Send in the Clowns! Codex: Eldar Harlequins Review Part 3

Hello again readers. In this third installment of the Codex Harlequins review I'll be going over a few list ideas that I've had running through my brain, as well as some general tactics, combinations and some things to be aware of when using Harlequins in your army.

The first thing I want to get at is the basic Harlequin Troupe, and how best to use them. While they may be fantastic in combat, especially with the right upgrades, they are crazy squishy if left unsupported. We're talking Guardsman killable here. Toughness 3 can be pretty brutal on a unit, particularly when you have to weather shooting as you come up the board, potentially a transport explosion (which will likely spell the end of a Harlequin unit inside of it) and then overwatch fire. This means you'll have to mitigate this however you can.

The first way is to take a transport. Obviously you can have Starweavers, but if you want larger squads, look to your allies, Eldar and Dark Eldar. With Dark Eldar, you can take Raiders, which are generally more durable than a Starweaver, with a larger capacity, and honestly in my opinion, the best choice. Eldar give you the Wave Serpent, which is more durable still, with 12 capacity, so you can bring along a Shadowseer and Jester, but the downside is that you can't disembark and assault from it in the same turn. Huge bummer. Its not all bad for the Wave Serpent though, as some psychic support from the Shadowseer could really give you some good defenses the turn you jump out via Invisibility, or Fog of Dreams.

The other way to try and do it is to take them in big blobs on foot. 12 Harlies with a Shadowseer. This is looking to be my preferred method at the moment, because with the right powers and a litte luck, these guys will soak a ton of firepower, even if they never see combat. Take them in a list with a Wraithknight and a Wave Serpent or two, and the opponent won't have a good option to shoot at. Do they kill the Knight and get creamed by Harlies and the Serpents? Kill the Harlequins and get pulverised? Or go for the vehicles and get assaulted into oblivion.

This leads me nicely into the next thing I'd like to talk about. Threat saturation. Harlequins are going to rely largely on threat saturation to get into combat and wreck face. To clarify, I'm talking about having so many things on the table that need to be dealt with right away, that something will make it through. This is also known as the "They can't kill us all!" strategum by imperial scholars. Again, the best way to do this is probably in using allies. There's a reason that this book is called Codex: Eldar Harlequins. If you want to run a solo act though, I think the way to go is a unit or two in Starweavers, with a big foot blob to back them up, and two big units of Zephyrglaive Skyweavers (think 5 or 6). This will give you 4 units that will be in combat turn 2, with the blob potentially getting a turn two charge, but a turn 3 almost for sure. Skyweavers will also take a good amount of firepower to kill, given some decent cover saves, and if there's lots of LoS blocking terrain on the field, you can maybe even hide before jumping out to clown punch some jerks.

The last way to use Harlequins is as a counter-attack unit. Keep them behind your shooty units, ideally out of sight, and wait. Use them as a threat so that people don't want to charge your more vulnerable things. Sort of like a chess game, where you use a pawn as bait to get a more valuable piece. It's not a particularly subtle or clever tactic, but even if they notice, the threat still remains. Do they sacrifice their unit to charge the thing, or stand there and get blown to pieces?

Finally, we'll start getting to some cool combinations using Harlequins, Eldar, and Dark Eldar.

The first one has seen the light of day... sort of. In a recent apocalypse game. The basic idea is this. Take an Eldar primary Combined Arms Detatchment, a Dark Eldar Allied Detatchment and the Cast of Players Harlequin formation. Now, we're going to need at least one Farseer, but try to get in 2, one with the Spirit Stone of Anath'lan, a Dark Eldar Archon with Webway Portal, Armour of Misery, and if you have the points, a Shadowfield, 12 Harlies with your chosen weapon upgrades (I like the Harlequin's Caress), a level 2 Shadowseer with the Mask of Secrets and the Death Jester. Keep in mind, we're looking at around 800 points here, so it's not very competitive, but bear with me. We're going to roll all 3 psykers on Telepathy, looking for at least 1 Invisibility, and as many Terrifies as we can get. So, everything goes in reserve, and hopefully will come in turn 2. With the Webway portal you will not scatter, so you'll drop in next to whatever unit(s) you want to not be a thing anymore, as close as you can. The Archon's Armour of Misery, and the Shadowseer's Mask of Secrets are now giving all units within 6" -4 to their Ld. That's huge. Now, we'll hopefully get to cast some powers. Invisibility goes up to save you from scary shooting, and hopefully we got terrify a bunch of times. Lets say we got it twice and droped down right close to 2 units. We'll cast it once on each so their Ld is at -5. Thats a MAXIMUM of Ld 5, if they had 10. Now's the fun part. Psychic shriek happens as many times as possible. For those of you who don't know, Psychic shriek is a psychic shooting attack wherein you roll 3d6 minus the target's Ld. Anything that exceeds their Ld does the difference in wounds that ignore armour and cover saves. If we get that off twice on a unit with Ld 5 (from all our debuffs) we're looking at an average of about 11 wounds. So basically, any unit that is not a vehicle is going to be erased, unless it's a big unit of something. This will likely force a morale check, which they will more then likely fail. If they don't you still have your shooting phase with your good friend the Death Jester. Hopefully they'll still have a guy or two within 6" of your Archon. If so, and you manage to kill a model (not terribly unlikely with a Shuriken Cannon against a horde) they're making a morale test on Ld 3... at best.

Expensive? Yes. Gimmicky? My GOD yes. Reliant on psychic powers to work? 100% yes! But, if it works, your opponent will throw everything he has at that unit, because if it survives, the same thing will keep happening turn after turn. There's a catch, however. The rest of your force should be made up of units that can do some anti-tank duty for you. We're talking Wave Serpents, Ravagers, Fire Prisms, that sort of stuff. You need for units to not be in their transports early, so that your Harliestar of  doom has something to destroy.

Now, if you don't feel like hinging your whole army around a single unit, I have some other ideas as well, so chill out.

Eldar/Harlequin List 1500 Points

HQ:
- Farseer on Jetbike with Spirit Stone of Anath'lan - 130

Troops:
- 5 Dire Avengers in Wave Serpent with Twin-Linked Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannon, and Holo
   Fields -210

- 5 Dire Avengers in Wave Serpent with Twin-Linked Scatter Lasers, Shuriken Cannon, and Holo
   Fields -210

- 3 Windrider Jetbikes - 51

Fast Attack:
- 5 Warpspiders with Exarch with Fast Shot - 134

Heavy Support:
-Wraithknight with Suncannon and Scattershield, and a Scatter Laser - 300

Harlequin Formation Detatchment
Cast of Players
- 12 Players with 11x Harlequin's Caress, Troupe Master with Harlequin's Caress and Cruscendo - 301

- Death Jester - 60

- Shadowseer Mastery Level 2 with Mask of Secrets and Haywire Grenades - 105

Total: 1501

This list gives you a good mix. The Wave Serpents will provide some solid fire support, along with the Warp Spiders and Wraithknight, while the Harlequins and Wraithknight close with the enemy. The Farseer is on a Jetbike so that he can join the Harlequins and not slow them down, and he'll hopefully be getting Invisibility, while the Shadowseer rolls on Phantasmancy for Veil, Fog of Dreams, and Dance of Shadows. I took the Mask of Secrets again, because it really is fantastic, and hopefully the Death Jester will be able to benefit from it to pull some units into charge range.

