We are the Hedonites of Slaanesh, the devoted servants of the Dark Prince, reveling in excess and pursuing ecstasy. Born from the intoxicating allure of desire, we embrace every sensation, seeking to experience the ultimate highs of pleasure and indulgence.
Whether through exquisite art, intoxicating music, or the thrill of battle, we savor the moment and crave more. Our bodies and minds are our canvases, adorned with exquisite beauty and sin.
Who Are the Hedonites of Slaanesh?
The Hedonites of Slaanesh are a faction in the Age of Sigmar, devoted to the ‘Dark Prince’ Slaanesh. Slaanesh is one of the major Chaos gods, focused on pleasure, excess, and indulgence. The ‘Dark Prince’ is a fickle god who’s favor is easily swayed. This doesn’t stop his followers seeking it out as they take everything to the excess, especially on the battefield.
This faction includes a variety of daemonic entities and mortal followers, such as the Sybarites and the Fiends.
Often pulling in those from an artistic persuasion who see the ‘Dark Prince’ as their muse, the Hedonites live for extremes, using using art, music, and combat to achieve their need. No one is quite sure of the ‘Dark Prince’s’ whereabouts as he remains lost in the Warp, but they seek the lost god in the hope to gain favor or supplant him.
What Are the Hedonites of Slaanesh Army Strengths?
An army that has a fairly high ceiling in terms of learning, but if you put in the time, those who understand the subtleties of this army would do well. They may not look like the strongest army on paper, but the buffs, debuffs and ability to summon additional units makes it strong if you can strategize well.
This army excels in several areas, particularly speed and maneuverability. Seekers and Hellstriders are good examples of this, with the ability to speed to objectives. Aside from gaining objectives, you can also use their speedy speediness for for strategic flanking.
They also do have some fairly tough units such as Myrmidesh, which is good to have alongside the more fragile units of the army.
The main strength though is learning all the tricks and buffs of this army (e.g. Euphoric Killers is a fantastic buff for growing strength), which is going to set you apart on the battlefield.
You do have to be aware of the weaknesses though. Fragile units with lower durability and armor and no real solid hard hitter plus speed units.
Defensive setups of more durable armies can be hard to break down with Hedonites of Slaanesh, but with careful positioning, strategic planning, and full understanding of the tricks of their trade, you can have a powerful army at hands.
Where Should Beginners Start?
If you’re starting your collection of Hedonites of Slaanesh as a beginner, consider these key models:
- Keeper of Secrets: This Greater Daemon is a strong General and a good centerpiece of your army. Speed enough to keep up even if you have a mounted army and some great spells/abilities.
- Lord of Pain – Maybe the best hero in this army with a heavy hitting weapon in close combat, an ability to buff nearby units, and a great rebound of wounds and mortal wounds back on the enemy.
- Glutos Orscollion – A powerful hero and the main bad guy of this army. You can combine magic, decent melee attacks and good aura abilities.
- Myrmidesh Painbringers – More durable than most in this army whilst also having decent damage to dish out.
- Slickblade Seekers: Super fast with a huge amount of damage potential.
- Blissbarb Archers: Adding a ranged unit is wise. They are fast and pose a great threat if used correctly.
- Fiends – Daemonic beasts that are fast and great for flanking opposing armies and then driving in attacks to deal damage.
How To Paint Hedonites of Slaanesh
We’d say this army is one of the most enjoyable painting experiences. As an army obsessed with excess, you can really go to town on your Hedonites of Slaanesh army. We’ll provide some starting color schemes for new players, but feel free to go wild:
Color Scheme Ideas
- Vibing Fiends: Get something bright and garish like a base coat of bright pink or purple for your Fiends. Lighter shades alongside this can create depth where you can emphasize the curves and details of these terrifying Daemons. Use blues or other mystical colors for gems or armor alongside a black.
- Call of the Dark Prince: Get a base coat of deep black or dark gray to kick things off. You could highlight skin with shades of dark purple or blue to give units a more mystical look. Go wild on the clothes, especially a hero such as Glutos Orscollion who will be clothed in rich jewel tones – emerald green or royal blue along (or any opulent bright colors). Have at it!
- Celestial Light: Start off with a base of something like pale blue or silver. Then we’d suggest adding a white or maybe a very light blue to create a kind of shimmering effect. The robes or clothes could be in a nice pastel color such as lavender or mint green. Gold and silver will be a good compliment too. Finally, you can use washes to create shadows and depth. And to make your unit even more ‘extra’, finish with star-like speckles or glitter to give them that cosmos crazy energy.
Painting Techniques
We’ve put some basic painting techniques together for Hedonites of Slaanesh. As one of the most enjoyable armies to paint, hopefully these will be useful.
- Base Coating: Establish the primary shades of your models. As we’ve said before, go wild here, this is the army of excess – bright pinks, purples, yellows, anything opulent and rich.
- Drybrushing: Good for highlighting textures, especially on skin and fabric. What you need to remember here is to use a lighter shade of the base color and then you can drybrush over raised areas, such as robes or raised parts of say your Fiends.
- Washes: The best way to work on creating more shadow effects. Nuln Oil or a color-specific wash (e.g. purple or blue) are decent choices for a dark wash and this will mean you can create a visual depth in recesses of clothing or skin. Basically makes your models look a bit more realistic.
- Edge Highlighting: Use this technique on armor, weapons, and fabric edges. One of the techniques that can take a beginner’s model and really elevate it. You basically just need a lighter color which you then apply along the edges of your models to create that nice contrast. Makes your models look a bit more polished.
