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So recently I've been running a new list that sees a lot less killing and a lot more morale test. The whole idea of it is to lower your opponents leadership low enough then using multiple Death Jesters, Pinning weapons and such to run your opponent either A. off the nearest board edge B. Farther away from your own army or C. Closer to charge in with elite units.

Usually this is achieved best via all three Eldar Codex's in tandem (DE, Craftworlds, Harlies)

The list I have had the most success with is:

Craftworld Eldar:

HQ: Farseers rolling off of Telepathy for Psychic Shriek, Terror, and other wonderful psychics that are focused around your opponents LD

Elites: Optional, bring what you have points for and what you see working

Troops: Generally Rangers, cheap, long range with the potential to pick out specialist weapons in units they shoot at. Stick em' in cover and they can be super survivable.

Guardians are another cheap choice as well if you wanna fill out Troops, though running this list will usually see you being Unbound.

Fast Attack: Must, must, MUST have at least one Hemlock, I would suggest two though. Hemlocks will reduce all units within 12" LD by -2 as well as having the potential for Terror and getting Psychic Shriek as well.

Heavy Support: Dark Reapers with Starswarm and and Exarch with Flakk is always a good choice, especially if you know there will be flyers coming in. Not to mention S8 AP3 with pinning will often see whole units pinned with one round of shooting from these guys.

Vaul Weapon Support Batteries with Vibro Cannons can also bring in some pretty cheap pinning shots if you're more inclined to keep armies stuck for whole games.


Dark Eldar

HQs: An Archon with the Armour of Misery stacks really well with the Effects of the Hemlock and the Shadowseer's Mask of Secrets. Stick him in a boat and zip him around to key positions between a lot of units and watch your enemy shudder as whole blobs fall back!

Troops: Kabalites will put out a ton of shots for dirt cheap and taking a Raider with Torment Grenade Launcers against all this modified Ld will see a lot of even elite units falling quickly.

Fast Attack: Mostly optional, Scourages can be really good for the army as you wont have a lot of tank killing, strap em with haywire and focus down any heavy armor you can.

Heavy Support: Also Optional, use as you see fit for what you're fighting.


Harlequins:

Elites- Death Jesters galor! Taking a lot of them will maximize how many units you can push around and bully out of line.

Shadowseers- As mentioned above, one Shadowseer with the Mask of Secrets running around (in a Raider maybe? ) will stack really well with the Archon's Armour of Misery and The Hemlocks Mindshock Pods. They also offer a lot of backfield support, as you can stick them in more elite units (Vauls, Dark Reapers etc) and have them cast Veil of Tears. This will keep them from being shot to much while also forcing your opponent to move up so you can take out more units that might normally stay hidden.

Troops- A Troupe isn't a terrible idea, but can be pretty pricey in this list.

Fast Attacks- also optional

Heavy Support-Voidweavers can be useful horde thinner, but ultimately optional.


Issues this list can have:

Does not work at ALL on Fearless units. Tyranids and certain builds of Chaos will shrug off the majority of the effect of this list.

Space Marines can ignore some of the effects... ATSKNF will see them coming right back at you and ignoring the effects of Torment Grenade Launcers.

I have yet to run it against Orks, but I imagine they will shrug off the main point of this list. Though it can help to wittle down units.

Tank heavy armies will just flat ignore the whole point.

Where it works:

The first time I ran the idea was against Necrons. First turn saw a 20 man unit of Warriors and a 10 Man Unit of Immortals with Zahndrekh running off the side table edges. Seems to work just fine here, and has become my go-to for Necrons.

Tau- Chuckle with glee as Riptides and Broadsides alike are found either running away the whole game or being stripped of wounds by Psychic Shriek!


Jump/Jet/Bike heavy armies- What's that? You fall Back 3d6? Well have I got news for you!

Armies with an averagely low Ld- This should go without saying.


Things to keep in mind:

Model placement and effect ranges are key here! You wont get anywhere far if you don't focus down certain key units by overlapping the AOE effects of most of these models.

