Although the Craftworld Aeldari claim the lion’s share of the new Detachments in this weekend’s Codex: Aeldari, their Aspect Warriors aren’t the only elite fighters gracing the stage. As we revealed in yesterday’s look at the new detachments, two of them centre around the inscrutable servants of Ynnead and the macabre masques of the Harlequins.
First, the Ynnari, and their charismatic prophet Yvraine. Unlike the Craftworld Aeldari and Drukhari who broadly keep to themselves, the Ynnari welcome servants from all Aeldari societies equally and maintain an unusual mix of infantry from all of these factions.
Rather than needing a whole other Codex or Index to find out what the dark despoilers of Commorragh do, Codex: Aeldari includes all of the datasheets you need to field your allotment of Kabalites, Incubi, Wyches, and other mercenary death-dealers.
You can no longer choose YNNARI as your faction keyword, however, so this is where the Devoted of Ynnead Detachment comes in. Among its other effects, the Strength from Death Detachment rule allows you to include all of these Ynnari-specific units in your army, though in return you must have either Yvraine or the Yncarne as your Warlord.
Detachment Rule
Devoted of Ynnead: Strength from Death
Surrounded by the slaughter on the battlefield, the Ynnari channel the sinister supernatural gifts of Ynnead to great effect.
You can use the following rules:
Lethal Intent
At the end of your opponent’s Shooting phase, if one or more Ynnari units from your army were destroyed this phase, select one Ynnari unit from your army (excluding Titanic units). That unit can make a Normal move.
Lethal Surge
Once per turn, when a Ynnari unit from your army performs the Fade Back Agile Manoeuvre, it can make a Lethal Surge move instead of a Normal move. If it does, roll one D6 and add 1 to the result: that unit can be moved a number of inches up to the total. When doing so, those models can be moved within Engagement Range of the enemy unit that just triggered that Agile Manoeuvre.
Lethal Reprisal
At the start of the Fight phase, select one Ynnari unit from your army (excluding Titanic units) that is below its Starting Strength. Until the end of the phase, that unit has the Fights First ability.
The rest of the Detachment rule melds the Aeldari’s new focus on speed and agility with the Ynnari’s propensity to get stronger as their followers die. The deaths of nearby comrades can propel your units ever faster at their foe or even have them Fight First in close combat when they’re injured.
Servants of the whispering god
You can include Ynnari units in your army, even though they do not have the Asuryani Faction keyword.
Asuryani units (excluding Epic Heroes) from your army gain the Ynnari keyword.
You must include Yvraine and/or The Yncarne in your army, and one of those models must be your Warlord.
Better still, those normally Drukhari-specific units are fully supported by the Enhancements and Stratagems in the Devoted of Ynnead Detachment, so it’s easier than ever to create a characterful and powerful army that uses units with a wide range of visual styles. The Ynnari are a great way to experience the entire breadth of the Aeldari factions – Asuryani, Drukhari, Corsair and Harlequin – in one prismatic army.
Meanwhile, the most important part of the Codex for the Laughing God’s ever-deadly players on the cosmic stage is the new Disparate Paths rule, which allows you to take Harlequins who now that they have their own specific faction keyword.* This is a universal army rule for the Aeldari and not locked behind the Harlequins’ detachment, so feel free to include your own colourful cadre of murderous performers regardless of the detachment you choose.
Disparate Paths
When mustering your army, you can include Harlequins units in your army, even though they do not have the Asuryani Faction keyword. Unless otherwise stated, you cannot select Harlequins or Ynnari as your Army Faction.
What makes the Ghosts of the Webway Detachment sing is the upgrades it gives to your troupes of Harlequins. In addition to allowing your army to include up to three of its leaders – who are usually limited to just one in a regular Aeldari army – it grants Harlequin Troupes the BATTLELINE keyword and an extra point of OC so they can handily contest objectives.
The Acrobatic Onslaught Detachment rule gives them the rare ability to pass right through enemy models when making a Charge move, increasing their tactical flexibility and making the most of the extra movement they get from the new Battle Focus army rule.
Detachment Rule
Ghosts of the Webway: Acrobatic Onslaught
Trying to fight the Harlequins of the Laughing God is like battling bladed smoke. They flip and bound through the enemy ranks with contemptuous ease, springing across the heads and shoulders of dumbfounded combatants, sprinting across the hulls of war engines, all the while bearing down with murderous intent upon their true intended victims.
Each time a Harlequins model from your army makes a Charge move, it can move through enemy models.
Travelling players
Troupe units from your army gain the Battleline keyword and Troupe models in those units have an Objective Control characteristic of 2.
You can include up to three of each of the following models in your army: Death Jester, Shadowseer, Troupe Master.
It’s important to note that other than the Disciples of Ynnead excluding non-Ynnari Epic Heroes*, neither of these new Detachments prevent you from using any of the regular Aeldari units in the Codex, so you can feel free to augment your melee-focused troopers with the long-range firepower of Falcons, Night Spinners, and Fire Prisms, or a contingent of Wraithguard and Wraithlords to soak up some damage.
We can’t wait to see what kinds of armies our Aeldari fans build when the new Codex releases, and we won’t have long to go – it’s up for pre-order on Saturday!
* Vice-versa, taking the Visarch, Yncarne, or Yvraine in an army also precludes you from taking other Epic Heroes.
