Rapid Ingress is one of the most powerful tools available in Warhammer 40K. It’s not just a way to Deep Strike early in the game. It’s a tactical tool that can leverage victories in your 40K games. Using Rapid Ingress properly can help you control tempo, stage for future turns and create target opportunities. Understanding how to use Rapid Ingress properly can give you a great tactical advantage. So how can we make the most of Rapid Ingress in your competitive 40K games? Let’s get into it.
What is Rapid Ingress in Warhammer 40K?
Rapid Ingress is a core stratagem in Warhammer 40K, meaning it can be used by any faction. For 1 CP at the end of your opponent’s Movement phase, you can bring in a unit from Reserves. If they have the Deep Strike ability, you can use it to place your units, or if they are arriving from Strategic Reserves, they can come in wholly within 6″ of a battlefield edge. Naturally this is most powerful with units with the Deep Strike rule allowing you to stage for a future turn.
Why Rapid Ingress is so Powerful
Strong players use Rapid Ingress to dictate the next turn before it begins. It also adds a layer of tactical decision making from the opponent in terms of how they move and position their own units knowing you have a Deep Strike unit that can use Rapid Ingress. This gives you the option to really dictate the pace and tempo of the game.
The benefits to using Rapid Ingress include:
- Safer staging for your units
- The ability to create shorter distances for movement and charging in your next turn
- Allows you to place Heroic Intervention threats
- Threatening a key position on the battlefield for the opponent
Let’s break this down a bit further.
Rapid Ingress can reduce distance on the table for threat ranges. A unit arriving on the opponent’s turn can be positioned to have a safer and more clear path when it activates in your following turn. This allows you to pinpoint specific areas of the battlefield or particular targets. It can also close the gap for combat units to allow for more reliable charges on your next turn.
Let’s look at an example below here:
In the example above, the Death Company Marines with Jump Packs have been staged behind the ruin after using Rapid Ingress to threaten the center area on the opponent’s next turn. They are positioned in such a way that they cannot be targeted by the opponent’s shooting units. This positioning also provides a Heroic Intervention threat to anything that wants to charge the Scout squad positioned on the objective. In subsequent turns, the distance the Death Company marines have to move to engage with targets is reduced as well. With their 12″ move (and an Advance/Charge stratagem available) this allows them to cover a lot of ground and threaten a large area of the table.
Let’s consider what happens when you drop in a Deep Strike unit on your own turn:
- You’re potentially exposing them to more threats that can use Fire Overwatch (which can be used when a unit is “setup on the battlefield”)
- The odds of making a 9″ Charge from Deep Strike with no bonuses or re-rolls is 27.78% (in other words, not great)
Using Rapid Ingress can help you dictate the tempo and flow of the game and puts your opponent in a position where they have to make difficult tactical decisions. It can force reactive play from the opponent. Since Rapid Ingress is used at the end of the opponent’s Movement phase, it allows you to see how the board state has developed before committing resources. If your opponent knows you have a unit in Reserve that can Rapid Ingress on their turn, they must consider that in their own Movement phase. This gives you more flexibility and control of the tempo of the game. Opponents have to be cautious of overextending or leaving points or resources exposed.
Best Units to Use for Rapid Ingress in 40K
As I mentioned before, units that have Deep Strike are your most useful Rapid Ingress threats. This is because they have the ability to enter anywhere on the battlefield giving you the flexibility to hide and stage them. There may be situations where bringing in a unit in Strategic Reserves in with Rapid Ingress is useful, but if you’re building a gameplan around this tactic, then Deep Strike units are usually the best choices.
Let’s consider some of the best Rapid Ingress threats:
- Fast melee units that don’t want to be shot (Death Company Marines with Jump Packs, Warp Talons, etc)
- Smaller trade pieces to harass points of the battlefield (Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs, Tzeentch Flamers, etc)
- Durable but slower threats that need angles to shoot or charge (Custodian Guard, Terminators, Obliterators, etc)
- Single model or Lone Operative units that are hard to zone out to threaten weak points
When NOT to Use Rapid Ingress
While it certainly is a powerful tool to have in your arsenal, there will be occasions when using Rapid Ingress can actually be detrimental to your gameplan. So as important as it is to have a strategy that includes a Rapid Ingress threat, let’s look at some instances when you should not use it.
- There is no safe staging area
- Your opponent has safely screened you with chaff or expendable units
- The unit can’t meaningfully threaten the opponent on your next turn
- When it is more valuable to conserve your CP for more necessary abilities in the turn
Don’t simply use Rapid Ingress because you can. You need a clear strategy to make those units have a meaningful impact in the game. This usually requires setting up areas of the board where they can come in and have an impact in the game. Units that are expendable and/or Infiltrate can help push out and create space for your Rapid Ingress threats early.
Practical Examples of Rapid Ingress in Play
Let’s consider a melee heavy army against a more focused shooting army.
In this example the Blood Angels player stages a unit of Sanguinary Guard via Rapid Ingress to threaten the objective held by the Riptide. Rather than traverse the battlefield to face the opponent’s shooting, the Sanguinary Guard stage where they are safe from enemy firepower but can utilize their speed to close the gap to make a Charge move in their subsequent turn potentially forcing a high value trade.
Let’s look at another example of positioning a shooting threat with Rapid Ingress.
In this example, the Thousand Sons player drops a squad of Scarab Occult Terminators via Rapid Ingress positioned to move on their turn (and then again with a double move Ritual) to threaten a flank while not exposing themselves to heavy firepower or melee threats.
Now, let’s look at how you can threaten or harass areas with single model units.
In this example, the Shield Captain for Custodes has dropped in via Rapid Ingress to threaten the opponent’s home objective the following turn to flip it. The Shield Captain is staged from shooting threats but in position to move and charge the Intercessors on the subsequent turn.
Final Thoughts
Rapid Ingress can be a powerful tool to have in your arsenal. When applied properly it can create difficult decision points for the opponent and can allow you to control the pace and tempo of the game. It’s important to identify which units you want to be Rapid Ingress threats in your list building and include a strategy to utilize them in your gameplan. Understanding which armies can best benefit from Rapid Ingress and when NOT to use it are just as important.
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