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Freakshow Tactica: Leadership based tactics for all types of Eldar. (Updated 4/23/15)  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Made in us
Hellish Haemonculus






Boskydell, IL

This is part 1
Here is part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

Welcome to the Freakshow!


Introduction
When the Haemonculus Covens supplement dropped, I started building an army based primarily around Leadership debuffs coupled with Leadership based attacks. When I first presented the idea to the forums I frequent, the response was...underwhelming. However, I enjoyed some modest success with the idea, so I continued to plug away with it. In addition to refining my techniques and trying the myriad tools to apply them, I also kept advocating it whenever the opportunity presented itself.

With the arrival of the new Eldar codex, I was surprised to see a change in the wind. Suddenly, when I suggested these ideas, people seemed far more receptive. With the looming threat of Scatter Laser armed Windriders and Gargantuan Wraithknights, the idea of attacking an enemy through its Leadership score began to be more appealing, and I wondered if people might be able to benefit from a tactica article on the subject.

So here we go. What is the Freakshow? The Freakshow is a list, based primarily around a Dark Eldar or Covens core, which incorporates allies from the Harlequins, Corsairs, or Craftworld Eldar. The main distinguishing feature of the army is its reliance on Leadership based attacks: attack forms which do damage (or add additional damage or deleterious effects) based on Leadership scores or tests. To facilitate this, Freakshow lists will incorporate one or more abilities which reduce the enemy's Leadership score.

So why would I want to build this list? Fair question. Most of these Leadership based attacks result in large numbers of wounds. These wounds are not based on Toughness, which means they hurt a Wraithknight or Transcendent C'Tan as surely as a lowly Guardsman. Furthermore, most of them are not confined to a single model, so hordes of enemies (who usually possess far lower Leadership scores and are consequently taking more wounds) are just as susceptible as large single-target units. Finally, most of these attacks ignore one or more types of saves, giving you an edge over units that are normally untouchable.

So this is the first in a series of articles summing up what I've learned about this strategy. If you have additional knowledge to impart, or questions or comments about my advice, please feel free to comment or contact me! Before we begin, however, I'd like to go over one caveat: This strategy relies on the use of Allies. If your comments are going to be limited to telling everyone how much you dislike allies, you're entitled to your opinion, but please deposit them in another thread. It isn't that your opinion isn't valid, but that particular opinion serves no constructive use here.

If this is well received, later installments will include: a breakdown of weaknesses inherent in Freakshow lists and how to address them, a brief analysis of Freakshow lists against other armies, an article of example lists, a guide to deployment/troop movements, and any other block of information I think might be relevant.

The Tools-A Unit/Equipment Guide

Let's start by discussing the units, upgrades, and powers that you'll be using. We're going to approach these individually, by faction. Our tools come in two types: penalty and attack. The Penalty Tools apply a negative Leadership modifier. The Attack Tools cause wounds or negative effects based on Leadership scores or tests. Please note that several of these tools are both.

Dark Eldar
The core faction for much of my army lists, the Dark Eldar bring both types of tools, as well as strong transport capacity for themselves and every one of your allies. While the Combined Arms Detachment is going to be your first inclination, with its Objective Secured rule, the Realspace Raiders detachment is also a good choice. The three extra Fast Attack slots allow you to bring more transports for your allied forces, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Armor of Misery (Penalty Type) - The Armor of Misery's greatest weakness is that it only applies its -2 penalty is a 6" bubble rather than the 12" standard. Nonetheless, it provides some additional survivability for the wearer, as well as a minor boost from the Fear rule. Available on any of your HQs (Succubus, Archon, or Haemonculus) for added versatility. For my money, if you have a Dark Eldar HQ, this is a must-have.

Archangel of Pain (Penalty/Attack type) - The burst attack from this relic only extends out to 9", but it applies a Soulfright-like attack. (Each enemy unit must make a Leadership test and take one wound, without the benefit of armor or cover saves, for each point the test was failed by.) On the positive side, although it shares the same rules, this attack does NOT use the Soulfright rule, so it can be used on a unit already hit by a Soulfright weapon. Furthermore, the Archangel's test must be taken at a -2. On the flip side of the coin, this relic can only be used once per game, and cannot be taken on the same character wearing the Armor of Misery. Like Soulfright weapons, it cannot allocate wounds to models with the Fearless or ATSKNF rules.

If you can only include one relic, I'd take the Armor. Nonetheless, if you bring two Dark Eldar HQ's, you'd be well advised to pack this one, too. Also, note that while this relic functions in many ways like a weapon or a psychic power, it is neither. For instance, it can be used from within a transport, even a closed one, with no penalty. The transport can even Jink without negating the use of this relic!

Torment Grenade Launchers (Attack Type) - At 24", a S1 attack isn't doing much, even with the Blast rule. (That being said, I've done some significant damage with this, when the rolls go my way.) The Soulfright rule offers a significant advantage, however. Any unit hit (not wounded!) by a Soulfright attack must take a Leadership test at the end of the phase, and suffer one wound (no armor or cover saves allowed) for every point they fail by. On the down side, multiple Soulfright attacks don't stack; only one Leadership test will be required. In addition, models with the Fearless or And They Shall Know No Fear rule cannot have wounds from Soulfright allocated to them. Take note of two things, however. First, Fearless and ATSKNF do not convey the possession of the rule to the models in the unit they are in. So a Fearless or ATSKNF character in a unit that lacks the rule will be immune, but their unit will not be. Furthermore, Daemons of Chaos do not possess the actual Fearless rule, and are thus just as susceptible to Soulfright as everyone else (the new Khorne supplement suffers no such weakness).

The Torment Grenade Launcher (TGL) is a tasty addition to the army when it works. However, even with negatives many units can make the tests. (Necrons, for example, can suffer a -3 to their Leadership and still make the test on an average roll.) Furthermore, if your opponent plays any variety of homogenous Space Marines, the TGL is just 15 wasted points a pop. Finally, they are only available on Raiders and Ravagers, our cheapest and most available source for anti-armor weaponry, and firing the TGL at an infantry unit means you aren't shooting at a vehicle.

Phantasm Grenade Launcher (Attack Type) - Essentially the same thing as a TGL, with a range of 18", and mounted on an infantry character. (Most characters can take them.) All of the same benefits and negatives from TGLs apply here (save for the split-focus one, which probably won't apply unless you stick a PGL on a group of Scourges).

Chain Snares/Shock Prow (Attack Type) - The biggest problem with Tank Shocking people is that they usually make their Leadership tests. With the penalties a Freakshow list brings to the table, Tanks Shocks become much more reliable. With the addition of a Tank Shock, an enemy can theoretically fall back four or more times in a single turn. While I'm personally not convinced of the Shock Prow's efficacy, if you want to pay the 5 points to have some additional 'defense of desperation' against vehicles, you'll probably still be okay.

