Reach Your Killzone Part III: Setting up the Assault

Setting up the Assault:

If you charge something that big...just make sure you connect...

Many units in 40K find their Killzones are their assault ranges. A lot of units are most comfortable locked in close combat with their targets, and you have to get them there. This final method of reaching your Killzone is deceptively simple. I've seen many players treat the Movement phase as an afterthought or a necessary evil to get their hammer units engaged with their targets. Assault units need as much attention as any other unit to maximize their effectiveness. Over the years, I have begun looking at my assault units like golf balls; first I want to cover a lot of distance on the fairway, but then I try to be pin-point accurate with the putt/actual assault. During those final Movement phases before the assaults, I have kept these things in mind to help my get the most out of the assault phase: look where to connect, look for multi-assaults, and see where you will be after the assault.


I am always looking where my assault models should connect with their targets. You have a Battlewagon full of Nobz and it's pretty obvious they belong in assault. You speed across the battlefield, take a dozen Kustom Force Field saves, and it's finally time to spend one more Movement phase to get into the Nobz' Killzone and start krumpin stuff. When you pile the Nobz out of the Battlewagon, when you unload the Wyches from the Raider, when your Thunderwolf Calvary gets in range, etc., you can usually benefit from proper placement of your models to get the most favorable base-to-base connections. If your target has an independent character, move your power fists/power klaws/force weapons so you can get them engaged with the characters to kill them outright. If you want to pull your opponent off an objective, move your models far enough away to make sure only 1-2 non-essential models get into base contact so that pile-in moves are most effective (and pull those non-essential models that are closest to the objective for subsequent pile-ins). No matter what you're trying to achieve, visualize how your models need to get into base contact to get their job done.

If you plan to win the assault, stack the odds in your favor.

Assaulting multiple units has become somewhat of an art in 5th edition 40K. You can see a lot of players assault multiple units incorrectly because the rules are tedious and take some effort to do properly. The Movement phase is essential to pulling off a proper multi-assault. Ork and Tyranid players especially have to learn how to multi-assault or learn to lose a lot of games graciously. A great way to pull off a multi-assault is by moving away from your assault target and toward another unit that you wish to catch in a multi-assault. Moving this way should minimize how many of your models reach your assault target which will allow you to assault a second/third target. You can also "conga line" your unit to wrap you assault unit around 2+ units so that when you assault, your make it very easy to assault multiple units.

I also try to see where I will likely end up after I assault. Will I likely wipe the target(s) off the board? Will I need another turn or two for the assault to end? Am I trying to tar-pit a unit, and will I be able to last for a couple rounds of combat? I'm constantly asking myself questions, and it helps me a lot. If my opponent has an Imperial Guard unit on an objective in cover and I'm in position to charge him with my Tactical Marines in a Rhino, I look to see what kind of counter attack he can line up on me in the following turn. I will likely not kill many Guardsmen firing out of a Rhino, but if I'm more likely to charge, wipe the unit, and get hosed by plasma in the following turn, then I'm going to be content with shooting out of a pillbox. Part of a successful assault is the timing of the assault. If I kill that one unit of Guardsmen in assault and then lose my squad to shooting, then what have I gained? If I can time my assault so that I am more likely to survive the turn after the assault, then it's a more effective assault.