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Hello all-knowing Oracle of Dakka.

I have this problem with jump infantry, not any specific army's jump infantry, but the whole group in particular!

Every time they come to the table in my local gaming club, they get slaughtered...

I just don't really know how to wrap my head around them...

So Dakka please help me! How does One use them (functionally and compedatively?

I don't think that this is a post for this section but let me give it a go ! You can deep strike them around 15" to 18" inches away from your enemy (they will scatter most of the times). If you can reach you can shoot the enemy. Then on your turn move 12", fire and assault. That simple ! If you

This should be in tactics.

More specifically to answer your question: don't have them get away from the rest of your army. Don't deep strike them alone, don't have them move 12 if the rest is only moving 6. Use those abilities in the correct times and places.

I start my assault marines on the board and just fly them around using cover/landraider to protect them. It helps the whole unit has FNP as well!

Only ever deepstriked them once and it went very badly!

Jump marines are best left defending your shelf and or mini case...However BA make them viable

What army are you using? Like Jubear said, Jump marines aren't too good in most marine armies, but with BA, they become awesome.

Gavo wrote:What army are you using? Like Jubear said, Jump marines aren't too good in most marine armies, but with BA, they become awesome.

I'm really not referencing to any specific army... I just want to hear some ideas for making them work!

And I'm sorry that I put this in the wrong Category... Can a MOD either delete this or move it to tactics!

They're overpriced in most SM armies. C:SM can make them better using Shrike to give them Fleet, and using them in large numbers.

BA make good use of them, in part because they become Scoring Troops, so you can take a lot of them. And in part because of Sanguinary Priests, who make them both more deadly (Furious Charge) and more durable (Feel No Pain & the Initiative 5 of FC, which reduces the number of attacks enemy units get to make against them).

JI come in entirely too many flavors to simply make a blanket judgement on them. You have everything from elite JI like Tyranid Shrikes or Crisis Suits, to MEQ JI, to MC JI, to horde JI, and even swarm JI. Each has a role and a purpose, and typically that extra movement factors into it, but they are all different...with differing levels of effectiveness. In general, as has been pointed out, the number one reason JI get slaughtered is people think that they must get them into contact with the opposition as fast as possible, with out regard for keeping them supported.

usually when people have problems making a unit work it is one of a few things...

1)they use the unit unsupported thinking they can do everything by themselves
2)not realizing that the codex they are using makes it difficult to use them effectively
3)just cant do it

with that being said...i find that in this example jump infantry really depends on the codex and what you want to use them for

for example...in the eldar codex our jumpers really suck. yes the models are awsome, but trying to get warp spiders to work is hard work as the weapons they have always gives a save not to mention i just cant make them work for me. and swooping hawks are really only good against hordes and only if you have skyleap with them, well for me anyway.

but jumpers from the blood angels codex are alot better as they have descent of angels which increase the chance of landing on spot and the chance of them comming outta reserves...plus they can have FnP if around a sang priest for better survival

Here's what I know about marine jump infantry:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Ravenguard_Shrike#Tactical_Notes

The same principle applies broadly to a lot of different jump infantry. You have the mobility to pick your fights, but you need to pick carefully and have a follow-up.

The thing with jump infantry is that against most targets their extra mobility ensures that they get the charge in. Also, given that they ignore terrain, it can be difficult to get a clean round of shooting in on them.

As such, it seems to me that the best option is to offer a suicide unit for the jetpackers, bikes, and jetbikes to run into first, with the understanding that the squad in question would then be out in the open against shooting or would be charged by a dedicated assault unit the next turn.

Said "wrapper" units include things like grots and conscripts to things like rhinos and chimeras. Which you take is up to you.

Otherwise, your only option is extreme mobility, such as imperial guard artillery (the vehicles are stationary, but their firepower works as if they were very fast units), or deepstrikers and the like (combi-plasma sternguard in a drop pod = dead whatever you just shot at).