Webway Portal - Although it fits in with neither type of our tools, the Webway Portal (WWP) is a valuable addition to your army. Available on any generic DE HQ, the WWP allows scatter-less Deep Strike. The ability to place your bubbles with pinpoint precision is a huge deal for the Freakshow, and should not be overlooked. It also serves as a first line of defense, keeping your mainstay units out of the line of fire until they're ready to begin shooting themselves. Since the majority of your Leadership attacking weapons/abilities have a range of 12-24", the ability to close that distance without taking any enemy fire is a pretty big deal.


Haemonculus Covens
The Covens offer a great deal of support for a Freakshow list, and might wind up being your Primary Detachment the majority of the time (mine usually are). You do have to watch out: if Covens are your Primary Detachment, your codex Dark Eldar cannot field an Allied Detachment. This is easily worked around, though, with the application of a Combined Arms Detachment or a Realspace Raiders Detachment.

Torment Grenade Launcher/Chain Snares/Shock Prow/Webway Portal- As above, so below.

Covenite Coterie Detachment (Penalty Type) - The 'default' way to field Covens units, it is the first example we get to discuss Freakish Spectacle. Now, the Freakish Spectacle rule applies a 12" -1 to Leadership. Although it does not stack between units, it does stack between detachments. For my money, the Covenite Coterie is a poor choice. It lacks the special benefits of the formations. Still, you may be forced into it by points restrictions, and if so, it's still another Leadership penalty, so it's nothing to sneeze at.

This is a good time to discuss Freakish Spectacle. There is a school of thought which says that Freakish Spectacle does not stack when applied from multiple detachments. Please note that the book does not say a Special Rule cannot be applied to a unit more than once, it says a model may not benefit from a Special Rule more than once. And no one is about to argue that a -1 penalty to Leadership is a benefit! Nevertheless, we've all run into TOs that made decisions we felt were more wishlisting than legitimate interpretations of the rules, so be aware that you may face this. If it does happen, stay calm, produce your rulebook (the relevant rule appears at the beginning of the Special Rules section), and don't worry if you get ruled against. Your army should have enough redundancy to the Leadership penalties that you'll be okay.

Grotesquerie (Penalty Type) - This is one of my favorite picks for a Freakshow army. Not only do the super-charged Grotesques provide some of the anti-armor capacity the army lags behind in, they provide a platform for the Independent Characters that the Freakshow is heavy with. Since 3-4 Grots can pack into a Raider and still have room for 1-4 ICs, you not only get a Deep Striking platform, but a 9-12 wound buffer as well. If you bring along Haemonculi from other formations (the Scarlet Epicurean, Fleshcorps, and Coterie Detachments all have Haemonculi that can join the Grots) then the Raiders will broadcast more than one Freakish Spectacle bubble.

Scarlet Epicureans (Penalty Type) - If you're looking to stack as many ICs (and stacking Leadership penalties) into one unit as possible, the Scarlet Epicureans are a good pick, since they are the cheapest Haemonculus-bearing formation you can get. (Where the IC can leave the unit, that is.) By keeping the Parasite Engine close to units that can benefit from its Feel No Pain boost (and by the way, you should never take any other loadout for it, no exceptions) such as a Grotesquerie or the Wracks that you bought with it, you can provide a cluster of more-resilient close combat fighters that can actually do some damage. In a pinch, the Cronos's ability to Smash enemy characters or vehicles might be the thing that pulls your fat out of the fire.

Scalpel Squadron (Penalty Type) - Out of all the Covens additions, this is my all-around favorite. While the two squads of Wracks aren't going to rock your world, and the Venoms are quite useful against infantry, it's the guaranteed first turn Deep Strike that makes this unit shine, since that ability makes it possible to deploy your entire army in Reserve and Deep Strike as much as possible. The Surgical Excision rule (1d3 Victory Points if this formation picks up First Blood) is nice if you can get it, but tends to be difficult to pick up.

Corpsethief Claw (Penalty Type) - For when you absolutely, positively, need to smash every single bastard around you into paste. Accept no substitutes. Five rampaging, Outflanking monstrous creatures is just a ridiculous amount of overkill. Since you're almost certainly going to be bringing Telepathy psykers anyway, you can frequently get either the Shrouding or Invisibility powers, increasing the survivability of this particular bit of nasty. If you can get going, the extra Victory Points this unit rakes in can even make up for lacking objectives.

Dark Artisan (Penalty Type) - Probably the most popular of the Coven formations, but there's a good reason for that. The monstrous creature unit allows you to wound shuffle if you're clever, and the buffs the formation gives the unit add even more to the combat capacity, plus the whole shebang is quite a bit cheaper than the Corpsethief Claw! A Webway Portal is a lovely addition for the Haemonculus in this instance, since the only thing worse than multiple T7 monsters with the Smash rule is giving those monsters scatter-less Deep Strike. The Vexator Mask is a solid pick for the Haemonculus here as well, since the Initiative negative he can throw out can detain an enemy character long enough for the engines to do their dirty work, especially if they were forced to charge through difficult terrain.

Covenite Fleshcorps (Penalty Type) - There are two reasons to take a Covenite Flesh Corps, neither of which are highly recommended. I mentioned earlier stacking multiple characters broadcasting Leadership penalties into a single vehicle, and the Haemonculus from the Fleshcorps is another IC you can add to the pile. The second reason is the additional Raiders. If you face a meta with extremely high numbers of 2+ elite infantry, or ludicrous amounts of vehicles, you might want to be able to bring more vehicles. While the codex Dark Eldar can offer both in more efficient configurations, if you're unable to take a Dark Eldar detachment for some reason (lack of models, f'rex), then this can be a second-tier way to make up for what you're lacking. Still, in an optimum situation, I'd avoid putting the Fleshcorps into your army unless you're playing a 3k+ point game and trying to build up a Carnival.

Reapers (Attack Type) (FW) - Although the Forgeworld price tag can get expensive, the Reaper can provide a horrendous amount of firepower. It's primary weapon is utterly devastating (and on it's dispersed mode, also causes Pinning, a rule made far more useful in a Freakshow) to either infantry, elite infantry, or vehicles. It suffers from 'one-shot syndrome,' but you can console yourself with the fact that in the absence of errata, it can still purchase Torment Grenade Launchers and Night Shields at a fraction of the price such upgrades normally cost!

Revenant Titan (Attack Type) (FW) - The Sonic Lances cause Pinning, which is why this brutal bastard makes the toolbox. With his movement, his Titan Holo-Fields, and his weaponry, he's truly disgusting. However, his points cost will severely limit how much additional Freakshow material you can field, and will leave a sizable hole in your army if he gets taken down. Personally, I take a pass, but if you like gambling on the (admittedly good) odds that you won't lose him, then by all means go in fury, my child.


