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This is SprueSentry strategy commentary, not official rules. The detachment rule, stratagems and enhancements below were checked against the official Space Marines Faction Pack v1.2, legal for matched play from the 26 August 2026 balance update, and any points against Munitorum Field Manual v1.3. Points move with balance updates, so confirm the current values in the Warhammer 40,000 app before a game.
At setup you nominate units to gain Deep Strike: 2 at Incursion, 3 at Strike Force, 4 at Onslaught. Any model set up on the battlefield that turn re-rolls Wound rolls of 1, and models that disembarked from a Drop Pod that turn also re-roll Hit rolls of 1.
1 CP. The unit's weapons gain Precision, and it adds 1 to Hit rolls against Character units.
1 CP. Choose Lethal Hits or Sustained Hits 1, granted if the unit disembarked from a Drop Pod this turn or is attacking within 12 inches.
1 CP, once per battle round. A visible enemy within 18 inches takes a Battle-shock test at -1; if it fails it is suppressed and subtracts 1 from its Hit rolls.
1 CP. With a friendly Smoke Vehicle or Drop Pod within 9 inches, the targeted unit gains Stealth and the Benefit of Cover.
1 CP. The unit makes Pile-in and Consolidation moves of up to 6 inches instead of 3.
1 CP. An Infantry unit wholly within 6 inches of a Transport can embark within it.
25 points. After both armies deploy, redeploy up to three of your units, optionally placing them into Strategic Reserves regardless of the usual limits.
15 points. Re-roll Charge rolls for the bearer's unit in a turn it was set up on the battlefield.
20 points. Models in the bearer's unit gain Scouts 6 inches.
15 points. Once per battle, at the end of your opponent's Fight phase, remove the bearer's unit into Strategic Reserves if it is not in Engagement Range. Terminator model only.
The only route to the extra Hit re-roll, and a Blind Screen anchor once landed.
Durable Deep Strike bodies and the only legal carriers for Dedicated Gunship.
The classic drop-pod passenger, and a character killer with Tactical Decapitation.
See the box: price and offersDeep Strike by default, so your nominated slots can go elsewhere.
Land next to a tank, re-roll Wound rolls of 1, and add Lethal Hits.
See the box: price and offersCovert scorers hold the board while your reserves arrive.
At 2 DP it leaves 1 DP for a psyker support.
How to play Orbital Assault Force in 11th edition — the 2-DP drop-pod and deep-strike detachment, its arrival re-rolls, character sniping, and how to avoid the classic alpha-strike trap.
Sprue Sentry strategy commentary for 11th edition, not official rules. Games Workshop updates points and rules regularly; always confirm against the current official rules and latest update before a game.
Orbital Assault Force is the Space Marines arrive from the sky detachment: a 2-Detachment-Point package that hands out extra Deep Strike slots and pays you for attacking on the turn your models land. It reflects Warhammer 40,000 11th edition (launched June 2026).
This is SprueSentry strategy commentary, not official rules. Rules below were checked against the official Space Marines Faction Pack v1.2, legal for matched play from the 26 August 2026 balance update, and points against the Munitorum Field Manual v1.3. Points move with balance updates, so confirm the current values in the Warhammer 40,000 app before a game.
At army setup you nominate a fixed number of non-Titanic Adeptus Astartes units to gain Deep Strike: 2 at Incursion, 3 at Strike Force, 4 at Onslaught. That is the list-building half, and it is generous, because it turns units that normally have to walk into units that can arrive anywhere.
The combat half is the payoff. Any model that was set up on the battlefield this turn re-rolls Wound rolls of 1, and if it disembarked from a Drop Pod that turn it re-rolls Hit rolls of 1 as well. The bonus is deliberately tied to the arrival turn, so the detachment is about landing units in sequence across several turns rather than emptying your reserves at once.
Choose Orbital Assault when you want to play a reserve-heavy, reactive game: hold units back, let the opponent commit, then land on the part of the board they cannot defend. It rewards Terminators, Drop Pods and jump units, and it is the most natural home for a collection built around elite infantry rather than tanks.
The trap worth naming is the all-in alpha strike. Because the rule's bonuses only apply on the turn a unit arrives, it is tempting to dump everything in on turn two and hope. That usually loses, because units that land in the open get shot off the board and you concede the early primary score. The better plan is staggered arrivals: drop one or two units per turn, each into a job you have already softened with Suppression Strafing, and screen them with Blind Screen afterwards.
At 2 DP it leaves 1 DP spare at 2,000 points.
Sample gameplan: nominate three units for Deep Strike at Strike Force and put a character with Orbital Uplink Reliquary in the list. Use the Reliquary after seeing the opponent's deployment to pull back whatever is badly matched. Keep a board presence to score early, then drop Sternguard plus Tactical Decapitation to kill a leading character, and Eradicators onto a tank the following turn. Cover each landing with Blind Screen, and use Laurels of Thunder when a charge has to connect.
2 DP. At a 2,000-point (3 DP) game that leaves 1 DP for a support detachment such as Subversion Assets or Librarius Conclave.
Rapid-drop Deployment. At setup you nominate 2 units at Incursion, 3 at Strike Force or 4 at Onslaught to gain Deep Strike. Any model set up on the battlefield that turn re-rolls Wound rolls of 1, and models that disembarked from a Drop Pod that turn also re-roll Hit rolls of 1.
Not strictly, but they earn their place. Only Drop Pod disembarks get the extra Hit re-roll, and a landed Drop Pod is a legal anchor for the Blind Screen stratagem that keeps your freshly arrived units alive.
Orbital Uplink Reliquary. After both armies deploy it lets you redeploy up to three units and place them into Strategic Reserves beyond the normal limits, which is both a counter-deployment tool and a way to hold back more of the army than usual.
Written by Sprue Sentry, grounded in the cited sources. Original commentary, not Games Workshop rules text.