Dark Eldar/ Harlequin List 2000 Points

HQ:
- Archon with Agoniser, Blaster, Haywire Grenades, Shadowfield, and Webway Portal - 180

Elites:
- 5 Trueborn with 4x Blaster and a Dracon with Haywire Grenades in a Raider with Darklance and
   Nightshields - 205

Troops:
- 5 Wyches with Hekatrix with Haywire Grenades in a Venom with extra Splinter Cannon - 130

- 5 Wyches with Hekatrix with Haywire Grenades in a Venom with extra Splinter Cannon - 130

Harlequin Formation Detatchment
The Serpent's Brood
- 6 Players with 5x Harlequin's Caress and a Troupe Master with Harlequin's Caress and Haywire
   Grenades - 163

- 6 Players with 5x Harlequin's Embrace and a Troupe Master with Harlequin's Embrace, Haywire
   Grenades and Cruscendo - 150

- 6 Players with 5x Harlequin's Kiss and a Troupe Master with Cegorach's Rose, and Haywire
  Grenades - 155

- 5 Skyweavers with 5x Zephyrglaive - 300

- 5 Skyweavers with 5x Zephyrglaive - 300

- Starweaver - 70

- Starweaver - 70

- Starweaver - 70

- Voidweaver - 75

Total: 1998

This is a very different list. It relies on lots of small fast units to get into combat and pulp what they're fighting. The Archon goes with the Trueborn and drops down to nuke a vehicle. Everything else boosts forwards as fast as possible, using as much LoS blocking terrain as possible to close the distance. Everything in this army should be jinking, except maybe the Harlequin stuff, which can use their mirage launchers. Hopefully you'll be able to get a few units into combat, and I would recommend assaulting a unit or two with multiple squads, to ensure that you won't take many attacks back, before moving on to your next target. It also would likely be worth it to take one of your Troupe Masters as your Warlord, as some of those traits are pretty good, and you'll get to re-roll thanks to the formation.

Harlequins 2000 Points
Cegorach's Revenge

Troops:
- 12 Players with 5x Harlequin's Caress, Troupe Master with Cegorach's Rose, and Haywire Grenades
   - 260

- 12 Players with 5x Harlequin's Kiss, Troupe Master with Harlequin's Kiss, Cruscendo and Haywire
   Grenades - 245

- 12 Players with 5x Harlequin's Kiss, Troupe Master with Harlequin's Kiss, and Haywire Grenades
   - 240

Elites:
- Shadowseer Mastery Level 2, with Mask of Secrets and Haywire Grenades - 105

- Shadowseer Mastery Level 2, with the Laughing God's Eye, and Haywire Grenades - 110

- Shadowseer Mastery Level 2 - 85

- Death Jester - 60

- Death Jester - 60

- Death Jester - 60

- Solitaire - 145

Fast Attack:
- 4 Skyweaver Jetbikes with Zephyrglaives - 240

- 4 Skyweaver Jetbikes with Zephyrglaives - 240

Heavy Support:
- 2 Voidweavers - 150

Total: 2000

This list uses the Cegorach's Revenge formation, because at high points, I think it's the best way to try and play a solo Harlequin list.What we've got is 3 big foot blobs of clowns (36 in all) with a Shadowsser for each. I think what I would do, is keep the Death Jesters all by themselves. The reason for this is that if your opponent want's to kill them, they have to devote resources to killing JUST them, which really sucks to have to do (especially for a T3 model). If they decide to ignore them, then they're going to have to deal with them making their units run all over the place, especially when (if) the Mask of Secrets Shadowseer gets close. The Skyweavers will offer some melee support/distraction, and the Voidweavers can lay down a bit of support. The main weakness of this army is that there's little that can do anything to flyers, so a flying spam army will wreck you, and vehicles will be unopposed until you get to combat as well. Still, you've got decent model count, and with some psychic support, I think that the Players will be tough to deal with.

Keep in mind that I still haven't gotten a chance to do much playtesting, and so while some of this stuff may look good on paper, it may not perform as well in an actual game.

And with that, I will end this chapter. I may come back in awhile and do a part 4 after I've gotten a chance to use this book a little more, but for now I think that this is really all I have to say about Codex: Eldar Harlequins. Thanks for reading!

Send in the Clowns! Codex: Eldar Harlequins Review Part 2

Welcome back to my review of the Harlequin Codex. In part 2, I'll be talking about the Enigmas of the Black Library, the Phantasmancy psychic discipline, the various Formations, and the Warlord traits. Like with part one, there won't be any tactics discussed just yet, as I wan't to highlight all of the tools at a general's disposal first. Tactics and list ideas will all make an appearance in part 3. Let us begin.

Unfortunately, this is what Harlequins used to look like.

Enigmas of the Black Library

These are the "relics" of this book. You may take only one of each of these in an army, and some of them are restricted to certain units (i.e Shadowseer only).

The Storied Sword

An exquisite and perfectly weighted weapon, the Storied Sword has a starmetal blade and a tooled wraithbone grip. Inscribed upon the sword in minute script is the entire tale of the Fall of the Eldar, as narrated by the Shadowseers. As the wielder of this weapon fights, they find their mind filling with visions of that terrible time, impossible psychic snapshots of the greatest tragedy ever to befall their race. Driven to a Killing fury by the horrors they have seen, the wielder fights all the harder, determined to prevent any such terrible events from transpiring ever again.

The Storied Sword is... ok. I think. It's usable by Troupe Masters only, and is a Master-Crafted Power Sword that gives S+1. It would be great, but for 25 points, you're probably better off with a Harlequin's Kiss or Caress for like, a fifth of the points. Still, it does mean that a Troupe Master with it will be getting 5 Strength 5 attacks on the charge, and getting to re-roll a failed to hit roll, which isn't shabby. Still, I wouldn't bother, unless you had a bunch of points to spare.

Crescendo

This masterwork shuriken pistol was first bestowed upon a Troupe Master of the Veiled Path. Supposedly, it was given as a gift by a wanderer of the webway, who members of that masque claim was none other than the Laughing God himself. While many doubt the word of the Veiled Path in this, there can be no denying that Crescendo is a beautifully crafted and uniquely potent firearm. When the pistol's trigger is pulled, micro-distortion engines engage within its housing. The effect is to step Crescendo's wielder slightly ahead of time, accelerating the weapon and wielder alike and allowing an impossible volley of  firepower to be unleashed. Thus Crescendo lives up to its name, filling the air with a rising howl as it scythes down waves of the foe.

I think that we'll be seeing Crescendo a lot. It's usable by both Troupe Masters and Shadowseers, and really is just a fancy Shuriken Pistol that shoots the same amount of times as the Attacks of the model. So 3. Remember that Shuriken Pistols have the Bladestorm rule, so 3 shots at BS 5 could be pretty excellent. The main thing that makes this so good is that it's only 5 points. Which is super cheap.

The Mask of Secrets

Many Eldar believe the Mask of Secrets to be no more than a dark fable, and perhaps it would be better if this were so. Yet it is very real, kept within a shadowed vault deep within the Black Library. All who look upon this mask see distorted reflections of their own faults and failings, the slightest doubt or regret twisted into a horrific swarm of phantasms that scream and wail as they claw at the psyche of the victim. Those who wear the Mask of Secrets fear nothing while the mask remains upon their face, yet it is said that in the long run, they must pay a terrible price for this temporary boon.

Here is the big winner, in my opinion. It can only be taken by a Shadowseer, but it grants the Fearless rule, and all enemy models within 12" suffer -2 to their leadership. That may not seem like much, but think about a Shadowseer with the Mask within 12" of a unit who just took a casualty from a Death Jester. Yep, that's a cumulative bonus of -4! Even Ld 10 units will be failing their test more often then not. It also opens up some interesting psychic power combinations, but I'll get into those in part 3. The price of this item? A mere 15 points. If you have a Shadowseer, take the Mask of Secrets. Just do it. Now! Go!

Cegorach's Rose

Representing the barbed gift given in jest by the Laughing God to the crone Morai-Heg, Cegorach's Rose contains thorned monofilaments of shadowsilk. Existing in the penumbra between realspace and the labyrinth dimension, these shadowsilk strands bypass the thickest armour as though it did not exist. Once within the body of the victim, the rose's threads uncoil, a blossom of molecule-thin blades unfurling at the end of each. Thus, the foe is slain instantly as a thicket of bloody, bladed roses bursts forth within their chest.

This item is basically a Harlequin's Kiss on steroids. It has all the same rules as a kiss, as well as Master-crafted, and Shred, meaning that you get to re-roll one to hit roll a round, as well as all failed to wound rolls when using it. So basically, you're going to hit and wound with your Kiss of Death attack pretty much every time, and it also gives you slightly better odds of causing an Instant Death wound. Still, it's triple the points of a regular Harlequin's Kiss, and while I don't think it's great on a Troupe Master, it might be nice for a Solitaire, if you have some points to burn. Not worthless, but not really a go-to either.

