The new Harlequins 40k rules are here from White Dwarf 454, as Games Workshop’s Psychic Awakening update keeps on rolling. Check out the latest!
Spotted on Imgur, we’ve got pics of Stratagems, relics, and other bonus rules coming to the Harlequins inside the next White Dwarf magazine. Let’s go over what they’re getting and how it might be used against the top 40k factions.
New 40k Harlequins White Dwarf Rules SPOTTED!
Troupe Masters will be getting a bit more customization with a list of rules that replace the Choreographer of War ability. Prince of Light that lets you reroll charges for units within 6″, while Darkness’ Bite and Twilight’s Grasp will help turn your Troupe Masters into the Harlequin version of a Smash Captain- especially against characters and infantry units.
The Shadowseer is getting his own table of three new rules as well. In the same way, you can replace the Shield from Harm ability for Veil of illusion, Gloomwake, or Agent of Bedlam.
Veil of Illusion is a much more defensive trait that’ll force your opponents to get closer before they can shoot while Agent of Bedlam is something you’ll want to use if you plan on getting into the thick of combat with your Shadowseer. Taking an attack away from everything within 6″ is a big deal as long as you can protect him. He’ll be a prime Sniper target.
Death Jesters & Solitaires
For the Death Jester, you can replace Death is Not Enough with one of three rules from the table. All of the rules in his table are useful, making your Death Jester more of a toolbox unit for your list. If you need to kill screens, use Harvester of Torment. Want to kill characters or elite units? Use The Jest Inescapable. If you’re trying to lock down some units and set yourself up for a countercharge, use Humbling Cruelty.
Finally, the Solitaire can replace his Blitz ability (which is insanely powerful) with one of three abilities. Shocking Emergence is going to be used for a quick precision charge with pretty decent odds of making it in. If you fail, however, you’ll be out your only Solitaire.
Chromatic Rush is mainly used for sustained mobility all-game over the quick burst you normally get out of calling a Blitz. Finally, if you need a single-model tarpit, you can make him -1 to hit with Unnatural Acrobatics. A -1 to hit character with a 3++ invuln is something that won’t roll over for just anything.
New Stratagems
From what we can see Pivotal Role will let you pick another of the abilities we just talked about without having to replace the unit’s rule as normal. That means we could have a Solitaire with his Blitz ability on top of one of the three rules (Shocking Emergence, Chromantic Rush, or Unnatural Acrobatics).
The Curtain Falls is going to be adding even more mobility, allowing your units to fall back or move instead of consolidating.
Murderous Entrance is going to be the army’s answer to deleting a Primaris squad that would’ve normally given them trouble. We can also see this being used on tough nuts to crack like Imperial Knights as well.
Mystic Role will make any Aeldari unit reroll a hit and wound roll whenever it shoots or fights. Not too bad for sustained value. Plus, it’s only 1CP.
Virtuosos of the Webway is essentially a better version of the Blood Angel’s Upon Wings of Fire Strat. The Harlequins get it at half the cost and it can be used on ANY Infantry unit.
While we haven’t covered the whole span on stratagems, it looks like Harlequins got some real powerhouse/toolbox tricks up their sleeve that’ll most certainly see play.
New Enigmas of the Black Library
Finally, we’re going into their form of relics for the army, and it looks like the are fieldable in the same way as the codex book.
Right away, Veil of Tears stands out for a Solitaire. With a 3++ invuln already, he’ll be able to treat his first failed save each turn as a success.
Cegorach’s Lament is decent as it has two shooting profiles. If you shoot the Wail profile, you’ll also be able to deal D3 mortal wounds and subtract 2 from the leadership of the unit. We can see how this would potentially wreck a 6-man squad of Aggressors in-game.
Spectral Apparition is the Harlequin’s Get out of Jail Free card. AT THE END OF ANY PHASE, the bearer can pick a point within 12″ and basically teleport to it. However, they can’t charge after they do it which is totally okay. But the relic specifically allows the bearer to use it when it gets charged. Following the phases of the game, he can pop this at the end of the charge phase (before fighting) and escape death.
The Twilight Fang is going to be a lategame superpower. Throw this on a Troupe Master, and this 2-damage armor melter will be getting more and more powerful as time goes on. If you decide to save this guy till battleground five, he’ll be getting +5 2-damage swings.
Lastly, Destiny’s Jest allows you to either pick one bonus rule or roll 2D6 for two to last for the battle. Not a bad pick. But there are probably better relics to choose from.
Overall, the Harlequins look like they made it out WAY better than the Deathwatch did in their White Dwarf. Harlequins needed a little bit of love and from what we’ve seen, this is a solid helping hand.
What do you think about these Harlequin rules so far? What’s the most powerful relic they’ve got to choose from?
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About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
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About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
