HARLEQUINS~
Was that too obvious?
For the record, this is another tag-along army. There really isn't enough to make a whole force, and if you do, you'll be really vulnerable to certain things. Like Flyers. Also, you need to do some crazy delicate painting for these, so you really want them to be a small centrepiece thing.
Anyway on with the show.
They only have
Troupes Troops, Elites, Fast Attack and Heavy Support. They are BFFs with Eldar and Dark Eldar, they put up with Tau and the Imperium, they team with Orks if they really have to, and they spit in the face of Chaos, Nids and Crons.
THREE Warlord Trait tables. Troupe Masters roll a d6, whereas Death Jesters and Shadowseers roll a 1d3 (or roll a d6 on the core rule book tables).
LIGHT Traits: re-roll all To Hit rolls of 1 and all saving throw rolls of 1, 4++, slight movement increase, +4 to Seize the Initiative (act first despite deploying last), select d3 units to Deep Strike/Scout/Infiltrate, redeploy 1d3 units.
TWILIGHT SPARKLE Traits: first three are the same, choose to +/-2 to any "Does the game end yet?" rolls, Instant Death on any 6 to Wound (or 5-6 on Kiss of Death attacks), 1/game Mirror Leap (teleport 24" but can't charge).
DARK Traits: first three are the same, enemies in base contact have to roll 3d6 for Fear/Morale checks, Warlord+unit get a bonus turn at the end of the game, and double-suicide in a challenge (if the Warlord is killed, you roll off to see if the opponent also dies).
A lot of average ones.
Their basic Detachment is precisely 3 Troops, 0-7 Elite, precisely 2 Fast Attack and precisely 1 Heavy Support. You can re-roll your Harlequin Warlord Trait, and all the Fleet units get to have the old Fleet rules where you can Run and Charge in the same turn. It's not bad, but seriously, just use the little formations that I'll detail later.
For wargear, you only have specific options listed unit-by-unit (like 4-5Ed. I miss those days. Instead of claiming the same gun is just as expensive no matter who holds it), except for the Relics (Enigmas of the Black Library). These are available to Troupe Masters, Shadowseers, Death Jesters and Solitaires. Most noteworthy is there is a Shuriken Pistol that fires as many times as your Attacks characteristic and only costs 5 points. The Solitaire can't take it, sadly, but it's a bargain thing.
Troops: Troupes
It's 5-12 guys and they cost more than Space Marines. They have good statlines but are still S 3 T 3, and the Troupe Leader gets 2 Wounds. They all ignore terrain and have a 5++ Invulnerable Save, as well as Plasma Grenades, and the Shuriken Pistol + CCW. They are Fleet, Cause Fear, have Furious Charge and Hit & Run. So a lot of rules layered on there, and they're REALLY supposed to run up, charge you, then flit away to charge someone else even if they don't kill you.
Any and all models can swap their CCWs for a Harlequin's Kiss/Embrace/Caress, for +5/5/8 points respectively. Any and all models can swap pistols for Neuro pistols (always Wounds on a 2+ and AP 2) or Fusion pistols (Melta). The master can swap his weapon for a Power Sword, and can take Haywire grenades. They can take a Starweaver.
Harlequin's Kiss: roll one attack separately, it is the Kiss of Death attack. It is always S 6 AP 2 and a 6 to Wound causes Instant Death.
Harlequin's Embrace: normal CCW, but you also get Hammer of Wrath (as 1d3 S 6 automatic hits).
Harlequin's Caress: each 6 to Hit in close combat is AP 2 and automatically Wounds regardless of Toughness, and automatically Glances vehicles.
Elite: Death Jester aka Killer Clown
X
Decent statline, 2 Wounds, suffers Instant Death from a Scatterlaser still. Ignores Terrain, 5++, Fear, Fleet, Furious Charge, Hit & Run, can join units, and on a 6 to hit with shooting he picks the model hit. Furthermore, if he shoots you and causes even 1 casualty, you have to test Morale as though taking 25% casualties... with a -2 penalty to Ld... and if you fail, he decides which direction you fall back. In future turns you fall back normally, but he can totally make you fall "back" into allies' charge range, or straight into them where you get wiped out.
He can take haywires, and has the Shrieker Cannon: a Shuricannon that can instead be fired as S 1 AP 5 Assault 1 Bladestorm (the usual Shuriken rule), Poison 2+, Pinning, and anything killed causes a Blast at S 5 AP 4.
Shadowseer:
2 Wounds, decent stats, level 1 Psyker (can upgrade to 2). Ignores Terrain, 5++, Pistol and Fleshbane CCW that also gives +2 S and Concussive, Fear, Fleet, Furicharge, Hit & Run, can join units. They choose powers from Telepathy, Sanctic Daemonology, and their own special one, Phantasmancy. They can take a Neuro Disruptor and Haywire grenades.
Phantasmancy is this:
Primaris: Veil of Tears (Charge 1: enemies targeting the caster's unit roll 2d6x2. If they're further away than the result, they auto-miss and can't shoot anyone that turn.)
