When I first wrote this, it was on the back of the Indexes being released for Age of Sigmar and the initial reaction to Hedonites of Slaanesh, largely, wasn’t great! There was a lot of negativity, particularly around the faction’s Battle Traits. The original positioning of this article was to provide some suggestions in making the best of them. Since then, there have been some changes and clarifications that have helped them – a lot. Hedonites are still not necessarily in the strongest of places but they are healthier.

Let’s look then at these Battle Traits for the army. Even updated, it’s easy to see where some of that initial negativity came from… There are two rules in the Hedonites’ Battle Traits but they’re almost three rules all tied together that then heavily influence the way both you and your opponent will play the game. The first rule An Excess of Depravity is best split into two parts, with the Euphoric Killers rule detailing how you use the first part (Euphoric) of An Excess of Depravity.

Battle Trait – Excess of Depravity – Euphoric

At the Start of the Battle Round: Pick up to 3 friendly HEDONITES OF SLAANESH units to be the targets. The targets have the EUPHORIC keyword for the rest of the Battle Round.

So, the first half of An Excess of Depravity allows you to pick up to 3 friendly units to give the EUPHORIC keyword to and then Euphoric Killers sets out what this keyword does:

Battle Trait – Euphoric Killers

While a friendly unit has the EUPHORIC keyword:

• That unit’s weapons, including Companion weapons, have Crit (2 Hits).

• That unit can use a RUN ability and still use SHOOT and / or CHARGE abilities later in the turn.

One of the big changes we’ve had since the release of 4th Edition Age of Sigmar is that this ability now effects Companion weapons as until recently, cavalry mounts, Glutos, and Fiends didn’t benefit from the Crit (2 Hits) element of this rule.

The timing is quite important as it’s the Start of the Battle Round but you don’t use any Start of the Battle Round abilities until after determining the Active Player (who has priority) and determining who, if anyone, is the Underdog (the player with the least VP). This means you’ll know whether you’re going first or second before you have to pick your Euphoric Killers. The main reason this is important is because as all things from the Chaos Gods, the power of the EUPHORIC keyword comes at a price and that’s where the Temptation mechanic and the second part of An Excess of Depravity comes in:

Battle Trait – Excess of Depravity – Temptation

For each friendly unit picked to have the EUPHORIC keyword under the Excess of Depravity ability, give your opponent 1 Temptation Dice. Your opponent can use a Temptation Dice to replace 1 Wound roll, 1 Save roll or 1 Run roll for unit in their army, with a 6. They can use 2 Temptation Dice to replace 2 of the dice in a Charge roll for a unit in their army with two 6s.

Each time your opponent uses a Temptation Dice, they must roll it. On a 1-2 your opponent’s roll is replaced by that value instead of a 6, and you must allocate D3 damage points to the unit for which the roll was replaced immediately after the ability used by that units has been resolved (Ward rolls cannot be made for those damage points).

At the end of the Battle Round, any Temptation Dice that have not been used are lost.

A minor change in the Core Rule also affects this rule:

27.0 Modifier Order

Add the following:
“The effects of some abilities (e.g. ‘An Excess of Depravity’) allow you to replace a roll with a fixed value. When doing so, you must replace the roll before rolling the dice for it.

This is where a lot of that initial negativity stemmed from with Hedonites. Being able to swap some dice rolls for 6s is a pretty powerful ability – so for your opponent to get it means that there is a real risk/reward sub-game with how you use your Euphoric Killers. Thankfully a few changes have softened the risk element of this – the largest is the risk of the dice not being 6s at all (and the damage that goes with these) as initially if you made two units Euphoric, your opponent was gaining a guaranteed 12″ Counter-Charge if they save their CP for it!

But let’s look at the reward element a little first… So a few of the Command Abilities seem like they’re worth talking about here before we dive deeper into Euphoric Killers. The first is Redeploy that you’ll notice has the RUN keyword:

Command Ability – Redeploy (1CP)

When: In the enemy movement phase.
Target: A friendly unit that is not in combat
Effect: Each model in the unit can move up to D6″. That move cannot pass through or end within the combat range of an enemy unit.

