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Okay, if you haven't been paying attention, Death Masque comes out next week and it has Death Watch Marines and Eldar Harlequins.



12 Harlequin Players
1 Death Jester
1 Voidweaver
2 Skyweavers

I've already snagged a Harlequin Codex off of Ebay, but I won't have it until some time next week.

Are there any must buys for Harlequins, not in that box?

Would I get use out of all of the models if I doubled down and bought 2 boxes of Death Masque ?

Any recommended army builds, or tactics, you would like to share ?

>Starts with Death Masque.
>Didn't think to get Death Robes too.

Haven't played Harlequins, so I can't really say.

If you are going to wear a Death Robe with your Death Masque, you might as well get a Death Clock..... wait GW already thought of that and included a ...wait for it.... Death Watch

 adamsouza wrote:
If you are going to wear a Death Robe with your Death Masque, you might as well get a Death Clock..... wait GW already thought of that and included a ...wait for it.... Death Watch

Haha. HAHAAHAHAHA HEHA HAHAHE HEHAHA!

Shadowseer is really good however we are all eagerly awaiting for the eldrad Harley formation.
If that formation is anything decent like say a war convocation then that will ultimately dictate what type of list you should build.

Robin5t wrote: The Harlequins without Eldrad come to 455 points without upgrades. You'll absolutely want upgrades, which will potentially add at least another 100 points or so to that depending on what you take.

As for doubling up, I wouldn't personally, but it really boils down to how you'll want to build your list.

Would you mind sharing your reasons ? I haven't read the codex yet, but I assume more troops and vehicles would be useful.

nou wrote:
425pt minimum, 455pt with two spare troupers, but you need some necessary options. IMHO it is worth doubling up if you want All Hariles army, as this is basically almost entire Harlequin product line (shame though, that it has Death Jester and not Shadowseer included…)

The Shadowseer and Solitare are missing right ?

How essential, or useful at least, are they ? Your post implies that the Shadowseer is valuable at least.

gungo wrote:
Shadowseer is really good however we are all eagerly awaiting for the eldrad Harley formation.
If that formation is anything decent like say a war convocation then that will ultimately dictate what type of list you should build.

That's fair. I'm not as optimistic after the formations Orks, Tryanids, and Deathwatch got in similar box sets, but it would be great if that formation was anything other than an excuse to field everything in the box together.

 adamsouza wrote:

Robin5t wrote: The Harlequins without Eldrad come to 455 points without upgrades. You'll absolutely want upgrades, which will potentially add at least another 100 points or so to that depending on what you take.

As for doubling up, I wouldn't personally, but it really boils down to how you'll want to build your list.

Would you mind sharing your reasons ? I haven't read the codex yet, but I assume more troops and vehicles would be useful.

nou wrote:
425pt minimum, 455pt with two spare troupers, but you need some necessary options. IMHO it is worth doubling up if you want All Hariles army, as this is basically almost entire Harlequin product line (shame though, that it has Death Jester and not Shadowseer included…)

The Shadowseer and Solitare are missing right ?

How essential, or useful at least, are they ? Your post implies that the Shadowseer is valuable at least.

Shadowseers are vital utility units depending on your list - if you're running foot harlies, you absolutely need them, if you're going mechanised, they aren't as important but are still very useful.

The Solitaire on the other hand is excellent fun to use and is very good at taking on special characters and Knight equivalents. Well worth taking IMO but I understand opinions tend to differ on him.

A few weeks before this was found out I already bought enough to do a full 1850 as the Cegorach's Revenge formation. Which breaks down into the smaller formations easily.

Since Cegorach's Revenge is just a pure ground formation I added an aegis defense line with a gun for a small amount of anti-air, since it is unbound anyway, but for local or fun play that does not matter much.

I have not play tested it yet, but I like the paper math I did for it so far:

Cegorach's Revenge 1847

Solitaire
3x Death Jester

Shadowseer [Mastery Level 2, Shuriken Pistol, The Mask of Secrets]
2x Shadowseer [Mastery Level 2, Shuriken Pistol]

4x Skyweaver [Shuriken Cannon, Zephyrglaive]
4x Skyweaver [Haywire cannon, Zephyrglaive]

Troupe1 (gun holders, back line attackers)
2x Player [Harlequin's Kiss, Shuriken Pistol]
2x Player [Harlequin's Caress, Shuriken Pistol]
3x Player [Close combat weapon, Shuriken Pistol]
Troupe Master [Harlequin's Caress, Shuriken Pistol]