Starmist Raiment

At first glance, there is little to distinguish the Starmist Raiment from a typical holo-suit, save that it is woven through with gossamer-thin strands of what looks like liquid silver. Yet when the wearer moves, they are engulfed in a shimmering cloud of refracted starlight that blinds and confuses the foe. This effect is magnified when the wearer moves quickly, the blurred glow swelling to become a blazing corona almost impossible to see through. So does the wearer mimic Aelos, the heavenly star flung by Cegorach himself, that smote Vaul's treacherous assistant Ghaevyll and blinded him for his deceits.

I'm not hugely fond of the Starmist Raiment. If the bearer of the item runs, then it gives them a 3+ invuln until the start of their next shooting phase, which seems great, but I'm not sure what you would bother taking this on. If you run, you can't assault, so it's not great there, and you wouldn't want it on a Death Jester, because then he would never get to shoot. The only time I could see it being good, is on a Troupe Master using one of the formations that allows a unit to run and assault in the same turn, but even then, it's still pricy, and I'm not sure it's worth it.

The Laughing God's Eye

A pendant of rune-carved wraithbone, this potent artefact is said to draw the watchful eye of Cegorach himself. Psychic powers flicker and die in the pendant's presence, for the Laughing God will no suffer his children to be beset by the tendrils of the Warp. This aura of abnegation extends not only to the pendant's wearer, but billows like a concealing cloak to shield nearby allies. So does Cegorach watch over his followers, guarding them from the predations of She Who Thirsts.

At first, I wasn't sure about this item, but I think that I'm liking the idea of it more and more. For 20 points you get a 12" bubble of Adamantium Will, meaning that if you bring a whole bunch of psykers as well, you'll be able to pretty reliably deny the witch when it comes to any witchfires, or maledictions. It won't always come up, but it could definately come in handy.

This is more recent. Thankfully.

Phantasmancy

Shadowseers are the masters of illusion and misdirection. Such is their power and intellect, they can reach into the minds of mortals and twist their perceptions at a whim. This may involve shrouding the presence of the Harlequins from the victims' mind, or trapping the foe in purgatorial thought-mazes of their own worst fears. Whatever the precise nature of the manipulation, it will invariable be subtle, sinister, and dangerously cruel. 

Veil of Tears..........Warp Charge 1

Sketching a gesture in the air, the Shadowseer snatches the image of the Harlequins from the minds of their foes, and plucks it out, hiding them from sight.

I really like this power, so I'm glad that it is the Primaris Power of this discipline. Veil of tears is a blessing that makes it so that any unit wishing to target the psyker's unit with a shooting attack must roll 2d6x2. If the Harlequins are outside that many inches, then the unit cannot fire that turn. This means that outside 24", your Harelquins can't be targeted at all, and a shooting attack outside of 4" has the potential to fail. When you're guys are T3 with only a 5++, this sort of protection can be invaluable.

Dance of Shadows.......... Warp Charge 1

The Shadowseer uses his powers of illusion to exaggerate the play of light and shadow around his allies. The effect swiftly intesnifies, shrouding the unit in a whirling vortex of gloom, shot through with blinding pulses of light.

Again, this is a great defensive power. A blessing that can be cast on a friendly unit within 18" and grants them Stealth and Shrouded. This is even better combined with powers like Veil of Tears or Invisibility, as it means that if your unit is in any kind of cover (other than a crater), you're getting a 2+ cover save against any shooting that does manage to target you. Just beware Ignores Cover, or Flamer, weapons.

Peal of Discord.......... Warp Charge 1

Drawing in a slow breath of Warp energy, the Shadowseer throws back his head and sings out a perfect note, interwoven with a horrific banshee scream. Soaring and plunging, the wave of sound rolls outward, a crashing discordia that shatters bones, bursts brains and leaves the few survivors bleeding and befuddled.

I'm not a huge fan of this power for one main reason. Its a nova. With only 9" of range, it probably won't come up a lot, but if it does, it's ok... against the right unit. S4, Assault 2d6, and Concussive, means that it's going to be decent against squishy targets like Cultists, Daemons, and Guardsmen, but not great against anything with a decent save. Not one I forsee being cast very often.

Shards of Light.......... Warp Charge 1

The Shadowseer reaches out and plucks blades of light from thin air. Though nothing but illusion, this trick is so realistic that it fools the senses utterly, the blades inflicting horrific psychosomatic wounds as the whistle through the air to blind and impale.

Another relatively meh power, but one that I think could be lots of fun. It's a 24" witchfire with S3 AP - Assault 3d6, and Blind. Not great, but the potential to blind can be excellent, particularly against armies like Tau or Necrons, as they have abysmal Initiative and are very shooty, which means that being blinded will really hurt them, even more so than the power itself. A weird power that is both offensive and defensive at the same time. Good if you have a dice left after casting Veil, and other stuff.

Fog of Dreams.......... Warp Charge 2

Soft and Subtle, the Shadowseer sends his consciousness forth like a creeping mist. Moment by moment, his thoughts seep into those of the foe, veiling their sight and baffling their senses. Soon enough they see only a whirling bank of lambent silver mist. The sounds of battle echo weirdly through this icy murk, and shadows prowl beyond the edge of sight. The enemy are left deaf, blind, and all but helpless as the Shadowseer's comrades descend upon them.

I really like this power, as it's very similar to Invisibility. A 24" malediction that makes it so that the target unit can only fire Snap Shots and hits in close combat on 6's. Another great defensive spell to keep your Harlies safe. I'd be hoping for this one every time.

Laugh of Sorrows.......... Warp Charge 2

The Shadowseer sends barbed strands of pure malice whipping out to plunge into the minds of the enemy. With his victims snared, the Shadowseer begins to twitch and jerk his fingers, each gesture drawing forth unnatural mirth within the victims' psyches. Within moments, the unwilling puppets are howling and shrieking with laughter, convulsing so hard that bones snap and organs burst. AS the horrified hilarity reaches a crescendo, the Shadowseer tears out his psychic barbs, plunging the survivors into such heart stopping misery that many die there and then.

This is a real odd-ball power that I think could be very effective. A witchfire with 24" range, it basically makes a unit take 2 Ld tests. The first, if it's failed causes the unit to take as many wounds as the test was failed by, with no armour or cover saves. The second does the same thing if it's passed. This means that it is excellent against even high Ld units, as they're likely to take some wounds from the second test at the least. Not a bad power.

Mirror of Minds.......... Warp Charge 2

The Shadowseer singles out a foe and appears to them as an apparition lodged in their subconscious. Reality falls away before the helpless victim, replaced by a warped mirrormaze of the Shadowseer's making. Though only seconds pass in the real world, within the victim's mind they must strive against the Shadowseer's will for days, months, even years in their efforts to excape. Many never do. Their souls erode until nothing remains but a ghost, wandering mad and alone within the prison of their own mind.

This is an ok power, but it's fairly situational. It's a 24" focused witchfire that makes the model roll off against the Shadowseer in a Ld contest. Every time the target gets less than or equal to the Shadowseer's total, they take a wound with no armour or cover saves allowed. Unfortunately, with the way focused witchfires work, there's a good chance that you wont get the guy you're after and will end up just killing random mooks with it. Even if you do get a scary HQ, they usually have a high enough Ld that it'll be just a straight roll-off, unless you have the Mask of Secrets or some other Ld-reducing effect in there. Not one I would hope for.

Warlord Traits

The Warlord traits in this book are a little strange. you have 3 seperate tables to choose from, but the first 3 traits from each table are all identicle, so what I'll do is outline those first, then go into the others. A Death Jester or Shadowseer rolls a d3 on any of the 3 tables (Light, Twilight, or Dark) and gets the result, meaning it makes no difference which you pick, as they're all the same. A Troupe Master on the other hand, gets to roll a full d6 on any of the tables, giving you a bit better of a list. So here we go.

Any Table

Luck of the Laughing God

To be possessed of supernatural fortune is a sure sign of Cegorach's favour.