Keywords: MOVE, RUN

So when your Euphoric Killers are able to use RUN and still use SHOOT and/or CHARGE abilities that includes Redeploy. Guess what has the SHOOT keyword? Covering Fire does:

Command Ability – Covering Fire (1CP)

When: In the enemy shooting phase.
Target: A friendly unit that is not in combat
Effect: Resolve shooting attacks for that unit, but all of the attacks must target the nearest visible enemy unit and you must subtract 1 from the hit rolls for these attacks.

Keywords: SHOOT, ATTACK

And then the Counter-Charge command ability allows a unit to make use a CHARGE ability as if it were your Charge Phase.

Command Ability – Counter-Charge (2CP)

When: In the enemy charge phase.
Target: A friendly unit that is not in combat
Effect: The unit can use a CHARGE ability as if it were your charge phase.

Keywords: SHOOT, ATTACK

Putting this all together, this means that suddenly, your Euphoric Killers can do a lot of work in your opponent’s turn! They could in theory Redeploy into a good shooting position for Covering Fire and then follow that up by charging into a unit that your opponent didn’t want to get dragged into combat, or support a unit that’s just been charged using Counter-Charge. That’s pretty amazing and that’s ignoring that they can still do all of these things with them in your turn too!

The other bit of Euphoric Killers is the Crit (2 Hits) rule. Essentialy, it gives you Exploding 6s! Worth highlighting that it’s not limited to Melee attacks – Hello Blissbarbs my old friends!

Now this all comes at a cost, remember. So if you picked 2 or more units to give the EUPHORIC keyword to, then your opponent can use the second bit of that Temptation rule to swap those 6s into a Charge roll. That could be a Charge in their turn, or it could be a Counter-Charge of their own! This is where I believe a lot of the initial negativity came from with the Hedonites rules. I get it, it’s frustrating that our army rule can do so much work for our opponents but there are a couple of key bits to keep in mind about to help us maximise the rewards and minimise the risk.F

Firstly, each of those dice is only a 6 on a 3+ so for the full 12″ charge they have to first pass two 3+ rolls. Statistically it’s in their favour BUT, it’s risky. Would you want to spend 2CP on a Counter-Charge that is reliant on two 3+ rolls to get the benefit but costs you either way? The simple truth is, when that goes off it’s potentially going to swing things for your opponent – hence the understandable frustration. It’s just, that isn’t going to go off every time, and the one time your opponent takes damage from trying to pass a Ward from the Temptation Dice is going to stick with them more and they’ll be over cautious in their use of any more.

Also, the wording on Temptation Dice has some similarities and some key differences to Temptation Dice in 3rd Edition. One key change to these 6s is that they’re no longer counts as 6s that can’t be modified. So, if you’ve got abilities that will affect the result of those dice rolls, they’ll still do so if your opponent uses a Temptation Dice, or if you’ve got enough Rend on your attacks to strip their save they can’t use these there. This is really important to keep in mind at the list building stage too as there are some abilities spread across the army that can help to limit the impact of these dice. For example, Glutos retains his Crippling Famishment spell:

Spell – Crippling Famishment – Casts on a 7+

Pick a visible enemy unit within 18″ to be the target, if cast, until the start of your next turn:

• Halve the target’s Move characteristic.
• Halve Run rolls and Charge rolls for the target.

Keywords: SPELL

Suddenly, a run roll of 3 or a charge roll of 6 isn’t quite so game-changing. Yes, you’ll have to get the cast off but depending on priority order you’ll also have the Magical Intervention command to help you get a second attempt in the enemy’s turn:

Command Ability – Magical Intervention (1CP)

When: In the enemy hero phase.
Target: A friendly WIZARD or PRIEST.
Effect: That friendly unit can use a SPELL or a PRAYER ability as if it were your hero phase. If you do so, subtract 1 from Casting rolls or Chanting rolls made as part of that ability.

Crippling Famishment is probably a tough spell to get through with Magical Intervention due to the -1 to cast that way but if you’ve got any bonus to cast e.g. from the Fane of Slaanesh then that might help.

