Bad TheoryHammer: Harlequins (Plus a Giveaway)

Bad TheoryHammer:  Harlequins (Plus a Giveaway Announcement)

(Image Credit:  GW)

I decided to go easy on this one, because the big announcement is that HOLY COW, you guys, I'm getting looks at my stupid blog, and so I want to give away something to make it special.  Special-er?  Whatever.  So here's the big details.

I'm going to ask the mods on /r/KillTeam to put my link to this in contest mode.  I'm going to let it run until Black Friday (I won't say exactly when--I have stuff to do, you nerds!).  When I check it, the first post in response will get a single box set from GW of their choice so long as A:  It is appropriate for Kill Team and B:  It isn't ridiculously expensive.  Effectively, you're looking at your own $40 box of minis.  Shipping is going to be on you unless it is in the Continental US or I can find free shipping.  Message me on Reddit if you win and we'll work things out!

So, Harlequins.  They're probably one of the biggest badass Kill Teams you can run.  Let's just look at them briefly, because you really don't have a lot of stuff to go into (Okay, you do, but let me think otherwise because I'm in a lot of trouble today--the wife saw my order of an entire Imperial Knights army).

This will be a bit weird review because, honestly, Harlequins are so limited in what they can take that I'm going to do it differently.  Also, less pictures and stuff to steal.

Just in General

Harlequins have amazing stats.  Let's be honest.  To begin with, who cares what their save is, they have a 4+ invulnerable (and there is darned little, if anything, that ignores that).  So already they are stupidly survivable for how fragile they look on paper.  Also, and I cannot stress this enough, they all essentially have Fly when they move.  This doesn't seem that strong if you haven't played KT, but holy moly, it is amazing.  Harleys are the only team that has easy access to this trait.

This means that you can scale tall buildings in a single bound.  That guy on a vantage point?  Who cares, you're in there with a Killer Klown from Outer Space in a flash.  It's a great thing to have since most Kill Team boards are pretty densely packed with terrain and you just go "Nah, it's okay."

Melee Weapons

I may be messed up here--as mentioned, it's early and I'm in trouble, but I generally think that the Harlequin's Blade is the go-to here.  The Caress is a danged nice weapon, don't get me wrong, but this is Bad TheoryHammer, not Good MathHammer (for that, please check out http://kt2.doit-cms.ru/ and do the math yourself).  I would probably take the Caress when I was planning on going up against Marines and the like.

I would never take the Embrace, personally.  Brutal just doesn't work, and it works even less with your Ploys as a Harley player.

The Kiss is a super-swingy weapon that I would personally take against, you know, horde-y types that have 7 wounds.  Being able to kill on a Crit with 5 attacks (thus, a good chance) is better than having to spend CPs on stuff.

Ranged Weapons

To begin with, everyone has a better Bolt Pistol.  So, yay?

The Fusion Pistol I don't rate much at all.  If you are in range to advance and fire it, you're in range to charge and murk someone.  I suppose it can work if you move, dash, and then fire, so don't just take my word for it, but I prefer the Neuro Disruptor on my (nonexistent) Clowns.

Ploys

Holy cow, is this boss-tier stuff here.  I honestly don't know what to say.  But I'll say it anyway.

Prismatic Blur is busted.  You should be using it pretty much from TP 2-4.  The other two Strategic Ploys are also really, really good.

Murderous Entrance will oftentimes get you the ability to just freaking kill something that was supposed to be tanky.  Two hits in one (especially if you roll two crits) just eliminates Operatives.

The Curtain Falls lets you do what I'm going to call chip damage, but it's hard to call 6-ish damage chip.  You can hit things and not get hit back (so long as you have 1 AP).  It's amazing.

Hero's Path is a teleport that takes a quarter of your Operative's usefulness and a CP.  It is situationally useful (and can win games, don't get me wrong).  Always keep it in mind.

Equipment

Honestly, here is where I think Harlequins suffer the most.  I would likely just take 3x Pure Psychocrystals in case I needed to shoot with my shooting guys.  But I'm sure you guys will have other opinions.  Bad TheoryHammer, remember?

Roster

Here's where stuff gets fun.  Like I said, this is a bit of a small post!  (I am also keeping this to just two boxes, I think.)

Leader:  Neuro Disruptor, Power Weapon

2x Gunner:  Neuro Disruptor, Harlequin's Blade

2x Gunner:  Neuro Disruptor, Harlequin's Kiss

3x Warrior:  Harlequin's Blade

2x Warrior:  Harlequin's Kiss

This, I think, gives an effective 2 box Kill Team Roster.  You could obviously add more and get more things to it, but hey, I'm being lazy today.

Anyway, that's all I have for today.  Go away now.