The Warlord re-rolls all to hit and saving throw rolls of 1. Not bad, but not amazing either. Best for a Death Jester as it essentially gives his shooting Twin-Linked.

Fractal Storm

In battle, the Warlord performs rapid movements that maximise the effect of his holo-suit to better evade his enemy's blows.

This just increases the Warlord's invuln to a 4+. Shitty if you took the Starmist Raiment, but otherwise its ok. Pretty meh.

A Foot in the Future

The Warlord and his followers flow like starlight across the field of battle, time itself seeming to part before their otherworldly grace.

This is a great trait, in my opinion. It allows the Warlord and his unit to add an inch to their movement any time they move. Movement, Consolidation, Running, Charging, Sweeping Advance, anything. Very good trait.

Light Table

The Hero's Call

The Warlord personifies the heroes of myth and  his call to arms is swift and undeniable.

This is another fantastic trait. It allows you to add 4 to any Sieze the Initiative roll. This means that you sieze on a 2+, so if you win the roll to deploy first or second, you'll want to deploy second every time.

Webway Walker

This Warlord has travelled the hidden corners of the webway and knows secret paths by which he may surprise his enemy.

This is a pretty great trait as well. It allows you to select d3 units in your Warlord's detachment and give them either Deep Strike, Scout, or Infiltrate. Pretty useful.

A Trick of the Light

The Warlord fools his foes, wrong-footing them before battle has even begun. 

Another good trait. This one allows you to remove d3 units with the Harlequins Faction from the table after everything is deployed, and after scout moves are made. Then you can either redeploy them using the normal deployment rules, or place them in reserve. Especially good for some of the larger formations, or the Harlequin detachment.

Twilight Table

Narrator of Wars

The Warlord has orchestrated the battle to an ancient script, and the fighting will only end when all actors have played their part.

This one can be good, and potentially game winning. If the mission uses random game length (which they pretty much all do), you may add or subrtact 2 from the roll made to see if the game continues. Great whether you need it to end or to go on another turn.

The Steps of Mortal Transition

The Warlord has mastered the art of the Steps of Mortal Transition - an exquisite and deadly piece that ends with the decapitation of his foe.

This one is potentially very useful as well, particularly if your Warlord is carrying a Harlequin's Kiss. It makes any to wound roll of 6 in close combat instant death, or 5+ for a Kiss of Death attack.

Dance of Infinite Mirrors

The Warlord is a master illusionist, leaving his foes chasing phantoms as he and his Troupe reappear on the other side of the battlefield.

This one is potentially very useful for the end game. Once a game, your Warlord and his unit can move up to 24", ignoring all models and terrain, but cannot land on top of a model or impassable terrain, and cannot charge the turn that it does it. Still, it could be good for grabbing an objective in the last turn.

Dark Table

Dance of Nightmares Made Flesh

The Warlord knows the secret Terrors of his audience.

An enemy unit in base contact with your Warlord's unit must roll an additional dice when making fear tests or morale tests. Potentially useful, but not great.

Twisted Encore

The Warlord leads his Troupe in one final performance before the battle's end.

This one is really cool. At the end of the game, your Warlord and his unit can basically get another turn. If they're in a transport, the vehicle can't move but they can disembark and act normally, and if you are in combat, you can only fight that extra round of combat. Nice if you need to charge a nearby unit off an objective, or needed just one more round of combat to kill an enemy Warlord or something.

The Final Joke

This Warlord clashes blades with a laugh in his throat, knowing that should he fall in battle, his foe will have sealed their own fate.

This one is kinda dumb unless you're fighting the enemy Warlord in a Challenge with yours, which if they know you have this trait, will basically never happen. If your Warlord is killed while fighting in a challenge, you roll off. If you win or draw, the opponent's character also dies. Whatever.

Formations

Cegorach's Revenge

This first formation is the largest, and probably the way you would want to play a straight Harlequin army, even more so than the Harlequin detatchment. It consists of 3 Troupes, 3 Death Jesters, 3 Shadowseers, 1 Solitaire, 2 units of Skyweavers, and 1 unit of Voidweavers. The bonuses for taking this formation are really pretty great. All models in the formation can re-roll invulns of 1, a Troupe Master Warlord can re-roll his Warlord trait on one of the Harlequin tables, and any unit with fleet may run and then charge in the same turn, after the first. These are some awesome rules, as it'll help get your Harlequins to combat, and keep them safe at the same time. Plus, you get to make the most of all the strengths of the units in the Codex. I like it, though I don't think I'll get to use it for a long while, since it'll take some time before I can get a sizable force of Harlequins.

The Serpent's Brood

The next formation is the best if you want a slightly smaller force, and you want to be mounted up in transports. It consists of 3 Troupes, 2 units of Skyweavers, 3 Starweavers (which must be dedicated transports for the Troupes) and 1 squadron of Voidweavers. For this you again get to have a Troupe Master Warlord get to re-roll his trait, but this time you get a really cool rule that allows you to consolidate or hit and run back into your Starweavers after a combat. This means that you can move, disembark, charge, wipe a unit, and then hopefull jump back into your transport to keep you safe. The only downside is you'll need your Starweaver to be really close to the unit you're fighting, as a consolidation move is only 6", so you need to be maximum 8" away from your transport, and then pray for a 6. On the plus side, it makes doing a Hit and Run in your turn a little more viable, as you can just jump back into your Starweaver to keep relatively safe.

Cast of Players

The Cast of Players is the formation I will probably use the most, at least for the time being. It consists of just 1 Troupe, 1 Death Jester, and 1 Shadowseer, and the DJ and Shadowseer have to stay in the Troupe unit. They don't get much for rules, just Crusader for them and any Eldar or Dark Eldar unit (friend or foe) within 6". Not amazing but not bad, and this is probably the best way to inject a single unit of Harlies into an existing Eldar or Dark Eldar (or both) army. Also, you can stick an Archon, or Farseer, or whatever into the unit for some very interesting synergies, so there's that as well.

Cegorach's Jest

This is another good one for if you want a small force of Harlequins for another army. It uses a Troupe, a unit of Skyweavers, and a squadron of Voidweavers, and gives the fleet units in the formation the ability to run and charge after turn 2. The downside is that a Troupe with no psychic support is very exposed, even in a transport, so I'd consider hooking them up with a Shadowfield Archon, or a Jetbike Farseer with (hopefully) Invisibility to keep 'em safe. Still, another good unit if you just want a taste of Harlequins in your army.

The Heroes' Path

This is sort of an odd one, but it's also one of only 2 formations to give you access to the Solitaire. All it is is a Death Jester, a Shadowseer, and a Solitaire, which all have to hang out alone. Luckily, they all get Shrouded, Stealth and Infiltrate, which could make them a real bugger to deal with. I like the idea of outflanking the Death Jester to get some shots on some small place holder units an cause some havoc in the backfield, and maybe use the Shadowseer with a Mask of Secrets and Telepathy to run around doing some leadership shenanigans, while the Solitaire runs around and punches people in the dick. Sort of a goofy formation, but it could be very annoying if used right.

Faolchu's Blade

This one is weird, but really good if you want to take some Zephyrglaive Skyweavers. It consists of 2 units of Skyweavers and a unit of Voidweavers and allows the formation to re-roll cover saves when they jink. That means that you'll have a re-rollable 4+ cover when you jink, which would make your Skyweavers way harder to deal with. It's not so great for the Voidweaver though, since they'll have to snap fire, and as a gunboat, that sucks. I feel like all the formations have to include Voidweavers because otherwise no one would take them, because none of the formations really give them any bonuses, but 4/6 need you to have at least 1. Whatever. Like I said, this one is good for melee Skyweavers, but I wouldn't bother if you want them for fire support.

They may have just learned fear, in the form of Coulrophobia

So that concludes part 2 of this review. In part 3, I'll cover some list ideas and tactics, and go a little more deeply into some of the pro's and con's of taking Harlequins in an army. Depending on how my opinions change once I've had some more time to actually use this codex, there may be a part 4 in the future as well, with more list ideas and tactics and stuff tempered by real, tested experience. So make sure you tune in next week for (possibly) the final installment of this series.

