Deep Strike in 40k 11th Edition: Reserves and Arrival Rules

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In 11th Edition, units held off the table go into strategic reserves and come on later with an ingress move. Normally that move puts them near a battlefield edge. A unit where every model has Deep Strike can instead be set up anywhere on the battlefield that’s more than 8″ from all enemy units, including inside your opponent’s deployment zone. Reserves can’t arrive until battle round 2. Your reserves can’t add up to more than half your points before the game. Any unit that still hasn’t arrived by the end of battle round 3 is destroyed.

Below we go through the rules one step at a time, compare them with 10th Edition, and finish with a worked example, tactics and the mistakes beginners usually make. Everything here comes from the free 11th Edition Core Rules (June 2026). For the wider picture, see our 11th Edition hub and the 11th Edition rules changes overview.

Step 1: putting units into strategic reserves

In the Declare Battle Formations step before the battle, you can pick any of your units (except Fortifications) and place them in strategic reserves. They sit off the table until they arrive.

• The 50% cap. Unless a rule says otherwise, the combined points of all your strategic reserves, counting units inside transports that are also in reserves, can’t be more than 50% of your battle size’s points limit. That’s 500 points at Incursion (1,000 pts) and 1,000 points at Strike Force (2,000 pts).
• It only applies before the game. The cap is checked in Declare Battle Formations. Units that go back into reserves during the battle can push you over it.
• Deep Strike units count. In 11th, Deep Strike doesn’t give a unit its own separate way into reserves. It only changes where the unit can arrive when it makes an ingress move. Deep strikers go into strategic reserves like everyone else and count towards the 50%.
• Aircraft must start in reserves. Every AIRCRAFT unit has to be placed in strategic reserves.

Step 2: when units can arrive

Units in strategic reserves arrive by making an ingress move. You choose this as the unit’s move type in the Move Units step of your Movement phase. Unless a rule says otherwise:

• No arrivals in battle round 1. Ingress moves can only be made from the second battle round onwards.
• Arrive by the end of round 3. At the end of the third battle round, any strategic reserves unit that hasn’t made an ingress move is destroyed. Units inside a transport that has already arrived are an exception, and so are units moved into reserves during the battle (“repositioned units”).
• Every unit must be selected. In the Move Units step, every unit you have, including those in reserves, has to be selected to make a move, even if that move is to stay stationary.

Step 3: where units can be set up

Notice that the gap is measured to enemy units, not individual models, and it’s measured horizontally.

If a model is so big that its base can’t fit wholly within 6″ of the edge, it has to be set up touching a battlefield edge. In the turn it arrives that way, its unit (unless it’s an AIRCRAFT) can’t make normal, advance, fall-back or charge moves and can’t make ranged attacks.

Step 4: what an arriving unit can do

Once it has made its ingress move, a unit can’t make any other kind of move until the start of the next Charge phase. So it can’t make a normal move or Advance after landing. Shooting isn’t a move, though, so it can shoot in your Shooting phase. And because the restriction ends when the Charge phase starts, it can declare a charge.

How far is that charge? You landed more than 8″ away, and in 11th you’re engaged once you’re within 2″ of an enemy model. That means you need to roll at least a 7 on 2D6 to make it in, and more if the board or other models get in the way. Sprues & Brews’ core rules review reaches the same 7″ figure.

Rapid Ingress: arriving in your opponent’s turn

Rapid Ingress is a core Stratagem that costs 1CP.

• When: at the end of your opponent’s Movement phase.
• Target: one friendly unit in strategic reserves, but not an AIRCRAFT unit.
• Effect: that unit makes an ingress move. A deep striker can use Deep Strike while doing it.
• Restriction: you can’t use it in the first battle round.

Rapid Ingress is good for taking an objective your opponent has just left open, or for landing a unit right before your own turn. One catch: in 11th, a player normally can’t target the same unit with more than one Stratagem in the same phase. A unit that arrives with Rapid Ingress can’t also be the target of Fire Overwatch, which is used at the same moment. New to Stratagems? See what Stratagems are and how Command Points work.

What changed from 10th Edition

The 10th Edition column is based on that edition’s original core rules. Mission packs and balance updates changed some of these numbers during 10th, so if you remember different figures, that may be why.

Worked example: Terminators at 1,000 points

You’re playing an Incursion game (1,000 points) of Space Marines and you put a 5-model Terminator Squad (190 points) into strategic reserves. That’s well under the 500-point cap.

