Hi all,
Today we are taking a look at the Hedonites of Slaanesh (HoS) Specifically we will be taking a look at their Path to Glory rules to see how they compare to past armies, and what unique twists they offer.
Army Special Rules:
The HoS have a weird ability. Each time an enemy unit ends its charge phase within range of an HoS unit, they get an Impulse die. The die is initially set at a “1” but then goes up by 1 for each charge phase that it is next to a HoS unit. The HoS player gets +1 depravity point for each unit with these dice at the end of the end of each turn. The enemy player may spend these dice to give the unit a number of bonus attacks equal to the die’s facing. (note: it is vague here whether each model gets the bonus attacks or just the unit). If they do so, then the HoS player gets a number of depravity points equal to the die’s facing. If a unit ends the battle with an Impulse die they gain that many Renown points.
I low-key really hate this mechanic as it allows your opponent to farm your for renown early on. If you are getting bullied off the table you can quickly find your units are feeding your opponent attacks or renown. I get the mechanic they are trying to use but it just doesn’t supply enough depravity to make it a good ability.
The other quirk is series of new abilities you can use if you hit 36 Depravity Points. There are six different choices and a few are worth considering. one is a turn of Army-die strikes first, commands without spending command points, halving the cost of summoning new units (my fave). I like this better than the other one as it gives you some tantalizing options, though each costs as much as a Keeper of Secrets.
Quests:
The HoS get the standard four quests:
- In Pursuit of A God: gives you one point for each enemy unit that ends the battle with an Impulse Die (great for losses). Once you get 6 it sets up the Quest Battle
- Miasma Of Temptation: After you win a major victory, in your next battle, after deployment every enemy unit gets an Impulse die on a 4+
- Driven By Obsession: After you win a major victory and killed 6 enemy units, in your next battle you can pick two of the special 36-Depravity point cost abilities.
- Endless Depravity (AKA How to Lose Friends): After you win a major victory with 36 unspent Depravity points you can summon a free unit in your next battle after your first movement phase lol.
There are some fun quests here, Endless Depravity can cause some real Feels-Bad-Man moments but it’s part of the game I guess.
Custom Mission:
In this mission your HoS warband is looking for clues to Slaanesh’s whereabouts. The HoS player wins if they get 36 unspent Depravity Points, while the other player wins if they don’t. This is massively unfair and can end the game pretty early depending on the match-up. The HoS player can pick up extra Depravity by nominating one enemy unit each turn, if it is destroyed they gain 3 Depravity Points (DPs). The other player gets a weird bonus wherein they nominate one HoS hero, if that hero is killed then all their units get +1 to hit and Wound another HoS hero.
Like I said, this is an almost too easy mission for the HoS. Especially if you play at higher point values as there is no penalty for the HoS player if they get tabled.
Veteran Abilities:
The HoS get six options:
- Goading Hedonites: Pick a unit with an Impulse DIe and increase its value by 1
- Exquisite Dexterity: -1 to hit and wound the unit for a combat phase
- Scholars of the Perfect Strike: You get +1 DP for each unmodified hit roll of a “6” in one round of combat (when paired with the above mission…lol)
- Executioners of the Dark Prince: Pick an enemy unit with an Impulse die, it takes a number of mortal wounds equal to the die’s value
- Locus of Diversion: Pick an enemy unit within 1″ and make them Strike Last on a roll of a 3+
- Painbringer Impulses: The unit gets Strike First for one Combat Phase
These are some really good options and you can really troll your opponent here. Additionally, they are available to any unit making them doubly valuable!
Territories:
The HoS get a mini table with three options here:
- ORCHARD OF FLAYED SKIN: Get a free recuperate on one unit per battle
- HOUSE OF HIDDEN VICES: Reduce the cost of adding or reinforcing HoS units by 1-3 Glory Points
- ANCIENT AELVEN TEMPLE: Start each battle with D3 or 2D3 Depravity Points
The temple is the obvious winner here, but the other choices are okay too. The house will have limited utility as the campaign goes on, but the others will always be useful.
Conclusion:
The rules here are kinda weird. On the one hand, the risk-reward nature of Impulse Dice are fun, but you can really punk yourself, or power up your opponent if they are clever/lucky. The Veteran abilities make the calculus more complex, and can make your units overcome some of these challenges. Their mission is just dumb, especially if it occurs late in the campaign. The HoS can farm Depravity Points pretty easily, and reaching 36 is a goal for most players anyway. When you add in the other ways to get DPs through the Path to Glory mechanics, it can get pretty silly.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
