The Eldar Hornet.

The state of Imperial Armour at the moment is somewhat confusing. A handful of tournaments in my area allow the rules to be used but, overall, it isn't as widespread as many would like. We had some very interesting comments recently depicting that all FW units should be taken into considering when deciding on what to use in an army. While this may be true in some other countries, I don't believe it to be so in our local circle. However, I wish it was because Corsairs are pretty awesome!

Bring out the Hornet!

Recently updated in the Apocalypse book released by Forge World. They were awesome before and they are even better now.

10 points more than a War Walker.
AV11.
Scout.
Fast Vehicle.
Star Engines.
Skimmer Assault.
Acute Senses.

Pretty awesome. The best part of the deal though is the fact that all the weapons (bar the missiles) have been reduced in price to 5 points a pop. Yes.....that is correct.....5 point upgrade for a Pulse Laser.

There really is no need to have Acute Senses as their huge movement capicity means that in most scenarious you won't be Outflanking. However, I guess it doesn't hurt to have that extra little buff!

The new Skimmer Assault rule also makes them that much more dangerous. Being able to Snap shot after turbo boosting is a great asset to have, especially since Star Engines gives you that increased range. Don't ever forget that you have a 12" Scout move to use before first turn even hits. This has effectively created a 48" killzone in turn 1. This can be a great way to score some early game kills on rear armour or to snipe out a squad hiding out of LOS.

Best idea is to Guide them first turn. Scout move 12" + 12" normal move and if need be (if you need to get to rear armour), turbo boost as far as needed to gain that 4+ cover save and still be able to snap shot with re-rolls. With three Hornets you should score a few Str8 Ap2 hits. Remember that the Pulse Laser is 48" so you don't have to zoom directly behind the target. Moving right to the back or corner of your opponents deployment zone can cause havoc for anyone. If you need them to drop some MC's then you can rest assured they will do the job pretty effectively. Even the Riptide's 3++ save will have a hard time against an average of 8-9 saving throws.

Alternative weapon loadouts:

Shuriken Cannons: Basically just a pimped out Vyper. Don't know why you would ever take this option when you only need to spend a tiny bit more to get awesomeness.

Scatter Laser + Pulse Laser: This is the suggested build if you want a mixture of weapons to deal with infantry and armour. Plus, a bit of twin-linking won't hurt. It is the only other load-out I would consider against double Pulse Lasers.

Bright Lance: No. Take Pulse Lasers and go rear armour hunting. 

Missles: Again, No. Way too expensive. 

Star Cannons: NO! Bad! Pulse Laser has the same number of shots and is higher strength and range!

Vehicle Options:

Holo-Fields: Worth a considering, especially if you are turbo-boosting into their deployment zone. You will then be flying around with a 3+ cover save. Not bad. Adds more points onto them though.

Spirit-Stones: If you are considering taking these then I would advise taking Holo-Fields instead (only 5 points more). With only two HP's each, it is better to not even get to the stage of Vehicle damage. 

Vectored Engines: Not worth it. Put your rear armour up against a game board edge or piece of terrain if you are worried about getting shot. 

Builds:

Douglas Formation: 3 x Hornets with double Pulse Lasers. Rocking in at 240 points. Can't go wrong with this.

Sniper team: One Hornet with double Pulse Lasers. 1-3 per army. Much easier if you need to be sniping out certain units. However, it is much harder to buff all three and becomes 3 KP's instead of 1 in Purge the Alien.

Overall, the Hornet is pretty damn awesome and I encourage all Eldar players to consider making the investment (pending budget).

As a leaving note, check out this AMAZING paint job:

Seriously......WOW!

Cheers.