Games Workshop has revealed new models for the small but growing Aeldari Corsair subfaction for Warhammer 40k, led by an updated figure for the special character Prince Yriel. The new models will first be available in the Eldritch Raiders army box set, which will release alongside the upcoming Maelstrom narrative expansion.
The new minis were revealed as part of the Warhammer New Year Preview stream on Friday, in a double bill alongside new Red Corsairs Chaos Space Marines. The Eldritch Raiders box set will contain four new kits, packed with callbacks to earlier models and lore, as well as the existing Corsair Voidreavers kit. It's edifying to see the Aeldari getting totally new models after years stuck with the oldest kits of any Warhammer 40k faction.
These are all the new Aeldari Corsair models that Games Workshop showed off at the Warhammer New Year Preview:
Corsair Skyreavers are a new jetpack infantry unit which - unlike the Swooping Hawks - can tote a wide range of special weapons in addition to their standard armament of corsair blades and shuriken pistols. They come with the abilities Scout, Deepstrike, and the ability to make a reactive move in response to enemies.
There's a new character, Kharseth the Void Dreamer - a psyker capable of detecting the bow wave of ships leaving the warp. In game terms he comes with a ranged psychic attack which marks its target, increasing the strength of other Corsair attacks against the target. And he's got just a hint of precognition, which lets you stop enemies from deploying within 12".
They're led by Prince Yriel, outcast prince of Iyanden. He's got some appropriately piratical tricks, allowing you to redeploy some of your units before the game begins. The GW presenters say that he has a combat statline in line with the best of the Aeldari melee characters, including a damage three weapon, and he brings some very handy combat buffs for his unit.
The Starfang is a new, lightweight Aeldari vehicle. Its guns are space marine killers, with multiple AP three damage two shots. It also brings a handy defensive tool, a blind grenade launcher that can make your own other models harder to hit. The kit can also build a new version of the classic Vyper, which retains all its classic options and gains the option to mount an underslung missile launcher.
The Aeldari Corsairs have their origins in the very earliest days of Warhammer 40k. The depiction of the Eldar in the first edition Warhammer 40k rulebook, Rogue Trader, wasn't much more developed than 'elves in space'. But they were proficient space farers, and Eldar pirates were known to prey on Imperial shipping.
That idea got sidelined around 1990 thanks to Jes Goodwin's excellent Craftworld Eldar lore and models. When GW next picked up the concept of Eldar raiders, they had metamorphosed into the fully fledged Dark Eldar raiders.
The original model for Prince Yriel debuted in 2006 alongside the 4th edition Eldar Codex. Then in 2011, Forgeworld released a range of conversion parts to make Corsair Guardians, plus additional new vehicles, along with army rules for fifth edition 40k.
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