Grimdark Future/Tactics/Elven Jesters
Why play Elven Jesters?
Jesters are very evasive, even more so than other elves. Though you aren't anywhere near as diverse in approach, your entire army is way more focused on the charge.
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Pros
- Almost your entire army is some shade of Fast along with Stealth and Strider
- Plentiful Rending on the guns
Cons
- Your army has pitiful armor
- Costly units
- Incredibly narrow unit selection
- One psychic model
Special Rules
- Very Fast: Fast+1. Some of your models can move 12" and dash/charge 24". Your entire army can cover obscene distances without even blinking. You absolutely will be needing it considering your army's pretty lightweight.
- Teleport: When activated, this unit can teleport 6" without sacrificing movement and ignoring any terrain.
Psychic Spells
- Psychic Fog (4+): Enemy unit within 12" takes -2 to morale checks. Your army focuses on ripping up units quickly, so making the enemy fail morale is a very important part of this.
- Discord (4+): Enemy unit within 12" take two AP 2 hits. Not quite a sniping spell, but still helpful for shooting.
- Shadow Dance (5+): Friendly unit within 12" gains Regeneration when they next get hit. Absolutely vital because of your overall flimsiness.
- Sorrow (5+): Enemy model within 12" takes an AP 3 hit. Great for finishing off heavies and heroes.
- Veil of Madness (6+): Enemy unit within 12" must test morale. If they fail, then they need to charge the nearest unit to them, friend or foe. Really devious, capable of foiling an otherwise excellent enemy plan.
- Light Shards (6+): Two enemy units within 6" take 8 hits each. Pretty easy way to clean up mobs.
Unit Analysis
Heroes
- Jester Solitaire: The most expensive of your heroes, but they're also laser-focused on melee. They're super-mobile with Fast and Strider, durable with Stealth and Regeneration and Furious makes charging the best move. The solitaire's lone upgrade is Graceful Brutality, which lets an attached unit shoot and move 3", really helpful for closing the distance to combat.
- Jester Seer: This psychic's as dangerous as the solitaire, meaning melee is a useful concept. Shooting is a bit less so, as all their guns are short-range pistols, and the backpack grenade launcher gives only 18" worth of shooting.
- Jester Sniper: It's very rare to see a sniper that's actually competent in melee, though that only goes so far. Their sniper rifle (which has Poison as well) is the star of the show and means that this guy is your only means of such, short-ranged as it is.
Infantry
- Fools: Your budget troops, all coming as-is. Each comes with only shard pistols and CCWs, so they act as close-quarters fodder.
- Jesters: Advanced fools with a better quality. All of them can grab some free neuron pistols if you like Poison more than Rending, or they could get fusion pistols. They can also buy improvements to their CCWs for 5 points each. This makes them more reliable for the front lines.
- Jokers: Flying jesters with exploding bolas for some small blasts. Sadly, their range is no better than the rest of the army, meaning that they cannot afford to stay in any place for long.
- Pranksters: Ambush is the means that they should be brought in. Their only weapon is an energy glaive, so they need that Impact to contribute in any meaningful way.
- Jetbikes: Jebikes are fun because they have Strider and Very Fast, meaning they can pretty much be anywhere you want. While you can use them to charge with Impact, complementing the energy spears. They're better seen as a mobile weapons platform, as you can give them all shard cannons or EMP cannons, which have Blast 3 and trigger Rending on a 5+.
- Heavy Jetbike: A bigger and beefier jetbike, and it can act as a fairly affordable transport if you pay for the space. If you're not keen on that, you can instead compliment its shard cannons with one of a few other guns.
Army Building
Starter Armies
General Advice
Tactics
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Pros
- Almost your entire army is some shade of Fast along with Stealth and Strider
- Plentiful Rending on the guns
- Universal access to Furious to incentivize melee
Cons
- Your army has pitiful armor
- Costly units
- Incredibly narrow unit selection
- One psychic model
- Each unit is a bit too focused on their role
Special Rules
- Very Fast: Fast+1. Some of your models can move 12" and dash/charge 24". Your entire army can cover obscene distances without even blinking. You absolutely will be needing it considering your army's pretty lightweight.
