# DO or DON'T: deep striking jump infantry



## liforrevenge (Oct 6, 2009)

As a Blood Angels player, I am deeply enamored with my jump infantry (I hope to have a full army of them eventually.) 

I noticed that they can deep strike, and I really like the idea but... is it a viable option tactically speaking?

Seeing as they can't assault that turn (as well as the risk of a mishap), it seems like suicide, is there any tactically sound way to deep strike jump infantry?
Is it better in the end to just start them on the table?

Any other discussion on the matter is welcome.


----------



## Ultra111 (Jul 9, 2009)

Well, I'm not a big fan of Deep striking, without homing beacons anyway (or whatever they are called).
I love using my jump infantry, but whenever I deep strike them they seem to get a bit shot-up. I've learnt that when I deep strike Jump infantry, I'll always do it with around 12" of an enemy unit, but behind cover, hopefully in range for the next turn to assualt without getting shit up themselves. Another thing I liked was deploying them next to a unit locked in combat (as long as theres no-one else to shoot them) as then that squad that was tied up gets the help, which is always a good thing if they are losing, assualt mariens go and save their asses! Of course though this relies on them ebing tied up after the opponents go, so you may have to read the battle field before you do this...Consolidating can always get you out of range of enemy fire as well

None of this may be solid advice as I don't really use deep strike with Assault marines, just giving you tips from my experiences


----------



## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

Vanguard can DS in with heroic intervention, if you have some decently placed homng beacons... I think that is the end of my list of jump infantry that I would DS.

Several of my tyranid units can DS, and yet I have never once even considered it as a viable option. First they have to actually get to enter pley, then they have to DS in the place you want, then they either need to run or get hammered by any blast/template weapons around... and then finally most enemies will either be able to assault you or to get out of your assault range.

Or, instead of hoping you get lucky with all of those rolls you could just start on the board and spend the first 2 turns moving and shooting/running... which is almost guarenteed to get you into the position you wanted to DS, by the end of turn 2, without running any of the risks of a DS. The only downside to this is that the enemy gets to shoot at you on turn 1 (and 2 if he went first)- if you happen to be using gargoyles (or something equally squishy) then this might be something you care about... but using MEQs you should be laughing anyway.


----------



## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

Deep Striking jump infantry, at least when it comes to Blood Angels, is usually a poor option and almost inevitably ends poorly for the Angels of Death.

Think of it this way - why hold a unit that needs to get into close combat in Reserve (meaning that the very earliest that they'll hit the table is turn two, probably three if your luck is anything like mine), then take the chance of suffering a Deep Strike Mishap, then be stuck standing in the open unable to assault for a full turn? If they start on the board, they can oftentimes start at least 12" onto the table. With their 12" movement and the ability to run, they can often be in close combat on the second turn. When Deep Striking, the absolute best you could hope for is to assault on turn three.

Not worth it, imo.


----------



## Sigmatus (Nov 22, 2009)

Katie Drake said:


> Deep Striking jump infantry, at least when it comes to Blood Angels, is usually a poor option and almost inevitably ends poorly for the Angels of Death.
> 
> Think of it this way - why hold a unit that needs to get into close combat in Reserve (meaning that the very earliest that they'll hit the table is turn two, probably three if your luck is anything like mine), then take the chance of suffering a Deep Strike Mishap, then be stuck standing in the open unable to assault for a full turn? If they start on the board, they can oftentimes start at least 12" onto the table. With their 12" movement and the ability to run, they can often be in close combat on the second turn. When Deep Striking, the absolute best you could hope for is to assault on turn three.
> 
> Not worth it, imo.


Agreed. I'm not against deep striking as a concept. I ran Black Templars for a long time and used drop pod assault every single game. It's a blast, but for assault-oriented jump infantry? Why not just use their speed to close the gap in the beginning? It would give your opponent more to shoot at, force him to split his fire, and allow you to select your cover as you close.

Katie outlines the cons perfectly. Homers, or no-go, imo.


----------



## liforrevenge (Oct 6, 2009)

Cool thanks for the input. (wish I could +rep you all!)

In my head I have been thinking of this scenario:

I keep my Jump Infantry in reserve, placing all of my shooty units on the table. The enemy gets a turn or two to advance get get sorta shot up, then my assault units fly on from my table edge, and I use them to assault the somewhat closer enemy. (sort of a bait-and-switch type thing)

It seems like a flimsy strategy, but it suits my taste. I honestly doubt it's effectiveness though, what do you all think about it?