Corsairs
Despite the fact that they haven't had an update in quiet a long time, the Eldar Corsairs still have a bit they can bring to the field. Experience is one of the most potent tools in the arsenal of a 40k player, and while your opponents will probably have faced Wraithknights and Windriders galore by year's end, you can bet most of them will have never seen Corsairs on the tabletop. A lack of knowledge in how the army functions can give you a decided edge. (This is the reason that certain top-tier players always play whichever codex happens to be newest.) The disadvantage to them (in addition to the fact that every single model in the army is from Forgeworld and thus you'll need to sell an organ to afford a force) is that that each detachment comes with a mandatory purchase of a troop unit which isn't all that stellar (at least it isn't adding anything to Freakshow lists we don't do elsewhere, with greater efficiency and fewer points).

Corsair Prince (Support Type) (FW) - Although he lacks any of the tools we would normally use, the Corsair Prince is still worth mentioning for his Void Strike ability. Although it's only a one-shot power, it has either the ability to deliver a blast with a d6+6" radius and the Pinning rule, OR to fire a light-stealing missile that puts the Night Fighting rules into play until the start of your next turn, a defense that Dark Eldar-heavy Freakshows can capitalize on in a big way (since they gain all the benefits and none of the disadvantages). Realspace Raider detachments in particular can benefit immensely from the Darkfire Skyburst.

Void Dreamer (Attack Type) (FW) - In addition to adding some psychic dice, the Void Dreamer has access to a Neural Shredder, a template weapon that wounds against Leadership rather than Toughness. Although at the time of the last update he couldn't take Telepathy powers, that might hopefully change in the future.

Harlequins (Support Type) - Wait, I hear you say, aren't Harlequins their own thing now? Shouldn't I just use their codex? Isn't it more powerful? And you would be correct to ask that. However, (and this is a big however) the Corsair Harlequins have access to an old school Webway Portal. Rather than the new version, this old version lets the wielder throw down a marker on the board, which your units in Reserve can enter from as though it were your own board edge. Furthermore, possession of one in your army allows you to place units in Reserve even if the mission does not normally allow it. (And such Reserves are not required to use the Webway Portal.) Since Freakshows benefit so much from late arrivals, this may be something you want to play with, but the less-powerful outdated Harlequins might be too much of a boat anchor to bother.

Corsair Phoenix Bomber (Attack Type) (FW) - Although it carries a heavy price tag, the Phoenix Bomber carries enough armament, and has enough survivability, to make it worth it. If Freakshow lists lack anything, it's anti-flyer firepower, and the Phoenix delivers in spades. Not only that, it has an option for an anti-infantry missile launcher with Pinning and Ignores Cover. Personally, I'd go with a Nightfire Missile Launcher for the infantry, and your choice of forward mount (Pulse Laser, Twin-Linked Starcannon, or Twin-Linked Bright Lance; I really can't decide) for dogfighting. Normally I'm not a fan of over-generalization, but with the inclusion of the two Shuriken Cannons, I think the Phoenix would carry enough firepower to handle multiple roles adequately.


Harlequins
With a shiny new codex under their flip-belts, the Harlequins of old are back, with gorgeous new models and some potent new abilities. No longer relegated to a boutique support role, guest-starring in other armies, the new Harlequins can operate entirely by themselves, and in small point games might be the only army I would attempt a Freakshow list with in absence of allies.

Their marvelous abilities are somewhat mitigated by the difficulty in fielding them. With no HQ choices they cannot be taken in a Combined Arms or Allied Detachment, and must instead fit into either their custom Force Organization Chart, or be fielded as one of their Formations. I'll talk about those at the end.

Shadowseer (Attack/Penalty Type) - TGLs might be dicey, and the gimmicky Neural Shredder might be fun, but for sheer damage in a Freakshow list, nothing beats Psychic Shriek. By himself, before any additional modifiers, the Shadowseer is applying a -2 to his enemies (due to the Mask of Secrets, which you should always take!). Even against a foe with Ld 10, your Shrieks are still going to do 2.5 invulnerable-save-only wounds on average. Each penalty beyond that only makes it worse (and the Shadowseer can apply another negative all by his lonesome if he gets Terrify). The fact that he comes standard with a Blast weapon with both Blind and Pinning is only made sweeter by the fact that any unit that fails the Pinning test takes another wound! Although his fragility calls the matter into question, I would definitely say he's in the running for MVP of the Freakshow army.

Death Jester (Attack/Penalty Type) - Another strong offering from the Harlequins, the Death Jester has what is hands-down my favorite ability from the codex. Death is Not Enough! provokes a Morale test from the Jester's victims if he inflicts even a single casualty (note: not wound), just as if the unit had lost 25%, and if this test is failed, you choose the direction of the retreat, not your opponent. For enemies that like to hug the board edges, this is huge. The weapon has dual modes, with the anti-horde mode also inflicting a Pinning test.

Formations - The Harlequins have one custom FOC and a handful of formations, so it's probably appropriate to discuss the most optimal way to field them. The Serpent's Brood and Cegorach's Jest both require an inordinate amount of chaff in order to get the units which fit the Freakshow focus, and aren't recommended. Faolchu's Blade is completely worthless to a Freakshow; it doesn't contain a single unit useful for our strategy.

The Hero's Path is probably your best bet. When included with a Realspace Raiders detachment, each of the ICs can be given their own individual Venom (which cannot Outflank off of their Infiltrate since it isn't Dedicated, but can still elect to Deep Strike), giving you everything you want for the Freakshow with no unwanted units, and a Solitaire to boot. (The Solitaire is no albatross around your neck; he's a gruesome opponent capable of murdering virtually anything on the board outside of a Lord of War slot.)

The Cast of Players is another good option, especially if your Eldar/Dark Eldar support is going to be on foot, since it gives any other Eldar/DE the Crusader rule. The Troupe Masters that come with this and the other two formations make wonderful Warlords; there isn't a bad trait on the Dark table.

While expensive to both points cap and the wallet, the remaining two formations are both capable of putting in solid work. The core FOC for the Harlequins requires you to take two Fast Attack and one Heavy slot, but the Harlequin transports can accommodate the two FA, and one of their highly useful Voidweavers can take care of the other. The Voidweaver brings the anti-vehicle utility you might otherwise lack, so it isn't so horrible to drag along.

The Cegorach's Revenge formation is an amazing base for a Freakshow, if your wallet can support it. The requirements are enormous, but if you plan the rest of your army around this it's all entirely workable. Plan your Harlequins for a largely anti-vehicle role (full squads of Caresses are expensive but oh so brutal) and let the 3 Death Jesters and 3 Shadowseers go to town on the infantry. With the addition of a few allied support units, the amount of brutality this formation can lay down is immense. (The re-rolls of 1's on Invulnerable saves is mighty nice, too.) Like the core FOC, this one allows you to re-roll your Warlord trait for a Troupe Master, and gives all units with Fleet the ability to Run and then Charge.


