Is the new Harlequins codex as good as we thought? Come see our rules breakdown on these crafty Aeldari with some ideas on how they will they play.
What Synergies will the 8th Edition Harlequins have with the each other and their cousin Aeldari books? Come along as we go over the new rules for these mysterious new guardians of the Black Library.
How do They Feel?
On paper, they seem ridiculously fast and capable of unleashing a flurry of attacks in close combat. That’s exactly how it is on the tabletop as well. They can effectively mulch anything that doesn’t have a crazy toughness characteristic. But guess what. They get melta wrist-rockets. Harlequins don’t care about terrain, distance, or your feelings.
Check out what we are talking about with details on the Codex if you missed it.
Harlequin Masque Forms
Like Chapters, Dynasties, and Septs, Harlequins have Masques that have signature fighting styles.
Midnight Sorrow
Consolidating up to 6″ means that, when you blitz through an enemy unit, you’ll likely be able to chain into another one, proving very disruptive for any force that relies on shooting. Falling back an additional D6″ also has a variety of benefits; remember, with your Flip Belt and Rising Crescendo abilities, you’ll be able to move over models as if they aren’t there, before charging. Defensively, you’ll be able to put a LOT of distance between anyone that tries to pin you down, while offensively, you can wreak havoc behind enemy lines, using your Fall Back moves to get to the heart of your enemy army.
The Veiled Path
With a 4+ invulnerable save and a range of ways to mess with your opponent’s hit rolls, Harlequins can be surprisingly durable, with Riddle-smiths making you even harder to attack in close combat. If you’re looking to make your Harlequins last longer on the battlefield, this is the Masque Form for you.
Frozen Stars
Remember – Harlequins can Fall Back and charge, meaning you’ll be able to benefit from this several times during the game. By gearing up with powerful melee weapons like the Harlequin’s kiss (it’s a lot less nice than it sounds), you’ll be able to blitz through enemy units before they even have a chance to strike with a hefty 5(!) Attacks per Player on the charge for your Troupe units.
Soaring Spite
Troupes mounted in Starweavers will be very powerful with this Masque Form – as well as allowing you to fire your Pistols on the move, your shuriken cannons won’t suffer any reduction in accuracy for firing on the move.
Dreaming Shadow
We’d recommend taking larger squads of Harlequins, kitting them out with as many deadly pistols as you can and getting them into range as soon as possible – any foe looking to take them out could be in for a nasty surprise.
Silent Shroud
In an army composed entirely of Harlequins, this will work superbly with your Death Jesters, whose shrieker cannon can reduce the Leadership of target units, but where it really comes into its own is in a mixed Aeldari army. By combining a Detachment of Hemlock Wraithfighters with some choice Drukhari units from the Dark Creed Haemonculus Coven, you’ll be able to drop enemy Leadership by as much as 9 – enough to transform every single casualty into a devastating rout.
Harlequins were already good on the tabletop. Being able to advance, shoot, charge, fall back, rinse, and repeat is already insanely powerful. Now that we’ve gotten a glimpse of their individual masque rules, we can see that these guys are no joke.
Shooting armies will have a hell of a time trying to get away from the Midnight Sorrow masque long enough to return fire. Harlequin players now having the ability to pull up on a land raider and pop a cap in his engine with the Soaring Spite masque is something to definitely be wary of.
Key Datasheet Changes
- Shadowseer can now cast TWO psychic powers from the Phantasamancy chart. In addition, one can be smite, and they can deny one.
- Melee weapons have been adjusted from a dedicated strength characteristic such as caress of S5 to just +2 user.
- Shrieker profile on the Death Jester is now -1 AP
- Webway Gate has to form an arch with both halves no more than 5″ apart.
Harlequins Psychic powers
- Fog of Dreams– Warp charge value of 6. Select an enemy unit within 18″ and they become -1 to their hit rolls that target ANY Harlequin infantry units.
- Veil of Tears- Warp charge value of 6. Select a Harlequins infantry unit within 18″ and they become -1 to hit
- Twilight Pathways- Warp charge value of 6. Pick a Harlequin unit within 3 inches of the psyker and they may move again.
- Mirror of Minds- Warp charge value of 7. (down from 8) If manifested, select a visible enemy unit with 24 inches of the psyker. Both players roll a D6. If the Harlequins roll is equal to or higher than the opponents’ roll, 1 mortal wound is dealt. Repeat this process until the opponent rolls higher than the Harlequin players.
- Shards of light- Warp charge value of 7. Select an enemy unit within 18 inches and visible of the psyker. The unit suffers D3 mortal wounds and must subtract 1 from its’ leadership. (combo this with smite and that can be 2D3, possibly 1 D3 and D6 mortal wounds on top of -1 leadership.)
- Webway Dance- Warp charge value of 7. roll a D6 whenever a friendly Harlequins unit suffers a wound. Roll a D6 and on a 6+ the wound is ignored. Bubble wrap those shadowseers because this creates a bubble around him. Not just affecting 1 unit!
