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So I'd very much like to at least try out a "freakshow list." For those unfamiliar with such a thing, the idea is to take units from the Haemonculus Covens book and combine them with various allies in order to lower enemy leadership and devastate them with attacks that target leadership.

What I'd like to somehow pull off is a Grotesquerie formation backed up by a harlequin Masque detachment. The Masque would grant me access to shadowseers that could protect my grotesques with veil of tears while punishing enemies with leadership-targeting psychic powers. One shadowseer could even bring along a Mask of Secrets to help lower enemy leadership.

The problem I run into is that a Masque is so prohibitively restrictive that I feel like I"m bringing along a lot of "meh" units just to get some psykers. Bringing in Eldar allies instead might work, but there's something less appealing about warlocks in guardian squads and foot-based farseers compared to shadowseers who can render me untargetable, give me shrouded, and easily target leadership. I'm probably being unfair to my beloved farseers here.

I've received advice that I should try to use corsairs as a source of cheap shadowfields and decent psyker supports, but A.) their "decurion" equivalent is as dauntingly complicated as it is awesome, and B.) many corsair psychic powers don't really work on allies. Meaning I"d be wasting points if my power fishing didn't give me the one I was looking for. Plus they don't have access to psychc shriek if I recall correctly.

I'm sure there are a lot of ways to pull it off, but I'm causing myself to overthink it at this point. How would my fellow dakka-mites recommend building a relatively competitive freakshow list?

The Masque is ridiculously restrictive, but there are other formations that are quite good.
Hero's Path gives you a Shadoweer, a Jester, and a Solitaire, all who can't join squads but get infiltrate, stealth, and shrouded. Giving the seer the mask and ML2 gives a bunch of ultility even if she can't join the grots.
If you want someone to join the grotesquerie, get a succubus with glaive and armor of misery, for even more -LD, as well as some good melee punch.

Find jimsolo's freakshow tactical articles. (Linked in his signature I believe)

You can always merely take a corsair cad to get mask of secrets from a prince and 2 scatterbike squads. Prince has to be warlord, but he is quite survivable. Ally a grotesquerie and then either go armor of misery succubus or take farseers and a hemlock for better psychic powers to cast on your units.

I'm a fan of the Seer Council for psychic might, and one or more Covens formations for debuffs.

Corsair Princes on Bikes are the preferred options for wielding the Mask of Secrets or Armor of Misery, incidentally. (Since the new FAQs mean an Archon or Shadowseer don't project their debuffs out of vehicles any longer.)

For a Freakshow, I think the Cast of Players or Heroes Path are the only Harlequin options worth considering.

For the Covens, I like Grotesqueries or taking a Corpsethief Claw and a Dark Artisan (if the DA Haemmy is the warlord, the bonus he gives the CTC is marvelous).

For Eldar, in addition to their wonderful psykers, Banshees, Shadow Spectres, and Hemlock Wraithfighters all add to your debuff/ld shenanigans.

Although my tactical series is a little out of date most of it's still useful, and I'll be updating it with some tournament experiences next week, and a full update once the FAQs are finalized.