Eldar
While the Eldar in 40k lore may be dying out, their plastic counterparts have never been stronger. Although you can certainly build potent mono-Eldar lists, they also have quite a bit to add to a Freakshow. With more psychic capacity than any other Eldar army, they wield the most potent Attack-Type tools in the Freakshow arsenal. With the other forces providing strong Penalty-Type support, the Eldar can do some major damage.

I have a strong preference for the new Seer Council, but a Warhost can work for us too. A Seer Council, Windrider Host, and Wraith Construct group (with just a Hemlock) would do wonders for a Freakshow, bringing almost nothing we don't need.

Webway Portal (Support Type) - Deep Strike, no scatter. 'Nuff said.

Farseer (Attack/Penalty Type) - Hands down the best use of your psychic resources. The Farseer provides a Mastery Level 3 psyker who can re-roll his failed psychic tests as well as take a valuable Eldar Jetbike to increase his survivability. I prefer the Singing Spear to the Witchblade, but that's a personal preference.

Of note here is the two special characters: Eldrad and the Forgeworld model, Bel-Annath. Eldrad is a bastion of psychic goodies, and only his lack of a jetbike gives me pause. Still, slap him in a transport and go to town with the Witchfires. Bel-Annath is even more brutal. He can get a select group of psychic powers, no roll required, two of which are Attack Type tools and one of which is the ever popular Fortune. If not for the fact that his presence forbids any other Farseers he would be a must-take. Still, from the back of a Starweaver, Raider, or Venom, he could potentially do more psychic damage in a round than any other psyker we have access to, especially if there's a Warlock Council boosting your psychic dice.

Spiritseer (Attack/Penalty Type) - Lower mastery level and no option for a bike. For my money the Farseer is the far better choice, but the Spiritseer is better than nothing. If you run a Wraith heavy list (especially if the majority of your Freakshow is codex Eldar) then you might find the Spiritseer to be the better choice.

Warlocks (Penalty Type) - Never mind the forum chatter: for our purposes Warlocks could not possibly have gotten better. At fifty points apiece, they are a little pricey (you weren't even considering not putting them on bikes, were you?), but worth it. While you might get lucky and pull down Horrify from the Runes of Battle, the Warlocks far more efficient purpose is providing a jaw dropping one additional Warp Charge point per model! Since you can add a Warlock to any Windrider Squadron (an expensive but tasty icing on the Windrider cake), you've got more potential for the support psychic powers they offer. Just remember not to spend so many psychic dice you don't have enough for the psykers with Shriek, Terrify, or Dominate.

Vibro-Cannons (Attack Type) - As a Pinning weapon with sliding AP and Strength, this is kind of like the Eldar version of the Care Bear Stare. Against infantry, its low shot count hurts it, but against small elite units it can prove useful. However, it will only achieve maximum AP (2) if all three cannons hit, so you are unlikely to see maximum potential. Light vehicles are pretty much the comfort zone of V-cannons, and there is already a lot of players in the Freakshow who can do that.

Hemlock Wraithfighter (Attack/Penalty Type) - While the internet condemns this, we should be celebrating it. A Freakshow benefits immensely from the psyker formations available as part of the Warhost, and the Wraithfighter allows us to fulfill part of the mandatory unit tax without having to buy a bunch of troops that aren't benefitting our primary focus. The Wraithfighter bears a stink of disappointment as a flyer that is incapable of harming other flyers, but it still packs D-Strength Blast weapons, so it isn't a total loss. With a -2 Leadership bubble, it is one of the only Penalty Type tools available to core Eldar. In addition, it now comes with its own Mastery Level and psychic powers, adding even more Everclear to your punchbowl.

Howling Banshees (Penalty Type) - - Although they don't do a whole lot here, Howling Banshees could potentially cause some trouble for your opponent. When accompanied by a Covens Haemonculus or a wearer of the Armor of Misery, the Banshees' -2 Ld penalty can definitely help carry that Fear off. Of course, against units that Shall Know A Little Fear, the Banshees can force morale tests and then just run roughshod on the Sweeping Advance with their massive initiative (and Crusader if you brought a Cast of Players!), negating the need for further combat. What's more, with the open topped transports of the Harlequins, Corsairs, and Dark Eldar, they can finally get that Assault Vehicle they've always had their eye on...

Phoenix Bomber (Support Type) (FW) - Second verse, same as the first. For the most part. The Craftworld Phoenix loses the Titan Holo Fields but gains Shrouded.

Wraithseer (Attack/Penalty Type) (FW) - Although he can't take Telepathy, one of his standard powers gives you an 18" Pinning test at a -2 penalty. Of course, he's also a huge Monstrous Creature with heavy weaponry, so you can always just use him to tear stuff apart in a pinch.

Shadow Spectres (Penalty Type) (FW) - A bit pricey points wise (and egregious dollars wise), the Shadow Spectres are the most potent Penalty Type tool the Eldar have, and maybe that the whole Freakshow has. Within 12" of these maniacs, enemies have to roll Leadership tests of all kinds on 3d6 (take the 2 highest). The gruesomeness of this, coupled with Soulfright attacks, makes me shudder with joy sometimes, or sick to my stomach at others.

Revenant Titan (Attack/Penalty Type) (FW) - Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.


Iyanden
They get all the goodies Eldar do, so I won't go into all that again here. Although the wording of their rules prohibits you from taking both an Iyanden detachment and a Haemonculus Covens detachment in the same army, Iyanden is worth mentioning. If you're looking to bring more Wraith constructs for their increased durability and prevalent D weapons, then you might want to consider an Iyanden army instead of a core Eldar one.

Spiritseer (Attack/Penalty Type) -
The ability of Iyanden armies to field 5 Spiritseers as a single HQ choice is immense. If split up and put into one of the cheap transports available from Dark Eldar, you can have a veritable armada of Psychic Shriek wielding maniacs zipping around the battlefield shelling out a freaking tornado of poisoned fire from their Venoms.

Conclusion
Well, that's it for today, Craftworlders and True Kin. Questions, comments, and concerns are welcome. I will make an effort to respond to each comment as I get it. The next installment (which will be much, much shorter) will be about psychic powers. Which psykers do we have, what powers can they take, and which ones should you take? Until then, stay freaky.

This message was edited 7 times. Last update was at 2016/08/28 03:21:02


Welcome to the Freakshow!

(Leadership-shenanigans for Eldar of all types.) 
   
Made in us
Screaming Shining Spear





This is excellent

4000 points: Craftworld Mymeara 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut






Read it - loving it. Definitely tagging this thread for future reading. Well done Jim.

Tier 1 is the new Tactical.

My IDF-Themed Guard Army P&M Blog:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/30/355940.page 
   
Made in us
Hellish Haemonculus






Boskydell, IL

extremefreak17 wrote:This is excellent


NuggzTheNinja wrote:Read it - loving it. Definitely tagging this thread for future reading. Well done Jim.



Thank you both! I'll try to get part 2 (the psychic power guide) up tomorrow or Friday.

