Can the harlequins disappear in the nick of time?

[Blight1]

So a troupe of harliquins charges a unit of repentia and the sisters player pays 2 CP for desperate for redemption.  The harliquins player wipes the repentia and has a transport waiting wholly within 6".  The harliquin's player uses the stratagem the curtain falls after the troupe makes it's close combat attacks.  Does the curtain falls take place immediately or do the repentia get to swing back?

Is this a case of active player decides order or does the curtain falls count entirely as a consolidation move including its order in the fight phase, thus making it occur after the special interruption by the repentia?

 

Oh and another possible similar situation.   Genecult's return to shadows has similar timing.  Do the genecult escape the sister's retribution (so long as there aren't any other sisters units within 6")

Edited September 24, 2022 by Blight1

[Rogue]

That wouldn't work for the Cults. The Sisters' stratagem specifically says that slain models aren't removed from play - so after the GSC unit has made its attacks, there will be a unit within 6" (even if they're all effectively dead).

That said, once the Repentia have fought-on-death and been removed, you'd still be in the window to use Return to the Shadows on any GSC survivors.

The Harlequins scenario feels less clear, as there's no additional clauses like the Cult one. Both the Repentia attacks and the Harlequin retreat happen after the Harlequin attacks have been made, and there's nothing in the stratagem to prevent the Quins retreating away from models still in play.

If you go with 'active player determines sequencing' then you can escape in your turn, but would have to take your lumps if it were the Sisters' turn. Which seems fair.

[Blight1]

Definitely agree on the genecult one because the unit isn't removed.

 

So question on the clowns is whether the embarking happens when you activate the stratagem (after attacks) or it waits till the consolidation step.

[Rogue]

Re-reading Curtain Falls, the embarkation part happens "Instead of consolidating as normal", which implies that it happens in (or directly replaces) the consolidation step. In which case, the Sisters would get to make their attacks.

[Blight1]

Wish it was more than an implication but it seems to be a fairly unique effect and I can't find any other similar abilities to know for sure what the timing is.