"Fetch me another plaything. This one seems to have broken."

Our last non unique HQ is the Haemonculus, he is the support HQ. What he lacks in combat prowess he makes up for in wargear and a few abilities.

First the Haemonculus can be bought in groups of 1-3. So you could have 6 HQ in one Dark ELdar army.  While crazy and a points sink, it is possible. The standard Haemonculus comes in at ½ of a U.S. dollar.  They come with WS 4, BS 4, 3 strength, 4 toughness, 4 initiative, 2 attacks, 2 wounds, 8 leadership and a 6+ save. They come equipped with a close combat weapon, splinter pistol and what they and Orks call armor. So off the line, stat-wise, they are as fast and combat ready as most Dark Eldar.

One of the Haemonculi can also be upgraded to an Ancient. This gives a +1 bonus to WS, BS, attacks, wounds, initiative and leadership. This will cost an extra 30 points. Is it worth it to upgrade? It really depends on the plans you have for him.

They have the standard Power Through Pain and Night Vision rules. They do not have Fleet. This is big since whomever they are with will lose this rule, if they have it.  This is something to remember when assigning him a squad. He also has Altered Physique, like the Wracks and Grotesques and is the Lord of Covens.

Altered Physique grants him a pain token to start with. This rule already seems incredibly handy. Any unit he starts with, as long as they Power Through Pain, gets Feel No Pain. I do not think I need to explain the usefulness of starting the game with Feel No Pain on a unit do I?

The Lord of Covens allows Wracks to be used as troops and elites. This is another very useful rule. Wracks are fairly resilient and also cheap. A few squads of Wracks as troops and one can spend points on other fun and destructive items/ units. If they so wish.

Now the weapons are what we have learned to expect after running through some HQ units, elites and troops. They may purchase a venom blade, power weapon, agonize, flesh gauntlet, mindphase gauntlet, electrocorrosive whip, huskblade and stinger pistol (12” poison 2+ AP 5 pistol).

Then there is the list of arcane wargear. Now they may only take two pieces. There are also some items that are 1 per army.  This actually makes sense to avoid the repetition of the same useful and/or deadly items.
 
The first few items have been covered before, the Liquifer Gun, Scissorhand, Soultrap, and Hexrifle.  Now we get to the new stuff……



Casket of Flensing- 1 shot and once per game it unleashed strength D6, AP D6, with 2D6 shots at 12”. Wow quite the random weapon don’t you think. Is it fun? Yes. Dependable? No. It is also a one per army choice.

Animus Vitae- A close combat weapon that if a model (including vehicles) is destroyed, the Haemonculus can take a leadership check. If they pass they gain a pain token. The new FAQ states this item cannot be used in conjunction with another weapon’s ability. This makes it a bit more difficult to benefit from this, but it is not impossible. It is also a one per army item , but can be used more than once.

Shattershard- A template attack that is one shot and one per army.  Instead of rolling to wound with a weapon’s strength, you roll vs. the opposing models toughness characteristic. They must roll under their starting/ base toughness characteristic. If they fail they are removed from the game. No saves of any kind are allowed. This can be incredibly scary to an army. Imagine unleashing this on a biked Seer Council. Where are your invulnerable saves now? Fortune....what? Nob Bikers? What good are your multi wounds, Pain Boy, and differing equipment now? This is a very intriguing piece of wargear indeed and can really wreck someone's big "scary" unit, or they pass their toughness tests and you wasted time.

Orb of Despair- Another one per and one shot item. It is a small blast weapon with 6” range, strength 10, and AP 1. What do I really need to say about this item? It will almost always hit and will wreck most everything without great cover, a great invulnerable save or luck.

Dark Gate-The larger but somewhat lesser version of the Orb of Despair. It has a range of 12”, strength 10, AP- and one per/one shot. It is likeable and unlikeable at the same time. Large blast and strength 10 are great! The AP – and one shot make it a gamble. You can do a ton of wounds (if not scattering badly) and then watch as saves are made. It could also have a bunch of saves fail and wreck somebody’s day.

Archangel of Pain- Another one for one here. This is a shooting ability that causes all enemy units within 3D6” to take a leadership test. If they fail, they are WS and initiative 1 for the remainder of that turn. Great ability, but how often to armies fail their base leadership tests? It doesn’t seem too often, especially since most armies are semi fearless, have leadership 9 or 10 (as base, with upgrades etc) have re-rolls to failed leadership and so on. It is great if it works but just don’t put too much faith in it.

Crucible of Malediction- the only anti-psyker gear in this army. It is another one per/one item. When used in the shooting phase, all psykers within 3D6” take a leadership test. If they fail they are removed from the game. No saves of any kind may be taken. WOW! Take that Rune Priests and Seer Councils! Wait, they take a bare bones leadership test and it is a random range. POOP! Well as the Archangel above, great if it works, but don’ put much faith in it.

ASIDE: The only anti-psker gear is this? It was all they had last codex as well. It would seem for a race trying not to get gobbled by Slaanesh that some anti-psyker/ warp stuff would be useful. I guess that isn’t the case. BOO! to this being the only anti-psyker thing (outside of Lady Malys I guess)!

Vexator Mask- any unit wishing to assault the wearer of this must leadership test. If they fail they may not attack that character that round. Good, but once again based off leadership, so it probably won’t stop that power fist from punching through your Haemonculus’ chest.

Webway Portal- in the shooting phase you may drop this item. From then on all non-vehicle units in reserve may come on for this spot. It must be dropped instead of the Haemonculus shooting and he must be outside of a vehicle and not with 2” of an enemy model. This does make for a fun addition to an army. Having reserves walk on from an area of your choice is much better than off a table edge. Sure it all depends on the reserve rolls if you get the units you want out to come through. It also adds a level of survivability to this army. If you aren’t on the board, you aren’t getting shot. The other side is if you aren’t on the table you are also not affecting the game.

Well that is quite the list of stuff to take. There are too many items and combinations to list. I do know that without a descent save and no invulnerable save; the monster/character hunter doesn’t seem a great option (huskblade and soul trap to get 2x strength). An ancient with a Hexrifle to snipe big gribblies or lone units is semi-viable. The standard Haemonculus with venom blade, scissorhand and liquifer gun seems fun. Especially, in a unit of Wracks or Grotesques to pump them up to two pain tokens and add another random AP flamer.

So the Haemonculus is a cost effective and great supporting HQ.  With the Pain Token they start with and the ability to unlock cheap troops, the Haemonculus is a stellar HQ for what he costs (which, outside of what you equip him with, is not a lot of points). However, beware of kill point and HQ killing objectives. These guys are tough, but that is by Dark Eldar standards. Don’t go throwing this guy at dedicated assault characters/ units and expecting to win. If attached to the proper unit and with the correct gear, they can put a hurt on an opponent that is true. They are a support HQ. This is the main thing to remember about them. They look to help the army win games, not individual combats, which is where the Succubus and Archon shine.

 I love these guys! I really do! I used them last codex just to get the destructor (old liquifer gun) on the field. I cannot see any Dark Eldar I run being without one if not two or three. I like the venom blade, scissorhand, liquifer gun and Webway Portal load out on at least one model. I think in a unit of Wracks or Grotesques (where most of my Haemonculi would join) I would take a power weapon, scissorhand and liquifer gun. Yes, I do abhor strength 3 power weapon, but with furious charge it isn’t so bad. Just make sure to get the charge! The one shot weapons might be fun to try. I’d imagine a Shattershard would appear at least once or twice in Haemonculus hands. How can it not? The same for the Dark Orb. Those two items seem to fun not to try.