Well I had some AMAZING helions last game. I had barron and 10 helions, 5 got shot down by a flamer, and the rest of my mech just got shot down in 2 turns (transports turn 1 and rest on turn 2) I split the barron and the helions up in two and they OWNED all game. They ran around the whole table more then once asaulting and killing of spame marines. They where the only reason I had any say in the game the whole time, as my list was rather weak (wracks vs mech spam :p.)

As for others? Eldar players have funn with the rule pakcage that warp spider and swooping hawks (in the right army) comes with.

Blood angels have some very good troop choises with the assault marines in a shooty army. If you have 4 units of 5 space marines with a melta and a combi melta in you have a very good anti tank (not transports!) that comes from reserves. Combine with attack bikes with melta and demolishers for a very punishing list! All thanks to the decent of angel rule. (Mind you, you better have some anti MC in there for tyranids/deamons.)

Also, blood angel Dreadnoughts who move like jump infantery are bad, as is mefhiston. If you ever run into death company with jump packs wiouth plasma cannons good luck.

Also the dark eldar scourges seem very good in a webway list as you eather deepstrike or come out of the portal. Suprice!

Grey Mage on B&C have had great funn with a Wolf Lord dropping in his own with a storm shield and a thunderhammer. Easy to hide, and he is a bad ass.

I have not seen Tau in action but the jump souts seems just silly.

In the orks army you will gak your pants if you ever meet 2 or 3 full groups of the crazy crazy rocket orks. They have: 20 fearless orks, with a charge range of 20" to 30" during the whaag. 285 fully upgraded, with a power claw, 19 wounds for wound alication, they are fearles until you kill 10 of them and they have frag greandes. Do that 3 times for 855 points in a 1750 list and I can GARANTE that you do something nasty in your first turn. Dark eldar are not the lords of the first turn charge, orks are.

The marine shriek alfa strike list with loads of teleportin terminators and jump marines has been mentioned, so I will not go into that.

Tyranids have some sweet deals. In the right list a deep striking harpy spills doom for anything under those blast templates. The 8 point gargoyle with feel no pain (from the trevigon) with venom sacks and adrenalin glands that hide the entier army (including the winged hive tyrant!) is not something to take lightly. Also killing 30 of them for 240 points does not feel fear witouth being marine/guard or light eldar.

Chaos raptors are OK, but Chaos Demons have some ansty gak. All the MC's (including the dreaded demon prince with mark of Nurgle :-[ ) the flamers are bad. While the tzeench chariot is a jetbike, of behavs in many of the same ways as a jump infantery.

In fact, the only once I can think of they do not have an impresive jump infantery when done right are IG, Non shriek/BA Space Marines, Necrons (they are all jet-bikes, the few good units they have) and the witch hunters.

I really just sound like you eather are doing it wrong with tyranids (you have to tayilor your list for it) or Eldar (who uses the Swooping hawks for no particular spot but can be sweet) or you play guards a lott. Moast likly you have seen some poor SW or Ultra marines player using them and thought "huh" witch it really is. But belive me, it can be really good.

There are 2 ways to use Jump infantry.


in Vanilla Marines they are a distraction/bully unit that goes and beats up enemy units with little to no CC ability whatsoever. that they do pretty well.


in Blood Angels they either start on the board and move up quickly to get stuck in(hugging cover to avoid getting shot to death) or the entire army is made up of them and they all deep strike with high accuracy. they are also really good because they are troops.

Grey Templar wrote:There are 2 ways to use Jump infantry.


in Vanilla Marines they are a distraction/bully unit that goes and beats up enemy units with little to no CC ability whatsoever. that they do pretty well.


in Blood Angels they either start on the board and move up quickly to get stuck in(hugging cover to avoid getting shot to death) or the entire army is made up of them and they all deep strike with high accuracy. they are also really good because they are troops.

totally. Raptors fill the same roll, except with meltaguns they can make your opponent think twice. Also, jump pack marines can counterattack and enemy squad that's stuck in a melee. But yeah, asides from BA they are a bully. Effective depending on your local terrain/meta