Escape Hatch and Assault Terminators

[L30n1d4s]

Assault Terminators with TH/SS are still one of the top close combat units in the game (especially when buffed with Chaplains, Priests, Psychic Powers like Endurance, etc. etc.). Thr problem is getting them to the fight.... they can Deep Strike, but that means arriving turn 2 (unless they are Deathwing) and charging turn 3 at the earliest, not to mention the dangers of DSing mishaps and the threat of Interceptor fire (looking at Tau here).

 

Another option is expensive transports, like Land Raiders, Storm Ravens, Storm Wolfs, etc. The flyers have the same limitations as the Deep Striking options (turn 3 charge at the very soonest) and the Land Raiders add great points cost to your army, simply to get the Assault Terminators into the fight.

 

A third option is using Pyschic powers to enhance the Terminators movement (i.e. Gates of Infinity from the SANCTIC discipline or Leviation from the TELEKINESIS discipline).... this can be quite effective, but requires rolling for these powers with your Psyker, which cannot be counted on from game to game.

 

Finally (and potentially controversially), you can use characters like Cypher with the Infiltrate USR to get the Terminators within 12-18" of enemy units before the game begins.... depends on who you ask if this is legal, but it is a potential option, if you are willing to take Cypher in your army list (and you aren't a DA player ;) ).

 

So, aside from foot-slogging all the way accross the board, what other options are there? One relatively economical possibility is buying a fortification that can embark whatever size squad of Assault Terminators you are using (say the Wall of Martyrs Bunker, for example) and then getting the Escape Hatch upgrade for this fortification.

 

During deployment, embark your Assault Terminators inside your fortification (which should be on the edge of your DZ) and place your Escape Hatch 12" away from your Fortification, in the direction of the enemy DZ.

 

Turn 1, the Assault Terminators can treat the Escape Hatch like an Access Point, meaning that they can disembark 6" from it and then run another D6" in the shooting phase. The net effect of this is, by the end of Turn 1, the will have displaced between 19-24" from your DZ and should be easily set up for a turn 2 charge on your opponet's battleline.

 

Unlike using Psykers or vehicle transports, this is a much cheaper (points-wise) and reliable (i.e. no chance of your transport getting immobilized/destroyed or you not rolling the required Psychic power) method of getting your assault troops stuck in at the soonest oppurtunity. Even better, if you can use that same Fortification to assist the rest of yoru army (say, taking a Comms Relay on it to help with reserves or using a Firestorm Redoubt with two Quad Icarus Lascannons for anti-air support), then you get a double benefit from this tactic.

[Captain Idaho]

That's quite inspired.

[Jolemai]

Indeed. The rules for the escape hatch are found in Escalation, correct?

[Emperors Immortals]

Wow, that's a keeper!

[L30n1d4s]

@Jolemai

 

The Escape Hatch rules are found in the Stronghold Assault book, as part of the upgrade options that Buildings can purchase.

[Jolemai]

:)

[brother_contagion]

hmm, maybe my Possessed and Termies can benefit from this!

[Axagoras]

hmm the enemy cant assault for fort using the hatch or stop it, but they can put a unit over it to stop you from coming out of it if they are going first. and it still leaves you hanging around for a turn but not a bad way to get 10 assault termis (or 9 and a IC) into the enemy line for 75 points (bastion)

[Lord Commander Scrymgeour]

or 10 death company without their stupidly expensive jump packs. Brilliant. sold

[Axagoras]

jump infantry cant get into buidlings im pretty sure since its treated like a vehicle

[Lord Commander Scrymgeour]

Exactly, without the packs

[Axagoras]

im on a roll here on misreading things... yea that would be pretty boss

[L30n1d4s]

I think the Death Company would still be limited to a 6" disembarkation from the Escape Hatch, though, since they disembark from buildings the same way they disembark from vehicles (i.e. whether a model can move 6" or 12" naturally, it is still just a 6" disembark move; same thing for Jump Pack Infantry disembarking from a Stormraven).

[Venemox]

They put it in bold in the BRB, it's just not in an intuitive spot.  I'm going to have to build a Wall of Martys Imperial Bunker now.

 

 

Jump Infantry and Jet Pack Infantry can embark inside buildings.