Send in the Clowns! Codex: Eldar Harlequins Review Part 1

For the Harlequins of the Eldar, there is no distinction between art and war. They combine a psychedelic flair with the pinpoint skill of the master deulist, every slicing shuriken or stabbing blade another stitch in the tapestries of carnage they weave. The acrobatic leaps and mocking bows of the Harlequin Troupes are punctuated with bloody and inventive kills, for the warrior-dancers of th Laughing God are deadly grace made flesh, and have always revelled in the dark spledour of battle. However, some whisper that under all the mirth and extravagance lies and ageless struggle against the Chaos Gods, and that through them, the hopes of their dying race may yet come to pass.

Hey everyone! With the shipping snafu on the west coast of North America finally resolved, I was able to get my hands on the new Harlequin codex and Datacards. After reading through it a few times, my first impressions are fairly positive overall, though there are a few things that I think that they maybe could have done better, to make them more viable as a stand alone codex, rather than as a supplement book for Eldar and/or Dark Eldar.

What I am going to be doing here is a 3 part series on the new Harlequins. Part 1, which you are reading right now, will be all about the units themselves, and their abilities. I will be giving my opinion on each of them, and maybe some basic ideas for list building and tactics using them, but will not be going too far in depth. Part 2 will focus on the Enigmas of the Black Library, Phantasmancy Psychic Discipline, Warlord Traits, and Formations, and finally, Part 3 will look at some more in depth tactics, list ideas, and ways to use the followers of the Laughing God. So, without further ado, let's begin.

Harlequin Troupe

In battle, Harlequin Troupes move fast and hit hard, relying on speed and skill to annihilate the enemy before they even have time to raise their guns. Preferring to evade harm than endure it, every Player is equipped with a holo-suit that fragments their outline into a storm of coloured shards, confounding the foe's aim. Once in combat, the Harlequins are in their element, performing a lethal dance of death while their masks shimmer with the foe's worst fears. The Players cut their panicked victims to pieces using an array of horrific, yet strangely beautiful weapons, every pinpoint blade thrust and whipcord kick an act of worship to the Laughing God.

The first unit I'll start with is the Harlequin Troupe. This is the Codex's only troop choice, though honestly, it doesn't really matter, since there is no HQ choice in this book, and therefore, you can't take them as a combined arms detachment anyways. As Harlequins have always been, these guys and gals can really pack a punch, but are hindered by their fragility and high points cost.at 15 points a model, your basic Harlequin is fairly pricey, especially considering that it's a toughness 3 model. However, there is more to it than all that. First of all, the rest of their stat line is very respectable, with high WS, Attacks, and Ld, and an amazing Initiative of 6! They have only 3 Strength, but what do you expect from Eldar?

In addition to this stat line, they also have 4 special rules, 3 of which are some of the better ones in the game, and the last which is really, all but useless. Fleet will allow them to make their charges very reliably, and their run moves will be much more reliable. Furious Charge is amazing for them, because it boosts their measly Strength on the charge, allowing them to put out a ton of decently strong attacks (at initiative 6, remember!). Hit & Run is also great, as it means that your troop will never be stuck in a combat for long, so there's no worry about your opponent trying to tarpit you. Lastly, there's Fear. Fear is a rule that Games Workshop seems to think is great that almost never does anything. If the enemy fails a Leadership test while in melee with you, then they fight at WS 1, which sounds great, until you realize that virtually anything that you would really need to be at WS 1 is either immune to fear (via Fearless, or And They Shall Know no Fear) or have such a high Ld that it'll pretty much never happen. A tiny boost, but really nothing to write home about.

Finally, they have access to some excellent wargear. Each Harlequin comes stock with a Holo-suit, which confers a 5+ invulnerable save, a Flip Belt, which allows you to completely ignore difficult terrain, and makes characters pass Look out Sir! rolls on a 2+, a Shuriken Pistol, Close Combat Weapon and Plasma Grenades. Now even base that's not bad, but there is really no reason not to give them some upgrades.

First, you have the option for any model to replace their pistol with either a Neuro Disruptor, or a Fusion Pistol. The first is a 12" S1 AP 2 Fleshbane pistol, and the second is a 6" S8 AP1 Melta Pistol. Honestly, I'm not sure I would take either. Your Troupes are a melee unit first and foremost, and if you save the points to instead take the melee upgrades, causing a few casualties before you charge likely won't really matter anyways. Still, neither option is necessarily bad, under the right circumstances.

Next, any Harlequin may swap its Close Combat Weapon for a Harlequin's Embrace, Harlequin's Kiss, or a Harlequin's Caress. The Embrace grants the Harlequin with d3 S6 Hammer of Wrath attacks, the Kiss turns one of your attacks to a S6 AP2 attack that causes Instant Death on a to wound roll of 6, and the Caress makes it so any to hit roll of a 6 wounds automatically at AP2, or causes an automatic glancing hit against a vehicle. Wow. Seriously, all of these options are amazing. My least favorite is the Embrace, since you only get Hammer of Wrath if you get into base contact, which means that only a few will usually get it, whereas the other options are pretty much all the time. Still, I think its very much worth playing around with and seeing how each upgrade works out, and remember, you can always mix and match.

Now for the Troupe Master. This is the "sergeant" of the unit. He is basically a Harlequin on cocaine with increased everything except Strength and Toughness. He can replace his CCW with a Power Sword, but really, any of the other options will probably be better, so I wouldn't bother. He can also take Haywire Grenades, which I would do every time, as it basically gives the unit the chance to do a bit of damage to a vehicle before assaulting it, and if you're really lucky, you may be able to wreck a hurt transport with it and then charge the poor shmucks inside. Lastly, he can take an item from the Enigmas of the Black Library list, which we'll get into a little later.

The unit starts as a 5 clown squad, but you can add up to 7 more, for a maximum of 12. You can also take a Starweaver as a Dedicated Transport, which is really worth it if you want to run a small squad, and maybe worth it if you just want one for a bit of fire support for a larger one.

Overall, I think that the Troupe is a very strong unit, if used properly, but they are very fragile, so you will need to make sure you send them in when the time is right.

Death Jester

The Death Jester advances upon the foe with a measured, menacing gait. There is no mercy in his heart,  for he embraces the role of Death in its entirety. His grotesque skull helm leers with sick amusement, its blank stare bearing a promise of the carnage to come. In his hands he effortlessly carries an outsize shuriken cannon, and as the foe comes into range, the weapon is swept down and primed. Greatcoat billowing, bells jingling with obscene cheer, the Death Jester lets fly, the hissing report of his weapon couunterpointed by the screams of his dying foes. Each round is impregnated with virulent biotoxins that cause the victim's metabolism to detonate spectacularly. The slightest wound promises a swift and horrific death, transforming the victim into a living bomb of jagged bone and boiling gore. Through it all the Death Jester looks on with avid amusement, keenly watching for any way in which to make his victims' deaths more darkly comedic. It is a credit to his twisted ingenuity that he will normally succeed.

Oh boy, am I excited about this one. The Death Jester is an Elite choice for the Harlequins and is primarily a ranged specialist. At first, I was a little confused about his role in the codex, as attaching him to a Troupe would mean that either the Troupe wouldnt be able to run, or he wouldn't be able to shoot. All became clear though when I read his Death is Not Enough special rule.

Before I get into that though, lets cover the basics. The Death Jester has the same stat line as a Troupe Master, with 1 less WS, which means that his basic stat line is pretty beefy in and of itself. Certainly, he's not useless in close combat. He also has the same special rules as a regular Harlequin, with a couple more. Independant Character, which allows him to join or leave units in the movement phase, and Precision Shots, which allows him to allocate his shooting attacks to whoever he wants in a unit if he rolls a 6 to hit. Not bad. He also has a Holo-Suit, Flip Belt, and Shrieker Cannon.