Welcome to the Freakshow!

(Leadership-shenanigans for Eldar of all types.) 
   
Made in us
Sword-Wielding Bloodletter of Khorne





This is awesome. What a breath of fresh air to see an army style that isn't all about blasting the enemy to pieces with gunfire. This sort of tactical approach is much more strategic, and perhaps (hopefully) more effective than point and shoot. I look forward to crossing blades with the cunning but womanly Eldar. Their blood will be a delectable offering for the mighty Khorne. BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD
   
Made in us
Frightening Flamer of Tzeentch






What if you face an army that is entirely fearless?

Aftermath can be calculated.

Dark humor is like food, not everyone gets it.  
   
Made in us
Killer Klaivex




Oceanside, CA

 Lord Commissar wrote:
What if you face an army that is entirely fearless?

Some of the stuff still works. Psychic shriek doesn't care, but the various grenade launchers do.
IMO, with the combo of D-Templates and blasts, paired with webways, a Ld mod based army becomes a shadow of the true potential.

-Matt

 thedarkavenger wrote:

So. I got a game with this list in. First game in at least 3-4 months.
 
   
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how is it that a unit with a fearless priest would still be affected by the PGL or TGL?
I thought the rule applied to the whole unit.

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Lord puberis wrote:
how is it that a unit with a fearless priest would still be affected by the PGL or TGL?
I thought the rule applied to the whole unit.


It doesnt actually give the Models in the unit"Fearless" just says the unit pass all types of morale,fear,and pinning test.

ATSKNF is the same way.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
It was a eye opener for me as well.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/04/23 19:51:24


 Wyzilla wrote:
Saying the Eldar won the War in Heaven is like saying a child won a fight with a murderer simply because after breaking into his house, shooting his mother and father through the head, the thug took off in a car instead of finishing off the kid.


 
   
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Huh? ^

Are you saying PGL and TGL works on space marine/fearless units? (need to re-read my codex now). o.O

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He's saying it works on Semi-fearless or Semi-ASTKNF units. For example a Priest is Fearless inside a Guardsmen blob, but the Guardsmen are not. Therefore only the priest is immune to soulfright, the Guardsmen are not. Another example is an Inquisitor inside a Space Marine unit, if that unit is hit with Soulfright then the Marines are immune but the Inquisitor is not. This means any and all wounds MUST be allocated to the Inquisitor and cannot be LOS!'d because the Marines cannot be allocated to.

I wanted to ask how important do you feel Eldar allies are? I run RSR with the Heroes Path and a Dark Artisan and against none psykic armies it works well, but if the enemy has any psykic presence whatsoever then we simply don't have enough Warp Charges to garentee Psy-Shriek. I feel that Eldar formation of 2 Farseers and a Warlock conclave could help but it's a lot of points for a few more psy-shrieks.

 
   
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crimson_caesar wrote:This is awesome. What a breath of fresh air to see an army style that isn't all about blasting the enemy to pieces with gunfire. This sort of tactical approach is much more strategic, and perhaps (hopefully) more effective than point and shoot. I look forward to crossing blades with the cunning but womanly Eldar. Their blood will be a delectable offering for the mighty Khorne. BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD


Thanks!

HawaiiMatt wrote:
 Lord Commissar wrote:
What if you face an army that is entirely fearless?

Some of the stuff still works. Psychic shriek doesn't care, but the various grenade launchers do.
IMO, with the combo of D-Templates and blasts, paired with webways, a Ld mod based army becomes a shadow of the true potential.

-Matt


Indeed, Matt. Against Marines, Soulfright is the only thing you lose out on. Actual Fearless armies are pretty rare, (pretty much limited to Khorne and Tyranids) and only the Khorne supplement can't have the rule stripped away. Several of the Witchfire psychic powers are excellent at murdering characters, which can definitely help kill of synapse creatures. Even so, none of these units are limited to the fearbomb strategies; you've still got plenty of other options to fall back on.

It's funny, Matt, I kind of thought the opposite. With the increase in power to Wraith constructs, and a general uptick in infantry power levels, I kind of expect to see the Freakshow becoming even more useful as the game moves forward. Nonetheless, I could be wrong. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

DaKKaLAnce wrote:
Lord puberis wrote:
how is it that a unit with a fearless priest would still be affected by the PGL or TGL?
I thought the rule applied to the whole unit.


It doesnt actually give the Models in the unit"Fearless" just says the unit pass all types of morale,fear,and pinning test.

ATSKNF is the same way.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
It was a eye opener for me as well.


whembly wrote:Huh? ^

Are you saying PGL and TGL works on space marine/fearless units? (need to re-read my codex now). o.O


ALEXisAWESOME wrote:He's saying it works on Semi-fearless or Semi-ASTKNF units. For example a Priest is Fearless inside a Guardsmen blob, but the Guardsmen are not. Therefore only the priest is immune to soulfright, the Guardsmen are not. Another example is an Inquisitor inside a Space Marine unit, if that unit is hit with Soulfright then the Marines are immune but the Inquisitor is not. This means any and all wounds MUST be allocated to the Inquisitor and cannot be LOS!'d because the Marines cannot be allocated to.


Exactly. Daemons of Chaos don't have Fearless either, incidentally. The Khorne supplement is pretty much the only army that has non-negatable Fearless (Tyranids have it too, but that can be gotten rid of).

I wanted to ask how important do you feel Eldar allies are? I run RSR with the Heroes Path and a Dark Artisan and against none psykic armies it works well, but if the enemy has any psykic presence whatsoever then we simply don't have enough Warp Charges to garentee Psy-Shriek. I feel that Eldar formation of 2 Farseers and a Warlock conclave could help but it's a lot of points for a few more psy-shrieks.


Good question! I think SOME psykers are a must-have, but I don't think it has to be Eldar. I think Harlequins are more than adequate, and I've used them myself. The Heroes Path mounted in Venoms is a force to be reckoned with, believe you me!

Thanks for all the response, positive AND negative! I'd rather have people ask engaging questions than ignore me!

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Freakshow Tactica part 2: Psychic Powers, Primary Detachments, and Warlords

Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends. We're so glad you could attend; come inside, come inside.


Introduction
We've already covered the units and upgrades that benefit Freakshow lists the most. However, as a commander, you've got lots of other decisions in front of you, some of which might not be as clear-cut as which units to take.

Core Army
Let's talk about core armies for a moment. Now, this isn't the same thing as Primary Detachment (we'll talk about that in a moment). Your Primary Detachment is just the home of your Warlord (although it does put a restriction on your Allied Detachments). When I say core army, I mean the army which makes up the bulk of your forces. Each of the Eldar options is viable (although some are going to be easier than others!), so let's talk about them for a moment. You don't need to feel compelled to stack up the majority of your points into one army or another, by the way. A balanced approach is perfectly acceptable, and is in fact my preference.

