A bit more painting completed. This time some Windriders and an Autarch. Now these have sat on a shelf for a long time, as I have no interest in Jetbikes, But with the current rules it would be stupid not to have at least one unit.
So with a few chops and some glue and these old bikers are suddenly up to date with some mean Shuriken Cannons. Even at the lowest squad size of 3, it can still kick out an impressive 9 Str 6 hits at 24". Along with a large movement range and jink saves, I have to admit they are a strong unit.
Silver Key Biker
I'm sure a lot of gamers would ask why not the scatter laser? My answer is that I would rather lose a shot per weapon and gain the Bladestorm advantage. Getting an AP2 shot off now and again is a bigger bonus to me.
Silver Key Biker two.
When it came to the painting of this squad. I decided if this was to be the start of a Windrider host formation (which it is), then it needed to be slightly different in looks than the Iyanden scheme. With that idea planted I started some quick research. After some reading, it seems that younger more reckless Eldar ride these machines. This idea made me think maybe they are on the path of the Exile. Which neatly led me to the Eldritch Raiders.
Silver Key Biker 3
With the idea of them being Eldritch Raiders it's easy to believe that they have multiple versions of the humble Jetbike. Having to make do with whatever equipment they could get. This would then allow me to mix and match old and new models, once I start buying a few more. Also I should be able to use them in a corsair force, once Forgeworld re-release Doom of Mymeara.
The Silver Keys with Autarch 'Umr At-Twail
Autarch 'Umr At-Twail
Now on to the Autarch. His name like many of my Eldar comes from Lovecraft. 'Umr At-Twail means The Most Ancient one, The Guide and the Prolonged of Life. In the story he guards the Ultimate Gate that can only be accessed by a Silver key (aka the Jetbikes). For this incarnation he is the Guide. Guiding his forces into battle.
Overall I wanted to keep him cheap, as I just want to improve the ability to get reserves in quicker. Most of the time I will give him a power sword and be done with it. But if there are some points spare, I might give him Shard of Anaris, but I see very little point in that. Once again his paint scheme matches the Silver Keys and has the trade mark tiger stripes of the Eldritch Raiders.
There you have it. The beginnings of a new formation or some extra speed for a CAD. I can see me hiding these for most of the game, then jumping out to either finish off a weaken unit or for a late objective grab.
As always drop me a comment and feel free to complain about the photos. It gets so dark here I struggling to get day time photos.