The Shrieker Cannon is an excellent weapon. It has 24" range, and 2 firing modes: Shrieker, and Shuriken. Shuriken mode fires it as a Shuriken Cannon that is assault 3, instead of Heavy 3, while Shrieker is a little different. Shrieker mode fires on S1 AP5 shot with the Bladestorm, Poisoned (2+), Pinning and Bio-explosive rules. Bio-explosive means that if a model is killed by the shot, you place a small blast marker over it and anyone underneath takes a S5 AP4 hit that ignores cover, as the toxins in the ammunition cause the target to literally explode into bone-shrapnel. Ouch. He can also take Haywire Grenades, and an Enigma of the Black Library.

Now for the awesome part. Death Is Not Enough is a special rule that the Death Jester has that makes it so that if a unit suffers one or more casualties from the Shrieker Cannon during the shooting phase immediately take a Morale check at -2 Ld. If that's not awesome enough it gets better. If the unit fails this test, it immediately flees in a direction chosen by the Death Jester's controlling player. This is HUGE! This means that if you fire at a unit on a flank, you can make them run right off the board instead of falling back all the way to their board edge. It also means that you can fire into a unit and have them flee towards your Troupes and then assault them. Even Ld 10 units have to make the test at Ld 8, which gives a decent chance for failure. The only units that this won't affect will be fearless units, as they always pass Morale tests.

Shadowseer

Illusion, misdirection and terror whirl about the Shadowseer like a psychic tempest. With a subtle twist of the mind, these warrior mystics can erase the memory of the Harlequins from their enemies' thoughts, clouding their perceptions with confusion or horror. It is child's play for Shadowseers to bind their victims within the twists of their own minds, engaging them in one-sided psychic duels, or tricking their bodies into stopping hearts and chocking off breath. Wherever the Shadowseer treads the battlefield, shards of illusory light and shadow blind the foe, while clouds of hallucinogenic gas send them into paroxysms of terror or bewildered joy. Discipline collapses, replaced by a bedlam of screams, gibbering and panicked, aimless gunfire. Warriors stagger drunkenly, slashing their blades at phantom foes. Through it all strides the Shadowseer - an island of sinister calm amid a raging ocean of madness, robes swirling as their faceless mask reflects naught but the emptiness of the void.

The Shadowseer is another amazing Elites unit for the Harlequins. This is your psyker, and boy is she capable of really ruining your opponants day with her psychic powers. This will probably be a short entry, as I will be going into the Psychic Powers in the next part.

So first, we have a Troupe Master again, only this one has 1 less BS. All the same rules and everything except you get Independant Character and Psyker (Mastery Level 1). You also have the standard Harlequin gear, but you lose your Plasma Grenades for a Hallucinogen grenade launcher, and lose the CCW for a Miststave.

The Hallucinogen grenade launcher is a really interesting piece of wargear. It has 18" range and is S1 AP -, meaning it won't really be hurting anything. Thing is, it's a blast weapon, with the Hallucinogenic rule, which means that at the end of the Shooting Phase, if an enemy unit was hit by the blast, they have to make a pinning test. if the test is failed, they take wound with no armour or cover saves allowed. This is pretty good, because if a unit is pinned, they can't fire overwatch, which means that now your Harlequins can charge without fear of being gunned down in the process. Nice! The Miststave is ok. Its a melee weapon that gives you +2S, with the Concussive and Fleshbane rules. It will be doing lots of wounds, but everything will be getting saves against it, so its not amazing. Still, better than nothing.

Now, as for your options. As a psyker you can choose your powers either from Daemonology (Sanctic), Telepathy, or the new Harlequin discipline, Phantasmancy. Really, I would choose either Phantasmancy or Telepathy, as the defensive powers in there will be hugely helpful to Harlequins. You also have the option to upgrade to be a Level 2 psyker. I would always do this. You can also take a Neuro Disruptor, Haywire Grenades, and an Enigma. Shadowseers will likely be a staple in most Harlequin units.

Solitaire

The first the foe knows of the Solitaire's onset is a shimmering blur of light and colour streaking through their ranks. Then the killing begins. Soldiers fall, eyes widening as heads are severed, throats opened and hearts pierced. Blood falls like monsoon rain in the wake of a killer too fast to be seen. Only when he pauses for a moment amid the slaughter do his victims get a glimpse of their executioner - a domino field swirling around his lithe form, his grotesquely masked head tilted at a curious angle as he regards those he hunts. This is the Solitaire, and as he leaps into motion once more, his victims' deaths are but seconds away. None, even amongst the Harlequins, know the limits of the Solitaire's abilities. Tales exist of these supernatural killers running up sheer fortress walls, spilling from the shadows inside locked bunkers, even slowing time itself. How much is hyperbole and how much the truth, few can say for certain. To those who stand in the Solitaire's path it matters little, for their deaths are assured either way.

Oh yes. The Solitaire is finally back! These guys have been hanging around in the fluff for 2 codexes now, and are finally making a reappearance! Like the Shadowseer and Death Jester, this is an Elite choice, and boy what a choice! WS and BS 9. Initiative 10. 6 Attacks. You also get half the special rules in the rule book, so let's start with the wargear. It'll be faster. You get your Holo-Suit, Flip Belt, a Harlequin's Kiss, and a Harlequin's Caress. That's it. We're done the wargear list.

No onto rules. You get: Deep Strike, Eternal Warrior (immune to instant death), Fear, Fearless, Fleet, Furious Charge, Hit and Run, and Precision Strikes. You might think I'd be done, but come on! These are Harlequins! There's ALWAYS more to it. You also get Impossible Form (a 3+ invuln), Prismatic Blur (move 12" in the movement phase), The Path of Damnation (if he's your Warlord, no Warlord trait for you), and Blitz. Once per game, Blitz allows you to roll a number of d6 equal to the turn number and move that many inches instead of moving normally. When you move this way, you ignore all terrain in the way, including impassible, and you can move over all models, including enemy ones. You can't however end your move in impassable terrain or within 1" of an enemy model. In addition, on a turn you Blitz, if you assault, you increase your Attacks Characteristic to 10 (That'll be 12 attacks on the charge for the kids counting at home). This guy is a one-Eldar wrecking ball who just doesn't give a shit.

If you want to make him MORE badass, you can also take Haywire Grenades, and an Enigma.

Starweaver

Starweavers streak across the battlefield as a storm of shattered light, relying upon a mixture of velocity and misdirection to confound the enemy's aim. Echoing the sky chariots of the ancient Eldar, these swift attack vehicles have a transport platform at their rear capable of bearing a Troupe of Harlequins into battle. Such is the skill of the Harlequins that they can leap over the sides of the Starweaver directly into battle, or vault back onto its platform in a heartbeat should they be needed elsewhere. Even once their passengers have joined the melee, Starweavers remain potent attack craft, spinning and jinking as they pour a stream of firepower into the bewildered foe.

This next one was sort of a let down for me. The Starweaver is you're Dedicated Transport for the army, and also a Fast Attack choice. 70 points gets you a 2 HP AV 10/10/10 Open Topped Fast Skimmer with BS 4, a 5+ invulnerable save, and the ability to get a 4+ cover save once a game. It also comes with 2 Shuriken Cannons stock, and for some reason, the Fear special rule. Weird. No, at this point, its actually pretty decent. A little bit tougher than a Dark Eldar Venom, with guns that can threaten up to medium tanks.

Here's where I think it falls flat. Its transport capacity is only 6. A Troupe can have up to 12 models, and the only transport in the codex can only carry a half squad. Seriously? Why? If you decide to attach a Death Jester and a Shadowseer to a minimum Harlequin Troupe, you have just exceeded the transport capacity of your dedicated transport. I think that it's completely ridiculous. If there was another transport in the codex, it really wouldn't be such a big deal, since you would have options for either a small squad or a large squad, but because of this, a big squad now has to hoof it.

These problems aside, I do think that it does have some potential, especially due to one of the Formations in the codex. While its not super tough, it will most likely get a squad up to where it needs to be before it gets gunned down, and it can dish some pretty good firepower.

