Detachment Focus: Orbital Assault Force

In this series of articles we take a deep dive into a specific detachment for a faction, covering the faction’s rules and upgrades and talking about how to build around that faction for competitive play. In this article, we’re covering the Space Marines Orbital Assault Force Detachment.

If some Twist of Cain possessed you to paint multiple Space Marine Drop Pods, you’re in luck - the Orbital Assault Force is a Deep-Strike-centric detachment meant to model the rapid drop assaults undertaken by Space Marine forces. Pity that no one on the rules team was brave enough to call it Steel Rain, lest we forget Dawn of War: Soulstorm ever existed.

We’d like to thank Games Workshop for providing us with a preview copy of these rules for review purposes.

Detachment Overview

The Orbital Assault Force Detachment is designed to model Space Marines dropping in from orbit and striking enemy positions. If you’re not Deep Striking with this detachment, you’re doing something wrong. Space Marines already have plenty of solid options for dropping dudes from orbit, be they Inceptors, Terminators, or anything you can cram into a Drop Pod. What this detachment does is generally enhance those units while also opening up the door to dropping in new units that you normally couldn’t Deep Strike. Maybe you want to channel your inner 5th edition Blood Angel and Deep Strike a Land Raider or just Rapid Ingress a melee unit for a threat the following turn. This opens you up to functionally have a null deploying army, maxing your Deep Strike and Strategic Reserves allowances before going over them with the Orbital Uplink Reliquary enhancement. It means you can play an especially tricky army to counter, at least until it actually drops on the table and gets to work.

The Video Version

If reading seems so last year, check out our video overview of this Detachment here:

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Detachment Rule: Rapid-Drop Deployment

Ultramarines Eradicators. Credit: SRM

At the start of the Declare Battle Formations step, a number of non-Titanic ADEPTUS ASTARTES units gain the Deep Strike ability. These vary depending on the size of the game.

Incursion: 2
Strike Force: 3
Onslaught: 4

Additionally, if an ADEPTUS ASTARTES model was set up this turn, it re-rolls Wound rolls of 1. If they disembarked from a Drop Pod, they also re-roll Hit rolls of 1.

This is a case where both halves of the Detachment rule actually work well together, and there are more ways to take advantage of them as we get further into the Stratagems and Enhancements. You can also get the benefits both from Deep Strike and the use of other Transports, as Disembarking is still a version of Set Up. It does suffer somewhat from the issue that most Transport-based Detachments do though, where your rules really only work on a single turn.

Enhancements

Salamanders Judiciar. Credit: Rockfish

These enhancements emphasize maneuverability and positioning, opening up alternate deployment options and additional ways to get around the board.

Laurels of Thunder (15pts) - ADEPTUS ASTARTES model only. Re-roll Charge rolls for the bearer’s unit in a turn where they are set up. Your first instinct might be to put this on a character with a squad in a Drop Pod, but even with re-rolls, that 9” charge is a 48% chance, so functionally worse than a coin flip. On a unit piling out of a ground transport though, this is a solid enhancement, especially when taking advantage of the Onward for the Emperor Stratagem to cycle those charges.
Veteran of the Vanguard (20pts) - ADEPTUS ASTARTES model only. The bearer’s unit gains Scouts 6”. This is handy for an advance unit in an Impulsor, either to nab a midfield objective early or hurl a melee unit down your opponent’s throat early on.
Orbital Uplink Reliquary (25pts) - ADEPTUS ASTARTES model only. After both players have deployed, select up to three ADEPTUS ASTARTES units from your army and redeploy them, including placing them into Strategic Reserves. This can let you go above your limit of how many units are in Strategic Reserves. As you already will be placing multiple units in Deep Strike to begin with, this might seem redundant, but it’s got some tricky play available to it. It’s also a good way to take advantage of the Detachment rule with some outflanking shooting units.
Dedicated Gunship (15pts) - ADEPTUS ASTARTES TERMINATOR model only. Once per battle, at the end of your opponent’s Fight phase, if the bearer’s unit is not within Engagement Range of any enemy units, they may be placed into Strategic Reserves. This kind of uppy-downy ability is always great, especially on one of your slow Terminator units which are easily stranded.

