Death From Above

[geektom]

Can I get some feedback from the more experienced generals here on how/when you decide to use Death From Above with units that have Jump Packs vs. starting with them deployed on the table? Thanks!

[XeonDragon]

I find even with a litany to give +2 to charge and a re-roll stratagem, deep striking jump pack units that want to charge is to too unreliable. The best advice I have been given to date about 40k tactics is to shoot the fighty things and fight the shooty things. If you fluff your charge roll, they'll get shot at. Not good. Deep striking jump pack shooters like plasma inceptors is a bit different, as at least can can shoot before they other player gets a chance to charge in the survivors. 

 

So, for me at least, I start my jump melee units on the board. Jump shooting units usually up in the skies. 

[Alcyon]

I dunno if I consider myself a more experienced general, but I've found generally that Death From Above isn't usually worth it for dedicated combat units like Vanguard Veterans. You really need to run a Chaplain with them for Canticle of Hate in order to get a 7" charge out of deep strike, with some access to re-rolls that gives you something like an 82.6% chance to make the charge which is solid. Even then, 17% of the time you get your expensive combat unit hung out to dry and it'll usually be killed. 

 

Jump pack units have so much on-board movement that I find they're much better at facilitating counter-charges and accomplishing objectives than trying to be a threat out of deep-strike. That said, jump pack units with guns, especially ones with ways to buff their shooting, can be very strong coming in from reserves - i.e. Inceptors and Suppressors. 

[Claws and Effect]

I've been tinkering with the idea of bringing in a unit I want to charge with along with a Master of Sanctity with a jump pack so I can fire off Catechism of Hate unexpectedly with the Strategem I can't remember the name of right now.

 

Works especially well if I also Derp Strike with Shrike for charge rerolls.

[Vermintide]

You want access to re-rolls. This stuff is bread and butter for Blood Angels, who have a few more tools for it and never leave home without them, but vanilla Marines do get access to a couple of tricks.

 

- Jump Pack Librarian with Veil of Time. Compared to the Chaplain buff, this has the advantage that psychic powers can be used normally out of deep strike, so you don't have to use a stratagem to get it to work.

 

- Chapter Champion with Martial Exemplar. This WLT gives you a re-roll charges aura, which is needless to say very valuable if you have multiple units you'd like to charge at once. However, he can't be given a jump pack, so you would have to plan your positioning in advance.

 

If you combine re-rolls with the +2" Chaplain litany you're almost certain to make it in from deep strike, but that obviously increases the investment you're making in order to ensure success, so you have to make it count.