40K TACTICS: I Jest Of Death
Fritz here, and having recently been spotting running mass Harlequins in a number of games I feel it’s time to reveal my next series of 40K Eldar articles- focusing on Harlequins as the cat is now out of the bag. Only in Warhammer 40,000 do space elves running around dressed up like clowns even remotely make sense…
The Death Jester has got to be one of my all time favorite 40K models- black leather overcoat, over sized gun, skull mask, sign me up! I’m going to start with the ‘jester and his role in the troupe, but first a basic understanding of Harlequins is needed.
Gone are the days of the clown car (Falcon) and flying circus- and good riddance! These units pretty much played themselves requiring the least amount of skill and where is the fun in that? Within the current framework of the game and the Eldar codex Harlies now require some skill and a definitive plan to deliver their results and it all begins with the troupe.
In terms of foot slogging it across the table, Harlequins do it best thanks to the Shadowseer and Veil of Tears- everything else is built around her. Try walking those banshees or scorps across the table and even a bunch of lowly grots will blast you. The ‘seer with Veil of Tears (VOT) means you are safe from everything out of 24”- even orbital bombardment and barrage attacks. Check out the codex- you have to “spot” the harlies first to target them and codex trumps rules. Of course a craft opponent will target a nearby unit and hope for a scatter onto your clowns but I’ll show a work around for that later.
Much like a rock band each member of the troupe works together so the Shadowseer, Death Jester, Troupe Master, etc. all have their place…which brings us to Mr. DJ. At first glance many players opt to ditch the ‘Jester figuring the harlequins will be moving and then running/fleeting to get into the assault so why bother with a gun you can’t shoot. Running Harlequins effectively is a two way street so to speak, and there are also some tricks involved to get the enemy to close with you so using fleet to get into the assault should be the exception, not the norm. The Death Jester should be shooting each turn, but at what?
The golden rule with Harlies is getting your opponent out on foot so you can then pounce and gobble them up. With the ‘Jester you get three S6 shots that give you a chance to swat Rhinos and the like- an immobilization is just as good as it will force the opponent to disembark to come and get you. Yes, there are also other layers (Wraithlords in my list) to de-mech your opponent, but the DJ is another layer on top of that layer. Done correctly when combined with VOT the 24” range of the gun also means you can shoot at your target and they won’t be able to shoot back-dancing at the very edge of 24” is key.
The second role of the Death Jester is found in the pre-assault. Once the clowns move in for the assault, you want to fire off a few shots ahead of time to thin the numbers, shuriken pistols, fusion guns (more to come on them later) and the Death Jester all fit the role.
Sadly, once the assault has begun the ‘Jester is sometimes the first model to go…
Harlequins need to win the assault on the first round, not only for the psychological factor (imagine your unit of terminators vanishing before they can even swing back) and getting the jump with furious charge, pre-assault shots, and then hitting with Farseer-Doom support is the way to go. The art form is in pulling this off time and time again, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. If you get assaulted or don’t have the support of doom the ‘Jester takes a wound since he doesn’t have the harlequin kiss and looses the extra attack since he also drops the pistol and close combat weapon. If you are going another round you need as many kisses in the action as possible.
Up next is the Troupe Master and how he is the front man of the band…in part II. Your thoughts on clowns are welcome.