• Battle round 1: the Terminators wait off the table.
• Battle round 2, your Movement phase: you select them and make an ingress move. Every model has Deep Strike, so you set them up 8.5″ from an enemy unit sitting on an objective in the enemy deployment zone.
• Shooting phase: they fire their storm bolters. Their datasheet ability Fury of the First gives their attacks +1 AP against targets within 9″, and at 8.5″ they qualify.
• Charge phase: you need a 7 or more on 2D6 to get within 2″. If you fail, the unit is still sitting in a threatening position.

The Terminator Squad also has a once-per-battle Teleport Homer. You place the token at the start of the battle. Later, if you use Rapid Ingress on the squad, you can use the token to make that Stratagem cost 1CP less. If you do, the squad has to be set up within 3″ of the token and not within 8″ of an enemy unit. An enemy unit that ends a move within 1″ of the token removes it.

Tactics

• Make your opponent spread out. A deep striker in reserves threatens the whole board. Your opponent has to keep units spaced out to deny landing spots, which leaves fewer units on objectives.
• Know your landing zones. With an 8″ bubble around every enemy unit, open space disappears fast on a busy board. Look for gaps behind or beside your opponent’s army before the game, and read our deployment maps guide.
• Don’t wait too long. Anything still in reserves at the end of round 3 is destroyed. Plan to land in round 2 or 3.
• Use Rapid Ingress to answer a move. Bringing a unit in at the end of your opponent’s Movement phase lets you react to where they’ve just moved. It’s ideal for grabbing objectives late in a round. See missions explained and secondary objectives.
• Check every model. If you attach a character without Deep Strike, the whole unit loses it. Our Leader rules guide covers attached units.

Common mistakes

• Landing in round 1. Unless a rule says otherwise, reserves come in from round 2.
• Measuring 9″. It’s more than 8″ in 11th.
• Forgetting Deep Strike units count towards the 50%. They’re strategic reserves.
• Moving after arriving. You can’t Advance or make a normal move until the next Charge phase. You can still shoot and charge.
• Walking reserves into the enemy zone too early. Without Deep Strike, you can’t set up in the enemy deployment zone before battle round 3.
• Leaving units in reserves too long. They’re destroyed at the end of round 3.

FAQ

Can Deep Strike units arrive in the first battle round?

Not unless a specific rule says so. Strategic reserves, deep strikers included, can only make ingress moves from the second battle round onwards, and Rapid Ingress can’t be used in round 1 either.

How far from the enemy do I have to deep strike?

More than 8″ horizontally from all enemy units.

Can a unit charge the turn it deep strikes?

Yes. The ban on other moves lasts until the start of the next Charge phase, so you can declare a charge. You’ll need a 7 or more on 2D6 to get within the 2″ engagement range.

Can I use Rapid Ingress on aircraft?

No. Rapid Ingress can’t target AIRCRAFT units. Aircraft have their own rules: they always start in reserves and go back into reserves at the end of your opponent’s turn.

What happens to units I never bring on?

At the end of battle round 3, any strategic reserves unit that hasn’t made an ingress move is destroyed, with the exceptions covered above.

Want the basics first? Try How to Play Warhammer 40k, the glossary, or the 11th Edition cheat sheet.

What is an ingress move in 40k?

An ingress move is the move type a unit in strategic reserves uses to arrive on the battlefield in 11th Edition. You choose it in the Move Units step of your Movement phase from battle round 2 onwards. Normally it sets the unit up wholly within 6″ of a battlefield edge and more than 8″ from all enemy units; Deep Strike lets it be set up anywhere instead.

Is Deep Strike an ingress move?

Yes. In 11th Edition, Deep Strike is not a separate way of arriving; it modifies the ingress move a unit makes from strategic reserves. If every model in the unit has Deep Strike, its ingress move can set it up anywhere on the battlefield more than 8″ horizontally from all enemy units, including in the enemy deployment zone.

Does deep strike count as a normal move?

No. Arriving by Deep Strike is an ingress move, which is its own move type rather than a normal move. After it, the unit cannot make a normal, Advance or Fall Back move until the start of the next Charge phase. Because shooting is not a move, it can still shoot that turn, and it can declare a charge.

How many points can I keep in reserves in 11th Edition?

Up to half your battle size’s points limit: 500 points at Incursion and 1,000 points at Strike Force. Deep Strike units count towards this cap because they go into strategic reserves like everything else, as do units inside transports that start in reserves. The cap is only checked during Declare Battle Formations.