----------



## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

liforrevenge said:


> It seems like a flimsy strategy, but it suits my taste. I honestly doubt it's effectiveness though, what do you all think about it?


It's situational, but could definitely work.

If you end up facing down an army like Orks or Tyranids that will try to rush your gunline and overrun it in close combat, holding your counter-attacking units in Reserve can be very beneficial. Not only are they protected from damage, but since they're not on the table, opponents may forget about them to a greater or lesser extent - out of sight, out of mind sort of thing.

Equally though, if you come up against Guard or Tau, no amount of shooting at them is going to make them want to run at you. This means that leaving your jump infantry in Reserve won't accomplish much of anything since it's highly unlikely that units from either of these armies will get close enough to your gunline for you to pounce in a single turn. In these cases, it's better to start on the board and use your jump infantry units more aggressively so that the rest of your army can focus on capturing objectives or knocking out high priority targets.

Katie D


----------



## Sebi (Mar 3, 2009)

well with my Ork Stormboyz I have two choice which I play:
use them with a normal Nob and have them starting on the board- no reserve
Why?
For all the reasons already said. I just let them Jump from cover to cover or follow my Tanks (in cover again)

the other possibility is have them led by Zagstruk.
Now I _have_ to keep them in reserve and let them DS - no choice here. But I get the benefit that they might be able charge into CC if in range suffering some loses
the advantage of this is that I - as already explained - have then come down within 12" of an enemy waiting for the following round and avoiding the oh so no so nice mishap table. But if I get into CC range.... Woohoo!

The problem is: Zagstruk's unit is not allowed to shoot the turn they DS and therefor can not run!
Running is the most important thing for DS Infantry cause you can stretch your unit to avoid massive blast hits.

Other than that I honestly see no point in DS without a good guidance

I also would have appreciated Phil Kelly writting the DS-Rule for Zagstruks Stormboyz more effektive.
It is nice but in 80% of all cases useless and I cannot run ... darn


----------



## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

Is that specifically stated in the orc rules/FAQ?
There are other things that can run even though they are unable to shoot: models without guns, models with heavy weapons that moved and dreadnaughts using smoke all spring to mind.


----------



## Sebi (Mar 3, 2009)

well it says they cannot shoot the round they DS but attack ... this is interesting.
I have not thought about it ... I just thought ... "instead of shooting a unit can run"
never thought that a unit that is disallowed shooting can run.
But you are right ... Genestealers cannot shoot but run.

Thanks!


----------



## Someguy (Nov 19, 2007)

Assault units in reserve, outflankng or doing sneakier things like snikrot and wolf scouts get up to: situationally quite good.

I would never deep strike with assault troops without some special rule in operation. It has far too many problems with it.

First up, you don't do anything until at least turn 3, which is the earliest possible time you can charge. If your opponent went first then his unit was happily doing whatever it does for 3 turns already, and the damage has already been done. In a 5 turn game that's just not acceptable. A unit deployed on the ground is active on turn 1 as it threatens enemy units within its charge range, especially if they want to come foreards.

Secondly, they are completely at you opponent's mercy the turn after they land and will often take unsustainable casualties. This is not the same as if the unit was on the ground and was shot at. Early in the game, because at long range your opponent's firepower will usually be far less dangerous and things won't be able to charge you.

Assault deep strikers also fail as a reaction force. Even supposing they do arrive on time and on target when one of your squads is locked in cc, all they can then do is watch their friends die and be charged in turn. Worse than useless.

Deep strike can work for shooting things, if you can charge when you arrive, if you can avoid mishaps, if you can land on target and if you decide when you will show up. A requirement is that the unit is either very tough, or totally disposable.

Something like a drop pod with a dread inside can work ok, and units like deathwing or chaos termies are sometimes successful. At the other end of the scale, you have things like the old drop IG, that spray plasma and melta fire around and then fall over dead.

Personally I rarely use any kind of deep strike. I think the rewards are never really worth the danger. Even when you have a lot of mitigating factors, like a drop pod you know will turn up on turn 1 in relative safety, I find I still don't like the lack of flexibility (I must come down, even if my opponent has a double lash chaos army waiting off the board in dawn of war) or the vulnerability of my troops without a transport to hide in. My lists recently have tended for a very straightforward approach of deploying stuff on the board and attacking the enemy directly, which works all the better if his guys turn up one at a time scattered all over the place.


----------