Fearless is your worst enemy. Tanks and Fearless units will just laugh at you as you try. Make sure to make them a big priority for your army to take out.

The ebb and flow of battle really matters here, if one unit has broken and run don't continue to focus on it just to spite your enemy! Keep an eye out for units that draw to close to board edges and terrain that could prove hostile to them.


So what do you guys think? I'd love to hear feedback and new ideas on it from you all.

I miss my pinning EML...

Hilarious

[rant] At least its a build that isnt focused around D weapons and neigh unkillable lords of war that you can take like 15 of [/rant]

But really, I think it would be fun to play against this, really adds another level of complexity into it.

This would never work in my FLGS though as almost everyone plays armies with mostly fearless guys (lots of marines, couple deamons, nids, ohh and eldar.....who took 2 WK in a 2k pt game)

I've used a list like this (Without Craftworld, mainly reliant on Shadowseers for powers) but i think i could make some suggestions on how to make the list fit easier.

Use Formations instead of CAD. For example, instead of the Dark Eldar detachment, take the Dark Artisan formation. It misses out on Armour of Misery, but has a passive -1 Ld to all units within 12'' of any model within the formation. Obviously the foot print of a Haemonculus, a Chronus and a Talos is much bigger then the Archons, so it will effect a lot larger area then the Archon's mediocre 6'' range. They also cause fear...so there is that.

And since Harlequins are hard to actually get into an army without having to pay a large tax in unnecessary models, i'd suggest the Heroes path. It consists of 1 Shadowseer, 1 Death Jester and 1 Solitaire. They all gain Stealth, Shrouded and Infiltrate. This is by far the best way to get a Shadowseer and Death Jester into your army, because the Infiltrate and great cover save allows them to position themselves far better then the Cast of Players ever could. The Solitaire is just extra.

Alex

 ALEXisAWESOME wrote:

Use Formations instead of CAD. For example, instead of the Dark Eldar detachment, take the Dark Artisan formation. It misses out on Armour of Misery, but has a passive -1 Ld to all units within 12'' of any model within the formation. Obviously the foot print of a Haemonculus, a Chronus and a Talos is much bigger then the Archons, so it will effect a lot larger area then the Archon's mediocre 6'' range. They also cause fear...so there is that.

A good idea, and even then you can still bring an Archon with the Armor of Misery, alongside that too!

 ALEXisAWESOME wrote:
And since Harlequins are hard to actually get into an army without having to pay a large tax in unnecessary models, i'd suggest the Heroes path. It consists of 1 Shadowseer, 1 Death Jester and 1 Solitaire. They all gain Stealth, Shrouded and Infiltrate. This is by far the best way to get a Shadowseer and Death Jester into your army, because the Infiltrate and great cover save allows them to position themselves far better then the Cast of Players ever could. The Solitaire is just extra.

The issue with the Heroes path is the Shadowseer can no longer cast Veil onto a unit with it, a minor set back, but one I find myself relying on quite a bit. As well you can only run that formation once, and multiple Death Jesters seem to have the best effect. Especially if one fails to wound or kill a model.

Still good ideas though!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

taurising wrote:

This would never work in my FLGS though as almost everyone plays armies with mostly fearless guys (lots of marines, couple deamons, nids, ohh and eldar.....who took 2 WK in a 2k pt game)

Well, there are a number of ways to work around that.

Space Marines aren't ALL fearless. Just tough to get to run sometimes, this list still has a lot to offer there. I've made Dev squads of Lascannons run and fall off the table by focusing them off with Death Jesters.

Can't help with Deamons! This list is NOT for them

Nids rely of Synapse, if you can kill off enough of it this list will walk whole hordes off the table.

The WK is an issue sure, but unless they're really just a jerk the rest of their army will still be able to work with this.

you might want to read this excellent series...

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/645774.page

Thanks for the link, bullyboy!

The above link is to my Freakshow series, where I talk about just this kind of strategy. When you throw in the Dark Eldar and/or Haemonculus Covens, it gets even more brutal! I've been doing this since December, and it's so gratifying to see other people embracing it!