40K: Harlequin Masque Forms – Dance Of The Clowns
The Harlequin Codex is on the horizon and Games Workshop is showing off their new dance moves. Come see the new Masque Forms for the Harlequins!
“True to form, the Masque Forms are among the most distinct and unique faction rules we’ve seen in the game so far, each opening up a host of new tactical possibilities when it comes to customising your army and confounding your foes.”
Games Workshop did not hold back on this preview – we’re getting a look at all 6 of the Masque Forms coming in the Harlequin book – so let’s dive dance in!
Midnight Sorrow: The Art of Death
Everyone knows the Harlequins are supposed to be fast and we are seeing their athleticism on display here with their fast feet. When they Fall Back they get an extra D6″ of movement. That’s going to be pretty handy if they the armies has some way to count as having the Fly keyword (thinking of Flip Belts) or some other equivalent ability. Plus, when they consolidate they can go 6″ – that could be useful to lock things in combat. Just remember, if you didn’t declare a change at a unit you consolidate into, you don’t get to swing at them – but they get to attack you!
Veiled Path: Riddle-Smiths
Okay, this ability is just going to cause problems. Roll two dice and pick the lowest – those dice that exactly match that result are fails. So the question, if those results count as a failure and I have an ability that allows me to re-roll failed to-hit rolls, do those trigger the ability? Make sure you get your order of operations correct with this one…
Frozen Stars: Hysterical Fury
Hey, this one is nice and simple! Did you charge? You can add 1 to your Attacks Characteristic until the end of the ensuing Fight phase. Depending on the unit size and those limitations, that could be a nice bucket of dice you get to add.
Soaring Spite: Serpent’s Brood
All your pistols count as Assault 1 when you Advance. That means you can fire your pistols along with other non-pistol weapons as you move up. Depending on the rest of the armory of the Harlequins, that could be pretty useful. But I don’t really remember the Harlequins packing a lot of non-pistol weapons for their basic “Troupers.”
Dreaming Shadow: Sombre Sentinels
The first part of this power is nice – when you fail a morale test, you’ll only ever lose 1 model. That’s not too shabby. On top of that, you also have a 4+ chance to get one more attack (either ranged or melee) when a model is removed from that unit. I like these abilities, unfortunately, they trigger when you’re losing models. I suppose that helps take the sting out a bit…
Silent Shroud: Dance of Nightmares Made Flesh
Another combo ability and it could actually make opposing morale test pretty bad. First off, your units cause a -1 Leadership at 6″. On top of that, when your opponent makes those checks, if they are within 6″ of one of these units, they roll two dice and discard the lowest result. That has potential – but I think it’s going to come down to how many other Leadership modifiers the Harlequins have and how many they can get to stack.
Overall, with not much else to go on, these Masque Forms are kinda just ‘okay’ – nothing really jumps out as a rockstar ability. But we’re only seeing these in a vacuum. I’m going to reserve judgment until we see what else they have up their multi-colored sleeves. Who knows, these abilities might have some sick combos coming that we just don’t know about. I guess we’ll find out as GW releases more previews this week!
There is nothing funny about clowns.
