the miniature.
What this means is that the shuriken catapult is completely superfluous to requirements – thanks to gunslinger being conferred for carrying 2 pistols, the 2 shuriken pistols do exactly the same thing as the catapult. At 12” or less, the dual splinter pistols replicate the splinter rifle as well. The drawback is of course the 12” range on the pistols. The Las blaster has a nice long range to keep you safe and a high volume of fire though this is offset by its S3. None of the options engages armour well so that’s not really a factor. In a nut shell – playing up close and personal? Go the brace. Keeping your distance – go the las blaster.
The unit starts with 5 models and can be increased up to 20 total though keeping the units smaller presents less risk for the failed LD test!
They can take heavy mesh armour to increase their save to 4+ which drastically increases their survival rate from small arms fire. Giving them all jet packs is also an option (which includes a 4+ save in the cost) but obviously stops them from using transports. Both are valid choices depending on what you are doing with the army. Up to 2 models in every 5 can also take a small selection of special weapons – blaster, flamer, shredder and fusion guns being the options. I think the fusion gun will be the go to option in most cases with blasters being a close second. The fact that both guns cost the same again will mean selection is based on battlefield role. Keeping at a distance, the blaster will see most use while the fusion gun was made for work up close. The flamer is also very valid for the right builds. Do me a favour and ignore the shredder option!
The whole squad can be handed grenades of a couple of varieties and going larger squads they might be worth it but in anything less than 10 models you can avoid them in my mind. With the right unit sizes, both dedicated transports are also available to them (more on that later!)
Lastly, for a small cost we can have a unit sergeant called a Felarch. They can swap their las blaster for 2 of the options on the list – a close combat weapon, venom blade, dissonance pistol, blast pistol or power weapon. The main reason for the upgrade is more the LD boost in my mind and any of these options in small units is going to be wasted.
Ghost Walker Band
Strikingly similar to the reavers in some aspects, Ghost Walkers are the sniper-esque unit of the corsairs. They gain scout, infiltrate and stealth for a couple of points per model over the Reavers but are otherwise identical to begin with.
The first change is unit size – its capped at 10 models rather than 20. As mentioned earlier – corsairs want to go with MSU (Multiple Small Units) to avoid the LD issues so this change is nothing to really worry about.
The second option is their primary weapon – the las blaster can only be swapped to a brace of pistols or an Eldar Long Rifle with the rifle costing a point per model. All 3 of these weapons is a valid option depending on the role you intend for them.
They get the same special weapon options as the reavers though its only 1 per 5 unlike the reavers. Again, role on the board will dictate the special weapon(s) you select – if any! Grenade options are also identical to the reavers and best left alone. Unlike reavers, transports are not available to the ghost walkers who must just enjoy a nice walk!
The last option is taking Jet packs for the squad. While this might seem innocent at first, since every unit of corsairs can access them, nothing could be further from the truth for the Ghost Walkers. With Jet Packs making you relentless, this gives you an infiltrating, scouting, stealth unit of jetpack snipers. This unit can deep strike or outflank on top of this – the options are endless! Top it off with Objective Secured in the Corsair detachment or a Combined Arms and you have a great unit that’s hard to shift, mobile and cheap. The sniper rifles are not great but the ability to be effective at even longer ranges is worth it in my mind.
An interesting side note is that the Ghost Walkers do not have the option for a squad leader of any kind.
Cloud Dancer Band
You hate Eldar Jetbikes now? Wait till someone puts cloud dancers on the table. With a statline identical to the Windriders in the craftworld codex but swapping the craftworld rules for the corsair ones PLUS outflank and a brace of pistols for a measly 3 points per model, Cloud Dancers are a steal.
The unit size of 3 to 10 is the same as their craftworld cousins and they share the option for a heavy weapon on each bike and can even access the shuriken cannon or scatter laser – but that’s about the end of the similarities.
