How to play Harlequins in 9th edition - Tips from 40k Playtesters

Learn the new tricks and tactics you will need to play Harlequins in 9th edition from a team that has been playtesting the game for months. We take you through all the biggest nerfs and buffs to the Harlequins army along with the core strategies and thoughts on list creation.
Don't miss all our other 9th edition launch coverage including battle reports and tactics videos covering nearly all factions in the game.
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[@Mithlinthar]

All we need now is a Start Collecting: Harlequins box...

[@malloc7108]

Never happening, it would just be the whole army

[@eteffeau]

@@malloc7108 Yeah, basically the only option is likely Troupe + Skyweaver + Star/Voidweaver (at like a $110 price point). Arguably they could make it less desirable to spam buy it by replacing one of the vehicles with a spirit seer or jester.

[@Alino-]

@@eteffeau I don't do harlequins but i have a friend interested. I think Troupe + Star/Voidweaver + a Spirit Seer would honestly work well. I'd want to see jester instead of seer (or even both ;) ) but that's just wishful thinking

[@jsizzlesaurusrex]

So we need more harlequin units

[@AlexanderGiraldez]

If it was all bikes I’d be in

[@felixarbable]

you guys are totally killing it with this output, amazing! really apreciate it. also great to see the quinns

[@adrianmcp92]

Thanks Felix! I'm super excited for them!

[@elwepo6178]

With 9th and their upload schedule I knew these guys were going to blow up, been watching since less than 10k subs and they're adding about 1k a day since they started previewing 9th stuff. Love the channel guys, keep up the good work.

[@BigRed40TECH]

Extremely insightful, especially on how to exploit coherency.

[@BrianBrown-vd1vv]

Great video again guys! Harlequins look super interesting but tricky to play. Also, if you haven't already you should probably make a "They're so good!" shirt.

[@drunkenork5373]

one question for the TT guys. You mentioned that you have to specify your pivotal roles, relics, powers and warlord traits on your army list and these can't be changed between games in a tournament setting. However, can you still spend a CP to give an additional pivotal role or relic before the game starts to allow some tailoring based on your opponents army?

[@tonyrigby6065]

Been running pure harlequin since they dropped in 7th. I've been drooling since I read the core rules!

[@kidwithAnose]

This is the best 40K content on KZbin.

[@TheAgentmigs]

Could we get a terrain "how to"? Nobody has really made an indepth one so far.

[@grotwurksmekshop6607]

Seconded.

[@Mithlinthar]

^ this

[@Time2RockUrLive]

Auspex Tactics.

[@justinseo6471]

seconded Edit: Third-ed

[@Joetime90]

As terrain is actually varied again, wouldn't mind a video on some common situations with it, and how to use it to your advantage.

[@jamesbonura6580]

It's crazy how fast this channel has grown in the last couple weeks

[@MajorLeagueNerd]

Oh man, I'm excited to start running some harlequin, but I'm no expecting to be good with them any time soon hahaha

[@insanemang9983]

Big benefit to quinns is that troupes only need to be in units of 5 to be effective which is good for negating blast weapons. Also if you want to be effective you NEED to buy 3rd party fusion pistols so you can put them on all your troupes.

[@xPUFNSTUFx]

Insane Mang where is a good place to get fusion pistols?

[@Blu3tube]

@@xPUFNSTUFx I need to know that too tbh

[@rwiatru]

Truly amazing videos! Do you have any plans for Drukhari?

[@grotwurksmekshop6607]

The white mat sort of kills the joy of looking at the army.... Its a good way to show the camp but yeesh

[@Dancan799]

Damion Spearman and it looks a bit like the guy in the left is trying to blend in to the table are army

[@Juanaponymous]

I can finally stop refreshing!

[@kaleth6873]

Same

[@AlbarionRed007]

Excellent video as always! This might be posted somewhere, but are you guys doing a Dark Eldar video as well? Keep up the great work.

[@CrusesFear]

I like how the first 20 minutes of pros and cons is mostly "Harlequins are kind of screwed in 9th" haha.

[@christopherb1913]

Agreed the positives seem pretty tame compared to the quite huge negatives.

[@ImaginaryNumb3r]

thank you. I knew right from the start that there was something fishy about this.

[@GrinNfoolGaming]

Ya outside of bikes this feels like a bad edition for our favorite murder clowns.

[@mathewm7661]

@@GrinNfoolGaming Surpise! It's not.

