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Got my first game in with the new Harlequins. The lists:

Harlequins - Cegorach's Revenge Formation
Troupe (10) w/ 5x Neuro-Disruptor, 5x Caress, 4x Shuriken Pistol, 4x Kiss
- Troupe Master w/ ND, Caress [Warlord: 4++]

Troupe (10) w/ 9x SP, 9x Embrace
- Troupe Master w/ SP, Embrace

Troupe (6) w/ 5x SP, 5x Kiss
- Troupe Master w/ SP, Kiss

Solitaire w/ Cegorach's Kiss

Shadowseer (lvl 2) w/ Mask of Secrets, SP, Mist Stave [Telepathy: Psychic Shriek, Shrouded, Regroup]
Shadowseer (lvl 2) w/ SP, Mist Stave [Phantasmancy: Veil of Tears, Fog of Dreams, Laugh of Sorrows]
Shadowseer (lvl 2) w/ SP, Mist Stave [Phantasmancy: Veil of Tears, Laugh of Sorrows, Mirror of Minds]

3x Death Jester

2x Skyweavers (2) w/ 1x Zephyrglaive, 1x Star Bolas, 2x Haywire Cannons

Voidweaver Squadron (3) w/ 3x Prismatic Cannon


CSM CAD
Kharn
Sorcerer (lvl 2) Jump Pack, Black Mace

Cypher

Berserkers (9) w/ Sergeant
2x Cultists (20) w/ Champion, 20x Auto Rifles

Warp Talons (6) w/ Champion
Heldrake w/ Torrent

Chaos Land Raider
Defiler
Vindicator


Played The Scouring on a diagonal deployment. I won the right to deploy first. I put the Telepathy SS with the Embrace Troupe on the right, the Mirror Mind SS with the Warlord down the middle behind a windowless ruin wall, and the last SS plus three DJs in the Kiss Troupe behind another ruin on the left. The Voidweavers set up behind a forest on the left between the Kiss Troupe and Warlord Troupe. Both Skyweaver units lined up behind the Warlord Troupe and the cover provided by the ruin there. The Solitaire went into DS reserve.

He set up his Sorcerer and Warp Talons on the extreme left of his deployment zone closest to the DJ-SS Troupe. The LR w/ Kharn and the Berserkers set up down the middle, straight across from where the Warlord Troupe is. The Vindicator set up right beside it on its right, up against a ruin that extended between it and my side of the board. The Defiler set up on the other side of the LR. One Cultist unit occupied an objective in his back corner while the other set up on a large ruin along his long board edge between the Warp Talons and Defiler. The Heldrake went into Reserve. Cypher Infiltrates to the forest in the very center of the board, north of the Warlord Troupe's position.

He failed to steal the initiative.

TURN 1
Harlequins
The Embrace Troupe moved 6" NE to place the ruin better between it and the Vindicator. One unit of Skyweavers jumped 12" NE to the other side of the large ruin while the other moved 12" NE so it was in front of the corner of that same ruin. The Warlord Troupe came out 6" from that corner to sit behind the left Skyweavers and to the right of the other. The Voidweavers moved 12" NE. The DJ Troupe advanced 6"NNE towards the Warp Talons.

Both Phantasmancy SSs got of VoT. The DJ SS got off Laugh of Sorrows on the Warp Talon unit, killing 2 (made Morale). The Telepathy SS got off Shrouded but Periled and lost that randomly lost that power.

In Shooting, two of the DJs shot Shuriken Cannons at the Warp Talons and reduced them to two + the Sorcerer (made Ld). The Voidweavers Turbo-boosted to get to the middle of the board. The two Skyweaver units shot Haywire Cannons at the LR, getting off one Glancing and one Penetrating hit (shaken). The Warlord Troupe ran 5" N. The Embrace Troupe ran 6" NE to tuck in more behind that ruin between it and the Vindicator.

In Assault, the left Skyweavers move 8" NW while the right Skyweavers move 6" E.

CSM
LR advances 12" SW straight for my Warlord Troupe. The Vindicator moves 6"ESE to the other side of the ruin in order to get a shot on my Embrace Troupe. The rear Cultists move 6" SW. The Warp Talons move 12" SW towards the DJ Troupe. Cypher moves 3" S deeper into the forest.

In the Psychic Phase, his Sorcerer tries Summoning but I Deny it. He tries to get off the improved invul save and I Deny that, too.

