The dust has settled on the latest massive Warhammer 40,000 tournament, which took place at AdeptiCon at the end of March. And it’s fair to say that the Harlequins walked it – and then they ran, capered, pirouetted, and triple-axled for good measure.
The tricksy jesters managed an unusually high win rate at their first tournament since the release of the new Codex: Aeldari. We want to examine why this happened, the steps you can take to weather the motley storm – and touch on what comes next for the Harlequins.
256 players battled through eight rounds in a two-day marathon of competitive matched play. After competing in four rounds on Thursday, they were cut to the top 16 for four final rounds on Friday. In the end, though every battle was hard-fought, there could only be one winner – Zach Point, piloting his Aeldari Harlequins.
If you were watching the rounds unfold in real time, you may have noticed a slight theme – Zach’s opponents in both the semi-final and the final, John Lennon and Matt Robertson respectively, also played Harlequins, both with strikingly similar lists.
In fact, Harlequin lists were dominant throughout – but we don’t expect this to last long, as the Warhammer Studio is already hard at work on key balance changes.
Tears of a Clown
Harlequins have only just been released as part of the versatile Codex: Aeldari. All three players ran lists extremely similar to this one – but what makes it so powerful?
Fast-moving, hard-hitting vehicles are the secret. Starweavers and Voidweavers are some of the fastest and most potent shooters in the game – with the prismatic cannon on the latter in possession of a particularly versatile dual profile.
Coupled with the two improved shuriken cannons mounted on each gunboat, the grav-riding servants of Cegorach bring firepower that can take down any type of target, from gibbering hordes and elite infantry to armoured vehicles and heroes. The fusion pistols and Harlequin weapons on the Troupes give them a flexible close-range sting, too.
And let’s not forget their defensive capabilities – though they don’t have the meatiest stats, Harlequins are incredibly hard to hit. Your entire army boasts invulnerable saves, easy access to negative hit modifiers, and multiple ways to shut down your opponent’s re-rolls – Mirage Launchers, for instance, prevent them on shots to hit Starweavers and Voidweavers.
The Light saedath even causes distant enemies to simply fail unmodified hit rolls of a 1-3, hurting both sharpshooters and hit modifiers. Other common variations of Harlequins featured the Dark saedeth, which benefits melee-centric forces – this AdeptiCon seemed to be more shooting-oriented, so this still-powerful subfaction saw less success.
We Are Merely Players
Harlequins are undeniably dominant in competitive play, but there are a few ways to give yourself a fighting chance against this posse of insane clowns. That 4+ invulnerable save makes every model a tough nut to crack – so instead of putting all your points into a few powerful shots, take more medium-range weapons with a high volume of fire.
Weapons like autocannons, missile pods, and heavy bolters sacrifice Strength and Armour Penetration for more Attacks, forcing extra save rolls from your opponent. You’ll find that landing hits isn’t so hard with a higher volume of shots, which means making the Harlequins spend more valuable Luck of the Laughing God re-rolls. Additionally, Harlequin vehicles are only Toughness 5, so many of these weapons will wound them just as easily as a lascannon!
Mortal wounds are also a great counter to invulnerable saves. Harlequins have little defence against them, and psykers aren’t affected by the Shadowseer’s Mirror Architect Pivotal Role, which meddles with the range of shooting attacks. Thousand Sons, Grey Knights, and even other Aeldari players can dish out mortal wounds aplenty in the Psychic phase, while other armies can often deal them in the Shooting, Charge, or Fight phases.
The clowns aren’t the biggest fan of debuffs, either. With 270 points tied up in each unit of Voidweavers, any dip in performance will have a relatively large impact. Targeting key units with psychic powers like Mind Control or Death Hex, or Stratagems like the Neuroweb System Jammer, can really help to bring their damage down – or tone yours up.
They’re Not Laughing Now
So, what's next for our favourite pantomime killers? Rest assured that the Warhammer Studio is aware that this particular comedy is at present slightly too divine. Several senior members of the Warhammer 40,000 team were at AdeptiCon to watch things unfold, and the next Balance Dataslate is coming with appropriate fixes next week.
You can therefore expect imminent tweaks and changes to the Harlequins in particular – they’ll remain an awesome faction, but other factions will find them more fun to play against, and Aeldari players will see them support a wider variety of army lists in competitive settings.
That’s not all you’ll find in the Balance Dataslate – stay tuned to the Warhammer Community website for more news on that soon. In the meantime, we believe crafty players can come up with creative solutions to our little clown infestation…