Dark Eldar
With their massed Poison shots and cheap, fast infantry, Dark Eldar tend to fare well against infantry. With the ability to field a surprising number of meat devils (high Strength, high Toughness, multiple wounds), they can take on a variety of enemies by themselves. Ironically, with strengths that include a lot of Leadership-based attacks and poison weapons, coupled with their extremely low Leadership, the thing Dark Eldar fight best against seems to be other Dark Eldar.

Still, for sheer number of Attack Type tools (see the first article if you've forgotten), the Dark Eldar can't be beat. Every Raider, every Ravager, and every character can be equipped with a Soulfright weapon. In addition, their Realspace Raider detachment opens up six slots for the transport vehicles that can be used by your allies. Since they are the only army that can field these non-dedicated, Open Topped transports, you will frequently find lists that would benefit from a larger codex DE presence.

Unfortunately, they lack Attack Tools that can hurt Space Marines and Fearless enemies. They also lack strong anti-vehicle or anti-flyer capacity, and psykers. Some Eldar or Harlequin support is virtually required. Still, with gunboats paying your troop tax, a Dark Eldar-primary list is one of the stronger contenders. With monstrous creatures and larger meat devils on the rise in armies across the board, you may want to buy stock in poison weapons, as their value doesn't seem to have a ceiling in the near future.


Haemonculus Covens
While I said I prefer a balanced approach, in reality most of my lists wind up with Haemonculus Covens as their core force. With easily chunked formations, it's a snap to look at points gaps and know which formations (or combinations of them) you can squeeze in. And with four of their six formations being power players, you can expect big things from a list with a great deal of Covens support.

Trading a lower initiative and armor score (as well as most ranged capacity) for troops that are Fearless on turn 2 (and often turn 1), boast Fear in an army that makes such a rule much more useful, and universally possess Feel No Pain, the Covens supplement is a great core for any Freakshow, and was actually the genesis for the concept.

The same problems DE have are repeated here. Soulfright weapons on your vehicles (but not characters), plus the overlapping Freakish Spectacle bubbles, make for a good bedrock for the army, but more potent attack forms are needed to really capitalize on it. The resilience of the Covens forces means those bubbles stick around for a lot longer, but you still need Attack Tools to take advantage of that fact. With even less anti-armor capacity and absolutely zero anti-flyer capacity, the Covens virtually require outside support to sustain a Freakshow list in an environment that is even moderately competitive.

Just remember they share the same faction as Dark Eldar. What this means is that if one of these armies is your Primary Detachment (where your Warlord lives), then you cannot take an Allied Detachment FOC from the other. (But you can still take a new Combined Arms detachment, a formation, or any other damn thing you please.)


Corsairs
With a price tag in the cosmos, and a codex that is over a decade out of date, the Corsairs are just a poor choice for your core army. If you want a challenge, then you may find some small solace in the fact that most opponents will be very unfamiliar with your army. If you rely heavily on its gimmicks that other Eldar don't have, you might be able to leverage those with the Freakshow component to pull out some wins.


Harlequins
Harlequins are the only army I'd even consider trying a Freakshow list with on their own. With potent Attack and Penalty Type tools, they are a true force to be reckoned with. With invulnerable saves on everyone, the Harlequins can just laugh at the high-AP firepower of Tau or Dark Angels.

Still, there are downsides. They cost a pretty penny, and it's unlikely you already own most of the models, since they're fairly new. They are extremely hard to compose lists for, since in a Battle Forged army they are so restricted they give new and poignant meaning to the colloquial term 'bound list.' And as far as points costs go, they are pretty expensive, which translates to a less forgiving army. Cheap Dark Eldar or Haemonculus Covens bodies can mitigate this weakness quite a bit. High-priority Eldar targets can also be a good way to keep the focus off of your Harlequins until it's too late and your enemy is drowning in touchy-feely melee combat filled with Kisses, Caresses, and Embraces.


Craftworld Eldar
Craftworld Eldar are fittingly a mirror of their dark cousins. With more psychic Attack Type tools than any other force, and better non-Freakshow specific support, they can make a great core. You're not going to go wrong there, that's for sure. The one area the craftworlders come up short in is Penalty Type tools. You'll definitely need Harlequins or Covens for backup.

There are a couple of downsides. Eldar are generalists. Each of their units excels at a specific role, but there doesn't tend to be a ton of overlap. I'm a big fan of repetitive armies, so this is an unattractive quality for me. If you are comfortable with it though, then Khainespeed to you. Secondly, given the power of the new book, you're going to see a lot more Eldar armies going forward. It's popularity is one of it's weaknesses, though. You can bet that any serious contender in a competitive environment is going to assume he'll face Eldar and plan accordingly. Most competitive players will have seen conventional Eldar strategies before, and at least have thought ahead to how they will deal with Wraithknights, Windriders, and the like.

On that note, there is another potential problem with Eldar (really, two). Quite a few players have stated their intent on the forums to refuse games against craftworld Eldar players. If you have a cluster of such people in your area, you may have a hard time finding games. On a more sinister note, there will almost certainly be Tournament Organizers who will attempt to hamstring Eldar players in a misguided attempt to 'balance the game.' Hopefully, the legal options they ban or restrict won't negate your ability to run a successful Freakshow, but you should still check ahead to make sure you won't be showing up on tourney day with a list you can't use.

Iyanden
More of the same, really.


Warlord
Warlords are funny things. Some people bury them, some use them to lead from the front. Personally, I'm a big fan of efficiency and waste reduction. Your Warlord Trait is a free bonus, if you don't use it, you're wasting it. With that being said, I know other people don't agree, and the opposing line of reasoning says that if you didn't pay points for it, it isn't a waste. So when talking about who your Warlord is, I'm almost exclusively going to focus on Warlord traits, since very few other considerations matter, to my mind. (Although denying your opponent a victory point is certainly one.)

Dark Eldar
With a host of Warlord traits that are mediocre at best, I think there's definitely merit to rolling Command instead, if you take one of the True Kin as your Warlord. Few of the traits there are useless, and the Dust of a Thousand Worlds trait is immensely awesome, as are both Presence traits. Unless your Warlord is Urien Rakarth, I'd go with Command.

Haemonculus Covens
Where possible, I always take my Warlord from this book. First off, with the exception of the Grotesquerie, all other formations with a Haemonculus give you a guaranteed Warlord trait, and controlled selection is almost always preferable to randomness. Furthermore, most of these traits are useful. Master Epicurean is a little counter-intuitive (think of it as a life insurance policy for your Warlord), but most of the others are just awesome. Master Artisan, Regenesist, and Master of Apotheosis are all specific to a unit type (but two of them come guaranteed on Haemonculi that come with the necessary unit as part of their formation), but with the exception of Master Artisan, all of them apply to the Warlord himself, so even if you roll Master Regenesist in an army with no Grotesques, you'll still get at least some benefit. Still, a Dark Artisan or Scarlet Epicurean formation is a perfect place for a Warlord, in my opinion.

