Age of Sigmar: New Slaanesh ‘Temptation’ Mechanic Is A Much Welcome Change

The Hedonites of Slaanesh are getting a really neat mechanic for the next Battletome and it’s a welcome change.

I know you probably saw the word change and thought that this was a Tzeentch reference but really it’s not — although it does involve guaranteed 6’s on the dice…but probably not the way you think.

via Warhammer Community

“Reality itself breaks down when the Hedonites wage war, as they beguile and overwhelm the foe with seductive Temptations of Slaanesh. At the start of each battle round, Slaanesh grants six Temptation Dice, natural sixes all, and whenever an enemy fails a hit, wound, or save roll, the Hedonite general can offer a die in exchange.”

Slaanesh Temptation Dice Mechanic

So you’ve read that line and thought “Oh, there’s definitely a catch.” And you’re right. Kind of. I’d call it more of a trade off for both players. Here’s the rest of the rule:

So the trade of is that if your opponent accepts the temptation dice, then the Slaanesh player gets +d6 Depravity Points. And if they refuse, they take d3 mortal wounds. Personally, I really like the player interaction here as it creates a real choice for both players.

On the Slaanesh player side you’ve got to decide if you’re willing to allow them an “auto-pass” on a “hit, wound, or save roll” and that can be a choice. On the opponent’s side they have to choose if they want to take d3 mortals and fail whatever they rolled OR give the Slaanesh player +d6 Depravity Points. And that’s a really big problem. Why? Because Depravity Points are back and there’s lots of things to spend them on. Or not…

The Slaanesh player can choose to stockpile their DP and then they gain some army wide benefits. On the flip side, they can still spend those points to summon in daemons (which can be just as handy). There’s lots of really interesting choices to be made in the Hedonites of Slaanesh’s army! There’s also other ways to earn these points.

There’s a ton of nice changes like this for the Hedonites of Slaanesh and I’m looking forward to the rest of them. Hopefully these new mechanics will add an extra layer of fun interactions to the game for both players. That seems like a good Slaaneshi thing, right? Fun for everyone involved…lots of excess (and depravity) to go around.

Do you think the new Temptation Dice mechanic is a good change?

Author: Adam Harrison

Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and Austinite for 15+ years, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table. A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam's current obsession are his Death Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.