Stratagems

In a rare move, this is a Codex detachment without an Armour of Contempt analogue. Instead, your stratagems are a mix of situationally useful, hard to pull off, and genuinely great.

Suppression Strafing (Strategic Ploy, 1CP) - Used in the Command phase. Select one ADEPTUS ASTARTES unit and one enemy unit within 18”. That enemy unit takes a Battle-shock test at -1, and if it fails, they are suppressed. While suppressed, their hit rolls are made at -1. This can only be used once per battle round. The timing of this is helpful, effectively shutting off stratagems on an enemy unit for a turn while also defanging them in your Fight phase. It could be handy to use on a particularly potent melee threat in an army with access to a Fights First or Fight on Death Stratagem, or if there’s a gnarly Overwatch threat you want to avoid. Even at -1, most battle-shock tests are going to be a coin flip at best though, and having to fail that test to even get that hit debuff makes this markedly worse.
Tactical Decapitation (Battle Tactic, 1CP) - Used in your Shooting or any Fight phase. One ADEPTUS ASTARTES unit gains [PRECISION] on all of its attacks, hitting at +1 against Character units. This is, to put it bluntly, goddamn hilarious. Generously applying 40 Bolt Rifle or Chainsword attacks into a unit to utterly remove a character is like inventing the world’s most precise belt sander. The +1 to hit into any Character unit is also handy here, helping your attacks hit big Knights and other hard targets more reliably. This rule apparently isn’t limited to infantry units or even non-titanic units, so you could place this on something like an Astraeus’ Twin Macro-Accelerator Cannon if one was sufficiently deranged.
Shock Onslaught (Strategic Ploy, 1CP) - Used in the Fight Phase. One ADEPTUS ASTARTES unit can Pile-in or Consolidate 6” instead of 3”. This is the kind of movement trickery that has a bit of a learning curve. Elements of this detachment want you charging out of Deep Strike, and this means you can just barely touch your initial target before Piling In and tagging multiple other units, or clearing screens and consolidating into the units behind them. It’s useful for consolidating onto objectives as well, though remember you still need to prioritize piling into enemy units first.
Auto-Sense Coordination (Battle Tactic, 1CP) - Used in your Shooting or any Fight phase. One ADEPTUS ASTARTES unit gains [LETHAL HITS] or [SUSTAINED HITS 1] on their attacks if they disembarked from a Drop Pod and are targeting an enemy unit within 12”. There are quite a few hoops to jump through here, but it’s got some uses. The [SUSTAINED HITS] option is the better bet with your Detachment rule’s re-rolls, and if you have a squad of Hellblasters with a Lieutenant blasting away at a target right next to them, this can be pretty nasty. Don’t expect to use this in melee though; banking on those 9” charges isn’t really worth it.
Blind Screen (Strategic Ploy, 1CP) - Used in your opponent’s Shooting phase. Select one non-Titanic ADEPTUS ASTARTES unit and one ADEPTUS ASTARTES SMOKE VEHICLE or DROP POD within 9” of them. That first unit gains Stealth and the Benefit of Cover against that attack. This again involves jumping through some hoops to work, and as this detachment lacks any sort of Armour of Contempt equivalent, this is regrettably your main defensive stratagem. Ideally you’ve dotted the board with enough Drop Pods to make this doable, though this will be harder and harder to use as the game goes on and your units move around the board. There are also loads of ways to ignore cover or modifiers to hit which make this suffer, and it doesn’t work outside of shooting either.
Onward for the Emperor (Strategic Ploy, 1CP) - Used at the end of your opponent’s Fight phase. Select an ADEPTUS ASTARTES INFANTRY unit that was not set up this turn and a Transport they can embark in. If that unit is wholly within 6” of that Transport, they can embark. Given how much this detachment is built around Drop Pods, there’s a very real chance you won’t be able to take advantage of this. On its face this is a good Stratagem though, and means your dudes can pile back into a vehicle only for it to move and disembark in your own following turn. If you can key up a melee unit with a Land Raider, cycling charges with this can be pretty potent.