In Shooting, the Defiler shoots at the Voidweavers. I activate the Mirror Launchers, negating one Penetrating hit but not the other, which explodes one of them. Cypher tries to take out more but fails to do any damage. The Vindicator shoots at the Embrace Troupe and kills one. The rear Cultists run 5". The LR fails to cause any hits on the right Skyweavers.

In Assault, the Warp Talons fail to charge the DJ Troupe, rolling a 10 but needing 11".

TURN 2
Harlequins
The Solitaire arrives from reserve, DSing 18" N of my board edge and 8" W of the right board edge. The Embrace Troupe moves 6" NNE towards the Vindicator. The Warlord Troupe advances 6" N towards Cypher. The DJ Troupe advances 6" towards the Warp Talons. The Voidweavers move 12" NE and in reverse to shoot at the Defiler. The two Skyweaver units come in towards one another to get shots off on the LR.

In the Psychic Phase, the DJ SS fails to get off VoT but does get off Fog of Dreams on Cypher. The Warlord SS gets off VoT.

In Shooting, both Skyweavers get in one glance to wreck the LR, causing Kharn's Berserkers to disembark out the front. The two Voidweavers split fire, shooting the Prismatic Cannons with the S5 AP3 Blast profile at the Berserkers, but only manage to kill one (the Champion, who failed his LoS roll). The aft Shuriken Cannons target the Defiler but don't do anything. The DJ Troupe shoot everything at the Warp Talons, killing them off for First Blood and destroying the Sorcerer as well. The Warlord Troupe shoots at Cypher, causing two wounds on him. The Embrace Troupe Runs 5" closer to the Vindicator.

In Assault, The Warlord Troupe charges Cypher, losing one to Overwatch. The Embrace Troupe charges the Vindicator, getting five in base contact on the sides and three in base contact on the front. The side Players manage to get off 13 HoW hits on the Vindicator and manage to cause four HP of damage, wrecking it. The Warlord Troupe Master kills off Cypher. The unit consolidates 2" NW and unclumps, preparing to receive the charge from Kharn's Berserkers next turn.

CSM
We both forget his Heldrake is in reserve so no roll is made. Kharn's Berserkers advance 6" W to close in on the Warlord Troupe. The rear Cultists advance 6" SW, past where the Embrace Troupe wrecked the Vindicator. The Ruin Cultists and Defiler both stay put.

In Shooting, The Ruin Cultists try to shoot at the Warlord Troupe but only roll to see 10" thanks to VoT, meaning only one model can shoot at them (misses). Kharn's Berserkers roll 18", plenty enough for the entire unit to shoot at the Warlord's Troupe. They kill 3, with the SS taking one and LoSing the rest. This leaves a big gap between the SS and the rest of the unit. The rear Cultists run 3" SW. The Defiler tries to take out more Voidweavers, managing to shake one of them.

In Assault, Kharn's Berserkers charge the Warlord Troupe and Kharn declares a challenge that the SS accepts. The SS goes first, causing one unsaved wound on Kharn with his Mist Stave and concussing him to go last. The Troupe Master and Players manage to kill 3 Berserkers. When all is said and done, Kharn's unit has just enough wounds to kill off the Troupe. Kharn's unit consolidates 5" and heads NW in a clump.

TURN 3
Harlequins
The Embrace Troupe advances to within 1" of the rear Cultists, with one dying traversing the dangerous terrain of the Vindicator wreck. The Solitaire moves 12" W to get to the front edge of the rear Cultist unit. The right Skyweaver unit advances 12" NE to get LoS on the Defiler. The left Skyweaver unit moves 12" to get a good charge distance off on Kharn's unit. The DJ Troupe advances 6" ESE towards Kharn's unit. The Voidweavers move 12" WSW, away from the Defiler but still having its rear facing on them so they can choose what to shoot at: it or Kharn's unit.

In the Psychic Phase, the DJ SS gets VoT denied. No other powers succeed.

In Shooting, the Embrace Troupe kills 4 with Pistol fire. The right Skyweavers fail to do anything to to the Defiler through a combination of misses and Daemon saves. The DJs, Voidweavers and left Skyweavers manage to reduce Kharn's unit to just Kharn with one wound left.

In Assault, the Embrace Troupe charges the Cultists, losing one to Overwatch but getting 7 with Embraces into base contact. The left Skyweavers charge Kharn. The right Skyweavers move 4" S. The Solitaire also charges the rear Cultists. Through sheer volume of HoW and attacks at high initiative, the Embrace Troupe and Solitaire wipe out the 20-strong unit with wounds to spare. The left Skyweavers kill off Kharn before he can attack. The Embrace Troupe consolidates 5" NNW into a forest near the ruin Cultists and right behind the Defiler. The left Skyweavers consolidate 2" NW.

