Hello all!

I’m back again with another write up with some Harlequin analysis and content. This past weekend, i got to play 3 games with the new Codex, and two of them in particular i’d like to go over. Game 3 used the same list as game 2, and ended after 1.5 turns due to time constraints. Firstly, i will talk about how i’m beginning to integrate Codex ‘Quins into my primary Combined Aeldari list, and secondly i will talk about the first solo-Harlequin game with my Codex. I had a few reevaluations, and have further formulated some opinions, as well as some discussion on our Stratagem game. Let’s get into the first game!

Game 1: Combined Aeldari Vs Death Guard: Leadership Testing

This was against a buddy of mine testing a tournament list, so i knew i was behind the 8-ball from the get-go. He ran most notably, 3 squads of 9 Plague Drones, a handful of Poxbringers,and Epidemus. Revolving around using the Drones as his main form of damage, the Poxbringers as mob density and ObSec, and his characters providing aura reinforcement among his lines.

My list consisted of a Soaring Spite battalion of a Shadowseer, two Troupe Masters with Fusions and Embraces. 3 five-man Player squads each with 3 fusions and 5 embraces, all in 3 clown cars. Additionally a Dreaming Shadow Vanguard with a Shadowseer, a Solitaire with Cegorach’s Rose, and 2 Death Jesters- one with Curtainfall. Finally, an Alaitoc battalion with a Farseer and Warlock, 3 squads of 5 Rangers, a set of 5 Dark Reapers with Tempest Launcher, and finally a Hemlock. My warlord was the SpiteSeer, and she had Player of the Twilight as her warlord trait.

I started off with a conservative deployment, knowing my opponent had fewer drops than me. I paid 3CP immediately to take Curtainfall as well as Cegorach’s Rose (in addition to my free Starmist Raiment on a Troupe Master) as well as purchasing a Great Harlequin on the other Master, immediately dropping me from 14 CP to 9. My opponent drops a conga line of Plaguebearers, and puts down 2 of his squads of Drones. I immediately make those my first priority, as they’re the only shooting in my opponents list, thus the only thing that can challenge my Hemlock.

I manage to seize turn one, and begin pushing my clown cars forward, drop my Hemlock in front of his Plaguebearers, and get ready to attempt pushing as many of his Drones off the table as possible. I manage to take out a few drones, but my main focus (again, this was a testing game, not a competitive min/max game) was to test the waters on a Leadership bomb. I put Horrify on his Bearers, kill a model with Shards of Light, and additionally kill 3 more models with Death Jester fire. As an aside; Curtainfall definitely performed well in this game. buying the additional stratagems isn’t even entirely necessary for Curtainfall to do sufficient damage. After all is said and done, i manage to force a morale test at -7 on his Plaguebearers, and am able to kill 3 Plague Drones on turn one, securing myself Recon, Hold, and 3 points of Gangbuster. Comes time for morale, and he passes the test on the Drones… and rolls a 1 on the Plaguebearer, getting him models back. This is going to happen ALL. GAME.

The rest of the match tends to follow this form, and here is where we approach the issue i’ve discussed in measure before;

Leadership bombs are pretty polarizing. The ability to roll multiple die isn’t as much an issue- but so many armies have units or outright rules that completely neuter this strategy. I will be testing a full on Leadership bomb in a week or so once my Shadow Spectres and Irillyth models arrive. This list will be a triple battalion utilizing plenty of Phantasm Grenade Launchers, and potentially some Dark Creed nonsense as well for maximum leadership sauce. I think a big part of this strategy is to utilize “finisher” techniques- specifically Mind War. This ability right here, coupled with general Psychic powers like Smite and Shards, can dish out an obnoxious amount of mortal wounds. Unfortunately, i think Leadership Bomb is a strategy that needs to follow the Anti-Necron gameplan of “Kill It Before It Grows”. If you rely on failing Morale to finish off a unit, you’re putting all your eggs in one very shallow basket in a TAC list. If you’re going up against Tau, Marines, Necrons, or (index) Orks- this strategy will work fairly well, but against Guard, Demons, Eldar, or Nugle.. you’re gunna struggle.

Game 2: Solo Harlequins Vs Deathwatch

This game was much more laid back, and was the first non-ITC game i’ve played in probably 6 months. It was nice to take a breath of fresh air and break from the stress of competitive play and relax with a friend on a more casual playing field.