Fane of Slaanesh – Damned Conduit

Pick a friendly HEDONITES OF SLAANESH unit wholly within 12″ of this terrain feature to be the target. Allocate D3 damage points to the target (Ward rolls cannot be made for those damage points.) Then, pick 1 of the following effects to apply until the start of your next turn:

• Add 1 to Wound rolls for the target’s combat attacks.
• Add 1 to Run rolls and Charge rolls for the target.
• Add 1 to Casting rolls and Unbinding rolls for the target.

You have access to things like Syll’Esske’s spell Subvert too that can switch off an enemy unit’s ability to use Commands. So if they have one unit that’s a prime Counter-Charge target, there’s a chance you can take that option off the table:

Spell – Subvert – Casts on a 7+

Pick a visible enemy unit within 12″ to be the target, if cast, the target cannot use Commands for the rest of the turn.

Keywords: SPELL

There are some abilities that, rather than modifying the roll of the 6 or stopping them from using the Commands, can force them to not feel the benefit or even to waste it. Twinsouls stand out for their abiltiies kicking in when they are charged – so if you can effectively screen out the Charge or Counter-Charge with Twinsouls then their abilities kick in for them to be at their best:

Symbaresh Twinsouls – Ego-Driven Excess

If this unit did not charge this turn, subtract 1 from the Attacks characteristic of melee weapons used by enemy units while they are in combat with this unit.

Ego-Driven Excess instantly lessens the impact of their charge…

Symbaresh Twinsouls – Fiendish Reflexes

If this unit did not charge this turn, it has WARD (5+) while it’s in combat.

Where Fiendish Reflexes means the Twinsouls are more likely to weather the storm and perhaps pin the enemy unit in place (or kill it when they fight back!).

There’s always going to be value in any abilities that reduce attacks, or hit and wound rolls etc as they’ll work counter to any Charge or Counter-Charge your opponent makes. Anything that causes damage out of phase or impacts the perhaps less attractive options to sub-in Temptation Dice can be good too. Sure your opponent might want to save 2 Temptation Dice for a Charge, or Counter-Charge but if they need the 6 for a save you’re at the very least forcing them to have to make a decision (which hopefully they get wrong).

There are also some other abilities to keep in mind that can really make a difference here, such as the Lord of Hubris and his “You First, I Insist…” rule

Lord of Hubris – “You First, I Insist…”

Pick an enemy unit in combat with this unit, your opponent must decide whether the target will accept or decline this unit’s challenge.

If they Accept – The target has STRIKE-FIRST for the rest of the turn. If this unit is in combat with the target when the target is picked to use a FIGHT ability, all of the target’s attacks must target this unit.

If they Decline – The target has STRIKE-LAST for the rest of the turn.

If a Lord of Hubris is lurking nearby, you could make a Charge or Counter-Charge of your own to get him into combat with the unit your opponent sent forwards. They’ll then have to choose between wasting all of their attacks on the Lord of Hubris or, going last and potentially having suffered a number of casualties lessening the impact of those Temptation Dice.

Something to keep in mind, and I think this probably needs a mantra for Hedonites players… “Up to 3 doesn’t mean 3!” We’re all about excess, sure, but, just because we can pick 3 units, we don’t have to. If there’s one unit that you need to do something this turn then make that the focus of your EUPHORIC keyword picking. Giving your opponent 1 Temptation Dice rules them out of being able to use them on Charge rolls (they have to replace both dice and can’t use 1 to replace 1). There’s little point opening up the risk of that easier Counter-Charge unless the reward you get for that second and/or third unit is worth the price.

As well as working to lessen the risk to yourself, there’s plenty you can do to boost the reward. Firstly, the Sadistic Spite spell affects a friendly EUPHORIC unit:

Spell – Sadistic Spite – Casts on a 6+

Pick a visible friendly EUPHORIC unit to be the target, if cast, the target’s melee weapons have Crit (Mortal) instead of Crit (2 Hits) for the rest of the Battle Round

Keywords: SPELL, UNLIMITED

This only works on their melee weapons (and doesn’t work on COMPANION weapons), but inflicting mortal damage on 6s instead of just 2 hits on 6s can really spike your damage, especially into units without a Ward save or that have really great armour saves. Because the spell has the UNLIMITED keyword you can also cast it more than once so you could put this on 3-4 units with the EUPHORIC keyword.

