How to Play Hedonites of Slaanesh in Warhammer Age of Sigmar (4th Edition)

The core of the army is the Paragons of Slaanesh battle trait. During the game you can have up to three friendly Hedonites units marked as Paragons at once, typically gaining one new Paragon each turn if you are below that limit. A few units, such as Sigvald, Glutos Orscollion and Shalaxi Helbane, are natural Paragons and always count.

Being a Paragon matters because of Temptations - a set of abilities (current references name them Sensuous Arcana, Cutting Barbs, Beguiling Glance, Chief of Revels, Enthralling Vanity and Excess of Agility) that mostly present your opponent with a choice between two bad outcomes: for example, drop their control score or grant everyone +1 to hit them; slow their movement; hamper their charges; or interfere with combat activation. The crucial twist is who picks the outcome. When a Paragon triggers a Temptation, you choose the effect; when a non-Paragon does, the opponent chooses. So keeping the right units as Paragons is what turns these abilities from mild nuisances into game-warping control.

The pressure valve is Fall From Grace: a non-unique Paragon can lose the keyword if things go wrong - a failed charge, a miscast, or heavy damage - which is the built-in risk that stops the mechanic being free. Managing that risk, and always having your best Temptation-users safely Paragoned, is the real skill of the army.

Battle formations tilt the army toward a particular gameplan. The current battletome offers several; the four most commonly discussed are:

• Godseeker Cavalcade - the mobility/aggression pick. Units near a battlefield edge can charge after running (referenced as "Godly Spoor"), which suits fast, board-edge-hugging seeker and cavalry lists that want to strike early.
• Depraved Carnival - lets units make a small (about D6") move at the end of the turn while staying in combat, giving you free repositioning, objective grabs and screen adjustments.
• Artisans of Torment - a damage multiplier: extra Attacks against enemy units that are already damaged, rewarding you for softening a target then piling in.
• Lurid Dreamers - a defensive/tricky pick that lets a damaged unit be removed and set back up away from the enemy (roughly 9"+), enabling escape-and-reposition play.

Additional formations such as Pretenders (an extra hero trait at deployment) and Invaders (bonus Rend for Sybarite infantry fighting outside your own territory) also exist - check the current battletome for their exact wording. Pick the formation that matches your collection: fast seekers lean Godseeker Cavalcade; a grinding mortal Sybarite force likes Artisans of Torment or Invaders.

• Sigvald, Prince of Slaanesh - premier duelist and a natural Paragon; strong hero-hunter who also supports the army's crit output.
• Glutos Orscollion (Lord of Gluttony) - a durable support centrepiece who heals and returns models and casts a spell that hampers enemy movement and charges. A natural Paragon and a common anchor.
• Shalaxi Helbane / Keeper of Secrets - big Slaanesh daemon monsters. Shalaxi is a mobile assassin (gaining Retreat-and-Charge style movement) that can also buff allies' attacks; the Keeper brings area damage.
• Dexcessa & Synessa - the Court of Godlings daemon heroes; Dexcessa is a hard-hitting flyer that buffs daemon attacks, Synessa a ranged caster.
• Lord of Hysteria - a newer mortal infantry hero giving offensive buffs and anti-charge Rend in a bubble around it.
• Daemonettes - fast, cheap daemon battleline; your mobile chaff and objective-takers that hit surprisingly hard when buffed.
• Seekers / Slickblade Seekers / Hellstriders - very fast cavalry (high movement, post-charge repositioning) for pressure and board control.
• Myrmidesh Painbringers / Blissbarb Archers - mortal Sybarite battleline: Painbringers are tougher, ward-save infantry; Blissbarbs give you ranged output.
• Shardspeaker of Slaanesh - a mortal wizard for the Lore of Extravagance spells.

Play Hedonites as a manipulation and tempo army, not a hammer. As the current World Champion framed it, the army imposes its rhythm on the game - restricting movement, blunting charges and messing with combat order - rather than winning through raw damage.

A general gameplan:

1. Deploy for Paragons and Temptations. Make sure your best Temptation-users start as Paragons so you control the choices your abilities offer. 2. Use speed to dictate matchups. Seekers, cavalry and flying daemons let you pick which fights happen; go where your opponent is weakest and avoid where they are strong. 3. Layer control before you commit. Slow a key enemy unit, hamper its charge, or drop its control score, then strike into a target already softened - Artisans of Torment and crit buffs make that follow-up hurt. 4. Score on objectives, don't grind. Cheap fast units and end-of-turn moves (Depraved Carnival) let you take and hold ground; you rarely want a straight attrition war. 5. Protect your Paragons. Avoid handing the opponent easy Fall From Grace triggers on units you need Paragoned, and use returns/heals (Glutos) to keep your engine online.

• Playing them as a brute-force army. Hedonites are fragile; if you trade toe-to-toe you lose. The value is in Temptations and positioning, not saves.
• Mismanaging Paragons. Forgetting to refresh Paragons each turn, or leaving your key Temptation-users as non-Paragons (so the opponent chooses the effect), throws away the army's whole point.
• Feeding Fall From Grace. Making risky charges or exposing a Paragon to heavy damage can strip the keyword at the worst time. Sequence carefully.
• One-use-per-turn overload. Many Temptations are limited-use per turn; newer players spread them thin or forget the best one. Plan the turn's abilities before you start activating.
• Where they struggle: high-Rend, high-volume shooting and hard-hitting elite armies can punish the fragile bodies before your control comes online; very durable, unmovable "anvil" targets blunt the manipulation game; and losing your support heroes (especially Glutos) can cause the engine to fall apart. The army also asks a lot of the pilot, so it can feel punishing until you internalise the Paragon/Temptation loop.