Iyanden wraith host with Yriel renegate allies (DE rules)

Hey all,

I currently have a small Iyanden force (2 squads of Guards, 2 Knights, 1 Spiritseer) and a whole bunch of unpainted, unasembled DE minis.

Recently, when reading the (overpriced and rather dissapointing) Iyanden supplement, I thought it might be a cool idea to incorporate a small Yriel renegade fleet detachment into the Craftworld army. I instantly thought that this might be a good opportunity to use my DE miniatures.

So, what I would like to do ruleswise is field an Iyanden army with DE allies.
Modelwise, as far as the corsairs go, I think I'd like to use an Yriel model as an Archon with a Shadow Field and Djinn blade along with his retinue of Incubi (with FW corsair jump packs) riding in a Venom.
I’d add two raiders with warriors, a squad of Reavers, maybe some Helions and a Ravager or a Razorwing.
A squad of Harlequins will also fit in nicely, but these can be fielded from Eldar codex, so do not really concern me much at the moment.

What I am worried about, is that with my limited modelling skills, I will not be able to replicate the true look, nature and feel of Yriel’s renegade corsairs. I think I will use a mix of Eldar and DE bits and ‘tame’ the DE models a bit. This will mean dropping the trophy racks, scalps and all the gruesome stuff. I imagine, Eldar corsairs would not boast with body part trophies, but rather show off with colourful vehicles, banners and generally more bling. Am I right here, or completely missing the spot?
I could not find any canon paint scheme for Yriel’s fleet, so I think I will go for a combination of dark blue with yellow accents to distinguish it from Iyanden, but at the same time keep it within the same colour palette.

Does it make sense at all? Do Eldar and DE bits mix well? I know that the bare head from the Guardian set is rather large, but otherwise the scale seems similar. Do you think mixing Eldar corsair jetbikes with our Reavers in a single squad will look ok and actually be fluffy?
I’d like for the army to be as fluffy as possible, but could not really find all that much lore describing Yriel’s fleet and his comrades in arms. Apart from that it is mainly Eldar, who have left the craftworld with him, some Harlequins and any Dark Eldar who are willing to join him.

I would really appreciate any feedback on viability of this idea, some minor or major tweaks that can be made to make it seem more plausible. Your modelling ideas and experiences with corsairs or scetches/art and other things that can inspire me will be most welcome.
Once I decide on what minis will be incorporated into the army, I will produce a list, but the playability and competitiveness of it is not as important as the look and feel.

Thanks a lot,
Gru6y

http://40kunorthodoxy.blogspot.ca/2013/06/the-new-eldar-prince-yriel.html

might want to read this ... will give you some ideas on fielding Yriel

Thanks a lot, but this is something entirely oposite to what I was looking for.
I do not care much for the strategy with this list and I am much more interested about the looks and feel of the army. Also, Yriel tactica is not really relevant, as I am only going to use his model for an Archon.

Hey Gru6y.

I like the idea of adding a slightly more tamed looking DE dettatchment to an army, and I see the route you want to go with cleaning up the DE models, but one thing I recommend is using the bare Wych heads on Guardian models. The asthetic feel of the model is tremendous, especially when using the heads that have the mouths obscured by face scalves. I've used these on my own Guardians and find myself wondering if I have a Craftworld of a Corsair fleet.

I think that if you want to stick with the DE models Try removing the blades and spikes from the shoulders of the armour and helmets. They will keep lots of the harsh, aggressive features but be much more refined than the average Kabalites.

I don't think that mixing Jetbikes and Reavers would work too well in terms of looks, but there is by no means any reason why you shouldn't use them both! Corsairs can come from any Craftworld to a particular pirate fleet, so having some already (slightly barbaric) Saim-Hann who've repainted all their gear to match the fleet competing with Reavers for acts of impressive speed would work rather quite well.

There's a link to an Eldar dedicated forum in my sig, so if you take a look around there and post a thread you might get some great advice.

If you get stuck with the fluffy side of things feel free to PM me; my head's always got a few ideas rattling around and I'll be more than happy to throw about some fluff.

Cheers.

Thanks a lot for your comments and suggestions, Cavash.
I'll make sure to start a project log once it gets going. Luckily, it turned out, a friend of mine is very interested in eldar pirates and has loads of reference material and a good understanding of the theme, so he will be able to guide me. He has also pointed that wych heads fit the theme perfectly.

I will use guardian bodies, but will also try to salvage as many DE bits as possible in order not to kitbash all the squads from 3 different sets (i will aim for all of the dudes to be armed with DE weaponry so that it is easier to understand what is what on the tabletop).

Hey Gruby. Here are some of my Eldar pirates. If you are looking for bits inspiration:







My advice is go pick up box of Wyches, Warriors, and bits order some Helion heads. Make a little green stuff ball to cover up the respirator mouth (or whatever is going on there) and you have some cool hazardous environment respirators for your Corsairs/Pirates. The bits go together flawlessly and with just a little love the Dark Elf and High Elf bits work as well.

Hi Cavalier!
I have seen your log, it is very impressive. Even though, your painting style is not really my kind of thing, it is executed flawlessly and with loads of sharp details and great smoothness.
Painting aside, I really like your conversions and will be checking out your log for inspiration and ideas.