You’ll notice I said 3-4 even though An Excess of Depravity allows you to pick up to 3. That’s because of the Heroic Trait, Glory Hog.

Heroic Trait – Glory Hog

If an enemy HERO is destroyed by this unit, this unit has the EUPHORIC keyword for the rest of the battle.

In truth, Strongest Alone or Into the Fray are likely to be stronger choices on most units, but if you manage to kill an enemy Hero, your Hero with this trait gains the EUPHORIC keyword for the rest of the battle. As you’re not using An Excess of Depravity to allocate the keyword there’s no Temptation Dice for your opponent here. Allowing you to cut off their supply of dice or just swamp them with units that can spike their damage and boost their manoeuvrability!

It’s taken a great deal of effort not to have mentioned Shalaxi up to this point, their whole warscroll is full of interesting tools for this purpose. Supernatural Grace makes them harder to hit.

Shalaxi Helbane – Supernatural Grace

Subtract 1 from Hit rolls for combat attacks that target this unit.

Refine Senses can make them harder to hurt.

Spell – Refine Senses – Casts on a 4+

For the rest of the turn:

• Add 1 to Wound rolls for this unit’s attacks that target enemy HEROES.
• Add 1 to Save rolls for attacks made by enemy HEROES that target this unit.

Keywords: SPELL

These two abilities combine to make them a great unit to face up to a charge from an enemy unit. Paramount Hunter then allows them to get a free turbo-powered Counter-Charge if an enemy Hero declares a Charge within 9″ of them.

Shalaxi Helbane – Paramount Hunter

Once per turn, when your opponent declares a CHARGE ability for a HERO within 9″ of this unit. If this unit is not in combat, it can immediately move 2D6″. It can pass through the combat ranges of enemy units but it must end that move with 1/2″ of that HERO. If it does so, this unit has charged, and that HERO‘s CHARGE ability has no effect.

This has the CHARGE keyword so if they’re EUPHORIC they can still do this after a Redeploy, but most importantly it triggers before the enemy Hero gets to make their Charge so you can waste their Counter-Charge, leave them stood in place and suddenly having to fight Shalaxi Helbane!

Excess of Violence, an ability on the regular Keeper of Secrets warscroll in 3rd has now moved to Shalaxi Helbane’s warscroll instead.

Shalaxi Helbane – Excess of Violence

Once per Battle in your Combat Phase, pick a friendly non-HERO HEDONITES OF SLAANESH unit wholly within 12″ of this unit to be the target. The target can use 2 FIGHT abilities this turn. After the first is used, however, the target has STRIKE-LAST for the rest of the turn.

If you want to maximise the impact your Euphoric Killers have, fighting twice will really do so! Especially if you pair this with Sadistic Spite above or coupled with abilities that boost the efficiency or number of attacks a unit gets such as Lithe and Swift on Daemonettes:

Daemonettes – Lithe and Swift

Add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of this unit’s Piercing Claws for the rest of the turn if this unit charged in the same turn.

One thing I’d have loved to have seen is some further interaction in the rules with the Temptation Dice. Feels like it’d be an exciting design space to move into and perhaps will be something we’ll see when the Hedonites get a proper Battle Tome. Would be great if using a Temptation Dice on a unit gave it a TEMPTED keyword and some units got a bonus against a unit that has succumbed to temptation – surely doing so around the servants of Slaanesh should be a particularly dangerous thing… detail before moving into some list building.

So, in their current form, the Battle Traits for Hedonites can be quite strong, Euphoric units get a great collection of rules that can ramp up their efficiency. It comes with a cost though, and real mastery with this army is likely to come from maximising the benefits and mitigating the negatives as best as possible.