(Anonymous)
I didn't think they wanted to recruit Sluggy - more like capture him so Albus would never get that memory. Of course, it's possible that Voldy never realized the danger Sluggy's memory provided since he didn't seem to know Albus knew about any of the Horcruxes. In which case, then you would be correct in that it was a scare tactic. Interesting, hadn't thought of it that way. -- Hwyla