[@frankieblas3251]

Play the objectives and you win, you focus on kills you lose

[@slevinlaine]

Congrats on the 100k sub! :)

[@alienatedbeing7513]

I really wanna build a harlequin army but feel I have to wait until my painting skills will give them justice. Also my pile of shame is way too big!

[@marmitch5056]

Love the video. Harlequins are so much fun to play

[@samuelgreen2443]

Those Cons do seem waaaay worse than the Pros, but that Death Jester trick is godlike :) Being able to win while tabled though, that's pretty damn sweet! Suicidal army!

[@grubbie8614]

In regards to the DJ trick, you could spend the CP for the Harvester of torment role so that 1 hit is guaranteed as 3 hits.

[@Ri8360q]

Could you cover the Nidds? they haven’t really been talked about almost at all in 9th edition.

[@MathasiaJ]

Just a note guys, Soaring Spite only attracts pistols on *embarked* units.

[@bluhfer1445]

I wish they would get like 3 named characters and like a terminator type unit. pretty shitty that the imperium get the first named harlequins .. lol If they add him to harlequins, he still isn't that strong it was made for a bodyguard type character only.

[@smritivipin]

Not sure what you mean by a terminator type unit. If you mean an even more elite infantry unit, well, maybe - but basic troupes are already very elite, and there really isn't much design space between troupes and the elite slot characters. If you mean Harlequins need a durable infantry unit, then no. That just runs completely against the whole identity of the army. It may make them hard to play, but they should be very flimsy and reliant on movement, stratagems and other tricks to survive. You are certainly correct about named characters. I know in the lore Harlequins give up their own identity when they take up their masques, but there are named Harlequins in books, like Sylvandri Veilwalker in the Fabius Bile novels. I especially like the idea that it may actually be a different Harlequin playing that role each time they are encountered. One thing I would really like to see is a separate codex entry for the Great Harlequin. This is supposed to be the avatar of Cegorach, and a pimped-up troupe master is a little underwhelming for that. Cegorach relies on trickery rather than brute force, so I don't think the Great Harlequin should be a combat beast like the Avatar of Khaine or a Primarch - but some really sneaky unique rule would be great, like making your opponent randomly re-determine one of their secondary objectives or something.

[@bluhfer1445]

@@smritivipin Troop--- I was pretty much trying to say (and failed)a different type of troop, that has different abilities (I don't know what those abilities would be.) other than just that 1 troop choice. Fast Attack or heavy support--- Also, maybe a fast attack or heavy support Walker that has good mid range weapons and good melee weapons Hq-- AVATAR-- Yes, the Avatar would be a perfect idea. That model of the Laughing God would be really kool. I'm guessing the avatar is good at a little bit of everything right? Named Solitaire --- That has A psyker ability or technology that he can use in movement phase. That teleports him around battlefield also, can use in and out of combat. (Picking this as HQ allows you to have a max of 8 normal Solitaires in your army. ) Thanks for your input! Take Care Be Safe Stay Safe.

[@smritivipin]

@@bluhfer1445 I love trying to come up with interesting new units & abilities. My additions would be as follows: 1. Great Harlequin (incarnation of Cegorach). HQ, supreme commander. I would probably keep him as an infantry character, rather than go for a big monster like the Yncarne or Avatar of Khaine (giant monster doesn't seem subtle enough for the trickster god). He would need abilities that reflect his cruel humour, trickery and command of fate, so one or more from the following list: re-deploy shenanigans, an ability that means that missed attack rolls by enemies in melee hit a friendly unit instead, play without declaring your own secondary objectives until the battle is over, force an opponent to randomly re-determine one of their secondaries, force an opponent to re-roll a single dice once per turn. 2. Stagemaster. Elite of heavy support, vehicle walker or grav-platform, specialises in holo technology. Has abilities that involve manipulating or creating terrain. Could really help Harlequins with a bit of resilience, without relying on saves or toughness. 3. Wardens. Guardians of the Black Library, elite infantry with protection from mortal wounds/psychic powers, possibly anti-daemon abilities and some kind of morale effect. 4. (named character) Troupe Master. A character that specialises in playing a particular heroic role (maybe Eldanash) so much that they play no other role. Instead, they travel between different masques, making special guest appearances as that role. Would lack a masque form but have beefed-up abilities, maybe similar to a player of light.

[@bluhfer1445]

@@smritivipin Right on! Thats are koll ideas. Hope they give them you us! Nice conversation. You Take Care Be Safe Stay Safe

[@HighlandPhoenix]

But it's called a Solitaire...?! Surely in the 9th edition codex the Solitaire will get a new rule to allow it to operate independently...