Skyweavers

Heavily armed and incredibly fast, squads of Skyweavers outmaneuver their foes before cutting them to pieces with concentrated firepower. Their rippling streams of shuriken fire and crackling bolts of electromagnetic energy slaughter foot troops and reduce enemy tanks to sparking wrecks with equal ease. When they deign to close with the foe, Skyweavers are equally lethal, their players hurling star bolas or lashing out with zephyrglaives. The enemy can do little in return, for the jetbikes move faster than the eye can follow. Furthermore, they are wreathed in holographic fields and psychodisruptive mirages that confound sensors and tug at the sanity of those who dare to fight back.

Skyweaver jetbikes are the main Fast attack choice for Codex:Harlequins, and while they're relatively pricey, I think that they will be quite effective. Once again, we have a Harlequin stat line, but with one extra toughness (thanks to the jetbike) and an extra wound, as there are technically two Harlequins on the model. They also have all the same special rules as a regular Harlequin. Equipment wise, they have a Holo-suit, Mirage Launchers, and a Skyweaver jetbike, which makes them an Eldar Jetbike, and comes stock with a Shuriken Cannon.

They also come stock with Star Bolas, which are a 1 use ranged weapon with 12" range, S6 AP 2 that is a blast. Not bad, but not great either. Instead, you can take a Zephyrglaive which is a S+1 AP 2 melee weapon the turn you charge, and becomes a Power Sword after that. You can also upgrade your Shuriken Cannon for a Haywire Cannon, which is a 24" range S4 AP4  Blast weapon with the Haywire rule. Definitely a worthwhile option, as if gives the army some much needed ranged anti-tank. You can also take up to 4 more jetbikes, for a grand total of 6.

Personally, I like the idea of big squads with Haywire Cannons and Zephyrglaives. While expensive, they're tough as far as Harlequins go, incredibly fast, and will mulch pretty much any unit in combat (S 5 AP 2 on the charge!), plus it'll give you a good amount of anti-tank. A solid choice.

Voidweaver






Sleek and sinister, Voidweavers swoop into battle with balletic grace. Boasting a veritable arsenal of heavy weaponry, these gunships leave flaming devastation in their wake. Their every salvo sees enemies punched off their feet in sprays of blood as storms of shuriken scream through the air. Armoured vehicles that catch the attention of the craft's gunner are vaporised in conflagrations of prismatic light, or suffer sudden catastrophic systems failure under a barrage of haywire energy. Even those enemies who avoid the violent fury of the Voidweaver's attack run are not safe, for its aft cannon lays down a withering hail of fire to butcher those left cowering in their wake.

The Voidweaver is the sole Heavy Support of this codex, and one of the most bizarre Heavy choices I've seen. it's pretty much a Starweaver with no transport capacity and a weird rear gun. It comes base with a  turret-mounted Haywire Cannon an under slung Shuriken Cannon, and a rear facing Shuriken cannon that can be shot at a different target then the rest of the weapons, but can only target units in its rear arc. I'm not sure why they did this, and it will probably rarely come up.


You can trade out the Haywire Cannon for a Prismatic Cannon. The Prismatic Cannon s also an odd choice. It gets 3 firing modes: Dispersed, Focussed, and Lance. Dispersed mode fires a 24" Large Blast with S3 AP4, Focussed fires a 24" Small Blast  at S5 AP3, and the Lance fires a 24" S7 AP2 Lance. It's really a baby Prism Cannon, and i would really probably keep the Haywire Cannon. The only fire mode that's great is the Focussed one, and while the Lance could be ok, It's really not that reliable against armour, especially considering the Haywire Cannon. You can also take them in squadrons of 3, which is nice. Overall they're ok, but I think that they're trying to do too much to be that great. Better off with some Heavy Support from the Eldar, or Dark Eldar Codexes if you ask me, which, I mean, you're here aren't you?

So that is the basic overview of the units in the Harlequin Codex. There's not many, but the majority of them are quite strong, with some very tricky rules. I think that used correctly, Harlequins will be pretty brutal to deal with, but on their own they will struggle a bit against Fearless units, and Flyers, as there really is no anti-air whatsoever in this codex. Stay tuned for Part 2, which I should have written up and posted next week. It will cover the Enigmas of the Black Library, Formations, Warlord Traits and Phantasmancy, so you really won't want to miss it!

Warhammer 40k Battle Report: Eldar V.S Chaos Space Marines

A small chaos warband threatens an Eldar maiden world. Led by Illic Nightspear, a compact webway strike team from the Alaitoc Craftworld moves to assassinate the leader, and his cultist minions before a warp gate can be established.

This was a 1000 point game featuring my Alaitoc Eldar, against Brennan's Khorne Chaos force. The mission was the relic, and the floor space we marked out was just a 4x4 (we find it works just fine for games 1000 points or less).

The Battlefield

The Armies

Alaitoc Eldar

HQ:
- Illic Nightspear - 140

- Farseer with the Spirit Stone of Anath'lan - 115

Troops:
- 10 Rangers upgraded to Pathfinders - 250

- 6 Dire Avengers - 78

Heavy Support:
- 5 Dark Reapers with Starshot Missiles and Exarch with Fast Shot - 210

- Falcon Grav Tank with Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon, and Holo-Fields - 160

Fortification:
- Aegis Defence Line - 50

Total: 1003 

This army was meant to do several things. Firstly, it was to be thematic. Since I started playing Eldar as an Alaitoc player, because I thought Rangers were the coolest, I wanted to go back to my roots, thus I brought in a big unit of Pathfinders, led by Illic. Second, the force needed to be fairly small, as I envisioned them as a small strike team with some good fire support, hence the low model count, and the lack of transports, or monstrous creatures. Thirdly, it needed to be at least relatively effective, and able to deal with plenty of threats. The Dark Reapers are very versatile, so they would be good for that, and the Falcon can sort of do it all as well. Last, I wanted to use some unconventional units, and get away from the crutch of Wave Serpents and Wraithknights, so I brought in a Falcon (a unit I haven't used since 5th edition, and even then sparingly), Illic Nightspear (who I have never seen in a battle report), and Rangers (who have been largely ineffective this edition). So with my fluff bunny list set, I was ready to take to the field.

Alaitoc Eldar

Khorne Cult

HQ:
- Chaos Lord with Mark of Khorne, on a Juggernaught, with the Axe of Blind Fury, Sigil of
   Corruption, Meltabombs, and a Gift of Mutation - 185

Elites:
- 20 Possessed with Mark of Khrone, Icon of Wrath, and 2x Gift of Mutation on the Champion - 618

Troops:
- 22 Cultists - 102

- 21 Cultists - 98

Total: 1003

This list was quite intimidating to look at for me, mainly due to the fact that he had nearly three times as many models as me on the table, and while the Dark Reapers could potentially cripple a squad in a volley, and the Pathfinders may be able to pin down some of the Cultists, there was still a lot of bodies to deal with. There was also the fact that the Juggerlord could easily beat up my entire army on his own if I wasn't able to deal with it, and he would likely be protected either by the Possessed, or a blob of Cultists, and with fleet on the Possessed, he could easily be assaulting me turn 2. My strategy therefore had to be to take down the Juggerlord's unit as quickly as possible, while stalling the others, long enough for me to get some breathing room, then systematically pick apart the remainder of the army. Sounds great in theory.

The Khornate Hordes

The Game

There was really minimal upkeep this game. I rolled my Farseer's powers on the Divination table and got Prescience, Foreboding, Perfect Timing and Precognition. Brennan rolled his Boons and got +1 Wound and Poisoned Attacks on his Possessed Champion, and something useless on his Lord. He rolled a personal trait and got one where he would gain a VP for every character that his Lord killed in a challenge. We rolled for First Turn and Brennan won, choosing to go first.

Khorne Deployment

Brennan deployed his Possessed very centrally, to avoid me trying to refuse the flank and make him walk farther, with one unit of Cultists on either side. Pretty straightforward, but with his list, he figured he'd let the numbers do the talking. Probably pretty much what I would've done.

Alaitoc Deployment

I deployed in a pretty standard gunline. The Reapers went in the center, with the Pathfinders on their right flank and the Falcon on the left. Dire Avengers went inside the Falcon to hop out when needed.