Troupe2 [Starweaver]
2x Player [Harlequin's Kiss, Shuriken Pistol]
2x Player [Harlequin's Caress, Shuriken Pistol]
Troupe Master [Harlequin's Caress, Shuriken Pistol]

Troupe3 [Starweaver]
2x Player [Harlequin's Kiss, Shuriken Pistol]
2x Player [Harlequin's Caress, Shuriken Pistol]
Troupe Master [Harlequin's Caress, Shuriken Pistol]

Voidweaver [Prismatic cannon]

+ Fortification +

Aegis Defense Line [Gun Emplacement with Quad-gun]


For Bound I can do the Masque Detachment and The Heroes' Path (2+cover for a Death Jester and Shadowseer with The Mask of Secrets is nice) with the same amount of models, but I lose the Quad-gun so no real anti air.

Thankfully, Harlequins don't have a huge line, and almost everything is a must-have, so the only thing in that set which you really don't *need* is Eldrad. However, with some colourful painting, you can still use him as a Shadowseer if you needed to!

The things you will definitely want after this are the Shadowseer and Solitaire, if only because they are really cool.

I would hold on ordering the set yet though, until we find out what upgrade options you get. The Harlequin line is very small, but the units can be heavily upgraded, and often must be in order to start serving different roles in your force. Fusion Pistols turn the squad into tank hunters, while Caresses are good all-rounders, as are Kisses. The Embrace is great for taking down hordes, but are also very effective against Invisible enemies (since Hammer of Wrath just hits, no to-hit roll required). Neuropistols are very good against 2+ save foes. Bare bones Harlequins are best used as ablative wounds for other weapons. The bikes too can function somewhat differently, as their loadouts aren't as varied, but can really tip one way or another in certain circumstances.

As it stands, you don't really know what you're getting. Often these sets don't give you options though, so I wouldn't expect to get the same level of utility out of this force as with others. Curious what the formation will be though.

I would also wait until we know what the formation is, and show restrictive it is.
Also, you didn't mention your usual point limit. The box should be ~750pts (assuming a 200pts Eldrad). It might be possible to stretch it to 1000pts by adding starweavers to the troupes (assuming it's two units without fixed wargear), and adding a few skyweavers. If the formation is any good, it could be a an option at 1000pts.

And if Eldrad can be used as an HQ for harlies, you could just add whatever you like to that box, as it would already be a legal CAD.

If the Death Masque formation is garbage I assumed I would just default to the codex formations.

The main thing that ahd been holding me back from picking up Harlequins had always been the price. Now that Death Masque is already a 50+% discount and pre-ordering it can knock another 25% off, that is less of an issue.

$250 for 1000 points each of Harlequins and Deathwatch doesn't sound bad at all.

I even managed to get the Harlequin Codex for $34 shipped.

Always been a fan of the Harley models. It's tough to go wrong from a collection standpoint.

Transports and gunships. Harlies are really squishy and short ranged, looking though the dex i'd go with at least another star weaver so you quins have a bit more protection on the way in, and a shadow seerer would help an awful lot. This is just for the box contents though.

Get one more harlequin troupe, then 3 starweaver boxes.

The starweaver boxes have 1 extra crewmember in each box since you only need 2 of the three. One crewmember is wearing a tailed suit, very easy to convert to a Death Jester using the shuriken cannons from your Skyweavers.

One crewmember is wearing a long robe, very easy to convert to a Shadowseer.

So were I you, I would recommend grabbing that extra troupe to unlock a Masque detachment (that is, if the Eldrad formation isn't amazingly good), and then going for transport boxes.

I wouldn't say 2 DM boxes sounds terribly attractive, since the harlequin formations are quite restrictive.

I think the only two minis lacking in the box is the solitaire and Shadowseer.

You literally get every other miniature in the Harlequin line in that one box. For cheap too (the Void Weaver, 2 Troupes and Death jester alone would surpass the cost of the entire box, meaning the DW stuff, Eldrad and bikes are free).

Thank you to everyone who contributed. Sticking to a single Death Masque and a Harlequin Codex. I ended up spending the resources I planned on using for additional Harlequins on buying out someone's Chaos Marines, Eldar, and Necron armies.

I'm sure they'll be deals to be had with Harlequins floating all over Ebay for next few weeks at least.

 Yarium wrote:
Thankfully, Harlequins don't have a huge line, and almost everything is a must-have, so the only thing in that set which you really don't *need* is Eldrad. However, with some colourful painting, you can still use him as a Shadowseer if you needed to!