Cloud dancers can also access the splinter cannon, Dissonance cannon (whose rules are the same as the pistol found in the entry for the prince HERE) or the dark lance. The dissonance cannon is just to unreliable for the effect you might get so it tends to be over looked. The splinter cannon is a nice option and cheap as well but the lack of a strength value makes it less flexible and thus, less desirable. For me – the scatter laser or the dark lance are the go to options. The scatter laser has all the bonuses that eldar players enjoy now and that’s no secret. The dark lance is actually quite an efficient way of accessing ranged AT weapons. Yes, the gun is the same cost as the bike itself but 3 of them armed this way is less expensive than a dark eldar ravager armed the same way! They are more mobile (the ravager moving more than 6” has to snap fire its 3rd lance), can use their assault move to duck back behind cover and have a smaller foot print to hide on top of that. Should they take fire, the 3+ save is proof against most weapons (like scatter lasers or auto cannons) where a ravager would jink and if you turn significant weapons at them where they have to jink, they have the same save but losing 1 model is generally less effective than whatever the vehicle damage chart does to the ravager. In short – as an option for ranged anti-tank, it’s not a bad one!
The bikes can also take grenades like the Reavers and Ghost Walkers but again, these can be left off the squad.
The last option they have is to upgrade up to 3 models in the unit to Felarchs – with the boost to LD and A on the profile as well as access to wargear options identical to those for the Reavers. This lets you form up something of a mini assault unit should you wish. A Prince on jet bike (void sabre in hand) and utilising Reaper of the Outer Dark alongside a Baron and 3 Felarch (with the 4 of them armed with venom blades or power weapons – and who gain rage thanks to the prince in this case) produce a significant threat to most units. They also carry grenades ensuring their high initiative doesn’t go to waste. You can also add a few standard Cloud Dancers is need be to act as ablative wounds. Even they are no slouch with 4 attacks each on the charge thanks to the brace of pistols and range! With the baron or prince rolling on divination, prescience adds even more to this unit. It’s safe to say this is probably one of the best options for assault in the whole list!
Transports
Most of the infantry (who start with no jet packs) get the option to select one of the two dedicated transports on offer though the conditions to pick them are very strict.
When a unit numbers 5 infantry models or less without jet packs, they can select a Corsair Venom. With the unit numbering more than 5 (ie 6 or more) it can select a Corsair Falcon Grav Tank.
Corsair Venom
The Venom is largely a replica of the Dark Eldar Vehicle of the same name with a few twists thrown in. First of all, its AV, hull points, BS, transport capacity and unit type all stay the same. It gains the special rule Scout (so good!) and loses its flicker field. It also carries twin linked las blasters instead of splinter rifles under the hull and a shuriken cannon instead of a splinter cannon on the top.
Like a lot of corsair units, the options for its weapons are a mix of eldar and dark eldar tech. The Las blasters can be swapped for twin linked splinter rifles or shuriken catapults or for a single splinter cannon or shuriken cannon. The top mounted weapon can be swapped for a splinter cannon or scatter laser. The obvious builds in my mind feature a scatter laser up top and then a shuriken cannon or splinter cannon underneath. The splinter cannon meshes well with the range of the scatter laser but not its high strength where the shuriken wins out. Depending on the unit it carries – either payload would work.
Wargear options are again a mix of craftworld (Star Engines) dark eldar (chain snares) and new corsair (Kinetic Shields and Void Burners).
Kinetic shields provide a 5+ invulnerable save providing the vehicle moves at least 6” in the movement phase (and the designers not confirms you have to displace the 6” – not just fly in a circle!). If the vehicle moves flat out, this is increased to 4+. If the vehicle deep strikes, it gains the 4+ and may reroll failed saves! The cost is more than justified on most vehicles in my mind.
Void Burners quite simply give a vehicle the deep strike rule. This is a running theme for corsairs I am sure you have noticed!
Corsair Falcon
Again a recreation in most cases of the craftworld vehicle of the same name. It again gains scout as standard and mounts a pulse laser and shuriken cannon on the turret and a twin linked las blaster under the hull.
Oddly, as the Falcon can only carry 6 models and you can only access it when the unit it is purchased for numbers more than 5, it means any characters you have can never end up embarked on a falcon (or the venom for that matter).
The las blasters can be swapped exactly the same way as the venom while the shuriken cannon is the eldar weapon options plus the splinter cannon and dark lance.
Lastly – void burners, star engines and the kinetic shield are all options.
The falcon is a solid tank for sure and it’s reasonably priced to boot. You could definitely use it as the basis for a very tank heavy corsair list.
I just wish the transport wording was better so my characters to hitch a ride!