Objective Secured

The Death Jester is a breed apart from the rest of the Masque, with ranged combat his forte and his disturbing sense of humour an added bonus. They have always been a force on the tabletop in the early days of 40k only to be diminished to the heavy weapon trooper of the troupe in recent years.

The new version of this most macabre warrior is an intriguing addition to the force of the Harlequins.

Background

The arrival of a Death Jester upon the battlefield is announced by a hissing storm of shrieker cannon fire. Enemy infantry are torn apart in sprays of blood and scalded flesh as they combust horrifically from within. Such an entrance is apt indeed, for the sinister Death Jesters play the role of Death in the Harlequins’ performances. Without exception, Death Jesters possess a grisly sense of humour that leads them to seek new and inventive ways to terrorise, torment and eventually kill their victims. They can sometimes be heard, chuckling or humming softly in the midst of battle, and will occasionally pause to sketch a deep bow or offer mocking applause to foes whose horrible fates have especially entertained them.

Killing the foe is not enough for a Death Jester. To make war worthwhile, they must interspace death with ironic humour. Slaying an office at the crescendo of a rallying speech, panicking enemy sappers so they flee into their own minefield, or wounding a heavy weapon trooper so that their shot flies wide and destroys the very objective they were defending; these are the kinds of cruel deed in which Death Jesters find their amusement. Indeed, there are few in the galaxy as talented or imaginative when it comes to writing the tragic comedy of war.

Amid the masques, Death jesters move as they will, garbed in armour said to incorporate the bones of their predecessors. They are regarded with wary amusement by their fellows, for they are as morbid and unpredictable as they are gifted. Yet their dedication to the Laughing God is beyond question, and in the heat of battle the covering fire of the Death Jesters saves the lives of their comrades time and again.

(From Codex – Harlequins, Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2015.)

What a happy fellow – so pleasant to be around! Lets see what he brings to the table shall we…

On the Table

I will start with his cost – cheap! 60 points and very little in the way of options makes him very enticing! His biggest drawback is the fact the only other models available in the same elite section of the codex are The Solitaire and the Shadow Seer!

Looking at the statline, its a solid line for the cost. WS and BS 5 make him accurate at range and better than just about any rank and file enemy they will face in combat. S & T of 3 is standard fare for the Eldar so there is nothing new there. 2 wounds is nice though the low T and low save make this less useful than you might expect. Initiative of 7 is spectacular but the lack of combat weapon makes this less useful (save perhaps for using hit and run). 3 attacks is also nice but again, the lack of combat weapon is a real hindrance. Leadership 10 is expected for an eldar character and like all the Harlequins, no armour save for him (despite the vivid description above of said armour!)

Rules wise, its a typical of the Harlequins – Fear, Fleet, Furious Charge, Hit & Run along with Independent Character, Precision Shots and his unique rule – Death is not Enough.

Death Is Not Enough is what gives the Death Jester is unique and effective role on the table top. An enemy unit that suffers one or more casualties from a Death Jesters shrieker cannon during the shooting phase must take a morale check at the end of that phase with a -2 modifier to its LD, just as if it had suffered 25% casualties. If this test is failed, the Death Jester’s controlling player chooses the direction that the enemy unit falls back this phase (if the unit continues to fall back in subsequent turns, it does so towards its own table edge as normal).

This rule is HUGE. The ability to drag units out of cover, to drag them into charge range where previously they were safe or best of all – to force them off the table if they stray to close to the edge of the board. All these things provide the low model count Harlequins with much needed table control in the early phases of the game. Combined with the Mask of Secrets nearby or with allied Eldar/Dark Eldar units with LD effects, this shooting assault can be very dangerous indeed. Obviously its biggest hindrance is against units that are fearless or the like but the gun will still threaten these units so its not a total loss.

On the wargear front he packs his just 3 things when going to war. His holosuit, flip belt and the dreaded Shrieker Cannon. He also has the option for haywire grenades as well as the option for a single relic.

I covered the Flip Belt and Holosuit in this entry but suffice to say he picks up freedom of movement and a 5++ save thanks to these. Its the Shrieker Cannon that’s the fun part!

The Shrieker Cannon boasts 2 profiles to its name though the 2 do share some things in common. A range of 24″ and Ap5 is common to both as is the blade storm special rule (AP2 on a wound roll of 6). The first profile is that of a standard Shuriken Cannon with 3 shots and S6. The second is the Shrieker round where the weapon gets its name. It boasts a single shot which has a S of 1 but combines whit with poison (2+) as well as pinning and the special rule – Bio Explosive!

Bio Explosive is a great rule harbouring back to the days of Rogue Trader – basically, if you slay a non vehicle model with this attack, the model explodes! Place a small blast marker over that model before removing it and count the models hit. The unit suffers a number of S5, Ap4 hits equal to the number of models hit by the blast. These hits have the ignores cover rule.

The biggest limit to this weapons effectiveness is the low AP unless you roll that magic 6 to wound for blade storm. Against most enemies I suspect you will just be firing the standard gun looking for that single kill to trigger the Death is Not Enough rule.

The options the Death Jester has are like the Solitaire – laughably short. The Starmist Rainment does nothing for the Death Jester in most cases as you need to be running (and thus not shooting) to benefit while The Laughing Gods Eye is ok – granting him Adamantium Will given his rule – I there are better places to put this item. Even haywire grenades are a maybe for him again as he tends to be further back on the table – though there is no harm is handing them out when you have a few points left over – the surprise you will trigger when he throws one then charges a tank would make the Death Jester laugh at the irony for sure!

Like the other elite models in the Harlequin list there are only a couple of ways to add a Death Jester (or 3!) to your army.

The Harlequin Masque detachment gives him (and every other harlequin in the detachment) the fantastic rule Rising Crescendo but thanks to the Death Jesters equipment and role in the force, I doubt its of much benefit. This formation is the most flexible to run a full harlequin force allowing you to run up to 7 of the bone wearing killers!

Putting the required 3 Death Jesters into the Cegorach’ Revenge formation gains them Consummate Performance which will considerable assist in their survival thanks to the reroll 1’s for saves it provides. You are on the other hand limited to running a fixed 3 Death Jesters in the force.

The Cast of Players is a reflection of the old unit from 4th/5th edition consisting of a single troupe with a Shadow Seer and Death Jester who may not leave the troupe. This hinder the Death Jester somewhat as again, the troupe wants to be in combat while he wants to hang back. In the past he was a cheap character to accept challenges and take bullets but here he is to pricy for that.

The last (and easiest) way to field a Death Jester is in the formation – The Heroes’ Path. This formation gives the Death Jester shrouded, stealth and infiltrate – all of which help his role on the table. He can deploy where he wants and will generally pack a 2+ cover save to do his work. Its probably be the most common way you will see a Death Jester in battle forged armies as it requires very little buy in from a points or cash standpoint.

How do you use him?

I would in the early game be picking on the easiest prey first – those closest to the back of the table or on the flanks if possible. As you get closer to engagement with the assault elements in your force – he should be pulling units forward to ensure charges for the troupes and other assault elements you may have. If possible – using the Shrieker ammo has the added bonus of potentially pinning the target into the bargain making the charge even safer for the squishy troupes.

I will be putting a Death Jester (via a Heroes’ Path) into my next tournament list – should be good for a laugh if he works!

Have you used the Death Jester in your games? How did you find him? Do you agree with my thoughts on him? Have you seen the Clown Car of Maugan Ra on the table (7 Death Jesters and Maugan Ra in a Dark Eldar Raider! I can even field this myself!) Let me know in the comments!