Playing This Detachment

Rainbow Warriors Captain with Intercessors in a Drop Pod by Craig "MasterSlowPoke" Sniffen

This whole package supports units in Drop Pods, ideally with loads of guns. Drop down your squads of Hellblasters and Intercessors, re-rolling hit and wound rolls of 1, and snipe your opponent’s characters with Tactical Decapitation.

As your Detachment rule triggers on the turn a unit was set up and not the battle round they were set up, you’ll need to be mindful of when you choose to Rapid Ingress. While Inceptors seem like they’d be a no-brainer in this army, they don’t benefit from the Detachment rule at all, as their guns are already Twin-Linked and they won’t be riding in Drop Pods.

Strengths

Alpha Strike Potential. With a shooting heavy army, dropping in and blasting away has the potential to do a lot of damage, especially with the Detachment ability’s re-rolls and unit-wide Precision available.
Positioning. With the exception of maybe Shadowmark and Vanguard, no Space Marine detachment is quite as good at putting your dudes in advantageous positions around the table.
Unusual Deep Strikers. By opening up Deep Strike to any unit in the codex, this Detachment offers some exciting and strange off-meta choices.

Weaknesses

Screening. One unit of Space Marine Infiltrators or really any unit that projects a greater than 9” denial area will make setting up this army difficult.
Detachment Rule. It only works for the turn a unit is set up, and if you’re Rapid Ingressing to get units in place the following turn, they won’t get to take advantage of it either.
Situational. From the Detachment Rule to the Stratagems, everything here is highly situational.

Building a List

Steel Rain - click to expand

Pod (1990 Points)

Space Marines

Ultramarines

Gladius Task Force

Strike Force (2,000 Points)

CHARACTERS

Captain (95 Points)

1x Bolt Pistol
1x Master-crafted bolter
1x Power fist
Enhancements: Laurels of Thunder

Captain Sicarius (85 Points)

Warlord
1x Artisan plasma pistol
1x Talassarian Tempest Blade

Judiciar (90 Points)

1x Absolvor bolt pistol
1x Executioner relic blade
Enhancements: Veteran of the Vanguard

Lieutenant (55 Points)

1x Bolt Pistol
1x Close combat weapon
1x Master-crafted bolter

BATTLELINE

Assault Intercessor Squad (150 Points)

1x Assault Intercessor Sergeant

◦ 1x Plasma pistol

◦ 1x Power fist

9x Assault Intercessor

◦ 9x Astartes chainsword

◦ 9x Heavy bolt pistol

Intercessor Squad (160 Points)

1x Intercessor Sergeant

◦ 1x Bolt pistol

◦ 1x Bolt rifle

◦ 1x Power fist

9x Intercessor

◦ 2x Astartes grenade launcher

◦ 9x Bolt pistol

◦ 9x Bolt rifle

◦ 9x Close combat weapon

DEDICATED TRANSPORTS

Drop Pod (70 Points)

Impulsor (80 Points)

1x Armoured hull
2x Storm bolter

OTHER DATASHEETS

Wardens of Ultramar (90 Points)

Bladeguard Veteran Squad (170 Points)

1x Bladeguard Veteran Sergeant

◦ 1x Master-crafted power weapon

◦ 1x Plasma pistol

5x Bladeguard Veteran

◦ 5x Heavy bolt pistol

◦ 5x Master-crafted power weapon

Eradicator Squad (90 Points)

1x Eradicator Sergeant

◦ 1x Bolt pistol

◦ 1x Close combat weapon

◦ 1x Melta rifle

2x Eradicator

◦ 2x Bolt pistol

◦ 2x Close combat weapon

◦ 1x Melta rifle

◦ 1x Multi-melta

Eradicator Squad (90 Points)