- Teleport: When activated, this unit can teleport 6" without sacrificing movement and ignoring any terrain.
Psychic Spells
- Psychic Fog (4+): Enemy unit within 12" takes -2 to morale checks. Your army focuses on ripping up units quickly, so making the enemy fail morale is a very important part of this.
- Discord (4+): Enemy unit within 12" take two AP 2 hits. Not quite a sniping spell, but still helpful for shooting.
- Shadow Dance (5+): Friendly unit within 12" gains Regeneration when they next get hit. Absolutely vital because of your overall flimsiness.
- Sorrow (5+): Enemy model within 12" takes an AP 3 hit. Great for finishing off heavies and heroes.
- Veil of Madness (6+): Enemy unit within 12" must test morale. If they fail, then they need to charge the nearest unit to them, friend or foe. Really devious, capable of foiling an otherwise excellent enemy plan.
- Light Shards (6+): Two enemy units within 6" take 8 hits each. Pretty easy way to clean up mobs.
Unit Analysis
Heroes
- Jester Solitaire: The most expensive of your heroes, but they're also laser-focused on melee. They're super-mobile with Fast and Strider, durable with Stealth and Regeneration, and Furious makes charging the best move. The solitaire's lone upgrade is Graceful Brutality, which lets an attached nearby allies shoot and move 3", really helpful for closing the distance to combat.
- Jester Seer: This psychic's as dangerous as the solitaire, meaning melee is a useful concept. Shooting is a bit less so, as all their guns are short-range pistols, and the backpack grenade launcher gives only 18" worth of shooting.
- Jester Sniper: It's very rare to see a sniper that's actually competent in melee, though that only goes so far. Their sniper rifle (which has Poison as well) is the star of the show and means that this guy is your only means of such, short-ranged as it is.
Infantry
- Fool: Your budget troops, all coming as-is. Each comes with only shard pistols and CCWs, so they act as close-quarters fodder.
- Jester: Advanced fools with a better quality. All of them can grab some free neuron pistols if you like Poison more than Rending, or they could get fusion pistols. They can also buy improvements to their CCWs for 5 points each. This makes them more reliable for the front lines.
- Joker: Flying jesters with exploding bolas for some small blasts. Sadly, their range is no better than the rest of the army, meaning that they cannot afford to stay in any place for long.
- Prankster: Ambush is the means that they should be brought in. Their only weapon is an energy glaive, so they need that Impact to contribute in any meaningful way.
- Jetbike: Jebikes are fun because they have Strider and Very Fast, meaning they can pretty much be anywhere you want. You can easily use them to charge with Furious and Impact, complementing the energy spears. They're also a good pick as a mobile weapons platform, as you can give them shard cannons or EMP cannons, which have Blast 3 and trigger Rending on a 5+.
Army Building
Starter Armies
General Advice
Tactics
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| Grimdark Future Tactics Articles | |
|---|---|
| General: | General Tactics |
| Alien Hives: | Alien Hives - Soul-Snatcher Cults |
| Aliens: | Dwarf Guilds - Eternal Dynasty - Jackals - Orc Marauders Robot Legions - Saurian Starhost - TAO Coalition |
| Battle Brothers: | Battle Brothers - Custodian Brothers - Prime Brothers |
| Elves: | Dark Elf Raiders - Elven Jesters - High Elf Fleets |
| Havoc: | Havoc Brothers - Machine Cult Defilers - Wormhole Daemons |
| Humans: | Battle Sisters - Feudal Guard - Gangs of Hive City Human Defense Force - Human Inquisition - Infected Colonies Machine Cult - Titan Lords - Rebel Guerillas |
| Ratmen: | Ratmen Clans - Vile Rattus Cult |