First of all...CONGRATS! The Tempest is a beast.
You can record via both step and realtime. The possabilities are far greater than just 4 FX tweaks. Especially when you incorporate mod paths that tie fx sliders. Dont compare it to Elektron. I have an OT. The Plocks are cool...yes but generally stepped for extreme mangling. However if you think about it...aside from 4 assignable "locks" you have note, duration, velocity, timing...all of which are very similar in concept to a Plock. Meaning, that Plocks are a little more hyped than what they really offer but cool when applied to LFO's on Elektron gear. For a drum machine like the Tempest...there is more than enough to keep you busy finding new and exciting combinations.
I consider it to be in the "goldylock" zone. Just deep enough to never get bored of and never get frustrated by menu diving. The results are more immediate and intuitive than most synths I have purchased.
Check out some of the cool stuff Yorgos had created. I have had the synth for almost a year and though not new to synths I am nowhere near what Yorgos can accomplish with the Tempest. In fact I learned more about synthesis from this machine than any other plugin or hardware synth. Thanks to the Tempest, my VirusTI is now making more sense to me.
Buy the machine and dont look back.
Merry Christmas!