1. Dance of Shadows (Charge 1: grant Stealth and Shrouded (4+ Cover in the open, 2+ in most terrain) to a unit)
2. Peal of Discord (Charge 1: Nova that hits all in 9", S 4 AP - Assault 2d6, Concussive)
3. Shards of Light (Charge 1: 24" S 3 AP - Assault 3d6 Blind)
4. Fog of Dreams (Charge 2: curse an enemy to only hit on a 6 in close combat and only fire Snap Shots when shooting (so, only hit on 6, can't use Blasts))
5. Laugh of Sorrows (Charge 2: enemy unit takes 2 Ld tests. First one causes Wounds equal to the failure margin, the second causes Wounds equal to the SUCCESS margin. No armour or cover.)
6. Mirror of Minds (Charge 2: pick a specific enemy model: make opposed 1d6+Ld rolls. If the Shadowseer wins/draws, the target loses a Wound (no armour or cover) and roll again, keep going until target wins a roll or dies).
Some are okay, but you might just want to stick with Telepathy.
Solitaire:
Easy joke.
This guy costs more than a lot of Space Marine heroes. Just saying. Then again he's WS 9 BS 9 S 3 T 3 W 3 I 10 A 6 Ld 10. Ignores Terrain, Fear, Immune to Instant Death, Deep Strikes, Hit & Run, Fleet, Furicharge, Fearless, 3++ Invulnerable, moves 12" in the Movement Phase... AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE.
Can't join units ever, is Unique (thus limited to 1 per Detachment/Formation, pretty sure you can take multiple if you have multiple formations though), and never has Warlord Traits, so don't make him the Warlord. Has a Kiss and a Caress. Can take Haywires.
Finally, once per game, he can do a special move: roll (Turn number)d6. The total is the number of inches he can move that turn. He can fly over terrain when doing this, and his base Attacks characteristic becomes 10 for that turn.
Fast Attack: Skyweaver Jetbikes
2-6 jetbikes that are large enough that they have two riders each. 2 Wounds, Toughness 4, 4+ Armour Save and 5++. Fear, Furious Charge, Hit & Run, and they have Mirage Launchers and a Star Bolas (which can be swapped for a Zephyrglaive). They also have Shruicannons that can be swapped for Haywire Cannons (Haywire Blasts). Expensive.
Bolas: 1-use S 6 AP 2 Blast
Zephyrglaive: S +0 AP 3, unless charging where it's S +1 AP 2.
Starweaver:
A transport with 2 HP and Armour 10 all sides. But it still has the 5++ Invulnerable. It has 2 Shuricannons and Mirage Launchers (1/game trigger against enemy shooting for a 4++ against Shooting until next turn) and is an Open-Topped Fast Skimmer that can hold 6 models. Causes Fear.
Heavy Support: Voidweavers
Haha, heavy. So it's an Open-Toppede Fast Skimmer, taken in units of 1-3. All Armour 10, 2 Hull Points, Fear, Haywire Cannon, 5++, Mirage Launchers, and 2 Shuricannons. The back one can fire at separate targets from the rest of the weapons because it points backwards. Any can swap the Haywire for a Prismatic Cannon: can be a S 3 AP 4 Large Blast or a S 5 AP 3 Blast or a S 7 AP 2 Lance.
And here we have some lovely formations!
Cegorach's Revenge is 3 Troupes, 3 Jesters, 3 Seers, 1 Solitaire, 2 Skyweaver units, 1 Voidweaver unit and a partridge in a pear tree. You get to re-roll Invulnerable Saves of 1 for the whole formation, you can re-roll your Warlord Trait if it's from this book, and starting on second turn, all Fleet units can do the old Fleet thing of Run+Charge. Yes, this is practically an entire 1500 point army. Actually it might seriously be that. Or more. Let me stop and check right now. Okay, so taking the bare minimum squad sizes and no upgrades of any kind, it's 1,065. So yeah, it's a 1500 point force. Madness.
The Serpent's Brood is 3 Troupes, 2 Skyweaver units, 3 Starweavers and a unit of Voidweavers. The Troupes specifically have the Starweavers as Dedicated Transports. You can re-roll your Harlequin Warlord Trait, and the Troupes can use Consolidate moves and their Hit & Run move to embark on Starweavers if they get close enough. That's cute.
Cast of Players, ie the standard Eldar booster addition: 1 Troupe, 1 Death Jester, 1 Shadowseer. The unit is locked together as a single unit that can't split up. They get Crusader, and any nearby Eldar or Dark Eldar units also get Crusader.
Cegorach's Jest: 1 Troupe, 1 unit of Skyweavers, 1 unit of Voidweavers. Fleet units get Old Fleet starting on turn 2.
The Heroes' Path: 1 Jester, 1 Seer, 1 Solitaire. They all get Stealth, Shrouded and Infiltrate, but they can't join units or be joined by other characters. So they're just three disruption specialists.
Pikachu's Faolchu's Blade: 2 units of Skyweavers, 1 unit of Voidweavers. Anything in this unit that Jinks gets to re-roll its cover save.
And that is all. As you can see, they are designed to be used alongside your existing Eldar, and can really fill some weaknesses. Against armies that ARE NOT immune to Fear, they combo hilariously with certain Dark Eldar, letting you stack multiple Ld penalties and then force enemies to fail Ld tests and die horribly.
So next could be Space Marines, Khorne, Eldar, Assassins, Inquisition, Knights (I understand people wanting to buy these just to paint them up. I just can't justify the cost in the way I CAN justify the cost to spend the same amount, over time, on a bunch of units), or Tau.