New Harlequins Stratagems
- Lightning Fast Reactions 2CP- After ANY Harlequin unit is targeted by an enemy weapon, use the stratagem to make your friendly unit -1 to hit until your next turn. This can be put on any vehicles, characters, infantry, it doesn’t matter!
- Prismatic Blur 1CP- Use this stratagem after a harlequin unit has advanced: Give that unit a 3++ invulnerable save until the start of your next turn.
- Isha’s Weeping 1CP- Select a Harlequins unit that suffered a casualty earlier in the phase to improve the invulnerable save by 1 to a maximum of 3++
- The Great Harlequin 2CP- (Troupe master only). Use this stratagem before the battle and only once per battle. and the Troupe master becomes “the Great Harlequin” and gains the “Will of the laughing God” special rule. This allows him to have every harlequin unit reroll 1’s to hit in the fight phase. This is sort of a Captain/Chaplain hybrid for the Harlequins.
- Enigmas of the Black Library 1/3CP- Allows for more than one relic to be taken in an army.
- Webway Assault 1/3CP- Harlequin Biker or Infantry unit can be placed in the Webway instead of on the battlefield and can be placed more than 9″ away from an enemy. 3CP for two units to do so. This is standard deepstriking for Harlequins.
- Vessel of Fate 1CP- Use this stratagem in the psychic phase. A Shadowseer can attempt to manifest another psychic power.
- Warrior Acrobatics 1CP- Use this Stratagem in the movement phase on an infantry unit and add 6″ to the advance characteristic instead of rolling any dice.
- Mirthless Hatred 1CP– Use this when a Harlequin unit is chosen to fight and reroll all failed to hit and wound rolls that target Slaanesh units until the end of the phase.
- War dancers 3CP- Use this stratagem after a Harlequins unit has fought. They may pile in and fight again for a final time. This is a reskinned Honor the Chapter stratagem all space marines get.
- Fire and Fade 1CP- Use this stratagem after a unit in your army shoots in the shooting phase. The unit can immediately move up to 7″ as if it were in the movement phase and cannot charge in the same turn that it does so. (this is incredibly useful for shooting something off an objective and then moving onto it, or shooting a scary unit and moving out of line-of-sight so you cant be shot at next turn).
- Dramatic Entrance 1CP- Use this stratagem at the end of your opponents’ charge phase. Pick a friendly character within 6″ of the charged unit. They may heroicly intervene up to 6″.
- Shrieking Doom 1CP- (Death Jester only). Use this stratagem before a Death Jester shoots. Increase the Shrieker profile’s strength by 1 and its damage characteristic to D3 until the end of the phase.
- Haywire Grenade 1CP- Use this stratagem before a Harlequin model throws a plasma grenade at a vehicle. If it hits, the target suffers D3 mortal wounds instead of normal damage.
- No Price Too Steep 2CP- Use this stratagem when a Midnight’s Sorrow character is slain. Before removing the model as a casualty, it can fight as if it were int he fight phase. If the model was a Solitaire or was slain by a Chaos unit, add 1 to the strength and attacks.
- Capricious Reflections: Veiled Path 1CP- Use this stratagem at the end of your opponents’ charge phase. Select a friendly unit. It may perform a heroic intervention as if it were a character.
- Malicious Frenzy: Frozen Stars 2CP- Use this stratagem before a Frozen stars unit fights in the fight phase. Add 1 to the wound rolls if they target an infantry, beast, or bike unit.
- Hundred Swords of Veil 1CP- Select a friendly unit before the first battle round. You may re-deploy that unit somewhere else in your deployment. If you selected a transport, all units inside remain in the vehicle.
- Torments of the fiery pit 1CP- After taking a wound, a character may increase the strength and attack characteristic by 1. You can basically make characters a tornado of attacks here.
Stratagems Previewed Earlier This Week
2CPs for a pseudo-Angel’s wing relic from Blood Angels? That’s brutal in an army that basically has the moving capability of a jump pack unit. Harlequins are going to be an army that can skate across the board and charge turn 1. Sometimes overwatch may be the only shot an army gets to do some damage on a unit. This stratagem can devastate a Tau gun line teaming with fire warriors.
1 CP to drop 2 units in a turn rather than 1 is also nice. We may see this stratagem ported to other Aeldari factions once this unit becomes available.
An example made is a souped-up Tesla gun from Necrons. With this stratagem being only for characters (and most characters hit on 2’s) this can shred an infantry squad.
Skystride can be a very annoying stratagem for an opponent of a Harlequin. Aeldari have been historically squishy so being able to hop out and slap a tactical squad into submission and then immediately hop into a transport making the unit effectively T5 again is solid.
This is basically a reskinned port from the Necrons emergency disembark for the night scythe. Still useful.
1 CP for a 3+ invulnerable save on an entire unit is nothing to scoff at. We’ve seen how long thunder hammer storm shield terminators stick around.
Heroes path is a little risky because you may end up allowing your opponent to fire freely at your characters if you aren’t careful about positioning. But is still useful.
Cegorach’s Jest is nasty just because you get to blast them after slapping them in the face. It’s a lose-lose situation for anyone.