CSM
He remembers his Heldrake but fails to make its reserve roll. The ruin Cultists roll 2" for moving through Difficult Terrain and advance E towards the Embrace Troupe. The Defiler stays put.

In Shooting, the ruin Cultists shoot at the Embrace Troupe, killing one. The Defiler shoots at the DJ Troupe, killing one and nothing more.

In Assault, the ruin Cultists try to charge the Embrace Troupe but fail.

TURN 4
Harlequins
The Solitaire declares its Blitz move and rolls 11" on 4d6 (lame!), getting right beside the Defiler. The Embrace Troupe moves 6" WNW towards the Cultists. both Skyweaver units advance on the Defiler's position. The DJ Troupe moves 6" towards the Defiler. The Voidweavers advance 12" towards the Defiler, facing it backwards.

In Psychic Phase, the Embrace SS gets off Psychic Shriek on the ruin Cultists, killing 4. The DJ SS gets VoT denied. Nothing else goes off.

In Shooting, the DJs shoot their Shrieker shots at the ruin Cultists, getting off two wounds that aren't saved. The subsequent Bio-Explosive effect combined with the initial wounds winds up killing 7. The unit makes its Pinning check. The Voidweavers shoot everything at the Defiler, causing one glance. The Skyweavers cause one more. At the end of Shooting, the Cultists are forced to do a Morale Check at -4Ld thanks to the combination of the DJs' shot and Mask of Secrets. They fail and I force him to run 8" towards my Embrace Troupe.

In Assault, the Embrace Troupe charges the cultists who fail their regroup test and are wiped out. The Solitaire charges the Defiler. On 12 dice To Hit I fail to get a single 6. He gets nothing on the Solitaire, so it's a draw. The two Skyweaver units do their assault move, the right moving 4" S and the left moving 6" W.

CSM
His Heldrake arrives and Vector Strikes my Embrace Troupe, killing one and finishing at a point that sets up for a flamer attack on the right Skyweavers.

In Shooting, he gets off two wounds on the Skyweavers, who declare the Mirror Launchers. It doesn't do any good and one model is destroyed.

In Assault, the Solitaire gets off four 6s To Hit with the Caress, wrecking the Defiler.

At this point, the CSM player concedes.


CONCLUSIONS
I was very pleased with how the army performed. I was able to control the board through my superior movement and used the terrain to my advantage. The Harlequin's Embrace is devastatingly effective against infantry and vehicles alike. I liked how the Voidweavers performed, as well, backing up on units to shoot with the aft Shuriken Cannon and the Prismatic Cannon effectively. In close combat the Troupes were very strong as one would expect, and the Haywire Cannons on the Skyweavers were worth their points and more.

I found that the combination of having both a Caress and Cegorach's Kiss on the Solitaire really give him great flexibility. If I'm facing standard infantry, I'll choose the Kiss in order to get the one Master-crafted reroll and Shred rerolls To Wound in addition to the one attack at S6 AP2. Against vehicles or high T targets, I'll use the Caress, instead. The fact 6s To Hit against vehicles cause auto-glances is tremendously potent, too.

The DJs were all-stars this game. Having them together in one unit was a game changer. they dictated flow on one side of the board. I recommend placing this type of unit on a flank. It'll put great pressure on your opponent to allocate resources to deal with them as the sheer volume of S6 fire that has the potential to go off at AP2 is huge.

Three SSs are quite effective in a game like this. Veil of Tears is so good. The other powers are, as well, but this one in particular is so worth it. And the Mist Stave... don't underestimate that +2S it provides, especially against multi-wound characters. Just one wound causes no end of grief for your opponent, especially if they're at Initiative 6. Giving your rank and file Players a chance to attack before the concussed target can may well save your squad a loss.

I did completely forget the SSs had the Hallucinogen Grenade Launchers, so I can't report on how they performed. I did remember they had SPs, though, so at least they contributed a little bit. lol

Cegorach's Revenge is the formation that grants the reroll of 1s on invul saves in addition to Run and Charge from Turn 2 onwards for all units that have Fleet. Not once did a rerolled 1 become a 5+. It's a nice add but hardly mandatory. I'm sure some games will bear better fruit than others, but the odds of getting 2-4 is too high to make this a must-have. I'm going to try running the basic Harlequin's Masque detachment next time so I can have one unit of Skyweavers and a Starweaver as my two Fast Attack choices, embark the DJs on the Starweaver and watch them zip around on that.

