Rumble in the Hive - Shadow War: Armageddon AAR

Some of the local 40k players have started up a Shadow War: Armageddon league at Stomping Grounds as they wait for the new edition to drop. As I'm always interested in campaign-based skirmish games, I decided to pick up a box of Harlequins and join in. The initial game night went well, with the Harlequins winning both games and adding more bodies to their kill team (as an elite force, they can only have six permanent members, whereas most factions have ten, and others can go up to fifteen or twenty).

This last Saturday I had a chance for a couple more games. The first was against Andy's Tau, in the Kill Team fight. The objective was to force the other kill team to either bottle (fail a leadership test after losing 25% of their numbers) or voluntarily retreat.

With the Tau setting up a firing line in the cover of the building at the lower left in the above picture, the Harlequins spent most of the game running between cover to encircle the building. After the Tau's sniper was downed by a neuro disrupter, Andy decided to retreat, rather than let the Harlequins get into close combat.

The second game, against Shawn's Dark Eldar, was the Scavenge scenario, where both sides had to collect d6 loot tokens (we rolled five) as a monster lurked around the outskirts of the board.

The Dark Eldar fared better against the Harlequins, as the Wyches gained a 4+ invulnerable save in close combat. However, the high Weapon Skill and Attacks that the Harlequins possess meant they won combat again and again. Eventually, the Dark Eldar bottled, dispersing back into the ruins.

From the four games I've played, it seems that Harlequins might be somewhat overpowered, at least in the early game of the campaign. Since this league should last awhile, I'm curious as to whether increased body- and skill-count in the other kill teams will offset the inherent advantages that the Harlequins start with. In the meantime, we'll likely be increasing the Harlequins invulnerable save to 5+, as they're difficult to hit in the first place.