Harlequins Warlord Traits
It is important to note that Solitaries cannot have warlord traits in the Harlequin Codex, however, all other characters can.
Generic traits:
- Luck of the laughing God-Reroll hit rolls, wound rolls, and damage rolls of 1 for your warlord
- Fractal Storm– Your warlord gains a 3++ invulnerable save against melee weapons,
- A Foot in the Future- Add 2 to your warlord’s move characteristic as well as 1″ to charges, falling back, heroic intervention consolidates, and pile in.
- Player of the Dark- Each wound roll of a 6+ in the fight phase does a mortal wound in addition to normal damage.
- Player of the Light-
A reskinned version of Grey Knight’s First to the Fray warlord trait. Only better. With Harlequins being a much more mobile and assault-capable army, this trait is some brutal icing on the cake.
- Player of the Twilight-
A pseudo-Tau pure tide engram Neurochip, you’ll want to roll 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s to get those command points.
Masque-Specific Warlord Traits
- Midnight Sorrows’ Nemesis of the Damned- Each hit of a 6+ in the fight phase causes 2 hits instead of 1.
- Veiled Paths’ Webway Walker- The warlord can be placed in the Webway and emerge more than 9″ away during the end of the movement phase. This also allows you to use the Webway ambush stratagem twice.
- Frozen Stars’ Our Kin Shall Rise Again- when a unit within 6″ of your warlord loses its’ last wound, on a roll of a 6+ the wound is not lost.
- Dreaming Shadows’ Warden of the Dead- Add 1 to the roll of the Sombre Sentinel’s masque trait for every unit that is within 6″ of your warlord. Add 2 instead if there are any Necron units on the battlefield. This means the Dreaming Shadow’s Masque will go off on a 3+ and on a 2+ if there are Necrons instead of a 4+.
- Silent Shroud: The Final Joke- Roll a D6 whenever your warlord is slain in the fight phase and on a 2+ the unit that killed your warlord suffers D3 mortal wounds and on a 6 the unit suffers D6 mortal wounds.
- Soaring Spite: Skystrider (Below)
Hey, look! The harlequins get even more mobility. This is huge as it lets the character get A LOT closer to where he needs to be in a short amount of time.
Enigmas of the Black library
- Mask of Secrets- Increases friendly Harlequins leadership by 1 and decreases enemy leadership by 1 while they are within 6″ of the bearer.
- Storied Sword- (Power Sword model only) Strength +1 AP-3 D3 damage and can reroll failed hit rolls for this weapon.
- Suit of Hidden Knives- Roll a D6 each time a hit roll of 1 is made for an enemy model against the bearer in the fight phase and on a 2+ they suffer a mortal wound.
- Starmist Raiment- The bearer has a 3++ invulnerable save and enemy units cannot fire overwatch on the bearer in a turn that it advanced.
- Laughing God’s Eye-Friendly harlequin units automatically pass morale tests while they are within 6″ of the bearer. In addition, roll a D6 each time a unit suffers a mortal wound in the psychic phase and on a 6+ the wound is ignored.
- Cegorach’s Rose- (Model armed with Harlequins kiss only) Reroll failed wound rolls for this weapon and has a damage characteristic of 3 when targeting infantry.
- Midnight’s Sorrow: Midnight’s chime- Once per battle at the beginning of the fight phase, this can be activated and any Midnight’s sorrow units increase their attack characteristics by 1 within 6″ of the bearer.
- Frozen Stars: Ghoul Mask- Bearer can attempt to deny a psychic power in the enemy’s psychic phase and add one to the deny the witch test.
- Soaring Spite: Faolchu’s Talon- While embarked on a transport, the vehicle can move an additional 6″ and does not explode when destroyed. In addition, no models are slain from disembarking.
- Curtain Call- a souped-up version of the Death Jester’s Shrieker Cannon that will shred enemy characters when paired with Dreaming Shadow abilites
- Silent Shroud’s Relic- (Troupe Master or Shadowseer only). Can increase the range of Wearer’s aura by 3″.
- Mirrorstave- Mistave wielder Only
Crescendo- Model with Shuriken Pistol only
There turned out being a lot more relics than what was revealed to us earlier in the week. All of these relics are either very melee-centered or pile on even more survivability to the Harlequin forces.
Harlequin Point Values & Webway Gate
Looks like the rumored rules ended up being pretty accurate for the point values an stats on the Webway Gate.
Codex Harlequins :
– There will be a Portal Fortification, 120Pts Not under 14HP 3+ 5++ T8,that you will set everywhere on the table but more than 12inch of enemy and more than 6 inch of objective, that will give the possibility to ds units from it, with a strat similar to necron if he is destroyed you can set them. After the portal is destroyed unit are not forced to be more than 9’’ to the enemy. Strongly implied that this unit will be available to aeldari.
– A warptime spell for Harlequin unit
Now that the codex is right around the corner, What lists have you already planned on using? Will you be taking an all-Harlequin army? Let us know in the comments on our Facebook hobby group.
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About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
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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.