40K Apocalypse: Harlequins Faction Focus
Why so serious about 40k Apocalypse? Why not send in the clowns with the lastest faction focus from Games Workshop!
Some factions just want to dance their way to victory and watch the world burn around them – the Harlequins are proof of that. How will this elite glass-cannon army work in 40k Apocalypse? Let’s find out!
“Harlequins exemplify the principle of a ‘glass hammer’ – they can utilise their advanced weaponry and impossibly athletic martial skills to rip through even the most well-armoured targets with contemptuous ease, yet they wear no armour and rely entirely on their holo-fields to disrupt the aim of their enemies. Fortunately, one of the benefits of holo-fields is that they roll a D12 against all blast markers, which renders every second hit (which upgrades a small blast maker to a large one) redundant – and yes, all the Harlequins units are equipped with holo-fields!”
Apparently Harlequin’s answer is “Holo-fields” to how they will survive the Apocalypse. D12 for all their saves seems pretty good – but let’s take a closer look:
You know what’s better than getting a D12 for your armor saves all the time? Not getting hit at all. Harlequins can do that thanks to their Dominon Fields:
“It’s only a -1” yes, that’s true. But holy smokes can that add up! I’d personally much rather not have to roll armor saves vs attacks. It’s like the inverse of that old coaches pep-talk about missing 100% of the shots you don’t take. Only it’s more like you survive 100% of the shots that miss you completely.
The Units
Troupe Master
What’s so great about the Troupe Master? Well aside from being able to threaten both infantry and tanks thanks to a 7+ SAP/SAT The Choreographer of War is pretty handy!
Re-rolling Wound rolls in Apocalypse is going to be pretty important due to the fact that the number of attacks per model is relatively small. Making sure those attacks wound after they hit is going to be very important.
Solitaire
The Solitaire fulfills a unique role in the dance of the Harlequins. In battle, they can function as deadly solo units (as the name implies). They are a serious threat to just about everything if they can get into melee:
4 Attacks that wound on 4+/5+ is no laughing matter. Plus this unit can move 14″ and always saves on a 5+ using a D12? Yeah…too bad (or good depending on which side you’re on) you can only have 1 in your army. I mean, they are called Solitaires, right?!
Troupe
Why would their basic unit be a stand-out for the Harlequins? Take a close look at their weapon profiles.
Do you see it? Here’s a closer look:
Troupe Weapons : A = x8!!! That’s bonkers.
A full sized squad of 12 gets 24 attacks that all hit on 3+ and wound on 6+ vs tanks and infantry. I don’t care who you are, that’s a LOT of damage in Apocalypse. Shoot, even groups of 5 would be a lot of damage relative to other units in Apoc. If you’re playing against Harlequins, you’re going to want to gun down these units as fast as possible!
Command Assets
The biggest challenge for the Harlequins in Apocalypse is going to be getting into close-combat. Thankfully, they have a few Command Assets that will help with that.
Prismatic Blur is going to be so very good for Harlequins. It’s a blanket +2 to all their saves for ALL the units in the Detachment. Plus, you can choose to use it in the damage phase when you’ve already seen which Detachment has gotten hit the hardest. Saving on D12s with a 4+ seems pretty good to me!
Webway Assault is another option to help you close the gap quickly – or strike where you opponent is weakest! It’s dependent on rolling over the Power Rating of the unit you wish to re-deploy and you have to have lost a unit to use it…but at the same time if you fail the roll, you simply put this card back into your hand. Getting a free unit that can deepstrike behind enemies lines seems like a handy card to have!
I thought it was a joke – but Harlequins aren’t playing around in Apocalypse!