Couple of notes. First off, my personal preference is to take my Warlord in the Grotesquerie, since I'm gambling on getting Master Regenesist. If you ever read a battle report of mine, know that it's a poor strategy, and I don't actually recommend it in competitive settings. Second off, Urien Rakarth is a poor choice for your Warlord in a Covens list, since his Warlord trait confers a rule that the whole force gets on turn 3 anyway (and turn 2 if he's around!).

Corsairs
With their unique companions, a Corsair Warlord might not be a terrible choice, especially if you go with the Command table. A mobile buff-generating Warlord is a perfectly reasonable use of this resource.

Harlequins
While the enhanced survivability of the Shadowseer or Death Jester might recommend them over Troupe Masters, the expanded Warlord Trait table Troupe Masters get is worth it. The Dark table, in particular, is nothing short of solid gold. If I were you, that's where I would live. You may be forced to take a Death Jester or Shadowseer as your Warlord in some lists (usually if you're running Dark Eldar and Haemonculus Covens and the Dark Eldar need to be in an Allied Detachment), which is no big deal. I think the Command table might be preferable to their more limited options, however.


Eldar
Despite having more than three times the number of Special Characters as Dark Eldar (but I'm not bitter...really), the Eldar don't have a single one whose fixed Warlord trait is the one Eldar Warlord Trait that really benefits a Freakshow. If your Warlord is an Eldar, you should probably go Command.


Iyanden
Although they have better Warlord traits than the Eldar, the Iyanden list still doesn't add more to a Freakshow than the Command table. In addition, the less mobile and less resilient HQs of this supplement don't make for very survivable Warlords.



Psychic Powers
Finally we get to the meat of the article. Psychic powers are wonderful. In my experience, the psykers do the lion's share of the work in a Freakshow list. Power selection tends to run a little counter-intuitively to the way many people do it, so I thought we'd take a look for a moment. Since each of your individual psykers has a table that only they can roll on, we'll talk about them when we get there, rather than doing a write up for each psyker and each psychic discipline.

Telepathy
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Telepathy is your most useful psychic discipline, by far. Home to the crowd pleasing Shrouding and Invisibility powers, it also contains one of the most damaging powers a Freakshow has access to, and as the syrup on our paincake, it's the Primaris Power! Since you can also get 2-4 more powers depending on who your psyker is, the Telepathy table also contains 3 more offensive powers with Leadership dependent effects. Finally, if you have Dark Eldar allies, Mental Fortitude is always a nice backstop. There's really no bad options. The only time I think not rolling all your powers on Telepathy is recommended is if you have two or more psykers with access to it in the same unit, since the unit can't drop the same power more than once per turn.

Divination
Although Divination is a table with lots of tasty biscuits on it, you'll have to resist the temptation. With only Farseers having access to it, Divination in a Freakshow is like a well used pencil, since it's pointless. Most of the Divination powers crop up again in some form in the Runes of Fate discipline, and usually a better form. What's more, Runes of Fate gives you access to additional powers you'll want more than Divination.

Daemonology (Sanctic)
No. Just no. The only reason you might try Daemonology is if you know, for a fact, that your next opponent is going to be bringing Daemons of Chaos, and even then only if the psyker in question is in a unit with another psyker who already rolled on Telepathy. And probably not even then.

Runes of Fate
Oof. Hard decision. Although Runes of Fate is undeniably good, for a Freakshow, Telepathy is better, since you can guarantee yourself the Leadership-dependent Witchfire power. The support powers are great, but Mind War is awesome. (And Eldritch Storm is no slouch, either.) Nonetheless, if you do wind up with the non-Freakshow powers, I don't think you'll have cause to regret it.

Still, I think I'd go with Telepathy first. If you have two or more Farseers in a unit, then Telepathy with one and Runes of Fate with the other seems very reasonable. If you really want to, I could see taking one Telepathy power (and sacrificing it for Shriek, unless you roll Terrify, in which case you take a second to dump for Shriek), and then fishing for the Witchfires in Runes of Fate.

Runes of Battle
Well, Horrify is the only goodie here that benefits a Freakshow, but damn what a tasty biscuit! It may not happen to me, but someone, somewhere, is going to Horrify a Wraithknight only to have a Shadowseer come in from the side with Terrify and Mirror of Minds (or Psychic Shriek), and deliver a serious beatdown. Beyond that, the Runes of Battle have support powers galore, and while none of them are top tier, in my opinion, there's none of them I wouldn't want around.

For Spiritseers, Telepathy remains the choice of champions. If you brought Iyanden Spiritseers, or for some reason have two in a unit, then Runes of Battle might be a good second pick (although I would probably just go Telepathy again).

Warlocks have only one good option, and it's this. With no ability to re-roll failed dice or to protect themselves from Perils, Daemonology isn't even an option. Since they bring so many extra dice to the table, you might even have enough dice left over after your Mind Wars, Psychic Shrieks, Terrifys, and Mind Mirrors to actually use some of these powers! To be honest, a knot of Warlocks zipping around the battlefield, buffing, debuffing, healing, and staying alive through self-buffs and judicious Jink/Turbo-boost, doesn't sound like a terrible idea, especially given the egregious numbers of psychic dice they'll be feeding the Farseers and Shadowseers in the army.

Phantasmancy
See Runes of Fate. It's tasty, but not so tasty as to abandon Telepathy. Still, you've got some excellent stuff here. The two Leadership-based Witchfires are both pretty great: Laugh of Sorrows is your group power, and Mirror of Minds is your character-killer.

I recommend running your Shadowseers on Telepathy unless you bring two or more, especially if they are mounted in an open topped vehicle. If you have two in a unit, the second should absolutely take his rolls on Phantasmancy. If you have only one, or if you mount your Shadowseers in open-topped transports (such as a Venom), then you would also have good results if you took one Telepathy roll and dropped it for Shriek, then skipped over to Phantasmancy to see what you could get; since a mounted psyker can't buff or debuff anyone, lots of the additional Telepathy powers aren't as useful as some more shooting might be, and two-thirds of Phantasmancy is shooting powers.

Discipline of Excess
Wait, what? While they aren't Battle Brothers, and so didn't make the first article, Daemons of Chaos (specifically Slaaneshi psykers) are loaded with Freakshow potential. With half their powers falling into the Attack Type, daemons of Slaanesh could potentially offer some brutal support to a Freakshow list. The Cacophonic Choir can reliably inflict wounds on several units around them, while the Pavane of Slaanesh can easily wipe an entire unit off the board if there's enough Penalties applied to them. You would have to watch out for the One Eye Open rule, but with such mobile forces that shouldn't be a huge problem.

Although I've made a solid 'no more models until all these are painted and built' commitment, afterwards Slaanesh demons are going to be my next go-to, in an attempt to branch out into non-Battle Brother allies.