The things you will definitely want after this are the Shadowseer and Solitaire, if only because they are really cool.

I would hold on ordering the set yet though, until we find out what upgrade options you get. The Harlequin line is very small, but the units can be heavily upgraded, and often must be in order to start serving different roles in your force. Fusion Pistols turn the squad into tank hunters, while Caresses are good all-rounders, as are Kisses. The Embrace is great for taking down hordes, but are also very effective against Invisible enemies (since Hammer of Wrath just hits, no to-hit roll required). Neuropistols are very good against 2+ save foes. Bare bones Harlequins are best used as ablative wounds for other weapons. The bikes too can function somewhat differently, as their loadouts aren't as varied, but can really tip one way or another in certain circumstances.

As it stands, you don't really know what you're getting. Often these sets don't give you options though, so I wouldn't expect to get the same level of utility out of this force as with others. Curious what the formation will be though.

From the pictures of the sprues on the GW site, we will be getting the full harlequin sets that are currently available, with all options included.

Starting with masque you will want more players and their transports for them, as well as another set of bikes for their formation. Shadowseers are amazing as well. In total you will want to upgrade them with the carress which will let them AUTO WOUND on a 6 TO HIT and its ap2. List for the formation which lets you run and charge as well as reroll 1's on your invuln saves is:
Solitare
3 jesters, 3 seers, 3 troupe 2 units of the bikes, and a voidweaver. That formation alone will give you a good points chunk.

You'll need another troupe, and another fast attack choice for a masque, so either another set of bikes or a transport.
I highly suggest getting at least 2, if not more shadowseers. They are absolutely amazing. Veil of Tears makes long range armies weep.

I run a Double Masque(1000pts base)
6 Troupes of 5 with 3 Caress per Troupe. 1 Starmist raiment. 2 optional Starweavers
4 Starweavers
2 Voidweavers.
1319pts and I dump the rest wherever I feel the need.
I try to use minimal Independent Characters.

If you like/want bikes and apocalypse formations are allowed. Try A Double Bladed Great troupe: 2 Falchou's blade 1Great Troupe =
13 Units of 2 Bikes, all with Zepherglaives 2 bikes with haywire.
2 Voidweavers with Prismatic Cannon
3 Units of Eldar Vypers

Foot Harlequins want multiple Shadowseers to spread out Veil of Tears so that they can actually survive a few rounds of shooting while spreading high numbers around as much as possible. However, mounted Harlequins (i.e. each Troupe in a Starweaver) is more popular because the transport itself is a fun gunboat and is the most reliable delivery method for your fragile but deadly infantry.

I'm not a mega-fan of the Death Masque Harlequin formation rules, your best bet is usually going to be the Masque detachment with other detachments/formations to taste. The Heroes Path is a lot of fun and I always recommend you bring a Solitaire, he's one of the most under-estimated models in the game despite the fact he's a reliable Imperial Knight destroyer/tarpit.

As for wargear, I would personally skip the pistol upgrades and spread the melee upgrades around your units. Squad leaders want Caresses for the extra chance at getting AP2 auto-wounds, you want at least one other Caress in a unit as it's your main damage-dealer, then give each unit one Kiss. Embraces are solid but they don't work in the "off-round" and are reliant on getting the wielder in base contact which, after Overwatch, isn't always guaranteed. However, Caresses and Embraces are pretty much tailor-made to deal with Invisible units. Haywire Grenades should be on the radar for all of your characters.

For your other units, I recommend giving Skyweavers the Haywire Cannons and Zephyr Glaives. Star Bolas are cool but are one-use-only and take away a ridiculous amount of melee damage from Skyweavers, hence the Zephyr Glaives - remember, Harlequins are safest in combat in almost every scenario. Haywire Cannons are phenomenal anti-tank guns on such a mobile unit and make Skyweavers a jack-of-all-trades in conjunction with the Zephyr Glaives - they can maul anything in combat short of T7+ and blast tanks to shreds. Voidweavers want Prismatic Lances for the versatility.

This is just a collection of what my friends and my own playing experience recommend, Harlequins are a dirty army if built right and used by the right person. I'm sorry to say that I've been on the receiving end of a few beatings at their hands because the internet told me they are a poor codex...

gungo wrote:
Shadowseer is really good however we are all eagerly awaiting for the eldrad Harley formation.
If that formation is anything decent like say a war convocation then that will ultimately dictate what type of list you should build.

Isn't that the not-FNP FNP+eternal warrior for eldrad? Or is there going to be another formation for them?