My opponent was fielding 3 kill teams composed of primarily intercessors, a Redemptor and Ven Dread, a Watch Captain, and 2 Predators, as well as a Vanguard consisting of a Vindicare, Colexus, and Eversor assassin. I confess that this match was a little thrown-together, so i don’t remember specifically what my opponent was running. Now i know he is a newer Deathwatch player, so he doesn’t have a super optimized collection. We talked after the game, and i actually gave him a squad of 3 Aggressors in addition to some Rievers and other models he purchased after the game. My list had a battalion of Soaring Spite and contained a Master with Fusion and Caress wearing the Starmist Raiment, another Master who becomes a Great Harlequin with the same loadout. 2 Squads of Players with 4 Fusions and 5 Caresses and a third squad with 6 Players, carrying 3 fusions and 6 Caresses. A Solitaire carrying the Rose accompanies them, flanked by a squad of 6 Skyweavers all with Haywires and Zephyrglaives, and a set of 3 clown cars will transport the kids around. Next was a Soaring Spite Spearhead with a Seer who is my Warlord using the Twilight Player Trait, and she will be flanked by 3 Voidweavers equipped with a Prismatic Cannon and a pair of Shuriken Cannons each. Lastly my Dreaming Shadow Vanguard containing a Seer as well as 3 Death Jesters, and one carrying Curtainfall.

This match was fun as hell, and man i missed playing solo Harlequins. The two units whom i felt suffered the most in the index- the Death Jester and Voidweaver, performed above my expectations. I am thoroughly impressed with how the Death Jester performs now, and after i spend some time testing the Dreaming Shadow Masque as a battalion, i feel this unit is going to find its way into my lists very frequently. Curtainfall taking its buffs and wounding Marines on 2+ is a real boon to our army, and is a huge incentive to bring at least one Jester in a Marine heavy meta. This game allowed me to effectively utilize Heroes Path effectively, and and drop my Curtainfall Jester in position to contest his Vindicare, and my Solitaire in his back line to contest his Colexus… and get everyone away from the Eversor bearing down on them.

The Voidweavers performed rather well in this match as well. I elected to keep the Prismatic cannons on them because i needed a critical mass of bullet hoses (and totally not because they were the only weapons i had modeled for them..) and combined with the twin shurikens on each, they performed perfectly fine. Making Prismatics and Haywires Assault was exactly what this vehicle needed to see play on even casual tables, and this model feels pretty decent now. I chose to keep my bikes in deepstrike reserve until turn 2 to help with a back line anti armor flank- but i ended up killing both Preds and bracketing the Ven Dred on the first turn anyway. I definitely over prepared in the realm of anti-armor, and i think i’m going to lose a few fusions on my players and focus more on Haywire mortals while i have bikes in my list. There definitely seems to be a “proper” ratio on how many Haywires versus Fusions to take. I plan to test that and find out where that ratio lies.

All in all, this Codex felt fantastic and i’m eager to try more. The key take-aways from this weekend would likely be:

Explore Leadership Bomb more, but beware of what lists you play it against. Perhaps theorycraft answers to deal with “hard counters”.

Revalute the Death Jester Mini Van strategy. It’s still very silly, but the codex brought us several different additions that could benefit this tactic. Whether it’s being able to advance and shoot on 2+, or its the Curtainfall/Example Made, Or Shrieking Doom, or just the general points decrease to the model.

Maybe bring a fourth transport to protect characters as well as minimize drops. Having to individually drop character after character can hurt our deployment. This relates to the point above, but what if we fill a Clown Car with characters, give one the Faolchu’s Talon relic to prevent them from dying when the vehicle get removed, and use that to skirt around the field? Theres something there…

Solo Harlequins will still struggle in ITC style objectives. Without an inexpensive unit to line our backline and hold objectives. Maybe there’s some play to taking a bare bones detachment of Ynnari, and using the Soulburst action as a last minute embarkment onto neighboring transports? sounds risky.

See how crazy the Solitaire can get. I can’t wait to see what ridiculous things i can one-shot with a Solitaire. If using Midnight Sorrow, your Solitiare can achieve 12 attacks at strength 7 using Torments of the Fiery Pit after declaring a Blitz, and then use War Dancers to do it again. 24 attacks at S7, doing D3 damage (or flat 3 against infantry) sounds too fun to pass up.

REMEMBER FIRE AND FADE. This is a big one. getting a free 7 inches out of any one unit is huge in an army that’s literally designed to shoot run. If that unit isn’t intent on charging, take the free movement!

Lastly, Remember your FnP’s. I successfully manifested Webway Dance probably 6 times across these game, and remembered my 6+++ probably twice. Really need to keep my eye on that one.

Anyway!

That’s a quick overview of what i experienced and learned during my first few games of Codex Harlequins. I thoroughly enjoyed the Solo Harlequin game, and i’m eager to keep playing similar lists and trying out more Masques. The Leadership bomb list will require some refinement, but as i mentioned earlier, i have a list specifically catered to that play style. As for my competitive list strategy; i plan to shift some points around and throw the Solitaire back in. I’m a little worried about putting a free point of Headhunter in my list again, but his assassination potential is simply just too high. Him just existing is going to force your opponent to turtle up hard in order to properly screen out his assault, and even then one simple mistake could prove to be fatal.

Thank you all for reading! I’ll be back soon with write up discussing the Leadership bomb more in detail, and further refining a Solo Harlequin list. I look forward to hearing your comments!

As Always,

Batty