The Harlequins are a strange sub-sect of the Eldar race, consisting of warriors drawn from the other kindreds; the Dark Eldar, Exodites and Craftworld Eldar. They are masters of the system of warptunnels known as the Webway and roam at will from place to place. They are seen as the keepers of the ancient Eldar myths, and perform complex dances and plays to recreate these allegorical tales, covering such events as the War in Heaven, the Fall and the Birth of the Great Enemy.

The Harlequins are held in a mixture of fear, awe and respect by all other Eldar. Their knowledge of the Webway is unmatched, and they can appear and disappear almost at will; at an Exodite Maiden World, in the dark city of Comorragh or on a Craftworld. The Harlequins have even been known to appear unexpectedly alongside the forces of other races, particularly if they are fighting against the hosts of Chaos, the sworn foes of the Harlequins. The Harlequins see themselves as the saviours of the Eldar, a uniting force which will one day bring together the fragmented race so that they can regain their position as the most powerful force in the galaxy. They have a great plan, unknown to all but themselves and a privileged few, which is both far reaching and horrifying.

The Harlequins' superb acrobatic skills make them highly accomplished close combat fighters, and they are aided by arcane items of technology, such as anti-grav flip belts and many specialist hand-to-hand weapons. Like all Eldar they are elusive foes, preferring to use swiftness and devastating attacks rather than massed armour and brute force.

Like other Eldar armies, the Harlequins are for the connoisseur gamer. They have many special rules to remember; complex wargear, abilities and psychic powers which must be used to best advantage for victory. They require subtle tactics on the battlefield - gamers who prefer a straight stand-up-and-fight army would do better with Space Marines or Imperial Guard! Painting a Harlequins army also requires a reasonable degree of skill. However, Harlequin armies are relatively small in terms of the number of models needed, so painting an army is not so much of an endeavour as it would first appear.

All of these things mean that the Harlequins are quite unlike any other army in the Warhammer 40,000 game and as such make an interesting choice for those of you looking for a new gaming challenge to overcome. Most tempting of all is the fact that there is probably no sight more spectacular than a well-painted Harlequin army dashing across the battlefield, tearing apart its enemies with ruthless efficiency!

On the pages that follow you'll find an army list which will allow you to field a Harlequin army in games of Warhammer 40,000. The army list allows you to fight battles using the scenarios included in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, but it also provides you with the basic information you'll require in order to field a Harlequin army in scenarios you've devised yourself, or as part of a campaign series of games.

The army list is split into five distinct sections. All of the squads, vehicles and characters in an army list are placed in one of the five sections depending upon their role on the battlefield. In addition every model included in the army list is given a points value, which varies depending upon how effective that model is on the battlefield. Before you can choose an army for a game you will need to agree with your opponent upon a scenario and upon the total number of points each of you will spend on your army. Having done this you can proceed to pick an army as described below.

Harlequins have been known to fight alongside other Eldar, and even in armies of other races. Any Craftworld Eldar, Dark Eldar or Exodites army may include units of Harlequins. All Harlequin units count as Elites in this case, regardless of which category they are normally taken from. Any other army (except Chaos) that is fighting against a Chaos army may take one unit of from the following army list as an Elites choice. This does include such strange races as the Necrons and Tyranids - think of it as the Harlequins launching an attack at the same time as their 'allies' rather than being allied with them in any true sense. Alternatively, a Craftworld Eldar, Dark Eldar or Exodites army can take an allied detachment of Harlequins (or the Harlequins can take the allies, depending on which way around you want to look at it… ). The rules for detachments can be found on page 131 of the Warhammer 40,000 book.

In both of these circumstances its more preferable for the Harlequins to be controlled by a different player, just for the increased confusion and quarrel factor if nothing else!