My opponent did have one unfortunate round of armor saves and shooting that cost him significantly, so I didn't come out of this completely unscathed by my design. It was still a strong showing and gives me hope to future engagements with them.

Harlies sound cool, but that was a weak CSM list which gave away a lot of free kills. Would have liked to see the harlies face something a bit more challenging.

Good to see the Harlequins able to hold their own as a full fledged army.
The Blitz move by the Solitaire seemed to work just fine. True you didn't get a lot of movement out of it,
but you were able to get next to the Defiler. In CC you were able destroy it....that is 4HP of damage in a single round
by one model. That is impressive.

I think the Chaos list had some tools to cause you problems. The Vindicator and it's 5" blast could have mauled
your troupes if he gotten a chance to use it for several rounds. Kharn is able to handle units on his own, but the
trick is to get him into combats that can win. The maneuverability of the Harlequins made that difficult. Cypher
and the Sorcerer seemed to do nothing the entire game and so they ended up being wasted points.

Thanks for the battle report!
Tom

Don't forget that harlequins kisses only effect one attack, the rest can be made with the solitaire's caress and I couldn't tell if you missed it out because it didn't do anything but the death jesters special rule works for the standard Shuriken attack, not just the shrieker profile.
I haven't played a game with harlequins yet but I've been looking for a bat rep, thanks!

Edit: shame about the blitz especially because he moves 12" standard, you really need to use it at the end of a game :p

I have to say the CSM player handed this game over. Seriously Cypher going solo...

Can Harlequins make fearless units take break checks ??

No, our break checks are dictated by failed Leadership rolls. A Fearless unit always passes Leadership tests.

Looks like eldar player cheated then .

 Dozer Blades wrote:
Looks like eldar player cheated then .

2 things. I'm having trouble finding the instance you are discussing. Which unit has fearless that he made a morale check against. Only instances I see (w/ 4 hours of sleep) are cultists and Warp Talons. Warp talons passed theres, so even if they have it (I don't think they do? Never actually seen someone use them....) made no difference. Cultists weren't with any characters, so nothing there either. Only unit I'm seeing with fearless is the zerkers, and he doesn't mention them taking a LD test.

Second, "cheat" is a loaded term. Even if he did force a morale check on a fearless unit that his opponent didn't catch, it's a pretty bold accusation to accuse someone of cheating. The codex is brand new, and he made a lot of mistakes outside of this as well. Doesn't mean he was cheating, just that it's a new codex and things get hectic and confusing when you're experimenting in real time. Besides which, his opponent knows his own list better than the Eldar player. If he was asked to take a LD test on a fearless unit and complied w/out objection/question, then the blame is shared between players. It's a complex game and rules get lost. Not every instance of misinterpreted or misread rules is cheating.

My sincere apology - I thought Warp Talons are fearless. Wow had bad are CSM ?

Csm can be bad, but warp talons are bottom of the csm codex.

Thank you all for the comments. Much appreciated!

 Mantle wrote:
Don't forget that harlequins kisses only effect one attack, the rest can be made with the solitaire's caress and I couldn't tell if you missed it out because it didn't do anything

Actually, I played the rule conservatively. I understand the rule for Kiss of Death states, "A model equipped..." while the rule for Caress of Death states, "Each To Hit roll of a 6 made by a weapon with this special rule...", but I decided to go with the core rule from the rule book:

The Rules, p.41 wrote:MORE THAN ONE WEAPON
... If a model has more than one Melee weapon, he must choose which one to attack with when he comes to strike blows--he cannot mix and match the abilities of several different Melee weapons....

As I was fighting low T targets, I figured I would get more effectiveness out of the master-crafted, shredding Cegorach's Kiss than the Caress.

Mantle wrote:but the death jesters special rule works for the standard Shuriken attack, not just the shrieker profile.

I played the special rule with the Shuriken Cannon shots, too. I didn't use the Shrieker shots very much because I wanted more armor saving throws and better chances at AP2 with the 9 shots than trying to get 1-3 single Shrieker shots to pay off with an explosion and Pinning check.

Mantle wrote:Edit: shame about the blitz especially because he moves 12" standard, you really need to use it at the end of a game :p

I thought waiting until Turn 4 was long enough. Average roll of 14" and all.

Dozer Blades wrote:My sincere apology - I thought Warp Talons are fearless.

No worries. I actually play with Warp Talons in a thematic Emperor's Children CSM list. I learned the hard way that the Sorcerer isn't Fearless when he joined Warp Talons and the unit had to take a Fear check.