[@bruhbeukes5145]

I think im gonna pick up some Harlequins now! Being a noob, im gonna do my best to learn how to play em

[@taylordillingham6589]

For the death jester trick, why not just pivotal role the death jester to get the each hit is 3? Same cp cost but lasts the whole game and is not masque locked.

[@drunkenork5373]

I was looking at a Harlequins Battalion with a Druchari patrol. The Druchari patrol is there to take some cheap Kabalite warriors and 5-6 venoms. (you can do this by taking a couple of minimum units of something like Mandrakes to give you the infantry squads you need to enable the venoms. The Druchari sit in the midfield and score the primaries while laying down poison. I'd proibably take Drazhar as he is a beast in combat if he is still cheap. The Harlequins battalion takes either 12 bikes,and/or MSU units with fusion in transports (Soaring spite to advance and fire pistols) and gets up in your opponents face. The Player of the Twilight warlord trait seems like an absolute auto-take, I also like the Twilight Fang sword on the Troupe master. I feel without the Druchari allies the army is going to be too expensive and the poison will give something some much needed anti horde shooting. Not a pure Harlequins list, but I feel Harlequins are weaker if played as a mono faction and if you are going to spend the CP on the patrol anyway you may as well soup at that point.

[@Zenfoxgames]

I agree that Harlies with some added some flavour is looking good. Crafworld Rangers and Nightspinners to sit on back objectives also seem like they would synergize well together.

[@davidwasilewski]

Drunken Ork Just play Drukhari. They play with a very similar play style but have many, many more options and even alternative play styles depending on what units you pick.

[@joelsmall8565]

Are evil sunz orks a good counter ? Because the increase in speed means they can keep up with the harlequins but there reliance on vehicles could be a weakness.

[@TombKingTristan]

Ha, I loved the video so much I picked up an army! Now just need 6 more bikes 😂

[@Aceshot-uu7yx]

How much did it cost to build

[@TombKingTristan]

@@Aceshot-uu7yx I got a deal on a used army and it was only 175$

[@Aceshot-uu7yx]

@@TombKingTristan I still can shake how expensive this game is that it costs as much as a video game console but I doubt harlequins will get a new unit that drastically changes how it is played only nerfs

[@TombKingTristan]

@@Aceshot-uu7yx tbh I haven’t been playing games at all since I started back into Warhammer. Spend your money how you want man!

[@Aceshot-uu7yx]

@@TombKingTristan ohcicplan on playing harelquins because I like there aestitic and playstyle

[@jeevanbhogal7229]

Do we know the order they'll put out these faction videos come out? I can't wait for the necron one

[@sirarthurkingofbobland4159]

So weres the faqing rules? the Codex?, how does the mongrols play them in 9th? . im very tempted to buy the old 8th editon codex yes.

[@MrSchmuseKuh]

i dont think the death jester adds the -2 per model. its a flat debuff as soon one is killed.

[@maxfeirun146]

Can you tell how to play Drukhari in 9th edition?

[@ts25679]

I don't play the games, I really enjoy the IP but I never had the $$$ when I was young and now I have social anxiety :'( so please forgive my ignorance, but I've never understood how the Eldar play in relation to their fluff. Using your tricks and speed I do get, but as a dying race one would assume every life were sacred and they seem to be played as completely expendable. You'd think Eldar would field more mechanised/psychically puppeteered wraith bone constructs to spare their troops. It's not like they can reanimate or beam away like the Necrons unless they want to say they fall back through the webway. Their entire race is in a slow war of attrition bound for extinction, pyrrhic victories should be entirely off the table. I'd love to see the Exodite Eldar join the war as a hardier, more resilient that prioritises defence and the use of wraith bone constructs, using the animal forms of the aspect warriors: fire dragons, swooping hawks and striking scorpions controlled by Bonesingers who can modify their forms during the psychic phase.

[@Erebdai]

I have the harlequin half of the death mask box 📦 what else should i look to start getting?

[@akselhansen304]

U guys somehow make it sound like every faction is top tier

[@ferdjur4195]

Any faction acts like top tier if it plays to its strengths. They know which are the strengths of the army and explain how to give value to them in the context of the new edition

[@tombranstetter68]

armies like this could be frustrating for casual players as you really need to know everything really well...but man they are nice looking models

[@willthebillstealthkillkell7776]

Tyranids stop holding out on me. Outside of that love your videos

[@Erebdai]

Can i still use the formation that came in the masque box set

[@notaninquisitor7274]

Salamanders have a slight advantage against close combat armies because they can overwatch with 2 units per turn, instead of 1.

