Topic: 1750pt Harlequins vs CSM

[Skyleap]

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 -xLd 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.  Against vehicles or high T targets, I'll use the Caress, instead.

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 Sx fire that has the potential to go off at APx 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 bonus it provides, especially against multi-wound characters.  Just one wound causes no end of grief for your opponent, especially if they're at a high initiative.  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 various bonuses to all units that have Fleet.  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.

I've taken a number of stats/rules out of this post to comply with the forum rules and GW legal.  Further details on the rules can be found here: http://www.40konline.com/index.php?action=rules

[Wyldhunt]

Glad to hear the new space clowns are performing well! Now if I could just get my hands on a book...

[Fenris]

Great report I think getting the first turn to get all psychic buffs up and running tilted the odds in your favor.

I'm a little confused though why the DJ's are going in the same unit, they don't have split fire, and the ld modifier isn't cumulative. I would probably split them up, and use them to draw opponents units out of cover and/or into charge range, like you did with the cultists. But if they work well in the same unit for you, that's great.

[Skyleap]

I put the DJs in the same unit for two reasons:

• I had two Troupes of 10 and one of 6. Putting a SS in each puts two at 11 and one at 7. I wanted to balance out the numbers to have two of 11 and one of 10 in order to psychologically "balance" the lists. If the opponent recognizes there are more ICs in the one unit, then it would be able to draw fire away from the other two and be a little more survivable.
• I wanted to focus on damage rather than Pinning or Morale checks. Having three Shrieker shots, nine Shuriken shots or a combination thereof would let me dictate how wounds are taken. This is especially the case with the Shrieker shots that are less likely to cause unsaved wounds in higher armored units. Concentrating the shots at once leads to a greater chance that that targeted unit is given every chance in the world to fail.

The other plan was to have the DJs split off in separate directions in the event the opponent brought the fight to them, thus forcing that unit to pick which one to go after. I could also decide to keep them clumped into a DJ unit of its own with their own SS to protect them while the Troupe moves on to a different target. It just seemed like it was more tactically flexible that way.

First turn buffing was also a great thing. Just to be safe I had some my units behind LoS blocking terrain just in case he stole the initiative. But this point alone justifies picking the Light Warlord Trait table as you get two chances to procure the +4 to Steal the Initiative. I actually played the same guy an Assassins vs Harlequins game immediately thereafter where he went first and I rolled that Trait. Not a good day for him. Granted, I outpointed him by 1250, but seeing that trait in action was pretty sweet.

For the record, I rolled the 4++ trait on the first roll, rerolled it and got it again. :P

[Wyldhunt]

How dependent do you feel the new harlequins are on their shadow seers?  I get the impression that they're kind of a must-take.

[Skyleap]

I would agree they're a must take. Without them you're relying on a Daemon save (ironic, that) for far more expensive models to field. The synergy between Shadowseers and the rest of the army is stunning. But I would also argue that the Death Jesters are equally important. Their firepower and Morale busting capabilities are impressive and essential to the success of the rest of the army. Between pins from the Hallucinogen Grenade Launcher and Shrieker Cannon, Ld bombing and Sweeping Advances without having to swing a single close combat weapon, the pair are indispensable.

Do you need 3 SSs? I don't think so, but fielding less than two Psyker (2)s is a risk. I would give fielding fewer than two DJs an equal risk. At minimum you should have two of each.

The one wild card in this is prudent utilization of the Solitaire. I see no reason to field him on Turn 1 at all. DSing him into play stretches the field in your favor. Thanks to his Beast movement and Fleet/Charge rule through several Formations and the Masque Detachment, you can also be very conservative on his landing point to ensure he doesn't mishap. It's not like he's shooting the turn he arrives anyway, and you don't have to direct him towards a non-vehicle unit. Those Caress attacks are brutal against tanks, and you should feel no pangs of trepidation lining him up against Walkers thanks to EW and a fantastic 3++.

[Calindor]

Great to finally read a battlereport with the harlequins. Very intresting and good to read that they can take out combatmonsters like Kharn but also take out both a defiler and a land raider. Thats great news. Congratulation to your win