While working on my Corsair Voidscarred kill team, I spent a few days reading about Aeldari and Corsairs and noodling about names. I adore the warband name “Sunblitz Brotherhood,” and that’s the energy I wanted to capture.
I jotted down all sorts of ideas, but eventually returned to one of my first good ones: the Void Tigers.
Yes, there are already Void Dragons and Void Warriors, but there are also Eldritch Raiders, Sky Raiders, Dusk Raiders, and several other Raiders (and Sky Reavers and Skyslayers). There are thousands of Anhrathe warbands and kill teams out there, and the Aeldari know a good theme when they see one. I’m cool with some overlap.
Void Tigers lore
The Void Tigers are a tight-knit band of pirates, a mix of outcasts, escaped prisoners, looters, hunters, assassins, and freebooters. My kill team is part of the Golden Dirge warband, united by its members’ common belief: The universe is in its final centuries, so why not kill, plunder, and have some fun on the way out? The Void Tigers live by this credo, carving a bloody path through the stars and living it up on their ill-gotten gains.
The Golden Dirge operates from a fleet of voidships, giving them the ability to strike just about anywhere. The Void Tigers’ ship is the notorious Final Embrace, which has plagued the space ways for centuries.
Kill team roster
As of March 2023, I’ve built nine Void Tigers. My rule of thumb for Aeldari names is, “If Kylo Ren thought of this name while he was shopping at Hot Topic, would he think it was cool?” They’ve gotta be the right amount of extra, emo, and 40k — which is a fun balance to try to strike.
- Felarch: Iradel Voidlight, Strider of the Glittering Way, a flamboyant pirate who thinks “too far” is a good start. Raised on Alaitoc craftworld, Iradel chafed at the stultifying purity and boredom of Aeldari society.
- Heavy Gunner: Morroruin Vathesh Maulathar, who left the Lugganath craftworld to experience this world for as long as it exists, rather than fleeing into the Webway with his kin.
- Kurnathi: Celayla, Daughter of Isedra, Wielder of the Star-Shards, an assassin who once trained with the Harlequins.
- Kurnite Hunter: Ralial Firehawk, devout follower of Kurnous. Imprisoned for poaching on Ulthwé craftworld, Ralial is now a bounty hunter who excels at finding valuable targets for the Void Tigers.
- Shade Runner: Xynha Veshan of the Bloodweb, an assassin and former Drukhari Wych Cult member hiding out from her comrades.
- Starstorm Duellist: Xirhadru Meleer Eth’ar Lidaena Duskwarp, a reckless thrill-seeker who loves nothing better than a good duel and the excitement of combat.
- Warrior (shuriken rifle): Vyparis the Bloody Thorn, a Drukhari pleasure-seeker who grew weary of his Kabal’s obsession with pain.
- Warrior (shuriken pistol and power sword): Ylloné of the Citrine Shadow, a brash swashbuckler who spent centuries in the employ of various rogue traders before finding the Void Tigers.
- Way Seeker: Siac-Zar, who abandoned the Iyanden craftworld to its fate so that she could live a life of excess among the stars.
Void Tigers color guide
Revised 7/1/23: I was originally planning to paint each Corsair differently, but in hindsight I think that’s been making the project feel too intimidating. Plus the classic warbands all have a color scheme — it’s how you know who’s stealing your shit.
So I’m going to paint the Void Tigers with armor in matching colors, plus a unifying element: orange and black tiger-striped back “blades” (or Blink Pack, for the Shade Runner).
As always, the recipes below are the Citadel studio recipes with some tweaks. Nothing is drybrushed unless noted.
Bases
The main recipe comes from the White Dwarf Basing Cookbook.
- Terrain: Armageddon Dust > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > Tyrant Skull drybrush
- Rocks: Pick one or mix in both:
- Dark grey: Mechanicus Standard Grey > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > Celestra Grey drybrush
- Light grey: Grey Seer > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > 50/50 Corax White/Grey Seer drybrush
- Skulls: Corax White > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > Corax White drybrush
- Horns: Zandri Dust > Seraphim Sepia all-over wash > Ushabti Bone drybrush
- Base rim: Baneblade Brown
- Tufts: Army Painter swamp, winter, or both
Void Tigers
- Armor: Abaddon Black > Dark Reaper > Fenrisian Grey
- Cloth capes: TBD, but glaze to a lighter shade at the bottom (see the Harlequin Shadowseer on GW’s site for an example)
- Hide cape: TBD but probably a vibrant green
- Weapons: Rakarth Flesh > Reikland Fleshshade pin wash > Pallid Wych Flesh > White Scar
- Back “blades” and Blink Pack: Jokaero Orange > Abaddon black tiger stripes, applied in a single coat > very light Jokaero Orange drybrush along the edges only, to provide highlights
- Metal: Leadbelcher > Nuln Oil all-over wash > Ironbreaker > Stormhost Silver
- Gold: Retributor Armour > Reikland Fleshshade all-over wash > Auric Armour Gold > Liberator Gold
- Leather: Dryad Bark > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > Gorthor Brown > Baneblade Brown
- Gems: Stegadon Scale Green > Coelia Greenshade all-over wash > Sotek Green in a crescent from 2 o’clock to 8 o’clock > Temple Guard Blue in a smaller crescent over the Sotek Green area > dot of White Scar at 11 o’clock
- Skin: Pick one:
- Dark brown: Catachan Flesh > Reikland Fleshshade all-over wash > Bloodreaver Flesh > Knight-Questor Flesh
- Pale: Rakarth Flesh > Reikland Fleshshade all-over wash > Flayed One Flesh > Pallid Wych Flesh
- Hair: TBD, but mainly wild colors
I love the Corsair minis, and coming up with names, backstories, and the lore behind this kill team has been a hoot. I’m excited to paint them!
Out now: The Unlucky IslesThe Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is now on DriveThruRPG.