The Solitaire Attack is one of the most fearsome and enigmatic tactics associated with the Solitaires of the Harlequins in Warhammer 40,000. The Solitaire, a mysterious and isolated figure among the Harlequin troupe, is unique because they alone can embody the deadly, cursed role of Slaanesh in the Eldar’s mythic reenactments of the Fall. As such, their existence is one of unparalleled danger and sorrow, for they dance on the edge of damnation and eternal torment.
In combat, the Solitaire is a blinding whirlwind of speed and death, employing an approach known as the Solitaire Attack. This is not a formal strategy or battle plan, but rather the manifestation of the Solitaire’s overwhelming martial prowess and preternatural agility. Their movements are so fast and unpredictable that they appear almost as if they’re phasing in and out of reality. The Solitaire dances through battlefields like a phantom, slipping through enemy lines unseen, striking with pinpoint precision, and vanishing before their victims even realize they’ve been attacked.
This attack is devastating because the Solitaire combines blinding speed with deadly accuracy. They utilize a variety of weapons, from the kiss of death (Harlequin’s Kiss) to neuro-disruptors, but what truly makes the Solitaire Attack terrifying is their mastery of movement. They dodge and weave through incoming fire effortlessly, appearing at the heart of enemy formations to cut down leaders or disrupt key positions. This unmatched mobility means that few can ever land a blow on the Solitaire, and those that do find their attacks somehow slipping through empty air, as though the Solitaire exists on a different plane of reality.
The Solitaire Attack is as much psychological as it is physical. Enemies of the Eldar know that when a Solitaire is present, no one is safe. This one figure, fighting alone, can dismantle entire squads, leaving behind only confusion and terror. Their role as a bringer of death and their cold detachment from the rest of their kind add to their aura of dread, as foes cannot even predict where or when they will strike.
Furthermore, due to the Solitaire’s unique role in the Harlequins, their attacks carry a symbolic weight. To face a Solitaire is, in a way, to face the dark legacy of the Eldar themselves—the shadow of their species’ fall and the ever-present threat of Slaanesh. The Solitaire’s attacks are not merely physical assaults; they are grim reminders of the Eldar’s curse, manifested in the swift, deadly movements of a soul who walks the razor’s edge between the mortal world and the damnation that awaits them in the warp.
This makes the Solitaire Attack one of the most feared tactics in the universe, a strike from the shadows that leaves entire enemy ranks shattered before they even comprehend what hit them.