Conclusion
Well, that brings us to a close. Once again, any questions, comments, or concerns will be fielded as soon as I'm capable. If anyone has suggestions for further topics, let me know. The next topic in my rotation will be "When it all goes wrong: weaknesses of the Freakshow and how to compensate for them." Until next time, stay freaky!

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Angered Reaver Arena Champion




Connah's Quay, North Wales

Could we see an example list? At 1850 would be perfect, I am curious about how you balance points between your Dark Eldar, Coven and Harlequins while still having points for a Farseer + Jetbikes.


Also could i argue that a Coven detachment isn't needed, I've just been using the Dark Artisan formation and it's always had the bubble of -1 where i needed it. It would be similar with the Grotesque formation but i think they are easier to kill. Similarly i usually make the Haemonculus Warlord because Majority T7 makes him WAY more resilient then anything we have, and re-rolling 1's for FNP is a nice bonus.

Finally would you suggest a Masque detachment over the Heroes Path? Heroes path only gives one Shadowseer (albeit with Stealth and Shrouded) but also includes a useful death jester and an always scary Solitaire, but i worry that i would need more Shadowseers for the list to work.

 
   
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 ALEXisAWESOME wrote:
Could we see an example list? At 1850 would be perfect, I am curious about how you balance points between your Dark Eldar, Coven and Harlequins while still having points for a Farseer + Jetbikes.


Also could i argue that a Coven detachment isn't needed, I've just been using the Dark Artisan formation and it's always had the bubble of -1 where i needed it. It would be similar with the Grotesque formation but i think they are easier to kill. Similarly i usually make the Haemonculus Warlord because Majority T7 makes him WAY more resilient then anything we have, and re-rolling 1's for FNP is a nice bonus.

Finally would you suggest a Masque detachment over the Heroes Path? Heroes path only gives one Shadowseer (albeit with Stealth and Shrouded) but also includes a useful death jester and an always scary Solitaire, but i worry that i would need more Shadowseers for the list to work.


I'll happily post some sample lists at some point!

You don't have to include Covens, of course. I just like to, personally. I'd probably be more likely to dump the Dark Eldar than the Covens, though, if I could only do 2-3.

The Masque detachment is very much a viable choice. As a principally DE player, the Heroes' Path was attractive because it only required 3 new minis.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/04/24 11:41:44


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Tokyo, Japan

nicely written and well thought out. I enjoyed this article =)


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Minneapolis

This is super cool Jimsolo. Im just ramping up my revamped DE and covens and am very excited to try some of these tricks in games. Thanks for the well thought out concepts!

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Do you think it might be worth exploiting Asurmen's shiny sword of GTFO? In the new codex he gets to make ALL of his attacks and have the 3+ invul in a challenge.

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I've considered Asurmen for his 50% chance to get the deep strike warlord trait, which benefits my style of Freakshow immensely. Not sure about his lack of mobility and high cost, though.

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Delta BC

Where does it say Eldar Codex get the webway portal?

3500
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Adeptus Mechanicus 30k 1750
Harlequins 1100
 
   
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Angered Reaver Arena Champion




Connah's Quay, North Wales

I know he is expensive, but have you considered Irillyth? He gives that powerful aura of 3d6 dice, has a powerful Str 9 AP 1 Lance (assuming all 3 shots hit) and isn't half bad in combat. He provides an actual save to a unit as well as Hit'n'Run.

I imagine he'd find his way into a force containing a Grotesquerie, as he'd make a good addition character to the unit.

 
   
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Even though I don't play any form of Eldar, I found this to be a very interesting read, thank you for posting this!
   
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Boskydell, IL

 ALEXisAWESOME wrote:
I know he is expensive, but have you considered Irillyth? He gives that powerful aura of 3d6 dice, has a powerful Str 9 AP 1 Lance (assuming all 3 shots hit) and isn't half bad in combat. He provides an actual save to a unit as well as Hit'n'Run.

I imagine he'd find his way into a force containing a Grotesquerie, as he'd make a good addition character to the unit.


Actually, Irillyth does not give the 3d6 outside of a Shadow Spectre unit, the way the rule is worded.

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great write up can see you put a lot of work in.

I tried an unbound version of this and it unbeatable against armies with regular moral necrons tau.

A death star of a grotesque with armour of misery load of farseers and a shadow seer is amazing
   
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Boskydell, IL

DeadWingman wrote:
Where does it say Eldar Codex get the webway portal?


Dark Eldar have it as an HQ option. It was told to me that the new one has it for regular Eldar, but I cannot confirm that yet.

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I really like the concept of this article, thank you for writing it. I'm now looking at what units I have that can make this fun (don't have Haemonculi type units).
I was looking at the phantasmancy pyschic powers and noticed that in theory, a shadowseer with Mirror of Minds and mask of secrets could potentially take out a wraithknight in a single pyschic phase. Compound this with another pysker close by with terrify and pyschic shriek etc.
definitely an interesting take on killing units indirectly.
   
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If you can GET Mirror of Minds, it is the ultimate assassination tool.

If you can get your opponent's leadership down to 5, his death is impossible to avoid. He can't ever make the opposed roll, (since he has to win, not tie), and no amount of Invulnerable saves or FNP will make it stop.

I think my new recommendation on Shadowseers (especially mounted ones) is to take Psychic Shriek, and then fish for a Phantasmancy power (Laugh of Sorrows is pretty nice too).

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Eye of Terror

So many armies are fearless or ATSKNF it's not going to win lots of games.

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 Dozer Blades wrote:
So many armies are fearless or ATSKNF it's not going to win lots of games.


Why not?

ATSNKF has no effect on Death is Not Enough!, Terrify, Psychic Shriek, Dominate, Mirror of Minds, Laugh of Sorrow, Mind War, or HGLs. Fearless stops three of those but none of the others. (A Fearless unit is still vulnerable to Ld negatives, and thus still more susceptible to most of these attacks.)

Fearless is also comparatively rare. Daemons do not actually have it (save for Khorne Daemonkin), neither do Guardsman other than the priest (which means the infantry blobs are still vulnerable to Soulfright), and Tyranids (who are only conditionally Fearless).

Against the vast bulk of armies you'll be fine. And it's not like these are the only weapons your army brought, in any event.

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exactly, being Fearless doesn't stop the attacks coming in from Ld penalty buffs. The best part IMHO is that the enemy is just not expecting this type of approach and i relying on T or armour/invulns to keep his valuables alive. a lot of these attacks just bypasses them.

and to be honest, a succubus with armour of misery and WWP in a raider with 8 harlies and a shadowseer with mask of Secrets and Mirror of Minds or pyschic shriek could deepstrike and kill a wraithknight in 1 turn (not sure I'd want to be within 6" of a knight in case i whiffed though!).
But that unit dishing out -4 Ld to any enemy unit within 6" or -2 Ld within 12" is nuts. Combine with some flying jesters....

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/05/01 23:27:30


 
   
 
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