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Troupe Masters are so cheap they seem easy to spam - but unnecessary likely because those points are better spent on Troupes to deliver more killing power.

One thing I noticed was that the Death Jester's ability kicks in if he ATTACKS a unit - he doesn't even have to kill anything. That means he can shoot or fight something you are expecting to take a morale test and pick the units that die from the morale test.

About the worth of the troupe master: first it depends on what you're fighting. If you're wounding on 5+, a reroll brings you a lot more than if you're wounding on 3+.
Also, with the new detachments, you kinda have to take HQs. Almost as many as troops. So the comparison is not so much between a master and additonal troupers, but between the master and shadowseer (to some extent, you can obviously take 6 troupes and only 2HQs).

@Amishprn86 Can you elaborate on the shadowseer? While the aura is great, it's still about slightly increasing the durability of squishy models. Harlequins are mostly about hitting hard, and dying to the counter fire if there's still someone left. I feel like it's usually better to go big, boosting the offensive capabilities, to make sure that at least the job is done.
The shadowseer didn't seem to be enough to keep my footslogging harlequins alive, and inside a Starweaver, the psychic abilities are lost, and the whole thing is even more expensive.

The shadowseer does 3 things

-1 to hit
-1 to wound
Smite x2


You will be doing these 3 things every game with them, make sure to save re-rolls for -1 to hit, using this on a key unit combine with -1 to wound and 4++ literally makes units insanely hard to kill.

There have been games that Storm Ravens couldnt put more than 4 wounds out, if i just had another unit, that unit would have died, b.c 5+ to hit (it was wounded) and 3+ to wound with a 4++ saved them. In that game another units literally would have been a waste of points.

Yes it is costly 134pts, but IMO its extremely worth have 2 mostly for redundancy, your opponent will want to kill them, they will kill 1.

There has been games where i have 3 troupe units 2 shadowseers and a troupe master running around on the table and not scared of "non-auto hit units".

Another reason to have 2 is to get all 3 powers. Twilight Pathways, this has won me the game by moving 28" to get a game winning Objective or to kill of a very important unit hiding.
Mirror of minds (due to commander points) can be very strong as well to put on 2-4 wounds on a key psyker, Albeit its the less of the better powers, and Smite most of the time is better sense both your Shadowseers will have Fog of Dreams just in case one dies.

You can use 1 Shadowseer just as effectively yes, but IMO 2 for 1500pts+ games is needed, just my 0.02c

I'm really not convinced the -1 to hit is that good.
It's again 1 target, that has to be 18" of your shadowseer in the psychic phase before it shoots at you. So useless if you go 2nd, against units that fire from the back of their deployment zone, and against deep striking units.
Sure, if you can cast it on an IK, SS, or anything big like that it's pretty cool, but many big things have guns that prefer to go after tough multiwound models, like our skimmers or bikes (against which the power has no effect).

To me the shadowseer is still a go-to if you run harlequins on foot. But I feel like Starweavers became even better than they were in 7th, so foot harlies seem even weaker than before by comparison.

Starweavers are 35pts cheaper, yes you get to shoot 6 shots each turn but you could just take Shuriken Windriders instead for 9 shots.....

The point of the Shadowseer is to keep you alive after combat ends, living if you dont kill the unit, take less damage from fall back and shooting you etc...

They are both from my experience just as survival when play with a bit of finesse.

Just my opinion, you dont have to like them or take them.

PS: I play with
3 HQ's
Solitaire
4 Troupes (5mans)
4 Starweavers
6 Skyweavers
2 Void Weavers

Reading the new FAQ and this seemed particularly relevant to us:

Q: Can you declare charges against units that are not
visible to the charging unit?
A: Yes.

Note however that the unit being charged still obeys the
normal rules for targeting when it fires Overwatch, and so,
if a model cannot see the charging unit, it will not be able to
fire Overwatch.

It's a good job for all those shooty units out there that there isn't an army of stabby close-combat specialists who ignore terrain, am I right?