1x Eradicator Sergeant

◦ 1x Bolt pistol

◦ 1x Close combat weapon

◦ 1x Melta rifle

2x Eradicator

◦ 2x Bolt pistol

◦ 2x Close combat weapon

◦ 1x Melta rifle

◦ 1x Multi-melta

Land Raider Redeemer (270 Points)

1x Armoured tracks
2x Flamestorm cannon
1x Hunter-killer missile
1x Multi-melta
1x Storm bolter
1x Twin assault cannon

Scout Squad (70 Points)

1x Scout Sergeant

◦ 1x Astartes chainsword

◦ 1x Bolt pistol

◦ 1x Close combat weapon

4x Scout

◦ 4x Bolt pistol

◦ 4x Close combat weapon

◦ 3x Combat knife

◦ 1x Heavy bolter

Scout Squad (70 Points)

1x Scout Sergeant

◦ 1x Astartes chainsword

◦ 1x Bolt pistol

◦ 1x Close combat weapon

4x Scout

◦ 4x Bolt pistol

◦ 4x Close combat weapon

◦ 3x Combat knife

◦ 1x Heavy bolter

Storm Speeder Thunderstrike (135 Points)

1x Close combat weapon
1x Stormfury missiles
1x Thunderstrike las-talon
1x Twin Icarus rocket pod

Victrix Honour Guard (220 Points)

1x Chapter Ancient

◦ 1x Banner of Macragge

◦ 1x Master-crafted power weapon

1x Chapter Champion

◦ 1x Blades of honour

4x Victrix Honour Guard

◦ 4x Master-crafted bolt carbine

◦ 4x Master-crafted power weapon

Taking advantage of this Detachment means leaning in on shooting threats coming in from Deep Strike, utilizing Tactical Decapitation frequently. A block of 10 Intercessors with a Lieutenant using this Stratagem to also take advantage of Lethal Hits is a relatively affordable way to assassinate a character, but even against armies where that’s less useful, that’s still a lot of cheap, mobile firepower, and we’ll humor the concept of Drop Pods by packing one for them, as it frees up the Deep Strike slots for other units. Veteran of the Vanguard on a Judiciar with a Bladeguard squad in an Impulsor also gives you some early game presence, scooting that Impulsor up the board, staging it, and getting into melee quickly. For added fun, use Shock Onslaught to tag multiple units, and pile back into their Impulsor with Onward for the Emperor the following turn.

Because it’s both whimsical and unusual, I’m a big fan of taking a huge block of Assault Intercessors and a Captain in a Deep Striking Land Raider Redeemer. Drop it down on turn 2, torch some stuff with its flamers, then on turn 3 roll forward and charge, using a discounted Auto-Sense Coordination to gain either Lethal or Sustained hits. Of course, these too can benefit from Shock Onslaught to tag entirely too many units. All the while, drop cheap Deep Striking units of Eradicators to pop tanks up close. By operating in multiple waves like this, you’re able to effectively deliver powerful, targeted blows to your opponent’s army, making the most of relatively affordable units through good positioning. Rounding things out, Cato with Victrix and the Wardens of Ultramar are just good value adds here - the Wardens in particular work well as a home objective holder in this detachment, as you can use their redeploy to allow you to “burn” some early drops on your Deep Striking units, forcing your opponent to give you some extra info then pulling them into reserves at the end of Deployment.

Final Thoughts

Orbital Assault Force excels in being thematic if nothing else. Drop pods searing from the sky only for Marines to step out and summarily start blasting fools is one of the core images of 40k, and in that way this detachment actually does work fairly well. However it suffers in being so reliant on those same gimmicks, and only has enough gas for one real turn of the game. It relies on you breaking your opponent’s back and establishing a beachhead on that one turn, and after that, your options are severely limited.

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