[@eduardoparedes7094]

Is it possible to set up six skyweavers on a circle like in your example and not break unit coherency? I'm not too sure

[@ThroatSore]

And avoidance of incoming fire was key. The limit to minus to hit with little change to other army's ability to re roll hits etc, means quins are now severely inhibited.???

[@CesarIsaacPerez]

Harlequins need more unit variety! GW should flesh them out with new units and vehicles. I have the Deathmasque Harlequins and the 2 extra solo's and don't want to buy a whole bunch more of the same models. I usually mixed them in with my Craftworld and Drukhari armies.

[@gannynj]

So in your extensive play testing, did you every test these rules against base 3 factions? (that can't predetermine dice rolls like sisters) because it seems like everything that made aldari factions playable, got removed from the game. Or was this all in efforts to stop tournament winning marine factions? Dropping multiple packed transports to ensure you hold 1 objective at the beginning of your turn is asinine, especially after a points increase...

[@NNikling]

Love it

[@deang8017]

In the example you gave of a death jester forcing the opponent to lose Intercessors due to coherency, wouldn't they only have to pull 1 model as that would reduce the squad to 5 models and thus only needing to have a single other model within 2"?

[@Paraboloid0]

The two halves of the unit would be out of coherency, so you need to bring the unit as a whole into coherency.

[@deang8017]

@@Paraboloid0 if the two halves were out of coherency, then the whole unit was out of coherency before removing casualties

[@grubbie8614]

YES!!!!

[@SperaAndrzej]

About this casting thing and jetbikes around, isn't that if you are preforming actions, your characters stop providing auras? Soo no -1 to wound

[@akamucrimsidae]

Put that Death Jester in a Starweaver! Soaring Spite takes away the penalty to shooting and the troupe master can null an explosion

[@bloodylordQC]

i cant find the stratagem you mentionnend where you gave a 3 invulnerable to the skyweavers ?

[@p40tomahawk25]

I believe there talking about (Prismatic Blur) it gives a 3+ invon to a unit that advanced

[@matthewstone1362]

Did gw nerf the flip belt in the charge phase in 8th?

[@tontonrampage]

Please make one for Drukhari

[@bluepanda9000]

Regarding the units lost due to broken coherency, wouldn’t you stop losing models once it became 5 model unit?

[@eduardoparedes7094]

Yes, you are correct

[@taceda]

Blood Angels next?

[@devineyre5545]

Could you do genestealer cult next? I want to pick up the army but I've heard there aren't many good lists at all, I don't want to run 10 ridge runners to have a chance of winning. Thank a lot :))

[@Juanaponymous]

The GSC video is set to release on the 20th :D

[@robot_girlyman1556]

They have a calendar on the community page of their channel

[@malte9473]

mhh.. regarding the max bikes. wouldnt be 5 bike units be better than 6 bikes units because of blast?

[@eduardoparedes7094]

Coherency mainly... and blast too

[@notaninquisitor7274]

A lot of vehicles (especially artillery) is blast, so tagging it in close combat shuts down shooting like in 8th. That can't be emphasized enough.

[@ChefSandwichboy]

"and they're pointed fairly" In before the inevitable giant point spike to skyweavers :(

[@ThroatSore]

Psychic ritual. If if if. Hmmmm. I'll not be taking that.

[@_brushie]

Thousand Sons are gonna be the last video?

[@Time2RockUrLive]

I would prefer it a lot, if you guys would be more direct. Please don't praise something sky high and then proceed to tell us why it is going to be tough to play it in 9th right after. If an army got worse, just say it. People look up to your experience. I really like your content and your 3 guys atiitude, but you do not have to be too nice

[@NIMMHATVRapBeats]

Did this comment age well? It looks like Harlequins are on top right now

[@Azrai030]

With the new cegorach lament relic you dont have only -2 Moral.... " Each time a model ist slain from the wail profile this unit Surfers d3 Mortals and -2 moral"...The Text from the normal shrieker Cannon ist " If an Infantry model ist slain..."so Here we have only -2 Moral.... So for your example we have -6 Moral for the Marines...

[@MrThangil]

Actually Starweavers and voidweaver does not have the Rising Crescendo rule.

