Objective Secured

So with our first 2 public 9th ed events behind us, I get a chance to play at an event this coming weekend. You can check the event out HERE – its being hosted by the WA ANZTC team as a fund raiser to help cover some of the costs associated with the long trip east (assuming the boarders open some time before 2022). I promised myself I would focus on my Harlequins for 2020…

For me – its a great chance to get out and play and experience first hand the tournament setting and dynamic from the other side of the fence. I’ve played a few games of 9th so far and already had a few ideas i wanted to try and the list that follows reflects some of that.

First thing to note, its pure harlequins and a single detachment. This is very much contradictory to what i had in mind before 9th was announced. The points increases also have seen me trim down on a few models and upgrades to make it all fit.

On to the list!

Harlequins Battalion (-3cp) (+3CP for warlord)
Masque – Frozen Stars

HQ – Shadow Seer, Mist Stave, Shuriken Pistol, Shield from Harm, Pivotal Role (-1cp) Veil of Illusion, Relic – The Shadow Stone, Phantasmancy – Veil of Tears, Twilight Pathways

HQ – Shadow Seer, Mist Stave, Neuro Disruptor, Shield from Harm, Phantasmancy – Shards of Light, Mirror of Minds

HQ – Troupe Master, Harlequins Blade, Shuriken Pistol, Choreographer of War, Relic – The Twlight Fang (-1cp), WARLORD – Player of Light

Elite – Death Jester, The Jest Inescapable

Elite – Solitaire, Harlequins Caress, Harlequins Kiss, Blitz

Troops – 10 Troupe, 3 Harlequins Caress, 2 Harlequins Kiss, 5 Harlequins Blades, 10 Shuriken Pistols

Troops – 10 Troupe, 3 Harlequins Caress, 2 Harlequins Kiss, 5 Harlequins Blades, 10 Shuriken Pistols

Troops – 10 Troupe, 3 Harlequins Caress, 2 Harlequins Kiss, 5 Harlequins Blades, 10 Shuriken Pistols

Troops – 10 Troupe, 3 Harlequins Caress, 2 Harlequins Kiss, 5 Harlequins Blades, 10 Shuriken Pistols – 170 Points

Troops – 5 Troupe, 5 Harlequins Blades, 5 Shuriken Pistols

Fast Attack – 3 Sky Weavers, 3 Glaives, 3 Haywire Cannons

Fast Attack – 3 Sky Weavers, 3 Glaives, 3 Haywire Cannons

Fast Attack – 3 Sky Weavers, 3 Glaives, 3 Haywire Cannons

Heavy Support – Void Weaver, Prismatic Cannon

Heavy Support – Void Weaver, Prismatic Cannon

Heavy Support – Void Weaver, Prismatic Cannon

Total – 1997
CP = 10 (12-1 relic-1 pivotal role)

Breaking it down

Whats the grand plan? I have a few theories. The terrain density will play a big part in if this army does well or not. We added a bunch of terrain to our events on the 8/9 August and in some cases could have added more (which is being worked on!) and assuming I get a good terrain density, the infantry assault should actually do ok since harlequins ignore a lot of the core rules for movement.

The Troupe Master and upgraded shadowseer form the core point of the army, providing multiple aura buffs for the 40 clowns on foot to advance with. When stacked the infantry are -1 to wound, -6″ of range, reroll failed to wound rolls and reroll failed charges. The 2 heroes are also no slouches when they need to chip in, with the Troupe Master especially deadly as the game goes on.

The core block of 40 harlequins does what it looks like it does – charges and murders things. As frozen stars they have 5 attacks each which means should a full squad make combat thats 50 attacks with (hopefully) the buffs from the characters above. With half the units using special weapons they should meet and kill most units.

The small squad of 5 is my objective scoring unit. Hide them out of line of sight, use them to score. Thats about it.

The 3 squadrons of bikes allow me to apply pressure on multiple parts of the table at once and should kill a light vehicle per squad or take out a medium to large combined. They also pack their own punch in combat – with 12 attacks between the 3 of them on the charge at S4, -2ap and flat 2 damage.

The extra shadowseer along with the death jester and solitaire allow me the option of providing support away from the main force. Multiple mortal wounds, a sniper rifle and a blitzing solitaire can score objectives, run interference and generally disrupt enemy formations. I really wanted to add the second shadowseer so as to not take away from the main advance just to deal a few extra mortal wounds. The extra seer also got a neuro shredder simply because I had the points left over at the end!

The last choice – and i am sure the most curious for a lot of you – is the trio of void weavers. I really like these vehicles and they are comparable to a pair of bikes in many ways. They have the same save, wounds, -1 to hit for starters. The Void weavers have an extra gun, a higher toughness and don’t need to get to close to be effective. They also don’t degrade as they take damage. The flip side is they are more susceptible to high damage single attack weapons. Taking a pair of bikes makes them more prone to small arms as well as ‘degrading’ after 3 damage (and the loss of a bike) but they do get the flexibility to charge things as needed. What makes this such an interesting comparison is the void weaver isnt a slouch in combat like a lot of vehicles, boasting 4 attacks as frozen stars on the charge at WS3+ and S5! The prismatic cannon also gives the harlequins a tool box weapon able to support the main force as needed. They are also a single (smallish) model to take objectives with while still having impact on the table.

Thats it! I better get started building the rest of the bikes and void weavers I guess!