Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Has anybody chosen a squad of Assault Marines to deep strike?

I am running a Blood Angels army and in my Escalation league (point wise, not expansion) at 2k points I plan on using quite a number of them, specifically 2 squads of 10. I was thinking about giving one in each squad a flamer just to do some damage upon entry but I don't know if that'll be a success. I don't want points to be thrown to waste.

My general list consists of a Reclusiarch with a squad of 9 death company in a Stormraven, 2 vindicators, 2 Baal Preds, and 2 squads of tac marines with plasma cannons and flamers. I am going for a Blood Drinkers fluff army and don't want to stray to far from it and seeing as how they don't have an emphasis on any one particular unit I can full around a bit.

Anyways, do I have a chance having the two squads drop in? I feel like I am relying heavily on my vehicles to not get popped within the first turn and good dice rolls, but I like to bring some fun stuff to the table.


Thank you for all constructive input.

I wouldn't deep strike them for a variety of reasons.

1) Turn 3 assault at the soonest. You may need them before that.

2) If you roll poorly for your run distance, or you shoot them you are in perfect formation to die to templates.

3) Not a big threat with DOA, but mishaps can still happen.

The only real way I have mitigated the template fodder on deep strike is to deep strike behind cover...which means less likelyhood of HoW on the assault

I would combat squad the second squad and drop them in late in game to snag either open, or lightly defended objectives and/or to ensure you get linebreaker.

Practice shows they're better off in a pod rather than derp-striking.

I prefer to keep my assault squads small, and start them on the table. Assault troops should never be in reserve. As Martel732 pointed out, turn 3 assaults at best is not something you want. Keep out of LOS and work your way up the table.

I run mine with a flamer. Their job is to go mug backfield campers. They tend to be squishy gits who hide in cover, so a little promethium works well to roast them. The extra movement from the jump pack helps get the marine in place to lay the template down just right. That said, I’m an Ultramarine player; I don’t have the option for meltaguns. Having forward deployed melta is always a good thing. Of course, shoving a handfull of krack grenades up the tailpipe deals with many of the same things meltaguns work on, so YMMV. Not an option for me.

 koooaei wrote:
Practice shows they're better off in a pod rather than derp-striking.

Agreed. If you want them to alpha-strike, it's the way to go.

Flamers are solid if you choose to deep strike, either way. Hopefully the guy with the flamer can be placed in such a way he's able to score some sizable hits. Also he hopefully isn't shot to death before any enemy counter-assault units engage with them, as automatic hits on overwatch are pretty great.

Thanks for the feedback everybody. Descent of Angels would definitely come in handy because when I ran Grey Knights, my deep striking was atrocious.

The only reason why I want the large squad is to ensure that they aren't wiped out if I ever do find myself in a position without anything to block LOS. I don't find myself facing many Tau players so the effective shooting I am not too worried.

Regardless I will take this all into consideration. Thank you.

in my (very little) experience:
i always had half of my unit in deep strike DoA; they was never incisive
during a match they mishap'ed and arrived on the far side of the table in a forest. they managed to close again and assault and scoring before end game. i won the match.
when got pwned by a necron friend 'cause a 600 point ASM squad was still in reserve, i decided to put them on the table for future match

i lost almost all game i played so far (in 2 month... ) but when you lose 'cause half army is taking beer while at thunderbird's bar, you got angry

besides:
- pod are faster and more useful for deep strike (if you play it right, they come at turn 1)
- if you deploy in a good position, and if your enemy does'nt stay hidden besides fortification, jump pack ASM can go to assault at 2nd turn
- remember: if at the end of the turn you got no unit on table, you lose, even if half army is on reserve. and you start throwing away table and miniatures , that's for sure...
- if you are planning on deep striking, keep the units large. And try deep striking them close and all together: the more, the merrier (and higher probabilities they all assault together)

each-uisge wrote:
in my (very little) experience:
i always had half of my unit in deep strike DoA; they was never incisive
during a match they mishap'ed and arrived on the far side of the table in a forest. they managed to close again and assault and scoring before end game. i won the match.
when got pwned by a necron friend 'cause a 600 point ASM squad was still in reserve, i decided to put them on the table for future match

i lost almost all game i played so far (in 2 month... ) but when you lose 'cause half army is taking beer while at thunderbird's bar, you got angry

besides:
- pod are faster and more useful for deep strike (if you play it right, they come at turn 1)
- if you deploy in a good position, and if your enemy does'nt stay hidden besides fortification, jump pack ASM can go to assault at 2nd turn
- remember: if at the end of the turn you got no unit on table, you lose, even if half army is on reserve. and you start throwing away table and miniatures , that's for sure...
- if you are planning on deep striking, keep the units large. And try deep striking them close and all together: the more, the merrier (and higher probabilities they all assault together)

hahahha yes! too many times my GK Dreadknight would end up in the far corner or I am barely left with one unit on the table and the rest on reserve. I want to try something different and I don't see very many people deep striking BAs so whatevs, it's worth a shot, can't hurt to try haha.

I like deep striking assault marines but you have to use them as a special weapons delivery system not as an assault unit for the reasons already mentioned.

Load up on a weapon of choice. From a 10 man assault marine squad you can get 4! Special weapons (two special and two pistols on the serg). Combat squad so one squad has all 4 (I usually go with plasma).

This combat squad is the equivalent of a mini-sternguard squad. It's 6 plasma shots will cause some damage in a critical spot but don't expect the squad to live after shooting.

Use the other 5 guys for scoring & speed bumps.