[@BadPacifist]

As they have FLY, they did not need it in 8th Edition. They could still fall back and charge/shoot. Now that 9th has changed FLY to not include falling back and charging/shooting by default, I'd expect to see them gaining Rising Crescendo in the new Codex.

[@andybrown2149]

Whats the song you use in your outro? I know it but forget the name, and I must find it again. I used to do mushrooms and sit in the shower with it on repeat... PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I NEED IT

[@drich.5984]

and they're wanting to pair these up against Ad Mech in the next matchup... what's with the army pairings guys? You're taking what sounds like the worst army in 9th (Harlequins) and having it fight the best (AdMech). The Craftworlds vs Custodes was rough too.

[@Time2RockUrLive]

Agree on the matchup. Seems like a horrid idea, especially since they pointed out in their Admech vid how easy it will now be to fall back or just kill stuff in melee shooting. This may be a boring game coming up.

[@Snoopy.8613]

Maybe they want to show how total anihilation looks.

[@drich.5984]

@@Snoopy.8613 ROFL 🤣

[@smritivipin]

(SPOILER) Turned out alright, didn't it? And despite some pretty shocking rolling.

[@ThroatSore]

Fusion and Haywire are ok, but there are no re rolls for them. It means they can't hope to jeep up with Space Marine firepower Re rolls rule the modern game, unfortunately.

[@matthewstone1362]

Only bad/good thing about Harlies is you can't be accused of spamming.🤨

[@codypannell9463]

Where the Necrons at tho???

[@dmitriykolyesnik6927]

Leadership on Tau drones. Never get it

[@ethanjensen7663]

#updatetheharlequins

[@Azrai030]

Harlequin vehicles dont have Riding crescendo

[@themaxzero]

How to play IG when?

[@kevino13]

nearly a third of the video is negatives... great

[@philliphampton5380]

Can't adapt army for random opponents, can't hold points easily, no stacking defenses, DJs stuck getting shot, cannot bring 4 hq anymore without loosing cp, loosing multichannel, and getting screwed with new Heroic intervenes. Gw just hate our army or what?

[@smritivipin]

You missed out not being able to tag tanks & monsters in melee. But really, things are not as bad as you suggest. The reduced board size is great for Harlequins, and they seem able to play secondary objectives pretty well. Even if you do pay 2CP for an additional patrol detachment, you are still bringing more CP than you would have had previously, and 99% of games in 8th would have been played without the psychic awakening material, some of which is really, really good. My only two concerns revolve around skyweavers. They are such a key unit in an army with very limited options, and if their points cost goes up too much due to haywire gaining the blast rule then that will really hurt. Secondly, I do worry that Harlequins will end up with a few match-ups that are extremely unfavourable, to a far greater extent than most other factions. They lean on haywire so heavily that I think Tau battlesuit lists will be unbelievably hard to beat, and Tyranid monster lists or Chaos lists that max out on daemon princes could also be pretty rough. Still, even in those games I think we should be able to play a frustrating, spoiling style of play, focusing on objective scoring and avoiding being drawn into too much fighting.

[@AlexanderGiraldez]

RIP my Harlequins. I’m expecting the points to hurt. Keep dancing you crazy clowns.

[@nathanieleck1023]

Oh how wrong you were

[@ThroatSore]

Tried Viidwevers today. They are very bad.. Solitaire and a party bus troupe will do better I hope.

[@OverboardDM]

Tau drones should have a high leadership. Why would a robot run because they are scared. Does not make sense.

[@Zenfoxgames]

So I would say that Ld is also an indicator of intelligence to some degree. Also Haywire needs to work against Drones and Battlesuits from a logic and fluff perspective. Also how is a Riptide a "monster" not a "vehicle"?

[@marcelbehncke900]

How to Play ? Thats easy , how you will 😂👍🏾🤦🏾‍♂️

[@changechange9972]

Psyhic ritual and other secondaries are incredibly boring in reality to play and build an army around. Literally trying to have a psyker do nothing for three turns in the centre of the board is just lame game design.

[@Beau74]

2:53 Did you really just say Sub-see-quent? It's "subsequent," my dude. Sub-seh-quent.

[@Khamulestras]

Playtesters my arse. Playtesters are people employed by GW to see how balanced the game is. Someone who has simply played a lot isn't a playtester

[@midorinoboshi3195]

Less acronyms and jargon please.

[@brianm3261]

you should add an overlay introducing yourselves in the videos, i actually have no idea who you are other than "playtesters" and you talk with your hands A LOT, almost distractingly so