Turn 1

With nothing else to do, the Lord spurs his army straight forwards, in a mad dash to get to the Eldar line as quickly as possible, all three units foregoing their shooting attacks to run up as quickly as possible.

With the Hordes of gibbering mutants and cultists advancing, the Dire Avengers unload from their transport, ready to make them pay dearly for each step they take. Sending his mind down through the skeins of fate, and drawing power from his mystical Spirit Stone, the Farseer casts Prescience, Foreboding and Perfect Timing on his unit, expertly guiding the fire of the Dark Reapers under his command.

With a single command, the Dark Reapers open fire on the approaching possessed, their Starswarm Missiles striking their targets. Unfortunately, the monstrous toughness of the crazed Possessed Marines sees only a few of their number fall under the volley. Seeing a cursed Icon in the unit of Possessed, Illic Nightspear orders his loyal Pathfinders to cast down the accursed banner, while he turns his attention to the Cultists sprinting towards the Eldar lines. Though the Icon bearer falls, as well as one or two of his fellows, Illic's shot is ineffective against the blood crazed cultists. With another unit of Cultists threatening the other flank, the Dire Avengers unleash their Shuriken Catapults into the enemy, dropping nearly half of the humans, and causing them to panic and flee. Meanwhile, the Falcon sets its guns on the Possessed as well, killing several more of the mutants.

End of Turn 1

Turn 2

Heedless of their Casualties, the Lord continues his blood-crazed dash straight into the guns of the Eldar, stopping just short of the small patch of trees in front of the Eldar lines. The Cultists follow, running into another patch of trees to take shelter before the next phase of the assault. Seeing their masters charging heedlessly forward, the fleeing Cultists rally, and head to try and get some cover behind a nearby ridge, to launch a second assault. Content with their current position, the Cultists fire their pistols at long range at the half-seen forms of Illic's Pathfinders, but cause no damage.

With the Lord and his retinue still coming on, Illic decides to pull his Pathfinders away, in order to prevent the army from being completely overwhelmed all at once. The Dire Avengers and Falcon do likewise and move away from the Dark Reapers, ready to unleash their weapons on the Possessed and Lord. Once again sending his mind into the Warp, the Farseer casts Prescience on the Dark Reapers, but this time, his vision is blocked when he attempts to cast Foreboding.

Once again, the Dark Reapers fill the air with missiles, hoping to destroy the Possessed before they can make the defence line. At this closer range, their fire proves more telling and even more of the Possessed are destroyed. The Pathfinders, Falcon, and Dire Avengers all lend their support, and by the end of the blistering storm of fire, the Champion is wounded and only 3 more Possessed, and the Lord remain.

End of Turn 2

Turn 3

With the enemy in sight, and his squad depleted to almost nothing, the Lord issues the order to attack, moving around the trees in order to get a clear assault on the Dark Reapers. The large unit of Cultists advance as well, moving directly towards the Pathfinders. The last unit continues to advance around the ridge, ready to pick up the relic soon.

With a monstrous warcry, the Lord and his unit charge, and though the overwatch fire from the Dark Reapers destroys all of the Possessed except the champion, and wounds the Lord, the remaining champions of Khorne finally make it into combat. The Cultists make a charge of their own, and the Pathfinders' frantic fire proves much less effective. The Cultists make it into melee with great numbers. Though The Dark Reaper Exarch manages to wound the Lord again, and the rest of the Eldar drag down the Possessed Champion, the Lord with his Daemonic Axe is easily able to hack apart the entire squad of aspect warriors, and their leader, in a gory show of martial prowess. The Cultist Champion issues a challenge to Illic Nightspear, and though Illic's attacks all appear to hit the Champion, his favour with the ruinous powers allow him not only to survive, but even beat down the enigmatic Ranger. Though the Pathfinders fight valiantly, and slay a few Cultists, they are easily overwhelmed and killed.

With their leaders slain, and the enemy all around, things look grim to the remaining Eldar. Still, determined to save this world from the forces of Chaos, the Eldar begin to move around. Both the Falcon and the Dire Avengers unload their entire payload into the Chaos Lord, and manage to cut him to a bloody heap under massed Shuriken fire.

End of Turn 3

Turn 4

Now with both armies leaderless, the Cultists begin to make preparations to seize the relic and open their Warp Gate. Both squads move towards the Dire Avengers, who seem few indeed against their numbers. As the large unit moves into the patch of trees, they discover that it is a Brainleaf Forest. One of their number is infected with the parasites and slays one of his brothers before he is subdued. As the Cultists prepare to charge the Dire Avengers, a storm of Shuriken from the aliens' weapons peppers the trees around them, causing them to shrink back into cover.

Moving quickly, the Falcon places itself between the Cultists in the trees, and the Dire Avengers, using its armoured bulk as a blockade. The Dire Avengers move forward, and target the trees where they last saw the Cultists. Firing their catapults as they run to the relic, a few of the cultists are killed, but the unit holds firm, prepared to die for their gods. The Falcon picks up the other unit on its sensors, and unleashes its entire payload into the unit, killing all of the Cultists that aren't completely obscured by the ridge.

End of Turn 4

Turn 5

With the Eldar right on top of the relic, the Cultists all advance, ready to slay in the name of their gods. However, so caught up in their bloodlust are they, that they do not fire their pistols, and instead opt to charge headlong into the steadfast Eldar. Turning their guns upon the nearest squad, the Eldar tear apart a few of the Cultists, causing the others to flee once again in the opposite direction. The other unit nearly makes it, before the Relic's strange gravitational properties slow their advance, causing the charge to falter and fail. With the Dire Avengers holding the objective, and the Falcon ready to pick them up, the Cultists finally admit defeat and flee, leaving this world, at least for a time.

End of the Battle

Post-Game Thoughts

That was one of the bloodiest, and closest battles I've had in quite awhile, and while I think that overall I did pretty well, there are a few things that I would have done differently. First, I should have deployed the Pathfinders further over to begin with, instead of having to move them later. This really reduced that round of shooting, with some of the unit needing to make snap shots with their rifles (they were out of pistol range) Second, I probably should have had the Pathfinders fire at the Cultists right away, and taken out the Champion, hopefully pinning the Cultists. I still could have split fired Illic into the Possessed, and it would have probably saved the unit for at least a turn or two.

I also made a mistake deploying the Dark Reapers. I put them right up to the Defence line to make sure that he wouldn't get cover from it, even though I had gotten perfect timing. I didn't want to have to rely on it, but the extra cover save still probably wouldn't have been as bad as getting charged a turn earlier. If I had deployed back more, I likely wouldn't have gotten assaulted turn 3, and would have gotten a whole extra round of shooting.

On the other hand, I did like how the Falcon performed. With the Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon, and Pulse Laser, it can really put out a ton of hit strength firepower. I really think that the only reason we never see these things, is because they compete with the all powerful Wraithknight and War Walkers for a heavy support slot. It's a shame, because most other armies would love to have a battle tank that can fill as many roles as a Falcon can.

In terms of Brennan's tactics, they were pretty solid, except for that one thing at the very end. He decided to not shoot the Dire Avengers off the Relic because "It was cooler". While I can understand not wanting to accidentally put yourself out of assault range, he didn't end up making the assault anyways, and it totally cost him the game. Had he shot the Avengers, there's a chance that I wouldn't have been able to recover in time, and if the game hadn't gone on, he would have won.

One other important note about this game, and sort of a rules question as well. We ended up not scoring First Blood this game. The reason being that my Dark Reapers destroyed his Possessed unit, at the same initiative step as his Lord wiped out everything else. Does that mean that neither person gets First Blood? Do we both get it? Is it a roll off? We weren't sure, so we just called it nothing and moved on, as it was a friendly "whatever" game anyways, but I would definitely be interested in knowing for future games.

Anyways, that's all for now. Keep checking the blog, as I finally have managed to get ahold of the new(ish) Codex: Harlequins and will be doing a review/analysis/tatical overview article (maybe series) very soon. There will also be some pictures and highlights of an upcomming Apocalypse game that I'm running this weekend (I'm busting out the Orks with a Green Tide and a Stompa filled to the brim with Mekboyz).